Ceja

Today's WOTD is: 'ceja' = eyebrow

In Spanish, the noun 'ceja' is a feminine noun of Latin origin, the main meaning of which is the eyebrow. The noun 'ceja' is often used in Spanish in its plural form 'cejas'.

Some commonly used expressions containing the word 'ceja' are:

• Arquear las cejas (to raise the eyebrows).
• Hasta las cejas (to the limit/ to the utmost).
• Llevar algo entre ceja y ceja (to be fixated/ obsessed with something).
• Metersele a alguien algo entre ceja y ceja (to get something in one's head).
• Quemarse las cejas (to study a lot/ to swot/ to burn the midnight oil).
• Tener a alguien entre cejas (to dislike someone).
• Tener a alguien entre ceja y ceja (to dislike someone/ to have it in for someone).
• Tener algo entre ceja y ceja (to be fixated/ obsessed with something).

Examples of the use of the word 'ceja' are:

• No sé por qué arqueas las cejas (I don't know why you are raising your eyebrows).
• Estamos endeudados hasta las cejas  (we are up to our neck in debt).
• Pedro lleva el fútbol entre ceja y ceja (Pedro can't get football out of his mind).
• Cómo se te meta algo entre ceja y ceja no hay quien te aguante (when you get something in your head, you become unbearable).
• Cuando se acercan los exámenes, no queda más remedio que quemarse las cejas (in the run up to exams you have to burn the midnight oil).
• El jefe me tiene entre cejas (my boss doesn't like me/ has it in for me).
• El jefe me tiene entre ceja y ceja (my boss doesn't like me/ has it in for me)
• Tenemos los juegos olímpicos entre ceja y ceja (we can't get the Olympic games out of our minds).

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'ceja' in the YouTube clip: Los de la ceja llegan al Ministerio de Cultura

For more on the word 'ceja', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Ceja

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

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This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct lessons online on this and many other 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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For more Free Spanish:

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Follow us on:
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© Copyright 2012 Love-Spanish.com. by Jose M González. All Rights Reserved.

How Are Your Friends Doing?

SCENARIO
Imagine you are talking to a relative or a work colleague. Maybe you have recently been doing something with you friends. Perhaps you have been on a trip together. The other person wants you to tell him/ her how your friends are doing/ what your friends are doing. So, he/ she decides to ask you "how are your friends doing?".


The other person could choose to be a bit less formal and say:
¿Cómo están tus amigos?


Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be a little bit more formal and say:

¿Cómo están sus amigos?

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OUR TIP

The first thing to note is that you DO NOT need to be concerned about the level of formality in the other person's question. Your main concern should be about finding words which give an appropriate update on your friends. Perhaps you want say that:

• Your friends are well.
• A specific friend is ill.
• A specific friend is travelling.
• A specific friend is on holiday
• Specific friends are in a particular country.
• Specific friends are in a particular town.

Here are some examples of how you could give an update on your friends:

• Mis amigos están bien  (my friends are well).
• Mi amiga, Ana está enferma (my friend Ana is ill).
• Mi amiga, Ana tiene gripe (my friend Ana has influenza).
• Mi amigo, Pedro está de viaje (my friend Pedro is travelling).
• Mi amigo, Antonio está de vacaciones (my friend Antonio is on holiday).
• Mis amigos, Javier y Sofía están en los Estados Unidos (my friends Javier and Sofía are in the USA).
• Mi amigo, Juan y su mujer, Clara están en Londres (my friend Juan and his wife Clara are in London).

Now you should practice answering the question:

¿Cómo están tus amigos?

This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct lessons online on this and many other 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:

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

© Copyright 2012 Love-Spanish.com. by JM González. All Rights Reserved

Tell Me What I Have To Do

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking about things to do with a relative, a friend or a colleague. Perhaps you are about to give him/ her instructions. He/ she is expecting some personal/ direct instructions* from you and decides to say to you: "tell me what I have to do".

 He/ she could choose to be less formal and say to you:

Dime lo que tengo que hacer

Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say to you:

Dígame lo que tengo que hacer

*NB By "personal/ direct instructions" we mean instructions/ warnings/ orders/ commands/ etc. addressed at a person or a group and delivered mainly verbally, but maybe also in writing. In other words, if you were at the receiving end of those instructions/ warnings/ orders/ commands/ etc. you would feel that you were being spoken to personally.

