Archive for August, 2008
Animal sounds Posted by Adir on Aug 28, 2008
Our post today comes from a question from a student of mine, a 12-year-old girl, about sounds animals make in Spanish. I decided to look into it, and here’s a small list with the sound and the corresponding verb, check it out! abeja (bee): bzzz (zumbar) burro (donkey): iii-aah (rebuznar) caballo (horse): jiiiiiii, iiiiou (relinchar)…
Palindromes Posted by Adir on Aug 25, 2008
A palindrome is a word, line, verse, number, sentence, etc., that can be read the same backward as forward, like Madam, I’m Adam or Poor Dan is in a droop. The word palindrome comes from the Greek roots palin (πάλιν; “back”) and dromos (δρóμος; “way, direction”) and it was coined by the English writer Ben…
El Chavo del Ocho – Fue sin querer queriendo… Posted by Adir on Aug 21, 2008
El Chavo del Ocho (The Kid from Apartment #8) is a Mexican TV show about an orphan kid who lives in a barrel (#8) and other inhabitants of a typical Mexican condominium/apartment building, una vecindad. The show started in 1970 in Channel 8 but then moved on to Televisa and it was cancelled in 1980…
The future… the future? Posted by Adir on Aug 18, 2008
Let’s talk a bit about the future in Spanish. There are two basic forms: the first one is a specific verb conjugation called the simple future (futuro simple). For example, the verb estar (estaré, estarás, estará, estaremos, estaréis, estarán) in the simple future tense is equivalent in English to the form “will” (I will be…
Reguetón Posted by Adir on Aug 14, 2008
You’ve probably heard of reguetón, right? Reguetón “was born” in Puerto Rico about 10 years ago and it’s a blend of rap, hip hop, and reggae. In this post I’m bringing an all-Spanish text talking about reguetón. You also have the most difficult words translated to help you understand it. If you have questions, post…
Expressions with Take Posted by Adir on Aug 11, 2008
Whenever I teach my students vocabulary, I always tell them to take notes using real and meaningful examples and to learn fixed expressions. Let’s take for example the verb “to take”. If we look it up in an English-Spanish dictionary, dozens of entries will crop up and if we´re not very familiar with the language…
Manolito Gafotas Posted by Adir on Aug 7, 2008
Have you ever heard of Manolito Gafotas? Manolito is a series of kids’ books written by Spanish author Elvira Lindo. They tell the story of Manolito in the district of Carabanchel, in Madrid. Manolito is a common kid and his stories are written with lots of humor and tenderness. These stories started on the radio…