Love-Spanish.com: 01/08/2011

Wednesday, 31 August 2011

Leche

La palabra de hoy es: 'leche' = milk.

The word 'leche' is a feminine noun of Latin origin and is the name given to milk in Spanish.

The Spanish noun 'leche' can also mean:

The white juice of fruits/ nuts such as coconuts and almonds
Cosmetic liquid compounds of white colour

The Spanish noun 'leche' may also be used to mean:

Semen
A bump/ a knock
A slap in the face

Some Spanish expressions with noun 'leche' are:

Leche hidratante (moisturising cream/ milk)
Leche condensada (condensed milk)
Leche desnatada/ descremada (skimmed milk)
Más blanco que la leche (white as a sheet)
Leche en polvo (powdered milk)
Leche de coco (coconut milk)
Leche de almendras (almond milk)
Leche de canela (cinnamon oil disolved in wine)
Leche de viejos (wine)
Leche entera (whole milk)
Leche evaporada (evaporated milk)
Leche frita (sweet/ dessert made with flour, sugar and milk)
Leche limpiadora (cleansing milk)
Leche merengada (sweet/ dessert made with egg white, sugar and cinnamon)
Mala leche (bad intentions/meanness/ foul mood)
A toda leche (at high speed)
Echando leches (very fast)

Examples of the use of the noun 'leche' are:

Pedro se dió una leche con el coche (Pedro had a bump with his car)
A Manolo le dieron una leche (Manolo had his face slapped)
¡Qué mala leche tienes! (you are really mean!)
Iba echando leches (he/ she/ it was going very fast)
Iba a toda leche (he/ she/ it was going very fast)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'leche' in the YouTube clip of Moneda Dura singing: Mala leche

For more on the word 'leche', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Leche

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “leche” 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:

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

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

Friday, 26 August 2011

Do You Not Want To Go For A Drink?

SCENARIO

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

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

¿No quieres salir a tomar algo?

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

¿No quiere (usted) salir a tomar algo?

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 want to go for a drink
Do want to go for a drink

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

No, no quiero salir a tomar algo (don't want to go)
Sí, claro que quiero salir a tomar algo (do want to go)

Now you should practice answering the question:

¿No quieres salir a tomar algo?

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

Thursday, 25 August 2011

Queso

La palabra de hoy es: 'queso' = cheese.

The word 'queso' is a masculine noun of Latin origin and is the name given to cheese in Spanish.

Some Spanish expressions with noun 'queso' are:

Dársela a alguien con queso (to fool/ make fun of somebody)
Queso de bola (Dutch Edam cheese)
Queso en lonchas (processed cheese slices)
Queso en porciones/ 'quesito' (processed/ creamed cheese wedges)
Queso fresco (soft/ unripened cheese)
Queso fundido (processed cheese)
Queso para untar (cheese spread)
Queso rallado (grated cheese)

An example of the use of the noun 'queso' is:

A Pedro, María se la está dando con queso (María is making a fool of Pedro)
Este queso fresco está muy rico (this soft cheese is really nice)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'queso' in the YouTube clip showing how to make: Canapés de queso caramelizados

For more on the word 'queso', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Queso

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

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

Wednesday, 24 August 2011

Are you English?

Introduction

This post deals with answering a question about your nationality.

SCENARIO

If you are a female*, imagine you are exchanging personal details with someone.

The other person wants to know if you are English and asks you: are you English?

In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:

¿Eres inglesa?

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

¿Es (usted) inglesa?

OUR TIP

You are English
You are not English but American

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

Sí, soy inglesa (yes, I am English)
No, no soy inglesa, soy americana (no, I am not English, I am American)

*Note

Please see a separate blog entry if you are a male

Now you should practice answering the question:

¿Eres inglesa?

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

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Monday, 22 August 2011

What If We Went To The Beach...?

SCENARIO

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

He/ she could ask you:

¿Y si fuesemos a la playa por la tarde?

