Common Spanglish Verb Mistakes — and the Correct Spanish Alternatives
You know the feeling: you say something in Spanish, it comes out smooth and confident, and then a native speaker’s expression tells you something was off. You translated directly from English and it sounded wrong — but you can’t pinpoint why. Spanish and English share thousands of cognates, so direct translation often works. But for verbs, English patterns regularly produce constructions that are wrong, unnatural, or nonexistent in standard Spanish. Recognising the patterns is how you stop repeating the same errors.
Quick answer: The most common Spanglish verb mistakes come from three sources: invented -ar verbs from English words (parquear, aplicar), false cognates where the Spanish word means something different (realizar, asistir), and English-style phrasal constructions translated word-for-word (llamar para atrás, hacer sentido). Recognising these patterns lets you catch your own errors before they get reinforced.
Category 1: Invented -ar verbs from English words
Spanish is highly productive with the -ar suffix — it’s easy to turn a noun or adjective into a verb by adding -ar endings. English speakers instinctively exploit this to create Spanish-ish verbs from English words. The results range from widely understood informal usage to forms that would genuinely confuse a native speaker from Spain or Latin America.
Parquear (to park)
The standard Spanish verb for parking a car is aparcar (Spain) or estacionar (Latin America).
❌ “Voy a parquear el coche aquí.” (I’m going to park the car here.)
✓ “Voy a aparcar el coche aquí.” — I’m going to park the car here.
✓ “Voy a estacionar el coche aquí.” — I’m going to park the car here.
Note: parquear is widely used and understood in parts of Latin America and among US Spanish speakers. If that’s your audience, it may be fine in informal speech. For standard Spanish, use the alternatives above.
Aplicar (to apply for something)
Aplicar exists in Spanish but it means “to apply” in the sense of applying a substance or a rule. It does NOT mean to submit an application for a job or school — that’s solicitar.
❌ “Apliqué para el trabajo.” (I applied for the job.)
✓ “Solicité el trabajo.” — I applied for the job.
✓ “Presenté mi candidatura.” — I submitted my application.
Textear (to text)
Textear doesn’t appear in most standard dictionaries, though you’ll hear it widely in informal Latin American Spanish. The standard alternatives are enviar un mensaje or mandar un mensaje de texto.
❌ “Te texteo más tarde.” (I’ll text you later.)
✓ “Te mando un mensaje más tarde.” — I’ll text you later.
One practical way to stop inventing these verbs is to learn them as full chunks rather than as isolated dictionary entries. In VerbPal, we drill verbs inside complete sentences, so you repeatedly produce patterns like mandar un mensaje instead of building them on the fly from English.
Pro tip: If a Spanish verb looks like an English word with -ar attached, pause before using it. Check whether native Spanish actually uses that verb in your target region, then add the correct full phrase to your review routine.
Category 2: False cognate verbs
False cognates are words that look like they should mean the same thing in both languages but don’t. Verb false cognates are especially dangerous because learners use them confidently.
Realizar does not mean “to realise”
Realizar means “to carry out, to achieve, to accomplish.” To realise (to become aware of something) is darse cuenta de.
❌ “Me realicé que estaba equivocado.” (I realised I was wrong.)
✓ “Me di cuenta de que estaba equivocado.” — I realised I was wrong.
“El equipo realizó un excelente trabajo.” — The team carried out/accomplished excellent work. (Correct use of realizar)
Asistir does not mean “to assist”
Asistir means “to attend.” To assist or help is ayudar.
❌ “¿Puedes asistirme con este problema?” (Can you help me with this problem?)
✓ “¿Puedes ayudarme con este problema?” — Can you help me with this problem?
“Asistí a la conferencia el martes.” — I attended the conference on Tuesday. (Correct use of asistir)
Molestar does not mean “to molest”
Molestar means “to bother, to annoy, to disturb.” Using it to mean “to molest” (sexual assault) would be very wrong and potentially offensive.
❌ Using molestar to mean sexual harassment
✓ “¿Te molesta si abro la ventana?” — Does it bother you if I open the window?
These are exactly the kinds of errors that stick because they feel logical. That is why we recommend training suspicious pairs actively. In VerbPal, our custom drills force recall, not recognition, so you have to produce darse cuenta de when English gives you “realise” and ayudar when you mean “help.” That production step matters more than simply rereading a list.
When you encounter a Spanish verb that looks exactly like an English verb, treat it as suspicious until confirmed. Look it up specifically to check if the Spanish meaning matches the English meaning. The most dangerous false cognates are the ones that feel so familiar that you never think to check.
Pro tip: Build a personal “false friends” list with the English trigger on one side and the correct Spanish expression on the other. Review it until the right verb comes out automatically.
Category 3: Literal translations of English phrasal constructions
English uses many “verb + preposition” constructions (phrasal verbs and prepositional phrases) that translate completely differently into Spanish. Word-for-word translation here produces incomprehensible or strange Spanish.
“Call back” → Llamar para atrás ❌
English “call back” is a phrasal verb. Spanish doesn’t have the same phrasal verb structure. The correct expression is devolver la llamada or volver a llamar.
❌ “Te voy a llamar para atrás.” (I’ll call you back.)
✓ “Te voy a devolver la llamada.” — I’ll call you back.
✓ “Vuelvo a llamarte en diez minutos.” — I’ll call you again in ten minutes.
“Make sense” → Hacer sentido ❌
“To make sense” in English doesn’t translate using hacer + sentido. The correct Spanish construction is tener sentido.
❌ “Eso no hace sentido.” (That doesn’t make sense.)
✓ “Eso no tiene sentido.” — That doesn’t make sense.
