Español II- Repaso del examen final
SER VS. ESTAR
Ser and Estar are verbs that both mean “to be”. However, they are used very
differently.
Ser- is used for more permanent states of being. One way to remember the
use of Ser is with the acronym DIDOP.
D- Description (physical features and personality traits)
I- Identity (race, religion, nationality, status, affiliation, gender)
D- Date and Time (telling time and saying the date, year, month, season)
O- Origin (saying where you are from- use with the word “de”)
P- Profession (your job and/or title...do not use with articles Ex: Yo soy
profesora)
SER- to be
Yo
soy
Nosotros
somos
Tú
eres
Vosotros
sois
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
Son
Él
Ella Es
Usted
ESTAR- also means “to be”, but is used for less permanent states of
being- specifically for feelings and location (which always
change)
“What you feel and where you are, always use the verb ESTAR”
Estar- to be
Yo estoy
Nosotros estamos
Tú estás
Vosotros estais
Él
Ella está
Usted
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
están
** Do not forget accent marks! Without them you are changing the meaning
of the words! **
ESTAR EXPRESSIONS
The following are expressions that use the verb Estar. Remember that you
must conjugate Estar for your subject.
Estar + Bien/ mal - to be (feeling) good or bad
Estar + Enfermo/a - to be sick
Estar + Cansado/a - to be tired
Estar + Abierto/ cerrado - to be open/ closed
Estar + Triste - to be sad
Estar + Contento/a - to be content and happy
Estar + Sucio/ limpio - to be dirty/ clean
Estar + Listo/a - to be ready
Estar + Caliente/ frío - to be warm/ cold (to the touch)
Estar + Nervioso/a - to be nervous
Example: Ella está contenta hoy - she is happy today
TENER
Tener is an irregular verb that means “to have”.
We use tener to show possession and also to state our age.
Tener is a yo-go verb…. Meaning that there is a “go” in the “yo” form.
Tener is also a stem changing verb in the present tense.
e  ie when conjugated in all forms except the nosotros form!
Tener- to have
Yo tengo
Nosotros tenemos
Tú tienes
Vosotros teneis
Él
Ella tiene
Usted
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
tienen
Example: Yo tengo 18 años – I am 18 years old. (Literal: I have 18 years)
Tener Expressions
Many expressions use the verb Tener. Remember that you must conjugate
Tener for your subject.
Tener + Miedo – to be afraid
Tener + Hambre- to be hungry
Tener + Prisa – to be in a hurry
Tener + Dolor- to have pain
Tener + Cuidado – to be careful
Tener + que – to have to
Tener + Suerte – to be lucky
Tener + Sed – to be thirsty
Possessive Adjectives
Mi/ mis – my
Tu/ tus - your
Su/ sus - his/ her/ your (formal)
Nuestro/ nuestra/ nuestros/ nuestras – our
Vuestro/ vuestra/ vuestros/ vuestras - all of your (informal)
Su/ sus – their/ all of your (formal)
**Be sure that your possession words match in gender and number to the
item(s) which are being possessed. **
Example:
Nuestra abuela se llama Rosa. – Our grandmother is named Rosa.
Sus sombreros son rojos. – Their hats are red.
Nuestros amigos son viejos. – Our friends are old.
Yo- Go and Irregular “yo” forms
In the present tense, there are many verbs which have an irregular “yo”
form. Some of these are called “yo-go” verbs because they have a “go” in
the yo form.
Tener- tengo
Hacer- hago
Estar- estoy
Salir- salgo
Poner- pongo
Dar- doy
Venir- vengo
Ir- voy
Decir- digo
Oír- oigo
Ser- soy
Stem-Changing Verbs (present tense)
Infinitive: An un-conjugated verb that still has its –ar, -er, or –ir ending
Stem: What is left after we drop our ending; the root of the verb
Ending: has to be either –ar, -er, or –ir when un-conjugated
Stem-changing verbs in the present tense verbs that require another step
when conjugating them. This means that after you drop off your ending, you
must make a spelling change in the stem before you add your ending.
