Guide for Multilingual Student Writing Common English-Mandarin Errors

Abstract

This guide categorizes and explains ten of the most common errors that Mandarin speakers make when writing in English. Most examples are based on patterns from students’ work. This guide is for instructors to help their Mandarin-speaking students with their composition in English. With this tool, instructors can offer more specialized assistance. This reference assumes that instructors have no knowledge of Mandarin and that students are native Mandarin speakers.

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Guide for Multilingual Student Writing
Common English-Mandarin Errors
Ching Ching Tan
Department of Communication Studies
Introduction
This guide categorizes and explains ten of the most common errors that Mandarin speakers make
when writing in English. Most examples are based on patterns from students’ work. One
important piece of research came from Philip Guo, an Assistant Professor of Cognitive Science
at UCSD and his 2008 article, “Common English Mistakes Made by Native Chinese Speakers.”
This guide is for instructors to help their Mandarin-speaking students with their composition in
English. With this tool, instructors can offer more specialized assistance. This reference assumes
that instructors have no knowledge of Mandarin and that students are native Mandarin speakers
(referred to in this document as the “speakers”). An asterisk (*) before a word or a sentence
indicates an error.
Table of Contents and Summary
Section
Example
Error
1. Plurals
There are many dogs and a lot of
furniture in this house.
There are many *dog and *many
furnitures in this house.
2. Subject-Verb Agreement
He likes books.
He *like books.
3. Verb Tense
She ran yesterday.
She *run yesterday.
4. Gender and Pronoun Use
I met a new friend today. Her name
is Mary.
I met a new friend today. *His
name is Mary.
5. Articles
I am in the supermarket.
She’s a good teacher.
I am in * supermarket.
She’s * good teacher.
6. Prepositions
Alice is on the bus.
Alice is *in the bus.
7. Questions
Do you mind if I sit here? No,
please do.
Do you mind if I sit here? *Yes,
please do.
8. Dangling Participle
Walking up the hill, I see flowers
blooming.
Walking up the hill, *the flowers
are blooming.
9. Homonyms
I turn on the light.
I *open the light.
10. Conjunctions
Although he’s not feeling well, he
insists on going to work.
Although he’s not feeling well,
*but he insists on going to work.

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1. Plurals
Type
Example
Error
Plurals
There are many dogs and a lot
of furniture in this house.
There are many *dog and
*many furnitures in this house.
1.1. Forgetting to add “s” or changing forms for plural nouns
When indicating plurals in Mandarin, either a number or an added suffix are specified in
the sentence. There is no change in the noun itself.
Examples: 一只狗 (one dog)
两只狗 (two dogs)
狗 is dog in Chinese. Both singular and plural are the same. To specify a plural, a
number, for example, two 两（只）is added so the meaning is clear. This could explain
why Chinese speakers often omit an “s” when forming plural nouns.
Example: two dogs
Error: two *dog
1.2. Forgetting to omit “s” for plural nouns
When English learners of Chinese acquire the concept that adding “s” is to indicate a
plural form, speakers tend to simplify the rule and forget that there are irregular mass
nouns, e.g., furniture (not furnitures), luggage (not luggages), sheep (not sheeps), etc.
Example: There are so many pieces of furniture in the room.
Error: There are so many *furnitures in the room.

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2. Subject-Verb Agreement
Type
Example
Error
Subject-Verb Agreement
He likes books.
He *like books.
1.1. One possible reason that Mandarin speakers often confuse subject-verb agreement is that
there is no subject-verb agreement that needs to be attended to in Chinese grammar. For
example, “like” in Chinese is 喜欢. In a sentence that contains “I like…,” “he likes…,”
or “we like…,” the verb 喜欢 does not change.
Chinese
Phrases
我
喜
欢
他喜欢
我
们
喜
欢
Pronunciation
wo xi huan
ta xi huan
wo men xi huan
Translation
I like
He likes
We like
1.2. This explains why the following mistake happens quite frequently in Mandarin speakers’
English writing.
Example: He likes swimming.
Error: He *like swimming.

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3. Verb Tense
Type
Example
Error
Verb Tense
She ran yesterday.
She *run yesterday.
1.3. Similar to subject-verb agreement, Mandarin speakers often find verb tense challenging.
Example: He liked swimming.
Error: He *like swimming.
This sentence translates into Chinese as
他 喜欢 游泳.
ta (he) xihuan (like) youyong (swimming).
No past tense is being attended to in this Mandarin sentence.
1.4. Sometimes, Chinese sentences indicate “past tense” by adding a specific time or period
in the past, but the verb form does not change.
Example: She ran yesterday.
Error: She *run yesterday.
This sentence translates into Chinese as
她 昨天 去 跑步 了。
ta (she) zuotian (yesterday) qu (went) paobu (run) le
(The final word in the above example indicates an action is finished.)