“Take a decision” → Tomar una decisión ✓ (this one works)
Interestingly, tomar una decisión is correct in Spanish — unlike English “make a decision,” which would be hacer una decisión. This is one case where learners get confused in the wrong direction.
✓ “Tienes que tomar una decisión pronto.” — You have to make a decision soon.
“Be excited” → Estar excitado ❌ (in most contexts)
Excitado exists but carries a sexual connotation in most Spanish-speaking contexts. “Excited” in the emotional sense is better expressed with emocionado, entusiasmado, or ilusionado.
❌ “Estoy muy excitado por el viaje.” (I’m very excited about the trip.)
✓ “Estoy muy emocionado por el viaje.” — I’m very excited about the trip.
Pro tip: When English uses a phrasal verb, assume Spanish may use a completely different structure. Learn the whole expression, not just the base verb.
Category 4: Wrong verb for the context (verb selection errors)
Beyond false cognates, there are cases where English learners use a grammatically correct Spanish verb but it’s the wrong one for the situation.
Pedir vs preguntar (both relate to “asking”)
Pedir = to ask for (a request). Preguntar = to ask (a question).
“Pedí la cuenta al camarero.” — I asked the waiter for the bill. (pedir — requesting something)
“Pregunté dónde estaba el baño.” — I asked where the bathroom was. (preguntar — asking a question)
Saber vs conocer (both relate to “knowing”)
See our full breakdown at Saber vs Conocer: Why You Keep Saying “Yo Sabo”.
Ser vs estar (both mean “to be”)
The ser/estar distinction is its own deep topic, but the most common verb mistake from it is using ser for temporary states or locations.
❌ “Soy enfermo hoy.” (I’m ill today.)
✓ “Estoy enfermo hoy.” — I’m ill today.
These mistakes are harder than they look because the issue is not conjugation — it’s selection. You may know the forms perfectly and still choose the wrong verb under pressure. That is why serious learners need practice across contexts: present, past, subjunctive triggers, reflexives, and irregulars. At VerbPal, we cover all tenses, irregulars, reflexives, and the subjunctive so the right verb choice gets reinforced across the situations where learners actually slip.
Pro tip: If two Spanish verbs map to one English verb, do not memorise them as synonyms. Write one example sentence for each and practise producing both from memory.
How to catch and fix your own Spanglish patterns
The translation test. When you produce a Spanish sentence, ask yourself: “Am I translating this word-for-word from English?” If yes, slow down and check each element. Literal translation works for simple sentences but fails increasingly at intermediate and advanced levels.
Search for your Spanish sentence online. Type the exact sentence into a Spanish-language search engine. If it returns no native Spanish results or only results from language learning forums, it’s likely a Spanglish construction. If it returns results from Spanish news sites, books, or social media, it’s probably natural.
Learn verb collocations, not just verbs. Instead of memorising that tener means “to have,” learn the fixed expressions: tener sentido, tener miedo, tener prisa, tener razón. These collocations block the false translations that come from not knowing which verb goes with which noun. VerbPal drills verbs inside full sentences rather than in isolation, so you’re building these collocations through production practice — not just memorising a list.
Exposure over rules. The most reliable fix for Spanglish patterns is extensive listening and reading in Spanish. Once you’ve heard tener sentido fifty times in native speech, hacer sentido will start sounding wrong even before you consciously analyse it.
Knowing the rule is one thing — producing it under pressure is another. That is the gap our drills are built to close. VerbPal uses spaced repetition with the SM-2 algorithm to bring back the exact verb patterns you are most likely to miss, so correct forms like tener sentido and darse cuenta de get reinforced before the wrong version hardens into habit.
Put it into practice →Pro tip: Keep a running list of your own repeat mistakes. Review the exact sentence patterns you get wrong, not just the dictionary form of the verb.
Frequently asked questions
Is Spanglish actually bad Spanish?
Spanglish is a natural outcome of language contact and is spoken by millions of bilingual people, particularly in the United States. It’s not “bad” — it’s a language variety with its own patterns and a legitimate mode of communication within bilingual communities. The issue for learners is that Spanglish constructions may not be understood outside those communities, and some forms would sound incorrect to monolingual Spanish speakers in Spain or Latin America. Know your audience and context.
Is “parquear” accepted in real Spanish?
It depends on the country. Parquear is widely used and understood in many Latin American countries and in US Spanish-speaking communities. It would typically be considered non-standard in Spain. For learners aiming at broad intelligibility, aparcar (Spain) or estacionar (Latin America) are the safe choices. For conversational informal use in Latin America, parquear is generally fine.
How do I avoid hacer sentido if it feels so natural?
Create a memory hook: in Spanish, things “have” sense rather than “make” it. Tener sentido = the sentence has sense/meaning. If you attach the English phrase “make sense” specifically to the Spanish verb tener as a deliberate memory pair, it overrides the hacer analogy fairly quickly. Running it through spaced repetition a dozen times in context seals it. This is exactly the kind of high-frequency correction we target in VerbPal reviews, where you have to type the right structure rather than recognise it from multiple-choice options.
What’s the difference between pedir and preguntar?
Pedir is asking for something — a request for an object, action, or favour. Preguntar is asking a question — requesting information. A useful test: if you can replace “ask” with “request,” use pedir. If you can replace it with “inquire,” use preguntar. “Pedí un café” (I asked for a coffee.) — “Pregunté qué hora era” (I asked what time it was.)
Are there Spanish verbs that English speakers get right because of false cognates?
Yes — many. Decidir really does mean “to decide.” Visitar really means “to visit.” Preparar means “to prepare.” Celebrar means “to celebrate.” The danger is assuming all -ar/-ir endings map directly to English equivalents, rather than checking each one individually.