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Improving language

Tongue twisters in Spanish: practise your pronunciation

Tongue twisters are short, fun texts that can be repeated over and over again to improve the pronunciation of words or unions of words that are more difficult. The beauty of tongue twisters is that they are phrases made up of words with similar sounds, which, when put together, are difficult to pronounce fluently, both for native speakers and for those who are not. For this reason, they represent an articulatory challenge for everyone. The challenge is to pronounce them quickly without making any mistakes.

Tongue twisters are usually word games that combine similar phonemes (minimum sound units) frequently enough to create rhymes. They constitute a type of popular literature of an oral nature present in many languages.

Origin of tongue twisters

The origin of tongue twisters is unclear, but some studies place them in Ancient Greece, where the wise men began to use riddles, paradoxes and word games for educational purposes. Greek culture admired the level of knowledge and skill in reading. Therefore, those who managed to pronounce tongue twisters well should dedicate themselves to oratory or intellectual work versus those who should commit themselves to physical work.

Since those who pronounced words correctly were admired for their knowledge and good reading, tongue twisters were an excellent way to learn and develop the mind.

The benefit of tongue twisters

1. They promote reading fluency: The faster you learn to recite them, the greater your fluency when speaking and reading. In addition, it promotes reading fluency and improves reading speed and pauses.

2. Improves vocalisation: Saying a tongue twister forces you to try to properly vocalise each phoneme and letter (especially those which usually show problems, such as ‘r’) in a fun way. It is like speech therapy but in a relaxed environment.

3. They increase vocabulary: Practising words you do not know that are similar to others you already know makes remembering them easier and using them later.

Now that you know more about tongue twisters, let’s see how good you are!

  • “Tres tristes tigres trigo comían en un trigal”
  • “Cuando cuentes cuentos

cuenta cuantos cuentos cuentas,

porque si no cuentas

cuántos cuentos cuentas

nunca sabrás cuántos cuentos sabes contar”.

  • “El rey de Constantinopla

se quiere descontantinopolizar

     aquel lo descontantinopolice

    buen descontantinopolizador será”.

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Improving language

The 40 Most Commonly Used Adjectives In Spanish

Adjectives are words that express the quality of a noun. Spanish adjectives are essential in Spanish grammar to describe objects, people, feelings and sensations.

Bear in mind that the most common adjectives in Spanish are, as a rule, variable words. By this we mean that they agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. They are often accompanied by other words of a different grammatical category, such as adverbs.

Do you need to expand your vocabulary to express yourself better and more fluently? iScribo shows you today which are the most commonly used Spanish adjectives, both informal and formal, with examples so that you can go beyond the borders of the language.

List Of Common Spanish Informal Adjectives

These types of adjectives are the ones we use the most on a daily basis and they are also the easiest to learn when you are a beginner. The description of simple, everyday objects is always accompanied by these adjectives:

1. Bueno/a (good): Este plato está muy bueno (This dish is very good.)

2. Pequeño/a (small, little): La niña pequeña se cayó en el parque (The little girl fell in the park.)

3. Grande (big):El barco grande ha naufragado esta mañana (The big ship has sank this morning.)

4. Bonito/a (beautiful, pretty): Encontrarás la casa bonita al final del parque (You will find the pretty house at the end of the park.)

5. Feo/a (ugly): No debes decirle a la gente si es fea o guapa (You shouldn’t tell people whether they are ugly or pretty.)

6. Nuevo/a (new): La televisión nueva nos está dando problemas (The new TV is giving us problems.)

7. Malo/a (bad):Este ventilador nos ha salido malo (This fan has turned out badly.)

8. Aburrido/a (boring): El libro que me he comprado no es para nada aburrido (The book I bought is not at all boring.)

9. Feliz (happy): Se está criando en un entorno feliz (They are growing up in a happy environment.)

10. Triste (sad): Se ve a leguas que ese chico está triste (You can tell that this boy is sad.)

11. Importante (important): Encontrar tu propósito en la vida es muy importante (Finding your purpose in life is very important.)

12. Lento/a (slow): La trama de esta obra de teatro es lenta, no avanza (The plot of this play is slow, it doesn’t move forward.)

