10 common mistakes in writing English and how to deal with them

In the past couple of years, I decided to actively take on improving my English - I wanted to look for foreign customers on sites like Upwork, but the level of written communication was not up to par. As it turned out, there are quite a few subtle points that are not always obvious to a non-native speaker.

I actively studied the topic and found an interesting article in the TextlyAI project blog - it lists 10 common mistakes that people make when writing in English and how to correct them. I prepared an adapted translation of this material.
')
So, these are the most common mistakes in writing English:

1. People confuse words.

Even native speakers can sometimes confuse words: if you carefully read any interviews on English-language sites, it becomes clear that this does not happen so rarely. The reasons for such errors can be several:

The words look similar

Then and than is a typical example, as well as of and off. This and these are also often confused. It is necessary to notice such words and clearly know the difference between them.

Homophones

In English, without exaggeration, there are hundreds of examples of homophones, that is, words that sound the same, but have different meanings and are pronounced differently. Very, very often, problems arise with there and their - even native speakers make mistakes in the use of these words. Other classic examples are: to and too, and where and wear. Moreover, even though these words do not sound very similar, many non-speakers can be confused with where and were when they were written.

To identify such words, you need to be careful when writing - unfortunately, there are no other easy ways.

2. False friends

One of the main sources of errors in the use of written non-native English speakers is the need to translate thoughts from their native language to a foreign one. Often there are problems with the syntax, but often the words are simply used differently in different languages. The problem of so-called false friends is also important - words that look similar in both languages, but in fact are used in quite different ways.

There are a lot of them, for example, if we compare English with languages ​​derived from Latin. A typical example of a false friend in their case is the word actually. In many languages, it refers to a concept that can be translated in English by the word currently. But in English, it currently means "right now." As a result, foreigners may incorrectly use Actually - it is better to use it in sentences that contain clarification. For example:

Actually, I'm a teacher, not a nurse. | Actually, I'm a teacher, not a nurse.

3. Errors in punctuation

With this, problems arise not only among people for whom English is not their first language. There are very few people in the world who are really well versed in English punctuation and can correctly use all punctuation marks. However, there are a number of simple rules, following which instantly improves the situation. First of all, you should not confuse the full stop and comma - it sounds pretty obvious, but there is a big difference compared to the same Russian language.

A comma in English means a pause in a sentence, and a full stop point (full stop), that is, the completion of thought. In many languages, the comma is used where only a dot is appropriate in English. For example:

I have never been to Italy. | I have never been to Italy, I will go next summer.

Since there is no connection between the two parts of the sentence, a comma is not enough here. If the proposal does not use a union, then only a point is needed.

I have never been to Italy. I am going next summer.

I have never been to Italy yet.

And, of course, it is important to monitor the use of capital letters - many people forget them at the beginning of sentences, and also write different names in small letters.

4. Excessive use of quotes

Quotes should be used only if you are quoting someone. They are not used to highlight words. Although they can be used to convey sarcasm. For example:

Have an “awesome” day. | "Great" day for you

Such a proposal will confuse any native speaker - he will think that he missed some joke. If the goal is to highlight a word, then the appropriate definition should be used:

Have a really awesome day.

5. Problems with antecedent

Who are we talking about in the proposal? The question is actually quite important - mistakes when using the antecedent (that is, the previous member of the relationship) lead to confusion, it is difficult for the reader to understand exactly who performs the action in the sentence. Here is an example:

He lost his wallet. | Tom and Jerry went to the park, but he lost his wallet.

In this sentence, both Tom and Jerry are antecedents, and the pronoun he must clearly indicate who we are talking about. But there are two males, and he is used only once - it does not work that way.

But he lost his wallet.
Tom and Jerry went to the park, but the latter lost his wallet.

Now the reader will be able to accurately understand who exactly lost the wallet.

6. Errors when using add-ons

It sounds difficult, but in fact everything is easy. It is always important to make sure that the words you use in a phrase or sentence complement each other. The easiest way to illustrate this is with examples:

The people is happy.
Sally like pizza.

Both examples are erroneous - they used incorrect additions. People is a plural word, and Sally is one person. Accordingly, it would be correct to:

The people are happy.
Sally likes pizza.

Simple mistakes, but if you hurry and do not reread what is written, it is very easy to make them.

7. Errors in the use of modifiers

Modifiers are optional words that are used to modify (modify) the elements of a phrase or sentence. If you put the modifier in the wrong place, be trouble:

Fortunately, but she is OK. | Fortunately, the sister had an accident, but did not suffer

It looks like you don’t really love your sister.

But she was OK. | My sister had an accident, but fortunately everything worked out

So much better!

8. Excessive use of dots

Dots indicate meaningful pauses, but you should not use them out of place in the desire to catch up with more drama. Text with lots of dots looks weird, and the sentences seem incomplete.

If you definitely want to use ellipsis, then use it in a sentence that is clearly incomplete, or in a quote, a part of which is omitted.

“I don’t know what will you do if ...” (Here we can assume, for example, that the speaker was interrupted, so he could not finish the sentence.)

“Tomorrow, after many years of waiting, we will be married.”

With a great desire, this quote can be shortened with the help of dots:

“Tomorrow ... we will be married.”

In these examples, dots are separated from other parts of the sentence by a space. In fact, this is not necessary - there are no clear rules that always require doing so.

9. Syntax errors

Another type of error, the root of which lies in the need for translation. It is very simple - there are very few languages ​​in which, when translating words, they line up in the sentence in the same positions. As a result, a situation often happens when you get a sentence from English words, but not a sentence in English.

Classic:

No is good to be too confident.

In English, this is an incomprehensible set of words. There is no subject, and therefore there is no offer.

You need something like this:

It is not a good idea.
Being too confident isn't good

This is just the tip of the iceberg syntax errors. To minimize their number, one can only study the structure of simple English sentences and not use the literal translation from the native language.

10. Paragraph difficulties

Another difficult moment. A new paragraph should begin where a discussion of a new thought starts, or some changes occur in aspects of the previously described idea. Thus, it is impossible to predict the length of a paragraph in advance, just as it is impossible to focus only on length. It is clear that writing paragraphs for 200+ words is not worth it, but up to this limit, paragraphs are completely entitled to exist.

Take a look at an example:

We have been in the 16th century. This is where the catches sooner caught the imagination of the aristocracy too. It can be used as toppings. Some traditionalists may disagree, however, that pineapple is a suitable ingredient, whatever the situation!

See where you can break this big paragraph into two smaller ones?

We have been in the 16th century. This is where the catches sooner caught the imagination of the aristocracy too.

It can be used as toppings. Some traditionalists may disagree, however, that pineapple is a suitable ingredient, whatever the situation!

Much better!

Conclusion

The main advice for improving written English is to always think about the reader. It is important to re-read the writing and put yourself in the place of the one who sees this text. Is it easy to understand the ideas presented? If the answer is yes, then this means that at the minimum level you have achieved your goal and managed to write a good text.