Common English Grammar Mistakes Indians Make (And How to Fix Them)

If you grew up speaking Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, or any other Indian language, your English grammar mistakes are probably not random. They follow predictable patterns — patterns rooted in how your mother tongue structures sentences, uses tenses, and handles prepositions. Understanding why you make these errors is the first step toward fixing them permanently.

This guide covers the most common grammar mistakes Indian English speakers make in daily conversation and at work. For each one, you will find the incorrect form, the reason behind the error, and the correct alternative you can start using right away.

The most common mistakes and how to fix them

1. "I am having a car" — using continuous tense for possession

Incorrect: "I am having two sisters." / "She is having a headache." Correct: "I have two sisters." / "She has a headache."

Why this happens: In Hindi, "Mere paas do behnen hain" uses a present-tense structure that feels equivalent to the present continuous in English. But in English, the verb "have" when used to show possession, relationships, or states (not actions) does not take the continuous (-ing) form.

When "having" IS correct: When "have" is used as an action verb — "I am having lunch" (eating), "We are having a meeting" (conducting) — the continuous tense works perfectly.

2. "Myself Rahul" — introducing yourself incorrectly

Incorrect: "Myself Rahul. I am from Jaipur." Correct: "I'm Rahul" or "My name is Rahul. I'm from Jaipur."

Why this happens: This is a uniquely Indian English construction that has no direct parallel in Hindi grammar. It likely evolved as a hyper-formal or overly polite form, possibly influenced by the Hindi reflexive "main khud" (myself). In standard English, "myself" is a reflexive pronoun used when the subject and object are the same person ("I hurt myself") — never as a subject for introductions.

3. "I didn't went" — double marking the past tense

Incorrect: "She didn't came yesterday." / "He didn't told me." Correct: "She didn't come yesterday." / "He didn't tell me."

Why this happens: In Hindi, the past tense is marked on the main verb ("usne bataya nahi"). In English, when you use "didn't" (the auxiliary), it already carries the past tense — so the main verb stays in its base form. Think of it as: "didn't" does the past-tense work so the main verb does not have to.

The rule: didn't + base form of verb (come, tell, go, eat) — never didn't + past form (came, told, went, ate).

4. "I am working here since 2020" — present continuous instead of present perfect continuous

Incorrect: "I am living in Delhi since 2015." / "She is teaching since five years." Correct: "I have been living in Delhi since 2015." / "She has been teaching for five years."

Why this happens: Hindi uses the present tense for actions that started in the past and continue into the present ("Main 2015 se Delhi mein reh raha hoon"). English requires the present perfect continuous (have/has been + -ing) when the duration or starting point is mentioned.

Also note the since/for distinction:

• Since = a specific point in time (since 2015, since Monday, since January)
• For = a duration of time (for five years, for two weeks, for a long time)

5. "He told that he is coming" — mixing direct and indirect speech

Incorrect: "She told that she will come." / "He said me to wait." Correct: "She said that she would come." / "He told me to wait." or "He asked me to wait."

Why this happens: Hindi does not require the same tense-shifting rules when reporting speech. In English, when the reporting verb is in the past tense (said, told), the reported speech typically shifts back one tense (will becomes would, is becomes was, can becomes could).

Also: "told" needs an object (told me, told him), while "said" does not (said that...). This is one of the most frequently confused pairs.

6. "Please revert back" — redundancy errors

Incorrect: "Please revert back to me." / "Repeat again." / "Return back." Correct: "Please get back to me." / "Repeat that." / "Return it."

Why this happens: In Hindi, emphasis is often added through repetition or reinforcement ("wapas lauta do"). In English, "revert" already means to go back, "repeat" already means to do again, and "return" already means to go or give back. Adding "back" or "again" is redundant.

Other common redundancies to avoid:

Redundant	Correct
Free gift	Gift (gifts are inherently free)
Future plan	Plan (plans are inherently about the future)
Unexpected surprise	Surprise
End result	Result
Mutual cooperation	Cooperation

7. "Informations" and "advices" — pluralising uncountable nouns

Incorrect: "I need some informations." / "She gave me many advices." / "We bought new furnitures." Correct: "I need some information." / "She gave me a lot of advice." / "We bought new furniture."

