|
Dedications
Site Background
Contact
Disclaimer
|
This
website can only provide information, tips, tricks, etc.,
that lead you toward your goal of learning to speak Spanish.
It is up to YOU, the LEARNER to work at it, progress, develop,
go for it, do it, - make the learning happen! |
The
information published herein is for educational purposes only.
Learn something! |
|
|
Don't
forget to visit the SPANISH
FOLKSONGS. You can learn the words to some Spanish
songs just for fun! |
|
You're
obviously serious about learning Spanish, so do
yourself a favor - make a positive investment in
the right tools! |
For
those of you who want a handy pronunciation tool,
take a look at the talking dictionaries made by
Ectaco. The translation software listed to the left
is remarkable technology! These are an incredibly
wonderful help for looking up any word you need
- no matter where you are! The prices vary, but
the value is tremendous. You won't ever need to
ask anybody for pronunciation assistance again!
|
If
you're like me, you also like to have the hardcopy
printed dictionaries beside you. Check out this
page to find a dictionary to suit your needs. |
|
|
|
|
Choose one of the links to the left to get started
studying any area that you're interested in. If you're a beginner,
you may want to cover the Pronunciation section first. After that,
it is recommended that you go into a section of numbers study
or vocabulary study - just to get you used to hearing words pronounced,
and to give you an idea how to say words as you see them.
It doesn't matter which areas you go into after
you start, because if you have any sense of curiosity whatsoever,
you'll find yourself learning something on each and every page.
Language is a very personal thing! We all talk
about things that interest us, and walk away from conversations
that we find dull or boring. You only need to study those areas
that you want to develop in, though you'll find that most of the
material will become inter-related in due course.
As long as you're proceeding in your own development,
and as long as you're able to say what YOU want
to say, don't let anyone else tell you that "you have to say this
or that in any given way." There's a lot of flexibility in Spanish,
and you can learn to speak it however you wish. |
|
|
This link takes you to the Spanish lessons provided
in this website. More lessons are in progress, and the listing
given only represents the first grouping: Batch-01. Batches 02
thru 05 are currently in progress. No date has been established
for their appearance, but Batch 02 is progressing rapidly and
should be in by December, 2006.
If you follow each lesson carefully, you will be
able to pick up quite a bit through each one. There are sound
files included, which make the learning process even easier, since
you can listen to each file as many times as it takes. Be certain
that your browser has associated .ra and .rm files with RealMedia
Player, so that the files can be heard and the page not go away!
QuickTime opens sound files in your browser window, thus hiding
the material you're studying.
Check back frequently for more additions to the
lessons, as the progress is occurring fairly quickly nowadays.
|
|
|
Vocabulary builders! Seeing Spanish words and hearing
them help comprehension development, as well as audio-visual association
for the written word.
If there are particular areas and terminologies
that you are interested in, go into those areas and pick up the
vocabulary that you will use. You needn't try to pick up vocabulary
that isn't a part of your own universe. Learn what you want to
learn!
As you progress through your own vocabulary development,
you will find yourself recognizing more and more words that you
haven't even studied yet, simply through assimilation. It really
works!
Further pages are currently being produced, including
transportation & vehicles, fruit & nuts, other food groups,
buildings & constructions, etc.
These pages are also in a constant state of progression,
with exercises being added to provide direction in your language
learning efforts. It is also helpful to follow links to sponsor
sites, to USE the vocabulary that you are learning. |
|
|
Having problems figuring out what to do with this
verb or that one? These verb lists are useful study tools, as
they provide hints concerning variations in the conjugation of
different types of verbs. If you can look at the lists and conjugate
all of the verbs listed in all tenses, you speak Spanish!
The "Spanish Verb Lists" Page identifies
the various levels of study for each of the pages listed.
By no means is every single verb in the Spanish
language found in these pages. These listings and the vocabulary
included are merely enough to provide sufficient exposure to put
you well on your way to getting it all down. As you learn more
of your own vocabulary, you can find more terms in dictionaries
or through personal inquiry.
There is an alphabetical listing across the top
of all of the verb list pages, leading to a list of verb beginning
with the particular letter chosen.
Another crucial element for your mastery of Spanish
verbs is to have some good reference materials on hand. Get yourself
some Spanish
Verbs
Reference materials as soon as you can!
You can find a lot of great deals at amazon.com ! |
|
|
A difficult area for any language is the study
of verbs and what happens to them when you're trying to communicate.
This is called conjugation.
The first major hurdle in conjugating a verb
is to recognize the timeframe of the action. This is called tense
recognition.
There are 5 basic time-frames for Spanish verbs,
those being present, past (imperfect & preterite), future,
and conditional. For more information on these, see Introduction
to Verb Tenses.
Even so, more divisions occur through a division
into mood, being indicative or subjunctive. Indicative mood is
used when the action is real and valid. Subjunctive mood is used
to communicate conjecture, doubt, suspicion, wish, etc. These
will become clearer through usage.
More divisions occur in recognition of actions
in progress (progressive tenses) and perfective aspects.
Progressive tenses are formed through using the
verb "to be" (estar) plus a present
participle. These tenses show all actions as on-going, "being
done."
Perfect tenses are formed through using the verb
"to have" (haber) plus a past participle. These tenses show all
actions as completed, "having been done."
Though the number of charts may seem overwhelming,
a bit of diligence and effort will pay off in your recognizing
patterns throughout. If you look at English objectively and analyze
the number of variables in verb conjugation (spelling being the
worst), you will see that Spanish is much easier in its formations.
The pages listed do not include all of the conjugation
patterns that exist in Spanish. More pages are being developed,
further providing examples for the subjunctive, progressive, and
perfect tense formations. Check back often! |
|