HOW TO LEARN SPANISH

IN 30 DAYS
 
 
 

Giovanni Sordelli
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
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Copyright © 2021 HOW2 Edizioni
All Rights Reserved – Any reproduction is forbidden
 
SUMMARY
PREFACE
1st DAY – HOW TO PRONOUNCE WORDS CORRECTLY (WITH
SOME SPECIAL TRICKS!)
1.1. Neither fish nor fowl: B and V
1.2. How to pronounce C imitating a snake
1.3. How to pronounce G imitating a moka pot
1.3.1. GUE-GUI: watch out!
1.3.2. GÜE-GÜI: watch out for the diaeresis!
1.4. H is mute
1.5. Second coffee of the day to learn how to pronounce J
1.6. You write it double, but LL is not actually double
1.7. An ingredient for lasagna? Ñ!
1.8. QUE-QUI: watch out again!
1.9.X: many but little problems
1.10. Y: a bit like LL
1.11. How to pronounce Z imitating a snake
1.12. How to best pronounce the other letters, like true Spaniards!
The secrets revealed in this chapter
2nd DAY – HOW TO DISTINGUISH CASTILIAN FROM SPANISH
(YES, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!)
2.1. How to distinguish a Madrilenian from an Andalusian
2.2. How to distinguish a Spaniard from the rest of the world
The secrets revealed in this chapter
3rd DAY – HOW TO BEST START WITH GRAMMAR: ARTICLES,
PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND THE PLURAL FORM OF WORDS
3.1. Definite and indefinite articles and more!
3.2. How to memorize personal pronouns with no stress
3.3. How to form the plural of words
The secrets revealed in this chapter
4th DAY – WAIT, ARE ACCENTS REALLY THAT IMPORTANT IN
SPANISH? I DID NOT KNOW THAT!
4.1. Approaching accents is a bit like flirting, especially with
proparoxytone words
4.2. Oxytones and paroxytones: do not worry, they are not
medicines!
4.3. Monosyllables, those little pests
4.4. Encounters between vowels: better not to fight!
4.5. One final brief comment (actually, two!)
The secrets revealed in this chapter
5th DAY – HOW TO AVOID UNPLEASANT SITUATIONS, GAFFES
AND EMBARRASSMENT: FALSE FRIENDS (AND THEY ARE
REALLY COMMONPLACE!)
5.1. Outward friends, every day
The secrets revealed in this chapter
6th DAY – HOW TO START SAYING THE FIRST SENTENCES IN
SPANISH AFTER LESS THAN A WEEK: THE PRESENT
INDICATIVE
6.1. How to learn auxiliary verbs fast (and with some necessary
clarifications)
6.2. How to learn regular verbs in the present indicative in few
minutes
The secrets revealed in this chapter
7th DAY - THE IRREGULARITIES OF THE VERBS IN THE
PRESENT INDICATIVE. NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT IT IF YOU
FOLLOW MY LEAD
7.1. Regular irregularities: an oxymoron? Not at all!
7.1.1. A little caveat: the pronunciation remains the same, the
consonants will adjust!
7.2. How to memorize the other irregularities without worries
7.2.1. -cer/-cir→-zco
7.2.2. With -uir remember the “Y”
7.2.3. Out of nowhere a “G” pops up
7.2.4. Out of nowhere a “Y” pops up as well!
7.2.5. Any other business
The secrets revealed in this chapter
8th DAY - OK, ALL RIGHT, LET’S TAKE A BREAK. LET’S GO TO
SPAIN!
8.1. In Spain there is everything and more, for every taste
The secrets revealed in this chapter
9th DAY - CROSS AND DELIGHT OF SPANISH: “SER”, “ESTAR”
AND “HABER”
9.1. A “ser” is like a diamond: it is forever
9.1.1. How to use “ser” in a se(r)lf-confident way
9.1.2. How to use “estar” in a self-confident way
9.2. How to best use the verbs “haber” and “estar”
The secrets revealed in this chapter
10th DAY - ANOTHER CROSS AND DELIGHT: “POR” AND “PARA”.
TWO DIFFERENT PREPOSITIONS TO SAY “FOR”?!
10.1. How to clearly understand the uses of “por” and “para” without
racking your brains too much
The secrets revealed in this chapter
11th DAY – AN EASY LESSON FOR TODAY, LET’S LEARN
NUMBERS
11.1. How to memorize cardinal numbers
11.2. A quick look at ordinal numbers
The secrets revealed in this chapter
12th DAY - THE PAST IS THE PAST, BUT THE LESSON ON THE
SIMPLE PAST IS NOW!
12.1. How to learn the simple past of the regular verbs in a few
minutes
The secrets revealed in this chapter
13th DAY – HOW TO FACE THE IRREGULARITIES OF THE
SIMPLE PAST WITHOUT PANICKING
13.1. How to memorize a list of irregular verbs easily
13.2. A “J” in the simple past
13.3. Some strange irregularities, but so strange that there hardly
any
The secrets revealed in this chapter
14th DAY – HOW TO FORM THE PAST PARTICIPLE
14.1. How to learn all the past participles in no time
14.2. How to use the past participle
The secrets revealed in this chapter
15th DAY – HOW TO ENJOY AN EXCELLENT SPANISH DINNER.
TODAY IT’S ON ME, FROM THE APPETIZER TO THE DESSERT,
DRINKS INCLUDED!
15.1. How to best choose an aperitif: there is something for every
taste!
15.2. First course, second course and so on up to the dessert!
The secrets revealed in this chapter
16th DAY – ON A FULL STOMACH LET’S FACE THE IMPERFECT
16.1. How to learn the imperfect in less than ten minutes
16.2. Three simple little irregularities
The secrets revealed in this chapter
17th DAY – HOW TO GET THROUGH A CONVERSATION EASILY
MAKING THE MOST OF PAST TENSES
17.1. Past and past perfect: how to find your way in the Black Forest
17.2. How to remember the main functions of the gerund
The secrets revealed in this chapter
18th DAY – AN EASY LESSON FOR TODAY: THE PARTS OF THE
YEAR AND THE HOURS
18.1. Days of the week, seasons and months: the whole year in few
lines!
18.2. How to be able to tell the time to a Spaniard... sounding like a
Spaniard!
The secrets revealed in this chapter
19th DAY- 50 SHADES AND MORE IN SENTENCES: PRONOUNS,
ADVERBS, ADJECTIVES AND PREPOSITIONS
19.1. Me, I like learning Spanish
19.1.1. Articles and personal pronouns sometimes quarrel
19.2. The underworld of adverbs
19.3. Some main and important details about adjectives
19.4. Many, many prepositions... but fortunately few difficulties!
The secrets revealed in this chapter
20th DAY – WHICH IS THE FAIREST LESSON OF THEM ALL?
MAYBE THE ONE ON THE COMPARATIVE AND THE
SUPERLATIVE?
20.1. How to avoid terrible gaffes with comparatives: “better”, not
“more good”!
20.1.1. The irregularities of comparatives
20.2. Double effort = double satisfaction. Actually, facing superlatives
I would say the greatest satisfaction!
The secrets revealed in this chapter
21st DAY – TIME WILL TELL. LET’S FACE THE FUTURE, THEN
WE’LL SEE
21.1. How to learn to know the future without using magic
21.2. How to deepen the knowledge of (our) future
21.3. Poor future perfect, so ill-treated...
The secrets revealed in this chapter
22nd DAY – IT IS NOT JUST BULLFIGHTING: SPANISH
FOLKLORE IS UNIQUE!
22.1. Not just bullfighting: in Spain it’s a party all year long!
22.2. Religiosity as an element of unifying celebration
The secrets revealed in this chapter
23rd DAY – LET’S HURRY UP AND LEARN THE IMPERATIVE!
23.1. Stand at attention: here comes the imperative!
23.2. The imperative and the pronouns joined together at the hip
The secrets revealed in this chapter
24th DAY – AND IF WE LEARNED THE SUBJUNCTIVE TENSES
TODAY? I THINK IT’S HIGH TIME!
24.1. Simple tenses: present and imperfect
24.2. Compound tenses: perfect and past perfect
The secrets revealed in this chapter
25th DAY – LET’S KEEP GOING AND LEARN HOW TO USE THE
NEGATIVE IMPERATIVE! AFTER THE SUBJUNCTIVE?! WELL
YES, THERE’S A REASON!
25.1. Don’t waste time: let’s face the negative imperative (with all the
etceteras)!
The secrets revealed in this chapter
26th DAY – TODAY WE SHOULD FACE THE CONDITIONAL.
ACTUALLY, LET’S JUST DO IT!
26.1. How to learn the conditional in no time
Do you remember the irregularities of the future? Well, apply them
here and there you have the conditional, without a different
conjugation.
For all the other verbs, you just need to remember the diphthong “ía”
after the infinitive of the verb besides the usual endings for each
person
26.2. How to best use the conditional without being “subjunct-gated”
The secrets revealed in this chapter
27th DAY – IF YOU HAD NEVER STARTED, YOU WOULD NOT
HAVE GOT TO THIS POINT. BY THE WAY, HOW DO YOU FORM
CONDITIONAL SENTENCES?
27.1. English first, then Spanish: the three conditional sentences
The secrets revealed in this chapter
28th DAY – HOW DO YOU USE THE SUBJUNCTIVE? I’M
WARNING YOU, IT WON’T BE EASY, BUT TRUST ME AND
FOLLOW MY LEAD
28.1. The subjunctive is quite “tempor…amental”!
28.2. I think that the subjunctive is very difficult
28.3. The subjunctive likes to be in charge
28.4. The light at the end of the tunnel
The secrets revealed in this chapter
29th DAY – HOW IS IT GOING WITH THIS MANUAL? I HOPE YOU
WILL HAVE A GREAT TIME EVEN TODAY, LEARNING HOW TO
USE SOME IDIOMS AND SET PHRASES
29.1. Many idioms for every occasion
29.2. How to sound like a true Spaniard with a few more words
The secrets revealed in this chapter
30th DAY - CONCLUSIONS: FOR THE LAST DAY, LET’S GET
DRESSED UP (AND FOR THE LADIES A BIT OF MAKE-UP, TOO!)
30.1. How to look like a true gentleman
30.2. How to let female charm conquer you
The secrets revealed in this chapter
GRAMMAR OVERVIEW TABLES
CONCLUSIONS
 
PREFACE

 
Learning a foreign language means knocking at the door of a new world
and asking to be part of it. But it is also a way to understand ourselves,
because we get the chance to face our reality.
 
You will never stop learning Spanish. Surely, this is not exactly an
encouraging sentence for you who are just beginning this one-month
journey, but the truth is this: in 30 days you will find your way in the
maze of a language found all over the globe, in every continent and with
different peculiarities which reflect the culture and the worldview of its
speakers. You will learn a language in which to invest for the future,
because it is constantly growing and expanding. It is not a heresy then to
say that Spanish fits comfortably next to, or at least just below, English.
 
You are going to tell me: “so, in 30 days I will be able to learn an entire
language?!”. The answer is yes. First of all, as any valuable product, it has
brilliantly passed the quality check: friends and relatives have tested this
manual and the following month they did pretty well with grammar and
vocabulary, trust me.
Of course, in 30 days no one becomes a native speaker: but you can build a
strong foundation on which to build a beautiful house. Do you get what I
mean? This course must help you every day to encourage your wish to learn
a beautiful, not overly difficult, fun and challenging language.

Any similarity with English will make the learning easier, although there
are traps here and there (see false friends, for example).
 
How to learn every day while having fun? “Practice makes perfect” we
would repeat all together as children, and for foreign languages it is like
that: trying again and again, falling and rising again, getting a sentence
wrong or getting stuck. And then starting again faster than before. Studying
a little bit every day is a secret as simple as it is effective to make the
learning easier and quicker. I will give you the opportunity to analyse in
depth every little secret about grammar and vocabulary, and you must really
promise me that you will do everything you can to complete this rich
training: consult online newspapers, watch films or TV series with subtitles,
read a good book with a dictionary next to you, in short take every little
opportunity to be in contact with Spanish as much as possible.
When does it work? When your partner will tell you: “what, you choose
Spanish over me?”. Here the secret is not giving up: keep up with passion,
intensity and almost amorous commitment.
Then there will be space for real dialogues in Spanish, the testing ground
for your theoretical skills.
The beginning will maybe be discouraging, but the will to improve will be
for you a confidence booster. When you go on holiday to a Spanish-
speaking country or you will have to use Spanish in any other situation, you
will just want to do your best.
 
Think about this: one month. 30 days of studying will help you learning a
new language, improving your curriculum, immersing yourself in a new
and different world. It will be a special month, and you will be satisfied.
I am sure that you are not starting from scratch: surely you know some
Spanish words already. At least “paella”, no doubt about that. In a month
who knows how much you will have learned and made it yours. Even if
maybe at the restaurant you will keep ordering only paella, like me!
 
1st DAY – HOW TO
PRONOUNCE WORDS
CORRECTLY (WITH SOME
SPECIAL TRICKS!)

 
Are you ready then? We can begin and you will see that learning Spanish
will be a pleasure, I would say a fun experience. The important thing is to
put perseverance and dedication every day, without getting discouraged in
the difficult moments that may come. Daily devoting time to the learning of
a foreign language is the right attitude, in the same way that many hours of
study at the last minute will not help you to prepare for a test properly. You
will see that with this course in a month you will be able to have a
conversation in Spanish without too many difficulties, maybe enriching it
with some idioms, so common in speech. They say that to learn Spanish it
is enough to roll your Rs. If this were the solution, everyone would be a
native speaker!
 
First it is fundamental to understand how to pronounce the various letters of
the Spanish alphabet, which contains one more letter than the English one:
have you spotted it yet?
 
First of all, one important thing: Spanish pronunciation is not as difficult
as the English one. For example try to think about the English words
“blood” and “wood”: the vowel “o” is read in two different ways, and there
is not a rule that enables us to understand the pronunciation of a phoneme
or a diphthong. Instead this is possible in Spanish, where there are clear
rules and no exception on this subject.
 
So, let’s see which letters are the ones that can cause us some problems, and
let’s understand how to pronounce them. For the sake of simplicity we will
review them all in alphabetical order, so you will be able to get back to
them in case you have some doubts in the future. The missing letters, on the
other hand, are pronounced as in English.
 
1.1. Neither fish nor fowl: B and V

 
Let’s start with a bang. Well yes, these two letters, as a matter of fact, are
pronounced in the same way, but beware: their pronunciation is nearly
indescribable, since it is represented by a sound exactly halfway between B
for Ball and V for Vase. They taught me that in this way and it worked: try
to close your lips a little as if to blow gently. Now do not simply blow, but
at the same time make a soft sound with your vocal chords: there it is, the
pronunciation of these letters is exactly the one of the combination of the
blow and the sound.
You just need a bit of practice with some Spanish words (better when you
are alone, so you do not look crazy!) and then it all comes naturally. For
instance, how would you pronounce “lavar” (to wash) and “lobo” (wolf),
maybe put in a sentence like “Yo lavo el lobo”? This exercise is also best
done in the silence of your home!
 
1.2. How to pronounce C imitating
a snake

 
Try to think about how you pronounce the English word “think”: there, that
sound similar to the hiss of a snake is used in all the Spanish words with
“ce” and “ci”.

“Think” and “Ciego” are then pronounced in the same way. People who
smoke surely need a “cenicero” that collects the ash. There, try to
pronounce this word, which is not so easy!

 
Moreover, in the words with “ch”, the letter “h” is not pronounced at all.
 
Any difficulties? No, because if you know the cha cha you are golden!
 
1.3. How to pronounce G imitating
a moka pot

 
To learn how to pronounce the words that contain “ge” and “gi” you need to
go to the kitchen: make some coffee with a moka pot and try to
reproduce its noise as it comes up.

There, this is the exact sound to pronounce words like “gente” and
“página”. You will see that the more you practice and read out loud
sentences that contain these letters, the pronunciation will become
spontaneous and absolutely natural.
 
P.S. Do not worry if the letter “a” in “página” is accented: in a few days I
will explain to you the reason. However, it is good to know early on that
accents are fundamental in the written language, and they are always used.
Ok, let’s move on and focus again on pronunciation.
 
1.3.1. GUE-GUI: watch out!

 
In this case you just need to replace the letter “u” with “h”, as in the English
words “ghetto” and “ghoul”. That being said, how do you pronounce then
“guerra” and “guitarra”?
 
1.3.2. GÜE-GÜI: watch out for the
diaeresis!

 
There are few words that contain the diaeresis, and beware not to pronounce
them for example as in the German words “für”, which means “for”. In
Spanish, in fact, the diaeresis indicates that the vowel in question must be
pronounced.
A very nice animal (you need to go a long way to see it!) comes to mind: I
am talking about the “pingüino”. Without the diaeresis on the vowel, the
pronunciation would be mangled. Or, if you go on holiday to the Caribbean
Sea and you happen to stay in Nicaragua, you will reside in a
“nicaragüense” facility.
 
1.4. H is mute

 
We know that in English the letter “h” (except for some cases) is aspirated.
In Spanish, on the contrary, “h” is mute: you do not need then to aspirate
the “h” to say “hora” or “hierba”.
 
1.5. Second coffee of the day to
learn how to pronounce J

 
Make another coffee with a moka pot as before, imitate its sound as it
comes up and there you have it. Between a sip and another, savour also the
fact of understanding how to pronounce “j” next to each vowel. One
example? As you may have noticed, I like peculiar animals: so after visiting
some nice penguins in the South Pole, why not hopping over to the African
savannah to see some “Jirafas” which can be over 5 metres tall thanks to
their long necks?
 
An excellent exercise to learn this strange sound: make some fresh coffee
with a moka pot and meanwhile leaf through the atlas to looking for the
Spanish town of Gijón. While you are searching and the coffee is coming
up, keep pronouncing this very strange and very difficult word: the others
will then be a piece of cake. Among the others, try to say out loud
“general”, “ángel”, “nostalgia” and “original”. They are written in the same
way in English, but how would you pronounce them if you were in Spain?
 
1.6. You write it double, but LL is
not actually double

 
There is no doubling of the letter “L”, so when we come across words like
“Paella” the sound is like the one you pronounce in the word “yes”.
Have you ever been to Barcelona? You might have seen the very strange
letter “L·L” somewhere, maybe if you have taken the metro at “Paral·lel”
station: in Catalan the dot between the two Ls indicates the doubling of the
consonant. Since it does not exist in Spanish, the pronunciation is the one
described above.
 
1.7. An ingredient for lasagna? Ñ!

 
Bolognese lasagna is so good, is it not? Not surprisingly it is the favourite
dish of many people, and it is so good that it is highly popular even in
Spain: just go into any supermarket, read “Lasañas” and buy it.
Anyway, as far as I am concerned the taste of the homemade one is unique
and unmatched.
 
1.8. QUE-QUI: watch out again!

 
These trigraphs cause some problems only at the beginning: indeed, when
you learn that the pronunciation is actually the same as the English “ke-ki”,
there you have it.

Surely you know the great Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez, so
the pronunciation is already served on the table!

Or, if you whisper “te quiero” to your partner, you will surely make them
very happy.
 
