Lexical errors in English. English: Errors and their Notations

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Learning and maintaining native-level knowledge of English is very, very difficult. But almost each of us makes mistakes that immediately reveal us as foreigners long before the interlocutor notices errors in pronunciation and flaws in grammatical structures. The main reason for the annoying shortcomings is that we, like all people in the world, perceive a foreign language through the prism of our native one, and therefore we try to speak English while thinking in Russian.

Wrong choice of word by meaning

Often, when choosing words to construct an English sentence, we rely on the dictionary meaning and do not think about the fact that for an English-speaking person it has its own nuances. For example, we use:

House meaning "apartment house", whereas for the English this word means a single-family house. " Apartment house" - This apartment building(American version) or block of flats(British version).
Normal meaning “normal, normal.” But for the English, “normal” in one of its familiar dictionary meanings - “ordinary, ordinary” - is fine or okay, A normal- this is “not accompanied by unfavorable deviations from the norm, expected, adequate.”
Close the door meaning “to lock the door.” The range of meanings of our verb “to close” is quite wide and ranges from “to pretend” to “to lock.” In English there are separate expressions for these meanings: to close the door(literally: “return the door leaf into the opening”) and to lock the door(“snap the lock, push the bolt”).

Dinner in the meaning of “lunch”, while the daily meal has long been lunch and nothing else. Use dinner in this context means paying tribute to the 1978 edition of the English-Russian dictionary, but not to the modern living English language, in which dinner means “dinner” (the last meal of the day, not counting perhaps evening tea).
Comfortable in the meaning of “suitable” (convenient time for a meeting, convenient route, etc.). In English comfortable- giving a physical or emotional feeling of comfort, and the word used in the meaning of “suitable” convenient: comfortable chair, But convenient time to meet.

Confusion with plural and singular numbers

in Russian there is both “knowledge” and “knowledge”, but in English there is only knowledge;
in Russian they give not only “advice”, but also “advice”, and in English - only advice;
in Russian speech they wear “watches”, in English - watch and under no circumstances watches(the last word is also used, but to denote several wristwatch, that is, a real set of objects);

another common word money(“money”) is also a noun singular, that is, to say: Money are...- wrong.

Calculated, or literal, translation

This global problem to all those who study a foreign language: often we try not to speak English, but to translate our own Russian-language phrases, which is fundamentally wrong. The result is erroneous options like:

How is your mood? meaning “how are you feeling?” There are many well-established correct variants for this phrase: How are you? / How's it going? / What's up?
I feel myself(well, fine...) in the sense of “I feel (good, excellent...).” In English, “myself” (myself, himself, herself) is completely unnecessary; it is correct to say: I feel well, I feel fine etc.
Thank you in advance as an analogue of the popular “thank you in advance” in official Russian speech. For the British, this phrase has a connotation of coercion (they say, since you have already been thanked, you are obliged to fulfill the request) and is not welcome.
Type designs: We with my brother, which literally translate the Russian language: “My brother and I,” while in English such combinations use a completely different word order: My brother and I(as an option: Me and my brother).
I think yes meaning “I think so” instead of the correct one: I think so. Offer: I think yes perhaps as an answer to the question: What answer do you prefer, yes or no?

Transferring the redundancy of the Russian language into English speech

The Russian language is redundant: usually the same lexical or grammatical information is conveyed more than once.

For example, in the phrase: “The little girl went to the store,” information about the subject’s gender is conveyed four times: by the meaning of the word “girl,” its ending [a], which is characteristic of feminine nouns, as well as the endings of the adjective [aya] and verb [a].

Examples of lexical redundancy include the combinations “city of Moscow”, “old pensioner”, “little puppy”, “young girl”. The English language is laconic and does not require such clarifications, but by inertia we try to add them to our speech when we speak English. As a result, we get errors such as:

I study English language(Right: I study English);
I'm from Moscow city(Right: I'm from Moscow). The word City in similar situations is used only when it is included in the name of the city itself (Salt Lake City) or when you can confuse the city and state (Oklahoma City), but native English speakers will never say London city or Paris city.
Olga went shopping with her girlfriend(Right: Olga went shopping with her friend), arising from an unconscious desire to embody the feminine gender of the word “girlfriend” in English speech using improvised methods.

Excessive academicism

There is even such an expression in English: To sound like a textbook, which means “to speak in abstruse, academic language.” By memorizing and repeating absolutely correct, but dead phrases from a textbook, we immediately identify ourselves as foreigners, since native speakers usually do not speak so fully and competently. In particular, you rarely hear from them:

Hello, how are you? - I'm fine. Thank you! And you? Usually used: Hey, what's going on? / What's up? / What's happenin'?(yes, exactly with the reduction of the ending). You can answer like this:

What's going on? - Nothin’ much / It’s goin’ good.

What's up? - Not much. What's up with you?

What's happenin'? - Nothin' much.

My name is John. Most likely, you will be introduced briefly and clearly: I'm John.

I bought a new car/ I received a letter/ I came home too late. Most likely, you will hear instead: I got a new car/ I got a letter/ I got home too late, since in spoken English there is a pronounced tendency towards simplification.

Perception difficulties

Literal translation of individual words in isolation from the general meaning hinders not only speaking English correctly, but also correctly understanding English speech. Here are just a few examples of translation oddities caused by this approach:

Watch out!- “Look outside!” (instead of: “Beware!”).
Come on, old boy!- “Come here, old boy!” (instead of: “Come on, buddy!”).
A girl with pig tails- “Girl with pig tails” (instead of: “Girl with pigtails”).
Fly-fishing- “Fishing on the fly” (instead of: “Fishing on a fly”).
She is bold today!- “She’s bald today!” (instead of: “She is cheeky today”).

It is especially difficult when perceiving oral speech, when it is easy to confuse words that are similar in sound but have different meanings:

I have been there- “I have beans there” instead of: “I’ve been there” ( been— past participle of the verb to be; bean- "beans").
By the way- “Buy a road” instead of: “By the way” ( By- preposition “by”; buy- "buy").
Stop the violence!- “Let the violins be silent!” instead of: “Stop the violence!” ( violence- “violence, cruelty”; violins- “violins”)

Funnily enough, the British figure out their Russian-speaking interlocutors... by emoticons! The fact is that we often do not put periods before the bracket: Hi). And a real Englishman will write: Hi :).

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where a native speaker corrected you in conversation? Maybe you yourself have noticed particularly sticky mistakes? Share with us in the comments!

In this article we will look at. Beginners have a lot of them, which is due to the big difference in the thinking of Russian-speaking and English-speaking people. In identical situations, different expressions are used, but sentences are constructed differently. Therefore, by literally translating each word from the dictionary, you will not learn to speak like a native speaker of someone else’s speech. To do this, you will have to memorize the entire standard phrases and phrases.

Usually, only with practical experience does one develop the habit of speaking correctly. But the most serious punctures can be avoided if you theoretically prepare in advance. This will be discussed further. The general and main rule is that you don’t need to think in Russian, simply copying your thoughts in foreign words. Get ahead a little and think through whole phrases.

Typical “Russian” errors in English

Prepositions

Many typical mistakes Russians in English concern the use of prepositions. More precisely, even non-use - since they are used to replacing them with cases. For English speakers, prepositions serve as case endings.

For example:

wait for somebody – wait for someone;
to be afraid of something – to be afraid of something;
to be angry with somebody - to be angry with someone.

Each of the listed cases is unique in its own way. The first one definitely needs a preposition, whereas when thinking in Russian you stubbornly don’t want to pronounce it. In the second, you should also remember the nuance that the British are afraid only of “something”, not “someone”. Expressions like I am afraid of him completely incorrect and never used. In the third case, Russian speakers also use a preposition, only a different one: after all, with is usually translated in Russian as “with”, “together”, or it refers to action through something. Such expressions do not lend themselves to clear logic; you just need to remember them. Let's say in the picture (in the picture), but not on the picture .

in this moment - in this at the moment;
it depends on her – it depends from on her;
divide into groups on into groups;
finish school – to graduate from school.

