huevo-rojo - Tumblr blog

[huevo-rojo]

239/365 - Canciones que siempre me encantan

[huevo-rojo]

238/365 - Canciones que siempre me encantan

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234/365

¿Cuáles son algunos de sus dichos/modismos/refranes/citas favoritos?

Aquí está un buen sitio para descubir algunos.

[huevo-rojo]

una frase por día | viernes, el veintiuno de junio

hoy, me desperté muy tarde (alrededor de la una) porque pospuse mi alarma muchas veces. comí el desayuno y vi una parte de una película (pacific rim) con un amigo :) por ahora, la película es muy divertida e interesante. ¡me gustan muchos de los personajes!

mi mamá ha estado enferma entonces cuidé de ella. (su enfermedad no es muy mala, pero pienso que es demasiado complicado explicar en español y también no quiero decir todo el internet sobre la enfermedad de mi madre, lmao)

cosas hice practicar/aprender español:

un par de lecciones de duolingo (racha de dos días)

escribí este post

jugué pokemon shining pearl en español por cinco minutos porque estaba cansade

inglés bajo:

a phrase a day | friday, june 21st

today, i woke up very late (around 1pm) because i snoozed my alarm a bunch of times. i ate breakfast and watched part of a movie (pacific rim) with a friend :) so far, the movie is very fun and interesting. i like many of the characters!

my mom has been sick so i took care of her. (her illness isn't very bad, but i think it's too complicated to explain in spanish and i also don't want to tell all of the internet about my mom's illness, lmao)

things i did to practice/learn spanish:

a couple of duolingo lessons (2 day streak)

wrote this post

played pokemon shining pearl in spanish for 5 minutes because i was tired

[huevo-rojo]

Baldur's Gate 3 - Non-binary Translation in Spanish

A while back I had mentioned that when I learned how to change language settings for Baldur's Gate 3, I was curious to learn how they would adapt the non-binary [no binario] option into Spanish since Spanish (like many Romance Languages) is very gendered

What I saw actually surprised me a bit

Usually in game translations with different genders, English tends to treat you as a "they" even though it's usually male or female; and in Spanish most of the lines are gendered, or phrased in a very ambiguous way in translation like speaking of your character as una persona "a person" rather than "he" or "she", or "they"

This is one of the first times I've seen the gender neutral -e endings used in an official setting

-

For the purposes of this, and any future posts on this, I decided I would try to play as a non-binary gnome cleric. I should also mention that when you start up the game in Spanish and you do the character customization, everything starts you with the base word (i.e. masculine by default, or possibly agender but looks masculine)... as in you can choose to be elfo "elf", semielfo "half-elf", humano "human", semiorco "half-orc"... choose between bárbaro "barbarian", mago "wizard", brujo "warlock" and so on

My default character creation screen read gnomo, clérigo for "gnome cleric"

But the way your character is addressed by others is what changes

The first NPC you interact with is "Us" a little brain thing you can choose to help. If you do it calls you "friend":

Nosotros: Somos libres. Tenemos nuestra libertad. amigue Us: We are free. We have our freedom. Friend [nb].

The word used is amigue

For the sake of understanding Spanish grammar, you probably know amigo/a "friend". The G here is a hard G. The gender neutral ending is E... but the combination of GE is pronounced like an H sound in Spanish [la gelatina "gelatin" for example is like "hel-a-ti-na"]. To preserve that hard G sound, you have to add a UE to it... so amigo/a becomes amigue for non-binary

[if you study Spanish this is the exact same grammar you'll see in turning -gar verbs into subjunctive forms; why pagar would turn to pague]

The next person you come across is Lae'zel:

Lae'zel: Tsk'va. No eres une sierve. ¡Vlaakith me bendijo en el día de hoy! Juntes, tal vez podamos sobrevivir. Lae'zel: Tsk'va. You are no thrall [nb]. Vlaakith blessed me today ["on this day of today"; emphatic]. Together [nb plural], we may (yet) survive.

Interestingly, there's first siervo/a meaning "servant" or "serf" or "thrall"

What I found very interesting was that you have une... un and una being "a" are used for indefinite articles; the non-binary form seems to be une

What threw me off though was seeing juntes... now junto/a is "together" [lit. "joined"] but juntes implies a non-binary plural.

I don't know if this is because in Spanish grammar it would imply that non-binary trumps feminine [the way amigos "friends" could be male+female or multiple male, as opposed to amigas "friends" being all female]... or if it's maybe an error or something else; the game treats Lae'zel as a woman in every other regard so I think it's the first one which is a situation I somehow hadn't considered. I had just assumed it would be juntos ...or juntas if you played female

Next I decided to rescue Gale first because he uses a lot of adjectives/professions and I wanted to see what they looked like:

Gale: No serás clérigue por casualidad, ¿verdad? ¿Médique? ¿Cirujane? ¿Increíblemente hábil con una aguja de tejer? Gale: You wouldn't happen to be a cleric, right? A doctor/medic? Surgeon? Unbelievably skilled with a knitting needle?

First is clérigo/a "cleric" being used in non-binary as clérigue. Similarly we have médique which is the non-binary médico/a for "medical doctor"

[just like above C turned to QUE to preserve a hard C/K sound; you'll see this with subjunctive and even preterites of -car verbs... why atacar "to attack" will turn to ataqué "I attacked" and ataque in subjunctive... because CE has a soft S sound in Latin America, and can be lisped in Spain]

And next is cirujane... the word cirujano/a is "surgeon"

Finally important note - hábil being "able" or "skilled" is a unisex adjective, so there is no change in any gender - masculine, feminine, or non-binary

*Note: I did miss it but at some point someone used the article le to describe my character. The el and la "the" are the masculine and feminine definite articles; le is non-binary "the" which still catches me by surprise because it looks French to me

-

I've been told since I made the original post that people have seen the non-binary E ending used in other things, but this was special for me to see. I'm curious how the other gendered languages available treated non-binary options

It was a fun surprise for me, especially for some modern day Spanish linguistics in a VERY big modern game, with non-binary word choices being heavily prominent. It's a bit of a learning experience for me

If I find any more fun examples of NB language being used I'll let y'all know as I go

[huevo-rojo]

Websites to learn languages by reading

Hyplern

Language Crush

Readlang

Vocab Tracker

[huevo-rojo]

Duolingo Alternatives by Language

Disclaimer: I haven't used or tested all of them. All resources have different strengths, e.g. Drops being designed for vocabulary. They often aren't full alternatives for Duolingo or formal classes. I just wanted to compile resources for all languages on Duolingo to make the switch easier, especially for the less popular languages.

Feel free to also check out my collection of free textbooks

If you want a more detailed resource list for any of these languages (or perhaps one not listed here) you can send me an ask and I can see what I can do.

