Archive for November, 2009
Irregular Verbs in the Present Tense Part 01 Posted by Adir on Nov 30, 2009
Yeah, I know Spanish verbs are hard to learn but sometimes you just need to follow a pattern and bingo! you get it right. Our first irregular verb pattern is when the root vowel ‘e’ becomes ‘ie’. Check out the verb apretar (to tighten). Yo aprieto Tú aprietas Él / ella / usted aprieta Nosotros…
Perífrasis Verbales Posted by Adir on Nov 25, 2009
Perífrasis verbales are combinations of two verbs that convey a meaning that’s different from that of the separate verbs. Let’s take a look at some of them: 1. estar + gerund – ongoing action -> Estoy buscando mi libro. (I am looking for my book.) 2. seguir + gerund – continuity -> Sigo dando clases…
B or V? Posted by Adir on Nov 23, 2009
As it happens with G and J, the letters B and V are very similar and it’s usually not very easy to choose between them. So, another little test for you: fill in the blanks with B or V. Cara___ela (caravel) Cala___era (skull, skeleton) Llama___a (I/he/she was calling) I___a (I/he/she was going) Automó___il (automobile) A___obado…
Foreign Words in Spanish Posted by Adir on Nov 19, 2009
Spanish has borrowed words from many other languages, and that is one of the reasons why it is such a colorful language. Here’s a list of some foreign words (extranjerismos) with their equivalent Spanish expressions. Baby-sitter – niñera, canguro Best-seller – superventas Blackout – apagón Buffet – bufé Cassette – (cinta) casete Chantilly – nata…
Colombian accent with Shakira Posted by Adir on Nov 16, 2009
Here’s a very cool interview with Colombian singer Shakira for CNN en Español. She talks about a law to help education in many countries. Listening tip: listen and watch the video many times, get used to real spoken Spanish. Input is of extreme importance to be fluent in any language so the more you listen…
G or J? Posted by Adir on Nov 12, 2009
Choosing between G or J in Spanish is not an easy task. So here’s a small test for you: fill in the blanks with G or J. ___enaro ___erardo ___erona ___erónima ___imnasia (gymnastics) A___enda (diary) Án___el (angel) Beren___ena (eggplant) Ciru___ano (surgeon) Ciru___ía (surgery) Co____er (to take) Co____o (I take) Co___ín (cushion) Cónyu___e (husband or wife)…
Giving directions Posted by Adir on Nov 9, 2009
Here are some very useful sentences for giving directions in Spanish. Siga todo recto … – Go straight ahead … Doble a la derecha … – Turn right … Doble a la izquierda … – Turn left … Entre en la 1ª sala … – Go into the first room … Baje la escalera ……