Words English omits or requires

Because this is the single most frequent article error for Spanish speakers, it earns its own examples. When the topic is something in general, the article is dropped:

"I like the coffee" tells an English speaker the student is pointing at one particular coffee on the table. "I like coffee" says they enjoy it as a thing — a useful contrast to make explicit in class.

The reverse also happens. Spanish drops words English insists on, because Spanish carries the information inside the verb ending. Subject pronouns: Spanish says Hablo inglés — the -o identifies the subject. English has no such ending, so the subject is compulsory: ✅ I speak English. And do-support — English builds questions and negatives with a helper verb Spanish has no equivalent for:

In English this is not optional — a required do left out sounds broken. Build the habit early: question or negative → is a helper verb needed?