DIFFICULT ENGLISH GRAMMAR TOPICS FOR SPEAKERS OF SPANISH
Because Spanish and English share a lot of vocabulary but differ structurally, Spanish-speaking learners often transfer Spanish rules into English. Some of the most common trouble spots are:
ARTICLES
Spanish and English use articles differently, and Spanish uses definite articles in some contexts where English uses no article.
Common issues:
• Using 'the' when English doesn't need an article
• Omitting 'a/an'
• Confusing 'a' vs. 'the'
Examples:
❌ The life is difficult.
✅ Life is difficult.
❌ She is engineer.
✅ She is an engineer.
❌ I like the dogs (meaning dogs in general)
✅ I like dogs.
SUBJECT PRONOUNS (DROPPING THEM)
Spanish is a pro-drop language; English is not. English always needs a subject.
Examples:
❌ Is raining.
✅ It is raining.
❌ Went to the store.
✅ I went to the store.
VERB TENSES (ESP. SIMPLE PAST VS. PRESENT PERFECT)
Past-time choices in Spanish and English do not line up one-to-one, and usage varies by region in both languages. Learners may therefore transfer a Spanish tense choice directly into English.
Common issues:
Examples:
❌ I have seen that movie yesterday.
✅ I saw that movie yesterday.
❌ I live here since 2020.
✅ I have lived here since 2020.
USING 'DO' (IN QUESTIONS & NEGATIVES)
Spanish doesn't use a dummy verb like 'do', so this feels unnatural.
Examples:
❌ You like coffee?
✅ Do you like coffee?
❌ I no understand.
✅ I do not understand.
ADJECTIVE PLACEMENT
Many Spanish adjectives commonly follow the noun, whereas English attributive adjectives normally come before it.
Examples:
❌ A house big
✅ A big house
❌ The car red is mine
✅ The red car is mine
WORD ORDER IN QUESTIONS
Spanish does not use English-style do-support and can form questions with different word-order patterns; English normally requires an auxiliary before the subject.
Examples:
❌ What you are doing?
✅ What are you doing?
❌ Where you went yesterday?
✅ Where did you go yesterday?
COUNTABLE VS. UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Some nouns that are countable in Spanish are uncountable in English.
Examples:
❌ Many informations
✅ Much information
❌ Two advices
✅ Two pieces of advice
PREPOSITIONS
Spanish prepositions often don't correspond to English ones and are often confused.
Examples:
❌ Married with
✅ Married to
❌ Depend of
✅ Depend on
❌ In Monday
✅ On Monday
FALSE FRIENDS
Words that look similar but don't mean the same thing can cause sneaky errors.
Examples:
❌ Actually (used to mean currently)
✅ Actually = in fact
❌ Assist to a meeting
✅ Attend a meeting
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