Friday 27 November 2015

Friday 27th Of November 2015

SCENARIO




Imagine that today, a relative, a friend or a work colleague asks you: "what is today's date?"

In Spanish, the other person could say:
¿Qué día es hoy?




Hoy es:



The question is an invitation for you to say today's date.



A quick look at your diary confirms that today is: Friday the 27th of November 2015. You could give today's date in Spanish by saying:




Hoy es viernes veintisiete de noviembre de dos mil quince





Notes:
  1. Today is = Hoy es
  2. Friday = viernes
  3. The 27th = veintisiete
  4. Of November = de noviembre
  5. 2015 = de dos mil quince
  6. In Spanish, we just say "28", instead of "the 28th"
  7. In Spanish we literally say: "of 2015"
  8. In Spanish we don't capitalise day of the week names, for example: viernes
  9. In Spanish we don't capitalise month names, for example: noviembre

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    Tuesday 24 November 2015

    Tell Me, Who Set The Table Yesterday?

    Introduction
    Verbo: Poner
    Tipo: irregular
    Modo: indicativo
    Tiempo: pretérito indefinido (simple past)

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


    SCENARIO


    Imagine you are at home with some relatives, friends or colleagues. You are about to eat and the table needs setting. Someone wants to know who set the table the day before and says to you: "tell me, who set the table yesterday?"

    In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:
    Dime, ¿quién puso la mesa ayer?

    On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:
    Dígame, ¿quién puso la mesa ayer?


    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 puse* la mesa ayer (I set the table yesterday)
    • pusiste* la mesa ayer, ¿no? (you -familiar set the table yesterday, didn't you?)
    • Usted puso* la mesa ayer, ¿no? (you -formal set the table yesterday, didn't you?)
    • Pedro puso* la mesa ayer (Pedro set the table yesterday)
    • María puso* la mesa ayer (Maria set the table yesterday)
    • Pedro y yo pusimos* la mesa ayer (Pedro and I set the table yesterday)
    • Vosotros pusisteis* la mesa ayer, ¿no? (you people -familiar/ plural set the table yesterday, didn't you?)
    • Ustedes pusieron* la mesa ayer, ¿no? (you people -formal/ plural set the table yesterday, didn't you?)
    • Pedro y María pusieron* la mesa ayer (Pedro and María set the table yesterday)

    Now you should practise replying to someone who says to you:
    Dime, ¿quién puso la mesa ayer?

    *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 preterite tense conjugation/ indicative mood is shown below

    Indicative Mood/ Preterite Tense - Conjugation
      Verb: poner
    Subject
    PONER
    (TO PUT)
    I
    Yo
    PUSE
    You
    PUSISTE
    You Usted*

    PUSO
    He Él
    She
    Ella
    We
    Nosotros
    PUSIMOS
    You
    Vosotros**
    PUSISTEIS
    You
    Ustedes***
    PUSIERON
    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 preterite tense of the irregular verb poner with some examples of your own.

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    Monday 23 November 2015

    Éxito

    Today's word is: Éxito
    Clase: sustantivo (noun)
    Género: masculino (masculine)
    Origen: latín (Latin)


    In Spanish, “éxito” is a masculine noun of Latin origin which means success and is used as in:
    • La paciencia es la madre del éxito (patience is the mother of success)



    The describing word/ adjective “exitoso”/ “exitosa” is a related word meaning successful, and used as in:
    • Un día exitoso (a successful day)
    • Una jornada exitosa (a successful work day/ business day)


    Some Spanish expressions with the word “éxito” are:
    • Acariciar el éxito (to come very close to success/ to be a hit)
    • Asimilar el éxito (to cope with success/ to handle success)
    • La clave del éxito (the key to success)
      • La perseverancia es la clave del éxito (perseverance is key for success)
    • Lograr el éxito (to achieve success/ to be a hit)
    • Sin éxito (unsuccessful/ unsuccessfully)
      • Una jornada más de búsqueda sin éxito (yet another unsuccessful search day)
      • Una jornada más de búsqueda que termina sin éxito (yet another search day which ends unsuccessfully)
    • Tener éxito (to be successful/ to be a hit)


    Love-Spanish.com loves the word "éxito" in the YouTube clip: La Beriso - El Éxito


    For more on the word "éxito", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Éxito

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

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

    Thursday 19 November 2015

    Tell Me, Who Sets The Table?

    Introduction
    Verbo: Poner
    Tipo: irregular
    Modo: indicativo
    Tiempo: presente (present)

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


    SCENARIO


    Imagine you are at home with some relatives, friends or colleagues. You are about to eat and the table needs setting. At some point, someone says to you: "tell me, who sets the table?"

    In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:
    Dime, ¿quién pone la mesa?

    On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:
    Dígame, ¿quién pone 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 pongo* la mesa (I set the table)
    • pones* la mesa, ¿no? (you -familiar set the table, don't you?)
    • Usted pone* la mesa, ¿no? (you -formal set the table, don't you?)
    • Pedro pone* la mesa (Pedro sets the table)
    • María pone* la mesa (Maria sets the table)
    • Pedro y yo ponemos* la mesa (Pedro and I set the table)
    • Vosotros ponéis* la mesa, ¿no? (you people -familiar/ plural set the table, don't you?)
    • Ustedes ponen* la mesa, ¿no? (you people -formal/ plural set the table, don't you?)
    • Pedro y María ponen* la mesa (Pedro and María set the table)

    Now you should practise replying to someone who says to you:
    Dime, ¿quién pone 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 present tense conjugation/ indicative mood is shown below

    Indicative Mood/ Present Tense - Conjugation
      Verb: poner
    Subject
    PONER
    (TO PUT)
    I
    Yo
    PONGO
    You
    PONES
    You Usted*

    PONE
    He Él
    She
    Ella
    We
    Nosotros
    PONEMOS
    You
    Vosotros**
    PONÉIS
    You
    Ustedes***
    PONEN
    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 present tense of the irregular verb poner with some examples of your own.

    Spanish lessons online
    Skype/ Google+ Hangout/ Facetime
    Great lessons
    © Copyright 2015 Love-Spanish.com by Jose M González. All Rights Reserved.