6 Most Common Mistakes in English as a Second Language (ESL)
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Non-native users of English as a Second Language almost always struggle with all aspects of English – speaking, reading, writing, and listening.
Many also commit errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
This is because there are aspects of English as a Second Language that make it very confusing and utterly difficult for non-native English learners.
Some of these aspects that have become the sources of the most common mistakes in English as a Second Language include:
1. Wrong Ordering of Adjectives in a Sentence
2. Incorrect Usage and Missing Articles
3. Mistakes in Count and Non-Count Nouns
4. Mistakes in Prepositions
5. Redundant Subjects
6. Mistakes in Verb Tenses and Forms
Below is a discussion of the most common errors in English as a Second Language and suggestions on how to fix them easily and quickly.
1. Wrong Ordering of Adjectives in an English Sentence
In their study of English, English as a Second Language students learn that several adjectives can be used to describe a subject in a single sentence.
In this case, English as a Second Language users must be very careful in placing the adjectives in correct order in the sentence.
This is because there is such thing as wrong ordering of adjectives.
To be guided, people trying to learn English as a Second Language well must remember the accepted order of adjectives.
Correct Order of Adjectives in an English Sentence
1. Articles = a, an, the
2. Judgment = magnificent, plain, impressive, dull
3. Size = enormous, minute, humongous, tiny
4. Shape = octagonal, elongated, triangular, short
5. Age = old, outdated, modern, current
6. Color = olive green, mustard, brownish, off-white
7. Nationality = Filipino, Spanish, Russian, Chinese
8. Material = concrete, wooden, watery, volcanic
Examples:
Wrong: Have you bought the blue Chinese antique vase?
Right: Have you bought the antique Chinese blue vase?
2. Incorrect or Missing Articles in an English Sentence
As simple as they look, articles are actually sources of many mistakes of English as a Second Language learners.
This is because many learners of English as a Second Language are unaware that there are rules to follow when deciding which article is most appropriate to use in an English sentence.
Rules for Choosing the Correct Articles in an English Sentence
- A, An = used for a non-specific, singular, count noun
a dog, a song, an elephant, an announcement
- The = used for specific, singular or plural nouns
the champion dog, the award-winning song, the largest elephant, the final announcement
- Note that some non-count nouns require no articles at all
Example:
Wrong: I saw rainbow after the rain.
Right: I saw a rainbow after the rain.
3. Wrong Count and Non-Count Nouns in an English Sentence
Some students of English as a Second Language frequently commit mistakes when forming the plural forms of English nouns.
It could be because these English as a Second Language users are confused about count and non-count nouns.
Count and Non-Count Nouns in English
- Count Nouns = nouns that can be counted and transformed into plurals
one grandchild, five grandchildren, only child, several children
- Non-count Nouns = nouns that cannot be or very difficult to count
beach sand, intelligence, hope, learning
Example:
Wrong: There is no allotted budget for brand-new office equipments.
Right: There is no allotted budget for brand-new office equipment.
4. Incorrect Prepositions Used in an English Sentence
Many people learning and speaking English as a Second Language commonly commit mistakes in prepositions.
This could be due to the fact that there are so many prepositions that English as a Second Language students must keep in mind.
To avoid prepositional mistakes, it would be best for learners of English as a Second Language to learn more and more English expressions that make use of correct prepositions.
Example:
Wrong: On January each year, Chinese people celebrate the Spring Festival.
Right: In January each year, Chinese people celebrate the Spring Festival.
5. Repeating Subject in an English Sentence
Many users of English as a Second Language tend to repeat the subject in a sentence.
These English as a Second Language users commit this mistake by using a noun and its pronoun in the same sentence.
Example:
Wrong: My homecountry it is very beautiful.
Right: My homecountry is very beautiful.
6. Erroneous Verb Tenses and Forms in an English Sentence
Many learners of English as a Second Language tend to commit many errors in verbs.
For one, many English as a Second Language learners commit mistakes in verb tenses.
