Aesthetic Apuntes





Etapa Preliminar

Apuntes #1: Formal vs. familiar

¿Cómo estás? and ¿Cómo está usted? both mean How are you?

¿Cómo estás? and ¿Y tú? (And you?) are familiar phrases used with:
  1. A person your age
  2. A relative
  3. A person you call by his or her first name
Other familiar greetings include ¿Qué pasa? (What’s up?) and ¿Qué tal? (How is it going?)

¿Cómo está usted? and ¿Y usted? are formal phrases used with:
  1. A person you don’t know
  2. Someone older
  3. A person to whom you want to show respect

Apuntes #2: Formal vs. familiar introductions

There are two ways of saying What’s your name? in Spanish:
  1. Familiar: ¿Cómo te llamas?
  2. Formal: ¿Cómo se llama?
There are also two ways of saying I’d like you to meet... in Spanish:
  1. Familiar: Te presento a...
  2. Formal: Le presento a...
Remember:

Familiar: A person your own age

Formal: A person to whom you want to show respect (someone older)

Apuntes #3: Questions

When you are speaking, one way to change a statement into a question is to raise the intonation of your voice.

Answer simple yes/no questions with sí (yes) or no.

In written Spanish, all questions begin with an upside-down question mark (¿) and end with a question mark (?).

Bonus: Days of the week

(This was written in my notes despite not being labeled "apuntes"; nevertheless, I’m still including this.)

English Spanish
Monday lunes
Tuesday martes
Wednesday miércoles
Thursday jueves
Friday viernes
Saturday sábado
Sunday domingo

In Spanish, the days of the week are never capitalized.

Use el and los to talk about what you do on a certain day or days. Example:

el lunes: on Monday

los lunes: on Mondays

(Plural forms of weekdays are spelled the same; sábado and domingo add -s to the end to form the plural.)

el sábado: on Saturday

los sábados: on Saturdays

el domingo: on Sunday

los domingos: on Sundays

Bonus: Numbers from 0 to 10

(For some reason this was never documented in my notes, so enjoy this table.)

Number Spanish Word
0 cero
1 uno
2 dos
3 tres
4 cuatro
5 cinco
6 seis
7 siete
8 ocho
9 nueve
10 diez

Lesson 1.1

Apuntes #1: Subject pronouns

Use subject pronouns to tell who is doing an action.
  1. yo: I
  2. tú: you (familiar)
  3. él (not ello): he
  4. ella: she
  5. usted: you (formal)
  6. nosotros: we (male/mixed group)
  7. nosotras: we (female group)
  8. ellos: they (male/mixed group)
  9. ellas: they (female group)
  10. ustedes: you (plural, formal)
  11. vosotros: you (plural, informal, male/mixed group)
  12. vosotras: you (plural, informal, female group)
(Vosotros and vosotras are only used in Spain. Ustedes is used in other countries instead.)

Subject pronouns can replace nouns.

Examples:

Juan → él

Maria → ella

Maria y Susana → ellas

Carlos y yo → nosotros

Pedro y tú → ustedes, vosotros

Apuntes #2: The verb ser (to be) with pronouns

Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. Subject pronouns indicate who is being described or who does the action in a sentence.

Ser means to be. Use ser to identify a person or say where he or she is from.
ser (to be)
Subject Verb
yo soy
tú eres
él/ella es
nosotros somos
vosotros sois
ellos/as son

Apuntes #3: The verb gustar (to like)

An infinitive is the basic form of a verb.

Example: correr (to run)

In Spanish, infinitives have three endings: -ar, -er, and -ir.

Indirect Object Pronouns:

IOP Translation
me me
te you
le him, her, it, you
nos us
os you (plural)
les them, you (plural)

I like to run. Me gusta correr.

In these sentences, to run and correr are infinitives.

Gustar with an Infinitive:

Use gustar to talk about what people like to do.

Use phrases like me gusta + infinitive. Examples:

Me gusta dibujar. I like to draw.

Te gusta dibujar. You like to draw.

Le gusta dibujar. He/she likes to draw.

Nos gusta dibujar. We like to draw.

Os gusta dibujar. You (plural) like to draw.

Les gusta dibujar. They like to draw.

To emphasize the person you are talking about, use:

a + noun/pronoun (This is a prepositional phrase.)

Examples:

A Sonia le gusta leer. Sonia likes to read.

A ella le gusta leer. She likes to read.

Pronouns that follow a:

A mí me gusta

A ti te gusta

A él/ella/usted le gusta

A nosotros/as nos gusta

A vosotros/as os gusta

A ellos/as les gusta

Lesson 1.2

Apuntes #1: The verb ser to describe

Use the verb ser when you want to describe someone.

