Spanish language Q&A Forum

Is there a general rule in Spanish about when the definite article must be used and when it can be omitted? Eg why do azúcar, sodio, carbohidratos and lácteos need the definite article but not pescado, marisco, granos and huevos? 

Consulta sobre las diferencias entre "hacer deporte/deportes", "practicar deporte/deportes" y "hacer ejercicio"

Me gustaría solicitar tu ayuda para comprender mejor las diferencias sutiles entre las siguientes cinco frases en español, ya que no estoy seguro de las connotaciones exactas de cada una:

1. Juan hace deporte.

2. Juan hace deportes.  

3. Juan practica deporte.

4. Juan practica deportes.

5. Juan hace ejercicio.

¿Podrías, por favor, explicar las diferencias en significado e implicación entre estas cinco opciones con ejemplos? 

Gracias de antemano

When do i use este and when do i use esto? For example: Este camion es muy grande vs esto camion es muy grande

spain suspends it after mexico requested it.

espana lo suspende despues de que Mexico lo solicito'/solicitara.

The answer appears to treat estar as a verb like gustar.  It doesn´t appear as such in your list.  What am I missing?

The answer given is “han tomado”. I don’t think tomado has been covered. I thought it should be tímido. Can you please explain?

The answer given for the blank is “estado” — I don’t think that has been covered in any lesson (in A1). Can you explain?

I see that, at the bottom of this lesson, there's a note that says what "pluscamperfecto" refers to. It's a very simple explanation -- to talk about something that had happened. 

It would be SO helpful to have these short explanations of what a given grammar term means at the TOP of the lesson, just below the term for the lesson. I look at all these grammar terms and my eyes cross. I have no idea what they mean and I start to feel like there is no way I can learn Spanish because I'm so lost in all these terms. Taking the time to learn grammar terms seems like a tedious distraction from just learning to speak Spanish: a roadblock.

It's not uncommon for people in the US to have never learned grammar, so on behalf of myself, and all the mediocre public school graduates, I implore you: move the explanation for what a grammar term is to the top of the lesson. It's such a simple change and will make learning so much more accessible and these lessons so much more meaningful. 

I just took one of the B1 quizes and I got this one wrong:

La había comprado para sus padres. ________ la había comprado. (He'd bought it for his parents. He'd bought it for them.)

It says the answer is "Se la habia comprado." I put "Por ellos, la había comprado."

Is it ever correct to "por" whoever, instead of "se"?

It sounds more natural to me to say "La había comprado por ellos," rather than "Se lo había comprado." It also seems clearer because "ellos" is specific (them), where as "se" could be you, him, them...

Is that wrong? Less common? Common only in certain countries or situations?