¡Bienvenidos!
Español III
El 3 de
septiembre
2014
La Meta
Los Verbos en repaso
A comenzar.....
Reminders:
1. Most present tense verb forms have several equivalents in English. For example, the form hablo
may be translated in numerous ways:
I speak
(customary action)
I am speaking
(action in progress)
hablo I do speak
(emphatic form)
I will speak
(near future action)
do I speak
(interrogative form)
I have been speaking (action started in the past but still in progrerss)
2. The subject pronouns that accompany these verbs are:
yo
singular
I
plural
nosotros, nosotras we
tú
you (familiar) vosotros, vosotras you all(familiar pl., Spain)
usted you (formal)
Ustedes (All of)
you
(formal)
él
he
ellos
they
(masculine or
mixed)
ella
she
ellas
they
(feminine)
3. The formal second-person forms (usted and ustedes) take third-person forms of a verb:
Ustedes hablan bien.
You (plural) speak very well.
Usted es norteamericana, no? You (sing.) are an American, right?
The formal study of the various moods and tenses of Spanish verbs will be be spread out over several
weeks of the semester, and the individual exercises will normally concentrate on the tense/mood being
studied. Nevertheless, it is assumed that you do already know all the tenses. Furthermore, you will
be required to produce many of the forms before their introduction, including subjunctive forms.
Present Indicative of Verbs - Review of Forms
A.
Regular verbs. To form the present indicative of regular verbs, drop the
infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) and add the endings given below:
-ar
-er
-ir
hablar (to speak)
comer (to eat)
vivir (to live)
hablo hablamos
como comemos
vivo vivimos
hablas habláis
comes coméis
vives vivís
habla hablan
come comen
vive viven
B. In the above examples, note that the endings for the -er and -ir verbs are
identical except for the nosotros and vosotros forms.
C.
Stem changing verbs. These verbs are also referred to
as “radical changing verbs”; the word radical in Spanish means “stem” or
“root”. The stem vowel undergoes a change when it is stressed in the
present tense. [These verbs do not so change in any other tense —except
for -ir verbs, which experience a stem change in the -ndo form, in the
present subjunctive and in the preterit.]
1. o > ue (the stem vowel o changes to ue when stressed)
acostar (put to bed)
volver
(return, go
back)
dormir (sleep)
acuesto, acuestas, acuesta, acostamos,
acostáis, acuestan
vuelvo, vuelves, vuelve, volvemos, volvéis,
vuelven
duermo, duermes, duerme, dormimos,
dormís, duermen
2. Similar verbs: acordarse (remember), almorzar (eat lunch), apostar
(bet), contar (count, relate), costar (cost), encontrar (find), llover
(rain), morir (die), mover (move), oler (smell), poder (be able),
probar (try, prove), recordar (remember), rogar (beg), sonar
(sound), soñar (dream), volar (fly).
3. e > ie (the stem vowel e changes to ie when stressed):
empezar (begin)
empiezo, empiezas, empieza, empezamos,
empezáis, empiezan
querer
(want) quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren
sentir
(feel)
siento, sientes, siente, sentimos, sentís, sienten
4. Similar verbs: advertir (notice), atravesar (cross), calentar (heat),
cerrar (close), comenzar (begin), convertir (convert), defender
(defend), despertar (awaken), divertir (amuse), empezar (begin),
gobernar (govern), herir (injure), pensar (think), perder (lose)
querer (want), sentir (feel, regret), tropezar (stumble).
5. e > i (the stem vowel e changes to i when stressed; -ir verbs only):
pedir (request, ask for) pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden
6. Similar verbs: competir (compete), conseguir (get), corregir
(correct), derretir (melt), despedir (fire, say goodbye), elegir (elect),
medir (measure), reír (laugh), servir (serve), seguir (follow,
continue), sonreír (smile), repetir (repeat), vestir (dress).
7. u > ue (the stem vowel u changes to ue when stressed [in the verb
jugar only]):
jugar
(play [a game or
sport])
juego, juegas, juega, jugamos, jugáis,
juegan
D. Verbs with an irregular first person singular (yo) form. [Note that all of these verbs will also
have special forms for the present subjunctive, since present subjunctive forms are based on the
first person singular.]
1. c > zc in the yo form:
conocer (know, be aquainted with [people
or places])
conozco, conoces, conoce, conocemos,
conocéis, conocen
2. This is the usual pattern for verbs whose infinitive ends in -cer or -cir: acontecer
(happen), agradecer (thank), amanecer (dawn), aparecer (appear), conducir (drive,
conduct), crecer (grow), enflaquecerse (get thin), enriquecerse (get rich), envejecerse
(get older), establecer (establish), merecer(deserve), nacer (be born), obedecer (obey),
ofrecer (offer), padecer (suffer), parecer (seem), permanecer (remain), producir
(produce), reducir (reduce), and traducir (translate).
