Bridging the Gap Challenge #002

<p>This is a deliberate practice exercise to help you bridge the gap between the Spanish you <strong>don't know</strong> and the Spanish you <strong>need to know to get out of <a href="https://deliberatespanish.com/blog/intermediate-purgatory">Intermediate Purgatory</a></strong>.</p><p>The three sentences below contain <strong>10 mistakes in total</strong>.</p><p>Each mistake has a corresponding <strong>reference sentence</strong> that contains the correct usage.</p><p>You only need to do 3 things <strong>to get value</strong> from this exercise:</p><ol><li><strong>Pore over the reference sentences</strong> until you think you've noticed their subtleties.</li><li><strong>Try your best</strong> to find the 10 mistakes in the mistaken sentences.</li><li><strong>Match every mistake</strong> with its corresponding reference sentence.</li></ol><p>Example:</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">Mistake: ¿Cuál es <span class="sp mistake">la</span> problema?</span></p><p><span class="sp">Reference: Tengo <strong>un</strong> problema.</span></p><p><span class="sp">Correction: ¿Cuál es <strong>el</strong> problema?</span></p></div><p>If you <strong>post your corrections in the comments</strong>, I'll send you the answer key.</p><p>Have fun!</p><h2>Reference sentences</h2><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">R1: No me creo que no sepa lo que está haciendo.</span><br><span class="en">I (refuse to) believe that he doesn't know what he's doing.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R2: No es que sea difícil, pero lleva su tiempo.</span><br><span class="en">It's not that it's difficult, but it takes time.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R3: Es la primera vez que me pierdo mi programa favorito.</span><br><span class="en">It's the first time I miss my favorite program.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R4: ¿Estás aprendiendo a tocar la guitarra?</span><br><span class="en">Are you learning to play the guitar?</span></p><p><span class="sp">R5: Me paso tanto tiempo sentado que me acaban doliendo las piernas.</span><br><span class="en">I spend so much time sitting down that my legs end up hurting.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R6: Antes del examen estaba muy contento. Ahora, ya no tanto.</span><br><span class="en">Before the exam I was very happy. Now, not so much.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R7: Te puedo dar una aspirina si te duele la cabeza.</span><br><span class="en">I can give you an aspirin if you have a headache.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R8: Ayer fui a tu casa, así que hoy me quedo en la mía.</span><br><span class="en">I went to your house yesterday, so today I'm staying in mine.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R9: Estás loco si piensas que te voy a dar las llaves del coche.</span><br><span class="en">You're crazy if you think I'm going to give you the keys to the car.</span></p><p><span class="sp">R10: Dime qué canciones quieres aprender y te las enseño.</span><br><span class="en">Tell me what songs you want to learn and I'll teach them to you.</span></p></div><h2>Mistaken sentences</h2><div class="mistake translation"><p><span class="sp">M1: Quiero aprender utilizar esta programa porque no creo que es tan dificil.</span></p><p><span class="sp">M2: Me lavo mis dientes todos los días, pero ayer estuve tan cansado que me quedé dormido con el cepillo en mi mano.</span></p><p><span class="sp">M3: Soy loco por saber cuáles músicas van a tocar el concierto de mañana.</span></p></div><h2>Pro tips</h2><ul><li><p><strong>The faster you finish, the less you'll learn</strong>. Use this exercise as an excuse to slow down and enjoy the self-directed learning process.</p></li><li><p>The point is not finding all 10 mistakes; the point is <strong>noticing something that you would have normally missed in the real world</strong>.</p></li><li><p>You can <strong>rely on your gut</strong> for the first pass, but then I encourage you to Google anything that you're not sure about.</p></li><li><p>You can also ask natives, but <strong>figuring it out on your own is much more satisfying</strong> (and easier to remember) than being told the right answer.</p></li><li><p>On Thursdays, I post challenges. On Mondays, I publish articles worth reading. <strong>Sign up below</strong> if you want more Spanish fun in your life.</p></li></ul>