Arabic

AlifBee

Arabic Unlocked

Beelinguapp

Bluebird

Busuu

Clozemaster

Drops

Infinite Arabic

Ling

LinGo Play

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Qlango

Write It! Arabic

Catalan

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

LingQ

LyricsTraining

Mondly

Qlango

Chinese

Bluebird

Beelinguapp

Bunpo

Busuu

Chineasy

Clozemaster

Drops

Du Chinese

Hello Chinese

HeyChina

Immersive Chinese

Infinite Chinese

Ling

Lingodeer

LinGo Play

Lingopie

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Pleco Chinese Dictionary

Qlango

Czech

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Ling

LinGo Play

Mango

Mondly

Qlango

Danish

Babbel

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

Lingvist

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Qlango

Dutch

Babbel

Bluebird

Busuu

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

Lingvist

LingQ

LyricsTraining

Mango

Mondly

Say Something in Dutch

Qlango

Esperanto

Clozemaster

Drops

Esperanto12.net

Kurso de Esperanto

LingQ

Qlango

Finnish

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

LingQ

LyricsTraining

Mango

Mondly

Qlango

French

Babbel

Bluebird

Beelinguapp

Bunpo

Busuu

Clozemaster

Collins French Dictionary

Conjuu

Dr French

Drops

HeyFrance

Infinite French

Lilata

Ling

Linga

Lingodeer

LinGo Play

Lingopie

Lingvist

LingQ

Listen Up

LyricsTraining

Mango

Mondly

Nextlingua

Oxford French Dictionary

Qlango

TV5MONDE

Xeropan

German

Babbel

Bluebird

Beelinguapp

Bunpo

Busuu

Clozemaster

Collins German Dictionary

Conjuu

Drops

DW Learn German

Infinite German

Ling

Linga

Lingodeer

Lingopie

LinGo Play

Lingvist

LingQ

LyricsTraining

Mango

Mondly

Nextlingua

Oxford German Dictionary

Qlango

Xeropan

Greek

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Drops

Greek Alphabet Academy

Ling

LinGo Play

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Qlango

Write It! Greek

Guaraní

Clozemaster

Guarani Ayvu

Haitian Creole

Bluebird

Mango

Hawaiian

Drops

Mango

ʻŌlelo Online

Hebrew

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Shepha

Write It! Hebrew

High Valyrian

Valyrian Dictionary

Hindi

Bhasha

Bluebird

Beelinguapp

Clozemaster

Drops

Hindwi Dictionary

Ling

LinGo Play

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Qlango

Hungarian

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Qlango

Indonesian

Babbel

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Irish

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Collins Irish Dictionary

Drops

Easy Irish

Ling

Mango

Teanglann

Italian

Babbel

Beelinguapp

Bluebird

Bunpo

Busuu

Clozemaster

Collins Italian Dictionary

Conjuu

Drops

Infinite Italian

Ling

Linga

Lingodeer

Lingopie

LinGo Play

Lingvist

LingQ

LyricsTraining

Mango

Mondly

Nextlingua

Oxford Italian Dictionary

Qlango

Japanese

Beelinguapp

Bluebird

Bunpo

Busuu

Clozemaster

Drops

HeyJapan

Hiragana Quest

Infinite Japanese

kawaiiDungeon

Ling

Lingodeer

Lingopie

Lingvist

LingQ

LyricsTraining

Mango

Mondly

Oyomi Japanese Reader

renshuu

Takoboto Japanese Dictionary

Todaii

Qlango

Write It! Japanese

Klingon

boQwl! Klingon Language

Klingon Translator

Write It! Klingon

Korean

Beelinguapp

Bluebird

Bunpo

Busuu

Clozemaster

Drops

Hangul Quest

HeyKorea

Infinite Korean

Ling

LinGo Play

Lingopie

Lingodeer

Lingvist

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Qlango

Write It! Korean

Latin

Bluebird

Cattus

Clozemaster

Collins Latin Dictionary

Grammaticus Maximus

Latinia

Legentibus

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Perdisco

Qlango

Vice Verba

Navajo

Navajo Language Renaissance

Navajo Language Program

Speak Navajo

Norwegian

Babbel

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

Lingvist

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Mjolnir Norwegian

Norskappen

Qlango

Polish

Babbel

Bluebird

Busuu

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

Lingvist

LingQ

LyricsTraining

Mango

Mondly

Qlango

Portuguese

Babbel

Beelinguapp

Bluebird

Bunpo

Busuu

Clozemaster

Collins Portuguese Dictionary

Drops

Infinite Portuguese

Ling

Lingodeer

Lingopie

LinGo Play

Lingvist

LingQ

LyricsTraining

Mango

Mondly

Nextlingua

Qlango

Romanian

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Qlango

Russian

Babbel

Bluebird

Beelinguapp

Busuu

Clozemaster

Collins Russian Dictionary

Drops

Infinite Russian

Ling

Linga

LinGo Play

Lingopie

Lingodeer

Lingvist

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Nextlingua

Qlango

Write It! Russian

Scottish Gaelic

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Go!Gaelic

Mango

Spanish

Babbel

Beelinguapp

Bluebird

Bunpo

Busuu

Clozemaster

Collins Spanish Dictionary

ConjuGato

Conjuu

Drops

Infinite Spanish

Ling

Linga

Lingodeer

LinGo Play

Lingvist

LingQ

Listen Up

LyricsTraining

Mango

Mondly

Nextlingua

Say Something in Spanish

SpanishDict

Qlango

Xeropan

Swahili

Bluebird

Bui Bui Swahili App

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

LingQ

Mango

Nkenne

Swedish

Babbel

Beelinguapp

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

Lingvist

LingQ

LyricsTraining

Mango

Mondly

Qlango

Turkish

Babbel

Beelinguapp

Bluebird

Busuu

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

LingQ

LyricsTraining

Mango

Mondly

Qlango

Ukrainian

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Drops

Ling

LinGo Play

LingQ

Mango

Mondly

Mova Ukrainian

Qlango

Speak Ukrainian

Vietnamese

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Collins Vietnamese Dictionary

