Grammar for Descriptive Writing — Common Errors to Avoid

Grammar for Descriptive Writing — Common Errors to Avoid

Descriptive writing papers — essays, letters, précis, and translation — are graded on ideas and organisation, but a paper riddled with grammatical slips loses marks regardless of how strong its content is, because examiners cannot separate "good English" from "correct English." A brilliant argument expressed with a subject-verb agreement error in every third sentence reads, to an examiner, as an undisciplined answer. This chapter works through the errors that appear most often in Indian exam scripts, grouped by category, with an "incorrect versus correct" pair for each pattern so you can see exactly what to change and why.

The categories are ordered roughly by frequency: subject-verb agreement and tense consistency cause the largest number of deductions in most scripts, followed by article usage, preposition errors, dangling and misplaced modifiers, run-on sentences and comma splices, and a final group of miscellaneous but high-frequency errors — parallelism, pronoun reference, and confusable word pairs. Work through each section, but treat the example pairs as the core of the chapter: read the incorrect sentence, work out why it is wrong before reading the explanation, then check yourself against the correct version.

A note on how to use this chapter effectively: do not try to absorb every category in a single sitting. Grammar knowledge that sticks is built through repeated, spaced exposure to the same patterns across several practice sessions, not through one long read-through followed by immediate essay writing. A workable approach is to study one or two categories per day, write two or three of your own example sentences using the pattern correctly, and then deliberately look for that same pattern the next time you revise a practice essay or letter. Over a few weeks, the categories that once required conscious checking — subject-verb agreement across a long sentence, or the correct preposition after a particular verb — start to feel automatic, which is exactly the state a timed exam requires, since there is rarely time during the exam itself to consciously apply a rule to every sentence you write.

1. Subject-Verb Agreement

The verb must agree in number with its subject — singular subject, singular verb; plural subject, plural verb. This sounds simple, and mostly is, until the subject is separated from the verb by other words, or the subject is one of a handful of tricky categories: collective nouns, indefinite pronouns, subjects joined by "or," and phrases that look plural but are grammatically singular.

Incorrect	Correct	Why
The list of items are on the table.	The list of items is on the table.	The subject is "list" (singular), not "items"; the prepositional phrase "of items" does not change the verb's agreement.
Each of the students have submitted their assignment.	Each of the students has submitted their assignment.	"Each" is a singular indefinite pronoun and always takes a singular verb, regardless of the plural noun that follows "of."
Neither of the answers are correct.	Neither of the answers is correct.	"Neither" (and "either") is singular when used as a pronoun subject.
The committee have decided to postpone the meeting.	The committee has decided to postpone the meeting.	In standard Indian and American usage, collective nouns like "committee," "team," and "family" take a singular verb when acting as one unit. (British usage sometimes allows the plural when emphasising individual members, but the singular is the safer, standard choice in exam writing.)
The number of applicants are increasing every year.	The number of applicants is increasing every year.	"The number of" takes a singular verb; "a number of" takes a plural verb ("A number of applicants are waiting"). This pair is one of the most frequently confused in exam scripts.
Either the manager or the employees is responsible.	Either the manager or the employees are responsible.	When a subject joined by "or"/"nor" has one singular and one plural noun, the verb agrees with the noun closer to it — here, "employees," so the verb is plural.
Mathematics are my favourite subject.	Mathematics is my favourite subject.	Subjects like "mathematics," "physics," "news," and "economics" end in -s but are grammatically singular as academic or field names.
Ten kilometres are a long distance to walk.	Ten kilometres is a long distance to walk.	A quantity, distance, sum of money, or period of time treated as a single unit takes a singular verb, even though the noun is plural in form.

2. Tense Consistency

Within a single sentence, paragraph, or narrative passage, the tense should stay consistent unless there is a genuine reason for a shift — for example, moving from a past action to a present-tense general truth. The most common exam error is an unmotivated drift: a candidate begins a narrative in the past tense and slides into the present halfway through, or mixes present perfect and simple past without a clear time reference to justify the switch.

