Common English Mistakes in Short Stories by Arabic Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

Overuse of passive voice

In the quiet village of Al Ain, the townspeople witnesseda mysterious eventwas witnessed by the townspeople. The sky was painted with colors of the sunset, and the townspeople sawa strange lightwas seen hovering above the palm trees. Whispers of the event werespread among the villagers, and soon, a gatheeldering was organized bya gatheeldersing to discuss what theyhadbeen observed.

Text corrected by:
Camille, Maryland, USA

"I've made some edits so that your writing uses a blend of active and passive voice. Generally, active voice is preferred when possible. "

In the quiet village of Al Ain, the townspeople witnessed a mysterious event. The sky was painted with colors of the sunset, and the townspeople saw a strange light hovering above the palm trees. Whispers of the event spread among the villagers, and soon, the elders organized a gathering to discuss what they had observed.

In the quiet village of Al Ain, a mysterious event was witnessed by the townspeople. The sky was painted with colors of the sunset, and a strange light was seen hovering above the palm trees. Whispers of the event were spread among the villagers, and soon, a gathering was organized by the elders to discuss what had been observed.

Mistake Example #2

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

Ina quiet village by the sea,a young boy named Ahmed found anold map hidden inthe attic of his grandfather's house. MThis map showed thepath toa treasure buried under apalm tree nearthe beach. Excited byhis discovery, Ahmed decided to follow themap withthe help of his best friend, Fatima. They packeda small bag with water and snacks, and set off on an adventure under thebright sun of theUAE.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Very good! I just added some missing articles."

In a quiet village by the sea, a young boy named Ahmed found an old map hidden in the attic of his grandfather's house. This map showed the path to a treasure buried under a palm tree near the beach. Excited by his discovery, Ahmed decided to follow the map with the help of his best friend, Fatima. They packed a small bag with water and snacks, and set off on an adventure under the bright sun of the UAE.

In quiet village by the sea, young boy named Ahmed found old map hidden in attic of his grandfather's house. Map showed path to treasure buried under palm tree near beach. Excited by discovery, Ahmed decided to follow map with help of his best friend, Fatima. They packed small bag with water and snacks, and set off on adventure under bright sun of UAE.