Gramatical Mistakes Common to Chinese English-speakers

The most common one I see/hear is the omission of articles.

Yep, no articles. Lots of tutorials on the net are written this way:

Put files in folder named "Libraries". Then open a text editor and open file you just created.

Also: using "to be" instead of "to do":

Where are you live? Are you live in China? (should be "Where do you live? Do you live in China?")

HblawHi all,

My native language is Chinese and I am learning English as a foreign language. I am wondering if you could name a few mistakes that are commonly seen in Chinese people who speak/write English as a second language, so that I can be more conscious in avoiding them in the future.

Any advice (relating to gramma) will be greatly appreciated!

Right. When I read your responses, I realize that these errors occur very often in my own writing/speaking.

For example, confusion of "he" and "she": it often happens in speaking, because in Chinese "he" and "she" has the same pronounciation.

Incorrect choice of words may be a result of the way that Chinese students build their English vocabulary - by studying words with bad dict

I'd say that your English is already extremely good.

Hi Hblaw,

"Space" is the "space" between words when typing on the keyboard. I see that a lot in high school level student's writing. Gender mix up and plural to singular are the most common. I had to work very hard to keep from making these mistakes. You are right about he and she sharing the same pronoun between in Chinese. That's why it is a problem for Chinese leaners. I share GG's op

Thanks a lot! It is encouraging.

I currently work in an international law firm in Beijing. In my work the standard for English is quite stringent. I have to be extremely careful in writing - that's why I asked in the first place. I need to be conscious of the "frequently made mistakes." I'd think I have a LOT to improve. (E.g. in my post above, I used "'he' and 'she' has ...").

Thanks a lot! It is encouraging.

I currently work in an international law firm in Beijing. In my work the standard for English is quite stringent. I have to be extremely careful in writing - that's why I asked in the first place. I need to be conscious of the "frequently made mistakes." I'd think I have a LOT to improve. (E.g. in my post above, I used "'he' and 'she' has ...").

Hi HbLaw,

Goodman gave a good list. I like to add a few more from my own list of mistakes:

A/an vs. the. For this one alone, there are at least 50 rules!

Verbs that may be followed by infinitives or gerunds, in addition to phrasal verbs.

Countable vs. uncountable. I still struggle with this one, especially when I use abstract words.

Usage of

If we really want to split hair, I’ll say a mistakes is something done incorrectly, because of not knowing how to do it correctly, or simply misunderstanding the proper method or procedure. On the other hand, an error is the result of oversight or carelessness which is different from a mistake. These are subtle distinctions that requires different remedies.



In English, we lear