Common English Mistakes at Work (And How to Fix Them)

Most English mistakes at work don’t happen because someone doesn’t know the language. They happen because certain wrong forms feel completely right. You’ve heard them, you’ve used them, nobody corrected you, and now they’re stuck. That’s the problem with comfortable errors: they’re invisible until someone notices, and at work, someone always notices.

These five mistakes are everywhere in professional emails, meetings, and presentations. Let’s fix them now, before your next performance review.

The Mistakes (and the Fixes)

Mistake 1
Wrong: “I am agree with your proposal.”
Right: “I agree with your proposal.”
Why: Agree is a verb, not an adjective. You don’t need am before it. Compare: “I am happy” (adjective) vs. “I agree” (verb). Mixing these up is one of the most common English mistakes at work.

Mistake 2
Wrong: “Please revert back to me by Friday.”
Right: “Please get back to me by Friday.” — or simply “Please reply by Friday.”
Why: Revert means to return to a previous state (as in software or legal contexts). It does not mean reply. Using it this way is a false friend picked up from certain regional business cultures, and it raises eyebrows in international settings.

Mistake 3
Wrong: “We need to discuss about the budget.”
Right: “We need to discuss the budget.”
Why: Discuss is a transitive verb. It already contains the idea of “about,” so adding it is like saying “enter into the room.” Drop it.

Mistake 4
Wrong: “I will revert to you with the details ASAP.”
Right: “I will send you the details as soon as possible.”
Why: Two issues here. First, see Mistake 2 above. Second, writing ASAP in a formal professional email reads as rushed and slightly abrupt. Spell it out, or better still, give an actual deadline. “I will send you the details by Thursday afternoon” is infinitely more professional.

Mistake 5
Wrong: “She explained me the process.”
Right: “She explained the process to me.”
Why: Explain doesn’t take an indirect object directly. You can’t “explain someone something.” You explain something to someone. The same rule applies to describe, suggest, and propose.

The Underlying Pattern

Notice anything? Most of these mistakes follow the same trap: verbs that look like they should behave one way, but actually follow a different grammar rule in English.

Specifically, the issue is verb complementation: what a verb needs after it to be grammatically complete. Some verbs are transitive and take a direct object (discuss the report). Some need a preposition before that object (explain to the team). Some are verbs masquerading as adjectives in learners’ minds (agree).

The fix isn’t to memorise a list. The fix is to pay attention to how a verb behaves in native-speaker writing. Reading professional emails, reports, and articles in English — and noticing the grammar around the verbs — is one of the fastest ways to retrain these instincts. It’s exactly the kind of pattern awareness we work on in the daily coaching programme at richardg.xyz. For more details, click here.

Quick-Reference Summary

• Say “I agree”, not “I am agree”
• Say “please reply” or “get back to me”, not “please revert”
• Say “discuss the budget”, not “discuss about the budget”
• Give a real deadline instead of writing ASAP in formal emails
• Say “explain the process to me”, not “explain me the process”

Vocabulary to Know

• transitive verb /ˈtræn.zɪ.tɪv vɜːb/ – Level: B2 – a verb that must be followed by a direct object to complete its meaning – Example: “Discuss” is a transitive verb, so you say “discuss the issue,” not “discuss about the issue.”
• indirect object /ˌɪn.dɪˈrekt ˈɒb.dʒɪkt/ – Level: B2 – the person or thing that receives the direct object in a sentence – Example: In “She sent me the report,” “me” is the indirect object.
• false friend /fɔːls frend/ – Level: B1 – a word or phrase borrowed from another language or variety of English that is used incorrectly in standard contexts – Example: Using “revert” to mean “reply” is a false friend from certain South Asian business English dialects.
• verb complementation /vɜːb ˌkɒm.plɪ.menˈteɪ.ʃən/ – Level: C1 – the grammatical patterns that follow a verb (objects, prepositions, clauses) required to complete its meaning – Example: Understanding verb complementation helps you avoid errors like “explain me the process.”
• abrupt /əˈbrʌpt/ – Level: B2 – sudden and brief in a way that seems rude or unfriendly – Example: His email reply was so abrupt that the client wasn’t sure if he was annoyed.
• raise eyebrows /reɪz ˈaɪ.braʊz/ – Level: B2 – to cause surprise or mild disapproval – Example: Sending an email full of typos to a senior manager is likely to raise eyebrows.
• instinct /ˈɪn.stɪŋkt/ – Level: B1 – a natural or automatic feeling or reaction, not based on conscious reasoning – Example: After years of practice, correcting her grammar became instinct.
• complementation pattern /ˌkɒm.plɪ.menˈteɪ.ʃən ˈpæt.ən/ – Level: C1 – the specific grammatical structure that a verb consistently appears with – Example: The complementation pattern for “suggest” is “suggest that + clause,” not “suggest someone something.”
• collocation /ˌkɒl.əˈkeɪ.ʃən/ – Level: B2 – a combination of words that naturally occur together in a language – Example: “Make a decision” is a collocation; “do a decision” sounds wrong to a native speaker.
• performance review /pəˈfɔː.məns rɪˈvjuː/ – Level: B1 – a formal meeting where an employee’s work is assessed and discussed – Example: She prepared carefully for her performance review by documenting all her achievements from the year.

FAQ

Are these mistakes really that noticeable to native speakers?
Some more than others. “I am agree” and “explain me” will be noticed immediately by most native speakers, even if nobody says anything. “Revert” used to mean “reply” is more likely to cause quiet confusion than outright correction. Either way, these patterns affect how confident and fluent you sound, and that matters in professional settings.

I’ve been making some of these mistakes for years. How do I actually change the habit?
Repetition of the correct form is the only real answer. Reading the right version, writing it, saying it out loud. One technique that works well: take the correction and use it in three real sentences from your own work context. Not textbook examples — your emails, your meetings, your reports. That personalisation speeds up the rewiring considerably.

Should I correct colleagues who make these mistakes?
Diplomatically and privately, yes — if you have that kind of relationship with them. In a meeting, no. Nobody learns well when they’re embarrassed. A better move is to model the correct version naturally in your own response. They’ll often pick it up without realising it.

Keep Practising

One post won’t fix years of habit, but it’s a start. The real progress happens when you get consistent, focused feedback on your actual spoken and written English — not just a list of rules. That’s what the daily coaching programme at richardg.xyz is built around: real language, real corrections, real improvement over time. For more details, click here.