Spanish is set to overtake German as the No. 2 foreign language taken by secondary students in Britain, according to a report released this week by the National Centre for Languages, also known as CILT.

French remains by far the most commonly taught foreign language. Although the number of Spanish students has increased in recent years, the switch in positions for the No. 2 spot seems to be more because of loss of interest in German. Read more...

If you've learned anything about French pronunciation, you know that it is very common for sounds of words to be omitted as the sounds of one word flow into the next. The same thing happens in Spanish, but to a lesser extent. The process is known by linguists as elision. And, of course, we do the same thing in English, doncha know?

Probably the most common conjunction in Spanish that is used to tell when something occurs is cuando, as in the sentence "Estudio cuando es necesario" (I study when it is necessary). However, cuando can only get you so far when setting a timeframe. Our newest lesson looks at various phrases that act like conjunctions, so you can say things such as "Estudio siempre que tengo la oportunidad" (I study whenever I have the opportunity).

In English the passive voice is used constantly — in fact, the opening part of this sentence used it. But in Spanish the passive voice is a relative rarity, especially in everyday speech. One of the most common mistakes made by beginning Spanish speakers is to use the passive voice excessively.

You can tell you're using the passive voice when the subject of the sentence is acted on by the verb, as in the sentence "The car was sold." In Spanish, you could use the passive — "el coche fue vendido" and you'd be understood — but as this lesson on the active voice advises, you'd be more likely to express that thought in other ways such as "vendieron el coche."

If you want to translate a simple statement such as "I ran to the school" to Spanish, you could do so in two main ways: "Corrí a la escuela" and "Corría a la escuela." But those two sentences, although said the same way in English, would be used under different circumstances in Spanish, as this lesson explains.

Chances are one of the first Spanish words you learned was gracias, and if you want to thank somebody, it's as good of a word as any to use. But it's not the only way you to say thank you.

Not everything we say is used to convey information directly. Often, we use phrases to introduce what we're about to say, to help give the language a natural flow. Today's featured lesson looks at two ways of introducing remarks that are incidental to the conversation.

Most clauses that begin with si (the equivalent of "if") are what is known as conditional clauses. Which verb you use as part of that clause depends a great deal on how likely you believe the condition to be true. Thus a clause such as si yo fuera tú ("if I were you") uses an imperfect subjunctive verb because it's not likely to be true.

One of those things you learn fairly early on in Spanish is that the verb estar is used when speaking about where something is. For example, mi libro está en la sala de estudios, my book is in the study hall. But there is an important exception: If you're talking about an event, you need to use ser: El debate es en la sala de estudios, the debate is in the study hall.

Knowing a person isn't the same kind of knowing as knowing a fact — at least to the ears of a Spanish speaker. Here is a guide to knowing when to use conocer and saber, two verbs that are sometimes easy for beginning Spanish students to get mixed up.