Most common English mistakes and useful vocabulary. - Culturally enrich me.

[Dieu]

Greetings.

As a filthy, worthless, shameful non-native English speaker, I want to know what are the English mistakes most commonly made, whether by natives or foreigners, so I can better avoid them.

Moreover, I would greatly appreciate if you could post some nice, and preferably useful, English words. They don't need to be exceptionally rare. I just want to enrich my vocabulary.

I don't know if this threads belongs here. I haven't really found a similar one.

You may also insult me with fancy words to fully extend my knowledge.

 

[Null]

ESLs that aren't Mexicans tend to speak English better than natives.

 

[MissJessiac]

"Useful vocabulary", depends on who you ask, but Aussie slang.
Some words I've rarely/never heard from that list, but others I hear and use frequently.
I will correct one; Rooted - you'd think of "Fucked" before you think of "Tired". Definitely don't mix those two up.

Have fun because some of them are pretty fuckin' fun to say.

 

[Papa Adolfo's Take'n'Bake]

Depends on your language. In my experience

Russian: forgets literally ALL of the "small words" (conjugations of 'to be', articles, prepoaitions) largely because these words are functionally implied in Russian, so there are no direct translations for them. Word order is sometimes a challenge. Pronunciation issues with 'w', 'r', 'k', 'th' and the schwa.

Japanese: pretty much everything but in particular word order, articles, prepositions, verb conjugation, subject-adjective and subject-verb agreement. Pronunciation issues famously with 'L', 'R', any word that ends in a consonant or glottal stop, and 'th'

Spanish/Portuguese: subject-Verb agreement, attempts to imply the subject in the verb's conjugation, word order, subject-adjective agreement, and articles. Pronunciation issues with most English Vowels, 'th', 'z', and 'y' (especially 'y' for Sudacas.)

German: word order, verb conjugation, and noun declension (especially pluralization), Pronunciation issues with 'z', 'th' 'l', 'w', 'y'(which Southern Krauts pronounce as a 'u' for some fucked up reason.)

Overall all of them fuck up with intonation, cadence, and syntax in particular because being perfectly honest English Grammar is so flexible and adaptable that even when you teach the fundamenyal rules your students will be bombarded with exceptions that will drive them all mad.

T. Grew up bilingual

 

[Letora]

"Could of" instead of the correct "could have."

"Could care less" instead of the correct "couldn't care less."

Improper use of they're and their.

Improper use of its and it's. (Tbh I struggle with this one myself still.)

"Balled" instead of the correct "bawled" when describing crying hard.

Messing up "What it looks like" and "How it looks" into something like "How it looks like."

Also:

As a filthy, worthless, shameful non-native English speaker, I want to know what are the English mistakes most commonly made, whether by natives or foreigners, so I can better avoid them.

I would write this sentence as "I want to know which English mistakes are most commonly made" or "I want to know what the most common English mistakes are."

 

[Lonely Grave]

"to" vs "too"
i.e. "to work" vs. "too much"
Yet for millions of appfaggots out there, there is no difference.

Improper usages for "literally", "practically" and their synonyms are also pretty common. "Literally" is used for exact comparison, "practically" is used for imprecise but similar comparisons.

And finally, while not so much a problem with the language itself but more with its execution, there remains a prevailing problem with 'noise' words that many everyday speakers try to fill in the gaps with, like "um", "ah", and worst of all, incessant use of "like" and "you know". Here's a challenge for you - catch yourself using these and try to replace them with small pauses for thought. Looking like you're actually thinking about what you want to say instead of buying time and stupidity with useless noises will reflect well on your command of the language.

 

[Ultima Ratio Regum]

"Could of" instead of the correct "could have."

ESL fag here, came to say exactly this. Also works with should of / would of.

Whose / who's are also often mistaken.

Some rule I learned recently: to write if I were instead of if I was if you're using the subjunctive mode. Most natives don't seem to care about this, so I guess it's not very important if you forget it.

There are also spelling / vocabulary variations depending on the region. A few examples below.

And of course, the pronunciation can also change. But this is secondary on a an online forum.

I've noticed that quite a lot of the "formal" vocabulary was in fact composed of French words, sometimes transcribed identically, which gives me a cheat code to occasionally grasp the meaning of words I don't know without having to look it up. Apart from that, I also feel like I regularly make mistakes. Things I struggle the most with: the use of that or which, whether to conjugate after "did" or not and other tense mistakes. Overall, English seems to be more "flexible" than other languages (not that I know many). Might be because it's so widely spoken online that people have gotten used to see it butchered, or altered at least. I still feel bad about being often unable to convey my thoughts the way I would exactly want to, or to send a post knowing it likely contains shitty mistakes.

 

[Vingle]

You may want to start playing an MMORPG. At least how I learned most of my english. I'm not a native english speaker, but I have heard that I have a better written language in english than my native language. Because, who would've thought doing something fun would make you learn better than being at school against your will?

 

[lowenergy]

Linguistics sperg ahead.
One way that ESL speakers stand out is the way in which they apply stress to words. Native English speakers, after a lifetime of exposure, instinctively know which syllable to apply stress to, and hearing stress mistakes sounds very “wrong” to the native speaking ear. It can even change the meaning of the word/cause confusion if applied incorrectly.
Some languages apply stress with one or two rules (always on first syllable, etc) but honestly English is pretty all over the place. One easy way to visualize the difference stress can make in English is the noun/verb stress shift. For example, a RE.cord (n) is a notation of something while re.CORD (v) is the act of making that notation. Of course this example doesn’t apply to all noun/verb combinations, so don’t take it as a hard and fast rule—it’s simply an easy way to visualize the importance stress difference can make.

