Wednesday 31 July 2013

Tell Me, How Long Have You Been Studying Spanish?

Introduction
This post is about the practical use of impersonal verbs in general and more particularly the verb “hacer” when used in time expressions.




SCENARIO
Imagine you are on the phone to a relative, a friend or a colleague. You are talking about studying Spanish and the other person says to you something like: "tell me, how long have you been studying Spanish?".

In Spanish, he/ she could choose to be less formal and say to you:
Dime, ¿desde cuándo estudias español?

On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say to you:
Dígame, ¿desde cuándo estudia (usted) español?


OUR TIP
The question is an invitation for you to say how long you have been studying Spanish. When stating the length or duration of some activity, you should not need to consider different levels of formality for you reply. However, you should bear in mind that direct/ literal translation from English is particularly inappropriate in situations like this one .

Here are some examples of how you could reply:
  • Estudio español desde hace* un año (I have been studying Spanish for a year -this last year);
  • Estudio español desde hace* tres meses (I have been studying Spanish for three months -these last three months);
  • Hace* un año que estudio español (I started studying Spanish a year ago);
  • Hace* tres meses que estudio español (I started studying Spanish three months ago);
  • Estudio español desde hace* poco (I have been studying Spanish for a short time -started not long ago);
  • Hace* poco que estudio español (I have not been studying Spanish long);

Now you should practise replying to someone who says to you:
Dime, ¿desde cuándo estudias español?

*Please see grammar topic below, impersonal verbs -hacer” (Time Expressions)

Impersonal Verbs

We refer here to verbs which normally do not have a subject. In English these verbs are usually preceded by the pronoun “it”, as in “it rains”. It should be noted that the English pronoun “it” does not refer to anything and should not be translated into Spanish, where only the 3rd person singular should be used.



On the subject of impersonal verbs, some discreet groups of verbs come to mind. These are:



In this group we include verbs used in the context of describing weather conditions. We refer to verbs such as:
  • Llover (to rain);
  • Nevar (to snow);
  • Helar (to freeze/ to be frosty);
  • Tronar (to thunder);
  • Relampaguear (to lighten);

Some examples of the use of these impersonal verbs are:
  • Llueve (it rains);
  • Nieva (it snows);
  • Hiela (it is frosty/ it freezes);
  • Truena (there is thunder);
  • Relampaguea (there is lightening);
  • Llovió (it rained);
  • Nevó (it snowed);
  • Heló (it was frosty/ it froze);
  • Tronó (there was thunder);
  • Relampagueó (there was lightening);
  • Va a llover (it is going to rain);
  • Va a nevar (it is going to snow);
  • Etc.


The Spanish verb “hacer” is often used as an impersonal verb in weather expressions/ to describe the weather.

Some examples of the use of “hacer” as an impersonal verb in weather expressions are:
  • Hace calor (it is hot);
  • Hace frío (it is cold);
  • Hace sol (it is sunny);
  • Hace viento (it is windy);
  • Hizo calor (it was hot);
  • Hizo frío (it was cold);
  • Hizo sol (it was sunny);
  • Hizo viento (it was windy);
  • Hacía calor (it was hot);
  • Hacía frío (it was cold);
  • Hacía sol (it was sunny);
  • Hacía viento (it was windy);
  • Va a hacer frío (it is going to be cold);
  • Va a hacer sol (it is going to be sunny);
  • Etc.


The Spanish verb “hacer” is often used as an impersonal verb in time expressions. When used in this way, two types of expressions with slightly different meanings should be considered:

  • Expressions which indicate how 'long ago' something happened. Some examples of this type of time expressions are:
    • Hace dos años estuve en Madrid (I was in Madrid two years ago);
    • Llegamos hace sólo una hora (we arrived just one hour ago);
    • Hacía dos años había estado en Madrid (I had been in Madrid two years before);
    • Habíamos llegado hacía sólo una hora (we had arrived just one hour before);

  • Expressions which indicate the duration of an activity. In this type of expressions, “hace” is preceded by “desde”. Some examples of this type of time expressions are:
    • Estudio español desde hace* dos años (I have been studying Spanish for these last two years);
    • Estoy en casa desde hace* una hora (I have been at home for the last hour);
    • Estudiaba español desde hacía dos años (I had been studying Spanish for the previous two years);
    • Estaba en casa desde hacía una hora (I had been at home for the previous hour);
Notes


The use of the present tense indicates that the action is ongoing/ still going on.






The Spanish verb “haber” is also often used as an impersonal verb in weather expressions.

Some examples of the use of “haber” as an impersonal verb in weather expressions are:
  • Hay helada (it is frosty);
  • Hay niebla (it is foggy);
  • Hay luna (the moon is out);
  • Hay lluvia (it is rainy);
  • Hay neblina (it is misty);
  • Hay nubes (it is cloudy);
  • Hay sol (it is sunny/ the sun is out);
  • Hay tormenta (it is stormy);
  • Había helada (it was frosty);
  • Había niebla (it was foggy);
  • Había luna (the moon was out);
  • Había lluvia (it was rainy);
  • Había neblina (it was misty);
  • Había nubes (it was cloudy);
  • Había sol (it was sunny/ the sun was out);
  • Había tormenta (it was stormy);


The Spanish verb “haber” is also used as an impersonal verb. The combination haber que + infinitive is used to indicate what is needed or advisable.

