Love-Spanish.com: 01/10/2013

Thursday, 31 October 2013

Tell Me, Who Will Call Him?

Introduction

This post is about the practical use of verbs in general and more particularly the present tense, indicative mood of regular verbs ending in -ar.

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or a colleague. You are talking about a third person (male). You are discussing phoning him and who ought to make that phone call. At some point, the other person says to you something like: "tell me, who will call him?".

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

Dime, ¿quién le llama?

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

Dígame, ¿quién le llama?

OUR TIP

The question is an invitation for you to say who is going to do the calling. When stating who is going to do something, you may need to consider different levels of formality in your reply. That will be specifically the case when your answer includes a reference to the person you are talking to. The examples below include cases in which a more or less formal type of answer is required.

Here are some examples of how you could reply:

Le llamo* yo, ¿no? (I will call him, won't I?);
Le llamas* tú, ¿no? (you -familiar will call him, won't you?);
Le llama* usted, ¿no? (you -formal will call him, won't you?);
Le llama* Pedro, ¿no? (Pedro will call him, won't he?);
Le llama* María, ¿no? (María will call him, won't she?);
Le llamamos* nosotros, ¿no? (we will call him, won't we?);
Le llamáis* vosotros, ¿no? (you -familiar/ plural will call him, won't you?);
Le llaman* ustedes, ¿no? (you -formal/ plural will call him, won't you?);
Le llaman* Pedro y María, ¿no? (Pedro and Maria will call him, won't they?);

Now you should practise replying to someone who says to you:

Dime, ¿quién le llama?

*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.

Verb Conjugation

Please see notes on conjugation* at the end of this post.

Indicative Mood-Present Tense

1. Regular Verbs Ending in -ar

Subject		TRABAJAR (TO WORK)
I	Yo	TRABAJO
You	Tú	TRABAJAS
You	Usted^*	TRABAJA
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	TRABAJAMOS
You	Vosotros**	TRABAJÁIS
You	Ustedes***	TRABAJAN
They	Ellos
They	Ellas

*NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you'

**NB 'You' plural

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

2. Regular Verbs Ending in -er

Subject		COMER (TO EAT)
I	Yo	COMO
You	Tú	COMES
You	Usted^*	COME
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	COMEMOS
You	Vosotros**	COMÉIS
You	Ustedes***	COMEN
They	Ellos
They	Ellas

*NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you'

**NB 'You' plural

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

3. Regular Verbs Ending in -ir

Subject		VIVIR (TO LIVE)
I	Yo	VIVO
You	Tú	VIVES
You	Usted^*	VIVE
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	VIVIMOS
You	Vosotros**	VIVÍS
You	Ustedes***	VIVEN
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 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-indicative mood of regular verbs with some examples of your own.

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Wednesday, 30 October 2013

Caza

Today's WOTD is: "caza" = hunt

In Spanish, “caza” is a feminine noun of Latin origin the main meaning of which is hunt.

The word may also be used to refer to the following:

The hunting of animals;
Hunted animals, game;
Meat, game;
A pursuit;
A fighter plane*;

*NB In this case, "caza" is a masculine noun.

Some words related to "caza" are:

The action word/ verb “cazar” which means to hunt (for food or sport), to catch, to capture.
The feminine noun “cacería” which is commonly used to refer to a shoot or a hunt.
The describing word/ adjective “cazador”/ “cazadora”* which means hunter.

*NB The feminine form, “cazadora” is often used to refer to a type of jacket (bomber jacket or similar).

Some expressions with the word “caza” are:

Avión de caza (fighter plane);
Caza furtiva (poaching);
Caza ilegal (poaching);
Caza mayor (big game hunting);
Caza menor (small game hunting);
Cazadora de cuero (leather jacket/ bomber jacket);
Cazadora de piel (leather jacket/ bomber jacket);
Coto privado de caza (a game reserve with controlled access);
Trofeo de caza (hunting trophy);

Some examples of the use of the words "caza" and related words are:

Hoy no vas a salir de caza, ¿verdad? (you are not going to go hunting today, are you?);
Por aquí hay mucha caza, ¿verdad? (there is a lot of game around here, isn't there?);
Ese guiso se hace normalmente con caza pero yo lo hago con pollo (that stew usually contains game but I am making it with chicken);
Ese caza es un avión muy rápido y versátil (that fighter plane is a very fast and versatile aeroplane);
El reportero anda la caza de las noticias (the journalist is in pursuit of news);
Los hombres de esa tribu salen a cazar casi a diario (the men in that tribe go hunting -for food almost daily);
A Pedro le gusta cazar con halcón (Pedro likes falconry -hunting sport);
Cazaron al ladrón con las manos en la masa (the thief was caught red handed);
La cacería la organizó el dueño de la finca (the shoot/ hunt was organised by the owner of the estate);
Ayer cazaron aquí un jabalí grandísimo (yesterday a huge wild boar was captured here);
Antonio es piloto de avión de caza (Antonio is a fighter plane pilot);
El implante de microchips puede servir para combatir la caza furtiva (microchip implantations could be useful in combating poaching);
El implante de microchips puede servir para combatir la caza ilegal (microchip implantations could be useful in combating poaching);
La temporada de caza mayor ha comenzado (the big game season has started);
La temporada de caza menor ha comenzado (the small game season has started);
Te queda muy bien esa cazadora de cuero (you really suit that leather jacket);
Te queda muy bien esa cazadora de piel (you really suit that leather jacket);
Se venden trofeos de caza (hunting trophies for sale);

Love-Spanish.com loves the word "caza" in the YouTube clip: LACAZADORA. MIGUEL SAEZ (videoclip oficial)

For more on the word "caza", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Caza

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

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 facilihunts. 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

Google+: Google+ Love-Spanish

Twitter: @LoveSpanish_com

Facebook: Facebook.com/ Love.Spanish

Tuesday, 29 October 2013

It Is A Quarter To Six

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 a quarter to six, so in Spanish you should say:

Son las seis menos cuarto

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.

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Monday, 28 October 2013

Do You Like Lamb?

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or a work colleague. You are talking about the things each one of you like. At some point the other person says to you something like: "do you like lamb?"

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

¿Te gusta el cordero?

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

¿Le gusta el cordero?

OUR TIP

The question is an invitation for you to say whether or not you like lamb. 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: