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Lesson Introduction
Everybody is from somewhere! Just telling someone where you're from can speak volumes about you; what you like to eat, how you spend your free time, who your favorite basketball team is... This newbie lesson shows us how to ask where someone is from, and how to answer, as well!
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jpvillanueva says
Alright folks, it's time for roll call! Yo soy JP, soy de Seattle, en Estados Unidos. Y ustedes, ¿de dónde son?November 19, 2007
john says
Soy de Florida... I miss the sunshine. :(November 19, 2007
cmcgoof says
soy de seattle tambien. pero vivo en arizona en EE.UU. hace mucho calor aqui.. que fatal...November 19, 2007
steve says
Soy de una isla pequeña en Inglaterra. (Can I say that? I'm from a small island in England?).November 20, 2007
jpvillanueva says
steve, You can only say that if you are from a small island in England. ¡Claro que sí!November 20, 2007
yoss says
Soy de un país pequeño en Europa. Se llama Croacia.November 20, 2007
lvalmoria says
Yo soy Louise. Soy de Melbourne, Australia, pero vivo en Praga, la República Checa.November 20, 2007
johnb says
Yo soy John B. También soy de Florida, pero vivo en Shanghai.November 20, 2007
orkelm says
Hola JP, Liliana, Saludos desde Austin Texas, pero soy de Canada. Y mi nombre, claro, es Orlando.November 20, 2007
leoguerrero says
Hola! Yo soy Leonardo, soy de Hermosillo, una ciuda chica al norte de Mexico. El mejor pais del mundo! :) At least that's what I think.November 20, 2007
MexicoBob says
Hola, Soy de Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. I have been living in Mexico since January 6th, 1999. I live in the City of Irapuato, in the state of Guanajuato in the geographic center of México. Irapuato is traditionally known as the "Strawberry Capital of the World". Strawberries are called "fresas" and people from Irapuato are known as "Freseros". I am a "Fresero Adoptivo"...an adopted strawberry. Estoy a sus ordenes para cualqier cosa.November 20, 2007
pcalvin says
Soy de Texas en Colorado. En ese momento vivo en India. Claro que no hay mucha gente aqui que habla espanol.November 20, 2007
trevelyan says
Yo soy dave, soy de Toronto, en Canada!November 20, 2007
AuntySue says
Yo soy de Australia. Yo no write Spanish because soy newbie. :-)November 20, 2007
darda says
hola de todo! Soy de Holanda, es una tierra pequeña en Europa! =)November 20, 2007
darda says
oh I meant.. país.. lolNovember 20, 2007
jtnemsingh says
Ola! Soy Jojo. Yo vivo en Suecia pero soy de las Islas Filipinas!November 20, 2007
says
Hola! Soy de Seattle, de los EEUU!November 20, 2007
steve says
Hey Bob, I lived in Atlixco, which apparently is the avacado capital of the world. You can get awesome guacamole there!November 20, 2007
MexicoBob says
Well Steve, instead of calling Atlixco the avocado capital of the world I would call it the "Cuna del Aguacate" or "Cradle of the Avocado". In 1911 a guy named Carl Schmidt brought some avocados to California from Atlixco and one of those became known as the "Fuerte" variety. Actually, Fallbrook, California in San Diego County is known as the "Avocado capital of the World", but don't have a cow, Steve. At least you gave us a chance to learn that the name for "avocado" in Spanish is "aguacate" and the word for cradle is "cuna". If you would like to know more about avocados please check out the article that I wrote about it in the SpanishPod forum which people can reach by clicking on the word “forum” at the bottom of this page :)November 20, 2007
lilianamata says
¡Hola! Yo soy Liliana , vengo de México D.F. pero viví mucho tiempo en Chihuahua.November 20, 2007
naconunu says
Yo soy Cin, soy de china, Beijing!November 21, 2007
naconunu says
this lesson has no exercise?November 21, 2007
ansari says
Hola! Soy Ansari. Soy trinitario. Vivo en la cicudad de Barrackpore. Estoy aprendiendo espanol.November 21, 2007
MexicoBob says
