Tell Me, Who Will Have Set The Table?

Introduction

Verbo: Poner

Tipo: irregular

Modo: indicativo

Tiempo: futuro compuesto (future perfect)

This post is about verb conjugation -the future perfect tense, indicative mood of irregular verb poner.

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to relatives, friends or colleagues. You are talking about a meal you are all going to have at home -something you do on a regular basis. On such occasions, you usually take turns setting the table. Talking about who will do what... and how things will end up after the meal, someone says to you: "tell me, who will have set the table?"

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

Dime, ¿quién habrá puesto la mesa?

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

Dígame, ¿quién habrá puesto la mesa?

---

OUR TIP

Making a sentence which answers that question should be straightforward, but remember:

• 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 habré puesto^* la mesa (I will have set the table)
• Tú habrás puesto^* la mesa, ¿no? (you -familiar will have set the table, won't you?)
• Usted habrá puesto^* la mesa, ¿no? (you -formal will have set the table, won't you?)
• Pedro habrá puesto^* la mesa (Pedro will have set the table)
• María habrá puesto^* la mesa (Maria will have set the table)
• Pedro y yo habrémos puesto^* la mesa (Pedro and I will have set the table)
• Vosotros habréis puesto^* la mesa, ¿no? (you people -familiar/ plural will have set the table, won't you?)
• Ustedes habrán puesto^* la mesa, ¿no? (you people -formal/ plural will have set the table, won't you?)
• Pedro y María habrán puesto^* la mesa (Pedro and María will have set the table)

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

Dime, ¿quién habrá puesto la mesa?

*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: poner

The Spanish verb poner 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 -er
• The future perfect tense conjugation/ indicative mood is shown below

---

Indicative Mood/ Future Perfect Tense - Conjugation

Verb: poner

Subject		PONER (TO PUT)
I	Yo	HABRÉ PUESTO
You	Tú	HABRÁS PUESTO
You	Usted*	HABRÁ PUESTO
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	HABREMOS PUESTO
You	Vosotros**	HABRÉIS PUESTO
You	Ustedes***	HABRÁN PUESTO
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 future perfect tense of the irregular verb poner with some examples of your own.

---

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Libra

Today's word is: Libra

Clase: sustantivo (noun)

Género: femenino (feminine)

Origen: latín (Latin)

In Spanish, “libra” is a feminine noun of Latin origin which means pound, and could be used to refer to:

• A unit of weight – a pound
  • Una libra^* de queso (a pound of cheese)
• A unit of currency/ a coin – a pound
  • La cerveza me costó tres libras (the beer cost me £3.00)
• A constallation/ a Zodiac sign -Libra
  • La constelación de Libra^** es conocida también como la Balanza (the Libra constellation is also known as the balance/ the weighing scales)
  • El horóscopo Libra de hoy (today's Libra horoscope)

In Spanish, the word “libra” may be used also as a describing word/ adjective, e.g.:

• Tu amiga es libra^**, ¿verdad? (your friend is Libra, isn't she)

Spanish expressions with the word “libra” are:

• Entrar pocos en libra (to be very rare/ exceptional -colloquial)
  • Personas como él entran pocas en libra (people like him are very rare/ are few and far between)
• Garbanzos de libra (something exceptional)
  • Eso es como garbanzos de libra (that is exceptional/ like hen's teeth)
• Libra carnicera^** (butchers pound)
• Libra egipcia (Egyptian pound/ currency of Egypt – EGP/ LE/ £)
• Libra esterlina (pound sterling/ currency of the UK – GBP/ LS/ £)
• Libra jaquesa (old currency unit in Aragon)
• Libra libanesa (Lebanese pound/ currency of the Lebanon – SBP)
• Libra mallorquina (old currency unit in the Balearics)
• Libra medicinal^*** (chemist/ pharmacist/ druggist pound)
• Libra siria (Syrian pound/ currency of Syria – SYP/ LS/ £S)

Notes

*The “onza” (ounce) is smaller unit of weight. In Spain, the number “onzas” in a “libra” used to vary widely from region to region and even from town to town!

**Please note different spellings. In Spanish, the name of constellations and Zodiac signs are considered proper nouns and are capitalised, i.e.: “Libra”. However, the describing word/ adjective meaning: born under the Zodiac sign of Libra is normally not capitalised, i.e.: “libra”.

**Old unit of weight used in some parts to weigh meat and fish

***Old unit of weight used in apothecaries (chemists/ pharmacists)

Love-Spanish.com loves the word "libra" in the YouTube clip: Del Signo Libra

For more on the word "libra", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Libra

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

---

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Tell Me, Who Had Set The table?

Introduction

Verbo: Poner

Tipo: irregular

Modo: indicativo

Tiempo: pretérito pluscuamperfecto (pluperfect)

This post is about verb conjugation -the pluperfect tense, indicative mood of irregular verb poner.
 

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to relatives, friends or colleagues. You are talking about a meal you all had at home some time ago -something you do on a regular basis. On such occasions, you usually take turns setting the table. No sure about who had done it on that occasion, someone says to you: "tell me, who had set the table?"

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

Dime, ¿quién había puesto la mesa?

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

Dígame, ¿quién había puesto la mesa?

---

OUR TIP

Making a sentence which answers that question should be straightforward, but remember:

• 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 había puesto^* la mesa (I had set the table)
• Tú habías puesto^* la mesa, ¿no? (you -familiar had set the table, hadn't you?)
• Usted había puesto^* la mesa, ¿no? (you -formal had set the table, hadn't you?)
• Pedro había puesto^* la mesa (Pedro had set the table)
• María había puesto^* la mesa (Maria had set the table)
• Pedro y yo habíamos puesto^* la mesa (Pedro and I had set the table)
• Vosotros habíais puesto^* la mesa, ¿no? (you people -familiar/ plural had set the table, hadn't you?)
• Ustedes habían puesto^* la mesa, ¿no? (you people -formal/ plural had set the table, hadn't you?)
• Pedro y María habían puesto^* la mesa (Pedro and María had set the table)

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

Dime, ¿quién había puesto la mesa?

*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: poner

The Spanish verb poner 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 -er
• The pluperfect tense conjugation/ indicative mood is shown below

---

Indicative Mood/ Pluperfect Tense - Conjugation

Verb: poner

Subject		PONER (TO PUT)
I	Yo	HABÍA PUESTO
You	Tú	HABÍAS PUESTO
You	Usted*	HABÍA PUESTO
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	HABÍAMOS PUESTO
You	Vosotros**	HABÍAIS PUESTO
You	Ustedes***	HABÍAN PUESTO
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 pluperfect tense of the irregular verb poner with some examples of your own.

---

Spanish lessons online

Skype/ Google+ Hangout/ Facetime

Great lessons

Book now

© Copyright 2015 Love-Spanish.com by Jose M González. All Rights Reserved.