And in the expression “listen to music” you need to use two identical prepositions: to listen to music.

All English prepositions can be found at. All that remains is to choose the right one among them.

Singular and plural

Some words only exist in singular or plural. Moreover, again, each language has its own nuances that are absent in others. By the way, the ending -s also occurs in “single” English nouns.

For example:

news (news) is a singular number, used with the corresponding articles and verb forms;
police – always plural, there is only one policeman (policewoman);
problem - the problem is always one and specific; English speakers do not have many problems. The same goes for advice and comment.

Multiple meaning

In Russian, the word "finger" refers to both the palms and feet. But for the British these are different things. They have a finger on their hand and a toe on their leg. The thumb even has a separate name: thumb. The remaining fingers of the hands are also called in their own way, but similar concepts exist in the Russian language.

Correct use of verbs

Learn, study. Learn refers to more practical acquisition of knowledge, often on one's own. Study refers to academic study - at school, college, university. Teach is used in the active sense: when the teacher teaches rather than the student learns.

Do, make. Do rather denotes a process that does not end with the creation of any specific values. Make implies a more tangible result, material or spiritual. Pupil does his homeworks, but sculptor makes statues. If we are talking about preparing coffee by a waiter, the verb prepare is more suitable.

Say, tell. Say focuses attention on the information (say about), while tell focuses on its recipients (tell us). But there are typical exceptions: tell a story, tell the truth.

Removing unnecessary words and sounds

I am from Moscow city.

I feel myself well.

I am agree.

The meaning of the first two is already completely clear from the remaining words. In the third, you need to take into account: agree is a verb, not an adjective, there is no need to insert word forms to be before it.

In the word and last sound"d" is pronounced only if it is followed by a vowel. Before consonants, the pronunciation and is shortened to “en”.

Adding articles

Russian mistakes in English often associated with the absence of articles. Where and how to use them is a separate big topic. But you should always remember that articles exist and must be used in the proper places. For a more detailed look at the subject, you can look at.

Specific nouns, adjectives and adverbs

Here is a list of some words that are mistakenly used by Russian speakers.

Diamond – diamond (but not brilliant, which means “wonderful”).

Fluent (level of language proficiency) – fluent (don’t say free).

Possibility – opportunity (but not possibility, which rather means the “probability” of an event).

Suitable – convenient (not comfortable, this translates as “convenient” in a more material sense).

Girlfriend - friend (girlfriend translates more like “mistress”).

Shop – Shop (not magazine, which means “magazine”).

Healthy food - healthy food. Food can be healthy, and healthy refers to things like tools.

I really like you – I really like you (don’t say very instead of really).

Here are some more:

abuse – burden insult, abuse;
accord chord agreement;
Antarctica – Antarctic Antarctica;
baton loaf traffic controller's baton, conductor's baton;
cabinet – cabinet cabinet with pull-out drawers;
compositor composer typesetter in a printing house;
data – number, date information, data;
examine - examine exam, examine inspect.

The word enough is placed after the verb or adjective it refers to. Well enough, earns enough. Do not rush to insert this clarification before the main concept.

Interrogative and affirmative “what”

“What” as a statement rather than a question is translated that. “I know that you will come” - I know that you will come.

To ask “what is it called in English”, say: What is it called in English? Don't use How instead of What. Also, do not use Which in relation to people instead of Who.

If you ask again, say: excuse me, what? Or sorry, what? A simple "what" without an apology sounds like tactless rudeness.

Etiquette rules: how not to seem rude

Say please more often when completing a wish. In general, make it a rule not to indicate in a commanding tone, and always add “please”. It will be both polite and sound like a real native speaker. But if you invite someone or respond to a request to enter, say: you are welcome , in this case, please is inappropriate.

The word “normal” usually means only the mental adequacy of someone. In response to the question “how are you?” answer: I am fine. The Russian “normal” is completely incomprehensible to the British.

The pronoun we (we) is the basis of a common mistake among Russians in English - when it is used to separate the interlocutor from the group to which the speaker belongs. For the British (and Americans too) this is definitely rude. The concept of “we” should also include the interlocutor. Otherwise you should say: me and you .

“I feel good” sounds like I feel good or I feel nice. You can’t express yourself as “I feel myself”: in addition to the obviously superfluous word myself, such an expression has indecent connotations, like “I caress myself.”

Summary of the article

We discussed in the article typical mistakes of Russian speakers in English. Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Each person makes mistakes in his own way; no two heads are exactly alike. But at least you can prepare for the most common situations. This is especially true when it comes to politeness. The golden words please, excuse and sorry are a great help in life. They win over their interlocutors, relieve tension in relationships, open doors and promote positive solutions to important issues.

The general linguistic concept of "error" can be perceived in different ways, since the term can be applied to different levels of language. First of all, it should be noted that the most important and important type of error is the one that makes it difficult to understand. For example, “She saw it with dignity” instead of “She looked at it with dignity”

Julian Edge identifies the following categories of errors from a teacher's perspective. Julian Edge, Mistakes and Corrections, Longman, - 1997. - 70. p. 9-10.

1. Errors - slips.

This type includes errors that the student can correct himself if pointed out.

Example: She left college two years ago and now work as a secretary.

I decided to do it and forgotten about it.

2. Mistakes made in the material covered (errors).

This type includes errors that the student cannot correct independently, even if pointed out, but the class is familiar with the correct form.

Example: That was the first English film which I have understood it.

He doesn't know about the war, doesn't he?

3. Errors made in unstudied material (attempts).

This type includes errors made in unfamiliar structures, or when it is not clear what the student wants to say and what form he is trying to use in the sentence to express his thoughts.

Example: This is no really for always my time...

With time it appeared more clearly.

According to Julian Edge, this classification can be effective for teachers who know the language level of their students, because For one, an error in this kind of sentence may be slip, for another - error, and for a third - attempt. It can also be a student’s progress in language learning from attempt to slip.

S.G. Merkulova considers the issue of classification of errors from a linguistic point of view. There are three main types of errors: semantic, grammatical and phonetic errors. Merkulova S.G. Modern approaches to correcting errors in oral speech when learning English. // English language. Supplement to the newspaper “First of September”, 2002. - 45. - P. 5.

Since distortion of meaning interferes with mutual understanding, semantic errors can be considered the most serious and require correction. Grammatical errors are the second group of errors often corrected by teachers.

The last type of error is phonetic. Frequent correction of phonetic errors eradicates children's confidence in their abilities even in the first place. initial stage language teaching, so you should approach this problem differently.

Depending on which language norms are violated, in the classification of S.N. Tseitlin actually divided speech errors into a number of categories. Tseytlin S.N. Speech errors and their prevention. - St. Petersburg: Publishing House "MiM", 1997. - 192, - pp. 21-22. Errors can be highlighted:

a) word-formation - consisting in the unjustified formation of new words or modifications of words of a standard language;

Alan was satisfied with his work.

b) morphological - associated with the non-normative formation of word forms and the use of parts of speech;

He got his first book and cried angry.

c) syntactic - consisting in incorrect construction of phrases, simple and complex sentences;

The cat was trapped at the corner of the street where the trash would be soon placed.

d) lexical - representing the use of words in non-normative meanings, violation of lexical compatibility, repetitions, tautology;

He didn't want to work on his work, because this work was ungrateful.

e) phraseological - associated with the use of phraseological units that does not comply with the norm;

It was pouring down like from the buckets.

f) stylistic - consisting in violating the unity of style.

The ministers were so noisy that the speaker asked them to shut up.

Stylistic errors occupy a special place in this system, since they do not correspond to a certain level of the language and can manifest themselves in the field of vocabulary, morphology, and syntax.

Also, errors can be divided into two categories in terms of the reason for their occurrence:

Errors associated with the influence of the native language (interference).

