Spanish fun

[Cutler4Life]

I took some years of spanish and at one point was "fluent" back in my highschool/college days. I have some tips and tricks that I hope will make your life a little easier when learning simple.

First of all, never ever ever ever end a sentence with a proposition in Spanish. It happens in English, but it can't happen in Spanish (English is weird).

You don't have to use "a" or "an" (un, or una) when speaking about an occupation. The difference in estoy and soy make spanish simple like that, you just need to know a little bit more vocab.

Also, when introducing yourself, you don't need to include "es". When saying my name is Mike (Me llamo Mike), the es is redundant.

Lastly, don't try and form your sentences how you would in English. Spanish is a much different language in some respects, take these tips for example, they aren't straight English sentence structure.

[A0130]

Thanks for these tips! I'll remember these, especially about the prepositions... I'm so bad at that! Even in English I try not to, but it still plagues me. Thanks again.

[Alfonso]

This is true, I noticed its a common thing for people to think about translating their native language as a basis when trying to speak a new one. I unconsciously do this sometimes, and when I notice it, I stop it right away because its not a good habit when learning a new language. A lot of different languages have unique sentence structures, I guess you can consider it to be a specific language's unique signature.

[madlibber]

I have a tendency to always throw in an extra "es" in there sometimes, especially when introducing myself. These are some great tips that would be very beneficial to learn. Thanks for posting!

[GetFresh]

Thanks for the tips. I remember my teacher always telling us not to say "es" when saying our names. It would drive her crazy for some reason. I'll admit I overuse "es" at times.

[pcgamer]

It's funny that you say English is weird. I used to think that way when I was still learning this language, but not anymore.

[Lola]

It really never occurred to me that other languages have their own sentence structure rules. I guess when you have known your native tongue all your life, you just figure that all other languages are the same as yours, just translated. Thanks for the advice! I think this bit of info, along with your other tips, is going to really help my learning process. Thanks!

[sillylucy]

:clown: Thanks for the tips. I always feel like being redundant just shows everyone that I am struggling with the language. I hope to sound like a local one day.

[LivetoErr]

Also, when introducing yourself, you don't need to include "es". When saying my name is Mike (Me llamo Mike), the es is redundant.

When you say "Me llamo Mike" you're actually saying "I call myself Mike" so, the "es" doesn't make any sense there. Even in English, you wouldn't say "I call myself is Mike". However, if you, are supposed to, omit the "es" when saying "Mi nombre es Mike", I'd find that difficult to remember.

[Linguetronix]

"However, if you, are supposed to, omit the "es" when saying "Mi nombre es Mike", I'd find that difficult to remember."

No, you aren't supposed to Spanish is quite logical I think (except when you get to the advanced stages, but I guess you win some, you lose some).

[SmartPea85]

I think it's important to figure out the literal translation of what you're saying in Spanish. This might help not only figure out what you want to say in the easiest way, but it could also alleviate that extra "es" or "el" in everyday conversation.

The reason you don't say "Me llamo es ____" is because you're not literally saying "My name is" like in English. Me llamo means "I call myself" so you would just say "Me llamo Jane" ("I call myself Jane"), not "I call myself is Jane."

When you start to understand the structure of the new language and how it's different from your original, it makes things a little easier.

[Trellum]

Good tips Mike.  I'd also like to add that learning slang and cus words in Spanish is very important, because most Spanish speakers in Latin America communicate using a lot slang.  If you want to understand them you need to learn that!  Otherwise your Spanish might not be so helpful.

[LeesaJohnson]

Great tips. Really helpful for learners.