They say that a wise man learns from the mistakes of others, a smart man learns from his own, but a fool learns nothing from his own mistakes. In this article, we propose to act wisely and learn from the most common mistakes that Russian-speaking students make in English. To compile a list of such mistakes, we interviewed native English teachers at our school, because they easily catch mistakes in our speech. We have given a brief explanation for each point, so that you can not only become familiar with typical errors in English, but also understand how to get rid of them.
So, we asked our English-speaking teachers one question: “What mistakes do your students make most often in English?” Here are the answers we received.
- Saying “most of people”, instead of “most people”.
They say “most of people” instead of “most people”.
Explanation: You just need to remember the phrase “most people”, which translates as “most people”. The preposition “of” can appear after the word “most” only if you want to indicate specific group people, but then before the word “people” you need to put the definite article “the”. For example:
Most of the people in my country enjoy reading. - Most people in my country like to read.
However, most often the phrase “most people” should be used.
- Using “and etc.” instead of “... etc.”
Use “and etc.” instead of “... etc”.
Explanation: The word “etc” is translated as “and so on”; it does not require the conjunction “and” (“and”) in front of it.
- Pronouncing “clothes” as “klo-thus”.
Pronounce “clothes” as /kləʊðəz/ (closes).
Explanation: The word “clothes” (“clothes”) is used only in plural and is pronounced /kləʊðz/. Many Russian-speaking students remembered the incorrect pronunciation from school, because there, as a rule, they taught to say /kləʊðəz/. Perhaps this is due to the fact that it is difficult for us to pronounce the similar sounds /ð/ and /z/ together, so we simplify our work and insert a vowel sound between them - this makes the word easier to pronounce.
- Stressing the end of words, saying “cele-brAtion”.
Place the accent at the end of the word, pronouncing “cele-brAtion”.
Explanation: You might be surprised to hear that Dave wrote that putting the stress on the last syllable of the word “celebration” causes incorrect pronunciation. However, if you look in the dictionary, you will see the following transcription of this word /ˌseləˈbreɪʃ(ə)n/. The sound /s/ below is preceded by an additional stress mark. As a rule, such stress is present in words where there are 4 or more vowel sounds, and it is there for rhythmicity and euphony of speech. Here are examples of such words with two accents: “delegation”, “demonstration”, “motivation”, “generation”. By the way, in the Russian language there is also an additional stress, pay attention to how we pronounce the words “construction site”, “twelve-story” - they also have two accents. To learn how to correctly pronounce words with two accents in English, you need to listen to native speakers speak more often and communicate in English. Gradually you will get used to the correct placement of accents.
- Using the definite article for place names, e. g. “the Moscow” or “the Sochi”.
They use definite articles with city names, for example: “the Moscow” or “the Sochi”.
Explanation: Please note: articles, as a rule, are not placed before city names. If you put an article, the word will have a different meaning: “a certain city of Sochi” (“the Sochi”) or “that very Moscow” (“the Moscow”). Here is an example of a sentence where you need to write an article before the name of the city:
This is the Moscow of my childhood. - This is (the same) Moscow of my childhood.
- Mistaking adjectives for nouns when talking about countries, e. g. “I live in Russian.”
They confuse adjectives and nouns when talking about countries, for example, “I live in Russian” (“I live in Russian”).
Explanation: The error is that the country Russia in English will be “Russia”, and the name of the nationality “Russian” will be “Russian”. That is, you need to say “I am Russian, I live in Russia.” The names of countries and nationalities can be very similar, so it’s easy to get confused. To prevent this from happening in the future, practice using these words, for example, using tests on agendaweb.org and englishpedia.net.
- Using (noun) + it is/are (adj) - for example, “my friend he is nice” instead of “my friend is nice”.
They construct a sentence incorrectly, for example, they put two subjects: “My friend he is nice” (“My friend he is nice”) instead of “My friend is nice” (“My friend is good”).
Explanation: A typical error in the English sentence “My friend he is nice” is associated with the peculiarities of our colloquial speech. So, we can start saying the sentence “My friend...”, then we think and pause, and then we forget that we have already named the character, so we start saying again “... he is nice”. To eradicate such a ridiculous mistake, you need to train more often colloquial speech, then you will select words and speak faster, pauses and unnecessary subjects will disappear from the sentence.
