Arabic speaker difficulties in English

This page is for IELTS candidates whose first language is Arabic, from any Arabic-speaking country. Gulf, Levantine, Egyptian and Maghrebi dialects differ from each other (and from the Modern Standard Arabic taught in schools), so some points apply more to some speakers than to others; the notes say so where it matters. Arabic and English have very different sound systems and grammar, so the same few problems keep appearing in Speaking and Writing. Read the problems once, then do one lesson a day and go round the series again: every lesson practises the same problems with new sentences.

Pronunciation

p and b: park, not bark

Big effect on being understood.

Why it happens: Arabic has the sound /b/ but no /p/ of its own (a few speakers use p in borrowed words such as pizza, but not reliably). So the two English sounds often both come out as b, and pay sounds like bay, park like bark. Listeners then hear a different word.

Both sounds start with the lips pressed together. For /p/ you push out a small puff of air and your voice stays off. For /b/ your voice is on and there is hardly any puff. At the end of a word the same difference shows in the vowel before it: it is shorter before p (cap) and longer before b (cab). Fix this one first: it changes the word the listener hears.

• Not We had a bicnic by the lake. (you mean picnic), but We had a picnic /ˈpɪknɪk/ by the lake.
• Not Please bay the bill at the desk. (you mean pay), but Please pay /peɪ/ the bill at the desk.
• Not I left my car in the barking space. (you mean parking), but I left my car in the parking /ˈpɑːkɪŋ/ space.
• Not He plays the biano very well. (you mean piano), but He plays the piano /piˈænəʊ/ very well.

How to make it: Press your lips together, then open them with a small pop. For p, push a puff of air out and keep your throat quiet. Hold a thin strip of tissue in front of your mouth: it should flutter on p and hardly move on b. For b, put two fingers on your throat and feel it buzz as your lips open. At the end of a word, make the vowel short before p (cap) and longer before b (cab).

f and v: video, not fideo

Big effect on being understood.

Why it happens: Arabic has /f/ but no /v/ of its own (it appears in some borrowed words, and some speakers pronounce it well). Most learners therefore say f for both: fideo for video, fisit for visit. A few speakers go the other way and use b for v, closing both lips.

For both sounds your top teeth touch your bottom lip. /f/ is only air. /v/ is the same shape with your voice on, so you feel a buzz and a tickle on your lip. Do not close your lips for v: that makes b. At the end of a word, v keeps the vowel before it longer: leave is longer than leaf.

• Not We watched a fideo about the festival., but We watched a video /ˈvɪdiəʊ/ about the festival.
• Not I will fisit my cousins on Friday., but I will visit /ˈvɪzɪt/ my cousins on Friday.
• Not I have to leaf early tomorrow. (you mean leave), but I have to leave /liːv/ early tomorrow.
• Not Our fan is parked outside the house. (you mean van), but Our van /væn/ is parked outside: top teeth on the bottom lip, voice on.

How to make it: Rest your top teeth lightly on your bottom lip. Your lips stay open at the sides. For f, blow air through the gap. Your throat stays quiet. For v, do the same and switch your voice on. Feel the buzz in your throat and the tickle on your lip. Check in a mirror: for v you should see your top teeth on your lip, not your two lips closed.

bit, bet, bat: three short vowels

Big effect on being understood.

Why it happens: Arabic has only three short vowels, and they carry little meaning: the consonants and the long vowels do most of the work. English has many short vowels, and the difference between them is what separates words. So /ɪ/ and /e/ are often mixed (bit for bet), and /e/ and /æ/ too (men for man). Dialects vary, but this is a very common pattern.

Think of the jaw as a door. /ɪ/ (bit, pin, lid): jaw nearly closed, tongue high and relaxed. /e/ (bet, pen, led): jaw half open. /æ/ (bat, pan, lad): jaw wide open, tongue low and forward. All three are short. Check the meaning: the wrong vowel gives a different word.

• Not I need a new pin to write my notes. (you mean pen), but I need a new pen /pen/ to write my notes.
• Not Put the bad next to the window. (you mean bed), but Put the bed /bed/ next to the window.
• Not I will land you my dictionary. (you mean lend), but I will lend /lend/ you my dictionary.
• Not She put the juice in a ten. (you mean tin), but She put the juice in a tin /tɪn/.

How to make it: For /ɪ/, keep your jaw almost closed and your lips relaxed. Make it quick. For /e/, open your jaw about half way. It is still short. For /æ/, drop your jaw wide, as if you are about to yawn, with your tongue low and forward. Say bit, bet, bat slowly in a mirror: your mouth should open a little more each time.

cot, caught, cut: three o-sounds

Big effect on being understood.

