10 Common Errors in English

#1 – Said / Told

Don’t say: “She said me that she was happy.”
Say: “She told me that she was happy.”
Or: “She said that she was happy.”
Tell means “to give information to a person” – so tell (present) and told (past) are always followed by a person: me, you, him, her, us, them, John, Jane, the teacher, etc.
With say (present) or said (past), we can use these structures:
1. say (something) Francis says she doesn’t like chocolate.
2. say that (something) I said that the new website design was great.
3. say (something) to (a person) What did the teacher say to you when you failed the test?
4. “(something)” a person said “Nice to meet you,” Harry said.
Just remember – you say something, and you tell someone something!

#2 – Irregular Plurals

Don’t say: “I have three childrens.”
Say: “I have three children.”
Or: “I have three kids.”
The plural of “child” is “children” – because the word “children” is already plural, we don’t add “s.” Another possibility is to say “kids,” which is an alternative word for “children.” Here are some more nouns with irregular plurals:
person / people man / men woman / women foot / feet tooth / teeth mouse / mice fish / fish crisis / crises nucleus / nuclei

#3 – Years Old

Don’t say: “My daughter has eight years.”
Don’t say: “My daughter has eight years old.”
Say: “My daughter is eight years old.”
When speaking about age in English, we use the verb be (am, is, are) and not have/has. I’m thirty years old. My nephew is fourteen years old. These houses are 200 years old.
We can also say am / are / is + __age__ without “years old”: I’m thirty. My nephew is fourteen. My kids are six and eight.
When it is somebody’s birthday, we say they turn __age__: We threw a big party when my mother turned fifty. My husband’s turning forty next month. My youngest cousin just turned three.
 

#4 – Marriage / Wedding

Don’t say: “I’m going to my best friend’s marriage on Sunday.”
Say: “I’m going to my best friend’s wedding on Sunday.”
Wedding = The ceremony I’m going to my cousin’s wedding on October 7. We want to have a band at our wedding reception. The wedding will be at the church, and the reception will be at a restaurant.
Marriage = The relationship in general, or the institution in society My parents have a strong marriage. They’ve been together for 35 years. New York has just legalized gay marriage. Over 40% of marriages end in divorce.
Married = Describes the status of a person My sister isn’t married. She’s single. I’ve been married for 5 years.
Get married = The action of going from single to married We’re getting married in July. My teacher got married last year.

#5 – Need / Have to

Don’t say: “I need study more.”
Say: “I need to study more.”
Or: “I have to study more.”
When the word need is followed by a verb, we say need to (or have to). When the word need is followed by a noun, we don’t use “to”: 
I need a book. (book = noun) I need to go to the library. (go = verb)

#6 – Meet / Know

Don’t say: “I knew him last year.”
Say: “I met him last year.”
Meet has two meanings: When you have first contact with a person (“I met him last year”) When you will encounter someone you already know. In this case, we often use “meet with” or “meet up with” (“I’m meeting up with some friends at the bar after work.”)
Know has two different meanings/uses: With knowledge and skills in general (“He knows everything about computers.” With knowing people in general (“Do you know Janet? She’s in the advanced English class.” – “No, I don’t think I know her.”)

#7 – Explain

Don’t say: “Can you explain me the problem?”
Say: “Can you explain the problem to me?”
Explain is like “say/said” – we explain something to someone. We can also say “explain that” – “The agent explained that our flight had been delayed 30 minutes because of the storm.”
 

#8 – Recommend / Suggest

Don’t say: “I recommend you to get more exercise.”
Say: “I recommend that you get more exercise.”
Or: “You should get more exercise.”
Recommend and suggest are followed by that or by the –ing form. Don’t use “to”! Examples: I suggested that he see a doctor. I suggested seeing a doctor. I suggested him to see a doctor.

#9 – Ask / Ask for / Ask about Ask (someone) to

Don’t say: “I asked to my boss...”
Say: “I asked my boss...”
Never use a preposition between “ask” and the person you are asking.
When you want an object, you can use ask for + object: I asked for a hamburger. I asked my boss for a raise.
When you want general information, you can use ask about: I asked about her family. She asked me about my job.
When you want specific information, you can use ask + (question word): I asked how much the camera cost. Let’s ask what time the theater opens.
One moment – I’m on the phone asking my brother where we can park the car.

Finally, when you want somebody to do something, you can use ask (someone) to: I asked him to turn off the lights. Martha asked me not to use her computer. We’re going to ask the teacher to help us.

#10 – Pass the time / Spend time

Don’t say: “I pass a lot of time reading.”
Say: “I spend a lot of time reading.”
Use “spend time” to talk about the time you do an activity. The expression pass the time is different – it means doing something to make the time pass faster while you are waiting for something else, for example, “I look at the magazines to pass the time while waiting for my appointment at the dentist’s office.”

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2012
 
Dear student,
Are you ready to improve your English?  This book will help you!
This is a collection of common vocabulary and grammar errors in spoken English, made by English as a Second Language learners. If you know the main errors, it’s easier to avoid them.
Some of the errors are worse than others – there are some that completely change the meaning of the sentence, and others that are not exactly “wrong,” but there is a better way to say it.
I hope you find this book useful, but I want to give you one piece of advice: Don’t let the fear of making mistakes stop you from speaking English. Making mistakes is part of the learning process, and it’s better to speak and communicate (even with small mistakes) than to keep quiet and never say anything!
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, e-mail me at help@espressoenglish.net
Good luck in your studies!
Shayna F. de Oliveira EspressoEnglish.net
100 Common Errors in English © 2012 Shayna Ferreira de Oliveira