Common Grammar Problems for Non-Native English Speakers
by Janine M LodatoEnglish is very flexible compared to other languages such as French, Spanish, German, and Italian. No wonder English is becoming the common language, the lingua franca, of the world! Even most scientific or technical papers are in English while just a hundred years ago they would have been written in Latin or German.
The downside of this flexibility is that it gives English idiosyncrasies which are difficult for foreigners to cope with, such as the irregular verbs - 300 of them - which have very complex tense structures. My husband, who came to this country after the Hungarian student revolution was crushed by the Soviets, never really learned the irregular verb tenses. Instead he used the auxiliaries, which he learned early and used in phrases such as "I did in fact see it" instead of "I saw it." It's no surprise that foreigners prefer such expressions that are easier to learn and to understand. He made many speeches using this simplified construction, eliminating the use of irregular verb tenses, and got many complements - especially from other foreigners, who stated that his speech was easier to follow.
I have taught English for Foreigners for 20 years, to students on all levels - from beginners to highly advanced technical experts. My ESL students, in spite of the fact that they are highly educated people with companies like Philips and Hewlett-Packard, have significant problems communicating eloquently. I teach my ESL students the four "Ps" of English - the use of English in Presentations, Plans, Publications and Proposals. I stress the fact that the four-Ps arena favors short words. And I did find that my students liked to use short words in their speech and in their papers.
However, a creative writer is not as able to turn away from difficult grammatical constructions. For a creative writer, the struggle is not only to get an idea across, but to write it in a way which is pleasant and engaging. Sometimes this requires complex grammar or words with confusing homonyms. Below is a list of the grammar that gives the most trouble to non-native English speakers.
The Subjunctive
The subjunctive is not a tense like the present, past, or future tenses. It is not a part of speech like an adjective; it is not a verb form like the infinitive. The subjunctive is a mood phrase - it indicates the speaker's opinion or expectation. It can also be used to suggest a situation contrary to fact:
"If I were rich I would buy a new car"
"I wish I had enough money to buy a new car."
Two flags in English that indicate the subjunctive mood are the words: "If" and "Wish". When you see one of those words, it's a warning that you probably need to use "were" or "had". However, even many native English speakers incorrectly use "would have" in place of "have" and "didn't" for "hadn't".
WRONG: "I wish I wouldn't have done that. I wish you would have told me."
RIGHT: "I wish I hadn't done that. I wish you had told me."
WRONG: "If I didn't remember to turn the water on, our pipes would be frozen."
RIGHT: "If I hadn't remembered to turn the water on, our pipes would have frozen."
For a more thorough explanation of the subjunctive, read this entry from The American Heritage Book of English Usage.
Pronouns
| Subjective Case | Objective Case | Reflexive Case |
| I | Me | Myself |
| You | You | Yourself(singular)/Yourselves(plural) |
| He/She | Him/Her | Himself/Herself |
| We | Us | Ourselves |
| They | Them | Themselves |
| Who/Whoever | Whom/Whomever |
In the arena of subjective versus objective pronouns, one must use the subjective form whenever the personal pronoun is the subject of the verb:
"I came."
"He saw."
"She conquered."
The subjective form must also be used if the personal pronoun is a complement of the linking verb:
"It is I."
"It is you."
(A complement describes or defines a subject. In the sentence "He seemed sad," the word "sad" is a compliment to the word "he" - "sad" tells us something important about him. For further explanation of complements and linking verbs, go here.)
On the other hand, one must use the objective form whenever the personal pronoun is an object of a verb:
"He hit me." (I was hit, so I was the object; I use the objective pronoun "me".)
"She saw you." (You were the object she saw. She was the subject - the one who saw.)
"I followed him."
"They missed us."
"She liked them."
The objective form of the personal pronoun must also be used when it is an object of a preposition:
"Between him and her."
"Give it to them and us."
(A preposition is a "glue word" that connects a noun or pronoun with some other word that precedes it. Examples: with, to, about, between.)
Avoid the use of "myself" as a substitute for the subjective personal pronoun "I", or the for the objective personal pronoun: "me":
WRONG: "She and myself are fans"
RIGHT: "She and I are fans."
The same rules apply to himself, herself, etc.. "Myself" (and the other reflexive pronouns) should be used as an intensifier paired with "I":
"I, myself, am the culprit."
"I had no one to blame for but myself."
When in doubt about whether to use "I" or "me" at the end of a sentence, try extending the sentence in your imagination:
"She likes him better than I." (She likes him better than I like him.)
"She likes him better than me." (She likes him better than she likes me.)
"Everyone," "everybody," "anyone," and "anybody" are all singular, and their pronouns should also be singular:
WRONG: Everyone is responsible for their actions
RIGHT: Everyone is responsible for his or her actions.
The word “none” can be used either as singular or as plural.
"None is so happy as he who knows."
"None are so happy as those who win."
"Between" vs. "Among"
Use "between" when describing the relationship of two persons; use "among" with three or more persons.
"Between the two of us."
"Among the three of us."
"Elder" vs. "Eldest"
Use "elder" (or "older") when speaking of two persons but use "eldest" (or "oldest") when speaking of three or more persons. "He was the elder of the two brothers."
"She was the eldest of the three sisters."
"Can" vs. "May"
In conversation, the distinction between "can" and "may" is somewhat blurred. In a formal paper "can" must indicate ability and "may" must indicate permission.
"Can he run the mile under four minutes?"
"May she go along with us?"
"Looks as if" vs. "Looks like"
“As if” (as though) is a conjunction - a connecter such as "and," "but," "as if," and "as though."
"It looks as if it might storm."
"He looks as if he had seen a ghost."
“Like,” on the other hand, is a preposition - a glue word as we have seen above.
"She looks like her sister."
"It looks like rain."
Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs
Homophones are words which sound the same but have different meanings or different spellings:
"The traveller bowed until he was low enough to fit under bough of a tree."
Homonyms are words which have the same spelling or pronunciation but have different meanings:
"After the concert, the musicians bow. The violinist wore a bow in her hair
and carried a horsehair bow in her hand. It reminded me of an archer's bow."
For a comprehensive list of common homonyms and homophones, try Alan Cooper's Homonym List.
Non-native English speakers have particular trouble with homographs - words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently:
"The wind is blowing. Did you wind the clock?"
For a list of words that are spelled the same way but change their meaning depending on how they are pronounced, try The Heteronym Homepage.
Janine M Lodato has taught English as a Second Language for more than 20 years. Although advanced Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has confined her to a wheelchair and limited her motor skills, she continues to write with the aid of her husband and advanced voice recognition software. Her articles have been included in technical publications including Linux Journal and E-bility. She is a research advisor for Health Highway, Nouvonet, Wireless-Networks.com, and Novus Ventures.