Top 10 Mistakes Portuguese Learners Make When Learning English
Portuguese and English share many Latin roots, but this often leads to "False Friends" and direct translations. Here are the most common errors made by learners from Portugal.
Top 10 Mistakes
1
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I want to win more money."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Portuguese 'Ganhar' means both to Win (a prize) and Earn (salary). English separates them!
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you are gambling or playing the lottery with your job.
✅ Natural English version:
"I want to earn more money."
2
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I have 25 years."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Portuguese 'Tenho 25 anos'. English uses 'To Be' for age.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you possess 25 years in a box.
✅ Natural English version:
"I am 25 years old."
3
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"Can I make a question?"
🤔 Why learners say this:
Direct translation of 'Fazer uma pergunta'. In English, we ASK questions.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you want to construct a question out of paper and glue.
✅ Natural English version:
"Can I ask a question?"
🎯 Practice: Which Word?
You are talking about your salary. You say:
A) I win a good salary
B) I earn a good salary
4
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I know a good restaurant."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Portuguese 'Conhecer' means both 'Know' and 'Meet'. English uses 'Know' for facts/people, but we often say 'Know of' or simply 'There is'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Acceptable, but sometimes we say "I know of" to mean we are aware of it.
✅ Natural English version:
"I know a good restaurant." (This is okay, but watch out for 'I met a good restaurant' which is wrong!)
5
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"The people is nice."
🤔 Why learners say this:
'As pessoas' implies a group, but 'A gente' (The people) is singular in Portuguese. English 'People' is ALWAYS plural.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Grammatically painful.
✅ Natural English version:
"People are nice."
6
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I am agree."
🤔 Why learners say this:
'Estou de acordo'. English 'Agree' is a verb, not an adjective.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like 'Agree' is your name.
✅ Natural English version:
"I agree."
🎯 Practice: Fix the Sentence
"Can I make a question about the salary I will win?"
7
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I have doubts."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Portuguese 'Dúvidas' is the standard word for questions/uncertainties. In English, 'Doubt' is a negative feeling of disbelief.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you don't trust what I am saying. Use 'Question' if you just want information.
✅ Natural English version:
"I have a question." / "I have a query."
8
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I didn't see nobody."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Double negative 'Não vi ninguém'. English uses 'anybody' with negative verbs.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Uneducated or slang (like a gangster movie).
✅ Natural English version:
"I didn't see anybody."
9
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"It depends of the day."
🤔 Why learners say this:
'Depende de'. English uses 'Depends ON'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Just a preposition error.
✅ Natural English version:
"It depends on the day."
10
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"He has a good relation with his boss."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Portuguese 'Relação'. In English, 'Relation' usually refers to family members. For people getting along, we use 'Relationship'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
A bit stiff. We usually say 'relationship'.
✅ Natural English version:
"He has a good relationship with his boss."
🎯 Practice: Fix the Sentence
"I have a doubt about the project."
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