Examples: (Hover over sentences for translations)

Yo soy alto y un poco atlético.

Maria es simpática y estudiosa.

Maria y Pablo son artísticos.

Pedro y yo somos cómicos.

To ask what a person is like, use:

¿Cómo + ser + subject?

Apuntes #2: Definite articles

Definite articles in English: The is used with nouns to indicate specific people, places, or things.

Examples:

I have the book. I see the boy.

In Spanish, a noun has two important characteristics.
  1. Gender (masculine, feminine):

    Nouns ending with -o are masculine, such as chico.

    Nouns ending with -a are feminine, such as fruta.

    Words such as hombre and mujer are masculine and feminine respectively, despite their endings.

  2. Number (singular, plural)

    Singular nouns: chico, fruta

    Plural nouns: chicos, frutas
There are four definite articles:

Singular Plural
Masculine el los
Feminine la las

Examples:

el chico: the boy

los chicos: the boys

la chica: the girl

las chicas: the girls

To make singular nouns plural:
  1. Add -s if the noun ends in a vowel. Example:

    maestro → maestros

  2. Add -es if the noun ends in a consonant. Example:

    mujer → mujeres

Apuntes #3: Indefinite articles

Indefinite articles in English: A, an, and some are used with nouns to indicate nonspecific people, places, or things.

Examples:

I have a book.

I have an apple.

I have some books.

Remember the two characteristics of nouns:
  1. Gender (masculine/feminine)
  2. Number (singular/plural)
Indefinite articles match the gender and number of the noun.

Singular Plural
Masculine un unos
Feminine una unas

Examples:

un maestro: a teacher (male)

unos maestros: some teachers (male/mixed group)

una maestra: a teacher (female)

unas maestras: some teachers (female group)

Es una bicicleta. It’s a bicycle.

Son unos chicos. They are some boys (and girls).

Apuntes #4: Adjective-noun agreement

Adjectives describe nouns.

In English, the adjective is placed before the noun.

In Spanish, the adjective is usually placed after the noun.

Spanish adjectives match the gender and number of the nouns they describe.

Examples:

el chico alto: the tall boy

los chicos altos: the tall boys

la chica alta: the tall girl

las chicas altas: the tall girls

Adjectives ending in -e match both genders.

el maestro inteligente: the smart teacher (male)

la maestra inteligente: the smart teacher (female)

Many adjectives that end in a consonant match both genders.

el amigo joven: the young friend (male)

la amiga joven: the young friend (female)

Some adjectives that end in a consonant add -a to the feminine singular.

el chico trabajador: the hard-working boy

la chica trabajadora: the hard-working girl

For plural adjectives:
  1. Add -s if the noun ends in a vowel.
  2. Add -es if the noun ends in a consonant.
There are special adjectives that can be placed before the noun.

The good boy: El chico bueno → el buen chico

The bad boy: El chico malo → el mal chico

The big boy, the great boy: El chico grande → el gran chico

(These also work for feminine nouns; la buena chica is acceptable.)

Lesson 2.1

Apuntes #1: Numbers from 11 to 100

(This apuntes was originally just a worksheet, but I’m going to make a formal apuntes for this. Unlike the others, this was not written in class by my teacher; I am the original author of this.)

The Spanish numbers for 11 to 15 all end in -ce and are variations of the words for 1 to 5.

Number Spanish Word
11 once
12 doce
13 trece
14 catorce
15 quince

The numbers from 16 to 29 have a different pattern: they are similar to compound words, with the first part representing the tens and the second part representing the ones.
Alternatively, you can write the two parts separately, connecting them with the word y.
Both writing methods are shown in this table.

Number Spanish Word (1) Spanish Word (2)
16 dieciséis diez y seis
17 diecisiete diez y siete
18 dieciocho diez y ocho
19 diecinueve diez y nueve
20 veinte veinte
21 veintiuno veinte y uno
22 veintidós veinte y dos
23 veintitrés veinte y tres
... ... ...
26 veintiséis veinte y seis
... ... ...
29 veintinueve veinte y nueve

(The numbers 16, 22, 23, and 26 have accents if written as one word.)

Numbers from 30 to 100 can only be written as separate words.

Number Spanish Word
30 treinta
31 treinta y uno
40 cuarenta
50 cincuenta
60 sesenta
70 setenta
80 ochenta
90 noventa
100 cien

Type a number from 0 to 100 here to see its Spanish word equivalent!

Apuntes #2: The word un with Spanish numbers

The numbers 21, 31, 41, 51, etc. (veintiuno/veinte y uno, treinta y uno, etc.) become veintiún/veinte y un, treinta y un, cuarenta y un, etc. before a masculine noun.