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OUR TIP

When you consider a reply giving personal instructions, you DO need to choose the level of formality with which you give those instructions.

Basically, you have two levels of formality to choose from. Your choice will be determined by how well you know person in question and how much familiarity, affinity and closeness you want to convey along with your instructions. Basically, you have two options:

1.- The person you are giving the instructions to is someone with whom you DO have a very good rapport (could be a relative, a friend or a colleague). Along with your instructions, you also want to signal familiarity, affinity or closeness. In such cases, you could choose to be more familiar/ less formal and give instructions such as:

• Apaga la luz, por favor* (switch off the light, please).
• No apagues la luz, por favor* (don't switch off the light, please).
• Por favor, enciende la luz* (please turn on the light).
• Por favor, no enciendas la luz* (please, don't switch on the light)
• Cierra la puerta, por favor* (close the door, please).
• No cierres la puerta, por favor (don't close the door, please).
• Por favor, abre la puerta* (please open the door).
• No abras la puerta, por favor* (don't open the door please).

2.- The person you are giving the instructions to is someone with whom you DON'T have a very good rapport (could be a relative, a friend or a colleague). Along with your instructions, you also want to signal that you want to keep your distance. In such cases, you would choose to be less familiar/ more formal and give instructions such as:

• Apague la luz, por favor* (switch off the light, please).
• No apague la luz, por favor* (don't switch off the light, please).
• Por favor, encienda la luz* (please turn on the light).
• Por favor, no encienda la luz* (please, don't switch on the light)
• Cierre la puerta, por favor* (close the door, please).
• No cierre la puerta, por favor (don't close the door, please).
• Por favor abra la puerta* (please open the door).
• No abra la puerta, por favor* (don't open the door please).

Now you should practice giving instructions to someone who says to you:

Dime lo que tengo que hacer

*Please see grammar below

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Grammar-The Imperative

These are examples of expressions using the imperative in Spanish. In a similar way as in English, the Spanish imperative is used to give instructions, make requests or issue orders/ commands. When considering the use of the imperative in Spanish, it is worth remembering the following distinct forms of personal instructions you can give:

1.- Affirmative instructions you give to a single person using a more informal/ familiar language. Some examples of  this type of instruction are:

• Habla con Pedro (talk to Pedro).
• Come más verdura (eat more vegetables).
• Vive una vida sana (live a healthy life).
• Di algo (say something).
• Haz algo (do something).
• Sal de aquí (go out).
• Ven aquí (come here).

2.- Affirmative instructions you give to a single person using more formal language. Some examples of this type of instruction are:

• Hable con Pedro (talk to Pedro).
• Coma más verdura (eat more vegetables).
• Viva una vida sana (live a healthy life).
• Diga algo (say something).
• Haga algo (do something).
• Salga de aquí (go out).
• Venga aquí (come here).

3.- Affirmative instructions you give to a group of people using a more informal/ familiar language. Some examples of  this type of instruction are:

• Hablad con Pedro (talk to Pedro).
• Comed más verdura (eat more vegetables).
• Vivid una vida sana (live a healthy life).
• Decid algo (say something).
• Haced algo (do something).
• Salid de aquí (go out).
• Venid aquí (come here).

4.- Affirmative instructions you give to a group of people using more formal language. Some examples of  this type of instruction are:

• Hablen con Pedro (talk to Pedro).
• Coman más verdura (eat more vegetables).
• Vivan una vida sana (live a healthy life).
• Digan algo (say something).
• Hagan algo (do something).
• Salgan de aquí (go out).
• Vengan aquí (come here).

5.- Affirmative instructions you give to a group of people (where you also belong to the group-level of formality is irrelevant in this case). Some examples of  this type of instruction are:

• Hablemos con Pedro (let us talk to Pedro).
• Comamos más verdura (let us eat more vegetables).
• Vivamos una vida sana (let us live a healthy life).
• Digamos algo (let us say something).
• Hagamos algo (let us do something).
• Salgamos de aquí (let us go out).
• Vengamos aquí (let us come here).

