i understand my homework in spanish

Discover, Learn, Contribute, Connect

How to Say “My Homework” in Spanish: Formal and Informal Ways

Learning how to communicate effectively can greatly enhance your language skills. When it comes to discussing your homework in Spanish, there are various ways to express this concept, depending on formality and regional variations. In this guide, we will provide you with tips and examples of both formal and informal ways to say “my homework” in Spanish.

Table of Contents

Formal Ways

Formal language is typically used in professional settings, academic environments, or when speaking to someone in a position of authority. Here are some formal expressions for referring to your homework in Spanish:

“Mi tarea” – This is the most common and widely accepted phrase for “my homework” in Spanish. It is a general term that can be used in various contexts and regions.

Profesor: Recuerden entregar su tarea mañana. (Teacher: Remember to hand in your homework tomorrow.) Estudiante: Sí, entregaré mi tarea en la clase. (Student: Yes, I will hand in my homework in class.)

“Mi trabajo para casa” – This expression is commonly used when referring to homework assigned by a teacher or professor.

Profesora: ¿Todos completaron su trabajo para casa? (Teacher: Did everyone complete their homework?) Estudiante: Sí, terminé mi trabajo para casa anoche. (Student: Yes, I finished my homework last night.)

Informal Ways

Informal language is used among friends, family, or in casual settings. Here are some informal expressions for talking about your homework in Spanish:

“Mi tarea” or “Mis deberes” – These phrases are commonly used in casual conversations and are interchangeable. “Mis deberes” can also translate to “my duties” or “my tasks,” but in the context of homework, it is understood to mean “my homework.”

Amigo: ¿Terminaste tu tarea? (Friend: Did you finish your homework?) Estudiante: Sí, ya hice mis deberes. (Student: Yes, I already did my homework.)

“Los debercitos” – This expression is a playful way of referring to homework, often used among younger individuals or in a lighthearted context.

Hermanita: ¡No quiero hacer mis debercitos! (Little sister: I don’t want to do my homework!) Hermano mayor: Vamos, debes terminar tus debercitos para mañana. (Big brother: Come on, you have to finish your homework for tomorrow.)

Regional Variations

While the expressions mentioned above are commonly understood throughout the Spanish-speaking world, there can be slight variations based on regional dialects. Here are a few examples of regional differences:

In Spain, it is common to use the word “deberes” instead of “tarea” to refer to homework.

Example: “Terminé mis deberes” (I finished my homework)

In Latin America, it is common to hear “tarea” or “trabajo” when referring to homework.

Example: “Hice mi tarea” (I did my homework)

Remember, these regional variations are minor, and the primary phrases we discussed earlier will be understood in most Spanish-speaking countries.

Now that you have a better understanding of how to say “my homework” in Spanish, you can confidently communicate with others and navigate various language situations. Practice using these expressions, and soon you’ll feel more comfortable expressing yourself in Spanish!

Related Guides:

• How to Say “Do Homework” in Spanish
• How to Say “Do Your Homework” in Spanish: Formal and Informal Ways
• How to Say Homework Assignment in Spanish: A Comprehensive Guide
• Guide: How to Say “Homework Help” in Spanish
• How to Say Homework Pass in Spanish: A Comprehensive Guide
• How to Say “I Forgot My Homework” in Spanish
• How to Say “I Have Homework” in Spanish: A Comprehensive Guide
• How to Say “To Do Homework” in Spanish

About The Author

Glen Hudson

Haciendo que las experiencias educativas sean mejores para todos.

Aprendizaje de inmersión para 25 lenguas

Un mercado de millones de recursos creados por educadores

Certificación de lengua rápida, fácil y fiable

Juegos educativos divertidos para niños

Aprendizaje personalizado exhaustivo para la educación K-12

Tutores de confianza para más de 300 materias

Más de 35,000 hojas de ejercicios, juegos y planes de clase

Aprendizaje adaptativo para el vocabulario de inglés

9 Ways That You Can Say "I Don't Understand" In Spanish

• Read time 8 mins

When you’re first learning Spanish , it can seem like native speakers are speaking at a breakneck pace.

To use a metaphor for understanding spoken Spanish, it might seem like the bus has left without you, and you’re running to catch it, just like you have to play “catch up” when you don’t understand someone.

