Advanced Accuracy · C1 & C2 Fluency
10 Persistent Mistakes That Survive to C1 and C2 (And How to Banish Them)
You can read a four-hundred-page novel without opening a dictionary. You can conduct high-stakes board meetings, negotiate contracts, and debate politics over dinner. Your English is unquestionably advanced.
Yet, right in the middle of a brilliant presentation or a Cambridge C1 essay, out it pops: “We need to discuss about the budget.”
In eighteen years of coaching executives, doctors, and Cambridge Advanced/Proficiency candidates—including fifteen years lecturing at Belfast Metropolitan College—I have watched the same dozen errors survive right up to the highest tiers of fluency. They are fossilised habits. Because they never stop anyone understanding you, nobody ever pulls you up on them. But in an exam room or an executive boardroom, they instantly give the game away.
Here are the ten persistent slips that land on my desk every week, why your brain defaults to them, and the simple mental anchors to eliminate them for good.
The Anatomy of a Fossilised Error: Why Fluency Masks Accuracy
When you make an error at B1, conversation stumbles. People ask you to repeat yourself, and the feedback loop is immediate. But when an advanced speaker says “She gave me useful advices” or “He suggested me to apply”, the listener understands effortlessly. You get the deal, you finish the meeting, and the error calcifies. Over ten years, that slip becomes hard-wired muscle memory.
The 10 Culprits & The Linguistic Fix
❌ I look forward to meet you next week.
✅ I look forward to meeting you next week.
Why it happens: Learners mistake “to” for an infinitive marker (as in want to meet). In reality, “to” here is a preposition (just like in, on, at). Prepositions must always be followed by a noun or gerund (-ing). Test it by replacing the verb with a noun: “I look forward to the meeting.”
❌ We need to discuss about the budget.
✅ We need to discuss the budget. / We need to talk about the budget.
Why it happens: Discuss is directly transitive in English – it takes an immediate direct object without about. You talk about something, but you discuss something.
❌ The outcome depends of the weather.
✅ The outcome depends on the weather.
Why it happens: Speakers of French (dépend de), Spanish (depende de), and Italian (dipende da) translate their native preposition directly. In English, reliance always leans on or upon.
❌ She gave me several useful advices and informations.
✅ She gave me several useful pieces of advice and information.
The uncountable blacklist: advice, information, furniture, equipment, research, progress, feedback, luggage. Never add an -s to these! If you need to count them, use “a piece of...”, “an item of...”, or “a study / project” (for research).
❌ He suggested me to apply for the job.
✅ He suggested that I (should) apply for the job. / He suggested applying.
Why it happens: Analogy with recommend someone to do or advise someone to do. Suggest NEVER takes an indirect object + infinitive. Use suggest + -ing or suggest that [subject] + base verb.
❌ Despite of working late, she finished on time.
✅ Despite working late... / In spite of working late...
Memory anchor: In spite of is three words. Despite is one word and never takes of.
❌ In the other hand, remote work has drawbacks.
✅ On the other hand, remote work has drawbacks.
The rule: Things sit on a hand, never in it. Always: On the one hand... on the other hand.
❌ In my personal opinion, I think that the policy is flawed.
✅ In my view, the policy is flawed. / I would argue that the policy is flawed.
Stylistic polish: Combining “In my personal opinion” with “I think” is doubly redundant. Choose one concise marker.
❌ As far as the delivery, it was delayed.
✅ As far as the delivery is concerned, it was delayed. / As for the delivery...
The grammatical hinge: As far as [X] requires the predicate is/are concerned or goes. If you don't want the full clause, use As for [X].
❌ Hardly had I stepped outside than it began to rain.
✅ Hardly had I stepped outside when it began to rain. / No sooner had I... than...
The pairing: Hardly / Scarcely pairs strictly with when. No sooner (a comparative) pairs with than. Mixing them costs marks on CPE and CAE exams.
How to Rewire a Fossilised Habit in 14 Days
Do not attempt to fix all ten simultaneously. If you try to police ten grammatical rules at once in the middle of a meeting, your train of thought will stall and you will freeze up. Instead, follow this simple ear-training routine:
- Pick two targets: Select the two mistakes from the list above that made you wince because you know you commit them.
- Write five authentic sentences: Write five true sentences about your actual work or life using the correct pattern (for instance: “I suggest that we review the Q3 numbers before Thursday”).
- Read them aloud each morning: Read those five sentences aloud once while the kettle boils. Within two weeks, you won't need to recall the grammar rule—your ear will do the policing. The moment “discuss about” tries to leave your tongue, it will sound as jarring as a wrong chord on a piano.
Want to refine your diplomatic workplace register?
Play The Boardroom Pitch: translate blunt thoughts into tactful C1 corporate English before the CEO loses patience.