I bet this has happened to you. You're merrily chatting away in Spanish when suddenly, the listener's reaction tells you that you've either said something silly or worse, put your foot right in it! God knows how many times it's happened to me during my time here in beautiful Barcelona, so if you've ever been left bemused and in red-faced embarrassment because your listener is in fits of laughter or down-right offended, then let me help you.

Here's 5 common "false friends", betrayers that cause all sorts of uncomfortable and embarrassing moments as they confuse, amuse and occasionally offend native speakers. I've had all sorts of trouble with false friends and here's some of my best howlers to help you polish up your Spanish and give you a giggle or two as you go!

One summer evening, I was enjoying a quiet drink in one of my favorite bars when a local and his little dog sit at the table next to mine. Although strangers, we exchange pleasantries, something I love about life here. His little dog was sitting next to him and he's patting it and making a real fuss. It's obvious he loves his dog so ever eager to chat in Spanish I confidently say:

"Tú das mucho afección a tu perro." - You give your dog lots of affection. Well that's what I thought I was saying...not quite!

He gives me a puzzled look and although it took a while for me to understand his explanation as it was all in Spanish, it turns out that I'd actually said:

"You're giving a medical condition to your dog."

I was betrayed by a false friend - affección. The correct word is: Afecto. Affección is actually "complaint" or "condition". Woof! Down boy!

There's some really great places to shop here but my favorite is my local grocery store. It's run by a lovely family who have made me feel very welcome right from my first visit. No matter how busy they are, they always find time to chat with me and and this has really helped me with my Spanish. All of them speak fluent English too! One day we're having a good chin-wag and I'm explaining why I think it's so important for me to speak Spanish, even though I could easily get by just speaking English as many ex-pats do.

"Creo que si se vive en España, se habla en Español. Si se vive en Inglaterra, se habla en Inglés."

"Estoy de acuerdo hombre, es un cuestión de respeto."

"En absoluto."

Oskar starts laughing and says to me in English: "Why are you disagreeing with me? Oh I forgot. You're a guiri!" And he's chuckling away as I stood beside the ripe red tomatoes, blending in with them nicely.

Eventually he explains that "en absoluto" means "absolutely not" and not "absolutely." A better response would've been "claro" or "tienes razón" or even "venga" or "vale". Still amused he says:

"¡Debes de aprender español, bobo!" - You should learn Spanish, idiot!

I'll refrain from sharing my reply...let's just say it involved one finger and a well-known Spanish expletive!

This next one is a classic. My good friend Edu is going steady with a beautiful Mexican chica. I hadn't known him for long and we're talking about relationships and he's telling me how much he loves her. He then says:

"Ella es muy bella, por cierto, pero también, una zorra." - She's very beautiful for sure, but also, a fox.

My jaw dropped and I went bright red! At this point, Señor Guiri here thought the word "zorra" had two meanings: One for a female fox, a vixen. The second is pejorative and means a woman of loose virtue, who, ahem, "enjoys the company of men" a lot!

As Edu is fluent I explained this to him in English and he said between bursts of laughter that I was right but that "zorra" also has another meaning: Cunning, astute, smart.

"Menos mal tío, ¡me diste un susto por un momento!" Oh, in such situations you aren't "embrazada" you're "avergonzada". The first means "pregnant" the second "embarrassed". I expect you already know this false friend but it's here as a reminder for you anyway.

Here's another cracker for you! I'd been here about 3 months and I'm talking to someone who is now a good friend of mine, Kiki, a proud Catalan. He doesn't speak a word of English so communicating with him back then was quite difficult for me. One of the problems here - and it isn't THAT much of a problem - is being pestered by beggars on the streets. One particular street near our local bar is notorious for them. We're talking about this one night and Kiki says:

"Mi esposa está a las narices con los mendigos. Siempre ellos la molestan en esa calle." - My wife is up to here with the beggars, they're always bothering her on that street.

Except brain of Barcelona here, having not heard the verb "molestar" up to this point, puts two and two together, makes seven, and asks:

"¿Ellos la tocan sexualmente?" - They touch her sexually? Thinking that los mendigos have been molesting her. Well you would think this wouldn't you?