So, what’s the best way to get someone to repeat themselves? You might need to say “I don’t understand” in Spanish.

How to say “I don’t understand” in Spanish

Here’s a list of useful ways to say you don’t understand something in Spanish.

1. Most literal and straightforward way to say you don’t understand

Spanish phrase: no entiendo

The literal Spanish translation of “I don’t understand” is no entiendo .

The first half of this Spanish phrase uses a negative statement, and you should construct it using the negation no and combine this with the Spanish conjugated verb entiendo .

You could also add the word eso to the end of the phrase no entiendo , giving you the phrase no entiendo eso .

This phrase means “I don’t understand that”, which you can combine with me puede repetir (a phrase which we have also explained on this list).

And, guess what?

You can make different sentences by conjugating the infinitive verb entender .

How do you conjugate the verb entender ?

You may want to make a different person the subject of your sentence.

For example, you may want to say, “she doesn’t understand” or “they don’t understand.”

Making someone else the subject of the sentence requires you to conjugate the verb entender in the present tense.

Look at the table below to practice conjugating it:

So, if you wanted to say “she didn’t understand,” you would use the third person present tense form of the infinitive verb entender , entiende , in your sentences.

This would give you no entiende , or no entiende lo que dijiste .

You can also use the phrase no entendí , the past tense of the phrase no entiendo .

No entendí means “I didn’t understand.”

If you’re curious to know how to conjugate entender in the simple past tense , here’s how to do it:

2. The short and simple way

Spanish phrase: ¿cómo?

If you simply misheard a couple of words in the sentence and want to clarify what someone said, one of the most straightforward ways to say “I don’t understand” in Spanish is to say ¿cómo? .

¿Cómo? translates to “what?” in English.

Remember, ¿cómo?, in this context, takes the form of a question.

The fact that it’s a question or interrogative means you have to change the intonation of your voice a little bit to emphasise that you didn’t understand the speaker.

3. Asking someone to repeat themselves

Spanish phrase: ¿me lo puede repetir?

But there may be a time when you don’t understand an entire sentence.

So, what phrase should you use in this scenario?

In this situation, the phrase you’ll need is ¿me lo puede repetir, por favor?

It means “can you repeat it to me, please?”

Keep in mind that there are separate verb conjugations for people you don’t know and people with whom you are friends in Spanish.

When you’re using the phrase ¿me lo puede repetir, por favor? you should use the verb puede when speaking to someone you don’t know since puede is the usted version of this verb.

If you’re speaking to your friend or family member, you should modify the phrase and ask ¿me lo puedes repetir, por favor? , where the verb puedes uses the tú form.

4. How to ask someone to speak more slowly when you don’t understand

Spanish phrase: más lento porfa

If you understood a couple of words but missed the whole meaning of the sentence, you can say más lento, porfa .

Since it contains the colloquial word porfa , you should use this phrase when speaking with friends, but you can modify it if you’re speaking with people you don’t know.

Just say más lento, por favor instead.

5. Saying “I don’t understand” in Spanish when you didn’t understand any words

Spanish phrase: ¿qué dijiste?

What if there’s a time when you simply don’t understand any words someone has said?

We’ve all been there. You may want to say “I don’t understand” in Spanish in contexts like these.

If you want to vary your vocabulary and avoid saying no entiendo all the time, you can also say ¿qué dijiste? which means, “what did you say?”

If you’re in a group of Spanish speakers and want to ask a friend what someone else said, it’s handy to know how to conjugate the verb decir .

When you know how to conjugate it, you can make new sentences like ¿qué dijo? or ¿qué dijisteis? , which mean “what did he/she say?” and “what did you all say?” respectively.

Let’s quickly examine how to conjugate the verb decir in the simple past so you can form a few more sentences and build your vocabulary

6. Asking for an example, when you want to say “I don’t understand” in Spanish

Spanish phrase: ¿me das un ejemplo?

Sometimes, it takes a simple example to help you understand what someone is discussing.

If you’re speaking with friends, you can use the question ¿me das un ejemplo? to get someone to clarify what they mean.

Alternatively, you might be working in a Spanish-speaking country and need an example of how to complete a task.

