Monday 31st Of March 2014

Question:



How do you say today's date in Spanish?

Answer:
Hoy es lunes treinta y uno
de marzo de dos mil catorce.



Vocabulary notes:

1. Today is = Hoy es
2. Monday = lunes
3. The 31st = treinta y uno
4. Of March = de marzo
5. 2014 = de dos mil catorce
6. In Spanish, we say "31" instead of "the 31st"
7. In Spanish we literally say: "of 2014"

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Shall I Take The First On The Left?

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend, a work colleague or even a total stranger. You are giving him/ her directions to go somewhere. At some point the other person interrupts you and says something like: "shall I take the first on the left?"

In Spanish, the other person could say:

Perdón, ¿tomo la primera a la izquierda?

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OUR TIP

The question is an invitation for you to clarify the directions you are giving. Typically, your answer will involve giving directions to the person you are talking to. When the directions are for the person you are talking to, you MUST make a choice between two levels of formality*.

Here are some examples of how you could reply:

• Sí, tomas la primera a la izquierda (yes, you take the first on your left);
• Sí, giras a la izquierda (yes, you turn left);
• Sí, tuerces a la izquierda (yes, you turn left);
• No, tomas la primera a la derecha (no, you take the first on your right);
• No, giras a la derecha (no, you turn right);
• No, tuerces a la derecha (no, you turn right);
• No, tomas la segunda a la izquierda (no, you take the second on your left);
• No, tomas la segunda a la derecha (no, you take the second on your right);
• No, sigues todo recto (no, you go straight on);
• No, sigues hasta el final de la calle (no, you go on to the end of the street);

*Level of Formality

The wording of the answers in this post assumes that the person you are giving the directions to is someone with whom you have a very good rapport. That person could be a friend, a relative or a work colleague. In any case, when wording your answers in this less formal manner you are also signalling familiarity, affinity or closeness. There is a separate post dealing with wording your answers in a more formal manner.

Now you should practise answering the question:

Perdón, ¿tomo la primera a la izquierda?

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Tell Me, Who Would Have Called Him?

Introduction

This post is about verb conjugation and in particular the conditional perfect tense, indicative mood of regular verbs ending in -ar.

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or a colleague about a third person (male) who should have received a phone call. That call would have only been made if required. At some point, the other person says: "tell me, who would have called him?".

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

Dime, ¿quién lo habría llamado?

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

Dígame, ¿quién lo habría llamado?

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OUR TIP

Answering the question is quite straight forward. However, please note that some answers require you to choose between a more formal or a less formal option -see examples below:

• Lo habría llamado* yo (I would have called him);
• Lo habrías llamado*  tú, ¿no? (you -familiar would have called him, wouldn't you?);
• Lo habría llamado* usted, ¿no? (you -formal would have called him, wouldn't you?);
• Lo habría llamado* Pedro, ¿no? (Pedro would have called him, wouldn't he?);
• Lo habría llamado* María, ¿no? (María would have called him, wouldn't she?);
• Lo habríamos llamado* nosotros, ¿no? (we would have called him, wouldn't we?);
• Lo habríais llamado* vosotros, ¿no? (you -familiar/ plural would have called him, wouldn't you?);
• Lo habrían llamado* ustedes, ¿no? (you -formal/ plural would have called him, wouldn't you?);
• Lo habrían llamado* sus padres, ¿no? (his parents would have called him, wouldn't they?);

NB Please note that every one of the answers could have included “si hubiese hecho falta” (if necessary). As an example, the top answer could be expanded to, si hubiese hecho falta, lo habría llamado yo (I would have called him if necessary).

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

Dime, ¿quién lo habría llamado?

