But second language speakers are not the only ones messing up when it comes to English. An astonishing number of native speakers often make spelling and grammar mistakes such as mixing up 'there', 'their', and 'they’re' or 'your' and 'you're'. Dr. McLendon stated that they have other problems with English, too.
In her experience as an editor and a teacher, she has found that native speakers face issues with past passive participles in speech (e.g. saying 'I had went'). Meanwhile, in writing, they have problems with punctuation, homophones (peek vs. peak, etc.), and misplaced modifiers.
But even if you feel confident in your English, Dr. McLendon explained your journey isn’t over. "Read! Read widely and frequently. Read magazines, newspapers, novels, even cereal boxes."
"But be careful when scrolling through social media, which, although it can give you a good idea of current slang and shorthand, is often not a great model of clarity, accuracy, or good grammar," the professor concluded.
