🧠 English... but with Spanish rules!

Hola estudiante!

¿Cómo estás?

Bienvenido/a a Master Spanish Weekly, my newsletter to share tips, stories, and simple ways to keep Spanish part of your week.

Last week, in case you missed it:

I wrote about how learning Spanish is like marathon training. Quick update: after rest and rehab, I ran 30 minutes last Sunday without pain following my IT band injury 🙌.

Same lesson for languages: steady, manageable work (plus rest) wins. Science backs it up—short, regular sessions stick thanks to the spacing effect, and actively recalling what you learned (the testing effect) makes memories durable.

Today we’ll try a playful ear-training trick: “If English were spoken like Spanish.” For a moment, we’ll follow Spanish rules in English. But first, let’s check the weather in Austin, TX.

🌤️ ¿Cómo está el tiempo hoy?

📚 This week: If English were spoken like Spanish

Let’s train your ear. Imagine you’re speaking English, but you follow Spanish rules. We’re not trying to fix English, just helping your brain feel how Spanish is built:

• Adjectives after the noun

• Questions without “do/does”

• Drop the subject when it’s obvious (Llueve → “Rains.”)

• Object pronoun before the verb (Lo quiero → “It I want.”)

• Possession with de (El coche de Ana → The car of Ana)

• Articles with general nouns (Me gusta el café → I like the coffee)

• Near future with the present (Mañana voy…→ Tomorrow I go…)

• Age with tener (Tengo 30 años → I have 30 years old)

• Meaning shifts with ser vs estar (es aburrido / está aburrido → is boring / is bored)

Examples: Spanish → “English like Spanish”):

1) Adjectives after the noun

• un libro interesante → a book interesting

• una mesa grande → a table big

• el perro negro → the dog black

• una película buena → a movie good

• una chaqueta nueva → a jacket new

2) Drop the subject when it’s obvious

• Llueve. → Rains.

• Es tarde. → Is late.

• Tengo prisa. → Have hurry.

• Voy al trabajo. → Go to work.

• No puedo. → No can.

3) Questions without “do/does”

• ¿Hablas español? → You speak Spanish?

• ¿Vas mañana? → You go tomorrow?

• ¿Tienes tiempo? → You have time?

• ¿Entiendes? → You understand?

• ¿Viven aquí? → They live here?

4) Double negatives (normal in Spanish)

• No quiero nada. → I don’t want nothing.

• No había nadie. → There wasn’t nobody.

• No dijo nunca. → He didn’t say never.

• No escuché nada. → I didn’t hear nothing.

• No compramos ninguno. → We didn’t buy none.

5) Object pronoun before the verb

• Lo necesito. → It I need.

• La veo. → Her I see.

• Los compré. → Them I bought.

• Te entiendo. → You I understand.

• Me ayudan. → Me they help.

6) Possession with de

• la casa de Juan → the house of Juan

• el teléfono de mi madre → the phone of my mother

• el profesor de Ana → the teacher of Ana

• la idea del jefe → the idea of the boss

• el color de la pared → the color of the wall

7) Articles with general nouns

• Me encanta la música. → I love the music.

• Odio el tráfico. → I hate the traffic.

• Estudio la historia. → I study the history.

• El café es caro. → The coffee is expensive.

• Los lunes trabajo. → The Mondays I work.

8) Future with present + time word

• Esta noche ceno con Marta. → Tonight I dinner with Marta.

• Mañana salgo temprano. → Tomorrow I leave early.

• La semana que viene viajamos. → Next week we travel.

• En una hora vuelvo. → In one hour I come back.

• El sábado voy al cine. → On Saturday I go to the movies.

9) Age with tener (“to have”)

• Tengo cinco años. → I have five years.

• Mi hermano tiene dieciocho. → My brother has eighteen years.

• ¿Cuántos años tienes? → How many years do you have?

• Ella tiene treinta. → She has thirty.

• Mis padres tienen setenta. → My parents have seventy years.

10) Ser vs. Estar — meaning changes

• Es listo / Está listo → is clever / is ready

• Es rico / Está rico → is wealthy / is tasty

• Es verde / Está verde → is green (color) / is unripe

• Es malo / Está malo → is bad (mean/poor quality) / is sick or tastes bad

• Es seguro / Está seguro → is safe / is sure

Read them out loud once or twice. If they sound a little “off” in English, that’s the point. That tiny “weird” feeling is your ear learning Spanish structure.

Here’s an audio for extra practice:

🧩 Mini Quiz

Ready to test your knowledge?
Take this minute mini-quiz to lock in today’s patterns. Click the button below and answer:

1. Adjective order for “a white house” (Spanish-style English)

2. Ser vs. Estar meaning (“He is bored” in Spanish)

3. Correct Spanish for general liking (“I like coffee”)

4. Correct Spanish for “I want it”

5. Correct Spanish for “My friend’s dad’s car”

¡Gracias!

Gracias por leer y por seguir aprendiendo.

Nos vemos la próxima semana con más ideas útiles para hablar español con confianza.

¡Un abrazo!

Alejandro Nuñez
Director en New Way Spanish (pronto Vokally)

🗳️ Poll: Let’s hear from you!