COMMON CHALLENGES FOR SPANISH-SPEAKING LEARNERS

OF ENGLISH
GRAMMAR Emily has been to Paris. (She is back.)
Emily has gone to Paris. (She is still in Paris.)
Question words
Grammar Extra Unit 2.1 Exercise 1.
Spanish students oen make mistakes when forming
questions that begin with Who or What. Remember that
when Who or What is the subject, we do not use the The future
interrogative form of the verb. When Who or What refers to In English the rules for speaking about the future are more
the predicate, we must use the corresponding auxiliary verb. rigid than in Spanish. To make predictions, promises or
¿Quién fue a la reunión? → Who came to the meeting? NOT offers, or to announce spontaneous decisions, we use the
Who did come to the meeting? auxiliary will; to speak about decisions we have already
¿Con quién te reuniste? → Who did you meet with? NOT Who taken we use be going to. To speak about something
you met with? programmed or organised we use the present continuous.
It is also important to use the correct word order when using Voy a comprar un portátil nuevo pronto. → I’m going to buy a
auxiliary verbs to form questions. new laptop soon. NOT I will buy a new laptop soon.
¿A dónde fuiste ayer? → Where did you go yesterday? Te prometo que no voy a llegar tarde. → I promise I won’t be
NOT Where you did go yesterday? late. NOT I promise I am not going to be late.
¿Cómo lo pueden arreglar? → How can they fix it? NOT How Vamos a viajar a Praga el 22 de febrero. → We are travelling to
they can fix it? Prague on the 22nd February. NOT We will travel to Prague on
the 22nd February.
Grammar Extra Unit 1.1 Exercises 1 and 2.
Grammar Extra Unit 3.1 Exercises 1 and 2; Unit 3.2
Exercises 1 and 2.
Word order
The word order in English is more rigid than in Spanish and
must, have to and should
the normal order is: subject + verb + object.
No me gusta mucho tu chaqueta nueva OR Tu chaqueta nueva The difference between have to and must is oen confusing
no me gusta mucho. for Spanish speakers as both can express tener que hacer
algo. English uses must to impose an obligation and have to
I don’t like your new jacket very much. NOT Your new jacket I
to speak about an obligation. Should is used to give advice
don’t like very much.
or to recommend.
Grammar Extra Unit 1.2 Exercise 2; Unit 3.2 Exercise 1; Eric, tienes que tomar el jarabe. → Eric, you must take the syrup.
Unit 10.2 Exercises 2 and 3. Mañana tengo que levantarme a las 8 para coger el tren. → I
have to get up at 8 tomorrow to catch the train.
Present perfect and past simple Deberías hacer más deporte. → You should do more exercise.
Spanish students are oen confused about when to use Grammar Extra Unit 4.1 Exercises 1 and 2.
past simple and present perfect. In Spanish the present
perfect is compatible with expressions of finished time,
e.g. hace media hora. However, In English it is important used to and would
to distinguish between saying when the action happened The use of would can be confusing because it can be used in
(past simple), referring to an indefinite time in the past a conditional sentence but also to speak about past habitual
(present perfect) and speaking about an action that actions, in the same way as used to.
started in the past and continues in the present (present Cuando éramos niños, mi hermano y yo solíamos jugar al
perfect). fútbol casi todos los días. → When we were kids, my brother
He visto a tu hermano hace media hora. → I saw your brother and I would play football nearly every day. OR When we were
half an hour ago. NOT I have seen your brother half an hour ago. kids, my brother and I used to play football nearly every day.
Ella ha tocado el piano mucho esta mañana y ahora está Grammar Extra Unit 4.2 Exercises 1 and 2.
cansada. → She played the piano a lot this morning and now
she’s tired. NOT She has played the piano a lot this morning
and now she’s tired. Question tags
This can be a challenging point because it is more
Grammar Extra Unit 2.1 Exercises 1, 2 and 3. complicated than in Spanish. While in Spanish we can say
¿no? or ¿verdad? when we want to ask for confirmation,
been to and gone to in English we have to use the interrogative form of the
Been is when someone has travelled and come back whereas corresponding auxiliary verb. If the sentence is positive then
gone is used when that person is still there. It causes the question tag must be negative, and vice versa.
confusion because in Spanish the verb ir can be used for Lo comprará mañana, ¿no? → He will buy it tomorrow, won’t he?
both cases. No te gusta la merluza, ¿verdad? → You don’t like hake, do you?
Emily ha ido a Paris. (In Spanish we don’t really know if she
Grammar Extra Unit 5.2 Exercises 1, 2 and 3.
is back.)

