Spanish Language Blog

All right, you’re going to tell me that verbs are hard to learn, their pronunciation is difficult and lots of other excuses. So this is what we’re going to do today. I’ve chosen some very, but very common irregular verbs in the past and I’m going to read their conjugation so you guys can practice, all right?

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Andar (to walk)
anduve
anduviste
anduvo
anduvimos
anduvisteis
anduvieron

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Caer (to fall)
caí
caíste
cayó
caímos
caísteis
cayeron

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Dar (to give)
di
diste
dio
dimos
disteis
dieron

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Decir (to say)
dije
dijiste
dijo
dijimos
dijisteis
dijeron

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Estar (to be)
estuve
estuviste
estuvo
estuvimos
estuvisteis
estuvieron

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Hacer (to do, to make)
hice
hiciste
hizo
hicimos
hicisteis
hicieron

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Oír (to hear)
oí
oíste
oyó
oímos
oísteis
oyeron

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Poder (to be able to, can)
pude
pudiste
pudo
pudimos
pudisteis
pudieron

See you next time!

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¡Hola, mi gente! How are you all doing? This is Adir Ferreira speaking directly from Brazil, bringing you all the hottest tips to learn Spanish you can’t find anywhere!

In this podcast I’m going to talk about the several uses of the word “a”. We tend to think that “a” only relates to movement “to” a place, this is so not true and I’m going to explain why.

“A” indicates movement, to, at a place. Let’s see some examples:

No sé a qué horas llegó a su casa. – I don’t know what time he got to his house.
Se lavaron las manos antes de sentarse a la mesa. – They washed their hands before sitting at the table.
Se desmayó y se cayó al piso. – She fainted and fell to the ground.
Acércate a tus primos para sacar la foto. – Get closer to your cousins to get your picture taken.

“A” is also the linking word between two verbs that are used to show one meaning, the so called locuciones. Ejemplos:

Él se negó a hablar. – He refused to talk.
Entraron a hablar con el profesor hace un buen rato y todavía no han salido. – They went in to talk to the teacher some time ago and they haven’t left yet.
Tu amigo dijo que ha venido a estudiar contigo. – Your friend said he came to study with you.
Comenzó a llover y entramos. – It started to rain and we went inside.
No voy a hacerlo. – I’m not going to do it.

It is also used in several expressions to show manner or method. Check them out:

a dieta – on a diet – estar a dieta (to be on a diet)
a escondidas – covertly, in a hidden way – hacer algo a escondidas (to do something covertly)
a lápiz – with a pencil – escribir a lápiz (to write with a pencil)
a mano – by hand – lavar la ropa a mano (to wash clothes by hand)
a pie – on foot – ir a pie (to go on foot)
a tiempo – in time – llegar a tiempo (to arrive on time)

“A” is also used to show the direct object of a person or something treated as a person.

Vi a tu padre en la calle. – I saw your father on the street.
Por supuesto que conoces a mi esposa. – Of course you know my wife.
Encontré a Burbuja debajo del sofá. – I found Burbuja under the sofá. (Burbuja is a female dog or cat.)

It is also used to introduce an indirect object:

Le doy este libro a mi hermano. – I’m giving this book to my brother.
¿Le compraste una camisa a tu marido? – Do you buy a shirt to your husband?
Le estoy poniendo ropa al nene. – I’m putting clothes on the baby.

Bueno, es todo por hoy. Nos vemos prontito, ¿eh?

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Everybody likes humor and so here’s a small and fun story. You can also listen to it, download the audio and check the main vocabulary. After you read it, were you able to understand the story?

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El donativo

Um empresario millonario y famoso por su tacañería va a una importante fiesta, organizada por una institución benéfica.
Uno de los representantes de la institución, tras intentarlo durante largo rato, lo convence para que aporte una donación. El millonario, con mala cara, saca un cheque por una importante suma de dinero y se lo da.
A la mañana siguiente suena el teléfono de su oficina. Alguien de la institución benéfica le hace notar, amablemente, que se olvidó de firmar el cheque que dejó el día anterior. El millonario dice:
- No importa, prefiero que mi donativo sea anónimo.

Vocabulary

1. empresario – entrepreneur
2. tacañería – stinginess
3. tras – after
4. intentar – to try
5. durante – during
6. largo rato – a long time
7. aportar una donación – to make a donation
8. con mala cara – with an angry face
9. sacar un cheque – to write a check
10. suma de dinero – sum of money
11. a la mañana siguiente – the next morning
12. sonar – to ring (telephone)
13. oficina – office
14. hacerle notar a alguien – to point something out to somebody
15. firmar – to sign
16. el día anterior – the day before