Spanish language Q&A Forum

I am trying to sort out the tenses in the following example from above:

Dejó el trabajo porque quería mejor sueldo.He left his job because he wanted a better salary.
The first verb (dejó) is preterito indefinido indicating a complete action in the past.  
The second (quería) is preterito imperfecto.  

I think this is because "he" probably had been wanting a better salary for a while before he left his job and it was an ongoing action.  Is this the right way to think about this sentence?

I keep getting these questions wrong and I think it’s down to not being able to differentiate between whether a word is an adjective or a noun. Is there any way to tell of a word is a noun or an adjective without knowing the direct translation for that word? 

I shared this example with my Spanish teacher, as I have never heard the conditional used in this way. She said that this form is not commonly used in Mexico. Is it more specific to Spain and/or other countries?

As an English speaker, it is very difficult to learn and apply indirect objects in Spanish.

I understand why you need les in the following sentence.  It is because you are making dinner "for them."   However is there an easy way to remember this construction when you are actually talking.   I seem to understand it when I read it, but don't seem to be able to apply indirect objects when I try to speak.  Is this common?   How do I overcome it?  It is like you are saying for them twice.  Once as the pronoun "les" and once as "a nuestros invitados.

Nosotros les preparamos la cena a nuestros invitados.We are cooking dinner for our guests.

In this sentence "Yo le doy el periódico al portero ahora."

Why do you need "le" to say "I am giving the newspaper to the doorman?"   Couldn't you say "Yo doy el periódico al portero ahora."

"Why did you tell Luisa......" seems to me to need the indefinite object pronoun as in "¿Por qué le habéis dicho a Luisa...." but this answer is marked as incorrect. Why? Isn't it actually the correct way to say this part of the sentence even though I haven't gotten to a lesson about these pronouns?

Hola Inma,

Please could you advise me?

When speaking casually as in the conversation here, is it generally more common to use 'estar' than 'sentir' regarding 'to feel'?

Gracias :)

Wouldn't that sentence better translate to "Maria eats little bread."?

And "Maria doesn't eat much bread." better translate to "María no come mucho pan."?

¿Tiene un bolígrafo?Do you have a pen? (formal you)

From the sentence, I think it means he/she has a pen. Why would it become do you have a pen?

Ella esta enfermo porque, ella quiere trabajar en en hospital grande, ella no le gusta trabajar en el clinic porque el clinic es muy pequeno.