Common English Mistakes in Patient Information Leaflets by Cantonese Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

Please read this leaflet carefully before you take anymedicine. This medicine is for relieveheadache and feverrelief, but you should not take too much or it will have side effects. If you have any questions, you can aska doctor or pharmacist for more details.

Text corrected by:
Vince, United States

"Overall your writing was very good; it just needed a few tweaks to make things consistent. Great job!"

Please read this leaflet carefully before you take any medicine. This medicine is for headache and fever relief, but you should not take too much or it will have side effects. If you have any questions, you can ask a doctor or pharmacist for more details.

Please read this leaflet carefully before you take medicine. This medicine is for relieve headache and fever, but you should not take too much or it will have side effect. If you have any question, you can ask doctor or pharmacist for more detail.

Mistake Example #2

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

This medicine is avery effective fortreatimengt for your condition. It isvery important to take it exactly as prescribed by your doctor. If you experience any veryunusual side effects, please contact your healthcare provider vimmery qudickately.

Text corrected by:
Michele A., Boston, Massachusetts; United States

"I reduced the repetition of the word "very" and changed a word or two to make the English sound more natural to a native speaker."

This medicine is a very effective treatment for your condition. It is important to take it exactly as prescribed by your doctor. If you experience any unusual side effects, please contact your healthcare provider immediately.

This medicine is very effective for treating your condition. It is very important to take it exactly as prescribed by your doctor. If you experience any very unusual side effects, please contact your healthcare provider very quickly.

Mistake Example #3

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

This medicine is very effective for treating cold symptoms. It is important to take it with mucha lot of water and avoid taking itwithany food that haves manyuch sugar. If you experience any side effects, please contact your doctor immediately.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Good work overall! I just fixed some issues with "much" and "many"."

This medicine is very effective for treating cold symptoms. It is important to take it with a lot of water and avoid taking it with any food that has much sugar. If you experience any side effects, please contact your doctor immediately.

This medicine is very effective for treating cold symptoms. It is important to take it with much water and avoid taking with food that have many sugar. If you experience any side effects, please contact your doctor immediately.