Verbs used wrongly by English speakers in Asia
Enjoy
Enjoy MUST be followed either by the thing enjoyed or by one of the "self" words.
Example of mistake: "I really enjoyed when we played games at the party"
Correct patterns to learn:
I really enjoyed myself at the party.
He really enjoyed himself at the party.
We really enjoyed ourselves at the party.
I really enjoyed the party.
I really enjoyed playing games at the party.
Rule of thumb: check that after "enjoy" you write
a noun (the party)
an -ing verb (playing)
a -self word (myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves)
Verbs used wrongly by English speakers in Asia
Follow
Follow means only "go behind".
If you travel in the same car with someone, or you walk together with someone. you must not use "follow".
The word to use instead is "accompany", or you could use "go with" or "come with."
My dad asked me to go with him to Bandar.
I will come with you to the beach.
I accompanied my uncle to the mosque.
I will drive my car, and you follow me in your sister's car.
Verbs used wrongly by English speakers in Asia
Send
If you send somebody or something then you remain in the same place while the other person or thing travels
It is wrong to use "send" for driving someone to a place.
Example of mistake: "My dad always sends us to school in the morning." This is wrong IF dad is driving the car.
Examples of patterns to learn:
My dad always brings us to school in the morning
If you want to go to football now, I will take you in the car.
I will send a letter to England.
Verbs used wrongly by English speakers in Asia
School
It is best to use "school" as a noun, not as a verb. Instead use "go to school."
Examples of wrong use:
At the time I was schooling in Lumut.
We schooled together at primary school.
Examples of patterns to learn:
I went to school in the water village.
Where do you go to school?
We went to the same school.
Verbs used wrongly by English speakers in Asia
Eat
This verb is not a big problem, except when related to medicine and pills or tablets.
In these cases English never uses "eat". The normal word is "take". Here are some good examples:
After I ate my lunch I took some headache pills
Take the medicine three times a day.
Please open your mouth wide and take this cough mixture.
Verbs used wrongly by English speakers in Asia
Take (food)
This verb can be very confusing. English rarely uses it with the names of meals or the names of foods.
Do NOT write:
I take breakfast at 8 in the morning.
INSTEAD use:
I eat breakfast at eight. OR
I have breakfast at eight.
I had crab and corn soup for lunch
Can I have Chinese tea, please?
Dad ate his dinner in silence.
Verbs used wrongly by English speakers in Asia
Take / bring
When carrying things, we use "take" to tell people the movement is away from where we are, and "bring" to show the movement is towards where we are. The habit in Asia is to use "bring" wrongly.
Here are some BAD examples:
(At school) I am bringing my homework to my house today.
(In the classroom) John, please bring this letter to the Principal.
Correct versions:
I am taking my homework to my house.
John, please take this letter to the Principal
Other good examples:
When I go to Singapore, I shall take this book to my Aunt.
(At school) Don't forget to bring your homework to tomorrow's lesson.
Bring your application forms to me, but take the money to the Finance Section.
Verbs used wrongly by English speakers in Asia
Open / Close (or shut)
Malay speakers use "open" and "close" differently from English. The most common mistakes in English are:
Open your shoes, open the lights, open the television.
Correct versions of these are:
Undo your shoes (take off your shoes), switch on the lights, turn on the television.
For clothes with buttons or zips, and shoes with fastenings, use the verbs "do up" and "undo", for example:
I undid the buttons on my shirt
It was cold, so I did up my jacket.
Your shoelaces are undone. Do them up so you don't fall over.
For all electrical devices (e.g. lights, tv, computer, cooker) we use "switch on /off" or "turn on /off", like this:
I turned on the radio.
Switch off the lights when you leave the room.
I turned off the television and went to bed.
Important note.
English NEVER uses "on" and "off" as verbs. You must NOT say or write:
Can you on the lights? (Use "turn on" or "switch on")
I offed the dvd player. (Use "turned off" or "switched off")
Verbs used wrongly by English speakers in Asia
Wear
"Wear" is used for clothes that you already have on. It is not used for the action of dressing.
Examples of incorrect use:
After my shower I wore my best dress.
I get up early and wear my school uniform before breakfast.
After a shower, we "put on" clothes; when going to bed, we "take off" clothes. For example:
I put on my school uniform and went downstairs.
Put on your songkok; the teacher's coming.
I put on my running shoes.
I took off all my clothes and had a shower.
Ifyou do not wish to name the clothes you are going to wear, you can use "get dressed" (this applies to males and females):
I got dressed and went down to lunch.
You may add the name of the clothing, using the preposition "in":
I got dressed in my best shirt for the party.
For taking clothes off you may use:
I got undressed and went to bed.
Verbs used wrongly by English speakers in Asia
Ward
This is not used as a verb for going into hospital in English.
Incorrect example of use:
My mother was warded in room three.
Instead we have to find a way to use "ward" as a noun, for example:
My mother was put in ward three.
My mother was in the hospital, staying in ward three.
Horn
This is not used as a verb in English. It is a noun, usually used with the verb "sound" or "honk":
I sounded my horn, but the cow did not move.
He honked his horn at the bad driving.
You may instead use the verb "hoot"
He hooted all the time, annoying all the drivers around him.
Verbs used wrongly by English speakers in Asia
Chop
"Chop" is used as a verb for cutting wood or vegetables. It is not used for putting marks on passports, official letters, and such like.
Incorrect examples of use:
The immigration officer chopped my passport.
I will chop the letter so the Ministry will know it has come from the school.
English for this is the verb "stamp":
The officer stamped my passport.
I wil stamp the letter with the school logo.
Special note.
"Chop" is not used as a noun for the thing used to make these official marks, nor for the mark itself. Instead, we use the noun "stamp" or "rubber stamp", for example:
The teacher bought a date stamp, and a stamp saying "Excellent".
I already had three stamps in my passport.
You must get a hospital stamp on your medical certificate.
Verbs used wrongly by English speakers in Asia
Pass up
This Asian use of English is not standard for giving work to a teacher, and should not be used in O-level writing.
Instead of "Please pass up your work",
an English speaker will use "Please hand in your work."
Examples are:
You must hand this in by next Tuesday
I have handed in all my Maths work already.
The class monitor collected our papers and handed them in to the office.
