Many Bangladeshi learners know a lot of English grammar, but a few small habits make their English sound unnatural. Most of these mistakes come from translating directly from Bangla. Here are 25 of the most common ones, with the correct sentence and a short explanation in Bangla.
Don’t worry if you make some of them. Almost everyone does. Read the list, pick five to fix this week, and use the correct version every day until it feels normal.
Grammar mistakes
- I am agree with you.I agree with you.“Agree” is a verb, so it doesn’t need “am”. বাংলায় “আমি একমত” বলি বলে “am” চলে আসে, কিন্তু ইংরেজিতে “I agree” যথেষ্ট।
- He don’t like tea.He doesn’t like tea.With he, she and it, use “doesn’t”. he / she / it এর সাথে don’t নয়, doesn’t বসে।
- I didn’t went to class.I didn’t go to class.After “did” or “didn’t”, use the base verb. did/didn’t এর পরে verb এর মূল রূপ বসে, past form নয়।
- Yesterday I go to the market.Yesterday I went to the market.Finished past actions need the past tense. গতকালের কাজ, তাই verb এর past form লাগবে।
- I am having two brothers.I have two brothers.“Have” for family or things you own is not used in the -ing form. কিছু থাকা বোঝাতে “have” এর -ing রূপ ব্যবহার হয় না।
- I am living in Dhaka since 2015.I have lived in Dhaka since 2015.From the past until now, use the present perfect. অতীত থেকে এখন পর্যন্ত চলছে, তাই have lived / have been living।
- I am waiting from two hours.I’ve been waiting for two hours.Use “for” with a length of time and “since” with a starting point. সময়ের দৈর্ঘ্য হলে for (two hours), শুরুর সময় হলে since (9 o’clock)।
- One of my friend lives in London.One of my friends lives in London.After “one of”, the noun is plural. “one of” এর পরে noun সবসময় বহুবচন হয়।
Words we use the wrong way
- Let’s discuss about the plan.Let’s discuss the plan.“Discuss” already means “talk about”. discuss এর পরে about লাগে না। তবে “talk about” ঠিক আছে।
- I will return back tomorrow.I will come back tomorrow. / I will return tomorrow.“Return” already means “come back”. return মানেই ফিরে আসা, তাই back দিলে একই কথা দুবার বলা হয়।
- I can’t cope up with this pressure.I can’t cope with this pressure.The verb is “cope with”. সঠিক phrase হলো cope with, মাঝখানে up নেই।
- He is senior than me.He is senior to me.Senior, junior, superior and inferior take “to”, not “than”. senior/junior এর পরে than নয়, to বসে।
- She is married with a doctor.She is married to a doctor.We are married to someone. কারও সাথে বিবাহিত বোঝাতে married to।
- She is good in English.She is good at English.Use “good at” for skills and subjects. কোনো কাজে বা বিষয়ে দক্ষ বোঝাতে good at।
- Please open the light. Close the fan.Please turn on the light. Turn off the fan.Electric things are turned (or switched) on and off. বাতি বা ফ্যান “খোলা/বন্ধ” নয়, turn on / turn off করা হয়।
- Please do it fastly.Please do it quickly.“Fastly” is not a word. Say “quickly” or “fast”. fastly বলে কোনো শব্দ নেই।
- He is my cousin brother.He is my cousin.“Cousin” is used for both boys and girls. cousin ছেলে-মেয়ে দুজনের জন্যই, আলাদা করে brother/sister লাগে না।
Also read: Present Perfect vs Past Simple: The Easy Difference (with Bangla) and 50 Daily-Use English Sentences with Bangla Meaning
Phrases that sound strange to native speakers
- Myself Nusrat.I’m Nusrat. / My name is Nusrat.“Myself” can’t start a sentence like this. নিজের পরিচয় দিতে “I’m” বা “My name is” দিয়ে শুরু করুন।
- What is your good name?What’s your name? / May I have your name, please?“Good name” is a direct translation and sounds odd. “ভালো নাম” এর সরাসরি অনুবাদ, ইংরেজিতে এভাবে বলা হয় না।
- I met him today morning.I met him this morning.Say “this morning”, “this evening” and “last night”. today morning নয়, this morning; yesterday night নয়, last night।
- Sir, I have a doubt.Sir, I have a question.In most countries, “doubt” means you don’t believe something. doubt মানে সন্দেহ। কিছু জানতে চাইলে বলুন “I have a question”।
- He is out of station this week.He is out of town this week. / He is away this week.“Out of station” is old South Asian English. শহরের বাইরে আছে বোঝাতে out of town বা away বলুন।
- Can we prepone the meeting?Can we bring the meeting forward? / Can we move the meeting earlier?“Prepone” is not used outside South Asia. মিটিং এগিয়ে আনা বোঝাতে bring forward বলুন।
- Many many thanks.Thanks a lot. / Thank you so much.Doubling “many” sounds like a translation. ধন্যবাদ জোর দিয়ে বলতে “Thank you so much” সবচেয়ে স্বাভাবিক।
- I passed out from Dhaka University in 2023.I graduated from Dhaka University in 2023.“Pass out” means to faint. pass out মানে অজ্ঞান হয়ে যাওয়া! পাশ করে বের হওয়া মানে graduate।
How to stop making these mistakes
- Think in short English sentences. Translating long Bangla sentences word for word is where most of these mistakes come from.
- Pick five, not 25. Choose the five mistakes you make most and fix only those this week.
- Write the correct sentence three times. Then say it out loud. Your mouth needs practice, not only your eyes.
- Practise a little every day. Our free daily English quiz takes about three minutes and explains every answer.
- Learn the grammar behind it. If tenses confuse you, start with our simple grammar lessons.
Preparing for a job interview? These mistakes matter even more there. See our job interview questions and answers in English.
Practise now: test yourself with today’s free daily English quiz (10 questions, about 3 minutes, no sign-up).
