Not a generic list. These are 114 errors taken from marked homework by Spanish speakers, each one repaired and then explained by what Spanish actually does differently. The heaviest areas here are subject-verb agreement, collocation, countability. Nothing on this page is behind a sign-up.
An error you can name the cause of is an error you can stop making.
The trajectory is unmistakable: subject-verb agreement ran to two instances two sessions ago, seven at the last session, and today, in two hours of fast unrehearsed speech, roughly twenty-four. That escalation is not a decline – it is the sound of someone speaking more freely and faster, which is exactly what a professional meeting needs; the third-person -s is simply the first thing that drops when attention is on the argument. The diagnosis matters: Spanish has rich agreement morphology, so this is never an L1 gap. Spanish is pro-drop precisely because person and number live on the verb (trabajo 'I-work', trabaja 'he/she-works'), and Spanish would never mismatch subject and verb – its agreement is stricter than English. The English third-person -s, by contrast, carries almost no information, and information-light morphology is the first casualty of speed. The cure is therefore not understanding, which is already there, but automation.
The takeawayA denser error sheet can mean you were reaching further, not slipping back – read the counts against how fast and how freely you were speaking.
En este momento and en ese momento are the natural Spanish frames for 'now' and 'then', and they transfer whole into English as *in this moment* and *in that moment*. English reserves in this moment for the poetic; ordinary time reference is at the moment for the present, and at that time or at that point for the past. The count tells the story of a habit hardening: five tokens at one session, eight at the next, running right through two hours of talk. The frame has become automatic – which is why the closing module lays the Spanish bare beneath it rather than simply correcting it again. Even Spanish would not use en este momento for a poetic 'in this very instant'; it simply means 'now'. The English words are right; the English meaning of in this moment is not what the speaker intends. Seeing the source is usually what finally interrupts an automatic calque, because you cannot un-see it once it is named.
The takeawayAt the moment for now, at that time for then – and if the phrase in this moment arrives whole, that is Spanish speaking English words.
Spanish marks the past on the verb stem itself, with a full set of distinct endings (decidí, decidiste, decidió) – the tense is unmissable because the whole word changes. English does the same work with one small, unstressed syllable that is often barely audible in speech: decide becomes decided. It is also the form used for the participle, so a single quiet ending carries the past simple, the perfect and the passive. That triple load is why it is the first thing to fall away under speed. In this session six failures appeared across both duties: four bare verbs where the event was over, and two bare verbs after an auxiliary. These are not six habits – they are one muscle used for two purposes, which is why strengthening it repairs past narration, the present perfect and the passive at the same time.
The takeawaySay the ending out loud in all three of its jobs – I decided, I have decided, it is decided – until the muscle is one habit rather than three.
Spanish has no possessive 's. Possession is expressed with de plus the owner – la clínica de mi mamá, los colegas de mi esposo – so the English of-construction maps onto it perfectly and becomes the default. English keeps of available, but for people and organisations it strongly prefers 's: the doctor's instructions, the tribunal's decision, my colleague's file. The of-versions are not wrong; they simply carry a faint accent of translation, and that accent is the last thing to leave a C1 speaker's English. Three appeared in one session, all with human owners, which is the clearest possible case for the apostrophe. The same phenomenon turns up across unrelated first languages – another student the same week was booked for the borders of NATO where English wants NATO's borders.
The takeawayIf the owner is a person or an organisation, reach for 's before you reach for of.
Spanish explicar and decir take an indirect-object pronoun with no preposition at all (me explicó, 'he explained to-me'), so English feels as though it should allow explain me. It does not. The English three-way split is arbitrary and simply has to be learned: TELL takes the person directly (tell the witness, tell the tribunal); SAY and EXPLAIN require TO (say to the witness, explain to the tribunal); and tell is the natural choice in most professional contexts. Note the mirror-image trap living in the same system: Spanish also inserts a preposition where English wants none – the personal a (llamó al doctor) tempts *I called to the doctor*. So the rule cuts both ways: TO before an indirect object, nothing before a direct one.
The takeawayExplain TO someone, say TO someone, tell someone – only TELL goes bare.
Two comma splices were booked as the session's dominant fault over five agreement errors, and the reason is cost rather than count. Written Spanish tolerates long sentences in which several independent clauses are strung together with commas; this is normal, unremarkable prose, and no Spanish reader treats it as an error. Written English does not permit it. Two clauses that could each stand alone must be joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, so, or, yet), separated by a semicolon, or split into two sentences. There is no fourth option, and a comma is not one of the three. In this exam the splice costs twice, because the Grammar trait penalises it directly and a long spliced answer also reads as one unwieldy sentence to the Form check. The evidence is in the distribution: both of the weaker responses contain a splice and the strongest does not. It is also a difference of convention rather than of grammar, which means it is one rule with no exceptions and fixable in a fortnight – whereas five scattered agreement slips are a slower, more diffuse repair.