1.9.X: many but little problems

 
The words that contain this letter are very rare, and moreover the
pronunciation varies significantly depending on the different Spanish
regions, called “Comunidades Autónomas”.

A quite common indication, but still subject to variations, is that at the

beginning of a word “x” is pronounced like “s” (xilófono), while it is
pronounced normally in all the other cases.
Luckily there are few exceptions, since the numbers of words with “x” is
indeed very limited. If this is a problem, you will agree that it is really little
and easily solved.
 
1.10. Y: a bit like LL

 
In Spanish as spoken in Spain, correctly referred to as Castilian, the sound
of Y is exactly like the one of LL that you already know.
In the rest of the Spanish-speaking world this is actually one of the features
that differentiates it from Spain. How? And the others? Be patient, in the
next chapter you will find all the answers.
I will just tell you in advance that speaking Spanish in Madrid, in Mexico
City or in Buenos Aires is not exactly the same thing, including for a matter
of pronunciation of other letters. Enough, I have already said too much!
 
Try to pronounce for example “yogurt” (with the accent on the “u” though!)
or Goya, the name of the famous painter.
 
1.11. How to pronounce Z imitating
a snake

 
Do you know what a hissing snake sound like? Surely you do, since now
you can read words like “Barcelona” or “Cine” (cinema). You do the same
with the last letter of the alphabet.

A little trick: in Spanish there are not words with “ze” and “zi”, since their
function is carried out by “ci” and “ce” respectively.

An easy example is represented by the number “zero”, which in Spanish is

in fact “cero”.

And if we went from Barcelona to Zaragoza? From the pronunciation point

of view nothing changes, while geographically speaking it is a whole
different story.
 
1.12. How to best pronounce the
other letters, like true Spaniards!

 
The letters that you do not find in this chapter are pronounced exactly as in
English. However, some little tricks will allow you to get as close as
possible to real Spanish pronunciation: for example, “R” is always rolled
and at the beginning of words it becomes double (now try to pronounce “El
Real Madrid”!).
Moreover, “S” is always voiceless and never voiced: to be clear, a Spaniard
would not find any difference of pronunciation between the English “his”
and “hiss”, pronouncing both like the last word.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter
 
. Spend even just a little time to learn Spanish, but do it daily. Languages
are like little plants: they need little water every day to grow solid and
strong.
 
. Learning how to pronounce the words right is not difficult, you just need a
bit of practice. Remember: the hiss of the snake and the moka pot are the
greatest obstacles; the other problems will disappear even faster, thanks to
your constant and accurate dedication to this manual.
 
2nd DAY – HOW TO
DISTINGUISH CASTILIAN
FROM SPANISH (YES, THERE
IS A DIFFERENCE!)

 
You are right, yesterday was the first day of lessons and you worked hard.
But you must understand that pronunciation is fundamental and comes prior
to any speech about grammar and syntax. Trust me, not every day will be as
full of notions: today for example I will explain to you how to recognize the
differences between Castilian and Spanish, and the amount of work will be
smaller.
 
It is difficult to estimate it accurately, but according to a report published
by Instituto Cervantes in 2013, the cultural institution that has the task of
promoting the Spanish language and culture abroad, Spanish is the second
most spoken language in the world after Chinese, even ahead of English
and Arabic. In this study they say that in 2012 native speakers were a little
less than 500 million and that in 2030 it will be spoken by 7,5% of the
world population. Nowadays almost a billion people speak it, and it is only
natural that a language spoken all over the world has its own peculiarities
depending on the place where one lives. The document also shows that in
2012 Spanish was the third most used language on the Internet.
Many people have ancestors who at the beginning of the last century
emigrated to South America looking for work and hoping for a better life.
Obviously their children and grandchildren, as well as the following
generations, learned Spanish and there are people among those ones who do
not even know the language of their ancestors anymore.
 
I am fortunate to be able to talk often with one of these “aunts” of mine as I
affectionately call her, even though the time zone does not help. She lives in
Buenos Aires with her husband and her two children; her grandfather was
Italian and was one of the many emigrants. Once we said: why not trying to
call each other? Nowadays technological applications eliminate distances
even overseas, and therefore we find ourselves listening to each other’s
voices after months and months of computer-mediated conversations. The
result: a much greater difficulty in understanding her who is Argentinian
than a Spaniard. Is there really any difference between “Castilian” and
“Spanish”? How can you distinguish an Argentinian speaker from a Spanish
one?
 
2.1. How to distinguish a
Madrilenian from an Andalusian

 
Let us start with a basic difference: Castilian is the Spanish language
spoken in Spain, while Spanish is the Spanish language spoken in the
rest of the world. We talk about Castile, because the birthplace of Spanish
was precisely the Kingdom of Castile, corresponding to the central area of
the current State. Not only does Castilian have many variants in Spain, but
there are three other co-official languages:

Basque, spoken in the north-eastern regions bordering France, called

precisely the Basque Country;

Galician, used in the north-western autonomous community of Galicia;

Catalan, which is further divided in its western variant spoken in Catalonia

and in the Balearic Islands, and in the Valencian variant. Not to mention the
other non-official languages which are still recognized by the State.
 
The situation is actually not so different in English speaking countries:
think about the French spoken in Canada, the Spanish spoken in the United
States, Welsh in Wales, Pidgin, Creoles and all the minority languages, not
to mention the endless number of dialects all over the English world.
Even the English language itself when spoken in London is very different
from when you hear it spoken by a Geordie.

In the same way, in Madrid and in Seville they speak the same language but
with different intonations and characteristics.

An unwritten rule is that the farther south you go in Spain, the faster
they speak, with the result that some letters are “clipped” and get lost in the
middle of the sentence.
Andalusia is the southernmost autonomous community, and many letters
like “d” and “s” are almost not even perceived in speech: a person from
Cantabria or Asturias, two communities in the north of the country, would
struggle to understand singular and plural forms, verb endings, past
participles, and many other words. Moreover in the capital it is peculiar the
fact that the nexus “tl” is read as a double L and that all the “Ds” at the end
of words are pronounced like the now famous hissing snake: so, how do
you think a Madrilenian would pronounce “Atlético Madrid”, the name of
the famous team?
To start learning Spanish in situ, the best place to choose is the north
then, even though tourists prefer the south and the Balearic and the Canary
Islands. Anyway, it is also true that if you interact with an Andalusian you
will get used to that level of difficulty and, therefore, your speaking skills
will become even better.
 
2.2. How to distinguish a Spaniard
from the rest of the world

 
But let’s go back to the phone call between me and my Argentinian aunt.
Granted that there are really many differences between Castilian and Latin
America Spanish and it would take a manual just to list them all, from the
very first greetings we might feel a bit lost. Indeed, I felt lost myself.
 
In South America the third person plural pronoun is used very frequently
instead of the second one, both in informal and formal contexts: for
example, “You are beautiful” is rephrased as “They are beautiful”.
 
Furthermore, instead of the second person singular pronoun “Tú” they use
the pronoun “Vos”, corresponding to the Spanish “Vosotros” which actually
indicates the second person plural pronoun. That is why I felt lost when she
kept speaking to me using the pronoun “Vos”, since in Argentina it is very
common.
 
Besides this phenomenon, called “Voseo”, even “Seseo” is a
characteristic of American Spanish: do you remember the snake’s hissing
which is needed to pronounce “z” and some words with “c”? We will
always use it during this month-long course, but you must know that in
America there are no snakes, and that these same words are pronounced
with “s”.
The result is that words like “casa” and “caza” (which mean “house” and
“hunting” respectively) are pronounced differently in Spain, but in the same
way for instance in Peru or in Nicaragua. What is more, if we were for
example in Chile and if we pronounced them with the help of the snake,
someone would probably correct us or would mock us a little.
 
And it does not end here: the letter “Y” is read a bit like the pronunciation
of “J” in the French name “Jean”. Think then how you should ask for a
yogurt in Lima or in Santiago de Chile!

 
There are then many differences from a lexical point of view, also
considering the fact that Native Americans and their cultural practices have
influenced the language deeply. If you notice a Spanish girl (but obviously
the example works with a boy as well!) and you whisper in the ear of the
friend you are walking with: “¡Qué guapa!” to say that she is beautiful, in
Argentina for example you will have to say “¡Qué linda!”.
If you come across the sign “Almacén” (by the way, watch out for the
different pronunciation of the letter “c”!), in Spain you are entering a
department store, while in America you are shopping in a little grocery.
 
Moreover, many words connected to the uniqueness of the American
traditions, like food and clothing, are inherently untranslatable and
incomprehensible for a Spaniard: these are the so-called “realia”, which
belong only to that specific geographical and cultural context.
 
The truly marvellous thing in all of this is that Spanish, definitely one of the
most spoken languages in the world, is easily understood everywhere,
despite its own characteristics which today you have started to learn and
recognize.
 
Just think about it, in a month you will be able to make yourself understood
literally all across the world, on average by one in seven people in the
world.
 
Learning from the very beginning the main peculiarities and variants of
Spanish means immersing yourself even deeper in the language and the
culture of a people, and thus getting more involved in them.
 
This does not mean that there is a right Spanish and a wrong one: instead
you have learned that there are many differences that contribute to the
enrichment of linguistic and cultural nuances.
 
While you go to bed tonight, fall asleep repeating the sounds you are still
not familiar with and get ready: tomorrow is the first real lesson of Spanish
grammar!
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world, therefore it is
normal that every country where it is used has its own characteristics and
peculiarities.
 
. Seseo and voseo are the main differences between Castilian, spoken in
Spain, and Spanish as spoken in the rest of the world. Indeed, in America it
is the “s” sound that replaces the snake’s hiss (seseo), and they address
people using “they” instead of “you” (voseo).
 
. You have also learned that even in Spain itself there are different ways of
speaking Spanish. Have you noticed the differences between an Andalusian
and a Madrilenian? At the beginning it is easier to interact with northerners,
who speak more slowly and use grammar in a more standard and precise
way.
 
 
3rd DAY – HOW TO BEST START
WITH GRAMMAR: ARTICLES,
PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND
THE PLURAL FORM OF
WORDS

 
Two days ago you had not even opened this manual and now you have
already learned how to pronounce words and to understand the main
differences of Spanish around the world.
 
Well, I would say it is time to face the grammar. Be careful though: you
must not see it as a sacred and unbeatable monster, but rather as the access
key to a full understanding and development in the studying of Spanish.
 
If you are a bit perplexed or nervous, relax: you will be guided step by step
in every little detail, from the easiest notions to the most complicated ones.
You will see that learning a language will turn out to be fun and fascinating,
also thanks to this method. I will be your torch through the dark tunnel.
 
Ready, set, go!
 
Today we will learn articles, personal pronouns (useful when we study
verbs), the plural form of words and how to use them. Do you think it is too
much?
 
Trust me, in one day you can store everything that you need to know about
these three little big grammar topics.
 
3.1. Definite and indefinite articles
and more!

 
In English the definite article is always “the”, no matter what word follows
it. The article does not change because in English there is no distinction
between feminine or masculine nouns: we say then, for example, “the
horse” or “the stone”, because nouns are neuter.
 
In Spanish, the situation is different since there are masculine and feminine
nouns. The singular masculine definite article is “el”, while its plural form
is “los”.
 
El caballo – Los caballos
 
Similarly, the feminine forms are “la” and “las”
La piedra – Las piedras
 
“Un” and “una” are the indefinite forms of the article.
Un caballo – Una piedra
 
Up until now the difficulty is minimal, is it not? One important thing to
remember is that in Spanish the indefinite article has a plural form and
it is very used in the written and the spoken language: “unos caballos”
and “unas piedras”, in fact, can be translated in English as “some horses”
and “a few rocks”.
 
3.2. How to memorize personal
pronouns with no stress

 
Here we are, this is the first real obstacle that we are going to face. But
well, it is also good to see this month as a sort of challenge, and so be it!
 
First of all, you need to know that personal pronouns can be useful in
signalling subjects and objects inside a sentence, besides making clear who
they refer to.
“I go”, “You comb your hair”, “You give us a book”, I would say they are
worth a thousand words.

To learn them well, there is nothing better than a table that shows every
form, then we will analyse the peculiarities and any critical points:

 
As you can see, personal subject pronouns are not really difficult to
memorize: maybe you already know a few sentences or expressions which
contains some of them. Obviously, you find them before every verbal forms
and moods, but beware that in Spanish it is not mandatory to state the
subject, as it is in English.

Watch for the forms “Usted” and “Ustedes”: they are the polite forms. In
English we simply use “You”, in the singular form if we talk to our boss
and in the plural form if we talk to our bosses. On the contrary, a Spanish
employee will have to say for example “Usted es mi jefe” or “Ustedes son
mis jefes”, that is “You are my boss” or “You are my bosses”.

The pronouns that form direct and indirect objects are the same: we are
super lucky! By memorizing one column, we learn two in one go. Indeed,
“He watches me” and “He gives the book to me” are translated as “Me
mira” and “me da el libro” respectively.
 
Watch out for the strange direct object form in the second person plural and
especially for the one in the third person singular.
You will tell me: what is the difference between “Le” and “Lo-La”?
You are analysing a peculiarity of Spanish, as special as it is important:
indeed it is fundamental that you know that, if the object of a sentence is a
person, you need to use “Le”; if it is an animal or a thing you need to use
“Lo-La” depending on whether it is masculine or feminine.

Ok I get it, here is an example to make it clearer:

“I watch José – I watch him”

is translated as…
“Yo miro a José – Yo le miro”.
 
“I watch the dog – I watch it”
instead is translated as…
“Yo miro el perro – Yo lo miro”.

As you have noticed, in the first sentence the object, who is watched, is a
person: therefore the object is treated as if it were an indirect object, as
opposed to the second sentence where the object is an animal.
 
I know, it is not easy to memorize; or maybe it seems easy, but you are
afraid of forgetting this characteristic when you speak or write.

Do not worry: work a little bit every day and you will be able to do
everything. It was not by accident that the Romans said “Divide et impera”.
There, if you need a motto for the 30 days of the course, I would say that
this quotation is perfect!
 
Now let’s face the plural forms of words (nothing difficult) and then a well-
earned rest awaits you!
 
3.3. How to form the plural of
words

 
There are two main groups concerning this topic,

and they are both very easy and intuitive:

If a word ends with a vowel, you need to add an –s:

“Casa – Casas”.
 
If a word ends with a consonant (including Y) or with an accented vowel,
you need to add –es: “Ley – Leyes” (“The law – The laws”), “Bajá –
Bajaes” (The pasha – The pashas).
 
There, now you already know how to form 90% of the plural of all the
words. “And how do you form the remaining 10%?” you will wonder.
There are little specific cases, but do not worry too much: you encounter
them few times and after a bit of practice you will master them easily.
You need to know, for example, that the plural of words ending in –z is
formed by adding the suffix –ces, which replaces the “z”.
So it is that “Luz – Luces” are the equivalent of “Light – Lights”.
 
Furthermore, the words ending in “s” have some more peculiarities: if they
are stressed on the last syllable or they are monosyllabic you just need to
add –es, otherwise they do not change.
A couple of examples? “Tos – Toses” (“The cough – The coughs”), but
“Dosis – Dosis” (“The dose – The doses”).
 
Once again: do not worry too much about these trifles, time and the
experience that you will gain are on your side. Always remember, the
important thing is to work a little every day.
 
That is enough for today, tomorrow we will understand how to put accents
on words.
 
Just go back one second: have you noticed for example that the pronoun
“Él” has an accent while its feminine equivalent “Ella” does not? It is not
sexism, and tomorrow I will prove it to you.

 
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. Definite and indefinite articles, to be honest, are not difficult: watch out
for the articles “unos – unas”, widely used in every context.
 
. Personal pronouns are easy to memorize, also because you might have
already seen or read them somewhere; special attention is given to the
peculiarity of the direct object in the third person singular, which differs
depending on whether the object itself is a human being or an animal/a
thing.
 
. Polite forms: always address people with “Usted” and “Ustedes”, therefore
using the third person pronouns.
 
. Plural forms follow few, clear rules. The exceptions can be counted on one
hand (maybe even half a hand) and you do not find them daily.
 
4th DAY – WAIT, ARE ACCENTS
REALLY THAT IMPORTANT IN
SPANISH? I DID NOT KNOW
THAT!

 
You know what is perfect for hot summer days? A nice bowl of ice cream!
Everyone loves ice cream, but not everyone pronounces it in the same way.
In British English, in fact, the word “cream” is stressed, while in America it
is the first syllable “ice” that is stressed.
 
And how do you pronounce the word “salon”? And the word “garage”?
 
Everyone has their own pronunciation, mainly depending on the great
number of English varieties spoken all over the world.
 
Not to mention the mistakes that you make when you say the name of a
country or a surname with an ambiguous pronunciation, maybe in public
and looking bad with in front of the people you are talking to.
“Record”: outside a specific context it could mean both the best result
achieved in one field (if stressed on the first syllable), or storing sounds
through electronic machines (then the second syllable is stressed). For a
foreign person studying English surely it is not easy.
 
You are learning Spanish, and after this lesson I guarantee you that you will
know how to pronounce all the words in this language, even the ones you
will encounter for the first time, including proper names.
 
There are so-called “homographic” words, as there exist in English, but the
accent is used precisely to distinguish them.
By the way, how do you pronounce the word “accent” here?!
 
4.1. Approaching accents is a bit
like flirting, especially with
proparoxytone words

 
Well yes, the trick to get started is this one: you must not rush things,
actually you need to have patience, positivity and spirit of initiative. For
example when you see a girl that you like, you can charm her by aiming for
the things that she likes and which allow you to know her better. Obviously
this example also works with a boy.
 
Accents like being courted: but how do you court an accent? Knowing
where and when to use it, obviously!
 
For example, rest assured that there is an accent on all proparoxytone
words, that is, the ones where the stress falls on the third syllable from
the end.
 
For example, English speaking people stop at the “traffic light”, while
Spaniards wait in tailbacks at the “semáforo”: you see, the accent falls on
the third syllable from the end, that is on the “a”. In English we may have
some difficulty understanding where the accent falls, since we never have to
put it in the middle of a word.
A good way to understand the position would be to emphasize the
pronunciation of the accented vowel, pronouncing for example in this case
“semaaaforo”.

In the long run, even recognizing this will become natural, if it is not
already.
 
The same rule applies to (the few) words stressed on the fourth-last
syllable: you can especially find them with verbs which are added
pronominal particles.
If when you were young your mum ordered you to wash your hands before
eating screaming from the kitchen: “Wash them!”, a caring Spanish mother
will shout “¡Lávatelas!”.
 
A brief digression: as you have just noticed, before every exclamation and
every question you need to add upside-down exclamation and question
marks respectively.
 
Maybe you already knew that: it is a curious peculiarity of Spanish, and it is
useful to let the reader and the speaker set the right intonation of the
sentence, which may be several lines long.
 
4.2. Oxytones and paroxytones: do
not worry, they are not medicines!

 
Here the situation gets a little more complicated, especially since oxytones
and paroxytones take the lion’s share.
First of all, you need to know that paroxytone words are the ones where the
stress falls on the penultimate syllable (think about the English words
“potato”, “music”, “Arizona” and “banana”), while in oxytone words the
stress falls on the last syllable. This means that “cafè” and “Madrid” are
both part of this last group, do you agree? Dividing words into syllables,
which was a nightmare in primary school, comes in handy now.
 