But Kiki is looking at me like I've gone mad and by the look on his face I know I've said something iffy. Staring right into my eyes he says menacingly:

"¿Qué dices?"

Luckily, Wanda, the bar owner who is fluent in Spanish, Portugese and English has heard our conversation and she explains the problem to us. To my horror, it turns out that molestar doesn't mean "to molest" it means "to bother". Doh! This is now a standing joke with us. I'll go in the bar and he'll say:

"¿Te han tocado los mendigos recientemente?" - Have the beggars "touched" you recently? And I'll say:

"No porque ¡ellos están demasiado ocupados molestando tu esposa!" - No because they're too busy bothering your wife! You can be sure I won't use tocar in my reply, Kiki is an amateur boxer!

Finally, a delightful "moment" for yours truly. About 6 months ago, I met a gorgeous Spanish chica, Sylvia, who I fancied like crazy! I'm trying my best to impress her by chatting her up in Spanish. I'm doing fine until she asks me what I like to do, you know, the usual stuff. I confidently reply:

"Toco la guitarra, me encanta cocinar y me gusta relajarme con compañía buena y conversación interesante. Soy sólo un tipo ordinario guapa." - I play the guitar, I love to cook and I like to relax with good company and interesting conversation. I'm just an ordinary guy love.

She starts laughing, I'm looking like I've been asked to explain Quantum Physics and this just adds to her amusement! Eventually she explains:

"What kind of girl do you think I am, I would never go out with a stupid thug!"

"¿Qué?"

"Mira hombre, ordinario doesn't mean you're "ordinary" it means you're a lout, a slob and a simpleton. ¡Qué burro!"

Never did get anywhere with her for some strange reason, can't think what. Oh and if you want to say you're just an ordinary guy or girl just use "normal" - "Soy un(a) tipo normal". Why didn't I think of that?

Venga, watch out for all of these betrayers, learn from my experiences and you''ll avoid being told you're a dumb donkey by someone you had the hots for!

Hasta pronto,

Peter.

Globalization has made Spanish a preferred foreign language and many people are keen to learn it. The reason can be anything - for communicating when you are in Spanish speaking countries, for education or simply to have command over a foreign language. This article cites some important reasons for learning Spanish.

Why Learn Spanish

   *It is the 4th most spoken common language spoken in the world with almost 400 million people speaking Spanish worldwide. If you go by geographic locations, the countries where this language is spoken include Spain, U.S., Argentina, the Philippines, Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, Columbia, Panama, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic. If, you know Spanish, it is easy to communicate with the people of all these countries.
   *Learning Spanish would make your travels to the Spanish speaking countries more pleasurable. If you do business and have to travel to different countries or you enjoy traveling then a command over this amazing language would help you go far. When you travel to the Spanish speaking countries, knowing the native language would simplify many basic tasks like commuting in a taxi, understanding the menu at the restaurant or getting important travel information. Learning Spanish would not only make your travel more enjoyable but you would also understand and appreciate the places in a better manner.
   *In a highly competitive corporate world out there. A person with good command over a second language has great employment potential. Not only that, due to the vast reach of the businesses there are some jobs that makes it mandatory to have basic proficiency in some foreign language. Leaning Spanish can make you stand out in the crowd of monolinguals and help you earn a better salary than your colleagues.
   *If you are a student and want to be a part of your school, college or university exchange program, you require basic proficiency in the Spanish language. Exchange programs can last from one week to one year. By learning Spanish you would be able to benefit from your stay in a Spanish speaking country. In an exchange program, you would not only get to practice your language skills regularly but also acquire more credits while studying abroad.
   *If you are into reading about different cultures then the command over Spanish can open up the doors to some of the highest cultures in art, history and science. You would be able to understand the day to day culture in those countries and would easily understand the authentic language by reading newspapers and magazines.
   *If you know Spanish, you would be able to enjoy their culture of music, art and literature. You would be able to watch Spanish movies in their original versions including some Oscar winning ones like 'All about My Mother' and 'The Sea Inside'. You would be able to enjoy the movie in the same way as you would have enjoyed an English movie - without running through the film's subtitles.