The takeawayRank a fault by what it costs under the marking scheme, not by how often it appears.
Spanish uses the subjunctive far more heavily than English, and in the si-clause it is compulsory: si tuviera dinero, viajaría – 'if I had money, I would travel'. Now notice what Spanish will not let a speaker say: *si tendría. The conditional is banned from the si-clause. It is simply not available. English enforces the identical ban – *if I would have money is wrong for exactly the same reason – which means the single hardest rule about English conditionals was installed before study began. The third conditional maps too: si hubiera sabido, habría tomado otra decisión runs almost word for word onto if I had known, I would have made another decision. Pluperfect subjunctive becomes had + V3; conditional perfect becomes would have + V3. Same architecture, same order. Where the first language stops helping is lexis: tomar, hacer and dar spread across English verbs that do not overlap them, and there is no rule underneath any of it.
The takeawaySpend preparation time where the map runs out – the hypotheticals are already yours; the verb-noun pairings are not.
Spanish adjectives agree with their nouns in both gender and number: diferentes comidas, alimentos distintos, estudios recientes. English adjectives are invariable – they never change for number, gender or anything else, and the noun alone carries the plural. So *differents foods* is that agreement rule travelling across and landing on a word that has no slot for it. The rule has no exceptions, which makes it one of the cheapest corrections available: different foods, complex tasks, recent studies, large cities, hidden dependencies.
The takeawayThe noun carries the plural alone; the adjective never does.
Spanish counts several nouns that English refuses to count – las investigaciones, los consejos, las informaciones are all grammatical Spanish; researches, advices and informations are not English. The same noun caused trouble in two consecutive sessions here, in opposite directions: many research one week, researches the next, which makes it a habit rather than a slip. The academic set worth memorising, since all of them recur in exam source texts: research, evidence, advice, information, knowledge, progress, equipment – all uncountable. Their countable partners are the summariser's friends: studies, findings, trials, papers, recommendations.
The takeawayWhen you need to count, change the noun rather than pluralising an uncountable one.
Grouped by grammar point, heaviest first. Every line is real.
Subject-verb agreement 19
My colleague review the contracts and then send them to the client's.
My colleague reviews the contracts and then sends them to the client.
The third-person -s and a stray Saxon genitive on a word that is not possessing anything. Both are Spanish-speaker signatures at C1.
everybody want to
everybody wants to
Everybody, everyone and each are grammatically singular, always.
WhySpanish agreement is rich, so this is not an L1 gap but a load problem: the English third-person -s carries almost no meaning, and meaning-light morphology is the first thing to drop when attention is on the argument.
we also works together with our business law department
we also work together with our business law department
A plural subject never takes the singular -s; this is a hypercorrection, evidence that the -s system is unstable in both directions under speed.
WhySpanish marks person and number on the verb ending (trabajo 'I-work', trabaja 'he/she-works'), so the isolated English -s is a separate habit that either drops or over-applies under pressure.
I don't know if that have sense in English
I don't know if that makes sense in English
A singular subject takes the -s form: that has, that makes.
WhyTwo faults share the sentence: the agreement, and the calque of tener sentido ('to have sense'), which English renders as make sense.
it depend on external factors
it depends on external factors
A singular subject takes the -s form.
WhyThe correct form it depends appeared in the very next sentence: the form is known, the habit is the work.
a country that give you
a country that gives you
In a relative clause the verb agrees with the noun the clause describes.
WhySpanish agreement is rich and never mismatches; the English -s is simply so meaning-light that it falls off under speed, where the Spanish ending never would.
people who works
people who work
The relative clause takes the number of its antecedent, and it flips both ways: people who work, but one of them works.
WhySpanish gente que treballa/trabaja marks the person on the ending; English hangs the whole distinction on one small -s.
someone who know
someone who knows
Someone, anyone and everyone are grammatically singular.
a lawyer who specialise
a lawyer who specialises
A singular antecedent takes the singular verb inside the relative clause.
everybody have
everybody has
Everybody is singular however many people it names.
if there are a problem
if there is a problem
THERE agrees with what follows it: there is a problem, there are problems.
that process define
that process defines
A singular subject takes the -s form.
everybody know that exist
everybody knows that it exists
Two repairs: everybody is singular, and the subordinate clause needs its own subject.
