Quick check
Tap a Spanish word, then its English partner
llevar, tener, estar: the same split, one level up
lleva un vestido azul. Clothes are worn.
tiene el pelo largo. Features are had.
esta embarazada. A state you are in, not a thing you are.
The trap: es embarazada is wrong. Pregnancy, illness, tiredness and mood are all states: esta embarazada, esta enferma, esta cansada. Also note that embarazada does not mean embarrassed.
Tell a story in the present
Spanish narrates a plot in the plain present, exactly as English film summaries do: Maria va a Nueva York. Habla con la policia. Los oficiales no la creen.
That is convenient, because the present is the only tense this course fully teaches.
The trap: do not reach for the present perfect to narrate. Keep every verb in the simple present and the whole answer stays consistent.
Hundreds, and the personal a again
quinientos dolares, doscientos dolares. The hundreds agree when they can: doscientas personas.
And the personal a returns whenever the object is a person: ver a su hermano, creer a Maria.
The trap: para ver su hermano drops the a and loses the mark. It is para ver a su hermano.