10 POLISH TRANSLATION MISTAKES – answers and grammar information

03/29/2021

Overview

It's important to understand why you can't always translate directly from your own language into English. The translation of a word might have a different meaning in English (a 'false friend'), the word order can be different (English usually puts adjectives before a noun object for example), and some phrases are more 'idiomatic' in meaning or very specific to the context in English. If you want to improve your English skills and to avoid relying on translating from your language, try a course of one-to-one lessons with us where we can focus on the specific parts of English that you want to practice and improve.

Answers and grammar information

  1. It was so such a big queue at the station, we waited a long time

When we want to increase the degree of emphasis on an adjective + noun combination we use such before the adjective. In this case, the noun queue is singular so needs the article a.

  1. How often does this customer come is coming to the office?

When we talk about regular habit or routine in English, we use the present simple tense form.

  1. If we would go went to the same place every holiday, it would be boring

Here, we are using the second conditional (if) form to talk about an ‘imaginary’ situation. The second conditional is formed using If + past tense form, then would + infinitive verb.

  1. It was There were three of them to do the work but too much many things to do

In English, we often use the ‘dummy’ subject pronoun there to show the existence of an object (or an amount of the object). We use many to show an indefinite quantity of a countable noun. As thing(s) is countable, we can’t use ‘much’. We use ‘much’ with uncountable nouns.

  1. I am have been with the company for 8 years now.

We use the present perfect simple to talk about the length of time that an action, or state, exists from the past up to the present time.

  1. If it’s a possibility, I was thinking about to go going skiing in December

We use an article before most nouns (a/an when we aren’t specifying one particular thing). The ‘phrasal verb’ thinking about is followed by another verb in the ing form.

  1. I am getting get up at 6.00am every day to have a shower and wash my hairs

We use the present simple to talk about regular routines and habits. We need an article before the noun shower (a countable noun). Hair is an uncountable noun so does not add an ‘s’.

  1. He said told his colleagues he avoids to go going on the motorway to his office

The verb to tell (past tense, told) is preferred when we inform someone of something. The verb avoid is followed by another verb in the ing form.

  1. I hope I will never do make this mistake again

The sentence starter I hope is followed by another subject pronoun (I, he, it etc). We use the verb make with the noun mistake.

  1. It’s not You don’t always you finish on time in this job

The simplest way to say a negative present simple tense sentence: Subject + don’t + infinitive verb!

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