Some of you may recall, in a previous post, I mentioned that I had installed a satellite dish, to enable me to watch Spanish language TV.
It wasn't a particularly expensive project, but here's a way you can watch dozens of Spanish language channels, absolutely free.
Just go to http://wwitv.com and you can access over 100 channels.
Once you've selected the language you wish the site to be displayed in, just select the a country from the scrolling list on the left, and you will be presented with a list of the channels, from that country, available to view online.
The list includes Spanish-speaking countries from Argentina (35 channels) to Venezuela (7 channels), passing through Mexico (32) and Spain (70) along the way.
Other countires include Aruba, Chile, Cuba (I have to admit, I get a much better picture on CubaVision with my satellite, than you will online, but it is watchable), Dominican Republic, Peru and several others.
A couple of my favourites, are CubaVision (Cuba, obviously) and Telesur (from Venezuela), but you can spend a few happy hours, finding out which suit your needs best.
I'm not sure how often WWITV (World Wide Internet TV) is updated, but there are a few channels which don't play.
Connecting and displaying the content works in a variety of ways, depending on which channel you choose.
Some open a new window, direct to the Broadcasters' websites (these are labelled 'on site').
Some require the Microsoft Silverlight plugin.
Some require Real Player, some Windows Media Player, some Flash Player and still others require installation of a plugin called 'veetle'.
Obviously you'll have to make your own mind up about what you are comfortable installing on your PC.
Available content varies from Government-run stations, to Music TV, Christian TV, News Channels and General TV, where you can find kids programmes and even some movies.
So now you have a good excuse to spend hours watching TV - it's Educational.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Demystifying Spanish Grammar (with impenetrable English explanations?)
It's rare that I buy books on Spanish grammar. There are just so many resources available free on the Internet, but I was recently searching for a definitive list of 'when to use the imperfect' (yes, for last week's posting) and I followed a link to Google books, where I came across a book called 'Demystifying Spanish Grammar', by an author called Brandon Simpson.
So, here's a short review.
Brandon begins with a statement that the book is not for beginners. Up to a point, I would agree. Some of the explanations and background assume a good grounding in English grammar and language; by chapter 2, he is already talking about 'diphthongs'.
Don't let this put you off, though,as there is a lot in this book which can be of use to beginners, as well as students of other levels. You can always skip sections that are currently beyond you, and return to them, as your studies progress.
It's not a big book, by any means, according to the Google books version, it's 111 pages ( I mention this, because it's available in a variety of formats, at varying prices - but more on that later ) but it is split into clearly defined sections, each dealing with a specific Spanish 'problem area', some of which you may have already encountered.
1) Written accents
2)Ser/Estar
3)Para/Por
4)Imperfect/Preterite
5)The Subjunctive
Now, as I mentioned, Brandon has a habit of using some pretty esoteric English grammar terms, like 'Monosyllabic Homonyms', but he does, usually give an explanation of each term, and follows it with examples.
So 'monosyllabic'? - not difficult - having one syllable. 'Homonym'? - a word that sounds like another word. The term 'monosyllabic homonym' crops up in chapter on accents, and the words in question are 'el' and 'él', so don't be blinded by the technical vocabulary.
Throughout the book, Brandon explains the rules which underpin the correct usage of the various parts of Spanish Grammar, adds acronyms of his own, to help you remember how they should be applied, gives a wealth of examples, and there are even exercises for you to work on, with answers in the appendices.
Overall, I think this book falls into a difficult niche.It is dealing with a number of grammar constructs, which vary in difficulty from Ser/Estar up to the Subjunctive which, to be honest, deserves a book to itself. Consequently, there are areas which intermediate students will probably already have mastered, and areas which are, as Brandon states, too advanced for the beginner. In his bibliography, he even recommends a book on English grammar, to assist in the understanding of any foreign language. Having said that, it's a compact volume, which is structured in such a way that it can easily be used as a reference book, just picking out the parts you need, as you need them.
For this reason, and the quality of the content, I found the book to be a very useful addition to my Spanish learning toolkit and, what's even better is the price.
You can buy the book in paperback from Amazon.co.uk for £4.95 or you can do what I did, and buy the Kindle version at £3.08 !
Don't worry, if you don't have a Kindle. For the one payment, I now have the book on my Kindle, my iPod, my Android phone, and my Laptop, all running the Kindle application and, what's even better, if your devices are continuously Internet connected, you can close the book on one, and open it on another, in the exact same place where you left off!
If you want to have a browse through some of the book's content, before deciding to buy, click over to http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=d1OIX0BEB-sC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false and have a read, but be aware that only selected pages are available to view.
Let me know if you find it useful.
¡Hasta luego! Thursday, 2 February 2012
No 'ifs' or 'buts'
Re-reading yesterday's post, I realised there'd been something niggling at the back of my mind.
Anyone familiar with the Spanish learning course recorded by Michel Thomas will have one or two of his catchphrases burned into their memory. He had a knack of summarising certain topics, which made them impossible to forget.
The most memorable is his preterite cha-cha, where he took the endings of the first and third person singular (that's 'I' and 'he/she/it/you [formal]') for 'ar' and other 'non-ar' verbs, in the preterite tense, and chanted them to a cha-cha rhythm - "e and o and i and io, e and o and i and io. It's like a cha-cha. You could dance to it and, you know what . . you'll never forget it"
You were spot on Michel. I never have.
However,unfortunately, I have to take issue with one of his other memory aids.
This one's a little more complicated. He started with the endings for the condtional tense, which are based on '-ria'.
The word for a river is 'rio' so, if there were such a thing as a feminine river, he argued, it might be called a 'ria' - with me so far?
A word which crops up frequently in conditional phrases in English is 'would' - e.g 'I would do it, if you let me'
Michel reasoned that using conditional statments was going into the 'woulds' (woods) so the way to remember the ending was to imagine that, every time you went into the woods, you would find a feminine river (-ria)
I have to admit that, until now, like many of Michel's lessons, it has been a great help to my poor memory.
Until I started using it in the wrong place!
For a phrase to qualify as conditional, there has to be a condition.
In most cases this would be 'if', or perhaps 'provided that' or 'so long as' - so it's quite correct to say 'yo te lo traería si me pides' - 'I would bring you it, if you ask'
However, if you were to say 'When I was young, I would bring him a newspaper every day' - there's no condition. It's just something I did, or used to do.
Back to yesterday's posting - actions repeated in the past?
Correct!
Imperfecto!
So that's 'cuando yo era joven, le traía un periódico cada día'
Well apart from pointing out that little pitfall, I hope I've made two other points. One is that you CAN learn valuable Spanish lessons, which will stay with you for a long time, from a quality audio course, but the other is that there's no substitute, as you advance, for having a real teacher to pick up on, and correct any misunderstandings along the way.
All learning is good - enjoy yours.
¡Hasta luego!
Anyone familiar with the Spanish learning course recorded by Michel Thomas will have one or two of his catchphrases burned into their memory. He had a knack of summarising certain topics, which made them impossible to forget.
The most memorable is his preterite cha-cha, where he took the endings of the first and third person singular (that's 'I' and 'he/she/it/you [formal]') for 'ar' and other 'non-ar' verbs, in the preterite tense, and chanted them to a cha-cha rhythm - "e and o and i and io, e and o and i and io. It's like a cha-cha. You could dance to it and, you know what . . you'll never forget it"
You were spot on Michel. I never have.
However,unfortunately, I have to take issue with one of his other memory aids.
This one's a little more complicated. He started with the endings for the condtional tense, which are based on '-ria'.
The word for a river is 'rio' so, if there were such a thing as a feminine river, he argued, it might be called a 'ria' - with me so far?