Incorrect	Correct	Why
He walked into the room and sees his friend waiting.	He walked into the room and saw his friend waiting.	Both actions happen in the same past narrative sequence; the verb must stay in the simple past throughout.
I have finished the report yesterday.	I finished the report yesterday.	The present perfect ("have finished") cannot be used with a specific past time marker like "yesterday"; a completed action at a stated past time takes the simple past.
By the time she arrives, the train has already left.	By the time she arrived, the train had already left.	When narrating a past sequence where one action precedes another, the earlier action takes the past perfect ("had left"), and the whole sentence stays in past time, not present.
She was working here since 2019.	She has been working here since 2019.	An action that began in the past and continues into the present uses the present perfect continuous, not the simple past continuous.
If I would have known, I would have come earlier.	If I had known, I would have come earlier.	The "if" clause of a third-conditional (unreal past) sentence uses the past perfect, not "would have"; "would have" belongs only in the main clause.
Last year, he travels to three countries.	Last year, he travelled to three countries.	A specific past time reference ("last year") requires the simple past, not the present.

3. Article Usage (a, an, the)

Article errors are extremely common in Indian exam scripts because most Indian languages do not have a direct grammatical equivalent to English articles, so the rules have to be learned explicitly rather than transferred from the first language. Three sub-rules cover most cases: use "a" before a consonant sound, "an" before a vowel sound, and "the" for something specific or already known to both writer and reader; otherwise, many nouns — plural and uncountable nouns used in a general sense — take no article at all.

Incorrect	Correct	Why
He is an university student.	He is a university student.	Article choice depends on the sound, not the letter; "university" begins with a consonant sound ("yoo-"), so it takes "a," not "an."
She waited for an hour, then left.	She waited for an hour, then left. (correct as written — flagged as a control example)	"Hour" begins with a silent "h," so the vowel sound rule correctly gives "an hour" — included here because candidates sometimes over-correct this to "a hour."
I am going to a office tomorrow.	I am going to an office tomorrow.	"Office" begins with a vowel sound, so it takes "an."
He gave me advice which was helpful.	He gave me advice that was helpful. / He gave me some advice that was helpful.	"Advice" is uncountable and does not take "a/an"; if a specific piece of advice is meant, "some" or "a piece of" is used instead.
The honesty is the best policy.	Honesty is the best policy.	Abstract, uncountable nouns used in a general sense ("honesty," "life," "love") take no article.
I saw elephant in the zoo.	I saw an elephant in the zoo.	A singular countable noun mentioned for the first time needs an article; omitting it entirely is ungrammatical in English (unlike in many Indian languages).
Sun rises in the east.	The sun rises in the east.	Unique objects — "the sun," "the moon," "the sky," "the earth" — take "the" because there is only one of them.
He is the best player of the team.	He is the best player on the team.	This is a preposition error riding alongside an article point — included to show the two often overlap; "on the team" is standard, not "of the team."

4. Preposition Errors

Prepositions rarely translate directly between languages, and even within English the "correct" preposition often has to be learned per verb, adjective, or noun rather than derived from a rule. The following pairs cover the errors that recur most often in Indian exam writing.

