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12 Common Mistakes

Common Mistakes Made by Japanese Speakers Learning English-

Taken from 121 Common Mistakes of Japanese Students (by James H.M. Webb, 1991). Adapted with permission.

Once you have studied the examples, principles, and explanations, go on to the grammar questions below, then check your answers on the Answer Sheet.

 

NOTE: * means an incorrect usage, NOT to be repeated.

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A) Problems with Plurals. Things in general.

*I hate cockroach.

*English newspaper is difficult to read.

*Japanese people like thing which comes from foreign country.

When we talk about things in general, we usually use the plural with count nouns.

 

BETTER: I hate cockroaches.

English newspapers are difficult to read.

Japanese people like things which come from foreign countries.

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B) Problems with articles.

Talking about particular things; the difference between 'a' and 'the'

*I want to buy^ car.

*We went to^ bar and had^ drink.

*When I was^ child, I had^ dog.

*Please put it in^ refrigerator.

*There's someone at^ front door.

*I live near^ sea.

We nearly always put 'a' or 'the' before singular countable nouns. We put 'a' before a singular countable noun when it is mentioned for the first time, and the listener does not know the particular thing or person we are referring to.

 

BETTER:

I want to buy a car.

We went to a bar and had a drink.

When I was a child, I had a dog.

There's someone at the front door.

I live near the sea.

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C)"the" before uncountable and plural nouns

*I like listening to the music.

*I love the nature.

*I like the cats better than the dogs

We do not use "the" before an uncountable noun or a plural noun when it has a general meaning.

BETTER:

I like listening to music.

I love nature.

I like cats better than dogs.

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D) Problems with verbs-'going to' and 'will'

*What will you do on the weekend?

*I will play tennis with Beverly on Sunday.

In conversation, English uses 'going to' not 'will', to talk about definite future plans and intentions which have been made before the moment of speaking.

BETTER: What are you going to do on the weekend?

I'm going to play tennis with Beverly on Sunday.

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E) Problems with verbs. The Present Simple and the Present Continuous

*English people are drinking a lot of tea.

*Every summer many Japanese are going back to their hometown.

The simple present is used to talk about actions which happen repeatedly.

BETTER:

English people drink a lot of tea.

Every summer many Japanese people go back to their hometown.

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F) Problems with verbs. 'play' and 'enjoy'

*University students have a lot of time to play.

The verb "play" without an object is used for children, not for university students and adults. Instead we say "enjoy oneself," "have fun," relax," etc.

BETTER:

University students have a lot of free time.

University students have a lot of time to enjoy themselves.

(However, we can say that adults "play" a musical instrument, or "play" a game.)

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G) Problems with verbs. 'watch' and 'look.'

*I like watching paintings in art galleries.

*We went to the park to watch the cherry blossoms.

*He watched his watch.

We use "watch" with things that are moving and changing, or that might begin to move and change. For example, we watch television, sports, parades, wild birds and animals, etc. If something is not moving or changing, we use "look at" or "see." "Look at" implies more careful attention than "see."

BETTER:

I like looking at paintings in art galleries.

We went to the part to look at the cherry blossoms.

Or- We went to the part to see the cherry blossoms.

He looked at his watch.

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H) Problems with Adjectives and Adverbs. 'excited' and 'exciting.'

*I am exciting because I'm going to meet my host family this evening.

*I always feel boring and sleepy in that class.

*It was a very tired day.

We use the following past participles (ending in '-ed') to say how we feel: excited, bored, moved, tired, interested, worried, frightened, etc.

BETTER:

I'm excited because I'm going to meet my host family this evening.

I always feel bored and sleepy in that class.

It was a very tiring day.

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I) Problems with Adjectives and Adverbs. 'pretty', 'sweet', and 'cute'

*I think my boyfriend is very pretty.

*I bought a very pretty sweater for my boyfriend.

'Pretty' is used to describe young women, girls, little children and things which are feminine and/or small, e.g., a dress, a flower, a small garden, etc. We do not use it to describe men or things men wear or use. Also, we usually say that little boys and animals are 'sweet' or 'cute' rather than 'pretty.'

BETTER:

I think my boyfriend is very good-looking / handsome / cute.

I bought a very nice sweater for my boyfriend.

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J) Problems with Adjectives and Adverbs. 'enjoyable'

*I was very enjoyable.

We cannot say that a person is 'enjoyable.' 'Enjoyable' is used to describe things which give a person enjoyment, such as an experience, a party, a trip, a holiday, etc.

BETTER:

I enjoyed myself very much.

I had a very enjoyable time.

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K) Problems with nouns. 'boyfriend', 'girlfriend', 'male friend', 'female friend',

and 'lover'

*I have lots of boyfriends but I don't have a sweetheart.

*I met my lover in junior high school.

Firstly, 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' usually mean 'a person with whom one is having a romantic and/or sexual relationship.' (However, women sometimes use the word 'girlfriend' meaning 'female friend.') When talking about friends of the opposite sex with whom we do not have a romantic relationship, we say 'male friends' or 'female friends.' Secondly, the word 'sweetheart' is old-fashioned, and is seldom used. Thirdly, a person's 'lover' usually means a partner in an extramarital relationship. Single people do not usually use the expression 'my lover.'

BETTER:

I have lots of male friends but I don't have a boyfriend.

I met my girlfriend in junior high school.

She went to Australia with a girlfriend.

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L) Miscellaneous Problems. 'yes' and 'no'

*"Did you not have a lesson this morning?"

*"Yes, I played tennis instead."

*"You don't smoke, do you?"

*"Yes, I stopped last month."

When we are answering a negative question, the word 'no' means 'That's right.' A negative question is a question which contains one of the following words: not, never, no, nothing, nobody, no one, nowhere, none, neither, ... etc. 'Yes' means 'That's wrong' when we are answering a negative question.

BETTER:

"Did you have a lesson this morning?"

"No, I played tennis instead."

"You don't smoke, do you?"

"No, I stopped last month.

"You don't smoke, do you?"

"Yes, I do, actually."

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