Common Errors

Take a look at the sentences below. Which of these contain errors?

1. Welcome in Brussels!
2. Are you interested to learn Dutch?
3. The report has been published on 26 March.
4. Today I had the honour to make a presentation at our annual conference.
5. One of my colleague is Japanese.
6. She told that she felt ill.
7. Would you mind to wait a moment?
8. I look forward to hear from you.
9. He’s the responsible.
10. We saw a fantastic exposition at the weekend.
11. She is doing a training today.
12. He put his car in the parking.
13. It was funny (when you mean you enjoyed doing it).
14. I don’t like John, he’s very special.

Actually… they all contain errors. However, if you didn't get all of them right, please don’t be disheartened and think that your English isn’t good enough. If you use it as your main language at work, your English is no doubt more than good enough.

But then if what I’ve just said is true, you may be wondering why you didn’t see all of the errors above. The reason is probably because everyone who works in an English-speaking environment with non-native speakers will hear these types of sentences again and again, whether at work or among friends. Inevitably, everyone copies each other and the error becomes normal within your environment. The Brussels Bubble is a typical example of this.

Some people may argue that if you can be understood, that’s all that matters. Who cares about a few prepositions, gerunds or false friends? If you’re one of those people, I’m not going to argue with you - you have a valid point.

However, if you really want to speak the kind of English that is spoken in English-language countries and not just within your community, I would simply suggest this: Be proud of how good your English is already but never be afraid to ask questions or look in a dictionary/grammar book if you’re not sure. You might even want to do some self-study or find an English teacher who works at advanced level, of which there are plenty to choose from!

A further point I would like to make on this subject is that current work cultures are often not very tolerant of imperfection. There is pressure to work harder, work in the evenings or at weekends, be ‘as good as’ a certain colleague…and I know from personal experience that it is utterly exhausting, and arguably one of the main causes of burnout. So please, either accept that you can be understood and be proud of what you’ve already achieved or allow yourself to improve without feeling an overwhelming sense of pressure.

So, are you curious to know what those correct sentences are? Well, let’s take a look:

1. Welcome to Brussels!
2. Are you interested in learning Dutch?
3. The report was published on 26 March.
4. Today I had the honour of making a presentation at our annual conference.
5. One of my colleagues is Japanese.
6. She told me (or someone) that she felt ill. OR She said that she felt ill.
7. Would you mind waiting a moment?
8. I look forward to hearing from you.
9. He’s the person responsible / the manager / lead…
10. We saw a fantastic exhibition at the weekend.
11. She is training today. OR She is doing a training course today.
12. He put his car in the parking space / car park / parking lot.
13. It was fun.
14. I don’t like John, he’s very strange / weird…

If you would like more information about why the above sentences were incorrect, you are of course very welcome to contact me for a free explanation.

Do you know of any other common errors that you frequently hear or read? If so, please don’t hesitate to write them in the comments below!