Core Lessons 1-50 (o)- This is the core course that focuses on the structure of the Spanish language preparing you for our intense spoken Spanish course.
Each lesson comes with streaming video, (click on white start button on the left hand end of the black video control bar), lesson notes in PDF and Word format, for reading on screen or downloading for printing, throughout the course there are a variety of self assessment tests and additional support materials. There is easy access to tutorial support. (Please ask your questions from the lesson itself.)
When this core course is complete, then students are ready for the Spoken Spanish practice lessons.Do these after Core course.
I was just going over some old stuff filing it and noticed para mi (for me) I have heard someone say this in a restaurant it sounded weird to me. As I use the I want verb. What is best.
Hola! Yes, correct, you will quite often hear Spanish people say that before they order: for me, the steak and chips, it’s like our version of: I will have……. as I will have does not translate at all into Spanish!
Student
John Docker
5 May 2025 4:01 PM
Hi James. Im just about to purchase the 50 spoken lessons but it says ive only completed 94% of the cord lessons. As far as im aware ive done 100% including the 100 verbs.
Really enjoyed the core lessons and looking forward tonthe next installments.
Hola!
There have been some preterite tense…fui = went, it is covered more later in the course in the spoken section, but I much prefer students to use aba and ian…. Preterite is much more used for more in Latin America, but not in Spain. They use it all the time and don’t hardly ever use aba and ian…. it is one of the things that people comment on all the time if they have been doing Duolingo.
Student
Amy Akehurst
22 March 2025 2:04 PM
Hi is there a way I can download lessons and do them when I am not online? I was hoping to do some on my flight, but there is no WiFi. Thanks
Hola! Unfortunately no, if the lessons could be downloaded, they could be shared with anybody, and my intellectual property would be at risk, it is the thing that we get asked for the most that we cannot provide, the cons outweigh the pros too much for us and I hope you understand the reason why! The notes, of course, can be downloaded to look at when off-line…sorry!
I understand. Thank you for letting me know. I will take my notes with me instead
Student
Frank Brierley
9 November 2024 9:54 AM
Hi James, am I remembering correctly that you said at the beginning if the course that objects ending in ‘a’ are feminine and that everything with other endings are masculine.
I’ve just come across ‘radio’, which is an object, but apparently feminine. Am I misunderstanding something?
Hola!
Yes, you are remembering correctly, if it ends in an A it is female… But as always, there must be exceptions, there are only a handful, but radio is one of them…..and la foto, la moto, la mano…. You just have to remember the exceptions, most of them have an explanation…. The original word ended in an A like foto was fotografia….moto…motocicleta and I expect but I don’t know, radio…radiograma… Maybe an English radio is short for radiogram or some other old-fashioned word. But you need to learn the rule before remembering the handful of exceptions, If it ends in an a it is female, Any other letter is male and then collect the exceptions like you just have here, There are some other way around aswell like madre (Which is obviously female, but ends in an E, mujer Which is obviously female, but end in an R) la madre and la mujer… But that’s logic and obviously I think… Just collect the exceptions as you travel through the course, hope this helps!
Hola!
No, in Spain, we only use it for business transactions, you will see it on invoices when they address you as usted, It is very cold to use it when talking to people in the street as you are making it clear that you are not their friends and that is a business only discussion.
This is explained in depth in lesson in the 40s.
Latin American uses it all the time but in Spain, it died over 20 years ago. Only used for business and when you were talking to clients.
Yes, Duolingo uses it all the time as it is still in common use in Latin America, but in Spain, it will make you sound very cold when speaking to people in the street if you address them as usted,fear Not! there will be a lesson on it!
Student
Kim Lawless
26 October 2024 4:50 PM
Hi James. Would you suggest not moving on to the next lesson until I’ve really grasped each one?
If you have completed a lesson and feel you have absorbed what has been covered you are of course welcome to move on, the beauty is that you can revisit the lessons as many times as you wish and if you get a few lessons ahead and feel out of your depth you can go back a few to refresh …. What lesson number are you up to now?
Student
David Austin
27 August 2024 11:44 AM
I have just done lesson 27 and was pleased to learn that “NUECES was the word for nuts in general and not just walnuts as I had thought. One question though, which is important to me as we have a grandson with a nut allergy, when should we use “NUECES” and when “frutos secos”?
Hola! Yes, a bit confusing that we don’t have an actual word for walnuts so normally they just called them nueces de california, The reason we have another word which is frutos secos, Is because the contents of frutos secos is not just nuts, There are lentils, maiz/maze/corn, raisins which are fruit, and some nuts so as it is a mixture of at least four different ingredients apart from nuts they are called dried fruits….
Byt nuts and nuts alone are nueces….
Student
Fiona Clingan
22 August 2024 4:51 PM
When you learn the negative, I understand the no goes after the person and before the verb so why is it not yo estoy no fumar but yo no estoy fumar
Hope that question makes sense lol
Hola!
