Read and Translate: Wildfire

Hello and Welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish! :)

Today I want to talk about something that's been going on near where I live, and it's actually very annoying: a fire. More like a wildfire.

It's not particularly big, an it's not that out of control, you could say (as in it doesn't seem to be spreading much), and it is far enough so that everyone in this neighborhood is safe, but the smoke still gets here and it is annoying, especially at night.

I'll talk to you about it in Spanish now, and later give you the translation and notes:

Cerca de mi casa está quemando un fuego, en el tope de un monte. Lleva ya cinco días, y si veo el humo subir hoy, entonces ya serán seis. Está cerca de mi casa, pero no al punto que sea peligroso. El humo es lo más que presenta una molestia, porque la casa se llena de ese mal olor, en especial en la noche. A veces parece como si al fin se hubiera apagado el fuego, pero luego, en la tarde (quizá por el sol caliente y el calor) vuelve a encender, y el humo a subir. Espero que ya lo controlen los bomberos el día de hoy.

Now let me give you the full translation of this in English:

Near my house there's a fire burning, on the top of a hill. It's been burning for five days, and if I see the smoke coming up today, then it will be six. It's close to my house, but not to the point that it's dangerous. The smoke is the biggest annoyance, because the house gets full of that bad smell, especially at night. Sometimes it appears as if the fire finally extinguished, but then later, in the afternoon (perhaps because of the hot sun and the heat) it goes on again, and the smoke rises. I hope the firefighters control it today. 

Vocabulary and notes:

Vocabulary

(*I won't give you all of the words, since some I'm going to explain as a phrase in a moment.)

1- Cerca (sehr-cah) - Near, close to

2- Está (Ehs-tah) - to be (present form)

3- Quemando (Keh-mahn-doh) - Burning, to be burning (from verb 'quemar')

4- Tope (toh-peh) - The top

5-  Monte (Mohn-teh) - Hill

6 - Cinco (seen-koh) - Five

7- Entonces (ehn-tohn-sehs) - Then

8- Pero (peh-roh) - But

9- Peligroso (peh-lee-groh-soh) - dangerous

10- Humo (oo-moh) - Smoke

11- molestia (Moh-lehs-tee-ah) Annoyance

*Annoying translates to - molesto, or, molestoso; and also fastidioso.

12- Casa (kah-sah) - House

13- Mal olor (mahl oh-lohr) Bad smell, bad odor

14- Noche (Noh-cheh) - Night

15- Luego (loo-eh-goh) - Later

16-  Tarde (Tahr-deh) - Afternoon

17- Sol (Sohl) - Sun

18- Caliente (Kah-lee-ehn-teh) - Hot, warm

19- Calor (ka-lohr) - Heat

20- Encender (ehn-sehn-dehr) - To turn on, to switch on

21- Subir (soo-beer) - Rise

22- Espero (ehs-peh-roh) - I hope (from verb 'esperar'. It also translates to wait, in this form 'I wait'.)

23- Controlen (cohn-troh-lehn) - control (from verb 'controlar')

24- Bomberos  (bohm-beh-rohs) - Firefighters (*plural. Singular is: bombero) 

25- Hoy (oi) - Today

Notes:

Lleva ya - This expression translates to 'it's been' or 'it has gone on'. Literally, it would translate to 'it carries already'. Lleva ya cinco días - It's been five days, or, it has gone on for five days.

Si ___ entonces ___- The word si (without an accent) means 'if'. It's the conditional. Usually it will be followed by entonces, like in English 'if' is followed by 'then'. Si (something happens) entonces (outcome). Si veo el humo subir hoy - if I see the smoke rise today entonces ya serán seis (días) - Then it will be six (days).

Sometimes the word entonces won't be there, but as a conditional, it will usually have an outcome. An extra example: Si llueve hoy, no voy a salir - if it rains today, I won't go out.

Hubiera - This word causes confusion even to native Spanish speakers. (Well, it did to me for a long time lol). And why, you may ask? It's because there is another word that is used in the same context and means exactly the same thing: Hubiese (oo-bee-seh). The two are interchangeable; you can use it exactly the same. Now, I read that hubiese is more formal than hubiera, at least it originally it was. Today you can use both for the same purpose and in the same context. It translates to 'would have' or 'there was'. Extra examples: Hubiera/hubiese dormido más - I would have slept more.