6.- Negative instructions you give to a single person using a more informal/ familiar  language. Some examples of  this type of instruction are:

• No hables con Pedro (don't talk to Pedro).
• No comas más verdura (don't eat more vegetables).
• No vivas una vida sana (don't live a healthy life).
• No digas nada (don't say anything).
• No hagas nada (don't do anything).
• No salgas de aquí (don't go out).
• No vengas aquí (don't come here).

7.-  Negative  instructions you give to a single person using an formal language. Some examples of this type of instruction are:

• No hable con Pedro (don't talk to Pedro).
• No coma más verdura (don't eat more vegetables).
• No viva una vida sana (don't live a healthy life).
• No diga nada (don't say anything).
• No haga nada (don't do anything).
• No salga de aquí (don't go out).
• No venga aquí (don't come here).

8.-  Negative  instructions you give to a group using a more informal/ familiar language. Some examples of this type of instruction are:

• No habléis con Pedro (don't talk to Pedro).
• No comáis más verdura (don't eat more vegetables).
• No viváis una vida sana (don't live a healthy life).
• No digáis nada (don't say anything).
• No hagáis nada (don't do anything).
• No salgáis de aquí (don't go out).
• No vengáis aquí (don't come here).

9.-  Negative  instructions you give to a group of people using a more formal language. Some examples of  this type of instruction are:

• No hablen con Pedro (don't talk to Pedro).
• No coman más verdura (don't eat more vegetables).
• No vivan una vida sana (don't live a healthy life).
• No digan nada (don't say anything).
• No hagan nada (don't do anything).
• No salgan de aquí (don't go out).
• No vengan aquí (don't come here).

10.-  Negative  instructions you give to a group of people (where you also belong to the group-level of formality is irrelevant in this case). Some examples of  this type of instruction are:

• No hablemos con Pedro (let us not talk to Pedro).
• No comamos más verdura (let us not eat more vegetables).
• No vivamos una vida sana (let us not live a healthy life).
• No digamos algo (let us not say anything).
• No hagamos algo (let us not do anything).
• No salgamos de aquí (let us not go out).
• No vengamos aquí (let us not come here).

Now you should practice the use of imperative with some examples of your own.

This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct lessons online on this and many other 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:

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

© Copyright 2012 Love-Spanish.com. by JM González. All Rights Reserved

Frente

Today's WOTD is: 'frente' = forehead

In Spanish, the noun 'frente' is a feminine noun of Latin origin, the main meaning of which is the forehead. The noun 'frente' is also used in Spanish to translate the English noun front.

Some commonly used expressions containing the word 'frente' are:

• Al frente (forward/ facing forward).
• Estar al frente de (to be in charge of).
• Ir al frente de (to lead).
• Arrugar la frente (to frown/ display irritation/ anger/ fear).
• Con la frente levantada (with the head held up high).
• Con la frente muy alta ( with the head held up high) .
• De frente (head-on/ front on).
• En frente (opposite).
• Frente a frente (face to face).
• Frente común (united front).
• Frente de acción (a campaign).
• Frente de batalla (battle front).
• Frente frío (cold front).
• Frente popular (popular front).
• Hacer frente (to face up to/ to meet-obligations/ expenditure).
• Ponerse al frente (to take charge of).
• Tener dos dedos de frente (to have common sense).
• Traerlo escrito en la frente (can't deny something).

Examples of the use of the word 'frente' are:

• ¡Da un paso al frente, por favor! (please take a step forward).
• Pedro está al frente del depatamento de compras (Pedro is in charge of the Purchasing Department).
• Antonio iba al frente del pelotón (Antonio was leading the platoon).
• ¡No arrugues la frente, por favor! (please don't frown!).
• Salimos con la frente levantada (we left with the head held high).
• Salimos con la frente muy alta (we left with the head held high) .
• Chocaron de frente (they crashed head on).
• Me sacaron una foto de frente (they took a full-face photo of me).
• El banco está en frente (the bank is opposite).
• Nos vimos frente a frente (we met face to face/ faced each other) .
• Tienes que hacer frente a todos los gastos (you have to meet all costs).
• Ha entrado un frente frío por el oeste (a cold front has come in from the West).
• El frente popular de liberación (the people's liberation front).
• Un frente de acción contra la droga (a campaing aganist drug use)
• ¡Hagamos un frente común! (let's create a united front!).
• Juan se puso al frente del grupo (Juan took charge of the group).
• ¡Hay que tener dos dedos de frente! (let's show some common sense!).
• Traía escrito en la frente que lo había hecho (he could not deny having done it).

