UK adults score 23 percent on GCSE-level grammar, as ChatGPT use rises
A Preply survey of 1,500 UK adults found they scored an average of 23 percent on five GCSE-level grammar questions, while nearly one in five adults now use AI tools to check their writing.
The language learning platform tested respondents on apostrophes, pronouns, punctuation, and sentence structure. Results reveal a stark gap between confidence and actual knowledge-many people feel assured in areas where they consistently answer incorrectly.
Confidence masks weak grammar skills
Apostrophes showed the clearest disconnect. Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they felt confident using apostrophes, yet only 10 percent answered a possessive apostrophe question correctly.
Other results were similarly weak. Only 19 percent correctly answered a pronoun agreement question. Twenty-three percent got an object pronoun question right. Twenty-six percent answered a semicolon question correctly. Collective nouns performed best at 36 percent accuracy.
Adults aged 55 and over scored highest at 25 percent. Those aged 45 to 54 scored lowest at 19 percent. Students averaged 20 percent.
Parents worry about English exams, feel unprepared to help
English Language GCSE pass rates fell from 64 percent in 2023 to 60 percent in 2025. Forty-two percent of parents said they worry about their child's English GCSE results.
Thirty-five percent of parents said they feel under-equipped to help with homework. Yet 46 percent said they felt able to assist-a gap that mirrors their own weak grammar scores.
London ranked highest among UK cities with an average accuracy score of 27 percent, followed by Manchester at 26 percent and Oxford at 25 percent. Plymouth, Edinburgh, and Bristol scored between 16 and 18 percent.
AI writing tools are becoming routine for younger adults
Twenty-one percent of UK adults use tools such as ChatGPT to check their writing. Among adults aged 25 to 34, that figure jumps to 39 percent.
Responses to AI's impact were mixed. Twenty-two percent said AI improved their grammar. Thirty percent said it worsened their grammar. Twenty-three percent said AI made them second-guess themselves more.
Embarrassment about grammar mistakes is widespread. Forty-seven percent of UK adults feel embarrassed when they make grammatical errors. Among the 25 to 34 age group, that rises to 58 percent. Thirty-six percent worry others judge their intelligence based on their grammar.
Writers face a shifting landscape around grammar support
The findings highlight a tension for writers and educators. More than one in five adults already rely on AI to catch errors. Yet the data suggests AI may not be teaching underlying grammar rules-it's correcting surface mistakes while potentially weakening long-term learning.
Writers interested in strengthening their grammar while working with AI tools may want to explore both AI for Writers courses and traditional grammar instruction. The two approaches may need to work together, not replace each other.
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