Thursday, August 17, 2023

Using "¿qué? and ¿cuál? in interrogative sentences; You know them better as "questions".

Both ¿qué? and ¿cuál? mean "what?" in English, but the verbs in Spanish change depending on where they are used.  "cuál" comes before the verb ser for the most part, or it comes before a posted selection.  If before a posted selection, it takes the meaning of the English "which?".  


¿Cuál fue la mejor parte de la película? What was the best part of the movie?

¿Cuál es el día de hoy? What is today's date?, What's today?, or What day is it?

¿Cuál vestido quieres usar, el azul o el blanco? What (which) dress do you want to wear, the blue or white one?


When we want to refer to several objects, we use ¿cuales?.  Since the penultimate syllable is naturally accented here, we drop the diacritical mark, and make ser the third person plural conjugation:

¿Cuales son los restaurantes que a ti te gustan más? What are the restaurants that you enjoy the most? 


Qué is used for only specific grammar utterances when meaning what? We use qué when telling time, saying the date, referring to a specific noun, or asking the general definition of something.  Observe, por favor: 


¿Qué hora es?  What time is it?

¿Qué mochila es la tuya?  What backpack is yours?

¿Qué quieres hacer hoy? What do you want to do today?

¿Qué es Mazatlán? ¿Es el nombre de una ciudad?  What's Mazatlan? Is that the name of a city? 


When you're astounded by something, and you're like "What the heck is that?", you simply use the neuter form of a demonstrative adjective, eso or esos.  Notice that this is emphatically done before the verb ser, unlike previously.  


¿Qué es eso?  What is that? 

¿Qué son esos? What are those?  


Ojalá que te ayude, 

Profesor Joel



Wednesday, May 3, 2023

A Simple Approach to Asking Questions in Spanish

 You might think that this is a no-brainer.  Asking a question in Spanish is like asking a question in English, except there is an inverted question mark at the beginning of the sentence.  Yes, that is how a question (or, interrogative statement if you want to get technical) is indeed written, yet the way of forming a question in Spanish is much more in the spoken voice.  

In English, we also use our voice to express a question, by a slight inflection at the very end of the question, along with interrogative quiz words like Is", Are? and the 6 other interrogative words we learned in elementary school: who, what, when, where, why, and how.  

Spanish requires the same kind of pattern.  However, there is much more emphasis placed on the final syllables.  It also contains the following interrogatives: 


¿Quién?, or plural ¿Quiénes?  Who?

¿Quiénes son esas muchachas?  Who are those girls?


¿Qué?  What?

¿Qué es paella? ¿Un plato español?  What is paella? A Spanish dish?


¿Cuál? or plural ¿Cuáles? - Which? or Which ones?

¿Cuál es el celular suyo?  Which cell phone is yours?


¿Cómo?  How?

¿Cómo llegaste al aeropuerto? ¿Por taxi?  How did you get to the airport? By taxi?


¿Por qué?  Why?

¿Por qué quieres romper con Ashley?  Why do you want to break up with Ashley?


¿Cuándo?  When?

¿Cuándo es la fiesta?  When is the party?


¿Dónde?  Where?

¿Dónde está Caracas?  Where is Caracas?


¿Adónde?  Where? (when inquiring as to destination) 

¿Adónde vas?  Where are you going to?


Hope this helps!

Joel

Saturday, April 16, 2022

Imperfecto del Subjuntivo (Imperfect Subjunctive Tense)

¡Buenos! 

Hey, if you thought that using the subjunctive in the present tense of Spanish was a pain, get ready to cut your teeth on the use of the subjunctive in the past tense.  Yes, it is really a thing.  In English, for example, we state in the present tense:

I want you to clean the kitchen.  

This can also be expressed in the past tense: 

I wanted you to clean the kitchen.  

English makes it easy in that the only verb changed to the preterit (past) tense is the subject (independent) clause of the sentence.  The subjunctive verb in the predicate (dependent) clause doesn't change at all, and this is pretty universal in English.  In Spanish, however, we are taxed with using an entirely different conjugation set for verbs in the dependent clause of a past tense sentence.  This is what is known as the imperfecto del subjuntivo, or the imperfect subjunctive tense.  

Let's look at a basic sentence in the present tense in Spanish that employs the subjunctive:

Yo quiero que tú limpies la cocina.  I want you to clean the kitchen.  

Notice that the contractive "que" is utilized here to join both the independent (indicative) and the dependent (subjunctive) clauses.  It is easier for an English speaker to understand the subjunctive by rephrasing the above example like this: 

I want THAT you clean the kitchen.  

In this manner, you can see how the first part (I want...) is indicative, in that, it is based in reality, and the second part (...you clean the kitchen) is not based in reality.  

Now that we're done with that review of present-tense subjunctive, let's look at the imperfect subjunctive, which is just the same sentence taking place in the past.  To do this, we must conjugate the dependent (subjunctive) verb in an entirely different manner.  In order to do this, the first step is to recall the preterit tense 3rd person plural indicative.  We'll continue to use the above example to develop our understanding of this grammar topic.  So, the verb we want to convert to the imperfect subjunctive is limpiar (to clean).  

The preterit tense third person plural indicative is limpiaron.  Next, we are going to drop the suffix of this conjugation, which is -aron.  We are left with the root upon which we will build: 

limpi-

Then, we will add whichever of the modified suffices that follows, depending on the subject used and the intended meaning of the sentence.  Observe: 

yo: -ara

tú: -aras

él/ella/Ud.: -ara

nosotros/-as: -áramos

vosotros/-as: -arais

ellos/ellas/Uds.: -aran

So, ultimately we can then create sentences using all of the conjugation.  Notice how the independent clause is in the imperfect or the past tense in order to necessitate the imperfect subjunctive.  You will also notice that, in order to maintain the penultimate stressed syllable, the nosotros form carries an accent with it:


Ella quería que yo limpiara la cocina.  She wanted me to clean the kitchen. or She wanted that I clean the kitchen.  

Yo quería que tú limpiaras la cocina.  I wanted you to clean the kitchen.  

Mi madre quería que mi hermano limpiara la cocina.  My mom wanted my brother to clean the kitchen.

Ellos querían que limpiáramos la cocina.  They wanted us to clean the kitchen.

Yo quería que vosotros limpiarais la cocina.  I wanted you all to clean the kitchen.

El jefe quería que ellos limpiaran la cocina.  The boss wanted them to clean the kitchen.  


The above example shows how an -ar verb changes to form the imperfect subjunctive, but the good news is that the same conjugation applies to -er/-ir verbs even for irregular and special-case verbs.  Instead of dropping the -aron, though, drop the -eron, and finally, add the following: 

yo: -era

tú: -eras

él/ella/Ud.: -era

nosotros: -éramos

vosotros: -erais

ellos/ellas/Uds.: -eran

For the verb hacer (to do, to make), the conjugation is arrived at like this: 

hacer

3rd person plural preterit: hicieron

hici-

yo: hiciera

tú: hicieras

él/ella/Ud.: hiciera

nosotros: hiciéramos

vosotros: hicierais

ellos/ellas/Uds.: hicieran

El profesor nos dijo que hiciéramos el proyecto.  The professor told us to do the project.


Here's the -ir verb, pedir (to ask for):

pedir

pidieron

pidi-

yo: pidiera

tú: pidieras

él/ella/Ud.: pidiera

nosotros: pidiéramos

vosotros: pidierais

ellos/ellas/Uds.: pidieran

Mi esposa me recomendó que le pidiera al mesero una servilleta.  My wife recommended to me that I ask the waiter for a napkin.  

Did you know?! There is an alternative, albeit rarely used conjugation for the imperfect subjunctive.  However, we'll broach that one in the next blog.  ¡Buena suerte con tus estudios! 

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Spanish Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases (Part 1)

Part 1 - Simple Prepositions

I had a Spanish teacher in high school who once told me, "A preposition is anything a monkey and a tree can do with each other."  Took me awhile to figure it out, but I got the gist after I bit my teeth on several years of University level grammar in the years that followed.  A preposition is a phrase that we use to suggest an object is related to some sort of a grammatical unit, like "on" the table, or "with" the teacher.  You are already familiar with one of the most known Spanish prepositions, de (of, from).  

There are many prepositions in English, perhaps hundreds.  Here is a list of commonly used ones, along with their Spanish equivalents.  Here they are, along with their Spanish equivalents.  Examples follow the chart: 



Please note that there are over 150 prepositions in the English language, so this list isn't all-encompassing.  It is just a small sample of the most commonly used ones.  Here are some example sentences, with the preposition underlined: 


Mi hermano está en el baño.  My brother is in the bathroom.  

Estoy en el mercado.  I am at the market.  

El libro está encima del pupitre.  The book is on the desk.  

La novela es por Gabriel García Márquez.  The novel is by Gabriel García Márquez.  

Venezuela está cerca de Colombia.  Venezuela is near Colombia.  

Los restaurantes están a lo largo de la calle principal.  The restaurants are along the main street.  

México está através del Río Grande.  Mexico is across the Rio Grande.  

Alaska está lejos de Florida.  Alaska is far from Florida.  

Al lado del edificio hay un buzón.  There is a mailbox next to the building.  



Hope this lesson helps! Next is Part 2 - Prepositional phrases.  I know you're excited about that one!!  


Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Using Ser and Estar: Different Meanings Depending on Verb Used

Both verbs ser and estar mean "to be" and are an integral part of the Spanish language.  After all, we use the verbs "is" and "are" frequently in the English language, as well.  The difference between both languages is that we only use one verb versus the two for Spanish.  

While we only need to use one verb in English, some sentences in Spanish change meaning depending on whether ser or estar is used.  Here is a list of important differences in Spanish.  While this list is not all-inclusive, it does include the vast majority of the commonly used phrases that change depending on whether or not ser or estar is used: 

Yo soy listo.  I am clever.   

Yo estoy listo.  I am ready (prepared).  


La manzana está verde.  The apple isn't ripe (unfit to eat).  

La tortuga es verde.  The turtle is green.  


Bill Gates es muy rico.  Bill Gates is very rich.  

El mole está muy rico.  The mole is very tasty/delicious.  


El Honda nuevo es muy seguro.  The new Honda is very safe.  

¿Estás seguro que el jefe no viene hoy? Are you certain that the boss isn't coming today?  


El niño es muy malo.  The kid is very bad (he's a bad kid).  

Jaime no se siente bien.  Está muy malo hoy.  Jaime doesn't feel very well.  He is very sick today.  


La profesora es muy aburrida.  The professor is very boring (is a boring person).  

Estoy aburrido.  Vámonos a hacer algo.  I am bored.  Let's go do something.  


Hope this helps.  ¡Ojalá te ayude!  



Sunday, November 22, 2020

Common Mexican Spanish Greetings and Phrases

 ¿Qué onda pues? If you're reading this, you must really want to know some Spanish phrases that are found in Northern México, or parts of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.  These phrases can be commonly heard during greetings, good-byes, as well as during normal conversation as "filler".  I've traveled to México many times, and I also have a lot of friends and acquaintances that commonly use these terms.  ¡Disfruten!


Everyday Greetings for Close Friends and/or Family

¿Qué onda? What's up?  

¿Qué onda pues? What's up dude?

¿Qué hubo? What's up? 

¿Qué onda guey? What's up $%^#? (The term guey, pronounced like the English "way", can be potentially offensive.  Generally, just refer to close pals with this one.)

 

Daily Expressions and Conversation

¿Cuánto cuesta?  How much does this cost?

¿Hay mucho?  Busy?  

¿Aquí está el señor/la señora ____?  Is Mr. or Mrs. ___, here? 

¿Por aquí está el OXXO?  Is OXXO around here? (*OXXO is like a 7-11 here in the States.)


Common Goodbyes

¡Qué tenga buen día!  Have a great day!

¡Qué tenga buena tarde!  Have a great afternoon!

¡Que tenga buena noche!  Have a great night! 

¡Qué le pase bien!  Hope you have a good time! 



Monday, November 16, 2020

The Future Perfect

¡Hola alumnos! Espero que estén bien.  Aquí está una lección sobre el uso del futuro perfecto, un tiempo verbal complejo que significa en inglés "will have done something".  

The future perfect is used to tell a listener that by the time something has been done, something else will already have occurred.  Let's see what we mean by that.  It's already assumed that you know how to create the future tense of a verb (in this case, and since it's a complex perfect form, the auxiliary verb haber).  Let's accompany these example verb phrases with hacer (to do, to make).  


yo habré hecho  I will have done / I will have made

tú habrás hecho  you will have done / you will have made

él/ella/Ud. habrá hecho  he/she/you(formal) will have done / will have made 

nosotros/-as habremos hecho  we will have done / will have made

vosotros/-as habréis hecho  you(informal, plural) will have done / will have made

ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán hecho  they, you will have done / will have made 


So now that you know how these complex verb phrases are implemented, let's look at some examples.  


Para el año 2021, me habré graduado desde la Universidad de Toronto.  By the year 2021, I will have graduated from the University of Toronto.  

