Common Mistakes Made by Spanish Speakers (15)

Many people seem to mistranslate sentences like the following one:

• Lo importante es que llueva.

I've often heard this type of sentence translated as:

• The important is that it rains. (INCORRECT)

The correct translation of this type of sentence into English requires the inclusion of the word 'thing' after the adjective. Thus (Por lo tanto), the correct translation would be:

• The important thing is that it rains. (CORRECT)

Here are some further (más) examples of similar sentences:

• Lo principal es que hagas un esfuerzo.
• The main thing is that you make an effort.
• Lo mejor de hablar inglés es que te permite viajar por todo el mundo.
• The best thing about speaking English is that it allows you to travel all around the world.
• Lo difícil del alemán es la gramática.
• The difficult thing about German is the grammar.