Our Pre School Page

Here is a list of books (suggested reading and for reference) and at the bottom of the page are a few lessons or suggestions for study.  

As far as books go you will need two books for school.  One of which you would be much better off to purchase in the US.  That is the book 501 verbs.  This shows the conjugation for 501 different Spanish verbs.  Its indispensable and very hard to find in Mexico.  

You will also need a Spanish/English dictionary. This can be purchased here, in fact there are advantages in doing so.  There is a difference between Spanish Spanish and Latin American Spanish.  You should try to get a dictionary that uses Latin American words.  I would suggest you purchase a mid size one, I have one from the University of Chicago that is the size of small hard cover book (its a paperback) that to me is about right.  If you get a real small one, the type is hard to read and it doesn't have all the words you will need.  If you get a big hard cover its heavy and bulky and hard to carry around.

Another book I like,  but that will not help you much in class, is 2001 Spanish and English Idioms.  

If you would like something to read on the airplane...  Here are some books about the  area and its history here are some books (in English) that I have read and enjoyed.  All are older books and you might have better luck looking in the library then in a bookstore.  The Distant Neighbors has been updated recently.   

Fire and Blood  by T.R. Fehrenbach
A history of Mexico.  Very interesting reading goes from prehistoric times to about 1970.  The part about the Aztecs and Cortes is especially interesting. 

Zapata and the Mexican Revolution,  by John Womack 
This is a history of the many Mexican Revolutions of the early 1900's.  Zapata played a major part in these revolutions and never ventured far from Cuernavaca so its a very interesting history of this area in the early 1900's. 

Distant Neighbors,  by Alan Riding
Mexicans are very different from the residents of the US.  They think different and the culture is very different.  This book explains a lot of the reasons why.  Very interesting reading.  Available in paperback and hardcover.  

Aztec, by Gary Jennings 
This is Historical Fiction, Covers the life of one man during the Aztec period.  Very interesting reading by a very popular author

Mexico, by James A Michener
Another historical fiction covers a much larger time frame.  Fairly fictional in that he merges two cities, and puts them in strange locations.  But it is mostly factual and very interesting.  

Studying Spanish at Home 

This is just getting started but here are some pages that you can print out and study before going to school. 

Irregular verbs 
In Spanish all the verbs are conjugated The root verb basically means "to" As an example Apostrar means to bet.  Apurestro means  I bet.  In this page we are showing you the irregular verbs.  These verbs change considerably in the first person.  You will have to learn them at some point.  It might be a good idea to get a head start and learn the verbs before you attend school.  The first column is the root verb, the second the first person present, and the third is what the word means in English.  You can print it and study it at your leisure. 

Por and Para
In Spanish the English word "for" is translated as either por or para.  This page gives you the rules for using them.  

Ser and Estar
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