5 Common Spanish Phrases Using “Pasar”
Last week we looked at some common uses of the Spanish verb “Pasar”.
- to happen
- relating to a place
- to spend time
- change of state or condition
- to pass something to someone
- adapting to a situation
However, this is only scratching the surface of the many uses scattered throughout the Spanish language. In this week’s blog post we will look at some further uses of this verb that Spanish people use in their every day lives. Continue reading
10 tips to get a top grade in your GCSE Spanish writing exam!
1) Use two tenses in the same sentence:
Impress the examiner by using two different tenses in the same sentence. For example, you could use both the preterite and imperfect tenses:
E.g. Fuimos a San Sebastián que era bonito pero bastante caro.
We went to San Sebastian which was pretty but quite expensive. Continue reading
How to say “Let’s …” in Spanish
If you want to invite someone out in Spanish or suggest going out to do something the easiest way is just to say “Let’s go to the beach”, “Let’s have a coffee”, “Let’s dance” and so on. Once you learn how to say this in Spanish, you will sound a lot more natural and native like rather than a textbook. This blog post explains how to form this phrase, “Let’s …”: Continue reading
How to Talk about Illness in Spanish
Whenever you go on holiday the last thing you want is to fall ill or have an accident and end up at the doctor’s surgery, chemist or even the hospital! However this has sometimes happened to some of the people that I have taught Spanish to, so they were very thankful that we had covered this topic in Spanish – just in case!
Don’t let an illness spoil your holiday. If you learn just a few key phrases and learn to understand the questions that the doctor or pharmacist is likely to ask you, you will have a much more stress-free holiday.
In this blog post we will teach you a few of the key words and phrases to express feeling ill or being in pain. Continue reading
How to Say You are Scared in Spanish
Expresiones en español para expresar el miedo
With Halloween this week, here are some popular Spanish phrases to express fear:
Tener miedo: To be scared. [Literally: To have fear.]
“Ella tiene miedo a las alturas.” She is scared of heights.
Asustarse: To get frightened.
“Me asusté tanto que me temblaban las piernas.” I got so scared that my legs were shaking. Continue reading
How to Use Negative Words in Spanish
Negative words in Spanish do not work in the same way as in English. If you try to translate a negative sentence from Spanish directly into English it will not sound right.
For example, in English we do not use double negatives whereas in Spanish they do.
e.g. No tiene nada que hacer. – Literal translation: He doesn’t have nothing to do.
(This is incorrect English and anyway, this would mean that he does have something to do, so is not negative.)
You will also find that you do not hear plural nouns used in negative sentences. You always use the noun in the singular form.
e.g. No hay problema. – There are no problems.
In this blog post we will teach you everything you need to be able to make up your own negative sentences. Continue reading
When Do You Need to Use Subject Pronouns in Spanish
When should you use “yo”, “tú”, “él”, “ella” in front of verbs in Spanish?
What are Subject Pronouns?
The subject pronouns in Spanish are:
yo – I
tú – you
él / ella – he / she
usted – you (formal)
nosotros / nosotras – we
vosotros / vosotras – you (plural)
ellos / ellas – they
ustedes – you (formal, plural)
For people just starting to learn Spanish they often want to keep using these every time they say a verb, however this is often unnecessary as the ending of the verb tells you the subject of the verb. In this blog post, we will tell you when you should include the subject pronoun and when you shouldn’t. Continue reading
11 Spanish words that cannot be translated into English easily
When learning another language you often come across a word that is difficult to translate since it has no direct equivalent in English. Here are some of those tricky words you may come across in the Spanish language:
1. Sobremesa
It is well-known that the Spanish take a lot longer with their mealtimes than the English, mainly due to the fact that they sit around afterwards just chatting. Sobremesa is the chatting that takes place after a meal.
e.g. Pude seguir con la sobremesa porque no tuve que trabajar por la tarde.
I was able to continue chatting after dinner because I didn’t have to work in the afternoon.
Continue reading
How to write a polite email or letter in perfect Spanish
You never know when you may need to write a formal letter to a company in Spain, whether looking for work or linked with a holiday booking, car hire issue and so forth. It is always good to try to write a few phrases in Spanish to show you are making an effort. It may help you get a job, land a promotion or just help to practise and extend the Spanish you already know.
Here are some key phrases to help you write a polite email or letter: Continue reading
Saber vs Conocer
Both the verbs “saber” and “conocer” in Spanish mean “to know”, however they are not interchangeable and you can only use each one in certain contexts. Here we will look at when you should use each one.
Saber
1) Use saber to express that you know a fact or some information. Continue reading
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