I know there’s all kinds of different approaches to errors, error corrections and much discussion as to whether error correction can ever really be effective. Still, I have to try! This little compilation is taken from errors made repeatedly by my Leaving Cert Spanish students over the last year, and I added some errors made by my Form 5 Spanish students as well in their end of year Spanish Oral Exam.

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How you can feel after correcting the same errors multiple times!

If you’re studying for your Leaving Cert Spanish, then it’s a good exercise to go through them. The first section – corrections – contains the corrected version of common errors; the second contains words I suggest you review to make sure you know the differences between them; the third are a few pronunciation tips; the fourth contains nice phrases to take on board yourself and finally there are a few to try and correct yourself.

If you’re a teacher – you probably have your own more extensive list which you can copy out and print. Maybe you have a chance to bring your Leaving Cert Spanish classes to the computer room and let them work together to figure them out. I’ve also been rereading this blog Dave Stuart Jr’s blog this morning, which I might try to implement next year. 

Let me know if you need a hand with any of the differences, errors or suggestions, and definitely let me know if you’ve tried something similar to Dave in your classes and how it has worked for you!

Common errors

CORRECTIONS

  1. Vengo al colegio en…
  2. EL Sistema
  3. La Selectividad
  4. NEVER es bien: either Es bueno or Está bien, and frankly, neither please – use something a little less bland!
  5. HACE calor
  6. Nací el 12 de diciembre del año 2000.
  7. La informática
  8. Gustar + INFINITIVE
  9. Ayudar A mi padre A cortar el cespéd
  10. Iremos DE vacaciones
  11. Paso horas estudiANDO/ hablANDO
  12. Una veZ but dos veCes

DON’T GET THESE WORDS & PHRASES MIXED UP

  1. Ya que               vs porque            vs a causa de
  2. Me gusta           vs me gustaría
  3. Quedar             vs quedarse
  4. Quedaré contigo en                     vs me quedaré en
  5. Quiero             vs me gusta
  6. Me gusta          vs me gusto
  7. Final                vs último
  8. Colegio            vs universidad
  9. Irlanda            vs irlandés
  10. España            vs español
  11. Viejo                vs antiguo              vs mayor
  12. Tocar               vs jugar
  13. Hay                  vs es                       vs está          vs tiene
  14. Simpático       vs bonito
  15. Campo            vs parque
  16. Hijo                 vs chico                   vs niño

PRONUNCIATION (a very small sample)

  1. c pronounced like /th/: sociable; necesito; cien.
  2. Softly pronounced g: biología; geografía.
  3. No /h/ sound: hermano, el hogar
  4. v pronounced like /b/: vale, móvil

USE THESE!

  1. Cuando SEA mayor,…
  2. Cuando VAYA a España…
  3. En cuanto TERMINEN los exámenes
  4. Cuando era más joven, me gustaba…

FIX THESE

  1. Por los fines de semana
  2. Primero curso
  3. Me interesa en la política
  4. Iré al Japón.
  5. Estaré en la Nueva York.
  6. Preferido el inglés.
  7. Los fines de semanas
  8. Espero que ir
  9. Está importante

And finally, if you’ve done all that, reward yourself!

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4 Comments

      1. Los fines de semana (No Por)
        Primer curso (Drop the o before masculine nouns)
        Me interesa la política (No en)
        Iré a Japón (No article necessary)
        Estaré en Nueva York (No article necessary)
        Prefiero el inglés (Preferido is past participle)
        Los fines de semana (Only make the first part of the compound noun plural)
        Espero ir (No que necessary as the subject is the same)
        Es importante (Ser is used to describe permanent traits)

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