Category: Grammar

How Similar Are English and Spanish?

Have you ever seen a new word in Spanish and immediately knew what it meant because it looked like a word in English? For example, if you had never seen the word televisión before, would you know that it means television in English? Probably! That’s because there’s a lot these two languages have in common. […]

Use Novels to Learn Spanish at Home

There is simply no better way to improve your vocabulary and reading comprehension than reading. Novels in Spanish can be a great way to learn Spanish at home. There’s a reason why teachers insist on reading independently! When you read, you encounter many new words that you have never seen before. Research continues to show […]

Multiple Ways to Use “Llevar”

If you want to start sounding like a native speaker, the verb llevar is going to be one of your most common verbs. It’s very versatile and has different uses. You might have learned that this verb means “to carry” or “to wear”, and that’s definitely true! Here, we’ll show you some other ways you […]

Spanish Words Without Exact English Translations

Every language has words that are based on their culture’s way of life. This means that in Spanish, there are lots of words without exact English translations. Of course, they’re words that you can describe with a few words or a sentence, but there isn’t a 1-to-1 exact translation. This can make some conversations tricky […]

5 Things I Learned When I Put My Phone in Spanish

When I was first taking Spanish courses, my textbook still taught the words for cassette tapes. By the time I was preparing to move to Salamanca, Spain, I realized that although I felt prepared to communicate and live entirely in Spanish, I noticed one huge gap in my knowledge: technology vocabulary. So, what did I […]

When to Use the “Personal A” in Spanish

One of the most challenging parts of learning a new language is navigating the aspects that don’t exactly translate. Do you remember learning false friends and learning that different languages don’t always follow the same patterns? Just like other grammatical rules that don’t literally translate, it’s important to learn when to use the “personal a” […]

Shop Talk: Store Vocabulary in Spanish

If you’re planning on traveling or living abroad, one of your top concerns must be getting around town. While cell phones have made it infinitely easier to figure out how to navigate in other countries, it’s still important to know basic terms. Shopping, dining and other fun activities tend to use lots of store vocabulary, […]

Qué or Cuál? Which “what” is which?

Most of the question words, or interrogative pronouns, in Spanish seem to translate exactly the same way in English. For example, in the question, ”Cuándo es el examen?” meaning “When is the test?”, cuándo mean when. In certain cases, the question words qué or cuál can take on similar meanings, like what or which. We’ll […]

Immediate Benefits of Learning Spanish

There really are endless reasons to start learning another language! You can travel to new places, meet new people, and even gain some new perspectives on the world. Tons of research has come out about the benefits of a bilingual brain in both kids and adults. All of these common reasons have one thing in […]

What Are You Doing? Master the Present Progressive

What are you doing right now? Are you reading about Spanish? Are you thinking about studying abroad? There are different ways that we can describe the grammatical present, and one of those ways is the present progressive. In English, it’s when we use “-ing”. If you want to start practicing this common grammatical structure, check […]