This presentation will help EFL students avoid some common mistakes.

1. Howtoavoid 15 commonmistakesmadebySpanishspeakerswhenlearningEnglish as a foreignlanguage By: Ana Loja C. Englishteacher at Universidad de Cuenca, Ecuador

2. Keep in mindthefollowinginformation Abstractnouns and plural nounsused in a general way are not preceded by “the.” Ex.Peaceisveryimportant in theworld. It’sbeautifultowatchchildrensmile. Use “to” before a verbtoindicatepurpose. Ex.Shedecidedtocallherbestfriendtoaskforhelp.

3. Keep in mindthefollowinginformation Impersonal sentencesshouldhave “it” as theirsubject. Ex.It’simportanttoeathealthyfood. Rememberthis use of theverb “want” Ex.Thepresident of thestudentcouncilwantsusto trust him.

4. Keep in mindthefollowinginformation Rememberthe use of “say” and “tell” Ex. Sarah saidto me thatshewouldliketovisitusthisyear. Rose told me thatshewouldliketomoveto a smalltown. Avoiddoublenegation in sentences. Learnthesetwocorrectforms: Somechildrenhavenothingtoeat. Somechildrendon’thaveanythingtoeat.

5. Keep in mindthefollowinginformation Don’tconfusethemeaning of theword “actually.” Itdoesn’t mean “at present.” Itmeans “in fact.” Ex. A: I knowyoudon’tlikefastfood. B: Actually, I loveit. Thesewords are synonyms: currently, nowadays, at present, today. Ex.Todaythecost of living isveryhigheverywhere.

6. Keep in mindthefollowinginformation Rememberthesepassiveverbforms: I wasgiven, I wasasked, I wastold. Ex. I wasaskedtorepeat my lastlecture. Rememberthe use and meaning of “yet” and “already” Has he finishedhishomeworkyet? (question) He hasn’tfinishedhishomeworkyet. (negativesentence) Haveyoualreadyeatenyour lunch? (question) He has alreadyeatenhis lunch. (Aff. Sentence)

7. Keep in mindthefollowinginformation Rememeberthe use of “intend” and “pretend” Sheintendstogotocollegenextyear. (She has theintentionto do that.) Shepretendstobehappy, butsheisn’t. Rememeberthefollowingverbforms: Youcan achieveanythingyouwantifyoubelieve in yourself. In thepastpeoplecouldn’tcommunicate as quickly as we do today. In thenearfuture, peoplewillbeabletocommunicatefasterthannow. Wehaven’tbeenabletocomplete ourprojectyet.

8. Keep in mindthefollowinginformation If a verbfollows a preposition, thisverbshouldhaveing. Theyplan onstartingtheirownbusinessnextyear. Rememberthefollowing use of “make” My new bossmakes me feelstressed. Classicalmusicmakeshimfeelrelaxed.

9. Keep in mindthefollowinginformation Whenyouwrite, avoidrunonsentences. Rememberthis: , and - , but- , or Shebelieves in herskills, and shewantstoprovethatshe can getthejobsheisapplyingfor. Note: Use thisinformationtoavoidsomemistakesthat are producedby a transfer of someSpanishstructures and words.