Common Mistakes English Speakers Make in Spanish (and How to Fix Them)
There are some common Spanish mistakes we all hear about a lot, but here I’ll focus on ones that are a little less obvious — the ones I’ve either learned the hard way (and that I wish I’d known before learning Spanish) or had directly pointed out to me in conversation.
Let’s get this out of the way: you’re probably never going to sound exactly like a native speaker, and that’s fine. It’s not a realistic goal, and there’s nothing wrong with having a little accent. But there are definitely things you can improve to sound more natural.
And just so you know — native speakers make mistakes too (they’re just different ones).
1. Using um or uh Instead of eh
When we’re thinking about what to say next in English, we naturally say “uhhhh” or “ummm.” That vowel sound is uniquely English, and it doesn’t really exist in Spanish.
It’s not exactly a common Spanish mistake, more of a pronunciation habit, but once you notice it, you’ll hear it everywhere. In Spanish, the hesitation sound is more like “eh” or “em.” So next time you’re pausing mid-sentence, try swapping your “um” for “eh.”
2. Overusing Progressive Tenses
I’m definitely guilty of this one. In English, it’s super common to say:
- “I’m going to the store.”
- “I’m always thinking about XYZ.”
But in Spanish, the present continuous tense (estar + gerundio) is used much less often. It usually describes something you’re doing right now, not general habits.
So instead of saying:
- Estoy siempre pensando en…
It’s more natural to say:
- Siempre pienso en…
And importantly, Spanish doesn’t use the progressive for the future the way English does. In English, we say:
- “I’m going to the movies tomorrow.”
But in Spanish you’d just use the simple present:
- Voy al cine mañana.
Another key difference: in English we often use the -ing form of a verb as a noun (see, I told you we use it a lot!!!):
- “I love running.”
- “Swimming is fun.”
In Spanish, you wouldn’t say me encanta corriendo. Instead, you’d use the infinitive form:
- Me encanta correr.
- Nadar es divertido.
👉 More on the Spanish present progressive here.
3. Always Using the Subject Pronoun
This is another very English habit. In English we always say I, you, we, they… but in Spanish the verb endings already carry that information.
So while yo hablo español isn’t wrong, in most cases people would just say hablo español. It does get used for emphasis or clarity sometimes, but if you include it every time, you’ll sound less natural.
4. “Puedo tener…”
This one gets pointed out a lot; tener is not used in the food ordering context. In English we ask “Can I have a coffee?” but puedo tener un café doesn’t make sense in Spanish. People would probably know what you mean, but it sounds like “can I possess a coffee,” which is a strange question.
Instead, you’d just say:
- ¿Me pones un café?
- Quiero un café.
- Me das un café.
Another note: tener isn’t used in the “eating” context either. So “I had pizza for dinner” isn’t tuve una pizza para la cena. You’d use comí una pizza instead.
5. Consonant Differences in Spanish
A lot of English speakers focus on Spanish vowels, but the consonants can trip us up just as much. Some key things:
- Spanish consonants are generally softer.
- T and D are dental, not alveolar. That means your tongue touches your teeth, not the ridge behind them.
- P, T, and K are not aspirated. No puff of air like in English. (Test it: put your hand in front of your mouth and say “paper.” You’ll feel the puff on the P, but in Spanish, you wouldn’t.)
- V and B: For English speakers, these sounds are totally different. For Spanish speakers, they’re often interchangeable. One time my husband was telling me this whole story about his friend and her “band” and how she traveled around with her band. I asked what kind of music they played — and he looked at me like I was crazy. Turns out he’d been saying “van” the whole time.
- D between vowels: One common mistake is that English speakers (especially Americans) pronounce the Spanish “d” between vowels like an English flap (like in “butter”). But in Spanish, that ends up sounding like a single “r.” For example: he cantado might come out like he cantaro.
👉 This video gives a good overview and explains how Spanish consonants differ from English ones.
6. “Examen” ≠ “Eg-zamen”
This is a small thing, but another pronunciation issue I’ve had and observed: words starting with ex- in Spanish.
In English, we often add a “g” sound ( eg-zam-en or eg-zaktly.)
But in Spanish, it’s always /ks/:
- examen → eksamen
- exactamente → eksactamente
7. Stop Translating Everything
This might be the most important one. Try not to translate word-for-word from English, and try not to ask “why” Spanish works the way it does. That will only frustrate you.
Languages follow their own logic. There are similarities between English and Spanish, sure, but you can’t rely on them too heavily.
This is why comprehensible input is so important. Nobody learns a language by memorizing grammar tables and vocabulary lists alone. You learn by recognizing patterns and repeating them until they feel natural.
So immerse yourself as much as possible- but with content you actually enjoy!! It’s not going to stick if you’re forcing yourself. It could be YouTube, music, movies, podcasts, comic books… the important thing is that you like it and can understand most of what you’re hearing or reading. With consistent exposure, it will come naturally.
Wrapping Up
While we all want to sound more natural, don’t forget that making mistakes in Spanish is part of the process. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s to communicate!
If you catch yourself saying um instead of eh, or using puedo tener instead of quiero, don’t beat yourself up, just notice it and adjust next time. Making mistakes is a good thing, it means you’re practicing and learning. The only way to make no mistakes is to never use the language at all, and then what’s the point?
And honestly? If you’re getting your point across and enjoying the language, you’re doing it right.
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