Producir ‘to produce’ becomes produj-
3rd person plural form, add:
-
Conducir ‘to lead’ becomes conduj-
-eron
-
Traducir ‘to translate’ becomes traduj-
5. Ser ‘to be’ and Ir ‘to go’ are conjugated the same in the past tense.
Yo fui
Nosotros fuimos
Tu fuiste
Vosotros fuisteis
El/Ella/Usted fue
Ellos/Ellas/Uds fueron
For example, yo fui can mean either ‘I was’ or ‘I went.’ Tu fuiste can mean either
‘you was’ or ‘you went.’
DAY 10:
Conjugating Verbs to Future Tense
You now know how to conjugate Spanish verbs to their past and present tenses. It’s now
time to learn how to conjugate them to the future tense. That’s why let’s take this day to study the easiest and least complicated tense in Spanish verbs to conjugate – the future tense.
We use the future tense or el tiempo futuro to state actions not yet started, characteristics not yet attained, and/or achievements not yet accomplished, but to be done after some time from
the present. In English, the future can be expressed in two ways – by using the words will or shall and by the present progressive be going to. For example, when asked, “What are you going to do tomorrow morning?” your answer can be, “I will go to the market,” or “I am going to the market.” Hence, we will be studying these forms with Spanish verbs.
Regular Forms
Conjugating verbs to future tense is different from conjugating to the past and the present,
because you don’t need to omit the infinitive endings of the verbs (- ar, - er, and - ir). You will immediately affix the patterned endings that represent the future tense. These patterned endings
are the SAME for - ar, - er, and - ir verbs. Hence, you only have to know and be familiar with one set of endings. Study the table below:
-AR, -ER, -IR Verbs
Ex. Hablar (to speak) Comer (to eat) Escribir (to write)
Yo
Hablaré Comeré Escribiré
[ab-la-re] [ko-me-re] [es-kri-bi-re]
Tu
Hablarás Comerás Escribirás
[ab-la-ras] [ko-me-ras] [es-kri-bi-ras]
El/Ella/Usted
Hablará Comerá Escribirá
[ab-la-ra] [ko-me-ra] [es-kri-bi-ra]
Nosotros
Hablaremos Comeremos Escribiremos
[ab-la-re-mos] [ko-me-re-mos] [es-kri-bi-re-mos]
Vosotros
Hablaréis Comeréis Escribiréis
[ab-la-re-is] [ko-me-re-is] [es-kri-bi-re-is]
Ellos/Ellas/Usetdes Hablarán Comerán Escribirán
[ab-la-ran] [ko-me-ran] [es-kri-bi-ran]
So, when you want to say ‘she will eat,’ just take the infinitive verb comer then add the
suffix for 3rd person (- á). You can use the pronoun ella to know that the one who will perform the action is a girl: Ella comerá.
Notice that accents are present on all forms except the nosotros.
Irregular Forms
Spanish verbs having this form undergo changes in spelling, before having the patterned
endings above attached to them when forming the future tense. These verbs include:
Poner ‘to put, place’ becomes pondr- before adding the endings (pondré, pondrás, pondrá, pondremos, pondréis, pondrán)
Tener ‘to have’
becomes tendr-
Valer ‘to be worth’ becomes valdr-
Poder ‘to be able to’ becomes podr-
Endings for Future Tense
Saber ‘to know’
becomes sabr-
Hacer ‘to make’
becomes har-
-e
-emos
Salir ‘to come out’ becomes
saldr-
-as
-eis
Venir ‘to come’
becomes
vendr-
-a
-an
Caber ‘to fit’
becomes cabr-
Querer ‘to like’
becomes querr-
Decir ‘to say’
becomes dir-
Be-Going-To Form
As mentioned earlier, another way of expressing el tiempo futuro is by using the ‘be going to’ form in English. Examples include “I am going to sing at the ceremony; they are going to visit their relatives; and aren’t you going to buy these flowers?” Although the statements above use the present progressive form of the verb go, these state actions yet to be done. These actions are those that are expressed in the infinitive forms – to sing, to visit, and to buy.
