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37 Advanced Intermediate The Haber Subjunctive Structures LightSpeed Spanish

What are the Haber Subjunctive Structures?pumpkins-1022627_1280

Basically, these are the ones that quite often catch us out. We’ve learnt the subjunctive triggers and are feeling pretty confident about how and when to use them and bam! Suddenly we are faced with the Haber subjunctive and we don’t know what to do.

The great news.

The great news is that the Haber subjunctive is not really any different to any of the other subjunctive tenses (or moods as they say).  Okay,  the verb Haber may be a little irregular but that shouldn’t faze us very much given that more than 70% of Spanish verbs are irregular anyway.

First things first.

Probably, for you to understand how to use the Haber subjunctive structures you really need to get to grips with the normal, Present Subjunctive and what we here at LightSpeed Spanish call the Triggers.

Probably the best way to do this is through the book we have created on the Subjunctive. However, you can also get a very clear overview of how to identify these Triggers by watching the series of videos we made on this subject.

Then, once you have understood how they work with other verbs, you can move on to the Haber subjunctive.

Everyone’s so scared of the Subjunctive.

We don’t know how you feel about the Spanish subjunctive yourself, but we have to say that to the vast majority of students ‘le da mucho miedo’. And we aren’t even talking about the subject of the Haber subjunctive. However, it really doesn’t need to be that way.

The fear of the Subjunctive normally comes from others. What I mean is that other students often frighten the life out of us when they talk about the Subjunctive:

‘Oh, my God! Wait till you get to the subjunctive.’, they say. ‘You’ll be horrified’.

I know this to be the case because it happened to me. I then watched the same thing happening in every class that I have taught. For whatever reason, the more experienced students among us feel obliged to warn us of the forthcoming doom of the subjunctive. lol.

It’s actually the fun bit.

Whether it be the Haber subjunctive that we cover in this video podcast or any other kind of Subjunctive for that matter, once you get into it you will find that it’s the cherry on the cake in terms of your Spanish. Being able to use the subjunctive takes your Spanish go from good to great. What’s more, it’s really fun too. (Trust us, we are language doctors jeje)

So, listen in whilst we help you with Haber subjunctive and we hope you enjoy the rest of your learning journey.

 

Gordon y Cynthia:)

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Perfecting the Past in Spanish The Perfect Book for You

Help with Perfecting the Past in Spanish.

Are you a student wanting to understand how to use the past in Spanish? book cover image

If so, we want to thank you for taking an interest in this book. We are sure that you will be very glad you did. Why? Simply because once you have worked through the straightforward systems, the easy explanations and the practical exercises found here you will be a veritable expert on the Past in Spanish.

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The book will help you to do the following with confidence:

  • Use Ser and Estar accurately
  • Choose intelligently between the Preterite and Imperfect Past
  • Know how to say WAS and WERE correctly in Spanish
  • Understand and utilise the Perfect Past tenses

…and so much more.

 

Talking in the Past in Spanish is a challenge you can overcome!

This book has been designed and written for every passionate student of the Spanish language who currently struggles to talk in the past in Spanish. We have created some ‘simple to follow’ systems that clear up the mystery of when and how to choose each tense correctly.

Just work through the book in the order that we have present it to you and we promise you that the mists will clear and any confusion you may have had in the past, about the past, will disappear forever.

 

Thousands of hours.

We have only been able to produce this book thanks to the opportunity we have had to teach the Past in Spanish for many thousands of hours.  We haven’t always known the simple systems that we present you in this book. Over the years we have developed them, one by one. They have been borne of frustrations, insights, ideas from students as well as from other great teachers.

Now we believe that we have got a full range of systems that are simple to follow, easy to apply and very accurate. (We always go for the 95% accuracy level.) We can never promise 100% accuracy on anything because we are dealing with language which is an art, not a science.

That said, as we say in our book, if someone were to offer us a system that was 95% accurate, we would snap their hand off!

It’s fun, easy and non-life threatening.

Just remember as you work your way through the Perfecting the Past in Spanish, this all should be fun! This is a hobby, a past-time, if you are making it hard work and giving yourself a hard time over it, then STOP IT! (lol)

You will find our book light and easy to read and we promise never to drag you into the mire of heavy grammar and meaningless names.  Just enjoy it and start learning now!

un saludo,

Gordon y Cynthia.

P.S. If you would like to see what other books we have available  just click here!