13. Alto/a (tal): El niño alto es la estrella del equipo de baloncesto (The tall boy is the star of the basketball team.)

14. Bajo/a (short): No importa que seas baja, te harás un hueco en el equipo de balonmano (It doesn’t matter that you’re short, you’ll make the handball team.)

15. Cansado/a (tired): No admito que estés cansado como excusa. (I won’t admit that you’re tired as an excuse.)

16. Simpático/a (nice):Una persona simpática tiene cabida en cualquier lugar (A nice person has a place anywhere.)

17. Antipático/a (unpleasant, nasty): Ha resultado ser una persona antipática (They have turned out to be an unpleasant person.)

18. Viejo/a (old): El atril viejo no servirá para el discurso (The old lectern won’t do for the speech.)

19. Difícil (difficult): Nos han puesto un examen difícil (They gave us a difficult test.)

20. Frío/a (cold):Esta casa es fría, necesita calefacción (This house is cold; it needs heating.)

Most Common Formal Adjectives

There are situations in which we need to express ourselves in more formal contexts, or we simply like to use more sophisticated words. Here is a list of the most commonly used formal adjectives.

21. Eficaz (effective):El quitamanchas es eficaz en todos los tejidos (The stain remover is effective on all fabrics.)

22. Notable (remarkable):El calor latente es más que notable (The latent heat is more than remarkable.)

23. Destacado/a (outstanding):El estudiante fue el más destacado en su categoría (The student was the most outstanding in their category.)

24. Significativo/a (significant): No hay cambios significativos en el temario (There are no significant changes in the syllabus.)

25. Ilustre (illustrious): Fue ilustre su presencia en la conferencia (the student’s presence at the conference was illustrious.)

26. Épico/a (epic):Una noche épica sin lugar a duda (An epic night indeed.)

27. Reflexivo/a (reflective):Una persona reflexiva tiene más probabilidad de éxito (A reflective person is more likely to succeed.)

28. Cordial (cordial):Fue el más cordial oponente al que me enfrenté (He was the most cordial opponent I have ever faced.)

29. Consistente (consistent): La textura consistente de la salsa fue la clave del plato (The consistent texture of the sauce was the key to the dish.)

30. Sagaz (sagacious):Su actitud sagaz le dio la victoria (His sagacious attitude gave him victory.)

31. Pulcro/a (neat):No me importaría tener un animal pulcro (I wouldn’t mind having a neat pet.)

32. Grato/a (pleasant):Su presencia grata me alegró la jornada (Their pleasant presence made my day.)

33. Intachable (impeccable):Los visitantes manifestaron un comportamiento intachable (The visitors showed impeccable behaviour.)

34. Imparcial (impartial):En estas competiciones, se nota que los árbitros son imparciales (In these competitions, you can tell that the referees are impartial.)

35. Respetable (respectable):Tus ideas políticas son respetables, mas no las comparto (Your political ideas are respectable, but I don’t share them.)

36. Preciso/a (accurate):En tu trabajo has de ser precisa (In your work, you must be accurate.)

37. Reservado/a (reserved):Se trata de una persona de carácter reservado (This is a person with a reserved character.)

38. Disciplinado/a(disciplined):Los jóvenes del instituto son disciplinados (The young people at school are disciplined.)

39. Convincente (convincing):No me parece un argumento convincente (I don’t find this argument convincing.)

40. Versátil (versatile): Las bolsas reciclables tienen propiedades versátiles (Recyclable bags have versatile properties.)

iScribo & Grammar

Adjectives deserve special consideration because of their importance in language. Here we have basically dealt with some aspects regarding their understanding. In terms of usage, adjectives have different functions depending on their context. For example, to emphasise the action or highlight the value of the noun they modify, you can put the adjective before the noun. iScribo corrects the use of written Spanish in real time. If you have doubts about how to write a sentence, use our spelling and grammar checker. Find out how to use this powerful tool and how to get the most out of it here.

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Improving language

10 Amazing Benefits of Learning Another Language

Have you ever wondered what are the advantages of learning languages? There are many reasons and benefits of learning another language, not only for work but also for personal reasons. Learning languages opens your opportunities to travel, to meet new people and to immerse yourself in interesting and different cultures.

