In this article, we'll cover. Beginners have a lot of them, which is due to the big difference in the thinking of Russian-speaking and English-speaking people. In the same situations, different expressions are used, otherwise sentences are built. Therefore, literally translating each word in the dictionary, you will not learn to speak like a bearer of someone else's speech. To do this, you will have to memorize the entire standard phrases and phrases.

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

Typically "Russian" mistakes in English

Prepositions

Many typical mistakes Russians make in English relate to the use of prepositions. More precisely, even disuse - because they are used to replacing them with cases. In English, 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 these cases is unique in its own way. In the first one, an excuse is definitely needed, while thinking in Russian stubbornly does not 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 absolutely wrong, and never used. In the third case, Russian speakers also use a preposition, only a different one: after all, usually with is translated in Russian as "with", "together", or it refers to action by means of something. Such expressions do not lend themselves to clear logic, they just need to be remembered. Let's say in the picture (in the picture), but not on the picture .

• in this moment - in this at the moment;
• it depends from on her;
• divide into groups - divide 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. It remains only to choose the appropriate one among them.

Singular and plural

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

For example:

• news (news) is the singular, 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, comment.

Polysemy

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

Correct use of verbs

Learn, study. Learn refers to the more practical acquisition of knowledge, often on your own. Study refers to academic studies - at school, college, university. Teach is used in an active sense: when the teacher teaches and not the student learns.

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

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

We remove 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 in front of it.

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

Adding articles

Errors of Russians in English often associated with the absence of articles. Where and how to apply them is a separate big topic. But it is always worth remembering that articles exist and must be used in the right places. For a more detailed introduction to the subject, you can take a look at.

Specific nouns, adjectives and adverbs

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

Brilliant - diamond (but not brilliant, which means "wonderful").

Fluent (language proficiency) - fluent (don't say free).

Opportunity is an opportunity (but not a 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 is translated more like "mistress").

Store - Shop (not magazine, which means "magazine").

Healthy food. Food is healthy, and useful 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 typography;
• data - date, date information, data;
• examine - exam, exam inspect.

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

Interrogative and affirmative "what"

“What” in the form of a statement, not 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, don't use Which on people instead of Who.

If you ask again, say: excuse me, what? Or sorry, what? Simple what without excuse sounds like tactless rudeness.

Etiquette: how not to sound rude

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

The word "normal" (normal) means, as a rule, 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 in Russian in English - when it is used to separate the interlocutor from the group to which the speaker belongs. For the British (and the Americans too), this is unambiguously rude. The concept of "we" should also encompass the interlocutor. Otherwise, it should be said: me and you .

“I feel good” sounds like I feel good or I feel nice. You can't express yourself I feel myself: apart from the obviously superfluous word myself, such an expression has an indecent connotation, like “I caress myself”.

Results of the article

We covered 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, there are no two absolutely identical heads. But at least for the most common situations, you can prepare yourself. This is especially true for politeness. Golden words please, excuse and sorry help a lot in life. They have interlocutors to themselves, relieve tension in relationships, open doors and promote positive solutions to important issues.

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Learning and maintaining native English proficiency is very, very difficult. But almost every one of us makes mistakes that give us foreigners headlong before the interlocutor pays attention to errors in pronunciation and flaws in grammatical constructions. 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 language, and therefore we try to speak English while thinking in Russian.

Wrong word choice by meaning

Often, when choosing words for constructing 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 in the meaning of "apartment building", while for the British this word means a house for one family. "Apartment house" is apartment building(American version) or block of flats(UK version).
• Normal in the meaning of "normal, normal". But for the British, "normal" in one of its familiar vocabulary meanings - "ordinary, ordinary" - is fine or okay, a normal- is "not accompanied by adverse deviations from the norm, expected, adequate."
• Close the door in the meaning of "lock the door." The range of meanings of our verb "close" is quite wide and varies from "pretend" to "close on the lock." In English, there are separate expressions for these meanings: to close the door(literally: "return the door leaf to the opening") and to lock the door("Snap the lock, push the bolt").

• Dinner in the meaning of "lunch", while the daytime meal has long been lunch and nothing else. Use dinner in this context is to pay tribute to the 1978 English-Russian dictionary, but not to modern living English, in which dinner means "dinner" (the last meal of the day, except 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 in the meaning of "suitable" the word is used convenient: comfortable chair, but convenient time to meet.

