Common English Mistakes in Newsletters by Cantonese Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

Dear Subscribers, wWe are veryso excited to share our vebryand new product with you! This verhighly innovative gadget is designed to make your life verymuch easyier and veultrya-convenient. We arevery confident that you will find it vextremely useful and very enjoyable. Don't miss out on this vsupery-special offer, available only for a verylimited time!

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed some tweaking to fix overuse of the word "very.""

Dear Subscribers, We are so excited to share our brand new product with you! This highly innovative gadget is designed to make your life much easier and ultra-convenient. We are confident that you will find it extremely useful and very enjoyable. Don't miss out on this super-special offer, available only for a limited time!

Dear Subscribers, we are very excited to share our very new product with you! This very innovative gadget is designed to make your life very easy and very convenient. We are very confident that you will find it very useful and very enjoyable. Don't miss out on this very special offer, available only for a very limited time!

Mistake Example #2

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

Dear Valued Customer, wWe hope youa're well. In this month, wWe have mabunych of exciting offers waiting for youthis month. Our new product is vgrery good,at and youwille're surelyou're going to likove it. Please comeStop our store to have a look,in and check us out—you willono't be disappointed.!Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you soon.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed some tweaking to sound more native and natural."

Dear Valued Customer, We hope you're well. We have a bunch of exciting offers waiting for you this month. Our new product is great and we're sure you're going to love it. Stop in and check us out—you won't be disappointed! Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you soon.

Dear Valued Customer, we hope you are well. In this month, we have many exciting offers waiting for you. Our new product is very good, and you will surely like it. Please come to our store to have a look, and you will not be disappointed. Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you soon.

Mistake Example #3

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

Dear Subscribers, We are excited to announce that our new product line is now available! There are muchany exciting features and many new designs to choose from. Our team haves put a lot of effort into making sure that there is something for everyone. Visit our website to see more details and make your purchase today. Thank you for your support and we hope you enjoy our products!

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

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

Dear Subscribers, We are excited to announce that our new product line is now available! There are many exciting features and many new designs to choose from. Our team has put a lot of effort into making sure that there is something for everyone. Visit our website to see more details and make your purchase today. Thank you for your support and we hope you enjoy our products!

Dear Subscribers, We are excited to announce that our new product line is now available! There are much exciting features and many new designs to choose from. Our team have put a lot of effort into making sure that there is something for everyone. Visit our website to see more details and make your purchase today. Thank you for your support and we hope you enjoy our products!