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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap
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Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 8:38 pm Post subject: common vocab errors |
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Korean english teachers class, tomorrow morning. A high-functioning group but aware they make recurring usage errors. They asked me to put together a list of common mistakes they don't know they are making.
This came up when I pointed out that many K-teachers mistakenly use "vocabularies" when talking about a list of new words. "Your homework is to memorize these vocabularies."
Some others that spring to mind:
Saying "expect" when they mean "look forward to."
Saying "alphabets" when they mean "letters."
Saying "prepare" when they mean "arrange" or "pay for," referring to a restaurant meal. "I hope you enjoy this lunch I've prepared."
I'm sure I'll remember a bunch more, but can you add some? What wrong usages stick out to you?
Thanks for any input. |
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gforce645
Joined: 02 May 2011
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Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 11:28 pm Post subject: |
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Comfortable / Convenient
Menu / Options of Food "this restaurant has many delicious menus."
Later / From now "I will go to Jeju 3 days later." |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 12:41 am Post subject: |
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Those are on point. Thanks. More? |
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The Cosmic Hum

Joined: 09 May 2003 Location: Sonic Space
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 3:17 am Post subject: |
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schwa wrote: |
Those are on point. Thanks. More? |
Not a specific vocab but rather a grammar point...emotive verbs.
When they confuse 'ed' with 'ing'
That movie was so bored. (That movie was so boring.)
I am surprising by your answer. (I am surprised by your answer.)
I was so disappointing by that movie. (I was so disappointed by that movie.)
Specific vocabulary.
My mother is a good cooker. (cook)
told vs spoke/talked
I told about my problems to my sister.
promise vs meeting
I have a promise this weekend.
hard vs tired
I played soccer all day, so I was hard.
money vs cash
I didn't have my credit card so I paid by money.
hurt vs sore
My eyes are hurt because I played computer games all night.
Just a few...hope they help.
Good luck tomorrow.
Cheers. |
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yodanole
Joined: 02 Mar 2003 Location: La Florida
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 1:34 pm Post subject: |
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Nothing particularly to do with Korea really, but misused homophones are a personal pet peeve when I'm reading something. |
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crsandus

Joined: 05 Oct 2004
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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I often run into the until/by error. I'm not sure if this is as common but I also seem to regularly run into people dropping the object.
E.g.
A - Do you have a cookie? I'm so hungry.
B - Yes, I have. |
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Sister Ray
Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Location: Fukuoka
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 5:38 pm Post subject: |
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yodanole wrote: |
Nothing particularly to do with Korea really, but misused homophones are a personal pet peeve when I'm reading something. |
In my experience, this is usually native speakers. Second language speakers seem to not suffer so much from this. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: |
I often run into the until/by error. I'm not sure if this is as common but I also seem to regularly run into people dropping the object.
E.g.
A - Do you have a cookie? I'm so hungry.
B - Yes, I have. |
This would be quite a normal response from a British English speaker as we answer with the auxiliary 'have' to the question 'have you got?' Which has the same meaning as 'do you have?'
A clearer example would be something like
'Do you like fish?'
'Yes I like.' |
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Chaucer
Joined: 20 Oct 2009
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Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 8:11 am Post subject: More? |
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I'm opening a party this weekend. (having a party)
I hope I can listen to your class next semester. (take your class)
So Jihyun, you didn't eat lunch? Yes. You mean you had lunch? No. So you didn't have lunch? Yes. (No, No, No). |
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Hokie21
Joined: 01 Mar 2011
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Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 3:22 pm Post subject: |
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I find that a lot of Koreans mix up fun/funny.
I also find they have trouble correctly using very/much/so/many. |
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metalhead
Joined: 18 May 2010 Location: Toilet
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Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 6:42 am Post subject: |
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So here we have an English teacher who has been teaching in Korea for about 20 years asking people for help identifying common mistakes in English that Koreans make. One would think that as a professional he wouldn't need any help with this, it is his JOB after all, but then it appears thinking is not required to be an English teacher in Korea.
I wonder if doctors who have been in the profession for 20 years ask similar questions on medical forums, "Hey guys what are some common complaints patients have?", or maybe they are actually trained for the job they are doing?
Try being more of a professional, Schwa. It's your job dammit. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 6:58 am Post subject: |
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Quote: |
So here we have an English teacher who has been teaching in Korea for about 20 years asking people for help identifying common mistakes in English that Koreans make. One would think that as a professional he wouldn't need any help with this, it is his JOB after all, but then it appears thinking is not required to be an English teacher in Korea.
I wonder if doctors who have been in the profession for 20 years ask similar questions on medical forums, "Hey guys what are some common complaints patients have?", or maybe they are actually trained for the job they are doing?
Try being more of a professional, Schwa. It's your job dammit. |
I thought the same at first but on the other hand, If he's been teaching kids most of that time there will be some different issues coming up reagarding an adult teachers' class. But of course you'd know that being an experienced
teacher yourself. In my experience the best teachers never decide they can't
learn anything new from discussing things with colleagues. I'm sure doctors feel the same |
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yodanole
Joined: 02 Mar 2003 Location: La Florida
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Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 10:53 am Post subject: |
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What is wrong with sharing ideas? Most disciplines hold conferences where people meet & share ideas. |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap
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Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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Well, in my defence, I could probably write a book on the subject. As I said in the OP, I went on to make my own list, but given the short notice I was sure I'd overlook some good examples, which others above kindly provided.
I thought it was just a fun request. I know a few of the regulars here enjoy discussing language topics.
A confession though. Over time I've unconsciously adopted quite a few konglishisms myself. Hmm, that might make another interesting list. |
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sligo
Joined: 15 Oct 2008
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Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 7:16 pm Post subject: |
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Most of the mistakes Koreans make are similar to the mistakes we make when speaking Korean. By this i mean, if in doubt, think how you say it in your own language then directly translate.
So, the most common mistakes:
plurals, most always use the singular form for everything
articles, if in doubt use THE
pronunciation, most phonics teachers are Korean so l/r confusion and the negation of V, F and Z are ingrained from a very early age
ing ed adjectives, i am boring instead of i am bored.
finished time with present perfect sentences, i have been to China last year.
That's just off the top of my head. |
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