Español III H
El 29 de enero 2015
La Introduccíon al curso y El Repaso
Direct Object Pronouns: Part I
The object that directly receives the action of the verb is called
the direct object.
Bill hit the ball.
"Ball" receives the action of the verb "hit."
Sherry reads the book.
"Book" receives the action of the verb "reads."
The direct object can also be a person.
Sherry hit Bill.
(DO=Bill)
The direct object answers the question "what?" or "whom?"
with regard to what the subject of the sentence is doing.
Bill hit the ball.
Bill hit what?
Bill hit the ball.
Sherry hit Bill.
Sherry hit whom?
Sherry hit Bill.
Often, it is desirable to replace the name of the direct object with
a pronoun.
Example 1
Paul bought the flowers. He took the flowers home and gave the
flowers to his wife.
Example 2
Paul bought the flowers. He took them home and gave them to
his wife.
When the pronoun replaces the name of the direct object, use the
following pronouns:
me (me)
te (you-familiar)
lo, la (him, her, it, you-formal)
nos (us)
os (you-all-familiar)
los, las (them, you-all-formal)
In an affirmative statement with one verb, the direct object
pronoun comes immediately before the conjugated verb.
Tengo = I have
Tengo la pluma. = I have the pen.
La tengo. = I have it.
The pronoun (la) comes immediately before the verb (tengo).
Notice that if the subject of the sentence changes, this does not
affect the direct object pronoun.
Juan la tiene.
Juan tiene = John has
Juan tiene la pluma. = John has the pen.
Juan la tiene. = John has it.
and
María la tiene.
María tiene = Mary has
María tiene la pluma. = Mary has the pen.
María la tiene. = Mary has it.
However, if the direct object of the sentence changes to a
masculine noun, the masculine pronoun must be used.
Juan lo tiene.
Juan tiene = John has
Juan tiene el libro. = John has the book.
Juan lo tiene. = John has it.
but
Juan la tiene.
Juan tiene = John has
Juan tiene la pluma. = John has the pen.
Juan la tiene. = John has it.
Likewise, if the direct object of the sentence changes from
singular to plural, the plural pronoun must be used.
Juan lo tiene.
Juan tiene = John has
Juan tiene el libro. = John has the book.
Juan lo tiene. = John has it.
but
María los tiene.
María tiene = Mary has
María tiene los libros. = Mary has the books.
María los tiene. = Mary has them.
Look at how Spanish and English are different.
"Lo tengo" and "La tengo" BOTH mean "I have it."
Differences:
1. "It" has two forms in Spanish: lo, la
2. "Tengo" one word in Spanish = two words in English (I
have)
3. The word order is different. In Spanish, the pronoun (lo, la)
comes before the verb; in English, the pronoun (it) comes
after the verb.
When you try to translate literally from English to Spanish,
sometimes it works very well:
John eats the soup.
John = Juan
John eats = Juan come
John eats the = Juan come la
John eats the soup = Juan come la sopa.
Other times, direct translation doesn't work so well:
I eat the soup.
I = Yo
I eat = Yo como
I eat the = Yo como la
I eat the soup = Yo como la sopa.
Because "como" means "I eat," the word "yo" is redundant. A
better translation might be:
I eat the soup.
Como la sopa.
Sometimes, when you try to translate literally, you run into
much bigger problems:
I eat it. (the soup - la sopa)
I = Yo
I eat = Yo como
I eat it. = Yo como la.
This is completely incorrect!
The correct translation would be:
I eat it. (the soup)
La como.
As you can see, directly translating sentences with direct object
pronouns doesn't work, so ... don't do it! There is a better, easier
way.
Learn to translate groups of words, rather than individual words.
The first step is to learn to view two Spanish words as a single
phrase.
Try to think of each line as a single phrase, not two separate
words:
la como
lo como
la leo
lo leo
la veo
lo veo
la tengo
lo tengo
la compro
lo compro
Read each line again. Before you do, glance at the translation
beneath it. Then, read each line thinking of it as a phrase that has
the same meaning as the English phrase below it.
la como
I eat it (feminine DO - la sopa, la comida, etc.)
lo como
I eat it (masculine DO - el pollo, el arroz, etc.)
la leo
I read it
lo leo
I read it
la veo
I see it
lo veo
I see it
la tengo
I have it
lo tengo
I have it
la compro
I buy it
lo compro
I buy it
In the previous examples, it is clear that the subject of the
sentence is "I" because the verbs are all conjugated in the "yo"
form. With other verb forms, it is often desirable to add a word
to clarify the subject.
Juan la come. (la comida)
Juan eats it.
María lo tiene. (el libro)
María has it.
El chico la compra. (la pluma)
The boy buys it.
La chica lo ve. (el edificio)
The girl sees it.
Ustedes lo leen. (el periódico)
You-all read it.
Now, some examples of plural direct objects.
Juan come dos sándwiches.
Los come. or Juan los come.
María tiene tres libros.
Los tiene. or María los tiene.
El chico compra dos revistas.
Las compra. or El chico las compra.
La chica ve dos coches.
Los ve. or La chica los ve.
Ella compra dos televisores.
Los compra. or Ella los compra.
Tenemos dos mesas.
Las tenemos. or Nosotros las tenemos.
Now, some examples where the direct object is a person.
