A reader has sent to Tuoi Tre a boarding pass issued by Vietnam Airlines that says: “Please present at the boarding gate at lest 30 minites before departure time.”

It was meant for a flight from Vinh to Ho Chi Minh City on April 14.

How many mistakes are there in that sentence?

There are three mistakes:

First mistake:

Since “present” is a transitive verb requiring an object, you cannot say “please present at …”. It should be “please present yourself” or “please present your ticket” or “please present this boarding pass”…

In these cases, the word “present” is used as a verb (“đưa, trình”) and pronounced as presént, with the accent on the second syllable.

But what the boarding pass wants is for passengers to “be present.” Here “present” is an adjective (“có mặt”) and pronounced as présent, with the accent on the first syllable.

Second mistake:

“at lest 30" should be “at least 30.”

“At least” means “ít nhất.”

The word “lest” means “otherwise.” ("nếu không thì")

Here is an example: Work hard lest you fail your examination. (Phải học hành chăm chỉ nếu không bạn sẽ thi rớt.)

Third mistake:

“minites before departure time.”

This is a spelling mistake; it should be “minutes.”

Thus, the exhortation should have been “Please be present at the boarding gate at least 30 minutes before departure time.”

Thank you, readers! Please come back for more stories and lessons.