In this case, you will need to modify the verb dar to ask the same question in this formal situation.

Using the usted version is important as it shows respect.

The usted version of the sentence is ¿me da un ejemplo por favor?

7. Asking for clarification when someone asks you a question

Spanish phrase: no entendí su pregunta

What if someone has asked you a complex question and you don’t know what they asked?

Using the phrase no entendí su pregunta is how you could respond.

As you can see, you can use the past tense of the verb entender and say “I didn’t understand your question,” but you can also say no entiendo su pregunta , which means “I don’t understand your question”.

Take note that no entendí su pregunta is a phrase in the formal, usted version.

Use this sentence if you are speaking to someone you don’t know.

If you want to say “I didn’t understand your question” to someone you know well, modify the possessive pronoun and use tu – no entendí tu pregunta .

8. An alternative way to say “I don’t understand” in Spanish

Spanish phrase: otra vez

A shorter, more succinct way to say ¿me lo puedes repetir, por favor? is to use the phrase otra vez .

Otra vez literally means “another time”, but a better definition of this phrase is “again”.

You can use otra vez when speaking with friends or colleagues to quickly tell them that you didn’t understand what they were saying.

Another version of otra vez is slightly longer and probably best reserved for formal situations. You can say una vez más , or una vez más, por favor .

If someone is teaching you Spanish in a Spanish course and you don’t understand their explanation, use this phrase to request that they explain it again. Otra vez más means “one more time”.

9. How to say “it’s not clear to me” in Spanish

Spanish phrase: no me queda claro lo que dijiste justo ahora

If you are able to follow what someone was talking about up until a certain point, but were unable to understand one sentence, you might say no me queda claro lo que dijiste justo ahora .

This phrase means “I’m not clear what you said just now.”

Remember that when you are speaking to someone who you don’t know, you need to use the usted version of the verb decir .

And since this sentence is in the past tense, you would use the verb dijo .

Don’t just nod and pretend you get it

It’s frustrating when you can’t understand what someone has said in another language, but don’t resort to nodding along when you don’t understand.

Telling the other person that you don’t understand is how you improve.

Getting them to either slow down or repeat what they’ve said will help you progress.

Use the phrases listed in this article to develop your understanding of spoken Spanish by asking for clarity.

Which phrases do you use to say “I don’t understand” in Spanish?

Share your contribution below!

🎓 Cite article

Learning Spanish ?

Spanish Resources:

Let me help you learn spanish join the guild:.

Donovan Nagel - B. Th, MA AppLing

• Affiliate Disclaimer
• Privacy Policy
• About The Mezzofanti Guild
• About Donovan Nagel
• Essential Language Tools
• Language Calculator

SOCIAL MEDIA

Current mission.

Let Me Help You Learn Spanish

• Get my exclusive Spanish content delivered straight to your inbox.
• Learn about the best Spanish language resources that I've personally test-driven.
• Get insider tips for learning Spanish.

Don’t fill this out if you're human:

No spam. Ever.

How To Say Do You Have Homework in Spanish

1. Start with “¿Tienes tarea?” to ask someone if they have homework. 2. To be more formal, use “¿Tiene usted tarea?” instead. 3. “Tarea” means homework in Spanish. 4. Another way to ask is “¿Hay tarea para hoy?” which means “Is there homework for today?” 5. Use these phrases to communicate with Spanish-speaking classmates or teachers.

How To Say “Do You Have Homework” in Spanish

Introduction, 1. “¿tienes deberes”.

The most common and straightforward way to ask “Do you have homework?” in Spanish is by using the phrase “¿Tienes deberes?” The word “tienes” means “do you have,” and “deberes” refers to “homework” or “assignments.” This simple and widely understood question is suitable for both formal and informal situations.

Spelling: ¿Tienes deberes?

Pronunciation: tee-eh-nes deh-beh-res, 2. “¿tienes tarea”, spelling: ¿tienes tarea, pronunciation: tee-eh-nes tah-reh-ah, 3. “¿tienes trabajo para hacer”, spelling: ¿tienes trabajo para hacer, pronunciation: tee-eh-nes trah-bah-ho pah-rah ah-ser, 4. “¿hay deberes”.

