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.

% d: z$ W' H: B$ [8 Z8 ]8 _1 XThe 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.
5 L0 a' D/ D: E8 S/ s& @( H3. Please close your phone.
: u& B4 D* {7 c* e5 k9 c- UThese 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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& Q( H6 G" u$ h4 s2 `4. How to say: heavy rain, light rain, and turn off your phone in English?
8 Y. f9 V& {' Q. Y6 v6 \0 D) z( }$ ?5 @. BThe correct way to ask the question is like this: how do you say... in English?
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9 {2 U( ~5 M" ~& ^& q6 h  a+ ?5. I am a Chinese.
I am a Chinese person, or I am Chinese.
6. He is a gay.
He is gay.

2 x1 t4 ?6 w+ }* k* c" k7. Why? No why.
Not no why, no reason.
7 E: g0 L/ s" z9 F$ |4 w8. Thanks! No thanks!
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