Which common mistakes do you make in English?
By diamania
@diamania (7011)
Netherlands
October 31, 2009 1:29pm CST
Most people know English is not my native language. When learning languages you make mistakes, a lot probably, we learn from that. Ergo, I believe that we should help each other in learning languages.
The most common mistakes, in sequence of most annoying to least annoying; I make/troubles I have are:
- I find it hard to connect sentences together, to make them flow together so that it's easier for everybody to read. And it would make it easier for me to express myself.
- I don't know much English idiom/phrasal verbs. They are put up, shut down, in other words they have verbs plus a preposition or adverb which creates a meaning different from the original verb.
- My vocabulary is pretty limited.
- I tend to mix up tenses.
[b]Is there somebody who could give me tips for the first problem I have. The sentence flowing issue. :)
If you guys want, you can use this discussion to ask questions as to English too![/b]
7 responses
@dsnachiever (250)
• India
31 Oct 09
Although I can speak English but I make mistakes. When I learnt this language I had the problem with Subject verb agreement ( does with he and she, do with they, I ...). But with practice I improved a lot. A person learn a language when he speak in that language and listen to native speakers. So I will advice you to download learning videos from internet and listen to them. There are free online courses available. Try them. Best of luck!
@diamania (7011)
• Netherlands
31 Oct 09
I've been checking them for years now, really, but those movies and stuff mostly don't suit my needs. I have more interest in phrasal verbs than just basically learning standard verbs. It's not a bad tip though, perhaps it is a good idea to visit some forum and ask some experts for suitable advice fitted for my situation.
@usemyname (640)
• Philippines
1 Nov 09
Nobody is perfect, once in a while we do commit mistakes. Mistakes I usually do are typo error since I usually don't take some time to review my response to a discussion, I just post it immediately after I'm through typing my answer. I suggest you read a lot of English books to enrich your vocabulary or buy a basic English book to understand proper way of communicating through the english language.
@manong05 (5027)
• Philippines
1 Nov 09
Many here are like us, english is not our native tongue and we are faced with similar difficulties but in time after practice and continued studies, we learn and improve a lot in having a good command of the language. There is a tendency for us to translate word for word and using our own language structure and we can come up with sentences which don't make sense at all. Yes, there are phrases that help to make a good flow of thoughts in our sentences and we can only learn from observing how the native speakers do them. This is where mylotting can help a lot.
Idiomatic expressions when used properly can really add flavor to what we are saying. There are good books about idioms and it would be nice to get a copy.
Agreement of subjects and verbs is a common mistake too. We always have to constantly remind ourselves that a singular subject takes a plural verb form and vice versa.
In language learning, there is no substitute for practicing a lot and in time, we will see improvements and they are indeed rewarding.
@daliaj (5674)
• India
1 Nov 09
I make many mistakes in English. I can find many mistakes if I submit a response without reading it again. English is a foreign language for me. English is the mother tongue of my husband. So, I am very keen when he talks. He is an academic person and possesses good vocabulary and very friendly with language. He make fun of the people who makes mistakes in English. So, I am keen to find mistakes when he talks. Till now, I could find only one mistake. Once he said ATM machine instead of ATM. It is obvious that 'M' in 'ATM' stands for machine.
@river_8003 (45)
• Philippines
1 Nov 09
Spelling and Grammar. I always Mispeeled words and i always misused english grammars argh..
@getbrowser (1708)
• China
1 Nov 09
In myLot, in fact, most people are just like you and their objective is to improve their English level through myLot.
You see, for people whose monther tongue is not English, as you have said above, we often face the problem that it is difficult to connect sentences together. In my opinion, English grammar is very complicated and we have great difficulty in learning English grammar. If we can read English articles regularrly and analyze the structure of the sentences, then, we can improve our level to write.
We all have the limitation of vocabulary, people from English-speaking countries are so. In my eyes, reading and writing are the most important thing for us who want to learn English well.
@ThaHangedMan (56)
• United States
1 Nov 09
this isnt gonna be very long and im sorry but ebonics all tha way suckas!