Common English Mistakes in Short Stories by Ukrainian Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

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

Once upona time, there wasa young girl named Oksana who lived in asmall village nearthe forest. Every day, she would wander throughthe trees, dreaming of adventures and magical creatures. One day, she found anold map hidden undera rock, leading to treasure buried deep in thewoods. Excited, she decided to followthe map, hoping to find something that would change her life forever.

Text corrected by:
Camille, Maryland, USA

"I have added the appropriate articles in front of the nouns that required them. Otherwise, this looks very good! "

Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Oksana who lived in a small village near the forest. Every day, she would wander through the trees, dreaming of adventures and magical creatures. One day, she found an old map hidden under a rock, leading to treasure buried deep in the woods. Excited, she decided to follow the map, hoping to find something that would change her life forever.

Once upon time, there was young girl named Oksana who lived in small village near forest. Every day, she would wander through trees, dreaming of adventures and magical creatures. One day, she found old map hidden under rock, leading to treasure buried deep in woods. Excited, she decided to follow map, hoping to find something that would change her life forever.

Mistake Example #2

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

Once upon a time in a small village in Ukraine, there was a young girl named Oksana who loved to dance in the rain. Her grandmother always told her, "If it willrains tomorrow, you will catch a cold," but Oksana never listened.One day, as dark clouds gathered, Oksana thought to herself, "If it willrains today, I will dance until the sun comes back."

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Very nice! It just needed a couple of changes to make the verb tense consistent."

Once upon a time in a small village in Ukraine, there was a young girl named Oksana who loved to dance in the rain. Her grandmother always told her, "If it rains tomorrow, you will catch a cold," but Oksana never listened. One day, as dark clouds gathered, Oksana thought to herself, "If it rains today, I will dance until the sun comes back."

Once upon a time in a small village in Ukraine, there was a young girl named Oksana who loved to dance in the rain. Her grandmother always told her, "If it will rain tomorrow, you will catch a cold," but Oksana never listened. One day, as dark clouds gathered, Oksana thought to herself, "If it will rain today, I will dance until the sun comes back."

Mistake Example #3

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

In the small village where livedmy grandmotherlived,I always I founheard the most interesting stories. Every summer, I would goto the forestI would go, searching for the magical creatures smy grandmother had told me about. One day, met I a fox who spoke in riddles, and together we hadadventureshad until the sun set behind the hills.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Very good! I just made some changes to the word order and polished up the text."

In the small village where my grandmother lived, I always heard the most interesting stories. Every summer, I would go to the forest, searching for the magical creatures my grandmother had told me about. One day, met I a fox who spoke in riddles, and together we had adventures until the sun set behind the hills.

In the small village where lived my grandmother, always I found the most interesting stories. Every summer, to the forest I would go, searching for the magical creatures she told me about. One day, met I a fox who spoke in riddles, and together we adventures had until the sun set behind the hills.