Etiqueta blog: CommonMistakes

Hey buddies, sabemos que esto de aprender inglés a veces it’s complicated y aunque nos esforzamos por hablar correctamente es normal que se nos escapen algunos detalles y cometamos errores. Hoy os dejamos algunos de los errores en inglés más comunes para que los tengas identificados y no te vuelva a pasar.

Recuerda que al hablar de la edad en inglés lo hacemos con el verbo to be

 I have 31 years old.
 I am 31 years old.

Algo parecido nos pasa con el verb to be born, en inglés born necesita el verbo to be

 I born in 1987.
 I was born in 1987.

En una pregunta sería

 When did you born?
 When were you born?

Con los comparativos y los superlativos también nos liamos

 It’s more easier than…
 It’s easier than…
 It’s more difficult than…

 It’s the better quality.
 It’s the best quality.
 It’s worst than the last one.
 It’s worse than the last one.

Recuerda que utilizamos -er than (comparativo) / the -est (superlativo) para adjetivos cortos y para adjetivos largos more than (comparativo) / the most … (superlativo). Cuidado con los irregulares:

good / better than / the best
bad / worse than / the worst

Ya que estamos con good / bad otro de los errores en ingles bastante común es confundir el uso de los adjetivos good-bad con los adverbios well-badly. El adverbio modifica al verbo, haces algo bien / mal pero el adjetivo indica que algo es bueno / malo

 He’s speaks English good.
 He’s speaks English well.
 His English is good, he speaks a good English.

 I slept bad last night.
 I slept badly last night.

 The mail was bad written.
 The mail was badly written.

 She cooks good.
 She cooks well, she’s a good cook.
 She cooks badly, she’s a bad cook.

Y hablando de adjetivos, los famosos adjetivos acabados en -ed /-ing suelen darnos algún que otro problemilla también

 I’m stressing at this job.
 I’m stressed because this job is stressing.
 It was a bored film.
 It was a boring film, I was really bored.
 Her idea was surprised.
 They were surprised by her idea.
 Her idea was surprising.

Recuerda que si algo es estresante (stressing) te estresa (you are stressed) o si es aburrido (boring) te aburre (you are /get bored). Otros adjetivos similares: excited- exciting, confusing- confused, annoyed-annoying, surprised- surprising…

Otro error frecuente es utilizar «to» con verbos modales.

 We can to go to the beach on Sunday.
 We can go to the beach on Sunday.
 They must to finish before Friday.
 They must finish before Friday.

No necesitamos usar «to» con verbos modales como can, could, must, should. Aunque es necesario si se trata de have to para expresar obligación (I have to finish before Friday).

A menudo para indicar propósito o finalidad usamos «to», no «for to»

 I went to the supermarket for to buy some fruits.
 I went to the supermarket to buy some fruits.
 They did it for to improve the presentation.
 They did it to improve the presentation.

En este caso, podríamos utilizar también «for» pero seguido de verbo -ing, aunque con «to» o incluso «in order to» el propósito queda mas claro

I went to the supermarket to buy / for buying some fruits.
They did it (in order) to improve the presentation.

Solemos cometer también errores en inglés con el uso de for, since, ago

 I’ve been working here since 2 years ago.
 I’ve been working here for 2 years.
 I’ve been working here since 2016.
 I started working here 2 years ago.

Usamos for + periodo de tiempo
since + punto en el tiempo
punto en el tiempo + ago (normalmente con pasado simple)

Más ejemplos con for, since, ago

 I’ve lived here for 5 years.
 I’ve lived here since 2013.
 I moved here 5 years ago.

 I got married 10 years ago.
 I’ve been married since 2008.
 I’ve been married for 10 years.

Y qué pasa con next / last o the next / the last ?

