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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:
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I call Mary. |
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I visited my parents in California. |
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I helped my sister. |
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I love my cat. |
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2. Using a instead of en when translating at from English.
Remember: At is always en in Spanish!
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We sat down at the table. |
Nos sentamos |
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He works at a hospital. |
Él trabaja |
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Peter was at that party. |
Peter estaba |
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We were at the beach. |
Estábamos |
3. Using quedar instead of quedarse.
When translating to stay, we should always use quedarse, which is a reflexive verb.
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I stayed at a very beautiful hotel in Cancún. |
Me quedé en un hotel muy hermoso en Cancún. |
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I stayed at home. |
Me quedé en casa. |
4. Making nouns problema, programa and sistema feminine.
They are masculine!
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I have a problem. |
Tengo |
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I like this program. |
Me gusta |
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This system works very well. |
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5. Using “preguntar por” or “pedir por” for asking for.
El verbo pedir nunca usa preposición.
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I asked her for an apple. |
Le pedí |
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I’ll ask you for the keys tomorrow. |
Te pediré |
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Mary asked me for a glass of water. |
Mary me pidió |
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I asked for a sign. |
Pedí |
6. Translating gustar directly as to like, instead of “to please” or “to be pleasing”.
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I like apples. |
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Do you like cats? |
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I like you. |
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Do you like me? |
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La Eñe 
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