To learn the accents of these two word categories just remember two
letters: N and S.
Everything, indeed, revolves around them. For example, the opposition
North-South still helps me a lot, given the initials of these words.
 
Surely you know two great past and present Spanish figures: the painter
Velázquez and the director Almodóvar.
Well yes, in the correct writing the accents are well evident: indeed, you
always put the accent on paroxytones if they end in a consonant
different from n and s.
 
In these cases, the words end in z and r, so we put the accent. It is difficult
only at the beginning, but with a bit of practice and training you will see
that putting the accent correctly will become really natural.
 
The opposite is true for oxytones: indeed, the accent is only put if the words
ends in a vowel, –n and –s. If a Spaniard calls home saying that he is having
a coffee in Milan, they will say “Me tomo un café en Milán”.
 
And now, which of these wrods would you put the accent on?
 
A hint: there is a dot after the vowel where the stress falls.
 
Example: “hue•sped” (guest). In this case you know that you need to put the
accent, because it is a paroxytone ending in a consonant different from n
and s.
 
Corazo•n (heart)
La•piz (pencil)
Camise•ta (shirt)
Esto•mago (stomach)
Ca•ma (bed)
Ore•jas (ears)
Peli•cula (film)
Mie•do (fear)
Zapa•tos (shoes)
Cienti•fico (scientific)
 
How has it gone?
 
Have you noticed that this is also a good exercise to consolidate the correct
pronunciation of words?
 
And now, let’s face the monosyllables!
 
4.3. Monosyllables, those little pests

 
They may be terrible rascals, but like every self-respecting brat
monosyllables just need some brief rules and the situation comes back to
normal.
 
Yesterday you learned personal pronouns: have you noticed that “él vive”
has an accent, while for example “el perro” (the dog) does not? As a matter
of fact, monosyllables need an accent only to distinguish two homographic
words, which are written in the same way; otherwise no accent. In this case,
the pronoun “Él” is distinguished from the article “El”.
 
There are others like them:
 
“Tú” (pronoun) different from “Tu” (possessive adjective: “your”)
 
“Mí” (pronoun “me”) different from “Mi” (possessive adjective: “my”)
 
Más (“more”) different from “Mas” (“yet” in poetic language)
 
Dé (“that he/she give” – present subjunctive) different from “De” (simple
preposition “of”)
 
There are few other examples, but as you can see you do not need to store
that much information to learn the accents of monosyllables. I would say
that we put them in their place!
 
And above all, I hope that you will say: “¡A mí me gusta mi curso de
español!”
 
4.4. Encounters between vowels:
better not to fight!
 
This is the most difficult topic of the day, but if you follow my instructions
step by step you are golden.
 
First of all, you need to know that the five vowels are divided in weak (I, U)
and strong (A, E, O).
 
There are many words that contain a union of these vowels: a diphthong is
created if there is at least one weak vowel, otherwise there is a hiatus if both
vowels are strong. “Maestro” contains a hiatus, and the division into
syllables is “Ma-e-stro”. “Piano” contains instead a diphthong, and the
division into syllables is “Pia-no”. However, the word “Maria” is stressed
on the i, which is the weak vowel.
Therefore, the two vowels must be separated, because it is as if the stress
strengthened the weak vowel: so here is “Ma-ri-a”.
 
Do not get lost right now, look at this simple subdivision:
 
. Case 1: two weak vowels: you must follow the accentuation rule of the
word. Example: “mosquito”: this word presents a diphthong formed by two
weak vowels, therefore you follow the normal rule: it is a paroxytone word
ending in a vowel, so you must not put the accent. You have got it! If there
is a diphthong or a hiatus you need to go a step further to understand if the
accent must be put or not: and I am helping you take this little big step.
 
. Case 2: stressed strong vowel + weak vowel: as before, you must follow
the accentuation rule of the word. Example: “Puerta” (“door”): the stress
falls on the strong vowel (“pueeerta!”), so you need to follow the normal
rule: it is a paroxytone word ending in a vowel and therefore has no accent.
On the contrary, “Huésped” has an accent despite presenting the same
diphthong: this is because, following the rules, the word (which means
“guest”) is paroxytone and ends in a consonant different from –n and –s.
 
If you are trembling or feeling demoralized, do not worry:

it is the most normal reaction (as well as the calmest one!) and I myself felt
a sense of disorientation and fear, as if I were climbing Mount Everest.
Later, though, as you read words, you will realize why the accent is needed
or not, you will know the reason and feel pleased with yourself. On we go
then!
 
. Case 3: stressed weak vowel + strong vowel: the accent is always
needed. Thank God, a breath of fresh air! “Río” (“river”) is stressed on the
weak vowel i, therefore you need to put the accent anyway. It is a bit like
with proparoxytone words, remember? Always put the accent!
 
. Case 4: two strong vowels: follow the accentuation rule of the word.
“Mediterráneo” has an accent because the division in syllables creates “Me-
di-ter-ra-ne-o”, therefore the word is proparoxytone and has an accent.
 
Read the rules again, try to remember them and to understand on which
words you need to put the accent among these ones:
 
Oficia•l (official)
Caresti•a (famine)
Destrui•r (destroy)
Lue•go (later)
Trae•r (bring)
 
One last effort, then I assure you that tomorrow we will have more fun than
today!
 
4.5. One final brief comment
(actually, two!)

 
Do you remember that monosyllables need an accent to be distinguished
from their homographs? There, the same happens with some non-
monosyllabic words.
 
“Éste” is a pronoun, but “Este” is an adjective, meaning “this one/this”
(masculine form) respectively. Consider this sentence: “¿Me da este libro?”
“¿Éste o el otro?”. I would say that it is clearer now!
The same happens with “ésta-esta” (“this one/this” in its feminine form, the
pronoun being always accented), “aquél-aquel” (“that one/that … over
there”), “aquélla-aquella” (“that one/that … over there” in its feminine
form), “ése-ese” (“that one/that”, in its masculine form, widely used in
Spanish), and ésa-esa (“that one/that” in its feminine form). In short, it
always happens with demonstratives!
The pronoun “Esto” instead is used in those cases where you do not know
exactly the object you refer to: “¿Qué es esto?”.
 
Watch out also for adverbs and interrogative and exclamatory
pronouns, which always need an accent.
The word “cual” does not require an accent, but if it becomes an
interrogative adverb (direct or indirect it is the same), then you need to put
it: “¿Cuál es tu nombre?” or, “Quería saber cuál es su nombre” (which
means “I would like to know what his name is”).
Well done, I would say that is enough for today.
Try to read these rules two, three, ten, twenty more times. Reading a lot in
Spanish (on the Internet for example) helps to understand where the accents
are needed and to use them correctly.
One trick: at the beginning always ask yourself why that word has or does
not have an accent, and try for example to pronounce it as if the accent were
or were not there.
You will realize that they are two different pronunciations, one of them
being clearly wrong and which you will do everything to avoid.
Trust me, it is a fun little game that will facilitate your learning. Tonight
you will absorb all the rules.
 
Tomorrow we will learn that many people that you believe to be your
friends actually hide another reality. Do not worry, I am still talking about
grammar!
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. Proparoxytones and words stressed on the fourth-last or fifth-last
syllable... always have an accent, you cannot go wrong.
 
. Paroxytone and oxytone words have reference consonants for their rules:
N and S.
 
. There are monosyllables, pronouns and adverbs that have an accent to be
distinguished from their homographs.
 
. Four simple rules to avoid confusion in the encounters between vowels,
that is hiatuses and diphthongs.
 
. Read, re-read, keep reading words and sentences not only to learn the
pronunciation, but also to understand if the accent is needed or not. And
remember: putting an accent in a wrong position or not putting it are big
mistakes in writing.
 
5th DAY – HOW TO AVOID
UNPLEASANT SITUATIONS,
GAFFES AND
EMBARRASSMENT: FALSE
FRIENDS (AND THEY ARE
REALLY COMMONPLACE!)

 
I still remember a really poor show put up by a dear friend of mine in a
pharmacy in Cordoba. The situation is this one: my friend did not feel really
well so he decided to go into a pharmacy to get some medicines. Trying to
describe his problem to the pharmacist, he said:
“I am a bit embarrassed, but I am constipated. Do you have some medicines
for me?”. The pharmacist looked at him in a perplexed way, then went away
and came back with a... cold medicine! “How is that possible?” my friend
told me “I asked for a totally different thing! Did I say something weird?”.

“Well yes, my dear” I replied, “he understood that you were pregnant and
that you had a cold!”.
Later I had to explain to him that “embarrassed” is similar to the word
“embarazada”, which means “pregnant”, and “constipated” is similar to
“constipado”, which means “cold”.
It is normal then the pharmacist looked a bit confused...
 
5.1. Outward friends, every day

 
Be careful then when you go into a pharmacy and ask for medicines! Also,
when you see the sign “librería”, you need to know that it does not mean
“library”, but “bookshop”.
 
Another example: the verb “realizar” means “carry out”, not “realize”
(which is translated as “darse cuenta”).
 
Be careful then if you need to pay with your credit card in Spain or in a
Spanish-speaking country: “tarjeta” means “card”, whereas a “carta” is a
“letter”.
A university course may include some interesting lectures (“conferencias”),
which are not mere reading (“lectura”) activities.
 
In short, false friends in Spanish are no joke.

The thing is that there are many of them and are obviously similar to
English words meaning something completely different. Moreover, and you
must be careful, as you have noticed there are many false friends that are
used daily.
 
As in every language there is not a fixed rule to find them, just a lot of
practice and memory. The fact that they are used every day is good, because
it means that you will learn a large number of them in a short time and you
will be able to remember them quickly.
By the way, “remember” in Spanish is “recordar”:

another false friend!

These words then seem to make your life easier by saying “Look, I am just
like the word you use in English, use me in the way you know it!”, but they
are actually like the sirens’ song for Ulysses: we recognize them and we
are satisfied with being able to control them, therefore we remember
them better.
 
Here lies the secret for an excellent learning process of these specific
linguistic terms.
 
It is useless to present you a list of false friends: it would be too long and
moreover it is unthinkable to learn hundreds of words by heart. Also take
into account that in America there are other false friends different from the
ones in Spain: the word “papa” is especially used in Latin America not to
indicate someone’s father (that would be “papá”), but to indicate a potato
(or the Pope, depending on the context)!
 
If you are really curious to know about them and try to learn others than the
ones I have taught you today, online you are spoilt for choice.
 
Anyway, the road to an easy, quick and fun learning of false friends is
to read in Spanish, encounter them for the first time and understand
their meaning from the context.
 
This means that you get directly to the right solution, without the help of
tables, diagrams or graphs that already give you the translation.
 
Being able to understand the meaning of a new word, especially a false
friend, is the best way to go.
 
Yesterday was a very busy day, while today has definitely been easier.
Remember, now the important thing is going to your “dormitorio” and sleep
well: from tomorrow, sure enough, you will be able to conjugate the first
verbs, and then to speak using complete sentences.
 
P.S. “Dormitorio” is another false friend, but maybe you already understood
that from the context. I will give you the solution at the end of the sentence,
but try to guess it by yourself. “Dormitorio” means “Bedroom”.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. Today we have not spent a too “largo” time on Spanish, but it compensates
with yesterday’s lesson.

By the way, “largo” in Spanish means “long”, and it is a false friend. How
to recognize and deal with them? There is not a specific rule to recognize
them: there are many of them, they are used daily and even change
depending on the countries in the world where Spanish is the official
language.
 
. The ideal thing is not so much to find a list of all the false friends and
learn them by heart, but rather to read in Spanish (which is always good,
even to learn new words) and understand them by yourselves from the
context. This is the secret to a quick, intuitive and fun learning.
 
6th DAY – HOW TO START
SAYING THE FIRST
SENTENCES IN SPANISH
AFTER LESS THAN A WEEK:
THE PRESENT INDICATIVE

 
Five days ago you were opening this manual for the first time,

and from tonight you will already be able to conjugate verbs in the present
indicative.
 
Not all of them though: today we will start with regular verbs, but I tell you
in advance that the irregular ones are really very intuitive to learn.
 
Moreover, if you learn the verb endings and persons, you will already have
built the foundation for the most difficult tenses and moods.
 
So, let’s not waste time and start immediately with auxiliary verbs.
 
6.1. How to learn auxiliary verbs
fast (and with some necessary
clarifications)

 
In the great majority of languages auxiliary verbs are antisocial and they
keep to themselves: they are obviously fundamental verbs, but they do not
have much in common with the other verbs.
 
Watch out for a couple of things: first of all, the verb to be is not exactly
used as it is in English. You will see it better in a few days, do not worry
now. But you use it to say, for example: “Soy inglés”, or “Tú eres una chica
muy guapa” if you want to pay a compliment to a beautiful girl.
 
Another very important thing: the verbo “haber” is only used to form
compound tenses. If I need to say that I have something, both material and
immaterial (a house, a book, fear) you must always use the verb “tener”.

You will learn it tomorrow since it is irregular.

 
Lastly, have you noticed the accent on “habéis”? It is an oxytone word
ending in –s, therefore it needs an accent. Remember: all verbs in the
second person plural require an accent (obviously except monosyllables
like “sois”).
 
Come on now, we have opened our minds to new notions: let’s make the
most of it and move on to regular verbs.
 
6.2. How to learn regular verbs in
the present indicative in few
minutes
 
So, first of all a very easy thing: in fact, you need to know that in Spanish
there are three conjugations and they end in –ar, -er and –ir. So far, no
difficulty!
 
How about this: I will mark the endings in bold, so you will remember them
better. Know that, once you conjugate these, you will be able to conjugate
on your own all the other regular verbs of the Spanish language. Not bad,
after just five days!
 
For the sake of simplicity, the third person pronouns will just be represented
by “Él” and “Ellos”. Obviously the feminine and the polite form still exist
and they are used, make no mistake!

 
From experience I can tell you that the main difficulties lie in the second
person singular form of the verbs ending in –ar (it is a bit like Latin, if you
have classical notions!) and in the second and third person forms of the
verbs ending in –ir, since you do not expect the presence of the vowel “e”.
 
As for the rest, you can see how the endings run parallel and therefore it
becomes quite easy to remember the verb formation. Have you seen the
accent on the verbs in the second person plural? Never forget it!
 
Have you noticed the verb “subir”, which means “to go up”? Look at this
series of verbs: “to go out” is “salir”, “to go up” is “subir”, “to go down” is
“bajar” and “to go” is simply “ir”. There is a lot going on!
 
Now try to conjugate these verbs:
 
Mirar (to look at), hablar (to speak), beber (to drink), escribir (to write),
prometer (to promise), insistir (to insist), necesitar (to need), vivir (to live).
 
Sleep peacefully tonight, tomorrow we will complete all the present
analysing even the irregular verbs and learning how to recognize them:
these are indeed recognizable, not like the elusive false friends!
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. The auxiliary verbs are obviously “ser” and “haber”, but they are both
used a bit differently than in English.
 
. You have seen that it is not hard to learn regular verbs: you just need to
learn the endings and deal with the most complex points.
 
. Are you asking me which parts are the most difficult?!? Here they are: the
second person singular form of the verbs of the first conjugation, the second
and third person forms of the verbs of the third conjugation and the accent
on the verbs in the second person plural, which many forget.
 
7th DAY - THE
IRREGULARITIES OF THE
VERBS IN THE PRESENT
INDICATIVE. NOTHING
SPECIAL ABOUT IT IF YOU
FOLLOW MY LEAD

 
Take it from me: you have already learned regular verbs and you even know
the endings and the tricks to memorize the crucial parts better: I would say
that we can then analyse the irregularities of the verbs in the present
indicative.
 
Maybe you are one of those readers who is used to go through the chapter
to see how many pages are left: I always do it myself, so I would get you if
you did that!
As a matter of fact, there are many irregularities, but I know an excellent
method to make you remember them in the easiest and most direct way
possible.
 
How? Follow my lead!
 
7.1. Regular irregularities: an
oxymoron? Not at all!

 
I will immediately give you an example so you can understand this slightly
bizarre statement. Think about three English verbs like “to be”, “to have”
and “to go”: their third person singular forms are “it is”, “it has” and “it
goes” respectively. They are all irregular forms and there is no rule to guide
you: you simply need to learn them by heart.
 
On the contrary, in Spanish there are indeed irregularities, even many of
them, but they always follow a well-defined pattern which rarely
presents exceptions.
 
I will show it with this table, which summarizes the main regular
irregularities. Look at the thematic vowels, how and where they change,
and there you have it!
 

 
As you can see, the thematic vowels change in the same way in every
column: the irregularities are then present in the same four out of six
persons.
 
Unfortunately, it is impossible to ascertain in advance if a verb is irregular
or not, although in time you will gain the experience necessary to
understand that.
What is certain is that the irregularity always follows these rules and
therefore you know how to deal with it.
 
7.1.1. A little caveat: the
pronunciation remains the same,
the consonants will adjust!

 
Let’s consider the verb “Elegir”, another false friend which means “to
choose” and which must be put in the third column. Look how it behaves in
the first person singular.
 

 
This is a very common fact in all verbs and it is fundamental to remember
it: the pronunciation of the verb in the infinitive (in this case there is the
moka pot!) is the same even in the conjugation of all the verbal moods
and tenses.
 
Therefore it could be necessary, as in this case, to change the consonant to
keep the same pronunciation, otherwise the pronunciation of a hypothetical
“Eligo” would be different from the infinitive “Elegir”: do you agree?
 
The same applies for other verbs:
 
“Conseguir” means “to achieve”, and to keep the hard sound of the “g” it is
necessary that the first person singular form is “consigo”; indeed, you do
not say “consiguo”, since the sound is different.
 
For example, verbs like “recoger→recojo” (to collect→I collect),
“exigir→exijo” (to demand→I demand) and many others behave in the
same way.
 
Are you scared? You should not be, if you recall what is written in bold
above!
 
7.2. How to memorize the other
irregularities without worries

 
Today you have already learned a lot, but it is not over yet: there are other
irregularities left.
You know, some even concern only specific verbs, which, however, are so
common that you must learn them: so here they come!
 
I will repeat what I said about false friends: if there are daily difficulties (in
this case the irregularities), the optimist sees them as a series of great
opportunities to memorize them as quickly as possible.
 
If you started this course, it means that you are an optimist!
 
7.2.1. -cer/-cir→-zco

 
There, this is another simple rule to memorize the variations of some verbs
in the first person singular: “conocer→conozco” (to know→I know),
“conducir→conduzco” (to drive→I drive: another false friend, have you
seen how many there are?!).
 
Remember that all the other persons have the normal endings of their
conjugation. Many verbs follow this specific rule, but you just need to
sound the alarm bell as soon as you notice the ending in –cer and in –cir.
 
At the beginning it may be a bit difficult, but you just need to oil the
mechanism a bit and the siren will sound!
 
7.2.2. With -uir remember the “Y”
 
As before: you just need to see an example and you will immediately
understand how this irregularity works.
 

