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One index for every mistake on this site

Common Errors Encyclopedia

Every English usage error explained anywhere on this site, in one place — grouped by why the mistake happens, not just what it is. Find yours below, or start with the full 45-error guide.

96

Errors indexed

7

Categories

2–3 min

Per article

Start here — 45 errors, 1 page

Indian English Errors — 45 Common Mistakes Explained

Redundancy, false friends, stative-verb errors, office-English fossils, and idiom mix-ups — all on one page, categorised, with corrections.

Read the guide →

Redundancy — Saying It Twice

Words or phrases that already contain their own meaning — adding more doesn't add meaning, it just repeats it.

False Friends & Invented Words

Words that either mean something different abroad, or were never real English words to begin with.

Colonial & Legal-Office Fossils

Formal phrases from British-era administrative English that India kept using long after Britain dropped them.

Hindi & Bengali Discourse Calques

Phrases translated word-for-word from an Indian language — grammatical in the original, confusing in English.

Grammar Double-Structures & Confusables

Two grammatical forms doing the same job in one sentence, where English only allows one.

General Writing Craft

Not Indian-English specific — mistakes any writer can make, in any English-speaking country.

Understanding & Fluency

Not wrong-vs-right corrections — these explain habits that slow down reading or speaking fluency itself.

Ready to Test What You've Learned?

Error spotting is a dedicated question type in SSC, IBPS, and UPSC exams — practice the exact format.