Common English Mistakes in Public Notices by Korean Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native Korean speakers from South Korea when writing a Public Notice in English.

Mistake Example #1

Incorrect word order in complex sentences

Notice to Residents: Due to the upcoming festival, the main street will be closed from 8 AM to 6 PM on Saturday. WPlease, we ask that all vehicles, please, be moved to alternative parking areas before the closure begins. For any questions, you cancontact the city office, you can, during business hours. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Text corrected by:
Vince, United States

"This was already very well-written – I just made a few minor changes to put words in the right order :) "

Notice to Residents: Due to the upcoming festival, the main street will be closed from 8 AM to 6 PM on Saturday. Please, we ask that all vehicles be moved to alternative parking areas before the closure begins. For any questions, you can contact the city office during business hours. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Notice to Residents: Due to the upcoming festival, the main street will be closed from 8 AM to 6 PM on Saturday. We ask that all vehicles, please, be moved to alternative parking areas before the closure begins. For any questions, contact the city office, you can, during business hours. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Mistake Example #2

Omitting articles ('a', 'an', 'the')

Notice to Residents: Due to construction work on themain road, traffic will be diverted to an alternate route starting fromMonday. Please followthe instructions of traffic officers and use caution when driving in thearea. We apologize forthe inconvenience and appreciate your cooperation during this time.

Text corrected by:
Howard B., NJ, USA

"I have made a few corrections to add articles (an, the) for English grammar. Otherwise, this is clear and well-written. Nice work! "

Notice to Residents: Due to construction work on the main road, traffic will be diverted to an alternate route starting Monday. Please follow the instructions of traffic officers and use caution when driving in the area. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your cooperation during this time.

Notice to Residents: Due to construction work on main road, traffic will be diverted to alternate route starting from Monday. Please follow instructions of traffic officers and use caution when driving in area. We apologize for inconvenience and appreciate your cooperation during this time.

Mistake Example #3

Confusion with prepositions ('in', 'on', 'at')

Notice to Residents: The community meeting will be held atin the town hall inat 3:00 PMp.m. on Friday. Please arrive on time, as we will bediscussing important updates inabout the neighborhood development. For any questions, contact us at the office in wodurkingbusiness hours. Thank you for your cooperation.

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

"I just replaced a word or two to make the English sound more natural. Otherwise, the ideas in this text are clearly expressed."

Notice to Residents: The community meeting will be held in the town hall at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. Please arrive on time, as we will be discussing important updates about the neighborhood development. For any questions, contact us at the office during business hours. Thank you for your cooperation.

Notice to Residents: The community meeting will be held at the town hall in 3 PM on Friday. Please arrive on time as we will discuss important updates in the neighborhood development. For any questions, contact us at the office in working hours. Thank you for your cooperation.