English Mistakes Germans Make

English Level: B1 🇺🇸🇨🇦

Show Notes:

• Introduction (0:21)

Mistakes Germans make in English:

1. He she it das “s” muss mit (04:32)
2. Objects don’t have a gender (06:50)
3. Who and which (08:00)
4. Uncountable nouns (12:47)

• Making learning easier: Do not translate literally or question why the language has different rules to your native language (16:53)
• The way children learn and what we as adults can learn from their simplicity (17:45)
• The fear of making mistakes and how to overcome it (20:25)
  • 5. Simple past vs present perfect (25:19)
• A teacher’s advice to every language learner: start small (27:33)

Vocabulary Words:

1. desirable (adj.) – wünschenswert
2. compact (adj.) – kompakt
3. accept (verb) – (etw.Akk) akzeptieren
4. translatable (adj.) – übersetzbar
5. fairly (adv.) – ziemlich
6. insecure (verb) – unsicher
7. obstacle (noun) – Hindernis, Hinderungsgrund
8. cherish (verb) – schätzen
9. daunting (verb) – entmutigend, abschreckend
10. threshold (noun) – Schwelle

Phrases to Remember:

1. To make an effort – To try; to work towards a goal.

Mistakes to Avoid:

• Verb conjugation  – third person singular verbs (he, she, it)
• Objects don’t have a gender. Use it for objects
• Who and which
• Uncountable nouns – example: information, data, furniture
• Simple Past vs Present Perfect

Comprehension Questions:

Today’s questions will allow you to directly apply and reinforce what you’ve heard. If you want to remember the rules before answering the questions, you will find the corresponding time marker after each question.

1. Personal Pronouns (06:50)

Find the mistake:

 I like to sit under the cherry tree in the park. He gives me shade on hot days. – The tree does not have a gender as it has in German (der Baum), the tree is neutral. Therefore, the correct sentence is: “It gives me shade on hot days.”

Replace the subject (in brackets) with the correct personal pronoun.

• ______ is dreaming. (George)
• ______ is green. (the blackboard)
• ______ are on the wall. (the posters)
• ______ is running. (the dog)
• ______ are watching TV. (my mother and I)
• ______ are in the garden. (the flowers)  

Verb Conjugation (04:32)

Choose the correct form of the verbs

Tim _____ his dogs on a walk in nature. He _______ to play with them because they _____ him happy.

1. Takes, love, make
2. Take, loves, makes
3. Takes, loves, make

Choose the correct pronoun:

• He/She/I   am sitting on the sofa.
• We/She/I  are watching the starry sky.
• She / it / you say that the weather will be good today.
• I / you / she learns English in school.
• They / it / he cooks very well.

Who or which? (08:00)

Which relative pronoun is correct?

• My boss offered a special training to all the employees who/which were struggling with the new software.
• The train which/who goes to Switzerland doesn’t stop in Freiburg.
• The books which / who are lying on the table are very interesting.
• The girl which / who had an accident yesterday is my father’s secretary.
• Do you know anybody which / who wants to buy a car?

Simple Past (Finished time) vs. Present Perfect (unfinished time) (20:25)

Choose the correct verb tense:  

• – We have never visited / visited another country before.
• – Last year, my friends have visited / visited Kenya for the first time.
• – I’m sorry, but I have forgotten / forgot my homework.
• – Yesterday, Celin forgot/has forgotten her homework.
• – The girls didn’t eat/ have not eaten their lunch yet.
• -The girls didn’t eat/ have not eaten their lunch in school, so they will eat at home.

Question to consider:

Which area of the English language do you struggle with the most? (Listening, Speaking, Writing, Reading) What can you do to improve it?

Links:

• Find William on LinkedIn
• Most Common Mistakes Germans Make in English
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