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    Desconocer

    A big question mark to illustrate the Spanish verb desconocer.

      Every Spanish language student knows that there are two verbs that mean to know, saber and conocer. This is true in other Romance languages as well. What many students don’t know is that we have a verb with the opposite meaning: desconocer. The main meaning of desconocer is to not know, but it could […] More

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    Amores Perros. Lucha de Gigantes.

      I saw the film Amores Perros together with one of my students. Below is one of the main soundtrack songs. Its name is Lucha de Gigantes, by the Spanish band Nacha Pop. The actual movie scene is too strong to embed on this website. It’s not for kids and it’s not for many people. […] More

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    Astro Rey. 10 expressions that are not so easy to figure out (9)

      Here are 10 common random idioms you may have trouble with if you hear them for the first time:   Expression Approximate literal translation (what you might think you actually heard) Explanation el astro rey the king star the Sun. ( nickname). el primer trimestre the first trimester first quarter. Used extensively in financial […] More

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    ¡Por poco….! Accidents that almost happened

    There is a little difference between accidents that almost happened in English and Spanish, in English we use past tense, in Spanish we use the present tense. (almost, nearly) + accident verb in the past (casi, por poco) + accident verb in the present I almost fell casi me caigo (caer) I almost hit myself […] More

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    Foto movida. 10 expressions that are not so easy to figure out (5)

      Here are 10 common random idioms you may have trouble with if you hear them for the first time: Expression Approximate literal translation (what you might think you actually heard) Explanation ¿qué crees? what do you believe? guess what. cambiar de opinion to change opinion to change one’s mind, also cambiar de parecer. ser […] More

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    Groups of animals

    This is how we call different groups of animals in Spanish: Spanish English Notes bandada (f) flock (birds), skein (group of geese) flock of birds, group of geese (gansos) cardumen (m) school fish (peces) colonia colony pingüinos enjambre (m) swarm bees (abejas), some other flying insects escuela (f) school fish (peces) jauría (f) pack dogs […] More

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    SI VES ALGO, DI ALGO

      Who in New York City doesn’t know what SI VES ALGO, DI ALGO means? It’s all over the place       SI VES ALGO, DI ALGO is the familiar (tú) translation for IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING.   When we just switched from tokens to Metrocards in the mid-1990s, we had these […] More

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    Finito is Italian, not Spanish

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    It’s not uncommon to hear Spanish language students say finito! when they finish doing a quiz or an exercise. The thing is that finito meaning done! is not a Spanish word, it’s the past participle of the Italian verb finire. Finito in Spanish is an adjective that is used mainly in mathematics referring to a […] More

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