WhySpanish is pro-drop – subject pronouns are omitted because person and number live on the verb – so the English dummy subject has to be supplied consciously.
the preparation have to be general
the preparation has to be general
Singular subject, singular verb.
if someone is ask me
if someone asks me
Someone is singular, and there is no auxiliary here to support a bare verb.
recent researches shows
recent research shows
Research is uncountable – much and little, never a plural -s and never a. When you need to count, switch nouns: studies, trials, papers, findings.
WhySpanish counts several nouns that English refuses to count: las investigaciones, los consejos, las informaciones are all grammatical Spanish; researches, advices and informations are not English.
their brains works
their brains work
Under exam pressure the verb agrees with the nearest noun rather than the real subject; find the true subject first.
The food eating in large cities are
the food eaten in large cities is
Two faults in one phrase: the participle (the food receives the action) and the agreement (food is singular).
methods that already works
methods that already work
The relative clause agrees with its antecedent: methods work.
Collocation 15
This will be resumed in one sentence.
This can be summed up in one sentence.
A false friend: Spanish resumir means to summarise. English resume means to start again after a pause.
By the end of the week I felt deconcentrated.
By the end of the week I felt unfocused.
Built from Spanish rather than recalled from English. Distracted works too; deconcentrated is not a word.
to take advance of that networking
to take advantage of that networking
Take advantage of is a fixed unit and cannot be broken up or half-translated.
WhySpanish aprovechar is a single verb; English expresses it as a light-verb phrase, so the noun has to be recalled exactly.
who has been an important role
who has played an important role
Roles are played, not been: the noun has already chosen its verb.
WhySpanish ha tenido un papel importante uses tener ('have') for holding a role; *has been a role* is a half-translation that neither Spanish ser nor tener licenses.
business between persons
business between people
Persons is legal-register only; ordinary English uses people.
I did that mistake
I made that mistake
Mistakes are made, never done.
WhySpanish hacer spreads across both DO and MAKE, so the split has to be learned noun by noun – the same file as tener sentido → make sense.
taken different decisions
made different decisions
Take a decision is real English – formal, institutional, and it belongs to committees rather than to people reflecting on their own lives. Make a decision is the default: it works in every register and it is what a marker expects.
WhySpanish tomar una decisión has not invented a phrase; it has landed on a genuine but narrow one. Tomar, hacer and dar spread across English take / make / do / give without mapping cleanly, so the pairs are stored whole.
the most exciting experience I ever done
the most exciting experience I have ever had
Experiences are had, not done: the noun chose its verb long ago. MAKE a decision / an effort / progress; HAVE an experience / an impact / an opportunity; DO research / harm / your best; TAKE a risk / a break / action.
WhySpanish hacer, tener and tomar divide this territory differently – and here tener una experiencia was actually pointing at HAVE all along, so the English DO intruded on its own.
do quick decisions
make quick decisions
Decisions are made.
WhyThe light-verb spread again: hacer covers both DO and MAKE.
Cities that plan carefully have fewer mistakes
Cities that plan carefully make fewer mistakes
Mistakes are made.
WhyA light verb carries almost no meaning – the noun does the work – and Spanish hacer / tener / tomar do not divide the territory the way English make / have / take do.
Researchers have given extensive work
Researchers have done extensive work
Work is done.
the policy will do a real impact
the policy will have a real impact
Impact is had.
produce progress
make progress
The team is fixed: you make progress and take action.
it brings better benefits
it brings greater rewards
Better benefits is tautologous; greater rewards is the natural pairing.
in good conditions
under the right conditions
Conditions are under, not in.
Countability 7
The etiquettes are different and cultural shocks are common.
The etiquette is different and culture shock is common.
Both are uncountable in English. Same family as researches → research and differents → different from the session before.
one of the most demanding case
one of the most demanding cases
One of the + superlative always takes a plural noun: the phrase means 'one member of the set of demanding cases', and the set is plural.
WhySpanish uno de los casos más exigentes is itself plural, so this is not a direct calque but a trap that catches speakers of several unrelated first languages.
thousand of cameras
thousands of cameras
Vague large numbers take the plural plus of: thousands of, millions of.
WhySpanish miles de maps to thousands of, but veinte millones maps to twenty million – singular, no of. The partitive de does not divide the same way.
20 millions
20 million
After a number, million stays singular and takes no of.
WhySpanish veinte millones carries the plural on the numeral itself; English does not.
one of the first thing
one of the first things
One of the + superlative or ordinal always takes a plural noun.
several of rules
several rules
Several attaches straight to the plural noun, with no of.