Bienvenido ansari, Barrackpore in West Bengal is a very interesting place. It was once a barracks for the British East India Company. Are the people there called Trinitarios or does that refer to cacao trinitario, or are you originally from Trinidad? Do you speak Bengali? Espero que disfrutas mucho aprendiendo Español. Estoy para servir.November 21, 2007
adri says
¡Hola! Buen día (or should I say buenas noches, anyways) Yo soy Adriana y soy colombiana, mi país está ubicado en el noroccidente de Sur América.November 21, 2007
roscovanbasten says
Soy de Irlanda I miss the rain..November 21, 2007
oolung says
MexicoBob, could you send me some of those delicious fresas to Poland? It'll be half a year before I can throw myself on the local ones and your comments about them me hacen agua la boca :) roscovanbasten, if you miss the rain, no problem, we've got plenty of it here (well, not this week...), I'll be only too glad to share some of it :)November 22, 2007
jenni82 says
Hola! Mi nombre es Jennifer. Soy de Alemania. También tienen mucha lluvia aquí. ;-)November 22, 2007
ansari says
Hola MexicoBob. Vivo en Trinidad (& Tobago). Just 7 miles East of Venezuela. I believe that the British used our area for their barracks as well, hence the name Barrackpore. Gracias para la ayuda.November 22, 2007
MexicoBob says
Ay, Ansari, Tengo mucha pena contigo. Mi cara es roja con vergüenza. Me disculpe para mi equivocación. Pues, también te doy gracias para tu explicación. Ahora yo sé más de Trinidad y Tobago. Sabes que tu tienes un amigo en México y ojalá puedo considerar que tu eres mi amigo en Trinidad :)November 22, 2007
yardbird says
Hola todos, Soy Joel. Nací en Cleveland, Ohio, USA, desde cuando he vivo en San Francisco, Nueva York, Boston, y por fín en Los Angeles, hace más que veinte años, y por eso, soy un Angeleno adaptivo, como dice MexicoBob. Á proposito, hace muchos años vivia (that can't be right) por un rato en San Miguel de Allende, en el estado de Guanajuato. En fín, aquí yo vivo, y aquí me quedo. I first saw the expression painted on the side of a loncheria (Mexican food truck), y me calló (?) muy bien. it seemed to me very philosophical.November 22, 2007
MexicoBob says
Joel, Here, not very far from San Miguel de Allende, we say “Aquí nos tocó a vivir” or "Here we were destined to live".November 22, 2007
lilianamata says
Mexico Bob The phrase is correct but it's "Aquí nos tocó vivir." :)November 23, 2007
MexicoBob says
Gracias Lili :)November 23, 2007
ansari says
MexicoBob That was a mouthful! I had to go to my trusted el dicconario to translate... but that's ok. That's why I joined this site, so I can get some practice. No need to apologize. y si, tienes amigo en Trinidad. :-)November 23, 2007
MexicoBob says
¡Está bueno Anfari! Así me gusta. Just a little side note: When two friends are goofing around instead of saying “Está bueno” one of them might say “Ta wheno” with the “e” sounding like the English “a”. it is just a corrupt contraction but it means the same thing :)November 23, 2007
MexicoBob says
Woops, I meant Ansari, not Anfari. Perdón :)November 23, 2007
lvalmoria says
Una pequeño ¿Por qué ...? pregunta ... ¿Por qué 'EE.UU' por 'los Estados Unidos'? Is that because 'the States' are plural, and also to differentiate from the English 'E.U.' European Union (en español, Unión Europea)? Or does the double 'E' and the double 'U' actually stand for something? This always gets me when I am reading through los diarios en españoles ... until I realised that the 'EU' and 'EE.UU' were different entities it made my readings of transatlantic politics rather interesting ;) but I've not thought to ask why until now.November 23, 2007
lvalmoria says
Argh. I meant 'Una pequeña pregunta' ... noun/adjective agreement and all that.November 23, 2007
leoguerrero says
