Common English Mistakes in Sentence Structure Guides by Cantonese Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

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

When you are writing sentences, it is important to knowthe difference between countable and uncountable nouns. For example, in Hong Kong, many people say "She has much friends," but it should be "She has many friends" because "friends" is countable. Another common mistake is saying "There is too much informations," but "information" is uncountable, so it should be "There is too much information." Understanding these differences can help improve your English writing skills.

Text corrected by:
Miss E., Cyprus, Europe

"Great job! Very few changes were needed overall."

When you are writing sentences, it is important to know the difference between countable and uncountable nouns. For example, in Hong Kong, many people say "She has much friends," but it should be "She has many friends" because "friends" is countable. Another common mistake is saying "There is too much informations," but "information" is uncountable, so it should be "There is too much information." Understanding these differences can help improve your English writing skills.

When you are writing sentences, it is important to know difference between countable and uncountable nouns. For example, in Hong Kong, many people say "She has much friends," but it should be "She has many friends" because "friends" is countable. Another common mistake is saying "There is too much informations," but "information" is uncountable, so it should be "There is too much information." Understanding these differences can help improve your English writing skills.

Mistake Example #2

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

In Hong Kong, the weather is very hot in summer, and the sun is very bright. People often go to the beach because the water is verycool and the sand is verysoft. It isvery common to see families having picnics, enjoying the verybeautiful view of the sea.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I took out all but two of the word "very" to improve the flow of the text. Well done!"

In Hong Kong, the weather is very hot in summer, and the sun is very bright. People often go to the beach because the water is cool and the sand is soft. It is common to see families having picnics, enjoying the beautiful view of the sea.

In Hong Kong, the weather is very hot in summer, and the sun is very bright. People often go to the beach because the water is very cool and the sand is very soft. It is very common to see families having picnics, enjoying the very beautiful view of the sea.

Mistake Example #3

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

When you go to the market, you can buy many different kinds offruit and vegetables. In Hong Kong, we like to eat rice with every meal, and we also drink soup before weeat. If you have time, we can go together tosee the beautiful scenery togetherand take manylot of photos.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed some tweaking to sound more native and natural."

When you go to the market, you can buy many different kinds of fruit and vegetables. In Hong Kong, we like to eat rice with every meal, and we also drink soup before we eat. If you have time, we can go see the beautiful scenery together and take a lot of photos.

When you go to the market, you can buy many fruit and vegetable. In Hong Kong, we like to eat rice with every meal, and we also drink soup before eat. If you have time, we can go together to see the beautiful scenery and take many photo.