Hey 👋, Teacher Luke here,

A year ago, I met a student who had a clear goal – studying in the USA 🇺🇸!

Getting a decent score on the Duolingo English Test was the ticket to her dream. However, even with her great English skills, her DET score was 5 points less than needed 😩

Can you guess why? It was because of the tiny grammar mistakes that she didn't know she was making.

Maybe you're having the same problem!

That's why I'm writing this today. I want to help you avoid these common mistakes and get better score on your test!

Let's get started! 👇

🔎 Common Mistake #1: Misuse of 'is' or 'are' while Describing Photos

Incorrect: "In this photo, there are a father and a little girl walking on the beach."❌

Correct: "In this photo, there is a father and a little girl walking on the beach." ✅

On the DET you need to describe 4 photos so don't make this mistake.

In sentences where you're describing multiple subjects but they are introduced one by one, remember to match the verb form with the first subject. In the correct sentence above , "a father" is singular so we use "is" and not "are."

***

Join 6,300 Duolingo Test students who are taking my Ultimate Production Score Program to increase their scores and achieve their dreams of studying abroad! Get your 25% discount here 👉 https://learn.detready.com/?coupon=JULY25

Don't just take the test – MASTER it! 💪

***

🔎 Common Mistake #2: Incorrect Sentence Combining

Incorrect: "I love pizza, it's my favorite food." ❌

Correct: "I love pizza; it's my favorite food." or "I love pizza as it's my favorite food." ✅

A lot of test-takers make this mistake because they trying to make longer sentences.

Avoid combining two complete sentences with a comma. Instead, you can use a semicolon, a period, or a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so).

🔎 Common Mistake #3: Misunderstanding Uncountable Nouns

Incorrect: "I received a feedback from my friend." ❌

Correct: "I received some feedback from my friend." ✅

Nouns like "feedback" are uncountable.

Therefore, we don't use "a" or "an" before them, and we can't add an "s" at the end. Use phrases like "some" or "a piece of" to talk about the amount.

👇 Here are more examples of uncountable nouns my students often misuse.

1. Information: "I need some information about the train schedule."
2. Furniture: "I bought some new furniture for my room."
3. Advice: "My friend offered me a piece of advice on cooking."
4. Luggage: "I have a lot of luggage."
5. Homework: "I have some homework to do."
6. Knowledge: "I gained some important knowledge from the lecture."
7. Traffic: "There was heavy traffic this morning."

📚 Do you want to study more with me?

Here's how 👇

1 - My Practice Platform: www.practice.detready.com

More Practice, Better Results! 👉 Sign up for free!

Practice all the question types on the Duolingo Test and check your answers immediately. Including the brand new Interactive Listening question! Works great on your computer and phone 📲!

Teacher Luke