Many years ago, learning different languages was thought to confuse the brain and hinder cognitive development. Fortunately, science has shown that this is not correct and that, on the contrary, learning languages gives us much more than it takes away. Like everything in life, it has its disadvantages, but the only one we can find is the time and effort you have to consume when learning, but is this a real disadvantage? Pushing ourselves to improve and learn develops us as people and fills us with motivation and opportunities. That’s why iScribo brings you today 10 benefits of learning another language, but there are many more!

1. Your Brain Increases Your Limits

The benefits of learning another language for the brain are more than proven. By learning a second language, the language centres of our brain expand, and the more we learn, the more areas of the brain grow. The brain is a muscle, when you train it, it grows and gets stronger.

2. Your Competences at Work Improve

The benefits of learning another language for work are obvious. You will have more opportunities than other candidates and your salary could be higher as you have more skills. Work travel increases and so do your chances of growing within a company. It is proven!

3. Increased Travel Opportunities

Not only for work but knowing the language will encourage you to travel more and break the barriers of your knowledge. Travelling is always a pleasure, or it is most of the time, so what could be better than speaking the language of the country you are going to? You will discover new and more interesting facts than people who don’t speak the local language, and that’s right! For example, it opens doors to meet new people from other cultures.

4. Benefits for Your Health

By exercising the main areas of your brain, learning languages slows down the progression of diseases such as Alzheimer’s or dementia. Incredible, right? This is because speaking languages keeps your brain healthy and we are inadvertently forcing it to exercise without even knowing it.

5. Improves Your Communication Skills

Your communication skills are clearly strengthened when you speak several languages. By doing so, your brain will find the best way to communicate – by practice and experience, there is no doubt.

6. Develops Your Hearing Capability

Your senses are on alert when they are out of their comfort zone. This is precisely what happens when you learn foreign languages – your hearing is sharpened by the mere instinct to try to hear better. The same happens with the rest of your senses with other activities, like a surgeon after years of practice with a scalpel.

7. Improve Your Instinct

Elementary, my dear Watson. Once you learn and master a second language, it is incredibly easier to learn a third and then a fourth. This explains the advantages of learning a foreign language from a young age. Being bilingual since the day you were born matters!

8. Increases Your Personal Development

Everyone has concerns about what is next in life at some point, and I’m sure that at least once it has crossed your mind to pack your suitcase and start from scratch in another country. Knowing the target language gives us that push we need to calm our concerns and grow as people. Knowing a language puts an end to the ‘what ifs’.

9. You Make Better Decisions

When we think in a foreign language, we reduce the possibility of falling into cognitive biases. Our capacity for analysis is quicker and rational decision-making is superior. This reason is definitely a winner!

10. Improves Your Attention

The ability to pay attention is proportional to the effort we make to learn, another fact we bring you today. When we learn a new language, we pay more attention to making the process go faster. This creates a habit – or rather a virtue – that we apply to other aspects of life.

Learning Languages With AI

iScribo is a tool that corrects your Spanish as you write. Artificial intelligence plays a crucial role in the way we learn languages, why don’t we make the most of it to apply it to our profit? Our spelling and grammar checker uses all the advantages that artificial intelligence offers us. We have shown you ten reasons why you shouldn’t waste any more time and start learning new languages. We can think of others, such as meeting new people and expanding into different cultures. Can you tell us any other benefits of learning another language you can think of? Tell us in the comments.

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Improving language

Best Way to Avoid Anglicisms in the Spanish Language

Do you know what anglicisms are? According to the RAE, an anglicism in Spanish is a word that is used in English to express something that could be said in Spanish. For example, start-up instead of ‘empresa emergente’ or remake instead of ‘nueva versión’or ‘adaptación’.

Nowadays, the use of anglicisms is overrated and is often totally unnecessary in Spanish discourse because there are equivalents in this language. The indiscriminate use of English voices not only impedes the proper understanding of the text but also alters the functioning of Spanish as a language.

