Top 10 Mistakes Turkish Learners Make When Learning English
Turkish grammar is very different from English (SOV vs SVO). Turkish speakers also love to "make" things that should be "done". Here are the most common mistakes.
Top 10 Mistakes
1
β Typical learner sentence:
"I drink cigarette."
π€ Why learners say this:
Direct translation of 'Sigara içmek'. In Turkish, you 'drink' soup and cigarettes.
π¬π§ What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you put the cigarette in a blender and drank it as a smoothie. Yuck!
β
Natural English version:
"I smoke cigarettes."
2
β Typical learner sentence:
"I want that you come."
π€ Why learners say this:
Turkish grammar uses a structure like 'I want your coming'. English requires 'want YOU TO...'
π¬π§ What it sounds like to a Brit:
Very old-fashioned and clumsy.
β
Natural English version:
"I want you to come."
3
β Typical learner sentence:
"We made sport yesterday."
π€ Why learners say this:
Turkish 'spor yapmak' uses the verb 'make'. English uses 'do' or just 'exercise'.
π¬π§ What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you invented a new sport or built a stadium.
β
Natural English version:
"We did sport." / "We exercised."
π― Practice: Which Word?
You are going to the gym. You say:
A) I will make sport
B) I will do sport
4
β Typical learner sentence:
"Please close the phone."
π€ Why learners say this:
Turkish 'telefonu kapatmak' means close. English uses 'hang up'.
π¬π§ What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you want me to fold my phone in half.
β
Natural English version:
"Please hang up."
5
β Typical learner sentence:
"I passed the bus."
π€ Why learners say this:
Turkish 'otobüsü kaçırmak' can mean pass/miss. 'Passed' means you overtook it in a car!
π¬π§ What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you were running faster than the bus and ran past it!
β
Natural English version:
"I missed the bus."
6
β Typical learner sentence:
"I am waiting you."
π€ Why learners say this:
Turkish 'seni bekliyorum' takes the direct object. English 'wait' needs 'FOR'.
π¬π§ What it sounds like to a Brit:
Incomplete. Wait... for what?
β
Natural English version:
"I am waiting FOR you."
π― Practice: Fix the Sentence
"I drank a cigarette while waiting you."
7
β Typical learner sentence:
"She made empathy."
π€ Why learners say this:
Turkish 'empati yapmak'. English uses the verb 'empathize' or 'have empathy'.
π¬π§ What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like she cooked a dish called Empathy.
β
Natural English version:
"She empathized." / "She showed empathy."
8
β Typical learner sentence:
"We entered to the room."
π€ Why learners say this:
Turkish 'daya girmek' uses the dative case (to). English 'enter' does not use 'to'.
π¬π§ What it sounds like to a Brit:
Redundant. Enter implies movement into, so 'to' is unnecessary.
β
Natural English version:
"We entered the room."
9
β Typical learner sentence:
"It has a car in the street."
π€ Why learners say this:
Turkish 'var' (there is) is often confused with 'have'.
π¬π§ What it sounds like to a Brit:
Who has the car? The street? The situation? Use THERE IS.
β
Natural English version:
"There is a car in the street."
10
β Typical learner sentence:
"I prefer tea than coffee."
π€ Why learners say this:
Common error confusing 'better than' with 'prefer'. Prefer always takes 'TO'.
π¬π§ What it sounds like to a Brit:
Grammatically wrong. We prefer X TO Y.
β
Natural English version:
"I prefer tea TO coffee."
π― Practice: Fix the Sentence
"I entered to the cafe and made breakfast."
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