Drops

Learn Vietnamese with Annie

Ling

Lingodeer

LinGo Play

Mango

Mondly

Welsh

BBc Cymru Fyw

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Say Something in Welsh

Yiddish

Bluebird

Clozemaster

Mango

Proste Yiddish

Roni Gal Learn Yiddish

Vaybertaytsh

Yiddish Book Center

Zulu

Bluebird

Nkenne

Bonus: Polygloss which claims to be available for all languages as long as there is another user also learning the same language

[huevo-rojo]

224/365

¿Eres expert@ de Angry Birds?* Aprender sobre aspectos de la trama y tratar de explicar la trama de Angry Birds en una infografía.

*No es necesario ser expert@ verdader@, sólo tienes que ser un poco familiar con el juego

[huevo-rojo]

una frase por día | viernes, el catorce de junio

hoy fue un día de recuperación para mí. esta semana fue muy ocupada y lleno de momentos difíciles. dormí hasta tarde y tuve una mañana lenta. también, pasé mucho tiempo con mi perro :)

también, pensé más sobre mi horario de aprender de los idiomas. intereso en aprender español (obviamente), griego y ASL (lenguaje gestual americano). tres idiomas son un montón (y ya estoy sacrificando gaélico ;-;) y no quiero aprender sólo un idioma porque todos son importantes para mí

por lo tanto, cada día:

haré una lección de duolingo para el español y el griego. para ASL, haré una lección con una app diferente que tiene una estructura similar

escucharé un episodio de un podcast para cada idioma (excluyendo ASL, lmao)

estudiaré cada idioma con un libro de texto o un video para veinte minutos

continuaré escribir sobre mi día en español y escribir en griego cuando estoy listo

esto probablemente estará difícil al principio pero tengo esperanza que esto estará fácil

cosas hice practicar/aprender español:

una lección de duolingo (racha de tres días)

escribí este post

jugué pokémon shining pearl en español por una hora

inglés bajo:

a frase a day | june 6th

today was a recovery day for me. this week was very busy and full of difficult moments. i slept in late and had a slow morning. i also spent a lot of time with my dog :)

i also thought a lot about my language learning schedule. i'm interested in learning spanish (obviously), greek, and ASL (american sign language). three languages is a lot (and i'm already sacrificing gaeilge ;-;) and i don't want to learn only one language since they're all important to me

therefore, each day i will:

do a lesson on duolingo for spanish and greek. for ASL, i'll do a lesson on a different app that has a similar structure

listen to a podcast episode for each language (excluding ASL, lmao)

study each language with a textbook or video for twenty minutes

continue to write about my day in spanish and write in greek when i'm ready

this will probably be difficult at first but i have hope that this will become easy

things i did to practice/learn spanish:

a duolingo lesson (three day streak)

wrote this post

played pokemon shining pearl in spanish for an hour

[huevo-rojo]

The Spanish Imperfect Tense

The imperfect past tense of indicative is one of the verb tenses that can be most difficult for learners of Spanish when they are not native speakers of a Romance language such as French or Italian. In particular, the difficulty lies in differentiating it from the preterite (indefinido). Today we will look at some ways of understanding it.

1. The tree

This proposal comes from the teacher Clara Urbano Lira, and consists in considering the difference between the indefinido and the imperfect as if it were a tree. When telling a story, we will use both verb tenses, but the indefinido will represent the trunk and the branches, the fundamental part of the story, while the imperfect will be something like the leaves and the fruits or flowers, the details that make the anecdote richer and more complex, but which do not really advance the plot.

