IB SPANISH REVIEW PRESENT INDICATIVE TENSE
Even though we’ve focused on learning various new tenses this year, you can’t forget about the plain, old present tense. As you know, it’s used to talk about actions and events that occur generally or are occurring now (and, in some cases, that will occur in the future). Here are the present indicative endings for REGULAR verbs:
Subject
Endings for –AR verbs
Endings for –ER verbs
Endings for –IR verbs
yo tú él / ella / usted nosotros ellos / ellas / ustedes
-o -as -a -amos -an
-o -es -e -emos -en
-o -es -e -imos -en
Remember, many verbs have irregularities in the present tense, especially in the yo form. You should know the main “yo-go” verbs (verbs whose present indicative yo forms end in –go), common verbs whose yo forms end in –y (dar, ir, estar, ser ) and verbs like saber and and conocer . Common “yo-go” verbs
Verbs with yo forms in –y
Other common verbs with irregular yo forms
decir – digo hacer – hago oír – oigo poner - pongo salir – salgo seguir – sigo tener – tengo traer – traigo venir – vengo
dar – doy estar – estoy ir – voy ser – soy
conocer – conozco saber – sé ver – veo
Also note that Spanish has many stem-changing or “boot” verbs in which there is a stem change in every present-tense conjugation EXCEPT the nosotros form (and the vosotros form, but we’re not focusing on that form in this course). course). Here are some of the more more common boot verbs – you should know the the meaning and conjugations of ALL of these: e ! ie e!i o ! ue u ! ue
cerrar, pensar, sentarse, querer, preferir pedir, servir, vestirse dormir, morir, poder, acostarse jugar
PRETERITE
The preterite is one of two simple past tense forms that that exist in Spanish. (The other is the imperfect.) It is used to talk about actions that happened and were completed in the past. 1
-AR verbs
-é -aste -ó -amos -aron
-ER and –IR verbs
-í -iste -ió -imos -ieron
"[NOTE
ACCENTS]
"[NOTE
ACCENTS ON FINAL -ó]
As you know, many verbs are irregular in the preterite, including including some very common verbs. There are several that you should know by now. Note that (a) there are patterns here with certain endings (i.e., most use -e, -iste-, -iste-, -o, -imos and –ieron), and (b) NONE of o f these forms has accents. dar decir hacer ir ser estar poder poner querer saber tener venir ver
di, diste, dio, dimos, dieron " (note ABSENCE of accents here) dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijeron " (note ABSENCE of “i” in “they” form) hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicieron " (note “z” in he/she/Ud. form) fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvieron pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudieron puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusieron quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisieron supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supieron tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvieron vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinieron vi, viste, vio, vimos, vieron " (note ABSENCE of accents, as with dar )
Some -ir verbs that are “boot” verbs ve rbs (stem-changers) in the present tense are regular in all preterite forms p lural (the él/ella/Ud. and ellos/ellas/Uds. forms). forms). These verbs have a except the third person singular and plural special spelling change in both third person p erson preterite forms: either [e ! i] or [o ! u]. Verbs in this category you must know: pedir (pidió/pidieron), servir (sirvió/sirvieron), divertirse (se div irtió/se divirtieron), dormir (durmió/durmieron), and morir (murió/murieron). Some verbs have a meaning change when used in the preterite tense. You must know the meanings of the following verbs in the preterite:
Infinitive
Meaning of verb in preterite
conocer
“met” (for 1st time)
poder
“managed to, succeeded in”
¿Pudiste abrir la puerta? No, no pude. Did you manage to open the door? No, I didn’t (manage to).
saber
“found out”
Juan rompió con María. Lo supe anoche. Juan broke up with with María. I found out (about it) last night.
Example Conocí a mi esposa en Nicaragua. I met my wife [for 1 st time] in Nicaragua.
2
IMPERFECT
The imperfect is used to talk about actions that were in progress in the past, or that occurred regularly or habitually in the past. These uses of the imperfect are often translated into English using the term “used to.” Example:
Cuando yo era niño, jugaba en el parque todos los sábados. When I was a boy, I used to play in the park every Saturday.
When used with the preterite, the imperfect describes the “background action,” and the preterite is used for the specific action or event that in some sense interrupted the background action.
Example:
Marta jugaba al fútbol cuando ocurrió el accidente. Marta was playing soccer when the accident occurred.
To describe two actions that were going on at the same time in the past – one was happening while the other was happening – you would normally use the imperfect tense for both. Example:
Mi papá lavaba los platos mientras mi mamá los secaba. My dad washed the dishes while my mom dried them.
