Thursday, June 30, 2011

Spanish Lesson- Family Part 2 ( La Familia Parte 2)

Now that you have learned the basic family vocabulary, today we will add a few more members to these family. You already met José, María, Elena and Carlos. Below is a review of their relationship using terms such as husband and wife; children, parents, father, mother, daughter, son, siblings, sister and brother.

José y María son esposos.
José es el esposo de María.
 María es la esposa de José.
José y María tienen dos hijos.
José y María son los padres de Elena y Carlos.
José  es el padre de Elena y Carlos.
María es la madre de Elena y Carlos.

Elena y Carlos son los hijos de José y María.
Elena es la hija de José y María.
Carlos es el hijo de José y María.
Elena y Carlos son hermanos.
Elena es la hermana de Carlos.
Carlos es el hermano de Elena.


Let's get ready to meet the new members to our family!!

Vocabulary
The following words are introduced in this video.

La abuela
grandmother
El abuelo
grandfather
La nieta
granddaughter
El nieto
grandson

   

 In the next post, I'll introduce more members to the family and new relationships between those new members. In the meantime, take your time and learn La Familia in the first post and  this last video. Next, try to make your own family tree practicing the vocabulary provided in the two posts. I am still working on the third portion using other video software. Keep practicing.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Spanish Lesson-Family (La Familia)

Today, you will learn Spanish vocabulary and expressions about families and family life. Also, we will talk about related attitudes and customs of Spanish Speaking people. First, I'll place a conversation between my friend Julie and Carolina when they talked about family. Do not worry! It is in the present tense to make it easier for those of you who are still learning the basics in Spanish grammar. Next, I'll place a sound file reading the conversation so you can follow. Do not worry! I'll pronounce the words slowly so you can follow. Let's begin learning about 'La Familia'

Conversación Acerca  de la Familia en los Países Hispanohablantes

Mi amiga Julie, estudiante norteamericana que está este año en Caracas, Venezuela, habla con Carolina, su compañera de cuarto:
Julie: ....¿Y cuántas personas hay en tu familia?

Carolina: En mi familia hay veintidós personas.

Julie: ¡Veintidós personas! ¿Tus padres tienen veinte hijos?
Carolina: ¡No, que va! Mis padres, mi hermana y yo somos cuatro; con mis abuelos de los dos lados somos ocho; con mis ocho tíos somos dieciséis; y con mis seis primos somos veintidós. Todos somos familia.


Conversation about Family in Spanish Speaking Countries
My friend Julie,  an American student who is this year in Caracas, Venezuela, is talking to Carolina, her roommate:
Julie: .....How many are they in your family?
Carolina: There are twenty-two persons in my family.

Julie: Twenty-two persons! Do you parents have twenty children?
Carolina: No! No way! My parents, sister and I are four; my grandparents from both sides makes eight plus eight uncles and aunts is sixteen and six cousins we are twenty-two. We are all family.


Vocabulary Lists

Spanish
English


La  madre (mamá)
Mother (mom)
El padre (papá)
Father (dad)
La hija
Daughter
El hijo
Son
La hermana
Sister
El hermano
Brother
La esposa (la mujer)
Wife
El esposo (el marido)
Husband
Los padres
Parents
Los hermanos
Brothers, brother and sister, brother and sisters
Los esposos; Marido y Mujer
Husband and Wife
       
 





Sunday, June 5, 2011

25 Top Spanish Words to Help You Increase Your Vocabulary

According to Mark Davies (2006) " A Frequency Dictionary of Spanish. Core Vocabulary for Learners". There are 25 most frequently used Spanish nouns.


SPANISH
ENGLISH
1. (La) vez
time (as in number of times)
2. (El) año
year
3. (El) tiempo
time, weather
4. (El) día
day
5. (La) cosa
thing
6. (El) hombre
man, mankind; husband
7. (La) parte
part, portion
8. (La) vida
life
9. (El) momento
moment, time
10. (La) forma
form, shape, way
11. (La) casa
house
12. (El) mundo
world
13. (La) mujer
woman, wife 
14. (El) caso
case, occasion
15. (El) país
country
16.(El) lugar
place, position
17. (La) persona
person
18. (La)hora
hour, time
19. (El) trabajo
work, job, effort
20. (El) punto
point, dot, period
21. (La) mano
hand
22. (La) manera
manner, way
23. (El) fin
end
24.  (El) tipo
type, kind
25. (La) gente
People

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Just a bit more: Linking words

When you began studying Spanish, you began to speak like Tarzan, right? Nothing but very simple sentences because you are short on vocabulary and grammar. Well, once in a while, I'll post a few words that can help you  form more interesting sentences by linking together two or more words, phrases or short sentences.

y = and
también = also
pero = but
por eso = therefore

Ariana estudia frances. Ella enseña ingles.( Ariana studies French. She teaches English.)
Let's use a linking word:
Ariana estudia francés pero enseña ingles.(Ariana studies French but teaches English.)
Ariana estudia francés y enseña ingles. (Ariana studies French and teaches English.)

Juan Carlos canta bien. Rafael canta mal.(Juan carlos sings well. Rafael sings bad.)
Juan Carlos canta bien pero Rafael canta mal.(Juan carlos sings well, but Rafael sings bad.)

Me duele el pie. No bailo esta noche.(My foot hurts. I wont dance tonight.)
Me duele el pie por eso no bailo esta noche. (My foot hurts,therefore I wont dance tonight.)