46 Beginners Meter vs Poner the putting verbs
Apr 30, 2021
Show notes
In this lesson we talk about the putting verbs like Meter vs Poner and how we can know when to use each one.
We also cover the key verb Colocar along with some phrasal putting verbs that can catch us out. Learn more about Meter vs Poner here.
Be sure to watch to the end where we have a good old laugh about the mistakes that we have made.
To get your beginners verb conjugation course, just go HERE.
Be sure to check out our other Spanish student videocasts here. We release a new videocast each week and vary the level from Beginner to Advanced.
If you would like to have regular lessons with Gordon and Cynthia, why not consider joining our Ser Socio subscriber group HERE. The first month is free with the coupon code: FREEMONTH
45 Beginners Pero or Sino?
Apr 16, 2021
Show notes
In this lesson we talk about using Pero or Sino and what the differences are between them.
They both can mean But, and are often used wrongly. To learn more about Pero or Sino, come and join us now!
Be sure to check out our other Spanish student videocasts here. We release a new videocast each week and vary the level from Beginner to Advanced.
If you would like to have regular lessons with Gordon and Cynthia, why not consider joining our Ser Socio subscriber group HERE. The first month is free with the coupon code: FREEMONTH
44 Beginners Verbs like Gustar
Mar 05, 2021
Show notes
In this lesson we talk about lots of verbs like Gustar and how we can use them easily. Pay special attention to the verbs that a non-native Spanish speaker wouldn’t choose, like Faltar, Sobrar and Quedar.
Come and sharpen up your verbs like Gustar with Gordon and Cynthia.
Be sure to check out our other Spanish student videocasts here. We release a new videocast each week and vary the level from Beginner to Advanced.
If you would like to have regular lessons with Gordon and Cynthia, why not consider joining our Ser Socio subscriber group HERE. The first month is free with the coupon code: FREEMONTH
41 Beginners Great Spanish Pronunciation LightSpeed Spanish
Dec 04, 2020
Show notes
In this lesson we laugh our way through the main issues that we have with Spanish pronunciation and we offer some tips on how you can improve your soft Rs.
This is the first in the new series of videocasts for all levels. So, if you want to develop some great Spanish pronunciation, then this is the lesson for you!
40 Beginners Spanish Listening Test
Nov 24, 2015
Show notes
Why check my Spanish listening skills?
There really is something very strange about what happens to people when they embark on the task of learning Spanish. In our experience, the vast majority of students only want to read and write most of the time. Of course, we know fine well why this is. Reading and writing is a very safe part of learning a language. We have time, we can ponder at our leisure about the meaning of something or how we should structure a particular sentence.
What is more, when you read and write you can repeat the same sentence over and over again until you get it to what you perceive to be a good level. It’s all just so very comfortable for us as learners. Don’t you agree?
Listening and Speaking makes no allowances.
What most learners are afraid of, however, is having to listen or to speak Spanish. Why? Because these two mediums of communication are the least forgiving. There is little chance for us to repeat and repeat our sentences until we get them right. When we listen in a live situation, for example, we either catch the idea or we don’t. When we are speaking off the cuff, we either say what we want to say correctly, or we cock it up.
And that is frightening to us. We don’t like getting things wrong. In fact, we would go as far as to say that making a mistake in Spanish is, for many sensitive students, a cardinal sin. For that reason, they avoid any Spanish listening or speaking situations.
It’s a vicious circle.
The problem with avoiding Spanish listening or speaking opportunities is that we never get any practice at it and so never get any better. We study away, scribbling in our books and reading everything we can get our hands on and yet, when we are faced with any test of our Spanish listening or speaking skills, we react like the rabbit in the headlights and clam up.
It doesn’t need to be that way.
If you can relate to this in any way, then fear not! Help is at hand. At the end of many of our Podcast series’ we produce a ‘Test your Spanish Listening Skills’ podcast. We pitch them at different skill levels and they provide you the opportunity of listening in to find out how much you can pick up and understand.
The great thing about these Podcasts is that you CAN repeat-listen as many times as you like. It’s amazing how much more you pick up of the fine detail when you listen three, four or five times.
Even more helpful is listening firstly without the transcript, so that you get as much of the information as you can and then following up by listening along with the transcript. This system of listening and reading the words at the same time is a fantastic way of training your ear to pick up on, and going forward, understand the words that most cause you an issue. We can’t recommend it highly enough.
If you are wondering how to get hold of the transcripts for these Podcasts, then just go to our website and check out the Helpsheets page.
We hope you enjoy the podcast and testing your Spanish listening skills.
Gordon y Cynthia
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39 Beginners Verbs that begin with DES in Spanish.
Nov 22, 2015
Show notes
Des in Spanish.
In this podcast Cynthia and I realised something very important. That was that the verbs with DES in Spanish don’t always have a logical explanation to them.
Of course, we have the same kind of verbs in English, only in English they tend to have many and varied prefixes. Sometimes there’s a pattern, sometimes there most certainly isn’t.
Some examples.
So, let’s take a look at some of the verbs that start with DES in Spanish and see how they work:
Destruir = Destroy
Here we have an example of a verb that starts with DES in Spanish and in English.
The opposite number.
What is interesting about the verb Destruir is that it has its antonym/antónimo in Construir.
So, as we see, by changing the prefix we change Destroy into Construct. Perhaps it will be easier to see the connection by looking at these words:
Destrucción-Construcción.
Can we do that each time?
So, the question is, ‘If we can create the antonym of this word by whipping off the DES in Spanish and adding CON, can we do that with all if the verbs that start with DES in Spanish?’
The simple answer is NO!
Take a look at these examples:
Desmayarse = to faint.
