Learn Spanish Free Resources

Don Casteel's comprehensive Spanish course is based on the original Foreign Service Institute text, but is completely revised, edited, updated, and re-recorded.

A DVD version containing all eight levels of the Platiquemos course as PDF files (text) and MP3 files (audio) is now available.

The popular hardcopy version has sold for over $600 without the bonuses!

If your interested in learning Spanish, then check out Complete Spanish Course DVD at our store.

Understanding The Spanish Grammar - Spanish Tenses

Author: Michael Gabrikow

For an English native or for someone whose mother tongue bears the Latin ancestry, the Spanish grammar will be a lot easier to grasp than with many other languages. One of the grammatical issues that a lot of people learning Spanish have problems with, is understanding the Spanish tenses and learning how to use them in the right context. For this reason, I'm going to cover all the tenses in the Spanish grammar and hopefully clear some of your issues regarding them.

In the first section, we'll be covering the present, past and imperfect tenses. These three, along with the future tense (discussed in the second part of the article) are widely used and form the base of the Spanish grammar. Learning them and learning how to use them properly and in the right context is fundamental if you ever want to become fluent in your secondary language. Avoiding tense confusion will also spare you some embarrassing moments when talking Spanish to a native.

Learn Spanish Grammar - Present Tense

The present tense uses similar rules in the Spanish grammar as in many of the other Latin languages. It expresses the actions occurring in the present or something that is generally repeated (habitual). If the verb expresses an action that occurred in the past and is happening in the present, than it also uses an expression of time (like "last night", "yesterday", "one year ago" and so forth). The "formula" for most present tense verbs in Spanish is "hacer" (to make or to do) - expression of time - the verb in the present tense form. Regular verbs end in "ar", "er" and "ir", for example Ayudar, Correr or Vivir.

Learn Spanish Grammar - Past Tense

Past tense is used when talking about an action that took place in the past and has ended. Remember, if you're talking about something that took place in the past and is still going on, than you're in the present tense. Other than that, it follows the same formula as for the present tense, namely the verb "hacer", the expression of time and the past tense verb. In addition, the ending letters change accordingly to the person used. For example first person is Yo e/i (amos in plural), second person is Tu aste/iste and third person ends with "o" (aron/ieron in third person plural).

One side note about the past tense in Spanish. People that just started learning Spanish and its grammar rules find it difficult sometimes in spotting whether or not an action has ended in the past or is still continuing. If you continue to have this kind of problem after a while, make sure you learn the verb endings for the past, present and imperfect tenses by hard. Knowing what termination does what is crucial into figuring out the tense the other person is speaking in. After a while, this will come naturally as you get more comfortable around the new language, but before that happens you need to force yourself into learning the terminations in a very straightforward fashion.

Learn Spanish Grammar - Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense is a bit tricky in Spanish, as many language learning courses will bold out. It's used in a variety of situations, such as expressing an action repeated in the past, expressing an action that occurred in the past and was interrupted, an hour in the past, the age in the past using the verb "tener" or when describing stuff in the past. Most imperfect tense verbs follow this formula: cuanto, followed by the expression of time, the verb hacia (do) and lastly, the imperfect verb.

Verbs ending in "ar" will receive "aba/abamos" in first person singular/plural, "abas" in second person, "aba/aban" in third person singular/plural. Verbs ending in "er" and "ir" will receive "ia/iamos" in first person singular/plural, "ias" in second person, "ia/ian" in third person singular/plural. For example, the verb "caminar" becomes "yo caminaba", "tu caminabas", "el/ellas caminaba", "nostros caminabamos" and "ellos/ellas caminaban". If you get these terminations memorized, you will soon be able to avoid the past/imperfect tense confusion with ease.

Learn Spanish Grammar - Future Tense

The future tense may not be very hard to use, but it's harder to spot when someone else is using it if you're not familiar with Spanish yet. That is due to the fact that it uses several constructions for many occasions, such as an infinitive form using the "ir a" form, a surprise or doubt in the present, a future action viewed from the present tense or an action that will occur in the future, at a given time (using an expression of time again).

The form of future tense regular verbs is as follows: for verbs ending in "ar" it's "Yo e and Nostros emos" (first person singular/plural), "Tu as" (second person) and "El/Ella a and Ellos/Ellas an" (third person singular/plural). Verbs ending in "er" and "ir" have the exact same terminations as with the ones ending in "ar", unlike the other tenses.

