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Español Paragraph práctica

 

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  #1  
Old August 19, 2010, 07:31 PM
Ayer Ayer is offline
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Español Paragraph práctica

Hola! Yo empecé aprendo Español hace dos mes en la escuela. Yo voy la universidad. Yo tratar estudioso Español tres hora todos los días para que yo saco mejor rápido. ¿Cosa algún yo debo hacer además construir mí vocabulario? Muchas veces yo estudioso la palabras solo para que yo construir mí voabulario rápido. Yo quiero empiezo leo el periódico Español la próxima semana. Por favor correcto algún la equivocaciónes yo hisciste. Gracias!

What I wanted to say:
Hello I started learning Spanish a few months ago in school.I go to college. I try to study Spanish 3 hours everyday so I get better fast. Is there anything else I should do besides build vocabulary? Most of the time I study words to build my vocabulary fast. I want to focus on rules later. In a few weeks I want to start reading Spanish newspapers. Please correct any mistakes I made! Thanks

I know my grammar is probably terrible in Spanish, but I'm just trying to dedicate 3 hours a day for 4 weeks to learning Spanish vocabulary. To help me memorize the words I learn I just type them in the order they appear in English when writing sentences. I conjugate where I can, and I know in Spanish things about reflexive verbs, and adjective after the noun, but I don't want to get bogged down in details just yet I figure if I can recognize a lot of words then reading/watching Spanish things will be easier and less boring, and from there I can learn grammar. Good idea or no? Thanks again!
-Ayer
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  #2  
Old August 19, 2010, 08:31 PM
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You can learn vocabulary, but having the building blocks alone doesn't help you build the building. You need to learn how the building blocks work together.

Looking up a word in a dictionary, and memorizing the first word listed really is not a good way to learn the vocabulary.
Reading a book written in Spanish and watching movies in Spanish will get you where you want to go much more quickly. You'll then be looking up words in their syntactic structures (already conjugated, parts of speech in the correct order). You'll be able to ask questions here about grammar, but it's important to have something grammatically correct to begin with. Trying to translate word-for-word will fail. You need to translate phrase by phrase.

For example:
to try to study = tratar de estudiar
I try to study = trato de estudiar

to start to learn Spanish = empezar a aprender español
I started to learn Spanish = empecé a aprender español

However,
I started to learn Spanish x months ago = hace x meses que estudio español

You can see that you need to learn how phrases fit together, not just the solitary words.

Building vocabulary is very important, don't get me wrong. But, learning how those blocks can be used is essential to communication.

Welcome to the forums, by the way!
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  #3  
Old August 19, 2010, 09:00 PM
Ayer Ayer is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty View Post
You can learn vocabulary, but having the building blocks alone doesn't help you build the building. You need to learn how the building blocks work together.

Looking up a word in a dictionary, and memorizing the first word listed really is not a good way to learn the vocabulary.
Reading a book written in Spanish and watching movies in Spanish will get you where you want to go much more quickly. You'll then be looking up words in their syntactic structures (already conjugated, parts of speech in the correct order). You'll be able to ask questions here about grammar, but it's important to have something grammatically correct to begin with. Trying to translate word-for-word will fail. You need to translate phrase by phrase.

For example:
to try to study = tratar de estudiar
I try to study = trato de estudiar

to start to learn Spanish = empezar a aprender español
I started to learn Spanish = empecé a aprender español

However,
I started to learn Spanish x months ago = hace x meses que estudio español

You can see that you need to learn how phrases fit together, not just the solitary words.

Building vocabulary is very important, don't get me wrong. But, learning how those blocks can be used is essential to communication.

Welcome to the forums, by the way!
Thanks a lot for the feedback I'm not going word by word through a dictionary, that would be so boring I would kill myself lol. I'm going back through the book I used in Spanish I to help me get the basics of grammar, and I read the short stories and paragraph examples they have in the book. I also have flash cards of words that were listed at the end of the chapter, and just common Spanish words.

I definitely understand how just knowing words is a problem when it comes to mastering a language. I'm just trying to build up a knowledge of around 1000 common words so then I can read basic things without looking up every word I see. I did this with German and it made it easier to read and hear it. My German grammar is a different story lol I do review Spanish grammar, just not as much right now, and I don't really think about the grammar when I write BUT I shall put more time into learning grammar.

Thanks for your insightful feedback, I shall take heed. Did my paragraph make any sense at all?
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  #4  
Old August 19, 2010, 09:29 PM
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There are plenty of errors in your paragraph. A person who didn't know English would have a difficult time understanding what you wrote. Don't dismay, though. All the pieces will fit providing you take the time and the effort.

You've tried hard to use accents correctly, but the very first mistake you made was before the first word. There's an 'Accents' pull-down menu just above the input box for typing text. All the special characters you need to write in Spanish can be found in that menu, including the upside-down exclamation point. By the way, mi doesn't have an accent when it means 'my'. It does when it means 'me', used as an object to a preposition.

"Is there anything else ..." (Hay algo más ...)
¿Qué más debo hacer en vez de memorizar vocabulario?
Además de aumentar el vocabulario, ¿hay algo más que debo hacer?

"Please correct any mistakes I made."
Por favor, corrige cualquier error que haya cometido.
Corrige los errores, por favor. Easier to say.

Last edited by Rusty; August 19, 2010 at 09:32 PM.
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  #5  
Old August 20, 2010, 08:05 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ayer View Post
Hola! Yo empecé aprendo Español hace dos mes en la escuela. Yo voy la universidad. Yo tratar estudioso Español tres hora todos los días para que yo saco mejor rápido. ¿Cosa algún yo debo hacer además construir mí vocabulario? Muchas veces yo estudioso la palabras solo para que yo construir mí voabulario rápido. Yo quiero empiezo leo el periódico Español la próxima semana. Por favor correcto algún la equivocaciónes yo hisciste. Gracias!

What I wanted to say:
Hello I started learning Spanish a few months ago in school.I go to college. I try to study Spanish 3 hours everyday so I get better fast. Is there anything else I should do besides build vocabulary? Most of the time I study words to build my vocabulary fast. I want to focus on rules later. In a few weeks I want to start reading Spanish newspapers. Please correct any mistakes I made! Thanks

I know my grammar is probably terrible in Spanish, but I'm just trying to dedicate 3 hours a day for 4 weeks to learning Spanish vocabulary. To help me memorize the words I learn I just type them in the order they appear in English when writing sentences. I conjugate where I can, and I know in Spanish things about reflexive verbs, and adjective after the noun, but I don't want to get bogged down in details just yet I figure if I can recognize a lot of words then reading/watching Spanish things will be easier and less boring, and from there I can learn grammar. Good idea or no? Thanks again!
-Ayer
It's comprehensible your question and your worrier, now you need to memorize the word in each new post that you make in the forums, you should to try of write more in Spanish and you should to try to write in both language the you are trying to say.

Of the same form that you did in your last post, it's the same, if you don't know some many words, then you can try finding them in the on line dictionary, no ones is better and get better fast, although if you can upgrade your vocabulary is better.

Of course everyone have troubles with the learning inclusive me.

I can't write so well the language, but every day that pass, I try to upgrade my English although sometimes I have to walk for a long road alone or myself.

It's not easy, anything is easy for all is possible..

Take care.

Sincerely yours.

And have fun.
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  #6  
Old August 20, 2010, 10:57 PM
Ayer Ayer is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty View Post
There are plenty of errors in your paragraph. A person who didn't know English would have a difficult time understanding what you wrote. Don't dismay, though. All the pieces will fit providing you take the time and the effort.

You've tried hard to use accents correctly, but the very first mistake you made was before the first word. There's an 'Accents' pull-down menu just above the input box for typing text. All the special characters you need to write in Spanish can be found in that menu, including the upside-down exclamation point. By the way, mi doesn't have an accent when it means 'my'. It does when it means 'me', used as an object to a preposition.

"Is there anything else ..." (Hay algo más ...)
¿Qué más debo hacer en vez de memorizar vocabulario?
Además de aumentar el vocabulario, ¿hay algo más que debo hacer?

"Please correct any mistakes I made."
Por favor, corrige cualquier error que haya cometido.
Corrige los errores, por favor. Easier to say.
Thanks for the feedback. I've changed my approach to learning Spanish based on what you told me. I do my best now to write Spanish as proper as possible so I don't have a hard time correcting bad habits later. Starting this Sunday I will only have time to study Spanish for an hour every day instead of 3 hours I might be able to squeeze in 2 hour sessions a few times a week if I'm lucky. I enjoy studying other languages so this whole thing is a lot of fun, even if my previous paragraph in Spanish made NO SENSE lol

I wrote this too off the top of my head. Does it make better sense? I wrote some words in English that I didn't know, and I put some words in parentheses since I didn't know how to make em fit

Yo necesito practico hablo y escribo. Yo practico escribo ahora porque it helps(ayudar) mí understand hearing(oír) Español. Yo estudioso ahora uno hora y medio vocabulario, uno hora grammar y escribo, y treinta minutos listening to Español y leo.

I was trying to say:
I need to practice speaking and writing. I practice writing now because it helps me understand speaking. I now spend an hour and a half doing vocabulary, 1 hour doing grammar and writing, and 30 minutes listening to Spanish and reading it.

Corrige los errores, por favor I tried to use mí the right way this time.
Thanks again
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  #7  
Old August 21, 2010, 12:36 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ayer View Post
Thanks for the feedback. I've changed my approach to learning Spanish based on what you told me. I do my best now to write Spanish as proper as possible so I don't have a hard time correcting bad habits later. Starting this Sunday I will only have time to study Spanish for an hour every day instead of 3 hours I might be able to squeeze in 2 hour sessions a few times a week if I'm lucky. I enjoy studying other languages so this whole thing is a lot of fun, even if my previous paragraph in Spanish made NO SENSE lol

I wrote this too off the top of my head. Does it make better sense? I wrote some words in English that I didn't know, and I put some words in parentheses since I didn't know how to make em fit

Yo necesito practicopracticar, hablo hablar y escribo escribir. Yo practico escribo ahora porque it helps(ayudar) mí understand hearing(oír) español. (I think you want to say..... Yo practico a escribir ahora porque me ayuda a entender el Español que escucho.) Yo estudioso ahora uno hora y medio vocabulario, uno hora grammar y escribo, y treinta minutos listening to Español y leo. Yo ahora estudio una hora y media de vocabulario, una hora de gramática y escritura, y treinta minutos de escuchar español y tambien leo.

I was trying to say:
I need to practice speaking and writing. I practice writing now because it helps me understand speaking. I now spend an hour and a half doing vocabulary, 1 hour doing grammar and writing, and 30 minutes listening to Spanish and reading it.

Corrige los errores, por favor I tried to use mí the right way this time.
Thanks again
I hope you understand the corrections I made.

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Old August 21, 2010, 10:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ayer View Post
Yo necesito practico hablo y escribo. Yo practico escribo ahora porque it helps(ayudar) mí understand hearing(oír) Español. Yo estudioso ahora uno hora y medio vocabulario, uno hora grammar y escribo, y treinta minutos listening to Español y leo.

I tried to use mí the right way this time. Unfortunately, it was still used incorrectly. In English, the word 'me' is a pronoun. It can be used as a direct object pronoun, an indirect object pronoun, an object pronoun in a prepositional phrase, and a subject pronoun (although this is considered a grammatical error). In Spanish, 'mí' can only be used as an object pronoun in a prepositional phrase. The direct object pronoun and the indirect object pronoun is 'me'. The subject pronoun is 'yo'.
I'll correct your sentences and explain my corrections below.

I need to practice speaking and writing.
Necesito practicar hablar y escribir.

There is only one verb in the English sentence, and it is conjugated ('I need'). The other words that look like verbs are actually nouns. The verb 'need' takes a direct object. An object is always a noun. The words 'to practice' is the direct object. 'To practice' is called an infinitive. It looks like a verb, but functions as a noun. It can't be conjugated. It would sound very strange in English to conjugate the infinitive. For example, "I need I practice." Yet this is what you wrote in Spanish. You conjugated the direct object.
'Speaking' and 'writing' are gerunds. A gerund looks like a verb, but functions as a noun. It can't be conjugated.
In Spanish, both the English infinitive and the gerund are translated as Spanish infinitivos.
Note that my translation of 'I need' doesn't begin with the subject pronoun yo. That's because it isn't needed. The ending of the conjugated verb (-o) conveys which person the subject is. While learning, many teachers and text books force this redundancy on you. It isn't necessary in normal conversation.

I practice writing now because it helps me understand speaking.
Ahora practico la escritura porque me ayuda a entender el habla.

The adverb ahora sounds better when it precedes the verb, to my ears.
The verb practicar takes a direct object. (You correctly conjugated it, except that there's no need for the emphatic yo.) Although it is OK to say, "Ahora practico escribir," I opted for another direct object (remember that the infinitive escribir is a noun, as is the English gerund writing). 'La escritura' means 'writing'. In like manner, I opted for 'el habla' at the end of the sentence.
'It helps me' contains a subject, a verb, and an indirect object. The subject is a pronoun. As already mentioned, the subject pronoun isn't always necessary in Spanish because the ending of the conjugated verb usually conveys all we need to know. However, the ending in the 3rd person is used for several different subject pronouns. It is often necessary to distinguish which person was meant if the subject is a personal pronoun (he, she, you). But, when the subject pronoun is 'it', we usually don't have to provide a pronoun for it. So, the conjugated verb ayuda means 'it helps'. The word me is the indirect object pronoun. Indirect object pronouns precede a conjugated verb in Spanish.
The verb ayudar is always followed by the preposition 'a' if its direct object is an infinitive.
Notice that your English sentence doesn't match what you wrote in your Spanish paragraph.
I practice writing now because it helps me understand hearing Spanish.
(rewritten)
Now I'm practicing writing because it helps me (to) understand what I'm hearing (in Spanish).
(translation)
Ahora practico escribir porque me ayuda a entender lo que escucho (en español).

Where I wrote 'lo que', Elaina wrote 'el español que'. Both of us are correct. I just chose to use the direct object pronoun lo instead.

Sorry about all the grammatical terms, but I just can't teach the difference between 'correcto' (the adjective 'correct') and the verb 'corregir' (the verb 'correct'), without pointing out what part of speech they play. If you don't know what role a word plays, you'll have trouble choosing the right translation.
That's enough grammar for today. Take the time to understand what I've written about the different parts of speech. It'll make Spanish grammar a lot easier to learn if you can 'translate' it back into English grammar.

I now spend an hour and a half doing vocabulary, 1 hour doing grammar and writing, and 30 minutes listening to Spanish and reading it.
(rewritten)
Now I study an hour and a half; 1 hour for vocabulary and a half hour for writing and reading.
(translation)
Ahora estudio una hora y media; una hora para el vocabulario y media hora para la escritura y la lectura.


I think you'll understand the corrections here, so I'll hush.

Last edited by Rusty; August 21, 2010 at 10:38 AM.
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