Pronouns are essential in any language. All languages have pronouns, in some way or another, though some might not have as many as others. We use pronouns all the time, so not understanding them would mean missing a big part of the conversation.  They simplify the language and make it possible for us not to repeat ourselves all the time. Sentences would be so much longer if we didn't use pronouns or some other way of indicating what you're talking about without constant repetition. There are many different kinds of Spanish pronouns, including indirect and direct object pronouns in Spanish, and we're going to take a look at all of them. If you don’t feel like reading the entire article, you can always look at our list of the Most Useful... Show more

Do you remember the moment you fell in love with languages? Do you desire to learn or advance in Spanish quickly and effectively? Then you need a Spanish tutor. A common question that first-time language-learners ask is "Where do I begin?" The answer? Guidance. For native English-speakers who want to learn Asian languages, for example, timelines provided by the U.S. Foreign Service Institute can appear discouraging. However, defeating these odds is not unheard of. If you want to beat the odds yourself, one of the best learning options is a subscription to Premium PLUS from Innovative Language. As an active Premium PLUS member of JapanesePod101.com and KoreanClass101.com myself, I have an enjoyable experience learning at an accelerated... Show more

We might not always like to admit this when we’re starting to learn a language, but the truth is that one can’t speak properly without knowing how to put sentences together. If you use the wrong word order, there’s a chance that what you’re saying might have a different meaning than what you intended, or it might have no meaning at all. To avoid this, here’s the perfect article for you to learn Spanish sentence structure. You’ll soon learn that Spanish word order is actually not so hard, and that, in some ways, it’s similar to word order in English. You’ll also learn that, in fact, it’s more flexible! That means you can change the order of words a little bit more than you can in English. Table of Contents Overview of Word... Show more

How do you say “time” in Spanish? And how do you say "What time is it?" in Spanish?  Did you know that to tell the time you should never use the literal translation, tiempo?  That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though. We’ll answer this and other questions more in-depth in this blog post! Learn everything about how to say the time in Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Learning about telling time in Spanish, along with how to introduce yourself in Spanish, is significantly important if you want to improve your conversation skills.  Even in your native language, knowing the right way of telling the time can help you avoid misunderstandings. Well, time is so crucial in Spanish culture that learning how to tell time is as important as... Show more

Do you enjoy traveling? We do! And we know that even though it’s possible to travel to most places speaking only English, we love the feeling of being able to understand the locals, even if it’s only a few words. There’s some vocabulary that’s especially useful in these cases, such as "left" in Spanish or the four basic map directions. Asking for directions is one of the basic bits of knowledge that you most definitely need every time you travel. Even with Google Maps, you'll probably end up needing a little bit of help at some point during your trip. No battery, no data, or maybe just a complicated place to get to! In any case, it’s better to be safe. Often, when you learn directions in Spanish (or other languages), you learn how to... Show more

Did you know that every noun in Spanish has a gender? Once you learn the words on our Spanish nouns list, and study up on Spanish nouns gender rules, you’ll be able to recognize them and speed up your learning. For even more words, you can check out the Spanish core 100-word list at SpanishPod101! Table of Contents What is a Noun in Spanish? Noun-Adjective Agreement in Spanish Essential Spanish Nouns to Know: Common Spanish Nouns List Conclusion 1. What is a Noun in Spanish? Nouns name or identify a person, animal, place, thing, or idea. Spanish nouns can be singular or plural, but the most important thing you need to know if you’re a Spanish learner is that nouns are always gendered. Let’s dig a little deeper... Show more

Hacer un cumplido, lanzar un piropo, or un halago: to compliment someone in Spanish. Spanish is a Latin language, also known as one of the romance languages. While this doesn’t mean the language is romantic by nature, there are plenty of sweet Spanish compliments you can offer someone to warm their heart. So, how do you say "compliment" in Spanish? Compliments in Spanish are known as piropos, halagos, or cumplidos. If you’re planning to travel to Spain or Latin America, you’ll come across many of those. You’ll be amazed by how we compliment anyone on anything. It’s our way of encouraging each other! Whenever I’m with some foreigner friends around my city, they’re always in awe about how we naturally call anyone guapo or guapa.... Show more

The gender of nouns in Spanish is part of a noun's identity. We won't be able to use a noun correctly without its corresponding article. If English (or another language with genderless nouns) is your first language, you probably freaked out when you found out that nouns have gender in Spanish. We admit that it does sound a little scary at first. But hey, if it makes you feel better, at least Spanish isn’t like German, which has three genders, or like Polish, which has a few more than that. Or Swedish, which has two genders that aren't feminine or masculine. There are many languages that use genders. Fortunately, we only have two genders, and we plan on keeping them. They might not always make sense to a foreigner (I mean, why would a... Show more

Trying to express your feelings is very important, especially if you’re learning a new language. I still remember how frustrating it was when I was trying to express myself in a new language. Sometimes I couldn’t find the words so it was easier just to give up. Well, that’s why we want to put this article out there for you, even if you’re one of those people who never (or almost never) gets angry. There will be a time when you need to express that you are angry in Spanish. Learn how to say "angry" in Spanish, how to express your feelings and when, and most importantly, how to spot when someone is being angry in Spanish toward you. Spanish is a romance language not only because it comes from Latin, but because you can express so many... Show more

On Labor Day, Mexico both commemorates the events leading up to the implementation of the Mexican Constitution of 1917 and takes a day off from the same-old-same-old of work. In this article, you’ll learn more about the origins of this holiday, how to celebrate Labor Day in Mexico, and some useful vocabulary! Let’s get started. 1. What is Labor Day? On the Labor Day holiday, Mexico reflects on the history of labor in the country and celebrates the 1917 Constitution that allowed for better workers’ rights. For many years (particularly in the late nineteenth century), Mexican workers faced the plight of poor working conditions, lower wages than their American counterparts, a lack of respect, and the inability to... Show more