For verbs that are regular in the imperfect (and almost all are regular), you drop the infinitive ending (-ar, -er or -ir) and add these endings: -AR verbs
-ER and –IR verbs
-aba -abas -aba -ábamos -aban
-ía -ías -ía -íamos -ían
Note the accent in the nosotros form of the –ar endings, and in all forms of the –er and –ir endings. Also note that for each of these two categories, the yo form is the same as the él/ella/Ud. form. Only three important verbs are irregular in the imperfect (you must memorize these forms): ser
ir
ver
era eras era éramos eran
iba ibas iba íbamos iban
veía veías veía veíamos veían
Note the accents in the imperfect nosotros forms of ser and ir. Also note that for each of these three verbs, the yo form is the same as the él/ella/Ud. form. PRETERITE VS. IMPERFECT
3
In very basic terms, the preterite is used for specific past time frames, and the imperfect is used when the time frame is nonspecific. Here’s a summary of the main distinctions between these two PAST tenses: Use preterite for actions/verbs that - can be viewed as single, completed events - were repeated a specific number of times - occurred during a specific period of time - were part of a chain of events - refer to the beginning or end of a process/event - refer to a person’s reaction to an event/situation
Use imperfect for - actions that were habitual/regularly repeated - “background action” for a specific event - telling time in the past - stating someone’s age in the past - mental/emotional/physical states (usually) - describing people, things or conditions in the past
The imperfect and the preterite are used together in sentences in which a specific action or event “interrupts,” or in some sense stands out against, a “background action” that was going on at that time in the past. Use the imperfect for the “background action” and the preterite for the “interrupting” event. Examples: Dormíamos cuando llegó mi papá. Juan leía un libro cuando sonó el teléfono.
We were sleeping when my dad arrived. Juan was reading a book when the phone rang.
Note that in English the past progressive tense (were sleeping , was reading , etc.) is often used to translate the Spanish imperfect-tense verb in this type of sentence. Remember that the difference between these two tenses has to do with how the speaker is viewing the past. If the speaker views the action(s) as somehow ongoing in the past, and/or is simply not focusing on the beginning or end of the action(s), then the sentence will use the imperfect: Yo jugaba al tenis mientras Juan leía.
I played (was playing) tennis while Juan read (was reading).
However, if the speaker is viewing the action(s) as completed in the past, she would use the preterite: Ayer yo jugué al tenis y Juan leyó.
Yesterday I played tennis and Juan read.
FUTURE TENSE
This tense is used to talk about future actions and events. In English we have to use the auxiliary verb “will” to form the future tense of a main verb (as in “I will call you tomorrow,” “She will arrive next week,” etc.). In Spanish THERE IS NO AUXILIARY VERB THAT MEANS “WILL.” Instead, you form the future by adding endings to the infinitive (if regular). The endings are as follows:
ending
Example
-é -ás -á -emos -án
hablaré hablarás hablará hablaremos hablarán
I will speak You will speak He/She/Ud. will speak We will speak They/Uds. will speak
Note the accent in all forms except nosotros. 4
Some verbs are irregular in the future, in that the stem is not the infinitive. The endings used are still exactly the same ones listed above, however. Infinitive
stem used for future
decir haber hacer poder poner querer saber salir tener valer venir
dirhabrharpodrpondrquerrsabrsaldrtendrvaldrvendr-
conjugations diré, dirás, dirá, diremos, dirán habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habrán haré, harás, hará, haremos, harán podré, podrás, podrá, podremos, podrán pondré, pondrás, pondrá, pondremos, pondrán querré, querrás, querrá, querremos, querrán sabré, sabrás, sabrá, sabremos, sabrán saldré, saldrás, saldrá, saldremos, saldrán tendré, tendrás, tendrá, tendremos, tendrán valdré, valdrás, valdrá, valdremos, valdrán vendré, vendrás, vendrá, vendremos, vendrán
NOTE: You must also know thoroughly the so-called “pseudo-future” tense, which is simply the IR + A + INFINITIVE construction. Examples: Voy a hablar con ella (I’m going to speak with her); Paco va a estudiar esta noche (Paco is going to study tonight); Vamos a pintar la casa mañana (We’re going to paint the house tomorrow).
CONDITIONAL
As in English, the conditional tense is used to talk about what would or would not happen under certain circumstances. In English the conditional is formed by placing the auxiliary verb “would” before a verb (“I would study if I had a book;” “With a little encouragement, she would run for office”). In Spanish THERE IS NO AUXILIARY VERB THAT MEANS “WOULD.” Instead, you form the conditional by adding endings to the infinitive (if regular). The endings are as follows: Subject
ending
Example
yo tú él / ella / usted nosotros ellos / ellas / ustedes
-ía -ías -ía -íamos -ían
hablaría hablarías hablaría hablaríamos hablarían
I would talk you would talk he/she/Ud. would talk we would talk they/Uds. would talk
Certain verbs use irregular stems instead of the infinitive. GOOD NEWS: these are the same verbs that use irregular stems for the future tense, and the irregular stems for the conditional are exactly the same as the stems used for the future. Remember, the conditional endings are always the same, regardless of whether the stem is regular (i.e., the infinitive) or irregular. stem used for Infinitive conditional conjugations decir dirdiría, dirías, diría, diríamos, dirían haber habrhabría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habrían hacer harharía, harías, haría, haríamos, harían poder podrpodría, podrías, podría, podríamos, podrían 5
poner querer saber salir tener valer venir
pondrquerrsabrsaldrtendrvaldrvendr-
pondría, pondrías, pondría, pondríamos, pondrían querría, querrías, querría, querríamos, querrían sabría, sabrías, sabría, sabríamos, sabrían saldría, saldrías, saldría, saldríamos, saldrían tendría, tendrías, tendría, tendríamos, tendrían valdría, valdrías, valdría, valdríamos, valdrían vendría, vendrías, vendría, vendríamos, vendrían
Here are some examples with the conditional: Yo compraría esa camisa, pero no tengo dinero. I would buy that shirt, but I don’t have any money. Ella iría al cine contigo, pero tiene que trabajar. She would go to the movies with you, but she has to work. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
The present perfect is used to talk about actions and events that have already occurred but that still affect, or have continuing relevance for, the present moment. The Spanish present perfect is used much like its English counterpart (“I have spoken / She has seen…/ They have walked…” etc.). This is a compound tense, which means it has two parts. The first part consists of a conjugated form of the auxiliary verb haber , and the second part is a form of the main verb (the one that actually names the action that occurred) known as the past participle. So the “formula” is: Present perfect = conjugated haber + past participle First, conjugate the auxiliary verb haber according to its subject (the person doing the action). Your choices are as follows:
Subject
Conjugation of haber
yo tú él / ella / usted nosotros ellos / ellas / ustedes
he has ha hemos han
Then, use the past participle of the main verb. A past participle may be regular or irregular. Verbs that have regular past participles follow these rules: -AR verbs (hablar, cambiar, etc.)
