Common English Mistakes in Personal Essays by Arabic Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native Arabic speakers from United Arab Emirates when writing a Personal Essay in English.

Mistake Example #1

Misuse of articles ('I have car' instead of 'I have a car')

When I wasa child, I always dreamed of visiting thedesert with my family. We would packthe car with food and water, and drive into thevast emptiness where thesand meetsthe sky. Those trips were special because they gave mea sense of freedom and adventure that I still cherish today.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I love your vivid use of the language. I just needed to add articles before some of the words."

When I was a child, I always dreamed of visiting the desert with my family. We would pack the car with food and water, and drive into the vast emptiness where the sand meets the sky. Those trips were special because they gave me a sense of freedom and adventure that I still cherish today.

When I was child, I always dreamed of visiting desert with my family. We would pack car with food and water, and drive into vast emptiness where sand meets sky. Those trips were special because they gave me sense of freedom and adventure that I still cherish today.

Mistake Example #2

Overuse of passive voice

In the quiet evenings of Dubai, a story wasI remembered ba storyme about my childhood. ThWeexplored sand dunes were exploreand by us,wantched the starswere watched as they danced in the night sky. AI felt a sense of wonder was felt by me,andit was hoped to chaterish such moments would be cherishedforever.

Text corrected by:
Vince, United States

"Changes I made were mostly to improve fluidity and readability. Nicely done :)"

In the quiet evenings of Dubai, I remembered a story about my childhood. We explored sand dunes and watched the stars as they danced in the night sky. I felt a sense of wonder and hoped to cherish such moments forever.

In the quiet evenings of Dubai, a story was remembered by me about my childhood. The sand dunes were explored by us, and the stars were watched as they danced in the night sky. A sense of wonder was felt by me, and it was hoped that such moments would be cherished forever.