Love-Spanish.com loves the word 'frente' in the YouTube clip: Frente frío azota la costa este de los EE.UU. afectando ciudades como Nuve York y Boston

For more on the word 'frente', visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Frente

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

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This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct lessons online on this and many other 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:

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

For more Free Spanish:

Visit: Love-Spanish.com

Follow us on:
Twitter: @LoveSpanish_com

Facebook: Facebook.com/ Love.Spanish
© Copyright 2012 Love-Spanish.com. by Jose M González. All Rights Reserved.

How Is Your Family Doing?

SCENARIO
Imagine you are talking to a friend or a work colleague. You are talking about family/ relatives. The other person wants you to tell him/ her how your family are doing/ what your family are doing. So, he/ she decides to ask you "how is your family doing?".


The other person could choose to be a bit less formal and say:
¿Cómo está tu familia?


Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be a little bit more formal and say:

¿Cómo está su familia?

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OUR TIP

The first thing to note is that you DO NOT need to be concerned about the level of formality in the other person's question. Your main concern should be about finding words which give an appropriate update on your family. Perhaps you want say that:

• Your family are well.
• A specific member of your family is ill.
• A specific member of your family is travelling.
• A specific member of your family is on holiday
• Specific members of your family are in a particular country.
• Specific members of your family are in a particular town.

Here are some examples of how you could give an update on your family:

• Mi familia está bien  (my family are well).
• Mi hija, Ana está enferma (my daughter Ana is ill).
• Mi hija, Ana tiene gripe (my daughter Ana has influenza).
• Mi hijo, Pedro está de viaje (my son Pedro is travelling).
• Mi hermano, Antonio está de vacaciones (my brother Antonio is on holiday).
• Mis padres están en los Estados Unidos (my parents are in the USA).
• Mi hermano, Juan y su mujer, Clara están en Londres (my brother Juan and his wife Clara are in London).

Now you should practice answering the question:

¿Cómo está tu familia?

This is another Free online Spanish lesson from Love-Spanish.com. We conduct lessons online on this and many other 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:

Love-Spanish.com/ Lessons-Online

© Copyright 2012 Love-Spanish.com. by JM González. All Rights Reserved

Tell Me, Are You The Youngest In Your Class?

Introduction

This post is about using superlatives in general and more specifically relative superlatives.

SCENARIO

Imagine you are a male studying Spanish and are talking to a relative, a friend or a colleague about your Spanish class.

At some point, the other person says to you: "tell me, are you the youngest in your class?".

In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:

Dime, ¿eres el más joven de la clase?

On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:

Dígame, ¿es usted el mas joven de la clase?

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OUR TIP

You DO NOT need be concerned about the degree of formality in the question. Whether the other person uses a more/ less formal register is irrelevant to most choices of reply. In fact, a yes/ no answer may often be sufficient.

However, if you wanted to elaborate a little and use superlatives, remember that being a male/ female is relevant to forming superlatives (such as the youngest) which apply to yourself in Spanish. So, since you are a male^*, perhaps you want to say that:

• Yes, you are the youngest, in which case you could reply:
  • Sí, yo soy el más joven de la clase^* (yes, I am the youngest in the class)

• No, you are not the youngest, in which case you could reply:
  • No, no soy el más joven de la clase^* (no, I am not the youngest in the class)
  • No, el más joven de la clase es Pedro^* (no, the youngest in the class is Pedro)
  • No, la más joven de la clase es María^* (no, the youngest in the class is Maria)

*Note

See a separate post dealing with the situation where you are a female

Now you should practice answering the question:

Dime, ¿eres el más joven de la clase?

*Please see grammar topic below, superlatives

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Superlatives

The questions and answers above are examples how superlatives are expressed in Spanish. In Spanish we have two types of superlatives:

• Absolute Superlatives
• Relative Superlatives

Absolute Superlatives

As the name indicates, these are superlatives in absolute terms. In other words, superlatives without comparison to anything else.

