Posts in April 2009

I take it you’re taking this too seriously, so don’t take it out on me, ok?

Posted by adir ferreira

You must have noticed by now that learning a foreign language is not easy job, because so many words have different uses and meanings. Let’s take a look at several verbs with multiple meanings.

LLEVAR - to take/carry, take a person (somewhere), wear
llevar a cabo - to carry through, accomplish
llevar a los niños a la escuela - to take the children to school
llevar conmigo - to take with me
llevar ropa - to wear clothing
llevar una cosa - to take/carry a thing
llevar una vida de perros - to lead a dog’s life

QUITAR - to remove, take off/away
quitar el polvo - to dust, remove dust
quitar la nieve - to shovel/remove snow
quitar la pintura - to strip/remove the paint
quitar la ropa – to take off one’s clothes

SACAR - to take (out)
sacar a bailar - to ask for a dance
sacar a paseo - to take (out) for a walk
sacar agua - to get/draw water
sacar algo de la caja - to take something from (out of) the box
sacar una foto - to take a picture

TOMAR - to take, drink, eat
tomar apuntes - to take notes
tomar el sol - to sunbathe, to lie in the sun
tomar en cuenta - to consider
tomar leche - to drink milk
tomar lugar - to take place
tomar parte en - to take part in
tomar una comida - to have a meal

So take your time and learn these expressions! ¡Nos vemos prontito!

 

If we took a holiday…

Posted by adir ferreira

Everyone loves a holiday, but do you know how to say them in Spanish? Check out this list with American holidays and special times of the year!

New Year’s Day - el día de Año Nuevo
Valentine’s Day - el día de San Valentín
Presidents’ Day - el día de los Presidentes
St. Patrick’s Day - el día de San Patricio
Mardi Gras - el martes de carnaval
Ash Wednesday - el Miércoles de Ceniza
Lent - la Cuaresma
Passover - la Pascua judía
Palm Sunday - el día de Ramos
Good Friday - el Viernes Santo
Easter - la Pascua
Pentecost - el día de Pentecostés
Mother’s Day - el día de la Madre
Flag Day - el día de la Bandera
Father’s Day - el día del Padre
summer solstice - el solsticio de verano
Independence Day - el Día de la Independencia
Assumption Day - el día de la Asunción
Labor Day - el día de los trabajadores
Ramadan - el Ramadán
Yom Kippur - el Yom Kippur
Halloween - la víspera del Día de Todos los Santos
All Saints’ Day - el Día de Todos los Santos
All Souls’ Day - el Día de los Difuntos
Thanksgiving - el día de Acción de Gracias
Hanukkah - el Hanukkah
winter solstice - el solsticio de invierno
Christmas Eve - la Nochebuena
Christmas - la Navidad
New Year’s Eve - la Nochevieja

Nos vemos prontito!

 

Useful Prefixes

Posted by adir ferreira

I just love etymology, which is the study of the history of words. Sometimes you can learn the meaning of the word by looking at its prefixes and that helps a lot when you’re reading in Spanish without a dictionary (ever been through that?).

Here are some very common prefixes in Spanish.

aero-, “aire”, aeropuerto
bio-, “vida”, biología
cosmo-, “universo”, cosmopolita
crono-, “tiempo”, cronómetro
deca-, “diez”, decálogo
demo-, “ pueblo”, democracia
fono-, “ sonido”, fonoteca
foto-, “luz”, fotografia
hecto-, “ciento”, hectómetro
macro-, “grande”, macrocosmo
maxi-, “grande”, máximo
micro-, “pequeño”, microcosmo
multi-, “muchos” , multicentro
neo-, “nuevo”. neófito
omni-, “todo”, omipotente
penta-, “cinco”, pentágono
pluri-, ”varios”, pluricelular
poli -, “muchos”, polifacético
psico-, “mente”, psicoanálisis
seudo-, “falso”, seudónimo
tele-, “lejos”, telescopio

See you next time!