Incorrect	Correct	Why
He is married with a doctor.	He is married to a doctor.	"Married to" is the fixed idiom in English; "married with" is a common transfer error.
I am good in mathematics.	I am good at mathematics.	"Good at" is the standard collocation for skill or ability, not "good in."
She was angry on her brother.	She was angry with her brother.	"Angry with" (a person) is standard; "angry about" is used for a situation, and "angry at" is also acceptable for a person or thing, but "angry on" is not standard English.
Discuss about the topic in your answer.	Discuss the topic in your answer.	"Discuss" is a transitive verb that takes a direct object without a preposition; "discuss about" is a very common but incorrect addition.
He is capable to handle this job.	He is capable of handling this job.	"Capable of" takes a gerund, not a "to" infinitive.
I reached to the station on time.	I reached the station on time.	"Reach" is transitive and does not take "to" before its object; "reach at/to" is a frequent but incorrect addition.
He is senior than me in the office.	He is senior to me in the office.	Comparatives formed with "-or" endings borrowed from Latin ("senior," "junior," "superior," "inferior," "prior") take "to," not "than."
This is different than what I expected.	This is different from what I expected.	"Different from" is the standard formal usage; "different than" is common in informal speech but avoided in formal exam writing.
She apologised for the mistake to me.	She apologised to me for the mistake.	The person apologised to comes before the reason; reversing the order, while sometimes seen, is less natural and less standard in formal writing.
He was absent in the class yesterday.	He was absent from the class yesterday.	"Absent from" is the standard preposition with a place or event.

5. Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

A modifying phrase — usually a participial phrase at the start of a sentence — must logically describe the subject of the main clause that follows it. When the phrase describes someone or something that is not actually the sentence's subject, the modifier "dangles," and the sentence often ends up saying something unintended, sometimes with comic or confusing results.

Incorrect	Correct	Why
Walking to the market, the rain started suddenly.	While I was walking to the market, the rain started suddenly.	As written, the sentence implies the rain was walking to the market; the modifying phrase must attach to a human subject, so the sentence needs to be restructured with an explicit subject in the opening clause.
Having finished the exam, the papers were collected by the invigilator.	Having finished the exam, the students handed in their papers to the invigilator.	The original implies the papers finished the exam; the opening participial phrase must modify the subject of the main clause, which should be the person who finished the exam.
At the age of six, my father took me to my first cricket match.	When I was six, my father took me to my first cricket match.	As written, the sentence implies the father was six years old; rewording removes the ambiguity about whose age is being described.
Covered in dust, I found the old photograph in the attic.	I found the old photograph, covered in dust, in the attic.	The original implies "I" was covered in dust; moving the modifier next to "photograph," the word it actually describes, fixes the ambiguity.
Reading the newspaper, the coffee went cold.	While he was reading the newspaper, his coffee went cold.	The coffee cannot read the newspaper; the sentence needs an explicit subject for the participial action.
To improve your English, grammar books should be read daily.	To improve your English, you should read grammar books daily.	The infinitive phrase "to improve your English" logically describes what "you" should do; the passive main clause leaves the phrase with no logical subject to attach to.

6. Run-On Sentences and Comma Splices

A run-on sentence joins two independent clauses (each capable of standing alone as a complete sentence) without the punctuation or conjunction needed to link them correctly. The specific case where two independent clauses are joined only by a comma is called a comma splice, and it is one of the single most common punctuation errors in exam essays. There are four standard fixes: a full stop (making two sentences), a semicolon, a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (and, but, so, for, yet, or, nor), or a subordinating conjunction that turns one clause into a dependent clause.

Incorrect	Correct	Why / fix used
The exam was difficult, most students struggled to finish on time.	The exam was difficult; most students struggled to finish on time.	Comma splice fixed with a semicolon, since both clauses are independent and closely related in meaning.
She studied very hard, she still did not pass the test.	She studied very hard, but she still did not pass the test.	Comma splice fixed by adding the coordinating conjunction "but" after the comma.
It started raining heavily we decided to cancel the picnic.	It started raining heavily, so we decided to cancel the picnic.	Run-on with no punctuation at all, fixed with a comma plus the coordinating conjunction "so."
He is intelligent, he never works hard enough to prove it.	Although he is intelligent, he never works hard enough to prove it.	Comma splice fixed by subordinating one clause with "although," which also improves the logical link between the two ideas.
I called her twice, she did not answer, I left a message instead.	I called her twice. She did not answer, so I left a message instead.	A three-clause run-on is best split into two sentences rather than forced into one long chain; the second sentence uses a coordinating conjunction to link its two clauses.
The results were declared yesterday, everyone was anxious to check their scores.	The results were declared yesterday, and everyone was anxious to check their scores.	Comma splice fixed with a coordinating conjunction; note the comma is kept and "and" added, rather than removing the comma.