Why it happens: Most varieties of Arabic have no vowel like the short /ɒ/ of hot or the relaxed /ʌ/ of cup, and English spelling does not help: the letter o is /ɒ/ in hot, /ʌ/ in come and /əʊ/ in go. So /ɒ/ and /ɔː/ are often confused (cot for caught), and the short /ʌ/ is often replaced by one of them.

/ɒ/ (hot, shot, lock): short, mouth open, lips slightly round. /ɔː/ (caught, short, port): long, lips clearly round, tongue higher. /ʌ/ (cut, cup, luck): short, lips relaxed, tongue in the middle. In British English there is no r sound in port or short: just the long vowel.

• Not I cot a bad cold last week. (you mean caught), but I caught /kɔːt/ a bad cold last week.
• Not He wrote a shot story about his village. (you mean short), but He wrote a short /ʃɔːt/ story about his village.
• Not Please luck the door when you leave. (you mean lock), but Please lock /lɒk/ the door when you leave.
• Not I had a cop of tea after lunch. (you mean cup), but I had a cup /kʌp/ of tea after lunch.

How to make it: For /ɒ/, open your mouth fairly wide with your lips slightly round. Keep it short. For /ɔː/, make your lips into a clear circle and hold the sound for a count of two. For /ʌ/, let your lips relax completely, with the tongue in the middle: a short, lazy "uh". Say cot, caught, cut. The middle one is the long one.

met or mate, slop or slope: gliding vowels

Big effect on being understood.

Why it happens: The English vowels /eɪ/ (raid, wait) and /əʊ/ (hope, road) move from one sound to another. Many Arabic speakers make them short and steady, close to /e/ and /ɒ/, so wait sounds like wet and slope like slop. The glide is what listeners use to tell these words apart.

/eɪ/ starts like /e/ and slides up towards /ɪ/. /əʊ/ starts in the middle of the mouth, like the weak vowel in about, and slides to a rounded /ʊ/. Make them long: about twice the length of met or slop. The glide is smooth: do not finish with a hard y or w.

• Not We had a long wet in the queue. (you mean wait), but We had a long wait /weɪt/ in the queue.
• Not We walked up a steep slop. (you mean slope), but We walked up a steep slope /sləʊp/.
• Not I have a bad pen in my back. (you mean pain), but I have a bad pain /peɪn/ in my back.
• Not Drive carefully on the rod. (you mean road), but Drive carefully on the road /rəʊd/.

How to make it: For /eɪ/, start with your jaw half open, then slide your tongue up and forward as your mouth closes a little. For /əʊ/, start with your lips relaxed, then round them as the sound slides to "oo". Make the vowel long and keep it moving: wai-ait, slo-oape. Compare with the short pure vowels: wet (short), wait (long, moving); slop (short), slope (long, moving).

Extra vowels: iskool, pelease, friendiz

Big effect on being understood.

Why it happens: Arabic words rarely start with two consonants together, and it has far fewer long groups of consonants at the end of a word than English. To make a group easier, many speakers slip a short vowel in: iskool for school, pelease for please, friendiz for friends. Dialects differ in where the vowel appears, but the result is the same: extra syllables.

English allows up to three consonants at the start (street, spring, splash) and up to four at the end (months, next, asked). Say the consonants one after another with no vowel between them. Count the beats: street, price, next and asked are one syllable each. An extra syllable also spoils the rhythm of the whole phrase.

• Not I study at a big iskool. (three syllables), but I study at a big school /skuːl/. (one syllable)
• Not Pelease sit down. (three syllables), but Please /pliːz/ sit down. (one syllable)
• Not I met my friendiz at lunch. (extra syllable), but I met my friends /frendz/ at lunch. (one syllable)
• Not The childiren play outside. (three syllables), but The children /ˈtʃɪldrən/ play outside. (two syllables)

How to make it: Start with the first consonant held for a moment, then move straight to the next one: ssss-treet, not is-treet. Practise slowly in pieces: s, t, r, eet, then speed up until there is no gap. At the end of a word, keep your tongue moving from one consonant to the next: n, k, s, t. Do not open a vowel between them. Tap your finger once per syllable. Street, price, next and asked get one tap each.

-ed and -s endings: walked, cleaned, wanted

Big effect on being understood.

