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False Friends (Spanish to English) Practice

For each line, find and correct the Spanish to English false friend. The answers are at the bottom of the page. For a list of Spanish to English false friends, see this guide to common mistakes Spanish speakers make in English.

 

1. I’m so glad I changed jobs. My actual job is so much better than my previous one.

2. I really need to organize my desktop. I’m going to create a carpet and put all of these Excel documents in it.

3. Robb asked a police to give him directions.

4. Kids these days are really poorly educated. They don’t have any manners and don’t respect adults.

5. The song sounds really good, but the letters are really vulgar and don’t make much sense.

6. I don’t know why you get so offended by his jokes. You’re so sensible.

7. How many idioms do you speak?

8. She has to redact a three-page essay about Napoleon Bonaparte.

9. Karen has a good relation with her supervisor.

10. Look at this prescription. I can’t read my doctor’s letter at all.

11. My doctor told me I need to eat more protein and carbohydrates, and less grass.

12. Some of the students claimed to the principal because they didn’t like their teacher.

13. My mother tries not to buy things from companies that explode their employees.

14. She was really sick, so she didn’t assist the conference.

15. The nurse introduced the needle into the patient’s arm.

16. I like working at Walmart, but attending customers can be really difficult.

17. Please don’t say vulgar things. This is a familiar restaurant and there are a lot of kids here.

18. In general, college was fun for Mary Beth, but 9th grade was a little difficult.

19. Do you need a spoon so you can remove your coffee?

20. Miguel was scared of getting married because he knew it was such a big compromise.

21. It’s a beautiful apartment on the 4th plant with a view of Central Park.

22. I used to work in a fabric manufacturing cars, but then it closed.

23. I never listen to his histories because they are always boring.

24. All of these flies are molesting me.

25. When doctors make mistakes, sometimes people demand them for a lot of money.

26. The lecture on the entrance exam to get into college was really challenging. There were so many difficult words and really long sentences.

27. We had a reunion at work today, but a lot of people missed it.

28. I don’t really want to read the whole article.  Can you resume what it was about so I have a general idea?

29. The climate is absolutely beautiful today.

30. He doesn’t want the car anymore, so he is going to sell it to one of his parents — either his cousin or his uncle.

31. That store has a great politic for returns. I returned some shirts and they gave me my money back without asking any questions.

32. In college, I started out studying Economics, but I didn’t like my career, so I changed it to engineering.

33. What a nice guy. He’s so much fun to be around, and very sympathetic.

34. Melanie has been going to the gym a lot ultimately.

35. They are trying to realize some changes so that the company can be more competitive.

36. Mike says that he could never be an actor because he would be scared to look out and see everyone in the public.

37. Many scientifics are looking for cures to terrible diseases.

38. My memory is terrible. I can’t even record what I had for breakfast this morning.

39. Sarah and James told us that the service was horrible at that store. They kept looking for a store associate, but there was no one there to attend them.

40. Oops.  I think I cooked this pasta for too long. The texture is horrible. It’s very bland.

41. It’s not a great library. Most of the books are really expensive.

42. When people get older, sane eating and regular exercise becomes even more important.

43. We got Jamie a big helium globe that says “Happy Birthday.”

44. I can’t believe he said something that offensive on television. He’s going to have to retire the statement and tell everyone that he didn’t mean it.

45. My kindergarten professor taught me how to count to 10 in Spanish.

46. I was so excited to see the movie, but it was horrible.  It was such a deception.

47. I can’t believe he lives in that old, disgusting place.  It’s completely inhabitable.

48. Do you know if this recipient is okay to put gasoline in?

49. If John comes to work late one more time, he is going to be fired. Management doesn’t support people arriving late all the time.

 

 

Answers

1. I’m so glad I changed jobs. My actual  current job is so much better than my previous one.

2. I really need to organize my desktop. I’m going to create a carpet  folder and put all of these Excel documents in it.

3. Robb asked a police police officer to give him directions.

4. Kids these days are really poorly educated disrespectful/rude/impolite. They don’t have any manners and don’t respect adults.

5. The song sounds really good, but the letters lyrics are really vulgar and don’t make much sense.

6. I don’t know why you get so offended by his jokes. You’re so sensible sensitive.

7. How many idioms  languages do you speak?

8. She has to redact  write a three-page essay about Napoleon Bonaparte.

9. Karen has a good relation  relationship with her supervisor.

10. Look at this prescription.  I can’t read my doctor’s letter  handwriting at all.

11. My doctor told me I need to eat more protein and carbohydrates, and less grass fat.

12. Some of the students claimed complained to the principal because they didn’t like their teacher.

13. My mother tries not to buy things from companies that explode exploit their employees.

14. She was really sick, so she didn’t assist attend the conference.

15. The nurse introduced put the needle into the patient’s arm.

16. I like working at Walmart, but attending taking care of/helping/dealing with customers can be really difficult.

17. Please don’t say vulgar things. This is a familiar family restaurant and there are a lot of kids here.

18. In general, college high school was fun for Mary Beth, but 9th grade was a little difficult.

19. Do you need a spoon so you can remove stir your coffee?

20. Miguel was scared of getting married because he knew it was such a big compromise commitment.

21. It’s a beautiful apartment on the 4th plant floor with a view of Central Park.

22. I used to work in a fabric factory manufacturing cars, but then it closed.

23. I never listen to his histories stories because they are always boring.

24. All of these flies aremolesting bothering/annoying me.

25. When doctors make mistakes, sometimes people demand sue them for a lot of money.

26. The lecture reading on the entrance exam to get into college was really challenging.  There were so many difficult words and really long sentences.

27. We had a reunion meeting at work today, but a lot of people missed it.

28. I don’t really want to read the whole article. Can you resume summarize what it was about so I have a general idea?

29. The climate weather is absolutely beautiful today.

30. He doesn’t want the car anymore, so he is going to sell it to one of his parents relatives/family members — either his cousin or his uncle.

31. That store has a great politic policy for returns. I returned some shirts and they gave me my money back without asking any questions.

32. In college, I started out studying Economics, but I didn’t like my career major, so I changed it to engineering.

33. What a nice guy. He’s so much fun to be around, and very sympathetic friendly/nice.

34. Melanie has been going to the gym a lot ultimately lately/recently.

35. They are trying to realize make some changes so that the company can be more competitive.

36. Mike says that he could never be an actor because he would be scared to look out and see everyone in the public audience.

37. Many scientifics scientists are looking for cures to terrible diseases.

38. My memory is terrible. I can’t even record remember what I had for breakfast this morning.

39. Sarah and James told us that the service was horrible at that store. They kept looking for a store associate, but there was no one there to attend help/assist them.

40. Oops. I think I cooked this pasta for too long. The texture is horrible. It’s very bland soft.

41. It’s not a great library bookstore. Most of the books are really expensive.

42. When people get older, sane healthy eating and regular exercise becomes even more important.

43. We got Jamie a big helium globe balloon that says “Happy Birthday.”

44. I can’t believe he said something that offensive on television. He’s going to have to retire take back/retract the statement and tell everyone that he didn’t mean it.

45. My kindergarten professor teacher taught me how to count to 10 in Spanish.

46. I was so excited to see the movie, but it was horrible. It was such a deception disappointment.

47. I can’t believe he lives in that old, disgusting place. It’s completely inhabitable uninhabitable.

48. Do you know if this recipient container is okay to put gasoline in?

49. If John comes to work late one more time, he is going to be fired. Management doesn’t support tolerate/put up with people arriving late all the time.