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7 things native English speakers DON'T say

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Lily
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Welcome to a new class! I know you come from different backgrounds and different cultures and what we, non-native speakers, do is we take a phrase from our own language, we translate it into English, and it stops making any sense. I picked up the most common phrases that native speakers never say but we do because we're translating from our own language in our heads. Let's look at those phrases and stop using them.

1. I don't know nothing. This phrase is actually implying that you know something. Instead, you should say: "I don’t know anything". Double negatives are things that some native speakers get wrong too!

2. Say me. Many non-native English speakers make this mistake and use 'say me' instead of 'tell me'. This is just because 'say' and 'tell' have similar meanings, but they are used in different ways. A good way to know when to use each is to remember that somebody says something, but somebody tells someone something.

3. I study in USA. As 'USA' is short for United States of America, it needs a ‘the’ in front of it because there is only one United States of America.

4. I have 25 years. Some non-native English speakers, particularly those from a French, Italian or Spanish background, make this mistake. Even though "I have 25 years" makes more sense than “I am 25”, follow the grammar rule.

5. Can you explain me this? What you think you’re saying: "I do not understand this, and I will need an explanation". What you’re really saying: "I am this. I need to be explained".
Correct construction: "Can you explain the rules to me?"

6. Hope it helps! Native English speakers understand that the writer is referring to their response as the thing they hope helps, but they haven’t actually mentioned it, so ‘it’ sounds kind of mysterious. “Hope this helps,” with ‘this’ referring to the advice just mentioned, is more ‘complete’.

7. How do you call [word] in English? What you think you’re saying: "I do not know the word for this [thing] in English, please tell me". What you’re really saying: "In what way do you cry out this [thing] in English". Correct construction: "How do you say [word] in English?" or "What do you call [word] in English?"

Time codes:
0:59 I don’t know nothing
1:41 Say me
2:41 I study in UK/USA/UAE
4:01 I have 25 years
4:41 Can you explain me…?
5:37 Hope it helps
6:38 How do you call [word] in English?

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Category
English
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