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Articles & Books From Gail Stein
The perfect guide for new Spanish learners and anyone looking for an expert refresherInterested in a fast and effective guide to learning Spanish that avoids fluff and focuses on key concepts that you need to know to improve your ability to speak, write, and understand the language? Spanish Essentials For Dummies, 2nd Edition walks you through Spanish fundamentals you can use for at-home, solo learning, to supplement your progress in a Spanish class, or as a companion to language instruction.
Article / Updated 05-09-2023
Demonstrative pronouns can make your Spanish flow more naturally in both writing and conversation. So how exactly can you go about forming sentences with demonstrative pronouns? First, you need to understand what they stand for and how they translate in Spanish. Then you’ll be ready to absorb the basics of their usage.
Article / Updated 05-09-2023
Dropping demonstrative adjectives into your Spanish vocabulary will help you express exactly what or whom you’re seeking. But first, you need to understand what demonstrative adjectives stand for and how they translate in Spanish. Then you’ll be ready to absorb the basics of their usage.
Demonstrative adjectives indicate or point out the person, place, or thing to which a speaker is referring.
Article / Updated 03-16-2023
The gender of nouns is always a stumbling point for people learning Spanish. In Spanish, nouns always take on a specific gender. This gender role is in addition to the traditional role nouns take on as the subject of a sentence or the direct object of a verb.
Spanish nouns are either masculine or feminine. Nouns that refer to males are always masculine, and nouns that refer to females are feminine, no matter their endings.
Step by Step / Updated 12-14-2022
Comparisons of equality show that two things or people are the same. In Spanish, whether you’re using an adjective or an adverb, you make the comparison the same way.Begin with tan (as), and add the adjective or adverb.Dolores es tan conscienzuda (Dolores is as conscientious)
Ella estudia tan diligentemente (She studies as diligently)
Add como (as), and complete the rest of the sentence.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 11-16-2022
Speaking Spanish requires you to keep tabs on all sorts of topics: verb conjugation, irregular verbs, and parts of speech, to name a few. Plus, if you intend to travel, being able to ask for information is a must.Regular verb conjugation
Person
Present
Preterit
Imperfect
Future
Conditional
Present Subjunctive
yo
hablo
hablé
hablaba
hablaré
hablaría
hable
tú
hablas
hablaste
hablabas
hablarás
hablarías
hables
él, ella, Ud.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-25-2022
As someone who has surpassed the beginning level of Spanish, you consider yourself rather proficient in the language and want to discover more. So, here you are, eager to jump up to a higher level and perfect your skills. That’s fantastic! You can use the following set of articles as a reference to help you practice and become a more proficient Spanish speaker.
Article / Updated 01-13-2020
Adding adverbs to your Spanish vocabulary can help your audience better understand how or to what degree or intensity an action is being performed. Spanish has a few different ways to express adverbs: by adding -mente to the end of feminine singular adjectives, by combining a noun with the Spanish preposition con, or by using simple phrases.
Step by Step / Updated 02-14-2017
The superlative shows that something (or someone) is the best or worst of its (or his or her) kind. In Spanish, the article (el, la, los, las) that comes before más or menos indicates that the item or person under discussion is the end-all, be-all of its (or his or her) kind. In English, superlatives usually end in -est (He runs the fastest of them all).
Step by Step / Updated 02-14-2017
The Spanish preposition de (deh) has several meanings: of, from, or about, depending on your context. De’s multiple personalities make using the word correctly a bit tough — unless you know the specific roles it can play in a sentence. Use the following list to help you remember what you can use de to show.PossessionTo express possession in Spanish, be sure to use the preposition de.