Plural and Singular Confusion

• in Russian there is both "knowledge" and "knowledge", and in English - only knowledge;
• in Russian they give not only "advice", but also "advice", and in English - only advice;
• in Russian they wear "watches", in English - watch and by no means watches(the last word is also used, but to denote several watches, that is, a real set of objects);

another common word, money("Money") is also a singular noun, that is, to say: Money are ...- not right.

Calcified, or literal, translation

This is a global problem for 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. As a result, you get erroneous options like:

• How is your mood? in the meaning of "how are you?" There are a lot of well-established correct options 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, fine ...)". In English, “myself” (myself, himself, herself) is completely unnecessary, it’s correct to say: I feel well, I feel fine etc.
• Thank you in advance as an analogue of the "thanks in advance" common in official Russian speech. For the British, this phrase has a shade of coercion (they say, since you have already been thanked, you are obliged to fulfill the request) and is not welcome.
• Type constructions: We with my brother, which literally translate the Russian language: "We are with my brother," 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 in the meaning of "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 transmitted in it repeatedly.

For example, in the phrase: “A little girl went to the store” information about the subject's gender is transmitted four times: the meaning of the word “girl”, its ending [a], characteristic of a feminine noun, as well as the endings of the adjective [th] and the verb [a].

As examples of lexical redundancy, one can cite the combinations "city of Moscow", "old pensioner", "little puppy", "young girl". English, on the other hand, is laconic and does not require such clarifications, but by inertia we try to add them to 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 the state (Oklahoma City), but English speakers will never say London city or Paris city.
• Olga shopping went with her girlfriend(right: Olga shopping went with her friend), arising from an unconscious desire to embody the feminine gender of the word "girlfriend" in English using improvised means.

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 turns from the textbook, we immediately betray foreigners in ourselves, because usually the native speakers 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 goin ’on? / What's up? / What’s happenin ’?(yes, exactly with ending reduction). You can answer like this:

What's goin '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 presented 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, as spoken English tends to be simplistic.

Perception difficulties

The literal translation of individual words in isolation from the general meaning interferes not only with speaking English correctly, but also with correctly understanding English speech. Here are just a few examples of translation curiosities 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 pigtails" (instead of: "Girl with pigtails").
• Fly-fishing- "Catching fish on the fly" (instead of: "Catching fish with a fly").
• She is bold today!- "She's bald today!" (instead of: "She's cocky today").

It is especially difficult when perceiving spoken language, when it is as easy as shelling pears to confuse words similar in sound but different in meaning:

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

Ironically, but the Russian-speaking interlocutors are calculated by the British ... emoticons! The fact is that we often do not put periods in front of the parenthesis: Hi). And a real Englishman will write: Hi :).

Have you ever found yourself in situations where a native speaker corrected you in a conversation? Have you noticed some sticky mistakes yourself? Share with us in the comments!

Authentic English textbooks are better than ever. English File, Outcomes, Cutting Edge, Straightforward and many more are great. But they have one drawback - they are written for thousands of people from all over the world. As a result, mistakes inherent in native speakers of a particular language are not understood in these textbooks. But it's okay, teachers come to the rescue!

As an English teacher, I hear and correct mistakes every day for 13 years. To correct a little less, I have compiled a list of the most common mistakes that Russian students make in English. These mistakes are made by the majority of students of different ages, genders, professions, levels, completely independently of each other. The order is random.

On Monday or Tuesday, I always ask the students: “What did you do at the weekend?” and I hear in response “I with my friends went to the cinema.” Correctly say My friends and I went to the cinema or I went to the cinema with my friends. In English, the word order "subject + predicate" is almost unshakable. Little can be put in between. Prepositional phrases are not allowed.

When students don't know how to say something, they ask me or purr to themselves, “How to say this?”. It is not right. This is a question, and questions in English are built using auxiliary verbs. Correct, for example, like this: How do I say this? How do I put this? What's the word for this? What do you call this? (“How do you call this?” By the way, another mistake. In the latter version, what is correct.) How to can be used in affirmative sentences, for example, “I don't know how to say this” or “I will show you how to do it, ”but not in questions.

Right, just feel good. What's more, feel yourself has a meaning that you most likely don't want to use in an English lesson. I’m even embarrassed to explain it here. Better google it yourself. Truth.

Yes, “I look forward to hear from you” is wrong. Yes, you need to use the -ing form after to and say I look forward to hearing from you. No, this is not an exception to remember. There is an explanation.

The thing is that to can be a particle before a verb (I want to go) or a preposition (go to Moscow). When it is a particle, the infinitive must be used, but when it is a preposition, the -ing form must be used. In the case of look forward to, this is exactly the preposition, as in these examples: I am used to getting up early; I devote a lot of time to writing my blog; We must commit to working hard.

In English, the future is just near, and not the near, as in Russian. You just need to come to terms with this and speak in the near future.

In Russian, “on the street” is often just in the open air. If it is “cold outside,” it means that it is also cold in parks, on embankments, and so on. In English, in the street means exactly "on the road / in the city / with buildings on both sides." Therefore, if you go jogging in the park or playing football in the yard, it's outside / outdoors, not in the street.

Last time does not mean "last time", but "last time". For example: “The last time I went to the cinema was in August” or “When was the last time you watched a movie in English?” "Recently" is lately / recently. For example, “I haven’t talked to my best friend a lot lately” or “I’ve been chainwatching The Big Bang Theory recently.”

I. Personal pronouns and possessive pronouns

1. The possessive pronoun (my, your, his, her, our, their) must be followed by a noun; if there is no noun after the possessive pronoun, you must use the absolute pronoun (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs).

This is my book.

This book is my.

This book is mine.

2. Also, the absolute form of pronouns is used in the expressions "a friend of mine", "A friend of his", etc. meaning "my friend", "his friend", etc.

He is our friend.

He is a friend of us.

He is a friend of ours.

3. In expressions with a comparative degree of adjectives with "than" (than) - worse than ..., smarter than ... etc. - after "than" it is necessary to use object pronouns (me, you, him, her, us, them).

I play better than him.

I play better than he.

I play better than him. / I play better than he does.

II. Have / have got

4. In negative sentences, the verb “have / has” is replaced by “don’t have / doesn’t have”, and “have got / has got” by “haven’t got / hasn’t got”.

I do not have a car.

I haven’t a car.

I haven’t got a car. / I don’t have a car.

5. In interrogative sentences it is necessary to use the following constructions:

"Do / does smb. have ...? "And" Have / has smb. got ...? ".

Do you have a car?

Do you have got a car?

Do you have a car? / Have you got a car?

III. Prepositions

6. Before the words home, there, here the preposition "to" is not used.

I need to go home.

I need to go to home.

I need to go home.

7. In the expression "to play a musical instrument" in English, the preposition "on" is absent.

She plays the piano very well.

She plays on the piano very well.

She plays the piano very well.

8. In the phrase “to listen to something / someone”, the preposition “to” is placed after the verb “listen”.

We listen to music often.

We often listen music.

We often listen to music.

9. In English, there are expressions "tell smb." and "say to smb."

She told him a story.

She told to him a story.

She told him a story.

10. In the expressions "for breakfast", "for lunch", "for dinner" the preposition "for" is used.

I eat sandwiches for breakfast.

I have sandwiches on breakfast.

I have sandwiches for breakfast.

IV. Modal verbs

11. Modal verbs in the third person singular in the Present simple do not have

endings –s

She can swim.

She cans swim.

She can swim.

12. After modal verbs, the infinitive is used without to (exceptions: ought to, have to, to be able to, to be to)

You can use my phone.

You may to use my phone.

You may use my phone.

13. When forming interrogative sentences with modal verbs, no auxiliary verb is added; in this case, the modal verb is placed at the beginning of the sentence.

Do you know how to ride a bike?

Do you can ride a bike?

Can you ride a bike?

14. To form a negative form, add the particle not to the modal verb; auxiliary verbs are also not used in this case.

You can't play here.

You don’t must play here.

You mustn’t play here.

V. Countable and uncountable nouns

15. The noun "news" is the word for the names of games; and the names of sciences and sports ending in -ics are used in the singular, although outwardly they are plural.

This news is very interesting.

The news are very interesting.

The news is very interesting.

16. The names of many paired items (trousers, jeans, scissors), as well as some collective nouns (clothes, goods, contents, police) are used only in the plural.

Your clothes are in the closet.

Your clothes is in the wardrobe.

Your clothes are in the wardrobe.

17. The words "advice" and "knowledge" in English are uncountable.

I want to give you advice.

I want to give you an advice.

I want to give you a piece of advice.

18. The words clock (clock), gate (gate), hair (hair), money (money) are used in the singular.

She has very long hair.

Her hairs are very long.

Her hair is very long.

Vi. Questions

19. In interrogative sentences, the preposition associated with the verb is usually placed at the end.

What hotel are you staying at?

In what hotel did you stay?

What hotel did you stay in?

20. A question to the subject (starting with the words "who", "what", "which") does not require a change in the direct word order characteristic of a declarative sentence; the additional auxiliary "to do" is also not required.

Who plays football well?

Who does play football well?

Who plays football well?

Pre-Intermediate / Intermediate level

I. Possessive and reflexive pronouns

21. In the phrase "feel" in English, there is no reflexive pronoun (myself, himself etc.).

He feels tired.

He feels himself tired.

He feels tired.

22. In the expression “own”, the corresponding possessive pronoun must be used before the word “own”.

She started her own business.

She set up the own business.

She set up her own business.

II. Easily confused words

23. Raise - to raise, raise something / rise (rose, risen) - to rise, rise, get up

The government is raising taxes.

The government rises taxes.

The government raises taxes.

24. Lie (lay, lain) - lie / lay (laid, laid) - put, put something

I sometimes lie on the grass.

I sometimes lay on the grass.

I sometimes lie on the grass.

25. Economic - economic (related to trade, production, money) / economical - economical (wisely spending money, time, etc.)

Economic growth is very slow.

The economical growth is very slow.

The economic growth is very slow.

26. Affect - to influence, influence something or someone (verb) / effect - result, effect (noun)

This medication has many side effects.

This medicine has a lot of side affects.

This medicine has a lot of side effects.

27. Sensible - prudent, sane / Sensitive - sensitive, receptive, resentful, empathetic

She has very sensitive skin.

Her skin is very sensible.

Her skin is very sensitive.

28. Less - less, less (used with uncountable nouns) / fewer - less (used with countable nouns)

I have fewer friends than him.

I have less friends than him.

I have fewer friends than him.

III. Verb "to be" (The verb "to be" (to be, to be, to be))

29. In English, there are stable phrases with the verb "to be": to be afraid of - to be afraid, to be absent - to be absent, to be fond of - to get carried away, to be interested in - to be interested, to be present - to be present, etc. In sentences containing such phrases, the predicate is the verb "to be".

Are you afraid of snakes?

Do you afraid of snakes?

Are you afraid of snakes?

30. In the expression “I agree” - “I agree” the verb “to be” is absent, since the word “agree” is a verb (to agree).

I'm not agree with you.

I ' m not agree with you.

I don’t agree with you.

Vi. Prepositions

31. In the expression "to depend on someone" in English, after the word "depend" is put the preposition "on".

Everything depends on you.

Everything depends from you.

Everything depends on you.

32. In the phrase “to be angry with someone” after the word “angry” the preposition “with” or “at” is used.

Why are you angry at me?

Why are you angry on me?

Why are you angry with me?

33. Prepositions are not used before the words last / every / next / this.

I went to Europe last summer.

I went to Europe in last summer.

I went to Europe last summer.

34. In the expression “addicted to something, to be dependent on something”, the preposition “to” is placed after the word “addicted”.

When did he become addicted to drugs?

When did he become addicted from drugs?

When did he become addicted to drugs?

35. In the phrase “to visit (city, country)” the preposition “to” is used.

Have you been to Spain?

Have you ever been in Spain?

Have you ever been to Spain?

V. Verb tenses

36. After the conjunctions "if", "when", etc., future tense is not used in conditional sentences.

If the weather is fine on Wednesday, we'll have a picnic.

If the weather will be good on Wednesday, we will have a picnic.

If the weather is good on Wednesday, we will have a picnic.

37. Verbs that express states (to want - to want, to seem - to seem, to need - to need, etc.), emotions and feelings (to like - to like, to love - to love, to fear - to be afraid, etc.). as a rule, are not used in the form of continuous (Continuous) time.

I do not understand what you say.

I am not understanding what you are saying.

I don’t understand what you are saying.

Vi. Word order

38. The adverb "enough" is placed after adverbs and adjectives, but before nouns.

This suitcase isn't big enough.

This suitcase isn’t enough big.

This suitcase isn't big enough.

39. Adverbs of the mode of action (answering the questions "how?", "How?") Are placed after the defined verb.

She sang loudly.

She was loudly singing.

She was singing loudly.

40. In indirect speech, interrogative sentences have a direct word order; no auxiliary verbs are added.

He asked where I was going.

He asked where was I going.

He asked where I was going.

Upper-Intermediate / Advanced level

I. Easily confused words

41. Amount of - quantity, size, volume (used with uncountable nouns) / number of - quantity, number (used with countable nouns)

A large number of houses were damaged.

