There are few things in the Spanish language more difficult for English speakers to get a grasp on than the subjunctive. One common fallacy is that students believe the subjunctive is a tense when in fact it is a mood. There are two moods in the Spanish-language: the indicative and subjunctive. The indicative mood is used to describe all that is concrete and habitual whereas the subjunctive describes that which is in any way hypothetical.

To learn to use the subjunctive one must look at the various situations in which it is used. In this blog we will focus on the uses of the subjunctive with verbs of influence, uncertainty, emotion and doubt.

In the sentence, “I hope that my brother prepares sushi,”  we find all the elements necessary to elicit the use of the subjunctive in the secondary clause:

1) one subject in the main clause (I) which is different than that of the secondary clause (my brother)

2) the use of the conjunction ‘que’

3) the use of a verb of influence (hope)

In simpler terms, just because I hope that something happens does not necessarily mean it will and this is reflected in Spanish by the use of the subjunctive mood in the secondary clause.

I hope that my brother prepares sushi.

Yo espero que mi hermano prepare sushi.

Other common verbs of influence:

desear – to desire

querer (e-ie) – to want

preferir (e-ie)  – to prefer

pedir (e-i) – to ask

prohibir – to forbid

persuadir – to persuade

rogar (o-ue) – to beg

aconsejar – to advise

insistir – to insist

exigir – to demand

mandar – to order

recomendar (e-ie) – to recommend

sugerir (e-i) – to suggest

impedir (e-i) – to prevent

Verbs of uncertainty, doubt and emotion are also triggers of the subjunctive.

I doubt Maria is working today.

Yo dudo que María trabaje hoy.

negar (e-ie) – to deny

temer – to fear

alegrarse de – to be happy

The expressions below are followed by the indicative in the affirmative but subjunctive in the negative!

no creer – to not believe

no estar convencido/a de – to not be convinced of

no estar seguro/a de – to not be sure of

no imaginarse – to not believe/imagine

no parecer – to not seem

no pensar (e-ie) – to not think

no suponer – to not suppose

1. llegar: to arrive

We are arriving at 5 o’clock.

Llegamos a las cinco de la tarde.

2. llevar: to bring someone somewhere, to wear

I am bringing my father to the airport.

Llevo a mi padre al aeropuerto.

I am wearing my new hat today.

Llevo mi nuevo sombrero hoy.

Note: llevar can also be used in an idiomatic sense to express a length of time

How many years have you been in Canada?

¿Cuántos años llevas en Canadá?

3. llover: to rain (Note: stem-change verb, only used in the third person singular)

It is raining a lot today.

Llueve mucho hoy.

4. llamar: to call (Note: this verb can also be used reflexively to express your name)

I am calling my brother.

Llamo a mi hermano.

He is called Robert.

Él se llama Roberto.

5. llorar: to cry

Amanda cries a lot.

Amanda llora mucho.

6. llenar: to fill (up)

She is filling up the bathtub with water.

Ella llena la bañera con agua.

Language fluency is defined as, “the ability to be understood by both native and non-native speakers of a specific language.” By that definition fluency can generally be achieved within 9-12 months of moderate language study. A higher level of competency can be referred to as native fluent or bilingual. This can often take many years of study, often coupled with living abroad in a country in which the target language is  spoken.

In its most basic form, fluency is achieved when one can speak in a language without halting or pausing. This can be achieved through a large vocabulary or the ability to express yourself in a roundabout way if the vocabulary is lacking. Anyone who has studied a foreign language knows that there are many stages within the language learning process and progress is often not as linear as people presume.

Many of my clients want to know if they are progressing “normally.”  In other words they want to know if they are on track to achieve their goals in a timely manner. Having taught over 1000 people I have a good sense of where students should be at a given point in their course of language study.While results vary between individuals I have outlined the basic stages of language learning below:

(Note: The following outline presumes that you are studying with a private instructor 1-2 times per week in addition to 4-6 hours per week of self-study)

1-5 weeks of study: the student is getting a handle on the basics of the pronunciation, the flow of the language, common everyday expressions and basic sentence structure

6-12 weeks of study-the student is learning to master the present tense, learning to introduce oneself, talk about work, family and hobbies, writing basic sentences

3 months-6 months of study- learning to express oneself in the past tense, talking about one’s childhood experiences, previous work experiences and relationships, able to participate in basic conversations with native speakers, translating simple paragraphs

6 months-9 months of study-learning to express oneself in the future tense, talking in a more in-depth level about world events, reading short stories, expressing emotions clearly and comfortably, able to hold everyday conversations on numerous topics

9 months-12 months of study-learning to express oneself in the subjective/hypothetical, learning more complex vocabulary surrounding politics, health, the workplace, able to read the newspaper and follow along with the news

1 year-2 years-completely comfortable in all tenses, able to watch television programs and conduct business in the target language, comfortable conducting an interview, able to write presentations and essays

2+ years-continually honing specialized vocabulary, mastering local idioms and generally communicating on a near-native level.

