Thought grammar was a mere detail in your language learning process? We’re here to deliver some bad news: you’ve got it all wrong.
And yet Spanish grammar, as beautiful and mysterious as it may be, gives learners a run for their money in terms of pure frustration. Sadly, the English users of our online Spanish course Hotel Borbollón are no exception to the rule.
Gymglish has carefully selected the 10 most common Spanish grammar mistakes our English-speaking users have made over the past year. We’re not here to point fingers.*
1) Indirect object pronouns
Indirect object pronouns are used to replace a person that has already been mentioned in order to avoid repetition. It answers the questions ‘to whom?’ or ‘for whom?’.
Nacho pide un taxi a Ana Nacho le pide un taxi. Nacho gets a cab for Ana Nacho gets her a cab.
Hablé con ellas ayer Les hablé ayer. I talked to them (a group of women) yesterday I talked to them yesterday.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª persona | Usted me responde | Tú nos respondes |
| 2ª persona | Ella te responde | Él os responde |
| 3ª persona | Ellas le responden | Ellas les responden |
Note: The indirect object pronoun is generally placed in front of the verb. This can change in sentences which contain an auxiliary and main verb. In imperative sentences the indirect object goes after the verb.
Le escribo. I write to him
Le voy a escribir / Voy a escribirle. I’m going to write to him
Escríbele. Write (to) him.
Read more about Indirect object pronouns.
2) Sentences that use si (if)
Sentences with si (if) express a condition or hypothetical situation. The tense used after si changes depending on whether the condition is possible, probable, or unreal.
- Real or possible condition: Si + present indicative + present, future or imperative
Si tengo tiempo, voy al gimnasio (presente) If I have time, I go to the gym (present tense)
Si tengo tiempo, iré al gimnasio (futuro) If I have time, I’ll go to the gym (future tense)
Si tienes tiempo, ve al gimnasio (imperativo) If you have time, go to the gym (imperative)
- Improbable or unrealistic condition: Si + imperfect subjunctive + conditional simple
Si tuviera coche, te llevaría al aeropuerto. If I had a car, I’d take you to the airport.
- Unreal or impossible condition: Si + past perfect subjunctive + conditional simple or conditional perfect
Si hubiera vivido en Alemania, sabría hablar alemán. (condicional simple) If I had lived in Germany, I would speak German. (conditional simple)
Si hubiese sido millonaria, habría viajado por todo el mundo. (condicional compuesto) If I had been a millionaire, I would have traveled all over the world. (conditional perfect)
More on sentences that use si.
3) The imperative mood
The conjugation of -ar, -er and -ir verbs in the imperative mood:
| Trabajar | Escribir | Comer |
| (tú) trabaja | (tú) come | (tú) escribe |
| (usted) trabaje | (usted) coma | (usted) escriba |
| (nosotros/as) trabajemos | (nosotros/as) comamos | (nosotros/as) escribamos |
| (vosotros/as) trabajad | (vosotros/as) comed | (vosotros/as) escribid |
| (ustedes) trabajen | (ustedes) coman | (ustedes) escriban |
The imperative is used to:
- Give orders and make requests:
Recoge tu habitación ahora mismo. Clean up your room right now.
Limpiad los platos después de comer. Wash the dishes when you’re done eating.
Abre la ventana por favor, tengo calor. Please open the window; I’m hot.
- Give instructions, advice, and recommendations:
Gira a la derecha. Turn right.
Apaguen el teléfono. Turn off your phones.
Comed más fruta. Eat more fruit.
Note: we use these forms of the verb to give positive instructions or orders. To give negative ones, we use the subjunctive instead.
No trabajes. Don’t work.
More on the imperative mood.
4) The use of the subjunctive after cuando
We use cuando (when) with the subjunctive tense to express future actions. It can be formed in two ways:
- Cuando + subjunctive + future tense:
Cuando llegue a la estación te llamaré When I get to the station, I’ll call you.
Cuando esté en el hotel hablaré con Ana. When I’m at the hotel, I’ll talk to Ana.
- Cuando + subjunctive + imperative:
Cuando vayas a la estación, llámame. When you go to the station, call me. ir, subj. presente
Cuando vengas a Madrid, ven a casa. When you come to Madrid, drop by my place.
Learn more about the use of the subjunctive after cuando.
5) The pretérito indefinido (simple past tense) of regular verbs ending in -ar
The pretérito indefinido (simple past tense) is used for actions that started and ended in the past.
La semana pasada trabajé mucho. I worked a lot last week.
Verbs ending in -ar such as hablar (to talk), caminar (to walk), and comenzar (to begin) are conjugated as follows:
Hablar
Yo hablé
Tú hablaste
Él/ella/usted habló
Nosotros/as hablamos
Vosotros/as hablasteis
Ellos/ellas/ustedes hablaron
Ayer hablé con mi hijo. I spoke to my son yesterday.
Ana bailó toda la noche. Ana danced all night.
Cenaron juntos el mes pasado. They had dinner together last month.
Note: the pretérito indefinido is often used with ayer (yesterday), anoche (last night), el otro día (the other day), and la semana pasada (last week).
Anoche cenamos verduras. We had vegetables for dinner last night.
More on the pretérito indefinido of regular verbs ending in -ar.
