Minor but significant mistakes you may have made in speaking English

billzhao

Some friends, especially those who are just learning English, often make the following mistakes.

1. My husband has a good job. She makes over 100,000 dollars a year.
    My girlfriend did not live with me, because he is still in China.

- a* c: P& C+ m! T4 R& [The reason to make this mistake is not due to grammar knowledge. One reason might be she and he have the same pronunciation in Chinese.

2. I do not like big rain, I like small rain.
; g6 n/ @- |/ G" {8 E7 e3. Please close your phone.
These mistakes are made because of direct translation. Another similar mistake is: I very like Canada. You really like Canada, or you like Canada very much.
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0 @7 K5 q1 ?. v; Y6 C6 W* n! K4. How to say: heavy rain, light rain, and turn off your phone in English?
- M- s6 p  }% P, m" \, dThe correct way to ask the question is like this: how do you say... in English?

5. I am a Chinese.
4 W' U" H  W9 }I am a Chinese person, or I am Chinese.
: K/ z7 x+ E& M6. He is a gay.
4 l) n7 K& `* F, ~; g% y/ P( ^) k6 pHe is gay.
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7. Why? No why.
: l0 y! o' Y' g4 oNot no why, no reason.
7 T+ h, \- S( e% {) t8. Thanks! No thanks!

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