Common English Mistakes in Screenplays by Italian Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

Confusing singular and plural nouns

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY MARCO sits at a table, surrounded by books and notebooks. He looks up as LUCIA enters, carrying a bag of croissants. She smiles and waves. LUCIA Ciao, Marco! I bring you croissants. I know you love them. MARCO Grazie, Lucia! I was just thinking about how much work I have. Thesrebook are so manybooks, and I don't know where to start.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed some corrections to fix singular and plural pronouns."

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY MARCO sits at a table, surrounded by books and notebooks. He looks up as LUCIA enters, carrying a bag of croissants. She smiles and waves. LUCIA Ciao, Marco! I bring you croissants. I know you love them. MARCO Grazie, Lucia! I was just thinking about how much work I have. There are so many books, and I don't know where to start.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY MARCO sits at a table, surrounded by book and notebook. He looks up as LUCIA enters, carrying a bag of croissant. She smiles and waves. LUCIA Ciao, Marco! I bring you croissant. I know you love them. MARCO Grazie, Lucia! I was just thinking about how much work I have. These book are so many, and I don't know where to start.

Mistake Example #2

Overuse of passive voice

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY The coffee was beingMARCO sipped byhis MARCOcoffee as he sat at the table. His eyes were beingdrawn to the window, where the rain was bfeing seen falling steadily. ThHewas reading a scriptwas being read by him, but his mind wasbeing distracted by thoughts of home.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Very good! I just polished it up a bit, which included changing some of the passive voice constructions to the active voice."

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY MARCO sipped his coffee as he sat at the table. His eyes were drawn to the window, where the rain fell steadily. He was reading a script, but his mind was distracted by thoughts of home.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY The coffee was being sipped by MARCO as he sat at the table. His eyes were being drawn to the window, where the rain was being seen falling steadily. The script was being read by him, but his mind was being distracted by thoughts of home.

Mistake Example #3

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

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY MARIO sits at a small table, nervously tapping his fingers. LUCIA enters, scanning the room. She spots Mario and waves. LUCIA Ciao, Mario! I am happy to see you. We make acoffee together, yes? MARIO Lucia! Yes, yes, we make it. I was thinking about our plan for the weekend. We sSee yous tomorrow at the piazza, no?

Text corrected by:
Miss E., Cyprus, Europe

"This is mostly fine. Please note that "We see us tomorrow" should be "See you tomorrow"."

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY MARIO sits at a small table, nervously tapping his fingers. LUCIA enters, scanning the room. She spots Mario and waves. LUCIA Ciao, Mario! I am happy to see you. We make coffee together, yes? MARIO Lucia! Yes, yes, we make it. I was thinking about our plan for the weekend. See you tomorrow at the piazza, no?

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY MARIO sits at a small table, nervously tapping his fingers. LUCIA enters, scanning the room. She spots Mario and waves. LUCIA Ciao, Mario! I am happy to see you. We make a coffee together, yes? MARIO Lucia! Yes, yes, we make it. I was thinking about our plan for the weekend. We see us tomorrow at the piazza, no?