Top 10 Mistakes Italian Learners Make When Learning English
Italians are famously expressive, but sometimes that direct translation leads to trouble! From "false friends" to adding vowels where they don't belong, here are the most common English mistakes we hear from our Italian students.
Top 10 Mistakes
1
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I have 25 years."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Italian uses 'avere' (to have) for age ('Ho 25 anni'), but English uses 'to be'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you possess 25 years in a box somewhere.
✅ Natural English version:
"I am 25 years old."
2
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I am agree with you."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Italian 'Sono d'accordo' (I am in agreement) makes learners add 'am' to 'agree'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like 'Agree' is your name!
✅ Natural English version:
"I agree with you."
3
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I must to go."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Adding 'to' after modal verbs is a classic error.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
A bit stuttery, like you can't decide between 'have to' and 'must'.
✅ Natural English version:
"I must go."
🎯 Practice: Fix the Sentence
"I have 30 years and I am agree."
4
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I like very much pizza."
🤔 Why learners say this:
In Italian, you can put 'molto' right after the verb, but in English, 'very much' goes at the end.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
The word order feels completely backwards to our ears.
✅ Natural English version:
"I like pizza very much."
5
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I go to school-a with-a my friend-a."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Italians often add a neutral vowel (schwa) to the end of words that end in consonants.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
It sounds very musical, like an opera, but it's not standard English!
✅ Natural English version:
"I go to school with my friend." (Clean endings)
6
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I met my parents last night." (Meaning relatives)
🤔 Why learners say this:
FALSE FRIEND! 'Parenti' means relatives in Italian. 'Parents' means JUST mum and dad.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
We think you only saw your mother and father, not your cousins and uncles!
✅ Natural English version:
"I met my relatives last night."
🎯 Practice: Which Word?
You are having dinner with your uncles and cousins. You say:
A) I am with my parents
B) I am with my relatives
7
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I need some informations."
🤔 Why learners say this:
In Italian 'informazioni' is plural. In English, 'information' is uncountable.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like asking for "some musics" or "some sands".
✅ Natural English version:
"I need some information."
8
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"It depends of the weather."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Italian uses 'dipende da' (from/of). English ALWAYS uses 'depends ON'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Just a wrong preposition that sounds slightly foreign.
✅ Natural English version:
"It depends on the weather."
9
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I know him since 10 years."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Italian uses 'da' for both duration and starting points. English needs 'for' + duration.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Confusing time travel!
✅ Natural English version:
"I have known him for 10 years."
10
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I have done a shower."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Italian uses 'fare' (to do/make) for showers, photos, and parties. English uses specific verbs.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you constructed the shower yourself!
✅ Natural English version:
"I took a shower."
🎯 Practice: Fix the Sentence
"It depends of if I have free time."
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