Welcome back to the Easy English Podcast, and today we are talking about a topic that every English learner faces, and those are common mistakes.
Mistakes that everyone makes, or at least a lot of us when we are learning and speaking English.
I'm Oliver and today we will look through these different mistakes and see some examples.
And it allows you to then think about how you speak and maybe some of the ways that you can improve your language too.
So like the video if you like this topic and subscribe if you're new.
Let's get started.
So, whether you are just starting out or if you've been learning English for years, some mistakes are easy to make, but also easy to fix.
So let's break them down and explore how to improve step by step.
The first mistake that I see a lot is using the wrong prepositions.
Prepositions can feel like tiny words, but they are actually very important in English.
They connect ideas and give us details about time, place and direction.
For example, learners often say, I'm interested for learning English.
But of course, the correct sentence is, I'm interested in learning English.
Here's another common mix-up.
I'll meet you in Monday.
Whereas we know it should be, I'll meet you on Monday.
So in English, we use on for days and in for months or years.
So for example, I would say I was born in November or she was born in 2001.
So in for months and years and on for days.
So that's a mistake that I see a lot with prepositions.
It might feel confusing at first with prepositions, but they often follow patterns.
And by reading and listening to native speakers you'll start to notice these patterns naturally and copy them too.
So that's why it helps to even listen to this podcast.
Okay, another mistake that I see a lot of people make when they learn English is confusing singular and plural forms when they're making sentences.
Of course, not everyone does this, but I do hear it a lot.
So singular and plural forms can be quite difficult or tricky, especially if your native language doesn't have the same rules.
Like a lot of these mistakes, it really depends on your native language and if it has similar rules.
So here's a classic mistake my friend are coming to the party instead of friends.
So in this case we would say because it's one friend instead of my friend are coming to the party, we would say my friend is coming to the party.
If we used are, we would say my friends are coming to the party.
Sometimes also the opposite happens.
People might say I have two book instead of I have two books.
Of course, we have words in English that are singular plurals like sheep, for example.
One sheep, three sheep, five sheep, not sheeps.
So I understand why people can get confused with these irregular plurals.
Like, for example, one child, two children as well.
English can be complicated when it comes to these.
So pay attention to your singular and plurals.
And these little details will help you sound more natural with your English.
Okay, the next mistake that I hear a lot with learners of English are misusing the articles a, an and the
Articles are these little words, so a, an and the, which are often, like I would say often, quite a cause of problems for learners, particularly beginners.
And I guess to start with, we will look at a or an.
We use a before words that sound with a consonant sound.
So for example, a car, a book.
And then we use an before words that start with a vowel sound.
So an apple, an R. Now, if we look at the, it's used for specific things.
So for example, I'm going to the park means a specific park.
Whereas if you just say I'm going to a park, it could be any park.
And that's where I often hear the mistake is people misusing the instead of a or an.
So do be careful that you want to use articles for the right thing.
So the for specific things rather than a or an.
And finally, also remember that articles aren't used for general ideas.
So, for example, you would say dogs are friendly.
Not the dogs are friendly, unless you're talking about specific dogs that are right there in that moment.
Okay, the next mistake I would say is one that a lot of native speakers also make.
And that is overusing the word very.
Ah, the word very.
So of course it's so easy to use this word when you want to emphasize something.
It's very hot.
I'm very tired.
But of course, overusing this can make our English sound quite boring and repetitive.
So we can instead, and I'm sure you've tried to do this, use stronger adjectives.
So, you know, for example, instead of very cold, you could say freezing.
Instead of very hungry, you might say starving.
Instead of very happy, you could say overjoyed.
There are so many better words than very.
And in this podcast, I try not to use very all the time.
But if the alternative word is a little bit complicated, of course, I sometimes use very to explain the basic ideas.
So do try to make your conversation more rich.
Okay, the final mistake for today.
And before I reveal what it is, I want to remind you that in the description below there is a link for my Patreon page.
And there you can support me and this project.
And you get a bunch of extra podcast episodes and even an entire new series only on Patreon, which is called News in Easy English, where I read news articles in easy English and we learn specific new words in every episode.
And, of course, supporting the Patreon really helps me to be able to make and improve these videos and podcast episodes.
Okay, so now the final mistake.
And that is something that almost everyone starts to make and are guilty of.
And it is translating directly from your native language.
I did it when I was learning Russian.
I still do it when I speak Russian a lot, and it really is a common trap.
Many learners try to translate sentences word for word from their native language into English.
But of course, because English has its own grammar phrases, expressions and sentence structures which at times can be quite inflexible.
I don't think the structure in English is very flexible.
It isn't a flexible language, in my opinion.
So, for example, in some languages you might say I have 30 years, but in English we say I am 30 years old.
There's not really any other way to say it.
You can maybe say I'm 30 and people will understand, but you can't say I have 30 years.
It sounds very weird.
So how do we stop this?
The solution is to learn English in context, to learn phrases and sentences and make sure that you're learning words in these sentences.
And of course, try to think in English too and not in your own native language.
That takes time and I have a separate video on my channel about how to think in English.
So check that out too if you haven't listened to it before.
So, thank you so much for listening to this episode.
Those were some of the common mistakes that you probably might be making in English.
So I hope you have a fantastic day and I will see you in the next episode.
Goodbye.
