Thursday 29 September 2011

Do You Have Any Friends In...?

SCENARIO
Imagine you are talking about friends in distance places with a relative, a friend or a colleague.  Perhaps you are talking about Barcelona. You might have said something which gave the impression that perhaps you have some friends in Barcelona. The other person wants to ask you if you have friends in Barcelona.

He/ she could choose to be less formal and ask you:
¿Tienes amigos en Barcelona?

Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be a little bit more formal and say:
¿Tiene (usted) amigos en Barcelona?

 


OUR TIP
You DO NOT need be concerned about the degree of formality in the question you are asked. Whether the other person uses the more/ less formal question is irrelevant to your choice of answer. Your answer depends only on whether you want to say that you:
  • Have friends in Barcelona
  • Do not have friends in Barcelona

Here are a couple of examples which deal with those two basic possibilities:
  • Sí, tengo amigos en Barcelona (Have friends there)
  • No, no tengo amigos en Barcelona (Do not have friends there)

Now you should practice answering the question:
¿Tienes amigos en Barcelona?

This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct lessons online on this and many other topics using the latest video conferencing facilities. Online lessons are the ideal way to improve listening and speaking skills. For more details on our lessons online and how to book them, please visit:

© Copyright 2011 Love-Spanish.com. by JM González. All Rights Reserved

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Gaseosa

Today's word is: 'gaseosa' = lemonade/soda/fizzy soft drink.

In Spanish, the word 'gaseosa' is either:
  • A feminine noun of Latin origin which means a fizzy sweet soft drink.
  • The feminine form of the adjective 'gaseoso' which describes things which are gaseous/ fizzy.
Note.- In Spain, especially in summer, it is quite common to add 'gaseosa' to beer or wine to make them into less strong/ more refreshing drinks. Beer with 'gaseosa' is often called a 'clara' and could be considered the Spanish version of a shandy. A 'clara' can also consist of beer and lemon juice. When 'gaseosa' is added to red wine, the resulting drink is usually called 'tinto de verano'.

An expression with the word 'gaseosa' is:
  • Lata de gaseosa (a can of fizzy/ soft drink/ a can of soda)

An example of the use of the word 'gaseosa' is:
  • Me apetece una gaseosa (I feel like having fizzy drink/ a soda)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'gaseosa' in the Leo Harlem YouTube clip in which fun is poked at wine experts/ tasters: Alarma Social 5-El Vino y La Gaseosa
 
For more on the word 'gaseosa', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Gaseosa


This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct lessons online on this and many other topics using the latest video conferencing facilities. Online lessons are the ideal way to improve listening and speaking skills. For more details on our lessons online and how to book them, please visit:

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© Copyright 2011 Love-Spanish.com. by Jose M González. All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Where Do You Live?

Introduction



This post deals with indicating where you live.





SCENARIO



Imagine you are exchanging personal details with someone. At some point, the other person asks you: “where do you live?”


In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:
¿Dónde vives?

Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:
¿Dónde vive (usted)?



OUR TIP

Replying should be quite straightforward. Giving your address or the name of where you live should be fine.



You could say:

  • Vivo en Madrid ( I live in Madrid);
  • Vivo en el centro ( I live in the centre/ down town)
  • Vivo en el barrio de Gracia ( I live in the Gracia neighbourhood);
  • Vivo en la calle Montero número 25 ( I live at number 25 Montero Street);

Now you should practise answering the question:
¿Dónde vives?


This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct Spanish lessons online on a wide range of topics using the latest video conferencing facilities. Online lessons are the ideal way to improve listening and speaking skills. For more details on our lessons online and how to book them, please visit:

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© Copyright 2011 Love-Spanish.com. by Jose M González. All Rights Reserved.

Monday 26 September 2011

Do You Not Want To Go To The Cinema?

 
SCENARIO
Imagine you are talking about leisure activities with a relative, a friend or a colleague.  Perhaps you are talking about what you could do. You might have said something which gave the impression that perhaps you are not very keen on going to the cinema. The other person wants to ask you if you do not want to go to the cinema.

He/ she could choose to be less formal and ask you:
¿No tienes ganas de ir al cine?

Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be a little bit more formal and say:
¿No tiene (usted) ganas de ir al cine?

 


OUR TIP
You DO NOT need be concerned about the degree of formality in the question you are asked. Whether the other person uses the more/ less formal question is irrelevant to your choice of answer. Your answer depends only on whether you want to say that you:
  • Do not feel like going to the cinema
  • Do feel like going to the cinema

Here are a couple of examples which deal with those two basic possibilities:
  • No, no tengo ganas de ir al cine (don't feel like going)
  • Sí, sí que tengo ganas de ir al cine (do feel like)

Now you should practice answering the question:
¿No tienes ganas de ir al cine?

