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Easy Spanish STEP–BY–STEP Master High-Frequency Grammar for Spanish Proficiency— FAST! Barbara Bregstein Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN: 978-0-07-148317-9 MHID: 0-07-148317-9 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN 978-0-07-146338-6, MHID 0-07-146338-0. All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps. 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Contents Preface Guide to Pronunciation The Alphabet Greetings and Salutations I Elements of a Sentence 1 Nouns, Articles, and Adjectives The Gender of Nouns and the Definite Article Singular Nouns Plural Nouns The Indefinite Article Singular Indefinite Articles Plural Indefinite Articles Adjectives Singular Form of Adjectives Plural Form of Adjectives 2 Estar, Ser, and Subject Pronouns Subject Pronouns Estar (to be) Ser (to be) Reading Comprehension La casa 3 Hay, Interrogative Words, Days, and Months Hay Interrogative Words Prepositions Days of the Week, Months, and Seasons Reading Comprehension Un pueblo colonial Reading Comprehension El cine 4 Numbers, Dates, and Time Cardinal Numbers Ordinal Numbers The Date Telling Time Reading Comprehension El restaurante Reading Comprehension El oficio de la casa 5 Regular Verbs Uses of the Present Tense -Ar Verbs -Er Verbs -Ir Verbs -Ar and -er Verbs with More than One Meaning Reading Comprehension Una escuela en México 6 Irregular Verbs -Ar Verbs -Er Verbs -Ir Verbs Reading Comprehension El tren 7 Ir and the Future Ir (to go) The Future with the Verb ir Idioms Idioms with the Verb tener Other Idioms Useful Words: que and para The Relative Pronoun que The Conjunction que The Preposition para Key Vocabulary Las partes del cuerpo (Parts of the Body) La familia Time Expressions with hacer Reading Comprehension La cita 8 Adjectives and Adverbs Possessive Adjectives Demonstrative Adjectives Neuter Demonstrative Pronouns Adjectives of Nationality Adjectives That Precede a Noun Comparative Adjectives Superlative Adjectives Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives Comparing Nouns Comparing Verbs Adverbs Adverbs That Do Not Take the Suffix -mente Reading Comprehension La fiesta 9 Negatives and Prepositions Negatives Prepositions Prepositions Followed by Verbs or Nouns Prepositions Followed by Nouns or Pronouns Pronouns That Follow Prepositions The Preposition por Por and para Compared Reading Comprehension El circo Key Vocabulary Nature Weather Reading Comprehension El trabajo II Objects, Reflexive Verbs, and the Present Subjunctive 10 The Indirect Object Gustar and the Indirect Object Me gusta and me gustan Te gusta and te gustan Le gusta and le gustan Nos gusta and nos gustan Les gusta and les gustan Verbs Like gustar The Indirect Object Pronoun Position of the Indirect Object Pronoun Reading Comprehension Ir de compras Reading Comprehension El viaje 11 The Direct Object The Personal a and the Direct Object Transitive Verbs The Direct Object Pronoun Position of the Direct Object Pronoun The Direct Object Pronoun as a Person The Direct Object Pronoun as a Thing Reading Comprehension La bienvenida 12 Reflexive Verbs The Reflexive Pronouns Some Frequently Used Reflexive Verbs Reflexive Verbs Whose English Translations Do Not Necessarily Include Oneself Position of the Reflexive Pronoun Reflexive Verbs with Parts of the Body and Clothing Reflexive Verbs That Express Emotion Reflexive Verbs That Express Movement Reflexive Verbs That Express “To Become” Most Frequently Used Reflexive Verbs Reflexive Verbs with Reciprocal Meanings Se and Impersonal Expressions Reading Comprehension El encuentro 13 The Present Subjunctive Formation of the Present Subjunctive -Ar Verbs -Er and -ir Verbs Irregular Verbs Verbs with Orthographic Changes Uses of the Present Subjunctive After Certain Impersonal Expressions After Certain Verbs After Certain Conjunctions After cuando In Certain Dependent Adjective Clauses After the Expressions por más que and por mucho que After ojalá After acaso, quizás, and tal vez After aunque After Compounds of -quiera After como Reading Comprehension La despedida III Preterit Tense, Imperfect Tense, and Double Object Pronouns 14 The Preterit Tense Formation of the Preterit Regular -ar Verbs Regular -er and -ir Verbs Uses of the Preterit To Express an Action Completed in the Past To Express a Series of Completed Actions in the Past To Express a Condition That Is No Longer in Effect Irregular Verbs -Ir Verbs with Stem Changes in the Third Person Verbs with Orthographic Changes -Ar Verbs -Er and -ir Verbs