The Fossilized Error Problem

You have been speaking English for years. Your grammar is strong and your vocabulary is wide, but certain mistakes have become permanent residents in your speech. Linguists call these fossilized errors — mistakes repeated so many times they start to feel correct.

The tricky part is that fossilized errors rarely cause misunderstanding. People know what you mean when you say "I am agree" instead of "I agree." But these small errors brand you as non-native in a way that bigger vocabulary gaps do not.