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Advanced Intermediate Spanish Podcast 8 – Impersonal Verbs

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The eight of our advanced intermediate Spanish lessons is all about impersonal verbs.

As a conversation piece, these verbs are a real must for any serious student of the Spanish language.

Why?

Because, firstly, in conversation it’s so important to be able to express your opinions in a clear and concise way. Secondly, and in our opinion, far more important, it’s vital that you are able to solicit the opinion of the person you are talking with.

In any language, a good conversation is never one way. People love to be able to express their opinions and like to be asked what they think of certain issues or concepts. These Impersonal verbs are the perfect tool for you to do this eloquently.

When we start to learn Spanish, we invariably come to the part in the course when we are shown that “me gusta” means “I like it” and from then on we’re confused. “Where’s the ‘it’?” we ask ourselves. With no decent answer forthcoming, we often resort to slipping the odd “lo” into the mix, making everything even more messy!

You needn’t worry, however. We are here to help! Come and join our Podcast and learn to take your spoken Spanish beyond the usual and often incorrectly structured “Me gusta” as you hear us using a wide range of impersonal verbs that will make your conversation exquisitely scintillating!

Additional information and guidance for all of our intermediate Spanish lessons can be found in the comprehensive help-sheets. We have worked to offer you a deep insight into these verbs as well as giving you exercises to try out your new knowledge. Check them out!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:38 — 9.7MB)

Advanced Podcast 8 – Spanish Listening Practice: Interview with Leticia

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For someone learning the language, there’s no replacing Spanish listening practice. Listening to native speakers is a fundamental part of the learning process.

Here, Leti, Cynthia’s cousin, describes some of the strange things she’s been required to do during her time as a veterinary assistant. Leti, or Leticia, loves animals and really enjoys working with them. However, she has one small problem. At the first sight of blood, she faints!

This certainly hasn’t put her off and although she has problems with blood, she certainly has had to do some very unusual things whilst working in the surgery. Listen as she tells the tale of the owner who wanted to mate his two dogs and what had to be done to try and make that happen.

Warning: Leti speaks quickly and so you may find understanding all of this podcast a challenge. What is more, Leti “no tiene pelos en la lengua” (She pulls no punches) when describing some of the procedures she’s been involved with. This is not for the faint hearted!

If you have issues understanding Leti, then a full transcription and translation is available at www.lightspeedspanish.com as well as a wealth of additional information and guidance which can be found in the comprehensive help-sheets created for you, our students.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 11:59 — 11.0MB)

Early Intermediate Spanish Podcast 8 – Using Gustar in Spanish

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Some of our students who have been studying the language for years still have problems with using gustar in Spanish.

And it’s really no wonder!

It takes a few attempts at it before you can really get to grips with how it works. In this lesson we’re going to take a real in-depth look at this most useful verb gustar and help you feel much more at ease with using it.

Let us show you how to take control of a conversation. When talking with Spanish speakers, this is a must!

“Un huevo” of additional information and guidance on gustar can be found in the comprehensive Spanish worksheets.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:41 — 9.8MB)

Beginners Spanish Podcast 7 – Counting in Spanish

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Many students of the Spanish language shy away from counting in Spanish because they feel that numbers are too difficult. This is far from the case and the truth is that learning numbers is as important as any other aspect of the Spanish language. Especially when it comes down to money!

There are a number of common errors that Spanish students make when using Spanish numbers and in this Spanish podcast for beginners we assist you in learning how to avoid them from the beginning and pronounce like a Spanish person. It’s as easy as ¡Uno, dos y tres!

Remember that much more information can be found in our comprehensive Spanish help-sheets for beginners.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:22 — 9.5MB)

Advanced Intermediate Spanish Lesson 7 – Mascotas

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This intermediate Spanish lesson is all about “mascotas”, or, in English, pets. We all love our pets and none more so than the Spanish. Because many Spanish people live in “pisos” or what we call apartments or flats, they tend to limit themselves to small dogs and so, at any time of the day you can see many Spanish people “paseando a su perrito en la calle”.

En los “chalets” (villas) however, in the countryside, it’s much more common to have large dogs that have the responsibility of guarding the house from “los ladrones”.

In this podcast, we talk about a range of pets that we’ve had in the past. Although Gordon hasn’t had a great deal of pets in the past, it’s vital that you listen into the incredible list of animals that have shared a house with Cynthia. Come and join us as she gives some surprising insights into the range of pets that she has taken in. ¡Su madre tiene que ser una santa!

All the additional information and guidance can be found, as it always can be, in the comprehensive help-sheets that have been designed to give you the listener a deeper learning in terms of vocabulary and grammar.

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Audio for This Spanish Lesson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:38 — 9.7MB)