Monday 29 December 2014

It Is Twenty Five Minutes Past Twelve

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 twenty five minutes past twelve, so in Spanish you should say:


Son las doce y veinticinco








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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© Copyright 2014 Love-Spanish.com. by José M González. All Rights Reserved.

Friday 26 December 2014

Do You Have A Fever?

Introduction


This post deals with a typical use of the verb tener*.





SCENARIO


Imagine you are in the doctor's surgery. Whilst examining you, the doctor says: "do you have a fever?"

In Spanish, the doctor could choose to be less formal and say:
¿Tienes fiebre?

Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:
¿Tiene usted fiebre?


OUR TIP

A straightforward yes/ no answer could be sufficient. But if you wanted to be more informative you could say:


  • Sí, tengo fiebre (yes, I have a fever);
  • Sí, tengo un poco de fiebre (yes, I have a little fever);
  • Sí, tengo mucha fiebre (yes, I have a high fever);
  • No, no tengo fiebre (no, I don't have a fever);


Now you should practise answering the question:
¿Tienes fiebre?

*See uses of verb tener below

*Verb Tener - Typical Uses/ Expressions

Tener calor To feel hot
Tener celos To feel jealousy/ to be jealous
Tener cuidado To be careful
Tener dolor To feel pain/ to have an ache
Tener envidia To feel envy/ to be envious
Tener fiebre To be feverish
Tener frío To feel cold
Tener ganas de algo To look forward to something
Tener hambre To feel hungry
Tener la culpa To be at fault
Tener miedo To feel afraid
Tener pensado To have in mind
Tener prisa To be in hurry
Tener sed To feel thirsty
Tener sueño To feel sleepy
Tener suerte To be lucky
Tener tos To have a cough
Tener xx* años/ meses/ etc. To be xx years/ months/ etc. old
Tenerle rabia a alguien To have it in for someone

*NB Express ages by conjugating tener and replacing xx with a number. For example, I am 18 years old = tengo 18 años.

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Tuesday 23 December 2014

Ladrillo

Today's WOTD is: "ladrillo" = brick
In Spanish, “ladrillo” is a masculine noun of Latin origin, the main meaning of which is brick, as in:
  • Vamos a construir una pared de ladrillo (we are going to build a brick wall);

The noun “ladrillo” is sometimes used to refer to something heavy/ hard going and boring (a drag or a bore), as in:
  • Esa novela es un ladrillo (that novel is boring/ is a drag);

The noun “ladrillo” also often used to refer to the construction or property market sector, as in:
  • Compramos la vivienda en pleno apogeo del ladrillo (we bought our home at the height/ peak of the the construction/ property market sector);

Some Spanish expressions with the word “ladrillo” are:
  • Ladrillo azulejo (tiling brick);
  • Ladrillo cara vista (facing brick);
  • Ladrillo cocido (fired brick);
  • Ladrillo de chocolate (chocolate brick);
  • Ladrillo refractario (heat/ fire-resistant brick);
  • Ladrillo seco (someone who can drink a lot without getting drunk -El Salvador);
  • Ladrillo vista (facing brick);
  • Ser alguien un ladrillo (to be studious and hard working -Peru);

Love-Spanish.com loves the word "ladrillo" in the YouTube clip: LADRILLO (Tango - Canción) - Intérprete: Olimpo Cárdenas

For more on the word "ladrillo", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Ladrillo

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “ladrillo” in the link to hear the word pronounced.

Spanish lessons online
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Monday 22 December 2014

It Is Twenty Minutes Past Twelve

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 twenty minutes past twelve, so in Spanish you should say:


Son las doce y veinte








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


Spanish lessons online
Skype/ Google+ Hangout/ Facetime
Great lessons
© Copyright 2014 Love-Spanish.com. by José M González. All Rights Reserved.

Friday 19 December 2014

Tell Me, Who Is In Madrid?

Introduction


This post is about verb conjugation -the present tense, indicative mood of irregular verb estar.





SCENARIO
Imagine you are talking on the phone to a relative, a friend or a colleague about people who are travelling. At some point, the other person says: "tell me, who is in Madrid?".

In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:
Dime, ¿quién está en Madrid?

On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:
Dígame, ¿quién está en Madrid?



OUR TIP

Answering should be straightforward, but remember:



  • Use estar (not ser) in your answer.
  • Make sure that you conjugate your verb correctly
  • Choose between formal or familiar options to suit the occasion -see examples below.

