This bilingual sign contains several errors in Spanish that could make it either a source of humor or a source of anger —depending on what your personality is grammar-wise.

1. There are no accents. Although a common mistake, still a mistake.

2. There is no article El preceding the noun on the second line.

3. The verb requiere on the third line is a false cognate in Spanish and its use should be avoided. Instead, exigir would have been a better option.

4. The third line is in very small letters but it does not minimize the size of what it says.  The use of the plural in the noun (ustedes) suggests that there are two people in the bathroom.

5. The verb lavar is reflexive, which means it has to be conjugated with the proper pronoun for usted/ustedes. In this case: “que se laven”. This mistake only emphasizes the idea suggested in the previous line that per state law, the two people in the bathroom should wash each other’s hands before leaving the room.

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Andrea hails from Mexico City and lives in the Mission where she works as a community interpreter. She has been involved with Mission Local since 2009 working as a translator and reporter.

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