Do you ever make mistakes in English that stem from translating from your native language? As a nonnative speaker myself, I know that some minor errors are hard to notice until someone points them out to you.
If you make some of the mistakes I’m going to share, don’t get frustrated. I know it takes time to break an old habit and build a new one. Most of these mistakes happen because our brains want to literally translate from our native language, so I want you to know that this is common and absolutely understandable. But when we become aware, we start to pay more attention, and eventually, we start using the correct form. So, let’s dive in and see what these errors are.
1. How do you call this? ❌
The first one is when you ask what something is called. It usually refers to an object or a concept. Many people say “How do you call this?” ❌ But the correct version is “WHAT do you call this?” ✔︎
If you make this mistake, ask yourself why. Is it because you are literally translating the question from your language? Most probably yes. Sometimes even when you know the correct version, you still keep making the same error because it is a habit for you.
To break this habit, you’ll have to repeat the correct version many times. First, do it when you are alone and later, you can put yourself in a situation where you actually have to say it for real. Maybe you can find objects whose names you still don’t know and ask some of your friends what these objects are called. If you don’t have English speaking friends, just type the question in Google and search for things. If you do it enough, your brain will get used to the change.
2. Can you make a photo? ❌
The second mistake that I would like to point out is when people say “make a photo” ❌ instead of “take a photo.” ✔︎ In Bulgarian or in Polish, for example, if I translate it literally, we “make” photos. But in English, we TAKE them.
If you say “make photos” ❌ in English, this is yet another habit you’ll have to try to break.
3. She/he said me
The next error is saying that “someone said you something”, ❌ instead of “someone told you something”. ✔︎ I sometimes hear students say “He said me” ❌ or “She said me.” ❌ I know this one can be confusing, because there is only a slight difference between the verbs “say” and “tell.”
But just remember that if you want to use the words “said” you need to add the preposition “to.”
I said to her
she said to me
they said to him, etc.
But if you don’t use the preposition, you can’t say “She said me.” You have to say “She TOLD me,” “I TOLD her,” “he TOLD them,” etc.
For example, “What did your sister tell you?”
“My sister told me that she was gonna come visit me.”
Or,
“You looked upset after the phone call with your sister. What did she say to you?”
“She said to me that she wasn’t gonna come visit me.”
Or you can just say:
“She said she wasn’t gonna visit.”
But I think in this particular situation, “She told me she wasn’t gonna visit” or “she said she wasn’t gonna visit” sound more natural than “She said to me she wasn’t gonna visit.”
4. He/she learned me ❌
The next mistake is when someone says, “he learned me” ❌ or “she learned me” ❌ when they mean “he or she TAUGHT me something.” ✔︎ This is probably because in some languages we use the same or a very similar word when you learn and when you teach. But in English you learn when you are the one consuming the information or acquiring a new skill, and you teach when you pass a skill you know to someone else. If you want someone to share with you some skill they have learned and mastered, you can ask them to teach you that skill.
For example, you can say to your friend,
“I love the lasagna you made last time I visited you. I have the recipe and tried to do it myself, but it wasn’t the same. Can you teach me how to make it?”
I think many people actually know this, but they still make mistakes when they don’t pay attention. Sometimes it’s just a slip of the tongue, but just try to notice how often you make it, if you ever make it.
5. I like it too much ❌
This next one I’ve heard predominantly from Spanish speakers. This is when they say “I like it too much” ❌ when they mean “I like it A LOT” ✔︎ or “I like it VERY MUCH.” ✔︎ In English, “too much” has a negative connotation, so if you really like something, you can say “very much” or “a lot,” but not “too much.”
For example,
A: Did you like the movie you saw last night?
B: Yes, I liked it a lot.
6. Do you know (a name of a city)? ❌
This next mistake is interesting because I personally misunderstood the person who made it, when I heard it the first time. A while ago, a Spanish classmate of mine asked me,
Classmate: Do you know New York?
Me: Of course. Who doesn’t know New York?!
But I thought he’d asked me if I knew ABOUT the city. What he actually meant to ask me was “Have you ever been to New York?” ✔︎
These are two different things. I think this is a literal translation from Spanish as well. Just remember that when it comes to places like cities, countries, buildings etc., the correct way to ask someone is if they have ever been to or if they have ever visited this place.
7. Married with… ❌
The next mistake on the list is “married with.” ❌ In English, you are actually “married TO someone,” ✔︎ and not “with” someone. If you are divorced, you are divorced FROM this person.
So, you can say, “I’ve been married to my husband or wife for 10 years,” or you can just say “I married my husband or wife 10 years ago.” If you want to specify their profession, for example, you can say “I am married to a doctor,” or “I am married to a scientist.” You get the point 🙂.
8. Adding suffix -s to uncountable nouns ❌
The next mistake also stems from literal translation from other languages. And this is putting an “s” at the end of uncountable nouns. For example, I sometimes hear people say they like “these furnitures”, ❌ instead of “this furniture” ✔︎ or “this piece of furniture.” ✔︎ Or people asking for “advices” ❌ instead of “advice” ✔︎ or “a piece of advice.” ✔︎
Some other examples of uncountable nouns are:
Coffee
Water
Beauty
Money
Food
If you don’t know which nouns are uncountable, a quick Google search will give you the whole list. I know it’s hard to remember all of them and some of them might feel counterintuitive, but if you pay attention, you will learn them over time.
9. Not using the present perfect tense or overusing it ❌
The next error that I’ve heard some nonnative speakers make is either not using the present perfect tense or overusing it when it’s not needed.
For example, some people say, “I live here for ten years.” ❌ But the correct version is: “I have lived” ✔︎ or “I have been living here for ten years.” ✔︎ Of course, you can also use the contraction “I’ve lived” or “I’ve been living.”
But I think when people learn the present perfect, sometimes they start overusing it in sentences where they actually need to use the simple past. For example, I’ve heard people say, “I’ve been there five years ago” ❌ or “I’ve lived there when I was a student.” ❌
But the correct form for these sentences is: “I was there five years ago” ✔︎ and “I lived there when I was a student.” ✔︎ You need the simple past form here because you specify the exact time – “five years ago” and “when you were a student.”
When you use a specific time like five or ten years ago, 2011, or when you were a student (but you are not a student anymore), you need the simple past and not the present perfect form.
10. Wrong question structure ❌
Another mistake that some people make is constructing questions in the form of a statement. The only thing that indicates they are asking a question is their rising intonation. But this actually makes it sound like a tag question.
For example, “You are hungry?” ❌ The correct form is “Are you hungry?” ✔︎ where we put the auxiliary verb before the subject. We need to say “Do you want some coffee?” ✔︎ and not “You want some coffee?.” ❌ Or “Are you tired?” ✔︎ instead of “You are tired?” ❌
If you only change your intonation but you don’t use the correct grammar, the questions sound as though you are surprised that the person is hungry, or tired, or wants coffee. It’s as though you don’t expect the person to be hungry or tired. So, make sure to always use the correct grammar when you ask a question.
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Let me know in the comment section below if you’ve ever made any of these mistakes.
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