Break the language barrier - learn Spanish

Hola a todos

Have you been practicing the weather vocabulary?

The correct answer to the translation question in lesson 1 - Today is very cold and it is raining a lot
“Hoy hace mucho frio y llueve mucho”- (oy a-they moo-cho free-oh ee yoo-eh-beh moo-cho)

How did you get on?

A common complaint of from my students is that they find it hard to understand when someone speaks to them, to differentiate between the words. This is because in many regions the Spanish have a habit of what is known as “comiendo las palabras” or eating words. This is not in the sense we know it as in regret, but rather that they do not finish off words properly. For example , here in my area of San Miguel de Salinas they will say “pa” instead of “para” (for),  “to” instead of “todo” (all, everything) and many other abrreviations. This, combined with the universal acknowledgement that the accent in this area is one of the hardest to understand, makes life difficult.

I had one student who went to Granada for the weekend and said he felt he had had ear muffs removed from his ears as suddenly he could actually understand what people were saying!! Always remember that sometimes the fault is with them, not you, as there is a big difference between the way things should be said and actually are said, just as in English and the many different versions of it we speak in our home towns. Building your confidence is extemely important for this reason.

Heres a couple of phrases to help to make people slow down and repeat what they have said more slowly:

“Más despacio por favor”- (mas deh-spa-thee-oh por fa-bor) - More slowly please
“¿Puedes repetir por favor?”- (poo-eh-des re-peh-tir por fa-bor) - Can you repeat please

“Puedes “ (poo-eh-des) is a very handy word, it translates to “can you” and is from the verb “poder”, to be able- This verb itself is useful to study, and can be dealt with in a module in one of my online courses. It would be followed by what you are asking the person if they can do, in the complete form of the verb.
It is not used as in English in questions such as “can you swim”. In Spanish for this we would use the verb “saber” to know how to do something.
For example, “¿Sabes nadar? (sa-bes na-dar)

Try translating these 5 simple phrases with the help of a dictionary if neccessary using “puedes” or “sabes”;

1. Can you help?
2. Can you ski?
3. Can you change this?
4. Can you speak Spanish?
5. Can you come with me?

Answers next time -

Happy practising!!