Those were the reasons why you should learn Spanish. Buy some great books and tutorials and start learning Spanish from today!

 
Learning Spanish would make your travels to the Spanish speaking countries more pleasurable. If you do business and have to travel to different countries or you enjoy traveling then a command over this amazing language would help you go far.

Spanish is a beautiful language to both speak and listen to and is considered by many to be one of the easier languages to learn. If you are considering learning this wonderful language then these four methods, which are the most commonly used methods for doing so, are worth considering.

Immersion Courses

Probably the method that offers the quickest results, immersion courses are becoming increasingly popular with many people who want to learn Spanish. They are successful because they completely immerse the student into Spanish, language and culture, on a daily basis, often not permitting the use of English at all! Unfortunately, immersion courses come at a price...time away and cost.

It is generally the case that theses types of courses are located in Spanish speaking countries (although not always the case) and will take a few weeks to complete they are also very expensive as you not only pay for the course but for food and accommodation  in many cases.

Benefits:
Learn Spanish Quickly
Learn about Spanish culture and interact with the local Spanish community.

Negatives:
Requires time away from home
Very Expensive for most people

Traditional Classroom courses

The second method that many people use to learn to speak Spanish has been used for a long time and was a favorite of many and that is the traditional classroom course, taken at a local University or Community College. Pretty much all colleges provide Spanish classes so you shouldn't need to travel too far. Whilst learning in a classroom environment may provide great interaction and are a great way to learn Spanish for some people, there are definitly a few drawbacks with using this method.

The main issue with this traditional method of study is that the courses are very rigid, well at least the timetables are! There is no flexibility at all, if a clas is scheduled for a Friday night at 7pm and you can't make it till 8pm...tough you miss the lesson, not to mention the money you will have already paid for the course. Oh..and a classroom class is not particularly cheap either and is often beyond that which many can afford to pay.

Also...if you want, or need, to learn Spanish quickly a classroom course is probably the slowest method of learning because most courses will run alongside school semesters, providing one, maybe two, lessons a week, it will probably take you a while before you start to see any worthwhile results

Benefits:
Generally local to where you live
Good social interactivity

Negatives:
Takes a long time to see results
Expensive for most people
No flexibility

Self Study Books

There are a massive number of self study books available to help teach the Spanish language student learn to speak Spanish. These books are a flexible, affordable way to learn Spanish. With a self study book you are able to take it with you and study wherever you want, but there are some problems with this method of learning Spanish also.

As the self teach book is only a book it is impossible for the student to understand and learn how words in Spanish are pronounced and also there is a motivational issue; languages are generally more interesting when you can hear them being spoken rather than just reading the language.

Benefits:
Very Affordable
Flexible Method of Learning Spanish

Negatives:
No Interaction
No Motivation to Complete course due to...
No Audio Reference for Learning Pronunciation and Gaining Conversational Skills

Online Spanish Courses

That brings us to our final method of learning Spanish the learn Spanish software program or, online course. This method of learning Spanish has increased in popularity immensely recently, simply because it ticks so many of the boxes. Flexibility is, for many people, the number one priority when choosing how to learn Spanish and learning with the use of an online course allows individuals to study when they want no matter what time of day or night. The only downside of this versatility is that it isn't always possible to have your home computer and internet connection with you.

When compared to a self study book, online courses are normally a little more expensive but they do provide the interaction and audio that books do not, which does counter the extra cost. There are varying degrees of cost and quality available but some of the most popular courses are very affordable and offer exceptional quality comparable to courses that cost a great deal more.

Due to the flexibility of these courses and the fact that more focus is placed upon learning conversational Spanish they make it possible to learn Spanish very quickly if you choose or at a slower pace if you are in no rush. In other words, you control how quickly you learn.

Support is another key element offered by many of these courses and is possible because of the freedom an online interface provides; if you have a specific problem you are able to speak to other users on course forums or similar portals and very quickly receive answers or a resolution.