Typical answers could be:
  • Yo estoy* en Madrid (I am in Madrid);
  • estás* en Madrid, ¿no? (you -familiar are in Madrid, aren't you?);
  • Usted está* en Madrid, ¿no? (you -formal are in Madrid, aren't you?);
  • Pedro está* en Madrid (Pedro is in Madrid);
  • María está* en Madrid (Maria is in Madrid);
  • Mis padres y yo estamos* en Madrid (my parents and I are in Madrid);
  • Vosotros  estáis* en Madrid, ¿no? (you -familiar/ plural are in Madrid, aren't you?);
  • Ustedes están* en Madrid, ¿no? (you -formal/ plural are  in Madrid, aren't you?);
  • Pedro y María están* en Madrid (Pedro and María are in Madrid);

Now you should practise replying to someone who says to you:
Dime, ¿quién está en Madrid?

*Please see grammar topic below, Verbs

Verbs
A verb is a 'doing' word which conveys:
  • What action takes place in a sentence
  • Who does that action
  • When that action occurs.
In addition, the verb may also convey the mood or feelings of the speaker toward the action which takes place. The verb may, for example, indicate whether the speaker is stating a fact, expressing a wish or indeed giving an order.

Irregular Verbs
Verb: estar
The Spanish verb estar is irregular* in some tenses, as shown in the table below:

Tense
Mood
Regular
Irregular
Present
Indicative

Imperfect
Indicative

Preterite
Indicative

Future
Indicative

Conditional
Indicative

Perfect
Indicative

Pluperfect
Indicative

Future Perfect
Indicative

Conditional Perfect
Indicative

Present
Subjunctive

Imperfect
Subjunctive

Perfect
Subjunctive

Pluperfect
Subjunctive


* NB:
  • Conjugate tenses in the regular column the same as other regular verbs ending in -ar
  • The present tense conjugation/ indicative mood is shown below


Indicative Mood/ Present Tense - Conjugation
    Verb: estar

Subject
ESTAR
(TO BE)
I
Yo
ESTOY
You
ESTÁS
You Usted*

ESTÁ
He Él
She
Ella
We
Nosotros
ESTAMOS
You
Vosotros**
ESTÁIS
You
Ustedes***
ESTÁN
They
Ellos
They
Ellas

*NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you'
**NB 'You' plural
*** NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you' plural


Verb Conjugation Notes
It is worth remembering once more that in its basic form (infinitive), a Spanish verb is just a general 'doing' word. In that form, a verb simply indicates an action and nothing else. If we want a verb to be more specific about the action in a sentence, we need to conjugate it. It is only when conjugated that the verb indicates:
  • Who does the action
  • When the action takes place
  • The mood/ attitude of the speaker towards the action

The conjugation tables above refer to using conjugation to establish who does the action. What follows below are some notes on establishing when the action takes place and the mood/ attitude of the speaker towards the action.

Subjunctive Mood
The use of subjunctive mood is disappearing English. Nowadays is often viewed as an old and unfashionable form of the language.

In contrast, the use of subjunctive mood is very much alive and in everyday use in Spanish. This widespread use of subjunctive mood tends to be the bane of many a learner of Spanish from the English speaking world.

The concept of subjunctive mood is perhaps best illustrated by contrasting its use against the use of indicative mood with examples in English. The following are a couple of examples which should serve that purpose:
  • Indicative mood (“Peter eats an apple”).- Indicative mood is commonly used to make statements of facts or positive beliefs such as this one. As can be seen in the sample sentence (in quotes above), the speaker makes a clear and unambiguous statement of a fact (Peter eats an apple).
  • Subjunctive mood (“Peter would eat an apple if he were hungry”).- In contrast with indicative mood, subjunctive mood is commonly used to make statements indicating hypothetical or non-fact actions. As can be seen in the sample sentence (in quotes), in this case the speaker sees the action of eating an apple as something hypothetical, something which may or may not happen (Peter would eat an apple... if he were hungry).
Verb Tenses
Verb tenses relate to setting the time period (when) during which the action of the verb takes place. Basic times (periods) for Spanish verb actions are:
  • The past (before now)
  • The present (now)
  • The future (after now)
Each Spanish verb tense corresponds to one of those basic time periods. In other words choosing a verb tense places the action of the verb in one of those basic periods and determines when the action takes place.


Now you should practise the use of the present tense of the irregular verb estar with some examples of your own.

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