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4. Gender and Pronoun Use
Type
Example
Error
Gender and
Pronoun Use
I met a new friend today. Her
name is Mary.
I met a new friend today. *His name is Mary.
1.5. In Mandarin, third-person gender difference exists but only in the written form.
Examples:
他 是 一个 警察。
ta shi yi ge jing cha
He is a police officer.
她 是 一个 警察。
ta shi yi ge jing cha
She is a police officer.
1.6. Note that the pronunciation is the same between “she” and “he” in Mandarin, so Chinese
speakers often mix up pronouns during sentence construction.
Example: I met a new friend today. Her name is Mary.
Error: I met a new friend today. *His name is Mary.

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5. Articles
Type
Example
Error
Articles
I am in the supermarket.
She’s a good teacher.
I am in * supermarket.
She’s * good teacher.
1.7. The concept of articles does not exist in Mandarin. In Mandarin grammar, the closest
concept to articles is quantity words.
Example:
我 有 一只 笔
wo you yi zhi bi
I have one pen. (I have a pen)
In the sentence “I have a pen,” “a” is an article as well as an indication of quantity.
However, in Mandarin grammar, no article is needed unless to specify a number. In the
example, 一只 (one) specifies the number.
1.8. Omitting articles
The rules outlined above could explain why Mandarin speakers often omit articles in
their sentences.
Example: I am in the supermarket.
Error: I am in * supermarket.
Example: She’s a good teacher.
Error: She’s * good teacher.
1.9. Using incorrect articles
The indefinite article “a/an” indicates that the noun is not already known to the speaker;
the definite article “the” indicates what is known (something specific). Since there is no
article concept in Mandarin grammar, native speakers often confuse “a/an” and “the.”
Example: I would like to buy a phone. Which one should I pick, iPhone or
Android?
Error: I would like to buy *the phone. Which one should I pick, iPhone or
Android?

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6. Prepositions
Type
Example
Error
Prepositions
Alice is on the bus.
Alice is *in the bus.
1.10. When a Mandarin speaker wants to describe an object that is on the surface of
another object, the Chinese character “在...上” is used. “在...下” is used to describe an
object that is under the other object. “在上” or “在下” are location indicators in the
Mandarin language. If a preposition is used only as a location indicator, a Mandarin
speaker may find it acceptable.
Example: The phone is on the table.
手机 (the phone) 在桌子上 (on the table).
Example: He falls down.
他(he) 摔倒了 (falls).
With this thinking, Mandarin speakers often find it difficult to process why Alice is “on”
the bus but not “in” the bus.
Example: Alice is on the bus.
Error: Alice is *in the bus.
The Chinese translation is
Alice 在 公共汽车 里
Alice zai gong gong qi che li
Alice bus inside. (The translation is that Alice is inside a bus.)
Clearly, in a Mandarin speaker’s mind, Alice cannot possibly be on top of the bus, so the
preposition “on” does not make sense.
1.11. When a preposition is used not to describe location but to indicate a relationship
between words, Mandarin speakers find it challenging to choose the correct preposition.
Example: He found a job at Google.
Error: He found a job *in Google.
他 找到 一份 Google的工作。
ta zhao dao yi fen Google de gong zuo
A direct translation of this is “He found a Google job.”

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7. Questions
Type
Example
Error
Questions
Do you mind if I sit here? No,
please do.
Do you mind if I sit here? *Yes, please do.
1.12. Mandarin speakers often respond to the “do you mind if…” question quickly
with “yes” because Mandarin speakers usually do not ask whether other people “mind” a
request. Mandarin speakers most commonly ask a question politely by using the
following question structure:
请 问 我 坐 这 里 可以 吗？
qing wen wo zuo zhe li ke yi ma?
Please ask (may I ask) I sit here OK? (The translation is “May I sit here please?”)
This habit leads to the quick positive answer of “yes” because Mandarin speakers think,
“Of course you can sit here.” However, “yes” confuses speakers who ask the “do you
mind if…” question.
1.13. Another similar situation is the tag question.
Examples:
你不喜欢他，是不是？
ni bu xi huan ta, shi bu shi?
You don’t like him, yes or no?
是的，我不喜欢他
shi de, wo bu xi huan ta
Yes, I don’t like him.
“Yes” here means "yes, I agree with you," which explains why Mandarin speakers tend to
respond to this kind of question depending on whether they agree or not.
Example: You don't like him, do you? No, I don't.
Error: You don't like him, do you? *Yes, I don't.

