Why do German speakers write «become» when they mean «get» or «receive»?

Because the German verb «bekommen» means to get or to receive, and it looks almost identical to English «become». So «When will I become my results?» comes out for «When will I get my results?». It is the signature German false friend, and it sits in a cluster: «eventually» (eventuell = possibly), «actual» (aktuell = current), and «also» (also = therefore). Diglot flags each as German false-friend transfer and supplies the intended English word.

Why do I capitalize nouns in the middle of English sentences?

Because German capitalizes every noun — «der Tisch», «die Methode», «das Ergebnis» — so the habit carries into English as «the Results show the Method is robust». English capitalizes only proper nouns and sentence starts. Diglot flags mid-sentence common-noun capitals as a German orthography-transfer pattern rather than as random typos, which is why it keeps catching them across a draft.

Why is there a comma before «that» in my writing, and why «since five years»?

Both come from German grammar. German requires a comma before a «dass» (that) clause, so «We argue, that the model converges» carries a comma English drops. And German «seit» covers both «since» and «for», so a duration becomes «since five years» instead of «for five years». Diglot removes the comma before «that» and splits «seit» into «for» + duration and «since» + start point, flagging both as German-L1 transfer.

Does the checker flag «become», «eventually», and «actual» as German false friends?

Yes. The pattern `false-friend` is in the German-aware ruleset because German and English share Germanic and Latin roots that drifted apart. Diglot flags «become» (bekommen = get/receive), «eventually» (eventuell = possibly), «actual» (aktuell = current), and «also» (also = therefore), suggesting the intended English word and naming the German source rather than treating it as a word-choice typo.

Will it catch over-capitalized nouns, the comma before «that», and «since five years»?

Yes — all three are high-frequency German-writer patterns. Mid-sentence capitals come from German capitalizing every noun; the comma before «that» calques German «dass» punctuation; and «since five years» comes from «seit» covering both «since» and «for». Diglot lowercases the common nouns, removes the comma, and rewrites the duration to «for five years», flagging each as German-L1 transfer.

German · L1-aware

Grammar Checker for German Speakers

L1-aware grammar, paraphrasing, and translation tuned to the specific transfer patterns German speakers face when writing English — from academic abstracts to business correspondence.

Try Diglot free About Grammar Checker

What makes English harder for German speakers?

English writing problems for German speakers cluster around a few systematic transfer patterns — the «become»/«bekommen» false friend, over-capitalized nouns, «seit» for both since and for, a comma before «that», and German word order surfacing in English clauses.

German and English are both Germanic, which lulls writers into trusting look-alikes that drifted apart. «Bekommen» means to get or to receive, not «become», so «When will I become my results?» appears for «When will I get my results?» — the single most recognisable German-speaker error. «Eventuell» means possibly, not «eventually»; «aktuell» means current, not «actual»; «also» means therefore, not «also» in the additive sense. Each look-alike says something subtly different from what the writer meant.

The second cluster is convention carried straight from German orthography and punctuation. German capitalizes every noun, so «the Results show that the Method is robust» picks up stray mid-sentence capitals; and German requires a comma before a «dass» (that) clause, so «We argue, that the model converges» carries a comma English does not use. The third cluster is grammar: «seit» covers both «since» and «for» (so «since five years» appears for «for five years»), German treats «Informationen» as countable so «informations» slips in, and German verb-second and verb-final word order leaks into English subordinate clauses.

Diglot's Grammar Checker is tuned for these German → English patterns specifically — the «become»/«bekommen» and «eventually»/«actual» false friends, over-capitalized nouns, «seit» → since/for, the comma before «that», and word-order transfer. It names the German-L1 reason behind each correction rather than treating it as an isolated slip.

What Grammar Checker specifically does for German writers

A German-aware grammar checker holds the false-friend set open while reading the English output. When a German writer produces «We will eventually become the actual figures», an English-only checker sees grammatical words and moves on. Diglot reads the German transfer — «We will possibly get the current figures» — and explains each: «eventuell», «bekommen», «aktuell». The «become»/«bekommen» swap in particular is so frequent that catching it once rarely fixes the habit; naming the German source does.