- Using “one” instead of an indefinite article, saying “I read one book” not “I read a book”.
Use the word “one” instead of indefinite article, for example, “I read one book” (“I am reading one book”), not “I read a book” (“I am reading a book”).
Explanation: The article “a”/“an”, although it comes from the numeral “one” (“one”), cannot always be replaced by this word. The word “one” should be used if you really need to indicate that you have read ONE book.
- Asking “How is it named in English?” not “What"s it called in English?”.
They ask “How is it named in English?” instead of “What"s it called in English?”.
Explanation: Sentence “How is it named in English?” contains 3 errors at once: the word “called” is replaced with “named”, the word “what” with “how” and a completely Russified version of “on English” instead of “in English”. Note: “how” is usually used to clarify how something happens, for example, “How does it work?” ("How does this work?"). Therefore, we cannot use this word in questions like “What is it called in English?”, “What do you think?”, in such cases we will say “What"s it called in English?”, “What do you think?” .
- A student once said their wife was boring. They meant to say she was bored.
A student once said that “wife was boring” instead of “wife was bored”.
Explanation: In the sentence with a bored (not boring) wife, the student got confused with the adjectives. In such cases there is a simple rule. The ending -ed indicates the feeling of the person we are talking about in the sentence: “bored” - the wife was bored, she was bored. The ending -ing indicates to us the characteristics of the subject, that is, if a student wanted to characterize his wife as a boring person, he should really say “My wife was boring” (and then only if the wife does not know English:- )).
- Another common error I"d like to mention is the confusion between “say” and “tell”.
Another common mistake I would like to mention is confusing the words “say” and “tell”.
Explanation: In fact, in English you should say “tell somebody” and “said to somebody”, for example:
I told him / I said TO him - I told him.
To understand in what cases to use the words “tell” and “say”, we suggest watching the following useful video. In it you will learn about another common mistake Russians make in English - the confusion of the words “hear” and “listen”.
Experience as a teacher: 8 years
Experience at Englex: 2 years
Interesting fact from biography: Worked for American Airlines for 17 years
- My students like to ask: “how to say” instead of “how DO you say”? My students are not fond of the word “do” in any form.
My students like to ask “how to say” instead of “how DO you say.” My students don't like the word “do” in all its forms.
Explanation: This kind of error most often occurs because we are trying to literally translate the question “How to say...?” into English. However, in English such a question should be structured differently: you need to add the subject “you” (“you”) and the auxiliary verb “do”. Russian-speaking students quite often forget about auxiliary verb when constructing interrogative sentences, what should not be done.
- Also, they use the term “I should”, when they really mean “I have to”. My students like to put the word “to” after modal verbs e.g. “I should to...”. And, they hate prepositions.
They also use the expression “I should” when what they really mean is “I have to.” My students like to insert “to” after modal verbs, for example, “I should to”. And they hate English prepositions.
Explanation: After modal verbs the particle “to” is not placed (exceptions are “ought to”, “have to” and “be to”), you just need to remember this rule. The above modal verbs are translated differently: “should” - “should”, “have to” - “must”. To get used to speaking correctly and not to confuse “should” and “have to,” practice on our tests for the use of modal verbs in English.
- Additionally, the mistake “say” and “tell” is something terrible. e.g. “he said me” or “she told that”.
On top of that, a mistake with the words “say” and “tell” is something terrible, for example: “he said me” or “she told that”.
Explanation: In addition to the previous explanations, watch this useful video from engvid, in which a native speaker briefly and clearly explains how not to get confused by the words “tell” and “say” in indirect speech.
- One more thing. My students use question forms a lot when they make general statements. For example they might say "I don"t know who is he" or "I"m not sure where they are or where is it". They get the forms confused.
One more thing. My students use interrogative forms when making general statements. For example, they can say “I don"t know who is he” or “I"m not sure where they are or where is it.” They get confused in sentence construction.
Explanation: The sentences “I don"t know who is he” and “I"m not sure where they are or where is it” are formulated incorrectly because the student did not take into account that these are not questions, but statements with so-called indirect or embedded questions . Since the phrase is a statement, the structure of the sentence should be the same as in an affirmative, not an interrogative, sentence. The correct options are “I don"t know who he is” and “I"m not sure where they are or where it is.” In the article “Do you know what Embedded questions are? Built-in questions in English » you can study this rule in detail.
- Pronouncing “clothes” with 2 syllables.
The word “clothes” is pronounced as /kləʊðəz/ (two syllables).
Explanation: Teacher Christine also mentioned the notorious mistake in pronunciation of the word “clothes”. Apparently, this is the “weak point” of many Russian-speaking students.
- Saying the expression “Oy!” when they make a mistake which we would only use when we call someone or shout at them.
They say “Oops!” when they make a mistake, but we only use this word when we call someone out or yell at someone.
Explanation: As for the interjection “Oy!”, here students simply automatically pronounce the Russian “Oh!”, without thinking that in English it has a completely different meaning. Interjection “Oy!” in English it is similar to our “Hey!”, which we use to call out to someone, to attract someone’s attention. Therefore, it seems very strange to native speakers that we shout at them when we make a mistake
Experience as a teacher: 4 years
Experience at Englex: 1 year
Interesting fact from biography: seriously interested in art - paints oil paintings, and also designs and makes jewelry
- Most of my students" most common mistakes have already been mentioned, but I thought I"d bring up /w/ versus /v/ pronunciation. My favorite example is the new sport /wolleyball/ taking Russia by storm.
Most of the common mistakes my students make have already been mentioned, but I would also like to review the pronunciation of the sounds /w/ and /v/. My favorite example is new look sport /wolleyball/, which has won the hearts of Russians.
Explanation: It’s unlikely that any of you have heard of such a sport as “volleyball,” but that’s what we call volleyball in English. Confusion with the sounds /w/ and /v/ is one of the common mistakes in the English language, and although this seems like a small thing to us, native speakers may not always understand what you mean when you confuse the sounds. To pronounce the /v/ sound correctly, bite down a little. lower lip teeth. When pronouncing the /w/ sound, extend your lips with a tube. We suggest reading the article “”, in which you will see a guide to eliminating errors in the pronunciation of sounds.
Experience as a teacher: 6 years
Experience at Englex: 1 year
Interesting fact from biography: Rachel has been active in volunteer work and volunteer teaching. Knows a little Russian
- I agree with the above comments, and I would like to add that students sometimes use adverbs instead of adjectives. For example, "the sky is clearly now".
I agree with all the comments and would like to add that students sometimes use adverbs instead of adjectives. For example, “the sky is clearly now” (“the sky is clear now”).
Explanation: Quite often Russian-speaking students confuse English adjectives and adverbs. It should be remembered that the adjective characterizes the subject (“a happy smile” - “happy smile”, “sudden arrival” - “sudden arrival”), and the adverb characterizes the verb (“to smile happily” - “to smile happily”, “to arrive suddenly ” - “to arrive suddenly”). To avoid mistakes, try translating the sentence into Russian and see if it sounds logical. In our example, the word “clear” sounds out of place; I would like to say “clear” instead.
Experience as a teacher: 9 years
Experience at Englex: 1 year
Interesting fact from biography: lived for several years in Japan and was involved in organizing the annual St. Patrick's Day parade there
- The pronunciation of “clothes” is a common mistake at all levels, as is the use of articles. There's sometimes confusion of when to use “on”/“in”. Other common mistakes are “I am agree with...” & “It depends of...”, “I feel myself...”, “ most of + noun”, “during + length of time”.
Mispronunciation of the word “clothes” is a common mistake at all levels, as is the use of articles. Also sometimes errors occur with the use of the prepositions “on”/“in”. Another common mistake is “I am agree with...”, “It depends of...”, “I feel myself. ..” (“I touch myself...”), “most of” + noun (“most of” + noun), “during” + length of time (“during” + length of time).
The mistake in the sentence “I am agree with” is that we perceive the word “agree” as an adjective, but in fact it is a verb. The sentence “I agree with...” should sound like “I agree with...”.
If you want to say that something depends on something, you need to say “It depends on”.
