LoMásTv
  Don Quijote School Verano Eterno 10 Liquits: Jardín
Lo Más Nuevo de LoMásTv
The don Quijote school in Salamanca > Jesús Baz
Verano Eterno > Fiesta Grande > Part 10
Liquits > Jardín
How do you say "love" in Spanish? Let us count the ways... 
  1. There's the verb amar ("to love"), which is pretty easy to remember because it shares Latin roots with the English words "amorous" and "enamored."
  2. There's the verb querer, which means both "to love" (someone) or "to want" (something). You've probably heard:
    Te quiero     =     "I love you    " +
    Yo quiero Taco Bell     = "I want Taco Bell"
  3. Then there's the verb encantar ("to love," or "to enchant"), which is used to express "love" in the sense of liking something a whole heck of a lot (i.e., gustar mucho).  It is used with objects, not people. For example:
    Me encanta esta ciudad = "I love this city."
    Me encantan esos pantalones = "I love those pants."
Did you note in our examples above that the verb encantar (like gustar) agrees with the object of affection (la cuidad / los pantalones), instead of the speaker? The construction, if expressed in English, might be "Those pants enchant me."

In the newest video content currently featured on LoMásTv, we interview Jesús Baz, the director of studies at the don Quijote Spanish-language school in Salamanca. Be assured, long-time teacher Jesús knows his Spanish -- and he loves his hometown of Salamanca, Spain. Here's how he expresses his affection:
Yo soy salmantino, y me encanta mi ciudad porque me parece una de las ciudades más bonitas del mundo.
I am from Salamanca, and I love my city because I think it's one of the nicest cities in the world.
captions 25-6, Don Quijote school in Salamanca > Jesús Baz
So, feel confident about following Jesús's example and describing the love you feel for your own favorite place in the world with the verb encantar.

For further discussions on "love," see:
About.com > Te quiero vs. te amo
WordReference.com > Encantar / amar
WordReference.com > Querer / amar and amar / querer

Remember The Smurfs? Los Pitufos -- as they are known in Spanish -- are referenced among the trippy Liquits lyrics in this featured music video now on LoMásTv:
Pastel de pitufresa mezclado con peyote natural y moras
Smurfberry pie mixed with natural peyote and blackberry
caption 10, Liquits > Jardín
Huh?, you might ask. What's a pitufresa? Well, fresa translates as "strawberry." Adding the made-up prefix "pitu[f]-" in front of the word for this sweet, red fruit is akin to manipulating the English word "strawberry" to create the fictional food "smurfberry." (Remember this red-fruited cereal spun off from the cartoon?)

Like "Smurf," "Pitufo" is a made-up word in Spanish. But in both English and Spanish, the Smurf world -- that is, Pitufolandia -- follows some basic language rules that can be illuminating for students to note. For example:
"Smurf" + the suffix "-ette" = "Smurfette"
"Pitufo" + the suffix "-ina" = "Pitufina"
In both cases, the made-up root word is paired with a real-world suffix to name the cute, female character in the cartoon.

So, the Liquits' loopy reference to fictional pitufresas can help shed light on other pop culture references. Bonus points for anyone who can figure out how to say "Smurftastic!" en español....

For more, see:
Wikipedia > The Smurfs in other languages
Playing the GAME? If you haven't noticed the "GAME" button just below the captions on the Yabla Player (below the "hide" buttons), now is the time to press it! Playing several rounds with each video will build your listening and spelling skills, and you will get more out of each video! (The GAME changes every time you play it!)
Click Here To Go To LoMásTv
Miss the last LoMásTv newsletter? Click here to see it.
You are receiving this newsletter because you opted-in or you are a subscriber to LoMásTv. If you are not a LoMásTv subscriber and wish to opt-out, simply reply to this email and tell us.