{"id":213,"date":"2017-02-22T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-22T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/3.254.11.177:8081\/?p=213"},"modified":"2025-07-27T18:58:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T16:58:55","slug":"8-typical-errors-made-by-spanish-speakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/8-typical-errors-made-by-spanish-speakers","title":{"rendered":"8 typical errors made by Spanish speakers (I)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u00bfCu\u00e1les son los errores t\u00edpicos m\u00e1s comunes que cometen los espa\u00f1oles al hablar ingl\u00e9s?<br \/>En este post se presentan 8 de estos errores. Se parte de un ejemplo de cada error, con su correcci\u00f3n y una explicaci\u00f3n del error.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/api.americanlanguage.es\/uploads\/8bdf5ff2292b4ade8c073c09e0cf73ab.png\" alt=\"academy-classroom\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Something you need to be cautious of are small \u201ctypical\u201d errors.<br \/>In this post we are going to look at some typical Spanish L1 (first language) errors.<br \/>This post is directed at native speakers of Spanish, or people who may speak a different L1 but are also natively fluent in Spanish, since they started to learn it at a very young age.<br \/>Individuals who may speak other Romance languages like Italian or Romanian as their L1 may also have some similar problems.<\/p>\n<p>If you are a TOEFL student with a different L1, be aware that your L1 will influence your English writing differently. For example, native Turkish speakers tend to have a lot of problems with the correct usage of \u201cA\u201d and \u201cThe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sentences listed below are real errors from real students collected over about a week, and the other errors have been collected over years of teaching Spanish L1 students.<br \/>Most of these sentences have various errors, but the \u201ctypical\u201d Spanish error will be in\u00a0<strong>bold<\/strong>\u00a0and that will be the one we look at\u00a0<strong>and explain.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Tabla de contenidos<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Alternar tabla de contenidos\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/8-typical-errors-made-by-spanish-speakers\/#1_Some_people_believe_that_people_have_a_different_way_of_behave_when_traveling_than_staying_at_home\" >1.\u00a0Some people believe that people\u00a0have a different way of behave\u00a0when traveling than\u00a0staying\u00a0at home.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/8-typical-errors-made-by-spanish-speakers\/#2_a_I_wanted_to_see_how_they_live_the_dictatorship_of_Fidel_Castro\" >2. a.\u00a0I wanted to see how they\u00a0live\u00a0the dictatorship of Fidel Castro.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/8-typical-errors-made-by-spanish-speakers\/#3_a_I_can_study_while_taking_a_Coca_Cola\" >3. a.\u00a0I can study while\u00a0taking\u00a0a Coca Cola.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/8-typical-errors-made-by-spanish-speakers\/#4_The_museum_is_at_the_north_of_Spain\" >4.\u00a0The museum is\u00a0at\u00a0the north of Spain.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/8-typical-errors-made-by-spanish-speakers\/#5_The_cooker_was_a_famous_cooker_called_Juan\" >5.\u00a0The\u00a0cooker\u00a0was a famous cooker called Juan.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/8-typical-errors-made-by-spanish-speakers\/#6_a_The_crisis_avoids_the_entry_into_the_enterprise_of_employers\" >6. a.\u00a0The\u00a0crisis avoids\u00a0the entry into the\u00a0enterprise\u00a0of\u00a0employers.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/8-typical-errors-made-by-spanish-speakers\/#7_The_economical_problems_cause_Spain_not_to_grow\" >7.\u00a0The\u00a0economical\u00a0problems cause Spain not to grow.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/8-typical-errors-made-by-spanish-speakers\/#8_We_practice_sports_together\" >8.\u00a0We practice sports together.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 id=\"-1-some-people-believe-that-people-have-a-different-way-of-behave-when-traveling-than-staying-at-home-\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Some_people_believe_that_people_have_a_different_way_of_behave_when_traveling_than_staying_at_home\"><\/span><strong>1.<\/strong>\u00a0Some people believe that people\u00a0<strong>have a different way of behave<\/strong>\u00a0when traveling than\u00a0<strong>staying<\/strong>\u00a0at home.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>\u2705\u00a0<strong>Correction:<\/strong><br \/>Some people believe that people behave differently when traveling than when they are at home.<br \/>A little less natural would be:\u00a0<em>Some people believe that people have a different behavior when traveling than when they are at home.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udccc\u00a0<strong>Explicaci\u00f3n:<\/strong><br \/>En espa\u00f1ol decimos: \u201cTener una manera diferente de actuar\u201d.<br \/>Este error es una traducci\u00f3n estructural directa. \u00abWay of behave\u00bb intenta describir un \u201cm\u00e9todo\u201d, por lo que debemos usar el sustantivo \u00abbehavior\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcdd Ejemplos similares:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Behave in a different way \u2192 differently<\/li>\n<li>In a natural way \u2192 naturally<\/li>\n<li>In a complete way \u2192 completely<\/li>\n<li>In a fashion way \u2192 fashionably<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 id=\"-2-a-i-wanted-to-see-how-they-live-the-dictatorship-of-fidel-castro-\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_a_I_wanted_to_see_how_they_live_the_dictatorship_of_Fidel_Castro\"><\/span><strong>2. a.<\/strong>\u00a0I wanted to see how they\u00a0<strong>live<\/strong>\u00a0the dictatorship of Fidel Castro.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>b.<\/strong>\u00a0You\u00a0<strong>live<\/strong>\u00a0more the place where you\u00a0<strong>stay<\/strong>.<br \/><strong>c.<\/strong>\u00a0The student who lives outside the campus,\u00a0<strong>live<\/strong>\u00a0the city more.<\/p>\n<p>\u2705\u00a0<strong>Corrections:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>a. I wanted to see how they experience living under Fidel Castro\u2019s dictatorship.<\/li>\n<li>b. You experience the place you live at better than\u2026<\/li>\n<li>c. The student who lives off campus, experiences the city more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\ud83d\udccc\u00a0<strong>Explicaci\u00f3n:<\/strong><br \/>\u201cTo live\u201d es el acto de residir en un lugar.