lección 1: ¡mucho gusto
TRANSCRIPT
Lección 1: ¡Mucho gusto!
Estructuras
1 The alphabet
Letter Name Letter Name Letter name
a a k ka s ese
b be (larga) l ele t te
c ce m eme u u
d de n ene v ve (corta)
e e ñ eñe w doble ve
f efe o o x equis
g ge p pe y i griega
h hache q qu z zeta
i i r ere
j jota rr erre
2 Cardinal numbers 0-30
0 cero
1 uno
2 dos
3 tres
4 cuatro
5 cinco
6 seis
7 siete
8 ocho
9 nueve
10 diez
11 once
12 doce
13 trece
14 catorce
15 quince
16 dieciséis
17 diecisiete
18 dieciocho
19 diecinueve
20 veinte
21 veintiuno
22 veintidós
23 veintitrés
24 veinticuatro
25 veinticinco
26 veintiséis
27 veintisiete
28 veintiocho
29 veintinueve
30 treinta
*Uno changes to un before a masculine singular noun: un profesor (one professor). Uno
changes to una before a feminine singular noun: una profesora (one professor).
3 Colors (Colores)
amarillo Yellow
anaranjado Orange
azul Blue
blanco White
gris Grey
marrón (café) Brown
morado Purple
negro Black
rojo Red
rosado Pink
verde Green
4 Days of the week (Los días de la semana)
Monday lunes
Tuesday martes
Wednesday miércoles
Thursday jueves
Friday viernes
Saturday sábado
Sunday domingo
-¿Qué día es hoy? ¿Jueves? "What day is today? Thursday?"
-No, hoy es viernes. "No, today is Friday."
* In Spanish-speaking countries, the week starts on Monday.
* Note that the days of the week are not capitalized in Spanish.
* The days of the week are masculine in Spanish. The masculine definite
articles el and los are often used with them to express on.
For example: El lunes…On Monday…
Los lunes…On Mondays…
5 Months and seasons of the year (Los meses y las estaciones del año)
Invierno
(Winter)
Primavera
(Spring)
Verano
(Summer)
Otoño
(Fall)
diciembre marzo junio septiembre
enero abril julio octubre
febrero mayo agosto noviembre
*To ask for the date, say:
-¿Qué fecha es hoy? "What's the date today?"
* When giving the date, always begin with the phrase "hoy es el..."
-Hoy es el veinte de mayo. "Today is May twentieth."
* Begin with the number, followed by the preposition de (of), and then the
month.
el quince de agosto August fifteenth
el diez de septiembre September tenth
-¿Qué fecha es hoy? ¿El primero de mayo?
"What's the date today? May first?"
-No, hoy es el treinta de abril. "No, today is April thirtieth."
*Primero (First) is the only ordinal number used with dates. Also, the months
are not capitalized in Spanish.
6 Subject pronouns (Pronombres personales usados como sujetos)
Yo I
Tú You
Él He
Ella She
Usted You
(Ud.)
Nosotros(as) We
Vosotros(as) You
Ellos They
Ellas They
Ustedes You
(Uds.)
*The tú form is used as the equivalent of you to address a friend, a
coworker, a relative, or a child. The usted form is used in general to express
deference or respect. In most Spanish-speaking countries today, young
people tend to call each other tú even if they have just met. If in doubt, use
usted.
*The plural form of tú is vosotros(-as), which is used only in Spain. In Latin
America, the plural form ustedes (abbreviated Uds.) is used as the plural
form of both usted (abbreviated Ud.) and tú.
* The masculine plural forms can refer to the masculine gender alone or to
both genders together.
7 Present indicative of ser (Presente de indicativo del verbo ser)
Ser-to be
Yo soy (I am) Nosotros/as somos (we are)
Tú eres (you are) Vosotros/as sois (you are)
Él/Ella/Ud. es (he/she is; you are) Ellos/Ellas/Uds. son (they/you are)
*The verb ser, to be, is irregular. Its forms, like the forms of other
irregular verbs, must be memorized.
*The verb ser is commonly used to express identity, place of origin,
occupation, and nationality.
-¿Ud. es profesor? "Are you a teacher?"
-No, soy estudiante. "No, I'm a student."
-¿Carlos Paz es mexicano? "Is Carlos Paz Mexican?"
-Sí, es de Guadalajara. "Yes, he's from Guadalajara."
-¿Quién es él? "Who is he?"
-Es Héctor Díaz. "He is Héctor Díaz."
-¿De dónde es? "Where is he from?"
-Es de Ecuador. "He is from Ecuador."
Lección 1 Vocabulario:
amigo friend
cumpleaños birthday
despedida farewell
día day
fiesta party
lunes Monday
mamá mom
amiga friend
número number
teléfono telephone
papá dad
madre mother
padre father
saludo greeting
ser to be
bueno good
feliz happy
mi my
nuevo new
doctor doctor
profesor professor
profesora profesor
señor Mr.
señora Mrs.
señorita Ms.
adiós goodbye
buenas noches good evening
buenas tardes good afternoon
buenos días good morning, day
hasta mañana see you tomorrow
hola hi
nos vemos See you
¿Cómo se llama usted? What is your name? (formal)
¿Cómo te llamas? What is your name? (friendly)
Me llamo My name is
¿Cómo está usted? How are you? (formal)
¿Cómo están ustedes? How are you all?
¿Cómo le va? How is it going? (formal)
Bien fine, well
Muy bien Very well
Cómo How
con with
Cuál Which?
