Thinking in Spanish
I posted the following question today and in part of my answer I gave an example of "thinking in Spanish" Do any other Spanish learners have some tips about what they do to start to "think in Spanish" I have some others, which I will share in an answer later, but I'd like to see what some of the rest of you do.
I don't understand why use la in here: Se duerme mejor con la conciencia tranquila. Doesn't it translate to: One sleeps better with the clear conscience. But the actual translation i saw is: One sleeps better with a clear conscience.
In general, it is best not to even think about literal translations. When you first start studying Spanish, some of the sentences are so simple that many of them can be translated literally and still appear to make sense and sound natural in English. However, these simple sentences, used for educational purposes only, give you a false sense of reality.
Once you progress to the point where you are reading novels, newspapers or magazines , if you are lucky enough to have a good English translation of a Spanish novel, you will see that very, very few sentences are translated literally.
Just learn Spanish sentences and what they "mean." (and I purposely didn't say "mean in English") The sooner you can start to "think in Spanish" the better.
Here's a little example:
Tengo frío
Literal translation: I have cold (Don't think this!)
Common English translation: I am cold (Don't think this either!)
Think: ¿Dónde está mi abrigo? 
When you become more advanced in Spanish you might think:
Hace tanto frío que se me ha puesto la carne de gallina. (Google Translate it if you need to)
I hope it's obvious that if I am reading a story in Spanish, I don't really think the above. I said it this way just to make a point. In reality, I would just feel sorry for the poor boy, but I would try to think "pobre chico" instead of "poor boy" And if I'm working on my ability to speak Spanish I might say these words out loud.
Don't worry about the literal translation or try to reconcile the Spanish and English sentences word for word. Just focus on learning how things are written or spoken in Spanish. Period.
1 Answer
I noticed a mark improvement in my Spanish when I threw away the grammar and text books about 18 months ago. Now I flip things on their head and, when doing Word/Picture of the Day for example, try to compose my sentences in Spanish then translate them to English. That way you don't fall into the trap of literal translations. I still make mistakes, of course (lots! lol) - particularly when speaking - but I find the Spanish syntax and structure makes a lot more sense to me now.
Of course, if I need to find a word that I'm not sure about, or just confirm that what I am thinking makes sense, I do consult the dictionary at times, but I try to keep it to a minimum and go by the notes/memories I have of actual conversations with native speakers.
I try to think in terms of images and not words to translate. This is difficult at times, but language is all about actions etc, not syntax.
For example, forget the words and just picture in your head..... somebody passing something to somebody else ..... it is the same set of actions regardless of the spoken/written language used to communicate them.
Anyway, to your point .... I can't say that I automatically 'think' in Spanish yet, it is still a mechanical process to me. Hopefully in time, I will progress to that stage.
However, I no longer 'study' Spanish, as such. Instead, I use the language. I listen to and read in Spanish every day, then try to copy what the native speakers are saying. When I am in Spain I mix with the locals as much as possible and take every opportunity to chat. I keep in regular touch with Spanish speaking friends via whatsapp etc so have conversational text chat regularly.
A couple of years ago I was starting to get bored of learning Spanish, but now I love it. It's no longer a chore, it is something I do for fun!
