Common English Mistakes in Short Stories by Spanish Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native Spanish speakers from Mexico when writing a Short Story in English.

Mistake Example #1

Misuse of prepositions ('Married with' instead of 'Married to')

In a small village in Mexico, there was a young woman named Rosa who dreamed of adventures beyond the mountains. She was married witho a kind man named Carlos, who always supported her dreams. One day, Rosa decided to explore the world, starting with the bustling city of Guadalajara, where she hoped to find stories to bring back to her village.

Text corrected by:
Camille, Maryland, USA

"In English, we say "married to." Otherwise, this looks great! "

In a small village in Mexico, there was a young woman named Rosa who dreamed of adventures beyond the mountains. She was married to a kind man named Carlos, who always supported her dreams. One day, Rosa decided to explore the world, starting with the bustling city of Guadalajara, where she hoped to find stories to bring back to her village.

In a small village in Mexico, there was a young woman named Rosa who dreamed of adventures beyond the mountains. She was married with a kind man named Carlos, who always supported her dreams. One day, Rosa decided to explore the world, starting with the bustling city of Guadalajara, where she hoped to find stories to bring back to her village.

Mistake Example #2

Overuse of present continuous ('I am going to the school every day' instead of 'I go to school every day')

In the small town of San Miguel, I amseeing the sun risinge over the mountains every morning. My friend Carlos istellings me stories about theold legends of our village, and we aresitting under thea big oak tree every afternoon. We aredreaming about adventures, and we areplanning to explore the hidden caves near the river soon.

Text corrected by:
Vince, United States

"This was very good! Just a few small changes were needed to make the verb tenses more consistent."

In the small town of San Miguel, I see the sun rise over the mountains every morning. My friend Carlos tells me stories about the legends of our village, and we sit under a big oak tree every afternoon. We dream about adventures, and we plan to explore the hidden caves near the river soon.

In the small town of San Miguel, I am seeing the sun rising over the mountains every morning. My friend Carlos is telling me stories about the old legends of our village, and we are sitting under the big oak tree every afternoon. We are dreaming about adventures and we are planning to explore the hidden caves near the river soon.

Mistake Example #3

Direct translation of Spanish expressions ('I have 25 years' instead of 'I am 25 years old')

In the small town of San Miguel, there was a young girl named Ana who loved to explore the world around her. She hwads 15 years oldand had always dreamed of traveling to distant lands. One day, while walking through the market, she found a mysterious map that promised to lead her to a hidden treasure. Ana knew she must follow the map, even if it meant leaving her family behind for a little while.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed some tweaking to sound more native and natural."

In the small town of San Miguel, there was a young girl named Ana who loved to explore the world around her. She was 15 years old and had always dreamed of traveling to distant lands. One day, while walking through the market, she found a mysterious map that promised to lead her to a hidden treasure. Ana knew she must follow the map, even if it meant leaving her family behind for a little while.

In the small town of San Miguel, there was a young girl named Ana who loved to explore the world around her. She had 15 years and always dreamed of traveling to distant lands. One day, while walking through the market, she found a mysterious map that promised to lead her to a hidden treasure. Ana knew she must follow the map, even if it meant leaving her family behind for a little while.