3. appearance of g in the yo form:
caer
(fall)
caigo, caes, cae, caemos, caéis, caen
traer (bring)
traigo, traes, trae, traemos, traéis, traen
decir (say, tell)
*digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen
hacer (do, make)
hago, haces, hace, hacemos, hacéis, hacen
poner (put, set)
pongo, pones, pone, ponemos, ponéis, ponen
salir
(leave, go out) salgo, sales, sale, salimos, salís, salen
tener (have)
*tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen
valer (be worth)
valgo, vales, vale, valemos, valéis, valen
venir (come)
*vengo, vienes, viene, venimos, venís, vienen
4. *These are also stem changing verbs.
5. other types of yo form changes:
caber (fit [in something]) quepo, cabes, cabe, cabemos, cabéis, caben
dar
(give)
saber (know [facts])
doy, das, da, damos, dais, dan
sé, sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabéis, saben
ver
(see)
veo, ves, ve, vemos, veis, ven
E. Verbs which add an accent over a final weak vowel. The vowels i and u are “weak vowels” in
contrast to the “strong vowels” a, e, and o. When they come in contact with any other vowel
they normally form a diphthong; the addition of a written accent keeps this diphthonization
from occurring. Such accents are necessary for some verbs because the i and u are the stem
vowels:
continuar continúo, continúas, continúa, continuamos, continuáis, continúan
(“I continue, you continue”, etc. Note that the unaccented words continuo and
continua, are adjectives meaning “continuous”.)
enviar
envío, envías, envía, enviamos, enviáis, envían
(“I send, you send”, etc.)
F. Similar verbs: actuar (act), efectuar (bring about), graduar (graduate), confiar (trust), criar
(raise, bring up), esquiar (ski), vaciar (empty).
G. With most other verbs the i and u are not stem vowels, and thus form diphthongs:
copiar copio, copias, copia, copiamos, copiáis, copian
(forms of the verb “to copy”; the i is not stressed)
H. Similar verbs: anunciar (announce), apreciar (appreciate), asociar (associate), cambiar
(change), divorciar (divorce), ensuciar (dirty), estudiar (study), iniciar (initiate), limpiar
(clean), negociar (negociate), renunciar (renounce).
I. Verbs like huir. Verbs whose infinitive ends in -uir (but not -guir) insert a y in present tense
endings whenever the ending does not contain the sound “i”, that is, in all forms except for
nosotros and vosotros.
huir (flee) huyo, huyes, huye, huimos, huís, huyen
J. Verbs conjugated like huir: construir (construct), contribuir, (contribute), disminuir,
(diminish), incluir (include), influir (influence).
K. Irregular verbs. The following verbs are completely irregular (usually because of the way they
evolved from Latin) or display characteristics so rare as to be considered “irregular” for our
purposes.
estar (to be) estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están
ser
(to be) soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son
ir
(go)
oler
(smell) huelo, hueles, huele, olemos, oléis, huelen
[Oler is a stem changing verb; however, no word can begin with ue in Spanish,
so an initial h is added.]
voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van
L. Orthographic changes. Some verbs exhibit orthographic or spelling changes to maintain the
same pronunciation of the final stem consonant:
1. g > j: Verbs whose infinitive form ends in -gir change the g to j before an a or an o.
dirigir (direct) dirijo, diriges, dirige, dirigimos, dirigís, dirigen
elegir (elect) elijo, eliges, elige, elegimos, elegís, eligen
[Elegir is also a stem changing verb, where the e changes to i.]
2. More verbs in this category: corregir (correct), exigir (require), fingir (pretend), and
surgir (arise).
3. gu > g: Verbs whose infinitive form ends in -guir drop the u before an a or an o.
distinguir (distinguish) distingo, distingues, distingue, distinguimos...
4. Other verbs like this include seguir (follow, continue; e>i) and its compounds: conseguir
(get, obtain) and perseguir (pursue).
M. Invariable. There is one verb which never changes in the present tense. Hay (“there is”, “there
are”, from the infinitive haber) has only one form in the present indicative. The same form is
used for both singular and plural subjects (or complements):
Hay muchos españoles en tu clase?Are there many Spaniards in your class?
No, sólo hay uno.
No, there is only one.
N. Note: This carries over to the other tenses as well: it is only used in a singular form, even when
used with plural subjects/complements:
Había tres chicas en la esquina. There were three girls on the corner.
Hubo dos accidentes aquí ayer. There were 2 accidents here yesterday.
Usage of the present tense
Special case: The present tense with hacer in expressions of
time. As indicated at the beginning, the present tense is used to
indicate an action in progress, and this is true even if the action
began in past time but the emphasis is on the present time. This
is frequently seen with the hacer + expression of time
construction:
Hace un mes que busco una
casa nueva.
I've been looking for a new
or:
house for a month.
Busco una casa nueva desde
hace un mes.
Note that if the hace clause may be used either before or after
the main verb; if used afterwards, desde is inserted before hace.
SER y Estar
Spanish Verb Ser – "To be"
In English we know the forms of the verb "to be" without thinking. I am. You are. We are. They
are. In Spanish, each verb changes to reflect the subject of the verb, as well as the tense (such as
present, past, or future). These changes are called conjugations.
Spanish Verb
Ser — Conjunctions
The following table shows the conjugations of the verb ser in the
present tense.
Singular Subject
Plural Subject
Yo (I)
Soy
Nosotros/as (we)
Tú (familiar you)
(Vos)
eres
Vosotros/as (familiar
you all)
sois
Ud., él, ella (polite
you, he, she)
es
Uds, ellos, ellas (all of
you, them)
son
Por ejemplo:

somos
Yo soy de España
I am from Spain
Tú eres joven
You are young
Ella es profesora
She is a teacher
Nosotros somos de Nueva Zelanda
We are from New Zealand
Ustedes son muy inteligentes
You are all very intelligent
Drop the Subject
Each conjugation is so precise that you usually don't need to include
a subject at all! In Spanish you can simply say
the verb:
• Soy de España
• Eres joven
• Somos de Nueva Zelanda
Spanish Verb Ser – Whose it is and where you're from
The word "de" is widely used with the verb ser. It means "of" when
used to indicate possession and "from" when used to indicate origin.
Por ejemplo:
¿De quién es el zapato?
Whose shoe is this? Literally: "Of whom is this shoe?"
El zapato es de Mateo
It is Matthew’s shoe. Literally: "The shoe is of Matthew."
Esos son los pasaportes de mis padres
Those are my parents' passports (Literally: Those are the passports of
my parents.)
¿De dónde es Eduardo?
Where does Edward come from? Literally: "From where is Edward?"
Eduardo es de España
Edward is from Spain
Talking about What You Do for a Living
The verb ser is used to describe occupation. Note that in Spanish you
will say, "She is professor" (Ella es profesora), NOT "She is a
professor" (Ella es una profesora). When talking about occupation,
you should not include either un or una.
Por ejemplo:

José es piloto de aviones
José is an airplane pilot
Yo soy actor
I am an actor.
Ellos son estudiantes
They are students
Be Careful with "To Be" Verbs
Unlike English, there are TWO verbs for "to be" in Spanish!
ESTAR
The Spanish Verb Estar
A couple of lessons ago, we worked on the basic use of the
verb “to be.” In this lesson we take a further look.
If you wanted to say, “I am sick,” or, “I am lost,” in Spanish,
you’d be mistaken to use the “to be” verb that you previously
learned, ser. “Ser” only describes permanent or nearly
permanent states, such as being married (casado) or being tall
(alto) or skinny (flaco).
The second “to be” verb in Spanish, estar, is used to describe
location, health, or any condition that is only temporary. In the
above example, you certainly don’t expect to be sick or lost
forever.
The verb “estar” has a straight-forward conjugation in the
present tense:
Present tense of ESTAR
estoy
Yo
estás
Tú
está
Ud., él, ella
estamos
Nosotros/as
estáis
Vosotros/as
Uds., ellos, ellas están
Note the placement of the accent marks as well. While está
can mean he or she is or you are, esta means “this,” as in esta
cosa or “this thing.” The accent marks, in addition to
indicating the correct pronunciation, distinguish completely
separate words.
0
Where am I?
The most common way of asking the
location of an object, person or place is:
¿Dónde está…?
This means, Where is…?
For example:
¿Dónde está el servicio? - Where is the bathroom?
¿Dónde está mi coche? - Where is my car?
¿Dónde está el hotel? - Where is the hotel?
If you want to understand the answer, you need to learn some
basic direction and location words.
Important Direction Words


For example:

Forming DEL from DE and EL
Remember that the word de means of? Except for adelante,
entre, and en, all the above direction words require de if they are
followed by an object. For example:
a la izquierda de la calle
principal to the left of the principal
street
delante de la tienda
in front of the shop
cerca del parque
near the park
al lado del museo
nacional
beside the national museum
Hint: The words “de” + “el” form the contraction “del.”
More examples:
1. ¿Dónde está el gato?
Where is the cat?
El gato está al lado del perro.
The cat is beside the dog.
2. ¿Dónde está el lápiz?
Where is the pencil?
El lápiz está a la derecha de
Maria.
The pencil is to Maria’s
right.
3. ¿Dónde está el servicio?
Where is the bathroom?
El servicio está cerca de la
oficina.
