Common English Mistakes in Feature Stories by Cantonese Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

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

In the bustling streets of Hong Kong, there is much excitement about the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. Many people are preparing for the event, and there isare muchany activities planned for the day. The festival is a time when families come together, and everyone is looking forward to enjoying the delicious rice dumplings and watching the thrilling boat races.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I fixed an issue with much/many and made a couple of other small changes. Well done!"

In the bustling streets of Hong Kong, there is much excitement about the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. Many people are preparing for the event, and there are many activities planned for the day. The festival is a time when families come together, and everyone is looking forward to enjoying the delicious rice dumplings and watching the thrilling boat races.

In the bustling streets of Hong Kong, there is much excitement about the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. Many people are preparing for the event, and there is much activities planned for the day. The festival is a time when families come together, and everyone is looking forward to enjoy the delicious rice dumplings and watch the thrilling boat races.

Mistake Example #2

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

Hong Kong is avery vibrant city with avery unique blend of cultures and traditions. The streets are verybusytling, filled withvery colorful signs andvery delicious smells from the street food stalls. People here are veryfriendly and the city is verysafe, making it averyn attractive destination for tourists from all over the world.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed tweaking to address overuse of the word "very.""

Hong Kong is a vibrant city with a unique blend of cultures and traditions. The streets are bustling, filled with colorful signs and delicious smells from the street food stalls. People here are friendly and the city is safe, making it an attractive destination for tourists from all over the world.

Hong Kong is a very vibrant city with a very unique blend of cultures and traditions. The streets are very busy, filled with very colorful signs and very delicious smells from the street food stalls. People here are very friendly and the city is very safe, making it a very attractive destination for tourists from all over the world.

Mistake Example #3

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

In Hong Kong, the Mid-Autumn Festival is very lively, and everyone is busy tocelebrateing. People like to eat mooncakes and play with lanterns, and the streets are fa moullntain of peoplemountain people sea. The children arevery happy because they can carry their lanterns and walk around with their friends, making the night verycolorful and full of joy.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Sounds lovely! I just changed a few words and polished it up to make the English sound more natural."

In Hong Kong, the Mid-Autumn Festival is very lively, and everyone is busy celebrating. People like to eat mooncakes and play with lanterns, and the streets are a mountain of people. The children are happy because they can carry their lanterns and walk around with their friends, making the night colorful and full of joy.

In Hong Kong, the Mid-Autumn Festival is very lively, and everyone is busy to celebrate. People like to eat mooncakes and play with lanterns, and the streets are full of people mountain people sea. The children are very happy because they can carry the lanterns and walk around with their friends, making the night very colorful and full of joy.