Are you struggling with Spanish despite studying diligently? You're not alone. Common Spanish mistakes plague learners at all levels, from beginners to nearly-fluent speakers. In this comprehensive guide, we'll examine 13 of the most frequent errors English speakers make when learning Spanish, with clear examples of incorrect and correct usage. By understanding these common Spanish mistakes, you'll avoid embarrassing situations and sound more like a native speaker.
One of the most frequent Spanish grammar mistakes is directly translating "I am 30 years old" to Spanish. While in English we use the verb "to be" to express age, in Spanish we use the verb tener (to have).
❌ Incorrect: Yo soy 30 años. ["I am 30 years old." (literally: "I am 30 years.")]
✅ Correct: Yo tengo 30 años. ["I am 30 years old." (literally: "I have 30 years.")]
This mistake happens because in English we say "I am [age]," but in Spanish, you literally say "I have [age] years."
Hola, yo me llamo Miguel. Tengo veinte años y estudio composición.
Hi, my name is Miguel. I'm twenty years old and I study composition.
Captions 5-6, Amigos D.F. Consejos para la calle
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✏️ Related lesson: "Todo sobre los cumpleaños (All About Birthdays) in Spanish"
English speakers often use the present continuous tense to describe ongoing situations that started in the past. This is one of the common Spanish mistakes with tenses.
❌ Incorrect: Estoy viviendo aquí por 3 años. ["I am living here for 3 years."]
✅ Correct: He vivido aquí por 3 años. / Vivo aquí desde hace 3 años. ["I have lived here for 3 years." / "I have been living here for 3 years."]
When referring to an action that began in the past and continues into the present, Spanish prefers the present perfect ("he vivido") or a present tense construction with "desde hace."
Soy mariachi, soy papá, soy músico y vivo aquí desde hace veinte años en Alemania,
I'm a mariachi musician, I'm a dad, I'm a musician, and I've lived here in Germany for twenty years,
Captions 3-4, Hispanoamericanos en Berlín Fernando y el mariachi
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✏️ Related lesson: "The Present Perfect In Spanish"
Collective nouns like gente (people) are singular in Spanish, even though they refer to multiple individuals.
❌ Incorrect: La gente son amables. ["The people are nice." (incorrectly using plural verb with singular collective noun)]
✅ Correct: La gente es amable. ["The people are nice." (literally: "The people is nice.")]
Remember that agreement must be maintained both with the verb and any adjectives that follow.
la gente es superhospitalaria,
the people are super hospitable,
Caption 72, Adriana y Laura Mijas
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✏️ Related lesson: "Grammatical Agreement in Spanish"
This is a frequent error made by English speakers because of the way we think about remembering in English.
❌ Incorrect: Me recuerdo de mi infancia. ["I remember myself of my childhood." (incorrect reflexive usage)]
✅ Correct: Me acuerdo de mi infancia. / Recuerdo mi infancia. ["I remember my childhood." (two correct ways to express remembering)]
The confusion stems from the fact that in English, we say "I remember," which might lead learners to translate it directly as me recuerdo. However, in Spanish, there are two distinct verbs: acordarse (reflexive, requiring "me acuerdo de") and recordar (non-reflexive, simply recuerdo). The incorrect form "me recuerdo" combines elements of both verbs incorrectly.
Pero ya no recuerdo cuándo fue la última vez que estuvimos juntos viendo un partido.
But now I don't remember when the last time was that we were together watching a game.
Captions 6-7, Fermín y Manuel El pasado - Part 1
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✏️ Related lesson: "35 Spanish Phrasal Verbs"
Many Spanish learners struggle with irregular past participles, often applying regular verb patterns to irregular verbs.
❌ Incorrect: He ponido mis llaves en la mesa. ["I have putted my keys on the table." (incorrect participle)]
✅ Correct: He puesto mis llaves en la mesa. ["I have put my keys on the table." (correct participle)]
Spanish has many irregular past participles that don't follow the standard -ado/-ido pattern. Common mistakes include saying ponido instead of puesto (to put), hacido instead of hecho (to do/make), abrido instead of abierto (to open), and escribido instead of escrito (to write).
Entonces, a las chicas les hemos puesto una flor,
So, we've put a flower on the girls,
Caption 98, Amaya Evento
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✏️ Related lesson: "The Different Uses of the Word Hecho in Spanish"
Prepositions rarely translate directly between languages, creating common Spanish mistakes for English speakers.
❌ Incorrect: Voy en España. ["I'm going in Spain." (incorrect preposition)]
✅ Correct: Voy a España. ["I'm going to Spain."]
In Spanish, en indicates location (being in a place), while a indicates movement or direction (going to a place).
Pues, me voy a Barcelona.
Well, I'm going to Barcelona.
Caption 7, El Aula Azul Conversación: Planes de fin de semana
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✏️ Related lesson: "The Preposition a in Spanish"
This is perhaps one of the most notorious common Spanish mistakes that English speakers make. Both por and para can be translated as "for" in English, but they have different uses in Spanish.
❌ Incorrect: Gracias para la cena. (When thanking someone) ["Thanks by the dinner." (incorrect preposition)]
✅ Correct: Gracias por la cena. ["Thanks for the dinner."]
The correct preposition to use when expressing gratitude in Spanish is por, not para. This is because por is used to indicate reason or cause - you're thanking someone because of the dinner they provided. Por expresses the reason behind your gratitude, while para would incorrectly suggest purpose or destination. In Spanish, we always say "gracias por..." when expressing thanks for something someone has done or given.
Gracias por la toalla.
Thank you for the towel.
Caption 12, Mónica El baño
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✏️ Related lesson: "Por vs. Para: How and When to Use These Spanish Prepositions"
Another common preposition mistake involves thinking "about" something.
❌ Incorrect: Estoy pensando sobre mi futuro. ["I am thinking on/about my future." (incorrect preposition)]
✅ Correct: Estoy pensando en mi futuro. ["I am thinking about my future."]
While sobre does mean about in some contexts, with verbs like pensar, the correct preposition is en.
Yo "estaba en las nubes", pensando en la tortilla que me iba a comer después.
I "was in the clouds" thinking about the tortilla that I was going to eat later.
Captions 48-49, Beatriz Expresiones relacionadas con el clima
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✏️ Related lesson: "The Preposition en in Spanish"
False friends (or falsos amigos) are words that look similar in both languages but have different meanings, causing frequent Spanish language errors.
❌ Incorrect: Estoy embarazada por tu pregunta. ["I am pregnant because of your question." (false friend mix-up)]
✅ Correct: Estoy avergonzada por tu pregunta. ["I am embarrassed by your question."]
Embarazada means "pregnant," not "embarrassed"! The correct word for feeling embarrassed is avergonzado/a.
✏️ Related lesson: "Top 10 False Cognates in Spanish"
This is a classic false cognate trap that English speakers often fall into when speaking Spanish.
❌ Incorrect: Realizé mi error. ["I carried out/fulfilled my error." (false cognate mistake)]
✅ Correct: Me di cuenta de mi error. ["I realized my error." (correct expression for becoming aware)]
The Spanish verb realizar means "to carry out," "to fulfill," or "to make real," not "to realize" in the sense of becoming aware of something. When you want to express that you've realized or become aware of something, use "darse cuenta de" instead.
Mire, yo me di cuenta de algo muy importante,
Look, I realized something very important,
Caption 13, Confidencial: Broma pesada Capítulo 5 - Part 11
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✏️ Related lesson: "Darse Cuenta: The Real "Realize""
English speakers often mix up these two words for expressing "very" and "much" in Spanish, creating common Spanish grammar mistakes.
❌ Incorrect: Tengo muy calor. / Estoy mucho cansado. ["I have very heat." (incorrect intensifier) / "I am much tired." (incorrect intensifier)]
✅ Correct: Tengo mucho calor. / Estoy muy cansado. ["I'm very hot" / "I am very tired"]
Remember that muy modifies adjectives and adverbs (muy cansado), while mucho can be an adjective itself (mucho calor) or can modify verbs (estudia mucho).
"Llevo un mes durmiendo fatal y estoy muy cansado".
"I've been sleeping horribly for a month, and I'm very tired."
