Vokally

In Spanish, SABER and CONOCER both translate as "to know."
But SABER also means "to taste" and in the past it means "to find out."

SABER for information

• No sé dónde dejé las llaves..

SABER + infinitive for skills

• Mi hijo sabe resolver un cubo de Rubik..

SABER for flavors

• ¿A qué sabe ese plato?.

CONOCER for people and places

• ¿Conoces Austin, Texas?.

And in the past, both change

• Supe la noticia esta mañana. → I found out..
• Conocí a mi mejor amigo en el colegio. → I met..
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In Spanish, DEJAR can mean completely different things depending on how you use it.
Let's practice four of the most common meanings.

1. DEJAR as "to leave something somewhere"

• Dejé mi celular en el restaurante. → I left my phone at the restaurant..
• ¿Dejaste tu pasaporte en la casa? → Did you leave your passport at home?.

2. DEJAR as "to drop someone off," or "to leave a person"

• Dejé a mi hijo en la escuela esta mañana. → I dropped my son off at school this morning..
• Ella lo dejó después de 20 años de matrimonio. → She left him after 20 years of marriage..

3. DEJAR as "to quit" and DEJAR DE + infinitive as "to stop doing something"

• Mi hermana dejó su trabajo en marzo. → My sister quit her job in March..
• Dejé de tomar alcohol hace 3 años. → I stopped drinking alcohol 3 years ago..

4. DEJAR as "to let or allow someone to do something"

• Yo no dejo a mi hijo jugar videojuegos entre semana. → I don't let my son play video games on weekdays..
• Mis padres no me dejaban salir de noche. → My parents didn't let me go out at night..

Entonces, DEJAR can mean to leave, to drop off, to stop, to quit, or to let.
All depending on the context.
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Comment an example with DEJAR below, and I'll send you a one-page worksheet to practice.
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In Spanish, when a sentence has two object pronouns, the indirect object (le, les) comes first, and the direct object (lo, la, los, las) comes second.
But there's one combination we never say: LE LO.
When LE or LES meets LO, LA, LOS, or LAS, it turns into SE.
Let's practice:

1. Le di el libro a Ana. → Se lo di. → I gave it to her.
You can also be redundant and say "Se lo di a Ana."

2. Le envié un correo a la directora de la escuela. → Se lo envié. → I sent it to her.
Redundantly: "Se lo envié a la directora de la escuela."

3. Les expliqué las reglas a los estudiantes. → Se las expliqué. → I explained them to them.

4. Le compré los zapatos a mi hijo. → Se los compré. → I bought them for him.

Entonces: LE and LES become SE before lo, la, los, and las.
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Comment an example below, and I'll send you a free guide to practice double object pronouns.
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In Spanish, we have 4 different ways to say "TO BECOME."
Each of them tells you what kind of change you are talking about.
Let's practice:

1. HACERSE, a change about effort or personal choice

• Mi hermano se hizo médico después de años de estudio. → My brother became a doctor after years of study..
• Ella se hizo vegetariana el año pasado. → She became a vegetarian last year..

2. VOLVERSE, a sudden or natural change you don't consciously plan

• Se volvió loco cuando supo la verdad. → He went crazy when he found out the truth..
• Después de mucha práctica, hablar español se volvió natural. → After a lot of practice, speaking Spanish became natural..

3. LLEGAR A SER, a change that focuses on the obstacles to reach the top

• John Ternus llegó a ser el CEO de Apple tras 25 años en la compañía. → John Ternus became the CEO of Apple after 25 years at the company..

4. CONVERTIRSE EN, a complete transformation into something entirely new

• Los libros de Harry Potter se convirtieron en un fenómeno mundial. → The Harry Potter books became a worldwide phenomenon..
• Cristiano Ronaldo se convirtió en una leyenda del fútbol. → Cristiano Ronaldo became a football legend..

Entonces: four verbs, four kinds of change.
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Comment an example below, and I'll send you a free guide to practice all four meanings.
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And book an intro class to start learning with us.
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Spanish has vocabulary words for rain and weather that we use a lot and are rarely taught in classrooms.
Let's practice 5 of them:

1. LLOVIZNAR, to drizzle

• Está lloviznando, no necesitas un paraguas. → It's drizzling, you don't need an umbrella..

2. AGUACERO, downpour

• De repente cayó un aguacero y tuvimos que correr. → A downpour came suddenly, and we had to run..

3. CHARCO, puddle

• Mi sobrino Tomás salta en todos los charcos. → My nephew Thomas jumps in every puddle..

4. LODO, mud

• Los zapatos quedaron llenos de lodo. → The shoes ended up covered in mud..

5. RELÁMPAGO, lightning

• El Relámpago del Catatumbo es un fenómeno natural de mi estado, el Zulia. → Catatumbo Lightning is a natural phenomenon from my state, Zulia..

Entonces: 5 words we use often, and now you can use them too.
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Comment an example below, and I'll send you a free guide with more natural weather vocabulary.
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And if you're ready to speak fluent Spanish, book an intro class with us.
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Spanish has some reflexive verbs that native speakers use quite often, but Spanish students rarely know them.
Here are 4 of them:

1. ASOMARSE, to look out or lean out

• Me asomé por la ventana para ver quién era. → I looked out the window to see who it was..

2. DESVELARSE, to lose sleep or to stay up late

• Me desvelé pensando en la presentación de hoy. → I lost sleep thinking about today's presentation..
• Me desvelé viendo televisión. → I stayed up late watching TV..

3. EMPAPARSE, to get soaked or to soak up a subject

• De repente empezó a llover y me empapé. → It suddenly started to rain, and I got soaked..
• Tenemos que empaparnos de la cultura española antes del viaje. → We have to soak up Spanish culture before the trip..

4. ATRAGANTARSE, to choke on food or drink

• Mi mamá decía: "Come despacio para que no te atragantes." → My mom used to say: "Eat slowly so you don't choke.".
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Entonces: 4 reflexive verbs that we use quite often, and now you can use them too.
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Comment an example below, and I'll send you a free guide to practice more similar reflexive verbs.
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And book an intro class to start learning with us.
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There's one structure Spanish speakers use almost every day when we want to wish someone well.
The structure is QUE + the present subjunctive in the "Tú" form.

Let's practice with a few examples:

• Que tengas un buen día. → Have a good day..
• Que te mejores pronto. → Get well soon..
• Que descanses. → Get some rest..
• Que duermas bien. → Sleep well..
• Que te vaya bien. → May you do well..
• Que la pases bien. → Have a good time..
• Que Dios te bendiga. → God bless you..

Entonces: QUE + subjunctive is how we wish someone well in Spanish.

That QUE comes from an invisible "espero que" or "ojalá que". That's why we use the subjunctive.
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Comment an example below, and I'll send you a free guide to practice more QUE + subjunctive expressions.
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In Spanish, when you "get" a feeling, the verb you use is a reflexive one.
That means you need a reflexive pronoun: ME, TE, SE, NOS, OS.

For example:

• "I get angry" → ME enfado or ME enojo.
• "He gets excited" → Él SE emociona.
• "We get tired" → Nosotros NOS cansamos.

Let's practice with 3 more:

1. MOTIVARSE, to get motivated

• Me motivé a aprender Español después de ver el reel de Vokally. → I got motivated to learn Spanish after seeing Vokally's reel..

2. PREOCUPARSE, to get worried

• Me preocupo cuando mi hijo no me responde los mensajes. → I get worried when my son doesn't reply to my messages..

3. ABURRIRSE, to get bored

• Mi esposa se aburre cuando le hablo de mi trabajo. → My wife gets bored when I talk to her about my job..

Entonces: when you "get" a feeling, the verb is reflexive in Spanish.
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Comment an example below, and I'll send you a quick worksheet to practice.
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In Spanish, SUBIR means "to go up" and BAJAR "to go down," but depending on the context, they can mean several different things.

1. To get in and to get out

• Súbete al carro, ya nos vamos. → Get in the car, we're leaving..
• Bájate del carro, ya llegamos. → Get out of the car, we're here..

2. To load and to unload

• ¿Me ayudas a subir las maletas al carro? → Can you help me load the bags into the car?.
• ¿Me ayudas a bajar las maletas del carro? → Can you help me unload the bags from the car?.

3. To turn up and to turn down

• Súbele el volumen, no escucho nada. → Turn up the volume, I can't hear anything..
• ¡Bájale el volumen! Está muy alto. → Turn down the volume! It's too loud..
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Comment an example below, and I'll send you a quick worksheet to practice.
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Link in bio.

In Spanish, the verb ESTAR changes meaning depending on which past tense you use.

“Yo estaba” means "I was."
“Yo estuve” also means "I was," but the story is different.

ESTABA is the scene.
A state with no beginning and no end.
It expresses what was happening around you.

• Estaba cansado cuando llegué a casa. → I was tired when I got home..
• Estaba en una reunión cuando me llamaste. → I was in a meeting when you called me..

ESTUVE is a closed period. It started, it finished, and you usually say how long.

• Estuve en España dos semanas. → I was in Spain for two weeks..
• Estuve enfermo todo el fin de semana. → I was sick all weekend..

Dos semanas. Todo el fin de semana.
The time has an end, so you use ESTUVE.

And with the gerundio, it's the same:

• Estaba trabajando cuando me llamaste. → I was working when you called me..
• Estuve trabajando toda la noche. → I was working all night..
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There are more verbs like this:

fui / era
hubo / había
tuve / tenía.
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Comment an example with “estuve” or “estaba”, and I'll send you a FREE GUIDE to practice.
—-
Book an intro class to start learning with us.
Link in bio.