It is important to understand that this list is not all-inclusive. Basically, any clause you would use in English to imply a desire, want, or need would be used in Spanish with the subjunctive clauses adjoining the indicative ones.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Subjunctive - "Trigger Clauses"
The present subjunctive can be implemented with several indicative clauses that "trigger" a subjunctive, or subordinate(dependent) clause. Even in English, the sound of these trigger clauses calls for the subjunctive clause to follow because they imply an imposition of will or desire:
It is important to understand that this list is not all-inclusive. Basically, any clause you would use in English to imply a desire, want, or need would be used in Spanish with the subjunctive clauses adjoining the indicative ones.
It is important to understand that this list is not all-inclusive. Basically, any clause you would use in English to imply a desire, want, or need would be used in Spanish with the subjunctive clauses adjoining the indicative ones.
Monday, August 30, 2010
The Relative Pronoun cuyo
A relative pronoun is a part of grammar that is used to combine two independent clauses into a single sentence. Examples of relative pronouns are whose, whom, which, and that. The relative pronoun cuyo means whose, and must agree in number and gender with the noun it introduces. It is important to know that cuyo does NOT translate over to "who's", as in "He's the guy who's learning Spanish."
cuyo libro whose book
cuya revista whose magazine
cuyos televisores whose television sets
cuyas mochilas whose backpacks
Here are some examples of sentences using these relative pronouns. Notice, again, that they agree in gender and number with the noun modified by them. Hopefully you know by now that in Spanish, pronouns are always in agreement with their accompanying nouns.
Me gusta el escritor cuyos libros son traducidos al español.
I like the writer whose books are translated into Spanish.
Damion, cuya madre es dependienta en la tienda, recibiría un descuento de veinte por ciento si comprara algo.
Damion, whose mother is a clerk in the store, would receive a discount of 20 percent if he were to buy something.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
Here are some examples of sentences using these relative pronouns. Notice, again, that they agree in gender and number with the noun modified by them. Hopefully you know by now that in Spanish, pronouns are always in agreement with their accompanying nouns.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
Sunday, August 29, 2010
The Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation (-AR Verbs)
To conjugate verbs into the imperfect subjunctive, then you must know the third-person plural preterit conjugation. If you are not familiar with the preterit verb conjugation, then I highly recommend you read that section prior to proceeding with this one.
You also must know the concept of "opposite vowel", which you should know if you have already played with the present tense subjunctive mood. As you will start noticing (hopefully), the opposite vowel is playing a large part in the distinguishing of subjunctive mood over the indicative mood.
Let's start with the verb hablar (whose third-person plural conjugation in the preterit tense is hablaron), and try to notice the similarity in suffixes for both the preterit and the imperfect subjunctive.
Do you notice the similarity between the aforementioned conjugations and the third person plural preterit conjugations? Although not exact, it still is helpful to remember the pronunciation of the preterit version so as to be able to recall the approximate sounding-out of the imperfect subjunctive when it is required in speech.
Another example of an -ar verb conjugated into the imperfect subjunctive:
The imperfect subjunctive also has another conjugation, although it is more widely used in Spain and Spanish literature than it is in the Western Hemisphere. However, to fully enjoy your Spanish-speaking ability, give these a try! Although they aren't used exclusively in countries like Mexico or El Salvador, they are still able to be understood by the general populace (much like we in the United States can understand British speaking "styles".)
The conjugations for -ar verbs, like charlar("to chat"), are below:
You also must know the concept of "opposite vowel", which you should know if you have already played with the present tense subjunctive mood. As you will start noticing (hopefully), the opposite vowel is playing a large part in the distinguishing of subjunctive mood over the indicative mood.
Let's start with the verb hablar (whose third-person plural conjugation in the preterit tense is hablaron), and try to notice the similarity in suffixes for both the preterit and the imperfect subjunctive.
Do you notice the similarity between the aforementioned conjugations and the third person plural preterit conjugations? Although not exact, it still is helpful to remember the pronunciation of the preterit version so as to be able to recall the approximate sounding-out of the imperfect subjunctive when it is required in speech.
