Foreign mistakes using English expressions

[poli]

Those are funny.
In a doctor's office, a young Spanish speaking man learning English told me, "I like Dr. Sherman too much." I understood he meant very much. The words too and very sometimes confuse people learning English apparently.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Poli: Many people can't tell the difference in Spanish. It's very common to hear people around here say things like "lo/la amo demasiado" when they mean "I love him/her very much". ;(
It's already an excess to say "lo amo mucho", but "demasiado" is... just too much.

[Caballero]

Originally Posted by Luna

We knew a very bright Mexican kid living in the United States who spoke very good English, but he got confused about one thing. When he had nothing to do he would sigh and say, "I'm boring!" We tried to explain that he should say, "I'm bored" but he just couldn't understand the difference.

- Luna

Same for English speakers and the distinction between ser aburrido and estar aburrido.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

A usual mistake Spanish speaking people make when learning English is to say "I'm agree" instead of "I agree". It's very hard to internalize that only one verb in English is enough to say the whole expression "estar de acuerdo" in Spanish.

[CrOtALiTo]

I'm agree with you sometimes is hard to memorize all the verb in English.

I've made that mistake when I putting I agree without the verb first than the word.

[Glen]

I know this thread has to do with expressions and not individual words, but couldn't resist mentioning an error in pronunciation that I constantly have to warn my friends about: the sound of th. For example, saying I'm third Estoy en tercer lugar without the proper th sound comes out Soy cerote, which is certainly not what they mean!

[Thomas]

Years ago I was walking with a young Costa Rican girl on the huge UCLA campus. The more we walked, the darker it became. She turned and asked me, "Are you going to rape me?" I was speechless. How could she think such a thing? Then I put the question into Spanish and realized her mistake. She was asking in jest if I was going to kidnap her. (kidnap = raptar/secuestrar)

I was in the home of an American friend in Costa Rica. His young nextdoor neighbor was bragging to us about her boyfriend. At one point, she had us rolling on the floor in laughter when she said in English "My boyfriend is very eunach." Obviously she had mispronounced "unique". No, we didn't have the heart to tell her why we were laughing.

It is my understanding that the following is a true story. In a conversation between a Mexican and an American, the name of Pancho Villa came up. The Mexican called him a "robbing hood". The American corrected him, saying, he meant "Robin Hood". No, his companion said, he meant "robbing hoodlum".

A Spanish teacher told us of a Latin who had told her, "He hurt my fillings." That was close to "feelings", but no cigar.

In Brazil I was given a dog named "Sloopy". I was assured that the name meant "affectionate" in English. Eventually I saw the name in written form: Sloppy. And that illustrates why names should not be chosen from the dictionary.

A friend swears he met a couple with a child named "Usnavy". The parents had seen the name on American ships in Mexican ports.

[Don José]

A friend swears he met a couple with a child named "Usnavy". The parents had seen the name on American ships in Mexican ports.

A Spanish couple travelled to New York on their honey moon and they enjoyed a lot. When they had a baby, they called him Iloveny (I love NY). The name is pronounced in the Spanish way.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Thomas

"My boyfriend is very eunuch." Obviously she had mispronounced "unique". No, we didn't have the heart to tell her why we were laughing.

Small spelling correction.
Good stories.

[poli]

Originally Posted by Don José

A Spanish couple travelled to New York on their honey moon and they enjoyed a lot. When they had a baby, they called him Iloveny (I love NY). The name is pronounced in the Spanish way.

It's good to know that word honeymoon is one word.
I know a Dominican man born on Christmas named Noelvis.
Fact is almost always funnier than fiction.