Why it happens: Arabic spelling is largely phonetic, so many speakers feel they should say every written letter. So walked becomes walk-id and stopped becomes stop-id, with an extra syllable. In the other direction, English needs a whole extra syllable after s, z, sh and ch (boxes, watches), which is easy to miss.

The ending -ed is /t/ after a voiceless sound (walked, stopped, washed), /d/ after a voiced sound (cleaned, played, moved), and a full syllable /ɪd/ only after t or d (wanted, needed). The ending -s follows the same idea: /s/ after a voiceless sound (books), /z/ after a voiced sound (dogs, plays), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j (boxes, watches). Missing or wrong endings also hide your grammar.

• Not We walk-id home after school. (two syllables), but We walked /wɔːkt/ home after school. (one syllable)
• Not She clean-id her room. (two syllables), but She cleaned /kliːnd/ her room. (one syllable)
• Not He want her to come. (no ending), but He wanted /ˈwɒntɪd/ her to come. (two syllables)
• Not There were three box in the car. (no extra syllable), but There were three boxes /ˈbɒksɪz/ in the car. (add /ɪz/)

How to make it: Put two fingers on your throat. For /d/ and /z/ you feel a buzz; for /t/ and /s/ you feel nothing. For -ed, copy the sound before it: no buzz before it gives a quick /t/, a buzz before it gives a quick /d/. Add the extra syllable /ɪd/ only after t or d: want-ed, need-ed. For plurals and verbs ending in s, z, sh, ch or j, add a whole syllable: box-es, watch-es, wish-es.

Word stress: eDUcation, not educaTION

Big effect on being understood.

Why it happens: In Arabic, stress follows fixed patterns and never changes the meaning of a word, so the idea of learning a stress place for every word is new. English stress is unpredictable and it can change the meaning: a REcord (noun) but to reCORD (verb). Without the right stress, a word can be hard to recognise even when every sound is correct.

Every English word has one strong syllable: longer, louder and higher. Some endings help: -tion / -sion (stress the syllable before: eduCAtion), -ic (ecoNOMic), -ity (opporTUnity). Many two-syllable pairs put the stress on the first syllable for the noun and the second for the verb: a REcord, to reCORD; an INcrease, to inCREASE. In compound nouns the first part is stronger: a BLACKboard (in a classroom) but a black BOARD (a board that is black). Check the stress of every new word in a dictionary.

• Not e-du-ca-TION (stress at the end), but e-du-CA-tion: stress the syllable before -tion
• Not to REcord a lesson (noun stress on the verb), but to reCORD /rɪˈkɔːd/ a lesson
• Not a black BOARD for the classroom (two strong words), but a BLACKboard for the classroom
• Not re-spon-si-bi-LI-ty, but respon-si-BIL-i-ty: stress the syllable before -ity

How to make it: Clap once on the strong syllable and say the other syllables small and quick. Make the strong syllable longer, louder and a little higher: pho-TOG-ra-pher. Learn the ending rules: stress the syllable before -tion, -ic and -ity. For nouns and verbs with two syllables, test it: the noun hits the first part (a REcord), the verb hits the second (to reCORD).

g, k and j: goat, not coat

Big effect on being understood.

Why it happens: The Arabic letter jeem is said as /g/ in Egyptian, as /dʒ/ in most other regions, and as /ʒ/ in much of the Levant and North Africa. Modern Standard Arabic has no /g/ of its own, although some dialects use it (for the letter qaf in the Gulf and Egypt, for example). So English g may come out as j (or the other way round), or as k, and pairs such as goat/coat and bag/back cause trouble. What you do depends on your home dialect, so listen for your own pattern.

/k/ and /g/ are made in the same place, the back of the tongue against the soft part of the roof. /k/ has a puff of air and no voice. /g/ has voice and almost no puff. /dʒ/ (jam, job, giant) is a different sound: the front of the tongue touches the ridge behind your teeth and then releases like "dzh". The letter g is /g/ in give but /dʒ/ in giant. At the end of a word, keep the voice on in bag, dog, big.

• Not We saw a coat on the farm. (you mean goat), but We saw a goat /ɡəʊt/ on the farm: start with the voiced /g/.
• Not I dropped my bag and the back broke. (you mean bag), but I dropped my bag /bæɡ/: the end stays voiced.
• Not He has a good gob in an office. (you mean job), but He has a good job /dʒɒb/ in an office.
• Not Ten jests stayed at the hotel. (you mean guests), but Ten guests /ɡests/ stayed at the hotel: /g/, not /dʒ/.

