Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Voy aprendiendo español poco a poco y cada día entiendo más frases. - I’m gradually learning Spanish and every day I understand more sentences.

Voy aprendiendo español…
Literally: “I go learning Spanish…”
In practice: “I’m gradually learning Spanish / I’m getting better at Spanish.”
ir + gerund (here: ir → voy, aprendiendo) expresses a process of gradual progress over time. It emphasizes that little by little you are improving.
Estoy aprendiendo español…
Standard present continuous: “I’m learning Spanish (at the moment / these days).”
It focuses on the ongoing action, but not so much on the idea of progression.
Aprendo español…
Simple present: “I learn Spanish / I’m learning Spanish.”
In Spanish, the simple present can cover both general facts and current activities, but it lacks the nuance of gradual improvement that voy aprendiendo gives.

In this sentence, voy aprendiendo fits perfectly because it matches poco a poco (“little by little”), stressing slow, continuous progress.

What tense or structure is voy aprendiendo exactly, and how is it formed?

Voy aprendiendo is a periphrastic verbal construction using:

the verb ir (to go) conjugated in the present: voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van
plus a gerund: aprendiendo (learning)

Pattern: ir + gerundio
Examples:

Voy entendiendo mejor. → I’m gradually understanding better.
Vas mejorando cada día. → You’re improving more each day.
Vamos conociendo a más gente. → We’re getting to know more people.

This structure usually implies gradual, step-by-step development over time.

Why is it español without an article? Could I say el español?

Both are possible, but they’re used slightly differently:

Aprendo español.
When talking about languages as school subjects or skills, Spanish often drops the article.
- Estudio inglés y francés.
- Habla alemán y portugués.
Aprendo el español.
This is also grammatically correct, but in this kind of sentence it sounds a bit less natural, especially in Spain, unless you’re being very specific, like:
- El español de Argentina es diferente.

So in everyday speech in Spain, aprendo español (no article) is the most natural choice.

What does poco a poco add to the sentence? Is it the same as lentamente or despacio?

Poco a poco is a very common idiom meaning gradually, little by little. It emphasizes:

small steps
slow but steady progress

Compare:

Voy aprendiendo español poco a poco.
I’m little by little learning Spanish (I’m slowly getting better).
Voy aprendiendo español lentamente / despacio.
Grammatically okay, but this sounds more like “I’m learning Spanish slowly” and can suggest that the speed is simply slow, sometimes with a slightly negative nuance (too slow).

Poco a poco usually sounds positive and patient: you’re progressing, even if it’s slow.

What’s the difference between cada día and todos los días? Could I say …y todos los días entiendo más frases?

Both are correct, but the nuance is slightly different:

Cada día entiendo más frases.
Literally: “Each day I understand more phrases.”
It highlights each individual day as another step in your progress. It goes very well with the “gradual” feeling of the sentence.
Todos los días entiendo más frases.
Literally: “Every day I understand more phrases.”
This sounds more like a habitual action that happens daily, without emphasizing the idea of accumulation so much.

In most everyday contexts, cada día and todos los días are interchangeable, and both would be understood as “every day.” Here, cada día matches especially well with poco a poco.

Why does the sentence use entiendo and not comprendo? Is there a difference?

In many contexts, entender and comprender can both translate as “to understand,” but:

Entender is more common and more general, especially in spoken language:
- No te entiendo. → I don’t understand you.
- Entiendo más frases. → I understand more phrases.
Comprender can sound slightly more formal or can suggest deeper understanding or grasping a concept:
- Comprendo la teoría. → I understand / grasp the theory.

In this sentence, entiendo más frases is the most natural option in everyday Spanish.

Why is it más frases and not muchas frases? How do más and muchas differ here?

Más means “more” (a comparative: more than before):
- Cada día entiendo más frases.
  Every day I understand more phrases (than I used to).
Muchas means “many / a lot of” (quantity, not comparison):
- Cada día entiendo muchas frases.
  Every day I understand many phrases.

The original sentence is highlighting progress compared to the past (I understand more and more), so más frases fits better than muchas frases, which focuses on the amount, without the idea of increase over time.

What exactly does frases mean here? Is it the same as oraciones?

Both can translate as “sentences,” but there’s a nuance:

Frase is a general term for a phrase or sentence. It can be a full sentence or a shorter expression:
- Frase hecha → set phrase / idiom
- Frase corta → short sentence / short phrase
Oración is more technical and refers to a full grammatical sentence (with a verb, subject, etc.). It’s often used in grammar contexts:
- Analiza la oración. → Analyze the sentence.

In everyday speech, frase is much more common, especially when talking about language learning (recognizing phrases, understanding chunks). So entiendo más frases sounds much more natural than entiendo más oraciones in this context.

Could I move cada día to the end and say: Voy aprendiendo español poco a poco y entiendo más frases cada día?

Yes, that word order is completely correct and natural:

Voy aprendiendo español poco a poco y cada día entiendo más frases.
Voy aprendiendo español poco a poco y entiendo más frases cada día.

Spanish allows quite flexible placement of time expressions like cada día. Putting it at the start of the second clause slightly emphasizes the time (“Each day I understand more…”), but both versions mean the same and are common.

What’s the pronunciation difference between voy and the English word “boy”? And should I pronounce the final -s in frases and más?

Voy:
- v is pronounced like a soft b, similar to English b but less explosive.
- oy is like the oy in English boy.
  So voy sounds somewhat like “boy,” but with a softer initial consonant, closer to “boi” than to “voi.”
Final -s in frases and más:
- In most of Spain, the final -s is clearly pronounced, like the s in “see.”
  - frases → FRAH-ses
  - más → mahs (short and clear)

Pronouncing the -s clearly is important to distinguish singular/plural and words like más (more) vs ma (syllable, not a word by itself).