Top 10 Mistakes Brazilian Speakers Make When Learning English
Brazilians are famously friendly, but Portuguese grammar often sneaks into their English! From using "Have" instead of "There is", to the musical addition of "ee" at the end of words, here are the classic Brazilian mistakes.
Top 10 Mistakes
1
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"Have many people here."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Portuguese uses 'tem' (to have) for existence. English MUST use 'There is' or 'There are'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Very confusing. We are waiting for the subject. WHO has many people?
✅ Natural English version:
"There are many people here."
2
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I lost the bus."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Portuguese 'perder' covers both 'lose' (an object) and 'miss' (an event/transport).
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you were the bus driver, you parked it, and now you can't find it!
✅ Natural English version:
"I missed the bus."
3
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I like very much football."
🤔 Why learners say this:
In Portuguese, the order is flexible. In English, 'very much' must go at the END.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
The rhythm is backwards. It sounds like Yoda speaking.
✅ Natural English version:
"I like football very much."
🎯 Practice: Fix the Sentence
"Have two cars in the street."
4
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I love-ee Facebook-ee." (Pronunciation)
🤔 Why learners say this:
Portuguese words rarely end in hard consonants (like K or B), so learners add an 'ee' sound.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Very cute and musical, but difficult to understand quickly. Cut the sound short!
✅ Natural English version:
"I love Facebook." (Stop at the K!)
5
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"Thanks God!"
🤔 Why learners say this:
Portuguese 'Graças a Deus' is plural. English is singular: 'Thank God'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you are sending a letter: "Thanks, God."
✅ Natural English version:
"Thank God!"
6
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"She has a big hair."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Hair is uncountable in English (unless you find one hair in your soup!).
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like she has one single giant hair growing out of her head!
✅ Natural English version:
"She has long hair." (No 'a', and we usually say long, not big)
🎯 Practice: Which Word?
The train left without you. You say:
A) I lost the train
B) I missed the train
7
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I go to the shopping."
🤔 Why learners say this:
In Brazil, the mall is called 'o shopping'. In English, 'shopping' is the action, not the place.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Incomplete sentence. You go to the shopping... what? Center? Mall?
✅ Natural English version:
"I go to the shopping mall / centre."
8
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I stay in the house of my friend."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Direct translation of 'casa do meu amigo'. English uses the possessive 'S.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Very long and poetic. Like something from a 19th-century novel.
✅ Natural English version:
"I am staying at my friend's house."
9
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"Do you like?"
🤔 Why learners say this:
Portuguese allows object dropping ('Gostou?'). English NEEDS the object 'it'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
We are waiting for you to finish. Do I like... what?
✅ Natural English version:
"Do you like it?"
10
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"Is very hot today."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Subject dropping is fine in Portuguese ('Está quente'). English requires the dummy subject 'It'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Broken English. Every verb needs a subject!
✅ Natural English version:
"It is very hot today."
🎯 Practice: Fix the Sentence
"Is raining so I stay in house."
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