Common English mistakes Filipino speakers make, and how to fix them for a global audience

English is one of the two official languages of the Philippines, and Philippine English is an established variety with its own entries in the Oxford English Dictionary. Much of what follows is simply how English is spoken at home. With a US client, an Australian employer or an IELTS examiner, though, some of it causes a moment of confusion, and a few grammar habits carried over from Tagalog are heard as errors. The examples use Tagalog, the basis of Filipino; Cebuano and Ilocano, for example, also have a single word for "he" and "she".

The quick list of phrases to switch. 1) "For a while" on the phone (from "sandali lang") → "One moment, please." 2) "Open the light" and "close the light" ("buksan" covers both "open" and "switch on") → "turn on" and "turn off the light". 3) "I'll go ahead" when you leave ("mauna na ako") → "I'm heading out now." Abroad, "go ahead" means "proceed". 4) "Where is the CR?" → "Where is the restroom?" 5) "Please fill up this form" → "Please fill out this form." 6) "It's so traffic" → "The traffic is really bad." 7) "Next next week" → "the week after next". 8) "I can't cope up with the workload" → "I can't cope with the workload." The grammar, vocabulary, sound and stress patterns are in the tables below.

A list does not change a habit. Saying the sentence out loud and seeing a correction while you are still talking does more. Airi is a voice AI partner for that kind of practice: you speak, she answers out loud, shows one small fix at a time and keeps the conversation moving. Free to start, no card.

A quick example with Airi

Can you play a customer calling my office? I want to practice taking a message.

Sure! Ring, ring. Hello, this is Dana Miller. Could I speak to Ms. Reyes, please?

For a while, ma'am. I'm sorry, Ms. Reyes is in a meeting. He will call you back after lunch.

Very polite! Small fix: on a call, say "One moment, please" instead of "For a while." Could you take a message for her?

One moment, please. Yes, I can take a message. She will call you back after lunch.

"She" was right that time. Thank you. Please tell her the contract is ready to sign. What time does she get back?

Try a conversation like this, free600 free credits, about 8 minutes of speaking. No card.

Tagalog grammar habits that surface in Filipino speakers' English

Each pattern below follows a rule of Tagalog grammar. In an exam, or on a call with an overseas client, it is heard as a grammar error.

Often said	International English	The Tagalog behind it
My sister is a nurse. He works nights.	My sister is a nurse. She works nights.	"Siya" means both he and she. Tagalog pronouns have no gender, so English asks for a choice that Tagalog never does.
I have sent the report yesterday.	I sent the report yesterday.	Tagalog verbs mark whether an action is completed, not when it happened, so one completed form covers both "sent" and "have sent". With a finished time such as "yesterday" or "last week", English needs the simple past.
I'm here already. It's OK already.	I'm here. It's OK now.	The particle "na" means both "now" and "already", and it goes with any change or finished action. English keeps "already" for something that happens sooner than expected.
We need new furnitures and equipments.	We need new furniture and equipment.	Tagalog makes a plural by putting "mga" before the noun, and it works with almost any noun. English has a group of nouns that take no -s however many items there are: advice, luggage, homework, feedback, information.
The training is on March. I was born in June 5.	The training is in March. I was born on June 5.	One marker, "sa", covers in, on, at and to. English uses "in" for months and years, "on" for days and dates, and "at" for clock times.

Philippine English words that mean something else abroad

Every sentence in the first column is normal in the Philippines, and "go down", "batchmate" and "gimmick" are in the Oxford English Dictionary as Philippine English. "Go down" follows Tagalog "bumaba", which means both to go down and to get off a vehicle. Outside the Philippines, each one points the listener somewhere else.

Philippine English	What a listener abroad may understand	Say instead
I'll go down at the next stop.	Going down the stairs	I'll get off at the next stop.
I don't have a car, so I commute.	Any regular trip to work, by car as well as by bus or train	I don't have a car, so I take the bus.
My course was accounting.	In American English, a single class, not a degree	I majored in accounting. Or: My degree is in accounting.
The leftovers are in the ref.	A referee	The leftovers are in the fridge.
She was my batchmate in college.	A word many listeners abroad will not know	We graduated in the same year.
We have a gimmick on Friday night.	A trick to attract attention or customers	We're going out on Friday night.
I only have a hand-carry.	Elsewhere "hand-carry" is a verb: to carry something by hand	I only have a carry-on. In British English: hand luggage.
My favorite viand is adobo.	A rare, literary word that many listeners will not know	My favorite dish is adobo.

English sounds that Tagalog lacks, and how Filipino speakers can make them

Tagalog has five vowels and no native f, v, z or "th" sounds, so the nearest Tagalog sound tends to step in. Where that swap turns one English word into another, a listener outside the Philippines has to guess from the context.