An alternative way to inquire about homework is by using the phrase “¿Hay deberes?” This question translates to “Is there homework?” and can be used when addressing a group or class as a whole. It’s a more general way of asking if assignments have been given.

Spelling: ¿Hay deberes?

Pronunciation: eye deh-beh-res, basic quizzes, basic spanish, conjugated verbs in spanish, conjugation quizzes, spanish flashcards, spanish flip cards, spanish for advanced, spanish words that start with, spanish for intermediate.

Translation of "homework" in Spanish

Suggestions, suggestions that contain homework.

Results: 20409 . Exact: 20409 . Elapsed time: 109 ms.

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

What is the correct way of saying "I have already done my homework" in Spanish?

I am trying to say the simple sentence below in Spanish.

I have already done my homework

Google translate gives me the translation below.

Ya hice mi tarea

My attempt is below which after putting into Google translate gives "I have already done my homework".

Ya he hecho mi tarea

Is either sentence "better" than the other? How would a native speaker say this?

• uso-de-palabras
• gramática

• 1 In Spain, at least in the region where I live, we use the expression "los deberes" instead of "la tarea" to translate "homework". In fact, lots of my students would frown if I ask them "¿Has hecho tu tarea?". –  Charo Commented Mar 23, 2018 at 17:50
• 2 So, using the Spanish of my region, I would translate the sentence as "Ya he hecho los deberes". –  Charo Commented Mar 23, 2018 at 17:53
• @Charo Interesting. I've never heard of "deberes" used as homework in México, and would think of chores on hearing it. –  JoL Commented Mar 24, 2018 at 16:26

6 Answers 6

Both are correct and no one is better than the other.

As a first impression I'd say that "Ya hice mi tarea" sounds more like we would say it in Colombia and the other more like they would say it in Spain.

• I see. I think I read that in Spain they tend to use haber + past particple whereas in south / central america they don't. So seems like that is true. My teacher is Colombian so think I will use ya hice in this case! thanks –  mHelpMe Commented Mar 23, 2018 at 16:03
• 1 @mHelpMe can confirm that from Mexico. –  DonQuiKong Commented Mar 23, 2018 at 20:16

As a translation, I cannot agree that both of the answers are correct.

"I have already done my homework" is in the present perfect tense, so the correct approach would be to translate it to the same tense in Spanish:

[Yo] ya he hecho mi tarea (omit the pronoun to make it sound more natural)

While the translation Ya hice mi tarea represents the same idea, it is in the past tense, and the translation to English would be:

I already did my homework

in any case:

The present perfect is used for more formal/educated speech, while the simple past tense is used for more informal language (or depending on the region).

• 3 This is the grammatically correct answer. My answer and guifa's are not literal but regional translations of the sentence meaning. +1 –  DGaleano Commented Mar 23, 2018 at 18:30
• 4 While he hecho is a direct calc of I have done , that doesn't necessarily mean that they actually express the same concept. It's like saying that the correct translation of What are you doing? is necessarily ¿Qué estás haciendo? when actually the vast majority of the time, given the difference in the aspectual systems, the most accurate and correct translation is simply ¿Qué haces? . The reverse is true as well. If someone texts me ¿Qué haces? , while What do you do? is perfectly grammatical English and a calc of the structures, it is not a correct translation. –  user0721090601 Commented Mar 23, 2018 at 19:43

Both are perfectly fine. Depending on the context, there might be a stronger preference for one or the other form.

Speaking generally, the former (with hice ) will be more used in Latin America and the latter ( he hecho ) will be preferred in Spain.

• 2 jajaja...we are in sync. –  DGaleano Commented Mar 23, 2018 at 15:58
• @guifa thanks for your answer. I can only mark one answer as correct and purely based on the fact the DGaleano has less points that you I have awarded his answer as correct, hopefully you understand –  mHelpMe Commented Mar 23, 2018 at 16:04

It is exactly the same as in English.

Ya he hecho mis deberes means "I've already done my homework."

Ya hice mis deberes means "I already did my homework."

The first is obviously grammatically correct. In both languages, the colloquial speech of the Americas tends to eliminate the perfect in favour of the preterite.

How would a native speaker say this?

I can only answer with confidence for Mexico.

