Common Mistakes

Here are six common mistakes English native speakers keep making when speaking Spanish:

1. Not including the “personal a”.

As we know, whenever the grammatical object is a person (or a pet), we must use preposition a right before said object:

I call Mary.	~~Llamo Mary.~~ Llamo a Mary.
I visited my parents in California.	~~Visité mis padres en California.~~ Visité a mis padres en California.
I helped my sister.	~~Ayudé mi hermana.~~ Ayudé a mi hermana.
I love my cat.	~~Amo mi gato.~~ Amo a mi gato.

2. Using a instead of en when translating at from English.

Remember: At is always en in Spanish!

3. Using quedar instead of quedarse.

When translating to stay, we should always use quedarse, which is a reflexive verb.

I stayed at a very beautiful hotel in Cancún.	Me quedé en un hotel muy hermoso en Cancún.
I stayed at home.	Me quedé en casa.

4. Making nouns problema, programa and sistema feminine.

They are masculine!

I have a problem.	Tengo ~~una~~ un problema.
I like this program.	Me gusta ~~esta~~ este programa.
This system works very well.	~~Esta~~ Este sistema funciona muy bien.

5. Using “preguntar por” or “pedir por” for asking for.

El verbo pedir nunca usa preposición.

I asked her for an apple.	Le pedí ~~por~~ una manzana.
I’ll ask you for the keys tomorrow.	Te pediré ~~por~~ las llaves mañana.
Mary asked me for a glass of water.	Mary me pidió ~~por~~ un vaso de agua.
I asked for a sign.	Pedí ~~por~~ una señal.

6. Translating gustar directly as to like, instead of “to please” or “to be pleasing”.

I like apples.	~~Yo gusto las manzanas.~~ Me gustan las manzanas.
Do you like cats?	~~¿Tú gustas los gatos?~~ ¿Te gustan los gatos?
I like you.	~~Te gusto.~~ Me gustas.
Do you like me?	~~¿Me gustas?~~ ¿Te gusto?

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