To say how you feel, you need to say “I feel good,” and not “I feel myself good,” because “I feel myself” translates as “I touch myself.”If you want to inform your interlocutor that the action takes place over a certain period of time, you need to use the preposition “for”: “for an hour” - “for an hour”, “for a week” - “for a week”. If you use the word “during”, it should be followed by a noun, not a period of time: “during the match” - “during the match”, “during the Second World War” - “during the Second World War”, “during the summer” - “in the summer.”
- Sometimes students use a word with a similar meaning but is incorrect. Once my student wrote “I have a disease” when she wanted to change the class, instead of saying she was sick.
Sometimes students use words incorrectly similar meanings. I once had a student write “I’m seriously ill” when she wanted to cancel a class, instead of saying “I’m not feeling well.”
Explanation: If you look in the dictionary, you can see that the word “disease” is translated as “illness”. However, it must be taken into account that it means a serious illness. To avoid getting into trouble, try to learn words in context, see what meaning they have in a specific situation.
Experience as a teacher: 5 years
Experience at Englex: 1 year
Interesting fact from biography: for a long time(over 20 years) worked in the business field, and then moved to Mexico and began teaching “for the soul”
- I have one student that struggles with pronouns... sometimes it is funny, but often times confusing: "Victor"s father plays tennis, she is very good."
I have a student who confuses pronouns... sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's embarrassing: “Victor's father plays tennis, she is very good.”
Explanation: The pronoun “he” is translated as “he”, and “she” is translated as “she”, so the student should have said “he is very good”. Pronoun confusion can be funny if you rarely get it wrong that way. If this error haunts you, try to control your speech, speak more slowly, but correctly.
- Last week I actually couldn't stop laughing with a student when he used present continuous to explain something about his girlfriend "s pet. He meant to say “Nastya has a dog.” But instead, he said: “Nastya is having a dog.” I couldn"t bring myself to ask who the father was!
Last week a student and I had a long laugh when he used the present long time to tell something about your girlfriend's pet. He meant 'Nastya has a dog', but instead said 'Nastya is having a dog'. I could hardly restrain myself from asking who the father was.
Explanation: Do you think that it is not necessary to learn English grammar? Look at the example of teacher Rob: the incorrect use of English tenses played a cruel joke on the student, resulting in an absurd and meaningless sentence. To avoid such incidents, understand the tenses; this is not so difficult if you use a good theoretical and practical material. For theory, we can offer you a grammar guide on our teachers’ blog, and for practical lessons, take one of them.
Experience as a teacher: 4 years
Experience at Englex: 1 year
Interesting fact from biography: served in the navy for some time, and after retirement found himself in teaching
- I"ll also add a confusion between “either” and “too”, e.g. “Most of my classmates didn”t have them too.”
Explanation: The word too is used in affirmative sentences and is translated as “also”, “too”. The word “either” replaces “too” in negative sentences, for example:
I saw you too. - I saw you too.
I didn't see you either. - I didn’t see you either.
Therefore, in teacher Scott’s example, the word “either” should be: “Most of my classmates didn’t have them either.” Take our English adverb test to test your knowledge.
- There is also the awkward use of the negative: “I played not very well” vs. the more common “I didn’t play very well.”
It is also very common to incorrectly use the negation “I played not very well” instead of the more familiar “I didn’t play very well”.
Explanation: The sentence “I played not very well” is constructed grammatically correctly. What is the mistake? The fact is that such a construction of a sentence is dissonant for native speakers; the option “I didn’t play very well” is preferable. Such errors are most often associated with the fact that we are trying to literally translate our words from Russian into English. In Russian we would They said “I didn’t play very well”, so it seems logical to us to translate it this way - “I played not very well”, while the correct version “I didn’t play very well” sounds strange in direct translation - “I didn’t play”. Very good". Only constant speaking practice, as well as listening to the speech of native speakers, will help you get rid of this error. Gradually, you will remember how to speak and stop translating your speech word for word.
Experience as a teacher: 22 years
Experience at Englex: 1 year
Interesting fact from biography: born in Ireland, taught language in Saudi Arabia, now lives in Greece
- I think the biggest difficulty for Russian speakers is the use of articles in English. I wouldn't say this is funny but I have heard students speak at length without using even one article.