For example: En 2008 entré (ind) a la universidad. Era (imp) un lugar muy grande y podía (imp) perderme fácilmente. Tuve (ind) muy buenos profesores, compañeros muy interesantes, y crecí (ind) mucho como persona. Había (imp) muchos árboles en el campus, y la biblioteca era (imp) muy bonita, pasaba (imp) mucho tiempo leyendo allí. En mi segundo año conocí (ind) a Ernesto y caí (ind) completamente enamorada. Era (imp) un chico muy inteligente y simpático. Nos volvimos (ind) novios y tras terminar nuestros estudios decidimos (ind) casarnos.

If you notice, all the sentences with the imperfect add details, but we could take them out and we would still tell a story with the indefinido sentences: a very simple story, but one that moves forward in the end.

2. The imperfect is a present in the past.

In an article aimed at teachers, Ruiz Campillo explains that the preterite imperfect is a present in the past. This sounds like Zen wisdom, a kohan that seems illogical but which, if we let it dwell in our minds for a moment, will finally make sense. In fact, the indefinido is a kind of past-past, the action is finished, done, gone. The imperfect is a bit more complex, because it is obviously also a finished action, since it is happening in the past, but it is at the same time a kind of afterlife. In the imperfect, the action can live again, as if we were necromancers. It is as if it wasn’t finished yet, it is a finished action that is still happening, a present in the past. Crazy. Perhaps this will become clearer in the next point.

3. The projection on the wall.

I remember in my first classes as a Spanish teacher, when my students kept asking me about the meaning of the imperfect, I would resort to a metaphor that I came up with one day: that using the imperfect was like projecting a film on the wall. When we use the indefinido, it is as if we were transmitting information only, in a sense there is no narrative, it is just a chain of events, the script of the plot. In the imperfect, on the contrary, we make the film appear, the actions last, they are not finished yet, we see them live again. That is why the imperfect is a present in the past, it is a film that we can always play again.

4. Intuition

Now, and this goes for all grammar explanations: there is no problem with reading or reviewing a grammar text once in a while, for a few minutes, but don’t rely too much on them or ask them to do something they don’t have the power to do. True mastery of the imperfect, like any other element of the language, is going to come from experience, exposure. It is not as if after reading this article you will use the imperfect correctly on every occasion, that will come with practice. Little by little an intuition is generated in the student, a Sprachgefühl, which is the best tool in languages. However, a quick explanation, as this one was intended to be, can be a little push, a floatie to learn how to swim.

[huevo-rojo]

A Clear and Holistic Explanation of the Subjunctive Mood: Non-Statement

Conventionally, the subjunctive mood is taught according to a case-by-case logic (by means of triggers such as No creo que/Es + adjetivo + que) or, when the aim is to give a comprehensive grip, one resorts to formulations of the type “The subjunctive is used to express desires, personal opinions, unreality”. The problem with studying the subjunctive case by case is that it can become overwhelming, too many triggers to memorize, you end up with quite a long list of situations in which you need it, and if you add to that your other lists of verbs, nouns, etc., learning Spanish resembles data analysis. The issue with the second explanation is that it is simply not correct: wishes, opinions and unreal or hypothetical situations can also be expressed in the indicative mood. Students who follow this route end up making sentences that are quite original, but not really natural. Luckily, the Spanish scholar José Ruiz Campillo has given us another alternative, which in my experience is bulletproof: the subjunctive as a non-statement.

Indicative vs subjunctive

Let us begin by distinguishing the subjunctive from its “arch enemy”, the indicative. Both are moods that contain different verb tenses. That is, both the indicative and the subjunctive have their present, past, future and so on. Yo soy is a present indicative, yo sea is a present subjunctive. Now, what is important for this topic is that while the indicative states, says what things are, ventures, takes risks, the subjunctive does not state, it allows itself to participate in the discussion, to mention things, to refer to them, but never puts its neck on the line, never says what it is or is not, it refrains from doing so. This will make sense later on.

