Spanish Answers

What are Neuter Demonstratives? How do you use them? I promised you back in Episode 53 that we would eventually get to these, and now here we are! :) So let's dive in, and afterwards we'll talk about the three unique traditions of Guatemala. Remember, learning a language is a lifelong journey. ¡Aprovéchalo, Disfrútalo y Compártelo! SHOW NOTES: © 2022 by Language Answers, LLC Blog for Episode 72 In...

Have you ever laughed at the fact that, in English, there are so many words that contradict themselves? For instance, if Paul rents a room, is he the one paying the landlord, or is he himself the landlord? Or how you can have clothes that will wear for a long time, but then eventually the wear on them begins to show? Or one of my current favorites, how you can be cheerfully sanguine (confidently o...

Welcome to our first Special episode of 22: La Fiesta de San Isidro! This fun holiday takes place in Madrid every May 8th - 15th and honors Saint Isidore, the city's patron saint, and María Torribia, his wife. I wanted to do this episode before the actual holiday begins so that, should you so desire, you could join in the festivities wherever you are by making rosquillas or even cocido madrileño !...

Today's episode will be a bit longer than normal, but it covers a topic I've really wanted to talk about for a long time. We all know how to use the conjunction but in English, but Spanish actually differentiates between the different nuances of but with the words sino and pero. This can be tricky for English-speakers, so today we'll do a deep dive into what these words mean and how to correctly u...

Ready to go over some more false friends in Spanish? Here are 7 more words to help you avoid any embarrassing blunders or miscommunications. :) And in our cultural tip, we'll highlight three unique festivals in Chile! I'm sorry this episode is so late! I had planned to get everything done before we had guests visit, but then my poor daughter got sick and those plans went out the window! Thankfully...

In today's episode, we're going to talk about the various diacritical marks in Spanish, as well as cover the national holidays of Chile in our second cultural tip for the country! Remember, learning a language is a lifelong journey. ¡Aprovéchalo, Disfrútalo y Compártelo! SHOW NOTES: © 2022 by Language Answers, LLC Blog for Episode 67 Intro and Closing Music by Master_Service from Fiverr Cultural T...

Welcome back to Spanish Answers ! I am so excited to begin another year with all of you, my lovely listeners/readers! In today's episode, I'll give you a brief update about the Women in Language Conference, some news about the Resource Library, and then we'll start our episode on vocabulary for Eastern European countries and key world organizations! Remember, learning a language is a lifelong jour...

As I get ready to restart Spanish Answers this March, I wanted to share a special update with you involving the 5th annual Women in Language (WIL) online conference this March! #womeninlanguage Remember, learning a language is a lifelong journey. ¡Aprovéchalo, Disfrútalo y Compártelo! SHOW NOTES © 2022 by Language Answers, LLC Blog for Special Update Intro and Closing Music by Master_Service from...

Merry Christmas! \(^_^)/ December 25th is right around the corner, and as part of our yearly tradition of enjoying the holidays, todays' episode will focus on how Christmas is celebrated in the Spanish-speaking country of Peru! Plus, a quick update for the podcast/blog regarding 2022! Remember, learning a language is a lifelong journey. ¡Aprovéchalo, Disfrútalo y Compártelo! SHOW NOTES © 2021 by L...

Well, it is officially the Christmas season! What better way to get in the mood than by listening to some Spanish Christmas songs? Whether you enjoy villancicos like Silent Night or something with a more modern flare (such as All I Want for Christmas Is You ), this list of 10 Christmas songs will hopefully give you some new Spanish songs to sing along to! Remember, learning a language is a lifelon...

What better way to continue our theme of just relaxing and enjoying the holiday season than with family games? So gather your loved ones around and begin incorporating Spanish into your playtime! After all, language learning is hard work, but it should be fun! :) For this episode, I tried to focus on games that most people might have just lying around their home and could play in Spanish instead o...

With us entering into the holiday season (are you ready for delicious turkey and sweet pumpkin pie??), I decided that from now until the end of the year we will focus on fun, less serious topics. After all, the end of the year is upon us. Let's have a little fun! :) In today's episode, we'll explore the Spanish-speaking world through 12 fun sayings! Remember, learning a language is a lifelong jour...

Today's episode is the last in our 3-part series on animals, baby animals, and more (see Episodes 60 and 59)! Finally, today we get to the "more" - what are some of the collective nouns Spanish speakers use when referring to animals? While it's not nearly as complex as the list we have in English, there are still a good number to go over. We'll also discuss some of English's more unique collective...

