What has brought you to this article? You may be an aspiring Spanish instructor or simply a smart person looking for typical blunders in learning Spanish before attempting to learn it, right?
I expect you to be the latter.
So, if you’re an English native speaker, Spanish is a very difficult language to learn and master, and it’s not unusual to make frequent grammar errors in Spanish.
Why?
English and Spanish are read and spoken in quite distinct styles and manners. That alone may influence how you read and pronounce the language.
So, without any further ado, let’s get this party started.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is the most critical component of learning a language, whether it’s Spanish or learning to talk like a Native American. Because many languages are derived from Latin, most words are the same or nearly so.
But that doesn’t imply they’re pronounced the same way.
The Spanish letter “R” and the English letter “R”
One of the most frequent errors in learning Spanish is pronouncing the letter “R.” The Spanish “R” is correctly pronounced by putting your tongue behind your front teeth and making a vibrating “R” sound.
The English “R” is the polar opposite; you want your tongue away from your teeth to prevent generating the vibrating sound you create when pronouncing, right?
This is a typical error while learning Spanish; you should practise vibrating your tongue behind your teeth; it will help you pronounce the Spanish “R.”
Adjective placement before a noun
This is one of the most typical grammar errors made by new Spanish students. Forget about English sentence structure guidelines, we’re studying Spanish here.
The most common errors with this are noted below.
“Hot water” is how we phrase it in English.
In Spanish, the reverse is true! you say “Agua caliente.”
Another example is:
“Wash in hot water” is an English phrase; if you want to express that in Spanish, you don’t say it “Lavar con caliente agua“. The right way to phrase it is “Lavar con agua caliente“.
Do you notice how English and Spanish are reversed? Try not to screw this up, and you may be able to advance from the “Beginner” level a little bit.
Correct word usage
The most foolish thing to do while learning a new language is to expect that any given term has the same meaning as an English one. You wouldn’t want to make your Spanish audience laugh all day, would you?
Purchase a Spanish dictionary to educate yourself on these often-misunderstood Spanish terms. But, to make things easier for you, here’s a list of commonly misunderstood terms.
This is one of many typical blunders in Spanish learning. For this reason, Spanish students all around the globe misuse these terms.
- Mejor – Often confused with the English term Major, which is ludicrous. In Spanish, this term means “better.”
- Alegre – You may believe that this is the Spanish term for alligator! You, my friend, are incorrect. This word means “joyful.”
- Cerrar – often misunderstood as carrier or career; certainly, if you used it in your speech, it would end your career. In Spanish, the term means “cerrar.”
- Nubes – Maybe you assume this is where the term “Noobies” comes from. Wrong! In Spanish, this term signifies “clouds.”
- Universidad – Probably clear to others, you’d believe this term implies Universe, right? My dear reader, it means “college” and “university”.
- Tallar – Doesn’t it sound like “teller” or “tailor”? Wrong! In Spanish, this term means “carve.”
It’s not a large list of often misunderstood Spanish terms, but it could help you out a little.
Practice!
Last but not least, the most crucial consideration in learning a new language. This may be clear at this point for you guys who are learning a new language.
Practice is essential while learning a new language, whether it be Spanish, English, or even Latin. As they say, practice makes perfect.
Yes, absolutely.
Just keep in mind that the pronunciation of the Spanish “R” differs significantly from that of the English “R.”
Another consideration is correct word use. You should practise it as well since you could utilise your Spanish one day and talk to a Spanish audience, and you don’t want to be laughed at, do you?
Also, of course! The ideal approach to practise Spanish is to locate a Spanish friend, much better if they are a natural Spanish speaker, so you can have a great time studying Spanish together.
Speaking in front of a mirror may be beneficial, but it would be worthless if you were speaking to yourself, right?
You wouldn’t know whether you were saying or pronouncing it properly, would you? This is the most crucial aspect of all. P.R.A.C.T.I.C.E.! Alternatively, you can use iScribo to practise your Spanish online. It will hold you by hand and make your Spanish learning curve exponential.
