Get Ready! Sail - PROGRAM SAMPLER

English Grammar Point Language Transfer Issue Sample Transfer Error Language Background Cause of Difficulty PREPOSITIONS Substitution Substitutes prepositions The girl the library she in she writes . (The girl writes at the library .) Somali Somali only has four prepositions, so they have wide meanings . Substitution Transfers incorrect preposition My father is not in home . (My father is not at home .) Spanish English prepositions are not parallel in all cases . En in Spanish can be translated in , on , or at . A in Spanish is most closely translated as at or to . PRONOUNS Subject pronouns Omits subject pronoun Miguel is not here . Is in school . (He is in school .) Spanish Spanish subject pronouns may be dropped because the verb ending gives information about the number and/or gender . Pronoun and number agreement Uses the wrong number for pronouns I saw many mountains . It was tall . (They were tall .) Mandarin Mandarin does not require number agreement . Possessive forms Confuses possessive forms The pencil is my . (The pencil is mine .) Mandarin, Vietnamese Some speakers of Mandarin and Vietnamese tend to omit the final /n/ sound, which may create confusion between my and mine . Txliv GRAMMAR TRANSFER CHARTS