Common English Mistakes in Screenplays by Ukrainian Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

Skipping articles ('I bought car' instead of 'I bought a car')

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY OLGA sits ata table, sipping coffee. She looks around, waiting for afriend. OLGA I bought anew book yesterday. Iti's about adventures in space. I think youwi'll like thestory.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This was missing necessary articles, so I added them in."

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY OLGA sits at a table, sipping coffee. She looks around, waiting for a friend. OLGA I bought a new book yesterday. It's about adventures in space. I think you'll like the story.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY OLGA sits at table, sipping coffee. She looks around, waiting for friend. OLGA I bought new book yesterday. It is about adventures in space. I think you will like story.

Mistake Example #2

Confusion with word order ('Always I go to the store' instead of 'I always go to the store')

INT. SMALL APARTMENT - NIGHT OLEG sits at the table, staring at the script in front of him. He sighs deeply, then looks up at his friend, ANNA, who is pacing the room. ANNA Always yYou arealways worrying too much, Oleg. The script is good, and the director will love it. OLEG But what if he does not? Every time I write, the words never come out right.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Nice work! I just made a small tweak to the word order."

INT. SMALL APARTMENT - NIGHT OLEG sits at the table, staring at the script in front of him. He sighs deeply, then looks up at his friend, ANNA, who is pacing the room. ANNA You are always worrying too much, Oleg. The script is good, and the director will love it. OLEG But what if he does not? Every time I write, the words never come out right.

INT. SMALL APARTMENT - NIGHT OLEG sits at the table, staring at the script in front of him. He sighs deeply, then looks up at his friend, ANNA, who is pacing the room. ANNA Always you are worrying too much, Oleg. The script is good, and the director will love it. OLEG But what if he does not? Every time I write, the words never come out right.

Mistake Example #3

Using 'will' incorrectly in conditionals ('If it will rain, I will stay' instead of 'If it rains, I will stay')

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY OLENA, a young woman in her twenties, sits at a small table, nervously stirring her coffee. Across from her, VIKTOR, a man in his thirties, leans forward, trying to catch her gaze. OLENA If it willrains tomorrow, I will bring anumbrella. But if it willdoes not, maybe we can walk in thepark instead. I just hope the weather will be nice for our meeting.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed some tweaking for correct word usage in conditionals."

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY OLENA, a young woman in her twenties, sits at a small table, nervously stirring her coffee. Across from her, VIKTOR, a man in his thirties, leans forward, trying to catch her gaze. OLENA If it rains tomorrow, I will bring an umbrella. But if it does not, maybe we can walk in the park instead. I just hope the weather will be nice for our meeting.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY OLENA, a young woman in her twenties, sits at a small table, nervously stirring her coffee. Across from her, VIKTOR, a man in his thirties, leans forward, trying to catch her gaze. OLENA If it will rain tomorrow, I will bring umbrella. But if it will not, maybe we can walk in park instead. I just hope weather will be nice for our meeting.