COMMON MISTAKES –SECUNDARIA AND BACHILLERATO

MISTAKE CORRECTION REASON

1 I came whit my friend. I came with my friend. Spe l
li ng:Mi s taking“ wit
h”
for a Wh- particle.
2 He can not do that. He cannot do that. “Ca nnot ”isas ing leword,
not two.
3 I
t’
svery dificult. I
t’
sve
rydifficult. Spe l
li ng:InSpa nish,“di
fíci
l”
ha sonl yone“ f”.
4 England is diferent. England is different. Spelling: In Spanish,
“di fer ente”ha sonl yone“ f”
.
5 Have you got de Have you got the Spelling: The sound of the
money? money? article“ The”i sve rysimilar
to the sound of the Spanish
pre pos i
tion“ de ”.
6 I saw him on saturday. I saw him on Saturday. In English, the days of the
week must be written with a
capital letter.
7 On the other hand, in On the other hand, in In English, the months of the
june. June. year must be written with a
capital letter.
8 I
’ml
ear
ningitalian. I
’ml
ear
ningItalian. In English, the names of
languages must be written
with a capital letter.
9 She
’sfrench. She
’sFrench. In English, nationalities must
be written with a capital
letter.
10 They usualy get up at They usually get up at Spe l
li ng:“Us ually”ha sa
7:00. 7:00. doubl e“ ll”.
11 I’m wa tchinga film I’m wa tchinga very Word order: The adjective
very interesting. interesting film. always comes before the
noun in a phrase.
12 I
t’
sa incredible book. I
t’
san incredible book. Spelling: The indefinite
article“ a”iswr itten“an”
when the following word
starts with a vowel.
13 We have the lunch at 1 We have lunch at 1 We do not normally use the
o’
clock. o’
clock. article“ t
he ”be f
or ethena mes
of the meals of the day.
14 She
’ss
tay
ingin home. She
’ss
tay
ingat home. Thewor d“ home ”only
accepts the stative preposition
“a t”.
15 Are very nice. They are very nice. In English, a subject is
required before the verb.
16 John say that John says that Grammar: In affirmative
everybody came. everybody came. sentences in the Present
Simpl e,theve rbha san“ -s”
ending.
17 John and Mary think John and Mary think There are two persons in the

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 they have to show his they have to show their subject, therefore, the
interest. interest. possessive must be plural.
18 It caused terribles It caused terrible In English, the adjective
difficulties. difficulties. NEVER takes the plural.
19 That was a story That was a beautiful Adjective Order: In English
beautiful. story the adjective goes before the
noun it modifies
20 English is my favourite English is my favourite Thewor d“ s igna tur e”( firma )
signature. subject. must not be confused with
“subj ect”( as i
g na tura,te ma ).
21 He ’sgott hreechilds. He ’sgott hreechildren. Thewor d“ child”ha sa n
irr
e gula rplur al:“ c hil
dr e n”.
22 The y’restuding maths. The y’restudying maths. Spelling: verbs ending en
consonant + y DO NOT lose
orc ha ng ethe“ -y ”whe n
addi ngt he“ ng
-i ”s uffix.
23 She ’scoping me. She ’scopying me. Spelling: verbs ending en
consonant + y DO NOT lose
orc ha ng ethe“ -y ”whe n
addi ngt he“ ng
-i ”s uffix.
24 He ’scomeing He ’scomi ngt omor r
ow. Spelling: Verbs ending in a
tomorrow. silent“ -e”l osei twhe n
adding t he“ ng
-i ”s uffix.
25 He was danceing all He was dancing all Spelling: Verbs ending in a
night. night. silent“ -e”l osei twhe n
addi ngt he“ ng
-i ”s uffix.
26 I studyed Maths last I studied Maths last Spelling: Regular verbs
night. night. ending in consonant+“ -y”
cha ng eitto“ -i-“be fore
addi ngt he“ -ed”s uf f
ix.
27 English is easyer than English is easier than Spelling: Adjectives ending
German. German. inc ons ona nt+“ -y ”c ha ngei t
to“ -i-“be for ea ddi ngt he
compa ra t
ive“ -er ”s uffix.
28 She_watching TV. She’ swatching TV. Grammar: The Present
Continuous requires the use
oft heve rb“ tobe ”i nt he
pres ents i
mpl ea ndt he“ -ing”
form.
29 To listen to music is Listening to music is her InEng lishweus et he“ -ing”
her favourite hobby. favourite hobby. form when we want to have a
verb as the subject of a
sentence.
30 The film was very The film was very long. False friends: In English,
large. “larg e”me anst hes amea s
“big” .
31 Remember, as the Remember, as the The article THE is not used
Ame ri
canss a y,“ The Americans s a y,“Ti meis when we are talking about
Ti mei smone y”. mo ne y”. something IN GENERAL.
32 The life is often unfair. Life is often unfair. The article THE is not used

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 when we are talking about
something IN GENERAL.
33 I watch always that I always watch that Frequency adverb position is
programme on programme on usually before the main verb.
television. television.
34 They like listening They like listening to Younor ma llyadd“ to”a fter
music. music. listen to say what you are
listening to. Example: Listen
to the radio / the news ...
35 They can not do that. They cannot do that. “ Ca nnot ”i sas i
ng lewor d,
not two.
36 He works as disc He works as a disc In English, when we are
jockey. jockey. talking about ONE
PERSON’ SPROFESSI ON,
we use the indefinite article
a/an before the name of the
profession.
37 Come out. I can to see Come out. I can see you. Theve rb“ Can”doe sn’ tta ke
you. “ t
o”be for etheve r
bi nt he
infinitive.
38 The books of Valle Va l
leI nclán’ sbooksare Weus et he‘ sg enitivet os ay
Inclán are very very interesting. that some things belong to a
interesting. person.
39 It’sacity beautiful. I
t’
sabeautiful city. Adjective Order: In English
the adjective goes before the
noun it modifies.
40 I like listening __ the I like listening to the Theve rb“ List
en”t ake st he
radio. radio. pr epos i
tion“ To”whe ny ou
use it with a complement.
41 English is an important English is an important “ La ngua ge ”me a ns“ Le ng ua ,
idiom. language. Idi oma ”.“ I
diom”me ans
“ expre sióni diomá ti
c a,f ras e
hechaor efrán”.
42 I
’l
ls eey
outhe next I
’l
lse
eyoune
xtwe
ek. “ Ne xt”doe snott aket he
week. a rt
ic l
e“ The ”whe niti sus ed
to refer to future periods of
time.
43 Have you met the Mr. Have you met Mr. Youdon’ tus ethea rtic l
e
Jones? Jones? “ The ”be forea proper name.
44 The ydon’ tto smoke or They don’ tsmokeor Youdon’ tus e“ t
o”a ftert he
drink. drink. auxiliary verb DO / DOES.
45 That part of France That part of France has The verb has to be in the
have some nice some nice countryside. singular form here, since the
countryside. subj ecti s“ part”,whi c hi s
singular.
46 The book wich you are The book which you are Spelling.
reading. reading.
47 Listen carefuly. Listen carefully. Spelling: Adjectives ending
in“l”doubl et hisl e
tterwhe n
addingt he“ y
-l ”s uff
ix.

3
 Careful => carefully
48 Id i
dn’ts e eno animals. Idi dn’ts eeany animals. Double negative: If the verb
is in the negative form, you
cannot have a negative
particle afterwards—use
“a ny ”i nsteadof“ no”whe n
the verb is in the negative.
49 I use this towel for dry I use this towel to dry Grammar: The infinitive of
my hands. my hands. purpose = To + Infinitive.
After prepositions we use a
ve rbi nt he“ -ing”f orm whe n
we need to use a verb.
50 I’mg oingt othe bed. I’mg oingt obed In English wes ay“Got o
be d” ,Not“ tot hebe d”.We
als os ay“ Got os chool”,“Go
toUni ve r
sity”...
51 How many people was How many people were I nEng lish,thewor d“ peopl e
”
there? there? is always plural.
52 There are much things There are many things to False friends: In Spanish
to do. do. “muc hos /
a s
”=I nEng l
ish
“Ma ny ” .
53 The situation seemed The situation often Frequency adverb position is
often very unfair. seemed very unfair. usually before the main verb.
54 He got a better mark He got a better mark Donotus e“tha t
”wi th
that me. than me. compa ra t
ives.Us e“ THAN” .
55 It sometimes can help. It can sometimes help. Frequency adverb position is
usually before the main verb.
56 I’m notg oi ngto I’m notg oingt o InEng lishweus e“Too
Sc otland.I t’stoomuch Sc o t
land.I t’s too cold muc h”wi t
hunc ountable
cold there. there. nouns. With adjectives we
us e“ Too” .
57 I think that Paris is the I think that Paris is the Do not use the comparative
more beautiful city in most beautiful city in the when you have to use the
the world. world. superlative. We use the
superlative in English when
we want to say that
something has the highest
rank in a group of more than
two elements.
58 Those people has to Those people have to In Eng lish,thewor d“ peopl e
”
take quick decisions. take quick decisions. is always plural.
59 It was more easy than I It was easier than I In English, adjectives which
expected. expected. endi n“ -y”,taket he“-er”
comparative with changes.
60 She is the more She is the most Do not use the comparative
important person here. important person here. when you have to use the
superlative. We use the
superlative in English when
we want to say that
something has the highest

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 rank in a group of more than
two elements.
61 Probably he’
llcome He ’llprobably come Adverb position: Usually
tomorrow. tomorrow. before the main verb.
62 The yha ven’
tgotmany The yha ve n’tg otmuch “ Pa tienc e”i sa nunc ount able
patience. patience. noun.So,y ouc an’tus ea
plur alde termi nera s“ ma ny”.
63 May of 1997 May 1997 No prepositions are used in
dates.
64 I liked watch the I liked watching the The gerund is used after the
children play. children play. ve rb“ Like ”( Exc epti n
“Woul dl i
ket o+
INFINITIVE).
65 How I can help you? How can I help you? Interrogative Order: The
auxiliary verb is placed
before the subject.
66 He married with Susie. He married Susie. Theve rb“ Ma rry
”doe snot
take a preposition in English.
67 Hedi
dn’
tas
kto Mary. Hedi dn’ta skMa ry. Youdon’ tus eapr e pos i
tion
wi tht heve rb“ ask”a ndt he
person.
68 I liked german beer. I liked German beer. In English you use capitals
with nationalities and
languages.
69 He ’
sthebe stactorof He ’sthebe stac t
orin the With the superlatives, you use
the world. world. IN the world.
70 I love the books I love books. Youdon’ tus ethea r t
icle
“the ”whe ny ou’ret alkingin
general.
71 “Wha t’
sy ourna me ?
” “ Wha t’sy ourna me ?”I Youdon’ tus ethepr epos i
ti
on
I asked to the boy. asked the boy. “to”a ft
e rtheve r
bASKwi th
thepe rsony ou’rea sking .
72 I usually read in the I usually read at night. In English we say:
night. In the morning; in the
afternoon, in the evening
AND at night.
73 It’soneoft hebi ggest It’soneoft hebi ggest With the superlatives, you use
cities of Spain. cities in Spain. IN + Name of a country.
74 After to open the door, After opening the door, After prepositions we use a
hes aid“ hel
lo” . hes aid“ he l
lo” . ve rbi nthe“ -ing”f orm whe n
we need to use a verb.
75 She gave me other Two possibilities: InEng l
ishweus e“ a nothe r
”
book - She gave me another t ome a n“ onea dditiona l
”.We
book. us e“ theot he r”tor efert o“a
- She gave me the different one from the same
other book. se t
” .
76 We will call you when We will call you when InEng l
ish,t hewor d“ pe ople”
we will arrive. we arrive. is always plural.
77 We had a time very We had a very relaxing Word order: In English, the
relaxing. time. adjective always comes

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 before the noun.
78 She was angry because She was angry because BAD is and adjective (malo)
she did bad in the test. she did badly in the test. and BADLY is an adverb
(mal)
79 He asked to the man: He asked the man: InEng lisht heve rb“ ask”us e
s
“Wha t’
sy ourna me ?” “ Wha t’
sy ourna me ? ” no prepositions.
80 Iha ven’ts eenhi mf or Iha ven’ts eenhi mf or In Eng lishwes ay“ mor e
more that three days. more than three days. tha n”,NOT“ mor et hat”
81 We arrived to the We arrived at the station I nEng lishwes ay“ a r
rivea t
stat
i ona t8o’ clock. a t8o’ c l
oc k. (apl ace )
”or“ a rri
vei n( a
count ry)”.WeNEVERs ay
“a rri
vet o( apl ac e)”.
82 He ’smaking a good He ’sdoing a good job. Al thoug hbot h“ MAKE”a nd
job. “DO”c anbet ra nslateda s
“HACER”i nSpa nish,y ou
ca n’tus eoneort heot he r
when you like. Some
expr essionsus e“ DO”a nd
someus e“ MAKE” .For
instance, in English we say
“Doaf avour ”( ha cerun
favor), butwes a y“ma ke
trouble ”(c ausarpr obl ema s).
83 “Ba dnews ”–“ Why ? “ Ba dne ws ”–“ Why ? When a Wh- particle is
What did happen? ” What happened? ” asking about the subject of
the action, the structure of the
question is like the
affirmative.
84 He did it too quick. He did it too quickly. In order to modify a verb, you
have to use and adverb
(quickly), not an adjective
(quick).
85 It was a large, hot It was a long, hot “La rge ”me ans“ Biginsiz e”.
summer. summer. It is a common mistake to use
iti nste adof“ l
ong” .
86 I picked up the book of I picked up the book Thepr epos i
ti
on“ from”i s
the floor. from the floor. used to determine the place of
origin.
87 She has very few time. She has very little time. Youus e“Fe w”wi th
countable nouns in plural, and
“li t
tle”wi thunc ountable
nouns.
88 Give the money before Give the money before “ Be for e”me ans“ Antesde ”.
of you go to the you go to the station. Youdon’ tneeda nother
station. preposition.
89 I saw much people at I saw many people at the “ Pe opl e”isaplur al
,
the party. party. countable noun in English.
Youus eitwi t
h“ ma ny”.
90 He should to tell us his He should tell us his Modal verbs use the bare

6
 name. name. infinitive (Infinitive without
“ To” ).auxi l
ia ryve rbi spl ace
d
before the subject.
91 Icouldn’tsee that he Icouldn’ts e
ewhat he “ Wha t”me a ns“ loque ”whe n
was doing. was doing. you use it to join two
sentences.
92 I live in Valencia since I have lived in Valencia In English we use the present
I was six. since I was six. perfect to talk about actions
or states that started in the
past and continue up to the
present.
93 In the other hand, I saw On the other hand, I saw Idi oms :Wes ay“ On one hand
a lot of flowers. a lot of flowers. / on theot he rha nd” ,NOT
“ In”.
94 They play badly the They play the guitar You cannot put an adverbial
guitar. badly immediately after the main
verb if this verb takes a direct
object. The structure is VERB
+ DIRECT OBJECT +
ADVERBIAL
95 Last summer he Last summer he worked In English wes ay“ wor kas
worked like barman. as a barman. a...”whe nwewa ntt osa ythe
na meoft hej ob,not“ wor k
likea .
..”
96 I want that you go out. I want you to go out. Grammar: Want + Object + to
+ Infinitive => We use this
construction to say that we
want a person to perform a
specific action.
97 “I’veme tt
henew “I
’veme tthenew If we want to ask about the
teachers”. te
ache r
s”. character of a person, we ask
“Re al
ly ?How are they “Really
?What are they “ What i shel ike? ”,NOT
like?”. li
ke?”. “ How. ..
”
98 I’mg oingonhol ida ys I’
mg oi
ngonholida yin InEng li
s hwes ay“ on
in September. September. hol ida y”( sing ular)whe nwe
wa nttos a y“ DE
VACACI ONES”( pl ural).
99 They are working here They have been working In English we use the present
since 1980. here since 1980. perfect when an action starts
in the past and reaches the
present.
100 The rea
ren’
tno books The rea
ren’
tany books Doubl ene ga tive:Us e“a ny”
here. here. ins teadof“ no”whe ntheve r
b
is in the negative.
101 I lived in Granada I lived in Granada for “ Dur ing ”c annotbeus e din
during six years. six years. that way. You have to use
“ for”=DURANTE.
102 The film had an The film had an exciting Fa lsef riends :“ Ar gume nt”
exciting argument. plot. me ans“ PELEA”i nSpa nish.
“ Plot”me a ns“ TRAMA,

7
 ARGUMENTO” .
103 He has a few of dollars He has a few dollars in The plural countable
in the bank. the bank. de termi ne r“af ew”i sa l
wa ys
followed by the plural noun.
Youdon’ tha vet oput
anything in the middle.
104 He gave me other three He gave me another InEng lishweus e“ anothe r”
books yesterday. three books yesterday. tome an“ onea dditiona l”.
You can also have numerals
after“ anot he r”.Weus e“ (the)
othe r”t or efert o“ adiffer ent
onef rom t hes ames e t
” .
105 If he would had seen If he had seen you, he In the Third Conditional, you
you, he had said would have said “ hello” use the Past Perfect in the
“he ll
o”. “If...”c l
a usea ndt hePe rfec t
Conditional in the other.
106 She never had done She had never done that “ Ne ve r”i spl a cedbe twe en
that before. before. thea uxi liary“ Ha ve ”a ndt he
main verb (Past participle)
when used with perfect
tenses.
107 She arrived to the She arrived at the Theve rb“ Ar rive ”t ake sthe
airport. airport. pre pos ition“ At ”wi thpl ace s
,
and“ I n”wi thc ount riesa nd
cities.
108 She ha dn’tne ve
rbeen She had never been Youc an’tha vet wone ga t
ives
there before. there before. int hes a mes ent enc e.“Ne ver”
can only be used with the
verb in the affirmative.
109 They were kind with They were kind to me. Thea dj ective“ Ki nd”t ake s
me. thepr e pos it
ion“ To” .
110 Le t’sha
ve other cup of Le t’sha veanother cup Another: One more
tea. of tea.
111 That depends of you. That depends on you. Theve rb“ De pe nd”t ake st he
pre pos ition“ On” .
112 I’
mg oingt og iveupto I’mg oi ngtog iveup The gerund is used after the
smoke next week, I smoking next week, I ve rb“ Gi veup” .
promise. promise.
113 I’
m ___bi gf a
nof I’m a big fan of Elvis When the attribute is used to
Elvis Presley Presley. identify the subject as a
member of a specific group,
you use the indefinite article
(A / An), asi n“ Pe t
e risa
doc tor ” .
114 You must to tell me You must tell me your Modal verbs use the bare
your secret. secret. infinitive (Infinitive without
“To” ).
115 He’sver
ygoodin He ’
sve ryg oodat Thea dj ective“ Good”t ake s
Maths Maths. thepr e pos it
ion“ At”whe n
youi nt endt os a y“ bue noEN