Examples:

31 books: treinta y un libros

81 boys (and girls): ochenta y un chicos

These numbers become veintiuna/veinte y una, treinta y una, cuarenta y una, etc. before a feminine noun.

21 girls: veintiuna chicas (veinte y una chicas)

61 pizzas: sesenta y una pizzas

Apuntes #3: Telling time

In Spanish, a. m. is written de la mañana (morning) and p. m. is written as de la tarde (afternoon) or de la noche (night).

To tell the exact hour, use ser + feminine article + feminine number.

Examples:

1:00: Es la una.

2:00: Son las dos.

5:00: Son las cinco.

11:00: Son las once.

You can also write en punto at the end of exact hours. (Es la una en punto.)

For minutes past the hour, add y + minutes.

1:05: Es la una y cinco.

5:10: Son las cinco y diez.

3:15: Son las tres y cuarto.

8:20: Son las ocho y veinte.

For minutes past the half hour, use the word menos. Here’s how:
  1. Round to the next hour.
  2. Subtract using menos.

4:50: Son las cinco menos diez.

8:45: Son las nueve menos quince.

Enter a time to display in Spanish. The Hour field uses 24-hour time: type 0 for 12 AM, type 13 for 1 PM, 14 for 2 PM, etc.

Apuntes #4: ¿A qué hora es?

To talk about when an event takes place, use:

¿A qué hora + verb + event?

Examples:

¿A qué hora es la clase de español? (When is Spanish class?)

A la una. (At one o’clock.)
A las dos. (At two o’clock.)
A las cinco y media. (At five-thirty.)

Asking at what time English class takes place:

¿A qué hora es la clase de inglés? (When is English class?)

La clase de inglés es a las 8:15 de la mañana. (English class is at 8:15 in the morning.)

Apuntes #5: The verb tener (to have)

tener (to have)
Subject Verb
yo tengo
tú tienes
él/ella tiene
nosotros tenemos
vosotros tenéis
ellos/as tienen
Examples:

Carlos tiene seis clases. Carlos has six classes.

Yo tengo una bicicleta azul. I have a blue bicycle.

¿Tú tienes tarea hoy? Do you have homework today?

Yo no tengo tarea. I don’t have homework.

To say what you have to do, use tener que + infinitive.

Yo tengo que estudiar. I have to study.

Other phrases that use tener:
  1. tener hambre: to be hungry

  2. tener sed: to be thirsty

  3. tener sueño: to be sleepy

Apuntes #6: Present tense of regular -ar verbs

The present tense expresses an action taking place now.
  1. A verb has two parts: its stem and its ending. For example, in the verb hablar, the stem is habl and the ending is ar.
  2. You conjugate a verb by changing its form.
These are the conjugations for -ar verbs:
-ar verbs
Subject Ending
yo -o
tú -as
él/ella -a
nosotros -amos
vosotros -áis
ellos/as -an

Examples: (Hover over word for translation)

hablar (to talk)
Subject Verb
yo hablo
tú hablas
él/ella habla
nosotros hablamos
vosotros habláis
ellos/as hablan
montar (to ride)
Subject Verb
yo monto
tú montas
él/ella monta
nosotros montamos
vosotros montáis
ellos/as montan
bailar (to dance)
Subject Verb
yo bailo
tú bailas
él/ella baila
nosotros bailamos
vosotros bailáis
ellos/as bailan
estudiar (to study)
Subject Verb
yo estudio
tú estudias
él/ella estudia
nosotros estudiamos
vosotros estudiáis
ellos/as estudian

Apuntes #7: Expressions of frequency (adverbs)

Use expressions of frequency to tell how often you do an activity.
  1. Siempre (always) and nunca (never) are placed before the verb.

    Examples: (Hover over sentences for translations)

    Yo siempre estudio.

    Juan nunca descansa.

  2. Mucho (a lot, much) and poco (little, not much) are placed after the verb.

    Yo bailo mucho.

    Pedro mira la televisión poco.

  3. Todos los días (every day), muchas veces (often, many times), and de vez en cuando (once in a while, occasionally) can be placed at the beginning or end of the sentence.

    Todos los días yo hablo español.

    Yo hablo español todos los días.

Lesson 2.2

Apuntes #1: The verb estar (to be)

Use estar to say how you are feeling and to tell where things are located.

Estar is irregular and must be memorized!
estar (to be)
Subject Verb
yo estoy
tú estás
él/ella está
nosotros estamos
vosotros estáis
ellos/as están

Estar has two uses:

(Hover over sentences for translations.)
  1. Location: Estar is used to tell where something/someone is located.

    Pedro está en la oficina.

