Spanish American Traits, Verbal Periphrasis, and Verbal Locutions
Traits of Spanish American Spanish
Phonetics
- Seseo: Pronunciation of c before e or i, and z as [s] (e.g., [sapato] for zapato).
- Yeísmo: Merging of the sounds of ll and y. This also occurs in most of Spain.
- Aspiration, assimilation, or loss of final or implosive s: [mismo] > [mihmo] > [mimmo].
- Aspiration of initial h (from Latin f) or initial g: hente for gente.
- In the Caribbean and Central America, confusion of r and l at the end of a syllable or word: [amol] for amor.
- Loss of intervocalic -d-,
Near-Drowning Incident & Language Evolution
A Near-Drowning Experience in Morocco
Nine years ago, during my annual vacation to Morocco, I had a frightening experience at the beach. I go to Morocco every year, and this trip started like any other.
One day, my parents, my brothers, and I went to the beach, bringing along a large inflatable float. We were enjoying ourselves, playing with the float, when our cousin joined us. The game was simple: my cousin would push my brother and me, on the float, out into the sea. However, things quickly took
Read MorePhrasal Verbs: Separable and Inseparable Examples
Phrasal Verbs: Separable and Inseparable
Separable Phrasal Verbs:
BREAK DOWN, COME BACK, COME IN, COME OVER (come visit), EAT OUT, GET UP, GO BACK, GO ON (pass, happen), GROW UP, KEEP ON (follow doing something, continue), WAKE UP …
Examples:
- BRING UP (introduce a topic of conversation, educate, raise)
- FIND OUT (learn, discover)
- GIVE BACK
- HAND IN (deliver)
- LOOK UP (search in a list)
- PUT AWAY (save)
- PUT OFF (postpone)
- PUT ON (put)
- PUT OUT (halt, extinguish)
- TAKE OFF (remove)
- TRY ON (test)
- TURN DOWN
- TURN UP
- TURN
English Grammar: Verb Tenses and Conditionals Explained
English Verb Tenses and Structures
Present Perfect
Form: HAVE/HAS + PAST PARTICIPLE (-ED or irregular form)
Examples:
- I have forgotten his name.
- I haven’t talked to Ana.
- I love New York! I have been there 2 times already, and I can’t wait to go back.
Keywords:
- SINCE: desde (specific moment, e.g., last week, yesterday)
- EVER: siempre
- LATELY: últimamente
- JUST: solo
- FOR: durante (a month, hours, six years)
Present Perfect Continuous
Form: HAVE/HAS BEEN + VERB + -ING
Examples:
- I have been studying all morning.
- She hasn’
Creative Writing Prompts: Spark Your Imagination
Short Story Ideas
1) Dating Deception
Your character meets someone on an online dating site. Your character writes an e-mail to the person, describing him/herself. Write the e-mail. This e-mail contains two lies. What are they? Why did the character tell them? Also: your character has a very mistaken idea of the impression he/she makes on other people. What impression does your character think he/she makes? What impression does he/she really make? Figure all this stuff out. If you want, fill out a
Read MoreEnglish Grammar and Formal/Informal Email Examples
1. There is / There are, Quantifiers and Determiners
Countable Nouns:
- Affirmative: There is a parcel. / There are many pens.
- Negative: There aren’t any pens.
- Interrogative: Are there any folders?
Uncountable Nouns:
- Affirmative: There is some mail. / There is a lot of water.
- Negative: There isn’t much milk.
- Interrogative: Is there much sugar?
2. Past: to be
- Affirmative: There was a factory.
- Negative: There wasn’t any music.
- Interrogative: Were there any hotels?
- Short Answers: Yes, there was. / No, there