We remove Russian from the English
Adult students, who have just begun to learn a foreign language, always rely on their native language and translate every word in a sentence in order to understand its essence. Only such a translation can play a cruel joke with you, and it is your “go to!” Instead of “come in!” From the innocent “come in!”.
Such errors are inevitable at the very beginning, but students of already quite high levels also often make mistakes that are not only absurd, but also indicate with 100% probability of Russian origin. Some mistakes are excusable, and some will cause a misunderstanding of English-speaking people. We will understand what's what.
You finally signed up for courses or started learning English on your own, and now you have already mastered the first words and simple sentences. But the further, the worse: all these verb forms, tenses, special words are there, special words are there, and someone corrects you all the time, or the test results are too low. What is wrong? Why do you, trying to sound in English, still sound in Russian?
Contrary to the common myth that pronunciation is very important, and you must know the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet, transcription, in a word) icons, the speakers themselves say that pronunciation does not interfere with understanding. And they are right in something: you understand the Ukrainians perfectly well with their mild "g", a person who says "crem" instead of "cream", and even grimace if someone says "ringing".
Working on pronunciation requires long practice. You need to listen a lot, speak for yourself and understand how your articulation machine works. Deal with the fact that getting rid of the accent is almost impossible. Well, except that you do not decide to earn some extra espionage. Accent is an individual reprimand feature. You just need to work out a neutral pronunciation that will not distort the meaning of words, and you can live with it already.
This is the first mistake that Russian students face, because it's much easier to formulate a thought in your native Russian, and then translate it into English.
I very like winter, it's a beautiful season.
It seems that if you read this sentence, without turning off the Russian in you, everything is clear: “I really love ...”, that's just in English, this is wrong. The word order in the English sentence is fixed, unlike Russian. It is violated only in cases of inversion (for example, questions or forms of consent / disagreement “So do I / Neither do I”) and stylistic purposes (which are not found at all at the level of intermediate). Usually in the rules it is described by the abbreviation SVOMPT : Subject (subject), Verb (verb), Object (addition), M (mode of action), P (place), T (time).
Let's return to our example. The word very in our case is an adverb, but it cannot be used in isolation, as in Russian. After him there must be some definable word. So what? We can love very much. And we can like something very much. Of course, it does not sound in Russian, but we are building the sentence in English! So you have to say “very much” .
Now we turn to our scheme. “Very strong” is a circumstance of mode of action. Therefore, according to our scheme it turns out:
“I (subject) like (verb) winter (object) very much (manner)”
And now this offer is more like the truth. By the way, if you really want to put something extra in front of the verb, you can use the word really: “I really like winter” . But you can not put “very” before the verb.
“It's depend”
Your level is growing, and you start talking in English. I want to start my statement with the words "depends on". And here in the speech slips the most frequent reservation of Russian-speaking students. For some reason it seems to you that the pronoun it is not combined with anything other than the verb to be , and “it's” is the only thing that this pronoun is needed for in nature. And no! As in Russian you say “It depends on”, and in English you should say “It depends on” . After all, even purely logical: the verb to be in time Present Simple is used with professions, feelings and states of the soul. And if there is any other verb in the sentence, it means that you are no longer needed in the sentence. It is a third person singular pronoun, which means it needs the ending “-s” in Present Simple.
So remember the correct form: “it depends on” .
“I'm agree”
And again, the intrigues of native Russian. In Russian, we say “I agree / agree”, where “I agree / agree” is a short adjective. We are already smart, and we have read the previous paragraph, so we know that the verb to be is used with adjectives (feelings and states of the soul). It would seem, “I agree” = “I am agree” . Bad news. “Agree” in English is a verb. Well, then you already know: "I agree" .
More better
It's all very simple. If in Russian “more better” and “more beautiful” you seem to be normal phrases, then in English you don’t remember them and you will not use them correctly. And if you see an error, remember: do not use the word "more" with the comparative form of the adjective . The comparative form has already given the meaning of this “more”.
By the way, students who shout that there are too many exceptions to comparative adjective forms in English are good news for you: English forms completely coincide with Russians. Better is better, not “good”, worse - worse, not “better”, more - more, not “more”, less - less, not “less”, elder is the eldest child, not “the oldest child ”, further - further (there is also“ further ”, but the question is why there are two forms. So we also have two!). The only real exception is the word “late” with its forms “latter” and “latest” , which always sound like “last” in Russian.