WhySpanish varios attaches directly too, but the partitive de in neighbouring frames (miles de) pulls of into the slot.
they are mostly exposed to cultural shocks, different food, etiquettes
they are far more exposed to culture shock, different food, etiquette
Etiquette and culture shock take no plural – the uncountable rule again.
WhySpanish counts nouns English refuses to count, and the plural -s travels across with them.
Prepositions 7
for me in that moment one of the most demanding case that I have
for me, at that time, (it was) one of the most demanding cases I had
English distributes 'now/then' across three frames: at the moment (now), at that time / at that point (then), and at that specific point.
WhySpanish en este/ese momento is the ordinary frame for 'now' and 'then', and it transfers whole as *in this/that moment*. English reserves in this moment for the poetic.
it depends on how is economy in that moment
it depends on how the economy is at that time
Three repairs share this sentence: the time frame, the article, and the embedded order – embedded questions keep statement order.
WhySpanish keeps the inverted question shape inside subordinate clauses (depende de cómo esté la economía – verb before subject is natural); English reverts to statement order.
if in that specific moment he doesn't have a competition with another (lawyer?)
if at that specific point he doesn't have competition from another lawyer
Choose the English time frame the meaning needs; competition in this sense is uncountable, and it comes from a rival, not with one.
WhySpanish en ese momento surfaces as *in that moment*; the article is charged separately because *a competition* in English is a contest with a prize.
in this moment it's a curious thing
at the moment, it's a curious thing
English time reference is at the moment for the present and at that time / at that point for the past.
WhyEn este momento is the natural Spanish frame for 'now' and transfers whole as *in this moment*; by this session it had run to eight tokens and crossed from habit into reflex.
in that moment of my life
at that time in my life
Past time reference takes at that time or at that point.
WhyEn ese momento carried across intact; English reserves in that moment for poetic or emotional use.
depend what our client needs
it depends on what our client needs
Depend takes ON, and a full clause can follow it.
WhySpanish depender DE maps to DEPEND ON; the preposition pairs are erratic between the two languages and are best stored as fixed units.
I could explain this in a Spanish perspective
from a Spanish perspective
The viewpoint preposition is FROM.
Perfect tenses 7
I have create a big law firm
I have created a big law firm
After HAVE, the participle: created, decided, organised.
WhySpanish builds the perfect with haber plus a regular participle, so the structure transfers; what does not transfer is the English irregular set and the quiet, often inaudible -ed.
Someone have been done something
Someone has done something
Pick one perfect frame: has done (active) or has been done (passive) – never both stacked.
they have create
they have created
After HAVE, the participle.
WhySpanish participles are regular and the perfect is built with haber, so the frame transfers; the English irregular set and the quiet -ed have to be learned separately.
I have invite some friends
I have invited some friends
After HAVE, the participle.
WhyThe same quiet -ed ending carries the past simple, the perfect and the passive in English; that triple load is why it is the first thing to fall away under speed.
the effort has did wonders
the effort has done wonders
After HAVE, the participle – and wonders are DONE; the teams differ noun by noun.
moreover there is been new plans
moreover, there have been new plans
Present perfect: HAVE/HAS + BEEN. Plans is plural, so HAVE.
WhySpanish haber does two jobs English splits between two verbs: existence (hay 'there is', había 'there was') and the perfect auxiliary (he visto 'I have seen', ha habido 'there has been'). The two English auxiliaries collapse into one Spanish family and the wrong one surfaces under pressure.
the best opportunity I have ever done
the best opportunity I have ever had
You had an opportunity; you do not do one.
WhyThe mirror of the previous session: there the participle was right and the auxiliary wrong; here it is the other way round.
Comparatives 6
It is tougher as we get older.
The older we get, the tougher it becomes.
The double comparative. He can build one – he had already produced The more action a government takes, the more progress it will make. The job is reaching for it under pressure, not learning it.
Of all the factors, cost is the more significant.
Of all the factors, cost is the most significant.
Of all … is a superlative trigger. Three or more things means most, and it always takes the.
more closer
closer
One comparative marker per adjective, never two.
WhySpanish más cerca is one marker; English -er is already one, so stacking more on top doubles it.
more harder
harder
One comparative marker per adjective.
WhySpanish más is one marker; the English -er is already one, so the two double up.
easier that the last
easier than the last
A comparative takes THAN.
WhySpanish que tempts the English that: comparative que and complementiser que are the same word.
The first attempt was weaker than I had done
My first attempt was weaker than I had expected
A comparative with nothing on the other side of THAN loses the mark it was built for: weaker than I had expected, or than any I had done before.
verb form 6
in this moment we are handle 4 cases
at the moment we are handling four cases
After the auxiliary BE, the continuous needs -ing.