There are lots of handy lists for the noun/verb stress shift and all the other stress patterns in English available. I would recommend listening to native English speakers/practicing your own English as much as you can.
TLDR; English word stress is super complex and arbitrary but mastering it goes a long way towards mastering the language.
Edit: spelling/grammar

 

[Ms. Cegination]

Make sure to use apostrophe S correctly.

 

[Dieu]

Thank you for all your answers.

ESLs that aren't Mexicans tend to speak English better than natives.

I guess it depends on the "natives" too? Are young Brits better than young Americans? Or is it "universal" within the Anglosphere?
ESLs (had to look up what it meant) tend to be tryhards, but I don't think they speak better English.

Also:

I would write this sentence as "I want to know which English mistakes are most commonly made" or "I want to know what the most common English mistakes are."

Now that you say it, I think I could also have written "I would like to know", which would have certainly been more courteous. I'm not sure, but this is how it sounds to me. Thank you for your input.

You may want to start playing an MMORPG. At least how I learned most of my english. I'm not a native english speaker, but I have heard that I have a better written language in english than my native language. Because, who would've thought doing something fun would make you learn better than being at school against your will?

I agree, it may help greatly. But it also is very time consuming and I do not think I can afford that at the moment.

Linguistics sperg ahead.
One way that ESL speakers stand out is the way in which they apply stress to words. Native English speakers, after a lifetime of exposure, instinctively know which syllable to apply stress to, and hearing stress mistakes sounds very “wrong” to the native speaking ear. It can even change the meaning of the word/cause confusion if applied incorrectly.
Some languages apply stress with one or two rules (always on first syllable, etc) but honestly English is pretty all over the place. One easy way to visualize the difference stress can make in English is the noun/verb stress shift. For example, a RE.cord (n) is a notation of something while re.CORD (v) is the act of making that notation. Of course this example doesn’t apply to all noun/verb combinations, so don’t take it as a hard and fast rule—it’s simply an easy way to visualize the importance stress difference can make.

There are lots of handy lists for the noun/verb stress shift and all the other stress patterns in English available. I would recommend listening to native English speakers/practicing your own English as much as you can.
TLDR; English word stress is super complex and arbitrary but mastering it goes a long way towards mastering the language.
Edit: spelling/grammar

This seems tedious. Thankfully, I mostly use English to write and not to speak.

 

[Vingle]

I agree, it may help greatly. But it also is very time consuming and I do not think I can afford that at the moment.

I got in a bad habit of rather playing than wanting to eat, or living in general for that matter. So yea, while I do appreciate my english skills from it. I do not regret stopping it completely.

I played Maplestory, it's free to play. If you aren't like me and wanted to change the look of the character and some permanent items.

 

[Justtocheck]

If you can say "There's a limited bargain sale at the metal shop! This steel is still a steal!" you are golden.

 

[turdburger]

'Defiantly' and 'definitely' have completely different meanings. Never confuse the two.
Many native English speakers struggle to understand when to use whom instead of who. To know which is appropriate, rephrase the question to a statement with 'I' or 'me'. I becomes who and me becomes whom, e.g.:

I don't give a flying fuck, becomes, who gives a flying fuck?
Give the money to me, becomes, to whom should I give the money?

If you want to write or talk pompous Shakespearian shit, you can do the same with thee and thou. Use thee where you'd use me and thou where you'd use I.

English in the UK and Australia is also different to the US and Canada in addition to the ways already mentioned in that there are fucking hundreds of words for variations of vehicles that US and Canada speakers seem to lump together under the description of 'truck'. They have lorries, vans, artics, low loaders, Lutons, flatbeds, 4x4s...

 

[Mnutu]

'Defiantly' and 'definitely' have completely different meanings. Never confuse the two.
Many native English speakers struggle to understand when to use whom instead of who. To know which is appropriate, rephrase the question to a statement with 'I' or 'me'. I becomes who and me becomes whom, e.g.:

I don't give a flying fuck, becomes, who gives a flying fuck?
Give the money to me, becomes, to whom should I give the money?

If you want to write or talk pompous Shakespearian shit, you can do the same with thee and thou. Use thee where you'd use me and thou where you'd use I.

English in the UK and Australia is also different to the US and Canada in addition to the ways already mentioned in that there are fucking hundreds of words for variations of vehicles that US and Canada speakers seem to lump together under the description of 'truck'. They have lorries, vans, artics, low loaders, Lutons, flatbeds, 4x4s...

I’d add on; anytime you would end using whom, just use who. No one in daily conversation seriously says whom. It’s an archaic word that, for better or worse, is falling into disuse. Unfortunately, ought is also falling by the wayside.

 

[shameful existence]

I’d add on; anytime you would end using whom, just use who. No one in daily conversation seriously says whom. It’s an archaic word that, for better or worse, is falling into disuse. Unfortunately, ought is also falling by the wayside.

I have been repeatedly complimented on using whom. It stands out nicely especially in a combo with a foreign accent.
Same goes for the correct usage of the verb comprise. People appreciate the effort.

 

[Mnutu]

I have been repeatedly complimented on using whom. It stands out nicely especially in a combo with a foreign accent.
Same goes for the correct usage of the verb comprise. People appreciate the effort.

Maybe as a foreigner it’s charming, but for someone with a passable native accent, don’t do it. You’re going to be pegged as a pseud.

 

[DeadFish]

I need this thread thanks

 

[Stephanie Bustcakes]

"Less" is used when referring to an amount of something ("I have less water in my cup.")

"Fewer" is used when referring to a number of something ("I have five fewer ounces of water in my cup.")

...EXCEPT when you're doing pure abstract math, then you use less than for numbers for some retarded reason. English is stupid.

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

Fun fact about the word thou. When it was a commonly used word, it was the informal way of saying you. You was the formal one. Modern English would sound pretentious to someone from the 1600's.