8
 algo” .
116 She worked like an She worked as a n“ Au Youus et hepr e pos it
ion“ As”
“Aupa ir” . pa ir” wi tht heve rb“ Wor k”t o
specify the job someone is
doing.
117 Id idn’ tunde rstandthat Idi dn’tunde rs
tand what “ Wha t”me ans“ l
oque ”whe n
you were saying. you were saying. you use it to join two
sentences.
118 He wants that you go He wants you to go to Theve rb“ Wa nt”onl yt akes
to Barcelona. Barcelona. subordinate clauses in the
infinitive. You use an object
pronoun an the n“ To+
infinitive” .
119 They had loved They had loved each “ Ea chOt her”i sRe cipr ocal
,
themselves for many other for many years whe reas“ Thems elves ”i s
years before they got before they got married. Reflexive.
married.
120 We sat there during We sat there for three InEng li
shweus e“ For ”t o
three hours. hours. state the duration of an
action.
121 I’m notenough old to I ’m notold enough to Whe nweus e“ Enoug h”wi th
vote. vote. adjectives, we use the
adjective before ENOUGH.
122 They made me a big They did me a big “Doaf avour ”isaf ixe d
favour. favour. phrase. You cannot say
“Ma keaf avour ”.
123 Hec a
n’ tdonothing Hec a
n’ tdoanything InEng li
shy ouc a
n’ tha vetwo
else. else. negatives in the same
sente nc e.Youc an’ tus e
“Not hi ng”i nane ga t
ive
sentence.
124 I looked at me in the I looked at myself in the You use a reflexive pronoun
mirror. mirror. in English when the subject
and the object is the same.
125 He gave me a bottle He gave me a bottle and Another: One more.
and then he asked for then he asked me for
other. another.
126 Ic oul dn’ tseethat he Ic ouldn’ tseewhat he “Wha t”me ans“ l
oque ”whe n
was doing. was doing. you use it to join two
sentences.
127 He said me to close the He told me to close the Youus et heve rb“ Te ll”to
window. window. report commands.
128 He asked her how old He asked her how old Youdon’ tus ethe
was she. she was. interrogative order when a
question is reported (that is,
not asked directly).
129 They asked me that I They asked me to sit To report an order, you use a
sat down. down. “To+i nf init
ive ”s ubor dinate
clause.
130 I think it can be hot I think it may be hot Youdon’ tus e“ Ca n”f or

9
 tomorrow. tomorrow. future predictions.
131 You’ lllikei t!Youwill Yo u’lllikei t! You will Youc an’tus etwomoda l
can do all the things be able to do all the verbs in the same sentence.
you like there. things you like there. Normally you change one of
them for an equivalent verb
or expression.
132 There was a lot of There was a lot of The verbs here are working as
shout and sing. shouting and singing. nouns, so they have to be in
the –ing form.
133 I like go to the dentist I like to go to the dentist Youus e“ Like+t o+I NF. ”
twice a year. twice a year. when you want to say the
way you prefer to do things
(not that you like them very
much).
134 He did that we told He did what we told “Wha t”me ans“ l
oque ”whe n
him. him. you use it to join two
sentences.
135 He ’sreadi ngt hesa me He ’sr eadingt hes ame Youus e“ Thes ame ..
.as..
.”in
book that me. book as me. English to compare two
things.
136 People have been People have been InEng li
shweus e“ For ”to
visiting Santiago visiting Santiago for state the duration of an
during centuries. centuries. action.
137 I’mg oingt ote l
lhim I’mg oi ngto tell him In subordinate clauses
before I will leave next before I leave next introduced by BEFORE you
week. week. do not use the future.

1º ESO: study examples 1 –21

2º ESO: study examples 1 –45
3º ESO: study examples 1 –73
4º ESO: study examples 1 –92
Bachillerato: study examples 1 - 137

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