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 Present perfect simple and continuous Verb patterns
In Spanish the present continuous or simple can be used to In English some verbs are followed by the -ing form of the
express that an activity started in the past and continues in verb and some by the infinitive. This can be a problem
the present but in English we must use the present perfect. for students because there is no rule. Some of the most
The present perfect continuous is used much more in important verbs followed by the -ing form are: mind, enjoy,
English than in Spanish and is used to emphasise that the like, hate, avoid, succeed in, be used to, finish.
action continues in the present. Evitó hablar del tema. → He avoided speaking about the
He leído la revista. → I have read the magazine. matter.
¿Cuánto tiempo llevas comiendo golosinas? → How long have Some common verbs that are followed by the infinitive form
you been eating sweets? NOT How long are you eating sweets? are: promise, offer, manage, intend, would like, mean, want.
Quieren terminar lo antes posible. → They want to finish as
Grammar Extra Unit 7.1 Exercises 1 and 2.
soon as possible.

Relative clauses Grammar Extra Unit 10.2 Exercises 1, 2 and 3.

In English, some relative clauses don’t require the use of a
relative pronoun where Spanish does. Also note that in non-
defining relative clauses we cannot use the pronoun that
and this can be very confusing for Spanish students. In these VOCABULARY
clauses, we use who for people and which for inanimate
objects, whereas in Spanish we can use que in both cases.
Collocations
Los altavoces que compré de segunda mano no funcionan. → Collocations are combinations of words which are frequently
The second-hand speakers (that/which) I bought don’t work. used by native speakers. Consequently, Spanish speakers
could sound unnatural if they don’t know how to use them.
La niña que ganó el premio tiene 5 años. → The girl who/that
Collocations with make and do cause many of the most
won the prize is 5 years old. NOT The girl which won the prize is
common mistakes.
5 years old.
Ana se ha cogido un constipado. → Ana has caught a cold.
Mi madre, que normalmente odia viajar, va a volar a Ibiza
NOT Ana has taken a cold.
mañana. → My mother, who that normally hates travelling, is
flying to Ibiza tomorrow. Tuve dos errores en el examen. → I made two mistakes in the
exam. NOT I did two mistakes in the exam.
Grammar Extra Unit 8.2 Exercises 1 and 2. Van a hacer dos nuevos experimentos. → They are going to do
two new experiments. NOT They are going to make two new
The passive voice experiments.
The passive voice is used more frequently in English than Vocabulary Extra Unit 1 Exercises 4, 5, 7 and 8; Unit 6
in Spanish. One reason is that there is no expression Exercise 5; Unit 9 Exercises 4, 5 and 7.
equivalent to se hace, se vendió, etc. so the passive voice is
used in these cases. It is important to conjugate the verb be
Dependent prepositions
correctly to indicate the tense of the action.
Están construyendo un rascacielos. → A skyscraper is being English and Spanish prepositions do not correspond exactly
built. (Present continuous) and this is a major challenge for Spanish students.
Aquí se habla italiano. → Italian is spoken here. (Present ¡Nunca llegas a la hora! → You are never on time!
simple) Vamos a dar un paseo. → Let’s go for a walk.
Tu padre está muy orgulloso de ti. → Your father is really proud
Grammar Extra Unit 9.2 Exercises 1 and 2. of you.
Vocabulary Extra Unit 2 Exercises 2, 3 and 7; Unit 7
Reported speech Exercises 7 and 9.
The use of tell and say can be a major difficulty in reported
speech because English has two verbs for the Spanish verb
decir. Use the verb say if we do not include the listener in
Expressions with say and tell.
the sentence and the verb tell when we include the listener. There are some fixed expressions with the verbs say and tell
In Spanish we normally use the verb contar or decir equally that are oen a major difficulty because there isn’t a rule
whereas in English the structure of the sentence is different that explains which verb to use.
if we use one verb or the other. ¿Alguna vez has dicho una mentira? → Have you ever told a lie?
Dijo que traería la bebida. → He said that he would bring some NOT Have you ever said a lie?
drinks. Dijo adiós llorando. → He said goodbye crying. NOT He told
Me dijo que traería la bebida. → He told me that he would goodbye crying.
bring some drinks.
Vocabulary Extra Unit 2 Exercise 6.
Grammar Extra Unit 10.1 Exercises 1 and 2.

