free spanish lessons

Spanish Noun:Gringo

Pronunciation:Green-goh

Translation:Gringo

Function:noun

Used in Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Perú, this refers to an “all-american” individual. Usage is no longer pejorative in most countries, but just a shorter word than ‘estadounidense’

Negro’ [Black] is not a pejorative either. It is even used to show affection or love. Every country has such local terms to refer to aliens.

Example:El gringo que vino del norte

Translation:The gringo that came from the north

Tags: Gringo, learn spanish, Spanish noun
Posted in Spanish vocabulary, Spanish word of the day | No Comments »

Spanish Noun:Psicología

Pronunciation:see-coh-loh-geeah

Translation:Psychology

Function:noun

More simplifications: Some Spanish words are loosing a letter and both the old and modern form are correct, for example, all words beginning with ‘ps’ can also be written without the ‘p’: ‘psicología’ is one of them, ‘psiquiatra’ [psychiatrist] is another.

Also, when prefix ‘re-’ [re-] meets a word beginning with an ‘e’, the result might be a single ‘e’, as in old ‘reembolso’ [refund], now ‘rembolso’. Prefix ‘Sobre-’ is in the same case, as in ‘sobrentender‘ [be implied]

Example: sobrestimado

Translation:overestimated

Tags: learn spanish, Psicología, Spanish noun
Posted in Spanish vocabulary, Spanish word of the day | No Comments »

Spanish Verb: dé

Pronunciation:deh

Translation:give

Function:verb

Most single-syllable Spanish words need no ‘acento’ [stress mark], but some do, and there are one or two very common, such as the pronoun ‘tú’ [you]. If you don´t use the ‘acento’, then you are talking about possessive ‘tu’ [yours]

Another interesting pair is ‘de’ [of] and ‘dé’ [give it], functioning as a preposition or verb, depending of whether the stress mark is used or not.

Example:si, sí

Translation:if, yes

Tags: dé, learn spanish, Spanish Verb
Posted in Spanish vocabulary, Spanish word of the day | No Comments »

Spanish Noun : Intérprete

Pronunciation: Een-tayr-pray-tay

Translation: Interpreter

Function: Noun

There are two meanings for the Spanish word ‘intérprete’. It could refer to an interpreter or to an artist of the performing arts, i.e. ‘Frank Sinatra fue el mejor intérprete de Paul Anka’ means that Frank Sinatra was the best singer of Paul Anka’s works.

Other performing arts where ‘intérprete´ is most used are theater and movie role playing, as in: ‘Mark Hamill fue el único intérprete de Lucas Skywalker’ means Mark Hamill was the only actor who played Luke Skywalker.

Example:

Necesito un intérprete

Translation:

I need an intepreter

Tags: intérprete, learn spanish, learn spanish nouns, Spanish noun
Posted in Spanish noun | No Comments »

Spanish:Trastrueques: Inmune, Impune; sedición, seducción

Pronunciation:Trahs-trooay-keh

Translation:Change round

Function:various

Beware of ‘parónimos’ [paronyms], very similar words with very different meanings, because they can lead you to a ‘trastrueque’ of words.

Some of the most popular among foreigner are: ’sedición’ [sedition] for ’seducción’ [seduction] and ‘Inmune’ [Immune] for ‘impune’ [unpunished]

Example:No confundas la gimnasia con la magnesia

Translation:Don’t take a gymnasium for magnesium

Tags: Impune, Inmune, learn spanish, sedición, seducción, Trastrueques
Posted in Spanish Phrase Of the day, Spanish vocabulary | No Comments »

Spanish verb:Artículo

Pronunciation:Ayr-tee-coo-loh

Translation:Article

Function:noun

Artículo’ has more meanings in Spanish than in English, as in ‘Los artículos del diario’ [The newspaper articles], meaning a literary composition; ‘El artículo 3° de la constitución’ [Article 3rd of the constitution] meaning parts of a law.

It can also be used when referring to commercial objects, as in: ‘Artículos perecederos’ [perishable goods]

Example:Arículos terminados

Translation:Finished goods

Tags: Artículo, learn spanish, Spanish noun
Posted in Spanish Phrase Of the day, Spanish vocabulary | No Comments »

Spanish Noun:Dieciséis

Pronunciation:Deeay-cee-sayees

Translation:Sixteen

Function:Numbers

Most nouns ending in ‘o’ are masculine and those ending in ‘a’ are feminine, but sometimes you have to know origins, as not all nouns are created equal…
There are exceptions, as in: ‘Foto’, ‘polio’ and ‘radio’ [Photo, polio, radio and motorcycle]. This is because they all originate in longer feminine words: ‘Fotografía’, ‘poliomielitis’ and ‘radiodifusión’.

Example:moto (from ‘motocicleta’)

Translation:motorcycle

Tags: Dieciséis, learn spanish, Spanish Numbers
Posted in Spanish Phrase Of the day, Spanish vocabulary | No Comments »

Spanish Noun: radio

Pronunciation:rah-deeoh

Translation:radio

Function:noun

Most nouns ending in ‘o’ are masculine and those ending in ‘a’ are feminine, but sometimes you have to know origins, as not all nouns are created equal…
There are exceptions, as in: ‘Foto’, ‘polio’ and ‘radio’ [Photo, polio, radio and motorcycle]. This is because they all originate in longer feminine words: ‘Fotografía’, ‘poliomielitis’ and ‘radiodifusión’.

Example:moto (from ‘motocicleta’)

Translation:motorcycle

Tags: learn spanish, radio, Spanish noun
Posted in Spanish Phrase Of the day, Spanish vocabulary | No Comments »

Spanish Noun:Puerto, puerta

Pronunciation:pooayhr-toh, pooayr-tah

Translation:Port, door

Function:noun

Be ware of look-a-like’s in Spanish, sometimes they don’t mean the same thing: ‘puerto’ and ‘puerta’ may seem the same thing, only different in gender, but…
the first means «a place where ships load or unload» and the second is a «movable structure at the entrance of a room». There are other instances, as ”paja’ [straw] and ‘paje’ [page]

Example:Libro, libra

Translation:Book, pound

Tags: learn spanish, puerta, Puerto, Spanish noun
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Spanish Agreement: Concordancia: Las matemáticas y el cálculo son muy importantes

Pronunciation:Cohn-cohr-dahn-ceeah

Translation:Mathematics and calculus are very important

Function:Agreement

Agreement in Spanish can turn very tricky when talking about several subjects. Which one to follow if one is masculine and the other feminine? How about when one is in singular and the other ones in plural?

The rule of thumb: put the masculine at the end and use the verb plural form, as above.

Example:Me interesan la cultura y el arte españoles.

Translation:I am interested in the Spanish culture and art

Tags: Concordancia, learn spanish, Spanish Agreement
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Spanish Pronoun:Vos (in America)

Pronunciation:Vohs

Translation:You

Function:Pronoun

In the so-called ‘zona rioplatense’ of Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina, very close people ara addressed using ‘vos’ instead of ‘tú’

The associated verb conjugations change from one country to another, and they follow “rules” not found anywhere else, so ‘vos sabés’ [you know] is from Buenos Aires and ‘vos sabes’ is used in the rest of Argentina.

Example:¡Ya te dije que me dejés en paz!

Translation:I’ve told you to leave me alone!

Tags: learn spanish, Spanish Pronoun, Vos
Posted in Spanish vocabulary, Spanish word of the day | No Comments »

Spanish Auxiliary verb:Deben de

Pronunciation:Day-bayn day

Translation:Have to

Function:Auxiliary verb

Spanish calls for ‘de’ to be added when verb ‘Deber’ is used as an auxiliary to other verbs, as in ‘Usted debe de escuchar antes de hablar’ [You have to listen before you talk].

On the other part, you shouldn’t add ‘de’ when it is not necessary.

Example:Debe de poner atención

Translation:You must pay attention

Tags: Deben de, learn spanish, Spanish Auxiliary verb
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Spanish verb:Dieciséis

Pronunciation:Abaer

Translation:Has

Function:verb

More simplifications: You don´t have to make this verb agree with the subject, if another verb is not present. Rule of thumb: If there is no other verb, then just use ‘Hay’, ‘Había’ or ‘Habrá’, depending on Tense.

Examples: ‘Hubieron muchos truenos’ is wrong, ‘Hubo muchos truenos’ is right. ‘Habrán 3 comidas’ is wrong, ‘Habrá 3 comidas’ is right

Example:Si sólo hubiera dos asientos libres

Translation:If only there were two free seats

Tags: Haber, learn spanish, Spanish Verb
Posted in Spanish vocabulary, Spanish word of the day | No Comments »

Spanish Ordinals:1°, 2ª  

Pronunciation:Pree-may-roh, say-goon-doh

Translation:1st, 2nd…

Function:Ordinals

Spanish ordinals are rather complex . For instance: I came in 115th place means: ‘Llegué en centésimo décimo quinto lugar’. Ordinals en English are clearly much more easier.