Anglicisms Accepted by the Spanish RAE

The RAE has accepted and included in the Spanish vocabulary anglicisms that, due to their use, have become part of the language. This is due to the evolution of the language itself:

Chat, plotear or candidatar

Al llegar al trabajo, enciendo el chat para hablar con mis compañeros.

(When I get to work, I sign in the chat to talk to my colleagues.)

There are other anglicisms that have adapted their spelling, such as ‘rugbi’, but many people still write rugby. In this case, the RAE recommends that we write the word in italics when, for whatever reason, we decide not to adapt it.

The RAE allows anglicisms if the text requires their use due to its characteristics, for example if it is related to marketing or if it is a very specific technical text, the anglicism will be in italics.

Whenever possible, we will try to introduce the equivalent word in English and the anglicism in brackets so that, from then on, only the English equivalent is included in the text.

For example:

En Inglaterra, las escuelas se enfrentan a una ola de noticias falsas (fake news) que perjudican al alumnado. Estas noticias falsas están a la orden del día.

(In England, schools are facing a wave of fake news that harms pupils. Fake news is the order of the day.)

How to Avoid Anglicisms

When an English word comes to mind when speaking in Spanish, stop and think about whether it is necessary to use that anglicism. Surely there is a Spanish word you can use instead.

For example, we are going to suggest some alternatives in this sentence:

NO:

¡Me has hecho un spoiler del final del capítulo!

(You gave me a spoiler for the end of the chapter!)

YES:

¡Me has fastidiado/destripado el final del capítulo!

If you can’t find any Spanish words, you can use the quick search tool of the RAE or the Fundéu, I assure you that someone else has had the same doubt before you and the solution is just a click away.

Make a ‘lluvia de ideas’ (and not a brainstorming)

The brain is a muscle and, like any muscle, you have to train it to get used to it and to make it perform tasks effortlessly. With this theory, you can avoid the use of unnecessary anglicisms in Spanish.

Speak, stop, think and use alternative words. If you are writing, remember that iScribo detects unnecessary anglicisms and suggests alternatives so that you can write correct Spanish. This is also a sure-fire way to learn. Which anglicisms in the Spanish language do you think are more integrated into this language? Tell us in the comments.

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Improving language

Spanish Christmas Words and Capitalisation Tips

The most festive time of the year is approaching and any Spanish Christmas you write must be up to the task.

Today iScribo shows you the best Spanish Christmas words and greetings without making the typical mistakes during this time of year.

Common Nouns and Adjectives in Lowercase

All adjectives are written in lowercase, even if it is Christmas! Bear in mind that all words have to follow the standard grammatical rules, for example, at the beginning of a sentence or after a full stop, in that case, the word has to be capitalised.

We say “feliz Navidad” (Merry Christmas) and “próspero Año Nuevo” (Happy New Year).

The adjective “navideño” is also written in lowercase.

El equipo de iScribo os desea una feliz Navidad y un próspero Año Nuevo.

(The iScribo team wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.)

Esperamos que en las festividades navideñas seáis muy felices.

(We hope you will be very happy during the Christmas holidays.)

Navidad o navidad?

The names of festivities are written in capital letters as they are proper nouns and have to follow the rules of the Spanish Academy (RAE).

When we talk about the period of the festivity, it is possible to write it in lowercase:

Recuerda estas navidades que, si bebes, mejor ir en taxi y no conducir.

(Remember this Christmas that, if you drink, it is better to take a taxi and not to drive.)

We would then write Navidad (Christmas), Año Nuevo (New Year) and Nochevieja (New Year’s Eve).

Me he comprado un vestido rojo para Nochebuena.

(I bought a red dress for Christmas Eve.)

Al Fin de Año lo llamamos Nochevieja.

(We call New Year’s Eve Nochevieja.)

Proper Nouns, Capitalised

Niño Jesús and Jesús are proper nouns, so they should be written with a capital letter.

As for the plural, it is formed according to the rules for compound nouns, so it would be Niños Jesús and not Niños Jesuses.

The same applies to Papá Noel, which we would write in the plural Papás Noel and not Papás Noeles.