I think the main difficulties for Russian-speaking students arise with the use of articles in English. I wouldn't say it's funny, but I've heard students make long speeches without a single article.
Explanation: As you can see, the use of articles is a typical mistake of Russian students in English. Most Russian-speaking and English-speaking teachers believe that this is the most common mistake among students. Moreover, it is allowed not only by beginners, but also by students with an above-average level of knowledge. Therefore, we advise you to pay maximum attention to this topic, because competent speech will help you be understood by English speakers.
Native speakers can tell you the most about the mistakes made by Russian-speaking students. Watch our teacher Dave's webinar - The Most Common Mistakes Russian Learners Make. And How to Fix Them!
Now you know the most common mistakes in English among Russian-speaking students, according to our native-speaking teachers, and ways to get rid of them. None of us likes to make mistakes, but the path to success is rarely easy and smooth, so don't be afraid to make mistakes. Maybe you also have some “chronic” errors that you just can’t get rid of? Share with us in the comments and we will tell you how to deal with annoying mistakes. We recommend reading our articles “” and “”. And if you want to receive practical professional help, we invite you to lessons at our school. and help you get rid of any errors.
When learning English at any stage, students inevitably make mistakes. No matter how talented a person studying English is, he will still form his own TOP mistakes and “forgetfulness” and “slip-of-speak” that are unique to him.
However, linguists, not without reason, claim that there are a number of common, most common mistakes in the English language that most Russian-speaking students tend to make.
In this article we will look at the main types of errors in English, common among students whose native language is Russian.
Words that are the same in Russian, but different in English
Often students learn only one translation of a Russian word into English. However, where the same word sounds in Russian speech, a completely different one may be required in English.
Examples
- Please: please (in a request) or you are welcome (response to “thank you”)
- Border: border (between countries) or frontier (the border of human knowledge and in other allegorical senses)
- Shadow: shade (a place where sunlight does not reach) or shadow (the dark outline of an object)
- Place: place (position in space) or room (free space) or seat (seat)
Incorrect word order in a sentence
Many students in English use word order characteristic of the Russian language. From an English language point of view, this doesn't sound right.
Examples
1. For better performance, use new parts:
- To ensure proper work, use new parts (correct)
- Use new details for proper work (wrong)
2. Is the room big enough?
- Is the room large enough? (Right)
- Is the room large enough? (wrong)
Idiomatic figures of speech
The English language has certain speech patterns that many students forget about when trying to literally translate sentences from Russian into English.
Examples
1. It will take me an hour to do this
- It will take me an hour to do that (correct)
- I will need an hour to do that (wrong)
2. I want to cut my hair
- I am going to have my hair cut (correct)
- I am going to cut my hair (wrong)
Incorrect use of prepositions and pronouns
Literal translation from Russian into English also sometimes results in the use of the wrong preposition or pronoun.
Examples
Prepositions
- I"ll come around May 20th (correct)
- I"ll come about May 20th (wrong)
2. Now, currently
- At the moment (correct)
- In this moment (wrong)
3. They played football in the rain
- They played football in the rain (correct)
- They played football under the rain (wrong)
Pronouns
1. After this I will leave
- After that I will leave (correct)
- After it I will leave (wrong)
2. Any help you can provide
- Any help from you (correct)
- Any your help (wrong)
There are also a number of other common errors, such as:
Errors with infinitive verbs:
Thinks of going to England: He thinks of going to England (correct)/ He thinks to go to England (wrong)
Errors in the use of adjectives and adverbs Always, HeforgotHousespen: As usual, he left his pen at home (Right)/ As usually, he left his pen at home (wrong)
Expressions that are grammatically correct but stylistically strained
I'm in a good mood:I am in a cheerful mood(Right)/ I have a cheerful mood(wrong)
Using legacy expressions
Most old Russian English textbooks contain expressions and phrases that are no longer used in “living” English speech. Using such expressions will reveal you as a person who is not interested in modern English and does not read literature and press in this language.
