Learning a foreign language includes acquiring an awareness of subtle distinctions. Oh, we really can have pity on anyone trying to navigate English as a second language!

Here are ten things I’m finding in Spanish.

• Bebe / bebé … He/she/it drinks versus a baby.
• Papa /  papá … A potato versus Daddy.
• Mamá / mama … Mom or mommy versus breast.
• Esta / está … “This” versus he, she, or it is.
• Si / sí … If versus yes.
• Hablo / habló … I speak versus he, she, or it spoke. In other words, that accent changes both the person doing the speaking as well as the tense.
• Que / qué … That versus what.
• Él / el … He versus the.
• Sé / se … I know versus reflective pronoun for he, she, it, even you.
• Cómo / como … How versus I eat.
• Sólo / solo … With the accent, it can also mean “just,” in addition to “only.”

Of course, I don’t have those accent marks on my English keyboard or cell phone. Things can get really tricky when I’m trying to reply en Español.