What is the most common English mistake Hindi speakers make in meetings?

The one that shows up most — Continuous with stative verbs. It comes out as “I am having a question about the API.” where a fluent colleague would say “I have a question about the API.”. Standard in Indian English and widely understood. It is still the pattern a US client is most likely to notice.

Why do Hindi speakers say “Let’s discuss about the timeline.”?

“Discuss” takes a direct object in US and UK English. The version that lands is “Let’s discuss the timeline.”. It is interference from Hindi rather than a gap in your English, which is why it survives years of fluency.

Do these Hindi patterns matter if everyone understands me anyway?

Being understood and sounding authoritative are different bars, and in a client meeting you are held to the second one. None of the 4 patterns on this page stop you being understood — that is precisely why nobody corrects them, and why they are still there after ten years.

How do I find out which Hindi habits I actually have?

Paste a transcript from a real meeting and say which speaker is you. Every finding quotes your own sentence back with the version a native speaker would have used, across 4 categories of Hindi interference, and the ones that keep recurring build into a profile so you can see the habit rather than a one-off.

English mistakes Hindi speakers make in meetings

Indian English is a legitimate variety with its own conventions, and most of it needs no correction at all. These are only the places where a US or UK client is likely to hear a difference.

Continuous with stative verbs

I am having a question about the API.

I have a question about the API.

Standard in Indian English and widely understood. It is still the pattern a US client is most likely to notice.

“Discuss about”

Let’s discuss about the timeline.

Let’s discuss the timeline.

“Discuss” takes a direct object in US and UK English.

“Do the needful”

Please do the needful.

Could you take care of that?

Perfectly clear in Indian English and largely unfamiliar to a US client, who may not know what is being asked of them.

Articles with abstract nouns

We need to improve the performance.

We need to improve performance.

An extra article on an abstract noun, where English wants none.

Questions Hindi speakers ask

What is the most common English mistake Hindi speakers make in meetings?: The one that shows up most — Continuous with stative verbs. It comes out as “I am having a question about the API.” where a fluent colleague would say “I have a question about the API.”. Standard in Indian English and widely understood. It is still the pattern a US client is most likely to notice.
Why do Hindi speakers say “Let’s discuss about the timeline.”?: “Discuss” takes a direct object in US and UK English. The version that lands is “Let’s discuss the timeline.”. It is interference from Hindi rather than a gap in your English, which is why it survives years of fluency.
Do these Hindi patterns matter if everyone understands me anyway?: Being understood and sounding authoritative are different bars, and in a client meeting you are held to the second one. None of the 4 patterns on this page stop you being understood — that is precisely why nobody corrects them, and why they are still there after ten years.
How do I find out which Hindi habits I actually have?: Paste a transcript from a real meeting and say which speaker is you. Every finding quotes your own sentence back with the version a native speaker would have used, across 4 categories of Hindi interference, and the ones that keep recurring build into a profile so you can see the habit rather than a one-off.

Which of these do you actually do?

Reading a list is not the same as knowing which habit is yours. Paste a transcript from a real meeting and find out.

Check a real meeting

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