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 Idioms Multi-word verbs (phrasal verbs)
Some idioms can be difficult for Spanish students because Phrasal verbs can be difficult to learn because their meaning
they are fixed expressions with meanings that are not is oen unguessable for Spanish speakers.
usually obvious. Sometimes the context can help with Después de estar un rato llorando, se calmó. → Aer having
understanding the meaning. been crying for a while, he settled down.
Arreglar la bici fue pan comido. → Fixing the bike was a piece Finalmente, se han establecido en Manchester. → Finally, they
of cake. have settled down in Manchester.
¡Siempre das en el clavo! → You always hit the nail on the head! ¡No te rindas, lo puedes hacer! → Don’t give up, you can do it!
Vocabulary Extra Unit 3 Exercises 3 and 4. Vocabulary Extra Unit 6 Exercises 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9.

The verb get Prefixes

The verb get has multiple meanings and there isn’t a single English and Spanish prefixes do not correspond exactly,
verb in Spanish that covers all the meanings. Consequently, which oen results in students making mistakes.
this is one of the verbs which causes lots of confusion Es inusual que la peluquería esté cerrada a esta hora. → It is
among Spanish speakers. unusual that the hairdresser is closed at this time.
Estaremos en contacto pronto. → We will get in touch soon. La habitación está limpia pero desordenada. → The room is
Estás mejorando muy rápido. → You are getting better really clean but untidy.
quickly.
Vocabulary Extra Unit 10 Exercises 3, 4, 7 and 8.
Vocabulary Extra Unit 3 Exercises 6 and 7.

Confusing words
Some words are confusing for Spanish speakers for different PRONUNCIATION
reasons. Some are ‘false friends’ which do not translate
literally. Others have different meanings (e.g. banco) and
Silent letters
each meaning is expressed by a different word in English. English has got a higher number of silent letters than
Actualmente estoy estudiando ciencias. → Currently I’m Spanish and these letters can cause lots of pronunciation
studying sciences. NOT Actually I’m studying science. mistakes.
Recuérdame que coja las llaves. → Remind me to take the keys. Creo que estudiaré ciencias en la Universidad. → I think I will
NOT Remember me to take the keys. study science /ˈsaɪəns/ at university. (Silent C)
Han perdido el avión. → They’ve missed the plane. NOT They Aunque también estoy interesado en psicología. → Although I
have lost the plane. am also interested in psychology /saɪˈkɒlədʒi/. (Silent P)

Vocabulary Extra Unit 4 Exercises 4 and 5. Pronunciation Extra Unit 1 Exercises 1A, 1B and 1C; Unit 2
Exercise 2A.

Suffixes
Verbs and nouns with the same form
Forming nouns from adjectives in English can be problematic
for Spanish speakers because the Spanish ending does not Sometimes a verb and a noun have the same form but with
always indicate which suffix to use in English. different pronunciations. This can be difficult for Spanish
Puedo ver la felicidad en sus ojos. → I can see happiness in his speakers who tend to pronounce these words identically.
eyes. La exportación de jamón a China era ilegal. → The export (Oo)
Ha sido una gran mejora. → It has been a great improvement. of ham to China was illegal.
Nos gustaría exportar naranjas a Chile. → We would like to
Vocabulary Extra Unit 5 Exercises 5, 7, 8 and 9. export (oO) oranges to Chile.
¡Qué regalo tan bonito! → What a nice present! (Oo).
-ing/-ed adjectives Quieren que presente el premio. → They want me to present
Many adjectives in English have two forms: one ending in (oO) the prize.
-ing and the other ending in -ed (e.g. tiring – tired). Choosing Pronunciation Extra Unit 1 Exercises 4A and 4B.
the correct form is oen confusing for Spanish speakers.
Try to remember that adjectives ending in -ing describe
characteristics of something/somebody while adjectives The schwa sound
ending in -ed, describe feelings. While Spanish vowels are always pronounced in the same
Qué música más relajante, me encanta. → What relaxing way, unstressed vowels in English are usually pronounced
music, I love it. NOT What relaxed music, I love it. with the weak form schwa /ə/. This sound is especially
Después de escuchar música, me siento muy relajado. → Aer difficult to pronounce for Spanish speakers but necessary to
listening to some music I feel really relaxed. NOT Aer listening sound natural as it is extremely common.
to some music I feel really relaxing. El museo está a 1 km. → The museum /mjuːˈziːəm/ is 1 km
away. /əˈweɪ/
Vocabulary Extra Unit 6 Exercises 1 and 2.

