A fast way to improve your English at work is to learn from your mistakes. It might sound surprising, but research shows that the brain remembers corrections better than information learned through simple study. By noticing and correcting your errors, you train your brain to use English more accurately and confidently. Cool, right?!
With that in mind, I reflected on my time as the manager of a large international team, and I identified 8 of the most common English mistakes I heard from colleagues. Most of my team were Spanish speakers who handled countless meetings, phone calls, and emails in English every day – an impressive achievement in itself. The goal of this article isn’t to criticise, but to celebrate their efforts and draw lessons from their experiences.
For the purpose of making things easier, I’ve separated the errors into three categories. Ready to learn?
ROUND 1: ELIMNATE ONE WORD
Before anything else, let’s see the first round of common errors I heard colleagues make when speaking English at work.
1: We were discussing about the project.
2: The report is too much long.
3: I want to grow up in this company.
What is the error? In these examples, you need to eliminate a word in order to correct them. Let’s see in more detail.
Correction 1: We were discussing the project.
In English, there is no “about” after the word “discuss”. We discuss the topic. We discuss the plan. We discuss the idea. Simple as that.
Correction 2: The report is too long.
In English, “too much” is for things. For example:
- I have too much work to do today.
- It’s too much pressure.
But when you’re simply describing, just use “too” (without “much”).
- The day is too long.
- I am too busy.
To refresh your memory about this area of English, this 1 minute video about the difference between “so” and “too” will help.
Correction 3: I want to grow in this company.
This English error appears a lot in CVs, job interviews and performance evaluations, even when people have really advanced English. It’s confusing because “grow up” is definitely a correct phrase in English…but it means to transform from being a child to adult. That’s why you often hear the question, “Where did you grow up?”.
When you refer to achieving a higher level position in a company, you just say “grow”. Without the “up”.
Another way to make this sentence extra natural-sounding is to say this: “I want to grow within this company“.
Now you know to drop those extra words after “discuss”, “too” and “grow”. In the next round, the challenge will be different! Let’s go!
“The mistake might not always be clear at first, that’s completely normal!”
ROUND 2: CHANGE WORDS
In this round, you need to CHANGE one or two words to make the sentence correct. Ready? Here are the errors:
4: I haven’t a meeting today .
5: My journey is always busy.
6: I need to focus in the task.
Not easy, right?! It may seem tricky, but this type of exercise will help you speak better English at work! Ok, ready for the corrections?
Correction 4: I don’t have a meeting today.
Want to know something? “Hasn’t” or “Haven’t” exist in English, but they are used for a particular tense of English. For example: “I still haven’t eaten lunch”.
However, the example here is a different use of “have”. It’s all about experiencing an event. As such, the grammar is different in a sentence. It’s just an ordinary action like walk, talk, sleep.
A trick to help you is to compare the positive and negative.
- Positive: I have a meeting.
- Negative: I don’t have a meeting.
Correction 5: My day at work is always busy.
Spanish speakers in particular tend to get confused with this vocabulary. Just remember that the English word “journey” is related to travelling. For example, “the journey to Glasgow was long and tiring”.
Correction 6: I need to focus on the task.
The words in, on, at are easy to mix up, but this is a common phrase when you speak English at work, so it’s worth noting to get it right each time!
ROUND 3: ADD NEW WORDS
Here we have a final round of common errors when you speak English at work. In these examples, it’s necessary to add new words to these sentences in order to make them correct.
7: He explained me the plan.
8: The most important is clear communication.
The mistake might not always be clear at first, that’s completely normal! Remember, this involves close reflection. Let’s keep going!
Correction 7: He explained the plan to me.
This was a bit of a trick question, as we actually needed to restructure the sentence as well as add more words. Sorry! 🙂
The main lesson we can learn is that in English, you explain something to something. “He explained me” is not correct.
Correction 8: The most important thing is clear communication.
This is a very common mistake to hear. Remember, in English, after you say “the most important…”, you need something e.g. thing, part, reason. You can’t just say “the important”.
Amazing job, those are the 8 most common errors when people speak English at work!
Making mistakes is part of the strategy when it comes to improving your English. That’s why it’s so important to put yourself in situations where you are pushed to speak English at work. Each time you do, you learn something new, get better, and grow more confident. Go for it!
Want to go further?