Ella hubiese ganado - She would have won

*Update: I hadn't even finished writing this when I saw the smoke rising, so, yet ANOTHER day of smoke here. That fire just keeps going and going. (*Update: This was in 2015. That fire lasted for days!)

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This is it for today! This is quite a long one, isn't it? I hope you have enjoyed this post, and that you find it useful, which is the most important.

If you have any doubt, just contact me on my Twitter page or my Facebook page.

You can also go to my Tumblr Blog, too.

See you next time! :)

Say hello in Spanish! A lesson on greetings

Hello! And welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish. Today I'll be showing you some greetings, and at what time of day to use which.

It's really one of the first things your want to learn and that you should learn. This is a simple lesson that surely will be very useful.

If you need to know more about how to pronounce Spanish, I have prepared three tables to help you. You can see them here.

Let's begin!

- Hola (Oh-lah) - Hello

Hola is the most common greeting you will hear anywhere Spanish is spoken. It's for any occasion, any time of day. Depending on your tone, you can make it more casual or formal. Just like the English greeting 'hello' or 'hi'.

- ¿Cómo estás? (koh-moh es-tahs) - How are you?

Follow Hola with this one to ask the other person how they're doing. Just like in English when you say 'hi, how are you?' (Remember, the accent's function is to add strength to the syllable.)

Say 'Hola, ¿Cómo estás?' to your friends or family next time you meet with them and show them that now you can greet them in Spanish! To make this greeting formal, simple change estás with está. It becomes Hola, ¿Cómo está? And you can also add usted which is the formal version of tú, and translates to 'you'. Hola, ¿Cómo está usted? Add 'usted' when you're meeting a person who is not in familiar terms with you or someone like your boss, for example. To greet friends, co-workers, and family, use Hola, ¿Cómo estás?

* A variation can be ¿Cómo está todo? Which translates to 'How's everything?' or 'How's it going?'

And also ¿Cómo estamos? Which translates to 'How are we?' Here in Puerto Rico I hear men greet each other with this one all the time. ¡Hola! ¿Cómo estamos? 

- Saludos (Sah-loo-dohs) - Greetings, Regards

This one is used when you're addressing people, like when talking in public. Here in Puerto Rico I hear older men greet each other with it, too. Jovially, ¡Saludos! ¿Cómo estás? Or ¡Saludos! ¿Cómo está todo? And also ¡Saludos! ¿Cómo estamos? So it seems it was very common to use it casually some time ago.

- Buenas (boo-eh-nahs) Hello, regards (Literally it's a variation of 'Bueno' and translates to 'good')

I use this when I make a phone call, like for example when I call a doctor's office. I would say 'Buenas, ¿es la oficina del doctor?' (Hi, is this the doctor's office?). Also when I approach a person who is working, like a store cashier for example, to ask a question. It's a short little greeting that's useful for both casual and formal settings. I use it for the situations I mentioned.

- Bienvenido (bee-ehn-veh-nee-doh) Welcome

When a person enters a place, he or she is received by Bienvenido. Exactly like in English. To mention the place where you're receiving the person, add 'a'. For example: ¡Bienvenido a Your Daily Pinch of Spanish! (Welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish!)

- Buenos días (boo-eh-nohs dee-ahs) Good morning; good day

Use this greeting during the morning hours. Also used when it's still daytime, even in the afternoon. But for the afternoon, we have the next one I'm going to mention now.

- Buenas tardes (boo-eh-nahs tahr-dehs) Good afternoon

Use this after midday, like in English.

- Buenas noches (boo-eh-nahs noh-ches) Good evening; good-night

This is the greeting for evenings and nights, but you can use it too when saying good-night to a person before they go to bed.

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Here you have them, some greetings in Spanish. I hope you've found this lesson useful, and that you can understand. There's a lot of information here, but I think it's pretty simple and easy to understand. If you have any doubt, don't hesitate in contacting me! Here is my Twitter page and here is my Facebook page. Hit follow and like! I'm there to answer your questions and comments. :)

Keep looking forward to more free lessons and tips! Until next time!