<br \/>\u201cVivir una experiencia\u201d se traduce como \u201cto experience\u201d.<br \/>\u201cTo stay\u201d implica permanecer en un lugar por poco tiempo.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 id=\"-3-a-i-can-study-while-taking-a-coca-cola-\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_a_I_can_study_while_taking_a_Coca_Cola\"><\/span><strong>3. a.<\/strong>\u00a0I can study while\u00a0<strong>taking<\/strong>\u00a0a Coca Cola.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>b.<\/strong>\u00a0The women should\u00a0<strong>take<\/strong>\u00a0a coffee instead of taking a nap.<br \/><strong>c.<\/strong>\u00a0When did you\u00a0<strong>take<\/strong>\u00a0lunch today?<\/p>\n<p>\u2705\u00a0<strong>Corrections:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>a. I can study while drinking Coca Cola.<\/li>\n<li>b. The women should have a\/drink coffee instead of taking a nap.<\/li>\n<li>c. When did you have lunch today?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\ud83d\udccc\u00a0<strong>Explicaci\u00f3n:<\/strong><br \/>En ingl\u00e9s no usamos \u201ctake\u201d para comida o bebida, salvo para llevarla (takeaway).<br \/>Usamos \u201cdrink\u201d o \u201chave\u201d para bebidas y \u201ceat\u201d o \u201chave\u201d para alimentos.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 id=\"-4-the-museum-is-at-the-north-of-spain-\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_The_museum_is_at_the_north_of_Spain\"><\/span><strong>4.<\/strong>\u00a0The museum is\u00a0<strong>at<\/strong>\u00a0the north of Spain.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>\u2705\u00a0<strong>Correction:<\/strong><br \/>The museum is in northern Spain.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udccc\u00a0<strong>Explicaci\u00f3n:<\/strong><br \/>\u201cAt the north\u201d implica un punto espec\u00edfico. Para hablar de una regi\u00f3n general, se usa \u201cin northern Spain\u201d.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 id=\"-5-the-cooker-was-a-famous-cooker-called-juan-\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_The_cooker_was_a_famous_cooker_called_Juan\"><\/span><strong>5.<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0<strong>cooker<\/strong>\u00a0was a famous cooker called Juan.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>\u2705\u00a0<strong>Correction:<\/strong><br \/>The chef was a famous cook called Juan.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udccc\u00a0<strong>Explicaci\u00f3n:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Cooker<\/strong>\u00a0\u2192 es un electrodom\u00e9stico.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cook<\/strong>\u00a0\u2192 persona que cocina.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chef<\/strong>\u00a0\u2192 cocinero profesional con prestigio.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 id=\"-6-a-the-crisis-avoids-the-entry-into-the-enterprise-of-employers-\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_a_The_crisis_avoids_the_entry_into_the_enterprise_of_employers\"><\/span><strong>6. a.<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0<strong>crisis avoids<\/strong>\u00a0the entry into the\u00a0<strong>enterprise<\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0<strong>employers<\/strong>.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>b.<\/strong>\u00a0They give animals anesthesia to\u00a0<strong>avoid<\/strong>\u00a0the pain.<\/p>\n<p>\u2705\u00a0<strong>Corrections:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>a. The financial downturn \/ the economic recession limits the entry of employees into that company.<\/li>\n<li>b. They give animals anesthesia to limit their pain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\ud83d\udccc\u00a0<strong>Explicaci\u00f3n:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cCrisis\u201d necesita un adjetivo para ser m\u00e1s claro.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAvoid\u201d es evitar (mantenerse alejado), mientras que \u201climit\u201d es restringir.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cEnterprise\u201d es el nombre de una nave (Star Trek); la palabra adecuada es \u201ccompany\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cEmployers\u201d son quienes ofrecen empleo, \u201cemployees\u201d quienes lo aceptan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 id=\"-7-the-economical-problems-cause-spain-not-to-grow-\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"7_The_economical_problems_cause_Spain_not_to_grow\"><\/span><strong>7.<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0<strong>economical<\/strong>\u00a0problems cause Spain not to grow.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>\u2705\u00a0<strong>Correction:<\/strong><br \/>The economic problems have caused Spain not to grow.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udccc\u00a0<strong>Explicaci\u00f3n:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Economical<\/strong>\u00a0\u2192 algo eficiente en coste (ahorrativo).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Economic<\/strong>\u00a0\u2192 relacionado con la econom\u00eda (adjetivo de economy).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 id=\"-8-we-practice-sports-together-\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"8_We_practice_sports_together\"><\/span><strong>8.<\/strong>\u00a0We practice sports together.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>\u2705\u00a0<strong>Correction:<\/strong><br \/>We play sports together.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udccc\u00a0<strong>Explicaci\u00f3n:<\/strong><br \/>\u201cPractice\u201d se usa para habilidades que se perfeccionan con t\u00e9cnica (piano, tiro, guitarra).<br \/>Para deportes recreativos o habituales, usamos \u201cplay\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00bfCu\u00e1les son los errores t\u00edpicos m\u00e1s comunes que cometen los espa\u00f1oles al hablar ingl\u00e9s? En este post se presentan 8 de estos errores. Se parte de un ejemplo de cada error, con su correcci\u00f3n y una explicaci\u00f3n del error.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/api.americanlanguage.es\/uploads\/faeb5e2cdab249598ff3c24f47526397.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":875,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213\/revisions\/875"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanlanguage.es\/blog-aprender-ingles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}