     Nosotros estamos en la clase.

    In both sentences, en is the location word.

  2. Feelings/emotions (condition): Estar is used when you talk about feelings or emotions. (Emotions must agree with the noun.)

    Maria está cansada.

     Los chicos están nerviosos.

There are two ways to place the verb estar in a question. (This also applies to most verbs.)
  1. ¿Tú estás triste?

  2. ¿Estás tú triste?

Apuntes #2: Estar with location words (prepositions of place)

Use estar with words of location:

(Hover over sentences for translations.)
  1. al lado de (next to)

    2. Kiko está al lado de la mesa.

  2. debajo de (under)

    3. Kiko está debajo de la mesa.

  3. dentro de (inside)

    4. Kiko está dentro de la caja.

  4. encima de (on top of)

    5. Kiko está encima de la mesa.

  5. delante de (in front of)

    6. Kiko está delante de la mesa.

  6. detrás de (behind)

    7. Kiko está detrás de la mesa.

  7. lejos de (far from)

    8. Kiko está lejos de la mesa.

  8. cerca de (close to, near)

    9. Kiko está cerca de la mesa.

  9. entre (between)

    10. Kiko está entre las mesas.

Apuntes #3: The verb ir (to go)

Use ir to tell where you go.

Ir is irregular and must be memorized!

Ir is always followed by a (to).
ir (to go)
Subject Verb
yo voy
tú vas
él/ella va
nosotros vamos
vosotros vais
ellos/as van

Example: (Hover over sentences for translations)

Carlos va a la clase de matemáticas.

To ask where someone is going, use:

¿Adónde + ir + subject?

¿Adónde vas tú?

Yo voy a la clase de inglés.

Lesson 3.1

Apuntes #1: Gustar + noun

To say what people like to do, use:

gustar + infinitive

Example: Me gusta leer. (I like to read.)

To say what people like, use:

gustar + noun

Examples:

Singular noun:

Me gusta el libro.

Te gusta la manzana.

Le gusta la pluma.

Plural noun:

Me gustan los libros.

Te gustan las galletas.

Le gustan las uvas.

Apuntes #2: Present tense of regular -er/-ir verbs

The conjugations for -er/-ir verbs are almost the same.

They are different for the nosotros and vosotros forms.
-er verbs
Subject Ending
yo -o
tú -es
él/ella -e
nosotros -emos
vosotros -éis
ellos/as -en
-ir verbs
Subject Ending
yo -o
tú -es
él/ella -e
nosotros -imos
vosotros -ís
ellos/as -en


Examples: (Hover over word for translation)
comer (to eat)
Subject Verb
yo como
tú comes
él/ella come
nosotros comemos
vosotros coméis
ellos/as comen
vivir (to live)
Subject Verb
yo vivo
tú vives
él/ella vive
nosotros vivimos
vosotros vivís
ellos/as viven


Apuntes #3: Interrogative (question) words

Interrogative words: You can form questions by putting a conjugated verb after a question word. Here’s how:

¿Question word + verb + subject?

(Hover over sentences for translations.)
  1. Cómo (how)

    ¿Cómo está Juan?
    ¿Cómo es Roberto?

  2. Cuál(es) (what, which)
    Choice - can’t be followed by a noun

    ¿Cuál es tu mochila?
    ¿Cuál de los libros te gusta?
    ¿Cuáles son tus amigos?

  3. Cuándo (when)

    ¿Cuándo estudias tú?
    ¿Cuándo practicas tenis?

  4. Por qué (why)

    ¿Por qué estudias tú?
    ¿Por qué no habla Juan?

  5. Qué (what)

    ¿Qué comes tú?
    ¿Qué escucha Beto?

  6. Quién(es) (who)

    ¿Quién come la salsa?
    ¿Quiénes estudian español?

  7. Adónde (to where)
    Usually followed by ir

    ¿Adónde va Maria?

  8. Dónde (where)

    ¿Dónde trabajas tú?
    ¿Dónde está Pedro?

  9. Cuántos(as) (how many)

    ¿Cuántos libros tienes tú?

  10. Cuánto (how much)
    Commonly used for prices
    Cuesta - (it) costs, cuestan - (they) cost
    El dólar (los dólares) - dollar(s)

    ¿Cuánto cuesta la mochila?

Lesson 3.2

Apuntes #1: Expressing possession with de

In Spanish, ’s is never used. There is no apostrophe in Spanish. (You do not say Juan’s libro.)

To show possession or relationship, use de and the noun that refers to the owner.

Examples:

Juan’s book → El libro de Juan

Juan’s books → Los libros de Juan

Marta’s uncle → El tío de Marta

Pedro’s cousins → Los primos de Pedro

Marta’s grandparents → Los abuelos de Marta

Use ser + de to express ownership in a sentence.