Usamos next / last cuando nos referimos a días, semanas, meses inmediatamente antes/después del momento en el que hablamos. Utilizamos the next/the last cuando no están relacionados con el momento en el que hablamos o necesitamos dar más detalles, observa estos ejemplos:

 I will meet you the next weekend.
 I will meet you next weekend.
 I will meet you the next weekend I visit your city.

 We went on holiday the last month.
 We went on holiday last month.
 The last month we went on holiday was in January.

 Are you working the next week?
 Are you working next week?
 I’ll be working on a new project the next week after my holiday.

Utilizar el orden correcto en las frases es otro de los errores en inglés y un aspecto al que necesitamos prestarle atención por ejemplo

Con los adverbios de frecuencia, sobre todo con usually y always.

La posición de los adverbios de frecuencia es antes del verbo principal, entre el verbo auxiliar y el verbo principal o después del verbo to be, atento a los siguientes ejemplos de uso

 Always I visit my parents at the weekend.
 I always visit my parents at the weekend.
 She always have lived in Seville.
 She have always lived in Seville.
 He always is late for the meetings.
 He is always late for the meetings.

 Usually I finish work at 19p.m.
 I usually finish work at 19p.m.
 They usually don’t watch tv.
 They don’t usually watch tv.
 I am at home usually in the evenings.
 I’m usually at home in the evenings.

Con probably, solemos utilizarlo al comienzo de una frase aunque en inglés, en general, sigue las normas de los adverbios de frecuencia

 Probably I will go to the cinema next Sunday.
 I will probably go to the cinema next Sunday.
 Probably I won’t be free until later.
 I will probably not be free until later.
 I won’t probably be free until later.

Con las frases negativas como

 I know not the answer.
 I not know the answer.
 I don’t know the answer.

 I don’t have time.
 I don’t have any time.
 I have no time.
 I don’t have nothing.
 I don’t have anything.
 I have nothing.

Las negativas en inglés son un poco «tricky» porque no se utiliza una doble negativa (I don’t have nothing) aunque sí es necesasrio a veces usar «any» si el verbo auxiliar va en negativa (particularmente con palabras como nothing, anything, nobody, anybody)

Estructurar frases en el orden correcto en las preguntas, que es donde más nos cuesta, es especialmente complicadillo y uno de los errores en inglés más frecuente

 Where did you went yesterday?
 Where did you go yesterday?
 When Rose has come?
 When has Rose come?

En casos como los de estos ejemplos, el auxiliar es el que marca el tiempo verbal (did, has) no el verbo principal que no necesita cambios.

En general la fórmula para construir preguntas es:

Question Word + Auxiliary Verb + Subject + Main Verb + Other

Aquí hay además otro tema, el de la concordancia, la conjugación de los verbos en inglés es relativamente sencilla, pero ojo con la tercera persona del singular en presente, de ésta hay que acordarse sí o sí

 He checks his mails every hour.
 She doesn’t need help.
 Does he play golf?
 It has to be a very good plan.

Otra estructura que nos suele dar dolor de cabeza es cuando indicamos que queremos que alguien haga algo

 I want that you send this mail.
 I want you to send this mail.
 I would like that you help me with this.
 I would like you to help me with this.

En inglés se utiliza una estructura diferente, porque es necesario incluir quién es la persona que queremos que haga algo por nosotros y ponemos el pronombre personal de objeto directo en el medio de los dos verbos, es decir

I want + someone + to do something

En lugar de «want» podemos encontrar otros verbos: would like to, need, ask, tell…
Veamos más ejemplos

 I would like her to call me later.
 I need them to finish as soon as possible.
 I asked him to organise everything.
 I would like you to give a presentation.

Y hasta aquí algunos errores inglés que cometemos todos los English learners en algún momento u otro así que no estás solo si te identificas con alguno de ellos. Algunos de los que hemos visto pueden resultar más complejos de asimilar pero intenta corregirlos poco a poco. Hay más, por supuesto, de hecho, aquí tienes otros 30 common mistakes de los que ya hablamos en otro post, pero tranquilo iremos viendo más en próximos posts para ir mejorando poco a poco 😉

Espero que al menos estos hayan quedado claros, y recuerda que si tienes dudas puedes dejarnos un comentario.

