A few days ago I was teaching a class about weather vocabulary in my conversational Spanish class and one of my students asked: When do you use estar instead of hacer in Spanish when you talk about the weather? I thought it was a great question and worthy of a blog post, so let’s get to it. The good news …
If you’ve been learning Spanish for a while, there’s a good chance you’ve come across the verb Echar before. Spanish speakers use the verb echar constantly, and if you don’t know what it means, you’re going to be lost in the conversation. So what does the verb Echar mean in Spanish? The answer to that question isn’t as straight-forward as …
There’s a Mexican restaurant close to my house that I’ve driven by on several occasions, but it wasn’t the food that really intrigued me, it was the name of the restaurant (pictured above). Let me explain why. You see, Mexicans don’t really give their restaurants willy-nilly names, they’re typically named after the owner or a family member, the city …
It never fails. You’re in middle of a conversation and you lose your train of thought. Maybe you got distracted, or maybe you’re like me and the mind just isn’t as sharp as it used to be. Regardless of the reason, you’re going to have to explain why you have you that confused look on your face. Let’s get to …
The subjunctive mood in Spanish is going to be a major thorn in your side when it’s time to buckle down and learn it. And if your goal is to be conversational or fluent one day, you’re going to have to learn it. But guess what? Even if you don’t know anything about the subjunctive you can still use it …
Your Spanish teacher taught you how to tell someone your name and ask for theirs. The problem is when it comes to real world conversations, that’s hardly enough. In today’s podcast I’m going to take your Spanish beyond “¿Cómo te llamas?” and teach you what everyone else left out. Here are a few more episodes of the Real Life Spanish …
We all love getting those free chips they give us in Mexican restaurants, and today we’re going to learn what they’re actually called in Spanish, or at least in Mexican Spanish. I’m also going to share something with you that you might find disappointing. How to order nachos/chips Let’s start with what these tasty things are actually called. The terms …
I took a short vacation to Cuba not too long ago, and I have to say it was an awesome experience. The classic cars, the famous boardwalk, Habana Vieja, lots of rum and Cuban cigars. It was a great cultural and linguistic experience. Being able to speak Spanish with the locals is always something I enjoy immensely, it really motivates …
When it comes to shopping in Spanish, “ir de compras” is about as far as your Spanish book is going to take you. Ir de compras means to go shopping, but not for groceries. It’s used to refer to going shopping for clothes, shoes, etc. When it comes to going grocery shopping, you need a different way to say …
Cuba is a beautiful island with a lot of unique cultural aspects, and it’s Spanish is no different. I took a short vacation to La Habana, and today I’m going to share some of the Cuban Spanish I learned while I was there. I doubt you’ll find many expressions more Cuban than this one: ¿Aseré qué bolá? So what exactly …