Examples:

The book is Juan’s. → El libro es de Juan.

The books are Juan’s. → Los libros son de Juan.

Apuntes #2: Saying how old you are with tener

To ask someone what their age is, use:

¿Cuántos años + tener + subject?

Example: ¿Cuántos años tienes tú? (How old are you?)
(Literally: How many years do you have?)

Respond with:
Yo tengo ____ años.

Examples:

Carlos tiene catorce años. Carlos is 14 years old.

Marta tiene once años. Marta is 11 years old.

Apuntes #3: Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives tell you who owns something or describes a relationship between people.

Example: Juan is my cousin. Juan es mi primo.

In English, the possessive adjectives are:

Singular Plural
1st person my our
2nd person your your (plural)
3rd person his, her, its their

In Spanish, possessive adjectives agree in number with the nouns they describe.
(Hover over word for translation)

Singular Plural
1st person mi (mis) nuestro(s), nuestra(s)
2nd person tu (tus) vuestro(s), vuestra(s)
3rd person su (sus) su (sus)

Examples:

Singular noun:

Ella es mi prima. (She is my cousin.)

Juan es su hermano. (Juan is his/her brother.)

Plural noun:

Ellas son mis primas. (They are my cousins.)

Ellos son sus hermanos. (They are his/her siblings.)

Nuestro(a) and vuestro(a) must agree in both gender and number with the nouns they describe.

Examples:

Nuestra abuela

Nuestros abuelos

To clarify: you can use de with a pronoun.

Es su libro. → Es el libro de ella.

Apuntes #4: La fecha

To ask what the date is, use:

¿Cuál es la fecha?

To express what today’s date is, use:

Hoy es el (day) de (month).
(Don’t forget to write the el!)

In US English, March 6, 2019 is written as 3/6/19.

In Spanish, el seis de marzo is written as 6/3/19.

Examples:

3/1 → Hoy es el tres de enero.

15/6 → Hoy es el quince de junio.

The first day of the month is always written as el primero.

Examples:

1/3 → Hoy es el primero de marzo.

2/3 → Hoy es el dos de marzo.

Enter a date to display in Spanish.

Apuntes #5: Cumpleaños

To ask someone when their birthday is, use:

¿Cuál es la fecha de tu cumpleaños?

Respond with:

Mi cumpleaños es el (day) de (month).

Examples:

Mi cumpleaños es el tres de agosto. (My birthday is August 3.)

El cumpleaños de Pedro* es el tres de mayo. (Pedro’s birthday is May 3.)

*You can replace this with Su cumpleaños.

Apuntes #6: Comparatives

Comparatives are expressions used to compare two people or things.

In English, comparative adjectives are formed by adding -er to the end of a word or by using more, less, or as.

Example: Rodrigo es más alto que su hermana. (Rodrigo is taller than his sister.)

There are several phrases in Spanish used to make comparisons. Use the following phrases with an adjective to compare two things.

The adjectives agree with the first noun.

más...que (more...than)

menos...que (less...than)

tan...como (as...as)

When a comparison doesn’t involve an adjective, use these phrases:

más que... (more than...)

menos que... (less than...)

tan como... (as much as...)

Irregular comparatives agree in number with the first noun.

mayor (older)

menor (younger)

mejor (better)

peor (worse)

Example: Mis tíos son mayores que mi tía. (My uncles are older than my aunt.)

Bonus: Numbers from 101 to 1,000,000

(Again, this was never documented in my notes, so I’m making an apuntes for this.)

Remember that 100 in Spanish is written cien. However, numbers from 101 to 199 don’t use the word cien; they use ciento instead.

To write a number between 101 and 199, use ciento followed by the word for the last 2 digits of the number.

For example, 101 is written ciento uno. (Do not write y between the sections!)

Number Spanish Word
101 ciento uno
102 ciento dos
... ...
199 ciento noventa y nueve

Numbers from 200 to 999 work the same way, but with different words for the hundreds.

Number Spanish Word
200 doscientos
300 trescientos
400 cuatrocientos
500 quinientos
600 seiscientos
700 setecientos
800 ochocientos
900 novecientos

(Notice how 500, 700, and 900 are spelled quinientos, setecientos, and novecientos respectively instead of cincocientos, sietecientos, and nuevecientos as you might expect. In other words, these numbers are irregular.)

The number 1,000 is written mil. Numbers in the thousands are written by putting the number of thousands followed by the word mil.