Another example of an -ar verb conjugated into the imperfect subjunctive:
The imperfect subjunctive also has another conjugation, although it is more widely used in Spain and Spanish literature than it is in the Western Hemisphere. However, to fully enjoy your Spanish-speaking ability, give these a try! Although they aren't used exclusively in countries like Mexico or El Salvador, they are still able to be understood by the general populace (much like we in the United States can understand British speaking "styles".)
The conjugations for -ar verbs, like charlar("to chat"), are below:
Saturday, August 28, 2010
The Imperfect Subjunctive and When to Use It
The imperfect subjunctive is formed when the indicative clause of the sentence takes place in the past tense, i.e. either as an imperfect or a preterit. Look at the following sentence:
Buster wanted me to leave immediately.
You'll notice that the sentence structure still rigidly adheres to the pattern we previously saw in the present tense subjunctive sentences: an indicative clause followed by a subjunctive, or dependent, clause. In Spanish, we combine these two cláusulas with que, which takes on the meaning of "that", so we can re-write the sentence as such:
Buster wanted THAT I leave immediately.
Now, we can see a lot more obviously the two clauses at work here. When we think of an English sentence to fit in the pattern above, we can visualize the dependency of the subjunctive clause more readily in Spanish. So let's take our new sentence and translate it into Spanish. The imperfect subjunctive conjugation, as well as the imperfect indicative conjugation, is underlined:
Buster quería que yo saliera inmediatamente.
Another example of a sentence that uses an imperfect subjunctive, but with the preterit indicative conjugation:
Julio exigió que Marta entregara la tarea cuando la pidió.
Julio demanded that Marta turn in the homework when he asked for it.
Notice in both instances of past-tense indicative clauses we use the imperfect subjunctive for the same reason we would use the subjunctive in the present tense.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
You'll notice that the sentence structure still rigidly adheres to the pattern we previously saw in the present tense subjunctive sentences: an indicative clause followed by a subjunctive, or dependent, clause. In Spanish, we combine these two cláusulas with que, which takes on the meaning of "that", so we can re-write the sentence as such:
Now, we can see a lot more obviously the two clauses at work here. When we think of an English sentence to fit in the pattern above, we can visualize the dependency of the subjunctive clause more readily in Spanish. So let's take our new sentence and translate it into Spanish. The imperfect subjunctive conjugation, as well as the imperfect indicative conjugation, is underlined:
Another example of a sentence that uses an imperfect subjunctive, but with the preterit indicative conjugation:
Notice in both instances of past-tense indicative clauses we use the imperfect subjunctive for the same reason we would use the subjunctive in the present tense.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
Friday, August 27, 2010
Irregular Present Progressive Gerunds
As you know, a gerund is affixed to a present progressive to form the Spanish equivalent of the English "-ing". There are some irregular gerund formations, which usually occur in verbs like caer("to fall") and leer("to read"). A "y" is injected in the word to avoid a clumping of vowels, and allows easier pronunciation:
leer leyendo
Manuel está leyendo su revista.
Manuel is reading his magazine.
caer cayendo
Estoy cayendo.
I am falling.
Other verbs that follow this pattern are traer("to bring"), poseer("to possess"), and oír("to hear").
Also, the -ir verbs that are irregular in the preterit third-person also carry forth the same irregularity into the gerund formation. Note the following chart of examples:
If you didn't have enough to worry about, there are also a couple of other irregularities that stand alone. The verbs poder("to be able to") and ir("to go") have as their gerunds pudiendo and yendo, respectively. Also, the two verbs venir("to come") and decir("to say, to tell") exhibit irregular gerunds:
Other verbs that follow this pattern are traer("to bring"), poseer("to possess"), and oír("to hear").
Also, the -ir verbs that are irregular in the preterit third-person also carry forth the same irregularity into the gerund formation. Note the following chart of examples:
If you didn't have enough to worry about, there are also a couple of other irregularities that stand alone. The verbs poder("to be able to") and ir("to go") have as their gerunds pudiendo and yendo, respectively. Also, the two verbs venir("to come") and decir("to say, to tell") exhibit irregular gerunds:
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Irregular Verbs in the Imperfect (ser, ir, and ver)
Fortunately, with almost every verb conjugation having significant irregularities, there are only 3 verbs in Spanish that are irregular in the imperfect tense. They are ser, ir, and ver.