-ER and –IR verbs (comer, vivir, etc.)
1. Drop the –ar of the infinitive. 2. Add the ending –ado
1. Drop the –er or -ir of the infinitive. 2. Add the ending –ido.
Examples: Yo he hablado con Juan. Lima ha cambiado mucho.
Examples: Ellos han comido el postre. ¿Has vivido en Francia? 6
Many common verbs have irregular past participles. These must be memorized. resuelto roto escrito visto vuelto muerto abierto cubierto puesto hecho dicho descubierto
resolver romper escribir ver volver morir abrir cubrir poner hacer decir descubrir
to solve, to resolve to break, to tear to write to see to return to die to open to cover to put to do, to make to say, to tell to discover
Note that you can’t insert any other words between conjugations of haber and a past participle – i.e., the two parts of this tense form an indivisible unit .
THE PROGRESSIVE TENSES
The progressive tenses are fairly easy to learn in that they work very much like their English counterparts. The present progressive is used to talk about what is happening NOW (e.g., I am speaking, you are eating, etc.). Here’s the formula: Present progressive = present tense conjugation of estar + present participle The present participle is equivalent to the –ing form in English. You form it by dropping the infinitive endings and adding – ando for –AR verbs, and – iendo for –ER and –IR verbs. Examples: Hablar Comer Leer
! ! !
Estoy hablando. Estás comiendo. Ellos están leyendo.
I am speaking. You are eating. They are reading.
Note that for verbs like leer , the rule stated above would give us three vowels in a row in the ending (“eiendo”). In such cases, change the “i” to “y” (e.g., leyendo, oyendo, construyendo, etc.). The imperfect progressive is used to talk about what was happening at some time in the past (e.g., I was speaking, you were eating, etc.). Here’s the formula: Imperfect progressive = imperfect tense conjugation of estar + present participle Note that the second part of this compound tense – the present participle – is exactly the same in the present progressive and the imperfect progressive. The only difference is the change in the tense of the “helper” verb estar . Examples: Hablar Comer Leer
! ! !
Estábamos hablando. We were speaking. Estaban comiendo. They were eating. Yo estaba leyendo. I was reading.
7
SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD
The subjunctive (el subjuntivo) is one of the three moods in Spanish, the other two being the indicative and the imperative. The subjunctive mood in Spanish often expresses the opposite of the objective and truthful indicative. The subjunctive is used to express desires, doubts, wishes, wants, demands, doubts, the unknown, the abstract, and emotions. Formation:
Yo form of present tense/drop the “o”/ add opposite vowel ending ar e
er/ir emos
es
a
irregulars
amos
as
e
en
a
an
haya – haber
saber - sepa
vaya – ir
dar – dé
sea – ser
estar – esté
cha cha cha!
Elements of the Subjunctive
There are three main parts to a subjunctive sentence:
1. Two Different Subjects One subject in the main clause, and one in the dependent clause. •
Yo quiero que tú limpies el baño.
2. Que This pronoun links the two clauses and translates to mean "that." (often eliminated in English) •
Yo quiero que tú limpies el baño.
3. Two Verbs: One WEIRDO /WEDDING and One Subjunctive The WEIRDO (indicative) verb (see uses below) is the verb that signals the verb in the next clause will be in the subjunctive. •
Yo quiero que tú limpies el baño.
Uses (WEIRDO)
The subjunctive may seem a bit difficult for many native English speakers since we don´t use the subjunctive too often in English. But if you can keep in mind that each Spanish mood is just that, a mood, then you will begin to "feel" the difference in speech. Of course there are also lots of handy rules and tips to help you until you get the "feelings" of the subjunctive. The acronym WEIRDO seems to encompass most of the situations you will need to use the subjunctive. The subjunctive is used to express: Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal Expressions, R ecommendations, Doubt/Denial, and is used after the words O jalá (I hope to God that...).
1. Wishes Wishing, wanting, demanding, desiring, expecting, ordering, and preferring all fall into this category. Also mentioning the nonexistence or indefiniteness of something that is desired falls into this category. Because the 8
dependent clause represents what we want from someone else, the actions have not yet occurred and may never occur, thus they are in the subjunctive mood and not the indicative. •
Yo espero que él me compre unas flores. (I hope that he buys me flowers.)
