According to psychology, spotting the grammatical errors in these nine sentences means your language skills surpass 91% of native speakers
Understanding the finer points of grammar goes beyond rote learning; it also reflects how our minds process language. Recent conversations in psychology have highlighted an intriguing link between spotting grammatical slips and heightened cognitive skills like pattern recognition and logical thinking. This isn’t just academic nitpicking — it sheds light on how deeply we register language in everyday life.
Put your language skills to the test
Not long ago, an editor spent a week analysing 300 pages of text with only a red pen for company. By page fifty, they realised the slips weren’t obvious typos but subtle grammatical choices. Those are easy to miss because our brains tend to auto-correct as we read. That little story sets the scene: consistently spotting these tricky errors is rare, with some claiming only about 9% of native English speakers can do it.
You might ask how this ability ties back to broader mental skills. Research suggests strong grammar recognition is linked to cognitive abilities, logical thinking, and even mathematical reasoning. Catching more than seven errors from a specially curated list of nine sentences might mean your grammatical processing is sharper than 91% of native speakers.
Grammar pitfalls to watch for
Here are some of the specific grammar errors that stump even well-read people:
- Correlative conjunction and verb agreement: A classic example is, “Neither the manager or his assistant were available for comment.” The issues are the correlative conjunction (it should be “neither… nor”) and the verb agreement (with a “neither/nor” construction the verb is singular). The correct sentence is, “Neither the manager nor his assistant was available for comment.”
- Subject-verb agreement with a collective noun: Consider, “The team of researchers are presenting their findings tomorrow.” The collective noun “team” is treated as singular, so it should read, “The team of researchers is presenting their findings tomorrow.”
- Dangling modifiers: Take, “Walking through the park, the flowers caught my attention.” The phrase “Walking through the park” needs a person to attach to, not “the flowers.” A better version is, “Walking through the park, I noticed the beautiful flowers.”
Small mistakes that make a big difference
These examples show how our brains often gloss over subtle errors because we’re focused on meaning rather than form. Spotting those details, though, signals sharp grammatical awareness and a deep grasp of the language.
- Pronoun agreement: The traditional issue in “Everyone should bring their laptop to the meeting” is that “everyone” is grammatically singular while “their” is plural. The strict correction is, “Everyone should bring his or her laptop to the meeting,” though the singular “they” has become widely accepted (now commonly used in everyday language).
- Redundant comparison: In, “This coffee is more stronger than yesterday’s brew,” the redundancy comes from using “more” with the comparative “-er” form. The corrected form is, “This coffee is stronger than yesterday’s brew.”
These slips are common, and while we often skim over them, deliberately checking for them will strengthen your usage.
Give your language skills a workout
Being able to identify tricky grammatical constructions isn’t just a sign of literacy — it’s good mental exercise. Reading challenging texts and questioning sentences that feel odd helps you build a finer sense of language. Spotting these errors can put you in that elite 9%, showing a level of language processing that stands out.
So, how many errors did you spot before reading the explanations? Think about which sentence structures trip you up most, and keep that curiosity going — it sharpens more than just your grammar; it sharpens your mind.