This exam tips covers Errores comunes — Two Mistakes to Avoid within Sport + technology for GCSE Spanish. Revise Sport + technology in Theme 2 — Popular Culture for GCSE Spanish with 13 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. Use this page as part of a wider topic revision path rather than treating it as an isolated fact. It is section 3 of 4 in this topic. Treat this as a marking guide for what examiners are looking for, not just a fact list.
⚠️ Errores comunes — Two Mistakes to Avoid
These errors appear in almost every set of GCSE scripts. Knowing why they are wrong helps you remember the correct form under exam pressure.
❌ Error 1: Practico el fútbol los martes.
✅ Correcto: Juego al fútbol los martes.
Why it costs marks: Fútbol is a competitive team sport, so it uses jugar al, not practicar. Practicar is used for athletic disciplines such as la natación, el atletismo, and la gimnasia. If you say practico el fútbol, examiners will understand what you mean, but it sounds unnatural and is not the standard AQA construction for team sports. Using jugar al signals that you know the distinction — and that distinction is exactly what mark-scheme descriptors at the higher bands look for.
❌ Error 2: Navego el internet todos los días.
✅ Correcto: Navego por internet todos los días.
Why it costs marks: In Spanish, internet does not take a definite article in this phrase — you do NOT say el internet in this construction. The correct phrase is navegar por internet (no article, with por). Compare: Estoy en internet is also fine, but navego el internet is not standard Spanish and immediately flags as a direct translation from English. The preposition por is the one to learn: por internet, por teléfono, por correo electrónico — all follow the same pattern.