The bathroom is near the
office.
Coming up next is a review of what you’ve learned in this part
of the program.
How Do You Feel?
When you talk about how you feel—whether you be tired, sad,
or sick--you are usually talking about a temporary state.
Therefore, you should use the “to be” verb estar.
How do you ask others how they feel?
¿Cómo estoy?
Yo
Tú
Ud.
Nosotros/as
Vosotros/as
Uds.
Por ejemplo:

How am I?
How are you? (e.g.,
¿Cómo estás?
to a friend)
How are you? (e.g.,
¿Cómo está Ud?
to your boss)
¿Cómo estamos?
How are we?
How are you? (e.g.
¿Cómo estáis?
to a group of
friends)
How are you? (e.g.,
¿Cómo están Uds.? to a group of coworkers)
Ser y ESTAR
Ser
Ser and Estar: Part I
Ser and estar can both be translated as "to be." Here is the English verb,
fully conjugated:
to be
I am
you are
he/she is
we are
you-all are
they are
Notice that these two sentences can have different meanings in English.
The apple is green.
(Meaning the apple is not ripe.)
The apple is green.
(Meaning the color of the apple is green.)
In the first case, our example speaks of the condition of the apple. The
apple is green because it has not yet ripened. When the condition of the
apple changes, that is, when it has ripened, it will no longer be green, it
will be ripe.
In the second case, our example speaks of the essential characteristics
of the apple. The apple is green in color. This particular apple remains
green even after it has ripened.
In English, the verb "to be" can be used to tell how something is (the
condition) and what something is (the essence).
How is the apple?
It is unripe.
What color is the apple?
It is green.
In Spanish, a different verb is used to express "to be" depending on
whether the speaker intends to address a condition or an essential
quality.
La manzana está verde.
The apple is green. (condition)
La manzana es verde.
The apple is green. (essence)
Note how the adjective "verde" actually changes meaning, depending
upon whether it is used with ser or estar.
La manzana está verde.
(condition: verde = unripe)
La manzana es verde.
(essential characteristic: verde = color green)
To address condition, use estar. Estar is an irregular verb. It does not
follow the standard rules of conjugation for regular -ar verbs. Therefore,
you must memorize it.
estar
estoy
estás
está
estamos
estáis
están
To address an essential quality, use ser. Ser is also irregular and must be
memorized.
ser
soy
eres
es
somos
sois
son
ESTAR
Ser and Estar:
Estar is used to express geographic or physical locations.
¿Dónde estás?
Where are you?
Estoy en el laboratorio.
I'm in the laboratory.
¿Dónde está Chile?
Where's Chile?
Chile está en América del Sur.
Chile is in South America.
Note: The one exception to this rule is that ser is used to tell
where an event is taking place. (La fiesta es en mi casa.)
Estar is used with adjectives to express a state or condition
("how" something is).
¿Cómo está la sopa?
How's the soup?
La sopa está fría.
The soup is cold.
¿Cómo estás tú?
How are you?
Estoy muy bien, gracias.
I am very well, thanks.
Estar is used with many idiomatic expressions. These are just a
few.
estar de acuerdo
to be in agreement
estar de pie
to be standing
estar en camino
to be on the way
estar en las nubes
to daydream
Estar is used with the progressive tenses. You will learn more
about this usage later. We present it now simply because it is an
important use of the verb estar.
¿Qué estás comiendo?
What are you eating?
Estoy comiendo arroz y frijoles.
I am eating rice and beans.
Ser and Estar:
In the previous two lessons you learned the fundamental
difference between ser and estar - essence or condition ("what"
something is v. "how" something is), as well as some common
uses for the verb ser. This lesson examines the other Spanish
verb for "to be": estar.
Estar is used to express geographic or physical locations.
¿Dónde estás?
Where are you?
Estoy en el laboratorio.
I'm in the laboratory.
¿Dónde está Chile?
Where's Chile?
Chile está en América del Sur.
Chile is in South America.
Note: The one exception to this rule is that ser is used to tell
where an event is taking place. (La fiesta es en mi casa.)
Estar is used with adjectives to express a state or condition
("how" something is).
¿Cómo está la sopa?
How's the soup?
La sopa está fría.
The soup is cold.
¿Cómo estás tú?
How are you?
Estoy muy bien, gracias.
I am very well, thanks.
Estar is used with many idiomatic expressions. These are just a
few.
estar de acuerdo
to be in agreement
estar de pie
to be standing
estar en camino
to be on the way
estar en las nubes
to daydream
Estar is used with the progressive tenses. You will learn more
about this usage later. We present it now simply because it is an
important use of the verb estar.
¿Qué estás comiendo?
What are you eating?
Estoy comiendo arroz y frijoles.
I am eating rice and beans.