*Please see grammar topic below, Verbs

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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-Conditional Perfect Tense

1. Regular Verbs Ending in -ar

Subject		TRABAJAR (TO WORK)
I	Yo	HABRÍA TRABAJADO
You	Tú	HABRÍAS TRABAJADO
You	Usted*	HABRÍA TRABAJADO
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	HABRÍAMOS TRABAJADO
You	Vosotros**	HABRÍAIS TRABAJADO
You	Ustedes***	HABRÍAN TRABAJADO
They	Ellos
They	Ellas

*NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you'

**NB 'You' plural

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

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2. Regular Verbs Ending in -er

Subject		COMER (TO EAT)
I	Yo	HABRÍA COMIDO
You	Tú	HABRÍAS COMIDO
You	Usted*	HABRÍA COMIDO
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	HABRÍAMOS COMIDO
You	Vosotros**	HABRÍAIS COMIDO
You	Ustedes***	HABRÍAN COMIDO
They	Ellos
They	Ellas

*NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you'

**NB 'You' plural

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

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3. Regular Verbs Ending in -ir

Subject		VIVIR (TO LIVE)
I	Yo	HABRÍA VIVIDO
You	Tú	HABRÍAS VIVIDO
You	Usted*	HABRÍA VIVIDO
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	HABRÍAMOS VIVIDO
You	Vosotros**	HABRÍAIS VIVIDO
You	Ustedes***	HABRÍAN VIVIDO
They	Ellos
They	Ellas

*NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you'

**NB 'You' plural

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

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* 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 conditional perfect-indicative mood of regular verbs with some examples of your own.

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Cuenta

Today's WOTD is: "cuenta" = bill/ cheque

1. In Spanish, “cuenta” is a feminine noun of Latin origin, the main meaning of which is bill, as in:

• La cuenta, por favor (the bill/ cheque please);

2. The noun “cuenta” is also used often to refer to an account, for example a bank account, as in:

• ¿Es usted el titular de la cuenta? (are you the account holder?);

3. The noun “cuenta” is also used often to refer to an arithmetic sum or calculation, as in:

• Cuentas de multiplicar con dos cifras (double digit multiplication calculations);

4. The noun “cuenta” is also often used to refer to a counting bead, as in:

• Las cuentas del ábaco (the abacus' beads);

5. A related word is the action word/ verb “contar”. This verb is often used in different contexts as follows:

• Meaning to count, as in:
  • Hay que contar hasta diez, ¿no? (a count to ten is needed, isn't it);
• Meaning to tell/ to narrate/ to relate, as in:
  • De pequeño, siempre me contaban un cuento* antes de dormir (as a child, I was always told a story/ tale before going to sleep);
• Followed by “con”, meaning to have, as in:
  • El apartamento cuenta con tres dormitorios (the apartment has three bedrooms);
  • Contamos con fondos suficientes para el viaje (we have sufficient funds for the trip);
• Followed by “con”, meaning to count on, as in:
  • No cuentes con Pedro (don't count on Pedro);

*NB Please note that the word “cuento” is very similar to “cuenta”, but has a very different meaning (tale/ story -fiction) -see more on the word "cuento"

