Thursday, January 27, 2011

Un Mapa de México - A Map of The Mexican States

Please click to enlarge if needed...

The Difference between Por and Para

Let me see if I can teach you the difference between por and para in as little time as possible:

The word por is used in the following circumstances:

1)to mean "through", "by", or "around"
Fui por la puerta para salir. I went through the door to exit.


2)to mean "in exchange for"
Pagué 15 dólares por este suéter. I paid 15 dollars for this sweater.


3)to mean duration
He estado en Colombia por tres días. I've been in Colombia for 3 days.


The preposition para is used in the following circumstances:

1)to mean "for"
Este libro es para ti. This book is for you.


2)to mean "in order to..."
Necesito ir al mercado para comprar unas verduras. I need to go to the market (in order) to buy some vegetables.


3)to express "by" a certain time
Entrego este papel para el 15 de octubre. I will turn this paper in by October 15.


Hope this helps! Any questions or comments? Post them below....

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Form the Subjunctive...The 3-Step Approach

To form a verb in the subjunctive, take this 3 step approach:

1)Take the yo form of the verb from the present indicative
i.e. for the verb tomar(to drink), the yo form will be tomo.

2)Drop the -o from the yo form, so you're left with the root. In this case, you're left with the root tom-.

3)Add the opposite vowel suffix on the end. For -ar verbs, opposite vowel suffixes are -e, -es, -e, -emos, and -en. For -er/-ir verbs, the opposite vowel suffixes are -a, -as, -a, -amos, and -an. So for the verb tomar, the complete conjugation will be:

que yo tome
que tú tomes
que Ud. tome
que nosotros tomemos
que ellos tomen


For an -er/-ir verb like vivir, the complete subjunctive conjugation is:

que yo viva
que tú vivas
que él viva
que nosotros vivamos
que ellos vivan


Notice the first and third person singular conjugations are the same, so the use of a subject pronoun is critical in these instances.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Verb Hacer(to do, to make)

Below is the conjugation for verb hacer("to do, to make").


To practice using this verb, try accompanying it with the following expressions commonly used in Spanish:

hacer buenas migas  to hit it off with somebody
hacer un papel  to play a role
hacer juego  to match  
hacer época to be sensational, attract public attention
hacer su agosto  to make a killing
hacérsele agua la boca  to make someone's mouth water

I wrote these sentences, implementing a variation of verb conjugations:

Nos conocimos ayer y hicimos buenas migas.  We met each other yesterday and we hit it off. 
La industria hace un papel grande en el gobierno.  Industry plays a big role in the government.
Estos pantalones harán juego con mi camisa.  These pants will match with my shirt. 
Si el Super Bowl estuviera jugado en Washington D.C., haría época If the Super Bowl were played in Washington D.C., it would be AWESOME!!! 
 
Si vendiera todos los libros, yo me habría hecho mi agosto.  If I sold all of the books, I would have made a killing.  
El camarón brochete de Uncle Julio's Mexican Restaurant en Irving, TX se me hace agua la boca.  The Brochete shrimp at Uncle Julio's Mexican Restaurant in Irving, TX makes my mouth water.  

Monday, January 10, 2011

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Irregular Affirmative Commands

Here are the irregular commands in their affirmative forms:

poner pon

tener ten

ser

salir sal

decir di

ir ve

venir ven

hacer haz

Monday, January 3, 2011

Craigslist ad - In Spanish!

See if you can understand some of what this ad is saying...you might have to click to zoom...

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...