10 English Mistakes Moroccan Students Make (And How to Fix Them Fast)
1. "I have 20 years" instead of "I am 20 years old"
This is usually the very first mistake I hear on day one of the school year. In Arabic ("3andi 20 sana") and French ("J'ai 20 ans"), age uses the verb "to have." In English, age uses "to be."
في العربية والفرنسية نستخدم فعل "عندي / أملك" للتعبير عن العمر، لكن في الإنجليزية نستخدم فعل "أكون" (to be).
Fix: I am 20 years old. Not I have 20 years.
2. Mixing up "make" and "do"
French uses faire for almost everything, so students naturally reach for "make" for everything in English too. I still remind my Bac classes about this one before every exam.
في الفرنسية نستخدم كلمة واحدة (faire) لكل شيء تقريبًا، لكن في الإنجليزية هناك فرق بين make و do يجب حفظه جيدًا.
Fix:
- Do your homework, do a favor, do exercise
- Make a decision, make a mistake, make dinner
There's no real shortcut — these have to be learned as pairs, through repetition.
3. Forgetting the "s" in third person singular
In Darija and French, the verb doesn't change much depending on who's doing the action. In English, it does — and this is probably the mistake I mark most often on written exams.
في الدارجة والفرنسية، الفعل لا يتغير كثيرًا مع "هو/هي"، لكن في الإنجليزية يجب إضافة حرف "s" في نهاية الفعل.
Fix: She likes coffee — not She like coffee. Always add "-s" for he/she/it in the present simple.
4. Wrong word order with adjectives
Arabic and French often place descriptive words after the noun ("la voiture rouge" = "the car red"). English puts them before.
في العربية والفرنسية، الصفة تأتي بعد الاسم غالبًا، لكن في الإنجليزية الصفة تأتي قبل الاسم دائمًا.
Fix: the red car, not the car red.
5. "Since" vs "For"
This one trips up nearly every student I've ever taught, at every level. Both words translate similarly in Arabic and French, but English treats them very differently.
هاتان الكلمتان تترجمان بطريقة متشابهة تقريبًا في العربية والفرنسية، لكن في الإنجليزية لهما استخدام مختلف تمامًا.
Fix:
- Since + a point in time → since 2020, since Monday
- For + a duration → for three years, for two weeks
6. Overusing "very" instead of stronger words
It's not technically wrong, but when every sentence has "very good," "very bad," "very big," it flattens the writing. I always push my Bac students to reach for stronger vocabulary — it makes a real difference on the exam.
هذا ليس خطأً، لكن تكرار كلمة very باستمرار يجعل لغتك تبدو بسيطة؛ استخدام كلمات أقوى يجعلك تبدو أكثر طلاقة.
Fix: Swap in stronger words —
- very good → excellent
- very bad → terrible
- very big → huge
- very tired → exhausted
7. Translating "Comment ça se dit...?" directly
Students often ask "How to say...?" when they mean "How do you say...?" — a direct translation from French that skips a word English actually needs.
الترجمة الحرفية لعبارة "كيف نقول...؟" تعطي جملة خاطئة في الإنجليزية؛ يجب إضافة كلمة do.
Fix: How do you say "chaise" in English?
8. "I am agree" instead of "I agree"
In French, "je suis d'accord" uses "to be." In English, "agree" is already a complete verb on its own — no "am" needed.
في الفرنسية نقول "أنا موافق" باستخدام فعل الكينونة، لكن في الإنجليزية agree فعل كامل بحد ذاته ولا يحتاج إلى am.
Fix: I agree. Not I am agree.
9. Confusing "actually" with "actuellement"
A classic false friend, and one I make a point of covering with every class. Actuellement in French means "currently" — but "actually" in English means "in fact / really."
تنبيه: هذه كلمة مخادعة! actuellement بالفرنسية تعني "حاليًا"، لكن actually بالإنجليزية تعني "في الواقع / حقًا".
Fix:
- "Currently, I'm studying English" (right now)
- "Actually, I disagree with you" (in fact)
10. Pronouncing every letter (especially silent ones)
Arabic and French are read much closer to how they're spelled. English isn't. Words like comb, listen, Wednesday, island catch out even my strongest students the first time they see them.
العربية والفرنسية تُقرآن كما تُكتبان تقريبًا، لكن الإنجليزية بها حروف صامتة لا تُنطق، مثل كلمات comb وlisten وWednesday.
Fix: There's no single rule — you learn tricky words one at a time. I recommend YouGlish.com to my students: type in the word and hear real native speakers say it in context before you try pronouncing it yourself.
The good news
After more than 30 years in the classroom, I can tell you honestly: every one of these mistakes is fixable with practice, not talent. Once you're aware of the pattern, you start catching yourself automatically — that's most of the battle.
Which mistake do you make the most? Tell me in the comments — and if this helped you, share it with a classmate or student who needs it too.