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11 COMMON ERRORS in PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH
by English For Life Orlando- Paulina Guilarte
Have you seen embarrassing errors?
Comment below or on our Instagrm!
It can be difficult to explain your ideas in a new language if you don't have help and the proper instruction. Cultural colloquial expressions, new grammar, words that sound the same but have different meanings, illogical spelling, and boring or improper vocabulary choices are some of the challenges my clients have conquered.
Here are 11 common examples of errors many people make.
Signs, Menus, and Ads that got it wrong
What are the errors here? Can you spot them?
YOUR ARE BEEN RECORDED.
There are actually 2 errors here. The possessive adjective "Your" should be "You're" for you are which is necessary for the correct passive construction "You're being recorded" (on video security camera).
The second error been should actually be BEING because the video recording is in progress at this moment and probably continually.
Did you see the problems here?
There are actually 3 errors here.
Their (possessive for them) sounds exactly like there (location). The writer spelled the wrong word. Also if you miss the apostrophe in we'll (the contraction for we will, we'll changes to a completely different word- well! Well describes how well you do something.
"WE'LL help you get THERE" is the correct spelling, no caps, and no cap!
("No Cap" is slang for no lie. Caps is slang for capital letters.)
Well help you get their!
There our best selling products.
Theyre stronger than the rest.
There also sounds like THEY ARE (usually contracted as they're). "They're my best selling products" is correct. "Theyre stronger than the rest" is so close to being perfect, but sadly for the writer, he or she fell short of the mark. The mark they missed was their apostrophe, in "They're stronger than the rest" which is a must.
*Falling short of the mark" is an expression that means almost earning a perfect mark or score, but not quite because there was a mistake.
GPT
ICUP
USUK
Did you see the problem here?
Maybe not...
A new company was opening in France, GPT. No problem, right? No, it was a BIG PROBLEM because the acronym G P T when spoken aloud sounds like the French phrase "j'ai pété" or I passed gas! They had to change it!
Always check with a professional who is a native English speaker for meanings that may not be obvious to other cultures! Comment below for what you think ICUP and USUK sounds like! They're not appropriate acronyms for a company!
But in my language, it's not rude...
In American culture, it's rude to tell another adult to stop talking, or "Be quiet" in a conversation, even if it's becoming tense.
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In other countries, it's completely normal.
In fact, in the USA, telling someone wh0's upset to "calm down" or "Calmate", may cause more problems because it means you are minimizing their opinion and feelings as unimportant or invalid. It's better to say, "Do I understand correctly that you are saying...?" and then paraphrase what they told you. If yes, then say, "Ok, I understand. How can we fix this problem for you?"
ACCIDENTAL INSULTS
Also the actual word in Spanish for the pretty color black, negro, in English, NEE-GROW, is an insult if used to talk about a person. So don't say "negro, negra, or negrita" to mean pretty woman, or black, about people, in English. You can say the color "black" in English about objects. African American is how we speak regarding black people.
I hope this has helped you. Please contact me anytime you need help communicating professionally in English and growing your business globally!
Paulina Guilarte Owner of EFL Orlando
I'd love to hear from you! Comment below on on one of our platforms!
TikTok practice videos are here for our ESL friends around the world to duet! I'll correct your pronunciation. The first minute is free!
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