 
 
 
7.2.3. Out of nowhere a “G” pops
up

 
Well yes: in some verbs, incidentally once again in the first person singular,
a “G” pops up in the conjugation.
 
Here is the secret to learn them without too much stress.
 
“Poner→pongo” (to put), “hacer→hago” (to do/make), “salir→salgo” (to
go out) “tener→tengo, tienes, tiene” (watch out for the irregularity that you
know already!) however do not offer many reference points.
 
On the contrary, I can assure you that the verbs ending in –aer present –aigo
in the first person singular:
 
“traer→traigo” (to bring), “caer→caigo” (to fall).
 
7.2.4. Out of nowhere a “Y” pops
up as well!

 
We are running parallel to the previous paragraph, but you must promise me
not to worry: even Ys appear in the present indicative.
 
Dar→doy (to give→I give), estar→estoy (which replaces our use of the
verb to be in many cases) are a few examples.
 
As you can see these verbs are too common and important not to remember
the irregularity!
 
7.2.5. Any other business

 
On any agenda, this expression indicates various analyses and contributions
that may take place. In our case, it means that there are several verbs that
behave in their own way and that may possibly cause some problems.
However, if you study well and apply yourself you will have a successful
(and not just any other) business!
 
The verb “saber”, which means “to know”, in the first person it
mysteriously becomes “yo sé”, and then it behaves like a regular verb in the
rest of the conjugation.
 
Similarly, would you ever guess that “yo quepo” is the first person form of
the verb “caber”, which means “to fit”?
 
“To see” is “ver”, and it is such a short verb that, poor thing, let it keep the
letter “e” in its conjugation!
 
Veo → ves → ve → vemos → veis → ven
 
Now consider the strange conjugation of the verb “ir”, which means “to
go”.
It is such a common verb that you will learn it in just a couple of days.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. Today has been very busy, well done for going all the way. You have
discovered that there are regular irregularities: when put in their place (or
even better, in a table) they actually look less scary.
 
. G, Y, Z: as you have noticed, these are the three letters that mark the main
irregularities of Spanish verbs.

The other irregular verbs are too common not to learn them quickly.
 
. Try to conjugate these verbs: distraer, poner, seguir, contener, ir, ver,
reducir, hacer, estar, caer. Then a rest is more than deserved!
 
8th DAY - OK, ALL RIGHT,
LET’S TAKE A BREAK. LET’S
GO TO SPAIN!

 
After a day like yesterday, really full of contents and notions, what is the
best way to relax a bit?
 
Obviously switching off and taking a trip to Spain, so you will also have the
chance to speak directly onsite.
 
8.1. In Spain there is everything
and more, for every taste

 
Where are we going exactly? Well, you decide and then we will book a
flight. There is plenty of choice in a country that offers truly everything:
relaxation by the sea, visits to wonderful cities of art, mountain excursions,
a month-long pilgrimages. Trust me that you will not get bored. You can
choose from 19 different “Autonomous Communities”. They are similar to
regions, and they were created in 1978 after the dictatorial regime of
Francisco Franco, which had lasted since 1939, that is since then end of the
terrible Civil War so crudely represented by Picasso in “Guernica”.
By the way, if you want to see this huge work of art (nearly eight metres
long and three and a half metres wide) we need to go to Madrid.
Not only is the city a wonder, but its surroundings as well:

in Toledo you dive into the Middle Ages, in the Escorial you discover the
history of the country, and the massive walls of Ávila have lasted
uninterruptedly for almost a thousand years.
 
Do you prefer the sea?! Well, the Costa Brava and the Costa del Sol offer
you one of the most enchanting seas ever: all of Catalonia, the Valencian
Community and, further down, Andalusia, offer excellent places suitable
for every kind tourist: do you love discos and dance all night long?
 
Do you prefer to relax even at night? Do you want to combine the seaside
and tourist visits? This is the place for you: I will just say that Barcelona,
Valencia and Malaga are great for both activities; I am warning you, in
summer it is really hard to walk around without suffering from the heat,
especially in the southern communities.
It is easily over 40 degrees.
 
If you want to live a truly unique and touching experience, regardless of
your religious affiliation, you can do the Camino de Santiago: the entire
route, which starts in France and crosses all the Spanish northern
communities, takes a month and it is 800 km long.
There are obviously shorter routes, suitable for families, children and
people with mobility problems. The arrival at the cathedral and the tomb of
St. James is seen by everyone as an incredibly magical event, which makes
us really feel part of a mankind on its journey, moving hand in hand.
 
Then, usually, you treat yourself to a swim in the Atlantic Ocean in
Finisterre, a hundred kilometres from Santiago de Compostela: tradition
dictates that the pilgrim’s clothes must be burnt in a cathartic bonfire, as a
symbol of a rebirth to a new life, and shells must be collected in memory of
the journey started 800 km before in a small town of 30 people named
Roncesvalles, bordering France.
Does not this tiny town ring a bell? What about Roland and Charlemagne?
In 778 a battle which became legend took place there: as a matter of fact,
Charlemagne wanted to enter Spain, at the time almost entirely ruled by the
Moors, to annex it to his Christian empire. Not only did this venture fail,
but his rearguard fell into an awful ambush which cost the life of, among
others, the paladin Roland, immortalized by the famous poem of chivalry
“Chanson de Roland”.
 
Would you ever believe that the highest mountain in Spain is on an island?
Well yes: in the Canary Islands the Teide volcano is 3.718 metres high. Its
national park is one of the most visited in the world, but you also would be
enchanted by the cliffs overhanging the Atlantic Ocean, called “Los
Gigantes”. The climate in the Canaries is paradisiac: all year round it is
always between 15° and 25°. As a matter of fact we are far away from the
European continent, try to see where they are in an atlas!
 
Generally speaking, though, mind where you are going! Indeed, you could
find yourself saying “Buenos días” and hearing “Egun on!”.
Do not worry: you are in the Basque Country or in Navarre and here,
anyway, Castilian is spoken and understood by basically everyone.
 
However, it is curious that on the border between France and Spain a
language like the Basque is still alive, a language which maybe is even
derived from Etruscan and which is not related to any language present
today in Europe.
In this area, Bilbao and Pamplona are worth a visit: either now or later,
you get to decide.
 
Even the Principality of Asturias is rich of traditions going back to the
Middle Ages and of unspoiled natural beauties, like cliffs overhanging the
Atlantic Ocean and mountains perfect for winter and summer hikes.
 
Not to mention Catalonia, which uses its own peculiarities in a political
battle against the central government, in order to gain greater autonomy or
even independence from the crown, currently held by Philip VI of Bourbon.
Nevertheless Catalonia is a region full of history, culture and charm, as well
as beaches, fun and good food.
 
Well, actually, you can find good food really everywhere; in a few days I
will give you some advice about that as well.
 
As for now start booking, then we will think about filling our stomachs!
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. Spain is truly a destination suitable for any type of tourist: fun, beaches,
mountains, cities of art, excursions, pilgrimages and many other
opportunities.
 
. In Spain there are as many as 44 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, scattered
all over the mainland, the Balearics and the Canaries.
 
. By now you will have certainly made up your mind: where would you like
to go to unwind?
 
9th DAY - CROSS AND DELIGHT
OF SPANISH: “SER”, “ESTAR”
AND “HABER”

 
Here we are, after having ideally toured Spain while waiting for doing it in
real life. Anyway, I already know where it goes: you would like to come
back on the next available flight, because Spain really offers anything one
could ask for, and has wonderful culture, food and mentality. In short, you
would love it there.
Maybe after tonight you will think: why do Spaniards complicate their lives
so much?
Good question, I asked it myself when I had to learn the right use of the
verbs ser, estar and haber.
 
I am warning you, it will take some time before you know how to use them
in a fluent and natural way.
At the beginning you just need to understand the mechanism though, then
studying and consistency are the oil that will make the gears turn.
 
9.1. A “ser” is like a diamond: it is
forever

 
Consider these two sentences carefully: “my brother is tall”, “my brother is
angry”. Apparently, there is no difference between the two, except
obviously for the meaning. Yet Spaniards would use two different verbs for
these sentences.
You see, the complication of life that we mentioned before! Nothing hard,
simply remember that not only is the diamond forever (and very expensive
too), but the verb “ser” as well (which is also free to use, and this is
certainly a nice perk!). What am I talking about? Well, if my brother is tall,
he will be like that all his life, unless he suffers from serious and unlikely
malformations or diseases. Surely, maybe when we are old we get a bit
shorter, but let’s not complicate our lives now! My brother is and will
always be tall, therefore in Spanish you will have to use the verb ser:
“mi hermano es alto”.
On the contrary, my brother is angry maybe because he has argued with his
girlfriend today: tomorrow they will make up and he will be happy and in
love as before.
Being angry is just a temporary situation, then you will have to use the
verb estar: “mi hermano está enfadado”.
Obviously this rule applies to every mood,

unless they are an integral and specific part of our character.

 
Do you need another example? Here it is: if you tell the shop assistant that
“esta camiseta me gusta, es ancha” it means that you like that T-shirt
because it is large and this is one of the characteristics that your T-shirt need
to have.
However, if you tell them “Esta camiseta no me gusta, está ancha”, it means
that you have temporarily worn it, just to try it on, and then you have
realized that it is too large for you.
 
Remember: “ser” is forever”, “estar” does not last long instead.
 
Then watch out for some adjectives that change their meaning depending on
the verb “ser” or “estar”: “ser negro” means “to be black”, but “estar negro”
means “to be angry”; or, “ser rico” means “to be rich”, but “estar rico”
means “to be tasty”.
 
So, watch out for these particular adjectives, although there are only a few
of them luckily!
Obviously ser and estar have their specific uses, without any possibility of
misunderstanding.
 
9.1.1. How to use “ser” in a se(r)lf-
confident way

 
Do you need to say that you will celebrate your birthday at your house
Saturday night? You will then send a message to your friends saying that
“mi cumpleaños es el próximo sábado en mi casa”: this is because you are
informing someone about the date and the place of an event.
 
Even in the description of a person you use the verb ser: for example, “mi
hermano es católico, es médico, es muy alto y es una persona muy
tranquila” (“my brother is Catholic, he is a doctor, he is very tall and he is a
very quiet person”).
 
There are also some fixed expressions that require “ser”, without a
particular reason: here you just need a lot of experience, and the trick is
using them often to memorize them more quickly.
 
“Ser caradura” means “to have the cheek”, “ser un desastre” does not need
to be translated!
 
9.1.2. How to use “estar” in a self-
confident way

 
You have sent the invitation for your birthday, but someone does not
remember exactly where you live: “mi casa está entre el banco y la
farmacia”. Therefore, you will use “estar” for any geographical indication
of this kind, but you also use it if you want to describe someone’s
profession: if you explain to a Spaniard that “mi primo está de médico”,
they will have a clear idea of your cousin’s (another false friend!) job.
However, uou also use it in fixed expressions: “estar por las nubes” means,
in fact, “to have one’s head in the clouds”.
 
Now consider how you form the gerund.

 
The only difficulty: watch out for the verbs that change the thematic
vowel in the present, since they also change in the gerund.
 
Sentir → siente → sintiendo,
dormir → duerme → durmiendo.
 
Even the verbs with the stem ending in a vowel change: they end in -
yendo in the gerund.
 
So, there you have caer → cayendo or creer → creyendo
 
Now, let’s face the last challenge of the day!
 
9.2. How to best use the verbs
“haber” and “estar”

 
In order to understand how to use these verbs correctly, consider this
pairing:
 
haber → indefinite article;
estar → definite article.
 
Indeed, both verbs mean “there is-there are”, but there is that main
difference between them. It seems very easy and predictable, but at the
beginning you will struggle a bit. Only at the beginning though!
 
1. It is sunny today →
Hoy está el sol (literally, “Today there is the sun”).
 
2. It is raining a lot today →
Hoy hay una lluvia muy fuerte (literally, “Today there is a very strong
rain”).
 
Consider these sentences in the plural and let us draw some conclusions:
 
1. Tomorrow there are football matches →
Mañana están los partidos de fútbol.
 
2. Tomorrow there are many football matches →
Mañana hay muchos partidos de fútbol.
 
Two fundamental things: “hay” is used for both the singular and the plural
form, and even before indefinite adjectives and pronouns.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. You have done really well today, because you have learned several
important peculiarities of Spanish: the different use of “ser” and “estar” is
fundamental in basically very sentence. Remember that the former has a
definitive nature, whereas the latter has a temporary one. With some
exceptions and peculiarities.
 
. Moreover, you have learned to form and use the gerund without too much
effort.
 
. Anything else? Yes! Another muy española characteristic that you know
now is the difference between “haber” and “estar”: now you know that you
use the former when the object of my speech is indefinite, whereas the latter
is used when the object is definite.
 
. Remember: today’s notions are quite simple in theory (especially since I
have presented them in the easiest way possible) but quite difficult in
practice, particularly when you speak the first times. Soon you will be able
to master them, I am sure.
 
10th DAY - ANOTHER CROSS
AND DELIGHT: “POR” AND
“PARA”. TWO DIFFERENT
PREPOSITIONS TO SAY
“FOR”?!

 
“Can I have this cake, please? It’s for my son”.

In order to prepare a great birthday party a cake is indispensable. Maybe

you have ordered a cake to celebrate a friend or a relative, and a sentence
like that is very common in this context. Actually, nothing strange about it,
apparently.
 
Let’s try to translate this sentence in Spanish paying attention to two
prepositions:
 
“Por favor, ¿puedes darme esa torta? Es para mi hijo”.
 
Well yes, you have read correctly: “Por favor” and “Para mi hijo”.
Two different forms for the same preposition.
 
10.1. How to clearly understand the
uses of “por” and “para” without
racking your brains too much

 
Do not worry, there are clear rules which define exactly when to use “por”
and when to use “para”. To begin with, it is indispensable to have some
even basic notions of clause and sentence analysis, so that the learning will
definitely be more immediate.
 
First of all, rule number one: “por” denotes cause, place and price,
“para” instead denotes purpose, benefit and time. “We are not going out
because of the rain” denotes the cause, the reason for staying at home.
Therefore, the translation is “no salimos por la lluvia”. Consider these three
indications of place: “por aquí, por allá, por ahí”. They mean “here, there,
around”, and, as you can see, they are fixed expressions that require “por”.
Or, in the sentence “I am buying this sweater for 30 €”, the price must be
indicated with “por”, and therefore the translation is “compro el jersey por
30 €”.
 
Now let’s consider “para”. The purpose of studying is obviously to get a
good grade, therefore “José is studying to get a good grade” becomes “José
aprende para sacar una buena nota”. The benefit is expressed when you say
for example “for me”, that is “para mí”. The time expression “within an
hour” requires “para”: the translation will be “para dentro una hora”, and
this obviously applies to every temporal duration.
Already having understood and learned this rule means having taken a huge
step forward.
 
There are obviously many other cases that at the beginning will cause some
troubles, but then experience and memory will help you a lot. I always
repeat this, because they are the most important things in the learning of a
foreign language.
 
You say “te llamo por teléfono” (“I am calling you on the phone”), because
“por” also denotes an adverbial of means. You use “por” even to express the
agent (both animate and inanimate), therefore in passive sentences: “the
apple is eaten by my brother” will then become “la manzana es comida por
mi hermano”.
 
Trust me, this is such a strange and peculiar characteristic that you will
learn it in no time!
 
You also use “por” in prepositional phrases of place (with “through” or
“across”): “I am going to Spain passing through France” is translated as
“voy a España pasando por Francia”.
 
A brief digression: geographic names do not require an article, unless
you specify one of their characteristics like “la Italia del norte” or “la
Francia mediterránea”.
 
I will explain to you a little matter, to let you know how many shades of
meaning may be conveyed by these two prepositions: you have now
understood what “para mí” means: well, there is also “por mí”, and you use
it when any of the alternatives proposed is good, without personal interests.
 
For example: “To me, it is great if we spend the summer in Spain or in
Argentina” is translated as “por mí es muy bueno si veraneamos en España
o en Argentina”, since both options are fine.
 
The trick to learn them? Memorizing as much as you can set phrases
containing “por” or “para”, especially when you come across them for
the first time and you feel unsure about their use.
 
This is an excellent method, but there are many others: the important thing
is to never give up when dealing with a “por” or a “para”, and to try and
reflect to understand which one of the two is correct. In this way learning
becomes a game, which is sort of the aim not only of this chapter, but of the
entire manual!
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. We can say that today’s work was “short but intense”: well yes, because
learning the difference between “por” and “para”, which play an important
part in Spanish, is not easy and above all, what counts is daily practice and
training based on reading and learning from your mistakes.
 
. There are some rules that clarify the use of these two prepositions, but
their fields of use are endless: broadly speaking, “por” denotes cause, place
and price, while “para” denotes purpose, benefit and time.

You will find hundreds of them every day, in every text that you will read or
listen to in Spanish: it is better this way, it means that you will be able to
face and overcome many little difficulties every day!
 
. Meanwhile, you have also learned that geographic names do not require an
article, unless you refer to one of their parts.
 
11th DAY – AN EASY LESSON
FOR TODAY, LET’S LEARN
NUMBERS

 
You need a relaxing day after several lessons which were very intense, full
of concepts and rules to learn.

Today you will learn to say numbers and dates correctly, which obviously
are used in any written or spoken context.
 
As usual embrace the Latin saying that you already know: “Divide et
impera”. Numbers are infinite, but the tricks to learn them are few and
simple. You just need to follow my every step, and you will classify
numbers perfectly in your memory.

Indeed, it is not enough to learn things: what really counts is “how” you
learn them.
 
11.1. How to memorize cardinal
numbers

 
We are not talking about high-ranking prelates, but about the numbers that
you learn in kindergarten or maybe even before.
 
Here is the start of the series.
 
0 = cero
1 = uno
2 = dos
3 = tres
4 = cuatro
5 = cinco
6 = seis
7 = siete

8 = ocho
9 = nueve
10 = diez
11 = once
12 = doce
 
The only difficulty is the pronunciation of number 4: for some reason, in the
pronunciation people often tend to add a final “s”, which is not actually
there.
 
Now, let’s go up to 20.

 
13 = trece
14 = catorce
15 = quince
16 = dieciséis
17 = diecisiete      
18 = dieciocho
19 = diecinueve
20 = veinte
 
Have you noticed how similar they are to each other? The trio 13-14-15 has
a similar pronunciation, as the series 16-19.
 
Indeed, the trick to memorize them properly is to “organize” them in your
head by putting them into groups based on their similarities.
 
Here, on the contrary, the problem is at the end: indeed, the number
“twenty” is “veinte”, with “e” as the final vowel. Watch out!
 
Now, learn the ten numbers after 20.

 
21 = veintiuno
22 = veintidós
23 = veintitrés
24 = veinticuatro
25 = veinticinco
26 = veintiséis
27 = veintisiete
28 = veintiocho
29 = veintinueve
30 = treinta
 
As you can see, now “veinti” takes the lion’s share, eliminating the vowel
“e” of “veinte”. Now you know it, it is a surmountable difficulty.
 
Watch out for the next ten numbers, those after 30.

 
31 = treinta y uno
32 = treinta y dos
33 = treinta y tres
34 = treinta y cuatro
35 = treinta y cinco
36 = treinta y seis
37 = treinta y siete
38 = treinta y ocho
39 = treinta y nueve
40 = cuarenta

 
There, from 30 onwards all numbers behave exactly in this way:
“tens y units”.
 
Consequently, the conjunction “y” must not be put between hundreds
and tens, or between thousands and hundreds or between thousands
and units.
 
If you memorize this simple little rule, you will be able to say numbers,
years and dates without any problem.
 
Now, on to the next tens and hundreds.

 
50 = cincuenta            
60 = sesenta            
70 = setenta            

80 = ochenta
90 = noventa
100 = cien
 
Another little difficulty: the whole number 100 is “cien”, but with any other
unit it takes the form “ciento...”. For example, 164 is “cientosesenta y
cuatro”. Clear, right?
 
100 = cien                  
200 = doscientos            
300 = trescientos            
400 = cuatrocientos            
500 = quinientos            

600 = seiscientos
700 = setecientos
800 = ochocientos
900 = novecientos
1000 = mil
 
Watch out for three things: 100 (whose secrets you already know), 500 (all
numbers with this take the strange form “quinientos”) and 900 (be careful,
“novecientos”, not “nuevecientos”). A small caveat: obviously, if hundreds
refer exclusively to feminine elements you will need to use the numeral
adjectives in the feminine form: “300 women” is in fact “trescientas
mujeres”.
 
On with the last numbers.

 
1000 = mil            
2000 = dos mil            
10.000 = diez mil      

100.000 = ciento mil

1.000.000 = un millón
1.000.000.000 = mil millones
 
I would say that we can stop at one billion, otherwise numbers will start
looking like IBAN codes!

By the way, as you can see there is not a way to say “a billion”, but you
simply say “a thousand million”.
 
Remember the same basic rule as before, that is “y” must be put only
between tens and units: the third millennium began in 2001, therefore in
Spanish it is “dos mil uno”, without any conjunction.
 
11.2. A quick look at ordinal
numbers

 
Here are the first ten ordinal numbers:
 
primero, segundo, tercero, cuarto, quinto, sexto, séptimo, octavo, nono,
décimo.
 
And then? Well, maybe brushing up your Latin will help you with higher
ordinals: decimoprimero, decimosegundo, and so on up to 20°, which is
“vigésimo”.
 
Then again: trigésimo, cuadragésimo, quincuagésimo (watch out for the
pronunciation!), sexagésimo, septagésimo, octagésimo, nonagésimo,
centésimo.
 
Fun fact: the numbers referring to centuries are always cardinal, never
ordinal.
 
For example: “the twentieth century” becomes “el siglo veinte”.
 
Maybe you are feeling dizzy tonight, but think about how many steps you
have taken in ten days and how much progress you can still make.
Now absorb numbers in your sleep and tomorrow we will continue.
 
It will not be easy, but I will always be there explaining to you how to make
easy and fun even a difficult topic like the past simple.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. The main difficulty in learning numbers is to be shocked while facing a
series of numbers and say: “It is impossible to learn them all!”. Actually, as
you have realized, there are not many sore points in this topic.
 
. Watch out for “cuatro” which does not need a final “s”, “veinte” and the
conjunction “y” which must be put only between tens and units. Also
beware of the naughty “cien”, “quinientos” and “novecientos”, which may
cause panic among hundreds. But you are well-armoured and you will
know how to fight back.
As a matter of fact, I am sure that you will perfectly master any difficulty.
 
. I am certain that you will have fewer problems with ordinal numbers,
since they are all straightforward.
12th DAY - THE PAST IS THE
PAST, BUT THE LESSON ON
THE SIMPLE PAST IS NOW!

 
As you know, in English you use the “simple past” or the “present perfect”
to talk about the past: there, in Spanish the situation is the same. There are
few exceptions, but there is basically the same distinction.
 
Are you ready then? Let’s go!
 
 
12.1. How to learn the simple past
of the regular verbs in a few
minutes

 
In Spanish, the simple past (pretérito indefinido) is used when in the
sentence there is a precise time indication referring to the past, or
anyway when the action is clearly finished.
 
Therefore, it is correct to say, for example, “I read a novel yesterday” or
“We bought a new computer a year ago” or “I met José on 17th March last”.
 
Let’s see how regular verbs behave. I am telling you: exceptions are few
and easy to schematize.

 
Look at that: the second and third conjugations are identical! One less thing
to worry about. The rest does not scare us.
 
So, how would you translate the sentences above?
“Ayer leí una novela”, “Hace un año compramos el ordenador nuevo” and
“El doce de marzo pasado quedé con José”.
 
One very important thing: the verbs that change the thematic vowel in
the present, also modify it in the simple past, but only with this
alternation: e→ i o→ u
 
Consider this table, which will help you understand this concept:


 
Whatever the vowel change, remember then that if the stem of the verb in
the infinitive presents an “e”, in the third person forms there is an “i”,
whereas an “o” becomes a “u”.
 
Below you will find some time expressions that always require the simple
past. When you see them or need to use them, an alarm bell must ring in
your head and make you realize: “here I need to use the simple past!”.
. A year, a month, a day ago →
Hace un año, un mes, un día
 
. Yesterday, the day before yesterday →
Ayer, anteayer
 
. Last March, Autumn, 5th August →
el pasado marzo, otoño, cinco de agosto
 
Obviously, this list can be expanded with other different expressions: when
you find them, for example, it will be good to add them to the list.
 
Remember: you do not use the simple past when there is the
demonstrative “this”.
For example, “we have gone to the seaside this summer” indicates that
summer is not over yet, otherwise you would say “last summer”. Therefore,
in this case you must use the present perfect, which we will analyse in the
next days.
 
I would say that it is enough for today. Keep practising with conjugations
and time expressions and you will be able to master them in no time.
Tomorrow we will see the irregularities of the verbs in the past simple, but
now we know each other quite well: if we walk together, we will get far.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. Regular verbs in the pretérito indefinido do not scare us: what really helps
us is the fact that the last two conjugations, are identical.
 
. Remember: this tense is used correctly both in the spoken and the written
language. As long as there is a precise time expression of the past, you use
the simple past. On the contrary, you must not use it when there are words
like “this”, which locate the sentence in the present, not in the past.
 
. It is very useful to make a list of expressions that require the simple past,
so you will immediately know when to use this tense or the simple past. A
simple and effective trick, is it not?
 
13th DAY – HOW TO FACE THE
IRREGULARITIES OF THE
SIMPLE PAST WITHOUT
PANICKING

 
“Then he came and we drank wine together”.
It could be the final sentence of a book chapter:

the main character speaks in the first person sitting at a bar table and
waiting for a friend to have an aperitif together.

Who knows what will happen in the next chapter: a showdown or simply
two old friends hanging out?
 
Let us focus on this sentence now and try to translate it in Spanish: “Luego
él vino y bebimos juntos el vino”.

Luckily there are accents and we are able to distinguish “él vino” (he came)
from “el vino” (wine)!
 
13.1. How to memorize a list of
irregular verbs easily

 
We are lucky: there are really few irregular verbs in the simple past and
they are all frequently used. They are used so much that by dint of finding
them it is impossible not to memorize them.
Their conjugation is the same for all, but it is very peculiar. As you have
already noticed, “él vino” is quite unusual.
 
The important thing is to understand that these irregular verbs modify
their stems and add specific endings. As you have seen, “venir” change
the stem into “vin”, adding then the endings.
 
Here they are:

 
Estar → Estuv-
Haber→Hub-
Hacer → Hic- (but “él hizo”, to keep the same pronunciation of the
infinitive “hacer”)
Poder → Pud-
Poner → Pus-
Querer → Quis-
Saber → Sup-
Tener → Tuv-
Venir → Vin-

 
The endings are always the same, so the example of “querer” applies also to
the other verbs.
 

 
The two main difficulties, especially at the beginning, are due to the
frequent confusion between the first and the third person singular forms.
They are both short words and look very similar, but you have to keep in
mind the ending “e” in the first person and the ending “o” in the third
person. An excellent exercise is to conjugate them all at least once, so you
will have the pattern right in front of you and will not go wrong.
Remember well these endings: in the next group of verbs they will come
back again!
 
13.2. A “J” in the simple past

 
In some verbs a “J” mysteriously appears, similarly to the mysterious
appearances of some letters in the irregular verbs in the present. As you can
see, the irregularities run parallel.
 
The verbs ending in -cir and other few exceptions (like “traer”) require
a “j” before the usual endings. Here is an example:
 

 
However, watch out for “decir”, where “e” becomes “i” in every person:
Dije, dijiste, dijo… and then?
 
Go on!
 
13.3. Some strange irregularities,
but so strange that there hardly
any

 
How nice: two such common verbs like “ir” and “ser” have the exact
same conjugation.
 

 
So, for example “Fui con los amigos” means both “I went with my friends”
and “I was with my friends”. Obviously, the context of the sentence will
help you understand which verb is correct.
Or another very common verb: “dar”.
 

Watch out for the pronunciation, especially in the third person singular
form. The stress, in fact, falls on the “o”, do you remember why?

It is a monosyllable and you do not put the accent because there is not a
homographic word with a different meaning.
 
Well, I would say that we have done well even today.

In two days you have learned how to conjugate and use the simple past. I
suggest you revise everything, mainly focussing on the topics that you find
more difficult.
 
Tomorrow we will expand our past further.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter
 
. You learned how to use the simple past yesterday, today you have
discovered some strange irregularities.
 
. Pay attention to the changes in the stems of some verbs, which are very
common by the way, and the appearance of a “j” in another group of verbs.
 
. What about “ser”, “ir” and “dar”? Different from all the others, but so
common that you learn them in no time!
 
14th DAY – HOW TO FORM THE
PAST PARTICIPLE
 
When you need to use the past participle, it is fundamental that you also
know the auxiliary verb that precedes it. In English, as you know, “have” is
the auxiliary verb that must be put before participles, for both transitive and
intransitive verbs.
 
Besides using the right auxiliary verb, it is vital to know the correct form of
the past participle that you need to use. In English, however, there are some
verbs that lack past participle forms and are therefore called defective. For
example, you may say “I can do anything”, but if you refer to the past you
will have to use another expression (like “I was able to”). The same is true
for verbs like “must” or “beware”.
 
Also, how many times have you been unsure about the form of a certain
past participle? Think, for example, about some irregular verbs like “teach”
and “catch”: how could you ever guess that their past participle forms are
“taught” and “caught” respectively? Or how could you imagine that “sung”
and “hung” are the past participles of “sing” and “hang”? Not to mention
“lain”, which is the past participle of “lie”!
 
In conclusion, it is all very confusing. Luckily, the situation is different in
Spain:
 
All verbs require the auxiliary verb “haber” (as in English) and there
are hardly any irregular past participles.
 
There are no defective verbs and I am sure that you will have no problems
learning all the participles.
 
14.1. How to learn all the past
participles in no time
Remember these simple patterns:

 
The initial difficulty concerns only the second conjugation, which is the
same as the third.
 
Would you believe that with just these three examples you know the past
participle of 99,9% of Spanish verbs?
 
Now, here are the main exceptions:
 
 

 
The fact that these verbs are very common makes it much easier for you:

in just a few days you will have them memorized.

 
14.2. How to use the past participle

 
Do you remember that you learned how to use the simple past two days
ago? There, in very few words we could say that what is not simple past is
present perfect; basically,

the simple past is used when in the sentence there is no precise time
indication, or when there are demonstrative pronouns and adjectives.
 
Obviously, as in English, you can use the past participle in all compound
tenses of every verb mood.
 
Let’s go back in time again: four days ago you started to learn the
differences between “por” and “para”.
Remember that the agent (both animate and inanimate), which is
present in passive sentences, requires the preposition “por”.
If a past participle is used as a qualifying adjective, obviously, must agree
with the noun it modifies in gender and number.
 
An example is worth a thousand rules:
“We have been defeated by the strongest team” →
“Hemos sido derrotados por el equipo más fuerte”.
It is such a strange peculiarity that trust me, it will be the first one that you
will remember!
Is it already over? Well yes, there you have the past participle!
 
I will never stop repeating this: revise past lessons every day, especially the
topics that you find more difficult. Tomorrow is another day... and there will
be something new to learn!
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. -Ado, -Ido, -Ido. With these three simple endings you can form the past
participle of nearly every Spanish verb. The few exceptions concern very
common verbs, and this will help you a lot.
 
. Remember: the use of the participle is the opposite to that of the simple
past. Use it when there is a demonstrative and the sentence does not present
any time indication about a finished action. Then, use “por” to form the
agent (both animate and inanimate), making sure the participle agrees with
the noun it modifies when it behaves like an adjective.
 
15th DAY – HOW TO ENJOY AN
EXCELLENT SPANISH DINNER.
TODAY IT’S ON ME, FROM THE
APPETIZER TO THE DESSERT,
DRINKS INCLUDED!

 
What is better than a dinner with friends? Maybe in a restaurant by the sea
in a Spanish seaside town. I am telling you the programme already, but do
not stick too much to the timetable. You do not watch the clock on holiday!
 
I suggest you stay on the beach since early morning and have lunch with a
typical “Bocadillo”, that is a sandwich.
In Spain a very popular sandwich is the one with “los calamares”, or with
the famous and delicious “Jamón ibérico”, the ham with a characteristic
black colour, produced mainly in the south of the country.
 
There, having one for lunch together with a nice, cool “cerveza” (“beer”)
sitting under the beach umbrella is truly the best thing ever.
 
15.1. How to best choose an
aperitif: there is something for
every taste!

 
Before the actual dinner let’s have an aperitif:

it is 8 p.m.
What, an aperitif at this hour?! Of course, in Spain if you try to get into a
restaurant to have dinner at this time, you will probably find it closed, or the
waiters may smile at you while wondering: “are there people who eat in the
afternoon?!”.
 
That being said, for an aperitif I would tell you to try the famous “tapas”:
they are a combination of small dishes of food and some drinks.
 

Their origin has its roots in the thirteenth century, when King Alfonso X of
Castile advised to serve wine along with solid food; then the bottle of wine
had to be “capped” (“tapada” in Spanish, from which the name “tapas” is
derived) by the little plates containing food so that the taste of the wine was
not contaminated with external impurities.
 
“Pincho” and “montadito” are very popular aperitifs as well.
 

 
In the former case you eat appetizers and snacks standing at the bar, while
montadito is simply a slice of bread with some food on it.
A delicious aperitif is tortilla de patatas, typical of Spain: it does not need
to be translated, just to be eaten!
 

15.2. First course, second course

and so on up to the dessert!

 
Are you already full?!? Anyway, I am sure that if you if you see before you
a plate full of paella you will not refuse to eat it. You are in the birthplace
of this very famous dish, cooked in the homonymous pan and exported all
over the world.
 

 
If you do not like fish or, like me, you are allergic to shellfish, do not
worry! There is, in fact, even paella with meat and vegetables, born in the
Comunidad Valenciana.
Would you have ever thought that true paella originated in this area and has
only meat and vegetables?
 
Instead, if you are in the Balearics and you want or try a typical dish of this
area, you must order the traditional Menorcan rice with octopus.
Octopus is generally very present in Spanish cuisine, so much so that there
is the Galician version, typical of the Galician Community.
 
Among the soups, you can choose between the cold one, full of raw
vegetables, called “Gazpacho” (in the picture below), or go for the hot
“Sopa de ajo”, which is a garlic soup.
 

 
Meat and fish: well, you are truly spoiled for choice! Cod and salt cod can
be found everywhere, as well as the famous “cocido” (in the next picture),
boiled meat served with vegetables. I think that cocido sums up all of Spain,
so different from region to region: in fact, in every autonomous community
the meat and vegetables are different, but the name of this dish is always the
same.
 
 
“Pisto manchego”is a side dish, a mixture of different fried vegetables like
tomatoes, onions, aubergines and courgettes.
 
Do you have room for fruit and dessert? Catalan cream can be found even
outside Spain, but as its name indicates it has its origin in Catalonia.
Another spacial dessert is the so-called “Tarta de Santiago”, an almond
cake with a layer of icing sugar forming the traditional St. James cross.
 

 
Then of course, every little village has its own typical desserts and its own
culinary traditions.
 
Two things are certain though: leave some change as a “propina” for the
waiters once the meal is over.

But above all, do not be surprised by Spanish prices.

 
Excellent quality at incredibly low prices: I am not here to advertise
anything, but going to Spain is convenient even from a merely financial
point of view. In conclusion, this country really offers anything that one
could desire. And with a belly full of excellent food, the night will bring the
perfect rest to face tomorrow’s lesson.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. Tapas, pincho and montaditos: three excellent ways to enjoy an aperitif
after a day of work, of sightseeing, at the beach... In short, any time is good
to “ir de tapas”.
 
. Every meal will be a triumph of flavours, delicacies and new recipes.
Savour each bite and seize the opportunity remember new words and
recipes to take home, to have a bit of Spain in your kitchen!
 
16th DAY – ON A FULL
STOMACH LET’S FACE THE
IMPERFECT

 
With a nice dinner like yesterday’s you must have slept really well, maybe
with your mouth still watering or with the taste of some typical dish. It is
normal, when you try something, you do not want it to end.
 
Maybe you will experience a similar situation today: you have learned
different notions about the past and you discover that there are other verb
tenses? But they seem infinite too!
How will you memorize everything in a short time?
 
Follow me step by step and there will hardly be any problems at all.
 
16.1. How to learn the imperfect in
less than ten minutes

 
The imperfect is used to describe habitual actions occurred in the past.
Always remember: the first conjugation is isolated and behaves in its own
peculiar way, whereas the other two go hand in hand. This is the behaviour
of all Spanish verbs in the imperfect.
 

 
There, in bold you can find all the initial difficulties. Apart from the one
concerning the stress (and consequently the pronunciation) of the verbs in
the first and second person plural of the verbs in -ar, pay close attention to
the first person singular forms of very conjugation. As you can see, these
forms end in -a and they are exactly like the third person singular forms. At
first, it may seem difficult to keep this in mind, but then you will see that it
is going to be even easier to memorize the conjugations!
 
Always remember that being determined and aware of the difficulties are
strategies that are helpful when studying a foreign language, and in life in
general.
 
And now let’s face the irregular verbs. Guess what, there are as many as...
three!
 
16.2. Three simple little
irregularities

 
“Ir”, “Ser” and “Ver” are the three verbs that in the imperfect stand out from
the rest of the rest of the group and do their own thing. They do not present
scary irregularities: you just need to schematize them and any fear or
difficulty goes away. Try it for yourself!
 

 
As usual, these are “regular irregularities”, since the endings and the
pronunciations are the same as those of regular verbs. You need to pay
attention to the appearance of the bilabial consonant “b” in the verb “ir”
(present, by the way, even in Latin, if you have some recollections of
classical studies) and to the presence of the vowel “e” in the verb “ver”.
The imperfect is served!
 
Any doubts or uncertainties? Besides revising these lessons on the past, my
advice is to get some rest to let everything settle: tomorrow we will see
other verb tenses that are more complex (but you form them along the lines
of what you already know) and how to use them in a well-organized speech.
 
