Common Mistakes German Speakers Make When Learning English

 

Photo by Renato Silva, Sprachenatelier

A few weeks ago, we posted about the common mistakes that English speakers make when learning German. Well, this week, it's time to look at things the other way around. Having spent five months in Austria teaching school children and working with Austrian people, and now living in Berlin, I think I am fairly qualified and experienced to talk about the mistakes that German speakers make when learning English. Often the mistakes they make can be understood when you look at the German equivalent, because a lot of people are still in the DANGER ZONE (see last post) and are translating literally.

So, scroll down and have a read. If you are a German speaker, maybe you can learn something, and if you're an English speaker, maybe you recognise some of these mistakes from your own experiences in Germany.

Let's get going! But first...

1) “Let me make a selfie!“

Remember the world's worst song that was released in 2014? Who knew there was actually something to be learned from it. We never MAKE selfies, or MAKE photos, we TAKE selfies and photos.

* While we're here, I'd also just like to point out that you don't MAKE a party, you HAVE a party. Or you go partying. Or you go to a party. Or you stay at home in bed eating crisps and hummus because we all know that's the better option. *

2) Since and for

For example: It's 2016. Let's say in 2013 you started studying:

I have been a student since 3 years. WRONG (always wrong, will never be correct, do not under any circumstances say this)

I have been a student for 3 years. RIGHT

It's still 2016. In 2013 you were living in Germany:

I lived in Germany for 3 years. WRONG

I lived in Germany 3 years ago. RIGHT

Okay you're right... the first sentence isn't wrong, and you might well have lived in Germany for 3 years, but here we want to express when you were living in Germany, and saying you lived somewhere FOR x amount of time tells us how long you lived there, not when. This comes down to “vor“ sounding like “for“. (Don't worry, us English speakers make the same mistake. “Ich wohnte für 3 Jahren in Deutschland“ when we really mean VOR.) Confused yet? Good. Me too. Let's move on.

3) Difference between fun and funny:

“I went to Peru and we did lots of tours and sightseeing. It was really funny.“ Was it? Oh please, do share the joke with us. FUN = noun, meaning pleasure or enjoyment. FUNNY = adjective, meaning amusing or causing you to laugh

*Of course there are a few other meanings. We can use fun as an adjective: “It was a really fun day“ and funny to mean something is strange or unusual: “A funny thing happened to me this morning.“ Otherwise, fun = noun and funny = adjective.*

4) Bekommen and become

Very similar sounding and similarly spelled, I do see the struggle with this. And don't get me wrong, us English speakers make the same mistake. “Nächste Woche bekomme ich 28.“ FALSCH. Just be careful. Werden = to become. Bekommen = to get or to receive. My Austrian friend learned this the hard way by once saying “I became a sausage for lunch“.

Illustration by Gabriel de la Hoz, Sprachenatelier

5) How does it look like? How is it called?

This is something that I find most people get wrong when they speak English, and not just German speakers, because in most languages it is a direct translation “wie heißt du? Cómo se llama? Comment tu t'appelles?“. In English however, it is wrong. Remember:

WHAT is about the OBJECT

HOW is about the METHOD

If you want to know somebody's name, you ask “What is your name? What are you called?“. These are the only two options. When asking for a description, it is a common mistake to ask “How does it look like?“ Again, drop the how. “What does it look like?“ is correct.

6) Carrying over the reflexive verb from German

“Wir sehen uns nächste Woche“

“We see us next week“ WRONG

“We'll see each other next week“ RICHTIG

Yes, UNS and US look similar, but in English we never use “us“ as a reflexive pronoun. Leave that thinking behind in German.

SO. There's a few of the most common mistakes that I have noticed. These are by no means really bad, awful, terrible, unthinkable, stop-talking-english-right-now mistakes. These are little things which English learners confuse and get wrong, usually when they have already attained a very good level of English. If there are any questions or anything is unclear, or you have noticed a few other mistakes, or maybe you completely disagree with what I've written, comment below and we'll get back to you. And remember – as long as you're learning a foreign language, your efforts will be appreciated no matter what, even if you do get things a bit confused. 

Bonnie