The other German patterns the checker is built around are surface conventions English readers notice immediately: the mid-sentence capitals German orthography produces on every noun, and the comma before a «that» clause that German «dass» punctuation requires. Diglot lowercases common nouns to «the results show the method», removes the stray comma in «We argue, that...», and resolves «seit» into «for» + duration — flagging all three as German-L1 transfer rather than as careless formatting.

Top German-to-English transfer patterns Diglot catches

Pattern	Example error	Corrected
False friend «become» (bekommen = get)	"When will I become my exam results?"	"When will I get my exam results?"
False friend «eventually» / «actual»	"The actual data will eventually be enough."	"The current data will possibly be enough."
Over-capitalized nouns	"The Results show the Method is robust."	"The results show the method is robust."
«seit» → since/for	"We have run this experiment since five years."	"We have run this experiment for five years."
Comma before «that»	"We argue, that the model converges."	"We argue that the model converges."

Ready to write better English?

Diglot combines L1-aware grammar checking, paraphrasing, translation, and originality verification in one workspace — built for German speakers writing English.

Try Diglot free

Common writing tasks for German speakers

Concrete Diglot workflows by writing task — each tuned to German-to-English transfer patterns.

Writing an essay in English for Russian speakers Writing a research paper in English for Chinese (Mandarin) speakers Writing business emails in English for Spanish speakers Writing a cover letter in English for Arabic speakers

How Diglot compares to alternatives

If you're evaluating writing tools, here's the honest head-to-head — when the alternative wins, when Diglot wins.

Diglot vs Grammarly Diglot vs QuillBot Diglot vs Wordtune Diglot vs Copyleaks Diglot vs DeepL Write Diglot vs GPTZero

Grammar Checker for speakers of other languages

Each L1 has its own transfer-pattern profile — pick yours for the patterns Diglot specifically addresses.

Arabic Chinese (Mandarin) Japanese Korean Russian Spanish

Frequently asked questions

Why do German speakers write «become» when they mean «get» or «receive»?: Because the German verb «bekommen» means to get or to receive, and it looks almost identical to English «become». So «When will I become my results?» comes out for «When will I get my results?». It is the signature German false friend, and it sits in a cluster: «eventually» (eventuell = possibly), «actual» (aktuell = current), and «also» (also = therefore). Diglot flags each as German false-friend transfer and supplies the intended English word.
Why do I capitalize nouns in the middle of English sentences?: Because German capitalizes every noun — «der Tisch», «die Methode», «das Ergebnis» — so the habit carries into English as «the Results show the Method is robust». English capitalizes only proper nouns and sentence starts. Diglot flags mid-sentence common-noun capitals as a German orthography-transfer pattern rather than as random typos, which is why it keeps catching them across a draft.
Why is there a comma before «that» in my writing, and why «since five years»?: Both come from German grammar. German requires a comma before a «dass» (that) clause, so «We argue, that the model converges» carries a comma English drops. And German «seit» covers both «since» and «for», so a duration becomes «since five years» instead of «for five years». Diglot removes the comma before «that» and splits «seit» into «for» + duration and «since» + start point, flagging both as German-L1 transfer.
Does the checker flag «become», «eventually», and «actual» as German false friends?: Yes. The pattern `false-friend` is in the German-aware ruleset because German and English share Germanic and Latin roots that drifted apart. Diglot flags «become» (bekommen = get/receive), «eventually» (eventuell = possibly), «actual» (aktuell = current), and «also» (also = therefore), suggesting the intended English word and naming the German source rather than treating it as a word-choice typo.
Will it catch over-capitalized nouns, the comma before «that», and «since five years»?: Yes — all three are high-frequency German-writer patterns. Mid-sentence capitals come from German capitalizing every noun; the comma before «that» calques German «dass» punctuation; and «since five years» comes from «seit» covering both «since» and «for». Diglot lowercases the common nouns, removes the comma, and rewrites the duration to «for five years», flagging each as German-L1 transfer.