“I speak on English on our lessons”
Prepositions are a fertile topic in any foreign language. There are rules, there are exceptions, and whatever language you take, prepositions and their compatibility with one or another part of speech will always be one of the most difficult topics.
In English, with prepositions, too, everything is difficult, but with the three most popular - in, on, at - you can figure it out yourself. “In” is used for countries, cities, regions, seasons, years, centuries, decades, months and the meaning of “through”. “At” is used to indicate exact time, addresses and a specific location or place. “On” is used for days of the week, dates, times of the day, streets.
Of course, there are a lot of stable expressions ( in the evening, at the moment ) and exceptions, due to both the interchangeability of prepositions ( in the street and on the street ), and language variants ( at the weekend and on the weekend ). Prepositions and their use can be devoted to more than one article. But one rule must be remembered clearly: “speak English / in English” would be “speak English” , without any pretexts! Well, lesson is, in fact, a location, so “at the lesson” will be correct.
They are devoted to entire chapters in textbooks for translators, but these words are also relevant for language learners. If it seems to you that the word looks familiar, because there is such a word in Russian, be extremely careful, because you can run into a false friend. This means that in English the word will mean something completely different. Examples of the mass: “accurate” - this is not “accurate”, but “accurate”. “Fantastic” does not mean a literary genre, it is called “science fiction” or “sci-fi” . “Cabinet” is not a cabinet, but a drawer or cabinet. The favorite word of every guru “effective” does not mean “effective”, for this English-speaking people rather use the word “efficient” . In general, suspicion is included.
Of course, your teacher or friend will understand you. They are Russian! Therefore, attempts to say a sentence with a broken word order and incorrect words in general, the teacher will be able to somehow decipher. But carriers of English in Russian may not be strong, and your opus may at best not understand, and at worst laugh or be offended. So it is better to remember how to correctly, and not to hope that “they will understand that way”.
Well, if you are confused that the rules are too many, remember that you, too, have been learning Russian for more than one year. Immerse yourself in learning English, do a little exercise, but every day, systematically repeat the material covered, and you will surely begin to speak competently.
Readers of the blog give a coupon for 500 rubles for the purchase of a subscription, which includes 8 types of training and weekly mailings about English grammar and vocabulary - "Vitaminki" and "Buns".
And for unlimited and perpetual access to all features of the site there is an “All Inclusive” tariff (the discount does not apply).
Such errors are inevitable at the very beginning, but students of already quite high levels also often make mistakes that are not only absurd, but also indicate with 100% probability of Russian origin. Some mistakes are excusable, and some will cause a misunderstanding of English-speaking people. We will understand what's what.
You finally signed up for courses or started learning English on your own, and now you have already mastered the first words and simple sentences. But the further, the worse: all these verb forms, tenses, special words are there, special words are there, and someone corrects you all the time, or the test results are too low. What is wrong? Why do you, trying to sound in English, still sound in Russian?
Pronunciation
Contrary to the common myth that pronunciation is very important, and you must know the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet, transcription, in a word) icons, the speakers themselves say that pronunciation does not interfere with understanding. And they are right in something: you understand the Ukrainians perfectly well with their mild "g", a person who says "crem" instead of "cream", and even grimace if someone says "ringing".
Working on pronunciation requires long practice. You need to listen a lot, speak for yourself and understand how your articulation machine works. Deal with the fact that getting rid of the accent is almost impossible. Well, except that you do not decide to earn some extra espionage. Accent is an individual reprimand feature. You just need to work out a neutral pronunciation that will not distort the meaning of words, and you can live with it already.
Invalid word order
This is the first mistake that Russian students face, because it's much easier to formulate a thought in your native Russian, and then translate it into English.
I very like winter, it's a beautiful season.
It seems that if you read this sentence, without turning off the Russian in you, everything is clear: “I really love ...”, that's just in English, this is wrong. The word order in the English sentence is fixed, unlike Russian. It is violated only in cases of inversion (for example, questions or forms of consent / disagreement “So do I / Neither do I”) and stylistic purposes (which are not found at all at the level of intermediate). Usually in the rules it is described by the abbreviation SVOMPT : Subject (subject), Verb (verb), Object (addition), M (mode of action), P (place), T (time).
Let's return to our example. The word very in our case is an adverb, but it cannot be used in isolation, as in Russian. After him there must be some definable word. So what? We can love very much. And we can like something very much. Of course, it does not sound in Russian, but we are building the sentence in English! So you have to say “very much” .
