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.
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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.

& V( d4 ]% g  ?( N; D# \0 J) \: LThe 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.
3. 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.


% M$ A: h- A: D  ?( W5 x3 A4. How to say: heavy rain, light rain, and turn off your phone in English?
% M. g7 _0 X/ R8 mThe correct way to ask the question is like this: how do you say... in English?
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- q% j5 u" V. s9 P" Q- @1 ^5. I am a Chinese.
( d& b1 U0 E. H) A: f- bI am a Chinese person, or I am Chinese.
# t2 K" T+ d* L9 o6. He is a gay.
He is gay.

7. Why? No why.
Not no why, no reason.
1 i2 u( i, U& i) U3 c# {" L8 O8. Thanks! No thanks!