Why You Should Focus On English Communication Mistakes
Why You Should Focus On English Communication Mistakes
improve your
English Communication Skills, How to improve my Communication Skills
Subject-verb Agreement
Gone or Went
Watch, Look, See
Tense – Future
Literally or Figuratively
Loan or Borrow
Casual or Formal
Academic English or Random Texting Language
Run-on Sentences
Have you ever made a blunder while talking in English? Maybe you have had some uncomfortable English language circumstances.
For instance, after a meeting, you want to compliment your boss. So you say, “You did well.”
It took quite a bit of strength to converse with your boss directly.
He says, “You think the meeting was great? Thank you!”. But, you should not use “good”. Especially to describe a verb. Rather, you should go for work “well”. English is so tricky.
Here’s one more example. Perhaps a great English-speaking colleague is shifting to another branch or another company. To say goodbye, you tell him, “I will forever forget you.” Everyone around you starts laughing, and he says, “I will never forget you either.”
Later, you understand that you joined up the terms “forget” and “always”. and therefore the meaning of your well-rehearsed goodbye communication makes you appear foolish.
Many English speakers appear to be obsessed with improving English communication skills. They get frustrated when they make blunders and waste hours trying to fix those flaws. Guilt and embarrassment bother each one of us from moment to moment.
But, while you may try to prepare for an awkward time, you can never completely stop them. With a few English communication skills, those embarrassing times can turn into possibilities. It can give you knowledge, fun, and maybe even affection.
It might come as a relief for some of you that even native speakers are prone to slips. So, before we start making fun of non-native English speakers, it’s important to understand that not everyone is perfect.
For instance, on English-language TV shows, actors often say stuff like, “This is your sister’s dog, right?”. But in reality, that sentence should be, “The dog belongs to your sister, right?”
Television writers might be working to meet the level of fit English grammar spoken in “the actual world”. But they end up producing more mistakes than they recognise.
After all, several English language learners are following TV to discover how to enhance their grammar. Mistakes and complications occur when English errors affect open communication. Many of these barriers can exist in both printed and spoken English.
Native English talkers also mistake “good” for “well” various times. So, if you are guilty of doing it, relax!. You are not the only one.
Now, the real question is what you should do to improve your English communication skills? How can you learn English communication like a pro? Keep reading and you’ll get the answer.
Given below are the top 10 mistakes that English language speakers often make. You’ll also find the solution to avoid making those in the future.
10 Deadly Mistakes in English You Never Know You Were Making
improve your english communication skills
Note. Every example has a typical English mistake. Try to find out what the mistake is. Then read the advice section for more information.
Grammar Mistakes
Example Mistake: The list of projects are on the desk.
Advice: In the earlier sentence, the list of projects is one single list. Hence, we must not use “are.” “is.” will be the right term.
Correction: The list of projects is on the desk.
2. Gone or Went
Example Mistake: He had already went to the cafeteria before they got out of the car.
Advice: Unsure whether to apply “gone” or “went”? remember that “gone” always requires an auxiliary verb. Auxiliary verbs involve: have had, is, am, are, has, was, were, be.
In the statement above, we applied “went” even though the auxiliary verb “had” is present. Since the term “had” is there, we must use “gone” and not “went.”
Correction: She had already gone to the Cafeteria before they got out of the car.
Example Mistake: Stop watching my private files. / I look at the rain outside of my cabin. / I don’t like complaining, but I look at them complaining every day to the boss.
Advice: “See,” “look” and “watch” are frequently confused while using. But, it must be used in diverse situations. The difference between the three verbs is explained here:
Look — to look at a particular thing directly.
See — to see something that gets into our view that we weren’t looking for.
Watch — to look at something thoroughly, normally at something that’s moving.
So, we can “see” anything even when we don’t want to. But, we can only “look at” on purpose.
Correction: Stop looking at my private files. / I watch the rain falling. / I don’t complain, but I see them complaining every day.
Speaking Mistakes
Example Mistake: I will be attending the seminar yesterday.
Advice: The future tense in the above statement is talking about the wrong time frame. It is referring to an event that happened yesterday, or in the past.
But, the future tense is used with something that has not happened yet. But will take place in the future.
Correction: I will be attending the seminar tomorrow.
Example Mistake: I’m literally freezing because it’s so cold. / Figuratively speaking, it’s – 10 degrees out here.
