Syntax Surgeon

Common Spanish grammar mistakes English speakers make (and how to fix them)

Spot and repair the English-shaped slips in your Spanish — live, in conversation, out loud.

GRAMMAR PACK · 6 LESSONS · C2

Most advanced slips are calques — English patterns translated word-for-word. Spanish requires the double negative: no vi a nadie, never vi a nadie. 'It makes sense' is tener sentido (lo que dices tiene sentido), and 'excited' is emocionado — excitado is a false friend. Clitic pronouns attach to affirmative commands but precede negative ones (dímelo / no me lo digas), and an opening gerund must share the main clause's subject: mientras caminaba por la calle, se me rompió el tacón — not the dangling caminando por la calle, se me rompió el tacón.

Below: the repairs phrase by phrase, the agreement traps in long sentences, and a way to catch these slips in your own live speech — no worksheets, no fill-in-the-blanks.

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The phrases that carry the conversation

Clunky literal translations from English

Mal: Estoy mirando adelante a verte. Bien: Tengo muchas ganas de verteWrong (calque of 'looking forward'): Right: I'm really looking forward to seeing you
Mal: Tomo un baño todas las mañanas. Bien: Me baño / Me ducho todas las mañanasWrong (calque of 'take a bath'): Right: I bathe/shower every morning
Mal: Hacer sentido. Bien: Tener sentido — 'lo que dices tiene sentido'Wrong ('to make sense'): Right: 'to have sense' — 'what you say makes sense'
Mal: Estoy agotado de trabajar. Bien: Estoy agotado de tanto trabajar (o: por trabajar tanto)Subtle fix: I'm exhausted from so much work

Double negatives — required in Spanish, not an error

No vi a nadie en la fiesta (no = nadie is correct Spanish)I didn't see anyone at the party
No tengo nada que decir al respectoI have nothing to say about it
No he ido nunca a ese restauranteI've never been to that restaurant
Mal (calque): Vi a nadie. Bien: No vi a nadieWrong: I saw nobody. Right: I didn't see anyone

Clitic placement errors — fix position with affirmative imperatives, negatives, and infinitives

Mal: Me lo da. (as command) Bien: DámeloWrong: Give me it. Right (affirmative imperative attaches): Give it to me
Mal: No dímelo. Bien: No me lo digasWrong (negative imperative doesn't attach): Right: Don't tell me
Mal: Quiero lo hacer. Bien: Quiero hacerlo / Lo quiero hacerWrong: Right: I want to do it
Mal: Se lo me dijo. Bien: Me lo dijo (orden: se, te/me/os, lo/la)Wrong clitic order. Right: He told me it (order: se > 2nd > 1st > 3rd)

Regional Spanish

What locals actually say

Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.

Calco a evitar: 'caminando por la calle, se me cayó el celular' (¿quién camina, el celular?)
Reparación natural (Méx): 'iba caminando por la calle y se me cayó el celu'
Arg: 'iba por la calle y, zas, se me cae el teléfono'
Estilo periodístico LatAm: 'una vez terminado el debate, se votó' (participio absoluto, sujeto explícito)
Regla viva: si el gerundio queda 'colgado', meté un sujeto o pasalo a oración coordinada
Ambigüedad típica: 'vi al hombre con el telescopio' — ¿yo con telescopio, o el hombre?
Reparación oral (Méx): 'con el telescopio vi al señor que pasaba'
Arg: 'lo vi al tipo, con el telescopio' (el 'lo' redundante aclara)
Editorial LatAm: 'solo' antes del verbo cambia el sentido: 'solo come pescado' vs 'come solo pescado'
Truco nativo: si dudás, leelo en voz alta — el oído detecta el modificador descolgado

Watch out

Mistakes that mark you as a textbook speaker

Writing dangling gerunds calqued from English ('-ing' openers) whose subject doesn't match the main clause.rewrite as a full temporal clause — 'mientras caminaba...' or 'cuando era niño...'.
Pluralizing the verb because a plural noun sits near it, even when the grammatical subject is singular.identify the head noun — 'una serie DE errores PROVOCÓ' (serie is singular).
Saying 'vi a nadie' by analogy with English.Spanish requires the preverbal 'no' — 'no vi a nadie' is the only correct form; omitting 'no' creates a broken sentence.

The part no drill site can do

No flashcards. You learn it by using it

Carla

Your grammar teacher for this pack

In the Syntax Surgeon lessons your errors are data, not crimes — you talk, and Carla names the symptom, shows the repair, and moves on. She takes three of your own English-flavored sentences and has you rebuild each dangling gerund as a full clause, out loud. Then a clitic workout on one verb — dímelo, no me lo digas, decírmelo — until placement stops being a decision. Then she builds a long sentence around a singular head noun (una serie de errores) and watches you lock onto the singular verb: provocó, not provocaron.

Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.

Finish the 6 lessons and Syntax Surgeon is yours — earned, not given.

First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you

Quick answers

Questions people ask

Do you really need the double negative in Spanish?

Yes — it's required, not an error: no vi a nadie, no tengo nada que decir, no he ido nunca a ese restaurante. Even a triple negative is perfectly correct: nunca nadie me dijo nada.

Where do pronouns go with Spanish commands?

Affirmative commands attach the pronouns: dámelo. Negative commands separate them and put them first: no me lo digas. With infinitives both orders work: voy a decírtelo or te lo voy a decir — speech prefers the second.

How do you say 'it makes sense' in Spanish?

Tener sentido: lo que dices tiene sentido. Hacer sentido is a direct calque of the English and marks the sentence as translated.

Is 'estoy excitado' correct Spanish?

Not for 'excited' — excitado is a false friend with a sexual meaning. Say estoy emocionado por el viaje.

Is it 'una serie de errores provocó' or 'provocaron'?

Provocó — the verb agrees with the grammatical subject serie, which is singular, not with the plural noun next to it: una serie de errores provocó el fallo. Same logic: el equipo de investigadores publicó un artículo.