A large amount of houses were damaged.

A large number of houses were damaged.

42. Value - the cost of something; the price at which something can be sold; value of something / worth (used with the verb "to be" as the second predicate component) - to have a certain value

He appreciated the value of the painting.

He appraised the worth of the painting.

He appraised the value of the painting.

43. Possibility - opportunity, probability / opportunity - opportunity, opportunity

It may be snowing, so wear a coat.

There is an opportunity of snow, so put on your coat.

There is a possibility of snow, so put on your coat.

44. Comprise - to include, include / compose - to compose, to be a part of something

The team consists of five people.

The team is comprised of five members.

The team is composed of five members.

45. Convince - to convince of something (the truth of something) / persuade - to convince of the need to do something

Friends convinced me to take a vacation.

My friends convinced me to take a vacation.

My friends persuaded me to take a vacation.

46. ​​Differ - to differ / vary - to vary.

The two courses differ in terms of duration and cost.

These two courses vary in length and cost.
These two courses differ in length and cost.

II. Prepositions

47. After the prepositions "in spite of" and "despite" (despite) a noun or gerund is used, before the relative clause, "although" must be used (although).

Despite the fact that I have already seen this film, I will watch it with you.

Despite I have already seen this film, I will watch it with you.

Although I have already seen this film, I will watch it with you.

48. In the expressions “one out of a hundred”, “five out of ten”, etc., the preposition “in” is used if the proportion in the ratio is small and “out of” if it is large.

It was a one in a million chance.

It was a one out of a million chance.

It was a one in a million chance.

49. In the end - in the end, in the end after a long period of time / At the end - at a particular moment in time at the end of something.

At the end of the course, a test is carried out.

In the end of the course there is a test.

At the end of the course there is a test.

50. For the translation into English of the expression "in comparison with" the following phrases are used: "in comparison with", "by comparison with", "compared with", "compared to".

Compared to other children, he is very quiet.

By comparison to other children, he is very quiet.

By comparison with other children, he is very quiet.

An "excellent" mark in a dusty matriculation certificate or a certificate of completion of a language course, alas, is not a 100% guarantee of deep knowledge of English. For some reason, many teachers believe that the phrase "I usually get up at 7 o'clock" will bring much more benefit than knowing other important points about which the tradition has developed to remain silent.

We will reveal to you the "terrible secrets" of the school curriculum by removing the "top secret" stamp from them. Check out the list of Top 20 mistakes most often made by graduates of Soviet schools and universities, and cross them out of your use forever.

1. Say goodbye to the distribution of advice (advise) in the plural in English
Advice is good when asked. Do not try to act as Superman with a desire to help, say correctly: "Do you need my advice?"

2. Memorize how to ask someone to call you on the phone
You know that wearing socks under your sandals is not comme il faut? Likewise, you shouldn't say “call me by the phone,” as most people do. Have a refined English taste - say "call me on the phone / Skype" or "phone me".

3. Understand the differences between the pronouns some and any.
Pronouns are often reversed, not used where they should be. "Have you got some candies?" (“Do you have any sweets?”) In interrogative and negative sentences, use any, so you shouldn't determine the “dose” of the requested product by yourself using “some” (a little, a certain amount). The question should be formulated like this: "Do you have any candies?" Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and if you do not delve into the jungle of English grammar at the Upper Intermediate and Advanced levels, then adhere to this general rule, which in most cases will not let you down.

4. Use the verbs do and make appropriately
The ubiquitous verbs do and make can be used in a wide variety of situations, but remember that do is better for describing undefined actions, and make is more appropriate for creating, composing, or shaping something concrete.

For example:
- What do we do now? - Let’s make a party

Try to make theory and practice friends by going through an easy

5. Try not to use the verb if ("if") with future tense verbs.
Bargaining in the future tense is completely inappropriate! Starting sentences with "If you will ..." is not prohibited by religion, but by English grammar. It is correct to say so, for example: "If you still learning English, I`ll gift you a travel to London"

Will is used after if in the event that it is an extremely polite request, even with a note of formality. For example: "I am sorry, Mr. Brown is not in his office at the moment, but if you will only wait for a while, he will come to talk to you."

6. Try not to confuse midnight and noon
AM means "before noon" (from Lat. Ante Meridiem), and PM means “afternoon” (from Lat. Post Meridiem). However, they still continue to juggle these letters, misleading the interlocutor. 12 noon is 12 PM and 12 noon is 12 AM.

