You’ve probably heard that the Latino culture is very, very machista.  Meaning it is excessively masculine.  Some people like this aspect of the culture, others don’t– Example: The machismo mentality means that chivalry is still very much alive.  However, it also means that the men are more aggressive and over-bearing.  Hm.  Tough call.  As things become more globalized, the machista culture is slowly evolving into something slightly less machista.  The language, however, is not making any changes at all.

Unlike in English, Spanish nouns all have genders– they are either masculino or femenino (el boleto, la mesa). Because of the masculine nature of Latin languages, the masculino form is always the dominant one.  For example:  If there is a large group of all males, you would refer to them as ellos (the masculine form of ‘them’).  If there is a large group of all females, you would refer to them as ellas (the feminine form of ‘them’).  However, if there is a mixture of men and women–even if there are one million women and one man, the group would need to be referred to as ellos.  Now how unfair is that?

A tricky part about the gender in Spanish is that there isn’t too much rhyme or reason to it– you just have to learn as you go along.  Example: A dress is a garment typically worn by a female.  So it should be a feminine noun, right?  Wrong. El vestido is masculine.  Native speakers are raised with this concept of everything being masculine or feminine, so a lot of them find it unusual that native English speakers have no such concept at all.  For us, gender is typically genitalia-related.  For them, gender is part of absolutely anything.  No worries, though, you’ll pick it up with time.

In fact, we’ve got a whole class in Bueno, entonces… devoted to the genders and masculinity of Spanish–such a major theme in the language that a full class is well worth it.  Check out the Bueno, entonces… Youtube page to see some clips of our Spanish lessons and get an idea of what our teaching method is all about (think Rosetta Stone meets South Park).  It is fast-paced, colloquially-based, and absolutely hilarious.  Oh, and you will actually learn how to SPEAK Spanish by the end.  The whole series is over 18 hours and is available on DVD or as a download for your computer, iPod, or iPhone–all for as low as $147!  Take a look at our learn Spanish site and let us know what you think!

Mini Lesson Latin Culture, Spanish grammar

Ahh, no day is complete without a little Daddy Yankee. Thanks to David (our student), we not only get some Daddy, but we get some Spanish grammar in there, too!

Think the verb gustar is a pain in the ass?  Yup, us, too.  Well, luckily we can help you out a bit! The video below is just a quick clip of one of the many lessons in the Bueno, entonces… program.  Here, David is practicing his gustars with Jimena.

¿Te gusta la gasolina?

Video Clips Spanish grammar, Video Clips

In the Spanish language, diminutives and augmentatives are common to hear in everyday conversations. In fact, they are so common that you probably hear them in every sentence spoken.

What are diminutives and augmentatives? They are word endings that can be linked to a word to make it seem smaller or larger. Examples: -cito/a, -ito/a (as in panCITO, casITA,) or -ón/ona (as in huevón, llorONA).

The diminutive form is more commonly used, but you will hear the augmentatives used on occasion, although most often when the augmentative form is used, the meaning of the word changes (huevo means egg, but huevón most often will be used as a slang word for idiot, although it’s not as common in Argentina as in Chile or Colombia).

In English, diminutives aren’t as common, and closest thing we have to it would be something that resembles baby-talk (fishy, daddy, horsey, etc…) or adding ‘little’ before a noun. But really, that doesn’t do the diminutives in Spanish any justice. A lot of people are reluctant to use too many -itos and -itas, because it feels a little… cutesy, but in Spanish, it doesn’t give off that vibe at all.

Diminutives can also be used as a term of endearment—you might have heard people call each other by Pablito or Lucita. Sometimes these are names that an individual was referred to as a kid, and it just stuck with them, but a lot of the time it is used in any given conversation as a term of endearment (In English, it’d be something like Maggie for Margaret, or Robby for Robert). Dónde está Pablito? (Where is little Pablo?) Or Pobre Lucita, está enferma (Poor little Lucia, she’s sick.)

Now get out there and cutesy-fy some palabritas (er..word-ies?)!

Spanish is really fun when it comes to being creative - the slang terms and -itos/-itas/-ons are just the beginning. Start Bueno, entonces…Learn Spanish now and you’ll be speaking and understanding native Spanish in just five weeks! We also have clips of our Spanish classes on Youtube - go check ‘em out and get a taste of our style.

