HELP REQUIRED WITH SPANISH - Page 2

The use of the me ,te and se is a difficult one to explain without getting too wrapped up in the grammar. 

However, I have just had a quick look on the internet for this topic and found a video that  explains it far better than I could do.

The link is as follows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRAqq0tgv_k

Hope it helps

Regards

Richard

Thanks Richard. I will certainly watch it later. Right now, I'm locked in mortal combat with the DVLA, who are telling me that my HGV driving licence has expired and that I need to renew it straight away. And there's me telling them, that I've retired and dont give a shit. Which they are failing to understand. HELP!!!!!

Cheers Lee.

Me too Lee - DuoLingo is great especially the stories (if you have reached that level yet) I do a bit every day and although the Latin American is annoying (acá for aquí and carro for coche etc) my Spanish improves quickly - my other two favourite freebies are ProSpanish short lessons on YouTube and amusing Juan Fernandez (1001 reasons to learn Spanish) - I wonder what other sites people are using to learn Spanish so they can interact with non English speaking locals? I am not 100% sure re the difference of me acuesto and acostarme - obviously an irregular verb as the ‘o’ has been squashed to ‘ue’ so me acuesto might be ‘I am going to bed’ and acostarme ‘I go to bed’ - hopefully Dario will read this and give his usual clear and very useful explanation! 

Aprendimos mucho cuando las respuestas llegan - lo siento si hay errores en mí oración! 

Thank you for the you tube link! Es muy útil 🤓

🤣 Yeah, I was expecting Dario to join in as well. Hes a bit of a genius with espanol.

Thanks for replying anyway. I will certainly follow up your suggestions.

👍

Hi Lee. 

Firstly; I applaud you for getting as far as you have with your Spanish "before" you come to live here. 

My goodness it appears your more advanced than people who've lived here for many years, so well done you.

You asked if for Spanish conversation will people forgive the odd grammatical error... I 100% confirm they will. 

I've lived in Spain for over 20 years and as long as your prepared to have the odd smile as you ask a question                                                    or ask for something...You'll do fine.

Its a wonderful life and speaking the language is a must if you want to enjoy it to its fullest...  Peter

All I can say is thank you so much for your kind words.

The truth of the matter is, I was the worlds  worst scholar. If it didn't interest me, I never bothered, and very little interested me in my school days.

Every bit of useful (to me) knowledge that I've acquired between school and now has been self taught. Also, the opposite attitude to my school days has been applied. It interests, so I'll make an effort.

Moving to Spain is perhaps the best example. I'm here in Arboleas and making it my new home. What possible reason could anyone have not to learn spoken Spanish.

The piece of advice I would offer to people learning any language is to take a "brave pill." By that I mean have the confidence not to give the proverbial about making a cock up. That goes back to what you said about putting a smile on somebody's face at your expense.

It's been my experience with Spaniards, that they may well smile at your mistake, but they will then bend over backwards to help you correct it. I'm now in my 3rd full day and I am blown away at what nice people there are in this area.

Best wishes. Lee

Wow, that's such a great attitude Lee. 

I presently live in Mallorca. I Hope to retire and be around Albox "somewhere " Just as soon as my present home sells...

I've had two sales fall through (for v different reasons) Currently Its a German market here v few Brits are buying this in itself has been a major learning curve. 

We were due to sign along with our German buyers...on Dec 23rd and complete 2nd week of March...They didn't sign.?

These buyers claim they still want the house and are here next week to view..."just one more property"...I'm not holding my breath now, and we have informed the owners of what was to be, our new home of every detail...so...they too are looking for a buyer... I hope v much it's still us, if we can find a buyer soon?

I've been over to the area (house hunting) 3 times now ... always staying in Albox... what's struck me, and its really noticeable, is just how much friendlier the local people are compared to where we've lived the past 20 years...

So, congratulations. I'm jealous, but I'll get there too. 

Kindest regards...Peter

Hi Peter.

Our move was perhaps the absolute opposite of your experience. I also have to tell you that the missus and I fell into the biggest piece of luck ever, on several counts. I'll try and give you the fairly short version.

We came over to Almeria last September with the sole intention of just looking around the area to ensure that this was somewhere we would want to spend our retirement. No intention of looking at property. What's that old saying about the best laid plans? Although the visit wasn't to include property viewing we were still looking at the various estate agencies, and then I saw a house that was, "too good to be true." I told me better half, we have to look at this house because it will serve as a good yardstick to what our money will buy.

One thing led to another and we ended up viewing what is now our home on the day before we flew home. We must have liked it because we went back to view it again the next day, on our way to the airport. this time, there was no agent available to escort us, but the vendors were home and didn't mind showing us around themselves.

After a 2nd look we were hooked on this fabulous house, but still had to sell in the UK to be able to buy in Arboleas. I had a chat with the vendor and told his straight out that we absolutely loved the house and as soon we sold, we would contact the agent to see id it was still for sale. This is where the great luck started. The vendor asked me if we REALLY liked the house? we assured him that we loved it and given different circumstances, we would have got him a bankers draft there and then. "It's yours." he told me. I repeated my situation that I didnt have the proverbial pot, and he repeated that the house was ours. We both repeated ourselves a few more times until he broke the circle by telling me that he was sick and tired of people viewing the house when they clearly had no intention of buying it and he was very happy indeed to proceed with people who actually wanted to buy it.

Three weeks after returning to Essex, we got a buyer who loved our bungalow so much that she offered the asking price there and then of we would withdraw the house from the market.

So, from September 27, when we first viewed our house, until January 15, when we moved in. Three and a half months! All we need now is for our furniture to get here (later this coming week, we're told.)

I wish you the very best of luck and hope you get here soon.

Best wishes. Lee

Wow---well my move to Mallorca went along the same route... in 4 weeks we'd bought here sold our house and both of my business's in the UK. 

UK legal side takes longer ( as we know) but even so 12 weeks later we were living here...My furniture left the day we completed but we stayed in the UK for 10 days with my parents then took an apartment for a month ...( we used it for just over 2 weeks!!)  By then work on our home here was almost complete when the furniture arrived and life took over.

Its been a great 20 years and now I'm ready for my 3rd age to begin, Mallorca is so beautiful but it's one step away from Monte Carlo price wise and we need to pad out that pension pot, property and living is a lot cheaper on the Mainland and i've looked all over southern Spain and for our needs...Albox region will suit us nicely, Though I'll miss having a McDonalds...( I know!! ) 

I've never had any issues buying and selling homes..in Mallorca we've had 3 and in the UK 4...but this time around...everything has been stacked against us inc Brexit, the downturn in the German economy, and the Swedes are simply not buying anywhere ( don't know why) in other words... Our Market has been bereft of all the main buyers...another point...Here in Mallorca during the recession or as the Spanish called it...The Crisis. Property prices here never really dropped...they simply froze...and so we had nothing to tempt buyers...now prices are rising around 10/12% a year with higher percentages forecast...either way better than bank rates...so no...now we have interest, but there is a lot of property on the market between 500'000 and a 1000,000..over 3 million and there is a shortage, so they sell within days...but the bulk of the property available is in our price bracket...wouldn't you know.

Someone will come along and love it and buy it I know, but as my old Mom used to say...If you want to hear God laugh, "Tell him your plans"  

Keep living that dream, best thing we ever did.

Regards ...Peter

PS Its pouring down here and cold...sunny in London !!!!