Common English Mistakes in Business Emails by Spanish Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native Spanish speakers from Spain when writing a Business Email in English.

Mistake Example #1

Misuse of present continuous ('I am having 30 years of experience' instead of 'I have 30 years of experience')

Dear Mr. Johnson, I am writing to inform you that I am working on the project proposal and I amhavinge 10 years of experience in this field. I amthinking that we canould schedule a meeting next week to discuss the details. Please let me know if you are agreeing with this plan. Thank you for your attention.

Text corrected by:
Michele A., Boston, Massachusetts; United States

"I just made a couple of changes to the verb tenses. Otherwise, the ideas in this text are clearly expressed."

Dear Mr. Johnson, I am writing to inform you that I am working on the project proposal and have 10 years of experience in this field. I think that we could schedule a meeting next week to discuss the details. Please let me know if you agree with this plan. Thank you for your attention.

Dear Mr. Johnson, I am writing to inform you that I am working on the project proposal and I am having 10 years of experience in this field. I am thinking that we can schedule a meeting next week to discuss the details. Please let me know if you are agreeing with this plan. Thank you for your attention.

Mistake Example #2

Direct translations from Spanish ('It makes sense' vs. 'It has sense')

Dear Mr. Smith,I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to inform you that the report you requested has been completed, and it hmakes sense to review it before the meeting on Friday. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you need further information. Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"It needed a few tweaks to make the English reads naturally. Good work!"

Dear Mr. Smith, I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to inform you that the report you requested has been completed, and it makes sense to review it before the meeting on Friday. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you need further information. Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Dear Mr. Smith, I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to inform you that the report you requested has been completed, and it has sense to review it before the meeting on Friday. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you need further information. Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to hear from you soon.

Mistake Example #3

Confusion between 'do' and 'make' ('I make a mistake' instead of 'I made a mistake')

Subject: Follow-up on Project Proposal Dear Mr. Smith, I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to make afollow-up on the proposal we discussed last week. We need to domake some adjustments to the budget plan, and I believe it is important to make a decision soon. Please let me know when you are available tfodor a meeting. Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to your response.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

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

Subject: Follow-up on Project Proposal Dear Mr. Smith, I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to follow up on the proposal we discussed last week. We need to make some adjustments to the budget plan, and I believe it is important to make a decision soon. Please let me know when you are available for a meeting. Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to your response.

Subject: Follow-up on Project Proposal Dear Mr. Smith, I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to make a follow-up on the proposal we discussed last week. We need to do some adjustments to the budget plan, and I believe it is important to make a decision soon. Please let me know when you are available to do a meeting. Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to your response.