I would like to speak with you some minutes.

Errors associated with the very process of learning and comprehending a foreign language, up to an advanced level, manifesting themselves as a consequence of misunderstood or independently developed patterns at all levels of the language. For example, students very often add the ending “-ed” to irregular verbs when converting them to the past tense.

She took the situation seriously.

Thus, there are many classifications of errors, since this issue can be viewed from different perspectives. Each classification helps re-evaluate what students are learning and provides a way for teachers to evaluate how effective learning is and what needs to be done.

In this work, to analyze tasks for preventing speech errors, we use the classification of S.N. Tseytlin.

Sat again. What's wrong?!

I remember these moments from school: the English teacher hands out notebooks with proven test work. With a sinking heart I open my notebook... Sat. Ooooh, what's wrong again?!

Yes, I must admit that at school I was not always good at English. But even when interest in the subject appeared, improvement, especially in written work, turned out to be difficult. Sometimes it was unclear what grade the English teacher gave and, especially, what exactly the mistakes were.

English grades.

IN English speaking countries ah, different rating system. Our highest grade is 5, and the lowest is 1. In the education system of English-speaking countries, the highest grade is A, and the lowest is E or F (depending on the country and school). There are also ratings N - not certified, U - failure (unclassified).

Our English teachers often introduce their own grading system in the classroom. Perhaps the most commonly accepted are:

Exc. (excellent) - 5,

Sat (satisfactory) -3,

If your English teacher gives different grades, please tell us about them in the comments.

So, we sorted out the ratings. Now about the errors.

Mistakes when learning English.

It happens that with the best of intentions, the teacher simply underlines a word or fragment where there is an error, and puts some kind of squiggle in the margin. You are expected to figure out what is wrong and correct the error yourself. The idea is good, but not everyone explains what this squiggle means. And you sit and think: “What is the mistake?”

I remember exactly that no one ever explained to us what the icons in the margins mean when errors are noted in an English test. When I entered university, it was assumed that I already knew these notations. I had to figure it out myself.

Icons and error symbols in English.

Now it is used more or less general system error notations in English. Here are the most common designations:

Sp. - spelling, i.e. misspelling of a word;

Gr. - grammar, i.e. grammar. This concept is very broad, of course;

T - tense, i.e. the wrong tense is used;

Pr., Prep. - preposition, i.e. preposition (for example at, of, etc.);

Conj. - conjunction, i.e. conjunction (and, but, etc.);

Art. - article, i.e. article (a, the, -);

Lex. - lexis, i.e. vocabulary. Most likely, the wrong word was used, or the word that was not intended was used (for example, during a test on a certain textbook module).

This is, of course, not an exhaustive list of error symbols in English. Here I have listed the most common ones. Of course, your English teacher or tutor may use their own notation system. In this case, ask him/her to explain the signs used to you.

We strive so hard to do everything right all the time. Some school habit of doing it without mistakes and getting an A... and, perhaps, happily forgetting everything. If you get an A, your conscience is clear.

Having made a mistake, we usually react as usual - we get upset. The phrase “Everyone does it and it’s normal” upsets and even enrages some; they feel like they are just trying to calm them down.

But everyone really does them - teachers, native speakers, super smart professors - everyone!

And you know what I’ll tell you - you’re even very lucky if you’re wrong. Some people do everything right, perhaps not because they are very smart, but because they simply bypassed something and did not learn something very important or interesting. By making mistakes, we learn. When we stumble, we remember these pebbles, we gain so much knowledge!

By making mistakes, we learn, learn and remember much more!

The most important thing is to make mistakes SMARTLY! Yes, it's possible! You need to notice mistakes and work through them. You can also learn from other people’s pebbles – and from other people’s cones.

Today I propose to confront some common mistakes - let’s recognize them in person!

I just want to tell you one story before this.

N It's been so long since we lived in the Philippines. I remembered our neighbor, a Russian guy who married a Filipina and stayed to live there.

