Quote:
Originally Posted by Depilego
Hi,
I don't know Spanish so I can't read any of your questions. I'm trying to learn it too. The other people here are really knowledgeable so I think you came to the right place.
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It looks like I did! Don't worry,I can hardly speak Spanish either, I took Spanish 1 and 2 in high school and retained what I could over the years. I've always wanted to speak it better, and now I have a Latina girlfriend
Quote:
Originally Posted by wrholt
Welcome to the forums! !Bienvenido a los foros!
I'll mark what I notice is wrong (and maybe give you a hint about why it's wrong). I suggest you try to fix what you can, and ask questions about what you can't figure out yet.
As for your questions:
1. Some forum threads discuss the specific issues you mention:
- preterit vs imperfect
- when to use subject pronouns
- ser vs estar
2. You aren't good enough (yet) to be mistaken as a native speaker. But given that the last time you had classes was around 7 years ago and you've only been practicing in your head since then, you're doing well enough, and I think you'd survive just fine in Mexico or Puerto Rico, although you can expect to need a few weeks to get your listening skills up to speed.
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Thank you for your corrections, as well as the reasons behind them - that's the whole reason I'm here! I know I wouldn't be mistaken for a native speaker lol no way, especially speaking! As for getting my listening skills up to speed, yes that is what I'm working on. Spanish is very fast to my ears, but I've been watching Netflix shows with Spanish audio ad spanish subtitles, following along best I can, identifying words and sounds, and googling random phrases for their translation. also listening to "SpanPod101" podcast at work. As you can see, I'm trying to really immerse myself here. ¡Quiero hablar con su familia!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty
¡Bienvenido a los foros, Aaron!
I see that wrholt responded before I got finished. I agree with most of what he marked and stated, but perhaps two opinions won't hurt.
(
- estoy = 'I am'; quiero = 'I want'. You can't have two conjugated verbs in a clause.
- There's no need to move 'más' to another place.
- The noun 'novia' is feminine. The adjective you used must have a matching ending, gender-wise.
- You should use a conjugated form of 'ser' with 'bueno', in this case.
- You should append the direct object pronoun for 'it' on the infinitive
- You've used the wrong preposition. It should be 'for' (purpose), instead of 'to'.
)
(
- It's a good idea to append a direct object pronoun on the gerundio (hablando) and each infinitive (once you correct 'escribo' to the infinitive form (because two conjugated verbs can't exist in a clause), and 'leer'.
- 'OK' is not Spanish. Use 'well', or 'well enough', instead.
- Use the imperative form of 'corregir', instead of the adjective 'correcto'.
)(
- The inverted exclamation mark is just as important as the inverted question mark, and both are employed immediately prior to the exclamatory word or the interrogative, as in the case of 'cómo'.
- The word 'así' means 'thus', or 'like this/so'. To change or resume a topic, use 'entonces'.
)
In the present indicative tense, the verb ending conveys the first- and second-person with no need for clarification. In the third person, you must clarify the subject pronoun: 'él', 'ella' or 'usted'
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Thank you very much for those pointers. Getting the masculine/feminine agreement is a bit tricky to me. For example, when I said "uno razón más es porque quiero entender español mejor", you both corrected my "uno" because of agreement (or lack thereof). So, I don't see any feminine words in that sentence, so how would I have known to make it una? My girlfriend corrected me on that once too, when I said "lo mismo" and it should've been "la misma".
One thing I'm going to have to brush up on is these grammatical terms and phrases. The phrase "present indicative" or "infinitive", "direct object pronoun" have almost no meaning in my brain anymore.