¿Cuál es tu teléfono? What is your phone number?
de of, from,
dónde where
el gusto es mío The pleasure is mine
en in,at
encantado charmed
gracias thanks
hay there is, are
hoy today
igualmente likewise
mucho gusto Nice to meet you.
muy very
nada nothing
oye hey
pero but
por favor please
qué what
¿Qué hay de nuevo? What's new?
saludos a say hello to
sí yes
tome asiento take a seat
tú you (friendly)
un a,an
una a,an
usted you (formal)
Ud. you (formal)
¿verdad? right?
y and
Lección 2: El primer día de clases
Estructuras
1 Gender and number
A. Gender, Part I
In Spanish, all nouns—including those denoting non-living things—are either
masculine or feminine.
Masculine Feminine
El hombre El lápiz La mujer La ventana
El profesor El estudiante La profesora La estudiante
El cuaderno El secretario La tiza La secretaria
*Most nouns that end in -o or denote males are masculine: cuaderno
(notebook); hombre (man).
*Most nouns that end in -a or denote females are feminine: mesa (table); profesora (female professor); mujer (woman).
ATENCIÓN:Some common exceptions include the words el día (day) and el
mapa (map), which end in -a but are masculine, and the word la mano (hand), which ends in -o but is feminine.
*Here are some helpful rules to remember about gender:
*Some masculine nouns ending in -o have a corresponding feminine form
ending in -a: el secretario/la secretaria.
*When a masculine noun ends in a consonant, the corresponding feminine
noun is often formed by adding -a: el profesor/la profesora.
*Many nouns that refer to people use the same form for both genders: el
estudiante/la estudiante. In such cases, gender is indicated by the article el
(masculine) or la (feminine).
B. Plural forms
*The plural of nouns is formed by adding -s to words ending in a vowel and -
es to words ending in a consonant.
señora señoras
reloj relojes
silla sillas
borrador borradores
libro libros
lección lecciones
*ATENCIÓN:Note that the plural form of lección does not have a written
accent. When a noun ends in -z, change the -z to c and add -es.
lápiz lápices
luz (light) luces
*When the plural is used to refer to two or more nouns of different
genders, the masculine form is used.
dos secretarias y un secretario tres secretarios
2 Definite and Indefinite articles
A. The definite article
* Spanish has four forms that are equivalent to the English definite article
“the”.
Singular
Plural
Masculine
el
los
Feminine
la
las
English
“the”
el profesor (the professor) los profesores (the professors)
la profesora (the professor) las profesoras (the professors)
el lápiz (the pencil) los lápices (the pencils)
*ATENCIÓN:It is a good idea to learn new nouns with their corresponding
definite articles-this will help you to remember their gender.
B. The indefinite article
*The Spanish equivalents of a (an) and some are as follows.
Singular
Plural
Masculine
un
unos
Feminine
una
unas
English
“a,an,some”
un libro unos libros
una silla unas sillas
un profesor unos profesores
3 Cardinal numbers 31-100
31 treinta y uno
32 treinta y dos
33 treinta y tres
34 treinta y cuatro
35 treinta y cinco
36 treinta y seis
37 treinta y siete
38 treinta y ocho
39 treinta y nueve
40 cuarenta
50 cincuenta
60 sesenta
70 setenta
80 ochenta
90 noventa
100 cien
*Note that y appears only in numbers between 16 and 99.
4 Telling time
*To ask what time it is, say, "¿Qué hora es?" To tell the time in Spanish,
the following word order is used:
Es la y
Or + hour + or minutes
Son las
*Es is used with una. Es la una.(It’s 1:00)
*Son is used with all the other hours. (2:00-12:00)
Son las cuatro.(It’s 4:00)
*The feminine definite article is always used before the hour, since it refers
to la hora.
Es la una y media.(It’s 1:30) Son las diez y cuarto. (It’s 10:15)
*The hour is given first, then the minutes.
Son las once y veinte. (It’s 11:20)
*The equivalent of past or after is y. Es la una y veinticinco. (It’s 1:25)
*To specify whether the time is A.M. or P.M., use de la mañana or de la
tarde, respectively.
-¿La clase es a las 7 de la mañana? "Is the class at 7 A.M.?"
-No, ¡es a las 7 de la tarde! "No, it's at 7 P.M.!"
*To indicate that an activity takes place at an undefined time in the morning
or in the afternoon, use por la mañana or por la tarde, respectively.
-¿Estudiamos por la mañana? "Shall we study in the morning?"
5 Present indicative of regular -ar verbs
*Spanish verbs are classified in three main patterns of conjugation,
according to the infinitive ending. The three infinitive endings are -ar, -er,
and -ir.
Hablar-to speak
Yo hablo (I speak, do speak, am
speaking)
Nosotros(as) hablamos (we speak)
Tú hablas (you speak; friendly) Vosotros habláis (you speak; Spain)
Él/Ella/Ud. habla (He/She Speaks,
You speak; formal)
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. hablan
(They speak; You all speak)
-¿Qué idioma hablas? "What language do you speak?"
-Yo hablo español. "I speak Spanish."
-¿Y Pierre? "And Pierre?"
-Él habla francés. "He speaks French."
*Regular verbs ending in -ar are all conjugated as hablar. Some other
common -ar verbs are:
desear to want, wish necesitar to need
estudiar to study regresar to return
llamar to call trabajar to work
-¿Uds. estudian por la noche? "Do you study in the evening?"
-No, nosotros estudiamos por la tarde. "No, we study in the afternoon."