Contrast	Say both	How to make the difference
f and p	fan / pan, coffee / copy	Keep the lips apart. The top teeth rest on the lower lip and the air flows out steadily, with no pop.
v and b	vote / boat, very / berry	Same position as "f", with the voice switched on. If the lips close, it comes out as "b".
"th" and t or d	three / tree, then / den	Put the tongue tip lightly against the edge of the top teeth and let the air keep moving. For t and d, the tongue stops the air completely.
z and s	zoo / Sue, prize / price	Make a long "s", then switch the voice on. A hand on your throat feels the buzz.
long "ee" and short "i"	sheep / ship, leave / live	Tagalog has one "i" sound. For the short one, relax the tongue, let the jaw drop a little and keep it brief.
p, t, k at the start of a word	pie / buy, tie / die, coat / goat	Tagalog p, t and k have no puff of air. English ones do at the start of a word, and without it "pie" can be heard as "buy". Hold a hand in front of your mouth and feel the puff on "pie".

Word stress and rhythm: where Filipino speakers and listeners abroad differ

Weak syllables. Tagalog has no weak "uh" vowel, and Philippine English tends to give every syllable a full vowel and similar time. American, British and Australian English shrink unstressed vowels to a quick "uh": "banana" is buh-NA-nuh and "today" is tuh-DAY. When every vowel is full, the stressed syllable no longer stands out, and listeners use that syllable to recognize the word.
Stress in long words. Philippine English often stresses the second syllable of "ceremony", "category" and "comfortable": ce-RE-mo-ny, ca-TE-go-ry, com-FOR-ta-ble. Most listeners abroad expect the first: CE-re-mo-ny, CA-te-go-ry, COM-for-ta-ble.
Checking a word. A dictionary entry marks the stressed syllable. Say that one longer and a little louder, and let the others go by quickly.

A drill with Airi for Tagalog-speaker habits

Knowing the rule for "he" and "she" does not make the right word come out at speaking speed; that takes repetition out loud. Airi answers out loud and shows one small fix at a time for grammar and word choice. She does not judge sounds, so the sound pairs are yours to drill and check. The free credits cover about eight minutes of speaking, enough to try two or three of these steps.

Set the target first: "Tagalog is my first language. Please point out when I mix up 'he' and 'she' or use the wrong past tense."
Describe four people you know, alternating men and women: what each one does and where. Every sentence forces the pronoun choice.
Tell her what you did yesterday, then what you have done so far this week: "Yesterday I ...", then "This week I've ...".
Ask her to play a visitor who is coming to your office on Monday and needs directions. You will need "get off at", "take the bus", "on Monday" and "at nine".
Read the pairs in the sound table aloud on your own, then work the same sounds into what you tell her: "My favorite view is from the fifth floor." Airi will not tell you whether a sound was right, so record yourself to check.
Each time a small fix comes up, say the corrected sentence aloud once, then carry on with your story.

How to get the most from it

Choose "he" or "she" before you start

"Siya" covers both, so English asks for a decision that Tagalog never does. Picture the person first, then keep the same pronoun to the end of the story.

"One moment", not "for a while"

Outside the Philippines, "for a while" means a fairly long time. On a call, say "One moment, please" or "Could you hold for a moment?"

Feel f and v on your lower lip

For "fifty", "very" and "video", the top teeth rest on the lower lip. Airi does not judge sounds, so record yourself and listen back.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Philippine English wrong?

No. It is an established variety with its own vocabulary and sound, and usages such as "comfort room" and "go down" are recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary. This page covers the ones that can confuse listeners elsewhere, plus a few grammar slips that count as errors in an exam, so you can switch when it matters: calls, interviews and tests.

Do IELTS examiners penalize these?

IELTS Speaking is marked on four criteria that carry equal weight: fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation (ielts.org). "He" for a woman or "I have sent it yesterday" is an error under grammatical accuracy, and Part 1 questions about family or work bring out both quickly. Pronunciation is about being understood without too much effort, so a swap that changes the word, such as "pan" for "fan", is the kind worth fixing.

Why do Filipino speakers mix up "he" and "she"?

Tagalog has one third-person singular pronoun, "siya", for everyone. Choosing by gender is an extra step, so the wrong word can slip out when you speak quickly, even if you know the rule perfectly. It is a speaking habit rather than a gap in knowledge, and describing people out loud is a simple way to work on it.

Why does "f" come out as "p"?

Tagalog has no native "f" or "v". They occur in loanwords and names, and many speakers replace them with the closest native sounds, "p" and "b". For "f", keep the lips apart and rest the top teeth on the lower lip.

Can I practice with Airi in Tagalog?

No. Airi speaks and corrects in English only. You can tell her that Tagalog is your first language and ask her to watch for particular patterns from this page.

Is Airi available in the Philippines?

Yes. Airi runs in the browser on a phone or laptop, so there is nothing to install. You start with 600 free credits when you sign up with Google, about eight minutes of speaking, with no card. After that there are one-off credit packs of USD 5, 10 and 20, and no subscription.

Last updated: 2026-10-03