How to make it: Lift the back of your tongue to touch the roof near your throat. For k, let the air out with a puff and keep your throat quiet. For g, feel your throat buzz as the tongue drops. For j (jam), put the front of your tongue on the ridge behind your top teeth, then release it slowly: d-zh. At the end of a word (dog, bag, big), keep the buzz to the end; do not turn it into a k.

Rhythm and weak forms: beats, not every syllable

Makes you sound more natural.

Why it happens: Arabic usually keeps unstressed syllables fairly clear, and many Arabic speakers read English aloud with an even, heavy beat on most syllables and without contractions. English squeezes the small words between the strong beats into weak syllables (to /tə/, and /ən/) and joins others into contractions (I'm, don't, they're). If every word is full and strong, the key words are hard to hear.

Put the beat on the content words (nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs) and say grammar words quickly with the weak vowel /ə/: to /tə/, of /əv/, can /kən/, for /fə/, and /ən/, have /əv/. The strong form is used when the word is stressed or ends the sentence (Yes, I can.). Use contractions: I'm, it's, we've, don't, they're. Can't is always full, /kɑːnt/, with a long vowel.

• Not I WANT TOO LEAVE EARLY. (every word loud), but I WANT /tə/ LEAVE EARLY. (to is weak)
• Not a CUP OFF TEA (full of), but a CUP /əv/ TEA
• Not I am from Oman. (I and am both stressed), but I'm /aɪm/ from Oman. (one quick beat)
• Not I can swim. (loud, full can), but I /kən/ swim. / I can't /kɑːnt/ swim.

How to make it: Tap the table once for each important word as you speak. On each tap, make the stressed syllable longer, louder and a little higher. Say the small words between the taps very fast, very quietly, with a relaxed "uh" vowel. Do not skip the small words: squeeze them. Keep the taps steady even when there are many small words between them.

Linking: turn_off, did_you, an_hour

Makes you sound more natural.

Why it happens: Arabic often puts a small throat catch (a glottal stop) in front of a word that begins with a vowel, so words stay separate: an / apple. English joins words into one stream. Some speakers also resist the changes English makes when words meet, such as did you becoming /dɪdʒə/, because it feels as if sounds are being lost. In English this joining is normal and listeners expect it.

Four things happen when words meet. (1) A final consonant slides onto a vowel that follows: turn off sounds like tur-noff, an hour like a-nour. (2) A small glide joins two vowels: /j/ after see (see it), /w/ after go (go out). (3) /d/ or /t/ plus you become /dʒ/ and /tʃ/: did you /dɪdʒə/, what you /wɒtʃə/. (4) A middle /t/ or /d/ almost vanishes between consonants: next week /neks wiːk/. In British English, a spelled r joins before a vowel: car is /kɑːr ɪz/.

• Not turn / off the light (a stop between the words), but tur-noff the light /tɜːn ɒf/ joined
• Not did / you see it? (careful, separate), but did-ja see it? /dɪdʒə siː ɪt/
• Not an / apple (throat catch before apple), but a-napple /ən ˈæpl/
• Not nekst / week (all letters said), but nex-week /neks wiːk/

How to make it: Slide the last consonant of a word straight onto the vowel of the next word: no pause, no throat catch. Between two vowels, let the lips or tongue glide: a quick y after ee, a quick w after oo or oh. For did you or what you, let the tongue move from d or t straight into the y sound: the result is "j" or "ch". Say a whole phrase as one long word and tap only on the strong beat.

Grammar

Never drop be: he is happy, they are going

Why it happens: In Arabic the present tense has no word for am / is / are: you simply put the subject next to the adjective, noun or phrase. The same happens before an -ing verb. So English sentences come out without a verb: He very happy, They going home.

Every English sentence needs a verb. In the present, use am / is / are before an adjective (She is tired), before a noun (He is a pilot) and before an -ing verb (They are going). Spoken English shortens them: I'm, he's, they're. Do not put be before a plain verb: He is go is wrong.

• Not My brother very tired today., but My brother is very tired today.
• Not The students in my class very friendly., but The students in my class are very friendly.
• Not They going to the airport now., but They are going to the airport now.
• Not It important for young people., but It is important for young people.

a or an before a singular noun, never before plurals

Why it happens: Arabic has no word for a / an. The noun stands alone: She is nurse. Many learners then learn English a and start using it everywhere the Arabic definite article is not used, even with plurals and uncountable nouns: a books, an advice.

A singular countable noun needs a word in front of it: a (before a consonant sound), an (before a vowel sound), or the / my / this. Jobs need it too: She is a teacher. Never use a/an before a plural (books) or an uncountable noun (flour, advice, information): say some or nothing.

