Quick check
Tap a Spanish word, then its English partner
Every position word ends in de
English says "next to the bank". Spanish says "at the side of the bank".
al lado de · cerca de · lejos de · enfrente de · a la izquierda de · a la derecha de · detras de
Then de + el always contracts to del: al lado del banco, never al lado de el banco. With la nothing happens: al lado de la escuela.
The trap: dropping the de. Enfrente la farmacia is the wrong option in the class MCQ set; enfrente de la farmacia is right. Only entre takes no de: entre el teatro y la estacion.
Perdone to a stranger, perdona to a classmate
Spanish picks the politeness level in the verb itself.
Perdone, ¿sabe si hay...? to someone you address as usted: an older person, a shopkeeper, an official.
Perdona, ¿sabes si hay...? to someone you address as tu: a classmate, someone your age.
The trap: the whole question has to agree. Perdone, ¿sabes...? mixes the two levels and reads as a mistake.
alguna asks, ninguna denies
algun / alguna = any, in a question: ¿Hay alguna farmacia por aqui cerca?
ningun / ninguna = not a single one, in a negative: En este barrio no hay ningun restaurante.
Before a masculine singular noun both lose their final -o: algun bar, ningun bar.
The trap: Spanish keeps the no as well as the ningun. That double negative is correct here, unlike in English.