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.

) q5 R6 R8 }! z6 UThe 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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2. I do not like big rain, I like small rain.
3. Please close your phone.
" c  S3 E2 P/ G% o& H7 SThese 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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2 H4 m/ T  V$ j6 }2 D4. How to say: heavy rain, light rain, and turn off your phone in English?
$ |1 n! K% _& ?# F3 ^The correct way to ask the question is like this: how do you say... in English?
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1 L7 f3 C0 A9 d. o; _0 @- `5 X0 ?5. I am a Chinese.
$ v( w1 _' A! _, Y; fI am a Chinese person, or I am Chinese.
6. He is a gay.
) D  p  P, Q  X7 q. p! _He is gay.
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7. Why? No why.
* Z+ A- i2 h1 qNot no why, no reason.
8. Thanks! No thanks!