•
No hay nadie que quiera sacar la basura. (There is no one that wants to take out the trash.)
•
Nosotros agradecemos que tú cocines bien. (We are grateful that you cook well.)
Useful Verbs of Wishfulness
Querer que
esperar que
desear que
2. Emotions Being annoyed, angry, happy, regretful, sad, scared, or surprised all fall into this category. Any personal reaction to a situation is emotional. The focus is not on a factual observation of a situation but how is makes the subject feel. Since how a person feels is always subjective, you use the subjunctive. •
Me alegro de que tú sonrías. (It makes me happy that you smile.)
•
¿Les molesta que él escuche la música fuerte? (Does it bother you that he listens to loud music?)
•
Siento mucho que no puedan venir a la fiesta. (I´m sorry that they can´t come to the party.)
Useful Verbs of Emotion
Estar enojado/alegre/furioso/sorprendido/triste/emocionado que Me gusta que
me molesta que
sentirse que
3. It’s Expressions It’s expressions work a lot like emotions in that they are someone´s opinion or value judgment. They focus on the subjectivity of the subject and not on the actual truth or reality of the situation. Impersonal Expression Formula Almost any phase with the es + adjective + que can be an impersonal expression as long as it doesn´t state any truth (es verdad que), certainty (es cierto que), or fact (es hecho que). These are indicative. But their opposites (no es verdad que) are subjunctive. •
•
•
Es necesario que Jaime lea este libro. (It is necessary that Jaime reads this book.) Es extraño que yo reciba un regalo porque no es mi cumpleaños. (It´s odd that I receive a gift because it isn´t my birthday.) Es increíble que los guepardos corran tan rápidamente. (It is incredible that cheetahs can run so quickly.)
Useful Impersonal Expressions (not a complete list!) es it is nice agradable
es estupendo
it is great
es necesario
9
it is necessary
es urgente
it is urgent
es bueno
it is good es extraño
es curioso
it is curious
es it is importante important
es dudoso
it is doubtful
es increíble
it is incredible
es esencial
it is essential
es malo
it is bad
it is probable
es it is a vergonzoso disgrace
it is rare
no es cierto
it is not certain
es it is recomendable recommended
no es hecho
it is not a act
es una lástima it is a pity
no es verdad
it is not true
it is strange es probable es raro
4. Recommendations When a person recommends, suggests, wants, or asks another person to do something, the subjunctive is used. In this case, the que separates the recommender for the recommendation. •
Mi doctor recomienda que yo beba más agua. (My doctor recommends that I drink more water.)
•
Yo le ruego que mi hija tenga más cuidado. (I beg that my daughter is more careful.)
•
Ellos sugieren que tú leas este libro. (They suggest that you read this book.)
Useful Verbs of Recommendation aconsejar to advise proponer decir
to say
mandar
to order rogar
sugerir to suggest
to suggest
recomendar to recommend
to beg
rogar
to beg
pedir to ask for
5. Doubt Doubt indicates that a situation seems unreal, therefore, not factual (indicative). To doubt or deny something is to question is sense of reality. •
Dudo que él tenga mi número de teléfono. (I doubt that he has my phone number.)
•
No creen que los extraterrestres existan. (They don´t believe that aliens exist.)
•
Tú niegas que la camisa sea mía. (You deny that the shirt is mine.)
Useful Verbs of Doubt dudar
to doubt
no creer
negar
to deny
no estar seguro not to be sure no suponer not to assume
no comprender not to understand no parecer
not to believe no pensar not to think not to seem
Creo que/pienso que/es cierto que/es verdad que/no dudo que are all indicative as they indicate what the subject knows, believes, thinks to be true and part of reality.
6. Ojalá Ojalá is a Spanish word with Arabic origins. Originally it meant "Oh Allah!" and may have been used in prayers. Nowadays, it has taken on several more general meanings: "I hope to God..." "I hope..." or "If only..." Ojalá can introduce a subjunctive phrase with or without the relative pronoun que. 10
•
¡Ojalá que recuerde nuestro aniversario! (I hope to God he remembers our anniversary.)
•
¡Ojalá llueva! (I hope it rains!)
•
¡Ojalá que venga el padre Noel. (I hope Santa Clause comes!)
PAST SUBJUNCTIVE
The past subjunctive is used to express the same subjectivity as the present subjunctive but in the past. Formation:
-
Ellos form of preterite
-
Drop the “ron”
-
Add
hablar – hablara, hablaras, hablara, habláramos, hablaran vivir – viviera, vivieras, viviera,
o
ra
o
ras
o
ra
viviéramos, vivieran
´ramos
tener – tuviera, tuvieras, tuviera tuviéramos, tuvieran
ran
Ex: Quería que los chicos vinieran a la fiesta. – I wanted the boys to come to the party. Fue importante que Uds. llegaran a tiempo. – It was important that you all arrived on time.
SEQUENCE OF TENSES
How to choose between present or past subjunctive WEIRDO verb •
Subjunctive
present - Quiero que… Present subjunctive
•
future – Querré que… tú vengas a mi casa.
•
present perfect – He querido que…
•
Preterite – Quise que…
•
Imperfect – Quería que…
Past subjunctive •
tú vinieras a mi casa.