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 Varios políticos han sido arrestados. → Several /ˈsevrəl/ pronounced. This can be a challenge for Spanish speakers
politicians /ˌpɒlɪˈtɪʃənz/ have been arrested. /əˈrestɪd/ because in Spanish sounds don’t change in fast speech.
Mark solía estudiar mucho más. → Mark used to /ˈjuːstə/ study
Pronunciation Extra Unit 2 Exercises 4A and 4B. a lot more.
Deberías ser más cuidadoso → You should be /ˈʃʊbɪ/ more
Weak forms in auxiliary verbs careful.
English auxiliary verbs are also oen pronounced with the
Pronunciation Extra Unit 4 Exercises 1A and 1B; Unit 6
weak form /ə/ and this can make listening difficult for Exercises 2A, 2B and 2C.
Spanish speakers and make speaking sound unnatural.
¿Qué estabas buscando? → What were /wə/ you looking for?
Weak forms in passive sentences
Tom ya había visto la película. → Tom had /həd/ already seen
the film. It is important to remember that the verb to be is
pronounced as a weak form in passive sentences so that
¿Qué has hecho? → What have /ˈwɑtəv/ you done?
your English will sound more natural.
Pronunciation Extra Unit 2 Exercises 1, 3A and 3B; Unit 7 Decían que era muy mal estudiante. → It was /wəz/ said that
Exercises 1A and 1B; Unit 9 Exercises 2A, 2B and 2C. he was a really bad student.
Creo que fueron pintados por Frida Kahlo. → I think they were
Intonation /wə/ painted by Frida Kahlo.
When a question begins with a Wh- word, the intonation Pronunciation Extra Unit 9 Exercises 3A and 3B.
falls at the end of the question. However, when the question
begins with an auxiliary verb, the intonation rises at the end.
Using the correct intonation for question tags in English can Stress on prefixes
be problematic for Spanish students because sometimes While in Spanish we pronounce every part of a word clearly,
the intonation rises and other times it falls. If the speaker is in English prefixes are usually unstressed so we stress the
not sure of the facts and is asking for confirmation, then the root word.
intonation rises. However, if the speaker is sure of the facts Los niños suelen desobedecer a sus padres. → Children tend to
and is only making conversation, the intonation falls. disobey (ooO) their parents.
¡Es imposible llegar a tiempo! → It’s impossible (oOoo) to be
¿A qué hora te acostaste? → What time did you go to bed? on time!
Pronunciation Extra Unit 10 Exercises 2A and 2B.
¿Te gustó el concierto? → Did you enjoy the concert?

You haven’t seen Vince today, have you? (Not sure – rising Long and short vowel sounds
intonation) In general, in Spanish all vowels take the same length
of time when pronouncing them but English has short
It’s really cold today, isn’t it? (Sure – falling intonation) vowels and long vowels and we must differentiate the
pronunciation of these to avoid misunderstandings and to
Pronunciation Extra Unit 1 Exercises 2A and 2B: Unit 5 sound natural.
Exercises 2A and 2B. ¿Dónde deja ella sus llaves? → Where does she leave /li:v/ her
keys? (Long vowel sound)
Stress shi on nouns ¿Dónde vive ella? → Where does she live? /lɪv/ (Short vowel
With many English words the position of the stress changes sound)
when we add a suffix to an adjective in order to form a
Pronunciation Extra Unit 10 Exercises 4A and 4B.
noun, which can result in Spanish speakers not pronouncing
words correctly.
Todos los alumnos han aprobado el examen de biología. → All
the students have passed the biology (oOoo) exam.
Sudar es una respuesta biológica del cuerpo. → Sweating is a
WRITING
biological (ooOoo) body response. Formal and informal expressions
¡Me llamó estúpido! → He called me stupid! (Oo). When writing formal and informal emails, Spanish speakers
No te enfades por esa estupidez. → Don’t get angry because of must be aware of inappropriate expressions and incorrect or
that stupidity (oOoo). literal translations.
Pronunciation Extra Unit 5 Exercises 3A, 3B and 3C. Estimado…… → Dear ….. (formal)
¡Hola! → Hi! (informal)
Connected speech in modals Esperando recibir noticias suyas → I look forward to hearing
from you (formal)
In fast speech the pronunciation of many words may change
a little, e.g. to is usually pronounced /tə/. Also, when a word Nos vemos pronto → See you soon (informal)
finishes with a consonant and the next word begins with a Le saluda atentamente → Yours sincerely (formal)
consonant, the final consonant of the first word is oen not Te deseo lo mejor → All the best (informal)

