Soy yo, Marcus, with another Spanish Beyond the Textbook tip.

Some say George Bush was the first American president who thought he spoke Spanish.

He would use a sentence or two in Spanish during his speeches, which his speechwriters would have made sure he got correct.

Ted, One of the characters from the Sitcom “How I Met Your Mother”, is kind of like George Bush, he thinks he can speak Spanish.

In an episode of the show he went to pick up a Latin American from the airport.
Here is what he said,

“Yo eres Ted. Esta soy Lily.”
“I ARE Ted. This AM Lily. “

Here are a couple of hints to avoid making these tedisms.

Firstly the obvious one, soy means I am, and it’s the easiest way to introduce yourself.

“Soy Ted.”
I am Ted.

An easy casual way to introduce someone else you can simply say,
“Ella es Lily.”
“She is Lily.”

Or if you are introducing a male friend you can use, “él es”
For example:

“Él es Denis Lillee”
“He is Denis Lillee”

Here is a common “tedism” for you to avoid.

Imagine you knock on the door at an amigos house. They ask,
Quien es? (Who is it?)

In English you’d probably reply, “it is me”.

If you translate that to, es yo, it will sound very strange to Spanish ears. In Spanish you say,

“Soy yo” (Literally, I am I.)

It’s better to say,
“Soy yo, Marcus.”
“It’s me, Marcus.”

Try out, “soy yo” with your amigos. You’ll avoid the Tedisms and you’ll sound authentic and real with your Spanish.

Spanish is not only a different language it’s also a different culture whether you are beginner or advanced it’s possible you are still making tedisms.

I now have 3 levels of sequential Synergy Spanish lessons for beginner, intermediate and advanced Spanish. You can go from zero to authentic, real, everyday Spanish and avoid the tedisms. Click here for details.

http://www.synergyspanishsystems.com/courses.html

Saludos

P.S. Here’s a clip of Ted “speaking” Spanish.