Here is another issue of the English Department's newsletter for the end of the academic year.
The Ifl Prospect Vol3 Issue2 2011
COMMON ERRORS: THE ANSWERS
by Khan Bophan
The following sentences contain some of the errors commonly made by many Cambodian users of English. Do make efforts to get rid of them.
1. Although the exams were not that tough this Semester, but I did not perform very well. I have already started preparing for the supplementary exams. Wish me luck.
The error is “but”, which is probably caused by the influence from Khmer. In Khmer, we say “ទោះបីជា... ប៉ុនែ្ត...". In English, however, we say “Although ..., but ...” Be sure to check if it is correct to translate a Khmer structure directly into a foreign language.
2. If IFL organizes fun and useful events during the vacation, so I will definitely participate in them. I want to make better use of my time off.
The error is “so”, which is also probably caused by the influence from Khmer. In Khmer, many say “ប្រសិនបើ... អញ្ចឹង...". In English, however, we only say “If ..., so ...” Direct translation (word for word) from English to Khmer and vice versa oftentimes results in such an error.
3. Ladies and gentle, it is a great honor for us to be able to present to you our proposed plan for this year’s retreat to Kampong Som... I responsible for the transportation and accommodation part. My other two members will present the rest of the plan.
The errors are “gentle” and “responsible”. We are supposed to say “gentlemen”. The writer/speaker may have left out “men” unintentionally. For the second error, the writer/speaker does not know that “responsible” is an adjective which cannot be used as a verb. We need to use it with “be” and say “I am responsible for...”
What is worse, many say “I respond part A.” The word “responsible” cannot be converted into a verb and we need to use it with “for”. The only way to say it correctly is “I am responsible for Part A.”
4. That’s one brilliant idea, Deluxe. I am totally agree with you.
The error is “am”. This is a case of overusing “to be”. “To be” is used for a reason, for example, to form a Present Progressive. Using “am/is/are” with a verb like in the case above is just ungrammatical and must be avoided.
5. My dear lecturer, I cannot attend your valuable session today as I am going to take the day off as recommended by my physician. Please apologize me.
The error is “apologize”. The right word to be used is “forgive”. The error demonstrates how a wrong word choice can result in serious consequences... “Please apologize me? សូមលោកគ្រូអភ័យទោសខ្ញុំផង?
6. According to a study on the use of Facebook conducted by Paul Kirschner of Open Universiteit and Aryn Kaprinksi of van Ohio State University states that using Facebook has a negative impact on students’ study results.
The error is “According to... states that...” In this sentence, “states” is the main verb which needs a subject as a noun phrase. Adding “according to” to the beginning of the sentence makes the phrase before “states” a prepositional phrase, which cannot be a subject. To correct the sentence, simply omit “according to” and the correct sentence will be “A study on the use of Facebook... states that using Facebook...”
