Common English Mistakes in Life Advice Columns by Cantonese Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

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 #2

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

Dear Advice Column, I am feeling very lonely because I do not have muchany friends to talk with. I try to join many activities, but it is hard to make connections with people. Can you give me some advice on how to meet more people and build friendships?

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

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

Dear Advice Column, I am feeling very lonely because I do not have many friends to talk with. I try to join many activities, but it is hard to make connections with people. Can you give me some advice on how to meet more people and build friendships?

Dear Advice Column, I am feeling very lonely because I do not have much friends to talk with. I try to join many activities, but it is hard to make connection with people. Can you give me some advice on how to meet more people and build friendships?

Mistake Example #3

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

Dear Advice Column,I ham feelingveryhad a lot of headaches these days because my friend always borrows my things and doesnot returnthem. I want to tell herhow I feel, but I am afraid she will lose facher temper and our friendship will be broken. How can I open mouthp to her without making her feel bad? Please give me some good methods tfor solveing this problem.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I made some changes so the English would sound more natural. Good luck with your friend!"

Dear Advice Column, I have had a lot of headaches these days because my friend always borrows my things and does not return them. I want to tell her how I feel, but I am afraid she will lose her temper and our friendship will be broken. How can I open up to her without making her feel bad? Please give me some good methods for solving this problem.

Dear Advice Column, I am feeling very headache these days because my friend always borrow my things and not return. I want to tell her, but I am afraid she will lose face and our friendship will be broken. How can I open mouth to her without making her feel bad? Please give me some good method to solve this problem.