In the Spanish language, this works the same way. The conjugation of the verb ‘ go’ is
used in the present tense, plus the infinitive form of the other verb that is to be done later. The subject, again, is optional. The sentence created using this form can still stand correctly even
without the subject. Hence, in Spanish, this form can be seen as conjugation of ir + a +
infinitive form of another verb, where ir is ‘to go’ and a is the preposition ‘to’ in Spanish.
Ir ‘to go’ is conjugated as follows: voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van, where the order is from the 1st person singular to 3rd person plural. Some examples to guide you are listed below:
Voy a nadar en la playa
‘I am going to swim in the beach.’
Vas a leer un libro
‘You are going to read a book.’
El va a comer una tarta
‘He is going to eat a cake.’
Vamos a dormir en un hotel. ‘We are going to sleep in a hotel.’
¿Van a arrestar el chico?
‘Are they going to arrest the boy?’
Keep in mind that when using this form to express the future, what you need to really
remember and be knowledgeable about is the correct conjugation of the verb ir in the present tense. You shouldn’t have any problems with the infinitive verb as you won’t do any changes to
it.
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DAY 11:
Forming Basic Spanish Sentences
After being able to form words from the sounds you have studied in the first few days of
the course, you are now ready to arrange these words to create grammatical and sensible Spanish
sentences.
Today, you will learn how to structure the different kinds of basic sentences in Spanish
including declarative, interrogative (questions), imperative (requests and commands), and negative sentences.
Declarative Sentences
Declarative sentences are sentences that narrate, tell stories, and provide facts. When
using these types of sentences, you don’t ask or give commands, but say something you know for
a fact.
As you are already familiar with the basic word categories in Spanish – nouns, pronouns
verbs, adjectives, and prepositions – all that matters now is just the proper rearrangement of
these words to form a comprehensive sentence. Consider the following discussion on forming
declarative sentences in Spanish:
1. Subject is optional in Spanish sentences. It can always be omitted – especially when what
is being talked about was already named – since the verb already contains the characteristics of the subjective noun (gender, number, and person).
Ex.
Maria es una Española.
Ella Tiene 24 años.
‘Maria is a Spanish. She is 24 years old.’
2. When a verb is intransitive (doesn’t require a direct object), the sentence can be as short
as having a noun and a verb; and yet it is already complete. The subject can even be
omitted, so a verb alone can already be a complete sentence.
Ex.
¡(Nosotros) vivimos!
‘We live!’
Note: Words or phrases inside a parenthesis are optional and can be omitted.
3. When the verb to be used is transitive, the sentence follows the form (Subject)-Verb-
Object, where the object is a noun.
Ex.
(Juan y Maria) comieron las manzanas en la mesa.
Subj V Direct Object Prep
‘Juan and Maria ate the apples in the table.’
( Yo) amo a ti.
Subj V DO
‘I love you.’
When the direct object becomes an objective pronoun, the order of the sentence becomes
(Subject)-Object-Verb.
(Ellos) los recogieron desde el jardin.
Subj DOP V
Preposition
‘They (Juan and Maria) got them (the apples) from the garden’
(Yo) te amo.
Subj DOP V
‘I love you’
4. Nominal direct objects always come before indirect objects. They both occur after the
verb: Subject-Verb-DO-IO
Ex.
Juan da las flores a mi.
Subj V DO IO
‘Juan gives the flowers to me.’
When both direct and indirect objects become pronouns, they occur between the subject
and the verb. In this form, the direct object pronoun now follows the indirect object
pronoun: Subject-IO Pronoun-DO Pronoun-Verb.
Juan me las da.
Subj IOP DOP V
‘Juan gave them to me.’
5. Use prepositional phrases and adjectives to make your sentences clear and precise.
Ex.
Nuestra casa grande está en la provincia.
‘Our big house is in the province.’
Ellos van a la playa para nadando.
‘They are going to the beach to swim.’
Estoy leyendo un libro sobre la democracia de nuestro pais.
‘I am reading a book about the democracy of our country.’
La mujer viejo cruzó el calle sin una compañia.
