NG English.
The mistakes English learners in Taiwan make most often, and how to fix them. Short, light, and built from errors we actually hear.
They are not carelessness
Most are near-universal among Mandarin speakers, because the two languages divide meaning differently.
Which makes them fixable
Once you can see the pattern behind a mistake, you stop making the whole family of them.
Nine we hear every week
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I have three book. Incorrect
I have three books. Correct
Mandarin nouns do not change for number — the "three" already did that work. English makes you mark it twice.
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I am student. Incorrect
I am a student. Correct
Mandarin has no articles at all, so "a" and "the" feel like decoration rather than grammar. They are not optional.
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Yesterday I go to Taichung. Incorrect
Yesterday I went to Taichung. Correct
Mandarin puts the time at the front and leaves the verb alone. English insists the verb carries the past as well.
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Please open the light. Incorrect
Please turn on the light. Correct
A direct translation of 開燈. English keeps "open" for doors and boxes, and uses "turn on" for anything with a switch.
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He have two sisters. Incorrect
He has two sisters. Correct
Nothing in Mandarin changes shape to agree with its subject, so the third-person "s" is pure extra bookkeeping.
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I very like this song. Incorrect
I really like this song. Correct
很 sits in front of the verb, so "very" gets put there too. In English "very" cannot modify a verb — use "really", or "like it very much".
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I need more informations. Incorrect
I need more information. Correct
English decides for you which nouns can be counted, and information, advice, furniture and news all landed on the uncountable side.
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How to say this in English? Incorrect
How do you say this in English? Correct
A question needs a subject and an auxiliary in English, even when the meaning is perfectly clear without them.
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See you in Monday. Incorrect
See you on Monday. Correct
Prepositions almost never map one to one. Days take "on", months and years take "in", clock times take "at".
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