Episodes
Published 11/15/11
Yo quiero, Tú quieres, Usted/él/ella quiere, Nosotros/nosotras queremos, Vosotros/vosotras queréis, Ustedes/ellos/ellas quieren, Note that some of the conjugations show a vowel change in the stem, from E to EI. This is called a stem-changing verb, and there are many like this. However they do follow a pattern, and are easy to get used to: The ones that change are those of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd persons singular, and the 3rd person plural. The 1st and 2nd persons plural remain untouched, and...
Published 11/15/11
Treinta (30), Cuarenta (40), Cincuenta (50), Sesenta (60), Setenta (70), Ochenta (80), Noventa (90), Cien (100), Ciento uno (101), Ciento dos (102), Ciento tres (103), Ciento cuatro (104), Ciento cinco (105), Ciento seis (106), Ciento siete (107), Ciento ocho (108), Ciento nueve (109), Ciento diez (110), Ciento veinte (120), Ciento treinta (130), Ciento cuarenta (140), Ciento cincuenta (150), Ciento sesenta (160), Ciento setenta (170), Ciento ochenta (180), Ciento noventa (190), Doscientos...
Published 10/26/11
Primero, me levanto a las siete de la mañana. Luego, me ducho y me visto. Luego, desayuno un café y una tostada (desayunar = to breakfast). Después, voy al trabajo. Primero, luego y después. Look out for our ebook - Spanish in a Suitcase. A beginner Spanish method for travel - packed full of audio and ready to go! For iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.
Published 09/29/11
Remember the verb LLAMARSE (me llamo, te llamas, se llama, nos llamamos, os llamáis, se llaman) - it can literally be translated as: I call myself, you call yourself, she calls herself, etc. When a reflexive verb is conjugated, the SE on the end of the infinitive is converted to the corresponding REFLEXIVE PRONOUN. LEVANTARSE: (yo) me levanto, (tú) te levantas, (usted/él/ella) se levanta, (nosotros/as) nos levantamos, (vosotros/as) os levantáis, (ustedes/ellos/ellas) se levantan. It's used...
Published 09/05/11
Singulars: Este reloj (this watch), esta llave (this key), ese reloj (that watch), esa llave (that key). Plurals: Estos relojes (these watches), estas llaves (these keys), esos relojes (those watches), esas llaves (those keys). For singular items use: este, esta (this), ese, esa (that). For plural items use: estos, estas (these), esos, esas (these, those).
Published 08/04/11
a, be, ce (2 versions), (che, in older dictionaries), de, e, efe, ge, hache, i, jota, ca, ele, (elle, in older dictionaries), eme, ene, eñe, o, pe, cu, erre, ese, te, u, uve, uve doble, equis, i griega, zeta (2 versions).
Published 07/20/11
Numbers between 41 - 50: Cuarenta, Cuarenta y uno, Cuarenta y dos, Cuarenta y tres, Cuarenta y cuatro, Cuarenta y cinco, Cuarenta y seis, Cuarenta y siete, Cuarenta y ocho, Cuarenta y nueve, Cincuenta
Published 06/29/11
To say what someone is like, we use the verb SER, with the adjective. Don't forget that the adjective must agree with the gender of the person you're talking about. For example: Soy alegre - I'm a happy person, Tú eres listo/a - you're clever, Usted es generoso/a - you are generous, Ella es divertida, él es divertido - she/he is fun, Nosotros/as somos impacientes - impatient, Vosotros/as sois simpáticos/as - nice, Ustedes son amables - kind, Ellos son tímidos/as - shy, Ellas son entusiastas -...
Published 06/13/11
Mi madre, mi padre, mis padres, mi hija, mi hijo, mis hijos, mi tía, mi tío, mis tíos, mi abuela, mi abuelo, mis abuelos
Published 05/25/11
When we want to interrupt someone: Perdone, or simply perdón. Please - por favor, Thank you / thank you very much - ¡gracias! / ¡muchas gracias! If you'd like to squeeze past somebody - con permiso. If someone wants to squeeze past you - ¡por supuesto! (of course!)
Published 05/20/11
What happens when we combine DE + EL and DE + A. Do you remember the prepositions DE and A? Sí, lejos DE la ciudad. Listen to what happens if CIUDAD is replaced by a masculine word: Lejos DEL centro, lejos DEL museo. What would have been DE EL has become DEL! Al lado DEL parque, enfrente DEL cine. Now, the same happens with A and EL. AL. Voy AL hospital. Está AL lado DEL río. There were two in that one: AL and DEL. More please! Al lado del bar, al lado del supermercado.
