I am a new member as of today! I have been looking for podcasts such as yours that include pauses in the podcasts and instructions for the participants to speak. I just finished the podcast on the imperfect and preterite and found it to be just what I was looking for. It is so important to have opportunities to practice your speaking, not just your listening and reading skills. Thank you!
Gina
Gina I really appreciate your positive feedback. And I plan to start adding to the Spanish Grammar Podcast series very soon (by the end of this month). I started these podcasts as a way to review tough grammatical constructs. Before I decided to submit them to iTunes, I just shared them among other friends practicing the language. I'm so glad others have found them useful.
There are a huge number of verbs that change meaning entirely when they become reflexive. For instance, tratarse isn't tratar made reflexive, it means something completely different. Oh sure, through convoluted logic one can tie a thread between them, but it's often tenuous. It might be fun to make a list of such words and talk about them because I know they often confuse me. And how do you make an impersonal "se" when the reflexive makes the meaning completely different? Oh, and how does one do an impersonal "se" with a reflexive verb? I'm guessing "se se" is a no-no. Anyway, thanks.
Yes this would be a GREAT subject, and one I would love to cover in the future. Thanks for posting this idea. As you have probably noticed, I'm taking a break from the Spanish Grammar podcast. I have been focusing on the Medical Spanish Podcast. But I hope to find the time to continue these podcasts in the future, as they help me improve my skills as well.
As far as a reflexive verb with an impersonal se. How 'bout?:
It makes my mouth water just thinking about Christmas dinner at my Grandma's house.
Se me hace la boca agua sólo pensar en la cena de navidad en casa de mi abuela.
Regarding the passive construction, I think this would be a great podcast topic as well. It often comes in handy when speaking medical Spanish.
I don't really think that's what I'm getting at. Consider: you can translate "no se puede fumar acá" as roughly "one cannot smoke here." But how would one write "one dare not smoke here" given that the verb is atreverse? You would have to write "no se se atreve fumar acá" and I don't think you can do that. I'm actually fairly fluent in Italian, and in that language it's easy: if there were a verb atreversi (there isn't), instead of writing "non si si atreve fumare qui," the first si changes to ci and you would write "non ci si atreve fumare qui."
I'm guessing there's no functional equivalent in Spanish... but there must be some way to express the concept, no?
I'm in the process of researching for my next Grammar Podcast on the impersonal and passive se, and I think I found an answer to your question.
When the verb is reflexive you are obligated to use the subject pronoun uno/a, or in the negative statement you present above I think nadie works well.
Examples: 1) Nadie se atreve a fumar acá. 2) Uno se acuesta temprano después de un día ocupado.
please - the imperfect subjunctive. how its used in conjunction with other tenses and things like 'if i could have ... i would have .... MANY THANKS if you could do this...!
I love this topic! I will plan covering it after we practice irregular verbs in the present subjunctive and adjective placement. Thanks for leaving your suggestion in this forum. The next grammar podcast will come out this week. It's only delayed due to loosing my voice!!!
Oh.... and you will find some imperfect subjunctive in podcast covering The Conditional.
I find that my greatest weakness in Spanish is in understanding spoken Spanish. My speaking and reading skills are decent, but it's still tough to truly understand when the Spanish speaker is talking at normal conversational speed. So, your podcasts help increase my listening proficiency. Hopefully in a year to two I'll see major improvement.
One suggestion for future podcasts relates to adjectives. Most adjectives follow the noun, but I've noticed many, many exceptions as I've been reading more Spanish text. Can you provide some helpful hints on when the adjectives precede the noun and when they follow?
Great idea. This is something I question at times too. Sometimes it's obvious, as in "Ella es una gran persona." But other times no. it will be good to review and brush up on. Thanks for the idea Steve.
Molly, first of all thank you for your podcast. I am an avid Spanish learner and I must say that you do a fantastic job with your series.
I am a physician in Indiana and if ever you need help with any of your podcasts I hope you will feel free to let me know.
Perhaps you would not mind a request from me. It would be great if you could begin a series of programs on irregular verbs, not only the common ones learned at a beginner level, but also verbs that might be included in a more intermediate and advanced course, with plenty of drilling and some didactics. My thought is that you could introduce a paradigm, say of a verb that changes e to i in the present tense, or something like that, give a list of verbs that follow such a paradigm, then do some drilling exercises that help one practice the rule just discussed. Of course, there are many different paradigms you could choose, like spelling changes with -car and -zar verbs in the past tense, which is why you might need more than one program to cover the topic.
I loved your podcast on conditional sentences and wish you would do another one or two with more drilling exercises. Finally, I would like to learn more about phrases that require the use of the subjunctive. I know there are many of them, like "no creo que", and you cannot review all of them, but a longer list of them with practice time might be nice.
Hi Mike,
Thanks so much for your great idea! And for the positive feedback. I have been wondering what to cover next, and those two ideas sound great. They aren't as heavy as the recent series on relative pronouns. I have one more planned on relative pronouns, but maybe I'll interrupt that series with some irregular verbs or the subjunctive. I was thinking of doing more subjunctive podcasts myself. Even after all the podcasts I did on subjunctive, I still find myself hesitating to think: "subjunctive or no?" Practice...practice! Thanks a lot for your advice. I'll definitely do both, coming soon!
Molly Martin, MD
Internal Medicine
podcasts that prompt speaking
I am a new member as of today! I have been looking for podcasts such as yours that include pauses in the podcasts and instructions for the participants to speak. I just finished the podcast on the imperfect and preterite and found it to be just what I was looking for. It is so important to have opportunities to practice your speaking, not just your listening and reading skills. Thank you!
Gina
Thank you! More grammar podcasts soon.