 

Hey buddies! En el post de hoy repasamos la forma correcta de utilizar el verbo arrive en inglés para decir «llegar a un lugar». Un error muy frecuente es decir «arrive to» pero no es correcto porque esta construcción no existe.

Estos son algunos ejemplos de uso correcto e incorrecto:

 They arrived to London last week.
 They arrived in London last week.
 I’ll arrive to the bus station on time.
 I’ll arrive at the bus station on time.
 She arrived to the office early in the morning.
 She arrived at the office early in the morning.
 We arrived to home very late last night.
 We arrived home very late last night.

Para empezar, deberíamos olvidarnos de usar arrive to porque como hemos comentado, esta estructura no se usa en inglés PORQUE NO EXISTE. La siguiente cuestión es ¿Cuándo utilizamos arrive in y arrive at? Muy sencillo

Olvídate de usar arrive to, esta estructura no se usa en inglés PORQUE NO EXISTE.Haz click para twittear

Usamos arrive at para referirnos a lugares más pequeños o como punto de referencia (como por ejemplo, aeropuertos, hoteles, estaciones, restaurantes, oficina, edificios, eventos…)

E.g.
We arrived at the museum before the closing time.
She will arrive at the hotel late in the evening.
When they arrived at the station, the train had already left.
He is not going to arrive at the office on time for the meeting.

Usamos arrive in para referirnos a lugares o areas más extensas (por ejemplo ciudades o países)

E.g.
My flight arrives in New York at 10 a.m.
They arrived in Rome last Friday.
When did you arrive in Spain?
Many people are arriving in our country these days.

Podemos utilizar arrive on sólo si queremos indicar días o fechas

E.g.
My sister is arriving on the 19th.
They will arrive on Saturday morning.
Are you finally arriving on Tuesday?

Hay también alternativas donde sí podemos usar la preposición to, la más sencilla suele ser get to a place

E.g.
Did you get to the restaurant with the indications I gave you?
I couldn’t get to the art exhibition.
What time did they get to Lisbon, to the office, to the party?

Para decir «llegar a casa» no es necesario utilizar preposición con arrive o con get

E.g.
I arrived home very late last night.
He will get home next Friday.
Did they get home early?

En resumen, para decir «llegar a un lugar», NO UTILIZAMOS ARRIVE TO sino arrive at / in y si nos liamos, como alternativa podemos utilizar get to.

Esperamos que haya quedado claro como usar el verbo arrive y no cometas más este common mistake. Además como sabemos que te gusta ver dónde metemos la pata los hispanohablantes, te dejamos este otro post con otros 30 errores comunes que solemos cometer.

 

Fun y funny son palabras que usamos muy a menudo cuando hablamos en inglés. Tienen significados parecidos aunque estas palabras nos resultan confusas cuando las tenemos que utilizar en una frase.

Common mistakes:

 My weekend was funny, I had a funny time with my friends.
 My weekend was fun. I had a fun time with my friends.

 Our trip to London was funny and exciting, we did lots of funny activities.
 Our trip to London was fun and exciting, we did lots of fun activities.

 We went to see a comedian, he was really fun.
 We went to see a comedian, he was really funny.

¿Cuál es la diferencia entre fun y funny?

Fun es un nombre incontable (uncountable noun) que significa que algo nos hacer sentir bien y disfrutar, o lo que es lo mismo «you enjoy doing it» «you have a good time doing it»

E.g.
We had so much fun together at the theatre.
It was fun to go to a theme park with all my friends.
Playing games is not my idea of fun.
Time flies when you are having fun.
Have fun!