We must give him his due - he learned to express himself very well in English, and this despite the fact that before arriving in the Philippines he did not know English AT ALL. He learned by doing, made a lot of mistakes - but was not afraid to make them and was not at all upset. He speaks, makes mistakes and gradually learns how to do it.

And someone is afraid to make a mistake, remains silent, like a fish, and their knowledge of the language remains at the same level.

Basic mistakes in English

So, back to the pebbles. Let's list and analyze typical mistakes that Russian people often make. Go:

1. Do you agree? – Do you agree?

Incorrect: Are you agree?

Right: Do do you agree?

In the simple tense, both (agree - what to do? - action verb) and the verb “to be” cannot be used. – am/is/are – appears in sentences only where there are no verbs (there are only adjectives, nouns).

Are you at home? (no verb)

Do you like chocolate? (there is a verb “like”).

2. He lives – He lives

Incorrect: He is alive

Correct: He lives s

Another very common mistake among beginners is completely ignoring the 3rd person singular. Remember that with he/she/it a verb ending in -s is used.

3. I don’t speak – I don’t speak

Incorrect: I don't speak English

Correct: I don't speak English

In an English sentence, a negative particle is added to the auxiliary verb or the verb “to be”, we talked about this in the article about (Present Simple).

4. He is a good

Incorrect: He is a good

Correct: He is good

It is correct to say “He is good” - the article is not used if there is no noun.

He is good. He is good (no noun).

He is a good person. He good man. (person – noun).

5. A trousers – a pair of trousers

Incorrect: a trousers

Correct: a pair of trousers

Or simply without an article. The indefinite “a” is not used with nouns, since “a” originally came from the numeral “one” - one.

6. This people/that people

Incorrect: This people / that people

Right: These/those people

I've been to Paris. (just an experience, let's show off☺).

I was in Paris in 2009. (a fact in the past, we say when it happened).

12. I feel myself good – I feel good

Incorrect: I feel myself good.

Correct: I feel good.

Unlike Russian, this verb does not require reflexivity.

13. Do mistakes or make mistakes?

Incorrect: I make mistakes.

Correct: I make mistakes.

“To do” in English is expressed through two verbs, which causes confusion among many Russian speakers. The main difference is that “make” has an element of creativity, that is, “do” in the meaning of “produce, create,” and the verb “do” has the basic meaning of “doing, doing.” But there are set phrases that are better to just remember.

14. So and Such

Incorrect: He has so beautiful wife. His wife is so beautiful.

Correct: He has such a beautiful wife! His wife is so beautiful.

“So... So...” So is used with an adjective (without a noun). Such + (adjective) noun.

Your dress is so good! (after “such (so)” there is ONLY an adjective!)

You have such a good dress! (after “such” comes an adjective AND a noun).

15. Interesting or interested?

Incorrect: I’m very interesting in history.

Correct: I’m very interested ed in history.

–ing adjectives describe the quality of something or someone, while –ed adjectives show a person’s reaction to something.

This sound is very annoy ing(This sound is very annoying. It itself has this quality, annoying others).

We are annoy ed. (We are irritated. Something annoys us. This is our reaction).

16. In or to?

Incorrect: I’ve been in China.

Correct: I have been to China.

The Present Perfect uses the preposition “to”.

17. Money is – money are

Incorrect: Money is important.

Correct: Money is important.

Although “money” in Russian plural, in English it is singular.

18. Clothes is – clothes are

Incorrect: Clothes is beautiful.

Correct: Clothes are beautiful.

But with clothes it’s the opposite. Clothes in English are plural.

19. Didn’t go or didn’t go?

Incorrect: I didn’t go.

Correct: I didn't go.

And this is our “woe from mind.” Once you have learned it, you need to apply it everywhere :)). We remember that in the past tense in negatives and questions (that is, where there is an auxiliary “did”, the infinitive form of the verb is used, the first, without any endings or transformations).

20. Advice

Incorrect: advices.

Right: a piece of advice

We bring to your attention a video tutorial about common mistakes that our compatriots do.

And the second part:

What mistakes are you making?

Let's discuss in the comments.

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