Benefits:
Affordable for the vast majority of people
Extremely Flexible
Learn Spanish Quickly or Slowly, you set the pace.
Interactive learning, often including online games and quizes
Support network
Quality learning material
Much more enjoyable than traditional methods of self study

Negatives:
Not as portable or (generally) as cheap as a self study book

"Namaskar! Lekh ke prarambh mein lekhak ka abhivaadan sweekar karein". If all of this seems Greek to you, then may I take the opportunity of saying that it's Hindi. And all those big, heavy words mean that 'yours truly' sends a warm a€œhelloa€ to you.

I won't blame you if you were not able to comprehend that, for it was a deliberate attempt to start off with Shudh Hindi (the scholarly one, you know!). As every other language, Hindi too has its many versions where language often gets transformed into dialects.

The colloquial Hindi language is not difficult to learn, though the first look of those curves and sticks in the Devnagri script are enough to give you a good run for your money. But once you stick around; A, AAa€¦a€¦, are as easy as A, B, C (literally!).

Hindi and Urdu draw quite a number of similarities. But other languages like English, French etc also draw analogies with Hindi. 'Mother' in English is 'Mere' in French, 'Madre' in Spanish and 'Ma' or 'Mata' in Hindi.

If you have always been scared of grammar, rest assured you can tame it. The rules are surely going to help you in broader sense. The easiest and fastest way to learn is to have Hindi speaking people around.

But some special tips for beginners won't hurt. Fill in the blank -

a€œ-------- jata huna€

It's a no-brainer. Whenever you find 'hun' at the end of the sentence, 'Main' will accompany it. Don't even think twice before writing that.

Hindi is a language to be befriended and whether it's for better grades, getting access to rich texts or just to enjoy Hindi Cinema, you never regret this decision.

The Spanish verb querer is a commonly used verb that is highly irregular, and as such will require special attention from the student. Querer is more commonly used as the Spanish equivalent to the English verb, to want but is also used as an alternative to amar, meaning, to love.

Querer is a stem changing verb which is a verb that is often referred to as a regular irregular verb because the verb endings are consistent to those of a regular verb, with the exception of the preterite. In the case of querer the e in the stem changes to ie when conjugated in some tenses and in other tenses the single r will change to a double rr. However, the most drastic change is when the verb is used in the past tenses, the stem quer- changing to quis- for no apparent reason!

I will start by highlighting the Present tense. The verb endings, as mentioned, follow the pattern of a regular -er verb, but the stem changes subtly. This specific change to the stem also occurs in the Subjunctive Present tense and the Imperative.

Present Tense Conjugation

• yo quiero - I want

• tAº quieres - you want

• usted/A©l/ella quiere - you, he or she wants

• nosotros/as queremos - we want

• vosotros/as querA©is - you (all) want

• ustedes/ellos/ellas quieren - you (all), they want

It is worth noting that the stem in the first and second person plural do not change, and this is also the case for the other tenses affected by this irregularity.

The preterite is a tense that is very often irregular for many verbs and querer is no exception, with the stem changing drastically as highlighted here and also the regular -er endings for yo and A©l/usted are replaced by -e and -o respectively:

Preterite Conjugation

• yo quise - I wanted

• tAº quisiste - you wanted

• usted/A©l/ella quiso - you, he or she wanted

• nosotros/as quisimos - we wanted

• vosotros/as quisisteis - you (all) wanted

• ustedes/ellos/ellas quisieron - you (all), they wanted

Unlike the present tense the irregularity covers all persons. This specific irregularity is also experienced in the conjugations of the Subjunctive Imperfect and Future tenses and again applies to every form.

The final irregularity is encountered when using querer is when the -r changes to -rr and this happens when the verb is used in the Future and Conditional Tenses, again the irregularity covers all formations in both tenses.

Future Tense Conjugation

• yo querrA© - I will want

• tAº querrA¡s - you will want

• usted/A©l/ella querrA¡ - you, he or she will want

• nosotros/as querremos - we will want

• vosotros/as querrA©is - you (all) will want

• ustedes/ellos/ellas querrA¡n - you (all), they will want

So, as you can see, querer will take some getting to know but with the use of a Spanish verb conjugator for verb training there is no reason why Querer cannot be learned quickly and used confidently.

