On this page you´ll find twenty of the commonest errors with an explanation, some examples and some tips to help you remember them and get them right.
The most common errors happen, obviously, with phrases we use all the time:
I have a doubt (x)
is a common error because not understanding is part of the learning process. When you don´t understand say:
There´s something I don´t understand
Errors occurs when you translate word by word, so the Spanish
Quiero que me llames
mistakes into
I want /that / you call me (x)
when it should be
I want you to call me
But I want you to call me is still not appropriate because you´ve translated from Spanish, which is more to the point (direct) into English which goes round things (is indirect) so a better translation might be:
Could you call me, please
MISTAKE ONE: ALWAYS GOES BEFORE THE MAIN VERB, ALWAYS NEVER GOES BEFORE THE SUBJECT
Solution: Write the following two sentences, in order, by hand, one hundred times. For each new sentence use a different colour pen:
Always I is wrong
I always repeat the previous mistake is right
MISTAKE TWO:
Ella me dijo me gustan tus zapatos y yo le dije gracias
She told me I like your shoes and I told her thank you…(X)
Wrong!
To report conversations using the actual words use SAY
SAY = DECIR
TELL = DECIR
So, which one should you use?
How about neither of them. How about go or like?
If you´re telling an anecdotes go and say are useful to mean say.
So he´s like I don´t love you any more baby and I´m like have you ever fuckin´ loved me and he´s like hey baby, cool it and I´m like, go fuck yourself, jerk
– American girl tearfully tells her girlfriend that her boyfriend has finished with her.
This exchange could also be expressed using say or go in the present or past tense. If you tell anecdotes in the present tense they sound more vivid. Like to mean say is used more in American English
I´m in the Post Office and the clerk says something and I go sorry love I don´t understand you and shesays I don´t understand YOU and then she goes you should learn to speak English better and
I´m like sorry love, with the greatest respect I speak English very well, I teach English and I AM English, you´re not English you´re from India, and she goes I am NOT Indian I´m from Pakistan….
I had this conversation in a Post Office in Putney, London. London is not the best place to learn English.
RICK BEATO LISTENING PART ONE
First impressions: Who is this guy, what does he do? What do you think of him?
(0 seconds to 01.10)
Rick´s anecdote
You will hear an anecdote (06. 15 to 08.20) about something that happened to Rick when he was a music teacher. The left column is the wrong order and in the right hand column you will see number three and eleven are done as you can hear in the listening, so, put the other words from the left hand column in the order in which you hear them.
| 1. Daryl 2. album 3. Nirvana 4. punk rock 5. non major 6. guitar 7. About a Girl 8. The Dean 9. re awakening 10. indy rock 11. song 12. cool | 1. 2. 3. re awakening 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. About a Girl 12. |
vocabulary definitions:
Dean – The head of a college
major – If you are an economics major at university it means that is the main subject that you are studying. In some universities they give you the chance to study several different subjects but one main one.
To reawaken (an interest) – If something reawakens you interest in something it means that you become interested again in something that you used to do.
Now, re tell the story.
Who said the following phrases The Dean, Rick or Daryl (these are not the exact words Rick uses but the information is correct.)
There are two phrases wher the information is wrong, which ones are they and can you correct the information?
Would you like to teach music to students from other departments?
Yes, of course
What can I teach you?
This is a bit like 70´s hard rock
This is marvellous
Could you teach me a song from this record?
Everybody has heard of Nirvana
This is independent music
FOLLOW UP: – To really re-inforce the use of say to report direct speech listen to the whole video.
Rick uses the verb say loads of times in half hour video and also go and like. How MANY times does he use those words?
PRACTICE
Think of a conversation you recently had, it does n´t have to be interesting, and describe the conversation using SAID. Here´s an example:
This happened to me yesterday (at the time of writing):
My neighbour called me at the gate of my house and points at the ladder on the floor she said is this yours and I said yes it is so she said would you mind if I borrowed it and I said no, go ahead and then she said I´m sorry to be so cheeky and I said hey no problem, I´ve hardly ever used it and she said thank you ever so much and I said no problem glad to be of help to you…and you know, that´s the first time I´ve spoken to that woman in ten years!
MISTAKE THREE
I WANT YOU TO STOP SAYING THAT YOU WANT THAT I CORRECT YOU BECAUSE YOU DON´T SEEM TO BE PAYING ATTENTION:
I want you to help me
Quiero que me ayudes
English form: SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT + TO INFINITIVE
Spanish form: VERB + QUE + OBJECT + subjunctive VERB
I´ve explained this until I´m blue in the face. I´ve had students write out the sentence a million times and they will still repeat the same mistake the next class.
If you say “I want THAT…” the listener may be confused and might think you are saying: “Quiero eso” you might remember the grammar.
Now you know the explanation, to practice, listen to the following song a few times then sing it three times a day for 30 days, then you´ll remember:
MISTAKE FOUR:
What are your plans for the weekend?
I will meet my friends(X) – To talk about a DEFINITE, DECIDED, FIXED PLAN use PRESENT CONTINUOUS
We´ll Meet Again..(but WHERE, but WHEN?)
It´s a song from Britain, from World War Two, a song for the soldiers going to war. With everyone locked down at home, we could say the same “We´ll meet again…..someday”
When I ask “What are your plans for the weekend” I often hear:
“I´ll go swimming” “We ll have a barbecue”
When they should say:
“I´m goING swimming ” and “We´re havING a barbecue”
So, we use the present continuous form to describe a definite plan, something arranged, where we know the time and the place.
The WILL form suggests uncertainty as regards TIME and PLACE. It implies CONDITION:
We´ll do a barbecue next weekend if the weather´s good
I´ll go swimming on Sunday if it´s raining and if it´s a nice day I´ll go running.
MISTAKE FIVE:
No tengo dinero por esta razon me quedo en casa
I´ve got no money, for that reason I´m staying in.(X)
You should say “I´ve got no money, that´s why I´m staying in”
RingRingEnglish 