Comments on: 10 Common ESL Mistakes

By: Roberta B.

Roberta B. — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:40:34 +0000

@rpwig
“What will I do…” (?)- is a question
“What I will do….” – is a statement

By: rpwig

rpwig — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 10:59:33 +0000

what is the difference between “What will I do…” and “What I will do..”

By: egorbrandt

egorbrandt — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:28:01 +0000

Allow me to add a mistake I often see and hear both ESL and native English speakers make: “I” increased in quantity (and volume?) to “We.”

Wrong: “I am an advocate of freedom. We fight for freedom of speech.”

Correct: “I am an advocate of freedom. I fight for freedom of speech.”

By: Karla

Karla — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:23:22 +0000

I thought the ESL teachers/students might be interested in this site: http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/. It’s also good for writers like me who like to practice.

By: Precise Edit

Precise Edit — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:35:49 +0000

@ Pratiti
I, too, think you’re right on the mark with these examples. We have found them to be very common in documents we edit from non-native English speakers.

I have often wondered whether errors such as these result from employing the grammar and usage from a student’s native language when translating to English. For example, a Spanish speaker may write “He owns a CAR RED,” which uses correct word placement in Spanish but not in English. Or whether they simply result from misunderstanding English grammar and usage.

Do you (or others) work with ESL students? If so, maybe you have some thoughts on this. As I said, I wonder about this.

I’ll add one more mistake I frequently see from ESL speakers: “ask” versus “tell.”
Wrong: “I told her if she wanted to go to the movies.”
Correct: “I asked her if she wanted to go.”