Here are examples of several such revolutions:
- How do you do - a greeting that you will no longer hear from the British
- As one might come to expect (as it might seem to you), moreover (in addition), it goes without saying (no doubt) - more related to the style of classical literature than to modern language
- It is raining cats and dogs (oh heavy rain), life is not a bed of roses (about harsh reality), the early bird catches the worm (he who gets up early, God willing) - idioms that are no longer used by Englishmen under 60 years of age
- Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me (feel free to contact me if you have any questions) - no longer used in correspondence
- Not at all, cool, awesome - expressions that are no longer popular among young people
Contextual meaning in English
Many people find the English language quite easy to learn, however, its complexity lies in the “contextuality”.
Firstly, it relates to grammar. Thus, one of the present tenses (Present Perfect) denotes the past, while constructions of the present are often used to denote the future tense (to be going to, Present Simple, Present Continuous).
To understand which tense to use now, you need to clearly understand which tense is for which particular situation, and for this you will have to study grammar in context.
Secondly, the same word can have several different meanings, which can only be understood from the context. For example, the word “banana” means “banana,” but “bananas” can mean “stupidity, nonsense,” and the expression “go bananas” translates as “get angry.” That is why situations often arise in which we do not understand foreigners, although we understand the meaning of individual words in their speech.
Finally, many students have difficulties with lexical and grammatical constructions. For example, the word “kind” can be used as a qualitative adjective with the noun “person”, but the expression “kind films” will in no case sound like “kind films”, only “gentle films”.
How to avoid common mistakes?
The English language is very different from Russian, so “adaptation” in English is a rather complex and time-consuming process for a Russian-speaking student. Most students try to memorize English words and grammar, after which they begin to literally translate sentences in Russian into English. In most cases, real success in a language cannot be achieved this way.
In order to start speaking and writing in “living” and grammatically correct English, you should start thinking in this language and try to get used to the word order and idiomatic phrases that are unusual for us. In less than a year, you will automatically begin to use the correct expressions and speak like a real Englishman.
In addition, academic language classes should be combined with practice that is interesting to you personally: watching films in English, reading modern literature and the press, communicating with native speakers via the Internet. From this practice you will be able to learn exactly the skills that will no longer allow you to make mistakes in English that are so common among Russian students!
The general linguistic concept of "error" can be perceived in different ways, since the term can be applied to different levels language. First of all, it should be noted that the most important and important type of error is the one that makes it difficult to understand. For example, “She saw it with dignity” instead of “She looked at it with dignity”
Julian Edge identifies the following categories of errors from a teacher's perspective. Julian Edge, Mistakes and Corrections, Longman, - 1997. - 70. p. 9-10.
1. Errors - slips.
This type includes errors that the student can correct himself if pointed out.
Example: She left college two years ago and now work as a secretary.
I decided to do it and forgotten about it.
2. Mistakes made in the material covered (errors).
This type includes errors that the student cannot correct independently, even if pointed out, but the class is familiar with the correct form.
Example: That was the first English film which I have understood it.
He doesn't know about the war, doesn't he?
3. Errors made in unstudied material (attempts).
This type includes errors made in unfamiliar structures, or when it is not clear what the student wants to say and what form he is trying to use in a sentence to express his thoughts.
Example: This is no really for always my time...
With time it appeared more clearly.
According to Julian Edge, this classification can be effective for teachers who know the language level of their students, because For one, an error in this kind of sentence may be slip, for another - error, and for a third - attempt. It can also be a student’s progress in language learning from attempt to slip.
S.G. Merkulova considers the issue of classification of errors from a linguistic point of view. There are three main types of errors: semantic, grammatical and phonetic errors. Merkulova S.G. Modern approaches to correcting errors in oral speech when learning English. // English language. Supplement to the newspaper “First of September”, 2002. - 45. - P. 5.
Since distortion of meaning interferes with mutual understanding, semantic errors can be considered the most serious and require correction. Grammatical errors are the second group of errors often corrected by teachers.
The last type of error is phonetic. Frequent correction of phonetic errors eradicates children's confidence in their abilities even in the first place. initial stage language teaching, so you should approach this problem differently.
