Nina Schmidt « Nina Schmidt ~ Vancouver German and Spanish Lessons

16 Jul 2013

Grammar Tips: Two-way Prepositions in German

Tags: accusative case, dative case, German, grammar, Nina Schmidt, prepositions, Treffpunkt Deutsch, UBC
Written by Learn With Nina, Posted in Grammar Tips | Leave a comment

Prepositions are important words in sentences as they show the relation between the words. Common prepositions in English include: with, in, for, to etc. One major difference between English and German grammar is that each preposition in the German language is associated with a specific case. Here we are looking at a specific subset of prepositions called two-way prepositions which can be used with either the accusative or dative case. The following is the complete list of nine two-way prepositions:

25 Jun 2013

Grammar Tips: Stem Changing Verbs

Tags: learning, Nina Schmidt, querer, SFU, Spanish, Stem changing verbs, UBC, Vancouver
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A number of verbs in the Spanish language undergo a stem change in the present tense form. There are three categories of stem changing verbs and dozens of verbs in each of the three categories. These verbs must be memorized individually. Below are examples of each.

12 Jun 2013

Cultural Corner: Tapas and Sangria

Tags: learning, Nina Schmidt, sangria, Spain, Spanish, summer, tapas, wine
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Tapas are a type of food popular in Spain. People in Spain eat differently and at different hours than those in North America. Generally breakfast is very light consisting of only a coffee with milk and perhaps a churro, a cylindrical deep-fried pastry similar to a doughnut. Lunch is served around midday and is often followed by a siesta, a midday nap.

27 May 2013

Grammar Tips: The German Case System Explained

Tags: accusative, dative, declensions, genitive, German, Languages, learning, Nina Schmidt, nominative, Vancouver
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Every language has some way of showing the function of nouns and pronouns within a given sentence. Some languages, such as modern English, rely heavily on word order and prepositions whereas other languages rely on declensions. Declensions are the changes that occur to the endings of articles, pronouns, possessives, adjectives, nouns etc. to show their function in a given sentence. (Changes that occur to verbs are called conjugations).

19 May 2013

Biographies: Eva Perón

Tags: Argentina, Eva Peron, history, Juan Perón, Nina Schmidt, politics, Spanish
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Eva Perón was born María Eva Duarte in 1919 in a small village in Argentina. Her early life was difficult because her mother was the mistress of her already married father. During her life, he failed to recognize her as his legitimate daughter. From a young age, Eva was interested in dancing, acting and modeling and at 16 she moved on her own to the capital city of Buenos Aires. It was her dream to be a cinema star. She was a very attractive young woman and was soon turning heads in in the capital city. She received work immediately and began traveling in the upper social circles of the city shortly thereafter.

30 Apr 2013

Grammar Tips: Ser vs. Estar

Tags: estar, grammar, Nina Schmidt, ser, Spanish, to be
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Spanish is unique in that it has two verbs which mean ‘to be’. One must memorize which one to use for each situation. The verb ser describes the essence of something. Although everything changes with time, ser is used to describe qualities that do not normally change overnight. The verb estar is mainly concerned with location and temporary states of being. It also functions as an auxiliary verb in Spanish.

18 Apr 2013

Grammar Tips: Spanish Compound Nouns

Tags: adjectives, Compound Nouns, grammar, hyphens, learning, Nina Schmidt, Spanish, Vancouver
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Spanish and English generally do not create compound nouns in the same way. Examples of compound nouns in English include: open-heart, breakwater, basketball. English features adjective + noun (blackboard), verb + noun (breakwater) or noun + noun (football) combinations. English also frequently hyphenates words. The Spanish language has few hyphenated words as generally they are only used in cases of adjective + adjective or noun + noun combinations in which both elements are of equal importance, as in relaciones sino-estadounidenses (Chinese-US relations).

20 Mar 2013

Grammar Tips: Expressing ‘to’ in German with verbs of motion

Tags: Deutschland, geographic place names, German, Grammar Tips, idioms, nach, Nina Schmidt
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Unlike English, German uses a variety of prepositions to express ‘to’ with verbs of motion. What follows is a concise study guide to this tricky aspect of German grammar.

05 Mar 2013

Grammar Tips: German Compound Nouns

Tags: Compound Nouns, Gender, German, learning, Nina Schmidt, suffix, Vancouver
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One unique feature of the German language is its ability to create extremely long compound nouns. While this can seem daunting at first, it’s simply a matter of breaking down the noun into its component parts to understand its meaning.

18 Feb 2013

Further Learning: Interesting Facts about the Spanish Language

Tags: Arabic, castellano, Cervantes Don Quixote, Iberian Peninsula, Latin, learning, Nina Schmidt, Romance languages, Spain, Spanish
Written by Learn With Nina, Posted in Further Learning | Leave a comment

It’s always an advantage when learning a new language to know a bit about its history and relevance in the modern world. Here are some interesting facts about the Spanish language:

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