Gina I really appreciate your positive feedback. And I plan to start adding to the Spanish Grammar Podcast series very soon (by the end of this month). I started these podcasts as a way to review tough grammatical constructs. Before I decided to submit them to iTunes, I just shared them among other friends practicing the language. I'm so glad others have found them useful.
Verbs that change meaning
There are a huge number of verbs that change meaning entirely when they become reflexive. For instance, tratarse isn't tratar made reflexive, it means something completely different. Oh sure, through convoluted logic one can tie a thread between them, but it's often tenuous. It might be fun to make a list of such words and talk about them because I know they often confuse me. And how do you make an impersonal "se" when the reflexive makes the meaning completely different? Oh, and how does one do an impersonal "se" with a reflexive verb? I'm guessing "se se" is a no-no. Anyway, thanks.
Reflexive verbs.
Yes this would be a GREAT subject, and one I would love to cover in the future. Thanks for posting this idea. As you have probably noticed, I'm taking a break from the Spanish Grammar podcast. I have been focusing on the Medical Spanish Podcast. But I hope to find the time to continue these podcasts in the future, as they help me improve my skills as well.
As far as a reflexive verb with an impersonal se. How 'bout?:
It makes my mouth water just thinking about Christmas dinner at my Grandma's house.
Se me hace la boca agua sólo pensar en la cena de navidad en casa de mi abuela.
Regarding the passive construction, I think this would be a great podcast topic as well. It often comes in handy when speaking medical Spanish.
Impersonal Se
I don't really think that's what I'm getting at. Consider: you can translate "no se puede fumar acá" as roughly "one cannot smoke here." But how would one write "one dare not smoke here" given that the verb is atreverse? You would have to write "no se se atreve fumar acá" and I don't think you can do that. I'm actually fairly fluent in Italian, and in that language it's easy: if there were a verb atreversi (there isn't), instead of writing "non si si atreve fumare qui," the first si changes to ci and you would write "non ci si atreve fumare qui."
I'm guessing there's no functional equivalent in Spanish... but there must be some way to express the concept, no?
De todos modos, feliz navidad desde Buenos Aires!
Impersonal se with reflexive verbs
Hola Smirkypants
I'm in the process of researching for my next Grammar Podcast on the impersonal and passive se, and I think I found an answer to your question.
When the verb is reflexive you are obligated to use the subject pronoun uno/a, or in the negative statement you present above I think nadie works well.
Examples: 1) Nadie se atreve a fumar acá. 2) Uno se acuesta temprano después de un día ocupado.
Molly
Impersonal se with reflexive verbs
Ahhh... Now I undersand what you are getting at. Hmmm... I would say the following.
Nadie se atreve a fumar acá.
But this doesn't fully answer your question. Maybe someone else will chime in... Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo!
Suggestion for podcast - imperfect subjunctive
please - the imperfect subjunctive. how its used in conjunction with other tenses and
things like 'if i could have ... i would have .... MANY THANKS if you
could do this...!
Imperfect Subjunctive
I love this topic! I will plan covering it after we practice irregular verbs in the present subjunctive and adjective placement. Thanks for leaving your suggestion in this forum. The next grammar podcast will come out this week. It's only delayed due to loosing my voice!!!
Oh.... and you will find some imperfect subjunctive in podcast covering The Conditional.
Adjectives
Great job on your podcasts!
I find that my greatest weakness in Spanish is in understanding spoken Spanish. My speaking and reading skills are decent, but it's still tough to truly understand when the Spanish speaker is talking at normal conversational speed. So, your podcasts help increase my listening proficiency. Hopefully in a year to two I'll see major improvement.
One suggestion for future podcasts relates to adjectives. Most adjectives follow the noun, but I've noticed many, many exceptions as I've been reading more Spanish text. Can you provide some helpful hints on when the adjectives precede the noun and when they follow?
Thanks much.
Sincerely,
Steve
Where does the adjective go?
Great idea. This is something I question at times too. Sometimes it's obvious, as in "Ella es una gran persona." But other times no. it will be good to review and brush up on. Thanks for the idea Steve.
Grammar Ideas
Molly, first of all thank you for your podcast. I am an avid Spanish learner and I must say that you do a fantastic job with your series.
I am a physician in Indiana and if ever you need help with any of your podcasts I hope you will feel free to let me know.
Perhaps you would not mind a request from me. It would be great if you could begin a series of programs on irregular verbs, not only the common ones learned at a beginner level, but also verbs that might be included in a more intermediate and advanced course, with plenty of drilling and some didactics. My thought is that you could introduce a paradigm, say of a verb that changes e to i in the present tense, or something like that, give a list of verbs that follow such a paradigm, then do some drilling exercises that help one practice the rule just discussed. Of course, there are many different paradigms you could choose, like spelling changes with -car and -zar verbs in the past tense, which is why you might need more than one program to cover the topic.
I loved your podcast on conditional sentences and wish you would do another one or two with more drilling exercises. Finally, I would like to learn more about phrases that require the use of the subjunctive. I know there are many of them, like "no creo que", and you cannot review all of them, but a longer list of them with practice time might be nice.
Thank you for reading this email.
Mike Reeder, MD
Great idea: irregular verbs and the subjunctive.
Hi Mike,
Thanks so much for your great idea! And for the positive feedback. I have been wondering what to cover next, and those two ideas sound great. They aren't as heavy as the recent series on relative pronouns. I have one more planned on relative pronouns, but maybe I'll interrupt that series with some irregular verbs or the subjunctive. I was thinking of doing more subjunctive podcasts myself. Even after all the podcasts I did on subjunctive, I still find myself hesitating to think: "subjunctive or no?" Practice...practice! Thanks a lot for your advice. I'll definitely do both, coming soon!
Molly Martin, MD
Internal Medicine