Voted Best Answer
Feb 15, 2011 - 09:52 PM
Oh no, don't feel deflated! Your confusion is perfectly normal. The more you listen to the rythmns of the Spanish language the easier it will for you to differentiate between esta and está. Also, pay close attention to the context in which a word is used to provide you with clues as to it's meaning. I promise you it will come in time. If you can, everyday listen to Spanish. It doesn't matter if you know the meanings of the words. Just try to imitate the sounds. Read out loud paying careful attention to your pronunciation particularly the vowels. Short, crisp. Unlike English, Spanish vowels have only 1 sound! If you can say it you can understand it!
Gendered nouns is just a part of the Spanish language (and many others). It's best to learn the article and the noun as one unit. It's often hard to pick up the article when listening to a native speaker because they pronouce it as one unit of sound. For example: la Casa wil sound like lacasa, el ajo as elajo (garlic). You'll notice this as you listen to Spanish.
Apellido - either way you be understood. LL - yee, LL - zhe. Pick one and you will be fine. I've heard fluent speakers use both LL pronunciations in the same sentence.
Try not to get discouraged. It's normal to hit the wall once in a while. You'll feel great when you make a breakthrough! It's hard to learn any language. It takes a lot of time and effort. But, you can do it! Make it happen!
Gendered nouns is just a part of the Spanish language (and many others). It's best to learn the article and the noun as one unit. It's often hard to pick up the article when listening to a native speaker because they pronouce it as one unit of sound. For example: la Casa wil sound like lacasa, el ajo as elajo (garlic). You'll notice this as you listen to Spanish.
Apellido - either way you be understood. LL - yee, LL - zhe. Pick one and you will be fine. I've heard fluent speakers use both LL pronunciations in the same sentence.
Try not to get discouraged. It's normal to hit the wall once in a while. You'll feel great when you make a breakthrough! It's hard to learn any language. It takes a lot of time and effort. But, you can do it! Make it happen!