Category: Vocabulary

I often hear these mistakes made by German speakers who are learning English.

They say:  I made a great experience on my last business trip.

The problem here is with the verb.  In English we don’t ‘make’ an experience we ‘have’ an experience.

Correction:  I had a great experience on my last business trip.

Alternatively just say:  My last business trip was a great experience.  (This means that the whole trip / situation was positive for you and you are reflecting back on a positive time.)

 

Have fun learning English!

Louise

The English word ‘irritate’ should not be confused with the German word ‘irritiert’.

In English if we talk about being irritated we mean we are feeling annoyed about something.

E.g.  She called the customer support line for help with her enquiry and was very irritated when she was placed in a queue for a long time.

E.g.  It’s his rudeness that really irritates me the most.

 

We can also use the word irritate when we are talking about a physical reaction in the body or on the skin.

E.g.  Her skin is very sensitive and easily irritated.  If she uses certain cosmetics, her skins goes red and itchy.

E.g.  High pollen levels really irritate his eyes.

 

The German word ‘irritiert’ can be most often translated as confused, puzzled or bemused.

 

Have fun learning English!

Louise

The English word ‘eventually’ should not be confused with the German word ‘eventuell’.

In English if we say something will happen eventually, we mean that it is certain to happen at some point in the future but that time in the future could be a long time away.

It does not express uncertainty or doubt.  In English if something will happen eventually, it is sure to happen.

E.g.  It will take some time but eventually we will find a solution to this problem.  ( = A solution will be found.  There is no doubt.)

E.g.  He eventually figured out how to work the machine.  ( = It took some time but he worked it out in the end.)

E.g.  We viewed over 20 prospective locations for our new office and eventually we found the perfect place by the river.  ( = It was a long process but at the end of it all we found what we wanted.)

 

Have fun learning English!

Louise

Let’s be honest, sometimes English can be confusing.  Sometimes when learning English it is easy to mix up words and phrases or be unsure when to use them.

I often hear German speakers who are learning English make mistakes with the words ‘interval’, ‘break’ and ‘pause’.

Interval is used to talk about the break in a theatre performance or an opera.  (It can also be called an intermission although this is less common.)

E.g.  The will be an interval of 15 minutes after the first part of the performance.

Break is used to talk about the gap between lessons or sessions at school, in a meeting or when we stop doing something for a short while before resuming it again at a later time or date.

E.g.  We’ve made some good progress.  Let’s take a break and resume our discussions after lunch.

Pause is used when we are talking about a gap in speaking or talking.

E.g.  He paused to think very carefully about what he wanted to say next.

 

Have fun learning English!

Louise

Let’s be honest, sometimes English can be confusing.  Sometimes when learning English it is easy to mix up words and phrases or be unsure when to use them.

I often hear German speakers who are learning English make mistakes with the phrases ‘to be ready’ and ‘to be finished’.

 

Take a look at the examples below.  Hopefully they will make things clearer for you.

We use ‘to be ready’ after we have spent time preparing for something but before we do it.

E.g.  We can leave now.  I’m ready.  ( = The person has spent some time preparing to leave and is now ready to go.)

E.g.  Are you ready for the test?  ( = Do you feel prepared for the test?  The test has not started yet.)

 

We use ‘to be finished’ after an event has taken place.

E.g.  It was a long project lasting several months but it’s finally finished.  ( = The project is over.)

E.g.  Three hours were allotted for the test but I was finished after 2 and a half hours.

 

Have fun learning English!

Louise

I often hear these mistakes made by German speakers who are learning English.

They say:  The answer is on the backside.

The problem here is with the word backside.  In this sentence it is a mistranslation of the word ‘Rückseite’.

Correction:  The answer is on the back.

Remember, in English the word backside translates as ‘Hintern’.

 

Have fun learning English!

Louise

Let’s be honest, sometimes English can be confusing.  Sometimes when learning English it is easy to mix up words and phrases or be unsure when to use them.

I often hear German speakers who are learning English make mistakes with the phrases ‘to last’ and ‘to take’ when talking about time and duration.

Take a look at the examples below.  Hopefully they will make things clearer for you.

 

We use ‘to last’ when we are talking about fixed durations.  The process, activity or state of things continues for a specific amount of time.

E.g.  The game lasts 90 minutes.

E.g.  The meeting is scheduled to last 2 hours.

 

We use ‘to take’ when the length of time can vary (due to external factors).  We specify how much time was needed or used up in completing the activity.

E.g.  There was a traffic jam so it took me over an hour to get to work.

E.g.  The jury took just over 5 hours to find the defendant guilty.

 

Here is an example to combine both verbs:

The exam lasted 3 hours but it took me 10 minutes to understand the first question!

 

Have fun learning English!

Louise

I often hear these mistakes made by German speakers who are learning English.

They say:  Is this the actual presentation or the old one?

The problem here is the word actual.  It is a mistranslation of the German word ‘aktuell’.  What you mean to say is ‘current’.

Correction:  Is this the current presentation or the old one?

Alternatively we can say:

Is this the latest version of the presentation?

Is this the most up-to-date version of the presentation?

 

Have fun learning English!

Louise

Let’s be honest, sometimes English can be confusing.  Sometimes when learning English it is easy to mix up words or be unsure when to use them.

I often hear German speakers who are learning English make mistakes with the words ‘overtake’, ‘take over’ and ‘takeover’.

Take a look at the examples below.  Hopefully they will make things clearer for you.

 

To overtake is a verb and it means to catch up with something or someone in front of you and to pass them or get ahead of them.  It can also have the sense of being more successful than someone else.

E.g.  He was driving faster than me so he overtook me on the motorway.

Last year we overtook our biggest rival in the rankings so we are now number one in our field.

 

To take over is a phrasal verb and it means to take control of something or to become responsible for something.

E.g.  He is taking over the running of the department from the start of next month.

 

It is also the verb used when one company buys another company.

E.g.  By taking over a rival company they were able to expand their brand portfolio.

 

Takeover is the noun used when one company buys another.

E.g.  The takeover is due to be fully completed by the end of the year.

 

Have fun learning English!

Louise

I often hear these mistakes made by German speakers who are learning English.

They say:  Trainings.

The problem here is the plural form.  It sounds very strange to use a plural form of this word.

Correction:  Training courses.

E.g. I attended several training courses at the start of my new job last year.

 

As an alternative we could use training events.

E.g.  He organises all the training events for our department.

 

A further alternative could be training sessions.

E.g.  There are 6 training sessions in total.  Each session lasts 3 hours.

 

Have fun learning English!

Louise