La tarea opcional de esta semana es ver el video “Conditional Perfect” de Adriana Díaz-Ross en YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbbGq-NARr8).

(La tarea extra de la semana * para los que quieran más tarea * es seguir con el capítulo 11, Compound Tenses: the future perfect and the conditional perfect, en “Complete Spanish Grammar” de McGraw Hill, de la serie Practice Makes Perfect.  Les recomendamos leer las páginas 123 a 125  y hacer los ejercicios 11.8 a 11.11)

Besos

Hola chicos,

Buenos días y feliz jueves :)

Today I want to address translations.

When you first start to learn a foreign language, you are pretty much translating from your native language, often word by word.  This is how you first start to learn to speak and it’s perfectly normal.

The issue is when you get to a more conversational level and are still doing it.

There comes a point when you need to pay special attention to how things are said in Spanish and learn phrases more than words.  

For example, in Spanish we “make” parties (hacer una fiesta), we don’t “have” them.  

We also “breakfast, lunch & dine” (desayunar, almorzar, cenar), we don’t “have” meals.  

We also don’t put an “s” at the end of a person’s name to show possession (my Mom’s house/mi mama’s casa), we say that it is “the x of (someone’s) x” (la casa de mi mamá).

These are the little nuances that you can pick up by listening to the language spoken by native speakers.

One more thing I would recommend is acceptance.  Students often get frustrated that Spanish is not like English.  Well guess what?  It’s a whole different language!  And Spanish speakers learning to speak English get frustrated too, by the 7 different pronunciations of the letter “a,” for example (there’s only 1 in Spanish).  But there’s nothing that can be done about it, as it is what it is.  So next time that you are reading subtitles and realize that the language used in Spanish is very different than in English, don’t get mad, use it as an opportunity to learn something new :)

Is there anything that you have recently discovered that is expressed differently in Spanish than in English?

Besos,
Caro

“Éxito aquí” means “Success here.”

Hola chicos,

¿Qué tal la semana?  Súper, espero :)

Today I want to address vocabulary.   

Most students want to improve their vocabulary and one way to do it is by learning some synonyms.  There is more than 1 way to say things!

Here are a few common words and a synonym you could use instead:

Common word: Quizás = maybe

Alternative frase: A lo mejor

Por ejemplo:  Quizás pruebe un nuevo restaurante esta noche.  /  A lo mejor pruebe un nuevo restaurante esta noche.

Common word: Muy = very

Alternative words: súper or re (which actually means very, very)

Por ejemplo: La película estuvo muy buena.  /  La película estuvo súper buena o La película estuvo re buena.

Common word: Estudiante = student

Alternate word = Alumno

Por ejemplo:  PBO tiene más o menos 200 estudiantes en este momento.  /  PBO tiene más o menos 200 alumnos en este momento.

Common word: Hablar = to talk/speak

Alternative words: Conversar or charlar

Por ejemplo: Quiero hablar con mi hermano.  / Quiero conversar con mi hermano o Quiero charlar con mi hermano.

Common word: Escoger = to choose

Alternative word: Elegir

Por ejemplo:  Escoge uno.  /  Elige uno.

What words do you use ALL the time?  Is there something else you could use instead?  A lo mejor puedan encontrar algo aquí:  http://www.wordreference.com/sinonimos/

Besitos,

Caro

Hola chicos,

Feliz viernes :)  For our blog posting today we are going to look at adjective placement.

Stephany F. from level B3 asks: Why does the adjective come before the noun in certain situations but not others. Are there rules for this?

Yes, Stephany, there are rules.  Typically the adjective comes after the noun in Spanish, but there are a few exceptions:

1 – Limiting adjectives come before a noun.  Limiting adjectives define a number or an amount.

For example:  Tengo 1 perro.  /  Hay muchos festivales durante el verano.  /  ¿Tienes suficiente dinero?

2 – Possesive adjectives (mi(s), tu(s), su(s), nuestro(s)) come before the noun.

For example: Mi casita está bien ubicada.  /  Tu hermana es simpática.  /  Nuestra escuela es grande.  

3 – Demonstrative adjectives (este/esta, estos/as, ese/esa, esos/as, aquel/la, aquellos/as) come before the noun.

For example: Este libro es buenísimo.  /  Esa camisa te queda chica.  /  Estos restaurantes están cerrados.

4 – There are also many adjectives that change meaning if placed before or after the noun.  It’s just a matter of learning which ones they are.  Here is a list: Adjectives that change meaning

For example:  

• Un viejo amigo = An old friend (someone you have been friends with for a long time), but Un amigo viejo = A friend that is old in age
• Un pobre amigo = A friend who is unfortunate in some way, but Un amigo pobre = A friend who does not have $$

I hope that answers your question chica!

If anyone has a question for our blog, leave us a note here: Questions for the Blog

Que tengan un buen fin de semana…

Besos,

Caro

Help! Get me out of my Spanish learning plateau!!!

Hola chicos,

We have been talking a lot over the last few weeks about how to get unstuck in language learning.  There are many Spanish learning plateaus along the way, and some are more challenging to get through than others.

If you are feeling stuck, I would recommend taking our 90 Day Challenge!

Here is the info:

PARTICIPATE IN OUR 90-DAY SPANISH BOOTCAMP!

We know that the language learning process can feel painfully slow sometimes, which is why we created our annual 90-day Spanish Bootcamp! Sometimes you just need to ramp it up for a while so that you can feel the progress.  It’s amazing how much you can accomplish in 3 – 6 months when you make Spanish a part of your daily routine.  If you want to make a significant dent in your Spanish, participate in our challenge!   

What it involves:

1 – Coming to class every week.  You must make class a priority during these 90 days by working everything else into your schedule around your Spanish classes.  In case it is absolutely necessary to miss a class, it must be made up the week before or the week after you miss it.  No exceptions.

2 – Participating in la conversación del día on Facebook – OR –  Journaling about a random topic every day.  This must be done every, single day for 90 days (with the exception of the day that you come to class).

3 – Doing the “optional” homework every week.  If you take the challenge, the homework is no longer optional.  This includes the “extra optional homework” in the Complete Spanish Grammar workbook.

4 – Reading the weekly tip in the blog every week and commenting on it on Facebook (if you do not have Facebook, let me know).

5 – Attending 2 of the 3 social club events in July, August, September and/or October.

6 – Speaking and/or listening to Spanish for 20 minutes every day.  You can watch a telenovela, a movie, listen to a podcast, talk to a friend or classmate, talk to people in restaurants or at work who speak Spanish, talk to yourself, whatever…but you must practice speaking and/or listening for 20 minutes every day.  We recommend that you work on your weakness rather than your strength.

The challenge starts on Monday 7/24/17 and ends on Saturday 10/21/17.

That’s it chicos.  If you want to sign up, this is all you need to do:

1 – Register here: https://goo.gl/forms/wkMhGrPewkauuRCw2

2 – Pay for your classes through 10/21/17 (there is no additional charge for the Bootcamp).

3 – I will send you a welcome email with all the details.

And “what’s the prize?” someone always asks…completing it!  What else?  It’s like running a Spanish marathon!  The satisfaction, the progress, that’s your prize :)  Are YOU up for the challenge?

PS If you are a private lesson student and would like to sign up, please email Caro @ [email protected] for details.

Besitos,
Caro