Cuando llegues a la fiesta, Marisa ya habrá tomado muchas copas de vino.  Whenever you get to the party, Marisa will already have had a lot of glasses of wine.  

En diez años nosotros habremos vendido la casa.  In ten years, we will have sold the house.  

Para las ocho y media de la noche, Rebeca y Agustín se habrán ido.  By 8:30 PM, Rebeca and Agustín will have left.  


You will notice that in the conjugation of haber, only the nosotros form does NOT carry an accent.  This isn't a surprise because it is conjugated in the future form.  

¡Espero que esto ayude!  

Joel 



Friday, September 14, 2018

The Difference Between "Cuál" and "Qué"

Although "cuál" and "qué" mean roughly the same thing ("what"), they can't be used interchangeably.  

The main difference is that "cuál" also means "which", or "which one", when faced with a selection or a list; however, it means "what" when the verb ser follows.  

"Qué" means an interrogative "what" when asking for a definition of something, or posing a question if the verb ser doesn't follow.  HOWEVER, when you are asking what the definition of a word is, or what an object is that is unknown, you use the interrogative qué.

It might sound complicated, but you'll see a pattern!  Let's look at some examples.

Using cuál, when posing a list or selection: 

¿Cuál prefieres, la camiseta azul o la blanca?  Which do you prefer, the blue shirt or the white?  

Using cuál, when it means "what" (noticed it's followed by the verb ser):

¿Cuál es la capital de Bolivia?  What is the capital of Bolivia? 

Using qué, when asking a question:

¿Qué quieres?  What do you want?

Following qué with ser, when begging the meaning of a word, object, or abstract thought:  

¿Qué es una bodega?  What is a bodega?  


A final note: some advanced Spanish speakers might wonder why the accent falls on the monosyllabic words when they aren't needed according to the rules of Spanish diacritical marks.  Well, they are an exception according to the Real Academia Española, the governing body of the Spanish language throughout the world.  Not only do they distinguish themselves as question starters, they also need to be differentiated from other uses of the aforementioned words.  For example, we use non-accented que in subjunctive clauses: 

Necesito que pongas la mesa.  I need you to set the table.


Sunday, September 2, 2018

La Diferencia Entre "Deber" y "Deber de"

One of the most common mistakes in the usage of Spanish grammar, for not just Spanish language learners but for native speakers as well, is the mistake of using deber instead of deber de, or vice versa.  Hopefully this brief lesson sheds some light on the whole mess for you.

I'm going to go ahead and assume that you have your verb charts handy and/or memorized so you are familiar with the conjugation of this verb (which is regular -er in all tenses and moods).

The difference is that deber + infinitive indicates obligation/necessity to do something, whereas deber de + infinitive indicates a probability of something occurring with a sense of definiteness ("must be", "probably are").  Let's look at some examples.  First, deber + infinitive (which is very similar to tener que + infinitive (to have to)) is constructed like this:

Debo lavar mi carro.  I should/need to/have to/must wash my car.  

Emilia debe pasar la aspiradora.  Emilia should/needs to/has to/must vacuum.  

Tú debes prepararte para la prueba.  You should/need to/have to/must get prepared for the quiz.

Nosotros debemos apagar las luces.  We should/need to/have to/must turn out the lights.

Vosotros debéis manejar a Toluca.  You all should/need to/have to/must drive to Toluca.  

Los empleados deben llegar a tiempo.  The employees should/need to/have to/must arrive on time.  

You'll notice in the aforementioned examples that each use of deber could very easily be replaced by the more common tener que.  The use of deber is slightly more aligned with the meaning of "should" or "ought to", but it still implies a sense of duty or obligation.

Let's now switch gears and check out deber de + infinitive.  This verb structure indicates a sense of probability of something occuring.  While it seems a minor difference with a simple addition of de, it is still a very common mistake for intermediate to advanced Spanish learners, as well as for native speakers alike.  Although the difference seems miniscule, it completely changes the meaning of the sentence.

Debo de saber la diferencia entre los verbos.  I probably/must know the difference between the verbs.

Debes de estar confundido.  You probably are/must be confused.

Juanito debe de estar trabajando.  Juanito is probably/must be working.  

Nosotras debemos de estar locas.  We probably are/must be crazy.  

Tu novia y tú debéis de estar enamorados.  You and your girlfriend probably are/must be in love. 

Ellos deben de estar dormidos.  They probably are/must be asleep.  