7. Parallelism

Items in a list, or elements joined by a coordinating conjunction, should share the same grammatical form. Breaking parallel structure is a subtler error than the ones above — the sentence is not ungrammatical in an obvious way, but it reads as clumsy and uneven, and examiners consistently flag it in essay and letter answers.

Incorrect	Correct	Why
She likes reading, to write, and painting.	She likes reading, writing, and painting.	All three items in the list should share the same "-ing" form; mixing in "to write" breaks the parallel structure.
The manager asked us to arrive early, to bring our reports, and that we should be prepared to present.	The manager asked us to arrive early, bring our reports, and be prepared to present.	All three items should follow the same "to + verb" pattern (with "to" stated once and implied for the rest); the shift into a "that" clause at the end breaks parallelism.
The course covers grammar, how to write essays, and vocabulary building.	The course covers grammar, essay writing, and vocabulary building.	Matching all three items to a noun-phrase pattern ("grammar," "essay writing," "vocabulary building") keeps the list parallel; "how to write essays" is a different grammatical form.
Not only did he finish the project early, but also he was under budget.	Not only did he finish the project early, but he was also under budget.	In a "not only... but also" construction, the two halves should mirror each other grammatically; "also" should sit next to the verb it modifies in the second clause, matching the position of the emphasis in the first.

8. Pronoun Reference and Agreement

A pronoun must agree in number and gender with the noun it replaces, and its antecedent (the noun it refers back to) must be clear and unambiguous. Two errors dominate exam scripts: a pronoun that does not agree in number with its antecedent, and a pronoun whose antecedent is unclear because more than one noun could plausibly be the one referred to.

Incorrect	Correct	Why
Every student must submit their project by Friday. (in strictly formal registers)	Every student must submit his or her project by Friday. / All students must submit their projects by Friday.	In everyday and most modern formal usage, singular "they" is now widely accepted; but in strict formal exam writing where the markscheme expects traditional agreement, either use "his or her" or rewrite the sentence with a plural subject.
When Rahul met Suresh, he told him about his promotion.	When Rahul met Suresh, Rahul told him about his own promotion.	With two male referents in the sentence, "he" and "his" are ambiguous; naming the subject directly, or rewording, removes the ambiguity about whose promotion is meant.
The company reduced its workforce, which upset many employees who felt they were treated unfairly.	(correct as written — flagged as a control example)	Included to show a case where "which" correctly refers to the entire preceding action (the reduction), not to a single noun — a legitimate and common construction.
Neither of the girls brought their book.	Neither of the girls brought her book.	"Neither" is singular, so the pronoun referring back to it should also be singular ("her"), not plural ("their"), in strict formal usage.

9. Frequently Confused Word Pairs

A short list of word pairs that are misused so often in exam scripts that they deserve separate treatment, even though each is a vocabulary distinction rather than a grammar rule in the strict sense.

Pair	Distinction
affect / effect	"Affect" is normally a verb meaning to influence ("the weather affected our plans"); "effect" is normally a noun meaning a result ("the effect of the weather on our plans").
fewer / less	"Fewer" is used with countable nouns ("fewer students"); "less" is used with uncountable nouns ("less time").
lay / lie	"Lay" is transitive and takes an object ("lay the book on the table"); "lie" is intransitive and does not ("I need to lie down"). Their past tenses — "laid" and "lay" — add to the confusion but follow the same transitive/intransitive split.
its / it's	"Its" is the possessive form ("the company changed its policy"); "it's" is the contraction of "it is" or "it has" ("it's raining"). This is a spelling distinction, not a grammar rule, but it is heavily penalised because it signals carelessness.
who / whom	"Who" is the subject form ("who called you?"); "whom" is the object form ("to whom should I address the letter?"). A quick test: if you could replace it with "he/she," use "who"; if you could replace it with "him/her," use "whom."
each other / one another	"Each other" is traditionally used for two people or things; "one another" for more than two — a distinction less rigidly enforced now, but still expected in formal exam writing.
farther / further	"Farther" refers to physical distance ("farther down the road"); "further" refers to figurative or additional extent ("further discussion is needed").
principal / principle	"Principal" is a person of authority or a main/primary thing ("the school principal," "the principal reason"); "principle" is a fundamental rule or belief ("a principle of good governance").

