Spanish Language Game: Estar - Present Tense

Quick Spanish Language Game: estar (to be) - present tense
Level: Beginner (A1)
Playing Time: 4 minutes

Play this fun interactive Spanish language game online, to learn and practice the present tense of the Spanish verb "estar".
You'll practice the personal verb forms, then put together easy sentences with them.
The sentences illustrate 3 basic uses of the verb "estar" (see below).
Note that personal pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) are often dropped in Spanish, except when they are needed for clarity or emphasis.
In this game, we first include the pronouns, then drop them in some of the sentences.

Present Tense of the Verb "estar"

• yo estoy - I am
• tú estás - you are (familiar)
• él, ella está - he, she is
• Usted está - you are (formal)
• nosotros/as estamos - we are (m/f)
• vosotros/as estáis - you are (m/f) [Spain]
• Ustedes están - you are (pl) [Latin America]
• ellos/as están - they are (m/f)

3 Basic Uses of "estar":

1. to express a condition or state
• ¿Estás cansado? (Are you tired? [familiar])
• ¿Está seguro? (Are you sure? [formal))

2. to indicate a location
• No está aquí. (He isn't here.)
• ¿Dónde estáis? (Where are you-all? [Spain])
• ¿Ustedes están en casa? (Are you-all at home? [Latin America])
• Estamos en España. (We're in Spain.)

3. to form the progressive tense
• Estoy buscando ... (I'm looking for ...)
• Ellos están caminando. (They're walking.)

Spanish Language Game: Poder - Present Tense

Quick Spanish Language Game: poder (can, to be able) - present tense
Level: Beginner (A1)
Playing Time: 4 minutes
Learn and practice the present tense of the Spanish verb for "can, to be able" with a quick and fun interactive game.
Note that in the present tense, the verb "poder" is irregular: Its stem changes from o --> ue in all forms except nosotros/nosotras, and vosotros [used in Spain].

(Image credit: Kamila Maciejewska on Unsplash)
With Shootout, you'll practice the personal verb forms.  With Word Invader, you'll make easy sentences with each of the forms.
Note: Pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) are often dropped in Spanish, unless you need them for clarity or emphasis.
We'll first include the pronouns for practice. In the sentences you'll notice that some of them are naturally dropped.

Present Tense of the Irregular Verb "poder"

• yo puedo - I can
• tú puedes - you can (familiar)
• él, ella puede - he, she can
• Usted puede - you can (formal)
• nosotros/as podemos - we can (m/f)
• vosotros/as podéis - you can (m/f) [Spain]
• Ustedes pueden - you can (pl) [Latin America]
• ellos/as pueden - they can (m/f)

Italian Language Story Game 4: Firenze

Italian Language Story: Marco in Firenze

Level: Low Intermediate (B1)
Playing Time: 4 minutes

Part 4 of Marco's trip to Italy (Il viaggio di Marco 4 - Firenze).

In Part 4 of Marco's trip to Italy, Marco arrives at his friend's place. Alessandro's girlfriend Giulia invites him in, and introductions follow.

In the next few days, Giulia and her sister Claudia show Marco around town. They visit Palazzo Ricasoli, where the American author James Fennimore Cooper had lived for almost a year. They also go to see the famous Palazzo Vecchio, and enjoy a grand view from Piazzale Michelangelo, a large square located on top of a hill.
(Photo by Herr Bohn on Unsplash)

Listen to Part 4 of Marco's journey in Italian. It contains 135 basic words and phrases, all in context.
You can play the story, or any part of it, as often as you want. Click on individual sentences to hear them again.

Repeat the Italian sentences aloud with or right after the speaker and try to understand what is said without translating.

Key Verbs in Travel Story: Il viaggio di Marco 4

• aprire - to open
• sperare - to hope
• entrare - to enter, go in
• visitare - to visit (a place)
• divertire - to amuse, entertain
• passeggiare - to stroll, walk
• indicare - to indicate, point out
• sapere - to know, be aware of

You can see the English translation on a desk- or laptop (but not on a phone or tablet).
To practice the individual words and phrases of the story, register or log in and go to Italian 1, Marco in Italia.

For easy games (Beginner, A1) see our post: 5 Easy Italian Language Games.

Or you can find ALL of them - over 60 by now - on the Italian Quick Language Games page.