6. Some expressions in Spanish with the word “cuenta” are:

• A cuenta (as a down payment/ as a deposit);
  • Hay que dejar 100€ a cuenta (a down payment/ deposit of 100 Euros is required)
• A cuenta de (on account of);
  • Se quedaron con mis cosas a cuenta de lo que les debía (they kept my things on account of what I owed them);
• A fin de cuentas (after all/ at the end of the day/ all said and done);
• Abono a cuenta (payment on account);
  • Efectuamos un abono a cuenta (we made a payment on account);
• Abono en cuenta (deposit/ account credit transaction);
  • Gracias a ese abono en cuenta tenemos saldo positivo (thanks to that deposit we have a positive balance);
• Abrir una cuenta (to open an account);
• Abrir una cuenta bancaria (to open a bank account);
• Ajustar cuentas (to settle a score/ to exact revenge or vengeance);
• Ajustar las cuentas (to settle a score/ to exact revenge or vengeance);
• Ajuste de cuentas (the settling of a score/ exacting of revenge or vengeance);
• Anotación en cuenta (an account ledger entry);
• Cada uno por su cuenta (each one to his/ her own);
  • Cenaron juntos, pero cada uno pagó por su cuenta (they dined together, but each one paid his/ her own bill);
• Caer en la cuenta (to realise/ to become aware);
  • Aacabo de caer en la cuenta (I have just realised/ the penny has just dropped);
• Cerrar la cuenta (to close the account -clearing the balance);
• Cuenta atrás (count down);
• Cuenta bancaria (a bank account);
• Cuenta corriente (a current account);
• Cuenta de ahorros (a savings account);
• Cuenta de correo electrónico (an e-mail account);
• Cuenta de crédito (a credit account);
• Cuenta la leyenda que (according to legend);
  • Cuenta la leyenda que había una vez un bosque encantado (according to legend, once upon a time there was an enchanted forest);
• Cuenta personal (personal account);
• Dar alguien buena cuenta de algo (to make short work of something);
  • Nos pusieron la cena y dimos buena cuenta de ella (they served us dinner and we made short work of it);
• Dar cuenta de algo (to give an account of something);
• Darse cuenta de (to realise/ to become aware);
  • No me dí cuenta de que me habían robado (I did not realise that I had been robbed);
• Echar cuentas (to do the sums/ to weigh up pros and cons);
• En resumidas cuentas (to summarise/ in short/ in summary);
  • En resumidas cuentas, tenemos que irnos a casa (to summarise, we must go home);
• Gerente de cuenta (account manager);
• Hacer las cuentas (to do the sums/ sort out the finances);
• La cuenta de la vieja (colloquially, a calculation/ analysis of a situation in a very simplistic way);
  • Eres un ingenuo, eso es la cuenta de la vieja (you are very naïve, that is much more complex);
• La intención es lo que cuenta (it is the thought that matters/ counts);
• Las cuentas del Gran Capitán (an exorbitant account of expenditure);
  • Esa hoja de gastos se parece a las cuentas del Gran Capitán (that expenses report includes exorbitant and incredible items of expenditure);
• Habida cuenta de algo (having considered something/ given something/ on account of something);
  • Habida cuenta de la urgencia, salimos de inmediato (on account of the urgency, we left immediately);
• Llevar la cuenta (to keep track/ to keep account);
  • Llevo la cuenta de la compra (I am keeping track of the shopping);
• Mas de la cuenta (a rate higher than/ above what it should be);
  • El problema es que gastamos más de la cuenta (the problem is that we spend money at a rate higher than what it should be);
• Menos de la cuenta (a rate lower than/ below what it should be);
  • El problema es que ganamos menos de la cuenta (the problem is that we earn money at a rate lower than what it should be);
• No querer cuentas con alguien (to want nothing to do with someone);
  • No quiero cuentas contigo (I want nothing to do with you);
• No salirle a alguien la cuenta (to get things wrong);
• Número de cuenta (account number);
• Número de cuenta bancaria (bank account number);
• Pago a cuenta (payment on account);
• Pasar la cuenta (to give the bill);
  • Cuando puedas pásame la cuenta (when you are ready, give me the bill);
• Perder la cuenta (to lose count/ to forget);
• Por mi* cuenta (on my own/ by myself -not counting on anybody else);
  • Esto lo hago por mi cuenta (I do this on my own -without counting on anybody else);
• Por mi* cuenta y riesgo (on my own/ by myself -emphasising that that I am not counting on anybody else);
  • Esto lo hago por mi cuenta y riesgo (I do this on my own -without counting on anybody else);
• Rendir cuentas (to account for one's expenditure/ one's actions);
  • En algún momento tendrás que rendir cuentas (you will have to account for your actions at some point);
• Tener en cuenta (to keep in mind/ to bear in mind);
  • Ten en cuenta que mañana tienes que trabajar (bear in mind that tomorrow you have to work);
• Tomar en cuenta (to keep in mind/ to bear in mind);
  • Toma en cuenta que mañana tienes que trabajar (bear in mind that tomorrow you have to work);
• Trabajador por cuenta ajena (an employed worker/ employee);
• Trabajar por cuenta ajena (to work for an employer);
• Trabajador por cuenta propia (a self-employed worker);
• Trabajar por cuenta propia (to work as self-employed);

*NB Replace the posessive “mi” with “tu”, “su”, “nuestra” or “vuestra” to alter the meaning accordingly.

Love-Spanish.com loves the word "cuenta" in the YouTube clip: LaOreja de Van Gogh - Cuentame como te ha ido

For more on the word "cuenta", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Cuenta

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

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It Is Ten Minutes Past Eight

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.

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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 past eight, so in Spanish you should say:

Son las ocho y 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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