This is a stand alone verb and ‘Conmayarse’ doesn’t exist as a word. Rather the antonym of the verb ‘to faint’ is: Recobrarse or Recuperarse.
Deshacer = to undo.
In this example, we just need to take off the Des in Spanish to create the antonym which is Hacer= to do.
So, unfortunately, there is no hard and fast rule to know what to do with these verbs that start with Des in Spanish. There are some patterns but, for the most part, they cannot be counted on every time.
It’s the same in English.
Of course the same thing applies to the Dis verbs in English too. Sometimes you can take the Dis off and you get the antonym. Here is an example:
Disagree.
Agree.
However, there are just as many exceptions:
Disable – Enable
Discard – Retain
Disbark – Embark
Learn the verbs with Des in Spanish one by one.
The bottom line is that, just as we do in English, in Spanish we will have to learn each of the verbs individually. There really is no hard and fast rule that will help you out.
In this podcast we will be doing our best to highlight some of the key verbs with Des in Spanish. In the Helpsheets there’ll be even more!
Esperamos que te guste.
Gordon y Cynthia:)
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38 Beginners Lo in Spanish and Lo Importante
Nov 19, 2015
Show notes
Lo in Spanish.
So, just what is Lo in Spanish and what does it mean? Well, to answer the first question, LO is what we call an indirect pronoun.
What that means is that it is a shortened version of certain Spanish words and we use it to speed up our spoken and written language.
What it means. (Most of the time.)
What Lo in Spanish means is the following: Him/It.
Some examples of this would be:
Lo conocí en Berlín. = I met him in Berlin.¿Lo has visto? = Have you seen it?
So, the job of LO in Spanish in these examples is to avoid having to write or say the full name of the thing or person.
But wait, that’s not all.
But what is going on with sentences like, ‘Lo importante’ or ‘Lo interesante’?
Well, in these cases, for us as English speakers we need to think about Lo in Spanish as meaning ‘THING’.
‘Lo importante es que estemos allí para las diez.’ = The importante thing is that we are there for ten.
‘Lo interesante de su discurso era la información sobre la compañía.’= The interesting thing about his talk was the information about the company.
So, as you can see, when we place the ‘Lo in Spanish’ before an adjective, it becomes ‘the thing’. Once you understand that, many of the confusions simply fade away.
Lo in Spanish is used in other situations, too, all of which we will be covering either in the podcast here or in the Helpsheets that always complement our coaching podcasts.
Clearly, we aim to give the viewer as much information in the ten minute classes as we possibly can. However, there is always more to cover. We do that in our Helpsheets which this time around will be crammed with practical exercises so that you get it ‘right first time’ every time you use Lo in Spanish.
Other uses of Lo in Spanish.
If you want to look further into the use of LO in Spanish then you can check out how the phrases are used such as:
Lo de…
Lo que…
Lo nuestro…
In the forthcoming helpsheets (we haven’t got them finished yet, but estamos en ello) we will also be covering these expressions and so much more.
So now, enjoy the podcast and we hope that you get great benefit from it.
Como siempre, os mandamos un saludo muy grande.
Gordon y Cynthia:)
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37 Beginners The Verb Poder in Spanish Such an important verb!
Oct 15, 2015
Show notes
What is so special about the verb Poder in Spanish?
Well, that’s an interesting question. A more appropriate one, however, would be: What’s so special about the verb To Be Able in English? Because to be frank, it’s quite weird and very irregular in English.
That’s not to say that the verb Poder in Spanish is any less irregular. However, there’s something strange about how we use the To Be Able verb in English that causes us to have problems when we try to use the verb Poder in Spanish.
Are you able to do this or can you do this?
The first issue that we have is that, unlike in Spanish, the verb ‘to be able’ is also used as ‘can’. However, the word ‘can’ cannot function as an infinitive. We can’t say: ‘I am going to can to do it.’ Rather we have to say, ‘I am going to be able to do it.’
With the verb Poder in Spanish, it’s much easier: Voy a poder hacerlo.
It’s weird in it’s present tense form.
We probably are very aware that the verb Poder in Spanish is irregular in present tense. Yet did you realise that it is also irregular in English too? Look at this:
I can/Puedo
You can/Puedes
He/she/it can (not ‘cans’ which is the normal conjugation. e.g He eats, sleeps, works etc.)/Puede
We can/Podemos
You all can/Podéis
They can/Pueden
So, as you can see, it’s missing the famous ‘s’ that appears in third person singular in most English verbs.
The Conditional ‘Could’, the Preterite ‘Could’ and the Imperfect ‘Could’.
The other issue that causes us confusion when we try to use the verb Poder in Spanish is the strange thing it does in English
Look at these examples:
Pude hacerlo. = I could do it (one off event in which I tried and I did it.)
e.g. The door was locked, but finally I could get in. = La puerta estaba cerrada con llave pero al final pude entrar.
Podía hacerlo. = I could do it (repetitive action in which I was able to do it many times.)
e.g. When i was younger I played the trumpet and I could do it well. = Cuando era joven tocaba la trompeta y podía hacerlo bien.
Podría hacerlo. = I could do it (If I wanted to do it. I have the capacity.)
e.g. Podría hacerlo si no hubiera otra opción. = I could do it if there were no other option.
So, it’s no wonder that we have so many issues when we are working on assimilating and understanding the verb Poder in Spanish. Although it’s irregular in Spanish it is nothing compared to the confusion we have with it in English. Imagine how it must be for a foreign person to have to learn the rules on the verb ‘to be able’.
So, before you start to complain bitterly about having problems with the verb Poder in Spanish, spare a thought for all of those people who never had the luxury of learning its English version unconsciously as we did.
Watch on as we talk you through this interesting verb.
Gordon y Cynthia:)
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