I didn't be sure if I will attend
I wasn't sure if I would attend
BE makes its own past negative (wasn't, never *didn't be*), and inside past reporting will backshifts to would.
you are create directions to your witness
you are creating directions for your witness
After BE, the -ing form.
new plans which are grow the food
new plans to grow food
Are grow has an auxiliary with nothing to attach to; the infinitive of purpose does the job in two words.
did not improved
did not improve
After DO-support the verb stays in its base form.
which will make them to change themselves
which will make them change
MAKE takes a bare infinitive: make them change.
WhySpanish hacer que puts a linker there; English does not.
determiners 5
that things
those things
A plural noun takes a plural demonstrative: this/these, that/those.
another parties
other parties
Another is singular by construction (an + other); the plural is other.
that type of cases
that type of case
The two nouns must agree in number: that type of case, or those types of cases.
another areas
other areas
Another is singular by construction (an + other).
that type of things
that type of thing
The two nouns must agree in number: that type of thing, or those types of things.
Articles and determiners 3
it's a elegant meeting
it's an elegant meeting
The article matches the next sound, not the next letter.
a ten percent of the brains
ten per cent of the brain
English percentages take no article, and the brain is singular as an organ.
WhySpanish el diez por ciento carries the definite article, which travels across as an English a or the.
a efficient method
an efficient method
The article matches the next sound.
dummy subject 3
when I woke up was terrible
when I woke up, it was terrible
English requires a subject in every non-imperative clause, including the dummy subjects IT and THERE.
WhySpanish drops it entirely (era terrible) because person and number live on the verb ending. Drill the dummy frames: IT WAS TERRIBLE, IT IS IMPORTANT, THERE IS A RISK, THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS.
closer to where is eaten
closer to where it is eaten
English requires a subject in every clause. When proofreading a long summary, check that each that, which and where clause has its own subject.
WhySpanish drops subject pronouns because the verb ending identifies them (donde se come). The omission hides in subordinate clauses, where the main clause looks complete and the eye moves on.
If cities had better cycling infrastructure, would be easier
If cities had better cycling infrastructure, it would be easier
English requires a subject in every non-imperative clause.
WhySpanish sería más fácil needs no subject; English does. A relapse of the documented pro-drop signature under speed.
False friends 3
presencial classes
in-person classes
Presencial has no English cognate: the English is in-person, or face-to-face.
WhyA direct Spanish false friend – presencial ('in-person') looks translatable and is not.
contamination
pollution
Spanish contaminación means pollution; English contamination is narrower and mostly technical.
WhyA false friend that survives into essay register and reads as translated.
this will be resumed in changing and rewiring people's brains
this can be summed up as changing and rewiring people's brains
Sum up, not resume.
WhySpanish resumir means 'to summarise'; English resume means 'to start again'. A true false friend, worth memorising as a pair.
Superlatives 3
the most big decision
the biggest decision
Short adjective takes -est; long adjective takes THE MOST. Never both.
WhySpanish builds both degrees on más, so the English split by adjective length has no counterpart to transfer from.
the more difficult part of all
the most difficult part of all
OF ALL is a superlative trigger.
Of all the factors discussed, cost is perhaps significantly
Of all the factors discussed, cost is perhaps the most significant
OF ALL THE is a superlative trigger: the frame is asking for the most, not a plain adverb.
Word order 3
It was the weakest essay I ever had done.
It was the weakest essay I had ever done.
Ever sits between the auxiliary and the participle: had ever done, have ever seen, will ever know.
he call directly the clients
he calls the clients directly
Manner adverbs sit after the object, never between the verb and its object.
WhySpanish permits an adverbial between verb and object, so the order feels natural; English treats verb and direct object as a bonded pair.
the weakest I ever had done
the weakest I had ever done
EVER sits between the auxiliary and the participle, every time: have ever made, had ever done, has ever been.
Cohesion 2
there is not enough evidence to support that humans actually use one or other hemisphere of their brain, and that they actually work together
... there is not enough evidence that individuals favour one hemisphere over the other, since complex thinking draws on both working together
The problem is the second 'and that'. It attaches to 'not enough evidence to support', so the sentence denies that the hemispheres work together – which is the passage's own conclusion. One connector (since, because, as) rescues the whole sentence.
due to people will be using
because people will use
Due to takes a noun, never a clause.
Conditionals 2
If the government make the decision of investing more in public transport, there will be less traffic jams.
If the government made the decision to invest more in public transport, there would be fewer traffic jams.