I know you.
Te conozco.
She loves him.
Ella lo ama.
She loves me.
Ella me ama.
Juan sees her.
Juan la ve.
They call us.
Ellos nos llaman.
We call them.
Los llamamos.
Indirect Object Pronouns:
Part I
The indirect object (IO) tells us where the direct
object (DO) is going.
He gives the book to María.
DO=Book
Where is the book going?
To María.
IO=María
He gives María the book.
DO=Book
Where is the book going?
To María.
IO=María
The indirect object answers the question "To
whom?" or "For whom?" the action of the verb is
performed.
He gives María the book.
To whom does he give the book?
To María.
IO=María
He buys me flowers.
For whom does he buy the flowers?
For me.
IO=me
Sentences that have an indirect object usually also
have a direct object. Remember, the IO tells us
where the DO is going. Notice how the sentences
below just wouldn't work without a direct object.
He gives María . . .
the book, the pen, the diamond, etc.
He buys me . . .
flowers, candy, an ironing board, etc.
Sometimes the direct object is not stated; rather it is
implied, or understood.
My mother writes me every week.
DO=letter (understood)
IO=me
(My mother writes me a letter every week.)
She told him.
DO=it (understood)
IO=him
(She told it to him.)
To identify the indirect object use our two
guidelines:
1. The IO tells us where the DO is going.
2. The IO answers the question "to whom?" or
"for whom" the action of the verb is performed.
When a pronoun takes the place of the name of the
indirect object, use the following pronouns:
me (me)
te (you-familiar)
le (him, her, you-formal)
nos (us)
os (you-all-familiar)
les (them, you-all-formal)
In an affirmative statement with one verb, the
indirect object pronoun comes immediately before
the conjugated verb.
Juan me compra un regalo.
John buys me a gift.
John buys a gift for me.
Juan te compra un regalo.
John buys you a gift.
John buys a gift for you.
Juan le compra un regalo.
John buys her a gift.
John buys a gift for her.
Juan nos compra un regalo.
John buys us a gift.
John buys a gift for us.
Juan os compra un regalo.
John buys you-all (familiar) a gift.
John buys a gift for you-all.
Juan les compra un regalo.
John buys them a gift.
John buys a gift for them.
Now, focus in on one part of each of the previous
examples:
Juan me compra un regalo.
John buys (for) me a gift.
Juan te compra un regalo.
John buys (for) you a gift.
Juan le compra un regalo.
John buys (for) her a gift.
Juan nos compra un regalo.
John buys (for) us a gift.
Juan os compra un regalo.
John buys (for) you-all (familiar) a gift.
Juan les compra un regalo.
John buys (for) them a gift.
Let's extract the IO phrase and its English
equivalent:
me compra
buys (for) me
te compra
buys (for) you
le compra
buys (for) her
nos compra
buys (for) us
os compra
buys (for) you-all
les compra
buys (for) them
Just like with the direct object, the indirect object
presents a problem if one tries to translate word-forword:
Juan me compra un regalo.
John for me he buys a gift.
The key to learning to use the indirect object
pronouns is the same as the key for direct object
pronouns. You must learn to think in phrases, not
words. The phrases consist of a pronoun and a
conjugated verb. In the following examples, note
that the IO remains the same, while the subject of
the phrase changes.
me compra
he buys me
me compran
they buy me
me compras
you buy me
The IO pronouns le and les present a special
problem because they are ambiguous. That is, they
can stand for different things.
le
to (for) him
to (for) her
to (for) you-formal
les
to (for) them
to (for) you-all-formal
The following sentences, while grammatically
correct, are ambiguous:
Ella le escribe una carta.
Ella les escribe una carta.
Out of context, there is no way we can know the
meaning.
Ella le escribe una carta.
She writes him a letter.
She writes her a letter.
She writes you (formal) a letter.
Ella les escribe una carta.
She writes them a letter.
She writes you-all (formal) a letter.
Since le and les can mean more than one thing, a
prepositional phrase is often added to remove the
ambiguity.
Ella le escribe a Juan una carta.
Ella le escribe a su hermana una carta.
Ella le escribe a usted una carta.
Ella les escribe a sus padres una carta.
Ella les escribe a ustedes una carta.
Sometimes a prepositional phrase is added not for
clarity, but rather for emphasis.
Juan me da a mí el dinero.
John gives me the money.
(emphasizing that the money is given to me and not
to someone else)
Juan te da a ti el dinero.
John gives you the money. (emphasis on you)
There is no ambiguity in the following sentence. It
can only mean one thing.
Juan me da el dinero.
John gives me the money.
The addition of a prepositional phrase merely adds
emphasis.
Juan me da a mí el dinero.
John gives me the money.
Indirect Object Pronouns and Direct Object
Pronouns together
Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns Used Together
Here are the direct object pronouns and the indirect object pronouns side by side:
DO Pronouns IO Pronouns
English Equivalent
me
me
me
te
te
you (familiar)
lo, la
le
him, her, it, you (formal)
nos
nos
us
When you
os
os
direct object
and an
los, las
les
object
the same
the indirect object pronoun comes first.
Ellos me los dan.
They give them to me.
IO pronoun: me
DO pronoun: los
Ella te la vende.
She sells it to you.
