General | 4/26 | Ecela Spanish

Vista de Viernes: Guess Where!

Cultural Tidbit (Argentina): Dirty War, during

When you attend Spanish school in Buenos Aires, at some point undoubtedly the political history of the area will be discussed. This might take place in your conversations with locals or classmates. Plus, when you visit the city’s numerous cultural attractions, you will certainly want to make sure that you have some background knowledge about […]

El Modismo del Día: Rey Soy!

Mientras que en mi casa estoy, rey soy. Literally means: While in my house, I am king. The English equivalent is: A man’s home is his castle.

Gerund Flexibility

The gerund is a very flexible part of speech in Spanish when translating it into English. Objective and reflexive pronouns can be attached to the present participle in writing, and an accent mark is written over the a or e of the gerund ending: esperándolo dándomelos viéndolas levantándose The gerund in spanish is usually equivalent to […]

Vista de Viernes: No Whining

Cultural Tidbit (Peru): Alberto Fujimori, el vaso medio vacio

If you are planning to attend a Spanish language program in Peru, it only makes sense to learn about the country’s cultural history. By doing so, you will be in a position where you can better appreciate the region’s political history as well as its various landmarks, museums and buildings. One of the key figures […]

Testimonial: Zachary Dean White

Zachary Dean White – USA Mi experiencia en Buenos Aires y Santiago fue increíble. Yo estuve en Buenos Aires Argentina por 13 meses y en Santiago Chile por 6 meses. Aprendí demasiado español porque los profesores son muy buenos. Los empleados en ambas ciudades son muy amables y útiles. ECELA tiene una combinación perfecta entre […]

Modismo del Día: Más vale el pájaro

Más vale pájaro en mano que cien volando. Literally means: A bird in the hand is worth more than 100 flying. The English equivalent is: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Formation of the Gerund (Present Participle)

The gerund (-ndo form of the verb) corresponds to the -ing form in English. For –ar verbs, the ending is –ando; for -er and -ir verbs, the ending is -iendo. tomar – tomando aprender – aprendiendo escribir – escribiendo -Er and -ir verbs whose stem ends in a vowel use -yendo and not -iendo. caer – cayendo leer – […]