{"id":269,"date":"2016-09-13T17:39:08","date_gmt":"2016-09-14T01:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/?p=269"},"modified":"2024-01-24T21:12:24","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T05:12:24","slug":"common-pitfalls-english-speakers-learning-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/common-pitfalls-english-speakers-learning-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Spanish Mistakes English Speakers Make"},"content":{"rendered":"

As second-language speakers, we can realistically never hope to reach perfect native level with our Spanish. We can, however, get pretty darn close!<\/p>\n

\"English<\/span><\/p>\n

There are a few things that are always dead giveaways that mark you as an English-speaking Spanish learner. But want to take your Spanish to the next level and have native speakers take a step back and ask \u201cWhere are you from?\u201d when you speak to them?Well, take a look at the list below which outlines some of the most common errors made by English speakers who are learning the Spanish language.<\/p>\n

Watch this video to learn more about common Spanish mistakes.<\/h2>\n

Pronunciation<\/h2>\n

If you want to get technical, you could call this the \u201cphonetics\u201d section. In this section, you will get a quick introduction to some of the \u201cnit-picky\u201d aspects of pronunciation. But, believe me. These things will be some of the first giveaways to your non-native status that native Spanish speakers will hear when you speak to them. So, pay attention if you want to sound more like one of them!<\/p>\n

Roll your Rrrrrrrs!<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s something that not everyone can do. And it takes a lot of practice to perfect it, but, this is one thing that almost every Spaniard will point out at one time or another as being something that English speakers just can\u2019t seem to get right.This isn\u2019t just the \u201crr\u201d in words like \u201cperro<\/em>\u201d or \u201cahorrar<\/em>\u201d but also the slight trill that you\u2019ll hear words such as \u201cpero<\/em>\u201d or \u201ccaro<\/em>.\u201d It\u2019s nowhere near as long and exaggerated at the \u201crr\u201d you\u2019ll find in the first two words, but it\u2019s still different than the \u201cr\u201d we have in English. It\u2019s more fluid, and rolls of the tongue a little quicker.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be so harsh with your inter-vocal consonants<\/h2>\n

When a \u201cd\u201d comes between two vowels, there\u2019s a slight change in the way it\u2019s pronounced. One of the common mistakes that English speakers make, is they continue to pronounce it as if it were the hard \u201cd\u201d like in \u201cdog.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you listen to a native Spanish speaker, you\u2019ll realize that when they pronounce the \u201cd\u201d in words like \u201ctodo<\/em>\u201d or \u201clado<\/em>\u201d it\u2019s more of a soft, barely noticeable stop. Most of the time, if they\u2019re speaking quickly, it will sound more like \u201cto-o\u201d with a little pause in between the two \u201cO\u2019s\u201d. The tongue still shoots forward, as it would if the word were pronounced slowly and deliberately, but if the speech is fluid, the sound produced will be very faint.The same happens with \u201cb\u201d and \u201cg\u201d in words such \u201ccaminaba<\/em>\u201d and \u201cbodega<\/em>.\u201d In these cases, the consonant is heard a little more than the \u201cd\u201d mentioned above, but still not as harshly as it would be in English pronunciation, such as with words like \u201cboat\u201d or \u201cgoat.\u201d<\/p>\n

False Friends<\/h2>\n

\"Learning<\/p>\n

Via Mexlol<\/a><\/p>\n

Also called \u201cfalse cognates\u201d these are words that sound very similar to words that exist in English, but they don\u2019t, in fact, mean the same thing!<\/p>\n

Sensato\/ Sensible<\/h2>\n

This is one that\u2019s really confusing! If a person is \u201csensato<\/em>\u201d then he is \u201csensible.\u201d But if he is \u201csensible<\/em>\u201d (in Spanish) he is \u201csensitive\u201d in English!<\/p>\n

So, in case you missed that:<\/p>\n

Sensato<\/em>= sensible<\/p>\n

Sensible<\/em>= Sensitive<\/p>\n

Actually\/ Actualmente<\/h2>\n

Actually, this one is pretty confusing too! But, \u201cactualmente<\/em>\u201d I\u2019m going to explain it to you so you can avoid making one very common mistake.<\/p>\n

\u201cActualmente<\/em>\u201d means \u201ccurrently\u201d or \u201cat the present time.\u201d If you were to say something along the lines of \u201cactualmente, no me gusta el pescado\u201d hoping to say \u201cActually, I don\u2019t like fish,\u201d what you\u2019re really saying is \u201cAt the current time\/ at the moment, I don\u2019t like fish.\u201d<\/p>\n