‘The old woman crossed the street without a company.’
Interrogative Sentences
So far, how did you find this course? Is it too complicated for you? Is it just a piece of
cake? Will you let me know if you’re having any trouble?
The questions above are examples of interrogative sentences. These types of sentences
aim to ask, inquire, and seek information from other people by the use of questions.
‘Interrogative’ comes from the verb interrogate which means ‘to question somebody thoroughly.’
Now how do you form interrogative sentences in Spanish? First, recall that there are two
types of questions we deal with everyday – the yes-no and the wh-questions. The former seeks
for only a yes or a no response, while the latter expects a little more information. The wh-questions uses the words who, what, when, where, how, and why to form questions. We are lucky that interrogative sentences in Spanish are almost similar to that of English. Hence, with just a
few reminders, you’ll be all set to ask questions using the Spanish language.
1. Spanish’s written language requires both an inverted (¿) and normal question mark (?) at
the beginning and ending of each question, respectively.
2. The easiest way to form yes-no questions is by increasing the intonation of any declarative sentence.
Ex.
Vas a Madrid.
¿Vas a Madrid?
‘You are going to Madrid.’
‘Are you going to Madrid?’
3. The Spanish language doesn't require auxiliary verbs the way that the English language
does to form yes-no questions. The same verb forms that are used in declarative statements are the same forms used in questions. The only difference is that the verbs in
interrogative sentences precede the nouns.
Ex.
Maria visitara mañana.
¿Visitara Maria mañana?
‘Maria will visit tomorrow.’
‘Will Maria visit tomorrow?’
Roberto tiene que ir al banco.
¿Tiene que ir Roberto al banco?
‘Roberto has to go to the bank.’
¿Tiene que ir al banco Roberto?
‘Does Roberto have to go to the bank?’
4. Question words in English have counterparts in Spanish, namely qué ‘what,’ por qué
‘why,’ cuándo ‘when,’ dónde ‘where,’ cómo ‘how,’ cuál ‘which,’ quién ‘who,’ cuánto or cuánta ‘how much,’ and cuántos or cuántas ‘how many.’ They usually appear at the beginning of each interrogative sentence.
5. Generally, a verb follows the question words.
Ex.
¿Quién escribira la carta?
WH V DO
‘Who will write the letter?’
¿Por qué fue a la ciudad?
WH V Preposition
‘Why did he go to the city?’
¿Dónde está mi coche?
WH V Subj
‘Where is my car?’
Imperative Sentences
Imperative sentences are actually verb moods used to give commands, either affirmative
or negative. Examples of imperative statements in English include: say your name, go to bed
early, don’t run, turn-off the lights, etc.
Imperatives in Spanish can be used for five different grammatical people: for a familiar
listener (tu), a formal listener (usted), a group of people including your self (nosotros), familiar listeners (vosotros), and formal listeners (ustedes).
Since verbs are those that build imperative statements, they have to undergo conjugation.
Here are the rules in forming imperatives:
1. Forming the affirmative and negative imperative commands for usted, ustedes, and nosotros, and the negative imperative commands for tú and vosotros depends on the type
of verbs to be used.
a. Regular AR Verbs: Take the present tense of the verb and change the - a of the
suffix to - e.
Ex.
Estudiar ‘to study’
Present Tense
Affirmative
Negative
Tu estudias
no estudies
Usted estudia
estudie
no estudie
Nosotros estudiamos
estudiemos
no estudiemos
Vosotros estudiais
no estudieis
Usdtedes estudian
estudien
no estudien
b. Regular ER Verbs: Change the - e of the suffix to - a.
Ex.
Beber ‘to drink’
Present Tense
Affirmative
Negative
Tu bebes
no bebas
Usted bebe
beba
no beba
Nosotros bebemos
bebamos
no bebamos
Vosotros bebeis
no bebais
Ustedes beben
beban
no beban
c. Regular IR Verbs:
-
For tu, usted, and ustedes, change the - e of the suffix to - a.
-
For nosotros, change the - i of the suffix to - a.
-
For vosotros, change the - i of the suffix to - ai.
Ex.
