Today we are going to review the different impersonal structures we can find in Spanish with the verbs “haber” and “hacer”, doing some easy exercises.
Let´s remember their most common uses first. The verb “haber” is used:

1. As an auxiliary verb:

El jefe ha llegado tarde a la reunión.
Mis padres han salido a cenar fuera.

2. As an existential verb, used to express the English “there is-there are” structure. This is probably the most complicated use for those of you learning our language. As we can see, in English there is verb- direct object agreement. We will NEVER have “haber” in plural in Spanish, not only in present tense, but in all of them.

Hay una araña en el salón.
Había tres vecinos discutiendo.

3. And not only with haber, but also with any verbal construction including this verb with an existential meaning, such as soler, poder, ir o deber

En mi casa solía haber muchas macetas.

The verb “hacer”, as an impersonal verb, is used in the following situations:

1. To express a period of time, from past to present.

Hace dos días que no hablo con él.

2.To talk about weather, and temperature.

Hoy hace frío.

And now, I’d like you to read all these sentences, and decide whether they are correct or not, and why.

1. En mi casa podrán haber varios gatos.
2. Hasta ayer había dudas sobre el tema.
3. ¿Habrán llegado ya los niños?
4. En la oficina hubieron problemas.
5. Esta noche han hecho dos grados bajo cero.
6. Siguen habiendo alumnos que suspenden.
7. ¡Ojalá hubiera más vacaciones!
8. Hacen años que no la veo.
9. En la  calle habían dos coches.
10. Había muchos jóvenes en la fiesta.

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Even though we have the Spanish language in the title of this post it is mostly for any language or any activity you would like to do.

We all know how distracting it may be when we study with our computer by our side, especially when we are using a software or doing exercises on a website so today I am going to give you some tips to make the most out of your time and study more effectively.

01. Plan. Yes, have a to-do list of what you are going to study: verb conjugations, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc. This may sound a little too obvious, but these lists work!

02. No Facebook! It’s very easy (and tempting) to get caught up with new Facebook alerts so when you sit down to study, close your Facebook page and do not go there!

03. Set a time limit. Whether you are going to study for ten minutes or one hour, set a time limit and don’t stop until that time is up. Focus on your task, not looking at the time.

04. No noise. Where you study plays a major role in the success of your study session. So bring everything you need, go to a quiet place with good lighting and study!

05. Review and plan ahead. Before you start studying new topics make a point at reviewing what you have already covered because even though we think we already “know” that subject, there are certainly things that need reviewing and more attention. Before you actually stop studying, plan what you are going to study in your next session. This will also allow for long-term memory retention.

06. Take breaks during your study session if it is too long. Stretch your legs or go get a glass of water. Moving helps to keep your juices flowing and you will be able to concentrate better.

07. Ask your teacher. If you are taking classes at an institute or school, ask your teachers any questions you have when they come up during your study session. If these questions are fossilized then it will be harder to deal with them later on. Make sure to take notes.

08. Study when you are most alert. It is no good to start studying when you are really sleepy or in a period when you are not your sharpest. For example, I am not a morning person at all so I do all my studying in the evening, a couple of hours before I go to bed. Find out when you are your sharpest and make the best use of this time.

09. Be comfortable, but not too comfortable. Choose a chair that supports your back, but sit up straight, no slouching!

10. Be consistent and have a study schedule. Three times a week? Twice a day? It doesn’t matter, as long as you keep to it and get the most out of your study time.

Want more free resources to learn Spanish? Check out the other goodies we offer to help make your language learning efforts a daily habit.

Hola ¿Qué tal?

Today we are going to practice how to describe the seasons and different types of weather conditions in Spanish with lots of useful Spanish weather vocabulary and phrases.

Answers to all tasks involved in this lesson will be given at the end of the post and you can also follow a link with this post to watch the original theory video lesson on the same topic.

To go back and watch the original video lesson please follow this link:

Talking about the weather and the seasons in Spanish

1. First, let´s see if you know the seasons in Spanish:

How do we say “spring”?
How do we say “summer”?
How do we say “autumm”?
How do we say “winter”?

2. Now from Spanish to English:

What is “verano”?
What is “invierno”?
What is “primavera”?
What is “otoño”?

3. Let´s see if you understand these sentences in Spanish about the weather in different cities of Spain:

En Madrid hace mucho frío en invierno y hace mucho calor en verano.
En Alicante hace viento en este momento.
En Bilbao llueve mucho en otoño y en invierno.
En Barcelona hace buen tiempo.

4. Now I would like you to translate these sentences from English to Spanish:

In London the weather is bad in the winter.
In Paris it´s chilly today.
In New York it snows in the winter.
Here it rains in autumm

5. Now we will see if you remember these Spanish phrases related to the weather:

¡Qué frío hace!
Hace muchísimo calor
¿Tienes calor?
¿Qué tiempo hace allí?
Hace un día bastante bueno
No hace nada de frío

6. Finally, try to say the following things in Spanish:

It’s a horrible day
It´s always very hot here at this time of the year
I am so cold!
It is a very bad day
We are at five degrees below zero

This is all for today.

Talking about the weather is very handy when you are trying to make conversation. Everybody talks about the weather in every country so I recommend you practice this lesson a few times and use these sentences whenever you meet a Spanish speaker. It is a good way to start a conversation.

See you soon with more Spanish practice

I hope you are enjoying my weekly interactive Spanish lessons. Follow this link for many more great resources to help you learn and practice Spanish.

¡Adiós!

Answers:

1.
Primavera
Verano
Otoño
Invierno

2.
Summer
Winter
Spring
Autumm

3.
In Madrid it´s very cold in the winter and it´s very hot in the summer.
In Alicante it´s windy at the moment.
In Bilbao it rains a lot in autumn and winter.
In Barcelona the weather is good.

4.
En Londres hace mal tiempo en invierno.
En París hace fresco hoy.
En Nueva York nieva en invierno.
Aquí llueve en otoño.

5.
It´s really cold
It´s very very hot
Are you hot?
How is the weather like there?
It is quite a good day
It is not cold at all

6.
Hace un día horrible.
Aquí siempre hace mucho calor en esta época.
¡Qué frío tengo!
Hace un día muy malo.
Estamos a cinco grados bajo cero.