To get around in writing, you can always use an ‘o’ (for a masculine) or an ‘a’ (for a feminine) depending on what the context is. These vowels follow the cardinal as in: ‘el 4o lugar’ [in 4th place] and 1a vez [1st time]. Of course, when talking, you can always use ‘avo’ after the 20th, as in ‘treintavo’ [30th]

Example:Ganamos los lugares 10° y 11°

Translation:We won the 10th and 11th places

Tags: 1°, 2ª, learn spanish, Spanish Ordinals
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Spanish Noun:Echar

Pronunciation:Ay-chahr

Translation:Throw

Function:verb

‘Echar’ is very useful as a ‘wild card’, so you can use it with many different meanings, as in: ‘échame la pelota’ [thrown me the ball], ‘échate una canción’ [play a song], ‘no me eches la culpa’ [don't put the blame on me]

Usage is done when something is thrown physically or as a figura of speech. Just don´t put an ‘h’ at the beginning, because ‘hecho’ is a noun -something done even by locals sometimes-

Example:échale mas agua

Translation:add more water

Tags: Echar, learn spanish, Spanish Verb
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Info PR: n/a I: 934 L: wait… LD: 0 I: 268 Rank: 3187037 Age: March 12, 2008 I: 0 whois source Robo: yes Sitemap: no Rank: 811582 Price: 365 PR: n/a Links: 49|8 Density

Spanish Noun:Federico- Fede Verónica- Vero 

Pronunciation:Fay-dayh, Bay-roh

Translation:Frederick, Veronica

Function: noun

You’ll find nowadays new shortened names in use. Don’t take these funny, but classic ones as ‘Beto’ [short for Roberto] or ‘Lupe’ [short for Guadalupe] are being used less, and ‘Robe’ or ‘Guada’ are in fashion instead.

Practically anything goes, and the rule is easy: just chop the final one or two syllables.

Example:Diles Vero y Fede, no Verónica y Federico

Translation:Tell them Vero and Fede, not Veronica and Federico

Tags: Federico- Fede, learn spanish, Spanish noun, Verónica- Vero
Posted in Spanish Phrase Of the day, Spanish vocabulary | No Comments »

Spanish Verb: Bajar, subir

Pronunciation: Bah-hahr, soo-beer

Translation: go down, go up

Function: verb

Saying ‘bajar abajo’ [go down down] or ’subir arriba’ [go up up] is a frequent mistake done by foreigners, because they are thinking in English.

Just because the preposition is used in English, it doesn´t have to be used in Spanish too. The definition of the Spanish verbs ’subir and ‘bajar’ imply the direction already.

Example:Tiene que bajar para llegar ahí

Translation:You have to go down to get there

Tags: Bajar, learn spanish, Spanish Verb, subir
Posted in Spanish Phrase Of the day, Spanish vocabulary | No Comments »

Spanish Noun:Apócopes: Un buen coche, un gran coche

Pronunciation:Oon booayn coh-chay, Oon grahn coh-chay

Translation:Good, great

Function:adjective

Don’t forget to shorten these adjectives!, when saying them first. Many adjectives, such as the very popular ‘bueno’ [good] y ‘grande’ [big] are often used before the noun.

In this cases they are to be shortened by taking the last vowel off, as in ‘buen’ and ‘gran’. «If you forget, you’ll regret» because saying or writing ‘un bueno’ or ‘un grande’ sure will sound awful to locals.

Example: Es un gran hijo

Translation: He is a great son

Tags: Apócopes, learn spanish, spanish adjective, Un buen coche, un gran coche
Posted in Spanish Phrase Of the day, Spanish vocabulary | 5 Comments »

Spanish Noun:Desde  

Pronunciation:Days-day

Translation:From

Function:Preposition

Remember ‘Desde’ [From] and ‘hasta’ [to] often work in pairs when referring to an origin and destination.

Forgetting on doing so would turn your expression obscure. ‘Desde’ [Ever since] also work in pair with ‘ya’ [no longer], as in: ‘Desde que ganó la lotería ya no viene por aquí’ [Ever since he won the lottery, he comes no longer]

Example:Desde Los Ángeles hasta Can-Cun

Translation:From Los Angeles to Can-Cun

Tags: Desde, learn spanish, Spanish Preposition
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Spanish Noun: Joven, Señorita (tratamiento)

Pronunciation: Hoj-bayn

Translation: Waiter, Maid (treatment)

Function: Noun

While trying to get an attendant´s attention, using his or her job’s name could be considered impolite. Usage in most of Spain and Latin America calls for a general name to be used instead, such as ‘señor’ or ‘señora’, instead of ‘mesero’ or ‘mesera’ [waiter] or any other attendant job name.