10. Sentence Fragments

A sentence fragment is a group of words punctuated as a sentence but missing either a subject, a finite verb, or an independent clause structure. Fragments appear most often in exam scripts when a candidate breaks off a subordinate clause and punctuates it separately, usually for emphasis, without realising it cannot stand alone.

Incorrect	Correct	Why
Because the roads were flooded. We could not reach the venue on time.	Because the roads were flooded, we could not reach the venue on time.	"Because the roads were flooded" is a subordinate clause and cannot stand alone as a sentence; it must be joined to the main clause with a comma, not a full stop.
The manager, who had worked at the company for twenty years and knew every department well.	The manager, who had worked at the company for twenty years, knew every department well.	As written, the sentence has no main verb outside the relative clause; removing the extra "and" restores a proper main clause with "knew" as its verb.
Studying late into the night before every exam.	She studied late into the night before every exam.	A participial phrase alone, with no subject or finite verb, is a fragment; it needs a subject and a finite verb to become a complete sentence.
Which is why so many students struggle with time management.	This is why so many students struggle with time management.	Starting a sentence with "which" referring back to a previous sentence produces a fragment in formal writing; replacing it with "this" (or joining the clause to the previous sentence with a comma) creates a complete sentence.

11. Redundancy and Wordiness

Redundancy is not, strictly, a grammatical error — a redundant sentence is usually still grammatical — but examiners deduct marks for it under "expression" or "conciseness" criteria, and it is common enough in exam scripts to warrant inclusion here. The pattern to watch for is a pair of words that both say the same thing, or a wordy phrase that could be replaced by a single precise word without losing any meaning.

Wordy / redundant	Concise	Why
He returned back to his hometown after many years.	He returned to his hometown after many years.	"Return" already means "go back"; adding "back" is redundant.
In my personal opinion, I think the plan will succeed.	In my opinion, the plan will succeed.	"Personal opinion" and "I think" both duplicate the idea that this is the writer's own view; one marker of opinion is enough.
The two colleagues discussed the matter together.	The two colleagues discussed the matter.	"Discussed" already implies more than one participant, so "together" adds nothing.
Due to the fact that it was raining, the match was postponed.	Because it was raining, the match was postponed.	"Due to the fact that" is a wordy substitute for "because"; formal writing rewards precision over inflated phrasing.
At this point in time, we are unable to confirm the schedule.	At present, we are unable to confirm the schedule.	"At this point in time" is a padded phrase; "at present" or simply "currently" says the same thing more efficiently.

13. Capitalisation and Punctuation in Formal Writing

Capitalisation errors are minor individually but frequent enough in exam scripts to cost several marks cumulatively across a full essay or letter, especially because letters and formal notices have their own capitalisation conventions that differ from ordinary prose.

Incorrect	Correct	Why
I visited the Taj Mahal last Summer with my Family.	I visited the Taj Mahal last summer with my family.	Seasons ("summer," "winter") and common nouns ("family") are not capitalised in English unless they begin a sentence or are part of a proper name; only "Taj Mahal," a proper noun, is correctly capitalised here.
My father works as an Engineer at a Government Office.	My father works as an engineer at a government office.	Job titles and common institutional nouns used generically ("engineer," "government office") are lowercase; only specific, named institutions and formal titles used directly before a name are capitalised.
Dear sir, I am writing to complain about the poor service.	Dear Sir, I am writing to complain about the poor service.	In a formal letter salutation, "Sir" or "Madam" used as a form of direct address is capitalised, since it functions as a title in that position.
respected Sir/Madam, I would like to bring to your attention...	Respected Sir/Madam, I would like to bring to your attention...	The first word of a salutation always begins with a capital letter, regardless of what follows.