**The only forms that do not stem change are the nosotros and vosotros
forms!** (boot verbs)
There are three types of stem-changers:
e  ie (if there is more an 1 e in the verb, usually the second one changes)
ei
o  ue
Here is a list of common stem-changing verbs (In the present tense):
e ie
e i
O ue
Tener
Almorzar
Pedir
Venir
Dormir
Decir
Empezar
Poder
Vestirse
Despertarse
Costar
Pensar
Acostarse
Nevar
Llover
Preferir
Example: Ella almuerza en el café.
** Jugar- u changes to ue**
Reflexives Verbs
Are verbs in which the subject is also receiving the action…. In other words,
they are verbs or actions that one does to oneself.
You can tell that a verb is reflexive when it has a “se” attached to the end of
an infinitive
Example: Ducharse
There are 2 parts to a reflexive verb:
1) A reflexive pronoun (states the person who receives the action)
2) The verb (the action)
Reflexive Pronouns
Me
Nos
Te
Os
Se
Se
To conjugate a reflexive verb:
1. Move the “se” off the infinitive and move it to the front
2. Change the “se” to the appropriate reflexive pronoun to match its subject
3. Conjugate the reflexive verb according to the subject (be careful for
stem changing reflexive verbs + be sure to use the correct tense)
Example:
ducharse (yo)
1.Yo se duchar
2. Yo me duchar
3. Yo me ducho – I shower (myself)
Reflexives in the Infinitive
When reflexive verbs directly follow another verb or the words “antes de”
(before) and “despúes de” (after) you must leave the verb in the infinitive
but change the pronoun attached on the end to match its subject.
Example:
Me gusta bañarme – I like to bathe
Antes de ducharme, yo me seco.
Despúes de cepillarnos, nosotros nos arreglamos.
The verb IR
Ir is an irregular verb which means “to go”. You can also use Ir to express an
idea in the future (simple future tense) by stating that you are going to do
something.
The verb Ir is almost always followed by “a” which means “to”
IR- to go
Yo voy
Tú vas
Él
Ella va
Usted
Nosotros vamos
Vosotros vais
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
van
The formula for stating an action you will do in the future is:
Ir + a + infinitive
Example: Ellos van a dormir- they are going to sleep
Gustar
Gustar is also a unique verb. There are only 2 forms of Gustar in any tense
that you may use … a singular conjugation and a plural (3rd person)
conjugation.
Gustar literally means “to be pleasing to” however we usually translate it to
“to like”.
Gustar also uses pronouns when conjugated- this tells us who the item or
activity is pleasing to.
Pronouns
Me
Nos
Te
Os
Le
Les
+
Gusta: 1 noun or an infinitive
(libro, nadar, tenis)
Or
Gustan: 2+ nouns
(las películas, las clases)
*To specify a subject or to add emphasis, you must add a personal “a”
before your subject. Note that the “yo” and “tú” forms are a little different.*
A mi me….
A ti te….
A él/ ella/ usted le…
A nosotros nos….
A vosotros os….
A ellos/ ellas/ ustedes les…
A María le…
A los estudiantes les….
A pablo y yo nos…
Examples:
A mi me gustan los zapatos - I like the shoes
A Ricardo le gusta el professor – Ricardo likes the teacher
The Preterite (Past) Tense
The preterite is one of two past tenses. The preterite is used for actions that
happened in the past during a certain time period and which are completed.
There is a definite beginning and an end to the action. Think of the
preterite as a snapshot. The endings for regular preterite verbs are as
follows:
-AR
-ER/IR
é
amos
í
imos
aste
asteis
iste
isteis
ó
aron
ió
ieron
** Be sure to always include your accent marks! They are very important
to the meaning of the verb!**
One rule to remember: If a verb stem-changes in the present, do not stem
change it in the preterite! (unless there is an exception)
Example: Yo pienso - I think
Yo pensé - I thought
-CAR, -GAR, -ZAR verbs
Verbs that have these specific endings are slightly different in the preterite
tense. These changes occur only in the “YO” FORM!