Depending on which language norms are violated, in the classification of S.N. Tseitlin actually divided speech errors into a number of categories. Tseytlin S.N. Speech errors and their prevention. - St. Petersburg: Publishing House "MiM", 1997. - 192, - pp. 21-22. Errors can be highlighted:
a) word-formation - consisting in the unjustified formation of new words or modifications of words of a standard language;
Alan was satisfied with his work.
b) morphological - associated with the non-normative formation of word forms and the use of parts of speech;
He got his first book and cried angry.
c) syntactic - consisting in incorrect construction of phrases, simple and complex sentences;
The cat was trapped at the corner of the street where the trash would be soon placed.
d) lexical - representing the use of words in non-normative meanings, violation of lexical compatibility, repetitions, tautology;
He didn't want to work on his work, because this work was ungrateful.
e) phraseological - associated with the use of phraseological units that does not comply with the norm;
It was pouring down like from the buckets.
f) stylistic - consisting in violating the unity of style.
The ministers were so noisy that the speaker asked them to shut up.
Stylistic errors take special place in this system, since they do not correspond to a certain tier of the language and can manifest themselves in the field of vocabulary, morphology, and syntax.
Also, errors can be divided into two categories in terms of the reason for their occurrence:
Errors associated with the influence of the native language (interference).
I would like to speak with you some minutes.
Errors associated with the very process of learning and comprehending a foreign language, up to an advanced level, manifesting themselves as a consequence of misunderstood or independently developed patterns at all levels of the language. For example, students very often add the ending “-ed” to irregular verbs when converting them to the past tense.
She took the situation seriously.
Thus, there are many classifications of errors, since this issue can be viewed from different positions. Each classification helps to reassess what students are learning and provides an opportunity for teachers to evaluate how effective learning is and what needs to be done.
In this work, S.N.’s classification is used to analyze tasks for preventing speech errors. Tseytlin.
The educational and reference manual is intended for a wide range of people who study and teach English: school teachers and university professors, students of secondary and higher educational institutions, as well as for everyone who strives to speak and write English without errors.
The benefit includes 160 English words and constructions, grouped into 74 dictionary entries, which analyze typical errors and the reasons for their occurrence, and also provide exercises with keys that help consolidate the correct uses of the words discussed in the manual.
BY ALL MEANS BY NO MEANS.
Unfortunately, many people who believe that best way learning a foreign language means trying to guess the meaning of words instead of using a dictionary; misunderstanding the expressions by all means and by no means. These are idiomatic expressions whose meaning cannot be derived directly from the word “means”. They do not mean “by all/by any means” and “by any means.”
Download the e-book for free in a convenient format, watch and read:
Download the book Typical mistakes of Russian speakers in English, Levin I.I., 2017 - fileskachat.com, fast and free download.
- Books on English
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The most valuable thing you can gain from mistakes is experience. In the process of learning a foreign language, we all make mistakes and correct linguistic misunderstandings. And that's okay. Even experienced people learning English can make mistakes due to inattention or ignorance.
We have collected the 10 most popular mistakes from different areas grammar, phonetics and semantics of the English language.
1. Before vs. ago
It is not surprising that Russian speakers have confusion in the use of these words. The meanings of both are very close and relate to events that happened “before”, “before”. Let's consider two proposals:
I lived in Moscow two years before.
I lived in Moscow two years ago.
Both examples should be translated “I lived in Moscow two years ago.” Only one of them will be correct - the one where we use ‘ ago’.
The point is that ‘ before’ is a preposition and cannot be used without indicating the moment before which the action took place. Correcting the proposal:
I lived in Moscow before college. - I lived in Moscow before entering college.
On one's own ' before’ can be used as an adverb, but still requires context indicating the “moment before”:
I live in Saint Petersburg now. I’ve lived in Moscow before. - Now I live in St. Petersburg, and before that I lived in Moscow.
2.Enjoy
Verb ' enjoy’ is translated from English as “to enjoy something”, “to love”, “to have fun”. Consider the example below:
Thank you. I really enjoyed it. - Thank you. I really liked everything (I enjoyed it).
This verb is reflexive and requires either a direct object after itself ( enjoy something) or reflexive pronoun ‘ self’. Therefore, this sentence will be grammatically incorrect.
There are two possible ways to fix it:
Thank you. I really enjoyed the party.
Thank you. I really enjoyed myself.
