English mistakes made by Americans
Herrera is one year! Cast the first stone who has never written a text – whatever type of text it is – and has not found one or more errors. We Brazilians, English learners, struggle to learn the spelling of English words. After all, it is totally different from Portuguese. So it's common for us to make a mistake in English here and there. To clear up the doubts, it's best to have a good English dictionary and see how the words are spelled.
But, besides us Brazilians, do Americans – native English speakers – make any mistakes in English? What are the most common English errors among them?
To the first question, the answer is a beautiful “YES”. Of course, they were! Making mistakes is normal! For the second question, keep reading the tip and you'll know what are the most common mistakes they make when writing something on the internet ( Facebook and Twitter, mainly ).
Your father wants to talk to you. [The correct one is: Your father wants to talk to you.]
What about you're sister? Is she coming with us? [Correct is: What about your sister?]
Your best friend ever. [The correct one is: You're the best friend ever.]
Mistakes Americans Make in English for those of us who study English as a foreign language, seem like nonsense: basic level error. But believe me, a lot of Americans tend to get stuck on these two little words. On Facebook, some time ago, there was an image that tried to help Americans understand the difference in the crudest way possible:
Knowing the difference between you're and your is the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit. You may also be interested to learn about English irregular verbs
That's it translated into Portuguese is something like this: Knowing the difference between you're and your is the difference between knowing of your stuff ( shit your Knowing ) and know that you are a b * sta ( Knowing You're shit ). It's a pretty straightforward way to show people the difference between the two words.
I have a lot of money.
They talked a lot about this.
She cried a lot.
Many Americans write “ a lot ” at these times. It's a simple mistake, but a lot of people get annoyed with them. After all, “ a lot ” doesn't exist.
She is taller than her sister. (She is taller than her sister.)
I went to the bank, then I went to the market. (I went to the bank and then to the market.)
English errorsDon't be alarmed if you find posts on the internet where these two words appear in the wrong place. There's also an image on Facebook where we read: “ I'd rather cuddle than have sex ”. That means the following: “ I prefer to be cuddled and then have sex ”. But if we change to “ I'd rather cuddle than have sex ”, the meaning will be “ I'd rather be cuddled than have sex ”.
The tip I give you is the same one they give to the most careless: “ the E n has to do with Tim E; and, the An has to do with comp A rison ” ( the E n has to do with t E MPO; e, the An has to do with comp A rations ).
The ones you saw above are very common. However, there are still others that I will leave to mention in texts dedicated specifically to them. After all, these are mistakes that can confuse many students too. So they deserve something unique. Wait!
Is that you!? What word do you keep spelling wrong in English? My word was “ beginning ”. I always wrote it “ beginning ”. Instead of doubling the “ n ” at the end – begiNNing – I would double the “ g ” in the middle “ beginning ”. It took me a while to change that! If you also have a word that you keep spelling wrong, share it with us. Just write it in the comments area below.
But, besides us Brazilians, do Americans – native English speakers – make any mistakes in English? What are the most common English errors among them?
To the first question, the answer is a beautiful “YES”. Of course, they were! Making mistakes is normal! For the second question, keep reading the tip and you'll know what are the most common mistakes they make when writing something on the internet ( Facebook and Twitter, mainly ).
1. you're vs your
Because of the identical pronunciation of these two words, it is very common to find sentences written like this:Your father wants to talk to you. [The correct one is: Your father wants to talk to you.]
What about you're sister? Is she coming with us? [Correct is: What about your sister?]
Your best friend ever. [The correct one is: You're the best friend ever.]
Mistakes Americans Make in English for those of us who study English as a foreign language, seem like nonsense: basic level error. But believe me, a lot of Americans tend to get stuck on these two little words. On Facebook, some time ago, there was an image that tried to help Americans understand the difference in the crudest way possible:
Knowing the difference between you're and your is the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit. You may also be interested to learn about English irregular verbs
That's it translated into Portuguese is something like this: Knowing the difference between you're and your is the difference between knowing of your stuff ( shit your Knowing ) and know that you are a b * sta ( Knowing You're shit ). It's a pretty straightforward way to show people the difference between the two words.
2. they're, there and their
I've already talked about these words here on the blog. To read the tip go to “ Usage Grammar: they're, they're, their ”. In the text, there is an image showing that even some employees of major American TV stations sin in this regard.3. a lot vs a lot
Everyone knows that the right thing is “ a lot ” (a lot, a lot ):I have a lot of money.
They talked a lot about this.
She cried a lot.
Many Americans write “ a lot ” at these times. It's a simple mistake, but a lot of people get annoyed with them. After all, “ a lot ” doesn't exist.
4. it's vs its
These two little words also tend to confuse many English students. The subject has already yielded a tip here on the blog in 2009. Read on “ What's the difference between 'it's' and 'its'? ”.5. then vs than
“ Then ” has many uses, but generally means “ after ”, “ then ”, “ there ” or “ there ”. The word “then” means “ (do) that ” and usually appears in comparisons. Look,She is taller than her sister. (She is taller than her sister.)
I went to the bank, then I went to the market. (I went to the bank and then to the market.)
English errorsDon't be alarmed if you find posts on the internet where these two words appear in the wrong place. There's also an image on Facebook where we read: “ I'd rather cuddle than have sex ”. That means the following: “ I prefer to be cuddled and then have sex ”. But if we change to “ I'd rather cuddle than have sex ”, the meaning will be “ I'd rather be cuddled than have sex ”.
The tip I give you is the same one they give to the most careless: “ the E n has to do with Tim E; and, the An has to do with comp A rison ” ( the E n has to do with t E MPO; e, the An has to do with comp A rations ).
The ones you saw above are very common. However, there are still others that I will leave to mention in texts dedicated specifically to them. After all, these are mistakes that can confuse many students too. So they deserve something unique. Wait!
Is that you!? What word do you keep spelling wrong in English? My word was “ beginning ”. I always wrote it “ beginning ”. Instead of doubling the “ n ” at the end – begiNNing – I would double the “ g ” in the middle “ beginning ”. It took me a while to change that! If you also have a word that you keep spelling wrong, share it with us. Just write it in the comments area below.
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