Some examples of the use of “haber” as an impersonal verb in this way are:
  • Hay que decir la verdad (you* need to tell the truth);
  • Había que decir la verdad (you* needed to tell the truth);
  • Hubo que decir la verdad (you* needed to tell the truth);
  • Habrá que decir la verdad (you* will need to tell the truth);
  • Habría que decir la verdad (you* should need to tell the truth);

Notes

*These are expressions without a specific subject. In English 'you' is commonly used as a subject, even if it doesn't mean literally 'you' but 'someone'. It is these situations, when 'you' is used to mean nobody specifically that the combination haber que + infinitive is commonly used.



The Spanish verb “haber” is also often used as an impersonal verb in expressions such as:
  • There is/ there are
  • There was/ there were
  • There will be
  • Etc.

Some examples of the use of “haber” as an impersonal verb in expressions of this type are:
  • Hay mucho que hacer (there is a lot to do);
  • Hay muchas personas (there are many people);
  • Había mucho que hacer (there was a lot to do);
  • Había muchas personas (there were many people);
  • Habrá mucho que hacer (there will be a lot to do);
  • Habrá muchas personas (there will be many people);


Now you should practise the use of the impersonal verbs with some examples of your own.

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Tuesday 30 July 2013

Sandalia

Today's WOTD is: "sandalia" = sandal

In Spanish, “sandaliais a feminine noun of Latin origin, the main meaning of which is sandal. The plural form "sandalias" is also often used.

An expression with the word “sandalia” is:
  • Las sandalias del pescador (The Shoes of the Fisherman -novel and film title);
  • Llevar sandalias (to wear sandals);

An example of the use of the word "sandalia" is:
  • Hoy llevo unas sandalias muy cómodas (today I am wearing very comfortable sandals);

Love-Spanish.com loves the word "sandalia" in the YouTube clip: Las Sandalias del Pescador

For more on the word "sandalia", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en Sandalia

This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct Spanish lessons online on a wide range of topics using the latest video conferencing facilities. Online lessons are the ideal way to improve listening and speaking skills. For more details on our lessons online and how to book them, please visit:

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Monday 29 July 2013

It Is Ten Minutes To Four

SCENARIO



Imagine a relative, a friend or a work colleague is asking you: "what time is it?"

In Spanish, the other person could say:
¿Qué hora es?



Now 'click' on the speaker icon below to listen to the other person's question.









The Time is:

The question above is an invitation for you to say what time it is.


Looking at the clock, you see the time is ten minutes to four, so in Spanish you should say:

  • Son las cuatro menos diez


Now 'click' on the speaker icon below to listen to the time in Spanish.







Now you should practise answering the question:
¿Qué hora es?

If your system/ device supports it, you may use the widget below to record and listen to your answers.


Powered by Vocaroo


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Today Is Monday 29th Of July 2013



Question:


How do you say today's date in Spanish?

Answer:
Hoy es lunes veintinueve
de julio de dos mil trece.


Vocabulary notes:
  1. Today is = Hoy es
  2. Monday = lunes
  3. The 29th = veintinueve
  4. Of July = de julio
  5. 2013 = de dos mil trece
  6. In Spanish, we say "29" instead of "the 29th"
  7. In Spanish we literally say: "of 2013"

This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.comWe conduct Spanish lessons online on a wide range of topics using the latest video conferencing facilities. Online lessons are the ideal way to improve listening and speaking skills. For more details on our lessons online and how to book them, please visit:

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Sunday 28 July 2013

Is The Cathedral Near?

Introduction


This post deals with indicating how near/ far the cathedral is in Spanish, and the distance from where you are to the cathedral.





SCENARIO



Imagine you are with a relative, a friend, a work colleague or even a complete stranger who is looking for the cathedral and asks you: "is the cathedral near?"

In Spanish, the other person could choose to say:
¿Queda cerca la catedral?



OUR TIP

The question is an invitation for you to say how far away the cathedral is. A yes/no answer may be strictly sufficient. However, with little effort, your answer could be a lot more informative.


Here are some examples of how you could reply:
  • La catedral queda lejos (the cathedral is far away)
  • La catedral queda bastante lejos (the cathedral is quite far away)
  • La catedral queda muy lejos (the cathedral is very far away)
  • La catedral queda cerca (the cathedral is near)
  • La catedral queda bastante cerca (the cathedral is quite near)
  • La catedral queda muy cerca (the cathedral is very near)
  • La catedral queda a la vuelta de la esquina (the cathedral is around the corner)
  • La catedral queda al final de la calle a la izquierda (the cathedral is at the end of the street/ road on the left)
  • La catedral queda a dos manzanas (the cathedral is two blocks away)
  • La catedral queda a dos cuadras (the cathedral is two blocks away)
  • La catedral queda a cinco minutos a pie (the cathedral is five minutes away on foot)
  • La catedral queda en el centro (the cathedral is in the town centre/ downtown)
  • La catedral no queda cerca (the cathedral is not near)
  • La catedral queda a doscientos metros* (the cathedral is 200 meters away)
  • La catedral queda a trescientos metros* (the cathedral is 300 meters away)


Now you should practise answering the question:

¿Queda cerca la catedral?

*See some commonly used length in Spanish below

*Spanish Lengths

Some expressions of length/ distance commonly used in Spanish are shown below:

Metros
Kilómetros
cien metros
100m

doscientos metros
200m

trescientos metros
300m

cuatrocientos metros
400m

quinientos metros
500m
1/2km
seiscientos metros
600m

setecientos metros
700m

ochocientos metros
800m

novecientos metros
900m

mil metros/
un kilómetro
1000m
1km


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