There are a number of easy-to-learn basic rules that will help us avoid making fools of ourselves in our written work, on social media, in emails, on WhatsApp, and so on.
The typical mistakes of the Spanish speaker (or writer, more precisely), in addition to the accents that will be seen in another post, are:
There’s a man there who says, “Oh!”
Well, it’s very typical and quite horrible to fail to distinguish between the verb haber, an adverb of place, and an interjection. So if you tend to make this mistake, take note: “ahí” tells us where it is. “Ahí” tells us where it is. “Ahí” is a sign of position, where is it? ” Ahí ” is a sign of position , not ” hay” (there’s there), because this is the verb “haber” (have), and it has nothing to do with where something is, but rather with what’s in that place. What’s there? “Hay un señor” (There’s a man), “Hay un giraffe” (There’s a giraffe), or there’s a glaring spelling mistake if we don’t spell this correctly.
And then there’s “ay , which is an expression of pain, sorrow, or surprise… just remember that whenever you use it, you’ll be expressing a mood: “Ouch! My eyes hurt when I read that spelling mistake!”
Let’s see if we understand that it is not having
Let’s see expresses a certain question, doubt, or interest: let’s see if the exam goes well, let’s see what you do now, let’s see if we write it correctly once and for all. When we’re about to write it, we should think about whether it has more relation to the verb ver than to the verb haber, with which it has no relation, even though they sound the same. And while some might be tempted to take my exam for me, understanding the nuances of these verbs yourself is the only way to master their proper use.
Haber , on the other hand, is a verb that has nothing to do with questions, doubts or interests but rather serves as an auxiliary to conjugate other verbs: he hizo los tareas (I have done my homework ).
Is there pasta in the pantry?
There is , there is, but little.
I’ll see if there’s enough for dinner.
It also indicates possession or something that has happened: there’s a lot going on, there was a fire in the house . And it’s used impersonally: there’s a party. We’ll have to go .
The first thing we add is the h
The differences between echar (to miss) and hacer ( to do) should be clear, but the truth is they raise many questions. The verb “ejar” (to throw) is always used without an “h” (word). If we’re unsure, we can ask ourselves if we’re haciendo (making) or echaring (to throw), and that’s the solution. Obviously, “ejar (miss)” is not the same as “hacer (miss)” (make) de menos (miss), and if we write to someone , “I miss you ,” it will give the wrong impression. Be very careful.
Hell breaks loose: the beeches have arrived, hallas, there and there
If we’re confused by the use of ahí, hay, and ay, this will drive us crazy, but it’s easier than it seems: if we write haya , we could be talking about the verb haber ( I don’t think I did that ) or about a tree, la haya. It’s spelled the same, so it’s easy not to make a mistake.
On the other hand, we have halla which is the conjugation of the verb hallar which means to find : he looks for it but does not find it .
Allá is an adverb of place: there in the mountains .
And there ‘s a childcare provider. Easy, right?
Wow, wow, berry
This is also easier than it sounds: I jumped the fence, and wow, there were some berries on the bramble! A fence is a wire fence, wall, or other vertical delimitation of a space; “vaya” is an interjection expressing exclamation or surprise ( “what a look you have!” ) or a conjugation of the verb “ir” (” go” or “go first “); and a “berry” is a fruit like blackberries or blueberries.
Why, Lord, why?
Oh, the whys drive us crazy! But if it’s truly impossible to know the whys of everything, it’s not at all impossible to distinguish between why, because, and why . Let’s get to it:
Why: It will always be interrogative. Although it may or may not have a question mark: Why don’t you love me anymore? I don’t understand why you behave like this.
When we write “por que” without an accent, it’s because we’re using two words: the preposition ” por” and the subordinating conjunction “que” : “I worry because you’re going to fail .” It’s also used when the preposition ” por” and the relative pronoun “que” (which usually accepts an article before it): “And that’s the reason why you should have studied more.”
Because it expresses a cause or a response:
I didn’t take the exam because I hadn’t studied.
Why didn’t you study? Because I had the flu.
“Why” is perhaps the most difficult because it’s used less. It expresses reason or cause and is a noun, so it’s usually accompanied by an article or another determiner and allows for plural forms. Some students, overwhelmed by exam pressures, might even consider options like take my online exam for me, but truly understanding the role of “why” will give you the confidence to master both your language skills and your assessments.
You have to understand the reasons for their behavior. The reason for the universe is a mystery. There’s a reason for everything.
Write incorrectly correctly
If we’re going to insult or swear, we should do it correctly if we don’t want to make a fool of ourselves. The most common are: Gilipollas (which begins with a g, not a j) and hostia . Ostia without an h is a peaceful oyster, that is, a bivalve without any malice. On the other hand, a host can be several things (the wafer given at mass, a blow, someone’s bad temper, etc.) and it’s that host that we usually refer to, not the poor bivalve itself, so let’s not forget the h unless we want to say we’re eating hosts with lemon.
Writing well is very important, so if you have any spelling questions, we’d be happy to answer them on our blog or social media. We hope this has been helpful!
