kiourtzidis nestor correct your english learn to speak more

If you just want to If you just want to give your opinion without comparing to anothergive your opinion without comparing to anotherperson’s opinion, say something like: been in / been t

Correct your English

Learn to Speak English More Like a Native

© 2015 by Nestor Kiourtzidis

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in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews andembodied in critical reviews andcertain other noncommercial uses permitted

certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law Forby copyright law Forpermission requests, write to

permission requests, write to the author.the author

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What is this book about?

This book is a collection of 101 This book is a collection of 101 typical mistakes that intermediatetypical mistakes that intermediateand more advanced learners of English make during speaking

These mistakes are very common, even among higher levellearners, and many of them are not

learners, and many of them are not corrected during traditionalcorrected during traditionalEnglish language courses

If you are a learner and you use

If you are a learner and you use English every day as a foreignEnglish every day as a foreign

or second language, you might not even realise that

or second language, you might not even realise that you areyou aremaking these errors in your speaking I will explain different areas

of confusion in clear English, and help you t

of confusion in clear English, and help you to speak English moreo speak English morelike a native

HOW ARE MISTAKES PRESENTED?

Language problems are presented in alphabetical order and typicalexamples of mistakes are indicated *in asterisks* Both vocabularyand grammar problems are included

as s ffaar r aas s … iis s ccoonnssiiddeerreedd    1111a

b

beeeenn iinn // bbeeeenn ttoo    1122b

caauussee tthhaatt    1166b

boorreedd//bboorriinngg    1177come

c

coonncceennttrraatteedd    1188C

Coouunnttaabbllee//uunnccoouunnttaabblle e nnoouun n eerrrroorrss    1199D

Doouubbllee nneeggaattiivveess    1199D

Doouubblliinng g tthhe e ssuubbjjeecctt    2200e

Hooww ddoo yyoouu ccaallll ……??    2299h

hoowweevveerr iitt iiss    2299H

Hoow w lloonng g aarre e yyoou u ……??    3300I

iiff ++ wwiillll//wwoouulldd    3311iimmppoorrttaannt t ((AAn n iimmppoorrttaannt t pprroobblleemm))    3322iimmpprreessssiioonn    3333

I

I tthhiinnkk ssoo …    3344E

Enngglliisshh llaanngguuaaggee    3344lleeaarrn n ((I I hhaavve e tto o lleeaarrnn))    3355lleeaarrn n ((lleeaarrn n ssoommeebbooddyy))    3366lliikke e ((tthhe e ssaamme e lliikkee))    3366llooookk//wwaattcchh    3377M

Maayy II aasskk …… ??    3377m

meeeett ssoommeetthhiinngg    3388M

Mooddaal l vveerrbbs s + iinnfifinniittiivvee    3388m

moosstt ooff ppeeooppllee    3399n

onn tthhee ccoonnttrraarryy    4433

oppppoossiittee ttoo …    4433o

phhoonnee//tteelleepphhoonne e ((ggeet t a a pphhoonnee))    4466p

q

rreeaalliissee//rreeaalliizzee    5533rreeccoommmmeenndd//ssuuggggeesstt//pprrooppoosse e ssoommeebbooddy y ttoo    5544rreemmeemmbbeerr//rreemmiinndd    5555

sttuuddiieess//ssttuuddyy    5599s

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ttaakke e ccaarre e ooff//aabboouutt    6600ttaakkee//ppaassss aann eexxaamm    6611tthheerree iiss//iitt iiss    6622

Wee wweenntt wwiitthh    6644w

whhaat t ((rreellaattiivve e pprroonnoouunn))    6644W

Whhaat t ddo o yyoou u tthhiinnk k aabboouut t iitt??    6655w

whhiicchh//wwhhoo//tthhaatt    6655w

whhiicchh//wwhhoossee    6666w

whhoollee//wwhhoollee ooff    6666w

woorrkkppllaacceess    6677w

y

according to

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE 1: *According to the AKE 1: *According to the traffic, Mark was late traffic, Mark was late forforwork.*

We cannot use the phrase according to in this context If you aretrying to explain the reason for something, t

trying to explain the reason for something, the following structureshe following structuresare more natural:

because of something

as a result of something

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE 2: *According to AKE 2: *According to me, nurses are me, nurses are not paidnot paidenough.*