So in essence, if we take the verb conocer and apply it to both constructions, we can immediately see the difference in meaning of both utilizations:

Debemos conocer Barcelona.  We should/ought to/must/have to be familiar with Barcelona.

Debemos de conocer Barcelona.  We probably are/must be familiar with Barcelona.  

Ojalá que esta lección te ayudara...

Profesor Joel


Monday, April 10, 2017

Using the Subjunctive - Irregular Present Tense

There are only a couple of verbs that are irregular in the present tense subjunctive.  If you recall, the opposite vowel suffix substitutes for the first person singular suffix from the present tense indicative (namely, the –o).  However, there are a couple of verbs that don’t fit neatly into this process. 

Verbs whose first person singular conjugation end in –y, such as estar (estoy), ser (soy), and dar (doy), all have irregular conjugations:


estar (to be)
Quieren que yo esté en la fiesta.  They want me to be at the party.
Espero que vosotros no estéis en casa.  I hope that you all are not at home.
Ellos desean que estemos en el cine.  They want us to be at the theater.
Necesito que tú estés en la reunion.  I need you to be at the meeting.
No puedo creer que estén aquí Uds.  I can’t believe that you all are here.
ser (to be)
Mi amigo espera que yo sea paciente.  My friend hopes that I am patient.
Necesito que tú seas paciente.  I need you to be patient.
Dicen que seamos amables.  They tell us to be friendly.
Espero que seáis puntuales.  I hope that you all are punctual.
Sugiero que sean simpáticos.  I suggest that you all be nice.
dar (to give)
Necesito que me des el informe.  I need you to give me the report.
Ellos quieren que yo les el informe.  They want me to give them the report.
El profesor pide que le demos nuestros ensayos.  The professor asks us to give him our essays.
Necesito que vosotros me deis vuestros papeles.  I need you all to give me your papers.
Espero que Uds. me den la tarea a tiempo.  I hope you all give me the homework on time.
ir (to go)
Mi madre necesita que yo vaya a la tienda.  My mother needs me to go to the store.
Necesito que tú vayas a la escuela conmigo.  I need you to go to the school with me.
Ella necesita que vayamos a la librería.  She needs us to go to the bookstore.
Prefiero que vosotros vayáis inmediatamente.  I prefer you all go immediately.
Espero que ellos vayan al aeropuerto ahora mismo.  I hope they go to the airport right now.
The verb saber (to know) also exhibits an irregular subjunctive conjugation: 
No creo que él sepa la respuesta.  I don’t believe that he knows the answer.
Necesito que sepas la materia.  I need you to know the subject.
El profesor exige que sepamos las respuestas.  The professor demands that we know the answers.
La maestra espera que sepáis las datos.  The teacher hopes that you all know the facts.
Sugerimos que Uds. sepan escribir bien.  We suggest that you know how to write well.
The verb caber (to fit) is highly irregular (the yo form is quepo):
Espero que la falda me quepa.  I hope that the skirt fits me.
Esperamos que los zapatos te quepan.  We hope that the shoes fit you.
Espero que te quepas en el carro chico.  I hope that you fit in the small car.
Dudo que nos quepamos en ese carro.  I doubt that we’ll fit in that car.
 

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Puntos de Partida - Cómo conocer a alguien y empezar la conversación

Hay muchas preguntas que puedes hacer para iniciar una conversación con hispanohablantes.  Acuérdate de que tenemos que tener mucho contacto con el idioma hispano para tener éxito en el aprendizaje de la lengua.  Aquí están unos ejemplos: 

1) ¿De dónde es Ud.?  ¿Dónde nació?

2) ¿Cuales son sus pasatiempos favoritos? 

3) ¿Te gusta el fútbol?  ¿Cuál es su equipo favorito? 

4) ¿Le gusta salir las noches?  ¿A Ud. qué le gusta hacer? 

5) ¿Qué opina de la economía?

Hay otras preguntas básicas que se pueden implementar, pero estas son las más comunes en cualquier idioma.  Date cuenta que utilicé la forma de Ud., pero esto no es necesario.  De hecho, se puede utilizar la forma tuteada si te comuniques con un hablante de misma edad o menor. 

Sigue practicando, 

Joel

Using "¿qué? and ¿cuál? in interrogative sentences; You know them better as "questions".

Both ¿qué? and ¿cuál? mean "what?" in English, but the verbs in Spanish change depending on where they are used.  " cuál &q...