First of all, "I have already done my homework" is a bit unusual in English. I have to set the scene a little bit carefully to get my imaginary preteen in the U.S. to say this sentence. Here goes.

Malcolm's grandmother, who speaks English as a second language, is in town for a visit and has been left in charge of Malcolm for the afternoon. She intercepts him on his way outside carrying a basketball: "Malcolm, please do your homework first!" Malcolm indignantly responds, "I have already done my homework!" (With his parents, he would have used a contraction -- "I've already done my homework" -- but he instinctively avoids using contractions with his grandmother.)

In Mexico at least, it is more usual in this situation to use the simple past tense than the present perfect:

¡Ya hice la tarea!

(But there are other situations where the present perfect would come in handy.)

Notice that I have not used the possessive pronoun mi . I think this must be similar to the use of the definite article in place of the possessive pronoun, as for body parts. Example: "Levanta la mano, por favor | Raise your hand, please."

The question is actually "when to use he hecho and when hice ?".

For sure there are many posts with the same question here, so I'll make a summary.

In Spain (except the north part), we use he hecho if the time when it happened is not over yet: today, THIS week, THIS month, THIS year... (and anything that happened today still uses this one)

While hice would be used if the time when it happened is already over: yesterday, last week, two weeks ago, last year, last century, and so on...

So, in short, if you've just done your homework, then it's still today → "he hecho".

If you're talking about the homework of this week, you'd also say "he hecho".

However, if you did them yesterday, you'd use "hice".

BUT, in the northern Spain AND practically all American Spanish uses always "hice". In fact, they're very unlikely to use compound forms.

Personally I don't like this because for me it implies a loss of information, but that's how it is. So... if your teacher is Colombian, then you have to choose. Neither of them can be incorrect.

Your Answer

Sign up or log in, post as a guest.

Required, but never shown

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy .

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged uso-de-palabras gramática or ask your own question .

• Featured on Meta
• We've made changes to our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy - July 2024
• Announcing a change to the data-dump process
• Upcoming initiatives on Stack Overflow and across the Stack Exchange network...

Hot Network Questions

• Substitute for saltpetre
• Does a simple and intuitive theory have better chances of being true?
• How to reinstall a ceiling fan that fell out of ceiling?
• What is the color of the final disc(s)?
• When do the Mythbusters appear in the Phineas and Ferb Star Wars special?
• PCB Footprint Design of a Coin Cell Holder
• Are there non-religious variants of moral realism that defend the existence of objectively evil thoughts, intentions, and desires?
• An infinite hat puzzle variation—if we don't know our place, can we still be almost all correct?
• Efficient way to remove nailed-down plywood flooring in attic without damaging it?
• Cannot conditionally split a formula into two lines
• Eisenstein's last theorem
• How do Trinitarians distinguish whether the Hebrew bible is referring to the "being" or "person[s]" of God in the verses that declare oneness?
• How do you get on the list to be notified of realtime LSST alerts (like supernovae)?
• How is the name "Took" pronounced?
• Check if \tikZ \pic is defined or not
• Child's teddies "being mean" after dark
• Can a car dealership reverse a car sale if the lending company removes their approval after the sale?
• Distribution after Combining Two Sets of Normal Distribution Samples
• An SF story where an orangutan writes a book that is published
• Does GDPR's "Legitimate Interest" allow spam?
• Is it illegal in Australia to add "chocolate or sultanas" to an Anzac biscuit?
• Is it safe to keep an outdated credit card?
• "Man cannot live by bread alone." — Is there any logical explanation why this idiom doesn't have an article before "man"?
• Does the throttling profile data for any STS missions exist?

• Rules/Help/FAQ Help/FAQ
• Members Current visitors
• Interface Language

Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.

Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.

• Spanish-English / Español-Inglés
• Spanish-English Grammar / Gramática Español-Inglés

El perro (se) la comió/The dog ate the homework

• Thread starter kwagna33
• Start date Nov 19, 2013

Senior Member

• Nov 19, 2013

Hello everybody, I want to say "The dog ate it" (the homework) in Spanish. I've heard both of these sentences used: El perro se la comió. El perro la comió. To the best of my knowledge, both the sentences are correct. However, I am curious to why one would include the 'se'. What's the 'se' doing? Is it emphasizing something? I do understand that, in this context, 'se' is a reflexive pronoun and 'la' is a direct object. Thanks in advance.  