On punctuation specifically for formal register, three conventions matter beyond the comma-splice and run-on rules already covered. First, a colon introduces a list or an explanation and should follow a complete independent clause — "The report covers three areas: sales, marketing, and logistics" is correct, but "The report covers: sales, marketing, and logistics" is not, because the words before the colon do not form a complete clause. Second, in formal Indian English letter-writing convention, a comma (not a colon) traditionally follows the salutation ("Dear Sir,"), and this convention should be applied consistently throughout a letter answer. Third, apostrophes mark possession ("the student's book," one student; "the students' books," more than one) and should never be used simply to form a plural ("the 1990's" is a common but incorrect form; "the 1990s" is correct).

14. A Ten-Minute Self-Editing Routine

Grammatical accuracy improves fastest through deliberate, targeted self-editing, not through writing more without checking. Before submitting any descriptive answer, run through this short sequence, checking one category at a time rather than trying to catch everything in a single read-through.

1. Subject-verb pass: underline every main verb, trace it back to its subject, and confirm agreement — pay special attention to sentences where other nouns sit between subject and verb.
2. Tense pass: check that each paragraph maintains one consistent tense frame, with shifts only where the meaning genuinely requires them (a past narrative moving to a present-tense general observation, for instance).
3. Article and preposition pass: read each sentence and ask whether a noun needs "a," "an," "the," or nothing, and whether each preposition is the one that standard English actually uses with that verb or adjective.
4. Sentence-boundary pass: look for any sentence with more than one independent clause and check that they are joined correctly — with a full stop, semicolon, or comma-plus-conjunction, never a bare comma.
5. Modifier pass: for any sentence that opens with an "-ing" or "-ed" phrase, check that the very next noun is the thing the phrase is actually describing.

None of these passes takes more than a minute or two once practised, and together they catch the overwhelming majority of the errors documented in this chapter — errors that, individually, cost only a small deduction each, but that compound quickly across a full-length essay or letter answer into a significant loss of marks.

It is worth being honest about why this matters so much in a scoring sense. Examiners marking descriptive papers at scale develop a fast, almost unconscious sense of a script's overall control of English within the first few sentences, and grammatical errors are the most visible signal of that control, because they are objective and easy to spot compared to more subjective qualities like argument quality or originality. Two essays with equally good ideas, one clean and one carrying frequent agreement, tense, and preposition errors, will not receive the same mark — the clean essay reads as the work of a more capable writer even where the underlying thinking is comparable. This is not unfair grading; fluent, accurate English is precisely what a descriptive-writing paper exists to test. The practical implication for preparation is that grammatical accuracy is not a finishing touch to be applied after the ideas are in place — it is a skill to be drilled deliberately, the same way vocabulary or essay structure is drilled, using exactly the kind of pattern recognition this chapter has modelled: learn the error pattern, learn the fix, and practise noticing the pattern in your own drafts until the correction becomes automatic rather than something you have to consciously search for.

Summary Checklist

• Match every verb to its true subject, not to the nearest noun.
• Keep one consistent tense per narrative passage unless the meaning genuinely requires a shift.
• Learn article and preposition patterns as fixed collocations, not as translatable rules.
• Never join two independent clauses with a bare comma; use a full stop, semicolon, or comma-plus-conjunction.
• Check that every opening participial phrase logically modifies the sentence's actual subject.
• Keep list items and paired constructions in the same grammatical form.
• Make sure every pronoun has one clear, unambiguous antecedent.
• Run a short, targeted self-editing pass before submitting any answer — one category at a time is faster and more reliable than one broad read-through.