A word which crops up frequently in conditional phrases in English is 'would' - e.g 'I would do it, if you let me'
Michel reasoned that using conditional statments was going into the 'woulds' (woods) so the way to remember the ending was to imagine that, every time you went into the woods, you would find a feminine river (-ria)
I have to admit that, until now, like many of Michel's lessons, it has been a great help to my poor memory.
Until I started using it in the wrong place!
For a phrase to qualify as conditional, there has to be a condition.
In most cases this would be 'if', or perhaps 'provided that' or 'so long as' - so it's quite correct to say 'yo te lo traería si me pides' - 'I would bring you it, if you ask'
However, if you were to say 'When I was young, I would bring him a newspaper every day' - there's no condition. It's just something I did, or used to do.
Back to yesterday's posting - actions repeated in the past?
Correct!
Imperfecto!
So that's 'cuando yo era joven, le traía un periódico cada día'
Well apart from pointing out that little pitfall, I hope I've made two other points. One is that you CAN learn valuable Spanish lessons, which will stay with you for a long time, from a quality audio course, but the other is that there's no substitute, as you advance, for having a real teacher to pick up on, and correct any misunderstandings along the way.
All learning is good - enjoy yours.
¡Hasta luego!
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
The Past comes back to haunt us
We've just started telling stories in class.
Profesora Ximena has been giving us examples of legends from Mexico, then encouraging us to retell them in our own words, and also to provide examples of fables or tales from our own countries (I did a reasonable rendition of 'the sword in the stone')
Now you can practice verb conjugations and do exercises to prove that you know when to use each of the two past tenses, but it's not until you start telling a tale, from scratch, in your own words, that you realise that the only way to master them is to practice using them in conversation.
But, until you get the chance to have a face to face with a real-life Spanish speaker (don't forget, there are plenty of them waiting in SecondLife, and at www.verbling.com) here's a brief reminder of some of the principle differences between the preterite and the imperfect.
Use the imperfect for:
Habitual actions in the past - 'I used to see him every day' - 'Lo veía todos los días'
Physical, mental or emotional states - 'she was sad and she was hungry' - 'estaba triste y tenía hambre'
Things which already existed - 'there was a car park' - 'había un aparcamiento' (estacionamiento in South America)
Actions in progress - 'I was brushing my teeth' - 'me cepillaba los dientes'
Reported speech - 'she told me she was going to the shops' - 'me dijo que ella iba a las tiendas'
Useful hint here: - memorise 'IBA A' - it means 'WAS GOING' and can be used with almost any verb to express 'was going . . . to do . . whatever'
There are several hints which you might hear, to help you remember general cases for the imperfect.
Anyone who has completed the Michel Thomas course will remember his references to WAS-ING and WERE-ING, i.e if you WERE do-ING something (action in progress) then you'd use the imperfect.
Another trick is to remember imperfect as 'incomplete', this follows the same logic - if you WERE doing something, then you hadn't completed it, so imperfect again.
Final trick - if the question is 'what happened?', the answer is in the preterite. If the question is 'what was happening?', the answer is in the imperfect.
A few cases to look out for here. The first two involve mixing the imperfect and preterite in the same sentence but, thankfully, they're fairly hard-and-fast rules so are easy to apply, once you've mastered them.
1) Reported speech.
The part of the speech you are reporting is always in the imperfect.
So - 'he told us that the Pharaohs built the pyramids' - ' nos contó que los Pharaohs construían las pyramides'
(I don't want to complicate things too much here, but it would also be possible to say 'he used to say that the Pharaohs built the pyramids' - where 'used to say' is an habitual action, so you would use the imperfect for both that, AND the reported speech - 'nos decía que los Pharaohs construían las pyramides')
2)Where one action interrupts another.
The action which you WERE do-ING is in the imperfect, interrupted by another in the preterite.
'I was reading, when you called me' - 'yo leía cuando me llamaste'
Finally a couple of little oddities. One will be familiar to Michel Thomas devotees - the use of 'saber' (to know). Almost every time you use 'saber' in the past, it will be as 'sabía', on the basis that you didn't just know it for a moment, you still know it, so the action is incomplete. The preterite 'supe', 'supe' etc, when it is used, is taken to mean 'I found out'
The second is one I was corrected over in class - I wanted to say that Merlin has taken the young Arthur, as a baby, and used 'Merlin lo hubo llevado', assuming that it was a completed action and should therefore be in the preterite.
However, when you think about it 'Merlin lo llevó' is a completed action (Merlin took him) but having taken him, you could argue that he was then in a continuous state of 'having taken him' and continuous or ongoing actions require . . the imperfect. So that's one to remember, along with 'iba a' - 'Had done something' = 'había hecho algo'
Apparently 'hubo' is used, but mainly to refer to events - for instance 'hubo una fiesta' - 'there was a party'
Well, I've rambled on for long enough, and reckon you can probably figure out for yourselves what's left to use the preterite for, and I still have some homework to do so it's ¡Hasta la proxima!, and see you next time.
Profesora Ximena has been giving us examples of legends from Mexico, then encouraging us to retell them in our own words, and also to provide examples of fables or tales from our own countries (I did a reasonable rendition of 'the sword in the stone')
Now you can practice verb conjugations and do exercises to prove that you know when to use each of the two past tenses, but it's not until you start telling a tale, from scratch, in your own words, that you realise that the only way to master them is to practice using them in conversation.
But, until you get the chance to have a face to face with a real-life Spanish speaker (don't forget, there are plenty of them waiting in SecondLife, and at www.verbling.com) here's a brief reminder of some of the principle differences between the preterite and the imperfect.
Use the imperfect for:
Habitual actions in the past - 'I used to see him every day' - 'Lo veía todos los días'
Physical, mental or emotional states - 'she was sad and she was hungry' - 'estaba triste y tenía hambre'
Things which already existed - 'there was a car park' - 'había un aparcamiento' (estacionamiento in South America)
Actions in progress - 'I was brushing my teeth' - 'me cepillaba los dientes'
Reported speech - 'she told me she was going to the shops' - 'me dijo que ella iba a las tiendas'
Useful hint here: - memorise 'IBA A' - it means 'WAS GOING' and can be used with almost any verb to express 'was going . . . to do . . whatever'
There are several hints which you might hear, to help you remember general cases for the imperfect.
Anyone who has completed the Michel Thomas course will remember his references to WAS-ING and WERE-ING, i.e if you WERE do-ING something (action in progress) then you'd use the imperfect.
Another trick is to remember imperfect as 'incomplete', this follows the same logic - if you WERE doing something, then you hadn't completed it, so imperfect again.
Final trick - if the question is 'what happened?', the answer is in the preterite. If the question is 'what was happening?', the answer is in the imperfect.
A few cases to look out for here. The first two involve mixing the imperfect and preterite in the same sentence but, thankfully, they're fairly hard-and-fast rules so are easy to apply, once you've mastered them.
1) Reported speech.
The part of the speech you are reporting is always in the imperfect.
So - 'he told us that the Pharaohs built the pyramids' - ' nos contó que los Pharaohs construían las pyramides'
(I don't want to complicate things too much here, but it would also be possible to say 'he used to say that the Pharaohs built the pyramids' - where 'used to say' is an habitual action, so you would use the imperfect for both that, AND the reported speech - 'nos decía que los Pharaohs construían las pyramides')
2)Where one action interrupts another.
The action which you WERE do-ING is in the imperfect, interrupted by another in the preterite.
'I was reading, when you called me' - 'yo leía cuando me llamaste'
Finally a couple of little oddities. One will be familiar to Michel Thomas devotees - the use of 'saber' (to know). Almost every time you use 'saber' in the past, it will be as 'sabía', on the basis that you didn't just know it for a moment, you still know it, so the action is incomplete. The preterite 'supe', 'supe' etc, when it is used, is taken to mean 'I found out'
The second is one I was corrected over in class - I wanted to say that Merlin has taken the young Arthur, as a baby, and used 'Merlin lo hubo llevado', assuming that it was a completed action and should therefore be in the preterite.