-CAR : c changes to a qu
yo toque el piano.
-GAR : g changes to a gu
yo jugué los deportes.
-ZAR : z changes to a c
yo amorcé en la cocina.
Ser and Ir in the preterite
Are irregular verbs without accents. These 2 verbs are conjugated the same
way…. speakers will know which verb you are using by the context of
your sentence.
Ser and IR
fui
fuimos
fuiste
fuisteis
fue
fueron
Examples: Ella fue al parque.
El viaje fue un desastre
She went to the park
The trip was a disaster.
Irregular Preterite
The following verbs are irregular in the preterite tense. You must
memorize their stem-changes. Once you have changed the stem, simply put
on the preterite endings you have learned.
Verb:
Stem:
Estar
estuv-
Tener
tuv-
Poner
pus-
Poder
pud-
Hacer
hic-
Decir
dij-
Querer
quis-
Saber
sup-
Venir
vin-
Dar
* is an –AR verb with –ER endings
Don’t Forget….
Date and time: always use ser
Es la una- it is 1:00
Son las ____________ - it is ___________ (use for all other times)
Media- :30
Cuarto- :15
Mediodía- noon
Medianoche- midnight
De la mañana- in the a.m
De la tarde- in the afternoon
De la noche- in the evening or night
Reloj- clock/ watch
¿Qué hora es? – what time is it
¿ A qué hora….” At what time ….
Important gender info:
Hombre- man
Mujer- woman
Chico- boy
Chica- girl
Niña- female child
Niño- male child
Articles:
Definite “the”
El
La
Los
Las
Colors:
Rojo
Azul
Verde
Blanco
Negro
Indefinite “a/ some”
Un
Una
Unos
Unas
Amarillo
Anaranjado
Gris
Violeta
Rosado
Cafe
Oro
Plata
Marrón
Weather/ Seasons (El tiempo y las estaciones)
¿Qué tiempo hace? What is the weather like?
Hace…
Sol
Viento
Buen tiempo
Mal tiempo
Calor
Frío
Fresco
Llueve
Nieva
está nublado
Las 4 estaciones:
La primavera
El verano
El invierno
El ontoño
(never capitalize these)
Question words:
¿Quién? – who
¿Por qué? – why
Dónde? – where
¿A dónde?- to where
¿ Cuál?- which
¿De dónde? – from where
¿Cómo? – how
¿Cuándo?- when
¿Cuántos?- how many/ much
¿ Qué?- what
**Tips for the final exam**
1. To make better sentences… be sure to include adjectives and as much
information as you can. (Who, what, where, why, when, how)
Example: Yo compré una camisa- 4 words
Vs.
Yo compré una camisa verde y bonita. - 7 words
2. Be sure to always look at any pictures and graphics before reading. They
will give you an idea of what the passage is discussing. Read the passage
more than once!
3. During the listening, try to pick out key words and phrases that you know.
Do not be afraid to jot words down on scrap paper as you hear them.
4. Double check for little things after writing your essays and short answers!
Proofread your work! Spelling errors, subject- verb agreement, agreement in
gender and number, accent marks… etc.
5. Be creative when you write! Make things up as you go along. Use your
imagination to make an essay a little more exciting- just be sure that it
makes sense and it stays on topic!
6. Use context clues whenever possible. These are words or phrases to help
with the understanding of the new words. If you become more aware of the
words around the difficult words you encounter in your reading, you will
have success in answering questions or you will be able to make logical
guesses about the meanings of many words.
7. Pay close attention to what the questions are asking you (this means you
better know your question words!) Be sure to answer questions completely
and in full sentences (subject + verb).
8. Never leave a question blank! Partial credit is given on the exam… do
what you can and try your best.