However, if we talk about the most Christmas-like man internationally as an ornament or as a doll, we will write it all together and in lower case, as it is a common noun:

Hay un concurso de papanoeles en el centro.

(There is a Santa’s contest in the city centre.)

Avoid Anglicisms

Let’s take care of Spanish language! Use Spanish words whenever you can.

For Christmas, we write a tarjeta de Navidad and not a Christmas or a crismas.

The same goes for Father Christmas, who is called Papá Noel, San Nicolás, Santa Claus, Santa Clos or Viejito Pascuero, depending on which Spanish-speaking country you are in. However, we will not say Santa Klaus or Papa Noël.

Esperamos la llegada de Papá Noel con mucha ilusión.

(We await the arrival of Father Christmas with great excitement.)

iScribo and Christmas Vocabulary Words in Spanish

There are many other writing tips to improve your writing, such as writing Nochebuena y Nochevieja as one word, which although they can be written as two separate words, is highly recommended to write them as one.

There are also other interesting expressions that you can learn en vísperas (while we wait for) Christmas Eve. No one better than the Fundéu and the RAE to guide you through the process. Remember that iScribo helps you to use capital letters correctly and improve your Christmas writing for when you want to wish your loved ones the best Christmas greetings.

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Improving language

How AI Can Help You Improve Your Written Spanish

Artificial intelligence (AI) and the NPL language were born to make our lives easier. Through a system powered by algorithms, we can save time, resources and money when writing documents in Spanish.

The image that a text gives about the person who writes it can determine important decisions at work, academic or personal level.

With the help of technology and advances in this field, it is possible to make fewer and fewer typos and grammatical mistakes. iScribo is a corrector that works with artificial intelligence and tells you in real-time if you have written something wrong, as well as giving you suggestions to improve your communication.

Learn more about AI and how it has become the star component of iScribo in this article.

What are NPL and AI?

Artificial intelligence and natural language processing (NLP) are two branches of data science. In other words, it is the field of study that encompasses human language through machines.

As you can see, AI and NLP work together with other sciences depending on their purpose. For iScribo, there are other sciences that come into play, for example linguistics, which teaches the rules of Spanish language for AI to create algorithms.

To learn, artificial intelligence feeds on experience. The more data it has, which it collects through algorithms and rules, the more accurate it can become.

With the help of these technologies, machines can be trained to perform specific tasks, which process amounts of data by creating patterns. The more this tool is used and fed, the more it will learn and the more accurate it will become.

How does it work?

iScribo’s artificial intelligence uses machine learning algorithms to identify the typos and other mistakes you make when writing in Spanish and correct them. iScribo benefits from this science in more ways than one, as it also suggests synonyms and improves the register and tone of your document.

Thanks to the context, even if you haven’t made any mistakes in your writing, iScribo’s AI improves the writing of your document to a higher level. When you write a word, the AI has already learned the word’s associations, so it will know exactly what needs to go with it – even before you write it!

To give you an idea, the “brain” of a computer simulates the structure of the human brain, with a number of connections, which would be our neurons, so that everything works correctly.

Why do we need AI?

Artificial intelligence brings us countless advantages. One of them is the precision it achieves through the neural networks of which it is composed.

Another is that AI provides greater intelligence to elements that already existed. Basic spelling and grammar checkers have always existed, but AI makes them faster and more efficient.

It also automates learning with a large amount of data in a reliable way. Whether machines will be able to replace humans will be discussed another day, but human research is vital for AI to work.

AI also makes as much use as possible of the data it collects. We call this self-learning and it works in the same way as it does in people. The things we have learned in the past help us to make better decisions in the present and to perform tasks in an optimised way.

The last one we are going to mention in this post is that AI allows the collected data to be programmed thanks to progressive learning algorithms. So if you write ojalá pude ir a la fiesta, iScribo will automatically tell you that the correct thing to say would have been ojalá hubiera podido ir a la fiesta.

Take Advantage of the Benefits of Technology

As rational animals, we are always looking for ways to improve our quality of life and reduce everyday tasks so that we can spend more time on what really matters. AI and NPL have come into our lives to make it easier. Use iScribo’s spelling and grammar checker to improve the standard of your documents, whether it’s an email, a university paper or your company’s newsletter. Benefit from the privileges that artificial intelligence offers us and stop committing typos and other grammar errors in Spanish!