Ella es o ella sea

An example given by Ruiz Campillo is really useful to understand what is at stake between the indicative and the subjunctive. Suppose we have a friend in common, Margarita, and we are talking about her. Unbeknownst to us, Margarita has walked past us and heard us say …Margarita es tonta… (indicative). In this case, our friend has every right to be annoyed, because no matter what came before or after those three words, the fact remains that someone is declaring her to be dumb. But now suppose she walks past us and hears …Margarita sea tonta… (subjunctive), in this case our friend doesn’t have much to complain about, because everything that can complete that sentence is a non-statement, for example: no creo que Margarita sea tonta/es una mentira que Margarita sea tonta, etc. So, in our conversation we have touched on the subject of “Margarita ser tonta”, yet we have not pronounced ourselves in favour of this idea; we are commenting on it, but we are not confirming it. That is the meaning of the subjunctive, which can refer to things and situations, without this implying that we are stating that they are so.

Subjunctive of desire

A common structure (a trigger) to express wishes is Yo quiero que/Me gustaría que/Espero que or the impersonal Ojalá que. In all these cases the subjunctive is needed for the second part of the sentence Ojalá que llegues bien a tu casa/Espero que te vaya bien mañana/Yo quiero que todos vivamos en paz. Why? Because if we were to make a statement in the second part, we would be doing something rather odd: wishing for something we already have. “Ojalá que llegas bien a casa” (indicative) is a contradictory sentence, because at the same time that I wish for you to get home safely, I am in fact stating that you have already arrived. Why wish for something that we already have or that has already happened? Of course, this difference is specific to Spanish and other Romance languages, and it loses its meaning completely if applied to English or other languages, so instead of translating, try to stay within the logic of Spanish.

Subjunctive of questioning

Another common trigger are sentences that begin with No creo/No pienso/No considero. Here we are basically announcing that what is coming, the second part, is something we don’t want to state. In fact, that we are countering someone else’s statement. No creo que sea buena idea/No pienso que tengas razón. The subjunctive should be used here because we cannot question a piece of information/statement, and then go on to state it. No creo que es buena idea (indicative) is a contradictory sentence because at the beginning we are being critical and then we finish off with that same statement we want to oppose, affirming what we are questioning, a nonsense.

Subjunctive of non-identification

Now a case in which the decision to use the subjunctive or the indicative modifies quite a lot what we want to say. If we go into a shop and say Estoy buscando una mochila que es roja, with the indicative, we are implying that we already know what model we are looking for, perhaps we saw it online, or in the shop window, but we know that this specific red backpack exists, it is something particular and different. If we go into the shop and say, instead, Estoy buscando una mochila que sea roja, with the subjunctive, we imply that we are not thinking of any particular backpack, that we are looking for any backpack, with the only condition that it is red. Similarly, if we are in a public place and we say to a stranger Estoy buscando a una persona que tiene el pelo azul (indicative), it is understood that we already know this person, that we know he/she exists and is a specific friend we lost and are looking for. If we say, on the other hand, Estoy buscando a una persona que tenga el pelo azul (subjunctive) something very different happens, we are saying that we do not know this person, even: that we are not even thinking of a specific person, it is just that we are looking for any person who meets this trait.

Subjunctive of valuation

A much more subtle case, which really tests the explanation of the subjunctive as a non-statement, is what happens in sentences with the structure of Es + adjetivo + que, such as Es molesto que tú no me entiendas/Es horrible que me hables así (…these are not autobiographical examples…). Here, if for the second part we were to use an indicative no me entiendes/me hablas, we would be committing an error which has to do with the different weights or importance between the subjunctive and the indicative. The indicative is strong, it declares, it weighs, it has the spotlight. The subjunctive is weaker, it mentions, it is lighter, it stays quiet. When in a sentence with this structure we use two indicatives, it is not clear which is the important one, which one is the message we really want to give. Es bonito que estamos juntos (both indicative) is a somewhat defective sentence because it contains two statements, es bonito and estamos juntos, and it is not easy to tell which is the one we are interested in emphasising. It is not a serious mistake, and probably many natives have made similar sentences during their lifetime, yet it is a somewhat weak sentence, poorly built: both statements weigh the same, but although they seem similar they are saying in fact very different things. On the other hand, Es bonito que estemos juntos (subjunctive) puts all the spotlight, all the importance, on that first statement es bonito (indicative) and the part of estar juntos is less strong, because it is obvious, because we take it for granted, because we know we are together and it is not necessary to state it again, what I am interested in stating, communicating, highlighting, is that this, being together, es bonito, and so I give all the spotlight to it.