Yes, the question makes sense, it’s because the verb is “estoy” , I am, the verb is am, so the no goes before the first verb….Yo no estoy fumando. I am not smoking (smoking is the second verb..)
I was just going over some old stuff filing it and noticed para mi (for me) I have heard someone say this in a restaurant it sounded weird to me. As I use the I want verb. What is best.
Hola! Yes, correct, you will quite often hear Spanish people say that before they order: for me, the steak and chips, it’s like our version of: I will have……. as I will have does not translate at all into Spanish!
Hi James. Im just about to purchase the 50 spoken lessons but it says ive only completed 94% of the cord lessons. As far as im aware ive done 100% including the 100 verbs.
Really enjoyed the core lessons and looking forward tonthe next installments.
Hola!
I will have a look when I get home to see if you have missed anything, not to worry!
Just had a look at everything is complete, please check again and you will find it is totally marked now. Ready when you are for the spoken!
Hi I’ve completed all 50 core however it says I’m only 98% completed, have I missed something ?
why have we not learned the preterit tense but learned aba and ian instead? I thought the preterit was more commonly used as the past tense?
Hola!
There have been some preterite tense…fui = went, it is covered more later in the course in the spoken section, but I much prefer students to use aba and ian…. Preterite is much more used for more in Latin America, but not in Spain. They use it all the time and don’t hardly ever use aba and ian…. it is one of the things that people comment on all the time if they have been doing Duolingo.
Hi is there a way I can download lessons and do them when I am not online? I was hoping to do some on my flight, but there is no WiFi. Thanks
Hola! Unfortunately no, if the lessons could be downloaded, they could be shared with anybody, and my intellectual property would be at risk, it is the thing that we get asked for the most that we cannot provide, the cons outweigh the pros too much for us and I hope you understand the reason why! The notes, of course, can be downloaded to look at when off-line…sorry!
I understand. Thank you for letting me know. I will take my notes with me instead
Hi James, am I remembering correctly that you said at the beginning if the course that objects ending in ‘a’ are feminine and that everything with other endings are masculine.
I’ve just come across ‘radio’, which is an object, but apparently feminine. Am I misunderstanding something?
Hola!
Yes, you are remembering correctly, if it ends in an A it is female… But as always, there must be exceptions, there are only a handful, but radio is one of them…..and la foto, la moto, la mano…. You just have to remember the exceptions, most of them have an explanation…. The original word ended in an A like foto was fotografia….moto…motocicleta and I expect but I don’t know, radio…radiograma… Maybe an English radio is short for radiogram or some other old-fashioned word. But you need to learn the rule before remembering the handful of exceptions, If it ends in an a it is female, Any other letter is male and then collect the exceptions like you just have here, There are some other way around aswell like madre (Which is obviously female, but ends in an E, mujer Which is obviously female, but end in an R) la madre and la mujer… But that’s logic and obviously I think… Just collect the exceptions as you travel through the course, hope this helps!
Hola James,
Do you not use usted or ustedes?
Gracias
Hola!
No, in Spain, we only use it for business transactions, you will see it on invoices when they address you as usted, It is very cold to use it when talking to people in the street as you are making it clear that you are not their friends and that is a business only discussion.
This is explained in depth in lesson in the 40s.
Latin American uses it all the time but in Spain, it died over 20 years ago. Only used for business and when you were talking to clients.
Oh wow, thank you for that. I have been a duolingo learner and it is used so frequently so thought I’d check. Glad I did.
Yes, Duolingo uses it all the time as it is still in common use in Latin America, but in Spain, it will make you sound very cold when speaking to people in the street if you address them as usted,fear Not! there will be a lesson on it!
Hi James. Would you suggest not moving on to the next lesson until I’ve really grasped each one?
If you have completed a lesson and feel you have absorbed what has been covered you are of course welcome to move on, the beauty is that you can revisit the lessons as many times as you wish and if you get a few lessons ahead and feel out of your depth you can go back a few to refresh …. What lesson number are you up to now?
I have just done lesson 27 and was pleased to learn that “NUECES was the word for nuts in general and not just walnuts as I had thought. One question though, which is important to me as we have a grandson with a nut allergy, when should we use “NUECES” and when “frutos secos”?
Hola! Yes, a bit confusing that we don’t have an actual word for walnuts so normally they just called them nueces de california, The reason we have another word which is frutos secos, Is because the contents of frutos secos is not just nuts, There are lentils, maiz/maze/corn, raisins which are fruit, and some nuts so as it is a mixture of at least four different ingredients apart from nuts they are called dried fruits….
Byt nuts and nuts alone are nueces….
When you learn the negative, I understand the no goes after the person and before the verb so why is it not yo estoy no fumar but yo no estoy fumar
Hope that question makes sense lol
Hola!
Yes, the question makes sense, it’s because the verb is “estoy” , I am, the verb is am, so the no goes before the first verb….Yo no estoy fumando. I am not smoking (smoking is the second verb..)