3. Stress - Emphasis
Stress in English is a confusing and chaotic thing. It's impossible to predict it. Be guided only by analogy with words with identical structure, like
sen'sation
information
translation
not always correct. The stress of most words should be memorized.
A curiosity arises with words whose stressed syllables coincide with Russian ones. Remember the most common examples:
hotel - hotel
academic - as in “academician” / the word itself is translated “educational”, “academic”
sigarette - cigarette
princess - princess
In these words, the stress completely coincides with Russian pronunciation.
4. Time vs. a time
A very common grammatical error in English is the use of the definite article with abstract and uncountable nouns. The fact is that the article -a- is used only in the singular with countable phenomena, for example ‘ a mug' - "mug". Let's look at the proposal:
I've done all the work. I have a free time. - I did all the work. Now I'm free.
This sentence is NOT CORRECT because in this context ‘ free time’ translated “ free time” and in English is an uncountable concept, just like information, news, money, furniture.
Of course there is a combination ‘ one time’, where the article is appropriate, because the words are translated “once”, and not “time”.
A similar situation occurs with the pair ‘ work - job’. Remember: ‘work’ is uncountable, but the word ‘ job’ is both singular and plural:
I've got new work. = I’ve got a new job.
5.Which vs. who
In a certain context, both words have the translation “which”. In this case, they come after the defined concept, object or person and are pronouns. Unfortunately or fortunately, these words are not interchangeable.
Offer ' The girl who wears the dirty shirt is my sister’ WRONG. It should be said:
‘The girl who wears the dirty shirt is my sister’.
There is confusion in English because ‘ which’ is much richer in its semantic properties. This word is used in various grammatical constructions with both inanimate and animate ( in English a person is not a person) nouns. But, if we are talking about the meaning of “which”, and the words ‘ which' And ' who’ stand after the noun being defined, we take into account the “animate/inanimate” factor in the sentence.
6. Boring vs. bored
Another popular grammatical misconception is the substitution of an adjective with the ending - ing participle, which is part of the passive voice construction (Passive Voice).
Offer ' Alice is boring’ will be translated as “Alice is a boring person” / “It’s boring with Alice.”
If you need to say that someone is bored, you should use the participle:
Alice is bored. - Alice is bored. / Alice is tired(like these conversations).
7. Everyone likes vs. everyone likes
From English the words ‘ everyone' And 'every person' often translated as “all”, “everyone”. It is this translation that is misleading. It encourages the use of the plural form of the verb in the present tense:
Everyone is happy. - Everyone is happy. ERROR
The point is that literally 'everyone'/'every person' will be translated from English as “every” / “every person”, which inevitably indicates the singular number.
Remember in English the following words are always singular: everyone and other combinations with ‘ every’, as well as the pronoun who.
8. Do you like vs. would you like
Two questions that mean different things.
- Do you do is auxiliary structure to the weak verb that determines the translation:
- Would you do is a “polite” construction, which translates as “Would you like...”:
Do you like beer? - Do you like beer?
Do you see him? - Do you see him?
Would you like some beer? - Do you want a beer?
Would you mind opening the window? - Can I ask you to open the window?
9. He has vs. he is
In this situation it is very easy to check yourself. Combinations with the verb ‘ has’ hint that you (or someone else) HAVE something. Sentences with forms ‘ to be’ (often exactly is confusing) mean that you are someone or are in some place. Let's consider the proposal:
He has 7 years. - He has (He has) 7 years. ERROR because English for years do not own.
He is 7 years old. - He is 7 years old = He is seven years old. RIGHT
10. If I will be, I will...
You can talk about subordinate conditions for a very long time. You can find a lot of useful information on this issue in our past publications. It should be remembered that in the part with if/whether in the meaning of “if” we NEVER put the future or the future ( will/shall) in the past ( would/should) time. NEVER, even if in Russian it is like this:
If he comes (future), I will come too (future).
If he comes (PRESENT), I will (future) come, too.
Only in the meaning “ whether'u' if’ has the right to use the future tense:
Do you know if it will snow tomorrow?
Do you know if it will snow tomorrow?
We looked at the most popular insidious cases that can provoke you into grammatical errors. We hope that now you can avoid many difficult situations.
We wish you success in your studies!
Victoria Tetkina