In today's episode, we're going to continue discussing the names of different animals and their babies. In Episode 59 , we talked about pets and park / outdoor animals. Today, let's focus on wild animals and those you'd find on the farm! (I apologize for how late this episode is. We have been dealing with several family crises, so thank you for your patience as I work through them.) Remember, lear...

While reading books to my little girl, I asked myself, "Do we talk a lot about the different animal names in Spanish?" While I originally thought that all you had to do in Spanish was add "ito" or "ita" to make an animal a baby (such as perrito for perro and gatito for gato), after doing some research I've found that there are, in fact, different, more specific animal names in Spanish. Hence this...

Since this important holiday is about to be celebrated in Chile, I'm interrupting our normal routine to bring you the second special of the year! Today, we'll focus on Chile's Fiestas Patrias , also known as el dieciocho due to it being celebrated on Sept. 18th. I hope you enjoy this episode, and even try a few traditional Chilean recipes to celebrate the day, no matter where you are! Remember, le...

"Lo" is one of those really versatile words in Spanish, and can be pretty tricky for English speakers to wrap their minds around (even I struggle with it sometimes!). So today's episode finishes our overview of the main ways that "lo" is used in Spanish. As a reminder, "Lo" can be used as 1) a direct object pronoun, 2) a neuter definite article, 3) a neuter relative pronoun, 4) combined with the p...

"Lo" is one of those really versatile words in Spanish, and can be pretty tricky for English speakers to wrap their minds around (even I struggle with it sometimes!). So today's episode gives an overview on the 6 main ways that "lo" is used in Spanish, focusing on the first three in this episode and the last three in the next!   Remember, learning a language is a lifelong journey. ¡Aprovéchalo, Di...

Do you have trouble remembering which adverb of place (or rather, adverbios demostrativos ) to use in Spanish for saying where something is? Is the cat aquí, ahí, or allí? Or maybe it's acá? If so, then this episode is for you! Remember, learning a language is a lifelong journey. ¡Aprovéchalo, Disfrútalo y Compártelo! SHOW NOTES © 2021 by Language Answers, LLC Blog for Episode 55 Intro and Closing...

It's been a bit since our last song sampler (see Episode #40), so today's episode is going to focus on 4 unique styles of dance music that come to us from Spain and Puerto Rico! (With a heavy emphasis on the Dance !) Remember, learning a language is a lifelong journey. ¡Aprovéchalo, Disfrútalo y Compártelo! SHOW NOTES © 2021 by Language Answers, LLC Blog for Episode 54 Intro and Closing Music by M...

Do you ever get confused as to which Spanish word, este or esa , means this or that ? Then today’s episode is for you! :) And due to the hectic nature that this past week has been, the cultural tip will focus on three fun Spanish sayings. ***My apologies! I need to make a correction. In this episode, I incorrectly attributed the first two phrases in the cultural tip section to " Gramática para la...

For 2021, I decided to do something new for Spanish Answers and incorporate three special episodes throughout the year that would focus on interesting holidays celebrated in Spanish-speaking countries around the world. They're kind of like one big cultural tip regarding  a country's unique celebration. Today's episode is my first one, focusing on El Año Andino Amazónico, which is celebrated today...

Do you enjoy reading science fiction (a.k.a., sci-fi) or dreaming about space travel? Then today's episode is for you! Remember, learning a language is a lifelong journey. ¡Aprovéchalo, Disfrútalo y Compártelo! SHOW NOTES © 2021 by Language Answers, LLC Blog for Episode 51 Intro and Closing Music by Master_Service from Fiverr Cultural Tip Transition Music edited from song by JuliusH from Pixabay R...

We made it to 50 episodes!! To celebrate, I'm launching a surprise just for my listeners/readers! Check out the podcast episode (or blog) to find out what it is. :)   SHOW NOTES © 2021 by Language Answers, LLC Blog for Episode 50 Intro and Closing Music by Master_Service from Fiverr Cultural Tip Transition Music edited from song by JuliusH from Pixabay Resource Links Episode Content  My new Langua...

Do you enjoy reading fantasy or learning more about mythical creatures from other countries? Then today's episode is for you! Remember, learning a language is a lifelong journey. ¡Aprovéchalo, Disfrútalo y Compártelo! SHOW NOTES © 2021 by Language Answers, LLC Blog for Episode 49 Intro and Closing Music by Master_Service from Fiverr Cultural Tip Transition Music edited from song by JuliusH from Pi...