We also have which, in addition to being based on the RAE, is great for finding synonyms and antonyms or for learning about the conjugation of some verbs that confuse us.
And Fundeu , a great site to learn interesting facts about our language and receive constant updates in our email about the correct use of written Spanish.
Finally
This article also becomes an allied tactic when writing.
As we have said in previous articles here on the blog, marketing is made up of the union of various knowledge, and one of them is knowing how to avoid, as much as possible, common mistakes in content writing.
Let’s look at this list of 15 common mistakes in content writing below.
Although, it is not necessary to learn new zealand mobile database everything by heart, this list is useful for referring to whenever we have a doubt:
1. Unnecessary capital letters
The confusion in the use of capital letters is mainly due to our proximity to other languages, such as English.
In Spanish, the use of capital letters is quite particular. There are various rules for its use, however, it is enough to understand that it is only written with an initial capital letter:
Proper names
- people;
- brands;
- companies;
- institutions
After any punctuation mark that warrants it
- full stop;
- full stop;
- beginning of a sentence;
- after the closing of the question marks and exclamation marks;
- after ellipsis.
We should not use capital letters in:
- the positions, for example: the Judge or indicated with comment name the Director; better: the judge or the director;
- If when writing a word we are unsure whether to write it in lowercase or capital letters, it is better to use lowercase. This way there is less chance of making a mistake;
- Don’t write a text in all caps. In the media, this form of writing is understood as a shout to the reader.
Securities
Titles also have their rules, since it depends on your appearance format, that is: if it is from magazines, literature, among others.
However, for the general texts, titles only have the initial capital letter, also in the proper names of people and places.
To learn more rules about capitalization, see this article .
2. The comma
Many of us have come to believe that a comma is a pause to take a breath in a sentence, but that is not true.
The comma obeys grammatical rules that must be followed to make a text understandable.
Its use requires constant study and analysis according to the meaning we want to give to the text, however, for the purposes of this article, these are the basic rules of its use:
- The comma cannot separate the subject from the predicate, even when the subject is very long.
- We cannot separate the verb from the direct object.
- It is not used for conjunctions: “and”, “and”, “or”, “or”, “nor”; unless they belong to the series, for example:
He bought a shirt from Nike, a pair of pants, shoes and socks, and went to another store.
However, a comma is used before etc. In this case, etc means: et cetera, which comes from Latin: et-y cetera-the rest. In some languages, the conjunction “and” of its root is taken into account and therefore the comma is not used, but in Spanish it must be used:
He has rabbits, horses, dogs, cats, etc.
The comma is used for:
- Separate the statements
I have coffee, milk, chocolate and iced tea.
- Clarify
Juliana, my sister’s friend, came last night.
- In conjunctive or adverbial phrases
In addition,
Obviously, (and all those that end in mind)
Indeed,
That is to say,
In the end,
Therefore,
Nevertheless,
Etc.
See other cases for the use of the comma here .
3. Incorrect uses of homophonous words
Homophonous words are words that sound the same when pronounced, but are written differently. Here are some of them:
A ver is the combination of the preposition a with the verb ver .
To avoid errors such as: “ Let’s see what happens ”, we must think about what “haber ” or “ a ver” is equivalent to . In this case: “Let’s see what happens”, therefore, corresponds to: “ A ver qué pasa ”.
- Halla, hay, aya, over there
Halla is from the verb to find/to find:
-We must find the X of the equation
Haya is from the verb haber:
-I hope you went to the concert.
Aya is the person in charge of caring for and educating a child:
-The child adores his nanny
Allá , with an acute accent, is an adverb of place:
-I put the notebook there on the table.
- There, there, ouch!
Hay is a conjugated form of the verb haber:
-There are three apples in the fridge.
There is an adverb of place:
-The apples are there, in front of you.
Ouch! It is an expression that usually goes between exclamations.
- Wow, wow
Vaya can be both an interjection and ay , an expression. Vaya also comes from ir:
-Go to the market.
