Talk to people

The only way to get really good at speaking Spanish is to speak it. Lessons, books, TV, the Internet and so on are all great for learning words, phrases, comprehension and grammar, but the only way to speak fluidly is to speak a lot. 

If you are in a region of Spain or Latin America where there are a lot of English speaking visitors it can be hard to speak Spanish to the locals, as they all speak English and want to speak it - either to practice or because they theink they are being helpful. Sometimes the best thing is to just persevere. If you keep speaking Spanish they might figure out that you want to practice and go along with it. Sometimes it feels like a battle of wills - a competition to see who will drop back into their own language first. Sometimes it is worth explaining that you want to learn Spanish and ask the other person if they mind speaking Spanish even if it makes the conversation slower. Only one person has ever complained to me that they wanted to speak English instead, because they wanted to practice it.

It is also worth seeking out Spanish speakers, rather than hanging out with the English all the time in a new place. Many people are happy to help out with learning their language, and will appreciate a little help in learning English in exchange.

I think the best advice it to treat every Spanish conversation, or exchange as an opportunity rather than a hurdle, and learn what you can from it.

El Príncipe de la Niebla - Book Review

I am starting my series of book reviews with the debut novel from one of my favourite authors - Carlos Ruiz Zafón. He is probably best known for 'La Sombra del Viento' ('The Shadow of the Wind), which was his first book for Adults and his first to be translated into English. Before that though, he wrote four books for younger readers, by which I guess I mean older children and teenagers.

The title of the book means 'The Prince of Mist' although I think it sounds better in Spanish. Like most of his books there is a supernatural theme, but unlike his later books it is set in England in 1943 rather than in his native Barcelona. The story is about Max, and the events following his family's move to the coast to escape the city and the war. Max, his sister Alicia and local boy Roland gradually begin to uncover dark secrets in the seaside village where they find themselves. The book is easy to read if you have a reasonable level of reading Spanish, and the pace is quick enough to keep it interesting. It is a little odd as an English reader to be reading a Spanish book set in England, but I quickly got used to that. Plot wise, I found myself gradually being drawn into a supernatural world. It feels a bit like a children's version of a Stephen King novel. Several of Ruiz Zafón's trademarks from his later books are already there, such as the many flashbacks gradually filling in the missing pieces.

This is not the author's most accomplished book but it is still an excellent read, and it is the easiest of his books to read for a student of Spanish.

If you want to buy the book, you can find it here (in Spanish) on Amazon (UK) or here on Amazon (US).

Reading to Learn

Reading is a great way to learn Spanish, but it can be hard to find suitable books to get started. One approach is to find books you are already familiar with in English. That way you have a good idea of the level of difficulty, and of the general plot of the book which makes it easier. I always felt that I wanted to read real Spanish books, rather than translations, but I have to say that to begin with it is easier to stick to familar authors. Popular choices are favourite children's books, especially those like Harry Potter which appeal to adults as well. The advantage of these is that they are written in easier language and are often shorter (not the later Harry Potter books though). When you start to read in Spanish it will be a slow process, so a shorter book makes it easier to stay motivated until the end.

That said, there is a wealth of Spanish literature out there, some of it very good. I find it an incredibly rewarding experience to read a Spanish novel in its original language. Starting tomorrow I plan to write an occasional series of reviews of Spanish novels to help pick out some good ones for Spanish learners of different levels.

One last tip - try not to use the dictionary too much when reading - it makes for a slow and frustrating experience. It is not essential to understand every word, as  long as you can get the gist. I only look up a word if it is key to the meaning of a sentence, or if it appears several times.

Bastar - Enough

Following on from yesterday's post on 'bastante', I thought I should mention the related verb 'bastar' - 'to be sufficient' or 'to be enough'. 'Suffice' is probably the closest verb in English, but it is not quite as commonplace.

Some examples are -

¿basta con esto? - is this enough?
basta con cuatro - four are enough
bastan dos cebollas para hacer este plato - two onions are enough to make this dish

My favourite though is when it is used by itself, often shouted, meaning 'Enough!' or 'Stop that!'.

¡Basta! - Enough!

Bastante - quite enough

One of the things I always found a little confusing in Spanish was when meanings overlapped, so that a Spanish word represents two or more English words or vice versa. One example is 'bastante'. This word can be translated as either 'enough' or 'quite'. Basically the meaning depends on the context, but it is worth noting that in English the two meanings are not that different - the biggest difference is that 'quite' goes before a word and 'enough' goes after, e.g. quite good or good enough. Bastante is a word I like to use at times instead of a simple yes or no answer, just to show that I know a little more Spanish than 'sí'and 'no'.

Some examples -

bastante bien = quite well / well enough
es bastante grande = it is quite big / big enough
¿es bastante ancho? = is it wide enough?

More on ir (to go)

Like in English, the verb 'to go' - 'ir' can be used in several ways, so it is important to be familiar with it. It can be used in the sense of 'going somewere', as in a place, or to indicate something happening in the future - 'going to happen'. In both these uses, 'ir' is followed by 'a', meaning 'to'. For example:-

voy a Londres = I go to London (or I am going to London)
va a Madrid = he/she goes to Madrid
van al restaurante = they go to the restaurant (note 'a' + 'el' becomes 'al')

va a nevar = it is going to snow
vamos a hablar = we are going to talk
voy a correr = I am going to run

It can also be used by itself e.g.

 ¿Vamos? = Shall we go?

'Ir' can also be used in the sense of 'to go away', or 'to leave'. In this case it is used reflexively, so I can say 'I go myself', to mean 'I leave'.

me voy = I am leaving
me voy a ir = I am going to leave
se va = he leaves
¡Vayate! = Go away!

Conjugation of the Week - 5. Ir - To go

Take a few minutes each week to learn a verb conjugation and help your grammar improve painlessly. See previous posts in this series for more about conjugations.


This week, an essential and very irregular verb. It isn't the easiest verb but is is important to learn.


Ir - To go


voy - I go
vas - you go (sing. fam.)
va - he/she/it goes, you go (sing. pol.)
vamos - we go
vais - you go (pl. fam.)
van - they go, you go (pl. pol.)