IO pronoun: te
DO pronoun: la
you-all (familiar)
them, you-all (formal)
have both a
pronoun
indirect
pronoun in
sentence,
Whenever both pronouns begin with the letter "l" change the first pronoun to "se."
le lo = se lo
le la = se la
le los = se los
le las = se las
les lo = se lo
les la = se la
les los = se los
les las = se las
The reason for changing "le lo" to "se lo" is merely to avoid the tongue-twisting
effect of two short consecutive words that begin with the letter "l". To demonstrate
this, first quickly say "les las" and then quickly say "se las." See how much easier
it is to say "se las?"
In negative sentences, the negative word comes directly before the first pronoun.
No se lo tengo.
I don't have it for you.
Nunca se los compro.
I never buy them for her.
Because the pronoun se can have so many meanings, it is often helpful to clarify it
by using a prepositional phrase.
Él se lo dice.
Ambiguous. He tells it to (whom?).
Él se lo dice a Juan.
He tells it to him. (to Juan)
Él se lo dice a María.
He tells it to her. (to María)
Él se lo dice a ella.
He tells it to her.
In sentences with two verbs, there are two options regarding the placement of the
pronouns. Place them immediately before the conjugated verb or attach them
directly to the infinitive.
She should explain it to me.
Ella me lo debe explicar.
Ella debe explicármelo.
I want to tell it to you.
Te lo quiero decir.
Quiero decírtelo.
You need to send it to them.
Se la necesitas enviar a ellos.
Necesitas enviársela a ellos.
Note that when attaching the pronouns to the infinitive, a written accent is also
added to the final syllable of the infinitive. This preserves the sound of the
infinitive.
When the pronouns are attached to the infinitive, make the sentence negative by
placing the negative word directly before the conjugated verb.
Ella debe explicármelo.
Ella no debe explicármelo.
Quiero decírtelo.
No quiero decírtelo.
Necesitas enviársela a ellos.
No necesitas enviársela a ellos.
When the pronouns come before the conjugated verb, make the sentence negative
by placing the negative word directly before the pronouns.
Ella me lo debe explicar.
Ella no me lo debe explicar.
Te lo quiero decir.
No te lo quiero decir.
Se la necesitas enviar a ellos.
No se la necesitas enviar a ellos.
direct objects are the recipient of a verbs action.
more examples
Example
Escribí una carta. [I wrote a letter.]
una carta is the direct object, and can be replaced by the direct object pronoun la,
placed before the verb:
La escribí. [I wrote it.]
In [link to lesson 31- Indirect Object Pronouns] we learned that indirect objects are the
secondary recipients of the action – they are affected by the action without being the
direct recipient of it. It is done to or for them.
Example:
Escribí a Pedro. [I wrote to Pedro.]
Pedro is the indirect object here – he is not what is being written; rather, he is the
recipient of that object. A Pedro can be replaced by the indirect object pronoun le,
placed before the verb:
Le escribí. [I wrote him.]
Here are all the direct [DO] and indirect [IO] object pronouns. Note that they are
translated the same in English.
DO Pronouns
IO Pronouns
English
me
me
me
te
te
You (familiar, singular)
lo, la
le
Him, her, it, you (singular, formal)
nos
nos
Us
os
os
You (plural, familiar)
Los, las
les
Them, you (plural, formal)
Some sentences have both an indirect and a direct object
pronoun. The indirect object comes before the direct
object pronoun.
Examples:
Ella me los manda. [She sends them to me.] IO: me DO:
los
Nosotros te la damos. [We give it to you.] IO: te DO: la
¿Quién nos los vende? [Who sells them to us?] IO: nos
DO: los
If you need to use the direct object lo/la/los/las and the
indirect object le in the same sentence, le changes to se.
This helps avoid the choppiness of having two short
words starting with "l" next to each other.
Examples:
Se la escribí. [I wrote it to him.] IO: se Do: la
Nosotros se los buscamos. [We are looking for them for
her.] IO: se DO: los
Siempre se los doy. [I always give them to him.] IO: se
DO: los
In sentences with two verbs, you also have the option of
attaching the pronouns to the end of the infinitive. The
IO still precedes the DO, and if the addition of syllables
changes the stress of the word, add an accent.
Examples:
Nosotros te lo podemos explicar. [We can explain it to
you.] IO: te DO: lo
Nosotros podemos explicártelo. [We can explain it to
you.] IO: te DO: lo
Se la debo mandar. [I should send it to her.] IO: se DO:
la
Debo mandársela. [I should send it to her.] IO: se DO: la
In negative sentences, the negative word comes directly
before the first pronoun.
Examples:
No se la escribí. [I didn't write it to him.] IO: se DO: la
Nadie me las compra. [No one buys them for me.] IO: se
DO: la
In negative sentences with pronouns added to an
infinitive, the negative word is placed in front of the verb
as usual.
Examples:
Nosotros no podemos explicártelo. [We can't explain it to
you.] IO: te DO: lo
No debo mandársela. [I shouldn't send it to her.] I: se
DO: la
Because it is easy to lose track of which pronoun stands
for which person or item, often clarifying phrases are
added to the end.
