Spanish and English are surprisingly similar

Tips For Learning Spanish

In my last column, I showed tourists and expat retirees some simple rules for increasing their Spanish vocabulary.

Here are some more useful tips:

Category 4: VERBS

This category is made up of words that end in “ic.” To change them simply add the letter “o.”

IC=ICO For example: the public = el público

  • El Atlántico
  • Automático
  • eléctrico
  • artístico
  • democrático

NOTE: An accent means that you stress a letter: romÁntico

Category 5: VERBS

This group is made up of words that end in “ent” or “ant.” Just add the letter “e” to many of the following and they become Spanish words.

ENT =ENTE

ANT = ANTE

  • el presidente
  • el cliente
  • inteligente
  • conveniente
  • importante

NOTE: Those words that end in ”ent’ or “ant” have an accent next to the last syllable. For example: pre=-si-DEN-te.

Also, the letter “g” is pronounced as “h” like in “hen” when it comes before “e” or “i.” For example “inteligente” is pronounced like “inteliHente.”

¿Comprende? (Do you get the idea?)

Tiquismo or Costa Rica expression of the week: La noche está en pañales. The night is in diapers which means “the night is young.”