If the attendant is a young man or woman, then you can also use ‘joven’ [young man] for a male, or ‘señorita’ [miss], for a female (just remember never to call a male attendant with archaic ‘señorito’, as it is only used these days in a pejorative sense)

Example: ¡Señorita!

Translation: Maid!

Tags: learn spanish, Señorita (tratamiento), Spanish Noun: Joven
Posted in Spanish Phrase Of the day, Spanish vocabulary | No Comments »

Spanish Noun:Oficial

Pronunciation:Oh-phee-ceeahl

Translation:Officer

Function: Noun

How to address a representative of the authority? ‘Oficial’ [officer] is a sure bet whether he or she is ranked or not. They’ll gladly accept it nevertheless.

You can use this word for all kinds in Latin America and any representative with uniform in Spain. ‘Oficial’ is also the translation for ‘Official’, so don’t get confused if you hear it in another context.

Example:¿Hay algún problema oficial?

Translation:Is there a problem, officer?

Tags: learn spanish, Oficial, Spanish noun
Posted in Spanish Phrase Of the day, Spanish vocabulary | No Comments »

Spanish Noun: Dolor

Pronunciation: Doh-lohr

Translation: Pain

Function: Noun

Sometimes it is very important to get across your feelings, especially when you have to do it in a foreign language and it is about some pain you are feeling. It is a good thing to know if you need to tell a foreign doctor. You should know how to convey at least three different intensities, as in ‘dolor’ [pain], ‘molestia’ [bothersome,] and ‘sensación’ [feel], all three going from a high to a low discomfort. They all accept to be qualified with ‘intenso’ [intense] or ‘leve’ [mild], in case you want to emphasize.

Example: Tengo una molestia en la pierna

Translation: I have a bothersome pain in my leg

Tags: Dolor, learn spanish, Spanish noun
Posted in Spanish Phrase Of the day, Spanish vocabulary | 1 Comment »

Spanish Noun:Rubio

Pronunciation:Roo-beeoh

Translation:Blond

Function:adjective

Rubio’ [blond] is used referring to people’s light hair color, skin color or both. If hair color is very light, then ‘platino’ [platinum] is used more often.

Instead, ‘güero’ is much more used in Mexico and Venezuela. In formal writing or talking, ‘rubio’ is the right word. ‘Güero’ might be used when referring to whitish objects color too.

Example: ¿Hay algún problema oficial?

Translation:Is there any problem, officer?

Tags: learn spanish, Rubio, spanish adjective
Posted in Spanish Phrase Of the day, Spanish vocabulary | No Comments »

Spanish Salutation: Buen día

Pronunciation: Booayn deeah

Translation: Good day

Function: Salutation

If you can´t remember the right time of day to use ‘buenos días’, ‘buenas tardes’ or ‘buenas noches’ you can always use the orthographically correct ‘Buen día’ at any time of the day (it can be used on writing too, as an introduction for all kinds of e-mail, formal or not)

If you don´t want to sound that formal, you can say the colloquial that locals use: ‘buenas’. They say it at any time of day, but mostly to their acquaintances

Example: Buen día tengan todos ustedes

Translation: Good day you all

Tags: Buen día, learn spanish, Spanish Salutation
Posted in Spanish Phrase Of the day, Spanish vocabulary | No Comments »

Spanish:  Endocrino…

Pronunciation: Ayn-doh-kree-noh

Translation: Endocrinologist

Function: Short for

Don’t be confused when you hear Spanish speakers medical talk full of truncated words when referring to specialties, as in ‘endocrino’: short for ‘endocrinólogo’ [endocrinologist]. This apocopes are often used simply to save time or just because the speaker doesn´t really know the final part.

In most of the instances that missing part is ‘-logo’ [-logist], as in ‘cardio’ [for cardiologist], ‘procto’ [for proctologist]. Sometimes the missing part is huge, as in ‘otorrino’, for otorhinolaryngologist!

Example: Endocrino

Translation: Endocrinologist

Tags: learn spanish, Short for: Endocrino, spanish Short for
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »