Language Learners

2 men in a cafe clasping hands in greeting, red wine on table

Learning French: Wishing others well

Bon appétit, bon voyage, bonne chance… French is a language full of phrases to wish others well, so much so that many are used frequently in English. Whether you want to mark a special occasion, offer your congratulations, or simply wish someone all the best, you’ll want to know what… Read More
woman in orange jumper looking up, and with her fingers crossed

Spanish word of the week: suerte

la suerte NOUN luck “Luck be a lady tonight” is a famous line from a song, and for Spanish speakers luck, la suerte, is as important as it is for English speakers. Sometimes la suerte is kind to us: Tuvo muchísima suerte de salir del accidente. He… Read More
a man in black and white striped t-shirt holding an empty picture frame over his face

Spanish word of the week: cuadro

el cuadro NOUN painting; picture; table, chart Cuadro means both a painting, as in: un cuadro de Picasso a painting by Picasso ¿Quién pintó ese cuadro? Who did that painting? and also any kind of picture, either a reproduction or an original: Hay varios cuadros en la… Read More
a yellow post-it with better the devil you know written on it

Spanish word of the week: valer

valer VERB to cost; to be worth You’ll probably already know the first meaning, as in: ¿Cuánto vale? How much does it cost? Another very useful construction is más vale… followed by a verb in the infinitive, or in the subjunctive, meaning it would be better to…,… Read More
a blue rosette showing first place and a red rosette showing second place

Spanish word of the week: puesto

el puesto NOUN place; position, job; stall Puesto means place in specific contexts. It’s often used when talking about rankings, especially in sport: la lucha por el primer puesto the fight for first place El Telediario-2 ocupa el segundo puesto con 3,3 millones. Telediario-2 is in second… Read More

Asking about places to stay in English

Our last article showed you how you could tell people your name and how to say what you do. Moving the conversation further along, a simple way to ask for information about places to stay or live is to start your sentence with Is … ? Is it expensive?… Read More
old black and white etching showing men in medieval clothes looking out to sea from a boat

Spanish word of the week: historia

historia NOUN history; story In English the meanings of history and story often overlap. In fact they come from the same Latin word, historia (which, in turn, comes from the Greek ἱστορία). Spanish historia has kept the two meanings together under the umbrella of the Latin word… Read More

Telling people your name and what you do in English

Our last article helped you to talk about places to live or to stay when you are away from home. When you are looking for somewhere to live or stay, you may have to talk about yourself. To say what your name is, use I’m … or My name’s …… Read More
Woman sitting on a grey sofa taking to her friend sitting opposite her

Learning German: Making sure you’ve understood

When learning a language, our understanding of what’s being said normally comes before our ability to be able to speak the language and become confident enough to contribute to the conversation. The use of gestures and visual clues often allow us to get the gist of a sentence. That said,… Read More

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