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8. Dangling Participles
Type
Example
Error
Dangling
Participles
Walking up the hill, I see
flowers blooming.
Walking up the hill, *the flowers are
blooming.
1.14. In English, participles are adjectives that are formed from verbs and end with “-
ing” or “-ed.” When they are used to modify a subject, Mandarin speakers either omit
them or modify the object instead. This issue leaves the participate dangling. (This error
is also often referred to as a dangling modifier.)
1.15. According to Mandarin sentence structure, the meaning is still clear when it is
without a subject in some sentences. This may explain why this kind of error is common
among Mandarin speakers.
Chinese
Sentence
上
山
了
花
开了
Pronunciations
shang shan le
hua
kai le
Direct
Translation
Walking up the hill
flowers
blooms
Sentence
Meaning
Walking up the hill, (I see) flowers blooming.
This is one of the situations when Mandarin speakers find it acceptable that a subject is
missing in a sentence. “Walking up the hill” is the action of a person, but the subject can
be omitted and the meaning is still clear.

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9. Homonyms
Type
Example
Error
Homonyms
I turn on the light.
I *open the light.
1.16. Homonym means different words with the same pronunciation. The homonyms
discussed here have the same pronunciation in Mandarin—not in English. In Mandarin,
two mistakes often occur due to the homonym confusion.
1.17. “open” and “turn on”
开灯 (kai deng) means turning on the light; 开门 (kai men) means opening the door. Two
different verbs are used in English; “turn on” and “open” have two completely different
meanings. In Mandarin, the translation goes back to only one word, which is 开 (kai).
This creates a homonym issue because both verbs “turn on” and “open” are the same in a
Mandarin speaker’s mind, and it could explain the type of mistake shown in the
following example.
Example: I turn on the light.
Error: I *open the light.
1.18. “take” and “cary/bring”
带人去一个地方 (dai ren qu yi ge di fang) means “taking someone to a place”; 带上一
个背包 (dai shang yi ge bei bao) means “carrying a bag”; 带一份礼物给你 (dai yi fen li
wu gei ni) means “bringing you a gift.” When they translate into Mandarin, only one verb
is used for all three sentences, which is 带(dai). This also creates a homonym issue
because the three verbs “take,” “carry,” and “bring” are the same in Mandarin translation,
which could explain the type of mistake shown in the following example.
Example: I’ll take you to the beach.
Error: I’ll *carry / bring you to the beach.

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10. Conjunctions
Type
Example
Error
Conjunctions
Although he’s not feeling well, he
insists on going to work.
Because he’s too tired, he will skip
the party tonight.
Although he’s not feeling well, *but
he insists to go to work.
Because he’s too tired, *so he skips
the party tonight.
Some conjunctions in English do not have their correlated pairs. When words like “because”
and “although” are translated into Mandarin, Mandarin speakers sometimes naturally pair
them with words like “so” and “but” in a sentence as if the sentences were incomplete.
10.1. In English, “although” is a subordinating conjunction (a word that makes a clause
dependent). No additional conjunctions need to be added to the second half of the
sentence to complete the meaning.
虽然他感觉不舒服，但是他还是去上班了
sui ran ta gan jue bu shu fu, dan shi ta hai shi qu shang ban le
Although he feels not well, but he still goes to work.
This explains why Mandarin speakers often pair the word “but” with “although.”
Example: Although he’s not feeling well, he insists on going to work.
Error: Although he’s not feeling well, *but he insists on going to work.
10.2. In English, “because” is also a subordinating conjunction, and Mandarin speakers often
pair it with “so.”
因为他太累了所以今晚他不去派对了
yin wei ta tai lei le suo yi jin wan ta bu qu pai dui le.
Because he too tired, so tonight he does not go to the party. (Because he’s too
tired, he will skip the party tonight.)
This explains why the following sentence might appear in a Mandarin speaker’s writing:
Example: Because he’s too tired, he will skip the party tonight.
Error: Because he’s too tired, *so he will skip the party tonight.

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Reference
Guo, P. (2008, December). Common English mistakes made by native Chinese speakers.
Retrieved March 26, 2018, from http://pgbovine.net/chinese-english-mistakes.htm

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Copyright © 2018
By
Ching Ching Tan
Download Available at:
http://www.sjsu.edu/wac/pages/common-error-guides/index.html