I am having a lot of trouble knowing when to use the subjective, can anyone help me with the secret of knowing. Just when I think I am using the right form I read somewhere or hear somewhere I'm wrong.
Kathy
Subjunctives - TOPIC MOVED TO LANGUAGE RESOURCES!

kathy09
July 20, 2007

nohablo
July 21, 2007
Hola Kathy. Do you mean the *subjunctive*? There are _many_ uses of the subjunctive in Spanish. It's _much_ more frequently used in Spanish than in English. I'd recommend that you get hold of a good book to help you. One that I like for help with all verbs, not just the subjunctive, is _Spanish Verb Tenses_ by Dorothy Devney Richmond. It's a large paperback in a series called Practice Makes Perfect. Another useful book for all aspects of grammar, including the subjunctive, is _¡Búscalo! (Look it Up: A Quick Reference Guide to Spanish Grammar and Usage_ by William M. Clarkson and Guillermo Campos. They're both terrific supplements to Rocket Spanish, and they're both available in paperback.

kathy09
July 22, 2007
Yes I did not notice I spelled it wrong I will try to look up the book Thanks for the reply
Kathy

rmdodson
June 11, 2010
[quo]*Quote from * nohablo
_Spanish Verb Tenses_ by Dorothy Devney Richmond...Practice Makes Perfect...[/quo] I also have this book & agree that it is very good.
I also have Barron's "501 Spanish Verbs" as well as Barron's Spanish-English dictionary. The Barron's 501 Spanish Verbs shows complete conjugations of the 501 most used verbs, identifies & discusses the 55 most used verbs, & has a list in the back for another 2000+ verbs with reference numbers to similarly conjugated verbs from the 501 listing. It also has a brief introduction as to when to use what tense & mood with english examples.
I took a year of Spanish in both high school & college, but never got comfortable using the language while speaking & "lost" it through non-use. Now however, I work in a state prison where we have a large number of Latino inmates. My current position is one where I am dealing more personally with them about problems & often they want to speak with me but are hesitant to use a translator due to the personal nature of their issues. Now, I NEED to REALLY learn spanish. I am using Rocket Spanish to develop my conversational ability along with another competitor's product for speaking, reading & writing abilities. The competitor's product has speech recognition capability & evaluates your pronunciation (I personally think this is the only thing lacking in RS, although the price of RS is much more affordable). After 3 weeks of the competitor & 1.5 weeks of RS, I am actually at the advanced beginner stage (which is much further along than my high school & college courses got me to).
I am actually getting more confident at speaking with the Latinos & I have caused a few chuckles. Imagine my horror when one told me that "coger" ("to take" in Spain) alludes to the F-word in Mexico & Latin America :oops:

ricardo-rich
June 12, 2010
Hola Kathy, I too have the Dorothy Richmond verb book as well as the one dealing with pronouns & prepositions. I also have the Big Red Book of Spanish verbs which is similar to 501. I think I bought them after nohablo replied to a question I posted. In any case, I find them very helpful. Also, there are free video lessons available at the link below. Lesson 75 begins a journey into "Subjunctive Land". If you register you can post questions & comments. Recomiendo este sitio mucho.
¡Buena suerte!
Rich
http://www.lacasarojas.com/?cat=201