Common English Mistakes in Journal Entries by Arabic Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

Overuse of passive voice

Today,I took a walk was taken by me along the Corniche, and it wasI enjoyedit very much. The weather was perfect, and many people were seenenjoying the beach. Later, my mother cookeda delicious meal, wahichscooked by my mother, and it was shared with the family. The eveningwas ended with a beautiful sunset, which wase watched from the balcony.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I changed most of the passive voice constructions to the active voice to improve readability."

Today, I took a walk along the Corniche, and I enjoyed it very much. The weather was perfect, and many people were enjoying the beach. Later, my mother cooked a delicious meal, which she shared with the family. The evening ended with a beautiful sunset, which we watched from the balcony.

Today, a walk was taken by me along the Corniche, and it was enjoyed very much. The weather was perfect, and many people were seen enjoying the beach. Later, a delicious meal was cooked by my mother, and it was shared with the family. The evening was ended with a beautiful sunset, which was watched from the balcony.

Mistake Example #2

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

Today wasa very exciting day. I went tothe beach with my friends and we had agreat time. WThe weather was perfect, and we played volleyball and swam in thesea. After that, we went toa restaurant for dinner, and I trieda new dish that was delicious. I feel grateful for such awonderful day with my friends.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed some tweaking to correct missing or incorrectly used articles."

Today was a very exciting day. I went to the beach with my friends and we had a great time. The weather was perfect, and we played volleyball and swam in the sea. After that, we went to a restaurant for dinner, and I tried a new dish that was delicious. I feel grateful for such a wonderful day with my friends.

Today was very exciting day. I went to beach with my friends and we had great time. Weather was perfect, and we played volleyball and swam in sea. After that, we went to restaurant for dinner, and I tried new dish that was delicious. I feel grateful for such wonderful day with my friends.