-¿Qué necesitas tú? "What do you need?"
-Yo necesito un libro. "I need a book."
ATENCIÓN:Notice that the verb forms for Ud., él, and ella are the same.
In addition, Uds., ellos, and ellas share common verb forms. This is true for
all verbs in all tenses.
*The infinitive of Spanish verbs consists of a stem (such as habl-) and an
ending (such as -ar).
*The stem habl- does not change. The endings change with the subject.
*The Spanish present tense is equivalent to three English forms:
Yo hablo inglés I speak English, I do speak English, I
am speaking English
*Because the verb endings indicate who is performing the action, the
subject pronouns are frequently omitted.
Necesito un lápiz. I need a pencil.
Estudiamos inglés. We study English.
Hoy trabajo. I work today.
*Subject pronouns can, however, be used for emphasis or clarification.
-¿Ellos hablan inglés? "Do they speak English?"
-Ella habla inglés y él habla "She speaks English, and he alemán. Speaks German."
*In Spanish, as in English, when two verbs are used together, the second
verb remains in the infinitive.
-¿Con quién necesita hablar Ud.? "With whom do you need to speak?"
1 2
-Necesito hablar con Roberto. "I need to speak with Roberto."
1 2
6 Negative and interrogative sentences
A. Negative sentences
*To make a sentence negative, simply place the word no in front of the verb.
Yo trabajo en el hospital. I work at the hospital.
Yo no trabajo en el hospital. I don't work at the hospital.
Ella habla inglés. She speaks English.
Ella no habla inglés. She doesn't speak English.
*If the answer to a question is negative, the word no will appear twice: at
the beginning of the sentence, as in English, and in front of the verb.
-¿Habla Ud. español? "Do you speak Spanish?"
-No, yo no hablo español. "No, I don't speak Spanish."
*The subject pronoun may be omitted.
-No, no hablo español. "No, I don't speak Spanish."
B. Interrogative sentences
* In Spanish, there are several ways of asking a question to elicit a yes or no
answer.
¿Ud. habla español?
¿Habla Ud. español?
¿Habla español Ud.?
Sí, yo hablo español.
*These three questions ask for the same information and have the same
meaning. The subject may be placed at the beginning of the sentence, after
the verb, or at the end of the sentence.
*Note that written questions in Spanish begin with an inverted question
mark.
*Another common way to ask a question in Spanish is to add tag questions
such as ¿no? and ¿verdad? at the end of a statement.
Ud. habla español, ¿verdad? You speak Spanish, don't you?
*Questions that ask for information begin with an interrogative word, and
the verb, not the subject, is placed after the interrogative word.
¿Dónde trabajas tú? Where do you work?
¿Cuándo regresan ellos? When do they return?
¿Qué necesita Ud.? What do you need?
¿Quién es el profesor? Who is the professor?
*ATENCIÓN:Spanish does not use an auxiliary verb, such as do or does, in
negative or interrogative sentences.
7 Possession with de
*The de + noun construction is used to express possession or relationship.
Spanish does not use the apostrophe.
la clase de la Dra. Peña Dr. Peña's class
el libro de Dora Dora's book
ATENCIÓN:Note the use of the definite article before the words dirección,
clase, and libro.
-¿Quién es Francisco Acosta? "Who is Francisco Acosta?"
-Es el profesor de Carmen. "He is Carmen's professor."
-¿Cuál es la dirección de Irene? "What is Irene's address?"
-Calle Magdalena, número seis. "Six Magdalena Street." Lección 2 Vocabulario:
biblioteca library
calle street
casa house
chica girl
muchacha girl, young woman
chico boy
muchacho boy, young man
chino Chinese
dinero money
dirección address, direction
domicilio address
español Spanish
francés French
hora time (of day)
idioma language, idiom
lengua language
inglés English
mochila backpack
noche evening, night
tarde afternoon
tiempo time
anotar to write down
conversar to converse
platicar to chat
estudiar to study
hablar to speak
necesitar to need
practicar to practice
tomar to take (classes)
trabajar to work
difícil difficult
fácil easy
otro other, another
primero first
a at
conmigo with me
cuándo when
en ese caso in that case
¿en serio? Seriously?
esta noche tonight
más more
para in order
por la mañana in the morning
por la noche in the evening
por la tarde in the afternoon
¿Qué hora es? What time is it?
se dice one says
también also, too
tarde late
todos los días every day
un poco a little
vamos let's go
pared wall
pizarra chalkboard
borrador eraser
marcador marker
tiza chalk
silla chair
lápiz pencil
papel paper
escritorio desk
reloj watch, clock
puerta door
ventana window
luz light
mapa map
pluma pen
computadora computer
libro book
cuaderno notebook
tablilla de anuncios bulletin board
¿Cómo se dice? How does one say?
cesta de papeles waste basket
Lección 3: Por teléfono
Estructuras
1 Possessive adjectives (Los adjetivos posesivos)
Possessive Adjectives
Mi(s) my
Tu(s) your
Su(s) his,her,Your (formal)
Nuestro(a)(s) our
Vuestro/a(s) your
Su(s) their, your (pl)
-¿Tu novio es de Buenos Aires? "Is your boyfriend from Buenos Aires?"
-No, mi novio es de Asunción. "No, my boyfriend is from Asunción."
*Possessive adjectives always precede the nouns they introduce. They agree
in number with the nouns they modify.
Yo necesito mi libro. Yo necesito mis libros.
*Nuestro and vuestro are the only possessive adjectives that have the
feminine endings -a and -as. The others take the same endings for both
genders.