Published 04/22/11
Learn about three important prepositions - EN, DE and A. Let's have a look at some of those little words that sit in between. Some are called prepositions. Here are three: EN - IN (en la ciudad, en el campo, en mi bolsillo). DE - OF or FROM, (lejos DE la Universidad (Far from the University), soy de Argentina (I'm from Argentina)). A - TO or AT (a la derecha, (at right / to the right), a la izquierda, (at left / to the left))
Published 04/05/11
Today we're going to look at ways of saying where something is located. We learnt in Episode 27 to ask or say IF there was something, using the word HAY. To say WHERE it is, we use the verb ESTAR. ¿Por favor, dónde está la estación? If it was very close-by, the answer would be: ¡Está muy cerca! That's for one place or object. For more than one thing: ¿Dónde están los pasaportes? - Están en el hotel. ¿Dónde estás tú? - estoy en Melbourne, Australia
Published 03/31/11
Ways of saying there is and there are. In Spanish we have a neat little word that means THERE IS, or THERE ARE, are you ready? HAY. It's that simple. There is a restaurant next door: Hay un restaurante al lado. Or, there are many taxis around here: hay muchos taxis por aquí. Great, isn't it! You see it's good for singular and plural. And questions too! ¿Hay un teléfono? - sí, ¡hay! … Don't forget plural questions: ¿Hay unos restaurantes? - Sí, ¡hay muchos!
Published 03/23/11
Ways of saying 'you': You may have noticed that there are several ways to say YOU in Spanish. Let's go over them to make sure. To talk about a SINGLE YOU in a FAMILIAR way, we use: Tú, o VOS en Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and parts of Central America. RESPECTFUL YOU: usted. In Spain two forms for PLURAL YOU are used in a FAMILIAR way: Vosotros (boys and mixed), and vosotras (girls). The second form is used in Spain in RESPECTFUL situations: Ustedes. In Hispanic America PLURAL YOU, both...
Published 03/09/11
Words used in the city: City - la ciudad, Street - la calle, Shops - las tiendas, Metro or underground, - el metro, el subterraneo, o el subte en Argentina, Car - el coche, el carro, el auto, Bank - el banco, Supermarket - el supermercado, Park - el parque, Hotel - el hotel, Station - la estación, So many people!, ¡Hay tanta gente!
Published 03/02/11
Today we're going to look at IR verbs: I live - yo vivo, You live - tú vives, Respectful you/he/she lives - usted/él/ella vive, We live - nosotros/nosotras vivimos, You (all) live - vosotros/vosotras vivís, Respectful you all/they live: ustedes/ellos/ellas viven
Published 02/23/11
PLURALS. To form a plural in Spanish, we add an S. One street is: una calle, Two streets are: dos calles. Here are some more: bicycle/bicycles - bicicleta/bicicletas, car/cars - carro/carros. If a word ends in a consonant, we add ES, for example: tren/trenes, bar/bares. Some words are always plural: trousers, scissors - pantalones, tijeras
Published 02/09/11
THE, A, AN, SOME. To say THE (for singular or plural nouns), we can choose from: el, la, los, las. All of these mean THE: EL banco, LA farmacia, LOS bancos, LAS farmacias. So what about the word A or AN? - UN o UNA. UN banco, UNA farmacia. What about the word SOME? As SOME is the plural of A, we would use UNOS or UNAS. Unos cafés, unas tiendas
Published 02/01/11
Let's look at personal pronouns: I - yo, You (one person) - tú, He - él, She - ella, You (formal) - usted, We, for boys or mixed company - nosotros, We, for girls - nosotras, You (all), for boys and mixed company - vosotros, You (all), for girls - vosotras (vosotros and vosotras are used only in Spain), They, for boys and mixed company - ellos, They, for girls - ellas, You (all), in Hispanic America - ustedes (in Spain, ustedes is used for formal situations)
Published 01/27/11
Today we're going to look at -ER verbs. I eat - yo como, You eat - tú comes, Formal you/he/she eats - usted/él/ella come, We eat - nosotros/nosotras comemos, You (all) eat - vosotros/vosotras coméis, Formal you all/they eat - ustedes/ellos/ellas comen
Published 01/18/11
Numbers from 30 - 40: Thirty - treinta, Thirty-one - treinta y uno, Thirty-two - treinta y dos, Thirty-three - treinta y tres, Thirty-four - treinta y cuatro, Thirty-five - treinta y cinco, Thirty-six - treinta y seis, Thirty-seven - treinta y siete, Thirty-eight - treinta y ocho, Thirty-nine - treinta y nueve, Forty - cuarenta
Published 12/14/10
Here are some words to describe people – adjectives – remember how they agree with the noun? Tall - alto (masculine) / alta (feminine), Short - bajo/baja, Blonde - rubio/rubia, Dark-haired - moreno/morena, Attractive - guapo/guapa
Published 12/07/10
Are you in the mood for some Spanish tapas? The waitress might say: ¿qué desea? - what would you like? Una tapa de jamón ibérico, por favor - that’s Spanish ham. ¿Algo más? - something else? ¡La tortilla de patatas se ve rica! - the Spanish omelette looks good! Aquí tiene - here you are. Muchas gracias. ¡Que aproveche! - Enjoy!
Published 11/30/10