MOST COMMUN MISTAKES BY ENGLISH SPEAKERS

MISTAKE is dedicated to the most common errors found among English language learners of Spanish-speaking background. This section is mainly aimed at helping students to avoid making these common mistakes, and may also help English teachers who are working -or planning to work- with Spanish-speaking students.

OMISSION OF SUBJECT
This is a very common (and understandable) mistake because, unlike Spanish, a subject is always necessary in English. Students often say: Is important to do this, whereas they should say, It is important to do this. The word it may not refer to anything in particular, but it is absolutely necessary to make the sentence above gramatically correct.

OMISSION OF ARTICLES
Spanish speakers often delete articles, He is teacher; I haven't dog; Does she have car? This occurs because they don’t use them in Spanish.

PRONOUNS
Spanish speakers usually have trouble distinguishing personal pronouns (he, him), Did not know who was him instead of I did not know who he was.

ADJECTIVES
Spanish-speaking students may know a lot of adjectives, but the main problem is where to place them in the sentence. In Spanish adjectives are generally placed after the noun (OM Basic is a course very useful), but in English it is exactly the opposite (OM Basic is a very useful course).

DOUBLE NEGATIVES
Use of double negatives is another typical error, I didn't even have no problems. In Spanish it is grammatically correct to say: No tuve ningún problema.

VERBS
There is a tendency to use present tense only: ... she come back ; ... the first time I see her.

WORD ORDER
Spanish-speaking students usually use inappropriate word order: He in kitchen has lunch, instead of He has his lunch in the kitchen; or Bobby is a black beautiful dog, instead of Bobby is a beautiful black dog.

OTHER/OTHERS
They often get confused with these two words and they usually say, I have others books, the correct form being I have other books. The mistake is also understandable as adjectives can take plural forms in Spanish, unlike English.

THIS/THESE
Although this is singular, whereas these is plural, Spanish speakers tend to pronounce this and these the same. Therefore they frequently use only this in writing. They don't seem to realize that there is also a plural form. Although the difference may look very obvious, it is still a recurrent problem. Examples: I think all this problems are related to poverty, instead of I think all these problems are related to poverty.

IN - ON - AT. GRAMMAR

In general, we use:
at for a POINT - in for an ENCLOSED SPACE - on for a SURFACE

• Look at these examples:

  • Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.
  • The shop is at the end of the street.
  • My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
  • When will you arrive at the office?
  • Do you work in an office?
  • I have a meeting in New York.
  • Do you live in Japan?
  • Jupiter is in the Solar System.
  • The author's name is on the cover of the book.
  • There are no prices on this menu.
  • You are standing on my foot.
  • There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
  • I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.

  Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:

Exercises. Simple Past or Past Progressive

Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Progressive).

1. While Tom (read)…………….., Amely (watch) ……………….a documentary on TV.
2. Marvin (come) ………………home, (switch) ………………..on the computer and (check) ………………..his emails.
3. The thief (sneak) ………………..into the house, (steal) …………………the jewels and I(leave) …………………....without a trace.
4. Nobody (listen) …………while the teacher (explain) ……………….the tenses.
5. While we (do) ……………..a sight-seeing tour, our friends (lie) …………….….on the beach.
6. He (wake) ………………..up and (look) ………………….at his watch.
7. The receptionist (welcome) …………………….the guests and (ask) ………………them to fill in the form.
8. The car (break) ………………………down and we (have) ……………to walk home.
9. The boys (swim) …………………while the girls (sunbathe)………………..
10. My father (come) ………………..in, (look) …………………..around and (tell) …………………me to tidy up my room.
11. As long as one group (prepare) …………………..dinner, the others (collect) ………………wood for their campfire.
12. While the parents (have) ………………..breakfast, their children (run) ……………..about.
13. Martha (turn) ……………….off the lights and (go) …………………to bed.
14. When I (do) ………………..the washing-up, I (break) ………………..a plate.
15. While Tom (play) …………………..the piano, his mother (do) ………………the washing-up.
16. He (drink) ………………some juice and then he (eat) ………………….a few chips.
17. I (have) …………………..dinner when I suddenly (hear) …………………a loud bang.
18. When my father (work) …………………in the garden, an old friend (pass) ……………………by to see him.
19. She (go) ………………to school, (take) …………………..out her textbook and (begin) ……………….to learn.
20. When it (start) ………………….to rain, our dog (want) ……………..to come inside.
21. When Jane (do) ……………..a language course in Ireland, she (visit) ……………………Blarney Castle.
22. When I (be) …………………on my way home, I (see) ………………..an accident.
23. I (not / understand) ……………………what they (talk) …………………about.

TOEIC - Test of English for International CommunicationTM The Global Standard For Measuring English Language Skills For Business

More than 5 million people each year take the TOEIC tests to advance their careers. And, for 30 years, TOEIC test scores have helped thousands of corporations, educational institutions and governments throughout the world recruit, hire and promote the most qualified candidates.

The new TOEIC® Speaking and Writing Tests have been added to the TOEIC English-language learning product line. They complement the TOEIC® Listening and Reading Test for a full assessment of a person's ability to communicate in English across all four language skills.

LISTENING TEST

In the Listening test, you will be asked to demonstrate how well you understand spoken English. The entire Listening test will last approximately 45 minutes. There are four parts, and directions are given for each part. You must mark your answers on the separate answer sheet. Do not write your answers in your test book.

PART 1

Directions: For each question in this part, you will hear four statements about a picture in your test book. When you hear the statements, you must select the one statement that best describes what you see in the picture. Then find the number of the question on your answer sheet and mark your answer. The statements will not be printed in your test book and will be spoken only one time.