Nosotros necesitamos nuestro libro y nuestra pluma
Nosotros necesitamos nuestros libros y nuestras plumas
*Possessive adjectives agree in gender with the thing possessed and not with
the possessor. For example, two male students referring to their female
professor will say nuestra profesora.
*Because su and sus each have several possible meanings, the form de él (or
de ella, de ellos, de ellas, de Ud., or de Uds.) can be substituted to avoid
confusion.
The "formula" is: article + noun + de + pronoun.
sus plumas las plumas de él (ella, Ud., etc.)
su libro el libro de él (ella, Ud., etc.)
2 Cardinal numbers 101-1,000
101-1.000
Ciento uno 101
Ciento dos 102
Ciento tres 103
Doscientos 200
Trescientos 300
Cuatrocientos 400
Quinientos 500
Seiscientos 600
Setecientos 700
Ochocientos 800
Novecientos 900
Mil 1.000
*To ask how much a single item costs, say, "¿Cuánto cuesta?" For multiple
items, use "¿Cuánto cuestan?"
-¿Cuánto cuesta el escritorio? "How much does the desk cost?"
-Cuesta ciento cincuenta dólares. "It costs a hundred and fifty dollars."
-¿Cuánto cuestan las ventanas? "How much do the windows cost?"
-Cuestan mil cien dólares. "They cost eleven hundred dollars."
*When counting beyond 100 (101 to 199), ciento is used.
*Y appears only in numbers between 16 and 99. It is not used to separate
thousands, hundreds, and tens from each other: mil quinientos ochenta y
seis.
*In Spanish, one does not count in hundreds beyond 1,000; thus, 1,100 is
expressed as mil cien. After 1,000, thousands are counted dos mil, tres mil,
and so on. Note that Spanish uses a period rather than a comma to indicate
thousands.
*When modifying a feminine noun, the feminine form is used: doscientas
sillas.
3 Descriptive adjectives: Forms, position, and
agreement with articles and nouns
A. Forms of adjectives
*Descriptive adjectives identify characteristics or qualities such as color,
size, and personality.
In Spanish, these adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns
they modify. Adjectives ending in -o are made feminine by changing the -o
to -a.
el muchacho mexicano la muchacha mexicana
el chico rubio la chica rubia
el lápiz rojo la pluma roja
*Adjectives ending in -e or in a consonant have the same form for the
masculine and the feminine.
el chico inteligente la chica inteligente
el esposo feliz (happy) la esposa feliz
el libro fácil (easy) la clase fácil
*Adjectives of nationality that end in a consonant add an -a in the feminine.
el muchacho español la muchacha española
el señor inglés la señora inglesa
*Adjectives ending in -or, -án, -ón, or -ín add an -a in the feminine.
El alumno trabajador
La alumna trabajadora
The hard working student
¡ATENCIÓN! Adjectives that have an accent in the last syllable of the
masculine form drop it in the feminine: inglés inglesa.
*To form the plural, adjectives follow the same rules as nouns. Adjectives
ending in a vowel add -s; adjectives ending in a consonant add -es;
adjectives ending in -z change the -z to c and add -es.
norteamericana norteamericanas
español españoles
feliz felices
B. Position of adjectives
*Descriptive adjectives generally follow the noun.
Miguel es un chico inteligente. Miguel is an intelligent boy.
Necesito dos plumas rojas. I need two red pens.
*Adjectives denoting nationality always follow the noun.
El profesor mexicano trabaja en la universidad.
C. Agreement of articles, nouns, and adjectives
*In Spanish, the article, noun, and adjective agree in gender and number.
un muchacho alto una muchacha alta
los muchachos altos las muchachas altas
*When an adjective modifies two or more nouns, the plural form is used.
la silla y la mesa rojas
*If two nouns described together are of different genders, the masculine
plural form of the adjective is used.
La chica mexicana
El chico mexicano la chica y el chico mexicanos
4 Present indicative of regular -er and -ir verbs
Comer-to eat Yo como (I eat) Nosotros(as) comemos (we eat)
Tú comes (you eat) Vosotros(as) coméis (you eat)
Él/Ella/Ud. come (He/She eats;
You eat)
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. comen (They eat, you
eat)
Vivir-to live Yo vivo (I live) Nosotros(as) vivimos (we live)
Tú vives (you live) Vosotros(as) vivís (you live)
Él/Ella/Ud. vive (He/She lives; You
live)
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. viven (They live, you
live)
*Other verbs conjugated like comer:
aprender to learn beber to drink creer to believe, to think
vender to sell leer to read deber must, should, ought to
-¿Dónde comen Uds.? "Where do you eat?"
-Nosotros comemos en la cafetería "We eat in the cafeteria
y Elsa come en su casa. and Elsa eats at her house."
-¿Qué lees tú? "What are you reading?"
-Leo mi libro de español. "I'm reading my Spanish book."
*Other verbs conjugated like vivir:
abrir to open escribir to write recibir to receive decidir to decide
-¿Dónde viven Uds.? "Where do you live?"
-Vivimos en la calle Magnolia. "We live on Magnolia Street."
-¿Tú escribes con lápiz o "Do you write with a pencil or con pluma? with a pen?"