Mini Lesson learn Spanish, Spanish grammar

Interesting Fact: Not all authorities agree on which letters make up the Spanish alphabet. Crazy, right? This here is the closest thing to an official Spanish alphabet (from the Real Academia Español. )
A: a
B: be
C: ce
CH: che
D: de
E: e
F: efe
G: ge
H: hache
I: i
J: jota
K: ka
L: ele
LL: elle
M: eme
N: ene
Ñ: eñe
O: o
P: pe
Q: cu
R: ere
S: ese
T: te
U: u
V: ve
W: uve doble
X: equis
Y: i griega (E griega)
Z: zeta

Want to hear the words? Check out this great site that has the Spanish alphabet audio clips. Yup, they don’t include the ‘ch’ or ‘ll’ on that site. Because sometimes they take those ones out. Or they add ‘rr’. And sometimes the ‘w’ is called ‘doble v’ or ‘doble u’ or ‘w’ is not included at all. Oh yeah, and the ‘v’ (as in Victor) is sometimes ‘uve’.

Come on Spanish, get your act together.

To find out more about Spanish grammar, check out Bueno, entonces…Learn Spanish and speak and understand native Spanish in five weeks! (You can also check out clips from our Spanish classes on Youtube!)

Mini Lesson Mini Lesson, Spanish grammar

English speakers have it easy. When we speak directly to anyone, we just have one word to worry about: “You.”
In Spanish, your worry level increases dramatically because you have to make the distinction between whether to use tú, vos, or usted. To make matters worse, each have their own set of conjugations, too. We’ll stay away from that today, though.

Luckily, you generally have to worry about only two of three, as tú and vos are both the informal and usted is formal. Some countries use tú, some use vos, and some use both. Check out the map of Voseo from Wikipedia to see what is used where.

Our rule of thumb is that if you’d call someone by their first name in English, you can use tú or vos in Spanish. If you’d normally add a Mr., Mrs., etc. then you use usted. Here are a few other types of people you’d used usted with:

• Someone older than you
• Someone you don’t know well
• An authority figure
• Anyone to whom you wish to show respect

Tú and vos are used for anyone who you are more familiar with. A friend, colleague, relative, child, etc.

Here in Argentina, we use vos for everyone - the word usted is seen in ads and sometimes heard when someone is referring to a much older person, but it’s not like Mexico, for example, where the distinction between tú and usted is much clearer and both are used often.

If you’re ever in doubt about whether to use the formal or informal, stick with the formal. No one will ever get angry at you for addressing them formally, they’ll just think you’re ridiculously polite. And seeing as how you’re a Gringo in a Spanish-speaking place, you’ll probably be used to being ridiculous, anyway. Want to minimize the ridiculosity? Grab Bueno, entonces…Learn Spanish before you leave and our Spanish classes will have you speaking and understanding native Spanish in five weeks. Become a fan on Facebook and you’ll not only learn Spanish phrases everyday, but you’ll also save $50 on our Learn Spanish Levels I & II program!

Mini Lesson Argentina, learn Spanish, Mexico, Mini Lesson, Spanish grammar

David & Jimena, our “protagonistas” if you will, are discussing their daily tasks when David asks Jimena what time she has sex. Jimena says at 9:30 AM, 3:20 PM, and 9:30 PM.

Then David, ever so inappropriately, asks her when she masturbates.

The verb masturbarse is actually a great way to explain the reflexive verbs because a verb is reflexive when the subject and the object are the same. You initiate and receive the action. We’d go into more details, but you probably get the picture.

Masturbarse=Masturbate

Me masturbo = I masturbate
Te masturbas = You masturbate
Se maturba = He/she/(it?) masturbates
Nos masturbamos = We masturbate
Se masturban = You all/They masturbate

Bueno, entonces… (Okay, so…) we hope that every time you pleasure yourself, you think about reflexive verbs. Or at least Jimena. Both are Spanish-related. And, if you want to learn some more reflexive verbs (we know this one is helpful, but it won’t get you that far) check Bueno, entonces…learn Spanish. There are clips of our Spanish classes on Youtube, and become a fan on Facebook and learn useful Spanish phrases everyday!

Mini Lesson, Video Clips Funny, learn Spanish, Spanish grammar, Video Clips

Okay, so what’s the deal with the whole interchangeable Castellano/Espanol thing?

In Episode 18, during their Saturday review, Jimena explains to David the difference between the two.

Want to check out more? Go to our Youtube page page to see excerpts from various Bueno, entonces… Spanish classes. It doesn’t replace the actual Learn Spanish series, but you’ll get a better idea of what the format looks like. Want to save some dinero? Become a fan on Facebook and you’ll learn useful Spanish phrases and some insults to boot!

Mini Lesson, Video Clips learn Spanish, Spanish grammar, Video Clips