Common Mistakes Montenegrins Make with English
This section is for my friends here who are learning English and for travelers who might be confused by some of the common mistakes. :)
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Confusing "in" and "for"
Here is an example. I ask someone, "Are you coming to the meeting?" They answer, "Yes I will be there for 10 minutes." They usually mean, "I will be there in 10 minutes."
Another example. Once sent a text message to my friend Anton and asked him if I could come over to his house. His reply was, "Yes, for 15 minutes." For a moment I wondered whether he meant I could come now but only stay 15 minutes, or whether I could come in 15 mintues. Then I remembered how people often confused these two, so I went over in 15 minutes and he confirmed that is what he meant!
Learning vs. Studying
Many people in Montenegro confuse learning and studyiing. They will say "I can't help you tonight because I have to learn. What they mean is I have to study. (Actually, to be more precise, this usually means "I have to memorize things for a test.") I have explained to many people that you can learn something without studying it, like one learns to ride a bike, or one learns to speak one's native language. I have also explained that you can spend a lot of time studying something without learning much.
Before vs. Ago
Montenegrins will often say something like, "I went to Italy before two years." What they mean is, "I went to Italy two years ago."
Explain me, Open me
Today Anton said, "Could you open me the door." He also said, "Can you explain me what this error message means?" While living in South America I learned that Spanish speaking people make similar mistakes, since in Spanish you would say "Puedes abrirme la puerta?" or "Explicame algo..." By the way, I didn't have to study how they speak in either place to learn that tney make these kinds of mistakes!
Foreigners vs Strangers
Montenegrins often say "Strangers" when they mean "foreigners"
Cheat, Cheat on
It is common here to say "My boyfriend cheated me," when they mean "cheated on me."
(Actually, it really is common for boyfriends to "cheat on" their girlfriends here!)
Information. vs Informations
Today Andrijana said, "Where will we put the bus and train schedule informations?"
Brothers and Cousins
Tonight I was talking to Iva and her friends. Then a guy came up and hugged her and kissed her on the cheek, as is so common her. Later she told me he is her brother. After a few minutes she explained to me that he is not a "real" brother, in other words, they don't have the same parents. I though she meant a half-brother or a step brother. Then she said, he is the son of my father's sister and her husband. So I said, "Ah that is your cousin!"
This another common mistake. But I almost don't want to call it a "mistake" because they have a different idea of what a family is. So this is just for you to know... when they say brother, they might mean cousin!
Commands, Using the Imperative Form of Verbs - (Later) (see english2c)