Two questions
Hi, I'm learning spanish while traveling in central and south america and I have 2 questions which I couldn't find satisfactory answers to in my spanish dictionary or with a google search.
First, in conversation, I have noticed that alot of native speakers use the word "haber" by itself (at least I think they are saying haber). It's almost like a "filler word", like "uhh...", "well", "next", etc. (sorry, don't know the correct grammactical term, if there is one) which they use between sentences. My dictionary has no entry for colloquial used of haber, so I'm wondering what they mean when they just say "haber"?
Next, I'm at a more or less intermediate level in my spanish learning and I'm ready to start reading books in spanish. To me, when starting out it makes more sense to read junior high or high school level stuff, since the vocabulary used will probably be a bit easier with a bit easier so I would waste less time looking up more "specialized" or advanced words that I will probably not use again anytime soon. Probably also the tone will be a bit more colloquial and more similar to the way people actually speak. Can anyone recommend any specific works along these lines? Preferably something either available free online or readily available in bookstores in Mexico, because I can't have things shipped in without paying about $20 extra for shipping and waiting a month. Also, are there books (or websites, or whatever) written in both english and spanish specifically for language learners? I'm not talking about using google translate to get the basic gist of a website, or book, etc...I'm thinking of something that I could read in spanish, write out a word-for-word translation while reading, then check the english translation to see how well I did.
Thanks!
2 Answers
Question #1: They're saying "a ver"...."Let's see." Sounds like haber!
Regarding your second question:
My wife is learning Spanish and someone recently bought her a book called Aura that I think is at the level you are asking about (I haven't actually looked at it yet). Anyway, the edition that my wife received has both the Spanish (original, I think) along with an English translation. When the book is open, the Spanish is on the left hand side of the page, while the English is on the right-hand side. Perhaps you could find this book in Mexico?