An excellent and practical method to learn everything in an even easier way
is to read online, obviously in Spanish, the biography of some historical
figure, or some news updates.
 
Seeing the verb in a well-defined context (clause, sentence or article)
and understanding why a certain verb tense is used is the best exercise
ever to learn everything even faster.
And obviously with greater awareness.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. Now that you know when to use the imperfect

and that only three verbs present “regular irregularities”, what more could
you ask for? Watch out for the first person singular forms and the
pronunciation of the first two person plural forms.
 
Studying and reading exercises will be your constant points of reference to
learn in an easy and fun way.
 
17th DAY – HOW TO GET
THROUGH A CONVERSATION
EASILY MAKING THE MOST
OF PAST TENSES

 
If learning how to use past tenses looks like an insurmountable obstacle,
rely on the fact that you will basically use these verb tenses in every
sentence. Any speech referring to a more or less distant past necessarily
requires many verb tenses: but as we have already seen, the fact that a
difficulty appears many times during the day cannot but help us remember
and learn it in a very short time.
 
17.1. Past and past perfect: how to
find your way in the Black Forest

 
First of all you need to know that the use of the past and the past perfect in
a sentence follows the so-called “consecutio temporum”, a rule already used
in the Latin language for the correct use of verb tenses. Since Spanish is a
neo-Latin language, the same concept is applied:

the past perfect (“pretérito pluscuamperfecto”)

is used to describe an action occurred before another one in the same

sentence.
 
Consider this example and you will understand it immediately:
 
“When I came home, my mother had already cooked the rice”.
“Cuando llegué a casa, mi madre ya había cocinado el arroz”.
 
It is necessary to make some comments together: first of all,

the past perfect is formed in the following way: auxiliary verb in the
imperfect form + past participle. No difficulty in this case, since as you
know in Spanish the verb “haber” is the only auxiliary verb for any
compound tense.
 
Another important thing is that the action of the sentence is surely
completed (as a matter of fact, I am talking about that one time when I
came home): the adverb “when” is the alarm bell that rings and that must
immediately set off the verb in the simple past. The action of preparing
risotto occurs previously in terms of time, therefore you need to use the past
perfect. But this even happens in English: the only difficulty is correctly
translating the sentence that we encounter.
 
The fundamental notion to learn is that, contrary to what happens in
English, in Spanish you must not put any word between the auxiliary
verb and the past participle: “had already cooked” is translated in fact as
“ya había cocinado”, but “había cocinado ya” is also acceptable. Saying or
writing “Había ya cocinado” would be quite a big mistake, so pay a lot of
attention to this peculiarity. I find it easier to put any additional word before
the verb, not after: this is because at least I have the time to focus on the
correct form and conjugation of the verb, otherwise it is more likely that I
forget that word.
However this is a piece of advice, not a rule. The important thing in this
case is to choose the best path for yourself and to follow it always.
 
In Spanish there is also an obsolete verb tense, the preterite perfect
(“pretérito anterior”), which is formed with hub- + past participle.
 
However, I do not recommend that you learn it from a practical point of
view, since it is rare and hardly ever used. This is a verb tense that has
survived as a relic of an old language, which distinguished between an
action completed in the past (simple past) and another completed action
preceding it (preterite perfect).
 
I would say that our pot is already full of enough ingredients: if you know
how to use them you will cook something delicious that you will be proud
of and that everyone will love.
 
Metaphors aside, the correct use of past tenses, from the imperfect to the
compound tenses not to mention the simple past, truly gives satisfaction
and awareness of having gained familiarity with a really difficult topic.
The last obstacle is the correct use of the gerund, which in Spanish is used
really a lot, as it is in English. There you have the last ingredient for your
delicious dish!
 
17.2. How to remember the main
functions of the gerund

 
Do you remember how to use and form the gerund in the present? Well, the
same pattern must be applied for the past tense: estab- + past participle.
“While I was having a shower, they called me on the phone” is translated
as: “Mientras me estaba duchando, me llamaron al teléfono”.
Nothing special about it then. Moreover, as in English, the gerund is
extensively used in Spanish: consider some peculiar cases, remembering
that only the union between theoretical study and daily practice makes the
real difference in the learning process.
 
For example, a very common expression that is easy to e remember is “keep
+ -ing” which is “seguir + gerund”. “I keep eating even when I study” is
therefore translated as “Sigo comiendo también mientras aprendo”.
 
Even the expression “be + -ing” has the gerund: “we are on the sofa reading
the newspaper” will then be “estamos en el sofá leyendo el periódico”.
As in English, when there is a relative clause after verbs of perception,
understanding and representation of reality, such as for example oír, sentir,
pintar, grabar, representar, and many others. “I have seen a child running
towards the school” is translated as “He visto a un niño corriendo hacia la
escuela”.
 
Another case of using the gerund, preceded by the preposition “en”, is when
the action in the subordinate clause occurs before the one in the main one.
For example: “Having said that, he started to laugh” is “En diciendo esto,
empezó a reír”.
 
Surely you are wondering: “how can i remember every single rule, and in
the meantime maybe even think about the verbs of perception inside a
relative clause?! It is impossible!”. It is not! Trust me and what I am about
to tell you: you know that these rules exist, and maybe at first you will use
them little and poorly.
 
Practice and constant reading are truly the best exercise, because then
the expressions different from English will become automatic and you
will be really happy and excited when using them.
Day after day you are experimenting that the little plant slowly grows only
with the right amount of daily water.
 
By the way: what time do you usually water your little plant? Ah it is true
that we have not learned how to tell the time yet: we will make up for it
tomorrow, ok?!
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. First of all, you need to keep well in mind the conjugation and the use of
every verb tense in the past: imperfect, simple past, present perfect and pact
perfect. Watch out for the consecutio temporum and the links between the
different parts of the sentence.
 
. Remember even the conjugation and the use of the gerund mood that, as
you have seen, behaves similarly as in English.
 
. Daily study and constant practical exercises, such as for example reading
and watching films or tv series with subtitles. This is the recipe to create
your masterpiece: understanding mastering in a short time a foreign
language.
 
18th DAY – AN EASY LESSON
FOR TODAY: THE PARTS OF
THE YEAR AND THE HOURS

 
I would say that it is time for a quiet day with few notions, so that you can
absorb what you have learned about past tenses in the last few days.
 
I do not want you to close this book and throw it far away as Superman
would do with kryptonite but today we can still add some useful topics to
distinguish between the present perfect and the simple past: as a matter of
fact, if in a sentence I indicate a time or a part of the year that are already
over, which verb tense will I have to use? I know that you know it!
 
18.1. Days of the week, seasons and
months: the whole year in few
lines!

 
Here are the days of the week:
 
lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo.
 
Beware that any preposition preceding them always requires an article: “I
am on holiday until Tuesday” becomes “Estoy de vacaciones hasta el
martes”.
 
Moreover, if you need a part of the day, then you will need the preposition
“por”:
 
“I am on holiday until Tuesday evening” will then be “Estoy de vacaciones
hasta el martes por la noche”.
 
Watch out for the parts of the day: “mañana” is “morning” (“tomorrow
morning” is in fact “mañana por la mañana”), “tarde” is “afternoon”,
“noche” means both “evening” and “night”. You may make some mistakes
at the beginning, but the daily use of these peculiarities will help you master
them quickly, as in the other cases.
Which season do you prefer? Some people love the melancholy and the
colours of “otoño”, others the cold of “invierno”, others the scents of
“primavera”, others the heat and the long holidays offered by “verano”.
Winter and summer are my favourite, what about you?
 
Here are the months (notice the similarity with English):
 
enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre,
octubre, noviembre, diciembre.
 
Maybe the only difficulty, if we want to split hairs, is precisely the
similarity with English, which maybe makes it hard to focus on the
orthography and the pronunciation. Anyway, do you agree that these
notions are totally easy to understand and remember?
 
18.2. How to be able to tell the time
to a Spaniard... sounding like a
Spaniard!

 
"Perdone, ¿qué hora es?”. You might hear this question while walking the
streets of Madrid or while enjoying the sunshine on the Barceloneta beach.
Pretending not to know is not smart nor effective, especially if one can
clearly see a watch on your wrist. The solutions are two then: leaving on
purpose your watch and your phone at home, or learning how to tell the
time. It is not a difficult option and moreover it is definitely the best one.
Let us draw a hypothetical clock and make some observations:

 
As you can see, the clock now shows that it is midday, that is “mediodía”.
In twelve hours it will then be “medianoche”. We are lucky because the
time indications are basically literal translations of the English ones.
 
Here are some examples: an appointment at 12.10 is at “doce y diez”, a
lunch reserved at 12.50 begins at “una menos diez” or at “doce y cincuenta”
(this last expression is mainly used when informing about the times of
public transportation). Then you just need to know the numbers and the
hours in English correctly!
However, watch out for the final “s” of the word “menos”, which is often
forgotten.
 
The only difficulty is when the minute hand is on 3 and 9, that is when you
say for example “A quarter past twelve”, or “a quarter to one”: in this case
the indefinite article must be removed, therefore the translations are “doce y
cuarto” and “una menos cuarto”.
 
There, you see?! How long did it take you to learn these time parts? I would
say that it did not take much, and remember: as soon as you find them in a
speech referring to the past, the only tense that you need to use is the
pretérito indefinido.
Tomorrow we will further enrich our vocabulary with pronouns and
adverbs, now get some rest and keep your mind always trained!
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. Partes del día, meses, temporadas (= seasons), horas: now you are familiar
with time parts, therefore you will be able to navigate your way when you
need to use these specific markers.
 
. Do not be afraid to show your watch: as you have seen, the difficulties of
learning hours are only the cases when you need to say “a quarter past” and
“a quarter to”: the indefinite article is in fact removed in Spanish. As for the
rest, you just need to translate correctly and to be quick in the right
pronunciation of numbers.
 
By the way, maybe a little revision can be useful, what do you think?
 
19th DAY- 50 SHADES AND
MORE IN SENTENCES:
PRONOUNS, ADVERBS,
ADJECTIVES AND
PREPOSITIONS

 
Let’s start this quite relaxing day by “taking revenge” on our old grammar
teachers…
 
19.1. Me, I like learning Spanish
 
“Me, I like ice cream!” “No need to say me!”.
How many times have you said a sentence like that, or have you heard
someone say it? It is quite common to use the form “me” to emphasize the
subject in a sentence, even though in theory it should just be used as a
personal object pronoun.
Years and years later, studying Spanish, I took my “revenge”:
 
You can easily say “me I” and it is actually very used.
 
I do not want to advertise anything, but you surely know the lyrics of the
famous song “A mí me gusta bailar el ritmo vuelta, a tí te gusta bailar el
ritmo vuelta, a todos les gusta bailar el ritmo vuelta”. You see?! It works
exactly like that, and as soon as I found out about it I thought that Spanish
people were really lucky for not having to worry about grammar categories,
at least in this case!
 
Personal subject and object pronouns, which you know already, can be
easily attached to verbs to indicate the direct or indirect object. “Peinaros”
(“to comb your hair”) can be literally translated as “to comb yourselves”,
for example: not too difficult, right?!
 
19.1.1. Articles and personal
pronouns sometimes quarrel

 
Well yes, when you put together these two grammar categories sometimes
they want to be close, but other times they do not stand each other and need
to be separated. For example, never say “el mi amigo” or “un mi amigo”!
the only correct option is in fact “mi amigo”, which means “my friend”.
 
Consider these two sentences in parallel:
 
“Mi amigo fue a Francia el mes pasado” →
“My friend went to France last month”
 
“Un amigo mío fue a Francia el mes pasado” →
“A friend of mine went to France last month.
 
19.2. The underworld of adverbs
 
When I went to school, we made jokes about adverbs saying that when you
do not know which grammar category a word belongs to, then you can be
sure that it is an adverb. Besides mastering them though, you also need to
recognize that actual world containing them, which allows to enrich a
sentence with many shades and tones.
There are adverbs ending in -mente.
 
Watch out for this incredible peculiarity:
 
If the adjective has an accent, the corresponding adverb will also have
an accent.
 
“El tren llega rápidamente en la estación” is correct in terms of orthography,
since this adverb is derived from the adjective “rápido”. In this case then
you do not need to consider where the stress falls, but only the
corresponding adjective.
 
Watch out for all the other adverbs, that is the ones that are not so easy to
recognize as these ones. I am talking about adverbs of quantity, quality,
time, place, and many others. There is not a rule to learn them, so as you
encounter them you will know how to handle and memorize them.
 
19.3. Some main and important
details about adjectives

 
On this topic, as indeed on many others that we deal with here, we could
write a whole book or even just a more or less long digression. For
example, do you remember that on the fourth day you learned the
distinction between “ésta” and “esta”? There, this is the secret that
possessive adjectives hide.
 
In English there is not generally a distinction between masculine and
feminine adjectives (there are only rare cases like “brunet-brunette”). In
Spanish adjectives ending in -dor in the masculine form simply add an -a in
the feminine form.
 
For example, if your parents are hard-working, your father is “un gran
trabajador” and your mother “una gran trabajadora”.
 
By the way, have you seen how the adjective “grande” is contracted into
“gran”?
This happens in the masculine singular forms of adjectives like “primero”,
“bueno” and “algún”, but only if the nouns they refer to are placed right
after the adjectives.
“Mi primer día de trabajo fue muy bueno” is an excellent example to
remember this rule. Obviously, I hope that the other days of work have been
excellent as well!
 
19.4. Many, many prepositions...
but fortunately few difficulties!
 
Do you remember the sentence written above about a friend of yours (or
your friend) who went to France? Well, you have also learned that “fue”
means both “was” and “went”.
In this case the preposition is crucial for the correct construction of the
sentence.
In our case, “fue en Francia” would mean “was in France”.
 
Think about how lucky you are: the prepositions “a” and “de” are the only
ones that you will sometimes encounter next to an adverb, there are not
others. “On top of the shelf” is “En cima de la estantería”, therefore you
must remember this adverbial phrase carefully; even “lejos de” must be
memorized properly, and it means “far from”.
Think instead about the different English prepositions that can be found
next to adverbs: in Spanish there are only two possibilities.
 
In conclusion, trust me that in no time you will be able to include in your
speech details concerning the time, the geographical position, the character,
the quality of someone or something, and many other shades impossible to
define without knowing these parts of speech.
 
How can you memorize as many words as possible?
 
Reading them, finding them, trying to understand their meaning from
the context, writing down the peculiarities or the differences with
English.
 
This is one of the essential rules to learn a foreign language in a short
time.
 
It is an inevitable step in the learning of a language, and it is truly a
wonderful game.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. One tries to remember as many words as possible of these parts of speech
through reading and films in original language: there is no better way to
learn a language. Another important piece of advice is to write down the
anomalous patterns or the difficulties encountered along the way.
 
. Remember that it is not a mistake to repeat personal object pronouns
referring to the same person: “Me I” can be easily said in Spanish, whereas
in English it may sound a bit too emphatic.
 
. What about the strange accentuation rule of adverbs? It is so peculiar that
you will not easily forget it!

You do not have to worry about prepositions either: only “de” and “a” can
be found next to adverbs. Memorize these rules and there you go!
 
20th DAY – WHICH IS THE
FAIREST LESSON OF THEM
ALL? MAYBE THE ONE ON
THE COMPARATIVE AND THE
SUPERLATIVE?

 
In my opinion, childhood is the best period of one’s life: one is pure and
sincere in their relationships with others, gets easily excited, any act may
hide a surprise. it is no wonder that Peter Pan and those with his syndrome
dream of a life based on actions and thoughts of the childhood world.
 
Let’s be honest though, it is also the period of little linguistic traumas: do
you remember the famous “me I” followed by grammar observations? Well,
for example, I was reprimanded even when I came home after a school test
and I was angry because my friend had finished it before me and had even
got a higher grade than me. The competition in class is typical of that age,
and later I would cry with my mum and my dad telling them: “I did good on
my test, but Matthew did more good”. Thanks to this sentence my parents
would understand why my test had not gone as well as expected!
 
In primary school it is not easy to learn irregular comparatives, like good →
better. Then one grows up (luckily!) and finally learns them. And then one
becomes a little bit older and learns foreign languages, just like you with
this manual.
 
Now let’s go back in time: let’s learn comparatives and superlatives.
 
20.1. How to avoid terrible gaffes
with comparatives: “better”, not
“more good”!

 
There are obviously three types of comparatives: higher, lower and same
degree comparatives. After all, this is rather intuitive: in a comparison
example, I can be more intelligent than Matthew, less intelligent than
Matthew, or as intelligent as Matthew. The same happens in Spanish
obviously:
 
Watch out for the way that comparatives are formed: “aquella chica es más
guapa que yo” means admitting that “that girl is more beautiful than me”.
 
It is fundamental to understand that “than me”, that is the comparison
itself, in Spanish is translated as “que yo”.
 
Therefore, the use of “que” and the personal subject pronoun is a quite
important obstacle to overcome.
The same applies to lower comparatives:
“aquella chica es menos guapa que yo”.
 
You also need to be careful with same degree comparatives: “aquella chica
es tan guapa como yo”.
Here you need to learn that “tan como” is the translation of “as… as”.
 
Well, you have several irons in the fire, but there is nothing terrible about it.
Do you agree?
 
The only case when you use “más de” is when there are numbers.
“Mi hermano tiene más de 18 años: puede conducir el coche”.
 
It is the dream of every young adult!
 
20.1.1. The irregularities of
comparatives

 
Now consider how some adjectives are transformed in the comparative
degree.
 

 
Watch out: “mayor” and “menor” also mean “older” and “younger”
respectively. It is a characteristic that you need to keep in mind, and if you
use it in speech and in writing it means that you are able to master a typical
Spanish construct.
And all of this, as it has already been said, generates satisfaction and
motivation to keep going. In short, is a very useful virtuous circle!
 
Make sure you fasten your seat belt: with superlatives there will be a double
memory effort. But we have known each other for almost three weeks now
and you trust my strategies to best memorize everything.
 
20.2. Double effort = double
satisfaction. Actually, facing
superlatives I would say the
greatest satisfaction!

 
As you know, the relative superlative denotes the highest quality in relation
to a small group of people or things, while the absolute one is, as the term
indicates, the highest degree possible. “My friend Matthew was the best in
my class in English”, that is in that group of 25 children and only in that
specific subject (maybe there were children his own age from other classes
who were better than him, who knows). However, if I say that “Matthew is
the best”, in my sentence I do not include limitations or restrictions,
therefore Matthew’s quality is indeed absolute.
This grammar concept is the same in Spanish, as well as in all the other
languages.
The difficulty lies in learning only the construct then,

and not the linguistic concept that you already know.

 
The relative superlative has the same structure as the English one:
“Matthew was the best in my class in English” is then translated as
“Matthew era el mejor de la clase en italiano”. Ding ding ding! Sound the
alarm!
 
The relative superlative is formed with “más de”, while the higher
comparative with “más que”.
 
Therefore, besides the effort of learning the rules, there is also this very
important notion that you need to keep in mind.

Make sure you remember it!

 
In the example above, obviously the superlative is irregular, but the essence
does not change: you need “de” in these cases.
 
And the absolute superlatives? You use the root of the adjective +
“ísimo/a/os/as”, or “muy” + adjective. The adjectives ending in “-ble”
require the superlative with the form “bilísimo”, like for example
“Amable→Amabilísimo”
 
Remember a little but very important note: “muy” is used before
adjectives or adverbs, while “mucho” before nouns or verbs.
 
Do you remember the irregularities of comparatives? Well, let’s add the
ones of superlatives to complete the table and see the situation more clearly.

 
Some of these adjectives are irregular even in English and this will help you
memorize them: amazing, is it not?
 
And now a good night’s sleep: tomorrow we will face the future!
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. First of all, it is fundamental to properly revise uses and functions of
comparatives and superlatives. Then, as you have seen, learning Spanish
requires due attention to some specific points.
 
. If you have understood when to use “más que” and “más de” you are
golden. Luckily, the rest is very intuitive.
 
. Remember the difference between the use of “muy” and “mucho”: the
former is used before adjectives and adverbs, while you will find the latter
before nouns and verbs.
 
21st DAY – TIME WILL TELL.
LET’S FACE THE FUTURE,
THEN WE’LL SEE

 
Please, be very careful: never ask anyone to tell you the future. This is
because it is simply impossible to predict it: obviously, we are the masters
of our own destiny, even though there surely must be a good amount of luck
and chance.

Indeed, even the Latin poet Horace, about two thousand years ago, wrote
“Ask not (‘tis forbidden knowledge), what our destined term of years, mine
and yours; nor scan the tables of your Babylonish seers. Better far to bear
the future […]”.
This beautiful translation by the famous classical scholar John Conington
conveys this concept very well: indeed, the future remains to be seen and
we are the true protagonists of our tomorrow.
This does not mean that you must skip today’s lesson so you will not be
able to study the future tense!

Do not make a mistake like that, especially since both the simple future and
the future perfect are used exactly as they are in English, and since there are
truly few and simple irregular forms. In short, there is nothing new under
the sun.
 
21.1. How to learn to know the
future without using magic

 
Think about it, after closing this book you will be able to say: “I know the
future!”. It is always preferable not to broadcast this, people would
probably not take you too seriously, unless you explain that you have been
studying Spanish happily and successfully for three weeks now and that
today you have learned two new verb tenses.
 
Here is the simple future of the three conjugations.
 

 
Have you seen the endings? They are the same for any verb of any
conjugation: then once you have learned one of them, you have also learned
the others!
So, it is all very easy: now let’s face (the few) irregular verbs with serenity.
 
21.2. How to deepen the knowledge
of (our) future

 
Below you will find a list of irregular verbs and the changes in their stems.
Remember two very important things: first of all, the endings are obviously
the same as the ones of regular verbs.
 
Then there is a wonderful and unexpected surprise:
the changes in the stems in the future tense are the same as the ones
you will find when we face the conditional mood.
What more could you ask for?
 
Decir→Dir-                  
Haber→Habr-                  
Hacer→Har-
Poder→Podr-            
Poner→Pondr-                  
Querer→Querr-
Saber→Sabr-            
Salir→Saldr-                        
Tener→Tendr-
Venir→Vendr-

 
 
Is it already over?! Not yet, there is also the future perfect. It is a very
common tense, but often misused. Let’s learn how to use it properly.
 
21.3. Poor future perfect, so ill-
treated...

 
For some reason it always seems complicated to use this verb tense, the last
one of the eight tenses that form the indicative mood. And yet if it is called
“perfect” (which comes from the Latin term “perfectus”, that is,
“completed”) it means that the action occurs before another one in the
future. “At three I will have already gone” I would say that makes this
concept clear. The translation is very simple, with the auxiliary verb which
is still “haber” obviously: “A las tres ya habré salido”.
 
The “futuro perfecto” is also used to indicate doubts or suppositions:
“Where is José? Might he have already got home?” will then be translated
as: “¿Dónde está José? ¿Ya habrá llegado a casa?
 
However, a past supposition requires the conditional: “I was probably
ten when they gave me this bicycle” will then become “Tendría diez años
cuando me regalaron esta bicicleta”.
 
That is enough for today: the indicative has been analysed in every detail,
and there are only ten days left to complete all the grammar.
 
Now let’s enjoy a Spanish show, but be prepared: it is not just bullfighting!

 
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. The simple future has the same endings for all three conjugations and its
use is the same as the English one. Watch out for irregularities, which
however do not change in the conditional mood.
 
. Instead, the future perfect is used to indicate an action that occurs before
another one in the future. Some uses are similar to the English ones, but
traps are always lurking: by the way, remember that a past supposition
requires the conditional in Spanish.
 
. Can you believe that you know the future? You do not need cards, signs or
magical concoctions. It takes studying grammar and great patience!
 
22nd DAY – IT IS NOT JUST
BULLFIGHTING:

SPANISH FOLKLORE IS
UNIQUE!

 
Let us immediately dispel a very common belief: bullfighting does not exist
only in Spain, but also in France, Portugal and many Latin-American
countries. Of course, the typical fight between a bullfighter and a bull
makes us immediately think of Spanish arenas full of people enjoying the
show. And yet, lately, this unique event, suspended between cultural
heritage and cruel barbarity, has been forbidden in the communities of
Catalonia and the Canary Islands. Every bullfight includes the fighting
between three bullfighters and six bulls, besides other “professionals”: the
“picador” is in charge of restraining the bull’s attack thanks to a lance,
while the so-called “banderilleros” provoke and plunge sticks into the bull.
In southern France what is very popular is the so-called “Camargue
racing”, which does not involve the killing of the bull, but the removal of
small objects (cockades or laces), placed on the animal’s horns.
In conclusion, Spanish bullfights must be considered moments of “ferias”
(commercial celebrations) and “fiestas” (religious celebrations), since
tauromachy was a cultural element which was very present in classical
antiquity.
22.1. Not just bullfighting: in Spain
it’s a party all year long!

 
Carefully check the period when you go to the Basque Country: in
Pamplona, in fact, between 6th and 8th July of every year it is traditional to
run for almost a kilometre together with some bulls! During those days, as a
matter of fact, commercial, religious and social celebrations merged in a
single great event which is unique of its kind. Of course, maybe it is not
advisable to be right in the middle of the of it all!
 
Another very peculiar event that some people surely know about is the
“Tomatina”, an actual battle which involves throwing “Tomates”, that is
tomatoes. Well yes, people gather in a square, the town of Buñol (in the
province of Valencia) provides this vegetable and you keep throwing it until
the huge amount of tomatoes is over. You know, this actual “tourist festival”
was born in 1945 during a fight in which the opponents precisely used
tomatoes instead of weapons.

Obviously it is better this way, but for example a report of 2011 indicates
that 120 tonnes of tomatoes were used exclusively for this celebration.
Carnival is a tradition which is deeply rooted in the entire country: the one
that is celebrated in the Canary Islands, with the months of February and
March full of parades and masks to greet the arrival of the warm weather.
 
For people who prefer celebrations which are quieter but not less
impressive, the Andalusian city of Córdoba offers every year from 1st to
15th May the “Festival de los patios” (in the picture below), where “patios”
(courtyards) of houses are decorated to host concerts or traditional dances
like flamenco. The best one is honoured at the end of the event.
 

 
22.2. Religiosity as an element of
unifying celebration

 
In the collective imagination, Spain is a deeply Catholic country: this is
obviously true, despite the proposal of rather unorthodox initiatives, like for
example the introduction of same-sex marriage in June 2005.
 
And yet religion is far from being a solemn and quiet rite: on the contrary,
everywhere ceremonies are experienced with great participation of people,
with processions, festivals and traditional celebrations. Indeed, the saying
“different folks, different strokes”, and here it also refers to differences
within the same country!
 
The Madonna is highly revered in Spain, so much so that many first names
cannot be translated in other languages for a great number of reasons: for
example, do you someone named “Henar”? Well, if she were English her
name would be “Hay loft”. This name has its origin, in fact, in a place,
precisely a hay loft, where people say that the Madonna appeared to some
humble farmers. It is not rare, even today, to encounter little girls with this
name, which is very common especially in the community of Castiglia y
León and in its town of Segovia.
 
It is not strange then to end up in some towns where the Virgin Mary is the
protagonist of celebrations, dances and songs that draw people together: for
example, the “Fiesta de la Virgen del Pino” takes place on Grand Canary
Island between 6th and 8th September, with big celebrations throughout
these three days.
 

 
Of course, there are people who love a whole different kind of celebrations:
would you associate Ibiza and the Balearics to a religious festival? I surely
would not!
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. Besides the national holidays (12th October and 6th December are public
holidays, a bit like the Fourth of July in the United States of America), in
Spain it is very difficult to make a proper calendar with the feast days. One
would have to include every single day thanks to the countless sacred and
secular celebrations spread all over the country, including the islands.
 
. There is something for every taste, one cannot go wrong: are you a thrill-
seeker and do you want to run with bulls? Or do you prefer the music of a
disco? Or maybe a religious and cultural celebration? Any time is good to
celebrate and get to know more about yourself and the place where you
live.
 
23rd DAY – LET’S HURRY UP
AND LEARN THE
IMPERATIVE!

 
Consider words like “say” or “give”. Without any context, they could be
verb forms in the present indicative or in the imperative: a sentence is
therefore necessary to understand the real meaning of these verbs.
 
The situation is a bit different in Spanish, and definitely less confusing. You
will also see that the usual irregular verbs behave in a very regular way.
 
Let’s face the imperative then!
 
23.1. Stand at attention: here comes
the imperative!

 
As we have said before, in English some verb forms in the present
indicative are the same as the ones in the imperative.
In Spanish something similar occurs: as a matter of fact, the imperative
form is exactly the same as the third person singular form in the
present indicative, including the irregularities.
“Construye el edificio!”, “Lee este libro!”, “Come el arroz!” are all
excellent examples, but you can give many others very quickly too, since
you now master the verbs in the indicative.
 
There are really few irregularities:
 
Decir→Di                  
Hacer→Haz                  
Ir→Ve
Poner→Pon                  
Salir→Sal            
Ser→Sé
Tener→Ten                  
Venir→Ven

 
Remember that you need to put the accent only the verb to be, while you
never put it on the other monosyllables.
 
What about the second person plural form?! Easy: to form the imperative,
you just need to add a final -d to the infinitive form of the verb without
the -r. Besad, Leed!, Dormid!, and so on.
 
Think about it: we have said almost everything about the imperative, since
to learn the negative form you need to study the subjunctive. The same
is true for the polite form.
 
While revising irregular verbs, let’s try to add some personal object
pronouns: “Bring the book!” is different from “Bring it to me!”, so let’s
learn how to say it.
 
23.2. The imperative and the
pronouns joined together at the hip

 
Do you remember that during the third day you learned the pronouns that
indicate indirect objects? Let’s revise them quickly:
 

 
Well, you just need to add these pronouns to the imperative form (whether it
is positive, negative or polite) and there you have it.
 
“Dime: ¿Es Marcos un amigo tuyo?”
“Tráemelo aquí, por favor”.

 
There are only two exceptions: the pronoun in the third person singular
and the third person plural is “se”, both for the masculine and the
feminine form.

 
These examples will make this concept clear:

 
“Este libro es de Marcos: llévaselo!” →
“This book is Marcos’: take it to him!”
 
“Estos bolígrafos son de Henar: dáselos!” →
“These pens are Henar’s: give them to her!”
 
“Este piso es de mis padres: límpiaselo!” →
“This flat is my parents’: clean it for them!”

 
Nothing special, am I right? Now you need some time to absorb everything
and get ready to face the last week of this course. I am sure that it has all
been satisfying, but it is not over yet.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. The trick to learn the imperative, but only in the positive form, is the
indicative: besides the usual few and common irregular verbs, the
imperative form of all the others is the same as the present form in the third
person singular. The plural one, instead, has the consonant “d” as a point of
reference.
 
. Adding the pronouns to the imperative is not so complicated: the first
times you just need to watch out for accents and the pronoun “se” which
may cause some troubles, but then it will all become natural.
 
24th DAY – AND IF WE
LEARNED THE SUBJUNCTIVE
TENSES TODAY? I THINK IT’S
HIGH TIME!

 
If, like me, you are a quiet person, you probably do not like getting into
fights. This does not necessarily mean that you are a coward, but maybe a
bully might see you as someone who is easily subjugated.
There are also cases where the bully is the subjunctive and people are so
scared of it that they hardly ever use it: you may say that they are “subjunct-
gated”! “I recommend he does that”, “I suggest he goes there”, not to
mention common mistakes like “if I was you, I would go to London”.
Maybe it is better to revise English grammar first: this is the best way to
avoid being “subjunct-gated”!
There, the subjunctive is truly the most difficult and challenging topic: not
because of the conjugations and the tenses, but because its use is indeed
very different from the English one. Or at least in Spanish it used much
more than in English, where it is basically extinct.
 
 
24.1. Simple tenses: present and
imperfect

 
In English, the subjunctive does not have its own specific form: when it is
used to talk about a present situation, the verb is in the infinitive form (“I
insist that he go”), whereas the past forms are the same as the indicative
ones (“If I were you, I wouldn’t do that”).
 
In Spanish the situation is different, because the subjunctive mood is
completely different from the indicative one:
 

 
Do you remember the characteristics and the irregularities of the
present indicative? Well, they are exactly the same as the ones of the
present subjunctive: thematic vowels that change, adaption of the verb in
the infinitive and accents that you need to put in the right place. For
example, consider the verb “amortiguar”, which means “to cushion”: to
keep the sound “gu”, in the subjunctive it is necessary to add a diaeresis.
“Amortigüe-Amortigües-Et cetera”.
 
And now let’s face the imperfect: do you remember the irregularities of
the simple past?
They are the same as the ones of this verb tense.
 

 
“Ara” and “Iera” are the special suffixes which characterize the imperfect.
 
What about the irregularities? “Tener→Tuve→Tuviera”, or
“Hacer→Hice→Hiciera”, or even “Poner→Puse→Pusiera”. When you start
to use these verb forms while you speak, you will see that you will learn
them quickly. For example: conditional sentences are a wonderful exercise,
because they require you to use the subjunctive and the conditional, so you
kill two birds with one stone. Not too bad!
 
One little caveat: you might come across an imperfect subjunctive form that
instead of ending in -ra ends in –se (“llegase” instead of “llegara”, for
example).
It does not change anything at all, both forms are widely used, right and
interchangeable.
 
You get to choose then: I proposed to you the one that I studied and that I
find easier to use, therefore from now on you will only find this one, but
there is no reason you cannot use the other one.
 
24.2. Compound tenses: perfect
and past perfect

 
Now you know past participles well, so this will not cause you any problem
anymore.
 
To form these two tenses, the trick is to conjugate the verb “haber”, the
only auxiliary verb, in the present subjunctive and in the imperfect
subjunctive in order to conjugate any verb (without exceptions) in the
perfect and past perfect subjunctive respectively.
 

 
These tenses are “simple” as well, because they are easy to learn! They are
just like that, without any skeletons in the closet.
Remember that besides “hubiera” you might also find the form “hubiese”
and we are done with the subjunctive!
Of course, you are probably going to tell me that the important thing would
be to learn how to use the subjunctive, especially since I told you that it is a
really difficult topic and that its uses are different than the English ones.
 
One step at a time: knowing how to use something cannot be separated
from knowing the thing itself. Right now, it is more than enough to learn
how to easily conjugate these four new verb tenses. A nice rest will help
you absorb everything.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. The subjunctive is a very complicated topic that you cannot expect to
know immediately: today it is enough to have understood and memorized
the four verb tenses.
 
. Remember: in the present there are the same irregularities as those of the
present indicative, while in the imperfect there are the ones of the simple
past. Instead compound tenses do not present insurmountable obstacles,
luckily.
 
 
25th DAY – LET’S KEEP GOING
AND LEARN HOW TO USE THE
NEGATIVE IMPERATIVE!
AFTER THE SUBJUNCTIVE?!
WELL YES, THERE’S A
REASON!

 
Think about it: in two consecutive days you learned the imperative mood
and the subjunctive mood. I do not think that in other language manuals
these topics are presented together.
And yet there is a reason for it, and maybe you have guessed it by reading
the title of this chapter:
 
To form the negative imperative (but even the polite form of the
positive imperative) Spanish requires the present subjunctive, whereas
in English we use the infinitive.
 
In short, this language never ceases to surprise us: and maybe at the
beginning you thought that rolling your Rs would be enough to master it!
 
25.1. Don’t waste time: let’s face
the negative imperative (with all
the etceteras)!

 
Do you remember what I told you yesterday, one moment before you closed
the book? Start memorizing the theory properly, then we will move on to
practice. There, the forms of the imperative are one of the many cases
where the use of the subjunctive is different than the English one.
 
So, let’s revise together the present subjunctive by forming some negative
imperatives:
 
Haz! No hagas!            
Pide No pidas!            
Besar No beses!
 
In the same way, the rule applies to the second person plural form:
 
Comed! No comáis!      
Llorar No lloréis            
Subir No subáis!

 
The polite form instead requires the third person singular form if you
address just one person, or the third person plural form in case we address
two or more people.
 
Haga este trabajo por favor, gracias!
Hagan este trabajo por favor, gracias!
 
Watch out though, because any pronoun accompanying the verb is
attached to the verb itself, and not separated as it is in English:
 
“Camarero, tráigame la cuenta, por favor!”
With this example, the meaning is clear:
“Waiter, bring me the check, please!”.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. Short but intense: this could be the summary of this day, in which you
have learned that the subjunctive is used to form the negative imperative
and the polite forms of the positive imperative.
 
. Watch out for pronouns: in the negative imperative they are attached to the
verb, as they are in the positive form.
 
. Try using these verbs, conjugating them in the positive and negative
imperative: cantar, beber, reducir, sacar, romper, elegir.
 
26th DAY – TODAY WE SHOULD
FACE THE CONDITIONAL.
ACTUALLY, LET’S JUST DO IT!

 
Sometimes people are “subjunct-gated” even by the conditional.
“If I would go to Rome, I would visit the Colosseum”, shows that verb
moods are complete strangers.
 
The conditional mood is used almost in the same way as it is used in
English, so you do not have to worry too much:

the ideal thing is a quick and effective study so that you can make the most
of it from the very beginning.
 
26.1. How to learn the conditional
in no time

 
As in any difficult situation, a trick is always useful, as well as effective, to
get the right results.
 
Do you remember the irregularities of the future? Well, apply them
here and there you have the conditional, without a different
conjugation.
For all the other verbs, you just need to remember the diphthong “ía”
after the infinitive of the verb besides the usual endings for each
person.
 

 
No need to worry then: the conditional mood is as simple as that.
 
26.2. How to best use the
conditional without being
“subjunct-gated”

 
As in English, the conditional is used to express doubts, polite requests and
to describe actions which depend on a condition.
 
For example, “A mí me gustaría ir al cine, ¿y tu qué opinas?”, or “¿Podría
ver lo que has escrito?”.
 
However, in Spanish the conditional is also used to express a doubt in
the past: “I probably had one or two dogs, I don’t remember” is in fact
“Tendría uno o dos perros, no me acuerdo”. But you learned this in the
lesson about the future, do you remember?
 
Another situation in which you must use the conditional is when, in
direct speech, a future action depends on a verb in the past (the same
happens in English):
“He told me he would eat with me” is then translated as “Dijo que comería
conmigo”.
 
By the way, have you noticed the strange forms “conmigo”, “contigo” and
“consigo”?
 
If you have studied Latin, you will notice a certain similarity.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. The conditional and the future have much in common: from the irregular
verbs to the use of the conditional which is different from the English one.
 
. Do not worry, especially at the beginning! Learn the conjugations well,
focus your attention on the main difficulties (which are subjective
obviously) and daily practice will then help you a lot.
 
27th DAY – IF YOU HAD NEVER
STARTED, YOU WOULD NOT
HAVE GOT TO THIS POINT.

BY THE WAY, HOW DO YOU

FORM CONDITIONAL
SENTENCES?

 
Today is kind of a special day: you know all the verb moods and today’s
lesson is about conditional sentences. You will tell me: “It is already
difficult to conjugate the verbs correctly in English, let alone Spanish!”.

Actually, you are wrong: you have known Spanish for a short time and
therefore, unlike a native speaker, you do not take anything for granted: you
properly focus on every grammatical nuance, you do not rush things to
avoid making mistakes and by doing that you try not to embarrass yourself.
 
In English, on the contrary, since many structures are unconscious, it may
happen to make mistakes or to be unsure in front of a verb or a
construction. Paradoxically then, today Spanish will seem easier to you than
English.
 
Would you have ever believed it four weeks ago?
 
27.1. English first, then Spanish:
the three conditional sentences

 
Since you have come this far, you know how to conjugate the three
conditional sentences easily and without too many problems, also because
there is no difference of conjugation or meaning between English and
Spanish.
Consequently, the main difficulty lies in understanding the differences
between the three conditional sentences and knowing how to use them
correctly.
 
The first one is also called “real”: “Si tengo dinero, iré de vacaciones”
means that, surely, if in the future I have money I will use it to go on
holiday and not in any other way.
Consider this characteristic, which is also found in other languages like
English:
In conditional clauses, the one beginning with “if”, you never use the
future tense, not even in cases like this one when the hypothesis refers to
the future.
 
Here come the subjunctive and the conditional: this is the second type of
conditional sentences, the “possible” one.
In this case you use the imperfect subjunctive and the present conditional,
as in this sentence:
“Si tuviera dinero, iría de vacaciones”.
 
What has changed now? This means that if I had money, I could decide to
use it for a nice holiday, but there is no guarantee. There is some possibility,
but first you need to work, ask your boss for some days off, make a
reservation... In short, the chance of going on holiday seems small indeed!
 
Watch out for the third and last conditional sentence, the “unreal” one, that
is the one containing absolutely impossible hypotheses referring to the past,
the present or the future. if they refer to the past, the construct requires the
past perfect subjunctive and the perfect conditional, whereas in the other
cases the form is the one of the second conditional sentence.
 
Do not panic: it works in the exact same way in English, you use these
constructs every day. The problem is that, as I have already told you, you
use them unconscoulsly, therefore you are not used to thinking about
grammar structures.
 
“Si hubiera tenido dinero, habría ido de vacaciones”, is a sentence that
you may say in October thinking that if in the summer you had had just
even a little money, you surely would have gone to the beach or the
mountains for a few days. But it is too late now, and you cannot turn back
time.
 
An impossible hypothesis referring to the present or the future is for
example “Si fuéramos pitufos, viviríamos en casas muy bajas”. It is
obvious, if we were Smurfs, we would live in very low houses. No matter
how wild our imagination is, we will never become Smurfs, therefore the
hypothesis is impossible despite having the same syntactic structure as the
conditional sentence of the second type.
 
You see? If you know the three different constructs well and if you have
also memorized Spanish verb conjugations, you are golden. A fun exercise
is to use one conditional sentence and try to transform it in the other two
ways.
 
For example, if I tell you “Si fuera a Roma, visitaría el Colosseo”, how
would you phrase it in the other two structures?
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. Reality, possibility and unreality. Every conditional sentence has its own
characteristics and uses, but the similarity with English helps us.
 
. Put this into practice every day: an exercise involving conditional
sentences allows you to memorize the subjunctive and the conditional even
more easily.
 
28th DAY – HOW DO YOU USE
THE SUBJUNCTIVE? I’M
WARNING YOU, IT WON’T BE
EASY, BUT TRUST ME AND
FOLLOW MY LEAD

 
Brace yourself, because we are about to enter a dark tunnel. Of course, it is
not encouraging to compare today’s topic, which you know is very difficult,
to a scary place. Nevertheless, there is actually no need to be afraid of the
Spanish “monster”, that is, the use of the subjunctive.
 
You have many tricks up your sleeve: you know all the verb tenses, you are
enriching your vocabulary every day, you want to improve your skills and
you like challenges. You would have never opened this book if you had not
liked them. And then think about the beautiful light you will see at the end
of the tunnel. Do not be scared of today’s lesson, just think that you will
soon overcome this challenge with your head held high.
 
Maybe I am exaggerating a bit and at the end of the day you will think:
“Was that it?”. But I prefer to warn you so that you can be prepared.
 
So here it is: today’s lesson, divided in different parts to make the learning
process easier.
 
28.1. The subjunctive is quite
“tempor…amental”!

 
You are outside studying the use of the subjunctive in Spanish and all of a
sudden it starts raining. You surely do not like that since you are wearing
light clothes and you do not have an umbrella with you, so you get really
angry.
 
Do you get angry easily? Guess what, the subjunctive is also quite “tempor-
amental”:

indeed, the subjunctive is used in temporal clauses where a future

intention is expressed.
 
Here the main concept is that the uncertainty of the future is expressed with
an “uncertain” tense like the subjunctive.
 
“Write to me when you want” follows this logic: “when you want” means
that I do not precisely know if and when you are going to write to me. The
uncertainty is then conveyed in this way: “Escríbime cuando quieras”.
 
Or another example may be “cuando salgas de casa, cómprame dos botellas
de agua”.
 
Even the uncertainty in a more or less distant future is expressed with
the subjunctive: “Quizás Marcos llegue a las diez” means that “maybe
Marcos will arrive at ten o’clock”.
And now let’s face the other cases.
 
28.2. I think that the subjunctive is
very difficult

 
You have studied the first paragraph and maybe you agree with the title of
this one.
In Spanish, as well as in English, a sentence like that requires the indicative:
“Pienso que el subjuntivo es muy difícil”.
Then maybe in a few days, when you are more confident with the various
peculiarities, you will think: “no pienso que el subjuntivo sea muy difícil”.
 
With these clear examples you have understood that thinking verbs
(pensar, creer, opinar, reputar, juzgar, considerar, and many others)
require the subjunctive only in the negative form.
So “¿piensas que el subjuntivo es difícil?”.
 
I think that the important thing is to go through this dark tunnel together, so
that the obstacles will seem easier to overcome.
 
28.3. The subjunctive likes to be in
charge

 
Well yes, besides being a difficult and not easily approachable tense, the
subjunctive is also annoying: indeed, in the expressions that include
orders, advice, warnings and suggestions not only is the subjunctive
necessary, but an infinitive subordinate clause, which is possible in
English, is considered a big mistake.
 
The syntactic structure of this sentence requires a clause with a finite verb
in every case, which is why you need to be very careful, especially the first
times. This is a true Spanish gem, and you cannot handle gems carelessly.
If we are in the swimming pool under the blazing sun and I tell you: “I
advise you to eat an ice cream” how would you translate that?
 
Step one: always use a finite verb.
As you can see, in English you may use the infinitive verb instead.
 
Step two: focus on the different subjects: I give you a piece of advice and
YOU should eat an ice cream.
Step three: handle the gem carefully, that is, translate.

“Te aconsejo que te comas un helado”.

 
Instead, if I am parking my car and a traffic policeman tells me to park it a
bit farther, I will say “El policía me dice que aparque más allá”.
 
And if I order you to read the next chapter?

“Te mando que leas el próximo párrafo”, where you will find other specific
uses of the subjunctive.
 
28.4. The light at the end of the
tunnel

 
We are finally out of the tunnel: now there are many, many expressions
that require the use of the subjunctive and that you need to learn.
 
It is impossible to list all of them in a paragraph, but learning the main ones
is very helpful. Of course, the important thing is not to be blinded by the
light now: it has been quite a journey already!
 
The most common expressions are the following ones:
“No importa que”, “(No) es conveniente que”, “Qué raro que”, “Espero
que”, “(No) quiero que”, “(No) es necesario que”, and many others that you
can easily find online.
 
You already know the best way for a quick and intuitive learning: finding
these expressions and trying to memorize them without the aid of the
Internet, dictionaries or other tools.
 
Even final clauses, beginning in Spanish with “para que”, require the
subjunctive.
 
I would say that you have many irons in the fire. Keep studying hard and do
not expect to memorize everything in half a day. Now it is time to dress up
though: tomorrow is the penultimate day and you need to look your best, as
in a special occasion.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. After learning that to form the negative imperative you need the
subjunctive, there are many other syntactic structures that require the use of
this verb mood in a way that is different from the English one.
 
. The best way to memorize everything is this one: try to guess the solution
and to understand if in a certain situation you need to use the subjunctive or
another verb mood.
 
29th DAY – HOW IS IT GOING
WITH THIS MANUAL? I HOPE
YOU WILL HAVE A GREAT
TIME EVEN TODAY, LEARNING
HOW TO USE SOME IDIOMS
AND SET PHRASES
 
It has almost been a month since I took your hand and began to make you
discover, and hopefully enjoy, the secrets and the beauty of the Spanish
language and culture.

However, there is a topic that is impossible to summarize in a chapter of

any manual, and it is the one you are about to face today. So what, you just
close your book and you do something else? Of course not: I am here to
help you discover a beautiful world, which no one talks about because it is
impossible to sum up.

Indeed, you need to know that the Spanish language, especially in speech,
has many set phrases and idioms, ranging from vulgar to polite ones.
Only if you use them do you realize that you are really part of another
cultural, social and linguistic reality: a nice full immersion in Spain is the
best way to learn many of them!

 
29.1. Many idioms for every
occasion

 
“My wife keeps talking with her friends”.

Who knows how many times you have sadly said this sentence, and maybe
that day she was not even too chatty! If you were speaking with a Spaniard,
the sentence would be: “Mi mujer sigue hablando con sus amigas”.

Have you noticed? The expression “keep + -ing form” in Spanish is

translated with the form “seguir + gerund”. It is very important to
memorize this expression, avoiding the embarrassment of a literal
translation which will make the other person think: “Oh yes, this is an
English speaker who has a smattering of Spanish”.

Another Spanish rule is this one: if “yo” is included in a series of

pronouns or nouns, it must always be placed after them. It is a polite
form that is present even in English.

If we accidentally said “Yo y tú” they might tell us “El burro adelante para
que no se espante”, which means “The donkey [that is, us] ahead so that it
is not afraid”. In short, we would cut a poor figure! So be careful with the
first person singular pronoun!

Do you know a Stakhanovite who “works all day”? This friend of yours
then surely “trabaja de sol a sol”, basically without a break, not even to
sleep!
And if a child is just like his father? “Tal palo y tal astilla”, which literally
means “Like pole, like splinter”.

 
29.2. How to sound like a true
Spaniard with a few more words

 
If you have found it easy to study everything during this month, it means
that have done it “a huevo”, or, on the contrary, “a trancas y barrancas”.
Anyway, I hope that you do not think that this manual is “cutre”, that is,
low-quality.

And if you are in trouble but it is your fault: “You’re on your own!”, that is
“Búscate la vida!”. You must not confuse it with our informal expression
“Get a life!”, said to someone who does not mind their own business or
worries about everything.

If, by chance, you “cambias el chip” it means that you have found a new
job, and the weekend comes after drinking too much alcohol you have a
hangover, that is, a “colocón”.

We have never seen each other, but if you are someone who likes to joke
around, you “estás de coña”; instead, if you are a rebel at heart, they will
tell you that “te echas al monte”.

When we are surprised, we might say: “no way!”, whereas in Spain they
say “La leche!”, which literally means

“Milk!”. Is not the way languages work a true mystery?

This is truly “una pasada”, that is, wonderful, the coolest thing!
Finally, remember to read a good book before falling asleep: at the end of
each fairy tale, especially, you will find the classic “Vivieron felices y
comieron perdices”.

What? We live happily ever after, and they eat partridges too?!

 
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

. The Spanish language is really full of colloquial expressions and idioms.

Today I showed you the tip of the iceberg, so that you have an idea of what
to expect in the future.

. Staying onsite, daily practice, reading a lot in Spanish: I will never stop
repeating the tricks to best learn not only grammar, but also these
expressions that you need to know by heart.
 
30th DAY - CONCLUSIONS: FOR
THE LAST DAY, LET’S GET
DRESSED UP (AND FOR THE
LADIES A BIT OF MAKE-UP,
TOO!)
 
At the end of any long experience (I am thinking for example about study
trips for teenagers, or business trips for adults) it is customary to spend a
night, or even a whole day, celebrating and saying goodbye to everyone.

Living together for a month and then having to get back to your usual
routine is never easy.
Some people made new friends, some fell madly in love, some simply
flirted and fantasized, some fully enjoyed living for thirty days in a context
which is different in terms of the people involved, the relationships built
and the environment.
Surely each person will have something to treasure for all their life, even
just a little emotion that may surface after some days, month or even years.
Whether it is an all-day long party, a reception or a dinner followed by
dancing, clothing is important and on these occasions you can judge a book
by its cover.

On the beach it is acceptable for men to wear a “bañador” or for women to

wear a “bikini”, but on a fancy event like this one you really need to dress
up.
The secret lies in getting ready in advance and without rushing, especially
for women who have also the part of the “maquillaje”, that is, make-up.
 
30.1. How to look like a true
gentleman
 
You surely must wear a “traje”, that is, an elegant suit. “Camisa”, “corbata”
(tie) and “chaqueta” are the three things you cannot do without on this very
special night.
 
A boy can even wear jeans, that is, “vaqueros”. You do not need anything
else in warm or summer weather, otherwise you surely need a “chalé”
(waistcoat) at least, but if the night is especially cold or even rainy or snowy
(which is rare in Spain, but possible!) it is necessary to wear an
“impermeable” (raincoat) or an “abrigo” (coat), maybe together with a
“bufanda” (scarf) and “guantes” (gloves).
 
What about a man’s “calzado” (footwear)? Well, “los zapatos”, that is, the
shoes, must be elegant: definitely avoid “sandalias” or even worse
“chanclas”, that is, flip-flops. It would make a bad impression and you
would cut a sorry figure.
Men usually wear simple clothes, whereas women may strike you with their
originality.
You are at the party and suddenly there comes a woman who wants to dance
with you. Let’s analyse her outfit!
 
30.2. How to let female charm
conquer you

 
She is an attractive lady, of rare beauty: she is almost one metre eighty tall,
she is wearing an elegant and long “falda” (skirt) covering all her
statuesque body and which also serves as a “sujetador” (bra).
Her high-heeled (“tacones”) shoes come towards you and meanwhile she
asks you: “¡Vamos a bailar!” as if it were an order to follow. You stand up
and on the little platform used as a dance floor you get a better look at “las
joyas”, the jewels she is wearing: “anillos” on her fingers, “pendientes” one
her ears, and even a designer “collar” around her neck. Meanwhile, you
display your elegant and valuable “reloj” that you are wearing on your wrist
and that you keep looking at, hoping that this night is never going to end.
With a hand you touch her “pelo rubio”, her blond and waist-length hair.
Her blue-coloured eyes stand out thanks to an excellent use of the
“delineador”, the eyeliner.
After a couple of dances together, she asks you to follow her.

You let her take your hand: a woman like that will surely take you to
paradise.
 
The secrets revealed in this chapter

 
. A month ago you just knew some Spanish words, and maybe you even
mispronounced them. Now, after thirty days, the progress is evident. Of
course, you are not on the same level as a native speaker, but you have laid
the foundation for a for a deeper and more informed understanding of
Spanish.
 
. Remember: I will always be with you, so whenever you need me just open
this book and ask me anything. I will gladly help you.
 
. Do you still believe that you just need to roll your Rs to speak Spanish
properly?!
 
 GRAMMAR OVERVIEW
TABLES
 
VERBS
 
Indicative mood
 
PRESENT

 
Main irregularities:
.e→ie (cerrar), e→i (pedir), o→ue (poder)
. Keep the pronunciation of the infinitive form: elegir, recoger...
. -uir→-y: construir, destruir
. verbs with “g”: salir, caer...
. -cer/-cir→-zco: padecer, traducir...
 
 IMPERFECT

 
Irregular verbs: Ir, Ser, Ver.
 
 
SIMPLE PAST

 
Irregular verbs: Estar, Haber, Hacer, Poder, Querer, Saber, Tener, Venir.
 
 SIMPLE FUTURE

 
Irregular verbs: Decir, Haber, Hacer, Poder, Poner, Querer, Saber, Salir,
Tener, Venir.
 
 
PRESENT PERFECT

 
 
 
 
PAST PERFECT
  
FUTURE PERFECT

 
 
 Subjunctive mood
 
PRESENT

 
The irregularities of the present subjunctive are the same as the ones of the
present indicative.
 
IMPERFECT

 
The irregularities of the imperfect subjunctive are the same as the ones of
the simple past.
PERFECT
  
PAST PERFECT

 
 Conditional mood
 
PRESENT

 
The irregularities of the present conditional are the same as the ones of the
simple future.
 
PAST

 
 Imperative mood
 
PRESENT

 
Irregular verbs: Decir, Hacer, Ir, Poner, Salir, Ser, Tener, Venir.
 
 
Gerund mood

 
Main irregularities: vowel changes as in the present indicative, adding “y”
in some verbs (caer, creer, construir...).
 
 
 
 PERSONAL PRONOUNS

 
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES/PRONOUNS

 
 
 
 
 
 
DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES/PRONOUNS
  
COMPARATIVES

 
IRREGULARITIES IN SOME ADJECTIVES:
BUENO, MALO, GRANDE, PEQUEÑO, ALTO, BAJO.
 
 
CONCLUSIONS
 
Dear friend, we have come to the end of our journey-course of Spanish in
30 days. I hope that you have learned as much as possible, but I advise you
to read this book over and over again, to become more and more familiar
with this beautiful language.
 
For your information, a video version of this course is available online: visit
the HOW2 Edizioni channel on YouTube, you will find the link there, the
complete course is available on the Udemy platform.
 
I inform you that we are already working on a “sequel” to this book, a
second volume, to raise a bit more your knowledge level of Spanish. Check
on Amazon if “How to Learn Spanish in 30 Days, volume 2” is already
available for purchase!
 
Finally, you need to know that we have applied this method to many other
languages, like: English, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean,
Russian, etc.
So, if you are interested in studying a third language or you want to
recommend our books to your loved ones… go ahead!
 
See you soon then and all the best!
 
HOW2 Edizioni