By Danielle Danforth

Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn, but that doesn’t make it inferior to more complex languages like French, German, or even Mandarin. Spanish, like French, is a romance language and really can be beautiful. Learning another language is so beneficial and can even be fun! If you are starting to learn Spanish, make sure you know some of the distinct differences between Spanish and English, so that you can avoid silly mistakes and begin to sound more and more like a native speaker!

Spanish Grammar vs. English Grammar

Spanish and English have a lot of similarities. Many words in Spanish looks like words in English (these words are called cognates), such as artista, meaning artist, or color, meaning—you guessed it—color. However, there are some important differences to be aware of when constructing sentences with your newly-acquired Spanish vocabulary.

1. Why is Everything Backwards?

In English, adjectives are placed before a noun (example: the blue eyes). In Spanish, it is typically the opposite (example: los ojos azules).

2. Looks Like I Don’t Know Nothin’!

In English grammar, the double negative is forever condemned. Uttering a sentence such as “I don’t know nothing” can make others believe that you just might be right. Translating the correct version of that sentence (“I don’t know anything”) to Spanish, though, one would say No sé nada. But…wait…aren’t no and nada both negative words? Can we use them both in the same sentence? Get excited, because in Spanish, the answer is yes. It is perfectly acceptable to use double negatives in several instances.

3. Can’t We All Just Get Along?

In Spanish, it is very important that words agree. Nouns and adjectives, for example, must agree in both number and gender. If you noticed, in the example from number 1, azul (blue) became azules when it described a plural noun, eyes. If we said “white house” we would have to say casa blanca. Although the word for white is blanco, it must agree in gender with the noun it is describing. Since house (casa) is a feminine world, the –o of blanco must turn into an –a.

Now What?

These rules may seem tedious, but they are very important. The more you practice them, the more familiar they will become. The best and only way to truly learn a language is to immerse yourself in it! Read articles in Spanish to learn new vocabulary, get workbooks to work on grammar, listen to Spanish music, watch movies with Spanish subtitles, etc. Do as much as you can to put as much Spanish in your head, and then practice it! Write to and speak with others in Spanish, or even talk to yourself if you have to. Practice makes perfect.

Additional Help

Check out these great sites to continue improving your Spanish skills!

http://spanish.about.com/od/learnspanishgrammar/a/gram_mistakes.htm

http://www.studyspanish.com/freesite.htm

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