Visual Link Spanish(TM) Newsletter - Volume 6 Issue 15

Current # of Subscribers: 164,315

This issue:
1. Testimonial
2. Weekly Spanish Lesson - “Grammar”
3. Words of the Week
4. Ask Dave Section - “The difference between “tu” “tú” and “mi”"mí”"
5. Culture Lesson - “¡Usted habla muy bien!”
6. Responses to Past Newsletters

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Visual Link Spanish(TM) Testimonial –
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Hola

I am so pleased with this course of study. I went to school in Costa
Rica for a month to learn the language and failed miserably….when I
returned home I remembered almost nothing, because I didn’t
‘understand’……now, I am astonished at how fast I am learning, and
how clear the visuals are, and they really help you to ’see’ what is
happening.

Thank you so much…this is really revolutionary!

Paula, California

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Weekly Spanish Lesson—Grammar
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For this week’s lesson, click below to learn some basics in Spanish
grammar. You’ll hear María from Mexico and learn with a fun,
interactive format.

To check it out, click here:
http://www.spanishprograms.com/learn/grammar.htm

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Words of the Week
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Taken from our complete CD-ROM course —–

Monday / eleven / once
Tuesday / twelve / doce
Wednesday / thirteen / trece
Thursday / fourteen / catorce
Friday / fifteen / quince
Saturday / sixteen / dieciséis
Sunday / seventeen / diecisiete

Click Here to login and access your free membership and lessons.
http://www.spanishprograms.com/login.phtml

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The Official “Ask Dave” Section —–
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Question

What is the difference between “tu” and “tú” and “mi” and “mí” and
how do I know when to use them?

Lesson/Explanation

The words “tu” and “mi” (without accents) are possessives (used to
show possession). For example, “tu libro” (your book), “tu dinero”
(your money), “mi casa” (my house) and “mi carro” (my car).

Whether they have accents or not, they are pronounced exactly the
same. You basically need to learn when to put the accent on for
writing purposes. As you have just seen in the examples above, both
words without accents are possessives.

Now let’s add the accents to “tú” and “mí” and see how they are used.
Interestingly, they are not both used in the same context.

The word “tú” simply means “you” (informal - if you are on a
first-name basis with someone). For example, “Tú eres alta” (You are
tall), “Tú corres mucho” (You run a lot) or “Tú lo mereces” (You
deserve it.)

An accent is put on the word “mí” when it follows a preposition. For
example, “Es para mí” (It’s for me), “Depende de mí” (It depends on
(of) me) or “Es de mí” (It’s from me).

Dave

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Culture —– ¡Usted habla muy bien!
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This week I wanted to talk a little about pronunciation. In Spanish,
you could know thousands of words and how to put them together into
sentences, but if you don’t have good pronunciation, you’ll never be
understood. In-fact, your efforts to learn Spanish will have been in
vain.

On the other hand, if you really take the time to learn Spanish
pronunciation, native speakers are so impressed when you speak. You
may not have perfect grammar or a very extensive vocabulary, but if
you have good pronunciation, native speakers will usually say,
“¡Usted habla muy bien!”, or in English “You speak very well!”. The
pronunciation is the key! They’ll think you are a great Spanish
speaker just by having good solid pronunciation skills!

Many people make the mistake of thinking that because they took
Spanish in Junior High, High School, or even College, they
automatically have great pronunciation skills when in-fact, they may
not be understood by a native speaker at all.

As the director of the Institute, I started teaching our course
through Weber State University as an online course for the first time
in January of 2003. At the first of the course, I gave my students a
pronunciation assignment. They had one week to learn our
Pronunciation CD-ROM software and then turn in an audio recording in
Spanish. I was amazed when I listened to them. A few of them had
obviously not practiced with the software, but for the most part, the
students sounded similar to native Spanish speakers.

You don’t have to be a College student to do well in pronunciation,
people of all ages and backgrounds have been able to sound similar to
native speakers by using our program. Now is your chance. By learning
pronunciation now, you can continue with your goal of learning
Spanish!

Moral of the Story: If you want to impress the native Spanish
speakers, the way to do it is to focus on pronunciation. If you sound
good, it doesn’t matter how good your grammar is, they’ll be
impressed.

Sneak peek at next week: Salud, dinero y amor

¡Hasta luego! (”Until later”)

David S. Clark — President / Director
Visual Link Spanish(TM)
Fun, Interactive Spanish Courses
http://www.spanishprograms.com
dave_c@spanishprograms.com

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Responses to Past Newsletters
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Response #1

Dear David,

I refer to the article in the Spanish Newsletter of last week “John
and Jane in English”.. “Fulano in Latin America”.. I would like to
add that in Arab culture people uses “Fulan and Eltan” for examples
just like english and Spanish culture!

Regards,

Cherin

Response #2

Hola Dave

To add to your culture bit about “buen provecho” - in Spain I think
they tend to say “Que aproveche” - ie “may you benefit from your
meal”, and the standard answer if you’re eating and someone says this
to you is “Gracias, ¿Usted quiere?” - thanks, would you like some? -
to which again the standard answer is “No, gracias, ya he comido” -
no thanks, I’ve already eaten. Even in cafes or restaurants, if
someone passes you while you’re eating, they may well say “que
aproveche” and meals always start with this phrase - the equivalent
of French “bon apétit”.

Un próspero año nuevo a todos

Hilary King

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