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.
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; I8 Z7 b: O% KThe reason to make this mistake is not due to grammar knowledge. One reason might be she and he have the same pronunciation in Chinese.

5 j  |$ m: y! C3 |2. I do not like big rain, I like small rain.
0 v7 H, v! I- S& V3. Please close your phone.
  R- G" v! p4 j5 m- YThese 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.


+ J0 W3 b  Z6 D$ C9 ?, K% ~) e4. How to say: heavy rain, light rain, and turn off your phone in English?
! W1 {/ @- q* V( z7 `7 r' ~; g0 vThe correct way to ask the question is like this: how do you say... in English?

8 x- k- `6 B4 a! n( a2 ~# c4 h5. I am a Chinese.
0 j7 X$ ~4 c6 z7 Q/ w& JI am a Chinese person, or I am Chinese.
* W$ I/ b! {# t9 @# `6. He is a gay.
$ Y/ Q1 x; f# F( j9 Z$ ~/ G" zHe is gay.
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; P# k/ w" t5 Z" p# P" ]! D! [7. Why? No why.
Not no why, no reason.
8. Thanks! No thanks!
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9 H% S. U' \7 {