You'll notice immediately when conjugating these verbs the crux of their irregularities. Also, many students wonder why the verb ver is considered irregular; on first glance, it DOES appear regular in its conjugation.
However, if you dissect it a little further, then you'll see that if we were to follow the regular pattern of conjugation, then ver SHOULD conjugate like vía, vías, etc. Remember, when a verb is conjugated, we strive to maintain as much as possible the sound of its original root form.
Funnily enough, the root of the verb ver, when the suffix is dropped, is v-. The verb ir has NO root. This is a very interesting and phenomenal evolution of the Spanish language.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
You'll notice immediately when conjugating these verbs the crux of their irregularities. Also, many students wonder why the verb ver is considered irregular; on first glance, it DOES appear regular in its conjugation.
However, if you dissect it a little further, then you'll see that if we were to follow the regular pattern of conjugation, then ver SHOULD conjugate like vía, vías, etc. Remember, when a verb is conjugated, we strive to maintain as much as possible the sound of its original root form.
Funnily enough, the root of the verb ver, when the suffix is dropped, is v-. The verb ir has NO root. This is a very interesting and phenomenal evolution of the Spanish language.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
Friday, August 20, 2010
La Palabra Diaria - "el capó"
Monday, August 16, 2010
Irregular Future Tense Conjugations
Although mainly regular and easy to work with, there are some verbs in the future tense that have a certain root change before applying the standard future-tense suffixes (-é, ás, á, etc.)
The verb salir(to leave), for example, is NOT conjugated yo saliré. It creates a new form to be used in the future tense, saldr-. Once we know this irregular stem, we can put the first person singular ("yo") suffix on it. So the correct way to say "I will leave" is:
Yo saldré.
Other verbs that have irregular stems are:
Notice that these verbs that are irregular are commonly used, as you have seen that many verbs are indeed irregular the more they are used in speech.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
The verb salir(to leave), for example, is NOT conjugated yo saliré. It creates a new form to be used in the future tense, saldr-. Once we know this irregular stem, we can put the first person singular ("yo") suffix on it. So the correct way to say "I will leave" is:
Other verbs that have irregular stems are:
Notice that these verbs that are irregular are commonly used, as you have seen that many verbs are indeed irregular the more they are used in speech.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
Sunday, August 15, 2010
La Palabra Diaria - "estremecer"
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Augmentative Suffixes (cont.)
In continuation of the lesson on augmentations, let's talk further about suffixes to change the meaning of nouns slightly. Another interesting and very common suffix used in Spanish is the -ón/-ona ending. This suffix, when attached to the verb stem means someone or something who is always engaged in whatever the verb stem signifies. Colloquially, this suffix usually adds a tone of contempt or derogation.
Respectively, the -ón/-ona suffixes are referring to a masculine and feminine noun.
For example, if we take the verb gritar(to yell, to shout) and after dropping the infinitive suffix, we replace it with -ón, we get the new noun:
el gritón loud mouth, somebody who is always shouting
Other verbs that take on different meanings when an augmentative suffix is added are in the table below, along with their derived nouns:
*As you can see above, certain verbs like dormir and comer have an additional "il" added onto the suffix in order for it to meld smoothly onto the root verb.
Here are some example sentences:
Miguel sigue hablando en una voz alta. Siempre ha sido un gritón. Miguel keeps talking in a loud voice. He's always been a loud-mouth.
David pesa mucho a causa de comer tanto. Es un comilón. David weighs a lot because he eats too much. He is a fatso.
¡Sigue estudiando!
Professor Joel
Respectively, the -ón/-ona suffixes are referring to a masculine and feminine noun.
For example, if we take the verb gritar(to yell, to shout) and after dropping the infinitive suffix, we replace it with -ón, we get the new noun:
Other verbs that take on different meanings when an augmentative suffix is added are in the table below, along with their derived nouns:
*As you can see above, certain verbs like dormir and comer have an additional "il" added onto the suffix in order for it to meld smoothly onto the root verb.
Here are some example sentences:
¡Sigue estudiando!