Learn Spanish Grammar - Conditional Tense

When learning Spanish, you'll find that the conditional tense is one of the easiest to spot and understand, mainly because it's used in clear contexts and verbs have the same termination regardless of their infinitive form (er, ar or ir). You don't need a free online language lesson to learn this tense, all you need to know is this: it's used when one expresses a condition based on something said or known, based on something that occurred in the past and in a rarer case, as a measure of courtesy. Verb terminations are as follows: Yo ia / Nostros iamos, Tu ias, El/Ella ia, Ellos/Ellas ian. One more thing to note about the conditional tense is that in Spanish, the ending carries an accent regardless of the person you use.

Learn Spanish Grammar - Gerund Tense

Some find the Spanish gerund harder to understand, but in fact it's rather easy, especially if you think about the English "ing" termination. You'll be using gerund in Spanish whenever you want to point out an action that was taking place at a particular point in time (it can be past, present or future). If you have trouble deciding whether or not you should use gerund at some point, try translating the question in English and see if you would use an "ing" verb or not. Instead of the English termination, Spanish uses the termination "ando" for verbs ending in "ar" and "iendo" for verbs ending in "er" or "ir".

It's pretty much straightforward and after a while you'll be able to make the decision about using gerund or not naturally and you won't need to make the connection with the English form. The only tense you can confuse it with slightly is past participle, which we'll discuss shortly, but other than that it should be easy to recognize a gerund tense after a bit of exercise.

Learn Spanish Grammar - Past Participle

Past participle is not as commonly used in Spanish, but nevertheless you'll have to know when it's appropriate to do so. A verb in past participle is usually accompanied by an adverb or is an adverb, used to express a condition. Sometimes it is also used in junction with the verb "haber" (to do/make). The past participle termination is "ado" for verbs ending in "ar" and "ido" for verbs ending in "er" or "ir".

That's all you need to know about Spanish tenses, basically. Hopefully this guide to the Spanish grammar was useful and it will clear up your confusion about when and where to use a specific tense or how to easily compare them to the tense rules in your native language.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/understanding-the-spanish-grammar-spanish-tenses-203775.html

About the AuthorIncrease your Spanish vocabulary at online Spanish games at www.InternetPolyglot.com. The site contains thousands of Spanish lessons in different languages.

Vocabulary Builder Spanish

IF your child's face lights up when they see a brightly colored picture, cuddly toy animal or a game, then this is for them. Vocabulary Builder Spanish is designed for kids who like to be entertained. It has lots of brightly colored pictures and fun games to get your child hooked on learning. Adults love this program too!

Will it work for my child?

Vocabulary Builder Spanish is designed for children aged 4-12. It's a simple piece of educational software that they'll find easy to use. It's fun, engaging and encouraging - even for children who are easily distracted.

No reading required. Vocabulary Builder is all based on spoken language and pictures, so children don't have to be able to read in order to use it.

What will my child learn?

Vocabulary Builder covers some basic words and phrases. These have been chosen to be fun as well as useful. There are around 100 words in the program - just enough to get your child started without overloading them. The topics include colors, numbers, actions, professions and simple sentences with some prepositions.

How does it work?

There are three different sections:

Learn what the words mean with pictures accompanied by the spoken word.

Three exciting memory games that get progressively harder. It's this section where they really learn to recognise and remember words.

Record your own story. Browse through the pictures and record the words you want to appear. You can compare your recording with a native speaker if you want. You can also string your story together with any words you want to put in, then watch your story played back on cinema screen followed by a big round of applause. This really gets them talking in a foreign language and you'll be amazed how quickly they pick up the accent.

Notes for parents:

Biologically, the earlier a child is exposed to a second language the better - studies have proven that a young mind is more receptive than an older one. Learning Spanish will also improve your child's ability in other languages.

If you're interested in learning Irish, then check out Vocabulary Builder Spanish Software. At $29.99, the program is inexpensive, easy, and fun to use.

Talk Now Spanish

IF you're new to Spanish, there are some basics you will have to learn, whether you're eight years old or 80, on business abroad or a tourist on holiday. Talk Now! Spanish offers a simple-to-use method for you to start learning the language, whoever you are.

Will it work for me?

Lots of people have difficulty learning languages. Why? Most have been put off at school, don't have time to learn, or think they are too lazy to do it.

Talk Now! Spanish answers these problems:

It lifts the language off the page. There are no dull exercises; just encouraging games that award you points for progress.

It fits easily into short ten-minute sessions. But if you want to push yourself you can learn the basics in a weekend.

if you think you're lazy, think again! You'll be amazed how motivated you can be when you enjoy the experience of learning!

What will I learn?

To speak and understand enough to "get by".

