El Boletín #2: What’s the plural for whisky?
Curated reading, listening, culture and community for Spanish learners
Hi everyone — y bienvenidos to the second edition of El Boletín, your weekly dose of curated reading, videos, culture and community for Spanish learners.
This week, we step back in time to discover the poetry of one of Spain’s most beloved writers, Antonio Machado, and dip into a book of short stories that transports us from a Latin American book club to a hotel balcony in Seville. We also watch a news report from Spain to pick up some colloquial vocabulary, and have some fun with the plural forms of Spanish loanwords in our grammar section.
¡Que disfrutéis!
Gareth
Curated reading: Caminante, no hay camino, Antonio Machado
In contrast to the modern evolution of Spanish and its hybridisation with English that we explored last week, our curated reading this time takes us back to one of the greats of Spanish literature: Antonio Machado.
Born in Seville in 1875, Machado spent his life teaching and writing poetry that explored memory, hope, and the passage of time in direct, accessible language. Exiled to France during the Spanish Civil War, he died there in 1939, just days after crossing the border. Today, a memorial stands at the Hotel Quintana in Collioure, where he spent his final days before being laid to rest in the town’s old cemetery.
Our chosen text, the brief but powerful Caminante, no hay camino, reflects in just ten lines on life’s journey and the nature of time. Particularly noteworthy is the use of la mar — the feminine form of el mar — a Spanish literary tradition that conveys a more intimate, emotional relationship with the sea.
Curated grammar: Loanword plural forms
As advanced learners, you probably have plurals down: add -s (médicos) or -es (leones), and you’re done.
But what happens with loanwords from other languages? Penalty becomes penalti in the Spanish singular — but then penaltis or penalties in plural? And what about hippy? Whisky?
Below, you’ll find a list of borrowed words in their singular form. Can you guess how each becomes plural? Some are straightforward, others have two acceptable options, and a few don’t change at all. It’s really not as straightforward as you think.
Share your guesses in our chat room - and we’ll reveal the answers there next week.
póster
cómic
cruasán
jersey
espray
best-seller
Óscar
test
hippy
whisky
Curated culture: Spanish Short Stories, edited by John R. King
If you’re learning a language at an advanced level, you’ve probably discovered that the reading journey suddenly shifts. Graded readers help you build confidence at the start, but once you’re ready for native texts, the landscape changes: the novels are long, the vocabulary dense, and progress often feels like stop-start, dictionary-in-hand work.
That’s why I’m a big fan of Spanish Short Stories, edited by John R. King (and no - this isn’t sponsored!). Each piece - whether a standalone story or an excerpt from a larger work - is presented with Spanish on the left and an English translation on the right. It’s a simple format, but a powerful one: you can read at a natural pace, glance across to check your understanding when you need to, and even notice how the translator tackles tricky idioms or cultural references.
The collection is deliberately diverse, pulling from across the Spanish-speaking world. One moment you’re in a South American book club, chatting with a group of older ladies and waiting for an author to arrive; the next, you’re on a hotel balcony in Seville, watching the city drift by below. Helpful footnotes offer extra cultural context, deepening your appreciation of the setting and language alike.
If you want to broaden your reading without committing to a full-length novel, this anthology is a perfect middle ground: bite-sized, beautifully chosen, and rich with the kind of cultural nuance that makes Spanish come alive.
Curated video: Las noticias en diez minutos, RTVE
Watching the news - even passively - is one of the best ways to expand your vocabulary across different topics while training your ear for real-world Spanish. We’re big fans of DW Español for its clear, neutral register and broad Latin American coverage.
But if you’re short on time, daily round-ups from broadcasters like RTVE are perfect. This week’s pick is Monday’s Las noticias en diez minutos, focusing on red alerts and torrential rain in parts of Spain, including some regions still recovering from last year’s floods.
RTVE’s coverage tends to be faster and more colloquial than DW, especially during street interviews. Listen out for phrases like estar bajo alerta roja or las lluvias torrenciales, and don’t forget, our free glossary is here to help.
That’s all for this week! If you’ve enjoyed El Boletín, you can help us grow by sharing it with just two friends who are also learning Spanish. It’s free, and they don’t even need to be on Substack.
Together, we can build the best community of advanced Spanish learners online, supporting each other on the path to fluency.
Hasta la semana que viene,
- Gareth
1. póster → pósteres
2. cómic → cómics
3. cruasán → cruasanes
4. jersey → jerseys
5. espray → esprays
6. best-seller → best-sellers
7. Óscar → Óscares
8. test → tests
9. hippy → hippies
10. whisky → whiskies
Anyone else having trouble opening the PDF files? I’m getting an error message. Would love to see them!