Language Notes

In the TalkBox.Mom program, you will find variations for a lot of phrases! Some of these variations are essential to learn the language while some others are just here to give you more options to expand your vocabulary and knowledge of the language.

When a phrase has one or more variations, you will find a note attached to the English translation in the TalkBox.Mom Companion App. Here’s a comprehensive guide to understand these notes so you can pick the variations that best apply to your family and/or situation!

Table of Contents

(to…)

(for…)

(about…)

(masculine item)

(feminine item)

(singular item)

(plural items)

(also)

(informal)

(more colloquial)

(less proper but common)

(less common)

(formal)

(In {language name}, …)

(clarifying notes)

(to…)

In some languages like Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Hebrew, Portuguese, Russian, and Romanian, a phrase can be said differently depending on whom you're talking to. 

Some words depend on the gender of the person you’re talking to, which means the words will be different when you’re talking to a male and when you’re talking to a female. 

Some words depend on how many people you’re talking to, which means the words will be different when you’re talking to one person and when you’re talking to two or more people.

Some words depend both on the gender and number of people you’re talking to, which means that when you’re talking to two or more people, the words will be different if you’re talking to a group of males, females, or a mix of both.

Additionally, some words depend on how old the person you're talking to is. Unlike other (to…) notes, the (to a toddler) note is often more about the vocabulary used with a toddler than a grammatical difference.

❓ Do we have to learn all variations?

No, you don’t! Focus on the variations that apply to your family first. We recommend starting with the (to a male) and (to a female) variations before the (to 2+) variations. This means that you’ll focus on addressing one child or parent at a time instead of addressing all your children or parents at once. This will help you to talk more.

Remember you’re not expected to learn everything the first time around! When you eventually circle back to the challenge after completing other challenges and boxes, you can learn the 2+ variations.

❓ Do variations count as one focus phrase or multiple focus phrases?

It’s up to you! With your first practice sessions, we strongly recommend counting each variation as one focus phrase when picking your 1-5 focus phrases. Then once you’re more comfortable and start seeing the patterns for these variations, you can count all the variations that apply to your family as one phrase in your 1-5 focus list.

(for…)

In some languages like Spanish, French, German, Italian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Russian, and Romanian, a phrase can be said differently depending on who is talking.

Some words depend on your gender, which means the words will be different if you’re a male and if you’re a female.

❓ Do we have to learn all variations?

No, you don’t! Focus on the variations that apply to your family first. We recommend starting with the (for a male) and (for a female) variations before the (for 2+) variations. 

Remember you’re not expected to learn everything the first time around! When you eventually circle back to the challenge after completing other challenges and boxes, you can learn the 2+ variations.

❓ Do variations count as one focus phrase or multiple focus phrases?

It’s up to you! With your first practice sessions, we strongly recommend counting each variation as one focus phrase when picking your 1-5 focus phrases. Then once you’re more comfortable and start seeing the patterns for these variations, you can count all the variations that apply to your family as one phrase in your 1-5 focus list.

(about…)

In some languages like Spanish, French, German, Italian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Russian, and Romanian, a phrase can be said differently depending on whom you’re talking about or referring to.

Some words depend on the gender of the person you’re talking about, which means the words will be different if you’re talking about a male or if you’re talking about a female.

(masculine item)
(feminine item)
(singular item)
(plural items)

In English, only people and animals can have a gender. It’s called natural gender. But in other languages like Spanish, French, German, Italian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Russian, and Romanian, nouns also have a gender. It’s called grammatical gender.

A noun is a word that describes an object, a place, or a concept. For example: table, lake, freedom, banana, England, house, dream…

Grammatical gender has nothing to do with your gender, the gender of the people you're talking to, or of the people you're talking about. It’s just an arbitrary way of classifying words in gendered languages.

Grammatical genders are important for the comprehension of gendered languages. They cannot be omitted or changed at will. But don’t be discouraged so quickly! 

Learning genders isn’t as hard and tedious as it seems. You will learn them the same way native speakers did growing up: by hearing them in full sentences over and over again while practicing and using your phrases! 

• In Spanish, French, Italian, Hebrew, and Portuguese, the grammatical genders are masculine and feminine. 

• In German, Romanian, and Russian, the grammatical genders are masculine, feminine, and neuter.

Don’t sweat it! For all these languages, genders are clearly marked on your charts and label cards. 

Teal is for masculine words.

Pink is for feminine words.

Purple or green is for neuter words.

Now, sometimes in a phrase, some of the words depend on the gender of the item you’re talking about. 

Some words also depend on how many units of the item you’re talking about. Singular means that there is only one unit of that item. Plural means that there are two or more units of that item.

❓ Is the grammatical gender of a noun the same across gendered languages?

That would be too easy! You might find some similarities, but no, they’re usually not the same. For example, “banana” is masculine in Spanish but feminine in French. Or “sandwich” is masculine in Italian but neuter in German.

(also)

In every language, there’s often more than one way to say the same thing!

A word can be shortened. For example: refrigerator → fridge.

Phrases can be said in a different order. For example: Give your brother the plate. → Give the plate to your brother.

Some words have a meaning so similar that they’re often used interchangeably. For example: Let’s take a walk. / Let’s go for a walk.

❓ Do I have to learn all options? How do I choose?

Since these options are totally interchangeable, you can pick any one you like! You absolutely don’t have to learn all the options. 

Remember you’re not expected to learn everything the first time through! When you eventually circle back to the challenge after completing other challenges and boxes, you can learn the other options.

Tip: If you’re working on similar phrases in different sections, like:

Put the plates on the table.

Put the plates on the table. (also)

Put the knives on the table.

Put the knives on the table. (also)

You can pick the same option in both sections (like the version without (also) or the version with (also)) to really get the hang of it. Or, if you feel comfortable, you could pick one option in the first section and pick the other option in the other section (like the version without (also) for in the first section and the version with (also) in the second section).

❓ Do interchangeable options count as one focus phrase or multiple focus phrases?

It depends on the phrase! We usually recommend counting each option as one focus phrase, especially if you’re doing the challenge for the first time. 

(more colloquial) or (informal)

The note (more colloquial) or (informal) means that the variation is usually said around people you’re very, very familiar with, like your significant other, kids, and good friends but wouldn’t work well with new friends, acquaintances, or strangers.

Think of it as saying, “Gotcha!” instead of “I’ve got you!” This might feel too friendly to use with a boss, customer, or teacher for example.

(less proper but common)

The note (less proper but common) means that the variation doesn’t follow proper grammatical rules but native speakers say it so often that it’s admitted in spoken language.

(less common)

The note (less common) means that the variation is totally correct and you could read or hear it in your language journey, but it’s just not the most commonly used among native speakers (and it might fall out of usage).

Languages evolve all the time! When it’s relevant, our team will add new phrases to reflect this evolution. Good news is, as a TalkBox.Mom Family, you get access to all these updates in the TalkBox.Mom Companion App! 

So don’t worry if you learned a phrase and notice this note along with a new translation above it. It doesn’t mean that the phrase you learned is wrong. It just means that the world is changing and so is the language you’re learning.

(formal)

Use this phrase if you’re talking to someone you need to be formal with. This depends on the language you’re learning but usually applies to strangers in most languages. 

This note is exclusively found in the Playground & Small Talk Box where you learn formal language. Refer to the Fun Sheet in the Playground & Small Talk Box to know when to use formal in the language you’re learning! 

(In {language name}, …)

The way you say something in a language can be very different from the way you say that same thing in another language.

All the phrases in the TalkBox.Mom program are translated in a way that reflects how native speakers actually speak as opposed to word by word, literal translations.

When the phrase is very different, we add a note with a more literal English translation to help you identify patterns, recognize words, and have a better understanding of how the language works. 

For example:

Let’s put you in your high chair. (In Spanish, Let's sit you in your high chair.)

You have to keep it shut. (In Russian, It should be kept closed.) 

What do you like to do for fun? (In German, What do you do with your free time?)

Idioms

Some translations with the note (In {language name}, …) are idioms (or idiomatic expressions), which means that their literal meaning doesn’t sound anything like what the phrase actually means. For example, if you say that you’re “killing two birds with one stone,” you’re probably not actually killing any birds. 

Native speakers use idioms all the time! Idiomatic expressions are an essential component of fluency, and we want you to speak like native speakers.

Sometimes, it can be very hard to write out exactly what an idiomatic phrase is saying because there’s simply no equivalent in English. When adding notes for idioms, our team tries to stay as close to the literal meaning as possible while keeping the English as proper as possible for clarity.

For example:

Practice makes perfect. (In French, It's by forging that one becomes a blacksmith.)

Are you daydreaming? (In Russian, Are you soaring in the clouds?)

Don’t overthink it though! Native speakers rarely (if at all) think about the literal meaning of the idioms they use every day. 

For example, in English, the phrase “Pick up the room,” makes sense until your child yells, “It’s too heavy. I can’t do it!”

For native speakers, the expressions just roll off the tongue after repeatedly hearing and using them in context, which is exactly what you’re working towards during your practice sessions!

(clarifying notes)

When phrase variations are similar but there’s an important nuance, instead of seeing (also) or a literal translation, you will see a note explaining that nuance. 

Example: 

Put the spice jar back on the spice rack. (when it's full)

Put the spice jar back on the spice rack. (when it's empty)

These notes clarify important details about the spice jar. For example, you would use the first phrase when something is in the jar and the other when the spice jar is completely empty.

Don’t touch the stove. It’s hot. (electric stove)

Don’t touch the stove. It’s hot. (gas stove)

These notes clarify important details about the stove. For example, you would use one variation for an electric stove and the other for a gas stove.

Give me a second to peel the apple. (as you're peeling or before)

Give me a second to peel the apple. (before peeling)

These notes clarify when a phrase is used. For example, the first phrase is used as you’re peeling the apple or before, but the second phrase can only be used before peeling the apple.