General Advice for Writing in Spanish

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Classic problems for English-native users of Spanish

gustar – In general gustar translates as the English to like, but it is easy to get wrong, especially in more complex sentences:

• I like white coffee = Me gusta el café con leche
• In English the subject of like is "I".
• In Spanish the subject of gustar is el "café con leche".

In English you use the –ing form of the verb with to like. In Spanish you express the same idea with gustar but with the infinitive (the –ar, –er or –ir form of the verb).

I like swimming = Me gusta nadar

Other words in Spanish which function in the same way are encantar (me encanta el flamenco = I love Flamenco dancing), and apetecer (me apetece una cerveza = I’d like a beer).

agradecer – In English you thank someone for something and this is expressed in Spanish by the verb agradecer. But in Spanish what you are giving thanks for is the object of agradecer, so:

agradezco su amabilidad = I thank (you) for your kindness/I am grateful for your kindness

Note the Spanish did not specify the person being thanked. If the person is specified, he/she is the indirect object, so:

le agradecí su amabilidad = I thanked her/him for his kindness

ser and estar – The rule of thumb is that ser is used for intrinsic and permanent qualities and estar is used for temporary states. This is true up to a certain point, and it is always worth looking at the examples that accompany these words in a good dictionary.

Some examples to note:

¿Es Ud soltero/soltera?	Are you married or single? (Note formal enquiry)
Está casada con mi primo	She’s married to my cousin (Note informal statement)
Es una persona muy feliz	He’s/She’s a very happy person
¿Estás contento en Santiago?	Are you happy in Santiago?
Es cirujana	she's a surgeon (Note no equivalent of "a" in Spanish for a profession)
Es una famosa cirujana	she's a famous surgeon

Passive voice

The passive voice exists in Spanish but it is used far less frequently than in English and it is good practice for English native speakers to be on the lookout for ways to express the same thing in a more "Spanish" way. Consider the following examples:

The bridge was built in 1950
A perfectly correct translation would be the literal one:
El puente fue construido en 1950
But be aware that the above is the least favoured option in Spanish, which would prefer to use a reflexive construction or the third person plural:
Se construyó el puente en 1950
Construyeron el puente en 1950

Note the third person plural option in sentences like:
I was told to come back at nine
Me dijeron que volviera a las nueve
She deserves to be promoted
Merece que la asciendan

and the use of the reflexive option in sentences like:
it is known that...
se sabe que ...
The mixture is cooked on a low heat
La mezcla se cuece a fuego lento

The subjunctive

It is impossible in the space available here to cover when to use and when not to use the subjunctive in Spanish. Sadly it is a verbal mood which gives most English-native speakers difficulty in Spanish. Here are a few instances where Spanish demands the subjunctive.

with verbs expressing an emotional input: to hope esperar, to forbid prohibir, to wish desear, to want querer, to regret lamentar, to be necessary hacer falta, ser necesario, when there is a change of subject. Note the changes &nash; I to she; I to you; I to she/he – in the following examples.

Espero que venga mañana	I hope she’ll come tomorrow
Le prohíbo que vaya	I forbid you to go
Lamento que tenga que irse	I am sorry that she/he has to go away

with ojalá = hopefully, let’s hope that

with creer in the negative:

no creo que vengan mañana = I don’t think they are coming/will come tomorrow

with the following common expressions with que which introduce a subordinate clause:

• para que = so that
• antes de que = before
• sin que = without
• a condición de que = provided that

Te escribí para que entendieras la situación en que nos encontrábamos.
I wrote to you so that you would understand the situation we found ourselves in.

There are many other situations where the subjunctive is required, the above are just some of the most common where its use is obligatory.

there is/there are

Note that in Spanish the form for expressing there is/there are is invariable regarding number, consider:

• Hay una tienda en la esquina = There is a shop on the corner
• Hay muchos turistas en verano = There are many tourists in summer

In the past use hubo or había for there was and there were and habrá in the future for there will be. You may see a plural form in Spanish used for the past and future, equivalent to "there were", "there will be". These forms are mistakes and should not be copied.

Accents

Apart from its function as a discriminator for words spelt the same as mentioned above, the Spanish written accent shows when the stress of a word departs from the norms. These are basically:

a word ending in a vowel or –n or –s takes the natural stress on the vowel of the penultimate syllable, shown below in bold below.

words ending in other consonants take the stress on vowel of the final syllable

Examples:

calculado	No written accent needed as the word ends in a vowel.
resumen	No written accent needed as the word ends in –n. Note the accent is needed in the plural, resúmenes, to show that the accent is not on the vowel of the penultimate syllable.
interés	Without the written accent the stress would fall on the e in –ter–

The stress falls naturally on the last vowel in the following because these words end in consonants other than –n or –s.

• barril
• raspar
• feliz

The written accent (only the acute is used in Spanish) is used to show when the stress rules above are broken:

dirección	word ending in –n, but the stress falls on the last syllable. Note the accent is not needed in the plural, direcciones when the standard rule is complied with.
mecánico	Written accent to show that the stress is not on –ni–
jabalí	Written accent to show that the stress is not on –bal–
cambió	the past tense of cambiar, contrast with cambio, present tense and cambio, the noun

Useful expressions

It is considered good style in Spanish not to repeat words and expressions when an alternative can be used. The following list of linking expressions contains some synonyms for this purpose as well as expressions which are useful generally in one's writing.

• es decir = that is to say
• a saber = that is to say
• en otras palabras = in other words
• dicho de otra manera = in other words
• primero = first, firstly, in the first place
• primeramente = first, firstly, in the first place
• en primer lugar = first, firstly, in the first place
• en segundo lugar = second, secondly, in the second place
• por último = finally
• finalmente = finally
• en comparación con = by comparison with
• comparado –da con = compared with
• hoy en día = nowadays
• actualmente = at present, currently
• en la actualidad = at present, currently
• respecto a = regarding, with regard to
• en cuanto a = regarding, with regard to
• por otra parte = on the other hand
• porque = because
• a causa de = because of
• en resumidas cuentas = briefly
• en efecto = in fact
• efectivamente = in fact
• por lo menos = at least
• la gran mayoría de = the great majority of
• no obstante = nevertheless
• sin embargo = nevertheless
• a pesar de = in spite of
• ahora bien = however, now
• recalcar = to emphasize
• enfatizar = to emphasize
• hacer hincapié en = to emphasize
• subrayar = to underline
• señalar = to point out
• dar algo por sentado = to assume something, take something for granted
• asumir = to assume