Why this happens: Hindi freely pluralises abstract and material nouns. English has a category called "uncountable nouns" that do not take a plural form. The most commonly misused ones by Indian speakers:

• Information (not informations)
• Advice (not advices)
• Furniture (not furnitures)
• Equipment (not equipments)
• Luggage / baggage (not luggages)
• Homework (not homeworks)
• Feedback (not feedbacks)
• Progress (not progresses)

To express quantity, use "a piece of," "some," "a lot of," or "much."

8. "I have a doubt" — using words with different meanings in Indian English

Incorrect (in global English context): "I have a doubt about the deadline." Correct: "I have a question about the deadline." / "I'm not sure about the deadline."

Why this happens: In Indian English, "doubt" is commonly used to mean "question" or "uncertainty," influenced by Hindi "doubt hai." In standard global English, "doubt" implies disbelief or suspicion ("I doubt his honesty"). When you mean a question, say "question." When you mean uncertainty, say "I'm not sure" or "I'm unclear about."

Other words that carry different meanings in Indian vs. global English:

Indian English usage	Global English equivalent
"Please do the needful"	"Please take care of this" / "Please handle this"
"I'll prepone the meeting"	"I'll move the meeting earlier" / "I'll reschedule to an earlier time"
"He passed out from IIT"	"He graduated from IIT"
"What is your good name?"	"What is your name?"

9. Preposition errors — "discuss about," "explain me"

Incorrect: "Let's discuss about the project." / "Can you explain me this?" / "She emphasized on quality." Correct: "Let's discuss the project." / "Can you explain this to me?" / "She emphasised quality."

Why this happens: Hindi often requires postpositions (ke baare mein, ke upar) where English does not need prepositions. Some verbs in English are directly transitive — they take an object without a preposition.

Common preposition fixes:

Incorrect	Correct
Discuss about	Discuss (no preposition)
Explain me	Explain to me
Emphasise on	Emphasise (no preposition)
Comprise of	Comprise (no preposition) or consist of
Mention about	Mention (no preposition)
Request for something	Request something

10. "Would" overuse — misusing polite forms

Incorrect: "I would go to office daily." (meaning: I go to office daily) Correct: "I go to the office every day."

Why this happens: Many Indian speakers use "would" thinking it sounds more polite or formal. But "would" in English implies a hypothetical, conditional, or past habitual action — not a current regular one. "I would go" means either "I used to go (but don't anymore)" or "I would go (if some condition were met)."

How to break these grammar habits

Understanding the rules is the easy part. Breaking ingrained habits requires a different approach.

Pick one mistake per week. Do not try to fix everything at once. Choose one error pattern, focus on it for seven days, and consciously correct yourself every time you catch it.

Record yourself speaking. A two-minute daily recording on any topic lets you hear your own patterns. Play it back and note which mistakes from this list appear. You will be surprised how quickly self-awareness leads to self-correction.

Get real-time feedback. A coach or conversation partner who can gently flag errors in the moment is invaluable. If you are practising with SpeakSaathi, your sessions are designed to catch exactly these patterns and help you build correct reflexes through repeated practice in real conversations.

Read English daily. Consistent reading builds an intuitive sense of what "sounds right" — even before you can articulate the grammar rule. Over time, "I am having a car" will start to feel wrong to your ear, and that instinct is worth more than any textbook rule.

Frequently asked questions

Are these mistakes only made by Hindi speakers?

No. Speakers of most Indian languages — Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati — make similar errors because many Indian languages share structural features that differ from English. Hindi speakers are used as examples here because Hindi is the most widely spoken, but the patterns apply broadly.

Will people judge me for making these mistakes?

In casual conversation, most people will not even notice. In professional settings like client calls, interviews, and presentations, these errors can affect the impression you make. The goal is not perfection but gradual improvement so your English sounds natural and clear in the situations that matter most.

How long does it take to fix these grammar habits?

Most people can significantly reduce one error pattern within two to three weeks of focused practice. Fixing all major patterns typically takes three to four months of consistent effort. The key is working on one at a time rather than trying to fix everything simultaneously.