Common English Mistakes in Novels by Cantonese Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

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

In the bustling streets of Hong Kong, Mei wandered through the market, her mind filled with thoughts of her new life. She had muchany dreams about the future, each one more vivid than the last. As she passed by the stalls, sheand noticed the vibrant colors of the fruits and vegetables, and shMei couldn't help but think about all the cow muchoking advices her grandmother had given herabout cooking.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed some tweaking for countable vs. uncountable nouns."

In the bustling streets of Hong Kong, Mei wandered through the market, her mind filled with thoughts of her new life. She had many dreams about the future, each one more vivid than the last. As she passed by the stalls and noticed the vibrant colors of the fruits and vegetables, Mei couldn't help but think about all the cooking advice her grandmother had given her.

In the bustling streets of Hong Kong, Mei wandered through the market, her mind filled with thoughts of her new life. She had much dreams about the future, each one more vivid than the last. As she passed by the stalls, she noticed the vibrant colors of the fruits and vegetables, and she couldn't help but think about how much advices her grandmother had given her about cooking.

Mistake Example #2

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

In the quiet of the night, Mei sat by the window, her mindracing like a thousand horses running wild. She thought about the moon, how it hung in the sky like a big round plate, and she wondered if it was lonely up there. Her heart wasfelt like a small bird trapped in a cage, wanting to fly but not knowing how to open the door.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Very nice! I just made some minor tweaks so the English would flow more naturally."

In the quiet of the night, Mei sat by the window, her mind racing like a thousand horses running wild. She thought about the moon, how it hung in the sky like a big round plate, and she wondered if it was lonely up there. Her heart felt like a small bird trapped in a cage, wanting to fly but not knowing how to open the door.

In the quiet of the night, Mei sat by the window, her mind like a thousand horses running wild. She thought about the moon, how it hung in the sky like a big round plate, and she wondered if it was lonely up there. Her heart was like a small bird trapped in a cage, wanting to fly but not knowing how to open the door.

Mistake Example #3

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

The night wasvery dark, and the wind was very cold as Mei walked through the veryquiet streets of Hong Kong. She felt verytired after avery long day at work, but the thought of hervery cozy apartment kept her going. The city lights were verybright, castingvery long shadows that danced along thevery narrow alleyways, making her feel both very small and very alive in the bustling city.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I took out all but a few of the "verys". Nice work!"

The night was dark, and the wind was very cold as Mei walked through the quiet streets of Hong Kong. She felt tired after a long day at work, but the thought of her cozy apartment kept her going. The city lights were bright, casting long shadows that danced along the narrow alleyways, making her feel both very small and very alive in the bustling city.

The night was very dark, and the wind was very cold as Mei walked through the very quiet streets of Hong Kong. She felt very tired after a very long day at work, but the thought of her very cozy apartment kept her going. The city lights were very bright, casting very long shadows that danced along the very narrow alleyways, making her feel both very small and very alive in the bustling city.