We cannot use according to in this context either If you make thismistake, you are trying to say I think or In my opinion::

We only use according to when we refer to the author  when we refer to the author ofofsomething or a person who claims that something is

something or a person who claims that something is true:true:

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According to  Abdul, the film starts at 3 pm.

after

TYPICAL MISTAKE: *I’m after my dinner.*

This is a common mistake for speakers of certain lThis is a common mistake for speakers of certain languages If youanguages If youwant to say that something has (just)

want to say that something has (just) been done or finished, thenbeen done or finished, thenuse the present perfect with ‘just’:

In English, the expression be after something/somebody  reallymeans to chase something/somebody:

The police are after the criminal

Everyone is after his wife

all

TYPICAL MISTAKE: *All enjoyed the film *

Many languages use only one word to mean all,, everybody and

is no following noun (everybody likes him) and all with a noun orpronoun:

Another common area of confusion is understanding the differencebetween all the boys (a specific group of boys) and all boys  

(boys in general)

amount

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *I have AKE: *I have a large a large amount of amount of books.*books.*

Many learners of English confuse the words amount and number

In English, we say amount before uncountable nouns and

I have a large number of books

He has a large amount of money

appointment

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *Can we AKE: *Can we have an have an appointment for appointment for tomorrow?*tomorrow?*

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We generally use the word appointment in formal situations and

we use the following structure:

make an appointment (with somebody/to see

Can we make an appointment for tomorrow?

For more informal situations (for example with fFor more informal situations (for example with friends), it is moreriends), it is morenatural to say:

as far as …

as far as … is considered is considered

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE 1: *As AKE 1: *As far as tfar as transport is considered, …*ransport is considered, …*

TYPICAL MISTAKE 2: *As concerns transport, …*

If you want to int

If you want to introduce a new subtopic in a discussion, theroduce a new subtopic in a discussion, thefollowing structures are correct:

as far as X is concerned

as for Xregarding X

if we’re talking X

As far as transport is concerned, London has many options.

as for me

TYPICAL MISTAKE: *As for me, the film was boring*

We only use the expression as for me when a  when a second person’ssecond person’sopinion is given in contrast to the

opinion is given in contrast to the first person’s opinion Forfirst person’s opinion Forexample:

Jackie thought the film was boring, but as for me I loved it

If you just want to

If you just want to give your opinion without comparing to anothergive your opinion without comparing to anotherperson’s opinion, say something like:

been in / been to

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *I’ve been AKE: *I’ve been in Italy in Italy three times.*three times.*

When we talk about places we have visited, we When we talk about places we have visited, we saysay I’ve been to,,not ‘I’ve been in’:

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We say I’ve been in when we are talking about staying or  when we are talking about staying or livinglivingsomewhere for a period of time f

somewhere for a period of time from the past up to the rom the past up to the presentpresentmoment:

Julia is tourist She’s been in Paris for 5 days

being

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE 1: *Being in AKE 1: *Being in China, I met China, I met a lot of a lot of interestinginterestingpeople.*

In English, we don’t normally use the

In English, we don’t normally use the present participlepresent participle being inthis way We usually use when or while followed by t followed by the verb ‘be’he verb ‘be’

in the appropriate tense:

The word being is also used incorrectly in the following way:

TYPICAL MISTAKE 2: *Being a manager, I have a lot ofresponsibility.*

Instead, we usually say As a … :

As a manager, I have a lot of responsibility.

We normally use being after a verb, such as ‘enjoy’, or  after a verb, such as ‘enjoy’, or in nounin nounexpressions:

belong to

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *She belongs tAKE: *She belongs to the o the most talented most talented actresses.*actresses.*

In English, the phrase belong to can only be used in the  can only be used in the context ofcontext ofownership or membership of an organisation, as in the followingexamples:

This book belongs to my father

My colleague belongs to an exclusive sports club

When followed by a superlative adjective + plural noun, we When followed by a superlative adjective + plural noun, we usuallyusually

She is one of the most talented actresses

besides

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *Athens has AKE: *Athens has many cafes Besides, many cafes Besides, there arethere aremany restaurants.*

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In English, we normally use the word besides on its own to justifywhat was just said, often when we

what was just said, often when we give an (additional) excuse forgive an (additional) excuse forsomething:

I’d like to go out tonight, but I’ve got too much work to do

When giving additional information, we cannot use besides on itsown However, we can say besides that,, apart from that,, what’s

Athens has many cafes Besides that, there are manyrestaurants

Athens has many cafes Apart from that, there are many

restaurants

Athens has many cafes In addition, there are many restaurants

(formal)

Can I have a Can I have a question? question?