You should not confuse it with the spelling of berry, which is a fruit.
A fence is a fence made of boards attached to the ground to delimit a piece of land. It is also an element of outdoor advertising.
- Done, done
Hecho is the participle of the verb hacer.
Echo comes from the first person present indicative of the verb echar.
- Do, do
Has is the conjugation of the present indicative of the second person singular of the verb haber:
Examples:
- Have you done your homework?
- You asked two things today.
- You have not told the truth.
Haz commonly corresponds to the verb hacer, which is used to express requests or commands:
Examples:
- Do your homework.
- Do good to others.
4. Use of the subject throughout the text
Another mistake we often make is not being consistent with the use of the subject throughout the texts we write. It happens that we often combine several of them within the same text without being consistent. Look at an example:
I am aware that the mistakes we make are due to … (First person) As we quote in the text… (First person plural) And research determines that… (Third person)
5. Gerund
Gerunds are verbs that end in –ando, iendo or yendo and are used to describe two simultaneous actions.
It is not used when the action it describes comes after the main verb in the sentence. To identify its correct form, we can ask the verb a question. If the answer is given by the gerund, it is well used.
Examples:
- The river overflowed, flooding the houses in the neighborhood
How did the river overflow? Did it flood the houses? I don’t think so.
The correct form of the sentence would be:
The river overflowed and flooded the houses in the neighborhood.
- He began his speech by thanking the jury.
How did the speech begin?
Thanking the jury
6. Diacritical accent
Nowadays, we have monosyllabic words, that is, words with only one syllable that, over time, have lost their accent.
However, some are still preserved thanks to a rule that determines that there are homonymous words and identical words but that mean other things.
Below we present the words that have an accent and why:
More and more
More: adverb of quantity
Mas: adversative conjunction, it is like a “but”.
Still and still
Yet: adverb of time, “I haven’t decided yet”
Even: even
I know and I know
I know: Verb to know and to be: “I don’t know”, “Be yourself”
Se: pronoun: “It is eaten with a spoon.”
Tea and tea
Tea: Infusion, drink
Te: pronoun: “I love you”
How and how
How: Interrogative or exclamatory adverb
You and your
You: personal pronoun: “You have three houses”
Your: possessive adjective: “That is your notebook”
He and the
He: personal pronoun: “Is he your brother?”
The: article: “The mathematics book ”.
7. Why/Why/Because/Because
Because:
It is equivalent to cause, motive, reason.
I don’t understand why you are here = the reason for your presence
Because
Introduce direct and indirect interrogative and exclamatory sentences.
Why didn’t you come to the party yesterday?
I don’t understand why you’re acting like this.
Because
It is used to introduce subordinate clauses that express cause and can be replaced by since, due to or since:
I didn’t go to the party because I didn’t feel like it = I didn’t go to the party because I didn’t feel like it.
Because
In this case, it is more common to use the relative with the article in front, that is: el que, la que, etc.
8. Dequeism
We often use the formula “de que” when we shouldn’t. Well, it should be noted that not all constructions of this formula are incorrect. It is just a matter of realizing when it really needs to be accompanied by a preposition.
Incorrect usage: Juan was told that she was waiting for him
To avoid this error, simply ask a question that answers the sentence: What did they say? Or What did they say about?
9. Cacophony
Cacophonies are combinations of sounds that do not sound harmonious during reading.
They are easy to correct. All you have to do is use a good thesaurus to change the word or reformulate the structure of the sentence.
A couple of examples of cacophony:
I have been working in construction for many years with motivation and perfection.
10. And/or
We make this mistake when we don’t know fax database how to use the conjunction “or”. We think it is exclusive when it is not; in fact, it is a disjunctive that reflects, in many cases, an alternative or option, but not necessarily exclusion.
Therefore, just saying “or” is enough.
Well, speaking of the conjunctions “and” and “or” we must remember the rule: