Tenses, Direct and Indirect Objects, Articles, Oh My!

[AutumnBreeze]

Hey ya'll! I've been trying to get on here more, but if any of you have a toddler in the house you must know how difficult it is to focus on many of the things that you want .

Anyway I'm interested in your accounts of how you tackled each part of grammar when you first started learning Spanish. I've been using the ¡Exacto! grammar book in conjunction with some of my other learning material. I love the book but am overwhelmed at times with how to put everything together.

I'm good with conjugation in the present tense but I'm kind of struggling with getting the other tenses down. Not the conjugating per se but more so when to use what with what and where. Then the articles, objects, etc. Sometimes I have trouble with organizing how to best approach learning something .

I've neglected my studies the last couple weeks as so much has been going on, and that's not helping.

Hmm, I'm thinking this does not make much sense lol and my kiddo is starting to get really ticked off that I'm on the computer. Will try and get back later .

[Tomisimo]

I understand you completely. When I started learning Spanish, I thought they were just teaching me disparate, unrelated things-- verb conjugations, pronouns, the subjunctive, etc-- and the hard part is putting it all together and speaking it.

Really the only advice I have is to just have patience. Keep on learning all the different parts of the language, and as you learn it will all slowly come together. One by one, all the different things will "click" and they will make sense. So just keep at it, and you'll see that as time passes you will have an increasingly better grasp of the whole picture.

[AutumnBreeze]

Thanks Tomisimo . I think maybe I just needed to hear someone else who can relate to help me regain my perspective .

Estudié para cinco horas anoche. Estoy tomando notas bueno penso.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by AutumnBreeze

Estudié para cinco horas anoche. Estoy tomando notas buenas, creo/pienso.

The word for isn't needed in that expression.
Keep up the good work, but don't get burned out. Five hours is a lot of studying!

[Fazor]

Our school started offering foreign language classes in seventh grade, and I chose Spanish. Our 7th and 8th grade Spanish was actually just the first-year (Freshman) Spanish class from high-school spread out over two years, so you could learn at a slower pace.

Anyway, I stuck with it all through high school, giving me 6 years of instruction. Then in college, after going to an art school for a year, I transferred back to a traditional school. There, I needed some language classes for my major, so I went back with Spanish. I think I had about two or three more classes in college.

Yet I never really got tenses down. Now, five or so years after all that, I decided I wanted to try again. This time around it all seems to be coming easier to me. I don't know if it's because it's, well, the second time around . . . or if it's because this time I'm learning as a hobby rather than something I have to do.

Now, that's not to say I'm the master conjugator, or that I'm great with the other parts of the language. I have a lot to learn. But it does seem to be sinking in finally. This site certainly helps with that.

So I guess if I had to sum up my technique, I'd say it's been a slow, long process. Heh.

[AutumnBreeze]

Originally Posted by Rusty

The word for isn't needed in that expression.
Keep up the good work, but don't get burned out. Five hours is a lot of studying!

So true! lol Just logged my time at 2.5 hours this time . Estoy descando un rato limpiar la casa.

Thanks for your input Fazor . Long and slow works though .

[Fazor]

¿Qué es 'descando'?

[Rusty]

She meant descansando.

Estoy descansando un rato antes de limpiar la casa.

The present progressive tense is frequently overused by learners of Spanish. If you aren't in the very process of resting, you should use the present tense instead.

Descanso un rato antes de limpiar la casa.
= I'm resting a bit before cleaning the house.

[Fazor]

Ah, gracias. I recognized the tense, but I couldn't find the correct infinitive.

[AutumnBreeze]

Originally Posted by Rusty

She meant descansando.

Estoy descansando un rato antes de limpiar la casa.

The present progressive tense is frequently overused by learners of Spanish. If you're are in the very process of resting, you should use the present tense instead.

Descanso un rato antes de limpiar la casa.
= I'm resting a bit before cleaning the house.

Ahh, I see.

As I learn how to work with the language I keep finding that I run into issues with being too literal .

[AutumnBreeze]

Ok, looking at my tenses and usage, would it have also been acceptable to say "Voy descansar ante de limpiar la casa" or maybe "Voy descansar ante de limpio la casa" to indicate that I will be cleaning the house in the future, after I'm done resting?

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by AutumnBreeze

Ok, looking at my tenses and usage, would it have also been acceptable to say "Voy a descansar antes de limpiar la casa" or maybe "Voy a limpiar la casa después de descansar" to indicate that I will be cleaning the house in the future, after I'm done resting?

Corrections/suggestions above.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by AutumnBreeze

Ahh, I see.

As I learn how to work with the language I keep finding that I run into issues with being too literal .

And you are bound to be literal. It happens to everyone.

Now, excuse me if I repeat myself too much, but...

Get a novel in Spanish, especially if it is something you already read in English and you really liked it, and start to read, write and speak in Spanish the best way you can speak Spanish, anyway. You'll notice the difference in a month or two, sometimes in less time than that! :-)

[AutumnBreeze]

¡Gracias a todos!

[Rusty]

¡No hay de que!

[Arielle]

I find that the best way to learn a new language is to not put too much pressure on myself and make it too lesson-y. I like the idea above about reading a book you already enjoy in English, in Spanish. Also, your involvement with the forum community is great. That fact alone means you at least have an inherent enthusiasm in the language, which will make the learning process much easier.

[irmamar]

Hello Arielle, nice to meet you and welcome

I hadn't seen this thread before because I registered later (I haven't read old threads, maybe I should, but there are so many!)

I think that one of the things that have stimulated me to learn languages, at least some words, is the necessity of communication with other people. If I'm traveling (isn't it "travelling"?) abroad I need to make questions with the people of the country I am in, to know an address or somewhere to eat something. Or in my country, as a lot of tourist come here, sometimes they don't speak Spanish and ask you something in another language. So I need to communicate something to the others and I feel that I need to know some languages to find one which we are able to speak each other. This necessity is a great incentive to want to learn a language. I believe that the need is the thing that moves to a human being to do something.

Brisa otoñal , I rest after doing my homework, not before

[poli]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Hello Arielle, nice to meet you and welcome

I hadn't seen this thread before because I registered later (I haven't read old threads, maybe I should, but there are so many!)

I think that one of the things that have stimulated me to learn languages, at least some words, is the necessity of communication with other people. If I'm traveling (isn't it "travelling"?)(Irmamar, depende en el pais. En EEUU escribimos traveling en Inglaterra esbriben travelling) abroad I need to ask questions in the language of the people of the country I am in, to know an address or somewhere to eat something. Or in my country, as a lot of tourists come here, sometimes they don't speak Spanish and ask you something in another language. So I need to communicate something to the others and I feel that I need to know some languages, and to find one both can understand. This necessity is a great incentive to want to learn a language. I believe that the need is the thing that moves to a human being to do something.

Brisa otoñal , I rest after doing my homework, not before

Son buenas razones aprender otros idiomas. Añado que es bueno aprender otros idiomas porque enriquese su mundo y se pone más
sofisticado

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by poli

Son buenas razones aprender otros idiomas. Añado que es bueno aprender otros idiomas porque enriquese su mundo y se pone más
sofisticado

Oh! I was almost sure it was "travelling" (r ->rr, l -> ll), but the marker said it was bad written. Now I know. Thanks for your corrections

[poli]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Oh! I was almost sure it was "travelling" (r ->rr, l -> ll), but the marker said it was badly written. Now I know. Thanks for your corrections

Deletrear in inglés es una batalla entre él que escribe y el idioma que dura toda la vida y el idioma suele ganar.