However, when you think about it 'Merlin lo llevó' is a completed action (Merlin took him) but having taken him, you could argue that he was then in a continuous state of 'having taken him' and continuous or ongoing actions require . . the imperfect. So that's one to remember, along with 'iba a' - 'Had done something' = 'había hecho algo'
Apparently 'hubo' is used, but mainly to refer to events - for instance 'hubo una fiesta' - 'there was a party'
Well, I've rambled on for long enough, and reckon you can probably figure out for yourselves what's left to use the preterite for, and I still have some homework to do so it's ¡Hasta la proxima!, and see you next time.
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
P.S. please R.S.V.P.
Just when you think you're developing a fairly wide vocabulary, you pick up a Spanish newspaper, or go to www.20minutos.es or www.jornada.unam.mx and find the articles are peppered with abbreviations, not all of which are in your trusty pocket dictionary.
Unfortunately, it's the nature of abbreviations that you can't translate them, unless you know what they stand for.
So here are few of the more common ones.
Let's start with the easy ones and, by easy, I mean those which use the same letters as their English equivalents, just in a different order.
OTAN=NATO. Organización del tratado del atlántico norte
ONU=UN(O). Organización de las naciones unidas
SIDA=AIDS. Síndrome de imunodeficiencia adquirida
EAU=UAE. Emiratos arábes unidos
TAC=CAT (scan). Tomografía axial computerizada
ADN=DNA. Ácido desoxirribonucleico
CE=E(E)C. Comunidad Europea
FMI=IMF. Fondo monetario internacional
Now some which are not quite so obvious
ONCE organización national de ciegos espanoles. The equivalent of the UK's RNIB
ONG organización non gubernmental = a charity
ONL organización non lucrativa = non-profit organisation
SA Sociedad anónima = equivalent of a PLC in the UK
EE UU Estados Unidos = The United States
AC/DC Nothing to do with rock music, these are the equivalents of BC and AD (antes de Cristo/despues de Cristo)
PP partido popular - Spanish political party
DF Distrito federal (in Mexico)
Edomex = Estado de México
And, finally, and rather appropriately
q.e.p.d. (que en paz descanse) or R.I.P. in English.
Oops.
Almost missed my favourite
OVNI=objeto volante no identificado (that's UFO to you and me)
I'm sure there will be many more in the News, so feel free to add comments and include any interesting ones you find.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Unfortunately, it's the nature of abbreviations that you can't translate them, unless you know what they stand for.
So here are few of the more common ones.
Let's start with the easy ones and, by easy, I mean those which use the same letters as their English equivalents, just in a different order.
OTAN=NATO. Organización del tratado del atlántico norte
ONU=UN(O). Organización de las naciones unidas
SIDA=AIDS. Síndrome de imunodeficiencia adquirida
EAU=UAE. Emiratos arábes unidos
TAC=CAT (scan). Tomografía axial computerizada
ADN=DNA. Ácido desoxirribonucleico
CE=E(E)C. Comunidad Europea
FMI=IMF. Fondo monetario internacional
Now some which are not quite so obvious
ONCE organización national de ciegos espanoles. The equivalent of the UK's RNIB
ONG organización non gubernmental = a charity
ONL organización non lucrativa = non-profit organisation
SA Sociedad anónima = equivalent of a PLC in the UK
EE UU Estados Unidos = The United States
AC/DC Nothing to do with rock music, these are the equivalents of BC and AD (antes de Cristo/despues de Cristo)
PP partido popular - Spanish political party
DF Distrito federal (in Mexico)
Edomex = Estado de México
And, finally, and rather appropriately
q.e.p.d. (que en paz descanse) or R.I.P. in English.
Oops.
Almost missed my favourite
OVNI=objeto volante no identificado (that's UFO to you and me)
I'm sure there will be many more in the News, so feel free to add comments and include any interesting ones you find.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Sunday, 18 December 2011
"You can't always get what you want . ."
"But if you try sometimes . . you might find . . You get what you need"
Well, according to the Rolling Stones song, anyway.
Asking for what you want, or need, in Spanish, isn't always as straightforward as you might think.
One of the earliest verbs you probably learnt is 'querer'.
"I want" is simply "quiero" but, as mothers have long said, to demanding children " 'I want' never gets"
It's simply not a very polite way of asking for anything.
So, what other options do we have?
Well, in English, you might say "I need", so "necesito" is a good substitute, or "I'm looking for . .", which is "busco . ."
However, you will often hear "me gustaría . .", which is the Conditional form of "me gusta" (it pleases me = I like), and means "I would like . .", or "it would please me",
or "querría" (note the double 'r'), which is the conditional form of "querer", literally meaning "I would want", but taken as "I would like",
or even "quisiera . ." which is (don't freak out!) the subjunctive mood of the imperfect tense of the verb "querer", which in the vague nature of the subjunctive sort of means "I kind of might have wanted . .", but is used to mean "I would like". It sounds very complicated, but is actually used a lot.
Sometimes, you don't even have to ask for something. Just point out that it's not there, and let logic do the rest.
For example "falta un tenedor", means "a fork is lacking". It doesn't take a degree in rocket science for the waiter to figure out that "there's a fork missing" is a polite way of saying "I need another fork".
Actually, if you wanted to specify that it was YOUR fork that was missing, you could say "ME hace falta un tenedor". Literally "to me, makes lacking, a fork". Note that in this,and the previous example, it's the fork which does the lacking and the making, so conjugate accordingly.
And the final method of getting what you want, is to just ask the person to give it to you and, as with the previous methods, there are varying levels of politeness.
You might say to a waiter "traigame una cerveza" (traer- to bring) "bring me a beer" although, if you have any manners at all, I'm sure you'll add "por favor"
More politely, you could say "¿puedes traerme una cerveza?" which equates with "can you fetch me a beer?", but you'd be better off with "¿podrías traerme una cerveza?", which is the equivalent of saying "COULD you fetch me a beer?"
The same method can be applied to "dar" (to give) or "pasar" (to pass). "¿podrías pasarme el azúcar?", "could you pass me the sugar?"
Using "poder" in this manner is a great way of asking people to do things, without making it sound like an instruction, and can be used with many verbs, such as . . .
"¿podrías decirme . . ?" - 'could you tell me?'
"¿podrías ayudarme?" - 'could you help me?'
"¿podrías parar aquí?" - 'could you stop here?'
The only exception I've come across, where a direct order appears to be acceptable, was in a video on the BBC language learning website, where students are advised to use the imperative version of "poner"(to put), when selecting fruit in a market, for example "pongame cuatro manzanas", literally "put me four apples", presumably in a bag.
Cultural note here: in Spain it is considered rude to handle produce before buying it.
Well, I hope these tips help you to express your needs and wants in a more delicate and polite manner.
It can make all the difference.
¡Nos vemos!
Well, according to the Rolling Stones song, anyway.
Asking for what you want, or need, in Spanish, isn't always as straightforward as you might think.
One of the earliest verbs you probably learnt is 'querer'.
"I want" is simply "quiero" but, as mothers have long said, to demanding children " 'I want' never gets"
It's simply not a very polite way of asking for anything.
So, what other options do we have?
Well, in English, you might say "I need", so "necesito" is a good substitute, or "I'm looking for . .", which is "busco . ."
