Common English Mistakes in Screenplays by Slovak Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

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

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY The smalltablesmall is cluttered with cupsempty cupsandpapers scatteredpapers. JANA, a womanyoung woman withlong, dark hairlong and dark, sits across from PETER, a mantall manwithround glassesround. They sip their drinks quietly, the atmosphere tense. JANA (softly) The newideanew you have, it soundsvery interestingvery. But the smalldetails small, theyneed moreworkmore. PETER (nodding) Yes, the planoriginal planwasmuch differentmuch. We should discuss bigchangesbig before the meetingimportant meetingtomorrow.

Text corrected by:
Camille, Maryland, USA

"In English, adjectives usually come before the nouns they modify. I have addressed this issue throughout. "

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY The small table is cluttered with empty cups and scattered papers. JANA, a young woman with long, dark hair, sits across from PETER, a tall man with round glasses. They sip their drinks quietly, the atmosphere tense. JANA (softly) The new idea you have sounds very interesting. But the small details need more work. PETER (nodding) Yes, the original plan was much different. We should discuss big changes before the important meeting tomorrow.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY The table small is cluttered with cups empty and papers scattered. JANA, a woman young with hair long and dark, sits across from PETER, a man tall with glasses round. They sip their drinks quietly, the atmosphere tense. JANA (softly) The idea new you have, it sounds interesting very. But the details small, they need work more. PETER (nodding) Yes, the plan original was different much. We should discuss changes big before the meeting important tomorrow.

Mistake Example #2

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

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JANA sits at a small table, staring out the window. Her friend, MARTIN, joins her with two cups of coffee. MARTIN (placing cup on table) It is beautiful outside today. RIt reminds me of summer in Bratislava. JANA (nods, smiling) Yes, but it is alsoa bit chilly. Maybe later we can walk by theriver, if you want.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Some of the sentences were missing the subject. I also added some missing articles."

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JANA sits at a small table, staring out the window. Her friend, MARTIN, joins her with two cups of coffee. MARTIN (placing cup on table) It is beautiful outside today. It reminds me of summer in Bratislava. JANA (nods, smiling) Yes, but it is also a bit chilly. Maybe later we can walk by the river, if you want.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JANA sits at a small table, staring out the window. Her friend, MARTIN, joins her with two cups of coffee. MARTIN (placing cup on table) Is beautiful outside today. Reminds me of summer in Bratislava. JANA (nods, smiling) Yes, but is also bit chilly. Maybe later we can walk by river, if you want.

Mistake Example #3

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

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JANA sits at a small table, nervously tapping her fingers. She looks around, checking the time on her phone. PETER enters, spotting her immediately. PETER (cheerful) Jana! I hamve been here sincefor ten minutes. Traffic was terrible. JANA (relieved) Peter, I hamve been waitingsince forever! I thought you forgeot about our meeting.

Text corrected by:
Miss E., Cyprus, Europe

"There are a few errors such as: "I am here since ten minutes." which should be "I have been here for ten minutes." and "I am waiting since forever!" which should be "I have been waiting forever!""

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JANA sits at a small table, nervously tapping her fingers. She looks around, checking the time on her phone. PETER enters, spotting her immediately. PETER (cheerful) Jana! I have been here for ten minutes. Traffic was terrible. JANA (relieved) Peter, I have been waiting forever! I thought you forgot about our meeting.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JANA sits at a small table, nervously tapping her fingers. She looks around, checking the time on her phone. PETER enters, spotting her immediately. PETER (cheerful) Jana! I am here since ten minutes. Traffic was terrible. JANA (relieved) Peter, I am waiting since forever! I thought you forget our meeting.