Common Mistakes - Non-Native Common Mistakes - Native Finding a Teacher Greetings
Business Greetings Inflection and Stress
I have took the exam.
The candle was blowed out.
In certain cases it is necessary for the past perfect to end the present tense verb with -n or -en. Thus the correct usage:
I have taken the exam.
The candle was blown out.
Other mistakes include the use of non-standard or slang terms. The non-standard word ain't is often used to replace words like isn't and hasn't.
It ain't so bad. (Correct: It isn't so bad.)
Note that the term ain't can be used as a joke or to express a philosophical concept. It's also often used to enhance the rhythm of songs; i.e. It don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing. It should be used sparingly. When ain't is used to replace every single instance or almost every single instance of isn't and hasn't, it is considered bad grammar.
Also, the above song lyric contains another instance of a common native mistake; use of the plural verb with the singular pronoun.
It don't matter. (Correct: It doesn't matter.)
The next is the double negative.
I don't have no money. (Correct: I don't have any money.)
Other instances involve placing a preposition where no preposition has any business being. Here the error can be corrected simply by eliminating the preposition.
Where are you going to? (Correct: Where are you going?)
Where is he at? (Correct: Where is he?)
The primary problem with these errors is that they will immediately mark the speaker as illiterate, regardless of his level of education or intelligence. In this way, errors of the native English speaker are very different in tone and quality than the typical errors of non-native speakers, and far less forgivable. For this reason it is especially important for people learning English as a second language to be aware of these errors and avoid them at all costs. Failure to do so can result in significant problems, for example, lost job opportunities.
Other errors which are less severe include the colloquial (informal, spoken) use of formations that are ordinarily regarded as bad grammar. Everybody knows that these are technically incorrect but usage of the correct term colloquially is considered pretentious or pompous. For example, there is no neuter pronoun in English to refer to a single person of indefinite gender. In situations like this, most native English speakers will use the pronoun they. In formal speech and in writing, however, the terms one, he, or she should be used.
Colloquial: A person should choose the profession they enjoy.
Written or formally spoken: One should choose the profession he enjoys.
Similar errors involve ending a sentence with a preposition, and use of the pronoun who in the object of the sentence.
Colloquial: Who are you speaking to?
Formally spoken: To whom are you speaking?
The next colloquial error involves using the objective pronoun with the verb to be.
Colloquial: It is me.
Formally spoken: It is I.
It's important for those learning English as a second language to know that the formal forms I've just mentioned, though technically correct, are really on their way out of the English language, and the colloquial forms are becoming more and more accepted all the time. It's also very important to tell the difference between accepted colloquial speech and grievous grammatical errors. Essentially, the only solution to this problem is time and practice.
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