Friday 30 January 2015

Tell Me, What Is A “Tercio”?

Introduction


This post is about Spanish fractions* in general, and fraction un tercio in particular.





SCENARIO


Imagine you are in a bar having a drink with with a relative, a friend or a work colleague.

Hearing someone order a “tercio de cerveza”, the other person says to you: tell me, what is a “tercio?

In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:
Dime, ¿qué es un tercio?

In Spanish, the other person could choose to be more formal and say:
Dígame, ¿qué es un tercio?


OUR TIP

The question is quite straightforward. You should be able to answer that question with relative ease.


Remember that the main meaning of the word “tercio” is, a third. As it happens, a third of a litre (33 cl.) is also a very common size of beer bottle. It is for that reason that in many parts “un tercio de cerveza1 is how people refer to a medium size bottle of beer.

With that in mind, you could say:
  • Un tercio equivale a la fracción 1/3 (“un tercio” equals the fraction 1/3);
  • Un tercio de litro es la tercera parte de un litro (a “tercio de litro” is a third of a litre);
  • Aquí, un tercio de cerveza es la tercera parte de un litro de cerveza (here a “tercio de cerveza” is a third of a litre of beer);
  • Aquí, un tercio de cerveza es una botella mediana de cerveza (here a “tercio de cerveza” is a medium-sized bottle of beer);

Notes
1 – Please note that the terms used to refer to specific types and quantities of beer tend to vary from place to place. Although the 33cl bottle is pretty much standard, that bottle may well be better known by a name other than a “tercio” in some places. The bar we refer to in this post is a place where “un tercio” is accepted terminology. The use of “aquí” (here) in some of the answers indicates that, whilst a “tercio de cerveza” is a locally accepted term, it might not be so somewhere else.


Now you should practise answering the question:
Dime, ¿qué es un tercio?

*See some commonly used Spanish fractions below

*Spanish Fractions

A list of commonly used Spanish fractions is shown in Table 1 below:

English
Noun
Adjective
one/ a half un medio medio
media
la mitad
one/ a third un tercio la tercera parte
one/ a quarter un cuarto la cuarta parte
one/ a fifth un quinto la quinta parte
one/ a sixth un sexto la sexta parte
one/ a seventh un séptimo la séptima parte
one/ a eight un octavo la octava parte
one/ a ninth un noveno la novena parte
one/a tenth un décimo la décima parte
one/a eleventh un onceavo la onceava parte
la undécima parte
one/a twelfth un doceavo la doceava parte
la duodécima parte
one/a thirteenth un treceavo la treceava parte
one/ a fourteenth un catorceavo la catorceava parte
one/ a fifteenth un quinceavo la quinceava parte
one/ a sixteenth un dieciseisavo la dieciseisava parte
one/a seventeenth un diecisieteavo la diecisieteava parte
one/ a eighteenth un dieciochoavo la dieciochoava parte
one/ a nineteenth un diecinueveavo la diecinueveava parte
one/ a twentieth un veinteavo la veinteava parte
one/ a hundredth un centésimo
una centésima
la centésima parte
one/ a thousandth un milésimo
una milésima
la milésima parte
one/ a millionth un millonésimo
una millonésima
la millonésima parte
Table 1 – Spanish Fractions


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Wednesday 28 January 2015

Tell Me, Who Is Likely To Be In London Tomorrow?

Introduction


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





SCENARIO


Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or a colleague. There is an event due to take place in London tomorrow and you are speculating about who might be there. At some point, the other person says: "tell me, who is likely to be in London tomorrow?".

In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:
Dime, ¿quién es probable que esté en Londres mañana?

On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:
Dígame, ¿quién es probable que esté en Londres mañana?


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:
  • Es probable que yo esté* en Londres mañana (it is likely that I will be in London tomorrow);
  • Es probable que tú estés* en Londres mañana, ¿no? (it is likely that you -familiar will be in London tomorrow, isn't it?);
  • Es probable que usted esté* en Londres mañana, ¿no? (it is likely that you -formal will be in London tomorrow, isn't it?);
  • Es probable que Pedro esté* en Londres mañana (it is likely that Pedro will be in London tomorrow);
  • Es probable que María esté* en Londres mañana (it is likely that Maria will be in London tomorrow);
  • Es probable que mis padres y yo estemos* en Londres mañana (it is likely that my parents and I will be in London tomorrow);
  • Es probable que tú y tus padres estéis* en Londres mañana, ¿no? (it is likely that you -familiar/ plural and your parents will be in London tomorrow, isn't it?);
  • Es probable que usted y sus padres estén* en Londres mañana, ¿no? (it is likely that you -formal/ plural and your parents will be in London tomorrow, isn't it?);
  • Es probable que Pedro y María estén* en Londres mañana (it is likely that Pedro and María will be in London tomorrow);

Now you should practise replying to someone who says to you:
Dime, ¿quién es probable que esté en Londres mañana?

*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/ subjunctive mood is shown below


Subjunctive Mood/ Present Tense - Conjugation
    Verb: estar

Subject
ESTAR
(TO BE)
I
Yo
ESTÉ
You
ESTÉS
You Usted*

ESTÉ
He Él
She
Ella
We
Nosotros
ESTEMOS
You
Vosotros**
ESTÉIS
You
Ustedes***
ESTÉN
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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Tuesday 27 January 2015

Canción

Today's WOTD is: "canción" = song
In Spanish, “canción” is a feminine noun of Latin origin, the main meaning of which is song, as in:
  • Esa canción me gusta mucho (I like that song a lot);


The diminutive form “cancioncita” (little song) is a quite commonly used word.


A related word is “cantor” (masculine) or “cantora” (feminine), meaning singer or singing, as in:
  • Los niños cantores de Viena (The Vienna Boys Choir -singing children)
  • Aves cantoras (singing birds)


Also a related word is “cantante”, meaning singer or singing also, as in:
  • Un cantante muy famoso (a very famous singer -male)
  • Una cantante muy famosa (a very famous singer -female)


Also related is the action word/ verb “cantar”, meaning to sing, as:
  • ¿Quién va a cantar una canción? (who is going to sing a song)


The Spanish noun “canción” is also used to refer to an epic poem/ chanson de geste, (see expressions below)


Some Spanish expressions with the word “canción” are:
  • Canción de cuna (lullaby);
  • Canción de gesta (medieval epic poem/ chanson de geste);
  • Ser otra canción (to be very different);
    • Cualquiera se tira de cabeza al agua, pero desde una altura de 25 metros, eso es otra canción (anybody can dive into the water, but diving from a height of 25 meters is another matter);
  • Canción de fondo (background music/ song)
  • Canción infantil (children's song)
  • Canción pegadiza (catchy song)
  • Canción protesta (protest song)
  • Cantar una canción (to sing a song)
  • Como dice la canción (as the song goes)
  • Componer una canción (to write/ compose a song)
  • Escuchar una canción (to listen to a song)
  • La Canción del Pirata (poem by Spanish Romantic poet Jose de Espronceda)
  • La letra de una canción (the lyrics of a song)
  • Oir una cancion (to hear a song)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word "canción" in the YouTube clip: La Canción de las Vocales - A E I O U

For more on the word "canción", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Canción

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

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Monday 26 January 2015

It Is Five Minutes To One

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 five minutes to one, so in Spanish you should say:


Es la una menos cinco








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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