Advice: There is a mistake in the above sentence. The term “literally” indicates “truly” or “really”. Whereas “figuratively” implies something that is not real. It is used to exaggerate, or expand something.
Correction: Figuratively speaking, I’m freezing because it’s so cold. / It’s literally -10 degrees out here.
Example Mistake: Can you borrow me that pen? You can loan me my laptop.
Advice: The above sentence can make the listener confused. The term “loan” implies “to provide” and “borrow” means “to take.” It’s easy memorization that’s required to get the right meaning.
For instance, “borrow me that pen” means “take me that pen” in the above statement. But do you want the listener to take the pen? That isn’t what you intended to speak!
Rather, you would like to use the pen, hence you want someone to give it to you.
Correction: Can you loan me that pen? You can borrow my laptop.
Example Mistake: (At a job interview) “Hey, what’s happening?” or “What’s up”
Advice: Recognize your audience! Casual conversations are for friends, not your potential boss. It is not a formal language, it’s jargon. Many can even see this as improper or rude.
To converse more formally in English and improve English communication skills, try to avoid abbreviations. Use “how is” in the place of “how’s” to make it more formal.. Focus on becoming more pleasant.
Correction: “Good morning, how is everything going?”
Writing Mistakes
8. Academic English or Random Texting Language
Example Mistake: (In your office report) If u want my opinion tho, IDK why our sales not high.
Advice: Try to stop the habit of using text language to express your opinions. Write every word completely. This text style is improper communication to use for formal proposals.
Slang terms like “IDK” ( “I don’t know”) are great for personal conversation and texting. Don’t spread it’s use to your formal clients or bosses.
Correction: In my opinion, I am still unclear about our stagnant sales.
9. Punctuation
Example Mistake: (in an official letter) Dear Mr. Amit: I am still interested in the position and would like to thank you for the interview! I hope you will consider me for the following job.
Advice: Be certain about the purpose of your punctuation. In the above statement, when you address Mr. Amit, you should just add a comma.
Colons are applied when you want to create a list of things. And not when you’re addressing an individual.
The exclamation part may come as an unprofessional move. Often, they are used to show powerful emotion, which is something a possible boss might not care for.
Correction: Dear Mr. Amit, I am interested in the position, and I wanted to thank you for your time. I hope you will consider me for the following jobs.
10. Run-on Sentences
Example Mistake: I am a man and I am a good father and I am a mechanic.
Advice: If you can’t say the sentence in one gasp, you shouldn’t write it like that as well. A run-on statement is when two or more independent clauses (i.e., full sentences) are linked without proper punctuation.
The above statement misses a gap after the term “man”. Also, it should be two separate sentences.
Correction: I am a man. I am a good father and mechanic.
Capitalization
Example Mistake: one sunny afternoon, i saw riya at Delhi public library.
Advice: In the above statement, Delhi is the only term that has been capitalized. But in reality, there are many terms that should be treated the same way.
While dealing with capitalization, take note of 3 important factors.
The first letter in a sentence? If your answer is yes, then you must capitalize that term. In this sentence, the first word is “one,” so “one” must be capitalized.
Is there any I pronoun? Yes? capitalize that as well. “I” must always be in caps.
Is there a name of the person or place? Capitalize that too. Name “riya” should be capitalized. And “public library” should be entirely in caps. Names always have first letter capital.
Correction: One sunny day, I saw Riya at Delhi Public Library.
A lot of learners think that growing fluent in another language is all about talking fast and using big, rich terms. But, fluency is easy to accomplish by simply talking.
If you practice improving your English communication skills, you will be able to talk faster and with more certainty. You also want to ensure you have great comprehension as well. It’s way better to be moderate and right than be agile and make tons of errors.
Why? If you’re slow and accurate, you can quickly improve your English communication skills. It includes the way you talk, read, or reproduce. But first, your focus should be on practicing. Eventually, you’ll feel like you are getting great at this.
Take a deep breath. Understand that failure is just a step in the learning process. Accept your mistakes. Take accountability but don’t get crazy with time.
Enjoy yourself and have pleasure as you unfold new chapters to improve your English communication skills! Most importantly, appreciate your strengths. When you do it, others will join you too.
Focus on the lessons you’ve learned and move ahead.
When you convert your failure into a learning possibility, you’ll become stronger and more proficient with every mistake you do.
If you want to improve your english communication skills, don’t wait for more. Find out what all skills need improvement and start practicing without any break. Building new habits will take some time, but don’t give up.
After a while they will become a part of your daily routine.
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