7 Similarities Between Spanish and English

Learning multiple languages will increase your job marketability; however, not everyone knows where they should start.

English and Spanish share many similarities, so take advantage of them and jumpstart your language-learning journey by discovering seven of their most essential similarities!

1. Share the Latin Alphabet

English and Spanish share many similarities as Indo-European languages with Latinic roots, sharing similar alphabets, sentence structures, vocabulary lists and shared terms. Grammar differences exist though, particularly regarding conjugating verbs and pronouncing word endings.

Understanding a new language can be challenging, but English Language Learners (ELLs) can save themselves both time and effort by taking advantage of similarities. According to some estimates, up to 40% of English words have a Spanish counterpart that shares both sound and meaning; these cognates, commonly known as lexical transfer, allow ELLs to build strong foundations in their new language that they can then apply towards reading, writing and using helping verbs for reading/writing assignments.

2. Share a Common Vocabulary

There are hundreds of words that mean the same in both English and Spanish; these cognates can make learning the language much simpler.

Both languages share many similar grammar rules; for instance, El gato duerme en el sofa in Spanish and The cat sleeps on the sofa in English both utilize subject-verb-complements word order that is standard across both languages.

As evidence of English and Spanish’s similarities in their pragmatic use is remarkable; approximately 30-40% of English words have a direct equivalent in Spanish (Oettinga, 2018). This makes building sentences in either language far simpler – something which offers significant advantages for anyone trying to quickly acquire either language.

3. Share Common Grammar

English and Spanish may not share many similarities in terms of grammar rules; however, some similarities do exist, such as having an SVO sentence structure, conjugations rules for nouns and verbs conjugations, and using un or una in Spanish to match gender of nouns.

These languages share similar pronunciation. While both use the same alphabet, English features 44 phonemes while Spanish only 25; English has been heavily influenced by Germanic languages and Latin while Spanish is considered Romance language.

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4. Share Common Grammar Rules

English may be an Indo-European language, but its vocabulary has been greatly shaped by Romance languages such as Spanish, French and Italian. Therefore, there are numerous words shared between these two groups of speakers.

Between 30-40% of English words have cognates in Spanish. These cognates share similar sounds, appearance and meaning, making their transfer easier into a second language.

As both languages share similar sentence structures, sentence structure between these two is quite similar; with adjectives placed after nouns instead of before them. Furthermore, Spanish allows more freedom in conjugating verbs based on person and tense; one verb could take on as many as 30 different forms in its present, past, and participle tenses!

5. Share Common Sentences

English and Spanish both belong to the Indo-European family and share many grammatical rules, such as subject-verb-object word order and using articles (the, an, and un/una for English; el, la, un/una in Spanish). Both languages also possess cognates – words with similar pronunciation or sounds in both languages that share similar meaning – making learning new words much simpler!

However, English and Spanish differ considerably; Spanish verb conjugation can be more complex than its English equivalent, while gendered nouns influence sentence structure more drastically; for instance a mesa can be feminine while carros may be masculine which may further complicate things for English learners who attempt to understand Spanish.

6. Share Common Phrases

English and Spanish both belong to the Indo-European language family, making them similar but with distinct distinctions. Many differences are subtle, such as pronunciation; there are major parallels in vocabulary, grammar and structure as well.

English contains many cognates derived from other languages, making English-speaking students’ learning simpler. Cognites often share both sound and meaning between languages, making their acquisition simpler for English-speakers.

Spanish and English share another similarity in that their standard sentence structure typically involves subject, verb and object; however, this doesn’t imply all sentences will follow this format–so don’t be surprised if occasionally you encounter Spanish sentences wherein the subject comes after verb!

7. Share Common Punctuation

Though English and Spanish are two distinct languages, there are similarities that make learning English easier for native Spanish speakers. Being aware of these similarities will allow them to transition more smoothly to learning English.

One example is how both languages utilize punctuation to indicate questions or exclamations – for instance Spanish uses upside-down question marks and exclamation points at the start of sentences to indicate this (?Quieres ir al cine esta noche?)

Gender of nouns in Spanish can also be determined in this way, by adding either “el” (masculine) or “la” (feminine). Therefore, an apple, your mom and scissors would all qualify as feminine nouns in Spanish – mastery of this aspect will prove essential when translating English knowledge to Spanish.