5 Present indicative of the irregular verbs tener and venir
Tener-to have (irregular) Yo tengo (I have) Nosotros(as) tenemos (we have)
Tú tienes (You have) Vosotros(as) tenéis (you have)
Él/Ella/Ud. tiene (He/She has; You
have)
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. tienen (They have, you
have)
Venir-to come (irregular) Yo vengo (I come) Nosotros(as) venimos (we come)
Tú vienes (you come) Vosotros(as) venís (you come)
Él/Ella/Ud. viene (He/She comes;
You come)
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. vienen (They come,
you come)
-¿Cuántas clases tienen Uds.? "How many classes do you have?"
-Tenemos dos. ¿Cuántas tienes tú? "We have two. How many do you
have?"
-Yo tengo cuatro. "I have four."
¡ATENCIÓN! Tener que means to have to, and it is followed by an infinitive.
Olga tiene que trabajar hoy. Olga has to work today.
-¿A qué hora vienen Uds.? "What time are you coming?"
-Sergio y yo venimos a las dos, y Olga viene a la una.
"Sergio and I are coming at two and Olga is coming at one."
-¿Tú tienes que venir a la universidad mañana?
"Do you have to come to the university tomorrow?"
-No. "No."
6 The personal a
*The preposition a is used in Spanish before a direct object referring to a
specific person or persons. It is called the "personal a" and has no equivalent
in English.
Yo llamo a mi prima(D.O.)
I call my cousin(D.O.)
Nosotros llamamos a los estudiantes(D.O.)
We call the students(D.O.)
*The personal a is not used when the direct object is not a person.
Yo llevo las bebidas(D.O.) a la fiesta.
I take the drinks(D.O.) to the party.
*The verb tener generally does not take the personal a, even if the direct
object is a person.
No tengo novio (D.O.)
I don’t have a boyfriend(D.O.)
Tenemos varios amigos(D.O.)
We have several friends(D.O.)
-¿Llevas a tus primos a la universidad?
"Do you take your cousins to theuniversity?" -Yo no tengo primos. Llevo a Jorge y a Luis.
"I don't have (any) cousins. I take Jorge and Luis."
¡ATENCIÓN! When there is a series of direct object nouns referring to
people, the personal a is repeated: Llevo a Jorge y a Luis.
Lección 3 anuncio announcement
aviso ad
café coffee
compañero de cuarto roommate
conocimiento knowledge
empleo job
trabajo job, work
examen parcial midterm exam
informe report
mensaje electrónico e-mail
novia girlfriend
novio boyfriend
periódico newspaper
diario daily newspaper
sala living room
solicitud application
solicitud de empleo job application
aceptar to accept
asistir to attend
beber to drink
comer to eat
tomar to take, to drink
deber must, should
escribir to write
ganar to earn
leer to read
llamar to call
llenar to fill out
llevar to take, to carry
recibir to receive
tener to have
venir to come
vivir to live
alto tall
bajo short
bonito pretty
lindo pretty, cute
económico economic
moreno dark, brunette
rubio blond
simpático nice
a ver let's see
al teléfono on the phone
aquí here
con él habla this is he speaking
con ella habla this is she speaking
con razón no wonder
después later, afterwards
mañana tomorrow
más o menos more or less
mi amor my love, darling
mi vida darling, my life
mientras while
para for
por qué why
por teléfono on the phone
tener que to have to
amable polite
cortés courteous
antipático unpleasant
delgado thin, slender
encantador charming
feo ugly
gordo fat
guapo handsome, good-looking
optimista optimist
pelirrojo red-headed
pesimista pessimist
realista realist
terco stubborn
lugar donde trabaja place of employment
número de licencia de manejar driver's license number
número de seguro social social security number
ocupación occupation
profesión profession
Lección 4: Una fiesta de fin de año
Estructuras
1 Pronouns as objects of prepositions
*The object of a preposition is the noun or pronoun that immediately follows
it: La fiesta es para María (ella). Ellos van con nosotros.
Singular Plural
mí (me) nosotros(as) us
ti (you, friendly) vosotros(as) (you all)
él (him)
ella (she)
Ud. (you, formal)
ellos (they )
ellas (they)
Uds. (you all)
— ¿Hablan de mí? "Are you talking about me?"
— No, no hablamos de ti; hablamos de ella.
"No, we are not talking about you; we're talking about her."
— Vas conmigo o con Carlos?
"Are you going with me or with Carlos?"
— No voy contigo; voy con él.
"I'm not going with you; I'm going with him."
*Only the first- and second-person singular, mí and ti, are different from
regular subject pronouns.
*Mí and ti combine with con to become conmigo (with me) and contigo (with you), respectively.
2 Contractions
*There are only two contractions in Spanish: al and del. Both the preposition
a (to, toward) and the personal a followed by the article el contract to al.
Llevo a + el = al profesor.
Llevo al profesor.
* The preposition de (of, from) followed by the article el contracts to del.
Tiene los libros de + el = del
Tiene los libros del profesor
-¿Llevas al amigo de Ana? "Are you taking Ana's friend?"
-No, llevo a las primas de Eva. "No, I'm taking Eva's cousins."
-¿La casa es de la Sra. Vega? "Is it Mrs. Vega's house?"
-No, es del Sr. Parra. "No, it's Mr. Parra's."
ATENCIÓN: A + el and de + el must always be contracted to al and del.
None of the other combinations (de la, de las, de los, a la, a las, a los) is
contracted: Llaman a los hijos de los profesores.
3 Present indicative of the irregular verbs ir, dar, and estar
Ir –to go Dar –to give Estar-to be
Voy Vamos Doy Damos Estoy Estamos
Vas Vais Das Dais Estás Estáis
Va Van Da Dan Está Están
-Susana da una fiesta hoy. ¿Tú vas?