However, you will often hear "me gustaría . .", which is the Conditional form of "me gusta" (it pleases me = I like), and means "I would like . .", or "it would please me",
or "querría" (note the double 'r'), which is the conditional form of "querer", literally meaning "I would want", but taken as "I would like",
or even "quisiera . ." which is (don't freak out!) the subjunctive mood of the imperfect tense of the verb "querer", which in the vague nature of the subjunctive sort of means "I kind of might have wanted . .", but is used to mean "I would like". It sounds very complicated, but is actually used a lot.
Sometimes, you don't even have to ask for something. Just point out that it's not there, and let logic do the rest.
For example "falta un tenedor", means "a fork is lacking". It doesn't take a degree in rocket science for the waiter to figure out that "there's a fork missing" is a polite way of saying "I need another fork".
Actually, if you wanted to specify that it was YOUR fork that was missing, you could say "ME hace falta un tenedor". Literally "to me, makes lacking, a fork". Note that in this,and the previous example, it's the fork which does the lacking and the making, so conjugate accordingly.
And the final method of getting what you want, is to just ask the person to give it to you and, as with the previous methods, there are varying levels of politeness.
You might say to a waiter "traigame una cerveza" (traer- to bring) "bring me a beer" although, if you have any manners at all, I'm sure you'll add "por favor"
More politely, you could say "¿puedes traerme una cerveza?" which equates with "can you fetch me a beer?", but you'd be better off with "¿podrías traerme una cerveza?", which is the equivalent of saying "COULD you fetch me a beer?"
The same method can be applied to "dar" (to give) or "pasar" (to pass). "¿podrías pasarme el azúcar?", "could you pass me the sugar?"
Using "poder" in this manner is a great way of asking people to do things, without making it sound like an instruction, and can be used with many verbs, such as . . .
"¿podrías decirme . . ?" - 'could you tell me?'
"¿podrías ayudarme?" - 'could you help me?'
"¿podrías parar aquí?" - 'could you stop here?'
The only exception I've come across, where a direct order appears to be acceptable, was in a video on the BBC language learning website, where students are advised to use the imperative version of "poner"(to put), when selecting fruit in a market, for example "pongame cuatro manzanas", literally "put me four apples", presumably in a bag.
Cultural note here: in Spain it is considered rude to handle produce before buying it.
Well, I hope these tips help you to express your needs and wants in a more delicate and polite manner.
It can make all the difference.
¡Nos vemos!
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Viva Il Divo
Once in a while, some genius comes along, and takes two of your favourite things, and combines them to produce something which is truly magnificent, like coconut ice-cream, or tequila-flavoured beer.
Well, this week it has happened again. I am currently listening, for about the twelfth time, to the latest CD by Il Divo, which unites a breathtaking musical talent, with the language of Spain.
For those of you unfortunate enough never to have encountered Il Divo, they are a group of four singers, three opera and one pop, hailing from as far afield as Switzerland, the US, France and, of course, Spain.
They are known world-wide as the masters of classic/pop crossover, mixing popular opera with reworkings of pop songs,translated or given new lyrics in Italian or Spanish.
The new album, Wicked Game, takes its title track from the 1989 song by Chris Izaak, rewritten in Italian as 'Melancolia' .
The real bonus, for we Spanish fans, is that, along with five tracks in Italian and one in English, there are four tracks in Spanish.
Two are Il Divo versions of classic pop songs. Roy Orbison's 1960's ballad 'Crying' returns as 'Lllorando', and Shakespeare's Sister's 'Stay (with me)' becomes 'Ven a mi'.
The other two tracks are 'Falling slowly' (Te prometo) and 'Come what may' (Te amaré), which is one of several which showcases the blistering vocals of Carlos Marin at his best.
If you don't want tobuy the whole album, just click over to Amazon ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wicked-Game-Divo/dp/B005KDWUFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323284599&sr=8-1 from the UK) and you can download individual tracks for 89p each.
You can listen to an extract from each song, but they really don't do them justice, as none of them feature the Guys at full volume, during one of their big finishes. There is a short video clip to view but, if you don't know Il Divo, you're better looking on YouTube to get an idea of what they can do.
There's a bonus, if you buy the physical CD, though, as the enclosed booklet has all the lyrics. Unfortunately this extra was slightly marred (at least in the version I have) as it was obviously typeset and proof read by non-Spanish speakers. All of the accents are missing, and there are two instances where the word 'hoy' has been printed as 'hot'!
Finally, before I head off to play Wicked Game for the 13th time, just a mention of one other of Il Divo's claims to fame . . they recorded the theme music to a Mexican soap opera called 'Sortilegio'.
You can find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WXg9CGSoTY&feature=related and this version includes the lyrics.
¡Chévere!
Well, this week it has happened again. I am currently listening, for about the twelfth time, to the latest CD by Il Divo, which unites a breathtaking musical talent, with the language of Spain.
For those of you unfortunate enough never to have encountered Il Divo, they are a group of four singers, three opera and one pop, hailing from as far afield as Switzerland, the US, France and, of course, Spain.
They are known world-wide as the masters of classic/pop crossover, mixing popular opera with reworkings of pop songs,translated or given new lyrics in Italian or Spanish.
The new album, Wicked Game, takes its title track from the 1989 song by Chris Izaak, rewritten in Italian as 'Melancolia' .
The real bonus, for we Spanish fans, is that, along with five tracks in Italian and one in English, there are four tracks in Spanish.
Two are Il Divo versions of classic pop songs. Roy Orbison's 1960's ballad 'Crying' returns as 'Lllorando', and Shakespeare's Sister's 'Stay (with me)' becomes 'Ven a mi'.
The other two tracks are 'Falling slowly' (Te prometo) and 'Come what may' (Te amaré), which is one of several which showcases the blistering vocals of Carlos Marin at his best.
If you don't want tobuy the whole album, just click over to Amazon ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wicked-Game-Divo/dp/B005KDWUFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323284599&sr=8-1 from the UK) and you can download individual tracks for 89p each.
You can listen to an extract from each song, but they really don't do them justice, as none of them feature the Guys at full volume, during one of their big finishes. There is a short video clip to view but, if you don't know Il Divo, you're better looking on YouTube to get an idea of what they can do.
There's a bonus, if you buy the physical CD, though, as the enclosed booklet has all the lyrics. Unfortunately this extra was slightly marred (at least in the version I have) as it was obviously typeset and proof read by non-Spanish speakers. All of the accents are missing, and there are two instances where the word 'hoy' has been printed as 'hot'!
Finally, before I head off to play Wicked Game for the 13th time, just a mention of one other of Il Divo's claims to fame . . they recorded the theme music to a Mexican soap opera called 'Sortilegio'.
You can find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WXg9CGSoTY&feature=related and this version includes the lyrics.
¡Chévere!
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Getting beyond 'bueno'
There's more to life than Black and White and, likewise, much more than Good and Bad, so why is it, whenever we come across something we like in Spanish, the only word that seems to come to mind is 'bueno'?
It's maddening, when you've just finished a meal in a restaurant in, say, Barcelona, the waiter comes over and asks if everything was OK, and you either mumble 'bueno' or fail back to English to express yourself.
So, while I'm not a great fan of word-lists, I think it's important to have a selection of adjectives to hand, which you can call on to push your descriptions and comments well beyond the trusty 'bueno'
Let's start with the basics
good=bueno/buena
better=mejor
the best= el/la mejor
now we begin to improve . .
nice or pleasant=agradable
superb=estupendo ó magnífico
excelent=excelente
fantastic=fantástico
exquisite=exquisito
inredible=increíble
amazing=asombroso
extraordinary=extraordinario
awesome=alucinante (literally, hallucinatory ;¬)
or, if it's not so good . .
satisfactory=satisfactorio
acceptable=aceptable
So, how about those food words?
tasty=sabroso, rico
delicious=delicioso, riquisimo
luscious=suculento
yummy/scrumptious=de rechupete
spicy/seasoned/hot=condimentado, sazonado, picante
appetising=apetitoso
sweet=dulce
If you're introduced to someone's kids, or shown a photo, it's nice to be able to pay compliments.
beautiful=hermosa, bella
pretty=linda, bonita
cute=precioso/preciosa
attractive=atractivo, guapo
likeable=simpático, majo,amable
Don't forget that most of these can be used with masculine or feminine endings, but I wouldn't call a six-foot body builder 'bonito', if I were you!
