English Mistakes That Happen When You Translate From Your Native Language

When Zahra emigrated from Somalia to Minneapolis, she worked hard to learn English as quickly as possible. She used a language app on her phone, read books from her local library, watched children’s TV programs like Sesame Street, practiced conversations with native-speaking friends, and kept a small notebook to write down new phrases she encountered each day.

But like many multilingual speakers, Zahra often found herself translating directly from Somali into English, especially when she was in a hurry or couldn’t remember certain rules of English grammar. In her mind, her sentences sounded perfectly clear. However, both her written and spoken English sometimes sounded confusing, awkward, or “foreign” to native speakers.

Zahra’s experience is extremely common. Even advanced English learners make predictable mistakes when they rely on structures, idioms, or vocabulary from their native languages. Fortunately, once you learn to recognize these patterns, you can start to avoid them in your everyday communication.

In this article, we will examine some of the most common translation-based mistakes we see at TextRanch and how you can fix them.

1. Using Word-for-Word Translations of Idioms

Every language has expressions that lose their meaning when they are translated literally. For example, “add oil” is an English translation of a Chinese phrase that is often used to support or encourage another person. But outside of Hong Kong, most native English speakers are unfamiliar with this phrase and won’t understand it. “Go for it” is probably the closest, most common English equivalent.

2. Choosing an English Word That Looks Similar, but Means Something Else

These words are some of the trickiest ones when you’re learning to write in English. A word that looks similar to a word in your native language can lead you in the wrong direction if the two words have different meanings.

Let’s say your native language is Spanish and you are discussing clothing with your English-speaking friends. Since the Spanish word for clothes is “ropa“, you use the English word “rope”. It’s almost the same, right? Well, the two words do sound similar, but in English a rope is a long, strong cord. It isn’t something you wear!

3. Using Articles the Same Way You Use Them in Your Native Language

Many languages use articles differently, or not at all. This was one area of English where Zahra often had problems, especially with indefinite articles, which are not used in Somali.

At TextRanch, we often fix sentences where articles are missing. Here are some examples:

Incorrect: I have meeting with team in afternoon.
Correct: I have a meeting with the team this afternoon.

Incorrect: Did Jason give reason for being late?
Correct: Did Jason give a reason for being late?

Incorrect: Did you find files we need for report?
Correct: Did you find the files we need for the report?

On the other hand, sometimes our customers will use articles when they aren’t necessary.

Incorrect: He plays the basketball after the school.
Correct: He plays basketball after school.

Incorrect: I need an advice about how to finish this project.
Correct: I need advice about how to finish this project.

If English is not your first language, you may need to work on article usage as a separate skill rather than relying on your native language patterns.

 

4. Overusing Formal Structures That Sound Polite in Your Language

In some cultures, using overly formal language in business writing is a way to show respect, especially when you’re writing to someone in a higher position. But when these phrases are translated directly into English, they can sound stiff, awkward, or old-fashioned.

Let’s look at an example:

• With this email, I would like to humbly request your good office to please kindly send me the tax documents for AABB Company.

English business communication tends to be direct, concise, and conversational. A native speaker would probably write the above sentence like this:

• Could you please send me the tax documents for AABB Company?

For a more in-depth look at how to fix writing that is overly formal, click here to read our article, “Are Your Emails Too Polite? How to Find the Right Tone”.

5. Using the Incorrect Word Order in an English Sentence

The word order in English is a lot different compared to other languages, so translating directly will likely result in grammatical errors. Here are a few examples:

Incorrect: Mehdi drives a minivan white.
Correct: Mehdi drives a white minivan.

Incorrect: On a farm was my grandfather raised.
Correct: My grandfather was raised on a farm.

Incorrect: To our headquarters company went Olivia to meet with the CEO.
Correct: Olivia went to our company headquarters to meet with the CEO.

If a sentence feels odd but you can’t identify why, check to make sure the word order follows the rules of English grammar. Our TextRanch editors can help you with that!

How to Train Yourself to Stop Translating

If you want to write more naturally in English, here are a few tips:

• Read short English texts daily, especially work emails and articles related to your field.
• Write example sentences, not just definitions, when you’re learning new words.
• Write your first draft quickly, and then do a closer check for translation patterns.
• Ask a native speaker or a professional editor (like the experts at TextRanch!) to review your writing and point out recurring mistakes.

Over time, your brain will become faster at choosing English structures automatically, without translating from your native language.