The Spanish verb estar has many idiomatic expressions associated with it. Idioms are phrases or sentences that do not translate directly from one language to another. A common example in English is ‘ it’s raining cats and dogs.’ Idioms developed over time in languages and sometimes the origin of them is known and other times it is unknown. They are a colourful part of any language and should be learned along with regular vocabulary and grammar to become a fluent speaker. Here are some of the more common idioms with estar:

estar de viaje                                                 to be travelling

estar de vacaciones                                   to be on vacation

estar de negocios                                        to be somewhere on business

estar de moda                                    to be in fashion/style

estar en forma                                   to be in shape

estar de acuerdo                                to be in agreement

estar de jefe                                                     to be the acting boss

estar en un lío                                                to be in a mess/trouble

estar de rodillas                                            to be kneeling

estar de pie                                                       to be standing

estar de buen/mal humor                     to be in a good/bad mood

Being mindful when using adjectives with estar to agree your adjective with your noun!

estar hecho/a polvo                                 to be worn out

estar hecho/a una sopa                             to be soaking wet

estar apurado/a                                              to be in a hurry

• already -I already have it. = Ya lo tengo.
• already- (to express surprise) You’re eating already?  = ¿Ya comes? 
• right away: You need to work right now. = Tienes que trabajar ya.
• still, any more (especially in the negative): = No longer/Not anymore. = Ya no.
• as: As they are not here, we can leave: = Ya que no están aquí, podemos salir.
• now:  (after some effort) Now I get it. = Ya entiendo.
• to show frustration:  Enough already!  = ¡Basta ya!
• to indicate emphasis:  I believe you already! = ¡Ya te creo!
• to express irony or doubt:  Sure you have it. = Ya lo tienes.
• to offer reassurance:  You will be okay. = Ya estarás bien.

Foto Hintergrund

A number of German words have made their way into the English language. Some of them we accept as a matter of course as they have been around for a long time. Others, have come into English rather recently. While most words maintain the same or similar meaning some change their meaning slightly when transplanted from one language to another. For example, the word angst. Below you will find a list of common German words and phrases used in English.

Achtung! (careful/watch out)

die Angst (fear in German)

das Aspirin

der Dachshund (wiener dog)

der Doppelganger (a body double/look-alike)

der Ersatz (substitute)

das Fest (party in German ex. filmfest)

Gesundheit! (health: used when someone sneezes)

der Hamburger

kaput (broken/not working)

der Kindergarten

der Poltergeist

der Rucksack

die Schadenfreude (taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune!)

verboten (not allowed/prohibited)

die Wanderlust

das Wunderkind

German Präfixes (prefixes)  can also be used in English,  particularly:   über

He is überpatient with his wife.  (This implies he is extremely or too patient with his wife)

For a longer list visit: http://german.about.com/library/blvoc_gerloan2.htm

1. A syllable consists of at least one vowel sound and/or a vowel paired with one or two consonant sounds. (In the examples below the words are both Spanish and English)

animal: 3 syllables: a-ni-mal                                    Argentina: 4 syllables: Ar-gen-ti-na

2a. Words that end in a consonant other than n or s are stressed on the last syllable.

a-zul

2b. Words that end in a vowel, n, or s are stressed on the second to last syllable.

li-bro

2c. Words whose accent falls on the third to last syllable always have an accent (tilde).

rápido

2d. Rarely, words are accented on the fourth, fifth, etc. to last syllable. These are limited to verbs with pronouns attached to them.

mí-ra-me-lo

3. Spanish features both weak and strong vowels. A, E, O are strong while I, U are weak.

This affects pronunciation as two strong vowels cannot be in the same syllable. Therefore, two strong vowels found next to each other belong to separate syllables whereas a combination of a weak and strong vowel, or two weak vowels create a diphthong or a gliding sound which results in a single syllable. In order to break this diphthong, an accent may be placed on one of the vowels.

ma-es-tro

puer-to

far-ma-cia

po-li-cí-a

Historically, German and English have shared a number of similar or even identically spelled words such as:

der Student, das Haus, die Maus, die Medizin

This is due to the fact that both languages stem from a common proto-Germanic language as well as the fact that they have imported words from the same languages such as French. Over time, these words have come to be part of each language without people giving much thought to it. However, in recent history a large number of English words have been adopted by German speakers, especially within the youth culture.

Many of these words are business and technology-related, but some of them are common words for referring to people, foods or even items around the house. This mixing has become so common it even has its own name: Denglish! While many older Germans lament the encroachment of English on their language, these words are a blessing for English speakers learning German!

