I just saw this YouTube video mentioned on openculture. It outlines the different tools available to learn a foreign language broken into 3 categories:

1. Podcasts
2. Online Classes
3. Downloadable Programs

There were a few places I had not checked out, and will have to see if they are worthwhile. Check out the video and see what you think.

Practical Spanish Grammar - pg 119

What is a reflexive verb? I honestly had no idea before beginning to learn Spanish. The object of a reflexive verb is the same person or thing as the subject. We have them in English but I don’t think they are ever called out as such, we just use them ‘reflexively’.

Robert sees himself. - this is reflexive - Roberto se ve.

Robert sees her. - this is not reflexive - Roberto la ve.

In English the reflexive is many times used only for emphasis. For example you could say, Did you wash? or Did you wash yourself? but in Spanish the reflexive verb lavarse is required, Te lavaste?

In English the reflexive pronoun always follows the verb and is formed by adding -self and -selves. But in Spanish, just like direct and indirect object pronouns, reflexive pronouns can only precede a conjugated verb but they can be attached to the end of an infinitive.

Yo me voy a lavar. (I am going to wash myself.)

Yo voy a lavarme. (I am going to wash myself.)

Se is the reflexive pronoun for all third-person subjects, both singular and plural. Only context can differentiate.

Ella se divierte. (She amuses herself.)

Ellos se divierten. (They amuse themselves.)

Note: With the addition of the reflexive pronoun, we have seen that some verbs, such as lavar (to wash), take on a reflexive meaning, lavarse (to wash oneself). With other verbs, such as ir (to go), the reflexive form, irse (to go away), have a different, non-reflexive meaning. And still other verbs, such as jactarse (to boast), only have a reflexive forms.

Practical Spanish Grammar pg 116

I understand direct objects pretty well from high school. A direct object is the noun or pronoun that the verb directly acts upon, completing the meaning of the verb. And the Spanish usage seemed a little more complicated, but not unmanageable, that is until you start mixing in indirect object pronouns and reflexive pronouns.

In English the direct object nouns and pronouns always follow the verb. In Spanish, the direct object pronoun precedes the conjugated verb but may either precede or follow an infinitive verb or present participle (the form of the verb that ends in -ndo, often the equivalent of English verbs that end in “-ing”). The direct object follows an affirmative command but always precedes a negative command. When following the verbs, the direct object is always attached to it, forming one word.

Usted me entiende. (You understand me.)

Quiero verte. = Te quiero ver. (I want to see you.)

Estoy ayudándote = Te estoy ayudando (I am helping you.)

¡Dígame! (Tell me!)

Personal & Impersonal Direct Objects

In Spanish, if the direct object is a person or personified object the preposition a precedes the direct object.

Veo la casa. (I see the house.)

Veo a la niña. (I see the girl.)

If the person is indefinite, the a is omitted, “depersonalizing” the direct object and treating it more like a thing.

Veo al médico. ( I see the doctor.)

Necesito médico. (I need medical help.)

Demonstrative Adjectives

Demonstrative Adjectives are a special kind of ‘limiting’ adjective that modifies the nouns location in time or space:

I liked those things we had yesterday.

I liked those things over there.

The English demonstratives are unusual in that there are different words for the single and plural form of the modifier as is common in Spanish:

this & these

that & those

In English there are two modifiers; one for near items, this and another for far items, that. Spanish has three modifiers, one set for items near the speaker, este, a second for items near the listener, ese, and a third for items not near either the speaker or listener, aquel (maybe equivalent to the English yonder?). These distinctions plus the three distinct gender forms gives Spanish 15 forms of the modifier compared to the 4 in English.

It is interesting that the singular ‘neuter’ form uses the -o ending that usually marks an adjective as ‘male’.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Whereas the demonstrative adjectives above modify a noun by identifying which ‘thing’ you are talking about, demonstrative pronouns replace the noun altogether just like any other pronoun. In this form the Spanish demonstrative always takes an accent on the penultimate (2nd to last) syllable. This accent does not change the pronunciation since this is also the syllable that would naturally be accented but are used merely to distinguish adjectives and pronouns. (Such accents are known as orthographic accents.)

These books are cheaper than those.

Estos libros son mas baratos que ésos.

In English the singular form in not readily used as a pronoun so ‘one’ is added to replace the noun but is not needed in Spanish.

This book is cheaper than that one.

Este libro es mas barato que ése.

In Spanish the neuter form is almost always used as a pronoun since there are no neuter nouns for it to modify.

Qué es éso?