This Sunday I would like to tell you about another useful Spanish expression: mira a ver. In a nutshell, this expression equates to something like “look and see” in English. Let’s look at a sample dialogue:
Spanish husband: Cariño, ¿lo tienes todo? No quiero tener que volver a casa a por algún artículo olvidado como la última vez. (Honey, do you have everything? I don’t want to have to come back home looking for some forgotten item like the last time.)
Spanish wife: Sí, creo que sí… pero, ¿dónde tengo el móvil? (Yeah, I think so… but, where’s my cell phone?)
Spanish husband: Pues no sé, ¿no lo habías metido en tu bolso? Mira a ver…. (I don’t know, didn’t you put it in your purse? Look and see….)
Spanish wife: Sí, tienes razón, aquí está. (Yeah, you’re right, here it is.)
In this edition of Spanish Sunday, I would like to explain the meaning of an expression used constantly by Spaniards: qué va. It’s actually a really useful little expression used to strongly say “no” to something. Loosely translated, you could say that qué va means something along the lines of “no way.” Let’s look at this expression in a sample dialogue:
Random Spaniard: Chris, ¿tienes miedo de algo? (Chris, are you afraid of something?)
Me: ¿Miedo? ¡Qué va! Soy un hombre valiente y no tengo miedo de nada. (Afraid? No way! I’m a brave guy and I’m not afraid of anything.) Continue reading this post…
I went to a Semana Santa (Holy Week) procession here in Burgos yesterday and have placed the video of it above for you to take a look at. Semana Santa in Spain is always something curious for Americans like me because the processions that are celebrated here are not like anything that we have in the States.
I still remember the first time that I saw a Semana Santa procession here in Spain. It was back when I was living and studying in Valladolid in the year 2007. It was actually a bit of a scary experience for me… after all, I wasn’t expecting to see people dressed like the KuKlux Klan walking through the streets of Spain. In fact, I remember that the absolute first procession that I ever went to was with an Irish friend of mine who, like me, also had never seen a Semana Santa procession before. In my mind’s eye, I can still see the “cloaked individuals” coming out of that church in Valladolid, slowly making their way into view, and my Irish friend saying to me with a look of astonishment on her face and a thick Irish accent, “Oh my God, who are those people???” Continue reading this post…
Now that I have my visa and my plane ticket to go to Spain, my next logical step in preparing to leave for Burgos in September is to start looking for housing. The best way that I know for finding a place to live in Spain is the old-fashioned way: scouring the papers and classified ads for available apartments. And that’s exactly what I plan to do over the next few weeks. Continue reading this post…
I thought I would write this post for those of you who want to learn more colloquial Spanish to tell you about an interesting word with a double meaning that is used often in Spain. The word is enchufe.
You see, enchufe literally refers to an electrical plug or socket; however, it is also used in Spain to refer to someone “on the inside” who pulls a few strings for you. Continue reading this post…
A lot of my regular readers have asked me to recommend some books/tools that they may be able to use to help them hone and practice their Spanish skills. It is for that reason that I’d like to tell you about a great book entitled “The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice” by Ronni L. Gordon and David M. Stillman.
I purchased this book after completing four years of high school Spanish to review what I had learned over the past four years. I more or less felt as though I already had a good understanding of basic grammar; however, I wanted to “revisit” some of the things that I had learned and go more “in-depth” with the language. Over the summer between my high school graduation and my first year at college, I read this book cover-to-cover and, by the time I entered college in the fall as a Spanish major, this book had put me light-years ahead of my peers. Continue reading this post…
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