Common English Mistakes in Public Notices by Spanish Speakers

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

Mistake Example #1

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

Attention Residents: The City Council hasinformed us that the park will be closed for maintenance from Monday to Wednesday. It hmakes sense to avoid the area during these days to ensureyour safety. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"Good work! I just made a few changes so the English would sound more natural."

Attention Residents: The City Council has informed us that the park will be closed for maintenance from Monday to Wednesday. It makes sense to avoid the area during these days to ensure your safety. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding.

Attention Residents: The City Council informs that the park will be closed for maintenance from Monday to Wednesday. It has sense to avoid the area during these days to ensure safety. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding.

Mistake Example #2

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

Attention Residents: The City Council ihas announcinged that we arewill havinge a new recycling program starting next month. We areencouraginge all citizens to activelyparticipate becactivusely, as we are believinge this will greatly benefit our community and environment. Please be aware that we areprovidinge information sessions to explain how the program isworkings and how you can be involved.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed some tweaking to address misuse of present continuous tense."

Attention Residents: The City Council has announced that we will have a new recycling program starting next month. We encourage all citizens to actively participate because we believe this will greatly benefit our community and environment. Please be aware that we provide information sessions to explain how the program works and how you can be involved.

Attention Residents: The City Council is announcing that we are having a new recycling program starting next month. We are encouraging all citizens to participate actively, as we are believing this will greatly benefit our community and environment. Please be aware that we are providing information sessions to explain how the program is working and how you can be involved.