This is probably really simple but I keep getting confused by which form I’m meant to use. Do I match it to the person I’m talking about or do I match it to the gender of the noun? And which part of the sentence do I use to determine whether I use the singular or plural?
For example “Le mando notas” means I send him notes. What about a singular note? If I’m sending her notes does it become la? If I was sending them notes would it be las or les? If notas is feminine why don’t I use la?
Is there a simple way to remember whatever the rule is? Thanks!
Thank you SO MUCH! All your tips have been incredibly helpful. I’ve downloaded a Spanish dictionary for my kindle, and some short story books. I found a short Spanish poetry collection on LibriVox and the narrators voice is wonderful. The cadence is relaxing too so I’ve been listening to it as I go to sleep. I can’t tell you what the poem is about but I can definitely understand some words!
This review of the book couldn’t be more spot on for me;
“The students that have bought the book on my recommendation have found it very useful. They find it difficult to understand grammatical terms as they haven’t got a grounding in English grammar. The book helps them to understand how their own language works and how this can be applied to another language. It speeds up their progress in Spanish”
That’s why I was struggling to even explain what I didn’t understand- I don’t know the correct terms for English grammar. Which is absolutely ridiculous considering I got an A* for English Language at GCSE and an A for English Literature at A-level! The book is out of print now but I found a pdf and I’ve ordered a used copy (I’m old and I think I’ll always prefer learning from physical books).
I’m going to take your advice on translating word for word if it’s the easiest way for me right now. I’ll let the thinking in Spanish come in time. I look forward to the epiphany moment! I have had a tiny one already, very near the start I was able to read a sign a tennis fan was holding up: “Carlitos, mi hijo quiere tu camiseta”. It’s got to be up there with “Dónde está la biblioteca” as one of the most simple Spanish sentences but I was so pleased with myself for understanding something irl!
Thank you again for the effort you put into helping me. I truly appreciate it - you’ve made my week!
You’re very welcome.
I hope you’re enjoying the poetry. If you like that kind of thing, one exercise that I like doing is translating song lyrics. Dom La Nena, Bomba Estéreo, and La Femme are good for that. If a translation already exists on e.g. Google (search song title + ‘letra’), you can check yours against it. Or: make a word document with a table with two columns. English goes on one. Spanish in the other. Then listen to the song on repeat. Read the English through one translation. Then Spanish in the next. Do this a few times. Talk about ear worms!
We’re in s similar position. I was getting so frustrated with grammar books. Oh that’s how you conjugate the future imperfect? Wow, great, thanks. But wtf is the future imperfect?! Some of the grammar is straightforward enough. For the trickier bits, this book comes in handy (there’s one for French and maybe German if you revert branch out).
It’s great when you see Spanish in the wild and understand it, isn’t it? You’re already on the right track if this is happening. As you build up your vocab you’ll also build up chunks of language (collocations) like this. Interpreting the vocab, then the chunks will become more and more automatic until your brain just goes straight from Spanish to meaning.
One thing that can help with automaticity is grammar drills. I’m not very consistent, but I grab a notebook and write out a sentence, then change one variable and write it again, and so on. You can’t go over the basics too many times. Once you hit the sweet spot of over-learning, you won’t forget it.
The same principle applies to reading. It’s good to stretch yourself but also to go over and over texts that only included the basic grammar structures that you already know. I find the really young children’s books too difficult as they’re written for adults to read aloud and the first steps books contain too few words. Books aimed at 8–9+ get the balance about right. An enjoyable enough book series written for native children (translated from English but that doesn’t matter) is Isadora Moon by Harriet Muncaster. If you were to sail the high seas, you might see it on a clear day.
(I say it like this not just in an attempt to be witty but also as an opportunity to say that while Spanish uses the subjective quite a bit, and some say it’s never used in English, this use of ‘were to’ is a rare example of the subjunctive in English (I think!).)
When you’re more confident, Bernard Cornwell’s Last Kingdom series is good because it’s mostly in the first person so you get loads of repetition of the grammar that you need to talk about yourself. (I got stuck at #4 at first, though. I didn’t get on with the translation. Six months later, I picked it up and it was fine – so it was my lack rather than the translators.) You can also watch the Netflix series dubbed in Spanish before or after to hear how professional voice actors pronounce the words you’re reading. (The books don’t align too well with the show, though, so if you love the books read them first or you’ll get spoilers.)