All languages have unique words and phrases that, if translated literally into English, can cause confusion and even sound comical. For example, the literal translation of “thank you upfront” from Polish to English – “thank you from the mountain” 😂 – is a common joke among Polish speakers. Although this is just a joke and no Polish speaker would actually say that in English, there are certain words and phrases that are still lost in translation because of a wrong grammatical structure or an inappropriate choice of words.
I’ve recently heard a Spanish speaker asking a question in English using the sentence in its statement form but only changing the intonation. The question was: ✘ “You can improve your listening skills by listening to podcasts?” They actually meant to say: ✔ “Can you improve your listening skills by listening to podcasts?” But by saying it this way, they made it sound more like an echo question than a regular one.
While many nonnative speakers occasionally make minor mistakes in English, there are some errors that are more repeated and predictable based on the language family. Slavic speakers might make mistakes that Spanish speakers don’t and vice versa. This is because every language group has specific words, phrases, and grammar that, if literally translated into English, will make them sound awkward.
11 common mistakes Slavic speakers make in English
Below are 11 mistakes that Slavic speakers tend to make when they speak English. Keep in mind, however, that these might not be limited only to Slavic speakers. So keep reading and, even if you are not a Slavic speaker, you might find something that is relevant to your language group as well.
1. ✘ “We with you, (her, him, them)”
✘ “We with my friend are going to the movies.” This grammatical structure makes perfect sense in at least several Slavic languages, but it is incorrect in English. “We” insinuates that there is more than one person while the speaker usually means him or herself. The correct way to say it is: ✔ “My friend and I are going to the movies.”
2. Using the reflexive “myself” or “ourselves” incorrectly
You can hear many Slavic speakers say something like:
- ✘ “When are we gonna see ourselves?”
- ✘ “I feel myself great.”
- ✘ “We talked with ourselves.”
This is because of a literal translation from a Slavic language. The correct way to say the sentences above is:
- ✔ “When are we gonna see each other?”
- ✔ “I feel great.”
- ✔ “We talked to each other.”
It becomes even more awkward if a person makes both kinds of mistakes (from examples 1 and 2) in one sentence:
- ✘ “We with you, when are we gonna see ourselves?”
This sentence sounds perfectly fine in many of the Slavic languages, but in English it can only create confusion.
3. ✘ “I’m impatiently waiting for …”
I’ve heard some Bulgarian speakers say:
- ✘ “I’m impatiently waiting for your response.”
- ✘ “I’m impatiently waiting for you to call me.”
This again makes perfect sense if expressed in some Slavic languages but in English it sounds pushy and rude. The correct way to say this in English is:
- ✔ “I am looking forward to…,”
or the more informal:
- ✔ “I can’t wait.”
4. ✘ “How do you call this?” instead of ✔ “What do you call this?”
The correct way to ask this question in English is: ✔ “What do you call this,” but many Slavic speakers would use ✘ “how,” which comes as a result of literal translation from their language.
5. ✘ “Make a photo” instead of ✔ “Take a photo”
This is also a common mistake. The correct way to say it in English is:
- ✔ “Take a photo.”
Although many Slavic speakers know this, it is hard to get rid of the bad habit.
6. Countable vs. non-countable nouns
Certain words in English are non-countable, but many Slavic speakers still put an “s” at the end. Some of these words are advice, furniture, information, knowledge, equipment, money, etc. Note that the word “news” is non-countable as well and, although it has an “s” at the end, it should be followed by “is” and not “are.” Below are some examples of how to use non-countable nouns in a correct way:
- Advice – some advice or a piece of advice
- Furniture – a piece of furniture.
- Information – a piece of information
- Knowledge – some knowledge or any knowledge
- Equipment – some equipment or the equipment
7. Confusion between plural and singular nouns
Another mistake that some Slavic speakers make is using a plural noun in a singular form or vice versa. For example, in English the word “police” is plural while many Slavic speakers consider it to be singular. For example:
- ✘ “The police is here.”
is incorrect, and should be:
- ✔ “The police are here.”
Another word that causes confusion is “hair.” In some Slavic languages, this word is plural and I’ve heard some Polish speakers, for example” say:
- ✘ “My hairs are getting long.”
instead of:
- ✔ “My hair is getting long.”
8. “Come back” vs. “Go back”
Many Slavic speakers say:
- ✘ “I’m gonna come back to my country”
when they mean:
- ✔ “I’m gonna go back to my country.”
The way to remember what to say is to think where you are and where you want to go. If you are not physically in / at the place you intend to go to or return to, use “go back.” For example, if you are from Bulgaria but currently you are in the US and you want to return to Bulgaria, you’d say that you want to go back, not come back. But if you are in Bulgaria and planning to go to the US and then return, you can say that you will come back.
9. Putting “too” at the end of negative sentences
In English “too” is used for positive statements only. For example:
A: “I want to go.”
B: “I want to go too” (or: “I also want to go”), or simply: “So do I”
For negative statements, however, use “either’ or “neither” For example:
A: “I don’t want to go.”
B: (incorrect) ✘ “I don’t want to go too.”
B: (correct) ✔ “I don’t want to go either” (or: “Neither do I”)
10. Convenient vs. comfortable
These two words are confusing because in some of the Slavic languages there is only one word to express both comfortable and convenient. I’ve heard some Slavic speakers say:
- ✘ “Call me when it’s comfortable for you.”
In English, however, the correct word in this case is ✔ “convenient.” Remember that we use “comfortable” when we talk about physical comfort and “convenient” when we talk about a situation where something can be done with ease or when you have time to do something.
11. Actual vs. current or relevant
Sometimes I hear speakers (not only Slavic) use “actual” when they mean to say that something is not relevant anymore. For example, if an offer used to be true but is not anymore, it’s better to say that this offer is no longer relevant or that this is not a current offer. I recently heard a Spanish speaker talking about her ✘ “actual boyfriend” when she meant her ✔ “current boyfriend.”
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Sometimes literal translation from your native language into English can be confusing because the words you would use in your native tongue are not the most suitable ones when it comes to expressing the same idea in English. When you learn a word, always look it up in a sentence to see what kind of situations you can use it in.
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