Professor Joel
Friday, August 13, 2010
La Palabra Diara - "enoloquecer"
Thursday, August 12, 2010
My Word of the Day - La Palabra Diaria - "masticar"
I have decided to compliment my daily postings with a section called Word of the Day, or La Palabra Diaria. In it, I will include a word in Spanish that has come across my daily perusals of movies, pop culture, books, and other forms of periodicals in the Spanish speaking world. The word will include its part of speech (noun, verb, etc.), an approximate phonetic pronunciation, and an example of its usage.
La Palabra Diaria Daily Word
masticar verb, "to chew", [mahs-tee-KAHR]
David mastica su chicle contentamente. David chews his gum happily.
Using Adjectives
Adjectives, as you may or may not know, are descriptive words that describe a noun. They go before a noun in common English:
I have a shiny quarter.
In Spanish, the adjective goes after the verb 80% of the time. Also, the adjective must agree in gender and number if it ends in either -o or -a, or simply in number if the adjective ends in an ambiguous letter (such as e(alegre) or z(feliz).
Let's suppose we have a little boy. We have un niño. This noun is what we refer to as a singular, masculine noun. Therefore, we need to add a singular masculine adjective to accompany this noun. Let's choose an adjective now to put with this noun. If we want to say "an angry boy", we'll use the singular masculine form of "angry", which is enojado. So we have now
un niño enojado an angry boy
For describing an angry girl, we simply have to change the adjective to a feminine ending. The article will also reflect the change, as well. The adjective will still, however, remain singular:
una niña enojada an angry girl
For the above nouns, if plural, we would just add an "s" to the adjectives (enojados and enojadas, respectively).
Now let's look and see what we should do about an adjective with an ambiguous ending. If the above-mentioned boy was "happy" and we use the adjective alegre, we can't very well change the gender by switching an -o to an -a, or vice versa; in fact the only thing we can do is change the number (singular v. plural). Notice the difference in the following sentences:
unos niños alegres some happy kids
unas niñas alegres some happy kids(girls)
One caveat of ambiguous adjective endings is you sometimes have to change the spelling of the adjective slightly. For example, if we used the word feliz instead of alegre above, to make it plural we need to change the z to a c, as well as add an -es. So we get
unos niños felices some happy kids
unas niñas felices some happy kids(girls)
If no spelling change takes place, then when an adjective has an ending consonant like -r, you just need to add -es to pluralize. Let's express the following:
mi hermano menor my younger brother
Now to pluralize it, we'll say:
mis hermanos menores my younger brothers
This form of the adjective, since it is ambiguous, doesn't reflect gender changes. Note the following:
mis hermanas menores my younger sisters
Remember when I said that 80% of adjectives in Spanish follow the noun? Well, how about the other 20? Basically, if the adjective describing the noun is an inherent quality of the noun, then we have the option to put the adjective before the noun. The adjective must still agree with the noun's number, and if possible, the gender:
las rojas fresas the red strawberries
el caluroso sol the hot sun
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
In Spanish, the adjective goes after the verb 80% of the time. Also, the adjective must agree in gender and number if it ends in either -o or -a, or simply in number if the adjective ends in an ambiguous letter (such as e(alegre) or z(feliz).
Let's suppose we have a little boy. We have un niño. This noun is what we refer to as a singular, masculine noun. Therefore, we need to add a singular masculine adjective to accompany this noun. Let's choose an adjective now to put with this noun. If we want to say "an angry boy", we'll use the singular masculine form of "angry", which is enojado. So we have now
For describing an angry girl, we simply have to change the adjective to a feminine ending. The article will also reflect the change, as well. The adjective will still, however, remain singular:
For the above nouns, if plural, we would just add an "s" to the adjectives (enojados and enojadas, respectively).