Ivalmoria, I found this in the net. Check it out: "Estados Unidos" is abbreviated as "EEUU" (also: EE. UU.) because in Spanish the abbreviation for a plural item doubles the letter of the abbreviation. The same is done, for example, with the abbreviation for "Fuerzas Armadas" (= Armed Forces), which is "FF. AA.", indicating that the abbreviation relates to a plural term. The English language knows this custom too, albeit in a few cases only. For instance, the abbreviation for "page" in singular is "p.", while "pages" in plural are abbreviated as "pp.". Sometimes, however, the abbreviation "EUA" (Estados Unidos de América) for the United States is indeed used in Spanish, but not often." Sources: About.com: Spanish Language - Why EE. UU. for Estados Unidos? http://spanish.about.com/library/questions/blq-eeuu.htmNovember 24, 2007
jpvillanueva says
Hey gang, I've set up a picture/map guestbook! Please click over and add your picture, tell us where you're from, and what your SpanishPod level is!November 28, 2007
lilianamata says
You can also check out the group of SpanishPod in Facebook!November 28, 2007
jamesl says
Hola a todos, Soy de Denver Colorado, USA.November 28, 2007
lvalmoria says
Muchas gracias Leo, that clears up a lot of confusion for me!! Cheerio. Y hola jamesl, bienvenido :)December 1, 2007
lvalmoria says
Question about the extended vocabulary: 'extranjero' = foreigner Picked this up from somewhere else, but wanted to check: Vengo del extranjero = I'm from abroad?? So can one say 'Soy extranjero' (I am a foreigner) as well as 'vengo del extranjero'? Are both usages valid?December 2, 2007
jpvillanueva says
lvalmoria, yes and yes. If you're a woman, you should describe yourself as "extranjera" but you'd still say "vengo del extranjero."December 2, 2007
lilianamata says
Is there anyone from Japan? ¿Japonés?December 2, 2007
lauragrace says
Soy de Atlanta, Georgia, Esta Unidos.December 3, 2007
shrty411 says
Soy de Ypsilanti, Michigan EEUU! MariaDecember 3, 2007
lilianamata says
¡Bienvenidas Lauragrace y Maria!December 3, 2007
jpvillanueva says
Maria, Yo estudiaba la lingüística en Ann Arbor, ¡no muy lejos de Ypsilanti!December 4, 2007
cecirose says
¡Hola a todos! Soy inglesa pero vivo en el norte de Escocia. Soy 'newbie' y estoy aprendiendo español porque quiero hablar con mis amigos mèxicanos.December 4, 2007
jpvillanueva says
cecirose, ¡Bienvenida a SpanishPod! Judging by how well you write in Spanish, you're not really a newbie! : )December 4, 2007
shrty411 says
Juanpatrico - I can't believe anyone here has heard of Ypsilanti! Yes, very close to Ann Arbor!! ( too new to write that all in Spanish) MariaDecember 4, 2007
lilianamata says
Cecirose! Bienvenida a SpanishPod! Puedes hablar con nosotros español!December 4, 2007
cecirose says
Muchas gracias msmata y juanpatricio. ¡Tengo que aprender muchas, muchas cosas!December 5, 2007
readernick says
Hola, Me llamo Nicole. Soy de estadosunidense pero vivo en sur corea. Quiero aprender espanol (sorry I can not produce the eh-nyeh on my korean/english keyboard) porque es un idioma bonita y util. EncantadaDecember 6, 2007
lauragrace says
Hola Nicole! Yo soy una "newbie" también.December 7, 2007
austinfd says
Soy de Maryland, en Estados Unidos pero ahora vivo en Correa.December 8, 2007
helmiz says
¡Hola a todos! Me llamo Helmut y vivo en Francfort en Alemania.December 12, 2007
msiebert says
Soy de Cincinnati Ohio en Estados Unidos, pero ahora vivo en Charlotte North Carolina. BTW Steve - I used to live on a small island in England as well. Spent 1 1/2 years in Jersey, Channel Islands. Not much Spanish there (more Portuguese), but the native language (resembled French) was interesting to hear from the few people who still spoke it.December 12, 2007
mandybuzby says
Hola! Me llamo Amanda. Soy de Vermont en Estados Unidos.December 12, 2007
lilianamata says
Hola Mandy! Eres bienvenida!December 13, 2007
fimperial says
Hola de todo! Soy Franco y soy de San José, California. Vivo en Japantown, un barrio pequeño al norte del centro. Tratando estudio Japonés pero es muy dificil. Esta una "JaponésPod"?December 13, 2007
lilianamata says
Hola fimperial Mejor estudia español! Vas muy bien!December 13, 2007
fimperial says
Gracias Liliana, pero no puedo tener todo el meríto. (is that the correct way to say "I can't take all the credit" ?) When in doubt I double check with the Google translator: http://translate.google.com No es perfecto, pero es mucho mejor que yo. :)December 14, 2007