Conditional – Querría que…
SI CLAUSE
Used to express hypothetical situations. Think of the lottery song “If I had a million dollars, I’d buy you a house.” 11
SI + imperfect subjunctive, conditional
Ex: Si tuviera un millón de dólares, te compraría una casa. Si pudiera, iría a la fiesta. – If I could, I would go to the party. You can also reverse the order of the sentence. The only thing you must remember is that the imperfect subjunctive immediately follows the word “si.” Ex: Te compraría una casa si tuviera un millón de dólares. – I would buy you a house if I had a million dollars. Iría a la fiesta si pudiera. – I would go to the party if I could. COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE EXPRESSIONS
To talk about the differences between people and things, use the expressions más ____ que and menos ____ que. An adjective, noun or adverb can go in the blank. Anita es más alta que Juan. Jorge es menos generoso que Carlos Yo leo más libros que Marta. Ella trabaja menos cuidadosamente que yo.
!
Anita is taller than Juan. Jorge is less generous than Carlos. I read more book than Marta. She works less carefully than I.
! ! !
To say that someone or something does or is the “most” of something, we use a superlative expression. The superlative is formed by using the appropriate form of “the” ( el/la/los/las) plus más with the adjective, followed by de (literally, “of”). Note: use de, NOT en. Examples: Susana es la muchacha más aplicada de la clase. (S. is the most studious girl in the class.) “Borat” es la película más cómica del año. (It’s the funniest movie of the year.) The adjectives bueno and malo have special comparative and superlative forms: bueno/buena ! mejor (better) el/la mejor (the best) malo/mala peor (worse) el/la peor (the worst) ! Examples: Ricardo escribe peor que yo. Shakira es la mejor cantante del mundo.
Ricardo writes worse than I do. Shakira is the best singer in the world.
! !
We use comparisons of equality to talk about things that are the same in quality or quantity. To compare equal qualities, use tan ____ como; to compare equal quantities, use tanto/a/os/as ____ como. For example: Sandra es tan atlética como Ana. Sandra tiene tantas medallas como Ana
!
Sandra is as athletic as Ana. Sandra has as many medals as Ana.
!
Hint: to remember the difference between tan and tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas, remember: tan and “as” are both very short words, and tanto/tanta/ etc. and “as much/many as” are both longer expressions. Note that you have to use the correct form of tanto/a/os/as to agree in number and gender with the noun it modifies. (Tengo tanta lechuga como tú, tengo tantos libros como tú, etc.)
12
EL IMPERATIVO --
COMMANDS IN SPANISH
The command form of Spanish verbs is called el imperativo (the word for “command” is el mandato). There are different command sub-forms depending on whether the command is informal (used with people you call tú) or formal, and whether it is singular (you’re talking to one person) or plural (you’re talking to more than one person). First, let’s look at tú commands – the informal singular commands. The tú commands have different forms depending on whether they are affirmative (you’re telling someone to do something) or negative (you’re telling someone NOT to do something). Most affirmative tú commands use the same form as the third-person singular (“he/she/usted ”) conjugation of the verb. This means that stemchanging verbs DO HAVE the stem change in the informal commands. Here are some examples (note the stem change in the last two): Hablar Comer Escribir Cerrar Dormir
! ! ! ! !
Habla con el profesor. Come la ensalada. Escribe la carta. Cierra la puerta. Duerme ocho horas.
(Speak with the professor.) (Eat the salad.) (Write the letter.) (Shut the door.) (Sleep [for] eight hours.)
Certain very common verbs have irregular affirmative informal command forms. As you’ll recall, these are the ones for which we learned the little song or chant. Venir ! ven (come) Tener ! ten (have) Poner ! pon (put) Hacer ! haz (do, make) Salir ! sal (leave, go out with) Decir ! di (say, tell) Ir ve (go) ! ! Ser sé (be) " NOTE ACCENT!! Tú commands are fun! The negative tú and affirmative and negative usted and ustedes, – have a central feature in common, in that they use the “opposite vowel.” If regular, all the commands we’re concerned with here (except the affirmative tú form, which has a different formation rule, as noted above) can be formed by using the following three-step procedure: 1. Take the present-tense yo form of the verb. 2. Drop the final –o. 3. Add endings featuring the “opposite” vowel. Ex.:
Ex.: hablo Ex.: hablno hables (neg. tú) hable / no hable (usted ) hablen / no hablen (ustedes) hablemos (nosotros)
The above rule works for almost all verbs, including yo-go verbs and many other verbs with irregularities in the present-tense yo form. When object pronouns (reflexive, indirect, or direct) are u sed with commands, the OP goes AFTER the AFFIRMATIVE command form (i.e., attached to it to make one word), and BEFORE the NEGATIVE 13
command form (as a separate word after “no”). Also, if the resulting affirmative command has more than two syllables, put an accent over the stressed vowel. Examples: Decir (tú): Preguntar (Ud.): Levantarse (Uds.):
Ana, dime la verdad. Pregúntele a la profesora. Chicos, levántense.
BUT BUT BUT
Ana, no me digas mentiras. No le pregunte. Chicos, no se levanten.
