“Superfluity” (la superfluidad) is a mistake. Why? It should be obvious.
By being superfluous, you are likley to bore your reader or listener, and they switch off (desconectarse).
There are many words that are used unnecessarily and break a basic rule: keep the sentences short and simple. By keeping your sentences short you will not tire (cansar) your reader or yourself. The use of unnecessary words indicates sloppiness of thought (descuido del pensamiento).
Let´s examine some common mistakes:
- The true fact is that Mr. Podemos is a Marxist. “True” is unnecessary (if it is a fact, it is therefore true). It is even simpler to say “Mr. Podemos is a Marxist” – you are saying it as a fact.
- “With regard to your letter, it says…” is better shortened to “Your letter says”.
- “I am writing this letter because…” is better changed to “My purpose is” … it is obvious that you are “writing a letter”, so please do not treat your reader as though he is stupid (no trate a su lector si fuera estúpido).
- In general, the Spanish economy is a mess. “In general” adds nothing. Cut it out.
- Mr. Podemos makes a lot of noise in the Parliament. Shorten this to “Mr. Podemos is noisy in the Parliament”. Why use 10 words, when you can use 7?
So, the basic rule is that if you can remove a word or some words and the meaning is still there, do it.
