Common English Mistakes in Press Releases by Cantonese Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

For immediate release,: oOur company is happy to announce the grand opening of anew store in Central onnext Saturday. WeBrinviteg allyour friends and family tocome and join the celebration, where thereyou will befind many exciting activities and special offers. We hope everyone can come outto support and share the joy withus.!

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

" Overall, the ideas in this text are clearly expressed. I just replaced a few words to make the English sound more natural."

For immediate release: Our company is happy to announce the grand opening of a new store in Central next Saturday. Bring your friends and family to join the celebration, where you will find many exciting activities and special offers. We hope everyone can come out to support us!

For immediate release, our company is happy to announce the grand opening of new store in Central on next Saturday. We invite all friends and family to come and join the celebration, where there will be many exciting activities and special offers. We hope everyone can come to support and share the joy with us.

Mistake Example #2

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

Hong Kong, October 15, 2023 – We are very excited to announce the launch of our verynewest product, which is veryboth innovative andvery unique in the market. Our team has worked very hard to ensure that this product meets the veryhigh standards of quality and performance that our customers expect. We are veryconfident that this will be avery successful addition to our product line and will bringmake verya positive impact ton our community.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I removed/changed all but one "very" and made some other stylistic improvements."

Hong Kong, October 15, 2023 – We are very excited to announce the launch of our newest product, which is both innovative and unique in the market. Our team has worked very hard to ensure that this product meets the high standards of quality and performance that our customers expect. We are confident that this will be a successful addition to our product line and will make a positive impact on our community.

Hong Kong, October 15, 2023 – We are very excited to announce the launch of our very new product, which is very innovative and very unique in the market. Our team has worked very hard to ensure that this product meets the very high standards of quality and performance that our customers expect. We are very confident that this will be a very successful addition to our product line and will bring very positive impact to our community.

Mistake Example #3

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Hong Kong, October 15, 2023 – The Hong Kong Cultural Festival is excited to announce that it will host many exciting events this year. There are muchany activities planned, including art exhibitions, music performances, and food tasting sessions. The festival aims to bring peopletogetherpeople from different backgrounds and provide them with muchany opportunityies to experience the rich culture of Hong Kong.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Sounds like a great event! I just fixed some grammatical issues, including a couple with much/many."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Hong Kong, October 15, 2023 – The Hong Kong Cultural Festival is excited to announce that it will host many exciting events this year. There are many activities planned, including art exhibitions, music performances, and food tasting sessions. The festival aims to bring people together from different backgrounds and provide them with many opportunities to experience the rich culture of Hong Kong.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Hong Kong, October 15, 2023 – The Hong Kong Cultural Festival is excited to announce that it will host many exciting events this year. There are much activities planned, including art exhibitions, music performances, and food tasting sessions. The festival aims to bring together people from different backgrounds and provide them with much opportunity to experience the rich culture of Hong Kong.