Abrir ‘to open’
Present Tense
Affirmative
Negative
Tu abres
no abras
Usted abre
abra
no abra
Nosotros abrimos
abramos
no abramos
Vosotros abris
no abrais
Ustedes abren
abran
no abran
Note:
-
Notice that the imperative endings for ER and IR verbs are identical.
2. Affirmative commands with tu and vosotros are conjugated a bit differently but the same
for AR, ER, and IR verbs:
a. To form the affirmative imperative command of tu, take the present tense and drop
the final - s.
Tu estudias
estudia
no estudies
Tu bebes
bebe
no bebas
Tu abres
abre
no abras
b. To form the affirmative imperative command of vosotros, take the infinitive and
replace the final - r with a - d. Let’s take estudiar as an example.
Vosotros estudiais
estudiad
no estudieis
Vosotros bebeis
bebed
no bebais
Vosotros abris
abrid
no abrais
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DAY 12:
Familiarizing Situational Phrases
Congratulations! You have made it to the last day of our training. You have already
learned the fundamentals of basic Spanish – from knowing its alphabet and sounds, to forming
words and phrases, to structuring different sentences.
The fact that you purchased this report and began your daily training means that you are
preparing yourself to deal with Spanish-speaking people and their culture at one point in your
life. Is that right?
Hence, below are lists of phrases and sentences you can study further under different
circumstances.
Asking for Directions
¡Oiga por favor!
¿Dónde está … ?
¿Está lejos?
[oy-ga por fa-vor]
[don-de es-ta …]
[es-ta le-khos]
‘Excuse me.’
‘Where is … ? ‘
‘Is it far?’
¿Cómo se va a … ?
¿Se va por aquí a … ?
¿Puedo ir andando?
[ko-mo se va a …]
[Se va por a-ki a …]
[pwe-do ir an-dan-do]
‘How to I get to … ?’
‘Is this the right way to … ?’ ‘Can I walk there?’
¿Dónde está el/la … más próximo(a)?
Nos hemos perdido
[Don-de es-ta el/la … mas prok-si-mo(a)]
[nos e-mos per-di-do]
‘Where is the nearest … ?’
¿Puede indicarme en el mapa?
Estamos buscando …
[pwe-de in-di-kar-me en el ma-pa]
[es-ta-mos bus-kan-do … ]
‘Can you show me on the map?’
‘We’re looking for …’
Giving Directions
Siga todo recto
Tiene que dar la vuelta
Siga
[si-ga to-do rek-to]
[tye-ne ke dar la vwel-ta]
[si-ga]
‘Keep going straight ahead’ ‘You have to turn round’
‘Keep going straight on’
Tuerza …
A la derecha
a la izquierda
[twer-za]
[a la de-re-cha]
[a la iz-kyer-da]
‘Turn …’
‘Right’
‘Left’
Recto
Siga las señales de …
Coja …
[rek-to]
[si-ga las se-nya-les de … ] [ko-ha … ]
‘Straight on’
‘Follw the signs for …’
‘Take …’
La primera calle a la derecha
La segunda calle a la izquirda
[la pri-me-ra ka-lye a la de-re-cha]
[la se-gun-da ka-lye a la iz-kyer-da]
‘The first street on the right’
‘The second street on the left’
At the Airport
Al aeropuerto, por favor
¿Como se va al centro?
¿Cuánto es?
[al ay-ro-pwer-to por fa-vor] [ko-mo se va al then-tro]
[kwan-to es]
‘To the airport please’
‘How do I get into town?’
‘How much is it?’
¿Dónde se factura para … ?
¿Cuál es la puerta del vuelo para … ?
[don-de se fak-tu-ra pa-ra … ]
[kwal es la pwer-ta del vwe-lo pa-ra … ]
‘Where do I check in for … ?’
‘Which gate is it for the flight to … ?’
¿Dónde se coje el autobus para el centro?
[don-de se ko-he el aw-to-bus pa-ra el then-tro]
‘Where do I get the bus to the town center?
Know These Signs!
Llegadas
[lye-ga-das]
‘Arrivals’