Caption 47, Fermín y Manuel El verbo "llevar" - Part 2
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✏️ Related lesson: "Muy vs. Mucho in Spanish"
Some basic expressions in Spanish are constructed completely differently than in English.
❌ Incorrect: Estoy caliente. ["I am hot." (but with sexual connotations)]
✅ Correct: Tengo calor. ["I have heat." (meaning "I am hot" temperature-wise)]
In Spanish, you "have" sensations rather than "being" them. "Estoy caliente" would be understood as "I'm aroused," not "I'm hot temperature-wise."
Tenemos mucho calor.
We are very hot.
Caption 26, El Aula Azul Estados de ánimo
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✏️ Related lesson: "Idiomatic Expressions with The Verb Tener"
The distinction between ser and estar remains one of the most challenging aspects of Spanish, even for advanced learners.
❌ Incorrect: Soy aburrido. ["I am boring." (permanent characteristic)]
✅ Correct: Estoy aburrido. ["I am bored." (temporary state)]
Ser refers to permanent characteristics, while estar refers to temporary states or conditions.
Yo estoy aburrido y usted es... como tener una carga encima.
I'm tired of you, and you are... like having a weight on my shoulders.
Captions 66-67, Confidencial: Broma pesada Capítulo 2 - Part 7
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✏️ Related lesson: "Ser vs. Estar: An Easy Trick for Using These Verbs"
Being aware of these common Spanish mistakes will help you sound more natural and fluent in Spanish. Remember that making errors is a natural part of the language learning process – even native speakers sometimes make these mistakes! The key is to recognize them and gradually incorporate the correct forms into your speech and writing.
Practice identifying these errors in your own Spanish, and don't be afraid to ask native speakers for feedback. With time and attention, you'll avoid these common Spanish mistakes and develop more authentic, confident Spanish communication skills.
Which common mistake are you making when speaking in Spanish? Please, send us your comments and suggestions!
In this lesson, we will review some very useful idioms and expressions with the verb tener (to have).
Very often, we use idiomatic expressions with tener in the present so let’s review the conjugation of this verb in the present tense:
Yo tengo | I have
Tú tienes | You have
Él/Ella tiene | He/She has
Nosotros tenemos | We have
Vosotros tenéis | You have
Ellos tienen | They have
There are many idiomatic expressions with the verb tener that Spanish speakers use to express physical sensations. These include expressions like tener frío/calor (to be cold/hot), tener hambre (to be hungry) and tener sueño (to be sleepy):
Bueno, pero tengo frío.
Well, but I'm cold.
Caption 31, Natalia de Ecuador - Palabras de uso básico
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Y más que tenemos hambre ya a esta hora.
And plus, we're already hungry at this hour.
Caption 106, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa
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Tenemos sueño.
We are sleepy.
Caption 38, El Aula Azul - Estados de ánimo
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Apart from physical sensations, we can also use the verb tener to express other more psychological states such as tener miedo (to be afraid), tener ganas (to want/to desire), tener prisa (to be in a hurry) and tener vergüenza (to be ashamed):
¡Tengo miedo, tengo miedo, tengo miedo!
I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I'm afraid!
Caption 42, Muñeca Brava - 43 La reunión
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Siento que te cansaste y tienes ganas
I feel that you got tired and you want
Caption 4, Circo - Velocidades luz
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La gente parece que siempre tiene prisa...
People seem to always be in a hurry...
Caption 38, Maestra en Madrid - Nuria y amigo
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En este momento duda porque tiene vergüenza de ir a la escuela.
At this moment she hesitates because she's ashamed to go to school.
Caption 49, Con ánimo de lucro - Cortometraje
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And finally, don’t forget that you also need to use an idiomatic expression with the verb tener when you talk about age:
Tengo veintiún años y soy estudiante de negocios internacionales.
I'm twenty-one years old and I'm a student of international business.
Caption 2, Amigos D.F. - Consejos para la calle
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That's all for now. We challenge you to try finding more idiomatic expressions with the verb tener in our catalog of videos! And don’t forget to send your feedback and suggestions to [email protected].
Let's learn some useful Spanish expressions.
The expression total, para qué ( literally "total, what for") is used to express hopelessness if you think that something is likely to fail or is unpromising. The phrase is equivalent to the English expression "So, what's the use," as you can see in the following example:
¡Ay! Total para qué... ¡Ya olvídalo!
