1. Mistakes we make while speaking English part-1..
The girl next door is as cute as a button, but when she opens her mouth; her
English is bad enough to get her sent back to kindergarten! Well, it's a
common enough problem today --
Almost everyone is mourning the lack of fluency in English among our
school and college-going generation, as well as in the new entrants into the
work force.
Presented here are a few English bloopers sent in by our readers -- they are
good lesson in the English language!
1. ~ "It was a blunder mistake."
Correction, people! The word 'blunder' means mistake, so you could say:
~ "It was a blunder," or
~ "It was a big mistake."
2. ~ "It would have been more better."
The word 'better' itself implies that the option in question is superior -- the use of
the word 'more' in the sentence is, therefore both inappropriate and unnecessary.
Thus the correct sentence would go as follows:
~ "It would have been better."
3. ~ "Why don't he get married?"
The term 'don't' applies when discussing a plural subject. For instance, "Why don't
they get married?" The right way to phrase that sentence would be:
~ "Why doesn't he get married?"
4. ~ "I want two Xeroxes of this card."
The term 'Xerox' is used in North American English as a verb. Actually, 'Xerox' is the
name of a company that supplies photocopiers! The correct thing to say, therefore,
would be:
~ "I want two photocopies of this card."
5. ~ "Your hairs are looking silky today."
This is one of the most common Indian bloopers! The plural of 'hair' is 'hair'! Thus:
~ "Your hair is looking silky today."

2. We must realise that English is not the native language of Indians. Having
said that, we should tell ourselves, 'Yeah, I could go wrong and I could
make innumerable mistakes, but of course there is always room for
improvement.'"
Here are a few bloopers Nasreen has across often:
1. ~ Loose vs lose:
Many people make this mistake. They inevitably interchange the words 'loose' and
'lose' while writing. 'Lose' means to 'suffer a loss or defeat'. Thus, you would write:
~ 'I don't want to lose you," and not ' don't want to loose you.'
'Loose', on the other hand, means 'not firm' or 'not fitting.' In this context, you
would write,
~ "My shirt is loose," not "My shirt is lose."
2. ~ "One of my friend lives in Kolkata."
This is one of the most common Indian English bloopers ever! The correct way of
putting that is:
"One of my friends lives in Kolkata."
Why? Because the sentence implies that you have many friends who live in Kolkata,
but you are referring to only one of these friends.
3. ~ Tension-inducing tenses.
People often use the wrong tense in their sentences. For instance, someone
might say:
~ "I didn't cried when I saw the movie."
Unfortunately, the word 'didn't' is never followed by a past tense verb, in this case
'cried'. The correct way of putting it would be:
~ "I didn't cry when I saw the movie."

3. Mistakes we make while speaking English Part-2.......
English is considered one of the most difficult languages to learn. After all,
you have to keep in mind all the exceptions, rules, irregular tenses and
other oddities.
Don't abandon hope if you're having trouble. Keep reading our reader-
driven, English bloopers series, and before long you'll be an expert!
Many people make mistakes with irregular nouns, especially when changing
them into plural form. He provided the following list:
~ I bought new furnitures for the bedroom.
~ Please bring along the film equipments!
~ Display the datas in a graph.
~ Did you see the deers in the forest?
~ There were many pretty womans at the party!
~ What were the different criterias for joining?
~ I'm interested in misunderstood phenomenas.
The common problem linking these bloopers is using the incorrect plural form of the
noun. All of them have 's' added on to the end when it is unnecessary. The correct
version would be:
~ I bought new furniture for the bedroom. (Furniture is plural as well as singular.)
~ Please bring along the film equipment! (Equipment is plural as well as singular.)
~ Display the data in a graph. (Datum is singular; data is plural.)
~ Did you see the deer in the forest? (Deer is singular and plural.)
~ There were many pretty women at the party! (Woman is singular; women is
plural.)
~ What were the different criteria for joining? (Criterion is singular; criteria is
plural.)
~ I'm interested in misunderstood phenomena. (Phenomenon is singular;
phenomena is plural.)
~ Every Sunday, I take headbath.
The correct version should be:
~ Every Sunday, I wash my hair.
~ I sended that parcel.
This is common mistake. English has many irregular verbs in the past tense. Sent is
the past form of send.
~ I sent that parcel.

4. ~ I will call you today night.
Just dissecting the word, to-day, shows the origin. It means during the day.
Therefore, you should use to-night.
~ I will call you tonight
~ Can I have your name?
~ Can I go to the toilet?
~ Can I hold your hand?
This is one of the most common misuses of a word in the English language. Of
course you *can* have someone's name, just as easily as you *can* go the toilet or
hold someone's hand. Can means whether or not you are able to do it. May means
whether or not you have permission to do it.
~ May I have your name?
~ May I go to the toilet?
~ May I hold your hand?

5. Mistakes we make while speaking English Part-3..
Terrible grammar and error-riddled speech is frequently a problem for
young adults.
Poor English makes you sound unprofessional and can lead to laughs at your
expense! If you need to touch up on your English, or just want a few
giggles, read on!
~ Please return my book back.
~ Could you repeat that last line again?
In both cases, the final word is redundant. When you return a book, you give it back
to the owner. When you repeat a line, you're saying it again. They should read:
~ Please return my book.
~ Could you repeat that last line?
~ I, my sister and Deepa went to the mall
'I' and 'me' are always placed at the end of a list of names/ pronouns. The correct
usage is:
~ My sister, Deepa and I went to the mall.
~ The fish aquarium is very large.
~ The dance ballet was lovely.
In both cases, the descriptive word is unnecessary. An aquarium houses fish and a
ballet is always a dance! The correct usage is simply:
~ The aquarium is very large.
~ The ballet was lovely.
~ I could not able to do it, sir.
In this case, either able should be removed or could should be replaced with was.
Here are the two correct possibilities:
~ I could not do it, sir.
~ I was not able to do it, sir.

6. Part-4 of Mistakes we make while speaking English
the most humorous and head-scratching bloopers occur when many of us
attempt to translate from our mother-tongue directly into English. The
results can be hard on the ears and embarrassing for the speaker.
~ "He said me to go."
This is the result of a direct translation. In English, direct commands and directions
are given using the verb 'tell'. In this case, we use the past tense of 'tell' -- told
~ "He told me to go"
~ "Please on the fan!"
In English 'on' is not an action verb in the traditional sense; the 'on' must be
qualified with a verb!
~ "Please turn on the fan" or "Please switch on the fan"
~ "He is my cousin brother."
This is another mistake caused by a direct translation; it can be heard in all strata of
society. English does not contain a separation/ qualification for female or male
cousins, so the correct way to use it would be:
~ "He is my cousin."
These include helping verbs, prepositions, modals, conjunctions and
articles.
"He has eaten a mango yesterday."
When speaking of the past, helping verbs like have and has should not be used.
Instead, the correct conjugation of the verb, in this case 'ate', is required.
~ He ate a mango yesterday
~ "He is loving Sangita!"
The 'is' is unnecessary in these cases. When showing sustained or continuous action
from a verb, the verb alone suffices. This kind of error is the result of a direct
translation from the mother tongue into English.
~ "He loves Sangita!"
Here's another common one:
~ "I am standing on the bus stop."
In English, the preposition 'on' signals being above, or literally on top of, something;
it is rarely used as an indicator of location. Instead, use the preposition 'at'.
~ "I am standing at the bus stop."

7. Part-5 of Mistakes we make while speaking English
Most of us are fairly comfortable speaking English informally, even if it is
our second language. However, when we have to put down something in
writing, we panic!
This time, they all deal with English as a written language.
Wrong spelling Correct spelling
Pronounciation - Pronunciation
Ballon - Balloon
Grammer - Grammar
Recieved - Received
Occassion - Occasion
Vaccum - Vacuum
~ I am quiet certain that I paid the fee.
~ I could hear quite music in the distance.
While you may be certain that you paid the fee, no one will know if you remain
'quiet'. Likewise, 'quite' music makes no sense. The authors mixed up the spellings
of 'quite' (very) and 'quiet' (a soft sound).
The correct version would be:
~ I am quite certain that I paid the fee.
~ I could hear quiet music in the distance.
Here's another common error
~ Did you go their as well?
~ I gave you they're contact details in my last e-mail.
~ There going to the office tomorrow.
There/ they're/ their are used mistakenly all the time. Their is a possessive pronoun;
while they're is a contraction of 'they are.'
So, if you were using the correct words, you would write:
~ Did you go there as well?
~ I gave you their contact details in my last e-mail.
~ They're going to the office tomorrow.
Here are some more common mistakes people make:
~ There are meetings at 2 pm and at 5 pm, with a brake in between.
~ Will changing jobs hurt my carrier?
Again, here, the wrong spelling has been used for similar sounding words. A 'brake'
is a restraint used to stop a vehicle. A carrier is someone or something that carries
objects, like a carrier ship.
The correct words to use here would be:
~ There are meetings at 2 pm and at 5 pm, with a break in between.
~ Will changing jobs hurt my career?