This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct lessons online on this and many other topics using the latest video conferencing facilities. Online lessons are the ideal way to improve listening and speaking skills. For more details on our lessons online and how to book them, please visit:

© Copyright 2011 Love-Spanish.com. by JM González. All Rights Reserved

Friday 23 September 2011

Agua

La palabra de hoy es: 'agua' = water.

In Spanish, the word 'agua' is either:
  • A feminine noun of Latin origin and meaning water.
  • A form of the verb 'aguar' (to water down), in which case, it means he/ she waters down
Grammar.- The noun "agua" belongs to a group of Spanish nouns which, despite being of feminine gender, they they require a masculine article "el" instead of "la" (i.e.: 'el agua'). This rule does not apply to the plural ("aguas"), nor when there is another word in between the article and the noun 'agua' (for example "la cristalina agua"/ "las aguas").


A selection of the many Spanish expressions with noun 'agua' is:
  • Agua bendita (holy water)
  • Agua caliente (hot water)
  • Agua corriente (tap/ running water)
  • Agua destilada (distilled water)
  • Agua de borrajas (something not important at all)
  • Agua de cepas (wine-colloquially)
  • Agua de colonia (eau de cologne)
  • Agua de coco (coconut water)
  • Agua de mesa (bottled drinking water)
  • Agua de Seltz (carbonated water)
  • Agua de rosas (rose water)
  • Agua dura (hard water)
  • Agua dulce (fresh water)
  • Agua fuerte (nitric acid)
  • Agua mineral (mineral water)
  • Agua mineral con gas (sparkling mineral water)
  • Agua mineral sin gas (still mineral water)
  • Agua oxigenada (peroxide/ hydrogen peroxide)
  • Agua potable (drinking water)
  • Agua salada (salt water)
  • Aguas negras (sewage)
  • Agua nieve (sleet)
  • Agua tónica (tonic water)
  • Pescado de agua dulce (fresh water fish)
Some examples of the use of the word 'agua' are:
  • Un vaso de agua, por favor (a glass of water, please)
  • Sin agua, la vida es imposible (no life is possible without water) 
  • Aquí nadie agua el vino (nobody waters down the wine here)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'vino' in the YouTube clip in which Jarabe de Palo singAgua
 
For more on the word 'agua', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Agua
 
 *NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “agua” in the link to hear the word pronounced.


This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct lessons online on this and many other topics using the latest video conferencing facilities. Online lessons are the ideal way to improve listening and speaking skills. For more details on our lessons online and how to book them, please visit:

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© Copyright 2011 Love-Spanish.com. by Jose M González. All Rights Reserved.

Thursday 22 September 2011

Where Is Your Father From?

Introduction


This post is about the use of describing words/ adjectives in general, and more specifically about the use of masculine/ singular form of a describing word/ adjective.




SCENARIO


Imagine you are talking to someone who doesn't know you very well. You are getting to know each other and at some point the other person ask you: "where is your father from?".

In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and ask you:
¿De dónde es tu padre?

Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:
¿De dónde es su padre?


OUR TIP

This is a straightforward question about your father (a third person). When saying something about a third person (that is, neither you nor the person asking the question) you DO NOT need be concerned about the degree of formality in the original question. You can just concentrate on answering the question.


Questions like this one are usually answered by indicating:
  • The nationality of your father
  • The country your father comes from
  • The city/ town your father comes from

Assuming your father is English, from London, you could say:
  • Mi padre es inglés (my father is English).
  • Mi padre es de Inglaterra (my father is from England).
  • Mi padre es de Londres (my father is from London).
  • Mi padre es inglés, de Londres (my father is English, he is from London).

Now you should practise answering the question:
¿De dónde es tu padre?

*NB See Grammar below

*Grammar-Adjectives


Gender
Number
Adjective
padre
masculine
singular
inglés
padres
masculine/ mixed
plural
ingleses
madre
feminine
singular
inglesa
madres
feminine
plural
inglesas

Noun-Adjective Agreement

See notes below on Noun-Adjective agreement

Noun-Adjective Agreement
As you can see above, in Spanish you can also use a describing word/ adjective to indicate where someone comes from. Below follow some notes on how to choose the correct form of the adjective for a given noun.

Adjectives -Gender
When you use Spanish describing words/ adjectives, you need to bear in mind that for each describing word in English, there are often two related but different describing words/ adjectives in Spanish. The reason being that Spanish describing words/ adjectives have to 'agree' with the gender (masculine or feminine) of the noun they describe. Most Spanish describing words have similar but separate words for each of the two genders (for example, americano/ americana). A few, however have one single form (for example, canadiense).

Thus when you come to use a describing word to indicate where someone comes from, you need to check whether the corresponding Spanish describing word/ adjective has:
  • One single form (for example , estadounidense)
  • Two separate forms (for example, inglés/ inglesa).- If the describing word/ adjective has two separate forms, then you need to choose the form which matches the gender (masculine/ feminine) of the noun it describes.

