Bridging the Gap Challenge #001

<p>This is a deliberate practice exercise to help you bridge the gap between what you <strong>don't know</strong> and what you <strong>should know if you want to get out of <a href="https://deliberatespanish.com/blog/intermediate-purgatory">Spanish Intermediate Purgatory</a></strong>.</p><p><strong>Look at the reference sentences</strong> below (R1-R14) and notice their structure. Focus on things you would normally ignore (your blind spots), like the fact that R1 uses <span class="sp">ser</span> with <span class="sp">difícil</span>.</p><p>Then, try to <strong>find the mistakes</strong> in the mistaken sentences (M1-M7). For example, M1 uses <span class="sp">estar</span> with <span class="sp">difícil</span> (<span class="sp mistake">todavía está muy difícil</span>. There is still another mistake in that sentence).</p><p>There are at least <strong>as many mistakes</strong> in this text <strong>as there are reference sentences</strong>. Go back and forth as many times as you need to. You can use Google, dictionaries, textbooks or any other resource.</p><p>See how many you can find and <strong>write them in the comments</strong>.</p><h2>Reference sentences</h2><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">R1. ¿Es difícil vivir lejos de tus hijos?</span><br><span class="en">Is it difficult, living far away from your children?</span></p><p><span class="sp">R2. Este dibujo que has hecho no parece un elefante sino más bien una regadera.</span><br><span class="en">This drawing you have made doesn't look like an elephant, but rather like a watering can.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R3. Últimamente no paro. Hoy, por ejemplo, solo he tenido tiempo para sentarme cinco minutos y ya ha llegado el primer cliente.</span><br><span class="en">Lately, I haven't had time to catch my breath. Today, for example, I've only had time to sit down for five minutes before the first client arrived.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R4. ¿No te recuerda esta canción a lo que solíamos cantar de pequeños?</span><br><span class="en">Doesn't this song remind you of what we used to sing when we were growing up?</span></p><p><span class="sp">R5. Normalmente estoy liadísimo por la tarde, pero la mañana la tengo más tranquila.</span><br><span class="en">I'm usually extremely busy in the afternoon, but my mornings are much more peaceful.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R6. ¿Por qué has estado tan liado estos días?</span><br><span class="en">Why have you been so busy these days?</span></p><p><span class="sp">R7.—¿Nos podemos ver el lunes en vez del martes? </span><br><span class="en">"Can we see each other on Monday instead of on Tuesday?</span><br><span class="sp">R8.—Sí, hombre. Quedamos cuando quieras.</span><br><span class="en">Yeah, man. We can meet whenever you want.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R9. Me gusta cómo hablas con tu abuela.</span><br><span class="en">I like the way you speak to your grandmother.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R10. A mi jefe le encanta mandarme correos urgentes los viernes por la tarde.</span><br><span class="en">My boss loves sending me urgent emails on Friday afternoon.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R11. Mira, ya sé lo que puedes decirle. Queda con él mañana y cuéntale lo que pasó.</span><br><span class="en">Look, I know what you can tell him. Meet him tomorrow and tell him what happened.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R12. Tengo un problema con mi casero porque me acaba de subir el alquiler.</span><br><span class="en">I have a problem with my landlord because he just raised my rent.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R13. Llevo tres días yendo a clases de guitarra.</span><br><span class="en">I've been going to guitar lessons for the past three days.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R14. Llámame después de las tres, que antes no puedo hablar.</span><br><span class="en">Call me after 3pm. I can't talk before.</span></p></div><h2>Mistaken sentences</h2><div class="translation mistake"><p><span class="sp">M1. —He estado aprendiendo a cocinar desde hace dos meses y todavía está muy difícil. </span></p><p><span class="sp">M2. —Yo creo que lo haces muy bien. Lo que más me gusta es como presentes el plato. No siente como una comida rápida, más como una comida casera. Me recuerda lo que hace mi madre.</span></p><p><span class="sp">M3. —¿Sabes cuál es la problema? Estes días estaba muy ocupado y no tengo tiempo de practicar.</span></p><p><span class="sp">M4. —Sé qué podemos hacer. Si quieres nos quedamos próximo martes y cocinamos juntos.</span></p><p><span class="sp">M5. —Buena idea, pero nunca tengo martes libres. ¿Puede ser miércoles?</span></p><p><span class="sp">M6. —Claro, cuando quieres. Pero usualmente mi horario está un poco lleno por la mañana.</span></p><p><span class="sp">M7. —Entonces, mañana por la tarde, después mi trabajo.</span></p></div><h2>Why you should do this exercise</h2><p>The point of the exercise is to <strong>get better at noticing inconsistencies</strong> between what <strong>you think is right</strong> and what <strong>natives actually say</strong>.</p><p>It's much easier to <strong>notice other people's mistakes</strong> than to see your own blind spots.</p><p>If you feel like you're stuck at your current level of Spanish, you need to grow, and you can only do that by <strong>investing time every day on activities that stretch your limits</strong>.</p><p>You know this exercise was useful if you feel <strong>satisfyingly tired</strong> after you're done.</p>