This structure is unnatural in English It is This structure is unnatural in English It is better to say:better to say:

Can I ask you a question?

I have a question

cause that

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *The traffic AKE: *The traffic caused that I caused that I was late.*was late.*

In English, we cannot use ‘that’ after cause We can only say:

X causes Y

The storm caused a power cut

When you want to give a reason for When you want to give a reason for something, use any of thesomething, use any of thefollowing structures:

as a result of …because of …make somebody + adjectivemake somebody + verb

The traffic made me late

The traffic made me arrive late

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TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE 1: *I AKE 1: *I was boring during was boring during the film.*the film.*

TYPICAL MISTAKE 2: *The film was bored.*

These two words are very often confused They are both used asadjectives, but boring describes the quality of something and

The film was boring (the (the quality quality of of the the film)film)

I was bored during the  during the film film (= the film (= the film cause me to cause me to feel bored)feel bored)

There are other similar pairs of adjectives, for example:

interesting / interested

frightening / frightenedtiring / tired

come to

TYPICAL MISTAKE: *Can you come to me tomorrow? *

If you are talking about somebody visiting you

If you are talking about somebody visiting you at your home, it isat your home, it ismore natural to say come to my place::

Can you come to my place tomorrow?

The phrasal verbs come round and drop by are also possible ininformal English

Can you come round tomorrow?

Can you drop by tomorrow?

You must concentrate very hard

We can say that something is concentrated when it is madestronger because water or other elements have been removed, forexample:

This orange juice is concentrated

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Countable/uncountable noun errors

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE 1: *My AKE 1: *My money are in money are in the bank.*the bank.*

TYPICAL MISTAKE 2: *My monies are in the bank.*

A numb

A number of nouns that are countable in er of nouns that are countable in other languages areother languages areuncountable in English These include money,, danger,, damage,,

Julie’s advice is very helpful

Some English nouns that are normally uncountable can be used inthe plural form, but with

the plural form, but with a difference in meaning.a difference in meaning Damages, forexample, refers to an amount of

example, refers to an amount of money that is paid to someone bymoney that is paid to someone bythe person/company etc that

the person/company etc that has caused them harm has caused them harm or injuryor injury

He was paid $10,000 in damages

Double negatives

TYPICAL MISTAKE 1: *I haven’t spoken to nobody.*

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE 2: *I AKE 2: *I haven’t never seen haven’t never seen him.*him.*

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE 3: *Nobody AKE 3: *Nobody can’t see me.can’t see me.**

Although these double negative grammatical constructions arecorrect in many languages, they are not correct in English Withnegative words like nobody,, none,, never and no one, we usepositive verbs

Nobody can see me.

Doubling the subject

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *Japanese people, tAKE: *Japanese people, they are very hey are very polite.*polite.*

This is a typical error caused by trying to This is a typical error caused by trying to translate a double subjecttranslate a double subjectfrom your native language In English, we don’t

from your native language In English, we don’t usually repeat theusually repeat thesubject:

enough

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *I’m not AKE: *I’m not enough patient enough patient **

In English, the word enough goes before nouns and afteradjectives:

I’m not patient enough

I don’t have enough patience

even

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE 1: *I AKE 1: *I even don’t even don’t know him.*know him.*

TYPICAL MISTAKE 2: *I don’t know him even.*

In English, the word even (and other adverbs like ever,, never,,

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He even speaks Chinese!

After the verb ‘be’:

Or after the first verb in mult

Or after the first verb in multi-word verb structures:i-word verb structures:

even though / even if

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE 1: *Even if AKE 1: *Even if it was raining, it was raining, I went for I went for a walk.*a walk.*TYPICAL MIST

TYPICAL MISTAKE 2: *Even it AKE 2: *Even it was raining, I was raining, I went for a went for a walk.*walk.*

Learners often confuse even though,, even if and even Theexpression even though can be used with various verb tensesand has the same meaning as the

and has the same meaning as the word ‘although’.word ‘although’

situation in the present or past

situation in the present or past It is used in conditional structuresIt is used in conditional structuresinstead of ‘if’

TYPICAL MISTAKE 1: *Except Peter, everyone passed the exam.*

In English, if you use the

In English, if you use the wordword ‘except’  at the beginning of thesentence, you must say except for::

If you use  the word somewhere else in the sentence, thepreposition ‘for’ can be omitted:

Everyone except (for) Peter passed the exam

Everyone passed the exam except (for) Peter

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE 2: *Except for Paul, AKE 2: *Except for Paul, five people came to five people came to thethedinner party.*

In English, except for cannot mean ‘in addition to’ Instead, use

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feel badly/well etc.

TYPICAL MISTAKE: *I feel very badly.*

In English, the sense verbs feel,, smell,, look,, sound,, taste,,

II feel very bad

HoweverHowever, an adverb can be used after some , an adverb can be used after some of the above verbs, inof the above verbs, inanswer to the question ‘How….?’:

A: How did he look at A: How did he look at you?you?

B: He looked at me angrily

The word well can be used after look,, sound,, feel,, appear, butthe meaning is ‘healthy’, ‘normal’:

The opposite is unwell::

finish school

TYPICAL MISTAKE: *Tony finished school last year.*

In English, when we talk about the

In English, when we talk about the end of our secondary/highend of our secondary/highschool education, we normally say leave school::

Tony left school last year.

T

school day:

What time do you finish school every day?

In British English, when we talk about finishing universityeducation, we can use the verb graduate::

When referring to tWhen referring to the degree and place he degree and place of studyof study, we say, we say graduate

This is not This is not a serious error, but many learners overuse thea serious error, but many learners overuse theexpression for sure  and   and often incorrectlyoften incorrectly For native For native speakers ofspeakers ofEnglish it is often more natural

English it is often more natural to use the wordsto use the words definitely and

She will definitely listen

sentence:

She will listen for sure

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from my point of view

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *From my AKE: *From my point of point of viewview, football , football is boring.*is boring.*

The expression from my point of view actually means ‘from myperspective (for example

perspective (for example as a as a teacherteacher, lawyer, etc.)’:, lawyer, etc.)’:

improved

When giving a general opinion, use an expression such as in my

from the one side

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *From the one AKE: *From the one side, I think side, I think it’s a good idea.*it’s a good idea.*

In English, we use the expression from one side in a literal sense:

dirty

In the figurative sense, we say on the one hand::

TYPICAL MISTAKE: *I work very hardly.*

In English, the adverb of the

In English, the adverb of the adjective ‘hard’ isadjective ‘hard’ is hard::

I work very hard

The adverb hardly means ‘only just’ or ‘certainly not’

He spoke so quietly I could hardly hear what he was saying

holiday/vacation

TYPICAL MISTAKE: *I’m going for holidays to Italy.*

In correct English, we say:

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We can also say go for a holiday (UK) or go for a vacation (US).This usually refers to a shorter break:

We can also talk about

We can also talk about somebody’s holiday:somebody’s holiday:

Where are you going for your holiday this year?

Where are you going for your vacation this year?

How does she look like?

TYPICAL MISTAKE: *How does she look like?*

In correct English, we say:

What does she look like?

We usually say How  does somebody/something look? when weare talking about appearance after an event, for

are talking about appearance after an event, for example, anexample, anillness, operation, fight earthquake, etc

A: Peter is out of hospital

B: Really? How does he look?

How to ….?

TYPICAL MISTAKE: *How to say ‘dobrou noc’ in English?*

In English, questions usually need a subject noun or pronoun If

we want to express impersonal meaning in everyday speech andwriting, we use the pronoun ‘you’:

in England?*)

Remember that Remember that if somebody if somebody asks you asks you a question a question with thewith theimpersonal ‘you’, the response is You …  ((NOT ‘I …’)

Another alternative to tAnother alternative to the impersonal ‘you’ is the passive structurehe impersonal ‘you’ is the passive structure

How is something done?

How is it spelt?

HoweverHowever, *how is , *how is it said?* is it said?* is not possible.not possible

Other alternatives are:

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How do you call …?

TYPICAL MISTAKE: *How do you call ‘sayonara’ in English?*

Do not confuse call with say The above example in correctEnglish is:

Call is used in the following question:

What do you call this in English?

We use this question when we want to know the

We use this question when we want to know the English word for aEnglish word for aparticular object Correct responses to the above question are:

however it is

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *However it is an AKE: *However it is an expensive phone, I’ll buy expensive phone, I’ll buy it.*it.*

In English, you cannot use however in this kind of  in this kind of structure Usestructure Use

We can use however in the following type  in the following type of sentence:of sentence:

This means ‘it doesn’t matter how you look at it’

How long are you …?

TYPICAL MISTAKE 1: *How long are you in London?*

This question is very often used in the This question is very often used in the wrong context In English, ifwrong context In English, ifyou want to ask someone about a period

you want to ask someone about a period of time that started in of time that started in thethepast and

past and continued to continued to the presethe present, nt, you sayou say:y:

In spoken English, the question How long are you in London?  actually means ‘How long are you staying in London?’

TYPICAL MISTAKE 2: *How long do you wait here?*

In natural English, we would use the

In natural English, we would use the present perfect continuouspresent perfect continuoustense because we are asking about an activity which started in tense because we are asking about an activity which started in thethepast and continues to the present:

How long have you been waiting?

However, verbs which are states , not actions , are not normallyused in the continuous form:

I have to …I’m supposed to

In English, the structure ‘somebody is to do

In English, the structure ‘somebody is to do something’ is onlysomething’ is onlyused in contexts where

used in contexts where someone is given an someone is given an orderorder, for example , for example atatschool or in the army:

if + will/would

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE 1: *If AKE 1: *If it will rain, it will rain, I will not I will not go out.*go out.*

TYPICAL MIST

TYPICAL MISTAKE 2: *If AKE 2: *If I would be I would be rich, I would buy rich, I would buy myself a bigmyself a bighouse.*

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE 3: *If AKE 3: *If I would got I would got up earlyup early, I , I wouldn’t be late wouldn’t be late forforwork.*

In English conditional sentences, we do not use will or would inthe if-part of the sentence

The three main types of conditional need The three main types of conditional need to be studied.to be studied

First conditional (possible situations in the future)

If + present, will/won’t + infinitive

Second conditional (hypothetical situations in the present or future)

If + past, would/wouldn’t + infinitive

Third conditional (hypothetical situations in the past)

If + past perfect,

If + past perfect, would/wouldn’t have + past participlewould/wouldn’t have + past participle

There are, however, a few situations in There are, however, a few situations in which we saywhich we say If you will or

(The most important is …)

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *The most important AKE: *The most important is to stay is to stay calm.*calm.*

In English, an adjective must describe a noun or

In English, an adjective must describe a noun or pronoun In thepronoun In theabove sentence, it is necessary to add the word thing::

important (An important important (An important problem) problem)

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *Alcohol abuse is AKE: *Alcohol abuse is an important an important problem inproblem inRussia.*

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The adjective important does not naturally collocate with the  does not naturally collocate with the nounnoun

Alcohol abuse is a serious problem in Russia

impression

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *I am AKE: *I am under the under the impression.*impression.*

In English, this expression can only be used in the

In English, this expression can only be used in the following way:following way:

HoweverHowever, if you just want , if you just want to say that something impressed you,to say that something impressed you,then say:

The expression in future is normally used when you would likesomeone to change their behaviour:

I think so …

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *I think so AKE: *I think so that he is that he is a good person*a good person*

In English, we cannot say ‘that’ after I think so We can only say II

A:

A: Is Is he he a a good good person? person? B: I think so

If you want to express an opinion

If you want to express an opinion withwith think, you can only say II

English language

TYPICAL MISTTYPICAL MISTAKE: *I don’t AKE: *I don’t speak English language.*speak English language.*

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