Common English Mistakes in Short Stories by Spanish Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

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

In the small village of El Bosque, María is living a life full of adventures. Every morning, she isgoinges to the market where she ismeetings her friends, and they arehavinge coffee together. María is always saying that she ishavings 30 years of experience in storytelling, and her tales aremakinge everyone in the village smile.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Great job! It just needed some changes to the verb tense."

In the small village of El Bosque, María is living a life full of adventures. Every morning, she goes to the market where she meets her friends, and they have coffee together. María is always saying that she has 30 years of experience in storytelling, and her tales make everyone in the village smile.

In the small village of El Bosque, María is living a life full of adventures. Every morning, she is going to the market where she is meeting her friends, and they are having coffee together. María is always saying that she is having 30 years of experience in storytelling, and her tales are making everyone in the village smile.

Mistake Example #2

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

In a small village in the heart of Spain, there was a young girl named Lucia who loved to explore the forests near her home. One day, she found a mysterious old map that seemed to lead to a hidden treasure. It hmasde sense to follow the map, she thought, as the adventure was calling her name. With her heart full of excitement, Lucia decided to embark on the journey, hoping to discover wthate secrets the forest held.

Text corrected by:
Vince, United States

"Very good! Just a couple of changes to refine the writing. "

In a small village in the heart of Spain, there was a young girl named Lucia who loved to explore the forests near her home. One day, she found a mysterious old map that seemed to lead to a hidden treasure. It made sense to follow the map, she thought, as the adventure was calling her name. With her heart full of excitement, Lucia decided to embark on the journey, hoping to discover the secrets the forest held.

In a small village in the heart of Spain, there was a young girl named Lucia who loved to explore the forests near her home. One day, she found a mysterious old map that seemed to lead to a hidden treasure. It has sense to follow the map, she thought, as the adventure was calling her name. With her heart full of excitement, Lucia decided to embark on the journey, hoping to discover what secrets the forest held.

Mistake Example #3

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

In the quiet village of San Pedro, Maria decided to mtake a walk every morning through the olive groves. One day, she makde a discovery that changed everything: a hidden path leading to an ancient ruin. Excited, she teolld her friend Javier, "We must makedo something about this, it could be important!"

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I fixed some issue with make/do and with verb tenses. Good job overall!"

In the quiet village of San Pedro, Maria decided to take a walk every morning through the olive groves. One day, she made a discovery that changed everything: a hidden path leading to an ancient ruin. Excited, she told her friend Javier, "We must do something about this, it could be important!"

In the quiet village of San Pedro, Maria decide to make a walk every morning through the olive groves. One day, she make a discovery that change everything: a hidden path leading to an ancient ruin. Excited, she tell her friend Javier, "We must make something about this, it could be important!"