Finally, harking back to my previous post about using 'pasarlo' to describe the fun you're having, here are a few related adjectives.
exciting=emocionante, apasionante
entertaining=entretenido
funny=gracioso
enjoyable=divertido
emotional=emotivo.
impressive=impresionante
Of course, while I've roughly grouped the adjectives, a lot of them can be used to describe a variety of things, people, food, places etc. , just like we'd use excellent, nice, pleasant etc. in English.
Just one last thing NOT to say, when the waiter asks you how the food was, and that's 'muy bien'
Don't forget - 'bien' means 'WELL', not 'GOOD'
¡Hasta la próxima!
It's maddening, when you've just finished a meal in a restaurant in, say, Barcelona, the waiter comes over and asks if everything was OK, and you either mumble 'bueno' or fail back to English to express yourself.
So, while I'm not a great fan of word-lists, I think it's important to have a selection of adjectives to hand, which you can call on to push your descriptions and comments well beyond the trusty 'bueno'
Let's start with the basics
good=bueno/buena
better=mejor
the best= el/la mejor
now we begin to improve . .
nice or pleasant=agradable
superb=estupendo ó magnífico
excelent=excelente
fantastic=fantástico
exquisite=exquisito
inredible=increíble
amazing=asombroso
extraordinary=extraordinario
awesome=alucinante (literally, hallucinatory ;¬)
or, if it's not so good . .
satisfactory=satisfactorio
acceptable=aceptable
So, how about those food words?
tasty=sabroso, rico
delicious=delicioso, riquisimo
luscious=suculento
yummy/scrumptious=de rechupete
spicy/seasoned/hot=condimentado, sazonado, picante
appetising=apetitoso
sweet=dulce
If you're introduced to someone's kids, or shown a photo, it's nice to be able to pay compliments.
beautiful=hermosa, bella
pretty=linda, bonita
cute=precioso/preciosa
attractive=atractivo, guapo
likeable=simpático, majo,amable
Don't forget that most of these can be used with masculine or feminine endings, but I wouldn't call a six-foot body builder 'bonito', if I were you!
Finally, harking back to my previous post about using 'pasarlo' to describe the fun you're having, here are a few related adjectives.
exciting=emocionante, apasionante
entertaining=entretenido
funny=gracioso
enjoyable=divertido
emotional=emotivo.
impressive=impresionante
Of course, while I've roughly grouped the adjectives, a lot of them can be used to describe a variety of things, people, food, places etc. , just like we'd use excellent, nice, pleasant etc. in English.
Just one last thing NOT to say, when the waiter asks you how the food was, and that's 'muy bien'
Don't forget - 'bien' means 'WELL', not 'GOOD'
¡Hasta la próxima!
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Tweet me
For those of you who found me via some other route, here's a great way to keep up to date with new postings. I always announce updates on Twitter, so all you need to do is click the new 'Follow me on Twitter' icon, to get a message, every time this blog is updated!
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Sing a song of Spanish
I've recently discovered the music of a very talented Mexican singer, by the name of Julieta Venegas.
Apart from producing very catchy tunes like 'Eres para mi', 'Andar conmigo' and 'El presente', she also has very clear diction, and the lyrics of her songs are quite easy to follow.
While searching YouTube for videos of her music, I came across http://www.youtube.com/buenoentonces
which is a YouTube channel dedicated to helping promote the Spanish language by presenting videos featuring songs in Spanish with the lyrics displayed, Karaoke style, so you can follow along.
Beneath the Spanish lyric is an English translation, accompanied by annotations to help with understanding.
For instance, the Spanish might say 'Tengo', the English says 'I have', and the annotation says 'Tener +yo'
Parts of each phrase, e.g. verbs and nouns, are highlighted in different colours in both Spanish and English, to help you identify them.
The songs I have listened to (including Julieta's) have obviously been chosen because their lyrics are not too complicated for Learners.
So, if you want to have some fun, while learning some new vocabulary, check it out!
!Hasta la proxima!
Apart from producing very catchy tunes like 'Eres para mi', 'Andar conmigo' and 'El presente', she also has very clear diction, and the lyrics of her songs are quite easy to follow.
While searching YouTube for videos of her music, I came across http://www.youtube.com/buenoentonces
which is a YouTube channel dedicated to helping promote the Spanish language by presenting videos featuring songs in Spanish with the lyrics displayed, Karaoke style, so you can follow along.
Beneath the Spanish lyric is an English translation, accompanied by annotations to help with understanding.
For instance, the Spanish might say 'Tengo', the English says 'I have', and the annotation says 'Tener +yo'
Parts of each phrase, e.g. verbs and nouns, are highlighted in different colours in both Spanish and English, to help you identify them.
The songs I have listened to (including Julieta's) have obviously been chosen because their lyrics are not too complicated for Learners.
So, if you want to have some fun, while learning some new vocabulary, check it out!
!Hasta la proxima!
Water, water, everywhere . .
In a recent post, I covered the subject of feminine nouns which take a masculine article, simply because it sounds better.
Unfortunately, I missed THE most common noun,probably one of the first you will learn when starting to speak Spanish . . EL agua!
Yes, water is feminine, but takes the masculine 'el', so 'cold water' is 'agua fria', but 'water' is 'el agua'
Apologies for the omission ;¬)
Unfortunately, I missed THE most common noun,probably one of the first you will learn when starting to speak Spanish . . EL agua!
Yes, water is feminine, but takes the masculine 'el', so 'cold water' is 'agua fria', but 'water' is 'el agua'
Apologies for the omission ;¬)
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Learn Spanish, become a better person
I've recently started listening to the Notes in Spanish Intermediate podcasts, available via iTunes.
They're a few years old now, they make references to 2008, but well worth a listen for practice,and new vocabulary.
The podcasts are produced by Ben Curtis and Marina Diez. Marina is a native Spanish speaker, born in Madrid, while Ben hails from a village near Oxford, and has lived in Spain since 1998. The two work very well together. At the time of the recordings, Ben had about 9 years of studying Spanish, and had met Marina during intercambios.
What's encouraging, in a way, for learners, is that, even after all that time, he still made some of the same basic mistakes that you and I continue to make, after a much shorter period of study.
Common examples are
forgetting the gender of nouns
forgetting to make adjectives agree with the gender of nouns
using the preterite, instead of the imperfect, and vice-versa
Marina good-naturedly corrects most of his mistakes, which he gracefully accepts, after all no-one wants to teach their listeners bad habits.
Marina has a beautifully clear voice, contrasting with Ben's occasionally barbaric anglicisation of some vowels (I'm sure he's much better, a few years on)
I wholeheartedly recommend these podcasts, which are pitched very accurately at Intermediate Level and cover a wide range of interesting subjects, from Spanish Cinema, music, the Mafia, and holidays to eating out and comparisons of country and city life.
Just as soon as I've finished listening to the series, I'm going to try out the Advanced podcasts.
Beginners need not feel left out, as there is a series of podcasts for you, too.
Finally, to the point of the title.
Ben's, and our, mistakes tend to be ignored by most Spaniards. They just seem to be so genuinely pleased that you have made the effort to learn their language that you will often be told ¡Hablas muy bien!, which is a tremendous boost,especially when you feel like you're struggling.
What the experience does tend to do, though, is to endow you with a little humility, when dealing with foreigners.
Your local Asian shopkeeper probably speaks three languages, at least two for the Cook in your local cantonese takeaway, and the waiters so many British tourists abuse on their holidays in the sun can probably get by in most of the West, and some of the East European languages, as well.
Learning to speak Spanish gives you an insight into the work they have had to put in, and some of the difficulties they will have faced, hopefully making you a little more patient, open-minded and tolerant of those around you.
(End of Sermon :¬)
¡Hasta luego!
They're a few years old now, they make references to 2008, but well worth a listen for practice,and new vocabulary.
The podcasts are produced by Ben Curtis and Marina Diez. Marina is a native Spanish speaker, born in Madrid, while Ben hails from a village near Oxford, and has lived in Spain since 1998. The two work very well together. At the time of the recordings, Ben had about 9 years of studying Spanish, and had met Marina during intercambios.
What's encouraging, in a way, for learners, is that, even after all that time, he still made some of the same basic mistakes that you and I continue to make, after a much shorter period of study.
Common examples are
forgetting the gender of nouns
forgetting to make adjectives agree with the gender of nouns
using the preterite, instead of the imperfect, and vice-versa
Marina good-naturedly corrects most of his mistakes, which he gracefully accepts, after all no-one wants to teach their listeners bad habits.
Marina has a beautifully clear voice, contrasting with Ben's occasionally barbaric anglicisation of some vowels (I'm sure he's much better, a few years on)
I wholeheartedly recommend these podcasts, which are pitched very accurately at Intermediate Level and cover a wide range of interesting subjects, from Spanish Cinema, music, the Mafia, and holidays to eating out and comparisons of country and city life.
Just as soon as I've finished listening to the series, I'm going to try out the Advanced podcasts.
Beginners need not feel left out, as there is a series of podcasts for you, too.
Finally, to the point of the title.
Ben's, and our, mistakes tend to be ignored by most Spaniards. They just seem to be so genuinely pleased that you have made the effort to learn their language that you will often be told ¡Hablas muy bien!, which is a tremendous boost,especially when you feel like you're struggling.
What the experience does tend to do, though, is to endow you with a little humility, when dealing with foreigners.
Your local Asian shopkeeper probably speaks three languages, at least two for the Cook in your local cantonese takeaway, and the waiters so many British tourists abuse on their holidays in the sun can probably get by in most of the West, and some of the East European languages, as well.
Learning to speak Spanish gives you an insight into the work they have had to put in, and some of the difficulties they will have faced, hopefully making you a little more patient, open-minded and tolerant of those around you.
(End of Sermon :¬)
¡Hasta luego!
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
The gender-bending eagle
According to one of my recent postings, nouns ending in 'A', apart from some exceptions, are feminine and, if you look up águila (eagle), in a Spanish-English dictionary, it will probably say 'NF' (noun, feminine)
So why, if you type 'eagle' into the dictionary at www.spanishdict.com , does it come back with 'EL águila'?
Stranger still, type in 'the eagles', and you will get 'LAS águilas'
Finally, just to completely confuse you, try 'the bald eagle' and you will get 'EL águila calvA' not 'calvO'
It all revolves around the fact that Spanish speakers don't like 'cacofonía', things which sound bad. So, while 'águila' IS indeed feminine, as is seen in the plural, and the agreement of adjectives, 'LA águila' sounds awful, and is awkward to say, so they just changed it!
That's not the only example, it also applies to 'EL hacha', a hatchet, or axe.
The same dislike of awkward sound combinations probably explains why the pronoun 'le' is changed to 'se' when it sits alongside the pronoun 'lo'
So,
I gave him a book = 'le dí un libro'
I brought it for him = 'lo traje para él'
BUT
I gave it to him = 'se lo dí' and NOT 'le lo dí'
But that's why we learn Spanish, rather than, say, German. It just SOUNDS better!
So why, if you type 'eagle' into the dictionary at www.spanishdict.com , does it come back with 'EL águila'?
Stranger still, type in 'the eagles', and you will get 'LAS águilas'
Finally, just to completely confuse you, try 'the bald eagle' and you will get 'EL águila calvA' not 'calvO'
It all revolves around the fact that Spanish speakers don't like 'cacofonía', things which sound bad. So, while 'águila' IS indeed feminine, as is seen in the plural, and the agreement of adjectives, 'LA águila' sounds awful, and is awkward to say, so they just changed it!
That's not the only example, it also applies to 'EL hacha', a hatchet, or axe.
The same dislike of awkward sound combinations probably explains why the pronoun 'le' is changed to 'se' when it sits alongside the pronoun 'lo'
So,
I gave him a book = 'le dí un libro'
I brought it for him = 'lo traje para él'
BUT
I gave it to him = 'se lo dí' and NOT 'le lo dí'
But that's why we learn Spanish, rather than, say, German. It just SOUNDS better!
Monday, 24 October 2011
Are we there yet?
Here are a few little words which can cause some confusion, when you first come across them, especially in their negative forms.
Todavía, aún and ya.
First off, the easy bit. Todavía and aún are pretty much interchangeable.
Now the straightforward, positive, meanings.
ya = already or yet
ya hemos comido - we've already eaten
todavía = still
todavía vive con sus padres - he still lives with his parents
The negative versions are a little different, however.
ya no = no longer
ya no vive con sus padres - he no longer lives with his parents
todavía no = not yet
todavía no hemos comido - we haven't eaten yet.
You see, in the negative ya and todavía seem to swap places.
It takes a bit of getting used to, but it will be easier now you're aware of it.
Keep practising!
Todavía, aún and ya.
First off, the easy bit. Todavía and aún are pretty much interchangeable.
Now the straightforward, positive, meanings.
ya = already or yet
ya hemos comido - we've already eaten
todavía = still
todavía vive con sus padres - he still lives with his parents
The negative versions are a little different, however.
ya no = no longer
ya no vive con sus padres - he no longer lives with his parents
todavía no = not yet
todavía no hemos comido - we haven't eaten yet.
You see, in the negative ya and todavía seem to swap places.
It takes a bit of getting used to, but it will be easier now you're aware of it.
Keep practising!
Friday, 21 October 2011
Guru? Maybe not.
Those of you who visit this Blog regularly ( and that's the odd thing about blogging . . you actually have NO idea if the same people ever come back, or what they think of your ramblings) may have noticed the new addition, below the Blog archive list.
Just before I began taking lessons with Ximena, in SecondLife, I signed up for an online course with Rocket Languages. As I had a limited amount of time available to use the PC, I didn't spend as much time on the course as I should, and concentrated instead on my virtual classwork.
Just recently, however, I've revisited the course and, while it's now much more basic than the level I'm currently studying, it includes some useful listening practise and some online tests, just to brush up on the basics. After all, I did pay for it, and it's a crime to waste my investment and, finally, I just took the Stage One exam.
I have now received, by email, a certificate ( I may even print it off) and have permission to use the logo you see on the page.
To be honest, completing Rocket Stage 1 definitely doesn't qualify me as a Guru but, if you're taking the Rocket course, and have worked down the seemingly never-ending list of multiple-choice questions, against the clock, you'll know that the occasional recognition of your hard work and achievement, by a third party, is a welcome boost.
Just before I began taking lessons with Ximena, in SecondLife, I signed up for an online course with Rocket Languages. As I had a limited amount of time available to use the PC, I didn't spend as much time on the course as I should, and concentrated instead on my virtual classwork.
Just recently, however, I've revisited the course and, while it's now much more basic than the level I'm currently studying, it includes some useful listening practise and some online tests, just to brush up on the basics. After all, I did pay for it, and it's a crime to waste my investment and, finally, I just took the Stage One exam.
I have now received, by email, a certificate ( I may even print it off) and have permission to use the logo you see on the page.
