Plural of Nouns – Review Posted by Adir on Dec 14, 2009
Let’s review some rules to form the plural of nouns in Spanish. 1. Add an ‘-s’ to words ending in vowel or stressed vowels á, é, and ó. La casa – las casas El peine – los peines La tribu – las tribus La mamá – las mamás El café – los cafés 2. Add…
Homonyms II Posted by Adir on Dec 10, 2009
Homonyms are words that are written in the feminine and masculine in the same way, but they have different meanings. El cabeza (head – boss) – la cabeza (head – body) El capital (money) – la capital (capital – city) El clave (chord) – la clave (solution) El cólera (cholera) – la cólera (anger) El…
Irregular Verbs in the Present Tense Part 02 Posted by Adir on Dec 7, 2009
The second kind of irregularity in the present happens by changing the ‘o’ to ‘ue’. Check out the conjugation of the verb contar (to count, to tell). Yo cuento Tú cuentas Él/ella/usted cuenta Nosotros contamos Vosotros contáis Ellos/ellas/ustedes cuentan The same happens with the following verbs: Acordar (to remember) Acostar (to lie down) Almorzar (to…
El género Posted by Adir on Dec 3, 2009
Knowing the gender of a word in Spanish is not so easy sometimes, so here are two very good tips to help you choose between EL or LA. The following are typically masculine endings: -O – cariño, libro -OR – horror, emperador, color, valor -AJE – blindaje, linaje, homenaje, abordaje -MA – poema, sistema, teorema…
Irregular Verbs in the Present Tense Part 01 Posted by Adir on Nov 30, 2009
Yeah, I know Spanish verbs are hard to learn but sometimes you just need to follow a pattern and bingo! you get it right. Our first irregular verb pattern is when the root vowel ‘e’ becomes ‘ie’. Check out the verb apretar (to tighten). Yo aprieto Tú aprietas Él / ella / usted aprieta Nosotros…
Perífrasis Verbales Posted by Adir on Nov 25, 2009
Perífrasis verbales are combinations of two verbs that convey a meaning that’s different from that of the separate verbs. Let’s take a look at some of them: 1. estar + gerund – ongoing action -> Estoy buscando mi libro. (I am looking for my book.) 2. seguir + gerund – continuity -> Sigo dando clases…
B or V? Posted by Adir on Nov 23, 2009
As it happens with G and J, the letters B and V are very similar and it’s usually not very easy to choose between them. So, another little test for you: fill in the blanks with B or V. Cara___ela (caravel) Cala___era (skull, skeleton) Llama___a (I/he/she was calling) I___a (I/he/she was going) Automó___il (automobile) A___obado…