G A M E What's Wrong With This Sentence
I thought this game might be useful for learning common errors and mistakes that English speakers make when learning Spanish.
Perhaps you can think of some false friends in Spanish or you can draw on personal experience with mistakes that you have made in your journey to become proficient in Spanish.
I'll start us off with a spanish sentence and 'a' translation, the next person can tell us what's wrong with it and then supply a new sentence and it's 'seeming' translation and so on.
The format will be:
Given: ¿Compraste los billetes para el cine?
It looks like it means: Did you buy the tickets for the movies?
But it should say: ¿Compraste las entradas para el cine?
Reason: billete = travel ticket entrada = ticket of entry to a movie,theatre, show etc
New Sentence:
It looks like it means:
Given: Estoy mirando para mis llaves.
It looks like it means: I am looking for my keys.
114 Answers
should it not be buscando as mirando is to look 'at' something
Given: Estoy mirando para mis llaves.
It looks like it means: I am looking for my keys.
But it should say: Estoy buscando mis llaves
Reason: mirar means 'to look at' so you need buscar 'to look for' which doesn't need 'para' ('mirando para' doesn't exist)
New Sentence:
It looks like it means:
Given:Mi abuela es sentada. It looks like it means: My grandmother is sitting.
To me, it looks like it means "my grandmother is seated" or maybe "sitting down"- rather than being in the process of sitting... and really, I think this could actually already be correct in a passive sense- I'm guessing you were playing a trick with ser/estar though, right? So...
But it should say: Mi abuela está sentada
Reason: In this case I think you mean to refer to your grandmother's position- which definitely requires the use of estar instead of ser. (Somebody please let me know if I'm wrong about the passive use of ser+past participle with an action- I'm still wrapping my head around that)
New Sentence: Mi hermana está embarazada.
It looks like it means: My sister is embarrassed.
New Sentence: Soy un doctor
It should be: Soy doctor (In Spain, soy medico
)
Nueva frase:
¿Hicistes los deberes?
It looks like it means: Did you do your exercises?
In this sentence there is a very typical native speakers mistake
Given: Mi hermana está embarazada.
It looks like it means: My sister is embarrassed.
But it should say: Mi hermana está avergonzada
Reason: "embarazada" means pregnant and "avergonzada" means embarrassed.
New Sentence: Soy un doctor
It looks like it means: I am a doctor
Jim y yo nos besa. Nos acts like a direct object pronoun in this context and would literally be (he,she,it) kisses us.
By correctly conjugating the verb the action becomes reflexive. Jim and I kiss each other (kiss ourselves).
Jim y yo nos besamos.
I wish that we looked like that. ( A couple of chicks looking at a hot chick) one says........
Deseo que parecemos como esa.
Given Sentence: Cuando estaba niña hablaba mucho.
It looks like it means: When I was a girl I talked a lot.
But it should say: Cuando era niña hablaba mucho.
Reason: This one's actually a little tricky to describe. I think the closest rule that it fits is that it's a description- which means using 'ser' is necessary rather than 'estar'. It's also a permanent state of being in that when you were a little girl, but then became something different- a teenager, an adult, etc....
New sentence: Ella le lo dio (a él).
It looks like it means: She gave it to him.
Given: ¿Hicistes los deberes?
It looks like it means: Did you do your exercises?
But it should say: ¿Hiciste los deberes?
Reason: No "s" on the end of the preterit tú form
New Sentence: Cuando estaba niña hablaba mucho.
It looks like it means: When I was a girl I talked a lot.
There's two here to try! Fun...
Given Sentence: Soy un doctor
It looks like it means: I am a doctor
But it should say: Soy doctor
Reason: professions don't require the use of the indefinite article... just one of those funky language things as far as I know
Given Sentence: No pisar en el muro.
It looks like it means: No...ahem... micturating on the wall.
But it should say: No se pisa en el muro. OR No se trepa en el muro.
Reason: 'Pisar', to tread/walk, is ok if you don't want people walking on the wall (maybe it's a low garden wall???) - it just looks interesting to English speakers. Trepar is maybe more appropriate for walls in general though. I think you could also use 'andar'...
Also, I thought this kind of wanted the use of an impersonal 'se', but that was just a guess.
New sentence: Ella le lo dio (a él).
It looks like it means: She gave it to him.
New sentence: Mi hermana está embarazada.
It looks like it means: My sister is embarassed
It really means: Well, she might be embarassed, depending on the circumstances, but the sentence really says, "My sister is pregnant."
Reason: You don't want to mix this up because you don't want your brother-in-law to punch you
New sentence: No pisar en el muro.
****It looks like it means**:.....well, you know what it looks like it means. It doesn't!
It should say: Estoy buscando mis llaves.
Given:Mi abuela es sentada.
It looks like it means: My grandmother is sitting.
Last Sentence: Hoy es la primera día de el resto de su vida.
It looks like it means: Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
día is masculine = primer día, de el (contraction) becomes del.
Hoy es el primer día del resto de su vida.
New Sentence: Pensé que voy a ir pero decidido quedar.
Sounds like: I thought I was going to go but decided to stay.
Given: Deseo que parecemos como esa.
Should be: Deseo que nos parezcamos a ella.
Reasons: I found this one tricky but as you can see I made four changes.
Deseo que .... needed the subjunctive parezcamos
nos parezcamos - the verb should be parecerse not parecer if we want to express - to look like someone etc
a not como
and the last one I wasn't sure if you needed a noun to use an adjective 'esa' so I changed it to ella? but that may have been unnecessary.
New Sentence: No me realicé.
Looks like it says: I didn't realize.
Given Sentence:
¡Abre tus ojos! El hombre se puso su camisa.
Looks like it says:
Open your eyes! The man put on his shirt.
Should say:
¡Abre los ojos! El hombre se puso la camisa.
Reasons:
In Spanish a definite article is used for things such as body parts, clothing, etc. instead of the possessive pronoun.
New Sentence:
Actualmente, la gusto mucho mi sobrina. Es una buen chica.
Looks like it says:
Actually, I like my niece a lot. She's a good kid.
New Sentence:
Estoy 21 años y me voy en una fecha.
Looks like it says:
I'm 21 and I'm going on a date.
Should say:
Tengo 21 y tengo un cita
Reason: Tener is used with age.
I'm not sure about the second part of the sentence, but ... I tranlated it to I'm 21 and I have a date.
New Sentence:
Estaba hablando con mi madre cuando sonó el teléfono.
Looks like it says:
I was talking to my mother when the telephone rang.
Should say: Sorry, but I think this is fine!
New sentence:
No estoy de acuerdo con el argumento. No hace sentido.
Looks like it says:
I don't agree with the argument. It doesn't make sense.