Se lo digo. [I tell it to… {whom is unclear.}] IO: se DO:
lo
Se lo digo a él. [I tell it to him.] IO: se... a él DO: lo
Se lo digo a Juanita. [I tell it to Juanita.] IO: se... a
Juanita DO: lo
Se lo digo a usted. [I tell it to you.] IO: se.. a usted DO:
lo
Using the Preterite AND the Imperfect Tense
The Imperfect Tense and The Preterite Tense are both ways to talk about actions
that happened in the past. Learning when to use which is one of the more
frustrating things a Spanish student has to do because we just don't think the same
way in English. We have only one past tense conjugation
I went fishing.
What's the time frame of this action? Clearly the fishing took place in the past.
However, we don't know anything more about the situation than that, do we? For
example: did the fishing occur once or many times?
To get across to the reader or listener important information such as when or how
often this event occurred we have to add some extra information:
I went fishing yesterday.
I went fishing every morning at sunrise.
In the first sentence we know not only when this action happened but that it only
happened once. In the second we know this event happened repeatedly.
Most of the decision to use either the preterite or the imperfect boils down to the
difference in the two example sentences above. In Spanish, information as to
whether the event happened once or went on for awhile is "built-in" to the
conjugation you choose.
Let's start with the imperfect...
When to Use the Imperfect Tense
Note: For this lesson imperfect conjugations will be indicated like this: imperfect
conjugation
Repeated, Usual, Habitual Actions
We mainly use the imperfect tense when talking about repeated, usual, or habitual
actions in the past:
Los sábados yo jugaba con mi vecino.
On Saturdays I played with my neighbor.
Usualmente él llegaba temprano.
He usually arrived early.
Mi madre siempre me preparaba desayuno.
My mother would always prepare breakfast for me.
In the first example we use the imperfect jugaba (rather than the preterite jugué)
because we see this happened repeatedly, over the course of many Saturdays. In
the second we use the imperfect llegaba (rather than the preterite llegó) because we
know from the context that this was a usual activity. And in the third we use
preparaba (rather than preparó) because this was a habitual action that happened
often.
Words such as "always," "frequently," "generally," "never," "often," "usually"
"used to" and "would" clue us into the fact that we should use the imperfect.
Background Information
We use the imperfect to describe the setting or provide background information
such as what people, places, or conditions were like at some unspecified time in
the past:
La ciudad era vieja y sucia.
The city was old and dirty.
La sirenita se llamaba Ariel y tenía seis hermanas.
The little mermaid was named Ariel and she had six sisters.
Times and Ages
We also use the imperfect to state the time and people's ages in the past:
Isabel tenía ocho años.
Isabel was eight years old.
Era la una de la mañana.
It was one in the morning.
Ongoing Actions
See also:
The Imperfect Progressive
Additionally, use the imperfect to describe actions that were ongoing or in progress
in the unspecified past. This is roughly equivalent to using the imperfect
progressive. In these sentences, when the action began or ended is unimportant, it
just happened to be occurring at that moment:
Rosa hacía su tarea a las 9:00.
Rosa was doing her homework at 9:00.
Yo dibujaba durante la clase de arte.
I was drawing during art class.
Translating the Imperfect
Because in English we only have one past tense conjugation, we often have to
resort to adding additional words to get our exact meaning across. Consider these
sentences. All three could be translated the same way in Spanish (and vice versa):
I walked on Sundays.
I would walk on Sundays.
↔
Yo caminaba los domingos.
I used to walk on Sundays.
When to Use the Preterite Tense
Note: For this lesson preterite conjugations will be indicated like this: preterite
conjugation
Single, Completed Actions
If the imperfect is primarily used to describe actions that happened over and over
again, what is the preterite used for? You're right! To talk about single, completed
actions that took place at specific points in time:
El sábado yo jugué con mi vecino.
On Saturday I played with my neighbor.
Ayer él llegó temprano.
Yesterday he arrived early.
Mi madre me preparó desayuno esta mañana.
My mother prepared breakfast for me this morning.
Since the actions referred to in these examples are one-time events, we choose the
preterite. In the first case we use the preterite jugué (instead of jugaba) because the
playing we're referring to only occurred once, on Saturday. Likewise, in the second
case we choose the preterite llegó (instead of llegaba) because we're referring to
one arrival, yesterday. And lastly, mother prepared breakfast once, this morning.
Time cues such as a specific season, month, day, or time of day indicate that we
should be using the preterite.
What if…?
What if you have both a repeated action and a definite timeframe? Use the preterite
when a completed action is repeated a specific number of times. For example:
Fui al aeropuerto tres veces ayer.
I went to the airport three times yesterday.
What if there isn't a definite timeframe in the sentence, but it's implied by context?
A preterite sentence doesn't necessarily have to include a time reference (as in the
second sentence below):
Ayer hice mi tarea. También miré dos películas.
Yesterday I did my homework. I also watched two movies.
The Imperfect vs. The Preterite
Differences in Meaning
This might be a good time talk about why it's called the "imperfect" tense. It
doesn't have anything to do with quality, but rather the idea that the action is
"incomplete;" it doesn't have a specific beginning or end. Because we're using the
imperfect and not attaching a definite timeframe to these actions, we're indicating
that when they began and when (or if) they ended is unknown or unimportant. For
example:
Marcos se sentía enfermo.
La plaza estaba decorada para la fiesta.
Esmeralda tenía que regresar a casa.