Absolute superlatives are usually formed by adding -ísimo/ -ísima/ -ísimos/ -ísimas to the corresponding adjective. Table 1 below shows that 'mechanism' at work for some commonly used adjectives.

Adjective	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
alto1	altísimo	altísimos	altísima	altísimas
grande1	grandísimo	grandísimos	grandísima	grandísimas
fácil1	facilísimo	facilísimos	facilísima	facilísimas
potente1	potentísimo	potentísimos	potentísima	potentísimas
caliente2	calentísimo	calentísimos	calentísima	calentísimas
feliz3	felicísimo	felicísimos	felicísima	felicísimas
poco3	poquísimo	poquísimos	poquísima	poquísimas
largo3	larguísimo	larguísimos	larguísima	larguísimas
joven4	jovencísimo	jovencísimos	jovencísima	jovencísimas

Table 1 – Absolute Superlatives

Notes

1 These are 'standard' absolute superlatives, which are formed by replacing the last vowel with corresponding ending (-ísimo/ -ísimos/ -ísima/ -ísimas).

2 The absolute superlative of caliente → calentísimo is an exception.( nb. The “i” is removed)

3 Adjectives ending in -z, -co and -go need additional spelling changes:

• If ending in -z, replace it with a c, as in: feliz → felicísimo
• If ending in -co, replace it with a qu, as in: rico → riquísimo
• If ending in -go, replace it with a gu, as in: largo → larguísimo

4 The absolute superlative of joven is jovencísimo.

Examples

Practical examples of absolute superlatives are:

• Una torre altísima (a very high/ an extremely high tower);
• Unas casas grandísimas (some very big/ some extremely big houses);
• El español es facilísimo (Spanish is very easy/ extremely easy);
• Unos coches potentísimos (some very powerful/ some extremely powerful cars);
• El horno estaba calentísimo (the oven was very hot/ extremely hot);
• ¡Felicísimas Navidades! (a very happy/ an extremely happy Christmas!);
• La paella estaba riquísima (the paella was very tasty/ extremely tasty);
• Fue un día larguísimo (it was a very long/ an extremely long day);
• Una persona jovencísima (a very young/ an extremely young person);

Relative Superlatives

Relative superlatives are superlatives in comparative terms. In other words, superlatives in comparison with others within a group.

Relative superlatives are usually formed by adding el más/ la más/ los más/ las más to the the adjective^*. Table 2 below shows that 'mechanism' at work for some commonly used adjectives.

Adjective	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
alto	el más alto	los más altos	la más alta	las más altas
grande	el más grande	los más grandes	la más grande	las más grandes
fácil	el más fácil	los más fáciles	la más fácil	las más fáciles
potente	el más potente	los más potentes	la más potente	las más potentes
caliente	el más caliente	los más calientes	la más caliente	las más calientes
feliz	el más feliz	los más felices	la más feliz	las más felices
rico	el más rico	los más ricos	la más rica	las más ricas
largo	el más largo	los más largos	la más larga	las más largas
joven	el más joven	los más jóvenes	la más joven	las más jóvenes

Table 2 – Relative Superlatives

Note

There are some Spanish adjectives with special relative superlative forms. Special relative superlatives are shown in Table 3 below:

Adjective	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
bueno	el mejor	los mejores	la mejor	las mejores
malo	el peor	los peores	la peor	las peores
grande	el mayor	los mayores	la mayor	las mayores
pequeño	el menor	los menores	la menor	las menores

Table 3 – Special Relative Superlatives

Practical examples of relative superlatives are:

• La más alta de las torres (the tallest towers);
• Las casas más grandes (the largest houses);
• Los idiomas más fáciles (the easiest languages);
• Los coches más potentes (the most powerful cars);
• El horno más caliente (the hottest oven);
• Las Navidades más felices (the happiest Christmas!);
• La paella más rica (the tastiest paella);
• El día más largo (the longest day);
• La persona más joven (the youngest person);
• El mejor vino (the best wine);
• Las peores películas (the worst films);
• Los mayores errores (the biggest mistakes);
• Al menor descuido (at the smallest/ slightest distraction);

Note



See other posts dealing with superlatives.

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

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