I say, that is just not possible.  If you learn a sentence off by heart, or a series of phrases, like “my name is..” and “how much is..” and “two beers please” that’s great!  But you are always going to be stuck with your limited sentences – you just can’t venture beyond them. 

Language is like a series of building blocks.  If you know how to put the blocks in the right order, instead of just being able to build a wall, you can build a whole house, a bridge or a sky-scraper!

The building blocks of any language are many, but the most important and the basics are VERBS, and then lots and lots of VOCAB!  I say, take time, and lots of it, to embrace the way verbs are conjugated, and you will find you can go beyond those fixed-learned phrases and sentences and make your own! 

So here’s my advice on the basic building blocks of Spanish:

1.  Learn how to conjugate the -AR, -ER and -IR regular verbs off by heart (instead of the phrases)

2. Practise one or two verbs each day.  It is very hypnotic to chant “yo como, tu comes, el come….” when in the shower, or taking a walk with the dog, and the more you repeat, the easier it’ll be for your brain to remember and quickly find the right conjugation when in conversation.

3.  Learn the really irregular verbs (those juiciest ones!) by heart – SER is a cracker!  And IR!  The juciest irregulars are always the most commonly used and essential verbs in life – that’s why they are the most irregular.

4. Write down every new word you learn in a vocab book.  Learn the new ones each day and go over them all regularly.  Practise combining your new verb conjugation skills with your new vocab and test it out on the locals!

5.  Don’t rush it.  DON’T start on past tenses until you have fully mastered the Present tense. 

5. Above all, enjoy the learning process.  Make it a part of your daily life and love every minute of it!

Spanish Language Practice

IR – to go

Yo voy
Tu vas
El/Ella/Usted va
Nosotros vamos
Vosotros vais
Ellos van

When practicing, shorten it by taking out those pronouns and just repeat over and over again:

voy-vas-va,  vamos-vais-van

SER – to be (permanent being)

soy, eres, es,  somos, sois, son

You can even sing them! 

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It is very confusing!  Two completely different verbs for TO BE.  Why do they have to do it??

Well, really it’s not confusing at all.  Yes, they are awkward to memorise, especially SER, which seems to follow no rules at all!  But really it is ENGLISH that is missing something. 

Think about this:  when you say “I am at the station” it means my location is at the station at this moment.  While if you say “I am a girl” you are saying you, as a being, happen to be female.  What relationship is there between the use of “am” in each case?  The answer, if you think about it, is NOTHING!

So remember how simple it is:

SER: this is about being you.  Or a thing being a thing.  These are permanent conditions, things you are born with.  You are you.  A table is a table.  An elephant is an elephant.  Nothing will ever change this pretty definite fact! In other words, use it when you use TO BE in a state of permanence.

ESTAR: If you have a temporary situation, which means you are in a place at a certain time, or you are feeling ill today, but tomorrow – or soon enough – you’ll be fine, or you are excited (because other times you will be bored, tired, sad, happy, concerned, nervous, etc etc etc), then this is a temporary state – so use ESTAR for temporary states.

And it’s more or less as simple as that!!

Here’s some ones to watch for:

- Ese chico es bueno (That boy is good) (He’s a good boy – that’s part of his permanent character as a person)

- Ese chico está bueno (That boy is hot!) (He’s looking sexy today – tomorrow morning, he might look a mess and be unshaven and smelly!)

- La carne es mala (The meat is bad) (It’s not a good cut, might be chewy and tough, etc.  This is part of the permanent make-up of the meat, it’s never going to be a good piece of meat)

- La carne está mala (The meat is off) (It was once ok, but now it has changed and it’s not good, because it has gone from good to bad).

Here are the conjugations of SER and ESTAR in the present tense:

SER

Yo soy (I am)
Tu eres (You are) (Single You, Informal form)
El es (He is)  / Ella es (She is)  / Usted es (You are, Single You, Formal form)

Nosotros somos (We are)
Vosotros sois (You  are, Plural You, Informal form)
Ellos son (They are), Ellas son (They are – all feminine), Ustedes son (You are, Plural You, Formal form)

Examples: 
Yo soy Toni (I am Toni). 
Nosotros somos de España (We are from Spain).
La mesa es de madera (The table is wooden).

ESTAR  (translations and forms exactly as above)

Yo estoy
Tu estás
El está  / Ella está  / Usted está

Nosotros estamos
Vosotros estáis
Ellos están  / Ellas están  / Ustedes están

Examples:
Vosotros estáis en la clase (You -plural informal – are in the class). 
Tu estás guapa hoy (You are pretty today). 
Yo estoy cansado (I am tired).

Happy practicing!!  Any questions, email me!

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