Common English mistakes Russian speakers make, and how to fix them

If your first language is Russian (or Ukrainian, or another Slavic language), your English mistakes follow Slavic grammar and sounds — no articles, no present-tense "be", free word order, and a different set of consonants. They're transfer, not carelessness, and each one has a clear fix.

The big ones. 1) Missing articles — the biggest: "I am doctor", "I bought car" → "a doctor", "a car"; "the" for something already mentioned. 2) Dropped "is/are": "She teacher", "I busy" → "She's a teacher", "I'm busy". 3) "I feel myself good" (чувствую себя) → "I feel good". 4) "I can to go", "I must to work" → no "to" after can/must. 5) "How do you think?" (как ты думаешь) → "What do you think?". 6) "I am agree" → "I agree"; "explain me" → "explain to me". 7) Uncountables made plural: "advices", "informations", "moneys" → advice, information, money. 8) "On the picture", "at Monday" → "in the picture", "on Monday"; "learn" for "teach" (учить): "he learned me" → "he taught me". 9) Questions without inversion: "You like it?" → "Do you like it?"; double negatives: "I didn't see nobody" → "anybody". 10) Sounds: /w/ as /v/ ("vater"), "th" as /s/ /z/ ("sink", "zis"), "h" as a hard /x/ or /g/ ("Garry" for "Harry"), and final consonants devoiced ("bag" → "back", "dogs" → "docks") — keep the voice on at the end.

A list won't fix these; making them out loud and being corrected in the moment will. Airi is built for that: she hears the pattern, fixes the one mistake that matters in her reply, and keeps the conversation going. Speak with her daily and these stop being habits within a few weeks. Free to start, no card.

A quick example with Airi

I am engineer, I work in big company and I feel myself very good there. How do you think, I must to change job?

Very Russian-to-English! Try: "I'm an engineer at a big company and I feel very good there. What do you think — should I change jobs?"

I'm an engineer at a big company and I feel very good there. What do you think, should I change jobs?

Excellent — articles, no 'myself', and 'what do you think'. Now say 'bag' and keep the 'g' voiced at the end.

How to get the most from it

Every singular noun needs a/an/the

A doctor, the car, an idea — add it every time until it's automatic.

No 'to' after can/must

I can go. I must work.

Keep the voice on at the end

Bag (not back), dogs (not docks). Airi hears the difference.

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Frequently asked questions

Why are articles so hard for Russian speakers?

Russian has none, so the category doesn't exist in your grammar. It's the most common transfer error — daily out-loud practice with correction is what fixes it.

Is 'I feel myself good' wrong?

In English 'feel myself' has an awkward meaning. Say 'I feel good' / 'I feel great'.

Is Airi available in Russia?

Airi runs on Google's Gemini; access depends on local availability of Google services. It works normally in most countries worldwide.

More ways to practise