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Improving language

2 Easy Tips to Sound Like a Native Spanish Speaker

When learning a language, such as Spanish, you may be very conscious that your accent sounds like that of a natural Spanish speaker.

Even though the pronunciation is relatively simple in comparison to English, several small details may give you away when speaking with a fluent Spanish speaker.

So, how can you sound more natural?

You can enhance your accent and speech. You don’t have to be a gringo for the rest of your life. With the 2 suggestions below, you’ll be sounding like a natural Spanish speaker in no time.

Do you consider it difficult to learn Spanish? iScribo can help you.

Are you ready to start speaking the Spanish language in its truest form?

1. Remove the Pronouns

You may already be aware that subject pronouns are optional in Spanish. Native English speakers, on the other hand, prefer to continue using pronouns since they are used to the subject-verb sentence sequence.

To be honest, dropping the pronouns seems strange at first. However, if you use the subject pronoun in every sentence, it may be a clear indication that you are not a native speaker.

The use of subject pronouns is technically correct but it is more customary to eliminate them when the subject is apparent from the verb conjugation or earlier context hints.

You may simply omit the pronoun while still being understood. Other pronouns with shared conjugations, like usted, él, and ella, may need to remain in the phrase unless it’s obvious who you’re talking about.

Instead of: Yo quiero comer tacos.

Say: Quiero comer tacos.

(I want to eat tacos.)

Instead of: Sarah va a llegar tarde. Ella está con su familia.

Say: Sarah va a llegar tarde. Está con su familia.

(Sarah is going to be late. She’s with her family.)

Instead of: Nosotros hemos ahorrado para el viaje.

Say: Hemos ahorrado para el viaje.

(We’ve saved for the trip.)

You don’t always have to remove the pronouns. Listening to a native Spanish speaker is very handy here.

The subject pronouns are most often employed to emphasise a person or to provide clarification.

2. Concentrate on Pronunciation

The pronunciation of Spanish is simple. Each letter has one sound, and that sound is always the same! Isn’t it simple?

In principle, Spanish pronunciation is simple, but it’s difficult to imagine letters, especially vowels, sounding any different from what you’ve been pronouncing in English for years.

Letter R

The Spanish R is pronounced differently than the English R, you need to pay more attention to touching your tongue to the area just behind the alveolar ridge. You should put more attention to rolling your Rs.

Letter D

The Spanish D, like the English D, has a difficult pronunciation at the beginning of words. D is pronounced as [ð], the same sound you make when you pronounce the word father.

This difference may be seen by listening to native Spanish speakers and repeating their pronunciation. Take note of words that finish in -idad and pay attention to how soft the sound is.

Instead of: dedo – [day-doh]

Say: dedo – [day – tho]

Instead of: oportunidad – [oh-pohr-toon-ee-dad]

Say: oportunidad – [oh-pohr-toon-ee-thath]

Vowels

One of the first things you undoubtedly learned in class was the Spanish vowels. However, since we are so used to the 20 English vowel sounds, sticking to the five Spanish vowels might be challenging.

In English, for example, words that finish in vowels are prolonged and have varied intonation. The word “no” has a long “o” sound, and your voice may rise and fall as you say it. In Spanish, the reverse is true. Except for diphthongs and triphthongs, the vowels are short and never change.

Also, depending on where the vowel appears in the word, English vowels such as O and U have numerous pronunciations.

Because we are used to these pronunciations, switching to consistent Spanish vowels, particularly in words that look like English terms, may be difficult.

Let’s take a look at oportunidad. The first O in English sounds more like an A. The Spanish O, on the other hand, is usually oh.

Instead of: oportunidad – [ah-pohr-tyoon-ee-dahd]

Say: oportunidad – [oh-pohr-toon-ee-dahd]

Instead of: no – [nooo]

Say: no – [noh].

Learn Spanish

Practice makes perfect. Nobody said it was easy to learn Spanish but if you learn basic rules and use them often, your brain will get used to speaking without having to think. There you have it. The road to sounding like a natural Spanish speaker may be long, but it is well worth it.

