Common English Mistakes in Creative Nonfictions by Italian Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native Italian speakers from Italy when writing a Creative Nonfiction in English.

Mistake Example #1

Using direct translations from Italian (e.g., 'We see us tomorrow' instead of 'See you tomorrow')

In the warm embrace of the Tuscan sun, I find myself lost in the memories of my childhood summers. We were always playing in the fields, and the laughter of my friends still echoes in my mind. "We'll see yous tomorrow," they would say, as we parted ways, promising another day of adventures under the endless sky.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

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

In the warm embrace of the Tuscan sun, I find myself lost in the memories of my childhood summers. We were always playing in the fields, and the laughter of my friends still echoes in my mind. "We'll see you tomorrow," they would say, as we parted ways, promising another day of adventures under the endless sky.

In the warm embrace of the Tuscan sun, I find myself lost in the memories of my childhood summers. We were always playing in the fields, and the laughter of my friends still echoes in my mind. We see us tomorrow, they would say, as we parted ways, promising another day of adventures under the endless sky.

Mistake Example #2

Overuse of passive voice

In the quiet village of Tuscany, a legend was told about the old olive tree that stood in the center of the square. It was believed by tThe villagers believedthat wisthes wtrere granted by twishetrees ifsomeone whispered to its ancient bark. MThe elders shared many stories. were shared by tTheelders, whoy said thatdreams were fulfilled and hopes were renewed by the magic of the treefulfilled dreams and renewed hopes.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Very nice! I just changed some of the passive voice constructions to the active voice."

In the quiet village of Tuscany, a legend was told about the old olive tree that stood in the center of the square. The villagers believed that the tree granted wishes if someone whispered to its ancient bark. The elders shared many stories. They said that the magic of the tree fulfilled dreams and renewed hopes.

In the quiet village of Tuscany, a legend was told about the old olive tree that stood in the center of the square. It was believed by the villagers that wishes were granted by the tree if whispered to its ancient bark. Many stories were shared by the elders, who said that dreams were fulfilled and hopes were renewed by the magic of the tree.

Mistake Example #3

Confusing singular and plural nouns

In the quiet of the morning, when the sun begins to rise over the hills, the village comes alive with the sounds of roosters and the chatter of people. Maria, with her basket full of fresh bread, walks through the narrow streets, greeting neighbors with a warm smile. She loves these moments, where the world feels simple and the air is filled with the scent of olives and basil.

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

"I made corrections to the singular/plural agreement of some of the nouns in this text."

In the quiet of the morning, when the sun begins to rise over the hills, the village comes alive with the sounds of roosters and the chatter of people. Maria, with her basket full of fresh bread, walks through the narrow streets, greeting neighbors with a warm smile. She loves these moments, where the world feels simple and the air is filled with the scent of olives and basil.

In the quiet of the morning, when the sun begin to rise over the hills, the village come alive with the sound of rooster and the chatter of people. Maria, with her basket full of fresh bread, walk through the narrow street, greeting neighbor with a warm smile. She love these moment, where the world feel simple and the air is filled with the scent of olive and basil.