El tiempo hacía frío.
"Marcos was feeling sick." (We don't know exactly when he started feeling bad or
if he's now feeling better.) "The plaza was decorated for the party." (Who knows
for how long?) "Esmeralda was supposed to return home." (We're not sure when or
if she did.) "The weather was cold." (When or if the weather changed isn't
important.)
On the other hand…
Let's look at the same examples, this time with preterite conjugations and definite
timeframes. Now we are explicitly stating when the action started (or ended), and
therefore indicating that the timeframe is important. Because of this we are subtly
indicating that a change has occurred:
La semana pasada Marcos se sintió enfermo.
La plaza estuvo decorada por un mes.
Esmeralda tuvo que regresar a casa el martes.
El tiempo hizo frío hace dos días.
"Last week Marcos got sick." (Marcos started feeling sick last week.) "The plaza
was decorated for one month." (But it isn't anymore.) "Esmeralda had to return
home on Tuesday." (And she did.) The weather was cold two days ago." (But it's
much warmer now.)
Note: Due to their meanings, some verbs tend to be conjugated in the imperfect
tense and some verbs are more naturally preterite. Because the verb soler means
"to usually" or "to be in the habit of" it cannot be used in the preterite.
Due to the differences in emphasis between a preterite and imperfect conjugation,
some verbs will have significant differences in meaning when translated.
Hopefully by now these variations will make some sense to you. Notice how the
preterite tends to signal a change:
imperfect:
preterite:
conocer:
Conocía a Ana.
Conocí a Ana.
poder:
no poder:
querer:
no querer:
saber:
tener:
I knew Ana.
I met Ana.
Podía salir.
Pude salir.
I was able to leave.
I managed to leave.
No podía terminar.
No pude terminar.
I was not able to finish.
I failed to finish.
Quería hablar.
Quise hablar.
I wanted to speak.
I tried to speak.
No quería leer.
No quise leer.
I didn't want to read.
I refused to read.
Sabía el razón.
Supe el razón.
I knew the reason.
I found out the reason.
Tenía guantes.
Tuve guantes.
I had gloves.
I got gloves.
The Imperfect & the Preterite Together
See also:
The Imperfect Progressive
It's not at all uncommon to have both preterite and imperfect conjugations in the
same sentence. In fact, it happens a lot. The imperfect (or the imperfect
progressive) is used to explain what has happening when a preterite action
occurred:
Los perros dormían cuando Carlos entró.
The dogs were sleeping when Carlos entered.
Cuando llegaron a la carretera el tiempo hacía calor.
When they reached the highway the weather was hot.
Yo me caí mientras que estábamos corriendo.
I fell while we were running.
For Visual Learners
If you're still having trouble with the imperfect and the preterite, sometimes it can
be advantageous to imagine a timeline. On the right side is the present (we'll ignore
the future for now). Toward the left is the past.
If you know with any certainty when the action happened, you should be able to
pinpoint on the timeline (with an arrow) exactly when it happened. For example:
On Saturday his friend went to the baseball game.
On the other hand, if you find it difficult to pin down, you may have to indicate
only an indefinite range (with a squiggly line) of the action. For example:
His friend was a good baseball player.
So, what good does this do us? Whenever you would draw an arrow you should
use the preterite; whenever you would draw a squiggly line you should use the
imperfect. Like this:
El sábado su amigo fue al partido de béisbol.
Su amigo era un buen jugador de béisbol.
One more example:
Esperanza broke her arm when she was a girl.
This sentence has two verbs which will both go on the timeline: "Esperanza broke
her arm" and "Esperanza was a girl." One of the verbs was a one-time event, the
other was a situation with an indefinite time frame so we'll use both an arrow and a
squiggly line.
Therefore:
Esperanza rompió su brazo cuando era niña.
Imperfect vs. Preterite: A Final Note
One of the reasons learning when to use the preterite or the imperfect is so difficult
is that it's not an exact science. Sometimes you can switch from one tense to the
other without substantially changing the meaning of the sentence. Other times
you'll completely change the meaning. There may be times when reading Spanish
that you won't be able to tell why the author used the conjugation he or she did
because it won't seem to follow any of the rules. Just roll with it. As you get more
and more used to reading Spanish you'll be able to pick up on the subtle nuances
that let you know why a verb is conjugated the way it is.
Al volver al colegio después la vacación
1. Realidades 2 Manos a la obra página 190
Vocabulario y gramática en repaso también se dice...
2. A Primera Vista Vocabulario y gramática en contexto
Página 186 El Mundo - y
3. Página 187
Más vocabulario
La guardería infantil
Vocabulario
4. AR verbs, Er and Ir verbs REGULAR
Realidades 2 página 194 and on this Web Site
5. Irregular verbs in El Imperfecto- SER IR and VER
Realidades 2 página 196 and on the website
Indirect Object Pronouns
Remember - me te le nos os les
8. Videos from other students using the Imperfect Tense
1. El Imperfect: Part I
In a previous lesson, you learned that the imperfect is used for past
actions that are not seen as completed. Use of the imperfect tense
implies that the past action did not have a definite beginning or a definite
end. You also learned how to conjugate regular -ar verbs. In this lesson,
you will learn how to conjugate -er and -ir verbs, and become more
familiar with the uses of the imperfect.
To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the imperfect, simply drop the ending
(-ar) and add one of the following:
aba
abas
aba
ábamos
abais
aban
To conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the imperfect, simply drop the
ending (-er or -ir) and add one of the following:
ía
ías
ía
íamos
íais
ían
Here are all three regular imperfect verb forms together:
hablar
comer
vivir
hablaba
comía
vivía
hablabas
comías
vivías
hablaba
comía
vivía
hablábamos comíamos vivíamos
hablabais
comíais
vivíais
hablaban
comían
vivían
The imperfect is used for actions that were repeated habitually.
Almorzábamos juntos todos los días.
We would lunch together every day.
Las señoras siempre charlaban por las mañanas.
The ladies would always chat in the mornings.
The imperfect is used for actions that "set the stage" for another action.
Yo leía cuando entró mi papá.
I was reading when my papa entered. (note that "entered" is preterite)
The imperfect is used for telling time and stating one's age.
Eran las siete de la noche.
It was seven o'clock at night.
La niña tenía cinco años.
The little girl was five years old.
The above examples all fall within our general rule for using the
imperfect:
EL IMPERFECTO Part I
The imperfect is used for past actions
that are not seen as completed
Something that was happening…
Something that happened often…
Imperfect: regular -er
-ía
-ías
-ía
-íamos
-íais
-ían
comía, comías, comía, comíamos, comíais, comían
Imperfect: regular -ir
-ía
-ías
-ía
-íamos
-íais
-ían
vivía, vivías, vivía, vivíamos, vivíais, vivían
More examples of the
Imperfect Tense in Spanish
Note that the yo and él forms are identical; if the context leaves ambiguity as to
which person was doing the action, be sure to use the pronoun.
Ir, ser, and ver are the only irregular verbs in the imperfecto.
Ir - to go
yo iba
nosotros íbamos
tú ibas
vosotros ibais
él iba
ellos
iban
Ser - to be
yo era
nosotros éramos
tú eras vosotros erais
él era
ellos
eran
Hablar - to talk
Ver - to see
yo veía
nosotros veíamos
tú veías vosotros veíais
él veía
ellos
yo hablaba
nosotros hablábamos
tú hablabas vosotros hablabais
él hablaba
ellos
hablaban
veían
Comer - to eat
yo comía
nosotros comíamos
tú comías
vosotros comíais
él comía
ellos
comían
Vivir - to live
El pretérito y el imperfecto:
yo vivía
nosotros vivíamos
tú vivías
vosotros vivíais
él vivía
ellos
vivían
The usage of the preterite and the imperfect is one of the
most difficult aspects of Spanish for an English-speaker.
Essentially, both the preterite and the imperfect are past
tenses, much as the way "he did" and "he was doing" both
express past action in English. The deciding factor
between the two tenses is a characteristic of verbs not
frequently talked about in English: aspect.
Every action has a beginning, a middle, and an end. When
one wishes to focus on the middle of an action, the action
is on-going, that is, nothing changes radically (which is
not to say that nothing happens). For example, "he was
eating" indicates the "middle" of the action of eating in
the past. We don't know when he started to eat or when he
finished (or even if he finished). We just know that at a
certain time in the past, he was in the middle of eating.
This focus on the middle of an action is called the
imperfective aspect. Not surprisingly, it is associated
with the imperfect tense in Spanish, for example:
hablaba
I was speaking
viajábamos we used to travel
estaban
they were
In each case, there is no notion that the action began or
ended, only that at some point it was on-going. Notice,
however, that English has three different, common ways
to indicate the imperfect: the past progressive ("was
speaking") to show that a single action continued, the
"used to" construction to show that a series of separate
actions continued, and the simple past, used particularly
with verbs that show state of mind or body ("was,"
"thought," etc.) as ongoing in the past.
If the imperfect is used to denote the middle of an action,
the preterite is used to indicate the beginning or the end of
an action. Sometimes it requires some thought to
determine which part of the action is being described. For
example, "The telephone rang at 8 last night" sounds like
an action that is over and therefore we are describing the
end of it. But the point of view is always some point in
the past, in this case, at 8 last night. At that time, the
telephone began to ring. It wasn't ringing at 7:59, but it
very well might have rung until 8:01 or 8:02. When one
says, "I shut the door," on the other hand, by the time one
says that, the door is already shut; the action has been
completed.
There are many other ways to describe when one should
use the imperfect or the preterite, but all of them are just
different ways of describing the aspect of the verb in
question. For example, one usually uses the imperfect to
describe background (ongoing) actions and states, or
something that was going on when another action
interrupted. Likewise, the preterite is used to describe a
series of discrete actions that occurred in sequence and
then were over. Of course, there are always some uses
that do not necessarily fit the rule, such as the fact that
one always tells time in the imperfect ("era la una"), and
there are even some verbs whose meaning (or at least
whose translation) changes when one uses one tense or
the other. Here are a few examples; note that the standard
meaning is the one reflected by the imperfect:
Verb
Preterite
Imperfect
saber
supe - "I found out" sabía - "I knew"
conocer conocí - "I met"
conocía - "I knew"
querer
quería - "I wanted"
quise - "I tried"
In short, to express what was happening, What
happened many times-often..... use the
IMPERFECTO in Spanish
More Review of the Pretérito
El Pretérito
The Preterite tense is used to indicate a completed action in
the past. something that was completed-finished in the past
Verbos regulares
-AR
-é
-aste
-ó
-amos
-asteis
-aron
Verbos -er e -ir regulares
-í
-iste
-ió
-imos
-isteis
-ieron
______________________________________
Verbos irregulares
IRREGULAR CASES IN PRETÉRITO
Case I
irregular
below
DAR
Di
Diste
Dio
dimos
disteis
dieron
VER
Vi
Viste
Vio
Vimos
Visteis
Vieron
Case II irregular
Caer
Caí
Caíste
Cayó
Caímos
Caísteis
Cayeron.