Italian Language Game: Day Week Month Year

Play Italian Language Game: Day Week Month Year. A fun interactive vocabulary game to practice some basics: the singular and plural of these masculine and feminine nouns. (Photo by Juliana Malta on unsplash.com)

The somewhat tricky part for English speakers is that the definite article "the" has several singular and plural forms in Italian. Using a game to practice these four nouns is a good start to internalizing the forms and their sounds.

Learning just the rules of a language pattern is sometimes too abstract and overwhelming. Practicing the sounds of specific examples, helps to create automatic responses. For example, you learn and then know that "il giorno - i giorni" is the regular masculine pattern for nouns starting with a consonant (with the exceptions noted below in the "Summary of Italian Articles").

So, when you encounter other masculine nouns starting with a consonant*, you automatically know what the pattern is: "il ragazzo - i ragazzi" (the boy - the boys), "il fratello - i fratelli" (the brother - the brothers), "il campo - i campi" (the field - the fields), etc. etc. (*However, please note the exceptions below which use "lo" and "gli" instead of "il" and "i"!)

Day Week Month Year

As you play, say the words OUT LOUD and imitate the speaker.

• il giorno - the day (m)
• i giorni - the days (m)
• il mese - the month (m)
• i mesi - the months (m)
• la settimana - the week (f)
• le settimane - the weeks (f)
• l'anno - the year (m)
• gli anni - the years (m)
  
  

Summary of Italian Definite Articles

il   -for masculine singular nouns starting with a consonant
l'   -for masculine singular nouns starting with a vowel
lo  -for masculine singular nouns starting with s+consonant, z, y, gn, ps, pn
i    -for masculine plural nouns starting with a consonant
gli -for masculine plural nouns starting with a vowel, s+consonant, x, z, y, gn, ps, pn

la  -for feminine singular nouns starting with a consonant
l'   -for feminine singular nouns starting with a vowel
le  -for feminine plural nouns starting with a vowel or a consonant

For more easy games see also our post: 5 Easy Italian Language Games.

Or you can find ALL of them - over 60 by now - on the Italian Quick Language Games page.

If you like our Italian games, please SHARE them with your friends.

More than an Italian Language Game

With our Italian 1 course you'll practice Italian for FREE - with the story of a young man traveling through Italy. "The Story" and easy games will let you forget that you are actually learning Italian!
If you just play ONE lesson a day (we call them "Scenes") - and review the previous day's dialogue and Scene - you'll be amazed how much you'll have learned after 36 days!
And make sure to listen to the Podcast after each Level (six Scenes)

French Language Game: Passé Composé with Avoir

Quick French Language Game: Passé Composé with "Avoir"
Level: Elementary (A2)
Playing Time: 5 minutes

Learn and practice a few sentences using the Passé Composé tense with the auxiliary, or helping verb, "avoir". You use the French tense called Passé Composé for an action or event that was completed in the past. 

To sharpen your pronunciation, say the French OUT LOUD right after or at the same time as the speaker.
You may want to look at the verb forms and sentences below before you begin.

Our games are a great way to learn or review basic conversational French.

Passé Composé with "avoir"

• j'ai parlé - I spoke
• tu as parlé - you spoke (familiar)
• il/elle a parlé - it/he/she spoke
• nous avons parlé - we spoke
• vous avez parlé - you spoke (formal/plural)
• ils/elles ont parlé - they spoke (m/f)

Sentences using the Helping Verb "avoir"

• Oui, j'ai parlé avec lui. - Yes, I spoke with him.
• Tu as lu le journal hier? - Did you(fam.) read the newspaper yesterday? [lire]
• Oui, il a dit ça. - Yes, he said that. [dire]
• Nous avons acheté une maison. - We bought a house. [acheter]
• Où avez-vous appris le français? - Where did you(form.) learn French? [apprendre]
• Ils ont fait une promenande. - They took a walk. [faire]
  
  

If you like our games, please SHARE us with your friends.

More Than a French Language Game

Remember: You can practice French online for FREE with our 36-Scene French 1 Travel-Story: "Daniel en France". 
In it you'll learn and practice all the words, phrases and sentences you hear in the podcasts. 
Just login HERE.
"The Story" and easy games will let you forget that you're actually learning French! 
If you have any language questions  - don't hesitate to contact us!