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 lloviese, podríamos ir (we could go if it did no rain)*

Now you should practice answering the question:

¿Y si fuesemos a la playa esta tarde?

*Please see grammar below

Grammar-Subjunctive

Please note above a typical example of imperfect subjunctive and conditional ("if something happened, then..."). The tell-tale sign in these expressions is the English use of the past tense ("if something happened, then..."). Some examples of imperfect subjunctive and conditional are:

Si tuvieses la tarde libre ¿irías a la playa? (if you had the afternoon free, would you go to the beach)
Si lloviese, nos quedaríamos en casa (if it rained, we would stay at home)
Si lo quisieras, lo conseguirías (if you wanted it you would get it)
Si ellos no vinieran, iría yo (if they did not come, I would go)

Now you should practise imperfect subjunctive and conditional expressions of your own.

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

Saturday, 20 August 2011

Olivo

La palabra de hoy es: 'olivo' = olive tree.

The word 'olivo' is a masculine noun of Latin origin and is the name given to the olive tree and the timber from that type of tree in Spanish.

The Spanish word 'oliva' is a feminine noun related to 'olivo' and is the name given to the fruit of the olive tree, i.e.: the olive. Another Spanish noun commonly used to refer to the fruit of the olive tree is 'aceituna'.

Some Spanish expressions with noun 'olivo' and related words are:

Dar el olivo (to expel)
Tomar el olivo (to escape/ to say goodbye/ to take refuge behind the barrier in bulfighting)
Aceite de oliva (olive oil)

An example of the use of the noun 'olivo' is:

El huerto de los olivos (the garden of Gethsemane)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'olivo' in the YouTube clip in which Jarcha sings the poem by Miguel Hernández: Andaluces de Jaén

For more on theword 'olivo', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Olivo

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

Friday, 19 August 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 are being asked to give your nationality. When giving your nationality, you DO NOT need be concerned about the degree of formality in the other person's question. Whether the other person uses the more/ less formal question is irrelevant to your choice of answer.

Here are a few sample answers*:

Soy inglés (I am English – male);
Soy inglesa (I am English – female);
Soy escocés (I am Scottish – male);
Soy escocesa (I am Scottish – female);
Soy galés (I am Welsh – male);
Soy galesa (I am Welsh – female);
Soy irlandés (I am Irish– male);
Soy irlandesa (I am Irish – female);
Soy italiano (I am Italian – male);
Soy italiana (I am Italian – female);
Soy americano (I am American – male);
Soy americana (I am American – female);
Soy español (I am Spanish – male);
Soy española (I am Spanish – female);
Soy estadounidense (I am from the USA -male or female);
Soy canadiense (I am Canadian -male or female);
Soy vietnamita (I am Vietnamese -male or female)

*Notes

Only in a few cases there is a single answer which is valid for both male and female speakers. In all other cases you need to choose the answer which corresponds to your own gender (male or female).

See an alternative type of reply to this question here

Now you should practise answering the question:

¿Cuál es tu nacionalidad?

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Thursday, 18 August 2011

How Would You Feel If We...?

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking about leisure activities with a relative, a friend or a colleague. Perhaps you are making plans to go out to the cinema. You might have said something which gave the impression that going to the cinema clashes with your plan for the next few days. The other person wants to ask you how you would feel if going to the cinema was left for Saturday.

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

¿Qué te parece si dejamos el cine para el sábado?

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

¿Qué le parece (a usted) si dejamos el cine para el sábado?

OUR TIP

Agree on Saturday to go to the cinema
Have a problem with going to the cinema on Saturday

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

Vale, el sábado podemos ir al cine (OK, we can go)
El sábado no puedo, tengo que estudiar (I cannot go)

Now you should practice answering the question:

¿Qué te parece si dejamos el cine para el sábado?

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

Wednesday, 17 August 2011

Ajo

La palabra de hoy es: 'ajo' = garlic.

In Spanish, the word 'ajo' is mainly used as a masculine noun. The origin of the Spanish noun 'ajo' is Latin. As a noun, 'ajo' is the name given to garlic in Spanish.

The Spanish word 'ajo' has also another and less common meaning which results from belonging to the verb 'ajar' (to wilt).

Some Spanish expressions with noun 'ajo' are:

¡Ajo y agua! (tough luck!)
Cabeza de ajo (head of garlic)
Diente de ajo (clove of garlic)
Echar ajos (y cebollas) (to swear-Latin America)
Estar (metido) en el ajo (to be involved in something)
Soltar ajos (y cebollas) (to swear-Latin America)

Some examples of the use of the noun 'ajo' are:

La sopa de ajos es muy nutritiva (garlic soup is very nourishing)
Nos dejamos engañar, ahora ¡ajo y agua! (we allowed ourselves to be cheated, now tough luck!)
Hablando de partidos políticos, no sabía que Pedro estaba tan metido en el ajo (talking about political parties, I didn't know that Pedro was involved so much in that)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'ajo' in the YouTube clip showing how to prepare garlic soup: Sopa de ajo

For more on the word 'ajo', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Ajo

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

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Visit: Love-Spanish.com

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

Tuesday, 16 August 2011

Adiós Buenas Noches...

Introduction

This post deals with saying goodbye to someone you don't know quite well in the evening.

SCENARIO

Imagine that some time in the evening you find yourself in any one of the following situations:

You see someone on the street, but you don't stop to talk to him/ her

You meet someone in the street, in a shop, etc. After a chat you want to say goodbye

You call someone on the phone. After a chat, you want to say goodbye

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

Saying goodbye to someone in those circumstances should be quite straightforward. A simple "adiós" (goodbye) may be sufficient. Since it is in the afternoon, you could add a "buenas noches"* (good night). It would also be nice to include the name of the person you are saying goodbye to. So, assuming you want to say goodbye to someone called Carlos Pérez you could say:

¡Adiós, buenas noches, don Carlos!
¡Adiós, buenas noches, señor Pérez!

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

¡Adiós, buenas noches, doña Ana!
¡Adiós, buenas noches, señora Flores!

*NB Please note that "buenas noches" may also mean good evening

See more practical examples of saying goodbye

Now you should practise saying goodbye to other people

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Friday, 12 August 2011

Are You Not Hungry?

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking about how you are feeling with a relative, a friend or a colleague. Perhaps it is breakfast/ lunch/dinner time. You might have said something which gave the impression you are not feeling hungry. The other person wants to ask you if you are not hungry.

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

¿No tienes hambre?

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

¿(Usted) no tiene hambre?

OUR TIP

Are hungry
Are not hungry

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

Sí, tengo mucha hambre (very hungry)
No, no tengo hambre (not hungry)

Now you should practice answering the question:

¿No tienes hambre?

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

Wednesday, 10 August 2011

Apio

La palabra de hoy es: 'apio' = celery.

The Spanish noun 'apio' is a masculine noun of Latin origin and is the name given to celery in Spanish.

An example of the use of the noun 'apio' is:

La sopa de apio y gorgonzola está muy rica (celery soup with Gorgonzola cheese is very nice)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'apio' in the YouTube clip showing how to prepare a celery soup: Sopa de apio y Roquefort

For more on the word 'apio', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Apio

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

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

For more Free Spanish:

Visit: Love-Spanish.com

Friday, 5 August 2011

Adiós Buenas Noches...

Introduction

This post deals with saying goodbye to someone you know quite well in the evening.

SCENARIO

Imagine that sometime in the evening you find yourself in any one of the following situations:

You see someone on the street, but you don't stop to talk to him/ her

You meet someone in the street, in a shop, etc. After a chat you want to say goodbye

You call someone on the phone. After a chat, you want to say goodbye

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

Saying goodbye to someone in those circumstances should be quite straightforward. A simple "adiós" (goodbye) may be sufficient. Since it is in the evening, you could add a "buenas noches" (good night). It would also be nice to include the name of the person you are saying goodbye to. So, assuming you want to say goodbye to someone called Carlos Flores you could say: