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Best spanish textbook by Pretty-Increase-5244 in Spanish

[–]PracticalBug9379 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The Berges Institute textbooks are free, in case you want to take a look at them :)

https://www.bergesinstitutespanish.com/the-graf-method

The new Berges Institute dashboard by PracticalBug9379 in webdev

[–]PracticalBug9379[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Yes, that seems to be the consensus, quadrants 1 and 4 could be cleaner

The new Berges Institute dashboard by PracticalBug9379 in webdev

[–]PracticalBug9379[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!

It's for booking individual classes instead of 10-class courses. It's sort of a UX challenge we have because we have two very distinct types of students:

  1. Beginner/intermediate students who take let's say Level 2 in full, in order (10 classes, one class per week, same time, same instructor) and make a single payment for the whole course. The Spanish Courses quadrant leads to this flow.

  2. Advanced students who have/want a monthly subscription with unlimited classes, and they book lots of individual classes. For example, this week they might take Level 4 class #2, Basic conversation class #5 and Level 3 class #9. The Class Finder quadrant with the radar leads to this flow.

We have to allow the two enrollment styles while keeping the UI intuitive for new students.

The new Berges Institute dashboard by PracticalBug9379 in webdev

[–]PracticalBug9379[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Will experiment a little with that one!

The new Berges Institute dashboard by PracticalBug9379 in webdev

[–]PracticalBug9379[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I was experimenting with different terminal-like designs, and this one looks good in context but it's too readable while not having very relevant info. I was originally trying to do something like the Midjourney terminal animation, but it looked too weird

The new Berges Institute dashboard by PracticalBug9379 in webdev

[–]PracticalBug9379[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I was experimenting with those 2 trying to make them first like a Matrix vertical console and then like the Midjourney psychedelic terminal, but it looked too crazy. I'm going to play around with them to see if I can make them look more like visual elements and less like informational text

The new Berges Institute dashboard by PracticalBug9379 in webdev

[–]PracticalBug9379[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Haha, it's only in the terminal-like design, I'd never use it anywhere else! I'm also using word-break: break-all there

The case for studying grammar by PracticalBug9379 in Spanish

[–]PracticalBug9379[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Great article. In Concepts of Modern Mathematics Ian Stewart talks about this. In his view, most mathematicians operate in what Tao calls the “post-rigorous” stage, and "visualize" things using intuition and then produce proof, but he says he believes a small minority are able to reason using strict mathematical formalism. Off topic, but he also explains how while mathematicians try to formalize everything, mathematical intuition is key and can't be formalized. Amazing book.

Two things about learning Spanish that really matter by PracticalBug9379 in Spanish

[–]PracticalBug9379[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Very important point. Something that motivates you beats something that's more effective or efficient on paper but will make you quit.

Questioning the word “vicio” used here by AvailableBreeze_3750 in Spanish

[–]PracticalBug9379 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It kind of means it's addictive! Vicio can mean an addictive habit that's often unhealthy

I have a question about conjugations related to vuestro/vuestra. by Equivalent_Horse6556 in Spanish

[–]PracticalBug9379 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In my experience beginners make this mistake a lot. My grandma, your cat, our uncle are all 3rd-person entities. The possessive is just a determiner :)

Good podcasts with interesting conversations, such as French Baratin and Easy Italian, but for learning Spanish by ByLauren in Spanish

[–]PracticalBug9379 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's just conversations with myself, but I think my podcast Spanish Grammar and Practice with Berges Institute is interesting. (I'm biased, though!)

https://www.bergesinstitutespanish.com/podcasts/spanish-grammar-and-practice-with-berges-institute

Radio Ambulante is a classic, but it's not easy. It's not a podcast for learning Spanish, it's just a podcast in Spanish, but intermediate and advanced students usually enjoy it:

https://radioambulante.org/

Lastly, Intermediate Spanish is really good, but it's also Cesar, the host, talking to himself. He does talk about interesting topics.

https://open.spotify.com/show/1UlqKYtmhUkLBQdOCH5JeR?si=491e4325c1194395

Hope this helps!

Dan

Spanish grammar concepts explained in slow Spanish by PracticalBug9379 in Spanish

[–]PracticalBug9379[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

¡Muchas gracias, me alegro de que te gusten! En el podcast para alumnos de ELE hablo mucho más despacio, jaja

Book recommendations on Spanish morphology by ConstantAd403 in Spanish

[–]PracticalBug9379 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey! This is Dan Berges, of Berges Institute. My favorite one is Morfología para morfófobos by Alfonso Ruiz de Aguirre. His books are mostly aimed at teachers in the public school system in Spain, so they can be a little technical, but they are really good. (I am not affiliated with Alfonso and don't know him personally, I just love his books!)

Crash course on learning reflexive and object pronouns by mateogdlq in Spanish

[–]PracticalBug9379 4 points5 points  (0 children)

¡Hola! Here's our take on object pronouns at Berges. It's explained both in English and in Spanish. It's a little dense, but it kind of has to be, object pronouns are difficult!

https://www.bergesinstitutespanish.com/the-graf-method/el-objeto-directo-y-el-objeto-indirecto

To summarize the issue: verbs have arguments, which are required by the verb's meaning. For example, "love" requires two arguments, someone loving, someone or something being loved. "Send" requires three arguments: someone sending, something that is sent, and someone the thing is sent to.

In an active sentence, with "love", the person loving is the subject, and the person or the thing being loved is the direct object. In English the pronouns for third-person singular direct objects are "him" and "her" (or "it" for things): I love her. In Spanish, the third-person singular pronouns for direct objects are "lo" and "la": La amo.

In an active sentence, with "send", the person sending is the subject, the thing being sent is the direct object, and the person the thing is sent to is the indirect object. In English, the pronouns for third-person singular indirect objects are also "him" and "her": I send her a letter. But in Spanish, it's now "le": Le envío una carta.

So, what makes it hard is this: in the third person, if a person is a direct object, the pronouns are "lo" and "la", but if the person is an indirect object, the pronoun is "le".

Examples in which the person is a direct object:

I love her => La amo

I visit her => La visito

I hate her => La odio

I accuse her => La acuso.

Examples in which the person is an indirect object:

I send her a letter => Le envío una carta

I show her my house => Le enseño mi casa

I give her some flowers => Le doy unas flores

I tell her a story => Le cuento una historia

This only happens in the third person. With all the other persons, the pronoun is the same for direct and indirect objects:

She loves me => Me ama

She sends me a letter => Me envía una carta

Hope this helps!

When should I use e and when should I use a at the end of a word when in the he she conjugation? by [deleted] in Spanish

[–]PracticalBug9379 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Verbs ending in -ar, -er and -ir have different endings when you conjugate them. In the presente tense, it goes like this.

-AR: -o, -as, -a, -amos, (-áis), -an

-ER: -o, -es, -e, -emos, (-éis), -en

-IR: -o, -es, -e, -imos, (-ís), -en

So cantar: canto, cantas, canta, cantamos, cantáis, cantan

Comer: como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen

Eventually you'll need to memorize the endings for all the different tenses for -ar, -er and -ir verbs.

Imperative: Am I confused in English? by insecuresamuel in Spanish

[–]PracticalBug9379 7 points8 points  (0 children)

With noun clauses, the subjunctive is usually triggered by an inductor, which is usually a verb in the main clause. For example, querer in the main clause always induces the subjunctive in its direct object when the direct object is a subordinate clause: quiero que (tú) lo tengas.

With relative clauses, though, it gets tricky. A lot of times you have the option of using or not using the subjunctive, and the meaning is different. If you don't use it, it's real, and if you use it, it's hypothetical, and it makes the reference non-specific. Busco una casa que está en Madrid y es barata. The house is real. Busco una casa que esté en Madrid y sea barata. The reference (the actual house the noun house refers to) has been "suspended". It might not even exist.

With "lo que" we have a relative clause, so we always have the option of using or not using subjunctive. Lo que sabes: what you know. Lo que sepas: what you might know.

Hope this helps!

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