Oh! So what's the use... Forget it already!
Another interesting expression is tener en cuenta (to keep into account, to keep in mind):
Intentaré hacer todo lo que me has dicho y tener en cuenta tus recomendaciones.
I will try to do everything that you have told me and keep in mind your recommendations.
Captions 56-57, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos - Subjuntivo y condicional
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Here's another example using teniendo (having, keeping) in a more formal context:
Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior, quisiera compartir con ustedes el siguiente mito muisca
Taking into account the foregoing, I would like to share with you the following Muisca myth
Captions 19-20, Aprendiendo con Carlos - América precolombina - El mito de Bachué
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On the contrary, the expression hacer de cuenta, means "to pretend":
Entonces, haz de cuenta están hablando ellos...
So, pretend they are talking...
Caption 16, Amigos D.F. - Consejos para la calle
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As you can see, this expression is frequently used in the imperative mode:
Pero hagamos de cuenta que es profundísimo.
But let's pretend that it is very deep.
Caption 33, Salvando el planeta Palabra - Llegada - Part 8
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Let's continue our lesson about the most common ways to say “I'm sorry” in Spanish. Thank you to everybody who sent us feedback and suggestions about this lesson!
We discussed the expression lo siento (I'm sorry) in our previous lesson. Let's now focus on the use and meaning of perdóna[me] and discúlpa[me]. As we mentioned before, these two words have a clear and very distinctive apologetic nature and both translate as "I'm sorry," given the appropriate context.
Ay... ¡perdón! ¡Perdón!
Oh... sorry! Sorry!
Caption 21, Amigos D.F. - Consejos para la calle
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Te recuerdo, no me digas así porque no lo soporto. Ay, disculpa.
I remind you, don't call me that because I can't deal with it. Oh, sorry.
Captions 30-31, NPS No puede ser - 1 - El concurso - Part 3
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Remember that perdón and disculpa are also nouns that mean "forgiveness" and "excuse" respectively. So you can say te pido perdón (I ask your forgiveness) or te pido disculpas (literally "I ask you to excuse me"):
Y si he fallado en algo, te pido perdón
And if I have failed in something, I ask your forgiveness
Caption 11, Enrique Iglesias - Mentiroso
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¿Ya, contento? Te pido disculpas.
Happy now? I beg your forgiveness.
Captions 67-68, Yago - 3 La foto - Part 8
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But by simply saying perdón or disculpa you are actually using these words as verbs in the imperative form, just like "forgive me" and "excuse me" in English. That's made more evident when you attach the personal pronoun me as a suffix to either perdón or disculpa, which is very common (and adds a personal touch to the expression):
¡Qué mala onda, perdóname!
Jeez, forgive me!
Caption 2, Verano Eterno - Fiesta Grande - Part 5
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Pero, discúlpame, amiga.
But, sorry, friend.
Caption 15, Sofy y Caro - Entrevistar para un trabajo
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You may want to know that even though both perdóname and discúlpame can be translated as "I'm sorry," there are subtle differences between them. In general, perdón is seen as a more heartfelt apology, and more personal. So, thoughtful people who really value precision reserve it for occasions in which they made an actual mistake, personally hurt somebody, etc. Saying disculpa or discúlpame is seen as more casual. Perhaps that's why disculpa is preferred as a simple polite expression equivalent to "excuse me" or "pardon me," phrases that don't necessarily imply you've made a mistake. Remember that, depending on your personal preference and the context, you may want to address people politely by saying (usted) disculpe or discúlpeme:
Disculpe, ¿y usted quién es?
Excuse me, and who are you?
Caption 39, NPS No puede ser - 1 - El concurso - Part 4
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Mi nombre es Crista Pérez...
My name is Crista Perez...
y soy estudiante de economía.
and I am a student of economics.
Captions 1-2, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana - Crista Pérez
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Mi nombre es David del Valle.
My name is David del Valle.
Tengo veintiún años y soy estudiante de negocios internacionales.
I'm twenty-one years old and I'm a student of international business.
