Dear Mom,
OK, so I THINK I understand a little bit about the
subjunctive, because I have read this.
However, I would love to have your help in applying
any knowledge you have on the subjunctive tense to
Spanish. For example, under what circumstances should
one use the subjunctive tense in Spanish? Are the
circumstances the same as they are in English?
I have found myself spending quite a bit of time with
this guy I met on my 3rd day here, José Romero Antonio de los Angeles [not his real name], (though you can call him 'José' for short). He and his best friend, Ana, have been far more instrumental in my
improving my Spanish than the school has been. There's
nothing WRONG with the school exactly, but it's just
not a very good environment to learn a language, when
it comes down to it. I´m going to get what I can from
the school experience, but next time, I will not
bother with formal study. I already have most of the
basics in place, and the thing I need to improve is my
vocabulary and to learn colloquialisms.
I´ve learned a tonne from being forced to speak in Spanish with José
and Ana, and very little practical stuff from the
school.
Which brings me back to the subjunctive thingy. I
tried to get some tutoring on it from José and Ana,
but they really don´t understand it so well
themselves. They report that it is a rarely used
tense, and they argued amongst themselves for a few
minutes before delivering to me their verdict that it
was not, in fact, important that I learn it.
Nonetheless, I do wish to have it in my repertoire,
and so I petition here your assistance.
Finally, on the subjective of subjunctivitis (haha,
or, as they write here, ¨jaja¨), is there any
relationship between the subjunctive and the
imperative in Spanish? That is, does it make it
easier to learn the subjunctive if you already know
the imperative? Or vice versa? Any assistance you can render would be wonderful.
I fly tomorrow to Madrid. I'll check in again soon
thereafter.
I've not liked the food here so much, honestly. They
eat tiny portions of mediocre food, and it seems that
the majority of their daily calories come from olive
oil. And they LOVE tuna! And I'm not talkin' 'bout
fresh, line-caught tuna. I'm talkin' regular, Chicken
of the Sea, canned tuna filets. It's the most popular
fish/meat here, besides "jamón serrano", which is just
a very very old ham that was smoked and salted several
years before (maybe 10 years ago?), sliced thin, and
then doused with, of course, olive oil, served atop
stale bread, and christened a "tapa".
OK, well, I'll look forward to talking to you soon -
either by phone or email.
Let me know if you want anything either from Málaga or
Madrid, ¿ok?
Love,
ameriwire