For those loanwords that are nouns, learning the gender can be especially tricky as they do not fall into typical categories of gender assignment. Generally, however if the word is a replacement for a German word it will retain the same gender. For example,  it is das Telefon,  therefore it follows that it is das Smart Phone. Another hint is that words ending in -ing are always neuter, as are infinitives used as nouns in German. Compare: das Treffen = das Meeting

Here is a list of some common English words in the modern German language:

Nouns:

der Airbag

das Baby

das Bowling

der Bodybuilder

der Bestseller

das Catering

die Couch

das iPhone

der Loser

das Meeting

das Tshirt

Verbs: 

babysitten

bloggen

downloaden

einchecken (to check in)

googlen

snowboarden

For an extensive list please check out this website. 

What is your favourite English word that has migrated into modern German?

Other than Latin, Arabic is the language with the greatest influence on the Spanish language. Arabic speakers entered the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal) in the year 711. Accompanied by Berbers, these Arabic speakers were pushing into Europe to spread the new faith of Islam that had been founded in 622. Within a few years, the majority of Spain was under Arab rule but the Arabic language and culture was always strongest in the South in the area known as Andalusia (al-Andalus).

In this region, a language sprang up which was a combination of Arabic and Vulgar Latin, the form of Spanish spoken in the region at the time. Vulgar Latin was the common speech of the people, in other words the language evolving from Latin into modern Spanish. The Arabs were in control of this region for the better part of seven centuries. During this time, there was a flourishing of education, the arts and sciences. Many texts were translated from classical Latin and Greek into Arabic and Vulgar Latin, giving people access to ancient learning for the first time in many centuries. There were great leaps in medicine, alchemy and the arts.

The Arab rulers were also very tolerant of both Christianity and Judaism and people were openly allowed to practice these faiths allowing for a collaboration of the intellectuals of the day. That said, the Arabs converted many Christian places of worship or other buildings into mosques, the most famous of which is the Alhambra. This magnificent building is located in Granada and pictured above. This era of religious tolerance came to an abrupt end in 1492 when Spain was once again under Spanish rule.

It is estimated that around 8% of modern Spanish words are of Arabic origin. However, the frequency of these words varies depending on the topic. For example, many scientific and agricultural words come from Arabic. Interestingly, in the Arabic language, al denotes the and therefore is featured as a prefix on many of the words. When translating Arabic into English a hyphen or space is often employed as in Al jazeera. However this practice is not used in Spanish and therefore in its truest sense the word the is doubled!

Here is a list of common Spanish words of Arabic origin:

aceite                        oil

aduana                     customs (at the border)

ajedrez                     chess

almuerzo                 lunch

alquiler                    rent

arroz                         rice

azúcar                      sugar

azul                           blue

hasta                        until

ojalá                         hopefully (may God grant)

This is a very difficult question to answer. Many factors go into a person’s ability to learn a language. I often discuss how long it takes my average student to achieve certain milestones, such as being comfortable in everyday conversations, or being confident in a business setting.

After I work with clients for a few sessions and get to know their learning styles, I can answer this question with greater certainty.  There are five key factors that I believe determine how fast someone can learn a new language:

1) Age – the younger you are when you start learning a new language, the easier learning will be. 

Young children learn new languages effortlessly because the developing human brain is a sponge for language acquisition, particularly from birth until age 5. From ages 5 to 12, one can still pick up a language easily enough to be taken for a native speaker, which requires an in-depth understanding of the language’s grammar and vocabulary and the absence of an accent. (People speak with an accent when their mouths are so accustomed to making the sounds and cadences required by their mother tongue that they superimpose their mother tongue onto the new language.  In linguistic terms this is known as “mother tongue influence” or MTI.)

2) Previous exposure to multiple languages – students who have benefitted from such exposure already understand that there are many ways to refer to the same item or concept.

Many of my monolingual students struggle to conceptualize the seemingly “other” or “strange” way people refer to something in their target language. This does not mean that you cannot achieve fluency without previous exposure to other languages, but such exposure is definitely a benefit, particularly when your target language is in the same language family.  For example, a student may have been in French immersion as a child and is now attempting to learn Spanish.

3) Memory – having a good memory is an obvious time-saver. 

Some people have been gifted with better memories than others. That said, there are many study techniques that you can adopt to help you memorize the vocabulary needed to communicate effectively in your target language. You can visit my two-part blog series on memory to get some further ideas.

4) Effort – some people don’t realize how much effort it takes to learn a new language as an adult. 

Learning a language is like working out at the gym – consistent effort is rewarded.  Ideally, a student of mine will study four days per weak, 30-60 minutes per session outside of classroom time.

5) Motivation – time and again in my career, I have seen people who may have been lacking in other respects achieve amazing results because of their motivation!

Strong motivation might come from a business opportunity, a personal challenge, or love.  Some of my highest achieving clients have specific reasons for wanting to learn.  They care deeply and are eager for results.