OIR
Oí
Oíste
Oyó
Oímos
Oísteis
Oyeron
CREER
Creí
Creíste
Creyó
Creímos
Creísteis
Creyeron
LEER
Leí
Leíste
Leyó
Leímos
Leísteis
leyeron
Case II also has-
All –uir verbs
Construir
Influir.....
Construir
Construí
Construíste
Construyó
Construímos
Construísteis
Construyeron
Case III SER AND IR
Fui
Fuiste
Fue
Fuimos
Fuisteis
Fueron
Ser
Fuí
Fuiste
Fué
Fuimos
Fuisteis
Fueron
JOTA group
Case IV
Jota group
All –cir verbs take the “J”
Decir
Dije
Dijste
dijo
dijimos
dijisteis
dijeron
TRAER goes with the case
IV verbs
Traje
Trajiste
Trajo
Trajimos
Trajisteis
Trajeron
Case
V
ESTAR
“V” group
TENER
Estar
ESTUVE
ESTUVISTE
ESTUVO
ESTUVIMOS
ESTUVISTEIS
ESTUVIERON
ANDAR
ANDUVE
ANDUVISTE
ANDUVO
ANDUVIMOS
ANDUVISTEIS
ANDUVIERON
ANDAR
TENER
TUVE
TUVISTE
TUVO
TUVIMOS
TUVISTEIS
TUVIERON
Case VI Los independientes
Poner
Puse
Pusiste
Puso
Pusimos
Pusisteis
Pusieron
Poder
Pude
Pudiste
Pudo
Pudimos
Pudisteis
Pudieron
Venir
Vine
Viniste
Vino
Vinimos
Vinisteis
Vinieron
Hacer
Hice
Hiciste
Hizo
Hicimos
Hicisteis
Hicieron
Saber:
to know a fact
Not used in conversation
In spoken Spanish it is used to mean
“to have found out....!”
Supe
Supiste
Supo
Supimos
Supisteis
supieron
knowing is a process
Saber- In order to say that you
“knew....something” you must use
th eimperfect tense form of the
verb
Sabía
Sabías
Sabía
Sabíamos
Sabíais
sabían
Yo no sabía la respuesta.
Querer - to want
You can not use the preperite form of the verb
QUERER since ¨wanting¨ implies an on going
sense of desire......
In conversational Spanish you must use the
Imperfect form of the conjugation to indicate
“wanting...or wanted”
Preterite form of the verb
Quise
Quisiste
Quiso
Quisimos
Quisisteis
Qusieron
QUERER
In spoken Spanish this means to have refused
when the word NO comes before each conjugate.
Yo no quise ir. I refused to go.
No qusimos ir de compras.We refused to go shopping.
No quise
No quisiste
No quiso
Ni quisimos
No quisisteis
No quisieron
To expres “I wanted, you
wanted, he/she wanted....”
you must use the imperfect
form of the verb querer.
Quería
Querías
Quería
Queríamos
Queríais
Querían
Yo quería estudiar en la biblioteca.
I wanted to study in the library.
Dormir
Dormí
Dormiste
Durmió
Dormimos
Dormisteis
Durmieron
PEDIR
Pedí
Pediste
Pidió
Pedimos
Pedisteis
Pidieron
Other e to i stem-changing verbs.....
Servir reir pedir dormir sonrei.........
________________________________________
Case VIII
-Car
qué
-Gar
GUÉ
-Zar
CÉ
in the yo form
Tocar
Toqué
Tocaste
Tocó
Tocamos
Tocasteis
tocaron
-GAR verbs
LLEGAR
Llegué
Llegaste
Llegó
Llegamos
Llegasteis
llegaron
-ZAR verbs
Empezar
Empecé
Empezaste
empezó
Empezamos
Empezasteis
Empezaron
MINI-Lección
Del QUADERNO DE CASA- HOME JOURNAL
Content – contenidos
Reflexive verbs
Objective- To tell someone what time you wake up, get out
of bed and what time you get ready for school.
1. Reflexive verbs are verbs in which the subject is the direct
recipient of the action of the verb in active voice.
There is no OBJECT in the sentence since the ¨subject¨plays
that role.
María sees herself in the mirror.
She is seeing herself. The action of SEEING reflects back to the
subject María.
Reflexive verbs use the reflexive pronouns.
Me te se nos os se
2. Reflexive pronouns
Me Te Se -
myself
yourself familiar
youself formal
Himself
Herself
Nos - ourselves
Os - yourselves
Se - Yourselves formal, themselves.