• Not My father is engineer in a factory., but My father is an engineer in a factory.
• Not I live in big city near the coast., but I live in a big city near the coast.
• Not We bought a flour for the party., but We bought some flour for the party.
• Not These are a useful books for students., but These are useful books for students.

the: not for general ideas, days, meals or most places

Why it happens: Arabic uses its definite article (al-) in many places where English uses none: with general nouns (the education), days of the week, meals, and the names of many cities and countries. Translating this over gives the education, on the Sunday, the breakfast, in the Iraq.

Use no article for general ideas and plural nouns in general (Education is important. Children need sleep.), for days and months (on Sunday, in May), for meals (for breakfast) and for most countries and cities (in Iraq, in Cairo). Use the only when both speaker and listener know which one: the book you gave me, the sun, the Netherlands.

• Not The education is very important for a country., but Education is very important for a country.
• Not I will see you on the Sunday., but I will see you on Sunday.
• Not We had the breakfast at seven., but We had breakfast at seven.
• Not My uncle lives in the Iraq., but My uncle lives in Iraq.

Plural -s: many books, fifteen students

Why it happens: Arabic often forms plurals by changing the inside of the word, and after numbers above ten it uses the singular noun. English adds -s, which looks so simple that it is easy to forget, especially after many, several and big numbers: many book, twenty cousin.

Add -s (or -es, or -ies) to a countable noun whenever there is more than one, after many, several, a few, both and after every number above one, including big ones: twenty cousins. Say the ending too: it is part of the word. Some plurals change inside, like Arabic: man, men, child, children, person, people.

• Not She bought many book for her course., but She bought many books for her course.
• Not There are fifteen student in my class., but There are fifteen students in my class.
• Not I have twenty cousin and eleven aunt., but I have twenty cousins and eleven aunts.
• Not Three child were playing in the street., but Three children were playing in the street.

He goes every day, he is going now

Why it happens: Arabic has one present form that covers both habits (he goes every day) and things happening now (he is going now). English has two, and each needs its own form. Without a verb be, learners also produce mixtures such as He is go or He go now.

Use the present simple for habits, facts and routines: He goes to the gym every day. Water boils at 100 degrees. (Add -s with he, she, it.) Use am / is / are + -ing for something happening now or around now: Look! It is raining. I am studying for my exam this week. Never use be with a plain verb (He is go).

• Not My father is going to work by bus every day., but My father goes to work by bus every day.
• Not Look! The children play in the garden., but Look! The children are playing in the garden.
• Not She is go to school now., but She is going to school now.
• Not I am knowing him very well., but I know him very well.

Questions and negatives: do, does, did

Why it happens: Arabic has no word like do. A question is often the statement with a rising tune (You like coffee?), and a negative is made by putting a small word before the verb (He not play). So English questions and negatives come out without a helping verb: When you went to London?, He not play football.

For questions in the present or past simple, put do / does / did after the question word and before the subject: Where did you go? Then use the plain verb: the tense is on did. For negatives use don't / doesn't / didn't + plain verb. With be and modals, swap the order instead: Is he tired? Can you swim?

• Not Why you came late today?, but Why did you come late today?
• Not Where you spent your holiday?, but Where did you spend your holiday?
• Not He not play football on Fridays., but He doesn't play football on Fridays.
• Not Which subject you study?, but Which subject do you study?

I have lived here for years; I saw him yesterday

Why it happens: Arabic has one past form for finished events and one present form that can also cover a time that began in the past and continues now. So learners say I live here for ten years, and may also mix past and perfect: I have seen him yesterday.

Use the present perfect (have / has + past participle) for something that started in the past and continues now, with for + a length of time or since + a starting point: I have lived here since 2015 / for ten years. Use the past simple for a finished time, especially with yesterday, last week, in 2019, ago: I saw him yesterday.

• Not I live in this city since 2015., but I have lived in this city since 2015.
• Not I study English for two years now., but I have studied English for two years now.
• Not I have seen him yesterday., but I saw him yesterday.
• Not We have visited Oman last summer., but We visited Oman last summer.

can, must, should: plain verb after, no -s, no that

Why it happens: Arabic has no modal verbs. It says I can that I go or it is necessary that I go, using ordinary verbs and a second verb after that. So learners add endings to English modals (he cans), add do (does he can?), or add to and that (must to go, I can that I help).