Ser Socio Membership Program Teaser – Gustar

Our New Online Spanish Lesson Membership Program

Ser Socio and la Zona V.I.P.

ser-socio-membership-program

LightSpeed Spanish have just launched their latest resource and one that may just change how you learn Spanish forever!

Talking you through each area of the Spanish language, Gordon and Cynthia Smith-Durán will be guiding you and your Spanish by way of their Spanish Lessons Online.

As a member, each week you will receive a full lesson on a wide range of subjects that you too can influence. The lesson includes a 10 minute transcribed and translated Spanish conversation in which we demonstrate how to use the particular structure that we are covering that day. Then, we talk for a further 10 minutes in English during which time we pull the conversation to pieces to further help you understand how to use each structure well in conversation.

What You Get:

These Spanish Lessons Online are designed with you in mind and are suitable to most levels from Improver through to Advanced. Each lesson comes with:

  • A video of the lesson exclusive to members only
  • A downloadable mp3 audio of the lesson
  • A downloadable transcript and translation of the entire Spanish conversation
  • Homework to drive home the learning and the concepts
  • Comments that come directly to us so that you can ask us to cover specific topics

How do I become a member?

You can sign up for your Ser Socio membership here: https://lightspeedspanish.co.uk/product/ser-socio-membership-program/

Each member will pay a monthly subscription of 12.99 British pounds which will gain them constant access to the Zona V.I.P. where they can dip into all the lessons and the downloads as they grow.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at lightspeedspanish@hotmail.co.uk

¡Muchísimas Gracias!

LightSpeed Spanish wants to finish by sending you all ‘un abrazo fuerte’ and to say ‘muchísimas gracias’ for all of your support and kind words during the many years that we have been doing our bit to grow the ever increasing Spanish speaking world.

Gordon y Cynthia:)

Download the Transcript and the Homework here.

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7 Fun Facts About the Spanish Language LightSpeed Spanish

¡Hola, a todos!title

If you are presently studying Spanish or interested in learning this beautiful language, you might like to know some of the fun facts about the Spanish language that make it one of the most popular languages to study in the world. Here are 7 fun facts about the Spanish language you probably didn’t know:

 

  1. About 329 million Spanish speakers exist in the world, making Spanish the second most spoken language on the planet, according to Ethnologue. This ranking refers to people who speak Spanish as their first language. English comes third – English speakers number around 328 million — yet neither Spanish nor English can compete with Chinese, which has 1.2 billion speakers.

 

  1. In terms of number of countries that speak Spanish, 44 countries speak the Romance language, with a minimum of 3 million native speakers living in each. English tops the ranking with 112 countries, French 60 and Arabic 57, notes Ethnologue.

 

  1. More than a third of the globe’s population speak a language that is a member of the Indo-European family of languages, of which Spanish is also a member. Other Indo-European languages are French, English, German, the Slavic languages, the Scandinavian languages and many languages of India. Spanish is classified further as a Romance language; other languages of this group include Portuguese, Catalan, French, Italian and Romanian.

 

  1. Although it is unknown when precisely the Latin of the north-central region of Spain became Spanish, experts say the tongue of the Castile region started evolving into a different language as a result of standardization policies enacted by King Alfonso in the 13th century. By the time Christopher Columbus reached the Americas in 1492, Spanish had evolved to the point where the written and spoken language of that time could be easily understood today.

 

  1. Mexico is the largest country of Spanish speakers with over 121 million people. The United States ranks second with almost 53 million people, followed by Colombia, Spain, and Argentina.

 

  1. Spanish is one of the most phonetic languages that exists on the planet today. If a Spanish speaker knows how a word is spelled, they can generally pronounce the word well (but not vice versa). Words of foreign origin that retain their original spelling, however, are an exception to this rule.

 

  1. Founded in the 18th century, the Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española) is the ultimate authority on the Spanish language. It releases grammar guides and dictionaries and its dictums – though lacking the force of law – are respected in Spain and Latin America. One of the language rules supported by the Academy involve the use of the inverted exclamation point and question mark (¿ and ¡). Despite being used by some of the non-Spanish speakers of Spain, the two punctuation marks join the letter “ñ” as main distinctive features of the language. The letter “ñ” was officially adopted by Spanish speakers in the 14th century.