8. Part-6 of Mistakes we make while speaking English............
1. The concerned person is not there
Read literally, this means the worried person is not present. What the speaker
actually meant to say is that the person who is involved is not present. The correct
way to say this would be:
~ The person concerned is not there.
2. We discussed about the project.
This is a blunder. Discussed is an action verb; therefore, it must be followed by the
object. Adding 'about' is unnecessary and improper. So it would be:
~ We discussed the project.
3. Anyways, afterwards we went to the party.
Here, the word anyway has an 's' attached improperly. In US English, afterward is
acceptable, but 'anyways' is NEVER acceptable. The correct way to say this would
be:
~ Anyway, afterwards we went to the party.
1. I practice cricket every morning.
2. Practise makes perfect.
Practice is a noun and practise is a verb. This also happens with advise/ advice.
Here's the correct version.
~ I practise cricket every morning.
~ Practice makes perfect.
3. There was a tough contest among Australia and South Africa.
4. The prize will be divided between the three groups.
'Between' is used when there are two objects. 'Among' is used when there are more
than two objects. Therefore, it should be:
~ There was a tough contest between Australia and South Africa.
~ The prize will be divided among the three groups.

9. 5. I haven't found it nowhere.
6. He didn't do nothing at office!
In both cases, the speaker uses the dreaded 'double-negative'. The second negative
in English, unlike most languages, cancels the effect of the first negative. The result
is that the speaker is saying the exact opposite of what her or she intends! It should
be:
~ I haven't found it anywhere.
~ He didn't do anything at office.
7. The examinations are preponed.
We've received countless e-mails identifying this mistake. Preponed is supposed to
be the opposite of postponed, only there's a problem -- preponed isn't in the English
dictionary! Instead, use advanced.
~ The examinations are advanced.
8. Have you removed tickets?
This is an exact translation from the Hindi/ Marathi version: 'Ticket nikala kya?'/
'Ticket kaadhle kaa?' It should be:
~ Have you bought the tickets?
9. You are a doctor, no?
This is another common mistake, probably arising as a result of a direct translation
from Hindi. We always add 'na' on to the end of each sentence.! It should be:
~ Aren't you a doctor? OR Are you a doctor?
10. He is very heighted.
There is no such word as 'heighted' in the English language. You could say, 'he has
height' but this would be awkward. Instead, try:
~ He is very tall.
4. I went there, only.
Again, this is another common mistake. One hears it so frequently that it doesn't
even sound like a mistake! It also arises from literal translations of Hindi. Most of the
time, 'only' can be cut from your speech.
~ I went there.

10. 5. I haven't found it nowhere.
6. He didn't do nothing at office!
In both cases, the speaker uses the dreaded 'double-negative'. The second negative
in English, unlike most languages, cancels the effect of the first negative. The result
is that the speaker is saying the exact opposite of what her or she intends! It should
be:
~ I haven't found it anywhere.
~ He didn't do anything at office.
7. The examinations are preponed.
We've received countless e-mails identifying this mistake. Preponed is supposed to
be the opposite of postponed, only there's a problem -- preponed isn't in the English
dictionary! Instead, use advanced.
~ The examinations are advanced.
8. Have you removed tickets?
This is an exact translation from the Hindi/ Marathi version: 'Ticket nikala kya?'/
'Ticket kaadhle kaa?' It should be:
~ Have you bought the tickets?
9. You are a doctor, no?
This is another common mistake, probably arising as a result of a direct translation
from Hindi. We always add 'na' on to the end of each sentence.! It should be:
~ Aren't you a doctor? OR Are you a doctor?
10. He is very heighted.
There is no such word as 'heighted' in the English language. You could say, 'he has
height' but this would be awkward. Instead, try:
~ He is very tall.
4. I went there, only.
Again, this is another common mistake. One hears it so frequently that it doesn't
even sound like a mistake! It also arises from literal translations of Hindi. Most of the
time, 'only' can be cut from your speech.
~ I went there.