Here is a summary table for the regular commands:
Command forms for REGULAR verbs Person(s) being addressed Affirmative command r Regular: 3 person singular Irregulars: “Song” Tú habla come escribe cierra ven-ten-pon-haz-sal-di-ve-sé usted form of verb with “ opposite ending” Usted hable coma escriba cierre salga ustedes form of verb with “opposite ending” Ustedes hablen coman escriban cierren salgan
Negative command No + tú form of verb with “opposite ending” No hables No comas No escribas No cierres No pongas, no tengas, etc. No + usted form of verb with “ opposite ending” No hable No coma No escriba No cierre No salga No + ustedes form of verb with “opposite ending” No hablen No coman No escriban No cierren No salgan
However, the above three-step process does NOT work for some very common verbs, including ir , ser and dar . One has to memorize the irregular command forms for these verbs. Here are tables for ir , ser and dar : Command forms for DAR (“give”): Person(s) being addressed Affirmative command Negative command Tú da No des dé* No dé* Usted den No den Ustedes *Note the accent on these forms. The accent distinguishes the command from the preposition de, which means “of” or “from.”
14
Command forms for SER (“be”): Person(s) being addressed Affirmative command Tú sé sea Usted sean Ustedes
Negative command No seas No sea No sean
Command forms for IR (“go”): Person(s) being addressed Affirmative command Tú ve vaya Usted vayan Ustedes
Negative command No vayas No vaya No vayan
Verbs that end in – car , – gar and – zar have spelling changes in all forms except the affirmative tú. The spelling changes preserve the pronunciation of the word, and are the same as those that occur in the yo form of the preterite: -car: c ! qu -gar: g ! gu -zar: z ! c
Ex: sacar Ex: llegar Ex: comenzar
No saques la basura. Llegue a las ocho. Comiencen ahora.
OBJECT PRONOUNS and their placement
There are three main types of object pronoun in Spanish: reflexive (RPs), indirect (IDOPs), and direct (DOPs). Unlike English, Spanish places OPs BEFORE the conjugated verb (except affirmative commands): RP example: IDOP example: DOP example:
Ellos se bañan. Ella me escribió. Yo te veo.
They bathe (themselves). She wrote to me. I see you.
As you know, in some situations a verb has to stay in the infinitive form – for example, if the verb immediately follows a conjugated form of a “helper” verb like deber (should) or poder (can, to be able to). If an object pronoun is used in such a “two-verb construction,” the OP can either be attached to the end of that infinitive, or placed in front of the conjugated helper verb as a separate word. Examples: Yo tengo que bañarme. Ana quiere escribirme. Nosotros podemos verte.
OR OR OR
Yo me tengo que bañar. Ana me quiere escribir. Nosotros te podemos ver.
(I have to take a bath.) (Ana wants to write me.) (We can see you.)
Something very similar happens when you use OPs with the progressive tenses. That is, the OP can either be attached to the end of the present participle, or placed in front of the conjugated helper verb (normally a form of a estar ) as a separate word. For example, “I am eating it” (where “it” = la manzana) could be stated in either of these two ways : Estoy comiéndola.
OR
La estoy comiendo.
Note that, if you attach the OP to the present participle, you have to put an accent on the appropriate vowel of the ending (e.g., estabas comprándolo, estamos vendiéndolas, etc.) 15
Reflexive Pronouns And Reflexive Verbs. You have to know how to conjugate a reflexive verb, regardless of the tense or mood it may be in.
Remember, a reflexive verb is one in which the person who performs the action and the person who receives the action are one in the same (i.e., the person performs the action on himself). For some Spanish verbs it is fairly clear why they are reflexive (e.g., lavarse, to wash oneself or a part of oneself); for other verbs, the logic is not readily apparent to an English-speaking student, and you just have to learn that they are reflexive in Spanish (e.g., darse cuenta de, to realize). When conjugating reflexive verbs, follow these two steps: 1. First, identify the subject of the reflexive verb and choose the correct reflexive pronoun (RP). The RPs appear below (note that le is NOT one of them!!). Remember, unless it’s a command, a conjugated reflexive verb must always have a reflexive pronoun out in front, as a separate word. If the subject of the reflexive verb is:
Use this RP:
yo tú él / ella / usted nosotros ellos / ellas / ustedes
me te se nos se
2. Second, conjugate the main part of the verb according to the rules of Spanish grammar (i.e., according to person, number, tense, and mood). Here are examples of exercises you might encounter: Ayer / yo / [acostarse] / a las ocho. !! Ayer yo me acosté a las ocho. Jorge / [levantarse] / a las seis. !! Jorge se levanta a las seis. Please, please remember that nosotros and nos are NOT interchangeable!! The word nos means “(to) ourselves” if reflexive, and “(to) us” if used as an IDOP or DOP. ONLY NOSOTROS MEANS “WE”!!!!!!!!!!!!! Indirect Object Pronouns. The IDOPs are as follows:
IDOP
English meaning
me te le (se) nos les (se)
To/for me To/for you (fam.) To/for him/her/Ud. To/for us To/for them/Uds.
" Note se stands
in for le in some cases (see below)
" Note se stands
in for les in some cases (see below)
Remember, an IDOP answers the question “To or for whom?” with respect to the verb. In the sentence, “I threw it to him,” the word “him” is acting as an IDOP (Threw to whom? To him!) Many important Spanish verbs take IDOPs. The most common one is gustar (“to be pleasing to”). Note that, with this and similar verbs, the conjugation of the verb tells us what is pleasing to somebody, and is usually in third person singulat or third person plural (me gusta = “it pleases me,” me gustan = “they please me”) 16
Direct Object Pronouns. The DOPs are as follows:
DOP
English meaning
me te lo/la nos los/las
me you (fam.) him/her/Ud./it us them/Uds./them
" Note
gender agreement is required
" Note
gender agreement is required
Remember, a DOP answers the question “What (or, sometimes, whom)?” In the sentence, “I threw it to him,” the word “it” is acting as a DOP (Threw what? Threw it!).
