Why do some learners say "I'm agree"? - Podcast Episode 9

Audio Transcript:
Welcome to episode 9 of The English Sessions. Why some learners say “I’m agree”. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content.
You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website, as you listen to this episode.

Listen for these words today:
Erase - ‘to remove something’, you will often find an ‘eraser’ at the end of a pencil, to remove a mistake.

Eraser

Break down - there are many ways to use this phrasal verb. In today’s context, it means ‘to analyze something in detail’.
Chew - “to chew” means to MASTICATE, or, in other words, to use your mouth to make food ready to be swallowed

Often when I am teaching, I hear my students from Latin America, and my Italian students, and my French students… say “I’m agree”. “I’m agree with you”. Are you one of them? Do you say this? I have something very important to tell you. NEVER SAY THIS AGAIN!!! If you say this, I want you to erase that from your memory. It’s the wrong translation!!! You have formed a bad habit. It is time that you break that habit.

Let’s start with the correct way to say this in English. The correct way to say this is “I agree”. “I agree” Let’s break down the grammar. In English, this is very basic structure. Subject + verb. John listens. Patricia chews. I agree. “I” is the subject of the sentence, and ‘agree’ is the verb of the sentence. This is correct. “I agree” is correct.

For some of my learners, this may be very obvious. You may be wondering, “Why is Mike talking about this?”. If this IS obvious for you, then perhaps you speak a language that is not a Romance language.

Romance languages are based on Latin. They include Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and French, amongst others. My students in Latin America, and Italy, and France, are much more likely to make this mistake. That is because in their languages, it is common to say this in a different GRAMMAR structure.

I will explain. My second language is Spanish, so, in Spanish, “I agree” often translates to “Yo estoy de acuerdo”. Remember, I explained “I agree” is just subject + verb. Right? I agree. “Yo estoy de acuerdo” is not the same grammar structure. You have a subject pronoun (yo), a form of TO BE (estoy) a preposition (de) and a noun (acuerdo). Still with me? A better translation of this is, “I am in agreement”. I, subject pronoun, ‘am’ - a form of ‘to be’, ‘in’ - a preposition, and ‘agreement’ - the NOUN.

This is a perfect example of when translation can go wrong. “Acuerdo” does not translate to “agree”, it translates to “agreement”. The noun… and I know that this is similar in at least French and Italian as well.
   
Still with me? Bottom line, “I agree” is correct. “I’m in agreement” is correct, but not used as often. And “I’M AGREE” is incorrect.

How do you say “I agree” in your language? Write in to the podcast, or record a message for me, I would love to hear what it sounds like in your language. If this translation issue happens in your language, and I did not mention your language today, let me know. It helps me and it helps my learners. Write to mike@englishsessionswithmike.com or leave a message on Anchor, on the website, or on our Twitter and Instagram. https://twitter.com/theesessions and https://www.instagram.com/englishsessionswithmike/
Any questions? Write to me at mike@englishsessionswithmike.com . Leave a message for me on the website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com and I will play it on the podcast. Make sure to subscribe to this podcast so you won’t miss an episode. Visit www.englishsessionswithmike.com for more content. Please rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Twitter page @ TheESessions ; Instagram @ EnglishSessionsWithMike . Until next time, this is Mike signing off.