How Grammatical Errors Affect Your Writing Style

Ever read something and felt like it didn’t make sense, even though the ideas were clear? 

Often, it’s not the ideas that are the problem but the improper grammar. 

Grammatical errors can make your writing confusing, awkward, and harder to follow. 

Whether you're writing for school, work, or just for fun, good grammar is essential. 

It helps you communicate your ideas clearly and shows your readers that you are careful and thoughtful in your work. 

But, what happens when grammar mistakes sneak into your writing? 

Well, let's take a closer look at how grammatical errors can affect your writing style and how to avoid them.

Importance of correct grammar in writing

Ok! Think about a house. When the foundation is strong, everything else stands tall and strong.

Same is with grammar!

If your grammar is correct, your structure of writing will be great. But if it’s shaky, even the most amazing ideas might not be effective. 

Good grammar makes your writing easier to understand and more captivating to read. 

It also builds your credibility as a writer. 

Literally no one wants to take advice from someone who can’t tell the difference between “there” and “their.” 

But here's the good news: with a little attention and practice, you can avoid common grammar mistakes and improve your writing.

With such practices, one more thing is worth it. 

Guess what?

Our grammar checker can do all the job for you! This tool will remove all the grammar errors from your text and will make it clear, more improved, and engaging. 

Common grammatical errors

Grammar may seem difficult, but don’t worry! 

Most people make a few common mistakes. 

But you should know what to look out for and how to fix them. 

Well! Let’s get into some of the most common grammatical errors and explore how they affect your writing.

1. Subject-verb alignment

This are a mistake you might make often!

Notice the wrong part?

This is a mistake that often happens when you mix up the subject and the verb in a sentence. 

The subject is who or what the sentence is about, and the verb shows what the subject is doing. 

They need to "agree" or match in number. 

Let’s take one more example;

The students was happy about the trip. (Incorrect)

The students were happy about the trip. (Correct)

Here "students" is plural, so the verb should also be plural, “were.” 

And if your subject is singular, the verb should be singular too.

2. Passive voice

If you can tell something straightly then why to add extra words and make it more complex.

Passive voices in your writing can make things unclear and hard to read. 

However in passive voice, the subject of the sentence is acted upon, rather than doing the action. 

You can see this example, same intent but different writing structure.

The cake was baked by Charlie. (Passive)

Charlie baked the cake. (Active)

Well! An active voice is preferred because it's clear and more direct. 

Using passive voice too much can make your writing less interesting. It can also make it unclear who is doing the action. 

This might confuse your reader.

If you've already written complex sentences with passive voice or jargon, you can correct them. Try our paraphraser tool, which will make your hard-to-read sentences easier and better.

3. Run-on sentences

Do you know about run-on sentences?

Run-on sentences happen when two or more independent clauses (complete thoughts) are joined together incorrectly. 

It makes your writing hard to follow and might confuse the reader.

See this example; 

I went to the store I bought some apples. (Incorrect)

I went to the store, and I bought some apples. (Correct)

Therefore to fix a run-on, you can add a conjunction (like “and,” “but,” or “because”). Moreover you can also split it into two sentences. 

This keeps your ideas clear and your writing smooth.

4. Misplaced modifiers

Let’s first understand what misplaced modifiers are!

Well! A misplaced modifier is a descriptive word or phrase that is placed too far from the word it’s supposed to describe. 

This can create confusion or make your writing sound silly.

For example;

She almost drove her car for six hours. (Incorrect)

She drove her car for almost six hours. (Correct)

In the first example, "almost" seems to describe "her car," which doesn’t make sense. 

In the second sentence, “almost” correctly describes how long she drove, not her car.

5. Commonly confused words

This is where many writers make mistakes. 

Some words sound the same or even look similar, but they have different meanings. 

If you mix them up it can change the entire meaning of your sentence. 

Let's go through some of the most commonly confused words:

i. They're vs. their vs. there

These three words sound the same but are used differently in sentences.

• They're

This is a contraction of "they are." It is used to describe what they are doing or what they are like.

Example: They're going to the park later. 

(Meaning: "They are going to the park later.")

• Their

This shows possession!

It means something belongs to them.

Example: Their car is parked outside. 

(Meaning: The car belongs to them.)

• There

This refers to a place or location.

Example: We will meet them there at 3 PM. 

(Meaning: We will meet them at that place.)

Mixing these up can confuse your reader. 

So, make sure to remember the difference between them

ii. Your vs. you're

These two words are commonly confused because they sound the same, but they mean different things.

• Your

This is a possessive adjective!

It means something belongs to you.

Example: Is this your notebook? 

(Meaning: Is this the notebook that belongs to you?)

• You're

It is basically "you are."

Example: You're going to love this movie! 

(Meaning: "You are going to love this movie!")

The difference is simple but don’t forget the intent of both words.

iii. Its vs. it's

These two words are another common mix-up.