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Improving language

How To Write In Spanish – 4 Tips To Ace Your Spanish Writing

You may be scared of learning how to write in Spanish since you’ve undoubtedly blushed, sweated, scratched your head, or shed tears when learning the fundamentals of the language.

Writing in Spanish is enjoyable, and believe it or not, a little amount of regular writing practice can significantly accelerate your learning progress.

Contrary to popular belief, most individuals find learning how to write in Spanish to be a relief. When compared to other languages, it isn’t that dissimilar to writing in English, and many aspects are substantially simpler to grasp.

Here are 4 tips to get you started quickly on the correct route to Spanish writing in no time.

1. Begin with Spelling

If English is your first language, you’re in good company when it comes to spelling, since learning to spell in English is a mystery.

Why do the words “cough,” “through,” and “dough” not rhyme? Why do we have so many double letters, and why do vowels sound so different?

Fortunately, spelling in Spanish is much more straightforward than spelling in English.

This may seem too good to be true, but written words in Spanish are meant to resemble how they sound! There are many fewer instances of silent letters, duplicate letters, or spellings for the same sounds.

Also, no matter what other letters are around it, each vowel has its distinct sound.

There are several resources to assist you with your Spanish study, whether you are a total novice or not.

iScribo assists in your Spanish writing in real-time. It will assist you with syntax, grammar, spelling, and sentence formation to name a few.

2. Work on Your Grammar

In English, you can’t speak one word out of place in a phrase without someone noticing and may be referring to you as Yoda. Even though it is valid grammar, we must accept that we have a pretty rigid syntax for what is deemed standard in contemporary English.

In this regard, Spanish is a friendlier language. In phrases, at least two or three orders are normally regarded as appropriate.

When it comes to grammar, things that worry us in English are made a lot easier in Spanish. Word order, punctuation, and capitalisation are significantly simpler to master.

Of course, there’s still a lot to learn, as well as certain issues that aren’t covered in English, such as gender. There’s a lot to learn about verb tenses, irregularities, and mood.

It won’t be difficult to get started with the correct resources and a little assistance. There are several methods for studying the fundamentals of Spanish grammar. Picking up or borrowing a textbook is one of the simplest, cheapest, and most effective methods to get started.

And once you have a good grasp of Grammar you can use iScribo to double-check if your Spanish grammar is correct or not.

3. Capitalise

Capitalisation is another source of comfort in Spanish.

At times, capitalising words in English may be both excessive and misleading. We continually must judge if something is suitable or not to determine whether it is worthy of a capital letter.

Capitalising in Spanish is a lot easier. For starters, the following words are not capitalised in Spanish as they are in English: Weekdays, months, religions, languages, and nationalities. All of them are preserved in lowercase.

In other circumstances, such as titles, just a little amount of capitalisation is employed. When writing down a movie or book title, just the first word of the title is capitalised, while every subsequent word is left lowercase.

Another situation in which just partial capitalisation is used is when referring to a proper noun. Only the particular name is capitalised, with the remainder of the title remaining in lowercase. Mount Everest, for example, would be monte Everest in Spanish.

4. Master the Punctuation

While it isn’t very harsh, there is a little variation in how we punctuate sentences in English and Spanish.

The inclusion of upside-down question marks and exclamation points is the most visible alteration. When asking a question in Spanish, it must begin with an upside-down question mark. As an example:

¿Qué hora es? (What time is it?)

Exclamatory sentences follow the same logic. As an example:

¡Dios mío! (My God!)

The Bottom Line

While certain aspects of the language may be difficult to grasp, Spanish writing is not that difficult.

With these considerations in mind, try to write in Spanish and attempt to include some reading into your daily life. It’s as simple as turning on your TV’s Spanish subtitles or picking up a Spanish magazine. Continue your studies and ¡buena suerte!

Categories
Improving language

How To Learn Spanish Fast – 5 Tips You Wish You Knew Before

iScribo will teach you how to learn Spanish fast in this post. These are tried-and-tested tactics that will have you speaking Spanish in no time.