To avoid these mistakes, they must think about which tense of the verb – past, present, future, etc. – would be most appropriate in a sentence.
Example:
Wrong:Last week, I go to the hot springs resort and eat seaweeds.
Right:Last week, I went to a hot springs resort and ate seaweed.
Moreover, many English as a Second Language users use verbs ending in –ing in the wrong way. They also use infinitives – to + base form of the verb – in improper ways.
Example:
Wrong:We enjoy to swim in the river near our hometown.
Right:We enjoy swimming in the river near our hometown.
Useful and Helpful Hubs on Common Mistakes in the English Language
- 5 Common Grammar Errors in English as a Second Language and How to Correct Them
- 10 Commonly Misspelled Words that ESL Students Must Stop Misspelling – Now
- How to Correct the 5 Most Common Writing Mistakes in English as a Second Language
- 6 Common Punctuation Errors that Embarrass English as a Second Language Learners
Common Mistakes in the English Language
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Good Hub! I have a lot of Spanish friends and some of them make the mistakes you wrote in the article.
That's really great ..These are really common mistakes ..Thanks for pointing out
@shampa sadhya Thank you for visiting my hub. I'm glad you found it useful. I also like the English language. It helps me speak with a lot of people from all over the world, even from India! Fascinating, right? I wouldn't be able to do this if I could speak only my mother tongue :)
Well thought and well written hub. I am an Indian and very much fond of English language. Some errors are very common in English language and you have pointed it out very rightly. Keep it up! Voted up and Useful.
@Susci You're very much welcome :)
lol. I think I'm guilty.lol. Anyway,thanks for reminding me of he errors in grammar. =)
@GoingOnline OMG, so you're on your way to being a polyglot! Congratulations! Argh, I envy you. You know Spanish and English. Would like to learn Spanish too. And Mandarin. And French. LOL! :D
@Kathleen Cochran Thank you for the feedback. Really appreciate a comment from a native English speaker and an experienced English tutor and teacher such as yourself. Thanks! :)
hahaha very good hub, I am guilty of at least half of those! My first language is Spanish, so my English will always have a clear accent :) Lots of reading and learning to "think" in English helps I think.
I'm now on my way to learn Swedish. As if things weren't confusing enough language wise :)
I'm not sure I knew rule #1 myself. And I'm a native English speaker, an ESL teacher and a professional writer (newspapers). You are exactly right in saying practices in your native tongue will trip you up when speaking English. I've taught German speakers, Arab speakers and Philipine speakers, and each language has its own "tells". Interesting.
@Man from Modesto So you're a polyglot?! OK, now I'm envying you :( Seriously, I use English as my second language and I sometimes find it inevitable to think in my native language first and speak out my thoughts in my second language next.
@Maria Cecilia Talk about oversight! I'm guilty of that, too :) LOL! I'd check my writing for errors like two times only to find out that there were still typo errors on my third check. Argh! :D
@Paul Kuehn I totally agree. In the past, I would frequently translate from my mother tongue Filipino to my second language English. I felt that it was easier for me to make English sentences that way. Eventually though I realized that translating took up so much of my time and would even result in so many errors :(
Having learned a few foreign languages myself, the most difficult parts are verb conjugation and grammar. One trick I use is to begin speaking my native language using the grammar of the target language. Then, formatting grammatically correct sentences in the target language becomes natural.
Nice one girl, this is a good reminder to us who use English as 2nd Language. We all know our grammars but sometimes writing or typing your piece became too comfortable that we unconsciously committed mistakes. My problem is more on neglect.
A well-written hub. A lot of the errors you have discussed result from the interference of the student's first (native) language when learning ESL or EFL. For example, in the Thai language adjectives come after nouns. A lot of students tend to translate word by word from their native language into English when they are learning.
thesingernurse Level 6 Commenter 4 months ago
Great and useful hub my friend. Speaking and writing in English is always a challenge for non-native speakers like us. Bookmarked this hub and voted up! :)