Love-Spanish.com: 01/06/2011

Monday, 27 June 2011

What About If We Went To The Cinema?

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking about leisure activities with a relative, a friend or a colleague. Perhaps you are talking about things to do this evening. You might have said something which gave the impression that perhaps you are keen on going to the cinema. The other person wants to know how you would feel about going to the cinema this evening.

He/ she could ask you:

¿Y si fuesemos al cine esta noche?

OUR TIP

Questions like this one invite answers which should always include a 'conditional' tense. There is an element of 'uncertainty' in the question, which should be reflected in the answer. Basically, your answer depends on whether you want to say that for you:

Going might be OK
Going would be OK, but only if certain condition(s) are met

Here are a couple of examples which deal with those two basic possibilities:

Claro que podríamos ir (of course we could go)
Si no hubiese otra cosa que hacer, podríamos ir (if there ware nothing elese to do, we could go)*

Now you should practice answering the question:

¿Y si fuesemos al cine esta noche?

*Please see grammar below

Grammar-Subjunctive

Please note above a typical example of imperfect subjunctive and conditional:

"if <something happened>, then...".

NB The tell-tale sign in these expressions is the English use of the past tense ("if something happened").

Some examples of imperfect subjunctive and conditional are:

Si lloviese ¿irías al cine? (if it rained, would you go to the cinema?)
Si hiciese sol, iríamos a la playa (if it was sunny, we would go to the beach)
Si yo no estuviese cansado, iría a bailar (if I wasn't tired, I would go dancing)
Si tus amigos quisieran, podrían quedarse con nosotros (if your friends wanted, they could stay with us)

Now you should practise imperfect subjunctive and conditional expressions 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:

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

Filete

La palabra de hoy es: 'filete' = steak/ fillet.

In Spanish, 'filete' is a masculine noun of French origin which means a lean slice or strip of meat or fish.

An example of the use of 'filete' is:

Un filete de ternera con patatas fritas (beef steak and chips)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'filete' in the YouTube clip showing how to cook: Filete de pescado empanizado

More on the word 'filete', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Filete

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “filete” in the link to hear the word pronounced.

Spanish lessons online

Skype/ Google+ Hangout/ Facetime

Great lessons

Book now

Thursday, 23 June 2011

Buenos Días...

Introduction

This post deals with greeting someone you don't know quite well in the morning.

SCENARIO

Imagine it is sometime in the morning and you find yourself in any one of the following situations:

You meet someone in the street, in a bar, at work, etc.
You call someone on the phone.

The person in question is someone you don't know well and you are not on first name terms with that person (he/ she could be a relative, an acquaintance, a work colleague, etc.).

OUR TIP

Greeting someone in those circumstances should be quite straightforward. A simple "buenos días" (good morning) may be sufficient. However, it would be nice to include the name of the person you are saying good morning to. So, assuming you want to greet someone called Carlos Pérez you could say:

¡Buenos días, don Carlos!
¡Buenos días, señor Pérez!

If instead you wanted to greet someone called Ana Flores you could say:

¡Buenos días, doña Ana!
¡Buenos días, señora Flores!

See more practical examples of greetings

Now you should practise greeting other people

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:

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

For more Free Spanish:

Visit: Love-Spanish.com

Google+: Google+ Love-Spanish

Twitter: @LoveSpanish_com

Facebook: Facebook.com/ Love.Spanish

At What Time Does The Train Depart?

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend, colleague or a business associate about an impending train journey to La Coruña. You might have even have asked that person if he/ she could take you to the station. That person wants to ask : at what time does the train to La Coruña depart?

He/ she could say to you:

¿A qué hora sale el tren para La Coruña?

OUR TIP

The question is a straight forward one. Your answer depends only on what you want to say about the departure time of the train to La Coruña. Maybe you want to chose between saying that:

It leaves at 13:45
It leaves in five minutes
You don't know when it leaves, you need to find out

Here are some examples which deal with those basic possibilities:

Sale a las dos menos cuarto (it leaves at 13:45)
Sale dentro de cinco minutos (it leaves in five minutes)
No sé a que hora sale, tengo que averiguarlo (I don't know at what time it leaves, I need to find out)

Now you should practice answering the question:

¿A qué hora sale el tren para La Coruña?

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

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

Lomo

La palabra de hoy es: 'lomo' = back/ spine/ loin.