"Se" is not just a reflexive object. It's also the pronominal particle (third person) in pronominal verbs. John fell = Juan se cayó (but not "se cayó a sí mismo" / "fell himself") John hurt his hand = Juan se lastimó la mano (not reflexive either) John hurt himself = Juan se lastimó a sí mismo (here it's reflexive) This kind of pronoun (me, te, se, os) is also used emphatically some times, and this is the case. If you say "El perro la comió" it sounds very "natural". If you say "El perro se la comió" sounds that you are more surprised. I'm sorry but I can't explain it better. But bear in mind that "se" is not always reflexive, it's only reflexive if the object and the subject are the same.  

• Nov 20, 2013

kwagna33 said: Hello everybody, I want to say "The dog ate it" (the homework) in Spanish. I've heard both of these sentences used: El perro se la comió. El perro la comió. To the best of my knowledge, both the sentences are correct. However, I am curious to why one would include the 'se'. What's the 'se' doing? Is it emphasizing something? I do understand that, in this context, 'se' is a reflexive pronoun and 'la' is a direct object. Thanks in advance. Click to expand...

donbill said: Se la comió. = He ate it up / Consumed it / Devoured it. Click to expand...

Gabriel said: I love and envy you ability to explain things in one line. Click to expand...

En este caso la oración final sería "Se los comió" ya que homework en español es masculino/plural (deberes).  

Hello. As Sefuram says, we usually use deberes in Spain. So, El perro se los comió (los = deberes). The dog ate them up. That la = tarea . El perro se la comió. The dog ate it up. Fine too. Saludos.  

blasita said: Hello. As Sefuram says, we usually use deberes in Spain. So, El perro se los comió (los = deberes). The dog ate them up. That la = tarea . El perro se la comió. The dog ate it up. Fine too. Saludos. Click to expand...

Althought comerse is always explained as "eat up", etc, it's often used in Spain in a much more neutral way. It's normal here to say: "Me comí un bocadillo" That doesn't necessarily mean you wolfed it down, or that you finished it all off, or anything emphatic. It's just that the pronoun, once added for emphasis, has become normal.  

donbill said: Interesting point, levmac. I've been told that one explanation of comer un bocadillo vs. comerse un bocadillo has to do with contrasting general tendency with a specific event. Click to expand...

El perro comió la tarea= The dog ate the homework El perro la comió (la = homework) = The dog ate it. El perro se comió (comerse) la tarea. El perro se la comió. But, do we have to use comerse here?  

Short answer is yes.  

Gracias! pues, así de fácil, el perro se comió la tarea.... el perro se la comió.  

• Nov 21, 2013

donbill said: I wonder what the natives would say about "Ese chico no se come más que bocadillos" to describe a general practice. Click to expand...

Gabriel said: I'm not Blasita, but it doesn't sound well at all. On the other hand, not always you would use "se" for a specific event: Doctor: ¿Qué se comió Junacito ayer? Mother: Se comió pollo y ensalada. Sounds equally awkward. Click to expand...

donbill said: Blasita, are you there? Click to expand...

Muchas gracias, blasita, SantiWR y Gabriel. Y gracias a ti, Kwanga, por haber hecho la pregunta. Un saludo  

Quality Point(s)

• English (UK)
• French (France)

How do you say this in Spanish (Spain)? please find attached my homework

• Report copyright infringement

• Spanish (Spain)

Ask native speakers questions for free

Solve your problems more easily with the app!

• Find the answer you're looking for from 45 million answers logged!
• Enjoy the auto-translate feature when searching for answers!
• It’s FREE!!

• How do you say this in ...

I do my homework

• Pronunciation

THE BEST SPANISH-ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Get more than a translation, written by experts, translate with confidence, spanish and english example sentences, examples for everything, regional translations, say it like a local.

Making educational experiences better for everyone.

Immersive learning for 25 languages

Marketplace for millions of educator-created resources

Fast, easy, reliable language certification

Fun educational games for kids

Comprehensive K-12 personalized learning

Trusted tutors for 300+ subjects

35,000+ worksheets, games, and lesson plans

Adaptive learning for English vocabulary