To be honest, completing Rocket Stage 1 definitely doesn't qualify me as a Guru but, if you're taking the Rocket course, and have worked down the seemingly never-ending list of multiple-choice questions, against the clock, you'll know that the occasional recognition of your hard work and achievement, by a third party, is a welcome boost.
Thursday, 20 October 2011
The Future is now
The first option some courses will give you, for expressing the Future in Spanish, is to use the Present tense.
An example you will hear often is 'Nos vemos'
It translates literally as, 'we see ourselves', or 'we see each other', but is commonly used to mean 'we WILL see each other' or, put another way 'See you!'
Although that may sound 'foreign' to you, mixing tenses is not uncommon in English.
What if I told you that you may often use the Future tense to describe something that happened in the past?
No? look at this.
'Why didn't Pete come to my party?'
'He will have been working'
Now, unless I'm mistaken, 'He WILL' is the Future tense.
Funnily enough, this is actually one occasion where the exact same construction exists in Spanish.
'¿Porque no vino Pete a mi fiesta?'
'Habrá estado trabajando'
This isn't always the case. For example, there's a tense in English (even English teaching websites disagree on its name, so it may, or may not be called the Present or Future continuous) where we also use the Present tense to describe the future, but in a different way to the Spanish.
The construction 'what are we doing at the weekend?' is common enough in English, but does not exist in Spanish. In Spanish you would have to say 'what WILL WE DO at the weekend?' or 'what WILL WE BE DOING at the weekend?'
'¿que haremos el fin de semana?' or '¿que estaremos haciendo, el fin de semana?'
A little confusing, I know, but the point is to make you aware of some of the habits we practise in English, without thinking, and how some of them just don't translate into Spanish.
¡Hasta la proxima!
An example you will hear often is 'Nos vemos'
It translates literally as, 'we see ourselves', or 'we see each other', but is commonly used to mean 'we WILL see each other' or, put another way 'See you!'
Although that may sound 'foreign' to you, mixing tenses is not uncommon in English.
What if I told you that you may often use the Future tense to describe something that happened in the past?
No? look at this.
'Why didn't Pete come to my party?'
'He will have been working'
Now, unless I'm mistaken, 'He WILL' is the Future tense.
Funnily enough, this is actually one occasion where the exact same construction exists in Spanish.
'¿Porque no vino Pete a mi fiesta?'
'Habrá estado trabajando'
This isn't always the case. For example, there's a tense in English (even English teaching websites disagree on its name, so it may, or may not be called the Present or Future continuous) where we also use the Present tense to describe the future, but in a different way to the Spanish.
The construction 'what are we doing at the weekend?' is common enough in English, but does not exist in Spanish. In Spanish you would have to say 'what WILL WE DO at the weekend?' or 'what WILL WE BE DOING at the weekend?'
'¿que haremos el fin de semana?' or '¿que estaremos haciendo, el fin de semana?'
A little confusing, I know, but the point is to make you aware of some of the habits we practise in English, without thinking, and how some of them just don't translate into Spanish.
¡Hasta la proxima!
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Is it a flying bird, or a bird, flying?
Remember how I previously mentioned going back over your early notes and tests, just to prove to yourself how far you've come?
Well, there's another reason to do it. You may just see, or hear, things you missed the first time around.
I've been listening to some of the 'advanced' lessons in the Pimsleur course and, just today, came across something which set me thinking (apart from recognising at least one use of the Subjunctive - which is not dealt with anywhere in the Pimsleur system)
The lesson uses the phrase 'él está parado, allí' (he's standing, over there) and 'su esposa, tambien, está parada, alli' (his wife is also standing over there) and, later in the lesson, a male characters says 'estoy hablando el libro' (I'm reading the book), which is repeated 'estoy hablando el libro', by a female character.
Spot the difference?
The man 'está paradO' and his wife 'está paradA', whereas both the male and female characters 'está leyendO' the book. Hmm. Something's not right.
Actually it's all correct. The difference is that 'parado/a' is an adjective, describing the state of the people, whereas, 'leyendo' is a 'Gerund', or 'present participle' describing what someone is doing, at that moment.
I've mentioned Gerunds in passing, when talking about verb conjugation apps for mobile phones, but didn't explain what they are.
Short version = infinitive +ing.
Explanation for humans = it's the conjugation of a verb, ending in -ando, or -iendo, used in the formation of the progressive present tense, e.g. I am typ-ING = estoy tecl-ANDO.
The most difficult task, for a student of Spanish, is to decide which -ing they are using in English, adjective or gerund.
I don't pretend to be an expert (in fact, instead of posting this, I should be doing my tarea [homework] for my next lesson, on Saturday) but I just thought it worth pointing out this interesting anomaly, and adding a link to a page which might just offer a little more guidance
http://spanish.about.com/od/verbs/a/english_ing.htm
Finally, the bird.
This is where translation sites disagree, but I reckon a bird flying is 'un ave volando' and a flying bird is 'un ave volador'
¡Nos vemos!
Well, there's another reason to do it. You may just see, or hear, things you missed the first time around.
I've been listening to some of the 'advanced' lessons in the Pimsleur course and, just today, came across something which set me thinking (apart from recognising at least one use of the Subjunctive - which is not dealt with anywhere in the Pimsleur system)
The lesson uses the phrase 'él está parado, allí' (he's standing, over there) and 'su esposa, tambien, está parada, alli' (his wife is also standing over there) and, later in the lesson, a male characters says 'estoy hablando el libro' (I'm reading the book), which is repeated 'estoy hablando el libro', by a female character.
Spot the difference?
The man 'está paradO' and his wife 'está paradA', whereas both the male and female characters 'está leyendO' the book. Hmm. Something's not right.
Actually it's all correct. The difference is that 'parado/a' is an adjective, describing the state of the people, whereas, 'leyendo' is a 'Gerund', or 'present participle' describing what someone is doing, at that moment.
I've mentioned Gerunds in passing, when talking about verb conjugation apps for mobile phones, but didn't explain what they are.
Short version = infinitive +ing.
Explanation for humans = it's the conjugation of a verb, ending in -ando, or -iendo, used in the formation of the progressive present tense, e.g. I am typ-ING = estoy tecl-ANDO.
The most difficult task, for a student of Spanish, is to decide which -ing they are using in English, adjective or gerund.
I don't pretend to be an expert (in fact, instead of posting this, I should be doing my tarea [homework] for my next lesson, on Saturday) but I just thought it worth pointing out this interesting anomaly, and adding a link to a page which might just offer a little more guidance
http://spanish.about.com/od/verbs/a/english_ing.htm
Finally, the bird.
This is where translation sites disagree, but I reckon a bird flying is 'un ave volando' and a flying bird is 'un ave volador'
¡Nos vemos!
Are we having fun yet?
The simplest way to express enjoyment in Spanish might be to use the verb 'divertirse', but there are other options available, many of which employ the verb/noun combination 'pasarlo', with an adjective.
Sure, you can say 'me divertí', but won't it sound so much better to say 'lo pasé fenomenal!'
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that the 'lo' refers to the time (el tiempo) I passed (yo pasé), and that it was phenomenal!
Other expressions using the same construction include . .
pasarlo bomba
pasarlo genial
pasarlo en grande
pasarlo de película (just like the movies ;¬)
pasarlo de miedo (honest!)
pasarlo de maravilla
Just to cover the technical side of things, while we're enjoying ourselves (lo pasamos genial), the verb 'pasar' should be conjugated to suit the person who is having the good time, and can be in various tenses.
Lo pasaré bomba - I will have a great time
Espero que lo pases genial - I hope (that) you have a good time.
For anyone wondering why that's 'pases', instead of 'pasas', welcome to the Subjunctive!
