Spanish language Q&A Forum

I have read the answer given to Ralph.  At the very least this is a VERY bad example to give in a lesson.  The answer demonstrates that either tense could be used depending on the message the writer wishes to convey. 

Hi there.

I (a native Spanish speaker) heve been reading texts from the French version of this site for a couple weeks, and after learning that there is a version that teaches Spanish I've come to take a look out of curiosity.

And wow. After reading this text I'm quite sure I'm going to stop using this site to learn French, just in case the quality of the French texts is anything like that of this supposedly C1 Spanish text. That "habré" in the first sentence should be "tendré", most commas are misplaced and the connectors... I mean, I guess they sound correct if you have just read their meaning in a dictionary and have never heard anyone use them, but to a native they sound like Google Translate, or worse. The verb tenses used are also wrong. Technically ok if you've just read the relevant chapter in a grammar book, but an absolute pain for any native ears.

If a native speaker wrote this as a highschool composition their teacher would spend a whole red pen trying to correct it, and they might sent the author to the hospital just in case they have just had a concussion.

Later edit: sorry If I come up a little cranky and dismissive. I just feel like a fool after realizing that the quality of the texts I've been using for French reading practice is probably very low.

There was a question in the test where the correct answer was:
´Las islas canarias SON en el oceáno atlántio´

Why is it ´SON´ and not ´ESTÁN´?

Hi, is despertar (Desperté) ever used for “I woke up”? I’ve seen it that way on some dictionary sites and wondered if it’s a mistake. Eg:

Many thanks, 

Shirley. 

Why 'comí' una lubina, then 'tomé' un trozo, but with the same english translation?

I'm almost 2 years into learning Spanish and I get lost after hearing a couple of words if I close my eyes.  I watch shows and listen to Spanish podcast, and my ear for Spanish has not developed at all.  What could I possible do to change this?

I believe that a couple of the examples used are commands (Imperatives), not subjunctive.  Please clarify. Thanks

example:

¿Dígame? - Hola, ¿puedo hablar con Juan?[on the phone, lit: speak to me] Hello?  - Hello, may I speak to Juan?