Back in the sixties there was a popular folk outfit called the Mamas and the Papas. Their most famous song was called California Dreaming.
Well I have my own version of the Mamas and the Papas. I call it Spanish Dreaming with MA and DAD.
My Ma and Dad are part of the best jump-start to Spanish I know.
Here’s what I mean.
Take a look at these words;
El problema, el sistema, el drama, el programa
All the words are very recognizable, aren’t they?
You see most English words that end in a vowel and the letter M, end in MA in Spanish.
The Dads are even better than the Mas.
la universidad, la oportunidad, la propiedad, la actividad, la mentalidad,
There are 231 words in the dad category. That’s why they are better than the Ma words because there are so many of them.
You can make Spanish words from most English words that end in ITY by change ITY to IDAD. For example
| The probability | la probabilidad |
| The variety | la variedad |
| The possibility | la posibilidad |
| The simplicity | la simplicidad |
| The community | la comunidad |
Notice I used el with MA words and la with the DAD words.
Yep MA is masculine and DAD is feminine.
Go figure?
So, now that you know the formula, let’s see if you can figure out these phrases.
1) Hay mucha probabilidad de huracanes.
2) Mis hijos tiene la oportunidad de estudiar en la universidad.
3) Puede causar problemas de seguridad.
4) No tengo propiedad en España.
5) Me gusta la simplicidad del sistema.
6) Qué gran variedad de comida hay aquí?
Here are the English translations if you need them.
1) There is a lot of probability of Hurricanes.
2) My children have the chance to study in the university.
3) It can cause security problems.
4) I don’t have property in Spain.
5) I like the simplicity of the system.
6) What (a) great variety of food there is here?
Doesn’t Spanish seem so much less intimidating when you recognize familiar words?
All you have to do is learn the simple changes to English words and you’ll know how to make 3,145 of these Instant Spanish words.
An important point: Words alone don’t cut it.
If you only learn words then you’ll still have a hard time saying anything. You need to know how to glue the words together to express yourself.
No hay problema.
It just takes a handful of Power Verbs to start sticking your Spanish words together in flowing phrases.
Go here and combine Instant Words and Power Verbs to start speaking Spanish today.