A second conditional runs on a past form in the if-clause and would in the result clause; and traffic jams are countable, so fewer, not less.
WhyThe decision of investing is the Spanish la decisión de invertir carried across; English takes the infinitive, make the decision to invest.
If the regulation had came on time, there would be many fines
If the regulation had come on time, there would have been many fines
A third conditional keeps both halves in the past: had + V3, would have + V3.
ditransitive verbs 2
you don't have to explain a judge what is the burden of proof
you don't have to explain to a judge what the burden of proof is
Explain never takes a bare person: always explain something TO someone. The embedded question also reverts to statement order.
WhySpanish explicar and decir take an indirect-object pronoun with no preposition (me explicó, 'he explained to-me'), so English feels as though it should allow explain me. It does not.
you cannot say the witness what they have to say
you cannot tell the witness what to say
TELL takes a person directly; SAY and EXPLAIN require TO. In most legal contexts TELL is the natural choice.
WhySpanish decir covers both TELL and SAY, which is exactly where the English three-way split disappears. The mirror-image trap sits in the same system: the personal a (llamó al doctor) tempts *I called to the doctor*.
double comparative 2
The earliest students begin preparing, the more confident they feel
The earlier students begin preparing, the more confident they feel
The double comparative takes two comparatives, never a superlative, and both halves keep the word THE.
it is tougher as we get older
the older we get, the tougher it becomes
Any sentence saying 'as X happens, Y happens' can be flipped into the double comparative – and the range mark is free.
infinitives 2
my goal is improve my English
my goal is to improve my English
An English infinitive keeps its TO.
WhySpanish uses a bare infinitive where English inserts to: mi objetivo es mejorar → my goal is TO improve.
they wanted I be a doctor
they wanted me to be a doctor
English uses an infinitival complement after verbs of wanting: WANT + person + TO + base verb. The same frames run through need me to, ask me to, expect me to.
WhySpanish uses the subjunctive after verbs of wanting, needing and requiring: querían que yo fuera médica ('they wanted that I were a doctor'). English almost never does.
The passive 2
the general rule is that evidence is exclude
the general rule is that evidence is excluded
After passive BE, the participle.
WhyWorth noting what went right: the English analytic passive was reached for at all, where Spanish speakers commonly prefer the se-construction. The structure was the harder part; only the ending fell off.
they would better spend
would be better spent
The money is spent; the passive puts the receiving thing in the subject slot.
past simple 2
I decide to go
I decided to go
A finished past event must be marked: add -d / -ed.
WhySpanish marks the past on the verb stem with a full set of distinct endings (decidí, decidiste, decidió), so the tense is unmissable; English does the same work with one small, often barely audible syllable.
we draw the conclusion and reached an agreement
we drew the conclusion and reached an agreement
Keep the tense consistent across coordinated verbs.
Punctuation 2
recent researches shows with scans that the entire brain is being used, it will be absurd to think that evolution...
... the entire brain is in use, and it would be absurd to think that evolution would build so costly an organ and leave it idle
Two complete sentences cannot be joined by a comma alone. English requires a conjunction (and, but, so, since), a semicolon, or a full stop.
WhyWritten Spanish is markedly more tolerant of long comma-linked chains than written English; sentences that run several independent clauses together with commas are ordinary Spanish prose and are not regarded as errors. English draws a hard line.
...can be affected in some times of the year, moreover there is been new plans
... at certain times of year; moreover, there have been new plans
Moreover is a linking adverb, not a conjunction: it cannot hold two clauses together on its own and needs a semicolon or a full stop in front of it. The same is true of however, therefore, nevertheless and furthermore.
WhyThe same punctuation convention: Spanish prose comma-chains independent clauses freely, so the linking adverb feels like a joiner.
adjective agreement 1
differents foods
different foods
English adjectives never change for number. The rule has no exceptions, which makes it one of the cheapest corrections available: different foods, complex tasks, recent studies, large cities.
WhySpanish adjectives agree with their nouns in gender and number (diferentes comidas, alimentos distintos), so the plural -s travels across and lands on a word that has no slot for it.
adjectives 1
you are not worry about what it will cost you are worry about trust
you are not worried about what it will cost – you are worried about trust
The felt state takes the -ed form: worried, interested, bored; the -ing form describes the property of the thing: worrying, interesting, boring.
WhySpanish splits BE into ser (identity) and estar (state); English folds both into BE and leaves the work to the adjective ending. Estar preocupado maps to be worried, with -ed doing the job the Spanish participle does.
double negative 1
there is not enough evidence that learners did not improve
the evidence shows learners do no better in their preferred mode
Stack two negatives and English flips the meaning. State the finding positively, then attach the negation once. Quick check: read the claim after 'that' alone – does it still say what the passage said?
gerunds 1
I love talk with people
I love talking with people
After love, enjoy and hate, English takes the gerund.
