Common English Mistakes in Novels by Slovak Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native Slovak speakers from Slovakia when writing a Novel in English.

Mistake Example #1

Omitting 'it' as a subject in dummy subject sentences ('Is raining' instead of 'It is raining')

The sky was dark, andthe air felt heavy with anticipation. It is strange how silence can be so loud, echoing through the empty streets of the small village. In thedistance, a lone wolf howled, breaking the stillness of thenight, and suddenly,it was clear that something was about to change.

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

"I added "it" to complete the subject of the sentence and "the" to certain nouns that require an article."

The sky was dark, and the air felt heavy with anticipation. It is strange how silence can be so loud, echoing through the empty streets of the small village. In the distance, a lone wolf howled, breaking the stillness of the night, and suddenly, it was clear that something was about to change.

The sky was dark, and air felt heavy with anticipation. Is strange how silence can be so loud, echoing through the empty streets of the small village. In distance, a lone wolf howled, breaking the stillness of night, and suddenly, was clear that something was about to change.

Mistake Example #2

Incorrect placement of adjectives ('The car red' instead of 'The red car')

In thesmall villagesmall, there was an old house oldwhere wthere lived a wise womanwise with her catblackcat. Every morning, she would walk to the localmarketlocal, greeting the people with a warm,friendly with asmilewarm. The stories she told were of grandadventures grand andeep mysteriesdeep, captivating the curious childrencurious who gathered around her.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Charming! I just fixed some issues with the word order. "

In the small village, there was an old house where there lived a wise woman with her black cat. Every morning, she would walk to the local market, greeting the people with a warm, friendly smile. The stories she told were of grand adventures and deep mysteries, captivating the curious children who gathered around her.

In the village small, there was a house old where lived a woman wise with her cat black. Every morning, she would walk to the market local, greeting the people friendly with a smile warm. The stories she told were of adventures grand and mysteries deep, captivating the children curious who gathered around her.

Mistake Example #3

Struggles with perfect tenses ('I am here since three years')

In the quiet village of Liptov, I hamve livinged sincefor five years, and every morning, the mist rises from the valley like a gentle whisper. The old castle on the hill, it has stood there sincefor centuries, watching over the town with its silent gaze. My friend Jozef, he ias knowing the stories of the castle since he was a child, and he tells them with such passion that youI can almost see the ghosts dancing in the moonlight.

Text corrected by:
Vince, United States

"This was very good! Just a few small changes were needed to correct errors relating to tense and sentence structure. "

In the quiet village of Liptov, I have lived for five years, and every morning mist rises from the valley like a gentle whisper. The old castle on the hill has stood there for centuries, watching over the town with its silent gaze. My friend Jozef has known the stories of the castle since he was a child, and he tells them with such passion that I can almost see the ghosts dancing in the moonlight.

In the quiet village of Liptov, I am living since five years, and every morning, the mist rises from the valley like a gentle whisper. The old castle on the hill, it has stood there since centuries, watching over the town with its silent gaze. My friend Jozef, he is knowing the stories of the castle since he was a child, and he tells them with such passion that you can almost see the ghosts dancing in the moonlight.