Spanish and English differ in that Spanish uses double or even triple negatives and the meaning stays negative. Once any one part of the sentence is in the negative the entire sentence must stay in the negative!
Read more 20 Jul 2017
Grammar Tips ~ The Subjunctive
Nothing in the Spanish language can seem quite as confusing to English speakers as the subjunctive! It’s not surprising, as this is one area of grammar in which English and Spanish are very different. The use of the subjunctive in English is very limited and can often sound arcane or old-fashioned whereas it is a fundamental part of everyday Spanish […]
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What is a language?
A language is a system of communication used by a specific community. Nearly everyone speaks (or signs) at least one language. Speaking only one language, or monolingualism, is common in many parts of the English-speaking world such as North America, the UK and Australia. However, a much larger number of the world’s population live in countries where multiple languages are spoken throughout the day.
Read more 14 Mar 2016
Grammar Tips – What are Idioms?
It seems that nothing frustrates learners of a foreign language more than idioms. Idioms are those phrases that cannot be translated directly from one language to another. They often involve turns of phrase, animals, colors or emotions in strange combinations!
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I have been experimenting in the last year with bringing my language teaching methods to a wider audience. Offering face-to-face lessons in the Vancouver area has been extremely rewarding for me over the last 12 years. That said, as more people than ever wish to expand their horizons I have started offering some new and exciting options for my clients further afield.
Read more 21 Sep 2015
Spanish Culture: Traditional Clothing
The traditional clothing of the Hispanic world varies a lot by country. Some items go back to the pre-conquest indigenous traditions while others are more recent. In this blog, I will discuss two common articles of clothing: the sombrero and poncho as well as one lesser-known item, the huipil a traditional blouse of Central America.
Read more 10 Jun 2015
Biography: Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera (1886-1957) was a famous Mexican artist. He specialized in the painting of murals in both Mexico and in the United States. From a young age, Rivera liked to draw and by the age of 10 he was enrolled in an Academy of Art in Mexico City. By 1907 he was studying in Madrid, Spain.
Read more 11 Mar 2015
Grammar Tips: Spanish Subjunctive Part I
There are few things in the Spanish language more difficult for English speakers to get a grasp on than the subjunctive. One common fallacy is that students believe the subjunctive is a tense when in fact it is a mood. There are two moods in the Spanish-language: the indicative and subjunctive. The indicative mood is used to describe all that is concrete and habitual whereas the subjunctive describes that which is in any way hypothetical.
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Apocopation is a linguistic term given to the practice of shortening specific words when they precede certain other words. This occurs in Spanish with nine fairly common words.
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Nothing is more confusing for the beginner student of a language than words that look similar. Over the years I have seen students struggle with remembering the following verbs simply because they are common and all begin with a the letter ‘v’. In addition, a large number of them also have to do with travel. Below is a complete list of these verbs along with some example sentences.
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