Common English Mistakes in Personal Blog Posts by German Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native German speakers from Germany when writing a Personal Blog Post in English.

Mistake Example #1

Overuse of passive voice

Last weekend,I took a trip to the Black Forest wasitaken by me andh my friends. TWe enjoyed the beautiful scenery was enjoyed,andtook many photos were taken by us. In the evening,we cooked a traditional German dinner was cooked,and shared storieswere shared around the campfire.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Very nice! I just changed the passive voice constructions to the active voice to improve the flow of the text."

Last weekend, I took a trip to the Black Forest with my friends. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and took many photos. In the evening, we cooked a traditional German dinner and shared stories around the campfire.

Last weekend, a trip to the Black Forest was taken by me and my friends. The beautiful scenery was enjoyed, and many photos were taken by us. In the evening, a traditional German dinner was cooked, and stories were shared around the campfire.

Mistake Example #2

Capitalizing all nouns (following German grammar rules)

Today I went to the Ppark with my Ffriend to enjoy the beautiful Wweather. We had a Ppicnic and talked about our Pplans for the upcoming Ssummer Vvacation. I am really looking forward to visiting the Mmountains and exploring new Hhiking Ttrails.

Text corrected by:
Miss E., Cyprus, Europe

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

Today I went to the park with my friend to enjoy the beautiful weather. We had a picnic and talked about our plans for the upcoming summer vacation. I am really looking forward to visiting the mountains and exploring new hiking trails.

Today I went to the Park with my Friend to enjoy the beautiful Weather. We had a Picnic and talked about our Plans for the upcoming Summer Vacation. I am really looking forward to visiting the Mountains and exploring new Hiking Trails.

Mistake Example #3

Incorrect word order in subordinate clauses

Last weekend, I went to the mountains with my friends, because the weather was so nice. We decided that we should take a hike, since the view from the top is beautiful. When we reached the summit, we realized how lucky we were, thatthe sun was shining so brightlythat we realized how lucky we were. It was a perfect day,. aAlthough we were tired, we felt very happy.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Very nice! I just made some changes to the word order and polished it up a bit so it would flow more smoothly."

Last weekend, I went to the mountains with my friends because the weather was so nice. We decided that we should take a hike, since the view from the top is beautiful. When we reached the summit, the sun was shining so brightly that we realized how lucky we were. It was a perfect day. Although we were tired, we felt very happy.

Last weekend, I went to the mountains with my friends, because the weather was so nice. We decided that we should take a hike, since the view from the top is beautiful. When we reached the summit, we realized how lucky we were, that the sun was shining so brightly. It was a perfect day, although we were tired, we felt very happy.