Captions 1-2, Amigos D.F. - Consejos para la calle
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Yo ya sé que Andrea es una tonta por estar celosa de una sirvienta.
I know that Andrea is silly for being jealous of a maid.
Caption 54, Muñeca Brava - 41 La Fiesta
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The same is true for nouns for roles or professions that end in a: el/la contrabandista (the smuggler), el/la policía (the police officer), el/la turista (the tourist), el/la baterista (the drummer), el/la artista (the artist). Notice how both circus artist Francisco Javier and Colombian TV star Natalia Oreiro refer to themselves as artista, but change the article based on their respective genders.
Sí, tú sabes que con el tiempo uno llega a ser un artista completo.
Yes, you know that with time you become a complete artist.
Caption 26, Circo Infantil de Nicaragua - Learning the Trade
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...porque yo ya me creía una artista de verdad.
...since I believed myself to be a real artist.
Caption 75, Biografía - Natalia Oreiro
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El canal de aire debe tener un tope.
The air channel should have a cap.
Caption 27, Instrumentos musicales - Ocarinas
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...quiere decir que está a tope, lleno.
...means that it's to the top, full.
Caption 27, Burgos - Chistes y un dicho chistoso
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Toparás con un par de secretarias pendejas
You'll bump into a couple of stupid secretaries
Caption 30, Molotov - Hit Me
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Topar also appears in the expression toparse con algo (to bump into something), as we see here used by our buddies in Mexico City discussing pedestrian etiquette:
Aquí les va un ejemplo de lo que pueden hacer si se
Here goes an example of what you can do if you
topan con ciertas circunstancias.
bumped into certain circumstances.
Captions 10-11, Amigos D.F. - Consejos para la calle
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One of the very first things a student of Spanish or any language learns is how to count. So, what comes after veinte (twenty)? Veintiuno! (Twenty-one!) Simple, right? So listen to this young man from Mexico introduce himself in front of the video camera:
Hola, ¿cómo están? Mi nombre es David del Valle. Tengo veintiún años y soy estudiante de negocios internacionales.
Hi, how are you? My name is David del Valle. I'm twenty-one years old and I'm a student of international business.
Captions 1-2, Amigos D.F. - Consejos para la calle
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So where did the "o" at the end of veintiuno go? As it turns out, "veintiuno" is on a short list of Spanish words that lose their last, unstressed syllable when they come before certain nouns. [To get technical, we're talking about "apocope," (apócope in Spanish) defined as "the loss of one or more sounds or letters at the end of a word" (Merriam-Webster).]
Remember, when nothing follows the number 21, every syllable is pronounced:
¿Cuántos años tiene David?
Veintiuno.
How old is David?
Twenty-one.
But when 21 is followed by a masculine noun or feminine noun that begins with a stressed "a" or a stressed "ha" sound -- it loses that final "o" and an accent mark is added to keep the stress on the "ú." For example:
David tiene veintiún años.
David is twenty-one years old.
El pobrecito tiene veintiún granos.
The poor kid has twenty-one pimples.
La caja tiene veintiún hachas.
The box has twenty-one axes.
When 21 is followed by a feminine noun that does not begin with a stressed "a" or "ha" sound, the final "o" in veintiuno becomes an "a," giving us veintiuna, for example veintiuna chicas (twenty-one girls) or veintiuna sillas (twenty-one chairs).
El libro tiene veintiuna páginas.
The book has twenty-one pages.
[Note: It is not at all uncommon to hear this rule as it pertains to feminine nouns being "broken" by native Spanish speakers. For example, the Spanish pop group "21 Japonesas" (21 Japanese Girls) is often called "Veintiún Japonesas" by broadcasters, much to the dismay of language watchdogs.]
The number "one" ("uno") and any other number that ends with "one" follows the same pattern, so it's "ochenta y uno" without a noun following the number, but ochenta y un años or ochenta y una reglas ("eighty-one rules"). [Note that no accent mark is needed for the u in un since there could be no confusion regarding which syllable to stress in the one syllable word.]
Other common words that drop endings before certain nouns include "ciento -> cien" ("100"), "bueno -> buen" ("good"), and "santo -> san" ("saint"). There is a more extensive list of apocopes in Spanish here.
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