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Spanish tutorial

Palabra del Día – garabato

February 18, 2010

garabato – scrawl, scribble, illegible signature
gah-rah-BAH-toe; sustantivo masculino
Ejemplo:
El hombre firma con un garabato.
The man signs with a scrawl.
 
The Spanish language is filled with visual images.  A garabato is also a meat hook or butcher’s hook, which is obviously curved.  The image is of an illegible signature comprised of swirls, curves, or hooks.  Garabato signatures are [...]

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Palabra del Día – itinerante

February 16, 2010

itinerante – itinerant, roving
ee-tee-nay-RAHN-tay; adjetivo
Ejemplo:
Se hizo un trovador itinerante.
He became an itinerant minstrel.
 
 
The Spanish language is rich with words from a variety of sources, and many of them have roots in common with Engish.  With the cognate itinerante, it’s a matter of learning the Spanish pronunciation, and you’ve easily added a new Spanish word [...]

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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 – ir a pie

February 8, 2010

ir a pie – to go on foot
eer ah peeay
Ejemplo:
Yo fui a pie a la escuela.
I went on foot to school.
Yo fui a la escuela a pie.
I went to school on foot.
 
Learning Spanish expressions will enhance your Spanish-language usage. Spanish idiomatic expressions often include cultural concepts that will help you improve your command of [...]

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Palabra del Día – pedrada

February 8, 2010

pedrada – blow from a stone, stoning
pay-DRAH-dah; sustantivo femenino
Ejemplo:
El pobre hombre se murió de la pedrada que recibió.
The poor man died from the stoning he received.
La mataron a pedradas.
They killed her by stoning.
 
 
Build your Spanish vocabulary through the memorization of Spanish words and phrases. Spanish language skills come from repetition of good Spanish sentences [...]

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Palabra del Día – trago

February 7, 2010

trago – swallow, gulp, drink, swig
TRAH-goe; sustantivo masculino
Ejemplos:
He trabajado duro hoy. Necesito un trago.
I have worked hard today. I need a drink.
El obrero tomó un trago de agua y volvió a trabajar.
The laborer took a swig of water and went back to work.
Un trago de humildad le hará bien al profesor arrogante.
A gulp [...]

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Ser vs Estar – Lesson 1

February 6, 2010

Ser y Estar
In English, there is only one verb for “to be.” In Spanish, two to-be verbs exist—ser and estar—but they are not interchangeable. In some sentence constructions, you may use either one of them, but the meaning always changes.
This lesson covers the various usages of ser and estar and gives examples of each. [...]

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Palabra del Día – tragar / deglutir

February 6, 2010

tragar / deglutir – to swallow
trah-GAHR / day-gloo-TEER; verbos
Ejemplos:

Él traga la cerveza con gusto.
He swallows the beer with pleasure.
La paciente deglute mejor cada día.
The patient swallows better each day.
Un bebé traga aire cuando toma leche.
A baby swallows air when it drinks milk.
Un mentiroso a veces tiene que tragar sus mentiras.
A liar at times has to [...]

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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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Syllabication (silabeo) – Lesson 1

October 26, 2009

This is the first of two lessons on how to divide Spanish words into syllables.  Knowing how the words are divided will help you apply the accent rules and improve your pronunciation.
We shall begin with five definitions:
1.  OPEN SYLLABLE – This is a syllable that ends in a vowel.  The letter “y” can be considered [...]

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