Number Spanish Word
1,000 mil
2,000 dos mil
3,000 tres mil
... ...
21,000 veintiún mil (veinte y un mil)
31,000 treinta y un mil
... ...
100,000 cien mil
101,000 ciento un mil
... ...
999,000 novecientos noventa y nueve mil
1,000,000 un millón

Notice how mil does not have un in it, but un millón does.

Type a number from 0 to 1,000,000 here to see its Spanish word equivalent! Don’t put commas.

Lesson 4.1

Apuntes #1: Adjectives of Color

Colors such as rojo, blanco, negro, amarillo, and morado agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

Examples:

La camisa es roja. The shirt is red.

Las camisas son rojas. The shirts are red.

Me gusta la blusa blanca. I like the white blouse.

Colors like azul, marrón, gris, and verde are gender-neutral, along with naranja, beige, and rosa.

Examples:

La camisa es azul. The shirt is blue.

Las camisas son azules. The shirts are blue.

El zapato es azul. The shoe is blue.

Apuntes #2: Stem-changing verbs (e→ie)

These verbs have a stem-change for all forms except nosotros and vosotros. These are known as “boot verbs”.

Examples: (Hover over word for translation)
pensar (to think)
Subject Verb
yo pienso
tú piensas
él/ella piensa
nosotros pensamos
vosotros pensáis
ellos/as piensan
querer (to want)
Subject Verb
yo quiero
tú quieres
él/ella quiere
nosotros queremos
vosotros queréis
ellos/as quieren
preferir (to prefer)
Subject Verb
yo prefiero
tú prefieres
él/ella prefiere
nosotros preferimos
vosotros preferís
ellos/as prefieren


Examples:

Pablo piensa que la prueba es fácil. Pablo thinks that the test is easy.

Los chicos piensan estudiar hoy. The boys (and girls) plan to study today. (Pensar can also mean to plan.)

Apuntes #3: Direct object pronouns

What are Direct Object Pronouns? Here are some examples in English.

I buy the book. I buy it.

The direct object receives the action of the verb.

The direct objects answer the “Who?” or the “What?” of a sentence.

Examples:

I buy the book. What do I buy? The book is the direct object of the sentence.

Mom eats the pizza. What does mom eat? The pizza is the direct object.

Direct Object Pronouns (DOP’s) can replace the direct object.

Here is the list of DOP’s:

DOP Translation
me me
te you
lo, la him, her, it, you
nos us
os you (plural)
los, las them, you (plural)

Examples:

Yo leo el libro. El libro can be replaced by lo because it is masculine singular.

Tú compras la blusa. La blusa can be replaced by la because it is feminine singular.

Nosotros llevamos los calcetines. Los calcetines can be replaced by los because it is masculine plural.

Put the Direct Object Pronoun before the conjugated verb!

When you rewrite the sentences, the Direct Object Pronoun is placed before the verb.

Examples:

Yo lo leo. I read it.

In English we put the direct object pronoun after the verb. Note that when you use DOP’s you get shorter sentences.

Tú la compras. You buy it. (the blouse)

Nosotros los llevamos. We wear them. (the socks)

Lo, la, los, and las are mostly used to refer to objects. But they can also refer to people.

Examples:

Yo miro a mi abuelo. Yo lo miro. (I watch him.)

Carlos llama a mi. Carlos me llama. (Carlos calls me.)

Yo escucho a ti. Yo te escucho. (I listen to you.)

Last important rule:

If you have two verbs in a sentence, you have two options!

Yo quiero comprar el gorro.

What do you want to buy? El gorro is the direct object.

You can replace el gorro with the DOP lo.

You can now rewrite the sentence two ways:
  1. Put the DOP before the conjugated verb (the basic rule).

    2. Yo lo quiero comprar. (I want to buy it.)

  2. Attach the DOP to the end of the infinitive (the second verb).

    3. Yo quiero comprarlo. (I want to buy it.)

The second option is similar to English. You need to be familiar with both.

Lesson 4.2

Apuntes #1: The verb ver (to see)

The verb ver has an irregular yo form. This verb must be memorized.

(Hover over word for translation)
ver (to see)
Subject Verb
yo veo
tú ves
él/ella ve
nosotros vemos
vosotros veis
ellos/as ven

Examples:

Yo veo la camisa. I see the shirt.

Yo la veo. I see it.

When ver is followed by a person or an animal, you must use the personal a.

Examples:

Yo veo a Paco. I see Paco.

Marta ve al [a el] perro. Marta sees the dog.

Notice the a before the person or animal.

Carlos ve el libro. Carlos sees the book.

Notice when ver is followed by an object, the personal a is not required.

