I am doing NaBloPoMo this month. 30 blog posts in 30 days. You can read more about it on San’s blog the in between is mine. #nablopomo2022
It is not a secret that English is not my native language. You can most definitely still hear it and you likely can tell it from my writing, too. I am sure you will find plenty of grammar mistakes even though auto correct will eliminate the most obvious ones. People will say that German is not an easy language to learn and I completely agree (so would my kids for that matter), but don’t underestimate English. I have been catching myself trying to replace certain words with something else to avoid using them (to my annoyance). So I thought I look up the difference and note it down in the hopes that it will help me to remember it the next time.
to vs. too
To is a preposition showing the relationship between two elements. It can indicate a goal, a direction of movement or a place of arrival. It can be used instead of “toward” and “until.”
Too is an adverb. It can also mean excessive. In general if you can replace it by “also,” “very,” or “excessively”, you should be okay.
one’s vs. ones vs. once
One’s is a pronoun and indicates possession.
Ones is plural of one and also a pronoun. It indicates a specific selection of items or people.
Once is and adverb and describes a specific moment int time (in the past or future).
than vs. then
Then can be an adverb, adjective or noun. Use it when you think of time.
Than is an conjunction. If you want to compare things, use than.
of vs. off
Of is a preposition and indicates possession (part of me), what something is made of (the ring is made of gold), a point of reckoning (North of San Francisco) or what something contains (cup of coffee).
Off is a preposition and the opposite of on.
It’s a little silly but oh well. I think in general my English is much better than it used to be. Sometimes I even know a word that my husband does not what gives me great satisfaction (he is way better with words than I am). One “problem” always was and I suppose still is that people will understand me just fine. So if I make a mistake they don’t say anything because they catch the meaning. My biggest critique is my daughter (“mom, you don’t say it that way”) what I actually appreciate. I think writing more and trying to get it right will also help to get better in general – maybe.
Home here and there 
Don’t feel bad – a lot of native speakers don’t know the difference between to and too! Or of and off! Or then and than! It’s not intuitive and I still have to look up the difference between stationary and stationery and principle and principal and I won’t even write a sentence with affect or effect because even when I look it up, I don’t understand!
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That makes me feel a little better. I always assumed it’s something you just know as a native speaker…
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I can’t imagine learning English as a non-native speaker. I make mistakes all the time, even though I’ve been writing and speaking since 1975. 🤣
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Every German learns English in school starting with 5th grade (at the latest) – but learning it in school and using the language in a conversation is very different.
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I wish that was true here in America. We weren’t offered a foreign language until HIGH SCHOOL. That needs to change.
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Yes, that would be nice. Our Middle School offers Spanish but you have to choose art or Spanish or band or … And then Spanish 2 did not happen because they did not have a teacher. I really wish for some improvements in the public education system.
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Affect and effect – I still have to think EVERY time. And then and than are so tricky, too! I definitely mess up regularly and I’m a native speaker.
You’re doing great. English is hard!!!
(I also think sometimes people who learn English as a second language have a slight advantage – case in point, what you’re doing above; when English is your first language it’s easy to get lazy – and maybe not bother to dive into the difference between then and than. My father-in-law is fully fluent in Portuguese (he married someone from Portugal) and he was so meticulous learning it as an adult, that I think his vocabulary and understanding of the rules of that language are superior to many people who are from Portugal!
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Thank you for this! There are also definitely a few things in German I don’t get right. There was a reform in 1996 that changed how some words were spelled (ß changed to ss in some cases and using three letters of the same kind in some words). It was after I finished highschool and I am far from proficient in getting it right. Kudos to your father-in-law. Portuguese always sounds so beautiful.
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Oh, I was adamant when I first moved here and told people (and Jon, after we met) to PLEASE correct me, if something I said was wrong or sounded “odd” to them. I wanted to be not only understood, but improve my (verbal) skills. If you ever find a typo, grammar mistake, or any other nonsense on my blog, I’d appreciate it if you pointed it out! 😉
I felt pretty confident in English when I first came to the US (I got a degree in English after all and attended TONS of grammar courses, which I am sure helped a lot), but that doesn’t mean that I don’t still make mistakes. And stumbling over “spelling” is one that can easily happen to anyone!
P.S. I think your English is very, very good. The only thing – and I hope you don’t mind me – as another non-native speaker – pointing it out – is your use of the word “what” as a pronoun (very typical German speaker problem). Like in this sentence: “Sometimes I even know a word that my husband does not WHAT gives me great satisfaction”.
I know in Germany, we use the word “was” in this context, but in English you can only use “which” in this case.
“What” as a pronoun can only be used for interrogative reasons, to ask for information (i.e. “What is your name?).”Which” is used to refer to a specified antecedent (in your case, the preceding part of
the sentence).
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😂 Thanks for pointing it out and no, I don’t mind at all. I keep telling my kids and the students in my lab that making mistakes is good since then you don’t make them again (or at least it’s less likely). We will see if you telling me will improve this specific mistake. I guess you have to keep reading my blog to check up on it 😉
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I’ll chime in and say you’re doing great. Yes- there are certain words you use (like San pointed out above) where I can tell you’re speaking English as a second language. But your meaning is always clear, and I can only imagine how difficult it must be. And it’s true- a lot of native speakers still mix up all the words you mentioned. And you forgot “their,” “they’re” and “there!” People get that wrong all the time.
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I am glad to hear that 😉 I think “they’re”, “their” and “there” I get mostly right. They make more sense to me than the others for some reason. In a conversation it does not matter as much anyway since you can’t hear the difference (and if you were supposed to hear them I don;t). I decided that writing is harder in some ways…
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As someone who has only dabbled slightly in learning a second language, I can only imagine how difficult it is to not only learn how to speak and understand another language, but also write and understand the nuances of language. (I noticed the what/which thing that San pointed out, and her context about the German language was really eye-opening!)
And like others have said, a lot of people still get a lot of these words mixed up. My biggest pet peeve is people who use your/you’re incorrectly. My brother does this all the time and he’s a native English speaker! I’d give you a pass, though, especially as I feel you’re willing to learn the correct way to write it. 🙂
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San’s comment was really helpful and I am trying to do better 😉 Hopefully the blogging will also improve the language use over time. Thanks for the pass, I am trying 😊 speaking is easier in some ways because you don’t hear the mistakes.
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This is really impressive and honestly amazing. You – and others who move to the US as adults and for whom English (and American “English” at that..) is a second language will always have my utmost admiration. And in my opinion? You speak and write extremely well. I suspect you see little things that most of us just gloss – or read :> – right over.
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I wish 😂 but you know what? I think it’s ok if you just do your best (that’s what I keep telling my kids so I should take that advice, too).
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I love this post. I r remember being in high school in the U.S. and when we had grammar the teacher explained the there/their/they’re issue and I was surprised it was such a struggle for many students. That was one of the very clear things for me. But there are others I have trouble with… I have started to question my use of then and then when I started learning Spanish. I always thought I got that right but now I am not so sure. I.
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