Friday 26 February 2016

Cuneta

Today's word is: Cuneta
Clase: sustantivo (noun)
Género: femenino (feminine)
Origen: italiano (Italian)

In Spanish, “cuneta” is a feminine noun of Italian origin which means ditch, kerb or curb. A typical example of the use of the word “cuneta” is:
  • Perdí el control del vehículo y fui a parar a la cuneta (I lost control of the vehicle and ended up in the ditch)


Love-Spanish.com loves the word "cuneta" in the YouTube clip: La Cuneta son Machin - Entre Ritmos y Palmeras


For more on the word "cuneta", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Cuneta

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

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Friday 19 February 2016

Carretera

Today's word is: Carretera
Clase: sustantivo (noun)
Género: femenino (feminine)
Origen: latín (Latin)

In Spanish, “carretera” is a feminine noun of Latin origin which means road or highway. A typical example of the use of the word “carretera” is:
  • Esa carretera tiene muchas curvas (that road has lots of bends)


In Spanish, the noun “carretero* is a related word meaning a male cartwright. A typical example of the use of the word “carretero” is:
  • Pedro es carretero (Pedro is a cartwright)


Spanish expressions with the word “carretera” or related words are:
  • Asistencia en carretera (roadside/ breakdown assistance)
  • Bicicleta de carretera (road bike -pedal bike)
  • Carretera afirmada (unpaved compacted dirt road/gravel road)
  • Carretera asfaltada (paved road/ tarmac road)
  • Carretera con peajes (toll road)
  • Carretera de aceso (access road)
  • Carretera de aceso limitado (restricted/ limited access road)
  • Carretera de peaje (toll road)
  • Carretera de cuota (toll road -Latin America)
  • Carretera en obras (road under construction/ maintenance -roadworks)
  • Carretera forestal (forestry road/ track)
  • Carretera general (main road -long distance/ interstate)
  • Carretera nacional (main road -long distance/ interstate)
  • Carretera comarcal (secondary road)
  • Carretera con muchas curvas (winding road – a road with lots of bends)
  • Carretera cortada (closed road)
  • Carretera cortada por obras (closed road due to roadworks)
  • Carretera de circunvalación (ring road)
  • Carretera local (local road)
  • Carretera secundaria (secondary road)
  • Carretera sin afirmar (unpaved uncompacted dirt road)
  • Carretera sin asfaltar (unpaved road/ dirt road)
  • Carretera y manta (leave immediately/ just leave! -see notes below**)
  • Ciclismo de carretera (road cycle racing -sport)
  • Ciclismo en carretera (road cycle racing -sport)
  • Cruce de carretera (crossroads/ road junction)
  • Fumar como un carretero (to chain smoke/ smoke like a chimney)
  • Hablar como un carretero (to use a coarse language/ to talk like a sailor***)
  • Jurar como un carretero (to use a coarse language/ to talk like a sailor***)
  • Luz de carretera (headlights -full beam)
  • Moto de carretera (road bike -motorbike)
  • Salirse de la carretera (to come/ go off the road)
  • Tramo de carretera (stretch of road)
    • Algunos tramos de esa carretera están en muy mal estado (some stretches of that road are in a really poor state)
  • Transporte por carretera (road freight/ road haulage/ road transport)


Notes


*The feminine form of this noun, i.e.: “carretera should be used when referring to a female cartwright.

The noun “carretero” is often used to refer to an uncouth or foul mouthed person -see expressions above***.

** As a typical use of this expression, imagine you want to summarily dismiss or eject someone from somewhere. Basically, you want to tell the person in question to gather his/ her belongings and just leave. In Spanish, you could say: recoge tus bártulos y carretera y manta.




Love-Spanish.com loves the word "carretera" in the YouTube clip: Julio Iglesias - La Carretera - "HQ"


For more on the word "carretera", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Ccarretera

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

Spanish lessons online
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Wednesday 17 February 2016

Tell Me, In All Likelihood Who Would Have Set The Table?

Introduction
Verbo: Poner
Tipo: irregular
Modo: subjuntivo
Tiempo: pretérito pluscuamperfecto (pluperfect tense)

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


SCENARIO
Imagine you are talking to relatives, friends or colleagues. You are talking about what happened at a recent group meal. This was a gathering like others which take place on a regular basis at someone's house. Preparing the food, setting the table, etcetera, is something you usually take turns doing. However, something unforeseen occurred this time. All went well in the end, but someone who isn't familiar with what happened says to you: "tell me, in all likelihood who would have set the table?"

In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:
Dime, ¿quién era más probable que hubiera puesto la mesa?

On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:
Dígame, ¿quién era más probable que hubiera 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:
  • Lo más probable era que yo hubiera puesto* la mesa (in all likelihood I would have set the table)
  • Lo más probable era que tú hubieras puesto* la mesa, ¿no? (in all likelihood you -familiar would have set the table, wouldn't you?)
  • Lo más probable era que usted hubiera puesto* la mesa, ¿no? (in all likelihood you -formal would have set the table, wouldn't you?)
  • Lo más probable era que Pedro hubiera puesto* la mesa (in all likelihood Pedro would have set the table)
  • Lo más probable era que María hubiera puesto* la mesa (in all likelihood Maria would have set the table)
  • Lo más probable era que Pedro y yo hubiéramos puesto* la mesa (in all likelihood Pedro and I would have set the table)
  • Lo más probable era que vosotros hubierais puesto* la mesa, ¿no? (in all likelihood you people -familiar/ plural would have set the table, wouldn't you?)
  • Lo más probable era que ustedes hubieran puesto* la mesa, ¿no? (in all likelihood you people -formal/ plural would have set the table, wouldn't you?)
  • Lo más probable era que Pedro y María hubieran puesto* la mesa (in all likelihood Pedro and María would have set the table)

Now you should practise replying to someone who says to you:
Dime, ¿quién era más probable que hubiera 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/ subjunctive mood is shown below

Subjunctive Mood/ Pluperfect Tense - Conjugation
    Verb: poner
Subject
PONER
(TO PUT)
I
Yo
HUBIERA o HUBIESE PUESTO
You
HUBIERAS o HUBIESES PUESTO
You Usted*
HUBIERA o HUBIESE PUESTO
He Él
She
Ella
We
Nosotros
HUBIÉRAMOS o HUBIÉSEMOS PUESTO
You
Vosotros**
HUBIERAIS o HUBIESEIS PUESTO
You
Ustedes***
HUBIERAN o HUBIESEN 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.

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