~ María

9 tips for learning a new language

Learning a new language it's like an adventure, and it can be intimidating, but also - and most importantly - it can be fun and rewarding. You get to see the world through a new perspective, understand better another culture or multiple others, and open new horizons and possibilities to yourself. For me, learning a new language, even if we're talking about the very basics, it really is like opening the door to a new world.

Here I give you some pieces of advice from my own experience studying languages:

1 - Don't be afraid!

Learning a new language can present a challenge, and it can be hard for a lot of people, but the fact that something has some difficulties doesn't automatically rule it out as frustrating or boring. It can be intimidating at first, but don't let it get to you; learning a new language isn't really too hard, crossing the threshold to start may be the hard part. You'll soon become familiarized with the sounds and basic words of your new language and you'll be able to recognize it wherever you hear it or see it.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes, and don't be afraid to use what you've learned; don't be afraid to practice, and if you're just considering starting a new language now, don't be afraid to start!

2 - Don't expect to know too much when you're just starting 

Expecting to be really good really quickly is what brings frustration to most people and eventually brings them to quit. Many people get frustrated because they can't sound like the native speakers, or because they can't be fluent when reading, etc, and they make the mistake of thinking they're just no good or that the language is too hard for them, and eventually they quit. Truth is, not everyone can start learning a new language and be really fluent from the get go. Of course some people can do it, but most people will start without much fluency and make progress from there.

We have to start at the basics and progress in our skill and understanding; we can't expect to be perfect right from the start, because this is where frustration happens. When you're just beginning, don't expect to be perfect; strive to be a perfect beginner.

3 - Don't pressure yourself 

Go at the pace that's comfortable for you. Learning a new language is not a race or a competition. Some people will advance very quickly, and in reality they're not really learning; just consuming too much information at once that they will soon forget. It's best to take your time and learn and understand well. Stay calm and positive and you will make real progress.

4 - Try to practice every day if you can 

Once you start, try to set a time to practice everyday, even if it's just for a few minutes. You don't have to learn something new everyday, some days you'll just want to review previous lessons or concepts. A pinch a day you can make mountains of progress. Practicing every day helps you stay familiarized with the language and to gain fluency.

5 - Don't cram too much new information in one study session

I should know, this can result in a headache. Study as much new stuff as you feel comfortable with in one sitting, if you're studying on your own. If you're in a class, you can take the new information and divide into different smaller sessions until your next lesson day if you find that the information was too much.

6 - That said, don't study new concepts when you're tired; instead, take the time to review what you've learned

Use your time to its fullest benefit, especially if you're busy and only have a few minutes to practice a day. If you get home too tired, perhaps studying something new is not a good idea, unless you feel it relaxes you. In my experience, sometimes studying something new when I'm tired just results in a waste of time, since the next day I don't remember much of it, but other times, sitting down to study helps me relax.

It all depends on how you feel.

7 - Review often

Reviewing it's important to keep things fresh in your mind and eventually make them second nature when practicing your new language. Reading old lessons if you're studying with a book is all you need to do for a quick review; watching old videos and reading old blogs you've studied with before, if this is your method. I find it fun. Whatever your method of out of classroom studies, if you're taking a class, (surely you don't only study in the classroom!) reviewing will help you make progress as much as practicing and studying new things.

8 - Set a time and a place that's free of distractions 

You've probably heard this one before a lot. Having a time of day and a place where you can sit down to study calmly will keep you organized and give you a better feeling of commitment to your language study. It will help you absorb the knowledge better if you're not distracted, too.

9 - Have fun! Keep it interesting

Last but not least, keep it fun! Making your studies fun and interesting is the key to make progress, in my experience. If you see it as work or as a daunting task chances are you won't want to keep studying at all. Learning a new language can be really fun, and when you're having fun, you don't even notice you're learning and things just come naturally! Look for ways to keep things interesting, to keep you motivated. There are many activities you can do to keep it fun, like watching movies in that language, listening to songs and reading news articles online; the possibilities are pretty much endless on what you can do.

Be creative!

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I hope this little page of advice can be of help to you, and I wish you much success and joy with your new language. To sum things up, the most important advice here is to make sure your studies bring you joy, comfort, and fun; not any stress or pressure.

Until next time! 

*This was originally posted on my old website (yourdailypinchofspanish), which no longer exists. If it is still running, it is a person or bot using my content without my permission.