What are some of the most common English mistakes you see non-native English speaking people make in their business-related emails?

English is a funny language. With all of the spelling irregularities and "exceptions to the rules," it's no wonder foreigners have difficulty mastering the English language's intricacies. I find that I hear speakers of the same language are prone to make the same mistakes when speaking English. Here are a few: Spanish-speaking countries: In Spanish there is no gender differentiation in possessive and reflexive pronouns, it all comes down to "su" and "se".  The priest at my grandma's funeral in Spain kept talking about my grandma as if she were male, which obviously led to inappropriate laughter in the church. Figuring out the gender difference is definitely worth it! His (boy), hers (girl), himself (boy), herself (girl) Translating: "Me dijo" (he/she told me) and "divertido" (fun) I often hear: "he said me." We would most likely use the verb "tell" in this case and would translate "me dijo" to "he/she told me." Also, if we kept "said," we would need to say "to me." Either way "he said me" is wrong and "he said to me" sounds funny. Use "he told me." Fun (divertido) vs. funny (gracioso): Fun as an adjective is still "fun" (e.g. it's a fun game) and not "funny". When something is funny it makes you laugh. French and Spanish: Use the simple past and the present perfect at the wrong times. It's okay though, I think Americans are having a much harder time learning past and perfect tenses in French and Spanish! I have seen him last night vs. I saw him last night Japanese/Lithuanian/Russian: Articles. This is very general, so if you are from here, please don't take offense. People who speak the above-listed languages often leave out definite and indefinite articles in English ('the' and 'a/an'). For example (Lithuanian): He gave me pen. My Lithuanian friend next to me says: "my boss, he fights like bear." Russian: Repetition of subject. Example: My friend, he makes coffee. Arabic: 'v' vs. 'f' sounds. Germans: For and Since: "I've worked on this project since 6 months." Plurals: Some words in English do not have a plural form such as information or fish. I often hear: "I need some informations about _____." General mistakes: Word order: "I like very much ____." It should be: I really like____. You can say "I like ____very much," which would technically be correct, but still sounds a little awkward. Doesn't vs. don't. Comparatives: When a word has two syllables you make it comparative by adding  "er." If the word has three syllables then add "more." For example: Smoother, cleaner, stranger, greener vs. more comfortable, more beautiful, more wonderful. If you're interested agree or disagree with anything written here, let me know! You can also follow our language tips and adventures at http://blog.chatterplot.com. Chatterplot is a free service that allows language enthusiasts to find tandem partners, offer classes (in-person) and earn money by connecting with eager learners in their community.

Germans write 'until' instead of 'by' (i.e. 'by such date'). For example: 'I must finish this project until Friday'.

A lot of people foreigners, especially Arabic-speakers seem to forget their English articles: it, the, a, an, etc. The reason for this is because most languages don't have the "unnecessary" words like English. For example, in Spanish, when you ask something you would say, "You want this?" But in English, you must use the article " 'do' you want this?" So in other languages like Arabic, there are no articles, and some forget to add them.

Without enumerating the mistakes of the people who only have an elementary level of proficiency in English: Interchanging e.g. ("for example") and i.e. ("that is") Using the word irregardless Avoiding simple words, e.g., overusing "utilize" instead of just saying "use" For Indian English speakers: Using "revert" or "revert back" to mean "reply" Weird idiomatic expressions like "please do the needful" Certain incorrect grammar usage like "can be able to"

I've noted these a few times. 1. Revert back: Revert by definition implies that the receiver of the message should reply.'Back' is redundant here 2. PFA attached: PFA stands for please find attached 3. Discuss about : Discuss means to have a conversation about a topic. The about is already there. Incorrect: "Shall we discuss about the recent developments?" Correct: " Shall we discuss the recent developments? " 4. Ask to: Same logic as the above two Incorrect: "I will ask to him about the schedule" Correct: "I will ask him about the schedule" 5. I am sure everyone by now knows the difference between it's and its. But another common mistakes which go unnoticed most often is the difference between let's and lets. Let's stands for 'let us' as in "Let's plan a trip for this weekend" Lets implies a permission to perform an action. Eg. "She lets me have her cookies" 6. The dreaded difference between who and whom: I came across a great article which helped me figure out the correct usage of these words. The trick is to ask the question with either of the word. If the answer comes out to be "him", "her" or "them", whom would be more appropriate. If it comes out to be a name or a collection of people. Eg: With who/m are you going out today? Ans: Him? --> Use whom Ans: James/ Christy --> Use who 7. Usage of I and me: It's easy to get confused with the correct usage of the words. The trick here again is to omit the second person and look at the sentence. If it's okay, you're good. Eg: Clarke and (I? / Me?)  will attend the meeting. Now simple delete the part about Clarke. Which makes more sense? I will attend the meeting or me will attend the meeting?

The one that annoys me is "having headache". However, spotting a "didn't went" is equally frequent. If India can't be "The India" then "The US and The UK" are too small to be so too. But, none of these are remotely close to "heads eating circles" and "buffaloes going in water"... Ignore if you couldn't understand. Hope Indians are able to make sense of the non-sense I just uttered.

It would be fair to generalize it, but I guess most Brazilians, especially the beginner ones, tend to make some mistakes about the use of verbs (third person), such as “She like”, “she don’t like” and so on. It might happen because Portuguese is a different language (of course it is) and there’s nothing like it in that language.

Some of the shops selling clothes have banners labelled as 'mens' or "womens' clothing.