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Archive for March, 2012

by Jake Beus

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March 2nd, 2012

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Day 33 of the Learn Spanish Challenge! Watch the video!

“You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.” -Mahatma Gandhi

Learn Spanish Challenge, Day 33
Communication Section 6, Unit 2

Listen and Repeat
Virtual Instructor
Memory Machine
Listen and Don’t Repeat

Are you new to the Learn Spanish Challenge? Go to Day 1.

Congratulations for making it to Day 33! I think today’s quote is obvious, but sometimes it’s good to be reminded of the obvious. There are some results that you know will come from learning Spanish, and there are some that you don’t know. You don’t know who you might meet, what experiences you might have and what you might do as a result of learning Spanish.

Today Dave guides you through more of the Communication section. You will be working on Unit 2. Dave also invites you to watch some Spanish television. This is a great opportunity to tune your ear to the Spanish language. I get a considerable amount of emails from people who have questions and are trying to directly translate everything from Spanish to English and English to Spanish. I remind them that it’s best to avoid direct translation, especially when dealing with complete sentences and phrases. When you are watching Spanish TV, avoid translating and try to get the gist of what’s being said.

These videos are being posted here on the blog under the category “Learn Spanish Challenge”. You can also watch the videos on our YouTube channel, and I post them daily on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Give yourself a chance to experience a result.

by Dave Clark

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March 1st, 2012

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Question:

Dear Dave, I was speaking with my husband from Central America and said, “Se me olvido” He corrected me and said I should be saying, “Se me olvidan”.  ((I was trying to say I forget the correct way to speak when speaking even if I can understand when reading Spanish). Does the verb olvidar get conjugated into the 1st person or 3rd person in this phrase?  I know if I say, “no me gusta” it is 3rd person because it actually translates as “It is not pleasing to me” so gusta is refering to the 3rd person pronoun “it” but I don’t understand why the word olvidar would be in the 3rd person if I am says “I forget it” or “I forget them”.

Answer:

Buena pregunta.

The phrase, “Me olvidé” means “I forgot”.

The phrase, “Se me olvidó” means “I forgot it” or “It escaped me.” When you put the “se me” next to each other, it can have the connotation of “suddenly” or “unexpectedly” (I forgot it – suddenly.)

Now, if you said, “Se me olvidan” it would mean “I forget about them”. The phrase, “Se me olvidaron” means “I forgot about them” (past tense).

Hopefully that all makes sense and answers your question.

Comment from Jaime

“se me” could be reflexive OR impersonal form OR to my self, like in that case.
“se me olvidó” means (literally) “I forgot it myself”
You need to conjugate it as 3rd person because is “it”, is “something”. Example: “se me olvidó (ir a trabajar)”. “ir a trabajar” is “it, something” is the direct object.
Find me at: spanish teacher uk . tk (all together)

by Jake Beus

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March 1st, 2012

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Day 32 of the Learn Spanish Challenge! Watch the video!

“If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse.” -Anonymous

Learn Spanish Challenge, Day 32
Communication Section 6, Unit 1:

Review Game
Pronunciation Classroom

Unit 2
Virtual Instructor

Are you new to the Learn Spanish Challenge? Begin at Day 1.

Congratulations for making it to Day 32 of the Learn Spanish Challenge! Because you have made it this far, I am going to assume that learning Spanish is important to you. Once something becomes important to you, excuses are no longer relevant. You should be proud of what you’ve done so far.

In today’s video, Dave challenges you to practice speaking with a native Spanish speaker. It doesn’t matter if that happens via video chat on the internet, at a restaurant, or at the supermarket. This is a fun way for you to challenge yourself and truly see how you’re doing so far. Let me know how it goes for you.

These videos are being posted on the blog under the category “Learn Spanish Challenge”. You can also watch the videos on our YouTube channel, and I post them daily on Facebook and Twitter as well.

An excuse doesn’t really get you anywhere.


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