We hope you enjoyed these fun facts about the Spanish language. To really improve your Spanish and take it to LightSpeed then please come and visit us at https://lightspeedspanish.co.uk/
Author Bio:untitled

 

Sean Hopwood, MBA is founder and President of Day Translations, Inc., an online localization and Spanish translation services provider, dedicated to the improvement of global communications. He is also a language polyglot and a language enthusiast. His goal in life is to bring world peace through education, tolerance and cultural awareness.

Spanish Immersion Course Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid with LightSpeed Spanish

Places for 2025

22nd to 26th of September – 2 places remaining

20th to 24th of October – FULL

Places for 2026

18th to 22nd of May – 19 places available

21st to 25th of September – 19 places available

19th to 23rd of October – 19 places available

Courses in Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid!

 

Read our latest reviews here!

All courses are based in Torrejón de Ardoz 40 minutes from Madrid capital. We offer classes at three levels, so you’ll be sure to find yourself amongst like minded students of a similar level!

         

How to secure your place.

To secure your place on one of our life-changing courses all you need do is to contact us. To do that, please contact us on: immersioncourselss@gmail.com

Unsure about your level?

Watch this video: Click here.

A Spanish Immersion Course with a Difference

Here at LightSpeed Spanish, in the heart of Spain, we are delighted to be able to offer our students the chance of a truly different Spanish Immersion Course.

But what makes it different?

There are so many different kinds of Spanish Immersion Course out there that we quickly realised that if we wanted to stand apart from the others, that we would have to offer something very different. We would have to be able to offer our students a very different and special experience. And that is exactly what we have done!

What our course offers you.

The total focus of the week that you will spend with us is that we assist you in growing your confidence level. You will very likely agree with us when we say that speaking and listening in Spanish is just about every student’s challenge. In fact, many people shy away from speaking because they simply don’t feel confident enough.

Our course will change all of that! We have designed a program that will gently help you expand your comfort zone so that by the end of the week, you will be more at ease when speaking to native speakers.

Course content

As we say in our presentation video, which you can watch here, we will be incorporating your suggestions into the week as well as other activities that are designed to stretch you and increase your confidence.

The hotel

Located in the centre of Torrejón, just near the train station, the hotel that we use is called Madrid Torrejón Plaza and is one that we have used for the last seven years. The staff are wonderful! It offers individual and double rooms all with an en-suite bathroom.  You can see their website HERE.

Course Timetable

Breakfast in the hotel.

Classes start at 10.00 am each day and finish at 1.30 pm. We then break for lunch.

Lunch is the big meal of the day, so be prepared for two courses and a dessert.

Mini activities we have some activities planned, some of which are optional.

Evening meal, at 8.00 pm consists of a choice of platters in a local restaurants.

Spanish Conversation from 8.30 pm-9.30 pm with native speakers. (They will be specifically coming to talk with you, our students!)

Course Tutors

We currently have four course tutors:

Gordon and Cynthia: (We hope you know us already, but if you don’t, just go to our podcasts and you soon will!)

Ana: is a local teacher, born in London and raised in Madrid. You can meet her here and here.

Blanca: Blanca has been working with us for the last 5 years. She is from Pamplona. You can meet here here.

Cost of the course

In 2025 the cost will be 1099 Euros and 1050 Euros for our Socio Subscribers)

This includes:

The hotel for the 5 nights (Sunday to Thursday-Check out Friday)

20 hours of classroom activities

Conversation with native speakers from Monday to Wednesday

A flamenco dance class

All meals – Monday to Friday lunch

The course fee doesn’t include your drinks, but we will be providing all meals. If you have unusual food requirements there may be an extra charge. Talk to us.

Accommodation

You will have an individual room in a local hotel. There are double rooms for couples. If you require extra nights we can arrange that for you.

We are really looking forward to meeting you and having some great learning fun. (Yes, those two words can go together.) We look forward to hearing from you.

regards,

Gordon y Cynthia:)

Cancellation Policy:

Once the first half payment has been made (500 Euros), we can move the booking to another month if it’s needed.

For those that wish for a refund of the first half payment, our policy is that as long as we can fill the place before the course start, then we will refund the payment.

However, if the attendee cancels 4 weeks or less from the date of the course, we will not be able to refund the payment.

Travel insurance:

In just about every course we have a last minute cancellation, usually due to ill health or family emergency. Please, please, please, we urge you to take out a travel insurance (some may already have one when they purchase travel with a credit card etc.) The people who have had travel insurances have mostly been able to claim back their lost costs. Having an insurance will give you peace of mind and ensure that nobody loses out!