Common Errors in English Grammar

Common Errors in English Grammar Page 1 of 5
COMMON ERRORS
There appear to be at least six common error groups, which are addressed herein. Each
group is numbered for easy identification.
For reference, the following is a brief summary of subject and object pronouns as these
are important because they are used herein:
Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns
I me
he him
she her
you you
we us
they them
Error 1. Subject – Object agreement:
When two or more “subjects” are joined by “and”, each subject must stand alone without
the “and”.
Correct: He and I went shopping.
He went shopping.
I went shopping.
Common Errors in English Grammar Page 2 of 5
Incorrect: Me and Him went shopping.
Me went shopping.
Him went shopping.
When two or more “objects” are joined by “and”, each object must stand alone without
the “and”:
Correct: The money was given to him and me.
The money was given to him.
The money was given to me.
Incorrect: The money was given to he and I.
The money was given to he.
The money was given to I.
Error 2. Comparatives:
When a comparison is made with one of the comparative conjunctions (than, as, between,
etc.) the subjects (or objects) of the comparison must agree in case and number:
Correct: She is taller than he (is – understood).
She is taller than he is.
Incorrect: She is taller than him (is ?).
She is taller than him is.
Correct: A man as important as he (is –understood) should be heard.
Incorrect: A man as important as him should be heard.
Correct: Between he and I, we should keep this a secret.
Incorrect: Between him and me, we should keep this a secret.
Error 3: Linking or Copulative Verbs:
A Linking or Copulative Verb, such as “to be” in its various forms, may not have an
object and therefore is essentially incomplete (lacking an object). To complete the
sentence a “subjective complement” (not an object) is used to balance the left and right
hand sides of the sentence. The use of these verbs sometimes causes... [continues]

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