Funny grammatical errors by foreigners......

by LDH 18 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  COMF

  Laughing at your bloody beef, Kent! It reminded me of a guy from the southern US who went to New York. He saw a bagel store and, never having seen one before (they don't have those in the south), decided to go in and try the wares. When it came his turn, he pointed out what he wanted from the glass case. The clerk retrieved it from the tray and then looked at him and said, "Beg."

  The guy hadn't realized this would be part of the purchase process, but being an obliging kind of guy, he put his hands up in front of him, doggie style, lolled his tongue out and panted heavily. The clerk expressionlessly watched him do this for a few moments, and then held up a small paper sack and asked curtly, "Do you vant a beg or don't you?"

  COMF
• 

  reagan_oconnor

  Ah, so many peeves, so little space...

  "alot" instead of "a lot" (drives me NUTS. I correct e-mails from my boss with red letters and send them back to him. He does this on purpose, I swear.)
  "cloths" instead of "clothes" (I'm still beating this into my husband, who writes "cloths" constantly.)
  "fourty" instead of "forty"
  "shoud" instead of "should"
  "sike" instead of "psych" or "psyche"
  "quasi" (I just hate this word; I lost a Regional Spelling Bee because of it.)
  "Organise" instead of "organize" (This isn't "incorrect", I just like the Z. Apologies to any Aussies who might be offended by this. )
  "Cheque" instead of "check" (See above disclaimer.)
  People who correct my spelling of "travelled." Yes, I know it is commonly spelled "traveled," but since when do I do anything that is 'common?'

  *FAVORITE WORD/PHRASE* "Machu Picchu" I love this. Can say it over and over. Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu. (see? )

  Yours in verbosity,
  Reagan

  I am the master of my fate/I am the captain of my soul.
• 

  LDH

  These are great!

  Where's Java when I need him?

  BTW, JanH, I was including us 'Merkins in with foreigners. I would LOVE to hear some mistakes made when speaking other languages.

  I also love to learn about any advertising faux pas, especially concerning lack of research into the culture that's being 'marketed.'
  One great example is the Chevy Nova. After a year or two of dismal sales in Mexico, they realized that "no va" means 'It doesn't move' in Spanish!

  ROTFLMAO!

  Lisa

  (PS-GM is now glad to report their 'chebbies' are driven into the ground in Mexico, now!)
• 

  Mulan

  I have come to the conclusion that people who mispronounce words, don't know how to spell them. My husband is a terrible speller, but a very smart man. His brain just doesn't get it in spelling. For instance.......Volcano, he spells Valcano, and says it that way too. I've corrected him many times, and he maybe has it right now. Another is Satan.......he spells Satin. He does say it right though.

  An easy remedy for the their, there, and they're problem.
  1. Their is the possessive word, includes 'i'. "It's their car."
  2. There is a location. "It's over there." (you have to just remember that one.
  3. They're is a contraction of 'they are'. It has the apostraphe, which identifies it as a contraction. "They're going with us."

  Another of my pet peeves is too, and to. One of my friends had business cards printed saying, "No job to big or to small." Now, wouldn't the people at the printshop know that was wrong?

  Simple?

  Marilyn (a.k.a. Mulan)
• 

  Englishman

  Off at a tangent now......

  You know how Americans have different words to English people?

  I had some fun with our version of your "elevator" recently, we call it a "lift".

  When in Madeira we got into an elevator with a bunch of Germans, and on the ride upwards one of them pointed out that the manufacturers name, Schindler, was oulined in raised letters on the floor.

  "Ach, Helga mein liebling", he cried to his Frau, "Herr Schindler!" To which I replied, much to my own amusement, "That's right, Schindlers Lift!"

  Englishman.

  ..... fanaticism masquerading beneath a cloak of reasoned logic.
• 

  Free2Bme

  My hubby's Turkish and his English spelling is terrible. He picks spoken language up parrot-like though and I have had loads of laughs over the years at the things he suddenly says totally inappropriately.
  Once he decided to put a new greeting on our answering machine and I called home from work to hear him say after introducing himself 'so if you want massage please speak now'. Well I did put in an order but I'm still waiting lol

  Free
• 

  alamb

  My husband is South African and when we were in the office supply store an older woman on the other side of the aise almost fell over when he commented rather loudly on all the different shapes and colors "rubbers" come in....erasers you know.
• 

  Princess

  Some funny stuff here. My husband and I used to sell real estate so a huge pet peeve of mine is calling a realtor a real-a-tor. Really annoys me. Funny thing is, the worst offenders are mortgage brokers who have to work with realtors to earn a living. Having worked for mortgage companies as well, I can assure you I have never met a loan officer who got that one right.

  Princess

  PS my Prince sometimes reads posts over my shoulder and wonders why people don't proof their posts

  PPS I won't mention the name of the poster but losing is spelled with one o not two. Kind of bugged me when I read it.
• 

  Prisca

  In Australia, what you Americans call "jello", we call "jelly".
  And what Americans call "jelly", we call "jam!

  Like Englishman said, we call "elevators", "lifts".

  "Erasers" are called "rubbers" in Australia, while condoms are called just that - condoms.

  Americans say "trash", we say "rubbish".

  What Americans call a "cooler" (for storing beers and ice), we call them an "esky"!