Common English Mistakes by Cantonese Speakers

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

Category:Personal & Lifestyle Writing
Writing for personal expression and self-improvement.
Common Users:Bloggers, Life Coaches, Hobbyists.
Mistake Example #1

Personal & Lifestyle Writing / Journal Entry

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

Today was a very busy day. I went to the market and bought manylots of fruit and some vegetables. My friend invited me to her house, and she has muchany pets, including a dog and two cats. We had a lot of fun playing with them.

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

"I adjusted the language with regard to countable and nono-countable nouns. Otherwise, the ideas in this text are clearly expressed."

Today was a very busy day. I went to the market and bought lots of fruit and some vegetables. My friend invited me to her house, and she has many pets, including a dog and two cats. We had a lot of fun playing with them.

Today was a very busy day. I went to the market and bought many fruit and some vegetable. My friend invited me to her house, and she has much pet, including a dog and two cat. We had a lot of fun playing with them.

Mistake Example #2

Personal & Lifestyle Writing / Life Advice Column

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

Dear Advice Column, I amfeeling very confused about my career path. I have been working vextremely hard inat my current job, but I am notvery satisfied with the progress I am making. My friends say I shneed tould bevery patient, but I am vquitery eager to see some changes soon. What should I do to feel vsufficierntly confident about my future decisions?

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed some tweaking to reduce overuse of the word "very" as a way to emphasize adjectives."

Dear Advice Column, I am very confused about my career path. I have been working extremely hard at my current job, but I am not satisfied with the progress I am making. My friends say I need to be patient, but I am quite eager to see some changes soon. What should I do to feel sufficiently confident about my future decisions?

Dear Advice Column, I am feeling very confused about my career path. I have been working very hard in my current job, but I am not very satisfied with the progress I am making. My friends say I should be very patient, but I am very eager to see some changes soon. What should I do to feel very confident about my future decisions?

Mistake Example #3

Personal & Lifestyle Writing / Motivational Speech

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

Ladies and gentlemen, today I want to tell you that you are all verycapable of achieving your dreams. It isvery important to believe in yourself and to work veryhard every day. Remember, the journey may be verychallenging, but the rewards arevery worth it. Keep pushing forward, and you will be verysuccessful in your endeavors.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"The word "very" doesn't really add anything to this text, so I took them all out."

Ladies and gentlemen, today I want to tell you that you are all capable of achieving your dreams. It is important to believe in yourself and to work hard every day. Remember, the journey may be challenging, but the rewards are worth it. Keep pushing forward, and you will be successful in your endeavors.

Ladies and gentlemen, today I want to tell you that you are all very capable of achieving your dreams. It is very important to believe in yourself and to work very hard every day. Remember, the journey may be very challenging, but the rewards are very worth it. Keep pushing forward, and you will be very successful in your endeavors.

Mistake Example #4

Personal & Lifestyle Writing / Personal Blog Post

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

I had averyn amazing day today! The weather wasvery sunny, and I felt very happy to spend time at the verybeautiful park near my home. The flowers were verycolorful, and the air was veryso fresh, making it avery perfect place to relax and enjoy the afternoon.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"The word "very" was used several times, so I took most of them out to avoid too much repetition."

I had an amazing day today! The weather was sunny, and I felt very happy to spend time at the beautiful park near my home. The flowers were colorful, and the air was so fresh, making it a perfect place to relax and enjoy the afternoon.

I had a very amazing day today! The weather was very sunny, and I felt very happy to spend time at the very beautiful park near my home. The flowers were very colorful, and the air was very fresh, making it a very perfect place to relax and enjoy the afternoon.

Mistake Example #5

Personal & Lifestyle Writing / Personal Essay

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

I am very happy to share my experience of hiking Dragon's Back last weekend. The weather was very good, and the view was like a painting. I and mMy friendsand I walked for two hours, and we took many photos to keep asfor our memory.

Text corrected by:
Vince, United States

"This was well-written – I just made a few minor changes to make the last sentence sound a bit more natural :) "

I am very happy to share my experience of hiking Dragon's Back last weekend. The weather was very good, and the view was like a painting. My friends and I walked for two hours, and we took many photos to keep for our memory.

I am very happy to share my experience of hiking Dragon's Back last weekend. The weather was very good, and the view was like a painting. I and my friends walked for two hours, and we took many photos to keep as memory.

Mistake Example #6

Personal & Lifestyle Writing / Self-Help Article

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

In today's fast-paced world, many people find it difficult to maintain abalance between wtheir jorkbs andtheir personal lifves. It is important to have mucha lot of patience and understanding when dealing with stress. Some people believe that having too much work can lead to burnout, but it is also crucial to remember that having manyuch support from friends and family can make a big difference. By focusing on what truly matters, you can achieve much happiness and fulfillment in life.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I corrected an issue with much/many and made a couple of other changes. Nice job!"

In today's fast-paced world, many people find it difficult to maintain a balance between their jobs and their personal lives. It is important to have a lot of patience and understanding when dealing with stress. Some people believe that having too much work can lead to burnout, but it is also crucial to remember that having much support from friends and family can make a big difference. By focusing on what truly matters, you can achieve much happiness and fulfillment in life.

In today's fast-paced world, many people find it difficult to maintain balance between work and personal life. It is important to have much patience and understanding when dealing with stress. Some people believe that having too much work can lead to burnout, but it is also crucial to remember that having many support from friends and family can make a big difference. By focusing on what truly matters, you can achieve much happiness and fulfillment in life.