Apuntes #2: Ir + a + infinitive

Recuerdas: The verb ir (to go)

Use the verb ir to tell where you go to.
ir (to go)
Subject Verb
yo voy
tú vas
él/ella va
nosotros vamos
vosotros vais
ellos/as van

Remember: ir is always followed by a (to).

Examples:

Yo voy a la biblioteca.

Carlos va al [a el] gimnasio.

You can also use ir to express the simple future tense to say what you are going to do in the near future.

Use the formula: ir + a + infinitive.

Examples:

Yo voy a correr. I am going to run. (Do not conjugate correr!)

Maria va a estudiar. Maria is going to study.

Nosotros no vamos a comer pizza. We are not going to eat pizza.

¿Tú vas a leer hoy? Are you going to read today?

Apuntes #3: Stem-changing verbs (o→ue)

These verbs have an o→ue stem-change. The o in the stem will change to ue for all forms except nosotros and vosotros.

These are boot verbs and must be memorized!

These verbs can end in -ar, -er, or -ir.

Examples: (Hover over word for translation)
almorzar
(to eat lunch)
Subject Verb
yo almuerzo
tú almuerzas
él/ella almuerza
nosotros almorzamos
vosotros almorzáis
ellos/as almuerzan
poder
(to be able to, can)
Subject Verb
yo puedo
tú puedes
él/ella puede
nosotros podemos
vosotros podéis
ellos/as pueden
dormir (to sleep)
Subject Verb
yo duermo
tú duermes
él/ella duerme
nosotros dormimos
vosotros dormís
ellos/as duermen


Examples:

Yo almuerzo en la cafetería de vez en cuando. I eat lunch in the cafeteria once in a while.

Carlos puede dibujar. Carlos can draw.

Mi familia duerme ocho horas. My family sleeps for eight hours.

Apuntes #4: Stem-changing verbs (e→i)

So far we have learned (e→ie) verbs like querer, entender, and preferir.
We have also learned (o→ue) stem changing verbs like dormir, encontrar, and poder.

The third type of stem-changing verbs are (e→i) verbs.

These are also boot verbs! (The nosotros and vosotros forms will not have the stem change!)

Examples: (Hover over word for translation)
pedir
(to order, to ask for)
Subject Verb
yo pido
tú pides
él/ella pide
nosotros pedimos
vosotros pedís
ellos/as piden
servir (to serve)
Subject Verb
yo sirvo
tú sirves
él/ella sirve
nosotros servimos
vosotros servís
ellos/as sirven


Examples:

Yo pido un pastel. I order a cake.

El camarero sirve la comida y las bebidas en el restaurante. The waiter serves the food and the drinks in the restaurant.

Lesson 5.1

Apuntes #1: The verbs ser vs. estar (video)

Both verbs mean to be, but they have different uses.
ser (to be)
Subject Verb
yo soy
tú eres
él/ella es
nosotros somos
vosotros sois
ellos/as son

Notice the uses for the verb ser.

(Hover over sentences for translations.)
  1. Permanent characteristics: Ser is used to describe physical/personality characteristics.

    Juan es alto. (Alto is a physical characteristic that is permanent.)

    Los chicos son inteligentes. (Inteligentes is a personality characteristic.)

  2. Profession/occupation: Ser is used to describe profession and occupation.

    El Sr. Brown es el director. (Director is a profession/occupation.)

    Nosotros somos estudiantes. (Estudiantes is an occupation.)

  3. Origin: Ser + de is used to tell where someone is from (their origin).

    Juan es de México. (Key word de indicates origin)

  4. Time/date: Ser is used to tell time and the date.

    Es la una.

    Son las dos.

    Hoy es lunes.

    Hoy es el cinco de mayo.

Estar also means to be.
estar (to be)
Subject Verb
yo estoy
tú estás
él/ella está
nosotros estamos
vosotros estáis
ellos/as están

You will note that estar has only 2 uses.
  1. Feelings/emotions: Estar is used when you talk about feelings or emotions.

    Yo estoy triste. (Triste is a feeling that is not fixed, it changes.)

    Carlos está cansado. (Cansado is also not fixed.)

  2. Location: Estar is used to tell where something/someone is located.

    Roberto está en la oficina. (Key word en indicates location.)

    Nosotros estamos cerca del gimnasio. (Key word cerca de indicates location.)

Remember “Estar LoCo”:
Estar is only used with location and condition.
(You can also think of location and condition as not being permanent, unlike height, personality, and profession.)

Apuntes #2: Ordinal numbers (video)

English Grammar Connection: In both English and Spanish, ordinal numbers indicate position in a series or the order of items.

I am in second place. Estoy en segundo lugar.

When used with a noun, an ordinal number must agree in number and gender with that noun.