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 Writing Extra Unit 1 Exercises 1, 2, 3 and 4. Si en un futuro próximo no encuentro un buen trabajo
probablemente me iré al extranjero. → If I don’t find a good job
in the near future, I will probably go abroad.
Time linkers
Linkers of time are important for writing, so students Writing Extra Unit 6 Exercises 4 and 5.
should know how to use them and if they are followed by
grammatical structures which are different from those used Relative pronouns
in Spanish. Relative pronouns are important to write more elaborate
Tan pronto como terminó, se quedó dormido. → As soon as he sentences. However, because in Spanish the pronoun que
finished, he fell asleep. can refer to both people and objects, students can confuse
Durante sus vacaciones, ganó algo de peso. → During her who, that and which in English. Be careful to spell which
holidays, she gained some weight. correctly.
Este libro, que es una nueva edición, te ayudará con la
Writing Extra Unit 2 Exercises 4 and 5.
gramática. → This book, which is a new edition, will help you
with grammar. NOT This book, wich/who is the new edition, will
Abbreviations help you with the grammar.
Native speakers oen use abbreviated forms when writing
informal messages and notes, e.g. omitting auxiliary verbs, Writing Extra Unit 8 Exercises 2 and 3.
articles and prepositions, or using short forms which omit
vowels or have the same sound as a longer word. Obviously Writing suggestions
this can present a challenge for Spanish speakers. Spanish students oen make mistakes when using the verb
Tengo un regalo para ti. → Gotta present 4 u. (I’ve got a suggest because the Spanish structure is different and there
present for you.) is a tendency to translate it too literally. In English we must
Vuelve lo antes posible. → Come back asap. (Come back as not put an object pronoun aer suggest. We can follow the
soon as possible.) verb suggest with that + a subject pronoun (that is optional).
Sugiero que cambiemos la contraseña. → I suggest (that)
Writing Extra Unit 3 Exercises 2 and 3.
we change the password. NOT I suggest us to change the
password.
Punctuation
Writing Extra Unit 8 Exercise 4.
There are some differences between English and Spanish
punctuation. One of the main differences is the use of the
colon, in Spanish, when starting a letter and the use of the Time sequencers
comma in numerals. Using time sequencers to link ideas makes writing more
Estimado Sr. López: (colon in Spanish) → Dear Mr. López, ordered, cohesive and interesting to read. However, students
(comma in English) oen make mistakes by translating too literally from
2,04 (comma in Spanish) → 2.04 (point in English) Spanish.
En primer lugar, este tema es muy controvertido. → In the first
Writing Extra Unit 4 Exercises 2 and 3. place, this is a very controversial topic. NOT In first place, this is
a very controversial topic.
Starting and finishing formal letters Vi una película y después me fui a la cama. → I watched a film
In English, when we begin a formal letter with Dear + the and aer that, I went to bed. NOT I watched a film and aer I
person’s name, at the end of the letter we write Yours went to bed.
sincerely + our name. However, if we begin with Dear Sir/
Writing Extra Unit 9 Exercises 3 and 4.
Madam, we finish the letter with Yours faithfully + our name.
Estimado Mr. Dougan: … Atentamente, Robert Smith → Dear
Mr Dougan, … Yours sincerely, Robert Smith. Capitalisation
Estimado señor: … Atentamente, Robert Smith → Dear Sir, … Some rules about capitalisation are different in English and
Yours faithfully, Robert Smith. Spanish. For example, in English when writing the title of
a book or film, all the words are capitalised except articles
Writing Extra Unit 1 Exercises 2 and 3. and conjunctions. In addition, nationalities, languages,
ethnic groups, months and cardinal points are capitalised in
Writing about the future English.
When writing about future events and the probable future, Me encanta la película Bailando con lobos. → I love the film
use will and will probably. It is also important to know some Dances with Wolves.
useful expressions related to the future time to avoid Los masáis viven en África. → The Maasai tribe live in Africa.
mistakes.
Writing Extra Units 1–10.
En dos años se celebrará aquí el festival de cine. → In two
years’ time, the film festival will be held here.

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