Learning Languages Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 05-19-2022

You can travel more comfortably in Russia when you know a bit of the language, such as how to greet locals, use common expressions, and ask basic questions in Russian. Knowing about the use of cases is also essential for speaking Russian properly in any situation.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 05-09-2022

Si tienes planeado viajar a un país que habla inglés, de vacaciones o por negocio, vale la pena aprender algunos saludos, frases de cortesía y preguntas de carácter general.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-18-2022

If you’re ready to move beyond the basics in French and want to improve your skills at reading, writing, or speaking in French, start by reviewing the three types of French articles, the French contractions formed with à and de, and French personal pronouns. Learning the correct object pronoun word order and identifying verbs that use être as their auxiliary verb will boost your confidence when speaking French.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-18-2022

Teaching English as a foreign language is an exciting and challenging experience. Here, you will find words of wisdom on everything from choosing a course to lesson planning, and all the stages in between.

Article / Updated 03-31-2022

Learning Korean means asking a lot of questions, and if you want to ask those questions in Korean, you need to know the basic question words — who, what, where, and so on — as well as helpful questions themselves. The following table shows the basic question words: English Question Korean Translation Pronunciation Who? nugu? noo-goo? What? mueot? moo-uht? Where? eodi? uh-dee? How eotteoke? uh-ttuh-kae? When? eonje? uhn-jae? Why? wae? wae? When you want to ask a full-fledged question, use the phrases in the following table: English Question Korean Translation Pronunciation How’s it going? annyeonghaseyo? an-nyoung-ha-sae-yo? Do you speak English? yeongeo haljul aseyo? young-uh hal-jool a-sae-yo? Can you help me? jeo jom dowa jusillaeyo? juh jom do-wa-joo-shil-lae-yo? What is your name? seonghami eotteokke doeseyo? sung-ha-mee uh-ttuh-kae dwae-sae-yo? What time is it? myeotsieyo? myuht-shi-ae-yo? How much is this? ige eolmajyo? ee-gae ul-ma-jyo? Where is the bathroom? hwajangsiri eodiiseoyo? hwa-jang-shi-ree uh-dee-ee-ssuh-yo? Can you repeat that? dasi malsseum haejusillaeyo? da-shi mal-sseum hae-joo-shil-lae-yo? Can you slow down a bit? jom cheoncheoni malsseum haejusileyo? jom chun-chun-nee mal-sseum hae-joo-shil-lae-yo? Where is it? eodi itjiyo? uh-dee eet-jee-yo?

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.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-25-2022

If you want to try your hand at Italian cooking you need to follow some basic cooking rules that govern Italian cuisine and learn the structure of a traditional Italian meal. If you run into a problem converting measurements, a handy chart can help. Know the most common fresh herbs and pasta shapes used in Italian cooking and you're on your way to creating authentic Italian dishes.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-24-2022

Use these helpful resources to help you speak English quickly and fluently. Build your confidence by saying the days of the week, months of the year and numbers, as well as practicing common greetings and questions.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-22-2022

Maybe you're familiar with some basics of German grammar, but you want to become more confident in both writing and speaking in German. This quick overview will reacquaint you with personal pronouns — try to memorize these and be sure you know all three cases — and help you brush up on present tense verb construction. With practice and time, you'll soon be off and having fun auf Deutsch (in German)!

Article / Updated 03-15-2022

Spanish verbs fall into different groups, and each group is conjugated a little differently. If you’re going to master Spanish verbs like ir, you need to be able to identify which group a verb belongs to: regular (follows regular conjugation rules for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs), stem-changing (morphs depending on how you use it in a sentence), spelling-changing (has consonant-spelling changes in some forms to follow pronunciation rules), or reflexive (reflects the action back on the subject of the sentence). But then there are those verbs that refuse to be lumped into a category: the irregulars. Other popular irregular Spanish verbs include ser, tener, dormir, and hacer. Ir (eer) (to go) is the ultimate irregular -ir verb; that’s all it is, i and r! It doesn’t follow most normal ending patterns, so your best bet is to just memorize its conjugations. Here it is in the present tense: The Present Tense of Ir Conjugation Translation yo voy I go tú vas You (informal) go él/ella/ello/uno va He/she/one goes usted va You (formal) go nosotros vamos We go vosotros váis You all (informal) go ellos/ellas van They go ustedes van You all (formal) go The following examples show you ir in action: Nosotros vamos al teatro a veces. (We go to the theater sometimes.) Mi madre va al supermercado ahora. (My mother is going to the supermarket now.) The following table shows you ir in the preterit tense. Think you’ve seen these conjugations before? You probably have; it just so happens that they’re also the preterit forms of the verb ser (to be). It may be confusing, but look on the bright side: It’s one fewer set of verbs you have to memorize. The Preterit Tense of Ir Conjugation Translation yo fui I went tú fuiste You (informal) went él/ella/ello/uno fue He/she/one went usted fue You (formal) went nosotros fuimos We went vosotros fuisteis You all (informal) went ellos/ellas fueron They went ustedes fueron You all (formal) went You use the preterit tense like this: Los turistas fueron al museo. (The tourists went to the museum.) ¿Fueron ustedes al baile? (Did you go to the dance?) Ir is one of only three irregular imperfect verbs. Here’s that conjugation; notice that, like regular verbs, the first-person and third-person singular forms (yo and usted) are the same. The Imperfect Tense of Ir Conjugation Translation yo iba I used to go tú ibas You (informal) used to go él/ella/ello/uno iba He/she/one used to go usted iba You (formal) used to go nosotros íbamos We used to go vosotros ibais You all (informal) used to go ellos/ellas iban They used to go ustedes iban You all (formal) used to go Here are some examples of the imperfect tense: Yo iba a Europa cada año. (I used to go to Europe every year.) Nosotros íbamos a Chicago. (We used to go to Chicago.) Good news! Ir is regular in the future tense, so you can apply the regular verb endings here. The Future Tense of Ir Conjugation Translation yo iré I will go tú irás You (informal) will go él/ella/ello/uno irá He/she/one will go usted irá You (formal) will go nosotros iremos We will go vosotros iréis You all (informal) will go ellos/ellas irán They will go ustedes irán You all (formal) will go The following samples put the future tense to work: Nosotros iremos a Orlando. (We will go to Orlando.) Yo iré a tu casa esta tarde. (I will go to your house this afternoon.)