PART 2

Directions: You will hear a question or statement and three responses spoken in English. They will not be printed in your test book and will be spoken only one time. Select the best response to the question or statement and mark the letter (A), (B), or (C) on your answer sheet.

Example
You will hear: Where is the meeting room?
You will also hear:
(A) To meet the new director.
(B) It’s the first room on the right.
(C) Yes, at two o’clock.

The best response to the question “Where is the meeting room?” is choice (B), “It’s the first room on the right,” so (B) is the correct answer. You should mark answer (B) on your answer sheet.

Part 3 : klicken Sie wieder auf das Audio-Symbol um fortzufahren:

PART 3

Directions: You will hear some conversations between two people. You will be asked to answer three questions about what the speakers say in each conversation. Select the best response to each question and mark the letter (A), (B), (C), or (D) on your answer sheet. The conversations will not be printed in your test book and will be spoken only one time.

41. What are the speakers discussing?
(A) Their homes
(B) Their jobs
(C) Their travel plans
(D) Their favorite cities

42. What does the man want to do?
(A) Get a new job
(B) Visit another city
(C) Find a larger apartment
(D) Move to the country

43. What can be inferred about the woman?
(A) Her house is very small.
(B) She thinks the city is exciting.
(C) Her job is very difficult.
(D) She lives outside the city.

Part 4 : Klicken Sie auf das Audio-Symbol um fortzufahren:

PART 4

Directions: You will hear some talks given by a single speaker. You will be asked to answer three questions about what the speaker says in each talk. Select the best response to each question and mark the letter (A), (B), (C), or (D) on your answer sheet. The talks will not be printed in your test book and will be spoken only one time.

71. Where is this announcement being made?
(A) At a train station
(B) At a travel agent’s office
(C) At an airport
(D) At a coffee shop

72. What is the weather like in Hong Kong?
(A) It is foggy.
(B) It is clear.
(C) It is snowing lightly.
(D) It is stormy.

73. What time of day is this announcement being made?
(A) Morning
(B) Afternoon
(C) Evening
(D) Late night

TAQS QUESTIONS

A Tag question (also: question tag) is a grammatical structure in which a declarative statement or an imperative is turned into a question by adding an interrogative fragment (the "tag"). The term "tag question" is generally preferred by American grammarians, while their British counterparts prefer "question tag".

FOR SECOND LEVEL STUDENTS.

TO ALL OF THE STUDENTS WHO ARE STILL WAITING TO PRESENT THEIR FIRST CONVERSATIONAL GRAMMARTEST, THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE BEFORE 3rd LEVEL STARTS.

CONVERSATIONAL GRAMMAR TEST.#2

1^ST Review.

Phonetics.

1) Write the correct name of the phonetic symbol according its definition.

a. ___________________________________________.

( ) is pronounced with the tongue in the ______ _____ position. The apex pressing against the gum below the lower front teeth and the rest of the tongue is kept as flat as possible

b. _____________________________________________.

( ) is pronounced with the tongue in the ____ _______ position. Lips unrounded, apex touching nothing, tongue resting relaxed in the bottom of the mouth muscles tense in stressed position and relaxed in unstressed syllables.

2) Connect each word with a line to the right symbol.

a. Thirty. / i /

b. Alphabet. / ɔ /

c. Fourteen. / æ /

d. This / ə /

Grammar.

3) Use the instructions to create a sentence with the right grammatical sense.

E.g.: shirt. (Plural indefinite article) I need some shirts.

a. Blouse. (Demonstrative adjective. Plural. Far.)

____________________________________________________________________.

b. Lemon, avocado. (Indefinite article. Plural/Singular.)

____________________________________________________________________.

c. Coat. ( Definite article. Plural.)

____________________________________________________________________.

4) Place each word according its pronunciation in a plural formation.

/ s / / z / / iz /

________________ ____________________ _________________

________________ ____________________ _________________

________________ ____________________ _________________

Chair – Book – Dress – Curtain – Pencil – Tie – Light – Map – Orange.

Vocabulary.

5) Translate and write the following words and numbers.

· Pantalones. _____________________________________________________.

· Camisa._________________________________________________________.

· 55. _____________________________________________________________.

· Pedazo de papel. __________________________________________________.

· 666. ____________________________________________________________.

· Vestido. _________________________________________________________.

· Esas ciruelas. ____________________________________________________.

· Unos techos. _____________________________________________________.

· 413. ____________________________________________________________.

· Estas medias y una piña. ____________________________________________

___________________________.

Dialogue.

6) Write dialogue hour #4.

COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVES

Comparatives and Superlatives
Exercise 1: Read the sentences below and then give the comparative form for each of the adjectives listed.
Tennis is a more difficult sport than Rugby.
I think John is happier now than a year ago.
Could you open the window, please? It's getting hotter in this room by the minute.
interesting ___________
weak ___________
funny ___________
important ___________
careful ___________
big ___________
small ___________
polluted ___________
boring ___________
angry ___________
Exercise 2: Read the sentences below and then give the superlative form for each of the adjectives listed.
New York has got to be the most exciting city in the world.
His biggest desire is to return home.
She is probably the angriest person I know.
interesting ___________
weak ___________
funny ___________
important ___________
careful ___________
big ___________
small ___________
polluted ___________
boring ___________
angry ___________
Exercise three: Choose one of the topics below and think of three examples from that topic - for example: Sports - football, basketball and surfing. Compare the three objects.
Cities
Sports
Writers
Films
Inventions