Common English mistakes Indonesian speakers make, and how to fix them
If your first language is Bahasa Indonesia, your English mistakes are not random — they follow the grammar of Indonesian. Knowing the pattern makes them easy to catch.
The big ones. 1) Tenses: Indonesian marks time with words like "kemarin" or "sudah", so verbs stay the same — in English the verb changes: "yesterday I go" → "yesterday I went". 2) "Already" for the past: "I already eat" (sudah makan) → "I've eaten" or "I ate". 3) Articles: Indonesian has none, so "I have meeting" → "I have a meeting". 4) Plural -s: "two book" → "two books", but not "informations". 5) Third-person -s: "she work" → "she works". 6) Prepositions: "in Monday" → "on Monday", "depend of" → "depend on". 7) Question order: "why you did that?" → "why did you do that?". 8) "Very" with verbs: "I very like" (sangat suka) → "I really like". 9) Pronunciation: /f/ for /v/ ("fery" for "very"), /t/ for /θ/ ("tink" for "think"), dropped final consonants, and stress on the wrong syllable. 10) Direct translation: "open the lamp" → "turn on the light", "I will follow you" (ikut) → "I'll come with you".
You won't fix these by reading a list — you fix them by making them out loud and being corrected on the spot. Airi is built for that, and she's used to Indonesian speakers: she hears the pattern, fixes the one that matters, and keeps the conversation going. Speak with her daily and these stop being habits within a few weeks. Free to start.
A quick example with Airi
How to get the most from it
Change the verb, not just the time word
"Kemarin" becomes a past-tense verb in English, every time.
'Sudah' is not always 'already'
Often it's just the past tense: "sudah makan" → "I've eaten" / "I ate".
Watch the /v/ and /θ/
Practise "very", "think", "the" with Airi until they're clear.
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