IMPERSONAL SE
In addition to acting as a reflexive pronoun (see above), se can function in impersonal expressions. The construction se + (conjugated verb) is used to express what “you do/one does,” “what they say/think/etc.”, and “what is done/known/believed/etc.” The impersonal se is most commonly used with the third person singular form of the verb: Se dice que… Se cree que… Se habla español. No se sabe.
It is said that… / They say that… It is believed that / They think that… Spanish is spoken [here]. (type of thing you’d see on a sign) It is not known.
However, if the verb refers to more than one thing or concept, than you use the third person plural conjugation: Se vende leche allí. (Milk is sold there)
BUT
Se habla español. BUT (Spanish is spoken.)
Se venden tomates allí. (Tomatoes are sold there) Se hablan español y francés. (Spanish and French are spoken.)
THE SPECIAL “VERB” HAY
hay = “there is / there are” (present indicative) haya = “there is / there are” (present subjunctive) había = “there was / there were” (imperfect indicative) habrá = “there will be” (future indicative) habría = “there would be” (conditional indicative) hubiera = “there was/would be/were” (past subjunctive)
TO CONJUGATE, OR NOT TO CONJUGATE?
17
You have learned a good deal about when to conjugate verbs and when to leave them in the infinitive form. Here’s a brief summary of what you should know (the following are generalizations and may not hold up in certain special circumstances ): You CONJUGATE a verb… •
When that verb follows an explicit or implied subject pronoun (yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, ellos/ellas/ustedes, etc.). As you know, the subject pronoun is often omitted in Spanish, since a conjugated verb’s ending tells us much or all of what we need to know about its subject. Example: Yo necesito un bolígrafo. = Necesito un bolígrafo. Note that there can be a negative term, object pronoun or adverb in between the subject pronoun and the conjugated verb: Ella no tiene un perro. Carlos y Paco (ellos) siempre me dicen la verdad.
•
When that verb comes after the relative pronoun que (“that”) in longer sentences having a “main clause” and a “subordinate clause.” In such situations the word que is introducing the subordinate clause, and you have to conjugate the verb that follows. The only question is whether to conjugate the verb in the indicative or the subjunctive mood. Examples: Sabemos que María tiene tres hermanos. Dudo que Juan tenga un gato azul.
(Sabemos que is an indicative trigger.) (Dudo que is a subjunctive trigger.)
In general, then, conjugate a verb if it follows the word que (and here we mean the que that means “that,” and NOT qué with an accent, which means “what”). Note, however, that there are certain expressions in which verbs following the word que are left in the infinitive, not conjugated. The que in these expressions is actually playing a different grammatical role compa red to the que just discussed, but it’s probably easiest to simply memorize these as stock phrases that take the infinitive. The two you must know and remember are:
Tener que + infinitive Hay que + infinitive
To have to _________ It is necessary to _________
Tengo que estudiar. Hay que lavar el carro.
Use the INFINITIVE form of a verb… •
For the second verb in so-called two-verb constuctions. There are many such constructions in Spanish. Note that some require a preposition such as a or de between the two verbs. Remember: CONJUGATE FIRST VERB, INFINITIVE FOR SECOND VERB. Examples: ¿Quieres estudiar conmigo? Necesito practicar más. Pedro no puede jugar hoy. Ana y Julia deben levantarse temprano. Voy a hacer la tarea. (Don’t forgot our old friend ir + a + infinitive!) Ayer trataron de abrir la puerta. (Note: tratar de + inf. = to try to ______) Mi sueño es ganar el campeonato. (“My dream is to win the championship”) 18
Note, however, that compound tenses are NOT two-verb constructions. They use a conjugated form of the appropriate “helper” verb –i.e., haber for the perfect tenses, and estar (usually) for the progressive tenses – plus a special verbal form that is NOT considered a conjugation: the past participle (-ado/-ido ) for the perfect tenses, and the present participle (-ando/-iendo) for the progressive tenses. •
When the verb comes immediately after a preposition (a, de, con, en, para, por , hasta, etc.). In Spanish, if a verb follows a preposition, it MUST be in the infinitive. Compare this to English, which often uses the – ing form after prepositions: No me gusta su forma de pensar. Necesito un lápiz para escribir.
I don’t like his way of thinking. I need a pencil in order to write.
WORDS FREQUENTLY CONFUSED
salir (de) to leave, to go out (of) Sale de la casa. dejar to leave (something behind) Dejó su libro en casa.
to return, to go back Volverá a las tres. devolver to return, to give back Devolví el coche a la agencia.
He leaves the house. He left his book at home.
volver
He will return at three. I returned the car to the agency.
conocer to know (a person, place) ¿Conoces a Juan López? Do you know Juan López? saber to know (a fact, info), to know how to Ella sabe su dirección. She knows his address. No sé cocinar. I don’t know how to cook.
preguntar to ask (a question, for info) ¿Qué hora es? – preguntó el chico. pedir to ask for, request Ella pidió ayuda.
