Madrigals Magic Key to Spanish (159 page)
Read Madrigals Magic Key to Spanish Online
Authors: Margarita Madrigal
Tags: #Reference, #Language Arts & Disciplines
Remember that the past participle is also used as an adjective (with masculine, feminine, singular, and plural endings).
EXAMPLES
:
un huevo frito,
a fried egg
huevos fritos,
fried eggs
La puerta está abierta.
The door is open
.
Está satisfecho.
He is satisfied
.
Está satisfecha.
She is satisfied
.
Está muerto.
He is dead
.
Está muerta.
She is dead
.
un paquete envuelto,
a wrapped package
Las puertas están abiertas.
The doors are open
.
Están satisfechos.
They are satisfied
.
unos paquetes envueltos,
some wrapped packages
UIR”
When verbs end in “uir” the letter “y” is inserted in the following manner:
CONSTRUIR,
to build, to construct
PRESENT
PRETERITE
PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
PAST SUBJUNCTIVE
PRESENT PARTICIPLE
:
construyendo,
building
estoy construyendo,
I am building
In the following verbs the “y” is inserted as in the sample verb above.
| reconstruir, to reconstruct | excluir, to exclude |
| destruir, to destroy | incluir, to include |
| distribuir, to distribute | huir, to flee, to run away |
| instruir, to instruct | concluir, to conclude |
| substituir, to substitute | atribuir, to attribute |
| contribuir, to contribute | constituir, to constitute |
| disminuir, to diminish | diluir, to dilute |
Impersonal verbs are verbs in which no person acts. These verbs are used only in the singular third man form.
LLOVER, to
rain
| PRESENT | LLUEVE, it rains ; LLUEVE MUCHO, it rains a lot |
| PRETERITE | LLOVIÓ, it rained ; LLOVIÓ MUCHO, it rained a lot |
| IMPERFECT | LLOVÍA, it used to rain |
| FUTURE | VA A LLOVER, it is going to rain |
| FUTURE | LLOVERÁ, it will rain |
| PRESENT PERFECT | HA LLOVIDO, it has rained |
| PRESENT PROGRESSIVE | ESTÁ LLOVIENDO, it is raining |
| PAST PROGRESSIVE | ESTABA LLOVIENDO, it was raining NEVAR, to snow |
| PRESENT | NIEVA, it snows |
| PRETERITE | NEVÓ, it snowed |
| IMPERFECT | NEVABA, it used to snow |
| FUTURE | VA A NEVAR, it is going to snow |
| FUTURE | NEVARÁ, it will snow |
| PRESENT PERFECT | HA NEVADO, it has snowed |
| PRESENT PROGRESSIVE | ESTÁ NEVANDO, it is snowing |
| PAST PROGRESSIVE | ESTABA NEVANDO, it was snowing HABER, to be |
| PRESENT | HAY, there is, there are, is there? are there? |
| PRETERITE | HUBO, there was, there were, was there? were there? |
| IMPERFECT | HABÍA, there used to be, did there used to be? |
| FUTURE | VA A HABER, there is going to be, there are going to be, is there going to be? are there going to be? |
| FUTURE | HABRÁ, there will be, will there be? |
| PRESENT PERFECT | HA HABIDO, there has been, there have been |
| PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE | HAYA |
| PAST SUBJUNCTIVE | HUBIERA |
DEBER, OUGHT, SHOULD, MUST
“Deber” is a regular verb
“Deber” is an auxiliary verb that must be followed by an infinitive.
Debo estudiar.
I ought to study
.
Pablo debe estar en Cuba.
Paul must be in Cuba
.
Debemos ir al concierto.
We should go to the concert
.
Deben pagar la cuenta.
They should pay the bill
.
Debe ser muy difícil.
It must be very difficult
.
No debe ser fácil.
It must not be easy
.
Debe haber ido al despacho.
He must have gone to the office
.
Debe haber estudiado.
He must have studied
.
The passive voice is used much more in English than it is in Spanish.
In English you say, “I was invited to a party,” and you don’t say who invited you. In Spanish we prefer an active subject, so we use the figurative “they” and say, “They invited me to a party.”
“Me invitaron a una fiesta.”
This still doesn’t say who invited you, but the implication that “they” invited you gives the sentence a much needed subject.
EXAMPLES
:
The ships were painted
. Pintaron los barcos. (
“They” painted the ships
.)
The rooms were cleaned
. Limpiaron los cuartos. (
“They” cleaned the rooms
.)
The clothes were washed
. Lavaron la ropa. (
“They” washed the clothes
.)
The house was bought
. Compraron la casa. (
“They” bought the house
.)
| nada, nothing | ninguno, no one |
| nadie, nobody | jamás, never |
The word “no” when it appears before a noun:
| MASCULINE | FEMININE |
| ningún | ninguna |
| ningunos | ningunas |
EXAMPLES
:
| ningún hombre, no man | ninguna mujer, no woman |
| ningunos hombres, no men | ningunas mujeres, no women |
In Spanish the double negative is the correct grammatical construction for sentences beginning with the word “no.”
EXAMPLES
:
No ví nada.
I didn’t see anything
(
I didn’t see nothing
).
No oí nada.
I didn’t hear anything
(
I didn’t hear nothing
).
No ví a nadie.
I didn’t see anyone
(
I didn’t see no one
).
No hablé con ninguno.
I didn’t talk to anyone
(
I didn’t talk to no one
).
No hice nada.
I didn’t do anything
(
I didn’t do nothing
).
THEINTIMATE FORM OF ADDRESS
n Spanish there is an intimate form of address that is used with members of your family and close friends. In this case the pronoun “usted” (
you
) becomes “tú” (
thou
) and the verbs change their endings.