Now let's look and see what we should do about an adjective with an ambiguous ending. If the above-mentioned boy was "happy" and we use the adjective alegre, we can't very well change the gender by switching an -o to an -a, or vice versa; in fact the only thing we can do is change the number (singular v. plural). Notice the difference in the following sentences:
One caveat of ambiguous adjective endings is you sometimes have to change the spelling of the adjective slightly. For example, if we used the word feliz instead of alegre above, to make it plural we need to change the z to a c, as well as add an -es. So we get
If no spelling change takes place, then when an adjective has an ending consonant like -r, you just need to add -es to pluralize. Let's express the following:
Now to pluralize it, we'll say:
This form of the adjective, since it is ambiguous, doesn't reflect gender changes. Note the following:
Remember when I said that 80% of adjectives in Spanish follow the noun? Well, how about the other 20? Basically, if the adjective describing the noun is an inherent quality of the noun, then we have the option to put the adjective before the noun. The adjective must still agree with the noun's number, and if possible, the gender:
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Augmentative Suffixes
Several words can have augmentative suffixes attached to the noun to create a different word, yet with similar meaning. One very common augmentative suffix is -ado/a. This suffix can have several interpretations. First, it can refer to a maximum amount that the noun can hold. For example, a cucharada, which is a portmanteau of sorts of the word cuchara(spoon), and -ada., means "spoonFUL". Other examples of this are:
un puñado "a fistFUL, a handFUL"
un bocado "a mouthFUL"
You can also use the -ado/-ada suffix for expressing the noun touching or hitting something, like
una patada (from la pata = "the foot") a kick
una cuchillada (from un cochillo = "the knife") the slash (from a knife)
Finally, the -ado/-ada suffix can mean a typical characteristic of the noun, for example:
una animalada acting like an animal
una muchachada acting like a child
The way we use these nouns is like this:
Eres una muchachada. You're acting like a child.
Comer así es una animalada. Eating like that makes you look like an animal.
Remember not every noun can follow this pattern. There are only a handful of nouns that exhibit this change colloquially, so really the only way to learn them is by listening for them.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
You can also use the -ado/-ada suffix for expressing the noun touching or hitting something, like
Finally, the -ado/-ada suffix can mean a typical characteristic of the noun, for example:
The way we use these nouns is like this:
Remember not every noun can follow this pattern. There are only a handful of nouns that exhibit this change colloquially, so really the only way to learn them is by listening for them.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
-IR Verbs with Irregular Preterit Endings
Some verbs like pedir (to ask for) and medir (to measure) reflect a slight spelling change in the third persons singular and plural of the preterit tense. Other verbs like morir (to die), and dormir (to sleep) are also victims of this spelling change. Observe the following:
Notice that all of these subtle changes in the third person preterit occur in -ir verbs. You will also notice that when you pronounce the correct pronunciation with the pronunciation from the conjugation you thought was correct ("pedió", for example), there is not whole lot of difference phonetically. However, this doesn't excuse you from misspelling it!
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
Notice that all of these subtle changes in the third person preterit occur in -ir verbs. You will also notice that when you pronounce the correct pronunciation with the pronunciation from the conjugation you thought was correct ("pedió", for example), there is not whole lot of difference phonetically. However, this doesn't excuse you from misspelling it!
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
Monday, August 9, 2010
Conjugating Verbs Ending in -uir
In addition to irregular verbs with (e--->ie) or (o--->ue) stem changes, there is also a whole other class of verbs that carry other radical changes. Usually these are done to maintain as much as possible the sound of the root of the original infinitive. You MUST memorize the vast majority of these verbs.
One set of verbs ends in -uir. A common verb that ends in this suffix is construir, to construct. The conjugation pattern is construir (y). Notice the conjugation below:
Let's take a look at the preceding verb conjugation. First, you'll see the injection of the consonant "y" in every form EXCEPT nosotros and vosotros. This really shouldn't come as a surprise, since nosotros and vosotros forms never change the spelling of the root anyway. However, take a minute to notice the "y" in between the hard vowels u and o and e. We need to put this consonant there to break up the diphthongs that would result from the missing "y". If the "y" didn't exist, we would be left with a root that doesn't carry on its original sound.
It might pay to review some phonetic lessons if you are unsure about the phonemic properties of the Spanish language. Also, if the grammatical term "diphthong" sounds like a foreign word, then a lesson in Spanish phonics might be in the cards for you.