A modal (can, could, must, should, may, will) is followed directly by the plain verb: I can swim. She should rest. It never takes -s, never takes to or that, and never needs do. For a question, swap the order: Can your sister swim? For a negative add not: She can't swim.

• Not He cans drive a lorry., but He can drive a lorry.
• Not I must to finish this today., but I must finish this today.
• Not Does your sister can swim?, but Can your sister swim?
• Not I can that I help you with the form., but I can help you with the form.

want him to go, enjoy doing: no that-clause

Why it happens: Arabic has no English-style infinitive or -ing form. A second verb is a full verb, often after that: I want that he goes, I enjoy I walk. English copies the pattern wrongly: She wants that I help her.

After want, need, expect, ask, tell, would like use object + to + verb: I want him to help. After enjoy, avoid, finish, suggest, mind use -ing: She enjoys walking. After decide, hope, plan, try, manage use to + verb: I decided to go. A that-clause is correct after verbs like say, think, hope, but not after want.

• Not I want that my brother helps me., but I want my brother to help me.
• Not She enjoys she walks by the sea., but She enjoys walking by the sea.
• Not I decided that I go home early., but I decided to go home early.
• Not They avoid that they travel in July., but They avoid travelling in July.

The laptop which I bought, not which I bought it

Why it happens: In an Arabic relative clause with a definite noun you put a pronoun inside the clause to show what it refers to: the laptop which I bought it. The Arabic relative word also does not separate people from things in the English way. So English relative clauses come out with an extra pronoun and with the wrong who / which.

Who / which / that already stand for the person or thing, so do not repeat it: the laptop which I bought (not bought it); the museum that we visited (not visited it). Use who for people and which for things (that works for both). When the relative word is the object, you can leave it out: the laptop I bought.

• Not This is the laptop which I bought it last month., but This is the laptop which I bought last month.
• Not The museum that we visited it was free., but The museum that we visited was free.
• Not The woman which lives next door is a doctor., but The woman who lives next door is a doctor.
• Not The film that I watched it last night was long., but The film that I watched last night was long.

my sister's phone, not the phone my sister

Why it happens: In Arabic the owned thing comes first and the owner follows, with no linking word: phone my sister, house my uncle. English reverses this, and often learners also keep the the in front of the owned thing.

Put the owner first, then 's, then the thing: my sister's phone, my uncle's house, Sara's laptop. For plural owners add the apostrophe after the s: the students' books. For things (not people) use of or two nouns: the door of the room, a school bag. Do not put the before the thing when the owner has 's.

• Not Where is the phone my sister?, but Where is my sister's phone?
• Not I met brother my friend yesterday., but I met my friend's brother yesterday.
• Not The car my father is very old., but My father's car is very old.
• Not The success the company depends on the workers., but The success of the company depends on the workers.

There is a problem; it rains

Why it happens: Arabic does not say there is in the English way. The idea is expressed with a short word meaning in, or by saying a thing exists or is found somewhere. So learners start with is or it is: Is a big problem, It is a bridge over the river. And there sounds like a place word, not a starting word.

To say that something exists or to introduce it, use there is (singular) or there are (plural): There is a park near my house. There are two hospitals. Use it for weather, time and distance: It rains a lot. It is eight o'clock. Use it is to talk about a known thing: It is a big park. Every sentence needs a subject.

• Not Is a big problem with traffic in my city., but There is a big problem with traffic in my city.
• Not It is a bridge over the river., but There is a bridge over the river.
• Not Is very hot in July., but It is very hot in July.
• Not In my town it are two hospitals., but In my town there are two hospitals.

Prepositions: interested in, married to, wait for

Why it happens: Each Arabic preposition has its own set of uses and they rarely match English word for word. Learners translate: interested on, married with, wait you. English also has many two-word verbs (look at, look for, search for, listen to) and Arabic does not, so the small word is often left out or changed.

Learn a preposition together with its word, as a pair: interested in, married to, depend on, wait for, listen to, look at, look for, search for, good at. Some verbs take no preposition: discuss it, enter the room. Check a new verb in a dictionary and note the preposition the entry shows.

• Not I am interested on environmental science., but I am interested in environmental science.
• Not She is married with a pilot., but She is married to a pilot.
• Not I am waiting you outside the library., but I am waiting for you outside the library.
• Not Please listen the instructions carefully., but Please listen to the instructions carefully.

Sources

Problems chosen with reference to Learner English (Swan & Smith, 2nd edn, Cambridge University Press), chapter on Arabic speakers by Bernard Smith. Explanations, examples and exercises are IELTS Laboratory’s own.