  • Without relocating overseas
  • Without having to give up your career to study full-time
  • And without marrying a Spaniard… at least not yet!

Please keep in mind that this is a strenuous workout.

You’ll have to put in a lot of effort, and it may not be for you.

However, if you are ready to put in the work, the benefits will be well worth it.

Before we get into the recommendations, let’s take a step back and think about what you’ll need to do to be successful.

To begin, don’t make the mistake of believing that you can’t learn Spanish quickly.

It is doable, and many experienced language learners will attest to this. And you don’t have to spend a fortune on Spanish lessons or sophisticated learning tools to accomplish it.

But you’ll need some direction (which is why we are here).

Let’s have a look at how to accomplish that.

1. Develop a Large Spanish Vocabulary

Words are the foundation of a language.

Nothing else counts if you don’t know enough vocabulary when you start learning Spanish.

Now, the best method to build a large vocabulary in Spanish over time is to study as you go.

As a result, some general advice is to attempt to utilise Spanish in everyday situations and focus on acquiring the precise words and phrases that you find most helpful.

However, due to the time constraints here, you must take a more direct path.

Here’s the deal.

According to studies of Spanish word frequency, the 1,000 most frequently used words in Spanish account for 87.8 percent of all spoken Spanish.

This implies that you just need to study around 1,000 words to comprehend the great bulk of what you hear in Spanish.

2. Take a Spanish Self-Study Course

A solid Spanish for beginners course is typically the most effective approach to learning the fundamentals since all of the crucial information is set out for you in an easily consumable manner.

Most essential, ensure that the course you choose has lots of dialogues and includes both audio and text so you can enhance your listening skills and learn to comprehend genuine spoken Spanish.

3. Don’t Get Obsessed With Spanish Grammar

One of the most common pitfalls for beginning Spanish students is the desire to polish their Spanish grammar.

While it is vital to master the fundamentals, you may go pretty far with just a rudimentary understanding of grammar since Spanish sentence form is often comparable to English.

And you don’t have to master every nuance of Spanish grammar to converse effectively.

We don’t want to downplay the significance of grammar in Spanish. The main danger is that you will get so preoccupied with grammatical rules that the rest of your studies will come to a standstill.

So, spend some time learning the fundamentals of the Spanish language in the first few chapters of your course or textbook, but then move on.

And as far as learning Spanish grammar goes, you can rely on a very powerful real-time Spanish grammar corrector iScribo.

It will hold your hand and make you not make any grammar mistakes and decrease your learning curve drastically.

4. Read as Much Spanish as Possible

Because you lack vocabulary as a total beginner, you will find it difficult to read much.

However, as soon as you’re ready, you should make reading Spanish a daily habit.

You’ll rapidly expand your vocabulary and master grammar naturally. To check your grammar is correct refer back to iScribo.

5. Make Spanish a Part of Your Daily Life

The next piece of advice may come off as a little trite. However, it is significantly more crucial than you would believe when it comes to the best way to learn Spanish.

If you’ve been studying Spanish for three months, it’s going to seem like a chore at times.

There will be moments when you simply want to relax in front of the television.

So, the more you can change your mindset towards learning Spanish from something you have to make time to do as part of your regular life, the less stress you’ll experience and the more progress you’ll achieve.

How do you incorporate Spanish into your daily life?

  • Get your daily intake of television, news, and so on in Spanish rather than English.
  • Participate in local Spanish societies and activities.
  • Participate in Spanish-language courses (yoga, dancing, sketching, etc.).
  • Attend local language exchange activities and practise with others.

What we’re talking about here is replacing tasks that you could normally conduct in English with counterparts in Spanish. It’s one of my favourite techniques of learning.

All of the additional exposure you receive over two or three months will quickly mount up and truly help you become acquainted with the language in use.

This is what will finally assist you in learning Spanish swiftly and simply.

How to Learn Spanish Fast – Bottomline

As you can see, learning Spanish quickly necessitates some effort. But it’s not impossible. The key is to keep focused on the big picture strategies that will genuinely help you learn and speak the language.

And lastly, to double-check your Spanish writing or grammar, I highly recommend you to use our tool, it will make your life easier.

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