Indian test-takers consistently make a specific set of grammar errors in IELTS Writing — errors that stem from the influence of Indian English, Hindi syntax, or the gap between spoken and formal written English. This guide identifies the most common patterns and shows you how to eliminate them.
Why Indian English Creates Specific IELTS Errors
Indian English has evolved as a distinct variety — with its own grammatical patterns, article usage, and expression conventions. Many of these patterns are entirely correct in everyday Indian professional English. The problem arises because IELTS Writing is assessed against International Academic English standards — which differ in specific, identifiable ways.
Error 1: Article Errors (The Most Common)
Indian English frequently omits or misuses articles (a, an, the) — because Hindi and many regional Indian languages do not use articles.
Common patterns:
| Indian English | Standard Academic English |
|---|---|
| "Government should take steps..." | "The government should take steps..." |
| "It is important for society to..." | "It is important for a society to..." OR "It is important for society to..." (no article needed with general concept) |
| "Education is key to development" | ✅ Correct (no article needed for abstract concepts) |
| "We need to address issue of unemployment" | "We need to address the issue of unemployment" |
| "Study was conducted at university" | "A study was conducted at a university" |
Rule of thumb for "the": Use "the" when the noun is specific, previously mentioned, or the only one in context. Use "a/an" for first mention of a countable noun. Use no article for uncountable nouns used in general sense.
Error 2: Subject-Verb Agreement with Collective Nouns
Indian English often treats collective nouns as plural. Academic English typically treats them as singular.
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| "The government are planning..." | "The government is planning..." |
| "The team have decided..." | "The team has decided..." |
| "Society need to change..." | "Society needs to change..." |
| "The committee were in agreement..." | "The committee was in agreement..." |
Exception: In British English, collective nouns can be plural when emphasising individual members. But for IELTS consistency, use singular.
Error 3: Tense Inconsistency
Switching between present and past tense within a paragraph is a common error that reduces Grammatical Range and Accuracy scores.
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| "Technology has changed education. Teachers use new tools and students were more engaged." | "Technology has changed education. Teachers use new tools and students are more engaged." |
| "The research showed that poverty causes health problems. Governments are now addressing this." | "The research showed that poverty causes health problems. Governments were beginning to address this." (Maintain consistent tense in each paragraph) |
Fix: When writing about general truths, use present tense throughout. When writing about past events, maintain past tense.
Error 4: "Peoples" and Other Plural Errors
Indian English often uses "peoples" as the plural of "people" — and similar errors with uncountable nouns.
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| "Many peoples believe..." | "Many people believe..." |
| "These informations are..." | "This information is..." (information is uncountable) |
| "I have a good knowledge about..." | "I have good knowledge of..." OR "I have a good understanding of..." |
| "Researches show that..." | "Research shows that..." (research is uncountable) |
| "Evidences suggest..." | "Evidence suggests..." (evidence is uncountable) |
Uncountable nouns to remember: information, evidence, research, advice, knowledge, equipment, news, furniture, luggage, homework
Error 5: Preposition Errors
Preposition usage differs between Indian and Academic English:
| Indian English | Academic English |
|---|---|
| "cope up with" | "cope with" |
| "good in studies" | "good at studies" |
| "discuss about this issue" | "discuss this issue" (no preposition after "discuss") |
| "reach to a conclusion" | "reach a conclusion" |
| "demand for justice" (as verb) | "demand justice" |
| "marriage with someone" | "marriage to someone" |
| "harmful for society" | "harmful to society" |
| "convenient for me" | ✅ Correct |
Error 6: Comma Splices
A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined only by a comma — common in Indian English but penalised in academic writing.
| Comma Splice (Incorrect) | Corrected |
|---|---|
| "Technology has benefits, it also has drawbacks." | "Technology has benefits; however, it also has drawbacks." OR "Technology has benefits, but it also has drawbacks." |
| "Education is important, it should be free." | "Education is important, and therefore it should be free." |
Fix: Between two independent clauses, use a full stop, a semicolon, or a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so, yet).
Error 7: Double Negatives
Double negatives are sometimes used in conversational Indian English but are incorrect in academic writing.
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| "Nobody cannot deny that..." | "Nobody can deny that..." OR "It cannot be denied that..." |
| "I don't have nothing to say..." | "I have nothing to say..." OR "I don't have anything to say..." |
Error 8: "According to my opinion"
This phrasing combines two different expressions and is grammatically incorrect.
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| "According to my opinion..." | "In my opinion..." OR "According to me..." (though "according to me" is also considered weak — better: "I believe that...") |
| "As per my view" | "In my view" |
Error 9: Redundant Phrases
Indian English sometimes uses phrases that repeat the same meaning:
| Redundant | Concise |
|---|---|
| "end result" | "result" |
| "close proximity" | "proximity" |
| "future plans" | "plans" |
| "repeat again" | "repeat" |
| "general consensus" | "consensus" |
| "added bonus" | "bonus" |
Error 10: Incorrect Relative Clause
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| "The people which live in cities..." | "The people who live in cities..." |
| "The policy which was introduced..." | ✅ Correct (which for things) |
| "Students which fail to..." | "Students who fail to..." |
Rule: Use "who" for people, "which" for things.
A Quick Proofreading Checklist
Before submitting your IELTS essay, spend 3–4 minutes checking:
- Articles (a/an/the) before every noun — are they correct?
- Collective nouns — singular verb?
- Tense — consistent within each paragraph?
- "peoples," "informations," "evidences," "researches" — any of these?
- Comma splices — any two independent clauses joined only by a comma?
- "according to my opinion" — changed to "in my opinion"?
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