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Spanish language development

Palabra del Día – despistar

February 20, 2010

despistar – to throw off track; to throw off the scent
days-peese-TAHR; VERBO
Ejemplo:
Sus exageraciones siempre me despistan.
His exaggerations always throw me off track.
El preso escapado cruzó el río para despistar a los perros.
The escaped prisoner crossed the river to throw the dogs off the scent.
 
 
Continue developing your Spanish vocabulary with daily work on Spanish words and [...]

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Expresión del Día – poner sobre las estrellas

February 11, 2010

poner sobre las estrellas – to praise to the skies
poe-NAYR SOE-bray lahs ays-TRAY-yahs
Ejemplo:
Ella ganó buenas notas, y sus papás la pusieron sobre las estrellas.
She got good grades, and her parents praised her to the skies.
También – poner por las estrellas:
El artista tenía muchas admiradoras que lo ponían por las estrellas.
The artist had many admirers who [...]

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Expresión del Día – coger en una mentira

February 10, 2010

coger en una mentira – to catch in a lie
koe-HAYR ayn oonah mayn-TEE-rah
Ejemplo:
El abogado cogió al testigo en una mentira.
The attorney caught the witness in a lie.
Otra expresión parecida: pescar en una mentira
Y otra que utiliza la palabra mentira: parecer mentira
 
 
Studying Spanish expressions and Spanish vocabulary a few minutes a day is generally more effective [...]

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Palabra del Día – pinchar

February 9, 2010

pinchar – to prick, to stick
peen-CHAHR; verbo
Ejemplos:
Algunos árboles tienen espinas que te pinchan.
Some trees have thorns that prick you.
La mujer se pinchó con un alfiler.
The woman pricked herself with a pin.
La enfermera pincha al paciente.
The nurse gives an injection to the patient.
Pincha el tomate con un tenedor.
Stick the tomato with a fork.
 
 
You can improve your [...]

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Expresión del Día – tragar camote

February 6, 2010

tragar camote – to put up with something, to bite one’s tongue
trah-GAHR cah-MOE-tay
Ejemplo:
Durante el regaño del sargento, el cabo tragó camote.
During the sargent’s scolding, the corporal bit his tongue.
Another Spanish expression using tragar: tragar el anzuelo
Ver también: tragar/deglutir
 
Spanish-language training includes the memorization of Spanish words and phrases. Spanish idiomatic expressions are especially useful tools [...]

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Palabra del Día – decadencia

February 4, 2010

decadencia – decadence, decay, decline
day-kah-DAYN-seeah; sustantivo masculino
Ejemplo:
Nuestra sociedad está en decadencia.
Our society is in decline.
 
 
Forming a broad Spanish vocabulary will allow you to concentrate on Spanish sentence structure and Spanish-language usage. If the text you are reading or the conversation in which you are engaged contains too many unfamiliar Spanish words and phrases, you [...]

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Presente del Subjuntivo – Ejercicio 3

January 29, 2010

Ahora que hemos hablado de la teoría del subjuntivo y hemos hecho dos ejercicios utilizando una fórmula (clave + que + cláusula con el verbo en el subjuntivo), es hora de hacer un poco de traducción.
Now that we have spoken of the theory of the Spanish subjunctive and have done two exercises using a formula [...]

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Syllabication (silabeo) – Lesson Two

November 4, 2009

Spanish syllabication
Welcome to the second lesson on how to divide Spanish words into syllables.  (To review Lesson One, see: Syllabication (silabeo) – Lesson One.)  Knowing how words are divided will help you apply the accent rules and improve your pronunciation.  Later, I shall post the rules for the placement of accents.
The formation of syllables in Spanish [...]

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Expresión del Día – parecer mentira

November 1, 2009

parecer mentira – to seem incredible, to be hard to believe
pah-ray-SAYR mayn-TEE-rah
Ejemplo:
¡Esa historia parece mentira!
That story seems incredible!
Otra expresión que utiliza mentira: coger en una mentira
Y aún otra: pescar en una mentira
 
 
Spanish language training includes the memorization of Spanish idiomatic expressions. Learning Spanish is easy when you dedicate a few minutes daily to the [...]

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