In Spanish, 'lomo' is a masculine noun of Latin origin and means back. In anatomy, 'lomo' refers to the central part of the lower back. The noun 'lomo' also means the back of a knife when referring to the blunt end of the blade. In addition, the noun 'lomo' also means spine when referring to that element of a book.

When talking about food, 'lomo' usually means meat. Typically, the noun 'lomo' is used to refer to the loin of pork or fillet stake in beef.

A Spanish word related to 'lomo' is 'loma', which means a hillock

Some common expressions with the noun 'lomo' are:

A lomo de... (riding on the back of.../ carried on the back of...)
A lomos de... (riding on the back of.../ carried on the back of...)
Agachar el lomo (to bend over/ accept someone else's authority/ to work very hard)
Agachar el lomo (to work very hard)
De tomo y lomo (heavy/ bulky/ big/ important)
Jugar de lomos (to be lazy/ idle)
Lomo de burro (speed bump on the road)
Lomo embuchado (cured loin of pork)
Sobar el lomo a... (to suck up to...)

Examples of the use of 'lomo' are:

El lomo embuchado está muy rico (the cured pork loin is very tasty)
Tuve que ir a lomos de burro (I had to ride on the back of a donkey)
¿Te gusta sobarle el lomo a tu jefe? (do you like sucking up to your boss?)
Se armó una trifulca de tomo y lomo (it developed into a big row)
Pedro tuvo que agachar el lomo (Pedro had to accept/ agree)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'lomo' in the YouTube clip showing how to cook: Lomo caramelizado con cebolla

More on the word 'lomo', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Lomo

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “lomo” in the link to hear the word pronounced.

Spanish lessons online

Skype/ Google+ Hangout/ Facetime

Great lessons

Book now

Wednesday, 22 June 2011

Buenos Días

Introduction

This post deals with greeting someone you know quite well in the morning.

SCENARIO

Imagine it is sometime in the morning and you find yourself in any one of the following situations:

You meet someone in the street, in a bar, at work, etc.
You call someone on the phone.

The person in question is someone you know quite well (he/ she could be a relative, a friend or a work colleague) and you are on first name terms with that person.

OUR TIP

¡Buenos días, Carlos!

If instead you wanted to greet someone called Ana Flores you could say:

¡Buenos días, Ana!

See more practical examples of greetings

Now you should practise greeting other people

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

For more Free Spanish:

Visit: Love-Spanish.com

Google+: Google+ Love-Spanish

Twitter: @LoveSpanish_com

Facebook: Facebook.com/ Love.Spanish

Hola

Introduction

This post deals with greeting someone you know quite well at any time.

SCENARIO

Imagine that at any time of the day you find yourself in any one of the following situations:

You meet someone in the street, in a bar, in the office, etc.
You call someone on the phone.

The person in question is someone you know quite well (he/ she could be a relative, a friend or a work colleague) and you are on first name terms with that person.

OUR TIP

Greeting someone in those circumstances should be quite straightforward. A simple "hola" (hello) may be sufficient. However, it would be nice to include the name of the person you are saying hello to. So, assuming you want to greet someone called Carlos Flores you could say:

¡Hola, Carlos!

If instead you wanted to greet someone called Ana Flores you could say:

¡Hola, Ana!

See more practical examples of greetings

Now you should practise greeting other people

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

For more Free Spanish:

Visit: Love-Spanish.com

Google+: Google+ Love-Spanish

Twitter: @LoveSpanish_com

Facebook: Facebook.com/ Love.Spanish

Where Are You Going With That Book?

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or colleague. As you are talking, you are holding a book. Your relative/ friend/ colleague wants to find out what you are intending doing with that book. That person decides to ask: where are you going with that book? He/ she could choose to be less formal and ask you:

¿Adónde vas con ese libro?

Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be a little bit more formal and say:

¿Adónde va (usted) con ese libro?

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 what you want to say about what you are going to do with the book. Perhaps you want to choose between saying that:

You are taking it home
You are going to give it to your friend Peter

Here are a couple of examples which deal with those two basic possibilities:

Voy a llevarmelo a casa (I am going to take it home with me)
Voy a darselo a mi amigo Peter (I am going to give it to my friend Peter)

Now you should practice answering the question:

¿Adónde vas con ese libro?

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

Ala

Today's word is: 'ala' = wing.

In Spanish, 'ala' is a feminine noun of Latin origin and means wing, when referring to a plane, a bird, a building, a political party faction, a field position in football/ other sports, troop arrangements in battle, air force units, etc. The Spanish noun 'ala' is also used to mean the brim of a hat.

When talking about food, 'ala' means the wing of a bird, typically chicken.

Grammar
The noun 'ala' belongs to a group of Spanish nouns which, despite being of feminine gender, they they require a masculine article 'el' (i.e.: 'el ala'). This rule does not apply when there is another word in between the article and the noun 'ala' (for example 'la gran ala').

Spanish words related to 'ala' are:

The noun 'aleta', which means a car wing/ quarter panel/ fender, a finn, a flipper, a flight in an arrow, a blade of a propeller
The adjective 'alado'/ 'alada', which describes someone or something as being winged or having wings.

Some common expressions with the noun 'ala' are:

Ala delta (hang gliding-sport and hang glider-aparatus)
Ala de mosca (a colour: black with greenish brown shades)
Ahuecar el ala (colloquially, to leave)
Arrastrar el ala (colloquially, to make/ to get to fall in love)
Cobrar alas (to spread one's wings)
Cortar las alas (to clip the wings)
Dar alas (to encourage/ to estimulate/ to give free rain)
Estar tocado del ala (to be a bit crazy/ 'worse for the wear'-male)
Estar tocada del ala (to be a bit crazy/ 'worse for the wear'-female)
Meterse bajo el ala (to seek or obtain protection)

Examples of the use of 'ala' are:

Las alas de pollo asado están muy ricas (the roast chicken wings are very tasty)
Al oir eso, Pedro ahuecó el ala (on hearing that, Pedro left)
Tuvimos que cortarle las alas a Pili (we had to clip Pili's wings)
Eso sí que me dió alas (that really gave me encouragment)
Manolo está un poco tocado del ala (Manolo is a bit crazy)
Antonio se metió bajo el ala de su tío (Antonio got himself under his uncle protection)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'ala' in the YouTube clip: Divididos Ala Delta

More on the word 'ala', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Ala

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “ala” in the link to hear the word pronounced.

Spanish lessons online

Skype/ Google+ Hangout/ Facetime

Great lessons

Book now

Tuesday, 21 June 2011

Where Did you Buy That Book?

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or colleague. As you are talking, you are holding a book. Your relative/ friend/ colleague wants to find out where you bought it. That person decides to ask: where did you buy that book?

He/ she could choose to be less formal and ask you:

¿Dónde compraste ese libro?

Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be a little bit more formal and say:

¿Dónde compró (usted) ese libro?

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 what you want to say about where you bought the book. Perhaps you want to choose between saying that:

You bought it in a book shop
You bought it in New York
The book is not yours, it belongs to your friend John

Here are some examples which deal with those basic possibilities:

Lo compré en una librería (I bought it in a book shop)
Lo compré en Nueva York (I bought in New York)
No es mio, es de mi amigo John (it is not mine it belongs to my friend John)

Now you should practice answering the question:

¿Dónde compraste ese libro?

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

Muslo

La palabra de hoy es: 'muslo' = thigh.

In Spanish, 'muslo' is a masculine noun of Latin origin and means the part of the leg above the knee.

A common use of noun 'muslo' is when referring to food. In that sense, 'muslo' means the thigh/ leg usually of a bird.

A common expression with the noun 'muslo' is:

Muslos de pollo (chicken legs)

An example of the use of 'muslo' is:

Los muslos de pollo asado están muy ricos (the roast chicken legs are very tasty)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'muslos' in the YouTube clip showing how to prepare the dish: Muslos de pollo rellenos de jamón y queso

More on the word 'muslo', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Muslo

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “muslo” in the link to hear the word pronounced.

Spanish lessons online

Skype/ Google+ Hangout/ Facetime

Great lessons

Book now

Monday, 20 June 2011

Pechuga

La palabra de hoy es: 'pechuga' = breast (of a bird).

In Spanish, 'pechuga' is a feminine noun derived from the noun of Latin origin 'pecho' (breast).

The most common use of noun 'pechuga' is when referring to food. In that case, 'pechuga' means the breast of a bird. Often, when the type of bird name is not specified, it is assumed that 'pechuga' means the breast of chicken. Food dishes with the noun 'pechuga' in their name usually contain chicken bresat. When 'pechuga' refers to the breast of another type of bird, the name of that bird is usually specifically stated (see example of use below).

The noun 'pechuga' can also be used colloquially to refer to women's breast... or a steep uphill slope or incline. In some parts of Latin America, the noun 'pechuga' can also mean the cheek/ audacity/ nerve... or the annoyance caused to someone.

An example of the use of 'pechuga' are:

La pechuga de pavo asado está muy rica (the roast turkey breast is very tasty)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'pechuga' in the YouTube clip: Pechugas Parmesanas... Receta

More on the word 'pechuga', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Pechuga

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “pechuga” in the link to hear the word pronounced.

Spanish lessons online

Skype/ Google+ Hangout/ Facetime

Great lessons

Book now

Sunday, 19 June 2011

Pollo

La palabra de hoy es: 'pollo' = chick/ chicken.

In Spanish, 'pollo' is a noun of Latin origin. The masculine form, 'pollo' refers to a male baby chick or a young adult chicken. In Spanish, the noun 'pollo' is also used to mean a young bee, a guy/ young person (male) or the young of any animal.

When referring to food, 'pollo' means chicken. Food dishes with the noun 'pollo' in their name usually contain chicken.

The feminine form of the noun, 'polla', means a young female chicken. The noun 'polla' is not common in food terminology. However, the noun 'polla' has a common use with much different meanings:

'Polla' in Spain, means penis/ dick/ cock. A related word 'gilipollas' means a jerk, an idiot, a fool
'Polla' in Chile and Perú, means a lottery
'Polla' in many Latin American countries, it means a private bet

In Spanish, the noun 'pollo' is used in some common expressions, such as:

Pollo asado (roast chicken)
Pollo al ajillo (garlic chicken -dish)
Montar un pollo (to start a kerfuffle/ noisy argument)
Sudar como un pollo (to sweat like a pig)

In Spain, the use of the noun 'polla' in its more vulgar meaning is quite common. Many expressions with the noun 'polla' in them are used of everyday language. Because of that, the noun 'polla' should be used with care.

Please see also some notes on the use of the nouns 'pollo' and other related words:

In Spanish, the adult animals are not usually called 'pollo'/ 'polla', but 'gallo', adult male (rooster/ cock/ cockerel) and 'gallina' adult female (hen)
The English word 'chick' when referring to a female does not translate as 'polla'
The English word 'hen' when referring to a female does not translate as 'gallina'
English words such as dickhead, jerk and similar are translated into Spanish as:

Huevón/ huevona (Latin America)
Boludo/ boluda (Latin America)
Pelotudo/ pelotuda (Latin America)
Pendejo/ pendeja (Latin America)
Gilipollas (Spain)

Examples of the use of 'pollo' are:

El pollo asado está muy rico (the roast chicken is very tasty)
Sudamos como pollos (we sweated like pigs)
De repente, se montó un pollo (suddenly, a kerfuffle was started)
¡Cuidado con ese pollo! (carefull with that guy!)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'pollo' in YouTube clip: El pollo justiciero

More on the word 'pollo', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Pollo

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “pollo” in the link to hear the word pronounced.

Spanish lessons online

Skype/ Google+ Hangout/ Facetime

Great lessons

Book now

Saturday, 18 June 2011

Jamón

La palabra de hoy es: 'jamón' = ham.

In Spanish, 'jamón' is a masculine noun of French origin, which means a ham.

A related word is the feminine form, 'jamona', which describes a woman who is perhaps past her prime, is rather large, but is still quite shapely and could be considered very attractive.

In Spanish, the noun 'jamón' is used in some common expressions:

Jamón serrano (air cured ham)
Jamón ibérico (air cured ham-iberian black ('pata negra') pig breed)
Jamón dulce/ jamón cocido/ jamón inglés/ jamón York (cooked ham)
¡Y un jamón! (and the rest!)
¡Y un jamón con chorreras! (and the rest!-more emphasis than the espression above)

Examples of the use of 'jamón' and related words are:

Un bocadillo de jamón serrano (a cured ham sandwich-French bread/ baguette)
Una ración de jamón ibérico (a plate/ portion of special Iberian ham)
Un emparedado de jamón york (a cooked/ ordinary ham sandwich)
¿50 euros? ¡Y un jamón! (50 Euros? and the rest!)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'jamón' in YouTube clip with instructions to carve a ham: Como cortar un jamón

More on the word 'jamón', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Jamón

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “jamón” in the link to hear the word pronounced.

Spanish lessons online

Skype/ Google+ Hangout/ Facetime

Great lessons

Book now