WhySpanish me encanta hablar licenses a bare infinitive after the verb of liking; English does not.
Modal verbs 1
which will can weaken
which can weaken
One modal per verb.
participles 1
The food eating in large cities
the food eaten in large cities
-ing is for the thing doing the action, -ed for the thing receiving it: the people eating, but the food eaten.
Possessives 1
the instruction of the doctor
the doctor's instructions
English keeps of available, but for people and organisations it strongly prefers the possessive 's; and instructions is plural.
WhySpanish has no possessive 's – possession is expressed with de plus the owner (la clínica de mi mamá) – so the of-construction maps perfectly and becomes the default. The of-versions are not wrong; they simply carry a faint accent of translation, which is the last thing to leave a C1 speaker's English.
Relative clauses 1
People that use the phone the most, are mostly unfocused
The more people use their phones, the less they concentrate
People WHO, not that; no comma between a subject and its verb; and deconcentrated is not an English word – unfocused or distracted.
Sentence boundaries 1
Living abroad is difficult, however it teaches you quickly.
Living abroad is difficult. However, it teaches you quickly.
Written Spanish tolerates the comma chain; English does not. However is an adverb, not a conjunction.
word form 1
help people to develop as a better person
help people to develop into better people
A plural subject takes a plural complement, and you develop INTO something.
zero conditional 1
If remote work reduces commuting, people should work from home
If remote work reduces commuting, fewer people travel at peak times
A zero conditional takes the present in both halves; should is advice, not a general truth.
These are the Spanish corrections only. The full archive holds every language side by side, filterable by grammar point and level: the marking archive. Other languages: Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Turkish.
A rule earns its place by being produced correctly and unprompted, not by being explained once.
The linking-adverb trap
However, moreover, therefore, nevertheless and furthermore feel like conjunctions and are not. Each is a linking adverb and cannot hold two independent clauses together on its own: it needs a semicolon or a full stop in front of it.
CautionGenuine conjunctions – and, but, so, or, yet, although, because, since – do the job with a comma alone, which is why the two families are so easy to confuse. Test by covering everything before the comma: if what remains could stand alone as a sentence, the comma is wrong.
The noun-first light-verb teams
English pairs verbs with nouns by habit, not by logic. Learn them noun-first, because the noun has already chosen its verb: the verb cannot be derived, only remembered.
CautionSome of the near-misses are real English in a narrower register – take a decision genuinely exists in formal institutional writing (the board took the decision to close the division), it is simply not the phrase for a person reflecting on their own choices, and not the safe bet under a marker's ninety-second read.
The one-of-the rule
One of the + superlative always takes a plural noun, because the phrase means 'one member of the set of demanding cases' – and the set is plural.
CautionThe trap catches speakers of unrelated first languages – the same error has been produced identically from Spanish, Arabic and Russian – so it is not a calque to argue with but a frame to install.
One marker per adjective
English chooses by adjective length and then stops: a short adjective takes -er / -est, a long adjective takes more / the most. Never both, and never two markers on the same word.
CautionThe connector is THAN, not that – Spanish que covers both the comparative connector and the complementiser, which is why the two collapse together.
The double comparative – one frame, two slots
THE + comparative + clause, THE + comparative + clause. Both halves take a comparative, never a superlative, and both keep the word THE.
CautionWhere to find the slot: any sentence saying 'as X happens, Y happens' can be flipped into it. The structure is rarely the problem – reaching for it is.
AT the moment. AT that time. In this moment belongs to poets.
After HAVE, the participle: created, decided, built.
One of the most demanding CASES – the set is always plural.
It MAKES sense. I love TALKING. Take ADVANTAGE.
The verb agrees with the SUBJECT, not the noun nearest it.
My goal is TO improve. The infinitive keeps its TO.
One ending, three jobs: I decidED, I have decidED, it is decidED.
Explain TO someone. Say TO someone. TELL someone – only TELL goes bare.
Those things, not that things. THIS/THESE. THAT/THOSE.
When I woke up, IT was terrible. English never leaves the subject out.
Never 'would' in the if-clause: If I had known, not if I would have known.
Mixed conditional = past condition, present result: if she had studied, she would work here now.
The most ... I HAVE EVER ... – one breath, never broken.
Short adjective, -EST. Long adjective, THE MOST. Never both.
HAVE an experience. MAKE a decision. DO your best. TAKE a risk.