Fun también se utiliza como adjetivo de manera informal, sobre todo en inglés hablado (informal spoken English)

E.g.
It was a fun day with all my friends. We did lots of fun activities and we had a great time.
Jake is a fun guy, I always have a good time with him.

El comparativo y superlativo de fun en este caso sería:

Riding a bicycle is more fun than skating.
Travelling is one of the most fun things you can do.

Funny es un adjetivo que significa divertido, porque algo te hace reír, «it makes you laugh» (pueder ser una persona o una situación, una broma…)

E.g.
We watched a comedy last weekend, it was really funny, we laughed a lot.
We all laughed when he started telling jokes, he’s a funny comedian.
Do you know any funny jokes?
I find some comedians very funny.
A funny thing happened in the office the other day.
Jake is a funny guy (he makes me laugh)

El comparativo y superlativo de funny sería:

His new book is funnier than the previous ones.
She’s the funniest person I know, she knows many jokes.

Se puede usar fun y funny también en frases negativas

E.g.
Going to a dentist is not fun!
Doing a long boring exam is not fun.
Nobody laughed because his joke was not funny.
An accident is never funny. (Well, it’s not supposed to be funny)

Funny puede tener también el significado de extraño, sorprendente, inesperado o difícil de explicar (‘strange’, ‘surprising’, ‘unexpected’ or ‘difficult to explain or understand’)

She was wearing a funny hat (strange, weird).
That’s funny (strange, surprising), I think my glasses were here a minute ago.
I have this funny feeling that something is going to happen (difficult to explain).
This place smells funny (strange, weird).
He has some funny ideas about love (strange, difficult to understand)
What’s that funny noise (strange, unexpected)?

In short, en resumen

Fun things > make you happy / make you feel good.
Funny things / people > make you laugh.

Y ahora una pequeña prueba, a little test

Are the following situations fun or funny?

A party with your friends is…
A clown is…
Playing a game is…
Visiting new places is…
A friend tells you a great joke. The joke is…

VER RESPUESTAS CORRECTAS

A party with your friends is fun.
A clown is funny.
Playing a game is fun.
Visiting new places is fun.
A friend tells you a great joke. The joke is funny.

 

Bueno pues esperamos que os haya gustado el post and you had a fun time reading it. 😉

PD: si quieres conocer otros errores comunes que cometemos los hispano-hablantes te recomendamos este post 30 errores comunes en inglés que no debes cometer más

Be happy and have fun!

 

Hay verbos en inglés que nos resultan confusos (especialmente a los hispano hablantes) como say & tell porque son muy parecidos en significado, pero la manera de usarlos es diferente. En este post te lo dejamos claro para que no te confundas más con say & tell.

Donde más problemas solemos tener es cuando usamos el estilo indirecto (o reported speech) porque reproducimos el contenido de un mensaje, vaya, cuando hablamos de una conversación que tuvimos con otra persona: «y yo le dije, entonces él me dijo que ella le había dicho lo que nosotros le dijimos…» y aquí ya tenemos un lio montado, esto es un poco exagerado pero

Vamos a verlo paso a paso:

 He said me that he wasn’t interested in sports.
 He said that he wasn’t interested in sports.
 He said (to me) that he wasn’t interested in sports.
 He told to me that he wasn’t interested in sports.
 He told me that he wasn’t interested in sports.

Utilizamos say con la estructura say something / say that

E.g.
I said hello.
We said goodbye before leaving.
He said that he wasn’t interested in sports.
They said that they needed more time to make a decision.
She said that we should study more.

Si incluimos una persona, utilizamos la estructura say something to someone or say to someone something

E.g.
He said to me that he wasn’t interested in sports.
She said to us that we should study more.
I said to him that he was very generous.

Utilizamos tell con la estructura tell someone something / tell someone that, el verbo tell en este caso siempre necesita un objeto indirecto o pronombre personal (la persona con la que hablamos)

E.g.
She told me the truth.
I told them a joke.
He told me that he wasn’t interested in sports.
They told us that we had to work harder.
I told him that she wasn’t coming.