This may be true for you! Maybe you liked fish yesterday, but today you\u2019re just not feeling it. That\u2019s fine, you can say that then. But, if what you\u2019re trying to say is \u201cIn reality, I don\u2019t like fish\u201d then you should say something more like \u201cla verdad, no me gusta el pescado.\u201d An example of a sentence with \u201cactualmente\u201d being used correctly would be: \u201cActualmente Obama es presidente de los Estados Unidos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asistir\/ Atender<\/h2>\n

Asistir<\/em> means \u201cto attend.\u201d Atender<\/em> means to assist\/ help. What? Really? So all this time I\u2019ve been saying \u201cAtiendo clases de espa\u00f1ol\u201d and I should have been saying \u201cAsisto clases de espa\u00f1ol\u201d?Yes! These two are very commonly confused by English speakers, so write them down, practice them, log them away in your mind, because they\u2019re commonly used, and commonly messed up.<\/p>\n

\u00c9xito<\/h2>\n

\u00c9xito<\/em> does not mean \u201cexit.\u201d So, if you\u2019re walking around somewhere in a Spanish speaking country asking for the \u201c\u00e9xito<\/em>\u201d don\u2019t be surprised if people look at you funny. You\u2019re asking them where is the \u201csuccess\u201d or \u201cachievement.\u201d By the way \u201cexit\u201d is salida<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Embarazada<\/h2>\n

This is one that can lead to some very funny situations if you get it wrong. It sounds similar to the english word \u201cembarrassed\u201d and you may find yourself blushing red with that very feeling when you accidentally tell someone you\u2019re pregnant.<\/p>\n

Embarazada<\/em> means just that–pregnant!<\/p>\n

Avergonzado\/a<\/em> is the word in Spanish for embarassed.<\/p>\n

Educado<\/h2>\n

If you want to brag about your Spanish-language education, you may not want to do so by telling someone that you are very \u201ceducado.\u201d While this isn\u2019t a bad thing, it has nothing to do with your book-learning or Spanish skills!Educado\/a<\/em> is an adjective used to describe someone with good manners. It\u2019s like saying \u201che\u2019s polite.\u201d (Es educado<\/em>.)<\/p>\n<\/span><\/span>\n

Grammar<\/h2>\n

\"Learning<\/p>\n

Via Pixabay<\/p>\n

Of course we were going to have to talk about grammar—the language student\u2019s best friend! Surprisingly enough, verb conjugations aren\u2019t at the top of the list of things that serve as giveaways of an English-speaker learning Spanish. Below you will find the 5 most common grammatical pitfalls for Spanish language students.<\/p>\n

Gender<\/h2>\n

This is something that\u2019s an almost completely foreign concept in the English language. Not \u201cgender\u201d itself, but the idea that words have a gender.<\/p>\n

La casa roja<\/em>– the red house (the \u201ca\u201d denotes that the noun \u201ccasa\u201d is feminine.)<\/p>\n

This is something that\u2019s hard, not only to understand, but to then put into practice, because it\u2019s not just the nouns that have a gender. The adjectives associated with them have one too! Note the example again- \u201clA casA rojA\u201d- all feminine.<\/p>\n

If we were to say \u201cel libro rojo<\/em>\u201d (the red book) you\u2019ll see that the article \u201cel\u201d is masculine, as is the adjective \u201crojo.\u201d Not keeping the gender consistent throughout a sentence is a common mistake made by English speakers.<\/p>\n

Generally speaking, a noun that ends in \u201co\u201d is masculine, and one that ends in \u201ca\u201d is feminine! Easy as that! But, of course, there has to be a few exceptions. Some of the most common are:<\/p>\n

La mano (the hand- feminine)<\/p>\n

El mapa (the map- masculine)<\/p>\n

La foto (the picture- feminine) short for \u201cfotograf\u00eda\u201d.<\/p>\n

La radio (the radio- feminine)<\/p>\n

Another thing to watch out for when talking about gender is when a word both ends and begins with \u201ca.\u201d They are feminine words, and will take the feminine article in their plural forms, and also require the adjectives defining them to be feminine. But, in the singular, the article will be masculine: \u201cel agua<\/em>\u201d the water, \u201cel alma<\/em>\u201d the soul \u201cel \u00e1guila<\/em>\u201d the eagle.<\/p>\n

So, you can say \u201cquiero el agua fr\u00eda<\/em>\u201d but if you want more than one, you\u2019d say \u201cquiero las aguas fr\u00edas<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ser\/ Estar<\/h2>\n

Am I short, or am I short?<\/p>\n

This is a very commonly confused pair of verbs, both meaning \u201cto be.\u201d The best way to remember these is:<\/p>\n

Ser<\/em> is used with permanent things- things that won\u2019t change, or will be very difficult to change.<\/p>\n

