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Spanish Culture and Gestures.

I recall one of the very first times I went to Spain to visit my wife’s family and was introduced to her ‘tía Maribel’. Maribel was chatting animatedly with me and mid flow, without any warning she stuck her two fingers up at me.

My immediate reaction was one of shocked surprise. Why? Because in the U.K., that gesture can have three meanings. Two are wonderful, one is terrible and it all depends on which way your hand is facing.

Peace/Victory or Vete a la Mi…da.

If the palm of the hand is facing the listener, then the gesture can mean Peace or Victory. In the U.K. you could go around all day sticking your fingers up at people that way and no one would take offence. However, turn your hand around with your palm facing you and the gesture is the same as ‘flipping the bird’ and in essence you are saying: ‘Go away in jerky movements’.

The Big Difference.

In Spain, and in the Spanish culture, the self same gesture simply refers to the number ‘two’.  So, all Maribel was doing was explaining that there were two of whatever it was that she was describing.

What struck me about that moment was that I realised that my own British culture had inbuilt into my psyche an unconscious reaction to that gesture. Even though I knew that Maribel wasn’t telling me to get lost, so to speak, I couldn’t help feeling quite put out about it all.

Andar con mucho cuidado. Proceed with caution.

It was that experience that partially inspired this blog. You see, if you are in Spain, or any other country for that matter, and you get the gesture wrong, using something that is very negative or rude without knowing it, you can cause quite an unconscious reaction. And that can happen even if the people know you are not doing it on purpose!

Because of our conditioning, we can’t help but to take offence.

This Podcast.

So, with that in mind, it really is worthwhile learning these insights into the Spanish culture and understanding which gestures are the most offensive. That way, if you have a similar kind of gesture in your culture that means something else, you can avoid using it whilst in Spain.

Flipping the Bird.

What is interesting is that raising the middle finger has exactly the same meaning in Spain as it does in the USA and other European countries. So, if someone is rude to you or cuts you up in traffic, this is the perfect one to show them your displeasure. Jaja.

Gordon 🙂

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Spanish Prepositions….What the devil are they?

Basically, these words are the glue that sticks sentences together. They are words like: with, without, for, from, between, to, along with many, many more.

They are the words we use in our own mother tongue with grace, heightened ability and class. However, when it comes to using them in Spanish, everything seems to go a bit ‘patas arriba’.

They are the little words.

Without even knowing that they were talking about Spanish prepositions, so many of my students have said to me at one time or another: “I’m okay with conjugating verbs. it’s those damn little words that cause me the most trouble.”

What they really meant was that it was those damn Spanish prepositions that were causing them the problem.

But why are Spanish prepositions so troublesome?

Really, it’s their behaviour that catches us on the hop a little. You see, they don’t always behave like English prepositions. That’s to say, sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t.

What is more, many, many Spanish prepositions are attached to verbs and most times, there’s no real pattern that we can see and follow.

For example: The verb Aprender has the preposition ‘a’. So, when we want to say: I learn to swim. we have to say:

Aprendo a nadar.

Yet, when we use Querer to say ‘to want to’ we don’t use any Spanish preposition. For example:

Quiero nadar. = I want to swim.

Why? I have no idea….because….that’s just what they do…(or, you can spend hours looking through forums to find out why).

That’s just the way it is.

Basically, this is the real answer: Because they do. so, our suggestion is that you to set about learning the melody of the language so that you ‘just know’ when a verb has a preposition. Is it a big job? Yes!! Is it possible to do? Yes!!!!!!

One of the best ways to learn when you should use a Spanish preposition is by listening to spoken Spanish or to read Spanish books.  That’s how you will learn, through dogged repetition, just how to use Spanish prepositions well.

Can I just miss them out?

Absolutely! You do not need to use Spanish prepositions if you don’t want to. However, your Spanish will be stilted, tarzanesque and difficult to follow at times. Like anything in life, you can choose to do it a different way and you will be certain to get a different result. However, as we have said, Spanish prepositions are the glue that holds your sentences together and so, if you made a model aeroplane without any glue, it would probably fall apart on its first flight (if it flew at all).

So, our best advice is to get on to learn them well. Be patient with yourself, however, it’s a long job with many variations. The end result, though, will give you and your listeners great comfort, so it’s really worth going for it. You can make a great start on this by watching our Podcast on this very subject.

Buena suerte,

Gordon y Cynthia:)

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What is the Definite article in Spanish?

Good question. Before we start to talk about how to use it, we had better clear up just what on earth it is.

Actually, when you think about what it’s called, for once the grammatical name that they’ve given it actually makes sense.

The definite article in English is THE. The definite article in Spanish is EL, LA, LOS, LAS.

The name makes sense for once!

If you think about it, when we say: ‘The cat next door.’ we are referring to a definite, actual, real, existing cat. For that reason the word THE is called the definite article.

To help you better understand this, let’s look at what the Indefinite article is. In English this is: A, or SOME as in a cat, a dog, a house, some cats, some dogs, some houses. In Spanish, the indefinite articles are: UN, UNA, UNOS, UNAS.

Can you see why these might be called indefinite? Basically, it’s because we are not talking about a specific thing, but rather something in general.

So what’s the problem?

The real problem is that the rules are not very clear about when you should use the definite article in Spanish and when you shouldn’t (nor are they in English for that matter).

This makes it difficult for the student of the Spanish language to know if they should say: ‘Aprendo Español’ or, ‘Aprendo el español’.

It seems that sometimes the definite article in Spanish is used just like it is in English, yet at other times it isn’t.