Studies HAVE shown. There HAVE been. The summary tense is the perfect.
Two full sentences never join with a comma alone.
However, moreover, therefore – all need a semicolon or a full stop.
Research is uncountable. Count studies, trials, papers instead.
English adjectives never take -s: different foods, complex tasks.
A report that only lists faults teaches you nothing about what to keep.
what it will cost
CreditedA correctly-ordered free relative – the exact component a wh-cleft runs on. The sentence it sat in was one breath away from a perfect contrastive cleft, and it is entered as positive evidence for the day's verdict rather than as an absence of error.
it depends
CreditedProduced correctly in the very next sentence after the same verb had failed. That contrast is the diagnosis: the form is known, so the work is habit rather than understanding.
Although there is a belief that...
CreditedBoth source passages were built as traps: they open with a popular belief and then dismantle it, and the commonest way to score zero for Content is to summarise the opening belief instead of the reversal. Opening with Although and then carrying the reversal is the hardest skill in the task, and it was done unaided, twice.
If the policy had been introduced earlier, the crisis would have been avoided.
CreditedA flawless third conditional, in the passive – the exact structure that earns marks under the exam's range trait, produced inside an error hunt that was designed to trip it.
The more action a government takes, the more progress it will make.
CreditedThe target structure, unprompted and correct – and with the light-verb teams (take action, make progress) both right in the same sentence.
If he had learnt English earlier, his career would not be limited now.
CreditedA mixed conditional, cold and unprompted, in three minutes. Plenty of C1 writers never place that one correctly.
No other experience has been tougher than living abroad.
CreditedThe comparative twin of a superlative, built correctly and including the present perfect on has been. It makes a claim about everything else, so it reads as argument rather than description – and using both the superlative chunk and the no-other twin is what range actually means.
the most exciting experience
CreditedDefinite article present and correct; MOST correctly selected for a three-syllable adjective; noun in place; a relative clause correctly attached with the pronoun properly omitted. Entered into evidence as proof of absorption, with no charge attached, even though the rest of the sentence failed.
This is the marking talking to itself. It is here because it is the honest evidence that the rest of the page came from somewhere.
Not one cleft error appears in the twenty specimens on file. Positive engine evidence sits alongside the absence: the student's own "what it will cost" is a correctly-ordered free relative – the exact component a wh-cleft runs on – and that whole sentence was one breath away from a perfect contrastive cleft.
The verdict rests on three legs, not on silence alone. First, the standing default: the structure was taught today and produced no errors. Second, the first language is transfer-friendly here – it owns both cleft families natively (es la confianza lo que gana al cliente → it's trust that wins the client; lo que importa es la confianza → what matters is trust). Third, positive engine evidence. The asterisk is stated rather than hidden: cleft machinery also needs dummy IT, BE-agreement (seven agreement charges today) and stable embedded order ("how is economy" slipped once), which is why the verdict is provisional rather than clean, and why the homework asks for clefts in volume instead of admiration. Distinguish this carefully from the previous session, where emphatic inversion was ruled NOT TESTED because its exact mechanism was positively failing with zero successes. Here the target was taught, nothing failed, and its engine parts show one success against one slip.
Roughly fifty-five correctable moments across two hours of unrehearsed professional talk, with subject-verb agreement running to about two dozen instances.
No target was set, so there is nothing to absorb or miss; N/A is the correct verdict for a conversation session rather than a polite way of avoiding one. The report does not itemise all fifty-five – that would bury the signal – and instead groups them by pattern. The verdict does not leave the session idle either: by house convention the homework drills the most-frequent multi-session signature instead, which today is unambiguously the third-person -s. A speaking session is treated as a diagnostic gift, because unrehearsed speech tells the truth about which habits are automatic and which still need attention.
Twenty-two specimens, of which six turned on a single English ending doing two separate jobs: the past simple (I decided) and the past participle (I have decided, it is decided). For the first time on record both halves failed in the same session.
N/A again, on the same reasoning as the previous session – but the homework does not simply repeat itself. Yesterday the evidence pointed at agreement; today it points somewhere more specific, and the homework follows the evidence rather than the calendar. The finding is stated as a claim about structure rather than a tally: these are not six habits but one muscle used for two purposes, so strengthening it fixes past narration, the present perfect and the passive at once.
Knowing the pattern your first language produces is most of the work. Knowing which of them you are still making takes someone reading your writing.
Every lesson comes with a written report: the marking line by line, the criteria, and one priority for next time. A worked example shows exactly what comes back. Lessons are £20 for fifty minutes, one to one, in proper British English; the first step is a discounted trial lesson.