English for Russian Speakers: 10 More Common Mistake

This is the second article in a series of articles about common mistakes in English for Russian speakers (although English learners who speak other languages also make some of these mistakes too). You can see the first article here on this blog and here on Italki . Together, both articles include 25 of the most common mistakes made by Russian-speaking students learning English.

Dictionary and Vocabulary

Incorrect: In order to improve my English level, I need to increase my dictionary.

Correct: In order to improve my English level, I need to increase my vocabulary.

The confusion between these two words comes from the fact that in Russian they can both be translated as Словарь, but in English they are two different words. A dictionary is a book or an electronic resource that has a list of words and their definitions. Vocabulary refers to the words used in a particular language, or the words known by an individual.

Finding the definition of words in a dictionary can help you to increase your vocabulary.

Decide and Solve

In Russian, decide and solve are very similar and are both usually translated as решать, but they have different meanings in English. Decide means to make a choice, but solve means to make the best or correct choice to answer or fix a problem.

We decided to have Chinese food instead of Mexican food (we made a choice).

Solve this math problem: X+10=15

Tim and Tina decided that the best way to solve their relationship problems was to talk more with each other and improve their communication skills.

That and What

Incorrect: I think what you should study more.

Correct: I think (that) you should study more (‘that’ can be used or omitted).

In my opinion, this mistake is one of the most common and difficult to explain. Part of the problem is because that and what can both be translated as the Russian word что.

First let’s look at when to use what. The simple answer I sometimes give my lower level students is that you usually use that instead of what unless you are answering or asking a question with what. However, this is often not the case, and the actual answer is more complex.

The actual answer is that while the word what is often used as an interrogative pronoun (a pronoun used to ask questions), for example, “What is your name?”, it can also be used as a fused (joined) relative pronoun, for example, “I like what you wrote in the article’. This is a bit more difficult to understand, but basically, in this case what refers to the thing being liked (the article), and cannot be removed because it substitutes for the object in the first part of the sentence.

I like what you said at the meeting yesterday.

Therefore, when what is the object of a noun clause, like in the above examples, it is necessary and cannot be removed.

However, when that is used as a conjunction to introduce a noun clause, it’s not necessary, and in cases where the sentences is clear, we can omit that:

He told me (that) he had been there before.

She decided (that) it was a good idea to bring an umbrella.

I think (that) studying another language is a good use of time.

Fun and Funny

Incorrect: The joke was so fun (that) we laughed out loud (yes, we can omit ‘that’ here! See above).

Correct: The joke was so funny (that) we laughed out loud.

Incorrect: Learning new things can be funny.

Correct: Learning new things can be fun (yes, it can sometimes be funny too depending on what you learn!)

It’s fun to play in the sun.

Fun (весело) is something that is enjoyable and pleasurable.  Funny (смешной)  is something that is humorous and might cause us to laugh or something that might seem amusing (забавный).  It’s easy to confuse the meanings because they can be similar: something fun can be funny and something funny can be fun.

We had a fun time watching funny movies.

Learn and Study

Incorrect: Babies study how to make sentences after the age of two years old.

Correct: Babies learn how to make sentences after the age of two years old.

Like in Russian, learn and study are very close in meaning, and often we can substitute one for the other. For example:

We already learned/studied that subject last year.

The difference is that learning is the process of acquiring, or getting knowledge or skills. Studying, however, is the process of devoting time and energy to trying to learn something. In this sense, one may study all day but learn nothing. Study is usually translated as изучить or учиться.  Learn is usually translated as научиться, учить, узнавать, although it also can be used as учиться, which is another reason for the confusion between the two words.

Without rest, exercise, and a healthy diet, students may study hard but learn little.

As long as you live, keep learning how to live. --Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Story and History

Incorrect: They have many interesting histories from their travels.

Correct: They have many interesting stories from their travels.

In Russian, the word, история, can be translated as either story or history, depending on the context. However, these words usually have different meanings in English. Story is used for a general telling about real or imagined events for entertainment or other purposes.

The story of her life was made into a movie.

I like adventure stories that happen in magical lands with wizards, warriors, and monsters.

Story can also be used to tell about past events from someone’s life or the development of something.

My grandfather told me many stories about his life when he was young.

The Beatles are essential to the story of modern pop music (in this sense history can also be used).

Like in Russian, history refers to the subject of history, the study of past events, and the recording of these events.

"Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." --George Santayana

If you have a good teacher, history class can be very interesting.

History can also be a series of past events connected with something or someone.

The history of this old house is quite interesting.

It’s important to share your medical history with a new doctor.

After a history failed relationships, she finally got married.

Check out this link for more information on how to use the word history.

 Ill, Ills and Illness

Incorrect: Most types of ills can be treated by medicine, but, of course, not all of them can be cured.

Correct: Most types of illnesses can be treated by medicine…

Illness (болезнь) is when someone is unwell (sick), and is a noun.

He has a bad illness.

Ill in singular form can be used as a noun or an adjective referring to one who is sick or unwell.

He wasn’t able to come today because he is ill. (adjective)

It’s important that we remember that the mentally ill can suffer as much as the physically ill. (noun)

Ill should be used only in singular form when talking about disease or sickness. If we want to talk about different forms of being ill,  we can used illness in the plural form.

People can suffer from both mental and physical illnesses at the same time.

Ill can also be an noun that refers to something that is evil, or causes harm or misfortune.

We wish no one ill.

In this sense, we can use ill in the plural form.

Although humanity has solved many social ills, there are still many ills that we are still trying to fix such as pollution, war, and crime.

Complex and Difficult

Even people with simple personalities, after some study, are more complex then they seem.

He has a difficult personality, it can be very hard to live or work with her.

Complex and difficult can both be translated as сложный in Russian, but the meanings are different in English. Complex means something that consists of many different and connected parts. Difficult means something that takes much effort to do. Sometimes a complex task can be difficult, so in this way, the words can be related, but they are not the same.

The complex economic issues of our modern times are difficult to solve.

But a difficult task is not always complex.

It was very difficult to train for the marathon, but it wasn’t complex. I just had to follow my training schedule, and run a little farther each day.

Keep and Hold

These two words can usually be translated as держать or  иметь  in Russian, and while sometimes the words can be used interchangeably, they often have different meanings.

Sometimes the words have the same meaning:

A good teacher should be able to keep/hold students’ attention.

One should keep/hold their head straight to have good posture.

On the simplest level, hold often means to grasp or take something, while keep means to take something and possess it, to continue to have it.

Let’s look at the following examples:

Can I hold your baby?

If someone asks this question, they are asking to hold it in their arms for a short time.

Can I keep your baby?

This is a totally different question: here they are asking to take the baby and to never give it back, but to have (keep) it for themselves.

However, someone can make it clear that they only want to keep something for a limited time.

Can you keep my cat until next Tuesday?

However, there are many differences between the two words and besides the basic difference mentioned above, the best thing to do is to review the various definitions for each word and to memorize the collections with the different meanings. With practice, you’ll be able to use the correct word for the correct meaning.

We are holding a meeting next week… NOT keeping a meeting.

It’s important to keep safe when visiting a new place… NOT hold safe.

She kept forgetting his name… NOT held forgetting.

Some additional resources on this topic can be found here and here.

Corner and Angle

Incorrect: The upper right angle of the picture was damaged.

Correct: The upper right corner of the picture was damaged.

Incorrect: Although the cliff is not high, it drops down to the ocean at a very sharp corner.

Correct: Although the cliff is not high, it drops down to the ocean at a very sharp angle.

These two words are confused because they can be translated as the word угол in Russian, however, in English they are different but related words.

A simple way to remember the difference is that a corner is usually a physical thing.

I will meet you on the corner of Main Street and 2nd Avenue.

She was sitting in the corner of the room.

The page number is usually in the corner of a book’s page.

An angle is usually a term of measurement about two lines that come together. These lines can be imaginary or real.

A square has four equal sides and four equal 90 degree angles. (Imaginary or real)

At first the path up the mountain was not too difficult, although there were some parts where the elevation increased at a very sharp angle. (real)

In the second example, the two lines coming together are the flat part of the path and the part of the path that has a sharp change in elevation.

If you understand how not to make these ten common mistakes, it will help you use the words discussed in this article correctly. As mentioned above, a good way to try to learn the differences between the words is to memorize common collocations with these words, for example, the corner of the street, a right angle (90 degree angle), keep safe, hold still. And, of course, practice, practice practice actively (through speaking and writing) using the words in context.

What are some other common mistakes that Russian speakers learning English make (or English learners who speak other languages)? Feel free to add your own thoughts in the comment section.