Common English Mistakes in Memo by Cantonese Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong when writing a Memos in English.

Mistake Example #1

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

To: All Staff Subject: Meeting Arrangement for Project Progress We todayhavea meetingtoday at 3 PM inthe conference room. Please bring along your ideas and suggestions for discussion. If you have any questions, you can ask me at anytime. Thank you for your cooperation.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"It just needed some small changes to make the English sound more natural. Nice work!"

To: All Staff Subject: Meeting Arrangement for Project Progress We have a meeting today at 3 PM in the conference room. Please bring your ideas and suggestions for discussion. If you have any questions, you can ask me at any time. Thank you for your cooperation.

To: All Staff Subject: Meeting Arrangement for Project Progress We today have meeting at 3 PM in conference room. Please bring along your ideas and suggestions for discuss. If you have any question, you can ask me anytime. Thank you for your cooperation.

Mistake Example #2

Confusion with countable vs. uncountable nouns ('She has much friends')

To: All Staff Subject: Office Supplies Inventory Dear Team, I hope this message finds you well. We havereceived manylot of new office equipments last week, and it is important to keep track of them. Please ensure that each department has enough supplies and report any shortage to the admin team. There isare muchany items in the storage room, so feel free to take what is needed. Thank you for your cooperation.

Text corrected by:
Miss E., Cyprus, Europe

"Please be aware of errors such as "equipments" which should be "equipment" and "There is much items" which should be "There are many items"."

To: All Staff Subject: Office Supplies Inventory Dear Team, I hope this message finds you well. We received a lot of new office equipment last week, and it is important to keep track of them. Please ensure that each department has enough supplies and report any shortage to the admin team. There are many items in the storage room, so feel free to take what is needed. Thank you for your cooperation.

To: All Staff Subject: Office Supplies Inventory Dear Team, I hope this message finds you well. We have received many new office equipments last week, and it is important to keep track of them. Please ensure that each department has enough supplies and report any shortage to the admin team. There is much items in the storage room, so feel free to take what is needed. Thank you for your cooperation.

Mistake Example #3

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

To: All Staff Subject:Very Important Meeting Notice Dear Team, I am writing to inform you aboutf averyn important meeting scheduled for next week. It is verycrucial that everyone attends as we will bediscussverying significant changes to our current project. Please make sure to be verypunctual and come prepared with your verybest ideas. Thank you for your very kindattentionto this matter. Best regards, [Your Name]

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed tweaking to address overuse of the word "very.""

To: All Staff Subject: Important Meeting Notice Dear Team, I am writing to inform you of an important meeting scheduled for next week. It is crucial that everyone attend as we will be discussing significant changes to our current project. Please make sure to be punctual and come prepared with your best ideas. Thank you for your attention. Best regards, [Your Name]

To: All Staff Subject: Very Important Meeting Notice Dear Team, I am writing to inform you about a very important meeting scheduled for next week. It is very crucial that everyone attends as we will discuss very significant changes to our current project. Please make sure to be very punctual and come prepared with your very best ideas. Thank you for your very kind attention to this matter. Best regards, [Your Name]