En todos los ejemplos anteriores hemos utilizado say and tell en pasado pero es posible también usarlos en presente y/o presente continuo

E.g.
She says that I need to do exercise.
Mark says that you have a new job.
He always tells her that they should live together.
They are always telling us that we have to work harder.

Además hay otra estructura que podemos utilizar con tell para indicar una orden o un consejo tell someone to do something

E.g.
She told him to sit down.
He told me (not) to wait.
They told us to work harder.
The teacher told us to do the activities.

Hay una serie de expresiones «fijas» (fixed expressions) que siempre usamos con say

Fixed expressions with say

Say hello / goodbye
Say good morning / afternoon / etc
Say something
Say nothing
Say a word / a few words
Say a prayer

Y también otras que siempre usamos con tell

Fixed expressions with tell

Tell the truth
Tell a lie
Tell a story
Tell a joke
Tell a secret
Tell the time
Tell the difference

Parece mucha información pero en resumen…

You say something or say (to someone) something

E.g.
He said hello to everyone.
He says that he doesn’t like coffee

You tell someone something

E.g.
He told me many lies.
He told me that he doesn’t like coffee.

Y ahora una pequeña prueba para ver si te ha quedado claro:

Completa con say o tell (en pasado)

Angela ____ them to be punctual.
He ____ that we couldn’t wait.
I ____ you to complete the task.
We ____ him that you were ill.
She ____ that you have to help her.
They ____ us many lies.
Anthony ____ that he was hungry.
I ____ nothing to them.
He ____ to her that he wasn’t interested.

VER RESPUESTAS CORRECTAS

Angela told them to be punctual.
He said that we couldn’t wait.
I told you to complete the task.
We told him that you were ill.
She said that you have to help her.
They told us many lies.
Anthony said that he was hungry.
I said nothing to them.
He said to her that he wasn’t interested.

 

Esperamos que después de leer este post ya no te confundas más con say & tell, el secreto es recordar que tell siempre necesita «someone» cuando hablamos de lo que decimos a otra persona.

Además si te has quedado con ganas de leer un poco más y quieres conocer otros errores comunes que cometemos los hispanohablantes te recomendamos que leas este post: 30 errores comunes en inglés que no debes cometer más

 

Hey buddies, el post de hoy es una recopilación de errores comunes en inglés que cometemos a menudo, a veces porque cambiamos la preposición que toca, o porque nos equivocamos con una palabra o también porque traducimos literalmente. Ponte cómodo porque te detallamos nada más y nada menos que 30 common mistakes que no debes cometer más.

 

1 We say coworkers, work mates or colleagues, not partners para referirnos a nuestros compañeros de trabajo

 My partners are really helpful.
 My coworkers are really helpful.

 

2 We say at work, not in the job en expresiones como

 I sometimes surf on the internet in the job.
 I sometimes surf on the internet at work.

 

3 We say hire mejor que contract, cuando contratamos a un empleado

 Things are going well, we will contract more employees.
 Things are going well, we will hire more employees.

 

4 We say a business grows, not grows up para decir que el negocio crece

 Our business is growing up and increasing sales.
 Our business is growing and increasing sales.

Utilizamos grow up para referirnos a las personas cuando crecen / maduran

 He’s now a grown up person.
 Children grow up really fast.

 

5 We say I agree, not I am agree para mostrar nuestro acuerdo

 I am agree with your idea.
 I agree with your idea.

 

6 We say I think so / I don’t think so, not I think that yes / no para decir creo que sí / no

 Would you come? I think that yes / no.
 Would you come? I think so / I don’t think so.

 

7 We say I have no idea, not I don’t have an idea para decir no tengo ni idea

 Is she here? I don’t have an idea.
 Is she here? I have no idea.

