Hola, ¿cómo te va? 👋🏻
Espero que estés muy bien. Bienvenido/a a Master Spanish Weekly. A weekly email with useful Spanish and cultural references, plus short practice, so Spanish becomes part of your day.
En el correo de hoy:
🎧 Quick story: 🎧 Still Learning English (Hookwink?)🤯🧙🏻♂️
📰 Noticias en Español: 3 headlines this week
🧠 Lesson: Questions in Spanish, No "Do/Does" Needed + Downloadable PDF.
❓ Mini Quiz: 5 questions to test yourself
💙 Gracias.
🎧 Still Learning English
My son and I have been listening to the new Harry Potter audiobooks on Audible on the way to school. It's a 30-minute drive, and we've been enjoying it together.
Today, Dumbledore said something like:
"Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort."
I immediately said “hood-QUÉ?” - my son said “Hoodwinked” in his American accent that I don’t have.
“Hoodwinked”. I've been speaking English for years, and I had never heard it.
It means to trick or deceive someone. In Spanish, we have 3 equivalents: timar, engatusar, engañar.
We never stop learning a language. There's always a new word, a new expression, something that surprises you. That's not a sign you're behind; that's just how language works.
👉 Check out the translation and examples of “hoodwink” in WordReference.com, my favorite English-Spanish dictionary online.
Ahora, vamos a las noticias:
🔗 Noticias en Español
⚾ Deportes
✈️ Viajes
🛫 La lista de los 5 países más felices del mundo en la que por primera vez hay uno de América Latina
🇺🇸 EE.UU
🧠 Questions in Spanish: No "Do/Does" Needed
In English, every question needs a helper verb: do, did, does.
In Spanish? Just conjugate the verb. That's the whole secret.
Let's focus on how to ask someone questions directly — to tú.
Asking about right now (present tense)
Take the verb, conjugate it for tú, and you have your question.
The ending almost always tells you it's for tú — it ends in -s.
hablar → ¿Hablas español? → Do you speak Spanish?
trabajar → ¿Trabajas aquí? → Do you work here?
tomar → ¿Tomas café por la mañana? → Do you drink coffee in the morning?
vivir → ¿Vives cerca? → Do you live nearby?
entender → ¿Entiendes la pregunta? → Do you understand the question?
See the pattern? The verb ends in -s, and you're asking tú a question. No "do" needed.
Asking about the past (past tense)
Same idea, the ending changes to show it already happened.
-AR verbs → the ending is -aste
-ER / -IR verbs → the ending is -iste
llamar → ¿Llamaste al médico? → Did you call the doctor?
tomar → ¿Tomaste el medicamento? → Did you take the medication?
hablar → ¿Hablaste con tu jefe? → Did you talk to your boss?
entender → ¿Entendiste las instrucciones? → Did you understand the instructions?
venir → ¿Viniste ayer? → Did you come yesterday?
No "did." Just the verb with the right ending.
Add a question word
Put one of these at the front, and you can ask anything:
¿Qué? · ¿Dónde? · ¿Cuándo? · ¿Cómo? · ¿Por qué? · ¿Cuántos/as?
¿Qué estudias? → What do you study?
¿Dónde trabajas? → Where do you work?
¿Cuándo llegaste? → When did you arrive?
¿Por qué no llamaste? → Why didn't you call?
🧩 Mini Quiz: Questions in Spanish
1. Your friend says: "¿Trabajas los fines de semana?" What does that mean?
a) Did you work on the weekend? b) Do you work on weekends? c) Are you working right on weekends?
2. How do you ask "Did you eat today?" in Spanish?
a) ¿Comiste hoy? b) ¿Comes hoy? c) ¿Comías hoy?
3. Fill in the blank: "¿ _______ llegaste tan tarde?" (Why did you arrive so late?)
a) ¿Qué? b) ¿Cómo? c) ¿Por qué?
4. Which ending tells you the verb is past tense for ‘tú’ with an -ER verb?
a) -aste b) -iste c) -as
5. How do you ask "Do you understand?" in Spanish?
a) ¿Entendiste? b) ¿Entiendes? c) ¿Entender?
💙 Gracias
This week's word: hoodwink → engañar / timar / engatusar
No te dejes engañar. → Don't let yourself be fooled.
¡Hasta la próxima semana!
Alejandro, Founder & Director @ Vokally, Spanish that connects people!
