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.
% N& z! b6 H5 _    My girlfriend did not live with me, because he is still in China.

9 i# T$ y# k0 V. fThe reason to make this mistake is not due to grammar knowledge. One reason might be she and he have the same pronunciation in Chinese.
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3 F1 j8 C, d$ t) z' I2. I do not like big rain, I like small rain.
3. Please close your phone.
0 m1 `3 g2 p% k$ N7 JThese 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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1 S/ C  A4 y0 Q% J5 X4. How to say: heavy rain, light rain, and turn off your phone in English?
The correct way to ask the question is like this: how do you say... in English?
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) d  z& V9 ?) c4 F1 ?3 {5. I am a Chinese.
+ F9 a+ t; F8 P# sI am a Chinese person, or I am Chinese.
% S4 Y# c' |: ^% M6. He is a gay.
* ~1 P  w+ m, }( X3 p; X9 R' q7 iHe is gay.

7. Why? No why.
/ E  Q' F4 I1 X/ D: g4 Y% lNot no why, no reason.
8. Thanks! No thanks!
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