Especially because “it’s” is a contraction that has an apostrophe, while “its” is possessive, without an apostrophe.

• Its

This shows something belongs to it.

Example: The dog wagged its tail happily. 

(Meaning: The tail belongs to the dog.)

• It's

This means "it is" or "it has."

Example: It's raining outside. 

(Meaning: "It is raining outside.")

iv. Affect vs. effect

These words are very commonly confused because they both relate to change, but they are used differently.

• Affect

This is usually a verb. 

It means to influence something or bring about change.

Example: The news about the storm will affect the whole town. 

(Meaning: The news will influence the town’s actions or feelings.)

• Effect

This is a noun.

It means the result of something.

Example: The effect of the storm was devastating. 

(Meaning: The result or outcome of the storm was very bad.)

v. To vs. too

These two words sound similar but have different meanings and uses.

• To

This is a preposition that shows direction, place, or position.

Example: I’m going to the store. 

(Meaning: I’m heading in the direction of the store.)

• Too

This means “also” or “excessively.”

Example: I ate too much cake at the party. 

(Meaning: I ate an excessive amount of cake.)

vi. Then vs. than

These two words are often confused in comparisons or when talking about time.

• Then

This is used when talking about time or order.

Example: We went to the movies, then we had dinner. 

(Meaning: First the movie, then dinner.)

• Than

This is used for comparisons.

Example: I’m taller than my brother. 

(Meaning: I have more height compared to my brother.)

There are many words like this that can be confusing, especially since we use them often in our writing. 

But if you learn the differences and pay attention to their meanings, you can avoid mistakes that make your writing unclear.

6. Colons and semicolons

Colons and semicolons are often misused. Let’s take a quick look at how to use them properly.

Colon (:) is used to introduce a list, a quote, or an explanation. 

See this example:

I have three favorite foods: pizza, burgers, and pasta.

Semicolon (;) is used to connect two independent clauses that are closely related. 

Let’s take an example:

I love pizza; it's my favorite food.

7. Using comma

Commas can be tricky!

Well! There are a few common mistakes when using commas:

• Comma splicing 

This happens when two independent clauses are joined by a comma instead of a conjunction or semicolon. 

For example: 

I love coffee, I drink it every morning. (Incorrect) 

I love coffee; I drink it every morning. (Correct)

• Missing commas

Sometimes, commas are missing where they should be. 

For example: 

Before dinner we went shopping. (Incorrect)

Before dinner, we went shopping. (Correct)

• Unnecessary commas

On the other hand, sometimes commas are added where they shouldn’t be. 

For example: 

The girl, who was wearing a red dress, danced beautifully.

The comma after "girl" isn't needed.

8. Incorrect capitalization

Capital letters should only be used for proper nouns, the first word of a sentence, and certain titles.

If you use capital letters incorrectly, it can confuse readers.

You can understand this with the example below:

We visited New York last Summer. (Incorrect)

We visited New York last summer. (Correct)

9. Pronoun use

Pronouns like “he,” “she,” “it,” “they,” etc., are used to replace nouns. 

But, the noun they refer to must be clear. Incorrect use of pronouns can confuse the reader. 

Like in academics, where you have to write in third-person narrative but you have done it in first or second-person perspective. This approach is grammatically incorrect. 

Let’s see this example:

John told James that he was late. (Incorrect)

John told James that John was late. (Correct)

In the first example, it’s unclear who “he” refers to. 

In the second, it’s clear that John is the one who was late.

10. Incomplete sentences

Writing sentences with improper grammar can make. (Incomplete sentence)

Nothing is explained in this sentence! 

Well! An incomplete sentence (also called a sentence fragment) is missing a subject, verb, or both. This leaves the reader confused about the meaning.

Let’s take another example here for your better understanding:

Running down the street. (Incorrect)

She was running down the street. (Correct)

Avoid grammatical mistakes for better writing

If you know how to fix grammar mistakes, you can make your writing much clear and easier to understand. 

Well! This guide helps you find common errors and shows you how to correct them and make your writing stronger. 

Good grammar helps you communicate better and shows that you care about your work. 

By practicing, you can write better sentences more confidently. Moreover, make sure your readers enjoy and understand what you're saying. 

You can also check your content's readability with our AI readability checker. This tool helps you see if your sentences flow smoothly and provides a readability score.

However, improving your grammar will make your writing better every time!

Frequently asked questions

Is misspelling a grammatical mistake?

Misspelling is not technically a grammatical error. But it affects the overall accuracy and clarity of writing and it can impact grammar.

Is it grammatically incorrect to choose the wrong word?

Wrong word choice isn’t a grammatical error. But it can make your sentences unclear and disrupt the meaning. So, it can affect the overall grammar.

Is punctuation a grammatical error?

Punctuation mistakes are considered errors in grammar since they affect sentence structure, clarity, and the proper flow of ideas within the text.