Native Spanish speaker reacts to celebs speaking Spanish
Hear how celebrities speak Spanish. Explore useful corrections and practical grammar tips from their interviews.
Introduction
¡Hola! ¿Qué tal? Today we’re going to analyze how some of the world’s most famous celebrities speak Spanish. I’ll also teach you some Spanish while analyzing their speaking. Read till the end to discover if you make the same mistakes they do, and I’ll show you how to correct them. Let’s have fun while learning Spanish!
Let’s start with Selena Gomez.
In the video, she says “Muchos gracias”. It is “Muchas gracias.” Here mucho modifies a noun, so it must agree with that noun in gender and number. “Gracias” is feminine plural, so it needs to be “Muchas gracias.”
Then the interviewer asks: “¿Hablas un poquito español?” (Do you speak Spanish a little?) and Selena replies “más poquito”. This would be like “more little.” I think she wanted to say “muy poquito,” which means “very little.” But we can understand what she meant, and that’s what counts.
“Es complicado para explicar.” Here she says “it’s difficult to explain,” but we don’t use the preposition “para” here. It is “de.” “Es complicado de explicar.”
In this short clip, she hesitates and makes a few errors, but her meaning is clear. A brief interview cannot tell us everything about her Spanish ability, and it is good to see her try.
Let’s now check Cardi B’s Spanish.
Cardi B says in an interview: “Espérate, que mi papá me está oyendo.” (Wait, my father is listening.) ✅
You can tell she grew up speaking and listening to Spanish. The interview is conducted in Spanish, and she follows the questions comfortably.
“Yo sé lo que yo estoy haciendo.” (I know what I’m doing.) ✅
“Yo estudio lo que yo hago.” (I study what I do.) ✅
“Yo tengo parientes que siempre están pendiente de mí.” (I have relatives who always look out for me.) Here pendiente needs a plural ending: “Yo tengo parientes que siempre están pendientes de mí.”
“Yo nunca no era prostituta, bailarina sí.” → Yo nunca he sido prostituta, bailarina sí. (I’ve never been a prostitute; I was a dancer.) Learner note: Here, nunca comes before the verb, so it replaces no. He sido is a natural choice for a life experience. The imperfect can also describe a situation that has already ended, viewed as background or in progress at a past moment.
“Y sí, ahora ya tú sabes, ahora yo soy internacional, yo soy famoso” -> yo soy famosa (if she is referring to herself).
“Sí, alguna cosa yo ha cambiado, ¿tú sabes por qué yo ha cambiado?” -> Sí, he cambiado alguna cosa. ¿Sabes por qué he cambiado? (Yes, I have changed something. Do you know why I have changed?)
She speaks Spanish comfortably in this interview, though she makes a few grammar mistakes and sometimes switches to English. She also uses the pronoun “yo” (I) often. In Spanish, the verb ending usually identifies the subject, so “yo” can often be omitted when the context is clear. It can add emphasis or contrast, but its use also varies by region; frequent subject pronouns are normal in Caribbean Spanish.
Let’s go now with Viggo Mortensen.
Viggo Mortensen said in an interview in Argentina:
“Llegó un momento bastante tarde para empezar a pensar en eso de ser actor, a los 21 años, por ahí, que empecé a mirar las películas preguntándome “¿cómo se hace?” No solamente “me gusta o no.” Pero, ¿cómo se hace? ¿cómo es que… cómo es posible que esta persona en la pantalla diga o haga algo de una manera que me hace llorar o me hace sentir cosas…”
(There came a point—quite late to start thinking about becoming an actor, when I was about 21—when I began watching films and asking myself, “How is it done?” Not just, “Do I like it or not?” But how is it done? How is it possible for this person on the screen to say or do something in a way that makes me cry or feel things…)
I was very shocked. I didn’t know he spoke Spanish. He speaks comfortably and uses complex structures. He lived in Argentina as a child, and his accent here reflects that experience. I enjoy hearing Argentine Spanish.
By the way, on My Daily Spanish we have a free study guide that offers a step-by-step process to help you learn Spanish faster. You can download it from the link above.
Let’s check Ariana Grande’s Spanish.
In a concert in Latin America, Ariana said:
“¿Cómo les gusta el show?” The correct way would be “¿Les está gustando el show?” (Are you liking the show?). For an audience in Latin America, les refers to ustedes and is natural; it is not inherently formal there. In much of Spain, the familiar plural alternative is “¿Os está gustando el show?”
“¿Están divirtiendo?” (Are you having fun?) The correct way would be “¿Se están divirtiendo?” because divertirse (to have fun) is a pronominal verb: with ustedes, it takes se. In much of Spain, with vosotros, you would say “¿Os estáis divirtiendo?”
Me estoy divirtiendo (I’m having fun).
Estoy divirtiendo a mi hermana
(I’m amusing my sister).
In another video, she said:
Hola, ¿cómo estás? (Hi, how are you?)
¿Te gusta mi bandana? (Do you like my bandana?)
She uses a few Spanish phrases in this clip. Practicing short, useful sentences is a good way to begin speaking.
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Let’s listen to Will Smith speaking Spanish.
I love the joy of Will Smith speaking Spanish! He tries to speak it every time he has the chance. That’s key to learning a language!
This is what he said in an interview:
“En los EEUU la gente habla una idioma, pero todas las países del mundo la gente habla dos o tres idiomas.” → The agreement fixes are un idioma and todos los países; the location phrase also needs en: en todos los países. The broader claim is inaccurate: multiple languages are spoken in the United States, and multilingualism varies from country to country.
“Gracias, gracias. Estoy muy contento estar aquí. Es mi primera vez aquí en Argentina. Necesito practicar más.” → “Estoy muy contento DE estar aquí. Es mi primera vez aquí en Argentina. Necesito practicar más.” (Thank you, thank you. I am very happy to be here. It’s my first time here in Argentina. I need to practice more.)
Will Smith communicates enthusiastically in Spanish and builds his own sentences. The clip shows some agreement and preposition errors, but he keeps the conversation going. As he says, more practice would help.
And lastly, let’s check out Gwyneth Paltrow speaking Spanish.
Gwyneth Paltrow said this in an interview in Spanish:
“Bueno, cuando tenía 15 años, yo estaba de estudiando español en el colegio en Nueva York y la profesora nos han dicho bueno, hay una oportunidad ahí en España, de estudiar allí, entonces yo hacía un intercambio y vivía con una familia en el centro de España, cerca de Toledo.” → “Bueno, cuando tenía quince años, estudiaba español en un colegio de Nueva York. La profesora nos dijo que había una oportunidad de estudiar en España. Entonces hice un intercambio y viví con una familia cerca de Toledo.” (Well, when I was 15, I was studying Spanish in school in New York and the teacher told us “well, there is an opportunity there in Spain, to study there.” Then I did an exchange and lived with a family in the center of Spain, near Toledo.)
She communicates clearly in this clip, despite a few grammar errors. Her past-tense choices are useful examples to study. The rewrite above presents the exchange and stay as completed events. Hacía and vivía are not automatically wrong: they can describe past background or ongoing situations.
Now, some tips to correct those mistakes that we heard:
- Think of the gender of each noun when you speak. A good way to practice would be to write an essay in Spanish and then find each noun, check its gender, and then check whether the words that modify it agree.
- Review the prepositions with examples of when to use each one. This is a very difficult part of Spanish, but you can also practice while watching series and shows in Spanish and writing the expressions with prepositions you hear.
- Review the verb tenses and when to use each one. This takes practice. Listen for the context in which speakers use each tense, then try using the same patterns yourself. You can do it!
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this article and that you learned something new. Have a great day!
