Hola {{first_name}} 👋🏻
Bienvenido/a a Master Spanish Weekly. Every Friday: one clear lesson, a song to train your ear, and a few things to keep Spanish present in your week. ¡VAMOS!
This week in class
Esta semana en clase
Great week with Vokally’s students. We spent a lot of time on pretérito indefinido vs. imperfecto. The two past tenses that give learners the most trouble.
The short version: the indefinido is for finished actions at a specific point (comí, fui, hablé), and the imperfecto is for what was ongoing, repeated, or in the background (comía, iba, hablaba). Muy fácil 😆
We'll practice in more detail in a future issue.
🎧 Song of the week
🎧 Canción de la semana
The World Cup kicked off yesterday in Mexico City, and the opening ceremony was full of Latin music. Shakira headlined with the official song Dai Dai, but my favorite moment was seeing Venezuelan artist Danny Ocean taking the stage, too. Which brings me to this week's song:
"Alma Llanera / Venezuela" — Danny Ocean (Live from the Nobel Peace Prize, 2025)
Last December, Danny Ocean opened the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo with just his piano player, singing a Venezuelan classic. "Alma Llanera" is the unofficial anthem of Venezuela 🇻🇪 a song about the plains, the rivers, and belonging to a place. Even if you catch only a few words, listen for the feeling. That's a language lesson too.
👉 Listen on Spotify (read the lyrics for extra points)
👉 Watch on YouTube (una presentación hermosa)
This week’s lesson
📘 Lección de la semana: el verbo AGARRAR
This week's verb is AGARRAR. One of the most useful words in everyday Latin American Spanish. It starts with "to grab," but it also includes take, catch, hold on, and more.
Agarra una silla y siéntate. → Grab a chair and sit down.
Agarré un resfriado. → I caught a cold.
I put together a short guide with everyday uses, the reflexive verb agarrarse, common expressions, and one cultural tip.
Download it, print it, keep it handy.
Prefer to watch? Today's lesson is up as a reel on Instagram and Facebook👇🏼
Let’s test your knowledge!
✏️ Mini Quiz:
Choose the best answer.
Complete it: ¡______ el tren, que ya se va!
(a) Agarra · (b) Agárrate
Agarró cariño por el perro. means:
(a) He grabbed the dog · (b) He grew fond of the dogComplete it: Abrígate para no ______ frío.
(a) agarrar · (b) agarrarteYa le agarré la onda al subjuntivo. means:
(a) I caught a wave on the subjunctive · (b) I finally got the hang of the subjunctiveIn most of Latin America, the safe everyday verb for "take the bus" is:
(a) coger · (b) agarrar or tomar
¡Gracias por leer mi newsletter!
¡Gracias por leer!
Gracias por estar aquí una semana más, por tu curiosidad y por dedicarle un poco de tu tiempo al español. Nos vemos el próximo viernes.
¡Un abrazo! Alejandro, Founder @ Vokally