Other verbs that are conjugated like construir are:
Like I said, there are other irregularities that must be simply memorized.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
One set of verbs ends in -uir. A common verb that ends in this suffix is construir, to construct. The conjugation pattern is construir (y). Notice the conjugation below:
Let's take a look at the preceding verb conjugation. First, you'll see the injection of the consonant "y" in every form EXCEPT nosotros and vosotros. This really shouldn't come as a surprise, since nosotros and vosotros forms never change the spelling of the root anyway. However, take a minute to notice the "y" in between the hard vowels u and o and e. We need to put this consonant there to break up the diphthongs that would result from the missing "y". If the "y" didn't exist, we would be left with a root that doesn't carry on its original sound.
It might pay to review some phonetic lessons if you are unsure about the phonemic properties of the Spanish language. Also, if the grammatical term "diphthong" sounds like a foreign word, then a lesson in Spanish phonics might be in the cards for you.
Other verbs that are conjugated like construir are:
Like I said, there are other irregularities that must be simply memorized.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Conjugating -IR Verbs in the Present Tense
If you are familiar with how to conjugate -er verbs, then conjugating -ir verbs is a snap. The only difference between them is the nosotros and vosotros forms. Let's compare the two below:
Notice that the nosotros and vosotros forms change slightly, which is unique to the -ir verbs. Keep in mind that this change is only for regular verbs. Some stem changing irregular -ir verbs are below, along with their stem changes:
Notice that the nosotros and vosotros forms change slightly, which is unique to the -ir verbs. Keep in mind that this change is only for regular verbs. Some stem changing irregular -ir verbs are below, along with their stem changes:
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Los Partes del Automóvil - The Parts of the Automobile
Here's a vocabulary list of stuff you'll find in and around a car. I recommend with all of my vocabulary lists that you create flash cards and memorize these words that way. Have fun!
Here is some additional vocabulary that includes useful verbs associated with cars and roads:
Here is some additional vocabulary that includes useful verbs associated with cars and roads:
Friday, August 6, 2010
Introduction to Regular Participles
Participles are parts of grammar that can't stand alone. The basic rule of thumb of forming participles is to drop the suffix of the infinitive(by now you should know that these can either be -ar, -er, or -ir) and add a new set of endings. Broken down into -ar verbs and -er/-ir verbs, the endings are as follows:
-AR Verbs: -ado, -ada, -ados, -adas
-ER/-IR Verbs: -ido, -ida, -idos, -idas
The four forms of these participles represent nouns that are singular masculine, singular feminine, plural masculine, and plural feminine, respectively.
Each of these new endings are placed onto the root of the word after the suffix of the infinitive has been dropped. For the word mirar for example, our participle is mirado. By default, the particple remains in the singular masculine and is the version used in conjunction with the auxiliary verb haber, which will be introduced to you at a later time.
One more example is the infinitive pedir. Dropping the -ir at the end of the word gives us the root, ped-; now, we can add the default participle ending which is -ido and we are left with the participle pedido, which can then be tacked onto a noun to function as an adjective, or augmented onto haber to form the sentence "to have + done something..."
If this is your first venture into the world of participles, this certainly won't be your last. They indeed make up an enormous chunk of Spanish dialect, so be on the ready when reading an article from a Spanish newspaper or listening to someone speak.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
The four forms of these participles represent nouns that are singular masculine, singular feminine, plural masculine, and plural feminine, respectively.
Each of these new endings are placed onto the root of the word after the suffix of the infinitive has been dropped. For the word mirar for example, our participle is mirado. By default, the particple remains in the singular masculine and is the version used in conjunction with the auxiliary verb haber, which will be introduced to you at a later time.
One more example is the infinitive pedir. Dropping the -ir at the end of the word gives us the root, ped-; now, we can add the default participle ending which is -ido and we are left with the participle pedido, which can then be tacked onto a noun to function as an adjective, or augmented onto haber to form the sentence "to have + done something..."
If this is your first venture into the world of participles, this certainly won't be your last. They indeed make up an enormous chunk of Spanish dialect, so be on the ready when reading an article from a Spanish newspaper or listening to someone speak.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Preterite Conjugations of Irregular Verbs
Some verbs in the preterit tense observe irregular conjugations. Most of the verbs are irregular since they are extremely common. Fortunately, it's a pretty concise list:
More Word Formations - Using Participles
We learned already that you can form some nouns out of taking a verb and conjugating it into either the first- or third-person form. For example, the verb aumentar ("to increase") can be turned into a noun which means "the increase" by conjugating the infinitive into the first person:
aumentar - to increase turns into el aumento - the increase
Habrá un aumento en los sueldos este año. There will be an increase in salaries this year.