"Susana is giving a party today. Are you going?"
-No, no voy porque estoy muy cansada.
"No, I'm not going because I am very tired."
-Entonces invito a tu hermana. ¿Dónde está?
"Then I'm inviting your sister. Where is she?"
-Está en la universidad. Viene a las tres.
"She is at the university. She is coming at three o'clock."
*The verb estar, to be, is used here to indicate current condition (Estoy
muy cansada.) and location (Está en la universidad.). Ser, another equivalent
of the English verb to be, has been used up to now to refer to origin (Él es
de Chile.), nationality (Ellas son mexicanas.), characteristics (Jorge es
rubio.), profession (Elsa es profesora.), and time (Son las doce.).
*Other frequent uses of dar are dar un examen, dar una conferencia
(lecture), and dar una orden (order).
4 Ir a + infinitive
* Ir a + infinitive is used to express future action. It is equivalent to the
English expression to be going (to) + infinitive. The "formula" is as follows:
Ir (conjugated) + a + infinitive(-ar, -er,-ir)
Voy a trabajar.
I am going to work.
-¿En qué universidad van a estudiar Uds.?
"At what university are you going to study?"
-Vamos a estudiar en la Universidad de Costa Rica.
"We're going to study at the University of Costa Rica."
-¿Ud. va a dar una conferencia?
"Are you going to give a lecture?"
-Sí, voy a dar una conferencia el viernes.
"Yes, I'm going to give a lecture on Friday."
-¿Tú vas a cantar?
"Are you going to sing?"
-No, voy a bailar.
"No, I'm going to dance."
5 Present indicative of e:ie stem-changing verbs
*Some Spanish verbs undergo a stem change in the present indicative. For
these verbs, when e is the last stem vowel and it is stressed, it changes to ie
as follows.
Preferir-to prefer
Yo prefiero (I prefer…) Nosotros(as) preferimos
Tú prefieres Vosotros preferís
Él/Ella/Ud. prefiere Ellos/Ellas/Uds. prefieren
-¿A qué hora piensas ir a la fiesta? "What time are you planning to go to the party?"
-Prefiero ir a las diez. ¿Y tú?
"I prefer to go at ten. And you?"
-Yo no quiero ir. Estoy cansado.
"I don't want to go. I'm tired."
-¿A qué hora empiezan a1 estudiar Uds.?
"What time do you start to study?"
-Empezamos a las tres.
"We start at three."
*Note that the stem vowel is not stressed in the verb forms used with
nosotros(-as) and vosotros(-as); therefore, the e does not change to ie.
*Stem-changing verbs have the same endings as regular -ar, -er, and -ir
verbs.
ATENCIÓN: The preposition a is used after empezar and comenzar when
they are followed by an infinitive.
Some verbs that undergo this change:
cerrar to close comenzar to begin, to start
empezarto begin, to start entender to understand
pensar to think pensar (+ infinitive) to plan (to do something)
perder to lose querer to want, to wish, to love
6 Expressions with tener
Many useful idiomatic expressions that use to be + adjective in English are
formed with tener + noun in Spanish.
Tener(mucho) frío To be (very) cold
Tener(mucha) sed To be (very) thirsty
Tener(mucha) hambre To be (very) hungry
Tener(mucho) calor To be (very) hot
Tener(mucho) sueño To be (very) sleepy
Tener(mucha) prisa To be in a (great) hurry
Tener(mucho) miedo To be (very) afraid, scared
Tener cuidado To be careful
Tener razón To be right
No tener razón To be wrong
Tener …años de edad To be…years old
-¿Tienes calor? "Are you hot?"
-Sí, y también tengo mucha sed. "Yes, and I'm also very thirsty."
-¿Deseas comer pollo? "Do you want to eat chicken?"
-No, gracias, no tengo hambre. "No, thank you, I'm not hungry."
-¿Cuántos años tienes? "How old are you?"
-Tengo diecinueve años. "I'm nineteen years old."
ATENCIÓN: Note that Spanish uses mucho(-a) (adjective) + noun (as in
mucha hambre) the way English uses very + adjective (as in very hungry).
Lección 4 (Vocabulario)
abrazo hug
abuela grandmother
abuelo grandfather
agua water
El Año Nuevo New Year
cine movies, movie theatre
comida food
costumbre custom
cuarto room
habitación room *
hermana sister
hermano brother
hija daughter
hijo son
llegada arrival
La Navidad Christmas
pregunta question
primo cousin
prima cousin (f.)
el santo saint
semana week
sobrina niece
sobrino nephew
tía aunt
tío uncle
tienda store
vaso glass
vecino neighbor
vecina neighbor (f.)
vez time(in a series)
viaje trip
abrazar to hug
bailar to dance
dar to give
empezar to begin
comenzar to comence, begin
hacer to make, do
ir to go
llegar to arrive
pasar to spend (time)
pensar to think
preferir to prefer
preparar to prepare
querer to want, love
visitar to visit
aturdido dazed, confused
aturdida dazed, confused (f.)
bienvenido welcome
bienvenida welcome (f.)
cansado tired
cansada tired (f.)
contento happy
contenta happy (f.)
invitado invited
invitada invited (f.)
pobre poor
a la vez at a time
acabar de to have just (done something)
ahora now
contigo with you
dame give
don title of respect w/man's first name
doña title of respect w/woman's first name
en casa at home
entonces then (in that case)
este fin de semana this weekend
hijita (darling) daughter
pasado mañana day after tomorrow
por primera vez for the first time
que that, who
sacar foto to take a picture
tomar foto to take a picture *
la semana que viene next week
la semana próxima next week *
tener hambre to be hungry
tener razón to be right
tener sed to be thirsty
tener sueño to be sleepy
un poco a little
un rato a while
aburrido bored
aburrida bored (f.)
alegre joyful
animado animated, encouraged
animada animated, encouraged
enfermo sick
enferma sick (f.)
enojado mad
enojada mad (f.)
entusiasmado enthusiastic
entusiasmada enthusiastic (f.)
frustrado frustrated
frustrada frustrated (f.)
nervioso nervous
nerviosa nervous (f.)
ocupado busy
ocupada busy (f.)
preocupado worried
preocupada worried (f.)
triste sad
ir a un concierto to go to a concert
ir a la montaña to go to the mountains
ir al museo to go to the museum
ir al parque de diversiones to go to an amusement park
ir a un partido to go a game
ir a la playa to go to the beach
ir al teatro to go to the theatre
ir al zoológico to go to the zoo
Lección 5: Planes para un fin de semana
Estructuras
1 Comparative forms (Formas comparativas)
A. Comparisons of inequality
*In Spanish, the comparative of inequality of most adjectives, adverbs, and
nouns is formed by placing más (more) or menos (less) before the adjective,
the adverb, or the noun and que (than) after it.
más (more) adjective
+ or adverb + que (than)
menos (less) or noun
-¿Tú eres más alta que Ana? "Are you taller than Ana?"
-Sí, ella es mucho más baja que yo. "Yes, she is much shorter than I."
ATENCIÓN: De is used instead of que before a numerical expression of
quantity or amount.
Luis tiene más de treinta años. Luis is over thirty years old.
Hay menos de veinte estudiantes aquí. There are fewer than twenty
students here.
B. Comparisons of equality
*To form comparisons of equality with adjectives, adverbs, and nouns in
Spanish, use the adjectives tanto, -a, -os, -as, or the adverb tan... como.
WHEN comparing adjectives/adverbs:
tan(as) + adj. or adv. + como(as)
WHEN comparing nouns:
tanto dinero, tanta fruta, tantos
libros, tantas plumas
-¿Vas en autobús? "Are you going by bus?"
-Sí, es tan cómodo como el coche. "Yes, it's as comfortable as the car."
-Tengo mucho trabajo. "I have a lot of work."
-Yo tengo tanto trabajo como tú. "I have as much work as you (do)."
C. The superlative
*The superlative construction is similar to the comparative. It is formed by
placing the definite article before the person or thing being compared.
Definite Article + noun + más or menos + adjective + de
-¿Quieres ir al Museo del Prado?
"Do you want to go to the Prado Museum?"
-Sí, allí están los cuadros más famosos de España.
"Yes, the most famous paintings in Spain are there."
-Juan no es muy inteligente.
"Juan is not very intelligent."
-No, es el menos inteligente de la familia.
"No, he is the least intelligent (one) in the family."
ATENCIÓN: Note that the Spanish de translates to the English in after a
superlative.
Son los cuadros más famosos de España.
They are the most famous paintings in Spain.
Es la chica más bonita de la clase.
She is the prettiest girl in the class.
2 Irregular comparative forms
*The following adjectives and adverbs have irregular comparative and
superlative forms in Spanish.
Adjective Adverb Comparative Superlative
bueno (good)
malo (bad)
viejo (old)
joven (young)
*grande/pequeño
bien (well)
mal(badly)
mejor (better)
peor (worse)
mayor(older)
menor (younger)
el (la) mejor (the best)
el (la) peor (the worst)
el (la) mayor (the oldest)
el (la) menor (the youngest)
-El restaurante El Dorado es muy malo.
"The El Dorado Restaurant is very bad."
-Sí, pero la cafetería de la universidad es peor.
"Yes, but the university's cafeteria is worse."
-Eva es una buena estudiante.
"Eva is a good student."
-Sí, es la mejor de la clase.
"Yes, she's the best in the class."
*When the adjectives grande and pequeño refer to size, the regular forms
are generally used.
Tu casa es más grande que la de Carolina.
“Your house is bigger than Caroline’s."
*When these adjectives refer to age, the irregular forms are used.
Ella es mucho mayor que yo. She is much older than I.
Teresa es menor que Carlos. Teresa is younger than Carlos.
Ella es la menor de todos. She is the youngest of all.
3 Present indicative of o:ue stem-changing verbs (Boot verbs)
Poder (o-ue) to be able
Puedo ( I can) Podemos (We can)
Puedes (You can) Podéis (You can)
Puede (He/She/You can) Pueden (They can/you can)
*Some verbs undergo a stem change in the present indicative. For these
verbs, when o is the last stem vowel and it is stressed, it changes to ue.
-¿A qué hora vuelven Uds.?
"At what time are you returning?"
-Volvemos a las doce.
"We'll return at twelve o'clock."
-Entonces comemos a las doce y media.
"Then we'll have lunch (eat) at twelve-thirty."
*Note that the stem vowel is not stressed in the verb forms used with
nosotros(-as) and vosotros(-as); therefore, the o does not change to ue.
Other verbs that undergo this change:
almorzar to have lunch llover (impersonal)to rain
contar to tell, to count morir to die
costar to cost recordar to remember
dormir to sleep volar to fly
encontrar to find volver to return
4 Present progressive
* The present progressive describes an action that is in progress. It is
formed with the present tense of estar and the gerund, which is
equivalent to the English present participle (the -ing form of the verb).
