Common English Mistakes in Poems by Cantonese Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

In the garden of my heart, flowers bloom like stars in sky, their colors dance with wind's gentle whisper. Moonlight shines on thewater, likea silver dragon swimming through night, casting shadows that tell stories of old. In this quiet moment, I listen to the song of crickets, like they are sharing thesecrets of universe with me.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Lovely poem! I just made some very small changes so the English would sound more natural."

In the garden of my heart, flowers bloom like stars in sky, their colors dance with wind's gentle whisper. Moonlight shines on the water, like a silver dragon swimming through night, casting shadows that tell stories of old. In this quiet moment, I listen to the song of crickets, like they are sharing the secrets of universe with me.

In the garden of my heart, flowers bloom like stars in sky, their colors dance with wind's gentle whisper. Moonlight shines on water, like silver dragon swimming through night, casting shadows that tell stories of old. In this quiet moment, I listen to the song of crickets, like they are sharing secrets of universe with me.

Mistake Example #2

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

In the garden of dreams, she finds much peace, where the flowers bloom with mucha lot of colors and the sky holds many stars, she finds much peace. Her heart carries muchany hopes, like the river that flows with much grace, whispering secrets of the night. Among the trees, she dances with much joy, her spirit free like the wind that knows no bounds.

Text corrected by:
Vince, United States

"Changes I made were mostly to improve fluidity and readability. Nicely done :)"

In the garden of dreams, where the flowers bloom with a lot of color and the sky holds many stars, she finds much peace. Her heart carries many hopes, like the river that flows with much grace, whispering secrets of the night. Among the trees, she dances with much joy, her spirit free like the wind that knows no bounds.

In the garden of dreams, she finds much peace, where the flowers bloom with much colors and the sky holds many stars. Her heart carries much hopes, like the river that flows with much grace, whispering secrets of the night. Among the trees, she dances with much joy, her spirit free like the wind that knows no bounds.

Mistake Example #3

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

In the very quiet night, the moon is very bright, casting verysoft shadows on thevery still water. The stars arevery numerous, twinkling in the very vast sky, likevery tiny diamonds scattered across a verydark blanket. The air is vrerally cool, and the world feels verypeaceful, as if wrapped in a vthery gentle embrace of the verycalm night.

Text corrected by:
Miss E., Cyprus, Europe

"I edited it to tone down on the use of "very". It was too much."

In the very quiet night, the moon is very bright, casting soft shadows on the still water. The stars are numerous, twinkling in the vast sky, like tiny diamonds scattered across a dark blanket. The air is really cool, and the world feels peaceful, as if wrapped in the gentle embrace of the calm night.

In the very quiet night, the moon is very bright, casting very soft shadows on the very still water. The stars are very numerous, twinkling in the very vast sky, like very tiny diamonds scattered across a very dark blanket. The air is very cool, and the world feels very peaceful, as if wrapped in a very gentle embrace of the very calm night.