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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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    Un purasangre. 10 expressions that are not so easy to figure out (21)

      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 a solas what? alone? privately acaramelarse, estar acaramelados (MX?) what? to coat with caramel to canoodle apantallar (MX) what? (la pantalla, screen) […] 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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    10 expressions that are not so easy to figure out (23)

      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 deshuesadero (m) (MX) what? hueso = bone. Unboner? Disboner? Bone ripper? vehicle scrapyard, to sell used spare parts. ¿será? will it be? […] 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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    Dora la Exploradora.

    In Spanish, many professions and adjectives end in -dor for males, but in -dora for females. So I think whoever named the character Dora the Explorer in English, knew that it was going to be very appealing in Spanish. The masculine form for this occupation is explorador. Now let’s imagine that Dora has some other […] More

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    The Channel of the Stain

    The English Channel’s name in Spanish El Canal de la Mancha, literarily translates as The Channel of the Stain. This is historically an unfortunate translation mistake from its French name Canal de la Manche, which in French means Channel of the Sleeve, yes, as in a shirt. Probably the channel’s shape resembled a sleeve to the […] More

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    Entender Vs. Comprender

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      Entender and comprender both mean to understand. Although comprender is very popular among students, natives don’t use it as much. The reason comprender is so popular among beginner students and tourists is that comprender is a regular verb so it’s taught before entender, which is a stem-changing verb. Many students quit Spanish before even […] More

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    New Spanish verbs are mostly -ar

      In Spanish, one way to classify verbs is by their endings, -ar, -er, and -ir. In a few years, the -ar verbs will be the big majority. The reason is that almost every new verb that is being incorporated into the language is always -ar. Many of these verbs come from either English or […] More

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    Golazo, azo, azo

    My student Greg Zittel was watching soccer games on TV during a World Cup, and every time a team scored a goal, the announcer shouted golazo, golazo, azo, azo. He wanted to know what azo, azo means. -azo, -aza are attached at the end of some nouns to make them bigger or greater, and sometimes […] More

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    Beto, Pepe y más.

      Here are some examples of diminutives for common Spanish names for men and women. Most of these names are used in Mexico but they may be a little different in other countries. Ale, Alex » Alejandro (Alexander) Beto » Alberto, Roberto Bety » Beatriz Carmela, Carmelita » Carmen Coco » Socorro (women’s) Concha » […] More

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