You must memorize which verbs turn into nouns, and the method in which they do so. This knowledge will come with time, as you eventually increase your understanding of the language.
Another way to turn verbs into nouns is by extrapolating the verb's past participle. If you are unsure what a past participle is, be sure to review this concept before attempting to understand this. However, if you want, you can also just remember the suffixes -ada for "-ar verbs", and -ida for "-er/ir verbs". Here are some examples:
bajar to go down, to lower
la bajada the way down, decline
comer to eat
la comida the meal
entrar to enter
la entrada the entrance
salir to leave
la salida the exit
llegar to arrive
la llegada the arrival
mirar to see
la mirada the glance
subir to go up
la subida the way up, incline
See what other verbs exist out there where you can change them into nouns. There are several different ways in which you can do this. Also, be sure to watch for other ways to change nouns into verbs, which will come up in future lessons.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
You must memorize which verbs turn into nouns, and the method in which they do so. This knowledge will come with time, as you eventually increase your understanding of the language.
Another way to turn verbs into nouns is by extrapolating the verb's past participle. If you are unsure what a past participle is, be sure to review this concept before attempting to understand this. However, if you want, you can also just remember the suffixes -ada for "-ar verbs", and -ida for "-er/ir verbs". Here are some examples:
See what other verbs exist out there where you can change them into nouns. There are several different ways in which you can do this. Also, be sure to watch for other ways to change nouns into verbs, which will come up in future lessons.
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Step-By-Step Conjugations of Regular -ar Verbs
One aspect of learning Spanish that always throws English speakers for a loop is the method of conjugating verbs from their infinitive forms. If you are unsure what the terms "conjugating" and "infinitive" mean, then this lesson is a useful starting place for you before you embark on your journey through learning Spanish.
To conjugate regular -ar verbs, first start out with the infinitive form of the verb you want to conjugate. If you are unsure if the verb is indeed in the infinitive, then check to see if the ending is either -ar, -er, or ir. If it is, then follow this step-by-step pattern:
1)Drop the suffix (the suffix is the ending, which is either -ar, -er, or -ir). You are now left with the root.
2)Add a new suffix to the root to conjugate the verb. The suffix should match the correct subject pronoun.
For regular -ar verbs ONLY, the correct conjugated suffixes are:
So for example, let's take the example of enseñar, which means to teach. Following our first step, drop the infinitive suffix -ar, so we're left with the root form enseñ-. After that, add the suffixes from above to match the correct subject pronoun. So, fully conjugated, we have the following complete sentences:
Yo enseño. I teach.
Tú enseñas. You teach.
Ella enseña. She teaches.
Nosotros enseñamosWe teach.
Vosotros enseñáis You (plural) teach.
Ellas enseñan They teach.
To conjugate regular -ar verbs, first start out with the infinitive form of the verb you want to conjugate. If you are unsure if the verb is indeed in the infinitive, then check to see if the ending is either -ar, -er, or ir. If it is, then follow this step-by-step pattern:
For regular -ar verbs ONLY, the correct conjugated suffixes are:
1st Person | ||
2nd Person | ||
3rd Person |
So for example, let's take the example of enseñar, which means to teach. Following our first step, drop the infinitive suffix -ar, so we're left with the root form enseñ-. After that, add the suffixes from above to match the correct subject pronoun. So, fully conjugated, we have the following complete sentences:
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Más Vocabulario - La Cocina (The Kitchen)
Here's a list of vocabulary that define words found in your kitchen. Notice that I list the words out using their definite article which distinguishes them as either masculine or feminine. I highly recommend you do the same. Enjoy!
el horno microondas microwave oven
el horno oven
el congelador freezer
la nevera refrigerator
el aparador cabinet
el lavaplatos dishwasher
la encimera counter
el comedor dining room
la mesa table
el tenedor fork
el cuchillo knife
la cuchara spoon
el sartén frying pan
la olla pot
los platos plates
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
Sigue estudiando,
Professor Joel
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