 

8 We say leave me alone, not leave me in peace cuando queremos que nos dejen en paz

 Please, leave me in peace, I’m busy now.
 Please, leave me alone, I’m busy now.

 

9 We say from now on, not since now para decir de ahora en adelante

 We will have new regulations since now.
 We will have new regulations from now on.

 

10 We say so far, not until now para decir hasta ahora, hasta este momento

 What have they done until now?
 What have they done so far?

 

11 We say it depends on, not it depends of

 I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow. It depends of the weather.
 I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow. It depends on the weather.

 

12 We say related to, not related with

 This is a problem related with the internet signal.
 This is a problem related to the internet signal.

 

13 We say contact someone, not contact with someone

 I’ll contact with her because I need more information.
 I’ll contact her because I need more information.

 

14 We say trust someone, not trust in someone

 I trust in my employees to do a good job when I’m not in the office.
 I trust my employees to do a good job when I’m not in the office.

 

15 We say worry about, not worry for algo o alguien

 Her mother worries for her a lot.
 Her mother worries about her a lot.

 

16 We say think about / of, not think in. Si imaginamos algo, utilizamos think of / about, si estamos considerando algo utilizamos think about

 I’m thinking in my future and deciding what I want to do.
 I’m thinking about my future and deciding what I want to do.

 

17 We say similar to, not similar than

 This app is very similar than another one.
 This app is very similar to another one.

 

18 We say the same as, not the same than or the same to

 He’s the same than his father. They have similar personalities.
 He’s the same as his father. They have similar personalities.

 

19 We say in the world, not of the world para decir del mundo

 Lionel Messi is one of the best soccer players of the world.
 Lionel Messi is one of the best soccer players in the world.

 

20 We say arrive in/at a place, not arrive to a place

 I arrived to work at 9 a.m.
 I arrived at work at 9 a.m.

We use arrive in con lugares como ciudades (London, Paris, etc.).

 We arrived in Paris last Friday.

We use arrive at al referirnos a un sitio en concreto (the bank, the restaurant, work, home, etc.).

 They arrived at the restaurant 20 minutes late.

 

21 We say go home, not go to home

 She decided to go to home after the theatre.
 She decided to go home after the theatre.

 

22 We say parking lot, not parking para referirnos a un aparcamiento

 The parking was full, so we parked on the street.
 The parking lot was full, so we parked on the street.

 

23 We say on the bus / train / plane, not in the bus / plane / train

 Sometimes I read when I’m in the bus.
 Sometimes I read when I’m on the bus.

We say in with cars, vans, trucks, etc.

 Let’s get on the car.
 Let’s get in the car.

 

24 We say to miss, not to lose a bus / train / plane

 You will lose the train if you don’t hurry up.
 You will miss the train if you don’t hurry up.

 

25 We say waste time, not lose time para decir perder el tiempo

 Sam loses a lot of time watching TV.
 Sam wastes a lot of time watching TV.

 

26 We say spend time, not pass time para decir pasar tiempo con

 On the weekend, she likes to pass time with her husband.
 On the weekend, she likes to spend time with her husband.

 

27 We say to have (or to throw) a party, not to make or do a party

 They are making a party next Saturday.
 They are having / throwing a party next Saturday.

 

28 We say to have a drink, not to take a drink

 Let’s take a drink after work.
 Let’s have a drink after work.

 

29 We say to sunbathe, not to take the sun

 She loves taking the sun on the beach.
 She loves sunbathing on the beach.

 

30 We say to make mistakes, not to have errors or have mistakes.

 My English is okay, but I have a lot of mistakes.
 My English is okay, but I make a lot of mistakes.

 

No te preocupes si te identificas con algunos (o muchos) de ellos, son los errores más comunes que cometemos los hispano hablantes. Anota con los que más te equivocas para repasarlos, pero vuelve a esta lista siempre que lo necesites o tengas dudas.

PS: Si te atreves con más meteduras de pata typical Spanish, lee este post sobre false friends