Common English Mistakes #3: Singular v. Plural

Another post regarding English mistakes I hear around Korea - singular versus plural. This is another aspect of English that is seemingly tricky. I see how it can be tricky for Koreans since making things plural is not always necessary in Korean. Unfortunately in the English, this is not the case. Granted, I can figure out what my Korean friends are saying if they happen to mix up the singular/plural forms.

Example Dialogue:
A: Autumn is finally here! Let's go to the market and pick up some apples.
B: Sounds good, my friend taught me how to make apple cider. How about we try to make some this weekend?
A: Great! I've never made apple cider before.
B: It's delicious and not too hard to make.
A: How many apple do you we need?
B: You mean, "How many apples do we need?"...
A: Ah, right. Apples.

Example Dialogue:
A: I see you have a new Korean pop CD.
B: Right! It just came out today!
A: I see; it looks like the group has a lot of members.
B: That's right, there are 7 member in the group.
A: 7 members. Who is your favorite member?
B: I love them all! They are all handsome boy!
A: All of them are handsome boys...plural!
B: Ah...right...English is so hard ㅠㅠ

For most of my friends I'd say this mistake is rare but still comes up every now and then. Practice makes perfect as they say.

What mistakes do you hear often?
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Common English Mistakes #2: Articles

The most common mistakes with articles I hear are simply omitting them or using 'the' instead of 'a' and vice versa. I feel this is one of the hardest things to master for people learning English. While there are guidelines/rules regarding usage, most people I talk to still struggle. I tell them, it just takes time and practice (as with anything).

Example dialogue:
A: Wow, look at all the hats in this store!
B: Wow, there are so many!
A: How about this style? (Puts on hat) Do you like the red or the black one?
B: I like black one! It look good for you.
A: You mean, you like the black one. It looks good on me?
B: Ah, right. The black one.

A simple mistake, yes, but one that is obvious to any native speaker I would imagine. Another example of what I've heard:

Example dialogue:
A: How about we order a drink?
B: Yes, let's drink!
A: Let's see, they have many types of beer. Is beer ok?
B: Yes, the beer sounds good.
A: A beer sounds good? Great, I'll choose a few for us.

B Could have also responded with just "Beer sounds good". "The beer sounds good" isn't grammatically incorrect but it sounds weird since beer was the only option and no other beverage was mentioned as a choice. (English majors can correct me if I'm wrong).

What mistakes do you frequently hear?
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Common English Mistakes #1: Watch those pronouns

Even though I live, work, and study in Korea, I still use English to communicate with a fair amount of people. A lot of those people use English as their second or third language so you're bound to hear a few mistakes here and there (just like me when I speak in Korean). The majority of my friends are great at English, many having learned it since grade school.

However, there is one mistake that I hear frequently with my friends that kind of surprised me. Maybe it's common? I'm not exactly sure as I haven't been involved in the English teaching realm for very long. And also, I don't believe this is just a slip of the tongue as with native speakers accidentally mispronouncing words or substituting incorrect words.

This mistake is: the use of the wrong pronoun (namely he versus she, and him versus her).

Some conversations I have had with my friends become very confusing as they will interchangeably use he/she/him/her//they.

Example: "A" is the non-native speaker and "B" is me.

A: Yesterday I went to the movies with my friend.
B: Right, you said the movie was great. What did your friend say about the movie?
A: He thought it was great too.
B: How about after the movie? Did you do anything else?
A: I wanted to eat something, but my friend wasn't hungry so she just went home.
B: ...wait is your friend a boy or a girl?
A: Why? She's a boy!
B: ...Right...Anyway, have I met this friend before?
A: I don't think you've met her before...
B: You mean, "I don't think you've met him", right?
A: Him? I said I don't think you've met.
B: Your phone is ringing...
A: Ah! Look she's calling me right now!
B: ...He's calling you?
A: No...different friend...
B: (o.O)

I've had multiple experiences like this where following the dialogue becomes confusing due to the sex of people changing multiple times in the conversation. But then again using "they" too much and in instances where it is actually a singular person may be considered incorrect grammar as well (^.^).

Do you hear the same from your friends that are learning English or use English as a second language? Let me know :)

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