www.CostaRicaTicas.com

This is a thread to put all the links I am compiling for my own education. This first post will be updated as I add stuff. The remainder is for questions about language usage. I know many of you are way ahead of me in speaking Spanish, and I want to tap your knowledge and experiences.

BASIC VOCABULARY BUILDING:
http://www.Quizlet.com - I will post a series of custom lists I have made, for anyone that is interested.

GRAMMAR RULES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_grammar - the basics.

http://www.drlemon.com - a short, easy to understand explanation of the basic grammar rules, including pronoun usage.

http://www.studyspanish.com/tutorial.htm - I paid for the year to be able to use their test pages. But all info is free to read. There is only light touches on the topics, and not the in-depth repetition necessary for true mastery of the rules.

VERB PRACTICE:
http://www.conjuguemos.com - does not teach verbs, lets you practice conjugation forms (and exclude the vos form).

Other Practice Sites:
https://www.nationalspanishexam.org/index.php/exam-preparation/online-practice-exercises
http://personal.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/DO_or_IO.php
http://www.e-spanyol.hu/en/tests.php
http://www.todo-claro.com/e_index.php
http://www.trinity.edu/mstroud/grammar/
http://www.spanish411.net/PractiquemosLogin.asp
http://www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/prcd.htm

PARTNERING & TUTORING:
http://www.italki.com - find people to speak with free, via skype, or find a tutor for a fee. I pay $4.00 a half hour for a language tutor in Límon, CR (http://www.italki.com/teacher/1594374).

BOOKS & READING:
International Ch*ldren's Library (free books): http://en.childrenslibrary.org/ - great source of online Ch*ldren's books to practice reading skills.
http://www.spanish.cl/reading.htm
http://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/spanish_reading_passages
http://www.spanishromance.com/spanish-language/stories/
http://www.childrensbooksforever.com/childrenpages/Spanish.html
http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/library-translations.htm
http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/ .... CNN in Spanish

Amazon has Kindle books for beginning reading in Spanish, cheap!!

...more to follow...

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

I use quizlet on the word match option when I am waiting on appointments to show up. It has helped a lot with reading and understanding Whats App messages from girls without cut and past into translator.. I would be interested in your custom list.

Thanks

Help me out here.

I know the following expression complexes, but if there are additionals, please post them and usage. Thanks guys.

False Future: " ir " + " a " + {infinitive}
voy a comer. (I am going to eat.)
vamos a ir ahora. (We are going to go now)

Necessity (Specific): " tener " + "que " + {infinitive}
tengo que comer. (I have to eat.)
tenemos que salir ahora. (We have to leave now.)

Necessity (General): " hay " + "que " + {infinitive}
hay que comer. (One must eat.)
hay que practicar mucho. (It is necessary to practice a lot.)

To have done: " acabar " + " de " + {infinitive}
acabo de comer. (I have just eaten.)
acaban de salir. (They just left.)

Capability: " poder " + {infinitive}
puedo hablar en íngles. (I can/am able to/ speak English.)
no podemos salir ahora. (We cannot/are not able to/ leave now.)

Repetition: " volver " + a " + {infinitive}
vuelvo a leer el libro. (I read the book again.)
volvemos a reunirnos. (We meet again.)

Supposition or probability: " deber " + de " + {infinitive}
Ella debe de estar enferma porque sale de casa raremente. (She (must be sick / is probably sick) because she rarely leaves the house.)

Another one just learned:
to express current situation: " Ya " + que " + {conjugated verb}
Ya que no tengo... ((Since I don't have ... / Now that I don't have ...))

Another new one:
to express a strong desire: " Tener ganas " + de " + {infinitive verb}
Tengo ganas de estudiar esta mañana. ((I seriously have a passion to study this morning.))
** see page 6 for more examples.
.....

Other prepositions are used with verb infinitives. The infinitive in Spanish is used in place of the English gerund (-ing form of a verb used as a noun.)

Al + infinitive Upon + verb-ing Al Salir... : upon leaving..

Antes de + infinitive Before + verb-ing Antes de desayunar... : Before having breakfast..

Después de + infinitive After + verb-ing Después de asistir a clase... : After attending class...

En vez de + infinitive Instead of + verb-ing En vez de estudiar... : Instead of studying...

Sin + infinitive Without + verb-ing Sin parar... : without stopping...

Para + infinitive In order to + verb Para llegar a tiempo... : In order to arrive on time...

Remember that Spanish verbs are not conjugated when following any preposition. I am highlighting this statement, as I find it is the number 1 error I make when speaking Spanish. Coming from English, one MUST rememebr when a "prepositional phrase" is coming out of one's mouth. It is totally 'gringo' to conjugate in a prep phrase.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

My Quizlet lists (or at least ones I use(d) regularly):

these are not my lists, but I split up larger sets to be able to study them

500 VERBS (alphabetical):
http://email.quizlet.com/c/eJxNjrEOgzAMRL8GtiLHOKIMGSpV_AZKsCmRQqEJZejXN7Qdanm4O-udzIZF6dIbBKWhQVRELegK86iKGmixIHg8_SvIVg3LXE7GoSjXQE10rlEcNzQMqmURBHLSchnMtG1rKupLgV3ePzy7q909d3GZu7BEzzZH4xJYYspKA5zSau8-TaddoktlNHwAYwbGH0Bwm60Pn3c2kyYbpf9W9HIc3kEXRKI

Reflexive Verbs: https://quizlet.com/_1bt6z8

200 ADJECTIVES (small lists):
http://email.quizlet.com/c/eJxlTkEOgyAQfI3cNMvqoh44NGn8hkHBSoPFAvXQ15e2lybNzGFnJrMZLbXhxKxE4AQtIidEoqojgKrmXHRFA_eHfTqTqtlvbJUoasQuY-JzR1z3QAvvp6kW7SS0AObkmtIei_pU4JD5U8_qrA6rh-C3wflgtcrW4p02IeYLAcq4q5uNa6n01czJHiaWcVPOsSD_ug1cNmXdZ1mScVXBjN9vo3kHL2e6Rzk

160+ PREPOSITIONS (small lists):
http://email.quizlet.com/c/eJxlTksOwiAUPE3ZtXn86YKFiek1GiooJGAR0IWnF3VjYjKL-WQmY7V1mKOgCWAOkhDMKQE-USzkJIVgamBwu4dndG067Ql5jYGQbXYczCylsnY7C8LoJtWshMEWUNS-tVwHehjI0vFT7-poHsEuZU9L3EuwplvnPVpXamdYwFizuYbqx1xcrmNNJkZU9F-NwSWZED-nmq7eFLd-h1b3Dl5N-EW6

100+ ADVERBS (small lists):
http://email.quizlet.com/c/eJxlTkEKwyAQfE28JaxGrTl4KJR8I9i4rYKpqdoQ-vra9lLosjCzM8ywVlukgnjNgAo4MEZFLwTrWB3aDVyqhsP94Z8BSzfHhTgN2AOVUiIgihkvzHKqhJJDBWVgIEG7Utbc9MeGjXV_4vU6mc3bMcVlDDF5a6p0icFiypXt-97m1dx8dq2xG6ZzbvNiQiBJ_wU5XBfjw-etorMzCadv1YRv4wX9BkcV

EMOTIONS: https://quizlet.com/_ddpgn
QUANTITY & Indefinites: https://quizlet.com/_gmxys
PRONOUNS: https://quizlet.com/_w5vek
'POR' vs 'PARA': https://quizlet.com/_ohf2k

these were created by me, so if there's a mistake, PM me and I'll fix it.