You're just starting, so we won't drop you in at the deep end. There are some things you'll want to say in any language: you'll want to say 'hello', order a drink, ask for directions and so on.

This beginners program gets straight to the point. It covers food, colors, shopping, parts of the body, numbers, telling the time, countries, greetings and essential phrases.

How does it work?

Talk Now! Spanish gives you easy-to-achieve goals. Learning a new language is far too big a task to tackle all at once, so we have broken it down into a series of rewarding challenges.

Play interactive language games. Talk Now! feeds you new words, along with pictures to reinforce your memory. It then tests your knowledge with fun quizzes. As soon as you start playing you start learning.

Earn points for every game you play. High scorers can go on to win bronze, silver and gold awards, which you can print out as a record of achievement.

You will hear Spanish all of the time and, using the recording games, you can start speaking straight away, then compare your voice to a native speaker.

You can learn on the move. Carry on learning in the airport lounge or the ferry without a computer. Just print out the phrasebook sheets included in the program and take them with you, or upload the program's sound files onto an iPod.

System Requirements

Windows 2000 or later
Mac OS X 10.3.9 or above
CD ROM Drive (+ computer microphone)
You can also upload words onto your iPod

If you're interested in learning Irish, then check out Talk Now Beginner Spanish Software. At $29.99, the program is inexpensive, easy, and fun to use.

The Survival Spanish Training Course is designed to introduce adults with no previous knowledge of the Spanish language to effective Spanish communication.

The emphasis is on developing language skills needed for survival in a Spanish-speaking country, and is supported by authentic reading materials.

The audio includes the presentation of dialogs and vocabulary from the book and a number of listening comprehension activities to be done on assignments. This version includes PDF text and audio MP3 files.

This set also includes Talk Now Spanish Software. Talk Now! is the world's best selling language learning CD-ROM series for beginners, used by more than eight million people to date. It's ideal for travelers, holiday makers, business people, school children, students and families. Anyone beginning to learn Spanish will find the disc indispensable.

If you're interested in learning Irish, then check out Foreign Service Institute Survival Spanish Course . At $29.99, the program is inexpensive, easy, and fun to use.

How to Learn Spanish For Free

By Andy Maule

Is it possible to find out how to learn Spanish for free? Is it possible to really get educated online for free and learn the language that can get you a better job, make travel easier and more comfortable and help you to socialize with more people? If you want to know how to learn Spanish for free then read on to find out if it's possible.

Many people who want to know how to learn Spanish for free already know that learning the language anywhere typically costs money unless you know a teacher or professor. If you don't want to spend money, the sad fact of the matter might be that you don't have much choice on what you can do. Your best bet is to search the internet for self tutorials that will teach you different words and conjugation, and that's about all you'll find. If you want a solution that can actually get you fluent in just a few weeks you should look into an actual course that you pay money for.

A great way to learn Spanish online is to use a course like Rocket Spanish that can help you to go from beginner to pro in virtually no time. This course is great because it's tried and tested and many people have gotten great results with it. If you want to really learn the language for free you won't have much luck finding quality free material online. If you can afford a real course that gets results, you should definitely take the plunge. The sooner you get a course that works the sooner you can actually learn the language.

If you are ready to learn Spanish, then you should check out Rocket Spanish. I highly recommend you check out Rocket Spanish right now--to learn more about Rocket Spanish you can go to the following link to see if it's right for you: http://www.BuyRocketSpanishNow.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy_Maule


http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Learn-Spanish-For-Free&id=3625273

Learn how to speak Spanish with Don Casteel's course. The Platiquemos Course for learning Spanish is based on the original Foreign Service Institute course but is completely revised, edited, and updated. This DVD contains all eight levels of the fully revised Platiquemos course as PDF files (text) and MP3 files (audio).

The popular hardcopy version has sold for over $600 without the bonuses!

This super DVD contains 3.51GB of material. This includes the following:

* the complete Platiquemos program (1400 pages of text and 54 hours of audio)

* Espanol Rapido (about 600 pages and 7 hours of audio)

* Cantemos, (73 traditional and modern songs with translations and notes of points of linguistic or cultural significance)

* A new ebook with over 150 jokes and 50 cartoons, false cognates, and a selection of colloquialisms and more!

Downloadable Bonuses include:
Survival Spanish - The Course used and developed by the CIA for learning Spanish.
Programmatic Spanish Level 1
Programmatic Spanish Level 2
Spanish HeadStart for Spain
Spanish HeadStart Text for Latin America

If you're interested in learning Irish, then check out Learn How to Speak Spanish: The Platiquemos DVD.