Common English Mistakes in Personal Essays by Slovak Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

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

When I wasa child, I loved to visit the oldhouseold of my grandparents in their small villagesmall. Thegarden beautifulgarden was full of flowerscolorfulflowers, and the bigtreebig in the middle was perfect for climbing. I remember the lazyafternoonslazy spent under the skybluesky, dreaming about excitingadventures excitingandmagical storiesmagical.

Text corrected by:
Vince, United States

"Very good! Just a couple of changes to put words in the right order. "

When I was a child, I loved to visit the old house of my grandparents in their small village. The beautiful garden was full of colorful flowers, and the big tree in the middle was perfect for climbing. I remember the lazy afternoons spent under the blue sky, dreaming about exciting adventures and magical stories.

When I was child, I loved to visit the house old of my grandparents in the village small. The garden beautiful was full of flowers colorful, and the tree big in the middle was perfect for climbing. I remember the afternoons lazy spent under the sky blue, dreaming about adventures exciting and stories magical.

Mistake Example #2

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

I hamve livinged in this small village since I wams a child, and—iti's where my heart always feels at home. I have been writing stories about the hills and the river that flows nearby sincefor many years, capturing the beauty and peace that surrounds me.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed some verb tense corrections."

I have lived in this small village since I was a child—it's where my heart always feels at home. I have been writing stories about the hills and the river that flows nearby for many years, capturing the beauty and peace that surrounds me.

I am living in this small village since I am a child, and it is where my heart always feels at home. I have been writing stories about the hills and the river that flows nearby since many years, capturing the beauty and peace that surrounds me.

Mistake Example #3

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

Growing up in Slovakia, I always loved the sound of rain. It is calming and brings a sense of peace to my mind. When I was a child, my grandmother would tell me stories while we listened to the rain tapping on the window.

Text corrected by:
Miss E., Cyprus, Europe

"This is mostly fine - it's just this: "Is calming" should be "It is calming"."

Growing up in Slovakia, I always loved the sound of rain. It is calming and brings a sense of peace to my mind. When I was a child, my grandmother would tell me stories while we listened to the rain tapping on the window.

Growing up in Slovakia, I always loved the sound of rain. Is calming and brings a sense of peace to my mind. When I was a child, my grandmother would tell me stories while we listened to the rain tapping on the window.