Gustar for example.

With Gustar and other impersonal verbs, most times the definite article in Spanish is used. So we see sentences like:

Me gustan los animales. = I like the animales.

Clearly, in English we would only use the definite article if we were talking about some specific animals, for example:

I like the animals at that farm.

Whatever the case in English, the definite article in Spanish is used with these kind of verbs as a matter of course.

Sometimes it’s even an abbreviation.

What throws more confusion into the pot is when Spanish speakers use the definite article as a shortened version of a longer sentence.

La Elena llega un poco más tarde. = The sister, Elena is arriving a little later.

In this sentence, the word, hermana or hija, sobrina, nieta, prima, for that matter is omitted. Instead, they just use the definite article in Spanish and the listeners fill in the gap.

Listen in as we help you with this.

We cover this tricky subject in our podcast and also offer much more detailed information in our helpsheets which will offer you lots of exercises this time to help you perfect your use of the definite article in Spanish.

Esperamos que os guste.

Gordon y Cynthia.:)

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What is so special about the verb Poder in Spanish?

Well, that’s an interesting question. A more appropriate one, however, would be: What’s so special about the verb To Be Able in English? Because to be frank, it’s quite weird and very irregular in English.

That’s not to say that the verb Poder in Spanish is any less irregular. However, there’s something strange about how we use the To Be Able verb in English that causes us to have problems when we try to use the verb Poder in Spanish.

Are you able to do this or can you do this?

The first issue that we have is that, unlike in Spanish, the verb ‘to be able’ is also used as ‘can’. However, the word ‘can’ cannot function as an infinitive. We can’t say: ‘I am going to can to do it.’ Rather we have to say, ‘I am going to be able to do it.’

With the verb Poder in Spanish, it’s much easier: Voy a poder hacerlo.

It’s weird in it’s present tense form.

We probably are very aware that the verb Poder in Spanish is irregular in present tense. Yet did you realise that it is also irregular in English too? Look at this:

I can/Puedo

You can/Puedes

He/she/it can (not ‘cans’ which is the normal conjugation. e.g He eats, sleeps, works etc.)/Puede

We can/Podemos

You all can/Podéis

They can/Pueden

So, as you can see, it’s missing the famous ‘s’ that appears in third person singular in most English verbs.

The Conditional ‘Could’, the Preterite ‘Could’ and the Imperfect ‘Could’.

The other issue that causes us confusion when we try to use the verb Poder in Spanish is the strange thing it does in English

Look at these examples:

Pude hacerlo. = I could do it (one off event in which I tried and I did it.)

e.g. The door was locked, but finally I could get in. = La puerta estaba cerrada con llave pero al final pude entrar.

Podía hacerlo. = I could do it (repetitive action in which I was able to do it many times.)

e.g. When i was younger I played the trumpet and I could do it well. = Cuando era joven tocaba la trompeta y podía hacerlo bien.

Podría hacerlo. = I could do it (If I wanted to do it. I have the capacity.)

e.g. Podría hacerlo si no hubiera otra opción. = I could do it if there were no other option.

So, it’s no wonder that we have so many issues when we are working on assimilating and understanding the verb Poder in Spanish. Although it’s irregular in Spanish it is nothing compared to the confusion we have with it in English. Imagine how it must be for a foreign person to have to learn the rules on the verb ‘to be able’.

So, before you start to complain bitterly about having problems with the verb Poder in Spanish, spare a thought for all of those people who never had the luxury of learning its English version unconsciously as we did.

Watch on as we talk you through this interesting verb.

Gordon y Cynthia:)

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Lo in Spanish.

So, just what is Lo in Spanish and what does it mean? Well, to answer the first question, LO is what we call an indirect pronoun.

What that means is that it is a shortened version of certain Spanish words and we use it to speed up our spoken and written language.

What it means. (Most of the time.)

What Lo in Spanish means is the following: Him/It.

Some examples of this would be:

Lo conocí en Berlín. = I met him in Berlin.

¿Lo has visto? = Have you seen it?

So, the job of LO in Spanish in these examples is to avoid having to write or say the full name of the thing or person.

But wait, that’s not all.

But what is going on with sentences like, ‘Lo importante’ or ‘Lo interesante’?

Well, in these cases, for us as English speakers we need to think about Lo in Spanish as meaning ‘THING’.

‘Lo importante es que estemos allí para las diez.’ = The importante thing is that we are there for ten.

‘Lo interesante de su discurso era la información sobre la compañía.’= The interesting thing about his talk was the information about the company.

So, as you can see, when we place the ‘Lo in Spanish’ before an adjective, it becomes ‘the thing’. Once you understand that, many of the confusions simply fade away.

Lo in Spanish is used in other situations, too, all of which we will be covering either in the podcast here or in the Helpsheets that always complement our coaching podcasts.

Clearly, we aim to give the viewer as much information in the ten minute classes as we possibly can. However, there is always more to cover. We do that in our Helpsheets which this time around will be crammed with practical exercises so that you get it ‘right first time’ every time you use Lo in Spanish.

Other uses of Lo in Spanish.

If you want to look further into the use of LO in Spanish then you can check out how the phrases are used such as:

Lo de…

Lo que…

Lo nuestro…

In the forthcoming helpsheets (we haven’t got them finished yet, but estamos en ello) we will also be covering these expressions and so much more.

So now, enjoy the podcast and we hope that you get great benefit from it.

Como siempre, os mandamos un saludo muy grande.

Gordon y Cynthia:)

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 11:03 — 10.1MB)