Common English Mistakes in Email Practices by German Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native German speakers from Germany when writing a Email Practice in English.

Mistake Example #1

Overuse of passive voice

Dear Mr. Smith,it is hHoped that the meeting wifullbe attended by, all team members. Twill attend the rmeporeting. wasI completed bythe mreport yesterday, and it isshouggesteld that it isbe reviewed before the presentation. If anyone has any questionsare had, please let me know.Best regards,Hans.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I changed the passive voice to the active voice to improve the flow of the text. Good work!"

Dear Mr. Smith, Hopefully, all team members will attend the meeting. I completed the report yesterday, and it should be reviewed before the presentation. If anyone has any questions, please let me know. Best regards, Hans.

Dear Mr. Smith, it is hoped that the meeting will be attended by all team members. The report was completed by me yesterday, and it is suggested that it is reviewed before the presentation. If any questions are had, please let me know. Best regards, Hans.

Mistake Example #2

Capitalizing all nouns (following German grammar rules)

Subject: Inquiry About the Meeting Schedule Dear Mr. Schmidt, I hope this Eemail finds you well. I am writing to ask about the Mmeeting we have planned for next Wweek. Could you please confirm the Ttime and Pplacefor the Meeting? I want to ensure that all necessary Ddocuments are prepared in advance. Thank you for your Aassistance. Best regards, Anna Müller

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"Only proper nouns should be capitalized. Capitals are not necessary for common nouns (non-specific people, places, things, or ideas)."

Subject: Inquiry About the Meeting Schedule Dear Mr. Schmidt, I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to ask about the meeting we have planned for next week. Could you please confirm the time and place? I want to ensure that all necessary documents are prepared in advance. Thank you for your assistance. Best regards, Anna Müller

Subject: Inquiry About the Meeting Schedule Dear Mr. Schmidt, I hope this Email finds you well. I am writing to ask about the Meeting we have planned for next Week. Could you please confirm the Time and Place for the Meeting? I want to ensure that all necessary Documents are prepared in advance. Thank you for your Assistance. Best regards, Anna Müller

Mistake Example #3

Incorrect word order in subordinate clauses

Subject: Meeting Schedule Confirmation Dear Mr. Smith, I hope you are well. I wanted to confirm the meeting time, that we discussed last week. It is important, that we finalize the agenda before the meeting starts. Please let me know, if there are any changes you would like to make. Thank you for your understanding and I look forward to our discussion.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"There were some odd commas and some phrasing I would normally tweak a little, but the word order wasn't an issue."

Subject: Meeting Schedule Confirmation Dear Mr. Smith, I hope you are well. I wanted to confirm the meeting time, that we discussed last week. It is important, that we finalize the agenda before the meeting starts. Please let me know, if there are any changes you would like to make. Thank you for your understanding and I look forward to our discussion.

Subject: Meeting Schedule Confirmation Dear Mr. Smith, I hope you are well. I wanted to confirm the meeting time, that we discussed last week. It is important, that we finalize the agenda before the meeting starts. Please let me know, if there are any changes you would like to make. Thank you for your understanding and I look forward to our discussion.