I've been working on it now for a couple of months. Don't let anyone ever tell you that it's easy. It's not, and an awful lot of mastering it involves learning things by heart (e.g. which verbs force you to use it)
Having said that, it's not impossible but I wasn't expecting, after 3 years of learning Spanish, to hit such a stumbling block.
Don't worry about it. By the time you get around to having to deal with it, you'll be far enough along with your Spanish that you won't be easily put off. Just get your head down and charge right in.
I'll probably write a posting on the Subjunctive, some time soon, once I'm a little more comfortable with it myself.
It helps to have a good teacher (Quick plug for mi profesora XimenaModotti Carami, in Secondlife - visit the schoolhouse at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sede%20di%20Marte/214/71/39)
Finally, just a note that 'pasarlo' can also be used in a negative sense, so you can use 'pasarlo mal' if you didn't have such a good time. But hopefully not here.
¡Hasta pronto!
Sure, you can say 'me divertí', but won't it sound so much better to say 'lo pasé fenomenal!'
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that the 'lo' refers to the time (el tiempo) I passed (yo pasé), and that it was phenomenal!
Other expressions using the same construction include . .
pasarlo bomba
pasarlo genial
pasarlo en grande
pasarlo de película (just like the movies ;¬)
pasarlo de miedo (honest!)
pasarlo de maravilla
Just to cover the technical side of things, while we're enjoying ourselves (lo pasamos genial), the verb 'pasar' should be conjugated to suit the person who is having the good time, and can be in various tenses.
Lo pasaré bomba - I will have a great time
Espero que lo pases genial - I hope (that) you have a good time.
For anyone wondering why that's 'pases', instead of 'pasas', welcome to the Subjunctive!
I've been working on it now for a couple of months. Don't let anyone ever tell you that it's easy. It's not, and an awful lot of mastering it involves learning things by heart (e.g. which verbs force you to use it)
Having said that, it's not impossible but I wasn't expecting, after 3 years of learning Spanish, to hit such a stumbling block.
Don't worry about it. By the time you get around to having to deal with it, you'll be far enough along with your Spanish that you won't be easily put off. Just get your head down and charge right in.
I'll probably write a posting on the Subjunctive, some time soon, once I'm a little more comfortable with it myself.
It helps to have a good teacher (Quick plug for mi profesora XimenaModotti Carami, in Secondlife - visit the schoolhouse at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sede%20di%20Marte/214/71/39)
Finally, just a note that 'pasarlo' can also be used in a negative sense, so you can use 'pasarlo mal' if you didn't have such a good time. But hopefully not here.
¡Hasta pronto!
Friday, 16 September 2011
One that got away
Here's a curiousity, that had the promise of becoming a useful tool in my Spanish learning kit, but didn't quite make it.
It's a 3D environment, reminiscent of Secondlife, populated with 3D characters, who you engage in dialogues.
There are a couple of difficulty levels, and the program allegedly uses speech recognition to assess your proficiency.
The character voices are obviously computer-generated but, for the most part, fairly clear, although there were some sentences that got cut short once or twice.
It's an interesting concept, that uses on screen text boxes to prompt you what to say next, with translation to English, and a phonetic guide to pronunciation, along with the text in Spanish.
There's an option to remove the phonetics, and the English, but it would have more useful to leave the English, and remove the Spanish, so you would have to translate for yourself.
You can also click on various object to discover their names in Spanish, and some background or cultural information in English (I have to admit, I did learn a couple of things)
The download is a 60-minute limited version, and the link to 'Buy now' doesn't work, so I guess it was never a commercial success, which is a shame, as it's very easy to get drawn in and find yourself reading the Spanish, without fear of embarrasment, as you're only talking to your PC.
You can download it at http://games.softpedia.com/get/Shareware-Games/3D-Language-Spain.shtml
It's a 3D environment, reminiscent of Secondlife, populated with 3D characters, who you engage in dialogues.
There are a couple of difficulty levels, and the program allegedly uses speech recognition to assess your proficiency.
The character voices are obviously computer-generated but, for the most part, fairly clear, although there were some sentences that got cut short once or twice.
It's an interesting concept, that uses on screen text boxes to prompt you what to say next, with translation to English, and a phonetic guide to pronunciation, along with the text in Spanish.
There's an option to remove the phonetics, and the English, but it would have more useful to leave the English, and remove the Spanish, so you would have to translate for yourself.
You can also click on various object to discover their names in Spanish, and some background or cultural information in English (I have to admit, I did learn a couple of things)
The download is a 60-minute limited version, and the link to 'Buy now' doesn't work, so I guess it was never a commercial success, which is a shame, as it's very easy to get drawn in and find yourself reading the Spanish, without fear of embarrasment, as you're only talking to your PC.
You can download it at http://games.softpedia.com/get/Shareware-Games/3D-Language-Spain.shtml
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Waiter, there's a dictionary in my newspaper. . .
I know, I've mentioned Spanish and Mexican newspapers before, but how about an online newspaper, with a dictionary which is only a double-click away.
Imagine how useful it would be, for anyone doing the Times crossword, or a Sun reader struggling with more than two syllables (sorry, Lads. Chanting 'In-ger-land' , at a footie match doesn't count as three!)
I often find, when I'm perusing the foreign press, over breakfast, thats it's just too much hassle to pick up a dictionary, or go to SpanishDict.com and type in a word I don't know, and will simply pass on to another article.
Until, that was, profesora Ximena (my teacher in SecondLife) asked me to prepare a presentation on an article from the Mexican paper La Jornada.(http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ ) and I made this discovery.
La Jornada has a simply brilliant app, built into the page, which allows you to just highlight a word (click and drag) then double-click to open up a dictionary definition in a pop-up window. Even better, if you don't understand the explanation (did I mention it was in Español?), you can highlight any word INSIDE the pop-up , and double-click again, for ITS definition! Brilliant! ¡Cojonudo!
Looks as if, thanks to 'Dixio technology', I'll be forsaking El Universal, in favour of La Jornada.
Oh, one other thing. If you just fancy a quick read, La Jornada has a regular column called 'Mar de Historias', written by Cristina Pacheco. They're short stories, not too taxing, and make a break from 'hard news' , or harder novels ;¬)
Enjoy.
Addendum:
Written the morning after.
Just noticed that the Dixio dictionary doesn't seem to be enabled on the Site's Homepage, but don't be put off, it appears to work on all the other pages I've tried.
Imagine how useful it would be, for anyone doing the Times crossword, or a Sun reader struggling with more than two syllables (sorry, Lads. Chanting 'In-ger-land' , at a footie match doesn't count as three!)
I often find, when I'm perusing the foreign press, over breakfast, thats it's just too much hassle to pick up a dictionary, or go to SpanishDict.com and type in a word I don't know, and will simply pass on to another article.
Until, that was, profesora Ximena (my teacher in SecondLife) asked me to prepare a presentation on an article from the Mexican paper La Jornada.(http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ ) and I made this discovery.
La Jornada has a simply brilliant app, built into the page, which allows you to just highlight a word (click and drag) then double-click to open up a dictionary definition in a pop-up window. Even better, if you don't understand the explanation (did I mention it was in Español?), you can highlight any word INSIDE the pop-up , and double-click again, for ITS definition! Brilliant! ¡Cojonudo!
Looks as if, thanks to 'Dixio technology', I'll be forsaking El Universal, in favour of La Jornada.
Oh, one other thing. If you just fancy a quick read, La Jornada has a regular column called 'Mar de Historias', written by Cristina Pacheco. They're short stories, not too taxing, and make a break from 'hard news' , or harder novels ;¬)
Enjoy.
Addendum:
Written the morning after.
Just noticed that the Dixio dictionary doesn't seem to be enabled on the Site's Homepage, but don't be put off, it appears to work on all the other pages I've tried.
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