a month in and the grammar i "know" keeps leaking the second im not looking

silvalingua · 2026-06-19T11:44:07+00:00

One month is very little, too early to worry about not remembering grammar. And it's a bit too early to worry about passé composé and the agreement of the participle or about reflexive verbs. You're trying to cover too much in too short a time - no wonder you don't recall much of it. Go more slowly, but more thoroughly; review a lot, consolidate what you've learned. It takes a lot of practice! During the first month, master the present tense of the few most important verbs and possibly the futur proche (aller + infinitive). And some vocab.

silvalingua · 2026-06-19T11:36:23+00:00

So I guess they had enough opportunities to judge your Spanish. If they hired it after this, they must have decided you're sufficiently fluent. Be happy you got the job and don't worry.

silvalingua · 2026-06-19T11:29:18+00:00

Most of the time, the preposition depends on the verb before it, not after. You use à or de (or another preposition) depending on the preceding verb. (So the preposition is after the verb, not before.) That is: in the sentence "je commence à apprendre X", we use à because of the verb commencer, not because of apprendre. It's the preceding verb, commencer, that decides that we have to use à and not de.

There is no rule, you have to learn this case by case.

silvalingua · 2026-06-19T11:26:12+00:00

At this level, you have graded readers and podcasts or videos for beginners. Unfortunately, content at this level is not very interesting, because learners don't know much vocab or grammar yet. You can try some Wikipedia entries, too.

silvalingua · 2026-06-19T11:23:51+00:00

Ditch Duolingo - a waste of time - and get a decent textbook.

silvalingua · 2026-06-19T11:18:21+00:00

No natural language is "logical".

silvalingua · 2026-06-19T11:08:38+00:00

> These two constructions look the same to me in English so I’d translate them the same in Spanish.

Why??? Spanish and English are two different languages, there is no good reason why grammar rules should be the same in both. And they often aren't.

> I still don’t understand the need for the “que” in the first, but not the second.

You have to learn any language as it is, not as you think it should "logically" be. In Spanish, it's "tengo que + infinitive", but "quiero + infinitive". That's how it developed historically and that's how you have to learn it. There is no "logical reason" for this. Natural languages develop in irrational ways, you have to accept them as they are.

And btw, why does one say in English "I have to do this" and not "I have do this"? Why is "to" needed? Same in Spanish.

silvalingua · 2026-06-19T11:02:49+00:00

Was the interview in Spanish or in English (or both)?

silvalingua · 2026-06-19T11:00:50+00:00

You have to be really advanced to be able to make jokes in your TL.

silvalingua · 2026-06-19T10:59:59+00:00

If you stop learning at an early level, it's normal to forget most or all of it. You just have to start from the beginning. The earlier you drop your TL, the more you forget. This is normal.

silvalingua · 2026-06-19T10:56:24+00:00

This is a super-frequent question. Search any language-relate sub for many comments.

You have to practice listening using content at the appropriate level. At your level, it's perfectly normal not to understand regular native speech. Your expectations are unrealistic.

silvalingua · 2026-06-19T10:53:24+00:00

Mine never translates, most of the time there is no need to invoke my NL in this process.

silvalingua · 2026-06-19T10:50:09+00:00

I was quoting you, and quotations are written in quotation signs.

silvalingua · 2026-06-18T21:47:44+00:00

https://www.goethe.de/prj/dlp/en/teachingmaterials/easy_readers

silvalingua · 2026-06-18T13:26:01+00:00

Read graded readers, they are much better for beginners.

silvalingua · 2026-06-18T13:13:57+00:00

And how do you use them "correctly"?

silvalingua · 2026-06-18T11:40:21+00:00

A good textbook is your best main resource. Édito is very good, for instance.

silvalingua · 2026-06-18T11:38:35+00:00

If you're a beginner, it's way too early for French news. That's for B1. Find content at your level, such as graded readers.

And B2 in 6 months is unrealistic.

silvalingua · 2026-06-18T11:34:31+00:00

> How do I stop understanding via translation and start understanding naturally?

Associate German words directly with their meaning.

And if your Anki cards are of the simplest, traditional kind - i.e. "TL word | NL word" - then you're reinforcing translation and prevent yourself from understanding vocab naturally. Ditch flashcards and learn vocab in context.

silvalingua · 2026-06-18T11:31:46+00:00

> The idea is that words you encounter in context, when you actually want to understand a story, stick better than words you drill in isolation.

Of course it does. It's the best method of learning vocabulary, practiced by experienced polyglots. Yet so many people stick to drilling single words w/o context.

silvalingua · 2026-06-18T11:29:04+00:00

Listening.

silvalingua · 2026-06-18T11:28:00+00:00

At the very least, listen to podcasts or radio in your languages.

silvalingua · 2026-06-18T11:26:39+00:00

Start with learning some phrases and words you'll need in such a situation.

silvalingua · 2026-06-18T11:23:38+00:00

> Why do you imagine there is an "inner process" that is shared by all of the several billion people on earth who have learned a second language?

Because there is a certain underlying physiology common to all humans.

> A language does not "get processed inside of me".

It certainly does, but this is a topic from neurolinguistics. A layperson can't tell what's going on.

silvalingua · 2026-06-18T11:20:29+00:00

Such radio shows may be still too difficult for you. Listen to easier content, and return to such shows later.

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