Before we begin, I have a confession to make.

A few years ago when one of my wife's friends visited our house, I proudly tried to compliment her. I smiled and said:

「ナオミ、あなたの毛が長くなったね。似合うよ。」

I meant to say:

“Naomi, your hair grew longer — it looks good on you.”

What I actually said was:

“Naomi, your fur got longer. It suits you.”

My wife chided me and said,

“…We say kaminoke. You just complimented her fur.”

So yes. I, a professional language teacher, once praised a human woman’s seasonal shedding progress.

That moment stayed with me.

Because language mistakes are not signs of failure — they’re signs you’re bravely using the language… and occasionally turning your friends into wildlife.

With that spirit, here are my Top 5 English corrections I make most often — shared with affection, not red-pen energy.

1. “An hour and a half” (The Sneaky One)

This tiny phrase causes big confusion.

We say:

O - an hour and a half

O - two and a half hours

X -  an hour and half

X  - four hours and a half

English decided this without asking anyone.

 Think of it like this:

“And a half” sticks to the NUMBER, not the NOUN.

So we build the number first:

two and a half → then add "hours"

Is it logical? Debatable.

Is it correct? Very.

 2. Articles (a / an / the) — The Invisible Ninjas

Japanese, Korean, and other Asian languages don’t use articles. English uses them constantly.

Learners say:

X - “I am teacher.”

X - “Sun is bright today.”

English says:

O -  I am a teacher.

O - The sun is bright today.

Articles are like Wi-Fi. You don’t see them, but when they’re missing, everything feels off.

 
3. Many vs. Much (The Quantity Drama)

English has strong feelings about counting.

Use:

many → for countable things (books, emails, mistakes)

much → for uncountable things (water, time, patience)

X -  “I have much books.”

X -  “I don’t have many time.”

 Helpful trick:

If you can put a number in front of it, use many.

3 books → many books

3 waters → no… we say much water

English: beautifully inconsistent since forever.

 4. Prepositions (Tiny Words, Big Personalities)

These are the little words that make students quietly question life.

X -  “I participated to the event.”

X -  “I discussed about the problem.”

English prefers:

O -  participate in

O -  discuss the problem (no “about” needed!)

Prepositions in English are like cats. They follow rules we are not allowed to know.

 5. “Bored” vs “Boring” (The Personality Test) 

This one changes meaning fast. 

 X -“The movie was bored.”

This means… the movie needed a nap.

What we want:

O - I am bored. (your feeling)

O -  The movie is boring. (the cause)

Easy rule:

–ing = the thing causing the feeling

–ed = the person feeling it

Boring class → bored student

Exciting news → excited human

 Final Thought

Corrections are just polishing — not fixing something broken. You already did the brave part: you spoke.

And if you ever mix up a word and accidentally describe someone’s fur…

Congratulations. You’re officially learning!

Language learning is messy, funny, human — and that’s exactly why it works.