Preterite and imperfect

When I started learning the past tense in Spanish I was excited because I felt I was moving to the next level. I couldn't carry on a real conversation because it's hard to explain anything without using the past tense. At first I was excited and I was getting it...I thought. Then it started to get harder and I never knew which tense to use. Do I use the preterite, the imperfect I never knew.

I heard the definitions that generally the preterite refers to past actions that are seen as completed. The imperfect generally refers to actions that are not seen as being completed. Great, but that didn't clear everything up for me so I needed some hands on practice.

I took one verb at a time and really went over them until I had them down and could tell the difference.

Here are a couple examples using the verb volar - to fly.

Imperfect:
cuando yo era pequeño, yo volaba en avion mucho.
when I was small I flew in planes a lot.

This is the imperfect because it doesn't specify the action is completed. When I was learning this it sounded to me like the action was finished. "When I was small" sounds finished to me because I'm not small anymore. The imperfect tells us generally when the action happened. I then compared it to the preterite.


Preterite:
Yo volé a San Francisco la semana pasada.
I flew to San Francisco last week.

This one definitely has ended, it was last week. If you say last week, last night, last year, anything like that you will use the preterit tense. anything where the action is obviously complete. The preterite tells us specifically when an action happened.

Just grab a verb and the conjugation for both and just keep making up sentences using both so you will know the difference automatically. then grab another and another. Trust me, with a little practice and a few verbs under your belt you will have the difference down in no time.

buena suerte

Una palabra nueva

I have been learning one new Spanish word a day and it has been working well. I still use my flash cards but with only one word a day I really learn the word. I use it throughout the day whenever I have a few seconds. I will use it in different sentences, I will just think about the word many times throughout the day. Then the next morning when I get up I use that word in a sentence before I learn my new word.
I remember hearing that Monica Seles the tennis player from a few years ago did this when she came to the U.S. and started learning English. It seems like it would take forever only learning one new word a day but the words start adding up quickly and you really learn the word instead of trying to remember it. It certainly worked for Monica, her English is great.
So don't stop with your other lessons as you will learn other words and grammar with your current Spanish learning course but pick on word every day that is relevant to your life and really learn that word, you'll be amazed at quickly your Spanish vocabulary has grown.

nos vemos

Flash Cards

I bought a set of spanish flash cards once but didn't find it was worth the money. I recently started making my own. This is much cheaper and more practical for my learning. I can make up cards based on what I am currently learning. I find that making a few dozen cards a week is enough. Then every morning I take 5 or 6 with me and whenever I have a minute or 2 I will just pull one out and look at it. Sometimes in line at the store or the bank. If I'm put on hold on the phone. When I get in my car, before I go anywhere I just look at one. I've had a few looks when I pull one out at the bank or grocery store, but it works. I only use them for nouns or verbs, I don't put sentences on them. You would be amazed at how many minutes we have throughout the day that are wasted, so we might as well get a little Spanish learning in there.
I tried making them with paper but didn't work as well so I went to an office supply store and just bought plain card stock and cut them up into small cards.
Let me know if you have any other suggestions for using flash cards or if you have found some that you have purchased that have been helpful.

buena suerte

Lo siento pero he estado ocupado recientemente

I have been busy with trading and life in general lately but hope to get back to regular posting now.
I haven't been studying as much lately, but still manage to get in some here and there.
I just picked up Learning Spanish Like Crazy nivel dos. I liked the first one and will take a listen to level 2 and report back on it. As well I will be reviewing Rosetta Stone Spanish and a few other courses as well. I will also be giving tips I've learned and some more general lessons so we can all learn together.

nos vemos

Keeping Motivated

I love learning Spanish and have fun most of the time. Sometimes though I get frustrated and need some additional motivation to keep moving forward. Even though they aren't about learning spanish, I subscribe to an achievement Ezine. First of all it's free, did I mention I love free stuff. The Ezines are from a few different motivational speakers and are emailed to me. Sometimes I read them everyday to keep me motivated, sometimes I only read them when I need a pick me up. They offer stories and motivation with life and success in general so I just apply it to my journey of learning Spanish. I put a link on the top right if you would like to sign up for the achievement Ezines and check them out for yourself. Did I mention they are free, and they don't send spam.

Right now I am trying to get down the difference between the preterite and the imperfect.

The preterite generally refers to past actions that are seen as complete.
example -
Jose habló dos horas.
Jose spoke for two hours.
(implied beginning and end)

Jose habló con su amigo.
Juan spoke with his friend.
(implied beginning and end)

The imperfect generally refers to past actions that are not seen as complete.
example -
Los chicos hablaban en inglés.

The boys used to speak in English.
(no definite beginning or end)

The biggest thing I have to remember is generally. I have been trying to read Spanish articles so I can see these differences in use and try and get a handle on when to use which.

buena suerte

Voice chatting

I have been voice chatting wity my spanish friend for a while now and I can't believe how much it has improved my spanish. At first it was discouraging because it seemed like I didn't know anything but I stuck with it and am so excited about the progress I've made.

At first the pen pals that I found only wanted to text chat on messenger or exchange emails. This was helpful for my writing and it gave me time to look things up before I would write back but I was looking to voice chat and actually start speaking spanish. I searched for while to find a friend that wanted to voice chat, but I was persistent and it paid off.

Polyglot is a good site and it's free but I couldn't find anyone that wanted to voice chat. I went to My Language Exchange (links to both are on the right) and although they charge a minimal fee it was worth it. I actually only signed up for one month and I found 2 people to voice chat with so I didn't sign up for another one. I think it's around $6 for 1 month and the best thing is they don't auto renew your membership so you don't have to remember to cancel.

We use skype to voice chat and it is great. It's free for voice chatting and it is clear. I haven't tried yahoo or msn messengers in a while but I have heard they are pretty good as well.

First Post

I started this blog to give tips to other people that are learning spanish or any foreign language. I have tried many different ways to help my spanish. I have taken classes at the local college, I have tried many self study courses, read books, even private lessons. I want to share the courses and strategies that have helped me the most, and hopefully there will be a suggestion or two that work for you.

I would appreciate any feedback from the suggestion in this blog as well as any tips or ideas you would like to share that aren't listed here.