Ordinal numbers:

English Spanish
first primero(a)
second segundo(a)
third tercero(a)
fourth cuarto(a)
fifth quinto(a)
sixth sexto(a)
seventh séptimo(a)
eighth octavo(a)
ninth noveno(a)
tenth décimo(a)

Ordinals are placed before nouns.

Examples:

Es la primera película de María Conchita Alonso. It’s the first movie of María Conchita Alonso.

Nuestro apartamento está en el octavo piso. Our apartment is on the eighth floor.

Primero and tercero drop the o before a masculine singular noun.

Enero es el primer mes del año. January is the first month of the year.

Marzo es el tercer mes del año. March is the third month of the year.

Lesson 5.2 (vocabulary video)

Apuntes #1: More verbs with irregular yo forms (video)

The following verbs have irregular yo forms similar to tener’s tengo, hacer’s hago, and estar’s estoy in the present tense.

These verbs have to be memorized:

Verb Translation
decir to say, to tell
dar to give
poner to put, to set
salir to leave, to go out
traer to bring
venir de to come from
venir a to come to

Decir has an irregular yo form and an e→i stem-change like pedir and servir. Decir is also a boot verb.
decir (to say, to tell)
Subject Verb
yo digo
tú dices
él/ella dice
nosotros decimos
vosotros decís
ellos/as dicen

Juan dice “hola”. Juan says “hello”.

Venir also has an irregular yo form and a stem-change similar to the verb tener (e→ie). It is also a boot verb.
venir (to come)
Subject Verb
yo vengo
tú vienes
él/ella viene
nosotros venimos
vosotros venís
ellos/as vienen

Yo vengo a la fiesta con mis amigos. I come to the party with my friends.

The other verbs have an irregular yo form but the rest of the forms are regular.
Notice: again we are using the -ar, -er, and -ir verb endings.

Dar (to give): Yo doy, tú das, él/ella da... etc.

Yo doy el libro a mi amigo. I give the book to my friend.

Poner (to put, to set): Yo pongo, tú pones, él/ella pone... etc.

Marta pone el plato en la mesa. Marta puts the plate on the table.

Salir (to leave, to go out): Yo salgo, tú sales, él/ella sale... etc.

Yo salgo con mi hermano. I leave with my brother.

Traer (to bring): Yo traigo, tú traes, él/ella trae... etc.

Los chicos traen la tarea a la clase. The boys (and girls) bring the homework to class.

Song using these words

Apuntes #2: Affirmative tú commands (video 1) (video 2)

English Grammar Connection: In both English and Spanish, affirmative commands are used to tell someone to do something.

Clean the kitchen! ¡Limpia la cocina!

Use affirmative tú commands with a friend or a family member.

Regular affirmative tú commands are the same as the él/ella forms in the present tense.

Infinitive Present Tense Affirmative tú Command
lavar (to wash) (él, ella) lava ¡Lava los platos!
barrer (to sweep) (él, ella) barre ¡Barre el suelo!
abrir (to open) (él, ella) abre ¡Abre la puerta!

Some verbs you know have irregular affirmative tú commands.

Infinitive Affirmative tú Command
decir (to say) di
hacer (to do) haz
ir (to go) ve
poner (to put) pon
salir (to leave) sal
ser (to be) sé
tener (to have) ten
venir (to come) ven

(Here’s a song using these words.)

If you use an affirmative command with a direct object pronoun, attach the pronoun to the end.
Add an accent when you attach a pronoun to a command of two or more syllables to retain the original stress.
(The accent is added to the third to last syllable.)

Syllabification and accent placement

Examples:

¡Cierra la ventana! (Close the window!) becomes ¡Ciérrala! (Close it!)

¡Pon la mesa ahora! (Set the table now!) becomes ¡Ponla ahora! (Set it now!)

Apuntes #3: Syllabification and accent placement (video)

How do you determine the syllables in Spanish words?

In Spanish, the vowels are A, E, I, O, and U.
I and U are considered weak vowels.
A, E, and O are considered strong vowels.

First, a single consonant forms a syllable with the vowel that follows it.

Examples: (Different colors represent each syllable)

Zapato

Bonito

Second, when you have a strong and weak vowel combination or two weak vowels (a diphthong), this is considered a single syllable and cannot be divided.

Limpio

Envuelvo

Estudiante

Quinto

Third, two strong vowels do not form a diphthong and are separated into two syllables.

Feo

Pasear

When you attach a pronoun to a command, an accent is added to the third to last syllable to retain the original stress.

Limpiar la cocina. Clean the kitchen.

Límpiala. Clean it. (The third to last syllable is lim, so the accent is added to the vowel.)

Traer el libro. Bring the book.

Tráelo. Bring it.