7. Use pretty as an adverb
Everyone remembers the song “Pretty woman”? Of course, it sings about a beautiful woman. However, the word pretty is often used colloquially as an adverb to mean "pretty, enough, pretty much." Of course, we will not translate the familiar line as "Pretty much a woman." However, a "pretty smart" compliment will mean that the other person thinks that you are "pretty smart" rather than that you are "both smart and beautiful." It is possible and necessary to remember more about other adverbs with the help.

8. Try not to confuse the verbs to learn and to teach.
What student has not dreamed of seeing himself as a teacher? Imagination is a wonderful thing, but do not confuse that "to learn" means the process of acquiring knowledge, and the verb "to teach" is the process of transferring knowledge.

We learn English - students say. And the teacher is needed for that, in order to teach - to teach.

9. Say and tell are not twins, do not shuffle them like in a deck of cards

By using tell, the person expects to hear a full story rather than a mere mention of the subject.
Tell me everything you know about it, Mom.

When say and tell are used interchangeably, tell is used without a preposition.
He told me he had a good feeling about their deal.

Say is more friendly with direct speech, and tell with indirect speech.
Tell him to bring me a cup of tea, please.
"I have already brought him a cup of tea" - she said.

10. Try very hard not to use tell instead of say.
... Once again, re-read point # 9 with concentration.
... Make an effort on yourself and remember the set expressions: to tell: a story, a lie, a joke, a secret, the truth, the time; to say: yes or no, a few words, to say something.

For example:
- Say something, Kate!
- Something.

Do you remember everything well? Then let's hit the theory with practice, passing the test "Verbs say, tell"!

11. Don't use the word "dinner" for dinner.
Cross out your notion that dinner is lunch with a red bold marker. Dinner is dinner, and lunch is better called lunch. Remember the episode of the British TV series "Sherlock", where Irene Adler repeatedly invites the detective to dinner via SMS: "Let’s have a dinner"? Reconsider and remember that it is better to give dinner to the enemy, and share lunch with a friend, as folk wisdom says.

12. Remember how to correctly comment on the score of a football game
If the match ended with the score 3: 0, then the Americans will call such a score "three to nothing", the British will say "three-nil" and only illiterate people - "three-zero".

13. Erase the phrase "reason because" from your memory.
Reason because is a favorite mistake of school and university graduates. It is correct to say "reason why". For example: The reason why I decided to go to England was because I want to improve my English.

14. Remember the correct translation of the expression "too bad".
Do you also think that "too bad" translates to "too bad" or "too bad"? We hasten to dissuade you: too bad is correctly translated as "very sorry" and does not carry any over-the-top dose of negativity.

- I don’t want to do homewor.
- Too bad, because You’ll have to.

15. Dare to ask again: "come again?"
If someone asks you the question "come again?", Do not be offended thinking that this is a cheeky and unhappy "come again?" Most likely, the interlocutor did not hear what was said and wants to clarify (similar to the Russian "what-what?")

16. Don't be afraid to tell your friends "get out of here"!
You can and should learn English from films, but not dubbed Russian translations. You could be misled by comedy translators when "get outta here" is translated as "get out." Usually this is just a lack of confidence in the words of the interlocutor, something like "okay?" or "it can't be!"

17. Confidently end letters with the word "best" and your own name.
If you read the phrase "Best, Richard" at the end of the letter, then do not rush to be surprised at the sender's overestimated self-esteem. In fact, the word best is short for with best regards / wishes. On the contrary, the man wanted to wish you all the best and at the same time remain in kinship with brevity, which, as you know, is the sister of talent.

18. Use the expression "I feel myself" very carefully and only when necessary.
The expression “I feel myself” is an incorrect copy of the Russian “I feel myself”. In English, the word "myself" is superfluous. The strict word order in the sentence and the British stiffness do not tolerate tautology and unnecessary letters. Attention! This expression can be taken as a confession of masturbation.

20. Memorize the correct translation of the very useful phrase “to have nothing to do with”.
If your kitchen looks more like a battlefield during World War II, and your husband confusedly says “I have nothing to do with this,” this does not mean that he does not know how to bake pancakes, feed a cat, look after a child and follow the progress. football match at the same time. This expression should be understood as "I have nothing to do with this", someone else is to blame for everything. Adult English analogue of the child's phrase "It's not me."

Maybe there are other common mistakes in English that you got along with your certificate or diploma? Share your life experiences in the comments and you will save others from repeating mistakes that they did not even know about.

based on materials from esquire.ru