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6) Possessive adjectives
| Singular | Plural | |
| Yo | Mi libro | Mis libros |
| Tú | Tu padre | Tus padres |
| Él/Ella/Usted | Su primo | Sus primos |
| Nosotros/as | nuestro/a hijo/a | nuestros/as hijos/as |
| Vosotros/as | vuestro/a hermano/a | vuestros/as hermanos/as |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | su camisa | sus camisas |
¿Cuándo vienes a mi casa? When are you coming to my house?
Nuestros padres viven en Nicaragua. Our parents live in Nicaragua.
Vuestras hermanas son muy inteligentes. Your sisters are very smart.
El perro se comió tus zapatos. The dog ate your shoes.
Going further with possessive adjectives.
7) The verbs colgar, rogar and jugar in the imperative
The verbs colgar (to hang, to hang up), rogar (to beg, to plead) and jugar (to play) change their initial vowel to ‑ue‑ in the imperative mood, and add a ‑u‑ after the ‑g‑:
Colgar Cuelgue To hang Hang!
Rogar Ruegue To beg Beg!
Jugar Juegue To play Play!
These are their full imperative conjugations:
| Colgar | Rogar | Jugar |
| (tú) cuelga | (tú) ruega | (tú) juega |
| (usted) cuelgue | (usted) ruegue | (usted) juegue |
| (nosotros/as) colguemos | (nosotros/as) roguemos | (nosotros/as) juguemos |
| (vosotros/as) colgad | (vosotros/as) rogad | (vosotros/as) jugad |
| (ustedes) cuelguen | (ustedes) rueguen | (ustedes) jueguen |
Cuelgue el cuadro en la pared. Hang the painting on the wall.
No me ruegues, por favor. Don’t beg me, please.
No jueguen allí. Don’t play there.
Learn more about the verbs colgar, rogar and jugar in the imperative.
8) Question words
These are the main question words in Spanish:
—¿Quién es Beatriz? —Beatriz es mi abuela. -Who is Beatriz? -Beatriz is my grandmother.
—¿Quiénes hablan en la recepción? —Magda y Ana. -Who is speaking at the reception? -Magda and Ana.
—¿Qué haces? —Estoy escribiendo una carta. -What are you doing? -I’m writing a letter.
—¿Dónde vives? —Vivo en Bogotá.-Where do you live? -I live in Bogotá.
—¿Cuál es tu color favorito? —El azul. -What is your favorite color? -Blue.
—¿Cuándo regresas? —Regreso el sábado. -When are you coming back? -I’ll be back on Saturday.
—¿Cuántos años tienes? —Tengo 106 años. -How old are you? -I’m 106.
—¿Cuánto vale esta camisa? —Vale 50 euros. -How much is this shirt? -It’s 50 euros.
—¿Cómo estás? —Muy bien, gracias. -How are you? -Very well, thank you.
—¿Por qué estás aprendiendo español? —Porque me gusta el idioma. -Why are you learning Spanish? -Because I like the language.
More on using question word.
9) Direct object pronouns
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª persona | Ustedes me conocen | Nosotros nos conocemos |
| 2ª persona | Ella te conoce | Él os conoce |
| 3ª persona | Tú lo conoces (♂)Tú la conoces (♀) | Yo los conozco (♂)Yo las conozco (♀) |
Note: The direct object pronoun is generally placed in front of the verb. This can change in sentences which contain an auxiliary and main verb. In imperative sentences the direct object goes after the verb.
La llamo. I call her.
La voy a llamar / Voy a llamarla. I’m going to call her.
Llámala. Call her.
Going further with direct object pronouns.
10) Regular verbs in the imperfect tense
This is how regular verbs are conjugated in the imperfect tense:
| Estar | Tener | Vivir |
| Yo estaba | Yo tenía | Yo vivía |
| Tú estabas | Tú tenías | Tú vivías |
| Él/ella/usted estaba | Él/ella/usted tenía | Él/ella/usted vivía |
| Nosotros/as estábamos | Nosotros/as teníamos | Nosotros/as vivíamos |
| Vosotros/as estabais | Vosotros/as teníais | Vosotros/as vivíais |
| Ellos/ellas/ustedes estaban | Ellos/ellas/ustedes tenían | Ellos/ellas/ustedes vivían |
The imperfect tense is used to:
- Describe past actions or routines without specifying when they start and/or end:
Carolina tenía un perro muy juguetón. Carolina had a very playful dog.
Todos los veranos, el Dr. Macías iba de vacaciones a una playa nudista. Every summer, Dr Macias went on vacation to a nudist beach.
- Describe people, things and situations in the past:
Cuando era joven, Betty era muy guapa. When she was young, Betty was very pretty.
En Buenos Aires, Ana vivía en el barrio de la Recoleta. In Buenos Aires, Ana lived in the Recoleta neighborhood.
Note: The imperfect tense is often used with these words and expressions: antes (before), muchas veces (many times), en aquella época (at that time), cuando era joven (when I was young), cuando tenía X años (when I was X years old).
Read more on the regular verbs in the imperfect tense.
Has this list fulfilled its job of confusing and delighting you at the same time? Improve your Spanish further and try Hotel Borbollón, our online Spanish lessons today!
*Anonymous data collected from our users regarding our Spanish course Hotel Borbollón in 2020.
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