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

If your first language is Sinhala, your English mistakes follow Sinhala grammar and sounds, plus Sri Lankan English habits that are clear at home and puzzling abroad. Sri Lankan English is a real variety; these are the patterns to switch for a global audience. Transfer, not carelessness, and each has a clear fix.

The big ones. 1) "Put" (dānna) for everything: "put a call", "put a signature", "put the fan" → "make a call", "sign", "turn on the fan". 2) "Drink medicine", "drink cigarettes" (bonawa) → "take medicine", "smoke". 3) "I'll come" when you're leaving (ennam) → "I'm off" / "I'll be back". 4) He/she mixed ("eyā" is gender-neutral): "My brother… she" → "he". 5) "No?" as a universal tag: "You're coming, no?" → "aren't you?". 6) Continuous with stative verbs: "I am having a car" → "I have a car". 7) /f/ as /p/ and /z/ as /s/: "pan" for "fan", "sero" for "zero" — blow the /f/, buzz the /z/. 8) "Also" in the wrong place and "only" for emphasis: "I also will come", "today only" → "I'll come too", "today". 9) Sri Lankan usage that confuses abroad: "what to do" (oh well), "shape" (fine), "years back" (years ago), "cousin brother" (cousin), "off the light" (turn off). 10) Missing articles and a flat rhythm: "I am doctor" → "a doctor"; stress one syllable — "comPUter", "deVELop".

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

My sister is doctor, no? She drinks medicine for the headache, and I put a call to him, then I'll come.

Very Sinhala-to-English! Try: "My sister is a doctor, right? She takes medicine for her headaches, and I'll call her — then I'm off."

My sister is a doctor, right? She takes medicine for her headaches, and I'll call her, then I'm off.

Perfect — 'a doctor', 'takes', 'call her', 'I'm off'. Now 'fan' — teeth on your lip: f-f-fan.

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

Sinhala sentence patterns that show up in a Sinhala speaker's English

Spoken Sinhala puts the verb last, keeps one verb form for every person, and has no word for "is". Each sentence on the left obeys those rules.

Often said	Natural English	The Sinhala behind it
My sister work in a bank.	My sister works in a bank.	The spoken verb never changes with the person: "mama yanawa" (I go), "eyā yanawa" (he or she goes).
My father teacher. She very busy.	My father is a teacher. She is very busy.	Sinhala has no "is": "Mage thaththa guruwarayek" is word for word "my father teacher-a".
Where you are going?	Where are you going?	The question word stays in place and the particle "da" marks the question: "Oyā koheda yanne?" Nothing swaps.
Lot of problems are there.	There are a lot of problems.	The verb for "exist" comes last: "Prashna godak thiyenawa" (problems, a lot, exist).
Is raining now.	It's raining now.	Sinhala drops any subject the listener can guess; "wahinawa" is a complete sentence.
You better ask from your father.	You'd better ask your father.	The person you ask takes the ending -gen (from): "thaththagen ahanna".
Today morning I went to the bank.	I went to the bank this morning.	"Ada udē" is word for word "today morning". Likewise, "yesterday night" is "last night".

Articles and prepositions: why "the" is the word Sinhala speakers drop

Sinhala marks the opposite noun. The ending -ek (people and animals) or -ak (things) means "a": "potak" is "a book". A singular noun with no ending is already definite: "pota" is "the book". So a bare noun feels specific enough, and "the" goes missing. Two checks while you speak:

Bare noun in Sinhala, "the" in English. If you mean one particular thing, add it: "Close the door", "Let's go to the city".
-ek or -ak becomes "a" or "an". "Guruwarayek" is "a teacher", so jobs always take it: "She is an accountant."

Prepositions slip for a related reason: Sinhala has none. It uses endings and words placed after the noun ("mēsaya uda", table on), so "in", "on" and "at" have to be learned phrase by phrase: "on the bus", "at home".

English sounds that are hard for Sinhala speakers, and how to make them

Sinhala separates short and long vowels, which helps with "ship" and "sheep". The trouble comes from consonants Sinhala lacks and vowels it holds steady.

English sound	What often comes out	How to make it, and a pair to say
v and w	One sound for both, halfway between	For "v", top teeth touch the lower lip. For "w", round the lips as for "oo", teeth away. vest / west, vine / wine
f	"p", because Sinhala has "f" only in borrowed words	Rest the top teeth on the lower lip and let air leak out; an "f" can be held, a "p" cannot. fast / past, coffee / copy
z, also at the end of words	"s": "eyes" sounds like "ice"	Hold "sss" and switch your voice on. eyes / ice, prize / price
"th" in "think" and "this"	A "t" or "d" made on the teeth; abroad "three" may be heard as "tree"	Tongue tip at the teeth, with a gap so the air keeps flowing. three / tree, they / day
"aw" in "hall", and the glide in "hole"	One steady long "ō" for both, so the two words match	For "aw", drop the jaw and hold still. For "hole", start at "o" and close toward "oo". hall / hole, caught / coat

Stress is the other habit. Sri Lankan speakers tend to stress the first syllable, but many two-syllable words stress the second: hoTEL, poLICE, misTAKE, beGIN, adVICE.

Sri Lankan English expressions that mean something else abroad

All of these are normal in Sri Lankan English. Keep an international version ready for interviews and client calls.

"Pass out" for graduate. Elsewhere it means to faint. Say "I graduated in 2022."
"Cope up with". The verb takes no "up": "I can cope with the workload."
"Keep it on the table". Abroad "keep" means to hold on to something. For placing, say "Put it on the table."
"Hotel" for a place to eat. Elsewhere a hotel is where you sleep: "We had lunch at a small restaurant."
Lakh. A lakh is one hundred thousand (Michael Meyler, English Today, 2009), and few listeners abroad know the word. Say "six hundred thousand rupees".

Drilling Sinhala-speaker habits out loud with Airi

Pick one habit per session. Airi replies out loud and shows one small fix at a time. She gives no pronunciation scores, so for sound pairs, check whether her answer shows the word you meant. The free credits last about eight minutes: start with the steps you need most.

Set the target: "My first language is Sinhala. Please correct me when I leave out 'the', 'is' or the -s on a verb."
Describe a relative's working day with "he" or "she": "She is a nurse. She starts at seven."
Ask her six questions that begin with a question word: "Where do you ...?"
Tell her what you did this morning and last night, then what your town has: "There are two big hospitals."
Say "Vicky was waiting in the hall with five friends." If her reply shows a different word, such as "hole", slow down and repeat it.

How to get the most from it

'Put' has many English verbs

Make a call, sign, turn on, wear.

Take medicine, smoke

'Bonawa' is 'drink' only for drinks.

Decide he or she before you speak

'Eyā' has two English words. Pick one.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Sri Lankan English wrong?

No. Sri Lankan English is a legitimate variety with its own dictionary, and forms such as "pass out" for graduating are correct there. This page covers the Sinhala-influenced habits that can confuse international listeners or examiners, so you can switch for an interview, a client call or an exam.

Why do Sinhala speakers say "drink medicine"?

Because the Sinhala verb "bonawa" covers drinking, taking medicine and smoking. English uses a different verb for each: you drink water, take medicine and smoke a cigarette.

Why do Sinhala speakers mix up "v" and "w"?

Sinhala has a single sound, written ව, that sits between the two, and Sri Lankan English uses it for both. To separate them, touch your top teeth to your lower lip for "v", and round your lips with no teeth for "w". Practice with "very well" and "vest / west".

Why is "the" harder than "a" for Sinhala speakers?

Sinhala marks "a" with the ending -ek or -ak and leaves a definite noun bare, so "pota" already means "the book". English needs a word in both cases, and the one with no Sinhala counterpart, "the", is the one that goes missing.

Can I practice with Airi in Sinhala?

No. Airi speaks and corrects in English only. You can tell her that Sinhala is your first language and name the habits you want her to listen for.

Is Airi available in Sri Lanka?

Yes. Airi works in the browser on a phone or laptop, wherever you are. You get 600 free credits when you sign up with Google, about eight minutes of speaking, and no card is needed. After that you buy one-off credit packs; there is no subscription.

Last updated: 2026-10-03