Common Spanish Mistakes Heritage Speakers Make (and Fixes)
Heritage Spanish speakers often make different mistakes than classroom learners. Fix hicistes, no sabo, haiga, accents and English calques.
By Ayoub Farid · · 2 min read
Heritage speakers learned Spanish at home, not in a classroom, so their mistakes look different. Many are regional or informal forms rather than "wrong" Spanish. Knowing which forms are standard helps you choose when to use what.
Verb forms
| Often heard | Standard | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| hicistes, fuistes | hiciste, fuiste | The extra -s is very common in informal speech |
| no sabo | no sé | Mostly a joke now |
| haiga | haya | Common in some rural and older speech |
| semos | somos | Regional/rural |
| truje | traje | Older regional form |
| vinistes | viniste | Same extra -s pattern |
Calques from English
When English shapes Spanish:
- "Te llamo para atrás" (I'll call you back) → Te devuelvo la llamada / Te llamo luego.
- "Aplicar para un trabajo" → solicitar un trabajo.
- "Tener un buen tiempo" → pasarla bien.
- "Es mi turno de manejar" is fine; but "hacer sentido" → tener sentido.
Grammar gaps
- Subjunctive. Heritage speakers often use it correctly in common phrases but avoid it elsewhere. See subjunctive for conversation.
- Ser vs estar with new adjectives. See ser vs estar.
- Overusing yo because of English. See dropping subject pronouns.
Writing
Many heritage speakers speak well but rarely write. Common spelling issues:
- Accent marks (está vs esta, qué vs que)
- b/v, s/c/z, ll/y and silent h
Vocabulary range
Home Spanish is rich in food, family and feelings, but often thin in school, work and abstract topics. Fill that gap with podcasts, news and conversations about your job.
A word on "correct" Spanish
Regional and family forms aren't shameful: they're part of living Spanish. It's useful to know the standard forms for work or formal settings, and to keep your family's Spanish for family.
Practice: standard forms
Say each sentence with the standard form:
- ¿Qué hicistes ayer? → ¿Qué hiciste ayer?
- Ojalá que haiga tamales. → Ojalá que haya tamales.
- Te llamo para atrás. → Te llamo luego.
- No sabo. → No sé.
- Eso no hace sentido. → Eso no tiene sentido.
Practice
The best fix is speaking a lot with gentle feedback. Lolo shows natural standard alternatives for what you said, with a short explanation in your language, without making you feel judged. See the heritage speaker guide and no sabo kids.
Frequently asked questions
Is "hicistes" wrong?
It's very common in informal speech, but the standard form is hiciste.
Is Spanglish wrong?
No. It's a natural way bilinguals speak. See is Spanglish okay.
Do heritage speakers need grammar lessons?
Targeted ones help: subjunctive, accents and formal vocabulary are common needs.
