Question for #spanish learners / teachers Is there a way to know whether verbs take the preposition “a” or not? For example, if I’m not mistaken, it should be “¿Quieres un té? Sí, lo quiero.” But in other cases it’s “¿Le quieres a Luís? Sí, le quiero.” So in the the second example, querer takes the preposition “a” but in the first it doesn’t. And from my experience it’s not just when the object is people, so how does it work? Thank you!

Did you know that Arabic handwriting can be a bit different from computer typed fonts? Some letters lose some serifs, as is the case in all languages. Others, however, change completely! Here is a handwritten recipe for Knafeh that I wrote. Are you able to read it? If so, then make the recipe and enjoy!

Do you struggle with your Arabic pronunciation? Here are three fun Lebanese Arabic tongue twisters to help you untie that tongue of yours! هَيْدا المِشْمُشْ مِشْ مِنْ مِشِمْشِتْنا Hayda el mishmush mish min mishimshitna خَيْطْ حَريرْ عَلى حَيْطْ اِمْ خَليلْ Kheit 7areer 3ala 7eit em Khaleel ليرة وَرا ليرة وَرا ليرة وَرا ليرة… Leera wara leera wara leera The translations are, respectively: These apricots are not from our apricot tree There is a silk thread on Um Khaleel’s wall Pound after pound after pound… Remember, the trick is to repeat them multiple times! Happy tongue twisting!

For anyone who wants to see what the written Lebanese dialect looks like: اليوم فقت وشربت فنجان شاي ويانسون، ورجعت اكلت صحن لبنة وزعتر وبلشت شغلي. يمكن تلات ارباع اللبنانية هيك بيبلشو نهارهن. Some people also use the latin alphabet: Lyom fe2et w chrebet fenjen chay w yansoun, w rje3et akalet sa7en labne w za3tar w ballachet cheghle. Yemken tlet rbe3 el lebneniye hek bibalcho nharon. If you find this interesting and want to learn the Lebanese dialect, contact me!