Every sentence on this list has the same profile: people understand you, nobody corrects you, and yet each one quietly marks you as a non-native speaker. They come from real rewrite cases in MirrorSay practice sessions — these 25 showed up so often we decided they deserved their own page.
The format is simple: ✗ what learners say → ✓ what natives say, plus one line on why. Read through the list, and whenever one hits home, say the ✓ version out loud three times. That does more than bookmarking a hundred grammar posts.
Grammar slips that give you away
- ✗ Yesterday I go to the gym after work. → ✓ I went to the gym yesterday after work. —— "Yesterday" locks the sentence into the past — "I went", not "I go".
- ✗ I sended you the photos on WhatsApp. → ✓ I sent you the photos on WhatsApp. —— "Send" is irregular: send, sent, sent — "sended" doesn't exist.
- ✗ I must to wake up at six tomorrow. → ✓ I have to get up at six tomorrow. —— "Must" never takes "to", and for everyday obligations natives mostly say "have to" anyway.
- ✗ I am agree with your plan. → ✓ I agree with your plan. —— "Agree" is already a verb — no "am" needed.
- ✗ I'm living in this city since three years. → ✓ I've lived here for three years. —— A length of time takes "for", and the tense is "I've lived", not "I'm living".
- ✗ Do you like eat spicy food? → ✓ Do you like eating spicy food? —— "Like eat" jams two verbs together — after "like" you need "eating" (or "to eat").
- ✗ People is so busy in this city. → ✓ People are so busy in this city. —— "People" is already plural, so it always takes "are".
- ✗ I am boring in this class. → ✓ I'm so bored in this class. —— "I'm boring" means you're dull to be around — the feeling is "bored".
- ✗ I am very exciting about the trip! → ✓ I'm really excited about the trip! —— The trip is exciting; you're excited. -ing describes the thing, -ed describes you.
The wrong verb for the job
- ✗ Can you close the TV? → ✓ Can you turn off the TV? —— Lights and machines "turn on" and "turn off" — they don't open or close.
- ✗ My brother borrowed me his car for the weekend. → ✓ My brother lent me his car for the weekend. —— You borrow FROM someone; the person handing it over is lending.
- ✗ We must do a decision before Friday. → ✓ We need to make a decision by Friday. —— Decisions are made, never done.
- ✗ I lost my flight because of the traffic. → ✓ I missed my flight because of traffic. —— You miss a flight; you lose your keys.
- ✗ I'll make a party for my birthday. → ✓ I'm having a party for my birthday. —— Parties are had (or thrown), not made.
- ✗ Can you make me a discount? → ✓ Could you give me a discount? —— Discounts are given, not made — and "Could you" softens the ask.
- ✗ Sorry, I don't listen you. Can you repeat? → ✓ Sorry, I can't hear you — say that again? —— On a bad line the problem is hearing, not listening: "I can't hear you".
- ✗ I have hunger — let's eat something. → ✓ I'm hungry — let's grab something to eat. —— Hunger isn't something you have in English — you ARE hungry.
Little words that trip you up
- ✗ We discussed about the budget for two hours. → ✓ We discussed the budget for two hours. —— "Discuss" already contains "about" — adding it doubles up.
- ✗ Can you explain me the new process? → ✓ Can you explain the new process to me? —— "Explain" needs "to": you explain something TO someone.
- ✗ I'll call to you when I arrive. → ✓ I'll call you when I get there. —— "Call" takes no "to" — you just call someone.
- ✗ She married with a doctor last year. → ✓ She married a doctor last year. —— "Marry" takes no "with" — she simply married a doctor.
- ✗ I'll send you all the informations by email. → ✓ I'll email you all the information. —— "Information" is uncountable — there's no "informations".
- ✗ My manager gave me many useful feedbacks. → ✓ My manager gave me some really useful feedback. —— "Feedback" never takes an "s", however much of it you get.
- ✗ We bought some furnitures for the new apartment. → ✓ We bought some furniture for the new place. —— One sofa or ten, it's still "furniture" — the word has no plural.
- ✗ Do you have something more cheaper? → ✓ Do you have anything cheaper? —— "Cheaper" is already comparative — "more cheaper" says it twice.
Make it muscle memory
Here's the frustrating part: you probably "knew" most of these rules already. The mistakes don't live in your knowledge — they live in your reflexes. You'll nod through this whole page and still say "discussed about" in tomorrow's meeting, because a habit of the mouth can only be fixed by the mouth.
The fix is mechanical and it works: every time an item above hit home, read the ✓ version out loud three times, then use it in one sentence about your own life. That single action beats memorizing the rule every time.
And if nobody's around to catch these for you, that's exactly what MirrorSay is for: you say a sentence, it mirrors back the native version and points out the gap, then walks you through repeating it — this list was built from those very sessions. Some "mistakes" aren't grammar at all, just textbook stiffness — that's its own list: Textbook English vs. What Native Speakers Actually Say. And if you're practicing solo, start here: How to Practice English Speaking Alone: A 5-Step Shadowing Routine.