jpvillanueva says
fimperial, I like to use WordReference if I need to look up a word. I don't recommend any machine translators because a) they're often absurdly bad, and b) you don't get to make your own mistakes. Online translators might be used as a last resort to kind of give you the jist of a webpage in a language you don't speak, but remember, they are not your friend! Stick with an online dictionary! : )December 14, 2007
ivona says
Hola! Yo soy Ivona.soy de Croatia =D (btw.:Croatia is in Europe =) )December 14, 2007
fimperial says
Thanks JP for the recommendations. I do feel guilty when I use the translator because I agree it's counterproductive to my development. I'm just at the point where I doubt my grammar a lot, so I admit it's a crutch. Thanks for the tough love - I'll try to kick that bad habit pronto!December 14, 2007
jpvillanueva says
ivona, ¡Hola, guapa! fimperial, Try? Try?! No! Try not! Do, or do not! There is no try! The worst part about the translators is that they don't translate very well. Horribly, actually. And unlike you, they don't learn from their mistakes!December 15, 2007
fimperial says
Lo siento Don Yoda! :) I will DO it! You're absolutely right. Just gotta cut the cord and be comfy with flailing a little more. I've heard there are 2 types of language learners: - those that want to get it so perfect that they're hesitant to speak (high accuracy/low amt of use) - those that throw any word in any order out there in order to try to communicate. (vice versa) I suppose it helps to understand your personal goals for the language: become a translator for the U.N.? order food at a restaurant? Feel comfortable listening to Lilliana in the Intermediate SpanishPod podcasts? It seems that whatever the goal is you will still have to make that leap of faith and put yourself out there in order to jump to that next level of proficiency. Alright I'm excited (contento) and ready to practice more!December 15, 2007
fuyilian says
Hola de todo! Soy Florence, soy de Francia pero yo vivo en Shanghai, China! Me gusto mucho apprender hablar español! :)December 15, 2007
ivona says
hehe, gracias jpvillanueva...December 15, 2007
joannage says
hola. Yo soy joanna, soy de China, beijing.December 17, 2007
lilianamata says
Hola Joanna. Eres bienvenida a SpanishPod!December 18, 2007
zero1213 says
hola,todo,soy de Ningbo,Chino,encantadoJanuary 12, 2008
linkingirl says
hola todos soy de Shanghai.I love spanishpod!!!! anyone in Shanghai???January 13, 2008
lilianamata says
Bienvenida linkingirl a Spanishpod!January 14, 2008
you3ming2 says
Hola! Soy de Malasia pero vivo en Irlanda. Spanishpod me gusta. Bravo!January 16, 2008
lilianamata says
Bienvenida you3ming2! Muchas gracias por estar con SpanishPod. Thanks so much for being with SpanishPod.January 17, 2008
ewong says
hola todas! Yo Soy Eileen soy de Manila en Filipinas. me gusta mucho escuchar spanish pod!January 22, 2008
marinovich says
Soy de Colombia. Busco partner o amigo que me ayuden a hablar el croata, pues soy descediente de ese pequeño país europeo.January 29, 2008
pituitaryadenoma says
What is the different between listo and lista?February 14, 2008
lilianamata says
pituitaryadenoma "Listo" is the masculine form for "ready" and "lista" is the feminine form.February 14, 2008
superbigmuch11 says
Buenas dias! Soy de South Dakota en EE.UU. Soy una instructadora (?) colegio de Ingles y Literatura.February 17, 2008
lilianamata says
Bienvenida superbigmuch11 Se dice "instructora."February 17, 2008
will1010 says
Dallas, Texas, EEUU! Como se dice "Where are you from in Mexico?" Es correcto "De donde es usted en Mexico?"February 24, 2008
lilianamata says
will1010 You can say that in a polite way and use "usted". If is someone your age you can say "¿De que parte de México eres?"February 24, 2008
carmen1314 says
hola, This is Carmen come from Shanghai, China. Pleased to be here! Would like to learn Spanish...March 24, 2008
lilianamata says
Hola Carmen! Bienvenida! Welcome to SpanishPod!March 24, 2008
mandatory1234 says
May 12, 2008
Hola! Soy de Turquia.