There are a few tips you can follow if you are planning on teaching your child to speak and learn the Spanish language. The key if to be persistent when teaching so they get used to having this information presented to them

Teaching a child is better done when they are at a young age. Even teaching them as early as two years old. Children at this age have the ability to retain a lot more information than we give them credit for. Just as they learn English, a child at this age can pick up on other language as well.

Simple is better. Don't start out a lesson plan with difficult words or phrases. Ease into the teaching them with small words such as cat or color words like red. If they have already learned these words in English, it will be easier for them to translate it into Spanish. Graphical flashcards are a great way to enforce this learning technique. A picture of a cat, with the Spanish word on the back will help them to correlate the picture with the word.

Speaking the language as part of you everyday routine will help ingrain the language into your child's brain. If they hear you referring to something in Spanish, they will pick up on that and learn the word you are referring to in turn.

Purchase learning tools or go online to the various websites that cater to young children learning a language. The more interactive the site, the better. If the site engages the child in games and activities while teaching the language they will be more likely to stay interested and want to learn more.

Label the items around your house that you child uses on a daily basis with the Spanish word for the item. Using post-it notes, write the Spanish word and place it on or near every day items like the refrigerator, doors, cabinets, etc.

The more a child is exposed to the language on a day to day basis, the more they will be able to quickly pick up the language but will also grasp the meaning behind the words. Take is slow and then be amazed at how quickly they learn Spanish.

I have tried several methods to learn Spanish, I've taken classes, memorized vocabulary, tried diffrent programs, immersed myself and spoken with many spanish people via Skype.

I don't think that any way is a bad way to learn spanish as long as you put effort into it, but some ways have worked better for me.
I learn things better when I enjoy the stuff Im doing, so I listen very much to Spanish music and watch Spanish shows/movies. There are so many types of music and movies that it shouldn't be a problem to find something that you enjoy.
If you want fast results immerse yourself with spanish, try not to watch english movies and dont listen to english music. Try to fully surround yourself with spanish stuff. Find people to talk with on internet and start chatting with them. Many people think that study is boring and you have to take the hard and boring way to achieve something. They are so wrong! studying spanish must not be boring. Infact I believe that if you are bored you will learn much less than if you would be happy. In the beginning you may think that you are not learning anything by listening to music and watching movies, but believe me, you are. You will realize that after a while. It will come like a shock to you. You will be watching something and just realize that you are understandning what is going on without reading the subs!

You should check out my blog to find more information

It is common knowledge that in today's world it is very beneficial to learn a second language. In addition to being able to meet more people, and getting to experience more of the world's diverse cultures, being bilingual opens the door wider to opportunity when it knocks, more so than it would for someone who is monolingual. In the United States, Spanish is the second most spoken language after English. Being able to speak and understand Spanish in the USA welcomes more job opportunities and higher earnings.

There are many ways to go about learning Spanish. I myself learned Spanish in high school and supplemented my education by listening to Spanish language music and using Spanish language chat sites. Other adults have learned by programs such as Rosetta Stone, taking night classes, or by hiring tutors.

Being an adult who has learned Spanish, I know how difficult it can be. Studies have proven that is much easier for children to learn not only a second language, but also numerous languages at once. For that reason, I am now in the process of teaching my 1-year old son Spanish.

There are many tools available for children including toys, books, and educational games. In my home we use all of the above. My son has maracas that count and name the colors of the rainbow and a drum that sings the alphabet in both Spanish and English. We also have a collection of Disney board books that tell entertaining and educational stories in both languages that we read to him every day.

Another tool that we use which is a very beneficial resource for parents trying to help their children learn Spanish is television. There are many bilingual television shows available on public, cable, and satellite television. Some popular examples of such shows include Nickelodeon's Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go, PBS's Dragon Tales and Maya and Miguel, and Disney's Handy Manny.

There is no doubt that the aforementioned shows are all positive educational programs. They are English Language children's programs that introduce Hispanic cultures and Spanish vocabulary. However, instead of just teaching my son vocabulary words, I would like that he also learn conversational skills. In order to do so, I also expose him to 100% Spanish language programming.