TENER expressions: https://quizlet.com/_1g1b6x
POR expressions: https://quizlet.com/_1eg76d
Location/Direction terms: https://quizlet.com/_1bsxhb
Something/Nothing: https://quizlet.com/_1bii8r
'Then' terms: https://quizlet.com/_19imdv
Weather expressions: https://quizlet.com/_1binbw

Added a folder with 3.500 verbs!! I will split it alphabetically later, but for now, have fun.
(Search for "3500 Spanish Verbs")

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

small correction on the spelling of vuelvo.

Also, the first one, I would re-state as "Voy a leer el libro de nuevo" or "Leo el libro de nuevo". The way you wrote it means "I'm going back to read the book" (for example, if somebody interrupted you and asked you to come and help them and now you want to go back to reading your book. If you want to convey repetition, I would use "de nuevo".

For the second one. "Meet" as in get together should be "reunir". Conocer is meet for the first time, as in "nice to meet you".

<sheepish grin> ... thanks.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

"volvemos a reunirnos" or "volvemos a reunir" ? Is the 'nos' pronoun necessary in this context?

crap...meant as a PM.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

Yea, good catch, you can leave out the "nos" since the verb is already conjugated in the "we" form. Either way would be understood.

not nitpicking here. "volver a" means a repeated action. In my example, I had been reading, and I am again reading (the same book). I never stated that I had finished the book and was now rereading the pages I had finished. I believe that is where the difference is. Perhaps my example wasn't well suited to the expression.

Your statements are more literal and clear, but I am trying to master the exact expression "volver a " ... can you give me concrete examples of when you would use this complex?

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

Pronouns in Spanish are a mutha fuka!!!

Subject Pronouns
Direct Object Pronouns
Indirect Object Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns
Prepositional Pronouns
Reciprocal Pronouns
Reflexive Prepositional Pronouns
Possessive Pronouns

... I mean ... REALLY!!?!?!

[EDIT]... Relative Pronouns! I finally figured out what that damned lo que shit means!!!

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

Looked it up. This is an example of reciprocation, and the "nos" (properly) is necessary, as a reciprocal pronoun. Reciprocation seems to be a difficult issue in Spanish (and French I believe). It requires additional content to be understood.

se miran - 1. they look at themselves - 2. they look at each other. - Ambiguous.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

How do you pay your tutor? Is that brokered through the site, or are you doing something like PayPal per lesson?

Actually, if that's literally what you're trying to say, then you should be ok. But it could be interpreted as you re-reading it. That's why I thought you were trying to say that you are re-reading the book. In Spanish, as you probably already realized, a LOT depends on context.

Volver literally means to return, but I have heard it used in the way you wrote. A little while ago, my wife said, "Nunca voy a volver hacerlo again". I'll never do/make it again". She's big on Spanglish. The context was that she made some dish but burned it and I made a typical snide remark and it pissed her off and she threatened to never make it again. I think it was Rice pudding (arroz con leche)

The site operates on some form of credit-currency. I CC dollars into my site account, and use the credits to buy time with the tutor. I really do not know what his cut is. What is nice is the site maintains his availability schedule, so I can see his free time in advance.

Keep in mind I only need to pay if I want to hire a tutor. You can hook up with other 'students' for free. The idea is to find someone on your schedule that speaks Spanish and wants to practice English.

Another site is http://www.conversationexchange.com . I've not used it though.

Italki also allows you to post written material and others will correct it for you. You'll get several interpretations on how to say something.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

Thanks BashfulDwarf for putting this post together. I can learn and retain Spanish vocabulary with ease but have a very difficult time with conjugating the verbs. In high school were were forced to take 4 years of French, which I learned without much difficulty. It seems as you get older, it becomes much more difficult to learn.

After a trip to Latin/South America my Spanish dramatically improves, even after a few days. I think immersion is the only way to go. After awhile you will be conjugating verbs properly and you won't even realize it. I think most of us have memorized phrases that we use but don't really understand the language rules.

"te pago la mitad ahora y el resto cuando terminamos" is a phrase I have used many times, but could never put it together on my own.

Devo

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The most dangerous adversaries are the ones that come with a smile instead of a sword