Common English Mistakes in Screenplays by Cantonese Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JANE sits at a small table, looking vextremely nervous. She glances at her watch, then at the door. The coffee shop is verybuzzesy, with pconveople chrsation, punctinguated andby the sloundhiss of the espresso machinevery loud. Suddenly, the door opens and MARK walks in, looking vquitery confident. He spots Jane and walks over, a vwidery big smile on his face.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"I made changes to address the overuse of the word "very.""

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JANE sits at a small table, looking extremely nervous. She glances at her watch, then at the door. The coffee shop buzzes with conversation, punctuated by the loud hiss of the espresso machine. Suddenly, the door opens and MARK walks in, looking quite confident. He spots Jane and walks over, a wide smile on his face.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JANE sits at a small table, looking very nervous. She glances at her watch, then at the door. The coffee shop is very busy, with people chatting and the sound of the espresso machine very loud. Suddenly, the door opens and MARK walks in, looking very confident. He spots Jane and walks over, a very big smile on his face.

Mistake Example #2

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JASON sits across from EMILY, both holding cups of coffee. The shop is bustling with people. JASON You drink coffee so fast—likea dragon boat race, so fast! I think you should slow down, or you will become like the rabbit in the story, always rushingaround. EMILY (Laughs) You are right, Jason. But if I slow down, maybe I will miss the bus like last time. BIt's better to be the early bird thatcatches the worm, right?

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I made some stylistic improvements so your dialogue will read more naturally. Good work!"

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JASON sits across from EMILY, both holding cups of coffee. The shop is bustling with people. JASON You drink coffee so fast—like a dragon boat race! I think you should slow down, or you will become like the rabbit in the story, always rushing around. EMILY (Laughs) You are right, Jason. But if I slow down, maybe I will miss the bus like last time. It's better to be the early bird that catches the worm, right?

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JASON sits across from EMILY, both holding cups of coffee. The shop is bustling with people. JASON You drink coffee like dragon boat race, so fast! I think you should slow down, or you will become like the rabbit in the story, always rushing. EMILY (Laughs) You are right, Jason. But if I slow down, maybe I will miss the bus like last time. Better to be early bird catch the worm, right?

Mistake Example #3

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

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JESSICA sits at a small table, sipping her latte. She looks around nervously, checking her phone. Her friend, LUCAS, enters and waves. JESSICA (relieved) Lucas! I was worried you wouldn't come. I have somuchany things to tell you. LUCAS (sitting down) Of course, I'm here. You always have so many interesting stories. How is your new job? Do you have muchany colleagues?

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

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

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JESSICA sits at a small table, sipping her latte. She looks around nervously, checking her phone. Her friend, LUCAS, enters and waves. JESSICA (relieved) Lucas! I was worried you wouldn't come. I have so many things to tell you. LUCAS (sitting down) Of course, I'm here. You always have so many interesting stories. How is your new job? Do you have many colleagues?

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JESSICA sits at a small table, sipping her latte. She looks around nervously, checking her phone. Her friend, LUCAS, enters and waves. JESSICA (relieved) Lucas! I was worried you wouldn't come. I have much things to tell you. LUCAS (sitting down) Of course, I'm here. You always have so many interesting stories. How is your new job? Do you have much colleagues?