3. verbs to be used to describe your morning routine
Despertarse
Levantarse
Bañarse
Secarse
Vestirse or ponerse la ropa
Desayunarse
4. The conclusion the lesson and results
More on Reflexive VerbsReflexive Verbs: Part I
A verb is reflexive when the subject and the object are the
same.
I wash myself.
subject: I
verb: wash
object: myself
Since the subject and object are the same, the verb is
reflexive.
I wash the car.
subject: I
verb: wash
object: car
Since the subject and object are different, the verb is
not reflexive.
Here's another example of how a verb can be either
reflexive or non-reflexive.
I scratch myself.
subject: I
verb: scratch
object: myself
Since the subject and object are the same, the verb is
reflexive.
I scratch the dog.
subject: I
verb: scratch
object: dog
Since the subject and object are different, the verb is
not reflexive.
When a verb is reflexive, the infinitive ends in "se."
lavar
to wash (non-reflexive)
lavarse
to wash oneself (reflexive)
rascar
to scratch (non-reflexive)
rascarse
to scratch oneself (reflexive)
There is one reflexive verb you have been using since you
began studying Spanish.
llamarse - to call oneself
¿Cómo se llama usted?
What do you call yourself?
Me llamo Juan.
I call myself Juan.
Note: A more "natural" translation would be "What is
your name?" and "My name is Juan."
When you learned to conjugate regular verbs, you needed
to learn a set of pronouns called "subject pronouns."
lavar
yo lavo
tú lavas
él, ella, usted lava
nosotros/as lavamos
vosotros/as laváis
ellos, ellas, ustedes lavan
To learn to conjugate reflexive verbs, you need to learn a
different set of pronouns called "reflexive pronouns."
These pronouns are positioned before the verb, while the
ending "se" is dropped and the verb is conjugated
normally.
lavarse
yo me lavo
I wash (myself)
tú te lavas
you wash (yourself) (informal)
él se lava
he washes (himself)
ella se lava
she washes (herself)
usted se lava
you wash (yourself) (formal)
nosotros nos lavamos
we wash (ourselves)
nosotras nos lavamos
we wash (ourselves) (feminine)
vosotros os laváis
you-all wash (yourselves) (informal)
vosotras os laváis
you-all wash (yourselves) (informal, feminine)
ustedes se lavan
you-all wash (yourselves)(formal)
ellos se lavan
they wash (themselves)
ellas se lavan
they wash (themselves) (feminine)
The reflexive pronouns are not subject pronouns; rather
they are object pronouns.
me (myself)
te (yourself)
se (himself, herself, yourself)
nos (ourselves)
os (yourselves)
se (themselves, yourselves)
The purpose of the reflexive object pronouns is to show
that the action of the verb remains with the subject.
Juan se lava la cara.
Juan washes his face. (reflexive)
Juan lava su carro. (non-reflexive)
Juan washes his car.
Note: When referring to body parts, use the definite
article, thus "la cara" not "su cara."
Note that many, many verbs can be made reflexive. All it
means when a verb is reflexive is that the action remains
with the subjec
wash the dog (non-reflexive)
wash your face (reflexive)
raise the book (non-reflexive)
raise your arm (reflexive)
put the baby to bed (non-reflexive)
go to bed (reflexive)
wake up your son (non-reflexive)
wake up yourself (reflexive)
...and so on
Yo me despierto a las siete de la
mañana-
Me levanto
Me baño
Me seco
Me visto
Me desayuno
Otro ejemplo de una mini-lección
HOME JOURNAL
Stem changing verbs
Verbos de Cambio de raíz
I want to say that María closes the door.
Content-contenidos
Stem-changing verbs Cambios de Raíz.
Objective
To say that María closes the door
Method/ la lección
1. Stem changing
verbs
The verb E - ie
STEM CHANGING VERBS
stem change
Verbos de CAMBIO
CERRAR
Conjugate the verb- e-ie
CERRAR
Cierro
Cierras
Cierra
Cerramos
Cerráis
Cierran
The word DOOR is PUERTA
RAÍZ
The conclusion-
María cierra la puerta.
Cambios de Raíz
EMPEZAR
Empiezo
Empiezas
Empieza
Empezamos
Empezais
Empiezan
Despertarse
Me despierto
Te despiertas
Se despierta
Nos despertamos
Os despertais
Se despiertan
Possessive Adjectives
Mi
Tu
Su
Nuestro nuestra
Vuestro vuestra
su
Adjectives agree in gender
and in number with the nouns
they describe!
Joan es alto.
Joana es alta.
María y Josep son altos.
María y Joana son altas.
El chico es gracioso.
El chico es gordo.
La chica es bonita.
La chica es baja.
Mi casa es su casa.
Exceptions to the gender agreement law
Josep es popular
María es popular.
María es inteligente.
Marco es inteligente.
TENER + QUE + INFINITIVO = to have to…..
WHEN YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC HOUR GIVEN
Time: de la mañana = in the morning
de la tarde = in the afternoon
de la noche = at night/in the evening
Time: When NO hour is given- in general
Por la mañana
Por la tarde
Por la noche
Indirect Object Pronouns Again in REVIEW!
Don´t forget
HOME JOURNALS!!!!!!!!
5 to 10 minutes - at least 5 minutes per
night-
TAREA
Realidades 4A
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡BUENA SUERTE TO ALL!!!!!!!