Friday, May 4, 2012

Top 10 Grammatical Mistakes Made by Filipinos



Filipinos may be better at English than most Asians, but that doesn’t mean they’re immune from making simple errors.

In this entry, I’ve listed the Top 10 most common mistakes Filipinos make. The obvious reason why you should read this list is so that you can become a better writer. The less obvious reason is the fact that there are entire blogs dedicated to making fun of Filipinos’ wrong grammar, and they are merciless.

Don’t be a victim. Educate yourself, starting with this list.

Note: This Top 10 list is based on my personal experience, but I admit, when I’m not paying attention, I find myself making these mistakes too.
#10. ”Alright” and “All Right”

We see the word “alright” everywhere, and it’s begun entering the major dictionaries, but for formal writing, such as academic papers and business correspondence, you should still use the two-word version.

#9. “Pinaka-Latest”

“Latest” is already in the superlative, meaning there nothing “later” than it. “Most latest” is just redundant. Therefore, “pinaka-latest” is also redundant. But I have to admit, it’s pretty catchy. That’s probably why local showbiz specials love to use it.

#8. “More + Adjective-er”

Phrases like “more harder” and “more brighter” just give me more headaches. Just say “harder” or “brighter,” okay?

#7. “Your” and “You’re”

Two words that should never, ever, ever be interchanged, at least if you want to be taken seriously as a writer.

“Your” is a possessive adjective. In other words, it is used to express possession: “Your job.” “You’re” is a contraction of two words: the pronoun “you” and the verb “are.” Therefore, it’s always “you’re welcome“ and not “your welcome.”

#6. “Its” and “It’s”

This is almost identical to “you” and “you’re.” Use “its” to express possession: ”I scratched its fur.” “It’s” is a contraction of “it” and “is.” Therefore, always write “it’s nice” and never “its nice.”

#5. “Their” and “They’re” and “There”

Same banana. “Their” is a possessive adjective, “They’re” is a contraction, and “There” refers to a place: “I’m going there.”

#4. “He” and “She”

“Clara’s there na. He’s, ah, I mean, she’s waiting for you.”

This happens because most Filipinos think in Tagalog, in which the word ”siya”means both “he” and she.” This tiny difference between English and Tagalog trips up millions of Filipinos on a daily basis.

#3. “Already”

“She went there already.”

This sounds correct to a Filipino, but the correct use is “She already went there.”Personally, this still sounds a bit off. I would say “She has already gone there.”But that’s just me.

#2. The Ellipsis

This is one of the most abused punctuation marks in the history of humankind. Simply put, an ellipsis is the formal term for the three dots (“…”) that follow some types of sentences. Filipinos love to abuse it in the following ways:
By using only 2 dots: ..
By using more than 3: …….. (of course, there are some instances in which 4 dots are acceptable)
By using it several times in a single sentence: “Oh… Well… I’ll see you later, then…”

#1. Pluralizing all the wrong words

I visibly wince whenever I hear Filipinos add “-s” to the wrong words. “Fats.” “Furnitures.” “Evidences.” “Stuffs.” Stuffs. For the love of God, all of these words are already in the plural form. And saying “anyways” instead of “anyway” has always struck me as being singularly pretentious.

source:http://writista.wordpress.com/2008/12/09/top-10-grammatical-mistakes-made-by-filipinos/

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