Adjectives -Number
When you use Spanish describing words/ adjectives, you also need to bear in mind that Spanish describing words/ adjectives have singular and plural* forms the same as nouns. A Spanish describing word/ adjective must also to 'agree' with the number (singular/ plural) of the noun it describes. For example, padre inglés (English father) or padres ingleses (English parents/ fathers).

Thus when you come to use a describing word/ adjective to indicate where someone comes from, you need to choose the form of the Spanish describing word/ adjective which matches the noun's number (singular/ plural).

*NB View posts with details about the plural of Spanish words here.

Adjectives -Use
All the practical examples in this post refer to parents (plural), padres. Consequently, they require the masculine/ plural form of a describing word/ adjective, for example, ingleses.

Spelling
Please note that in Spanish, the names of countries, towns, cities, etc. (for example, “Inglaterra” or “Londres”) are capitalised. However, the nationality describing words/ adjectives (for example “italiana”) are not.



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Tuesday 20 September 2011

Are You Not Feeling Sleepy?

SCENARIO
Imagine you are talking about how you are feeling at the moment with a relative, a friend or a colleague.  Perhaps it is the end of a long day and it is late in the evening. You might have said something which gave the impression that perhaps you are still not ready to go to bed. The other person wants to ask you are not feeling sleepy.

He/ she could choose to be less formal and ask you:
¿No tienes sueño?

Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be a little bit more formal and say:
¿No tiene (usted) sueño?

 


OUR TIP
You DO NOT need be concerned about the degree of formality in the question you are asked. Whether the other person uses the more/ less formal question is irrelevant to your choice of answer. Your answer depends only on whether you want to say that you:
  • Are feeling sleepy
  • Are not feeling sleepy

Here are a couple of examples which deal with those two basic possibilities:
  • Sí, tengo mucho sueño (feeling sleepy)
  • No, no tengo sueño (not feeling sleepy)

Now you should practice answering the question:
¿No tienes sueño?

This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct lessons online on this and many other topics using the latest video conferencing facilities. Online lessons are the ideal way to improve listening and speaking skills. For more details on our lessons online and how to book them, please visit:

© Copyright 2011 Love-Spanish.com. by JM González. All Rights Reserved

Monday 19 September 2011

Vino

La palabra de hoy es: 'vino' = wine.

In Spanish, the word 'vino' could be a masculine noun of Latin origin. In that case, the noun 'vino' is the name given to an alcoholic drink made from the juice of grapes, i.e.: wine.

Alternatively, the word 'vino' could be from the the verb 'venir' (to come). In this case, 'vino' would be a form of the past tense, i.e.: he/ she/ it came.

Some Spanish expressions with noun 'vino' are:
  • Bautizar el vino (to water down wine)
  • Cristianar el vino (to water down wine)
  • Dormir el vino (to be in a state of drunken stupor)
  • Pregonar vino y vender vinagre (nice words... not so nice actions/ intentions) 
  • Tener mal vino (to become aggressive/ quarrelsome when drunk)
  • Vino clarete (claret)
  • Vino de la casa (house wine)
  • Vino de mesa (table wine) 
  • Vino del país (local wine)
  • Vino dulce (sweet wine)
  • Vino espumoso (sparkling wine)
  • Vino espumante (sparkling wine)
  • Vino peleón (low quality wine/ 'plonk')
  • Vino rosado (rosé)
  • Vino seco (dry wine)
  • Vino tinto (red wine)
Some examples of the use of the word 'vino' are:
  • Un vaso de vino blanco, por favor (a glass of white wine, please)
  • Antonio tiene muy mal vino (Antonio ususally gets a agressive when he has a drink)
  • Pedro esta durmiendo el vino (Pedro is in a drunken stupor)
  • En la bodega de la esquina bautizan el vino (in the wine bar on the corner, the wine is usually being watered down)
  • Manolo vino de Madrid ayer (Manolo came from Madrid yesterday)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'vino' in the YouTube clip in which Estopa sing: Vino Tinto
 
For more on the word 'vino', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Vino
 
 *NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “vino” in the link to hear the word pronounced.


This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct lessons online on this and many other topics using the latest video conferencing facilities. Online lessons are the ideal way to improve listening and speaking skills. For more details on our lessons online and how to book them, please visit:

For more Free Spanish:
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© Copyright 2011 Love-Spanish.com. by Jose M González. All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday 14 September 2011

I Don't Mind If It Is Cold, What About You?

SCENARIO
Imagine you are talking about the weather with a relative, a friend or a colleague.  Perhaps the weather has suddenly turn colder. The other person wants to say that he/ she does not mind the cold weather and ask you if you don't mind the cold weather either.

