Why Indians Make These Mistakes
Before diving into specific errors, it's important to understand why these mistakes happen. It's not about intelligence or education—it's about language transfer.
When learning a new language, your brain naturally applies rules from your native language. This is called language transfer. Indian languages (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, etc.) differ from English in:
- Word order: Hindi uses Subject-Object-Verb; English uses Subject-Verb-Object
- Articles: Indian languages don't have "a," "an," "the"
- Verb forms: Continuous tenses are used differently
- Sounds: Many Indian languages lack certain English sounds (TH, V/W)
- Prepositions: "In," "on," "at" don't have direct Hindi equivalents
The good news: once you understand why you make a mistake, fixing it becomes much easier. Let's go through the most common errors.
Grammar Mistakes (10 Errors)
Mistake 1: "I am having" instead of "I have"
❌ Wrong: "I am having a car." / "She is having two brothers."
✓ Correct: "I have a car." / "She has two brothers."
Why it happens: In Hindi, "mere paas ek car hai" uses a structure similar to continuous tense. But in English, "have" for possession is not used in continuous form.
Rule: Use simple present for permanent possession: have, has. Use continuous for temporary actions: "I am having dinner" (eating right now).
Mistake 2: "I didn't went" (Double Past Tense)
❌ Wrong: "I didn't went to the office." / "She didn't saw him."
✓ Correct: "I didn't go to the office." / "She didn't see him."
Why it happens: Speakers add past tense to both "did" and the verb. But when using "did/didn't," the main verb stays in base form.
Pattern: did + base verb (go, see, eat), NOT did + past verb (went, saw, ate)
Mistake 3: Missing Articles (A, An, The)
❌ Wrong: "He is engineer." / "Give me pen." / "I went to market."
✓ Correct: "He is an engineer." / "Give me a pen." / "I went to the market."
Why it happens: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and most Indian languages don't use articles.
Rules:
- A/An: For non-specific singular nouns ("a book" = any book)
- The: For specific nouns both people know ("the book" = that specific book)
- No article: For general plurals ("Books are useful") or uncountable nouns ("Water is important")
Mistake 4: "Since" vs. "For" with Time
❌ Wrong: "I am working here since 5 years." / "She is waiting for since morning."
✓ Correct: "I have been working here for 5 years." / "She has been waiting since morning."
Rules:
- For: duration of time (for 2 hours, for 5 years, for a long time)
- Since: point in time when something started (since Monday, since 2020, since morning)
Mistake 5: Incorrect Prepositions
❌ Wrong: "I am angry on him." / "She is married with my brother."
✓ Correct: "I am angry with him." / "She is married to my brother."
Common corrections:
- angry with (not on)
- married to (not with)
- congratulate on (not for)
- discuss (no preposition! not "discuss about")
- enter (no preposition! not "enter into the room")
Mistake 6: "More better" / "Most fastest"
❌ Wrong: "This is more better." / "He runs most fastest."
✓ Correct: "This is better." / "He runs fastest."
Rule: Don't double comparatives. "Better" already means "more good." "Fastest" already means "most fast."
Mistake 7: Subject-Verb Agreement
❌ Wrong: "The team are working hard." / "Mathematics are difficult."
✓ Correct: "The team is working hard." / "Mathematics is difficult."
Tricky cases:
- Collective nouns (team, family, group) → usually singular in American English
- -ics words (mathematics, physics, politics) → usually singular
- "Everyone," "everybody," "nobody" → always singular
Mistake 8: "Itself" / "Himself" Usage
❌ Wrong: "Today itself I will do it." / "He himself only did the work."
✓ Correct: "I will do it today itself." → "I will do it today." / "He himself did the work."
Why it happens: Direct translation of Hindi emphatic particles ("aaj hi," "woh khud hi"). In English, "itself" is reflexive, not emphatic.
Mistake 9: Wrong Question Formation
❌ Wrong: "Why you are late?" / "Where you went yesterday?"
✓ Correct: "Why are you late?" / "Where did you go yesterday?"
Pattern: Question word + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
- Why are you late?
- Where did you go?
- What is she doing?
Mistake 10: "Would" for Requests (Overuse)
❌ Awkward: "Would you please would pass the salt?"
✓ Natural: "Could you pass the salt?" / "Would you pass the salt?"
For polite requests, use: Could you...? / Would you...? / Can you...? (One modal only)
Pronunciation Mistakes (8 Errors)
Mistake 1: TH → D/T Sound
❌ Wrong: "dis" for "this" / "tink" for "think" / "tree" for "three"
✓ Correct: Place tongue between teeth and blow air
Two TH sounds:
- Voiced /ð/: this, that, there, the (tongue vibrates)
- Voiceless /θ/: think, three, thank, through (just air)
Practice: "I think that this is the third thing."
Mistake 2: V ↔ W Confusion
❌ Wrong: "wery" for "very" / "vine" for "wine"
✓ Correct: V = bite lower lip. W = round lips (no teeth contact)
Minimal pairs to practice:
- vest / west
- vine / wine
- vow / wow
- vet / wet
Mistake 3: Incorrect Word Stress
❌ Wrong: "com-FOR-table" / "de-VE-lop" / "ma-NA-ger"
✓ Correct: "COM-for-table" / "de-VEL-op" / "MAN-a-ger"
Commonly mispronounced words:
- COMfortable (not comFORtable)
- PHOtograph, phoTOGrapher, photoGRAPHic (stress shifts!)
- VEgetable (not vegeTAble)
- COLleague (not colLEAGUE)
Mistake 4: Silent Letters Pronounced
❌ Wrong: "sa-lmon" / "of-ten" / "know-ledge"
✓ Correct: "sa-mon" (L silent) / "of-en" (T often silent) / "nol-ij" (K silent)
Common silent letters:
- Silent K: know, knife, knee, knock
- Silent W: write, wrong, wrist, wrap
- Silent B: doubt, debt, subtle, bomb
- Silent L: salmon, calm, palm, half
Mistake 5: Adding Extra Syllables
❌ Wrong: "fil-um" for "film" / "es-school" for "school"
✓ Correct: "film" (1 syllable) / "school" (1 syllable)
Practice single-syllable words: film, world, girl, strength, twelfth
Mistake 6: Z → J Sound
❌ Wrong: "jero" for "zero" / "Jombie" for "zombie"
✓ Correct: Z is a buzzing sound like "zzzz" (like a bee)
Mistake 7: Flat Intonation
Indian languages tend to be syllable-timed (equal stress on each syllable). English is stress-timed with rising and falling intonation.
Fix: Listen to native speakers and notice which words they emphasize. Practice shadowing.
Mistake 8: R Sound (Retroflex R)
Indian R: Tongue curls back (retroflex)
American R: Tongue bunches up, doesn't touch roof
British R: Often not pronounced at end of words (car → "cah")
Vocabulary & Usage Mistakes (7 Errors)
Mistake 1: "Prepone" (Doesn't Exist)
❌ Indian English: "Let's prepone the meeting."
✓ Standard English: "Let's move the meeting earlier." / "Let's reschedule the meeting to an earlier time."
"Prepone" is an Indianism not recognized internationally. Use alternatives instead.
Mistake 2: "Revert back" (Redundant)
❌ Wrong: "Please revert back to me."
✓ Correct: "Please reply to me." / "Please get back to me."
"Revert" already means "go back to a previous state." In business English, use "reply" or "respond."
Mistake 3: "Do the needful"
❌ Indian English: "Kindly do the needful."
✓ Modern English: "Please take the necessary action." / "Please help with this."
This phrase sounds archaic and is mainly understood in India/South Asia.
Mistake 4: "Out of station"
❌ Indian English: "He is out of station."
✓ International English: "He is out of town." / "He is traveling."
Mistake 5: Confused Words
- Loose vs. Lose: "I don't want to lose my keys" (not loose)
- Advice vs. Advise: Advice = noun; Advise = verb
- Principal vs. Principle: Principal = head of school / main; Principle = rule/belief
- Compliment vs. Complement: Compliment = praise; Complement = complete/enhance
Mistake 6: "Only" Placement
❌ Indian usage: "I was only telling..." / "He is only not interested."
✓ Standard usage: "I was just saying..." / "He is simply not interested."
This emphatic "only" is a direct translation from Hindi "hi/to" and sounds unnatural in standard English.
Mistake 7: False Friends
- "Timely" ≠ "on time": Timely means "well-timed" not "punctual"
- "Cope up" → "cope with": No "up" needed
- "Discuss about" → "discuss": No "about" needed
Sentence Structure Errors
Word Order Issues
❌ Hindi pattern: "Tomorrow I office will go."
✓ English pattern: "I will go to the office tomorrow."
English order: Subject + Verb + Object + Place + Time
Tag Questions
❌ Wrong: "You are coming, isn't it?"
✓ Correct: "You are coming, aren't you?"
Rule: The tag question must match the subject and reverse the auxiliary verb.
- He is smart, isn't he?
- They don't know, do they?
- She can swim, can't she?
Formal vs. Informal Mix-ups
Overly Formal in Casual Settings
❌ Too formal: "I would like to request you to pass the salt."
✓ Natural: "Could you pass the salt?"
Too Casual in Professional Settings
❌ Too casual (in email): "Hey, send me that file ASAP."
✓ Professional: "Hi [Name], could you please send me that file when you get a chance?"
Practice Exercises
Exercise 1: Fix the Errors
Correct these sentences:
- I am having two sisters.
- She didn't went to school yesterday.
- He is working here since 2018.
- Why you are not coming to the party?
- Please revert back with your feedback.
Answers:
- I have two sisters.
- She didn't go to school yesterday.
- He has been working here since 2018.
- Why are you not coming to the party?
- Please reply with your feedback.
Exercise 2: Choose the Correct Option
- I am angry (on/with) my brother.
- She has been waiting (for/since) two hours.
- He is married (to/with) my cousin.
- Let's (discuss/discuss about) the plan.
- This cake is (more better/better) than that one.
Answers: with, for, to, discuss, better
How to Permanently Fix These Mistakes
The 4-Step Fix Process
- Identify: Become aware of one specific mistake (don't try to fix all at once)
- Understand: Learn why it's wrong and the correct rule
- Practice: Consciously use the correct form 50+ times
- Monitor: Catch yourself when you make the mistake, then self-correct
- Focus on ONE mistake per week—trying to fix everything at once leads to frustration
- Record yourself speaking and listen for specific errors
- Use AI tools like TalkDrill: in a role-play's Learn mode a coach corrects you as you go
- Read aloud daily—this trains your mouth to form correct sentences
- Work through the free e-book 150 Common English Mistakes Indians Make, which explains where each error comes from
- The mistake you notice most frequently should be your priority
Train Your Eye, Then Your Speech
Spot and fix the classic mistakes in TalkDrill's free Error Spotter game, then say the corrected sentences out loud: every AI conversation ends with a scored report on grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. For the rules behind the errors, TalkDrill's English Grammar Basics course explains them in short lessons.
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