Sunday, April 22, 2012

Hablo español....

Yo hablo, tu hablas, ud. habla
Nosotros hablan, vosotros hablais, uds. hablan....


Yo hablaba, tu hablabas, ud. hablaba
Nosotros hablabamos, vosotros hablabais, uds. hablabaron


Blah blah blah please inject my eyeballs with hot chili before making me learn all 14 tenses!!!

So, this week I have gotten down and dirty with my Spanish books. Its time I stop speaking like a 3 year old or caveman pointing at what I want and using charades to be understood. :)

I have felt pretty comfortable in my Spanish learning since the move in January. Understanding has come very naturally. I have been actively participtaing in conversation since about week three. I realized this week though, how heavily I have relied on my cuñada to be my translator to the entire world here, including my mother in law and father in law. She would make a great partner in the game a charades. If I dont know a word, I make it up how it might sound in Spanish, accompianied by "comosellama?" (all slurred together under my breath) and BAM! She guesses!

Since I have ventured out of the house more and more alone this week (my first completely solo trip to the mercado! Seriously!) I have realized - um.... I am using two verb tenses.... Out of FOURTEEN . Which makes for pretty inaccurate spanish.

So, Im on a mission to learn all fourteen tenses this next three months. Im giving myself 3 months to master them all.... Wish me luck!

***A disclaimer for those wanting to learn spanish... I live with my inlaws. Who . Speak. No. English. What. So. Ever.

Many say its takes years to learn a new language. I say- move to a foreign country in a neighborhood where one speaks Engoish, and you will pick it up pretty quick. But if you don't want to sound like a caveman (like I probably do right now) , best to also use books and other SMRT things tohelp you learn the right way.

Ok, break time in over. Back to studying....

Yo hable, tu ha.......

13 comments:

  1. Good for you! I basically use the present, past, a little bit of the future and the "usted" thing because I have to speak with my mother-in-law using "usted" which I just think is too uptight.

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    1. Jackie, thanks :) Funny story about the "usted" thing.... i TOTALLY forgot about all that jazz until this week. So I have been using the "tu" form with almost everyone! I switched ti the usted form with my MIL and FIL this week, and Im sure they find the change amusing. Did your MIL TELL you to ise usted with her (and after all these years of marriage with your hubby, still?) ?

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  2. I know how you feel. I knew a few words here and there and remembered a little from high school and college classes but I am still not fluent. No one speaks english where I am either. Only javi speaks english to me when he is home otherwise I think I have the most problems with past or future tense. Good luck, well to the both of us. LOL.

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    1. Lisa, we both need the "good luck!" sentiment!

      One thing I have found to be true, and discussed with my hubby who agreed - Most (if not all) people are appreciative of any effort to learn Spanish by foreigners. So appreciative, that they don't correct things when you say thwm wrong - EVER. The ONLY people who have corrected me here (which I orefer and actually really like!) have been chuldren. There is, inparticular, one very smart 6 year old girl who will correct me right away if I say things wrong - she will slowly pronounce the word, then say it quickly, and then look at me and wait for me to repeat it! Which is EXACTLY wht people learning need! Her parents were mortified, until I explained that I prefer to learn now than to sound ignorant forever! My hubby asked his mom and sister this morning to feel free to correct me, that I want to learn the right way to say things... And they just nodded and smiled awkwardly like "yeah right! i cant so that, it is rude!"

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    2. That is so true. Javi's family never correct me, they just try to guess what I am saying or they will finish my sentence for me. I should ask javi to tell his family to correct me from now on.

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  3. Good luck!!! I was lucky, I learnt Spanish in high school and have used it constantly since. I lived in a primarily Mexican neighborhood growing up. I still find that, thereis a HUGE difference in Spanish anybody in the US speaks be it Mexican, Guatemalan, Hinduran, etc. To Spanish spoken in their native country. At times, I feel like I am learnign Spanish all over again. I think the majority of the Spanish spoken in the US is Spanglish or the perfect mixture of all of the different Spansihes. :)

    My MIL and FIL insist in usted from Miguel, the kids, and myself. Which, I thought odd because, none of the SILs use usted. It must be another way they use to make it known how they feel. I don't really care though!! :) Glad to hear you are doing good!!!

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    1. Stephanie,
      Ww, how cool that you learned early on and had a chance to practice back in the States. There are people that speak Spanish where I am from, I just wasnt around them much until I started working. But even then,I never took Spanish in highschool or college,so I was clueless!

      I find it crazy that people make their grandkids use "usted" . Its one thing if it is an age/generational signof respect - its something completely different if they make a certain part od the family use usted and not the rest. So lame,

      You are sooo right about different Spanishes in different places. Even from city to city here I have atarted noticing regional differences. :) all the more fun (but confusing!)

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  4. Oh my Lordy, this post is giving me nightmare flashbacks to Spanish class. I think I'm going to have a panic attack ;) But seriously, there're more than two tenses?!? Whatever for?!?
    Props to you for studying, although I can't imagine when you have the time. Sometimes I think you create extra hours in the day! I'm sure your familia is impressed and proud of your effort.
    You go Mami!
    Sasstress

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    1. Sasstress :)
      There is , I think, 27 hours in a day, right? LOL. Nah, you know the skill of multi tasking while taking care of baby piranahas all too well. My number one studying time is nursing time, so sady Ill be addicted to my iPad a little less for a couple months until I feel more comfortable. Im only up to four tenses right now... And I have to pause and think (what is the preterit ending again?) so clearly no where near "got it down" on the first four yet. Ugh. Baby steps ;)

      And Im sure la familia thinks Im "locis" (loca/crazy) because I keep writing the practice downover and over again.. The Man just tells me to keep practicing in my head, clearly he doesnt have the same learning requirements I do - too used to writing stuff down. (yeahright,practice 14 tenses in my head! Nutso)

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  5. OMG! I need to be practicing with you! My tenses are quite rusty! You can do it!!! Bravo to you for putting forth the effort!

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    1. Ha, maybe we can help each other figure this thing out ;)

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  6. I found your blog through Tara's blog, and I love this post. I felt a mixture of relief and dread when I read that there are 14 verb tenses in Spanish. I've never counted them, but it seemed like many more. At one point, I was almost fluent, but I've forgotten most of my Spanish and find the verbs hardest of all. I constantly find myself having to word sentences in a peculiar manner in order to use the verbs in ways that I can conjugate them. I had my knickers in a twist one day because I just *cannot* remember the vosotros conjugations at all, and my husband told me they don't use vosotros in his native Guatemala. That was welcome news, though part of me is a little suspicious that he gave me incorrect information just so I wouldn't stress, lol!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! Love Taras blog!

      I have nonclue if they use the vosotros form in Guatamala, but now Im thinking I need to be sure to learn that form too. For the first 1.5 weeks of my new study sessions, I was practicing the vosotros form (hence why it is written in this post) BUT I havent been lately because my hubby told me it was unecessary since no one here uses it.

      You are still way ahead of me on the Psnish curve, at least you can rearrange the sentences to make them work... i cant even do that yet ;)

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