There are still more cases of the subjunctive than the ones we saw in this article, but the next time you come across one you can do that test, ask yourself why is it a non-statement, why is that subjunctive there instead of an indicative, what would happen if we changed from one mood to the other.

Of course, mastery and correctness depend a lot on intuition, and intuition in turn depends on practice, on experience, so don’t try too hard to master the subjunctive after reading this article, it is a process that will happen in time, once you have seen enough wild subjunctives in nature (in context). However, the idea of the subjunctive as a non-statement can help you to digest this subject better, to find some ground, some compass, above all: to know that there is a logic behind the subjunctive, a raison d’être, and that little by little you will be able to understand and use it.

You can also go to Tercera Gramática, Ruiz Campillo’s website for Spanish learners.

[huevo-rojo]

I rescued an old post about the difference between "ser" y "estar" in Spanish, which tends to be a headache for students. I still find this explanation worth your while!

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estoy yendo al zoo hoy :)

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222/365

La otra semana, compartí algunos cursos que podéis hacer en línea, ofrecidos por varias universidades. Pues, los cursos toman semanas para completar. Si no tenéis semanas para completar un curso, aquí está un sitio que tal vez os interesaría.

Entonces hoy me gustaría compartir un sitio donde hay un repositorio de recursos abiertos. Son lecciones pequeñas, con niveles diferentes, y podéis aprender cosas nuevas. Son ofrecidas por una inciativa del gobierno uruguayo para ampliar acceso a cosas educativas. Haced clic en el párrafo para visitar al sitio.

Más tarde, compartiré algunos recursos específicos de este sitio que espero que vosotr@s os gusten

[huevo-rojo]

Hey, Spanish learners or native speakers following me — I just found out there’s a Spanish AITA account! If you’re looking for a way to practice it might be good. I’m personally pretty hyped because I’m sort of addicted to AITA lmao

It’s @ aita-espanol

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una frase por día | miércoles, el doce de junio

discutí en contra de mi mamá hoy. ella es mi mamá entonces la amo mucho, pero ella puede ser egoísta. cuida para mí y mi hermano hasta lo interfiere con su trabajo y sus vacaciones y odio eso

cosas hice practicar/aprender español:

un lección de duolingo (racha de un día)

jugué pokemon shining pearl en español por aquí una hora

inglés bajo:

a phrase a day | wednesday, june 12th

i argued with my mom today. she's my mom so i love her a lot, but she can be selfish. she cares for me and my brother until it interferes with her job and vacations and i hate that

things i did today to practice/learn spanish:

a duolingo lesson (1 day streak)

played pokemon shining pearl in spanish for around one hour

[huevo-rojo]

una frase por día | martes, el once de junio

¡hola! lo siento por mi ausencia. es una larga historia pero el TLDR es fui enferme y luego muy ocupade. ahora, estoy intentando volver a la normalidad con mis pasatiempos, español y más.

sin embargo, el verano, la parte del año cuando no tengo escuela ni un trabajo ni alguna cosa que provee rutina y estructura a mi vida, es muy difícil para mí. me siento como esté me defraudando. pero, todavía intentaré con mi español y los otros aspectos de mi vida.

durante el verano, probablemente estaré en linea rara vez (lo siento)

cosas hice practicar/aprender español hoy:

escribí este post

estudié el libro "complete spanish all-in-one" para una hora (actualmente, estoy aprendiendo sobre las comas y lo odio ;-;)

inglés bajo:

a phrase a day | tuesday, june 11th

hi! sorry for my absence. it's a long story but the TLDR is i was sick and then very busy. now, i'm trying to return to normal with my hobbies, spanish, and more.

however, summer, the part of the year when i don't have school or a job or anything that provides routine and structure to my life, is very difficult for me. i feel like i'm letting myself down. but, i will still try with my spanish and the other aspects of my life.

during the summer, i will probably be online infrequently (sorry)

things i did to practice/learn spanish today:

wrote this post

studied the textbook "complete spanish all-in-one" for an hour (currently, i'm learning about commas and i hate it ;-;)