estibalitz says
May 12, 2008
¡Hola mandatory1234! Yo soy de España.
jodibean says
May 17, 2008
¡Hola a todos! Yo soy de Hawaii, pero ahora vivo en Texas hace cuatro años. Añoro la comida allá, pero viviendo en Texas me ha hecho una cocinera mucha mejor.
krystyna says
June 18, 2008
Hola. Soy de Wroclaw, Polonia, pero ahora vivo en Chicago.
stevestr says
June 18, 2008
Soy de Nueva York, la Isla Laga, pero vivo en virginia cerca de Washington DC hace mucho años.
thesmithtopher says
June 18, 2008
Soy de Edmonton, Canada pero ahora vivo en Thunder Bay en el centro de mi país.
spanishlearners says
July 6, 2008
Hola todos, soy de Doha en Qatar.
lamujerme says
July 6, 2008
Hola todos! :) Soy de Philippines pero vivo en Florida desde el 2001.
cutthatcity says
July 7, 2008
soy de inglaterra, una pequena ciudad cerca de londres :)
vkwing says
July 16, 2008
Hola. Me llama Veronica. I'm from Mauritius, a small island near Madagascar. I don't know how we say Mauritius in Spanish.
jpvillanueva says
July 16, 2008
¡Hola Veronica de Mauricio! Bienvenida a SpanishPod :)
roborob says
July 16, 2008
!Hola!....Me llamo roberto.....soy de Vancouver,Canada....En realdad,de Langley B.C....!diviértanse!☺☺☺♪♪♪
vero2311 says
July 18, 2008
Oh! :) Gracias JP! Soy de Mauricio, then! I love listening to you and Liliana on the podcasts. Hasta luego!
khin says
August 9, 2008
hola todos
soy khin,soy de myanmar, un pais lado de thailand.estoy vivo en nueva york.me alegro mucho a conozco mucho mas membros del spanishpod. me encanta hablar spanish mucho. por favor, hablar conmiga en spanish.
lilianamata says
August 11, 2008
Hola Khin! Bienvenida a SpanishPod. Una de las mejores maneras de practicar tu español es aquí en la sección de comentarios. Muchos de nuestros miembros escriben sus dudas y sus comentarios , entre todos nos gusta ayudar.
colombiastu says
August 11, 2008
Yo livo en Colombia pero yo soy de Vancouver Island
khin says
August 17, 2008
hola Lilianamata ! muchisimas gracias por repongar me. me parece por que hay muchos chinos en la china del la shanghai y beijing estan aprendendos spinish. eras muchos gentes de spanish estan vivido en la china. digame por favor.De nueve mucha mucha gracias!!
mujeeb says
August 17, 2008
Amor u! its frio in Hunza
mujeeb says
August 17, 2008
PLEASE TEACH ME SPANISH/AMOR U ALL
mujeebhunzai23@gmail.com
chalenged says
September 12, 2008
soy de columbia
just76sg says
September 17, 2008
Hola .. Soy de Singapore
donperigo says
September 17, 2008
just76sg
Hola, bienvenidos. creo que es Singapur en español. :-)
djpeart says
September 21, 2008
Hola amigos. Mi nombre es David. Yo sos Melbourne, Australia pero vivo en Montevideo, Uruguay.
vikia says
September 22, 2008
Hola! Mi nombre es Viki. Soy de Omaha, Nebraska. Mi ciuda es en el centre de Los Estados Unidos.
galingo says
September 23, 2008
hola. Mi nombre es Elisha. Mi ciuda es jamaica. mucho gusto
kikuyu says
September 23, 2008
Galingo--Hola Elisha,
Jamaica es el país.
Jamaica is the country.
mauricereeves says
September 25, 2008
Yo soy Maurice. Soy de Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, en Estados Unidos. Gracias!
lilianamata says
September 26, 2008
Hola Maurice
Bienvenido a SpanishPod!
winda says
October 6, 2008
Hola! Me llamo Winda. Yo soy de Jakarta, Indonesia. Is that correct? I don't know the spanish word for Jakarta and Indonesia. Btw, how to type the accent with the keyboard? Gracias.
cobre says
October 6, 2008
Winda,
Bienvenido a los foros.
Para utilizar los claves especíales, lea este pagina de web.
to use the special keys, read this web page
http://faculty.weber.edu/tmathews/grammar/Compmark.html
winda says
October 7, 2008
Gracias, cobre. I've read it and already try.But it doesnt work. What do I miss?
cobre says
October 7, 2008
Which operating system are you using?
winda says
October 7, 2008
I use Windows XP.
sefatemiz says
October 7, 2008
Hola! Soy de Turquia. s_e_f_a_06_@hotmail.com
azreencomel says
November 8, 2008
Hola!
soy de Malaysia.
kikuyu says
November 8, 2008
Hola azreencomel,
I know that you were having trouble yesterday making the accent marks. Here is an easy way for you to do them: Just click here. And then copy and paste it back into the Spanishpod comment section
azreencomel says
November 8, 2008
azreencomel says
November 8, 2008
Hola,todos!
To all spanishpod member please add me in your yahoo messanger or msn!
n.nurazreen@yahoo.com
kikuyu says
November 8, 2008
azreencomel,
You almost did it. Just type in your comment below the picture of the keyboard on that website that I gave you and you will see the accent marks appear as you type. Then just copy and paste that comment here.
Good luck. Buena suerte!
azreencomel says
November 9, 2008
kikuyu,
Gracias!!
papaketis says
November 9, 2008
quetal amigo?
darklopez says
November 19, 2008
que bien.. que bien....
hanabadawy3 says
November 22, 2008
hola .soy de sudan
it is in north africa are you know about ?
i am glad to join this side and i am injoy to learn spanish
thanks jp ,thanks liliana
i want to ask about this up side down quistion mark what it mean ?
fatema says
November 22, 2008
hola, me llamo fatema
soy de Egipto
cutthatcity says
November 22, 2008
hanabadawy3, ¡Bienvenido a spanishpod!
The ¿ goes at the start of a sentence that is a question. It's there so that the speaker knows from the beggining that the sentence is a question and not a statement. This also applies to sentences of exclamation (¡).
osam says
November 26, 2008
hola !
natgrillo says
November 28, 2008
Que tal.
Tu tiennes El Salvador para tu vida eternal?
jeraldina says
March 8, 2009
Please help me with the verb congugation in the expansion sentence "Soy originaria de Guatemala." It doesn't seem to match any of the forms on a verb conjugation table for originar. ¿Es esto un error?
I have a feeling that I might be developing into a grammar nerd. Soy aficionada a la gramática. ¿Es esta correcta?
Gracias por su ayuda.
donperigo says
March 8, 2009
jeraldina
without the accent i think its an adjective
littlemoon2612 says
March 29, 2009
Soy de Vietnam ^^
aabbccc21cn000 says
April 2, 2009
I have a question,
are the syllables "y" or "ll" pronounced like the "y" in the english word "you"?
sometimes i hear they're pronounced like the "j" in the english word "Jessica",
so.. i'm confused, what's the correct way to pronounce the syllables "y" and "ll"?
Thanks,
cobre says
April 3, 2009
aabbccc...
pronounce them either way, they are regional variations and many speakers mix and match them in conversation. You will be understood, and if you regularly communicate with a population that uses one or the other predominantly, just conform (or not)
krisyouxi21cn says
April 4, 2009
Oh~ I got it!
Muchas gracias!
:)