Mistake 01
"Make a research" instead of "Do research"
❌ Wrong
"I am making a research about thermal efficiency."
✅ Correct
"I am doing research on thermal efficiency."
Why it happens: Arabic uses a verb equivalent to "make" in this context (يجري بحثاً). In English, the collocations are fixed — we do research, conduct research, or carry out research. Never make research.
Mistake 02
"According to my opinion"
❌ Wrong
"According to my opinion, this design is not optimal."
✅ Correct
"In my opinion, this design is not optimal." or "I believe this design is not optimal."
Why it happens: "According to" requires an external source (according to the report, according to the data). Your opinion is not a source you are citing — it is a position you are stating. Use "in my opinion" or "I believe."
Mistake 03
"The informations" / "The equipments"
❌ Wrong
"The informations provided were not enough."
✅ Correct
"The information provided was not enough."
Why it happens: Arabic nouns have plural forms for everything. In English, "information," "equipment," "research," "feedback," and "software" are uncountable — they have no plural form. Never add -s to these words.
Mistake 04
"I am agree"
❌ Wrong
"I am agree with this approach."
✅ Correct
"I agree with this approach."
Why it happens: Arabic uses a structure similar to "I am in agreement" (أنا موافق), which uses a form of "to be." In English, "agree" is a full verb — it does not need "am/is/are" before it. Same mistake: "I am disagree" → "I disagree."
Mistake 05
"Discuss about"
❌ Wrong
"Let's discuss about the test results."
✅ Correct
"Let's discuss the test results."
Why it happens: Many Arabic verbs require a preposition after them (نتحدث عن — we talk about). "Discuss" is a transitive verb in English — it takes a direct object without a preposition. Correct: "discuss the topic." Wrong: "discuss about the topic."
Mistake 06
Confusing "since" and "for" with time
❌ Wrong
"I have been working here since three years." / "I have been working here for 2020."
✅ Correct
"I have been working here for three years." / "I have been working here since 2020."
Rule: "Since" marks a starting point in time (a date or event). "For" marks a duration (a period of time). Since January · for six months. Since graduation · for two years.
Mistake 07
Missing or wrong articles (a / an / the)
❌ Wrong
"We need to fix problem in motor." / "A data shows that..."
✅ Correct
"We need to fix the problem in the motor." / "The data shows that..."
Why it happens: Arabic has no article system equivalent to English. The rule: use "the" for specific or previously mentioned things. Use "a/an" for first mention of a singular countable noun. Uncountable nouns (data, information) take no article or "the" — never "a."
Mistake 08
"I am boring" vs "I am bored"
❌ Wrong
"This meeting is so long. I am boring."
✅ Correct
"This meeting is so long. I am bored."
The rule: -ing adjectives describe the thing causing the feeling. -ed adjectives describe the person experiencing the feeling. "The meeting is boring." → "I am bored." "The project is exciting." → "I am excited." Same applies to: frustrated/frustrating, interested/interesting, confused/confusing.
Mistake 09
"He suggested me to..." instead of "He suggested that I..."
❌ Wrong
"My supervisor suggested me to revise the methodology."
✅ Correct
"My supervisor suggested that I revise the methodology." or "My supervisor suggested revising the methodology."
The verb "suggest" cannot be followed by a person + infinitive. It takes either "suggest + -ing" or "suggest + that + clause." Similar verbs with the same rule: recommend, propose, insist.
Mistake 10
"Besides" vs "Beside"
❌ Wrong
"Beside the cost issue, the timeline is also problematic."
✅ Correct
"Besides the cost issue, the timeline is also problematic."
"Beside" (no s) means physically next to something: "The sensor is beside the motor." "Besides" (with s) means "in addition to" or "apart from": "Besides cost, consider maintenance." Easy memory trick: "besides" has an extra s — and it adds something extra to your sentence.