(Estar + -ando/-iendo)
Hablar (to speak)
Habl + ando
speaking
Comer (to eat)
Com + iendo
eating
Escribir (to write)
Escrib + iendo
writing
-¿Estás estudiando? "Are you studying?"
-No, estoy escribiendo una carta. "No, I am writing a letter."
-¿Qué estás tomando? "What are you drinking?"
-Estoy tomando café. "I'm drinking coffee."
* The following forms are irregular:
pedir: pidiendo
dormir: durmiendo
decir: diciendo
traer: trayendo
servir: sirviendo
leer: leyendo
-¿Daniel está leyendo? "Is Daniel reading?"
-No, está durmiendo. "No, he's sleeping."
*Note that as shown with traer and leer, the i of -iendo becomes y between
vowels.
ATENCIÓN: In Spanish, the present progressive is never used to indicate
a future action. The present tense is used in future expressions that would
require the present progressive in English.
Trabajo mañana. I'm working tomorrow.
*Some verbs, such as ser, estar, ir, and venir, are rarely used in the
progressive construction.
5 Uses of Ser and Estar
The English verb to be has two Spanish equivalents, ser and estar. As a
general rule, ser expresses who or what the subject is essentially, and estar
indicates state or condition. Ser and estar are not interchangeable.
A. Uses of Ser
Ser expresses a fundamental quality and identifies the essence of a person
or thing.
1) It describes the basic nature or character of a person or thing. It is also
used with expressions of age that do not refer to a specific number of
years.
La orquesta es buena. Yo soy joven (young).
2) It describes the material that things are made of.
Las mesas son de metal.
3) It is used to denote nationality, origin, and profession or trade.
Sandra es norteamericana. Yo soy de Caracas.
Mi mamá es profesora.
4) It is used with expressions of time and with dates.
Hoy es miércoles, cuatro de abril.
Son las cuatro y cuarto de la tarde.
5) It is used with events as the equivalent of taking place.
La fiesta es en el club Los Violines.
6) It is used to indicate possession or relationship.
Los discos compactos son de Julia.
Antonio es el hermano de Raúl.
B. Uses of Estar
Estar is used to express more transitory qualities and often implies the
possibility of change.
1) It indicates place or location.
Mi prima no está aquí. ¿Dónde está?
2) It is used to indicate condition.
Mis amigos están muy cansados.
Sara está enferma.
3) With personal reactions, it describes what is perceived through the
senses-that is, how a person or thing seems, looks, tastes, or feels.
El ponche está delicioso.
4) It is used in the present progressive tense.
Yo estoy estudiando y Ana está leyendo.
6 Weather expressions
* In the following expressions, Spanish uses the verb hacer, to make, followed by a noun.
Hace (mucho) frío. It’s (very) cold.
Hace (mucho) calor. It’s (very) hot.
Hace (mucho viento. It’s (very) windy.
Hace sol. It’s sunny.
*To ask about the weather, say, "¿Qué tiempo hace?" (What's the weather like?).
-¿Qué tiempo hace hoy? "What's the weather like today?"
-Hace buen (mal) tiempo. "The weather is good (bad)."
*The following words used to describe the weather do not combine with
hacer; they are impersonal verbs used only in the infinitive, present
participle, past participle, and third-person singular forms of all tenses.
llover (o:ue) to rain lloviznar to drizzle
nevar (e:ie) to snow llueve It is raining (It rains)
lovizna It is drizzling (It drizzles). nieva It is snowing (It snows)
* Other weather-related words are lluvia (rain) and niebla (fog).
-¿Hace mucho frío en Buenos Aires? "Is it very cold in Buenos Aires?"
-Sí, pero nunca nieva. "Yes, but it never snows."
-¿Vas a volar hoy a San Francisco? "Are you going to fly to San Francisco today?"
No, porque hay niebla. "No, because it's foggy.1"
Vocabulario (Lección 5)
agua mineral
arroz rice
bistec beef steak
mesero waiter
camarones shrimp
cocina kitchen
comida meal
contador accountant
cuenta bill
esposa wife
esposo husband
mujer wife
marido husband
fábrica factory
flan caramel custard
helado ice cream
langosta lobster
niño child
la papa potato
pedazo piece
pedido order
pescado fish
pollo chicken
propina tip
puré de papas mashed potatoes
telenovela soap opera
torta cake
verdura vegetable
legumbre vegetable
almorzar to eat lunch
contar to count
costar to cost
dejar to leave behind
dormir to sleep
mirar to look at, watch
pagar to pay
pedir to order
poder can, to be able to
volver to return
caro expensive
frito fried
hermoso beautiful
rico rich
sabroso tasty
solo alone
tinto red (wine color)
a la parrilla grilled
además besides
al horno baked
de estatura mediana of medium height
de postre for dessert
en este momento at this moment
hace calor It's hot
hace sol It's sunny
hacia towards
beber to drink
ver to see
pasarlo bien to have a good time
tráigame bring me
arroz con leche rice pudding
cordero lamb
frijoles beans
jamón ham
lechón pork
pavo turkey
queso cheese
sopa de fideos noodle soup
chocolate caliente hot chocolate
jugo de frutas fruit juice
leche milk
té frío cold tea
té helado iced tea
mantel tablecloth
tenedor fork
cuchara spoon
cuchillo knife
servilleta napkin
taza cup
vaso glass
platillo saucer
copa cup
pimienta pepper
sal salt
cucharita teaspoon
cubiertos silverware
refresco drink