He/ she could choose to be a little bit formal and ask you:
A mi no me importa que haga frío ¿y a usted?

Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be a little bit less formal and say:
A mi no me importa que haga frío ¿y a ti?

 


OUR TIP
You DO NOT need be concerned about the degree of formality in the question you are asked. Whether the other person uses the more/ less formal question is irrelevant to your choice of answer. Your answer depends only on whether you want to say that you:
  • Don't mind the cold weather either (i.e. you agree with him/ her)
  • Do mind about the cold weather (i.e. disagree with him/ her)

Here are a couple of examples which deal with those two basic possibilities:
  • A mi tampoco me importa que haga frío (don't mind if it is cold either)*
  • A mi sí que me importa que haga frío (I do mind if it is cold)

Now you should practice answering the question:
A mi no me importa que haga frío ¿y a ti?

*Please see grammar below


Grammar-Subjunctive

 Please note that expressions such as: "I don't mind if...", when translated as "A mi no me importa que..." are a classic example of subjunctive. Some examples of this type of expression are:
  • A mi no me importa que llueva;
  • A ti no te importa que llueva;
  • A él no le importa que llueva;
  • A ella no le importa que llueva;
  • A nosotros no nos importa que llueva;
  • A vosotros no os importa que llueva;
  • A ellos no les importa que llueva;
  • A ellas no les importa que llueva;

Now you should practice the use of expressions of this type with some sentences of your own.



This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct lessons online on this and many other topics using the latest video conferencing facilities. Online lessons are the ideal way to improve listening and speaking skills. For more details on our lessons online and how to book them, please visit:
© Copyright 2011 Love-Spanish.com. by Jose M González. All Rights Reserved

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Cerveza

La palabra de hoy es: 'cerveza' = beer.

The Spanish word 'cerveza' is a femenine noun of Gallic/ Celtic origin and is the name given to an alcoholic drink known in English as beer or lager.

Some Spanish expressions with noun 'cerveza' are
  • Botellín de cerveza (beer bottle-small)
  • Caña (de cerveza) (a small glass of beer)
  • Cerveza de barril (draft beer)
  • Cerveza doble (strong beer)
  • Cerveza rubia (lager)
  • Cerveza negra (dark beer)
  • Cerveza sin alcohol (alcohol-free beer)
  • Cerveza tirada (draft beer)
  • Lata de cerveza (beer can)

Examples in which the noun 'cerveza' is used or implied are:
  • Una caña, por favor (a small glass of draft beer, please)
  • Me apetece una cerveza (I feel like having a beer)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'cerveza' in the YouTube clip of an advert forEstrella Galicia
 
For more on the word 'cerveza', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Cerveza
 
 *NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “cerveza” in the link to hear the word pronounced.


This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct lessons online on this and many other topics using the latest video conferencing facilities. Online lessons are the ideal way to improve listening and speaking skills. For more details on our lessons online and how to book them, please visit:

For more Free Spanish:
Follow us on:
Twitter: @LoveSpanish_com
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© Copyright 2011 Love-Spanish.com. by Jose M González. All Rights Reserved.

Thursday 8 September 2011

What Is Your Nationality?

Introduction


This post deals with talking about nationalities.






SCENARIO


Imagine you are exchanging personal details. You come to the point of dealing with nationalities. The other person decides to ask what nationality you are and says: what is your nationality?

In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:
¿Cuál es tu nacionalidad?

On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:
¿Cuál es su nacionalidad?



OUR TIP

You DO NOT need be concerned about the degree of formality in the question you are asked. Whether the other person uses the more/ less formal question is irrelevant to your choice of answer.

We have seen in another post that often your answer depends on whether you are a MALE or a FEMALE.

However, there is a type of answer which does not depend on whether you are a male or a female.

Some examples of answers of this type are:
  • Soy de nacionalidad inglesa (I am of English nationality)
  • Soy de nacionalidad estadounidense (I am of US nationality)
  • Soy de nacionalidad canadiense (I am of Canadian nationality)
  • Soy de nacionalidad escocesa (I am of Scottish nationality)
  • Soy de nacionalidad irlandesa (I am of Irish nationality)
  • Soy de nacionalidad galesa (I am of Welsh nationality)
  • Soy de nacionalidad italiana (I am of Italian nationality)
  • Soy de nacionalidad filipina (I am of Philippine nationality)
  • Soy de nacionalidad vietnamita (I am of Vietnamite nationality)

Now you should practise answering the question:
¿Cuál es tu nacionalidad?


This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct Spanish lessons online on a wide range of topics using the latest video conferencing facilities. Online lessons are the ideal way to improve listening and speaking skills. For more details on our lessons online and how to book them, please visit:

For more Free Spanish:
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© Copyright 2011 Love-Spanish.com. by Jose M González. All Rights Reserved.