Siga Recto Por Favor

Tijuana, Mexico City, Oaxaca, it doesn’t matter where I am, my GPS never fails to lead me in circles, taking me everywhere except my destination. It doesn’t happen a lot, but when it does it’s really frustrating. But those experiences led me to a rather interesting epiphany. Absolutely no one teaches you any Spanish related to using a GPS. Today …

Recordar, Recordar de or Recordarse de? The right way to remember in Spanish.

¡Feliz Año Nuevo atrasado! I know what you’re thinking, isn’t it a little late to be wishing someone Happy New Year?  And yes, you’re correct, I’m culpable de los cargos (guilty as charged).  But if you’re behind on your new years greetings like me, you can just use the word atrasado to wish someone a belated happy new year.  And …

How to use Hacer and Estar to talk about the weather in Spanish

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 …

11 Uses of the verb Echar to improve your Conversational Spanish

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 …

Meaning of madre in Mexico

8 Uses of the word Madre in Mexican Spanish

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 …

How to tell someone you forgot what you were going to say

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 …

13 Subjunctive expressions for everyday use

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 …

Beyond Cómo te llamas

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 …

Totopos

How to order chips and salsa like a true Mexican

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 …