Just as there are two Spanish verbs that mean to be (ser and estar), there are two Spanish words that often express English for: por and para. These prepositions (words that express the relationship between other words) have other English equivalents as well.
In the following questions, you will use por in one of its most important meanings: in, during.
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- tener miedo (de) – to be afraid of
- tener prisa – to be in a hurry
- tener razon – to be right
- tener ganas de – to feel like
- tener que – to have to
- tener (mucho) calor – to be (very) warm
tener (mucho) frio – to be (very) cold
These expressions are used to describe people or animals only.
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- afuera – outside
- almacén – department store
- alrededor de – around (physical proximity only?)
- añada – add
- antiguo – old
- a propósito – by the way
- a su vez – at the same time
- a ver – let’s see
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Here is a list of the most common indefinite and negative words in Spanish.
algo – something, anything
alguien – someone, anyone
algún (alguno/a/os/as) – some, any
siempre – always
también – also
nada – nothing, not anything
nadie – no one, nobody, not anybody
nunca, jamás – never
ningún (ninguno/a) – no, none, not any
tampoco – neither, not either
Pay particular … [ Read more ]
Two Spanish verbs express to know: saber and conocer.
- Saber means to know facts or pieces of information. When followed by an infinitive, saber means to know how to do something (or to be able to do something).
No sabemos el telefono de Alejandro. ¿Saben Uds. dónde vive Alejandro? ¿Saben llegar alli? – We don’t know Alejandros phone number Do
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In English and in Spanish, the direct object (el complemento directo) of a sentence is the first recipient of the action of the verb.
I see the car; but I don’t see the dog.
George is preparing dinner for the family
In Spanish, the word a immediately precedes the direct object of a sentence when the direct object refers to a specific person … [ Read more ]
me – to/for me
te – to/for you (fam. sing.)
le – to/for you (form. sing.), him, her it
nos – to/for us
os – to/for you (fam. pl.)
les – to/for you (form. pl.), them
- Indirect object nouns and pronouns are the second recipient of the action of the verb. They usually answer the questions to whom? or for whom? in relation
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–¿Que les parece este restaurante? ¿Les gusta?
— ¡A mí me gusta mucho!
–Y a mí me gustan los postres que sirven.
–Bueno, ¿quién va a pagar hoy?
–¿Nadie contesta?
–Bueno, nos gusta mucho el restaurante… no nos gustan nada las cuentas,
You have been using the verb gustar to express likes and dislikes. However, gustar does not literally mean to like, but to … [ Read more ]
The plural of usted is ustedes. In Latin America, as well as in the United States, ustedes also serves as the plural of tú. In Spain (and other parts of the Spanish-speaking world), however, there are two different plural forms for you: ustedes and vosotros/vosotras. Ustedes is used when speaking with two or more persons whom you address individually as usted. Vosotros/vosotras is used when … [ Read more ]
Continúe la secuencia: noventa y nueve, cien, ciento uno, …; mil, dos mil, …; un millón, dos millones, …
100 – cien, ciento
101 – ciento uno/una
200 – doscientos/as
300 – trescientos/as
400 – cuatrocientos/as
500 – quinient os/as
600 – seiscientos/as
700 – setecientos/as
800 – ochocientos/as
900 – noveciento s/as
1.000 – mil
2.000 – dos mil
1.000.000 – un millón … [ Read more ]
- The infinitive (el infinitivo) of a verb indicates the action or state of being, with no reference to who or what performs the action or when it is done (present, past, future) – In English the infinitive is indicated by t-ar, -er, or -ir.
- To conjugate (conjugar) a verb means to give the various forms of the verb with their corresponding subjects: I speak,
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- When used with an infinitive, empezar (to begin) is followed by a.
Uds. empiezan a hablar muy bien el español. – You’re beginning to speak Spanish very well.
- When used with an infinitive, volver (to return) is also followed by a. The phrase then means to do (something) again.
¿Cuando vuelves a jugar al tenis? – When are you going
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In both English and Spanish, conjugated verb forms also indicate the time or tense (el tiempo) of the action: I speak (present), I spoke (past).
The present tense forms of Spanish verbs correspond to three English equivalents.
Hablo: I speak (simple present tense); I am speaking (present progressive to indicate an action in progress); I will speak (near future action)
Note that another … [ Read more ]
¿Qué tiempo hace hoy?
Here are some colorful expressions for commenting on the weather.
- Llueve a cãntaros. It’s raining cats and dogs (lit., raining jugfuls).
- Estoy calado/a hasta los huesos. I’m soaking wet (lit., soaked to the bones).
- Hace un frio/calor de morirse. It’s extremely cold/hot (lit., so cold/hot you could die).
- Hace un frio/calor espantoso. It’s awfully (frightfully) cold/hot.
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A Spanish sentence is made negative by placing the word no before the conjugated verb. There is no Spanish equivalent for the English words do or does in negative sentences.
El señor no habla inglés. The man doesn’t speak English.
No, no necesitamos dinero. No, we don’t need money.
¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy? What is today’s date?
(Hoy) Es el primero de abril. (Today) It is the first of April.
(Hoy) Es el cinco de febrero. (Today) It is the fifth of February.
- The ordinal number primero is used to express the first day of the month. Cardinal numbers (dos, ties, and so on) are used for other days.
- The
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There is no Spanish equivalent to English do or does in questions. (e.g., Ud. trabaja acquí todos los dias. – You work here every day; ¿Ud. trabaja acquí todos los dias? – Do you work here every day?)
Another way to form yes/no questions is to invert the order of the subject and verb, in addition to making your voice rise at the end … [ Read more ]
In Spanish, the letter g followed by e or i has the same sound as the letter j followed by any vowel: [x]. It is similar to the English h, although in some dialects is pronounced with a harder sound.
jamón, jota, jugo
general
jersey
gigante
jirafa
As you know, the letter g has another … [ Read more ]
Here are some basic language functions of set.
- To identify people and things
Yo soy estudiante.
La doctora Ramos es profesora.
Alicia y yo somos amigas.
Esto es un libro.
- To describe people and things*
Soy sentimental. – I’m sentimental (a sentimental person).
El coche es muy viejo. – The car is very
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