I highly recommend having English speaking children learning Spanish to actually watch the Spanish Language versions of Dora the Explorer or Go Diego, Go on Univision rather than or along with the English versions. It opens their minds to more vocabulary and allows them to take on a higher level of conversation.

Univision has a block of 100% Spanish language programming for children on Saturday mornings called Planeta U. Planeta U shows include both Dora and Diego as well as Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks or as they call it Jakers! Las Aventuras de Piggley Winks, and an Inspector Gadget show about traveling called Los Viajes del de Inspector Gadget.

Although it's the most popular, Univision is not the only Spanish Language Network in the United Sates. There are many other networks, which show Spanish language children's programming. The two favorites in my house are V-me and Cbeebies. V-me has over twenty quality program options available in Spanish for children. It is the home of the Mexican version of Sesame Street Plaza Sesamo, and host to other shows dubbed from English to Spanish such as Lazy Town, Pororo, and 7 pets. There is a new show coming out on V-me that I am looking forward too called Thalia and Eebee Adventures. The host of the show Thalia is a very famous Mexican pop singer.

Before going further lets just get our terms straight. The following are from the Webster's Collegiate Dictionary:

Conformation: The proportional shape or contour of an animal.

Breed: A group of animals related by descent from common ancestors and visibly similar in most characteristics.

To often both PHD's and horse lovers do not use the above words correctly when describing a group of horses. This is especially true of the Spanish Mustang of North America. Most breeders talk of the conformation of the horse as showing breed but it is the breed traits of the horse that defines it breed; that is the unusual characteristics which clearly show the similarity of a group of horses falling into that breed. Conformation outlines the contour or shape of the horses that shows wether a horse is sound or not and can be used to judge many different breeds of horses for the same conformation traits.

As a Spanish Mustang owner I know every time I tell someone about my horses they saya€..I love those mustangs I saw on the Discovery Channela€ , they think those are my horses because I used the word mustang. But, Mustang is not a breed type it is a corruption of the Spanish word mesteno which means lost or unowned. So what is a Spanish Mustang?

The Spanish horse was brought to America by Columbus, to the Carribean Islands, and by the Conquistadors to Mexico, Southern North America and South America. These were the first horses brought to America. As they populated the Southwest and Mexico some were lost or stolen by the Indians and became unowned. The Americas, especially the open plains of the west were the perfect breeding ground for the horse and they prospered. Their characteristics were small stature (not more than 13.2-14.2 hands high), smooth muscling, low set tail, convex face (from poll of the head to the tip of their nose), deep base of the neck, sparse hair on the fetlocks, Chestnuts are small and flat and smooth and sometimes on the hindlegs they are not present. When standing the front legs are slightly under the horse as if they are leaning forward, and the hindlegs will be up under the horse a little; that way the horse is ready to move and go at an instant. Higher at the withers than at the hindquarters. Spanish Mustangs are agile and surefooted and smooth gaited. Their action is fairly high. These characteristics defined their breed as Spanish and were recognizable by any knowledgeable horse man of the period. For the entire time they ruled the west the were not tainted by any other breed of horses. They were the horse of the Indian, cowboy, conquistador and traveler of the west.

In the 1870's there was estimated to be around two million Spanish Mustangs in the West. As America moved into the late 1800's and the cattleman and the farmer began fencing the West the Spanish Mustangs began being slaughtered, like the buffalo, to stop their competition for grass. J. Frank Dobie in his book a€œThe Mustangsa€, written in 1934 says a€œWell, the wild ones - the coyote duns, the blues, the blue roans, the snip-nosed pintos, the flea-bitten greys and the black-skinned whites, the shining blacks and the rusty browns, the red roans, the tossed sorrels and the stockinged bays, the splotched appaloosas and the cream colored palaminos, and all the others in shadings and colors as various as the hues that show and fade on the clouds at sunset - they are all gone now, gone as completely as the grass they vivified.a€

Dobie did not know about Gilbert Jones, Bob Brislawn, Monty Holbrook who also lived in the late 1800's. These men saw the Spanish Mustangs and realized that they were a dying breed. They started to save them and breed them. It is from this group of horses that the Spanish Mustangs of today have survived.

The wild Mustangs of today are not the survivors from the Spanish Mustang herds but mostly mixed breeds of horses that have been lost by ranchers through the 1900's and horses abandon by horse owners who no longer could care for their horses. Since the West is the land of the horse they have prospered and make up the herds of feral horses that populate the BLM lands and exist at other sanctuaries. You will not see all the colors that were described above in the quote from J. Frank Dobie and you will not find all the breed characteristics mentioned above that define a Spanish Mustang breed type. There are only a little more than 1,800 Spanish Mustangs in the United States presently, it is this breed of horses that needs to be saved and preserved as part of our American Western History.

I know there are many people who want to disagree with this but I have found that they do not use facts or historical records to back up their claim. The Spanish Conquistadors keep excellent records during their period of conquest. Their is no disputing which horses were in Western North America during the 1500's to the 1800's. There are many documented accounts of the Mustangers and the Spanish Horses they destroyed. The drawing of Will James and the paintings of Remington to name a few show accurate visual documentation of the breed type. I myself have found photos of the Northern Plains Indian (now some 200 years ago) with horses that look identical to my own.

Copyright (c) 2009 Peter Christian

If you're like me, you'll find verb drills a real drag and although they're a must-do exercise, they are a bit of a bore! And many common verb uses aren't taught in formal courses and these are the streetwise phrases that will add authenticity to your Spanish. Here's 5 cool and practical verbs you can blend in to your vocab that'll make a fabulous impression wherever you travel in the Hispanic world!

First up we have the verb Andar - to walk. This is the straight-forward usage, as in: Ando a las tiendas - I'm walking to the shops. But what if you were asked:

¿Por dónde andas?

This is a cool way of asking: "Where are you" and not "to where are you walking?". Andar has many more uses like this but one I like refers to how things are working:

"Mi reloj no anda bien" - My watch isn't working well."

"¿Qué tal anda tu moto nuevo?" - "How's your new motorcycle going?"

Dejar, "to leave" provides us with a pair of phrases that are really useful to have when you're being pestered by all manner of sales people and con-artists on the streets of major cities like my home city Barcelona. In summer, there's hardly a week goes by without me saying these phrases:

Déjame en paz - Leave me alone

Déjalo - Leave it (You can also use this when you want to drop a subject from conversation.)

Here's a cool little verb you will rarely discover in formal courses. Lograr means "to manage" and it is a handy little verb to acquire. A couple of examples for you:

"Si yo logro salir de trabajo antes de las cinco, llegaré a tu casa a las seis"

"If I manage to leave work before 5 I'll be at your house for six o' clock."

"Logré fijar la televisor así que podremos mirar el fútbol esta noche."

"I managed to fix the TV so will we be able to watch the football tonight."

I'm sure your familiar with the common usage of Parecer, to seem, e.g. me parece bien - it's good with me. But the reflexive form, paracerse is another cool verb to master and it means "to look like." So, Me parezco a mi padre - I look like my father. Pero, ¡cuidado! If you want to say "it looks like" then you need to use parecer que, like this: "Parece que va a ser un día calorazo" - it looks like it's going to be a very hot day or "Parece que va a llover." - it looks like it's going to rain.

Finally, a favourite cool verb of mine that's sure to win you the admiration of native speakers. Soler doesn't really have an English equivalent and it's used to describe your regular habits and actions. Examples will work the best here:

Suelo ir el bar saliendo del trabajo - I normally go to the bar after work

Suele cenar a las ocho cada noche - He normally has dinner at 8 'o' clock every night every night.

El autobús suele llegar a las tres - The bus usually arrives at 3 'o' clock.

It's a great little verb and fun to play around with and form your own phrases that reflect your daily routines.

That's five cool, useful verbs that'll add an authentic flourish to your Spanish. Play around with them to get them nicely dialled-in and enjoy the looks of admiration from native speakers as you sprinkle them into your conversations!

Hasta pronto,

Peter.