Grammar

Common English mistakes Arabic speakers make, and how to fix them

Updated: October 3, 2026

The common English mistakes Arabic speakers make are not random. Most of them come from Arabic itself: its sounds, its grammar and its writing system. Researchers call this transfer, and studies of Arab learners keep finding the same patterns. This overview is for learners who want to know what to work on, and for teachers who want to understand where their students’ errors come from. Each section explains the mistake, why it happens and how to fix it, with links to detailed posts.

Why Arabic speakers make the same mistakes

Arabic and English are very different languages. Arabic has sounds English lacks and lacks some English sounds; it has no word for a; it does not use a verb like is in present sentences such as «البيت كبير»; its adjectives follow the noun; and it usually writes short vowels as small marks that most texts leave out. When a learner speaks or writes English, these Arabic habits come through.

Research supports this. A 2025 study of 30 Saudi university students found 1,214 grammar errors in their writing: verb tenses made up 58%, articles 20%, word order 12% and subject-verb agreement 10%. The authors linked many of these errors to differences between Arabic and English. The good news is that a known pattern is easier to fix than a random one.

1. Pronunciation: p and b, f and v

Standard Arabic has /b/ but no /p/, and /f/ but no /v/. So learners often say bark for park and fery for very. A small study of Yemeni learners found exactly these two patterns: /p/ became /b/, and /v/ became /f/. The same mix-up shows up in spelling: broblem, bicnic.

• Please park the car here.

  Two /p/ sounds. Say them with a puff of air and no voice.

• I have a very nice view.

  /v/ is /f/ with voice: touch your top teeth to your lip and hum.

• pen / Ben, fan / van

  Minimal pairs: one sound changes the word.

The full step-by-step method is in our guide to p and b for Arabic speakers (in Arabic).

2. Missing or extra a, an and the

Arabic has a definite article (al-) but no separate word for a or an: «كتاب» already means “a book”. So learners leave out a (I have car) or use the where English uses a. The 2025 Saudi study found both: the in place of a, and extra articles where English needs none. Arabic also uses al- for general ideas, which leads to sentences like The life is hard instead of Life is hard.

• I bought a new phone.

  Not “I bought new phone” and not “I bought the new phone” for the first mention.

• Life is beautiful.

  General idea: no “the” in English.

Read the full rules in a, an and the.

3. Missing is, are and am

In Arabic, a present sentence like «أنا تعبان» or «هي طبيبة» has no verb. In English, the verb be is required: I am tired, She is a doctor. Leaving it out (She doctor, They very happy) is one of the best-known errors of Arab learners. A study of 100 Saudi learners found that copula omission was frequent in their writing, and that intermediate students made significantly more of these errors than advanced students. In other words, it improves with level, but it does not disappear on its own.

• My brother is an engineer.

  Not “My brother engineer”.

• The shops are closed today.

  Plural subject, so “are”.

See is and are for Arabic speakers for drills.

4. He and she for things, and plurals after numbers

Every Arabic noun is masculine or feminine, so the sun is «هي» and the book is «هو». In English, things are it. Teachers often hear I like this city, she is beautiful or Where is my phone? He was here. The fix is simple to say and takes practice to do: for objects, places and ideas, use it (singular) and they (plural).

Numbers are another trap. In Arabic, the noun after numbers from 11 upward is singular: «عشرون طالبًا». So learners write twenty student or 15 year. In English, every number above one takes a plural noun: twenty students, 15 years, two hours.

• I love this city. It is very old.

  A city is “it”, not “she”.

• There are thirty students in my class.

  Plural “students” after any number above one.

5. An extra pronoun in relative clauses

Arabic relative clauses repeat the noun with a pronoun: «الكتاب الذي قرأتُه» is literally “the book that I read it”. English does not do this. When that, which or who is the object of the clause, there is no second object. Cambridge Grammar lists this as a typical error, and a study of Syrian university students found that this kind of “pronoun retention” was a common relative clause error, caused by Arabic.

• This is the book that I read.

  Not “the book that I read it”.

• The man who lives next door is a pilot.

  Not “the man who he lives next door”.

• The hotel where we stayed was clean.

  Not “where we stayed in it”.

6. Spelling vowels

Most Arabic text writes only consonants and long vowels; the short vowels (fatha, damma, kasra) are usually left out. English writes every vowel, and its vowel spellings are irregular. A study of university Arab learners found that vowels caused more spelling trouble than consonants, because English vowel sounds and letters do not match one to one. Typical results are missing vowels (sntence), the wrong vowel (diffecult) or vowels swapped.

Dictation is one of the best fixes, because it makes you connect each sound you hear to the letters you write. In Typeflu you type each sentence you hear and fix it letter by letter, and its Weak Spots lessons target the patterns Arabic speakers repeat most: p/b, missing a/the and missing is/are.

7. Word order: adjectives and questions

Arabic puts the adjective after the noun («سيارة حمراء»), so learners write a car red or some information interesting. The Saudi study above found exactly this kind of error. Questions are the other big area: Arabic adds «هل» without changing the order, so learners say Where you live? instead of Where do you live? The full rules are in English word order.

8. Long sentences joined with and

Arabic writing often links many clauses with «و» (and), and a long chain of ideas is good style. In English, the same chain becomes a run-on sentence: I went to the market and I bought vegetables and then I met my friend and we drank coffee and… A study of Syrian students’ essays found they used almost twice as many linking words as British students, mostly additive ones. English readers prefer shorter sentences and a wider range of linkers.

• I went to the market and bought vegetables. Then I met a friend, so we had coffee.

  Two sentences, and different linkers: then, so.

• However, the price was high.

  Use “however”, “because”, “although” to show the real relation.

Quick reference table

For teachers: using this list in class

• Explain the Arabic cause briefly. Learners correct faster when they see the error as a habit, not a lack of intelligence.
• Use minimal pairs for p/b and f/v, and short daily dictations for spelling and missing words.
• Give sentence-combining and sentence-splitting tasks for run-ons.
• Correct one pattern at a time in written work instead of marking every error.

A weekly practice plan

1. Day 1 to 2: p/b and f/v minimal pairs, five minutes a day, out loud.
2. Day 3: write ten sentences about your family with is and are, then check each one.
3. Day 4: describe five objects with a or an and an adjective before the noun.
4. Day 5: write five relative clauses and remove any extra pronoun.
5. Day 6 to 7: dictation of short sentences, then compare your text letter by letter with the original.

Practise it

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