Interesting expressions Archives

¡Marchando! (Right away!)

20 July, 202014 July, 2020 by Real Spanish

If you live Spain, or often visit the country, you must have heard a waiter say this in a bar: «¡Marchando!». It means the waiter is going to bring your order right away, or is going to get to work right away, like switching on a machine. But the verb «marchar» and the noun «la ... Read more

Un poco de gramática: some uses of the subjunctive

1 July, 202030 June, 2020 by Real Spanish

Un poco de gramática: el lío del subjuntivo

We know that the use of the subjunctive is one of the most difficult features of Spanish grammar for speakers of other languages. So in this blog we will be uploading short explanations of various uses of the subjunctive, in present and past tenses, with examples that will help you understand this aspect of Spanish ... Read more

Salir rana and other uses of «salir»

15 June, 2020 by Real Spanish

If you’ve ever been to Spain I’m sure you’ve gone out for tapas, gone out to a party, or simply gone out to eat in a bar or restaurant. To say this you would have to use the verb salir, and you may have been unsure about how to use it. For example, you can’t ... Read more

¡Eres la leche! (You’re something else!)

10 June, 20209 June, 2020 by Real Spanish

The word leche is used a lot in Spanish, not only to refer to the milk of animals such as cows, goats and sheep, or mother’s milk for babies. The dictionary of the Royal Academy of Spanish (Real Academia Española, RAE) gives nine different meanings for the word. Some of these are very colloquial; for ... Read more

«El mar» or «la mar»?

18 June, 20201 June, 2020 by Real Spanish

The sea. Only the sea! Father, why did you bring me to the city? Rafael Alberti, Marinero en Tierra (1924) In this mini-lesson we explain the use of the masculine and feminine forms of «mar (sea), because they are not used in the same way and are not interchangeable. We also explain the importance of ... Read more

No way!

19 June, 20204 October, 2019 by Real Spanish

Today, we’ll introduce you to some expressions you can use to reject a request, a suggestion, or an idea. Of course you can just say no, but your speech will be more expressive (and impressive) if you can use some of the expressions below. Some are more formal than others. Expression Comments Example in context ... Read more

At top speed!

2 June, 202023 September, 2019 by Real Spanish

Co-author: Gema Benítez Sánchez There are so many interesting expressions that you can use to make your Spanish sound more colloquial and more natural! We’ll bring you some of them in this blog, as well as in all our lessons based on movies and TV programmes. Today, we’ll introduce you to some expressions about speed. ... Read more