What time is it? asked the boy. She asked for help.
pasar
to spend (time) Pasa todo el verano allí. She spends the whole summer there. gastar to spend (money), to waste (time or money) Ella gastó 50 dólares en la tienda. She spent $50 in the store. El gastará toda su herencia. He will waste his whole inheritance.
jugar tocar
to play (sport or game) Juega muy bien al tenis. to play (music) Tocamos la flauta.
He plays tennis very well. We play the flute. 19
Ella toca música rap.
She plays rap music.
pensar en to think of (to direct one’s thoughts to…) Ella piensa en su hermano en Irak. She is thinking of her brother in Iraq. pensar de to think of (to have an opinion about) ¿Qué piensas de esa situación? What do you think of that situation? poder
can, to be able (physically) Ella no puede esquiar. She can’t ski. (she’s injured or doesn’t have permission)
saber
can (to know how) Ella no sabe esquiar.
She can’t (doesn’t know how to) ski.
haber to have (followed by the past participle, to form the perfect tenses) Ella ha dejado su libro en casa. She has left her book at home. tener to have (possession) Tiene un perro feo. She has an ugly dog.
ponerse to become (generally followed by an adjective indicating a temporary change) Susana se puso nerviosa. Susan became nervous. llegar a ser to become (followed by a noun, indicating effort toward a goal) Llegó a ser médico. He became a physician.
tomar to take Ella tomó el tranvía. Miguel tomó la pluma. llevar take (from one place to another) Llevó su perro a la escuela. Me llevó al centro.
country (nation) España es un país variado. campo country (rural area) Me gusta pasar tiempo en el campo.
She took the streetcar. Mike took the pen. She took her dog to school. He took me downtown.
país
pequeño little (size) Luisa es una niña pequeña. poco little (quantity) Tengo poco dinero. time (hour of the day) ¿Qué hora es? Es hora de salir. tiempo time (duration of time) Pasa mucho tiempo en mi casa.
Spain in a varied country. I like to spend time in the country.
Luisa is a little girl. I have little money.
hora
What time is it? It is time to leave. He spends a lot of time at my house. 20
vez
time (in a sequence) First time, last time, many times… Te lo digo por última vez. I’m telling you for the last time! La segunda vez que la vi….. The second time I saw her….
pero
but Es guapo pero malo. but (on the contrary..)
sino
No es divertido sino aburrido. boring.
He’s good-looking but evil.
He’s not fun but (on the contrary)
21
VOCAB & EXPRESSIONS
While any word/expression covered this year could potentially be on the final exam, the test will focus on two or three of the following areas presented in the text’s Así se dice sections: • • • • • • • •
Expressing interés / indiferencia / aversión (disgusto) (p. 9) Describing yourself and others (involves ser vs. estar ) (p. 17, but mainly vocab. hand-out) Talking about responsibilities (p. 73) Talking about how food tastes (p. 89) Expressing qualified agreement & disagreement (p. 117) Talking about hopes and wishes (p. 125) Saying what needs to be done (i.e., impersonals with subjunctive) (p. 144) Giving and suggestions and recommendations, esp. with the subjunctive (p. 150 – but only Te aconsejo que…, Recomiendo que…, Sugiero que…, and Es mejor que…)
Be absolutely sure that you know basic vocab, expressions and rules such as: • • •
• • • • •
• • • • • •
•
the MEANINGS of all the irregular verb forms you have to memorize!! ir + a + infinitive (if you have to ask what this means, you have some studying to do!!) the special verb hay: hay = “there is / there are” (present indicative) haya = “there is / there are” (present subjunctive) había = “there was / there were” (imperfect indicative) habrá = “there will be” (future indicative) OBJECT pronouns go BEFORE conjugated verbs (Yo te veo, NOT “Yo veo tú”) two-verb constructions (conjugate 1st, infinitive for 2nd) nosotros (we), nos ([to] us / [to] ourselves) and nuestro/a/os/as (our) are NOT interchangeable! The pronouns se and le are NOT interchangeable, although se sometimes has to stand in for le. The meanings, conjugations and basic differences between ser and estar – see p. R47 of text. A quick and semi-accurate way to distinguish their uses is to recall that the acronym HELP (health, emotions, location and progressive tenses) applies to estar , while ser is used for just about everything else – i.e., to identify and define people/things, describe appearance and personality, express time and date, etc. Bien and bueno/a/os/as are NOT interchangeable, nor are mal and malo/a/os/as. Adjectives MUST agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. Verbs MUST agree in person and number with their subjects (tú hablas, ellos hablan) The phrase “tener un buen tiempo” is a monstruous literal translation; use pasarlo bien. The phrase “tuvimos divertido” is an ungrammatical, nonsensical, hideous abomination; use nos divertimos. The verb gustar does NOT mean “to like,” it means “to be pleasing to” – which means the Spanish syntax is “backwards” compared to English, and you have to use IDOPs. Literal translations of English phrasal verbs involving “get” (get up, get home, get out, get well, etc.) are execrable atrocities that are doomed to failure. Think of a verb you know in Spanish, and use that one (e.g., llegar a casa for “to get home”).
22