Now we turn to our scheme. “Very strong” is a circumstance of mode of action. Therefore, according to our scheme it turns out:
“I (subject) like (verb) winter (object) very much (manner)”
And now this offer is more like the truth. By the way, if you really want to put something extra in front of the verb, you can use the word really: “I really like winter” . But you can not put “very” before the verb.
“It's depend”
Your level is growing, and you start talking in English. I want to start my statement with the words "depends on". And here in the speech slips the most frequent reservation of Russian-speaking students. For some reason it seems to you that the pronoun it is not combined with anything other than the verb to be , and “it's” is the only thing that this pronoun is needed for in nature. And no! As in Russian you say “It depends on”, and in English you should say “It depends on” . After all, even purely logical: the verb to be in time Present Simple is used with professions, feelings and states of the soul. And if there is any other verb in the sentence, it means that you are no longer needed in the sentence. It is a third person singular pronoun, which means it needs the ending “-s” in Present Simple.
So remember the correct form: “it depends on” .
“I'm agree”
And again, the intrigues of native Russian. In Russian, we say “I agree / agree”, where “I agree / agree” is a short adjective. We are already smart, and we have read the previous paragraph, so we know that the verb to be is used with adjectives (feelings and states of the soul). It would seem, “I agree” = “I am agree” . Bad news. “Agree” in English is a verb. Well, then you already know: "I agree" .
More better
It's all very simple. If in Russian “more better” and “more beautiful” you seem to be normal phrases, then in English you don’t remember them and you will not use them correctly. And if you see an error, remember: do not use the word "more" with the comparative form of the adjective . The comparative form has already given the meaning of this “more”.
By the way, students who shout that there are too many exceptions to comparative adjective forms in English are good news for you: English forms completely coincide with Russians. Better is better, not “good”, worse - worse, not “better”, more - more, not “more”, less - less, not “less”, elder is the eldest child, not “the oldest child ”, further - further (there is also“ further ”, but the question is why there are two forms. So we also have two!). The only real exception is the word “late” with its forms “latter” and “latest” , which always sound like “last” in Russian.
“I speak on English on our lessons”
Prepositions are a fertile topic in any foreign language. There are rules, there are exceptions, and whatever language you take, prepositions and their compatibility with one or another part of speech will always be one of the most difficult topics.
In English, with prepositions, too, everything is difficult, but with the three most popular - in, on, at - you can figure it out yourself. “In” is used for countries, cities, regions, seasons, years, centuries, decades, months and the meaning of “through”. “At” is used to indicate exact time, addresses and a specific location or place. “On” is used for days of the week, dates, times of the day, streets.
Of course, there are a lot of stable expressions ( in the evening, at the moment ) and exceptions, due to both the interchangeability of prepositions ( in the street and on the street ), and language variants ( at the weekend and on the weekend ). Prepositions and their use can be devoted to more than one article. But one rule must be remembered clearly: “speak English / in English” would be “speak English” , without any pretexts! Well, lesson is, in fact, a location, so “at the lesson” will be correct.
False translator friends
They are devoted to entire chapters in textbooks for translators, but these words are also relevant for language learners. If it seems to you that the word looks familiar, because there is such a word in Russian, be extremely careful, because you can run into a false friend. This means that in English the word will mean something completely different. Examples of the mass: “accurate” - this is not “accurate”, but “accurate”. “Fantastic” does not mean a literary genre, it is called “science fiction” or “sci-fi” . “Cabinet” is not a cabinet, but a drawer or cabinet. The favorite word of every guru “effective” does not mean “effective”, for this English-speaking people rather use the word “efficient” . In general, suspicion is included.
And finally: “You understand me, why should I fix it ?!”
Of course, your teacher or friend will understand you. They are Russian! Therefore, attempts to say a sentence with a broken word order and incorrect words in general, the teacher will be able to somehow decipher. But carriers of English in Russian may not be strong, and your opus may at best not understand, and at worst laugh or be offended. So it is better to remember how to correctly, and not to hope that “they will understand that way”.
Well, if you are confused that the rules are too many, remember that you, too, have been learning Russian for more than one year. Immerse yourself in learning English, do a little exercise, but every day, systematically repeat the material covered, and you will surely begin to speak competently.
For those who want to pump English
Readers of the blog give a coupon for 500 rubles for the purchase of a subscription, which includes 8 types of training and weekly mailings about English grammar and vocabulary - "Vitaminki" and "Buns".
And for unlimited and perpetual access to all features of the site there is an “All Inclusive” tariff (the discount does not apply).
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