Example: I am short (Soy baja- I have been short my whole life, and it\u2019s not going to change no matter how much milk I drink!). He is handsome. She is nice. They are young, but we are old.  These are all things that are used to describe qualities that you would consider to be \u201cpermanent\u201d about the person. They aren\u2019t going to change–at least not any time soon!<\/p>\n

Estar<\/em> is used with temporary things.<\/p>\n

Example: I am angry (Estoy enfadada- I\u2019m not always angry, it\u2019s just that right now, I am!) He is tired. We are in the store. You are very handsome today (if you want to emphasize that someone looks especially nice).<\/p>\n

Subjunctive<\/h2>\n

There isn\u2019t really enough space here to go too in-depth as to the workings of the subjunctive. But, is it definitely something that English speakers struggle with on a regular basis. If you want to take your Spanish to the next level, it\u2019s something you\u2019ll have to become familiar with.<\/p>\n

Por\/Para<\/h2>\n

I paid $5 for a present for my mother. Two \u201cfor\u2019s\u201d in one sentence, and two different \u201cfor\u2019s\u201d in Spanish. Pagu\u00e9 $5 por un regalo para mi madre<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There are lists and shortcuts for remembering which one to use when, but the simplest and most basic way to remember them is:<\/p>\n

Por<\/em> is used with that something that doesn\u2019t have a definitive end. It focuses on the process around something, not on the end result. In the example above we can see that the exchange of money ($5 FOR a gift) focuses on the process through which the gift was acquired.<\/p>\n

\u201cTengo que pasar por<\/em> el parque en el camino a clase.\u201d- I have to pass through<\/em> the park on my way to class.<\/p>\n

Para<\/em> is used to show finality–the end result. Again, looking back at first example \u201ca gift FOR my mother\u201d shows the gifts final destination-it\u2019s overall purpose. \u201cVoy para la casa de mi amiga<\/em>.\u201d- I\u2019m going FOR (To- the end of the road is…) my friend\u2019s house.Another common use of \u201cpara<\/em>\u201d is before a verb in infinitive, and in this case it means \u201cin order to.\u201d Again, talking about the result of the action. \u201cPara llegar a clase, tengo que pasar por el parque<\/em>.\u201d- In order to arrive at class, I have to pass through the park.<\/p>\n

Using possessive adjectives when talking about the parts of the body<\/h2>\n

But it\u2019s MY head that hurts!<\/p>\n

This is a very common in error for English-speaking Spanish learners, and is due to the fact that in English, it\u2019s the way it\u2019s said! My arm, my head, his leg, her back\u2026 We always have to lay claim to body parts. Well, in Spanish you don\u2019t have to!<\/p>\n

This is because the construction of the sentence will almost always make it clear to the listener whose body part is being referred to. Let\u2019s go back to the sentence at the beginning of this section.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy head hurts.\u201d In Spanish this would be said \u201cme duele la cabeza<\/em>.\u201d Understanding the workings of indirect object pronouns, we see that \u201cme duele<\/em>\u201d means that the hurting is happening to me! Someone else\u2019s head isn\u2019t going to hurt me, only mine. So there\u2019s absolutely no need to repeat myself by saying \u201cTo me my head hurts.\u201dIn place of the possessive adjective, in Spanish you simply use the definite article. \u201cLe duele el estomago<\/em>\u201d- His stomach hurts. \u201c\u00a1L\u00e1vate las manos!<\/em>\u201d- Wash your hands!<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

This article is meant to serve as a quick guide to what common pitfalls to be on the lookout for as an English-speaking student of Spanish. There will always be ways in which we give ourselves away, but making it a little more difficult for native Spanish speakers to tell is definitely a great feeling!<\/p>\n

These things don\u2019t happen overnight. They take a long time, a lot of studying, continuously making the same mistakes, and never giving up. Hopefully this article will help you be more conscious of these very typical errors, and also give you some encouragement in knowing that you\u2019re not alone in committing them–it comes with being an English speaker.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As second-language speakers, we can realistically never hope to reach perfect native level with our Spanish. We can, however, get pretty darn close! There are a few things that are always dead giveaways that mark you as an English-speaking Spanish learner. But want to take your Spanish to the next level and have native speakers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"

As second-language speakers, we can realistically never hope to reach perfect native level with our Spanish. We can, however, get pretty darn close!<\/p><\/div>

\"English<\/span><\/div>

There are a few things that are always dead giveaways that mark you as an English-speaking Spanish learner. But want to take your Spanish to the next level and have native speakers take a step back and ask \u201cWhere are you from?\u201d when you speak to them?

Well, take a look at the list below which outlines some of the most common errors made by English speakers who are learning the Spanish language.<\/p><\/div>

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Watch this video to learn more about common Spanish mistakes.<\/h2><\/div>
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