Verbs with Special Meanings in the Preterit Reading Comprehension En la corte (primera escena) 15 The Imperfect Tense Formation of the Imperfect Regular -ar Verbs Regular -er and -ir Verbs Irregular Verbs Uses of the Imperfect To “Set the Stage” in the Past; to Express a Narration, Situation, or Background To Express Habitual, Customary, or Repeated Actions in the Past To Express Continuous Actions in the Past To Express a Description in the Past To Express Point of Origin in the Past To Express Time in the Past To Express One’s Age in the Past Preterit and Imperfect Compared Querer, poder, saber Double Object Pronouns Indirect Object Pronoun with Direct Object Pronoun Reflexive Pronoun with Direct Object Pronoun Se Plus the Indirect Object Pronoun and Unplanned Occurrences Reading Comprehension El juicio (segunda escena) Aswer Key Index Preface Easy Spanish Step-by-Step will help you learn Spanish—talking, reading, and writing—as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. Written for beginner and advanced-beginner learners, it teaches grammar and conversation in the most logical order to enable you to develop your language skills naturally. To take full advantage of the unique grammatical progression of the book, you should study each chapter, or step, one after another. Do not skip around. Each step you take will lead you to the next. Each chapter contains clear grammar explanations; be sure to understand every concept before moving on to the next. Notice that there are few exceptions to rules, so once you have learned a concept, it is yours. Try to learn the vocabulary and verbs provided; they have been carefully selected on the basis of usefulness and frequency. The vocabulary lists will help enhance your communication, while complete verb conjugations are given so that you can practice pronunciation as you learn verbs. Over 300 of the most common verbs in Spanish are presented. Varied written and oral exercises are included to check your understanding and progress. (The book has a complete answer key in the back.) It is also a good idea to write your own questions and sentences and practice them aloud. Sometimes, your own creations are more interesting and aid in learning. Original readings are included in every chapter; they become progressively more challenging in form and content throughout the book. Use these reading comprehension sections to learn new vocabulary and to practice reading aloud. Easy Spanish Step-by-Step is divided into three parts. The first gives you all the fundamentals of the language in the present tense. You will notice that the word order of English and Spanish in this part is essentially the same. This makes learning in the early stages very quick. The second part explains indirect objects, direct objects, direct object pronouns, reflexive verbs, and the present subjunctive. The third part presents the two most used tenses in the past, the preterit and the imperfect. A student once asked me if Spanish is truly easy. It is, in comparison to any of the other languages of the world. To start with, the pronunciation is easy. Spanish is a phonetically perfect language, which means that once you learn to pronounce each vowel and consonant, you will be able to pronounce all words correctly. Before you begin, practice all the sounds outlined in the Guide to Pronunciation in the following pages. If possible, try to practice with a native speaker. Then, remember to read and answer questions aloud as much as you can to develop your pronunciation. This book is written with a logical approach that makes it accessible, whether you are a self-study learner or a student in an organized teaching program. With Easy Spanish Step-by-Step, you will see that everything falls quickly into place. In a few weeks, you will be able to read and write Spanish quite easily. And once you learn the Spanish in this book, you will be able to get along in any Spanishspeaking country. The grammar is standard in all parts of the Spanish-speaking world, and although accents change from place to place, you will get accustomed to the sounds very quickly. Have fun and enjoy using Spanish everywhere you need it. Acknowledgments I would like to thank Nestor Rodriguez, teacher of English and Spanish at City College of New York, for his invaluable contribution to the editing and structure of Fundamental Spanish, upon which Easy Spanish Step-by-Step is based, and for his language insights and expertise. I gratefully acknowledge his assistance throughout the development of this book. I would also like to thank Silvia Ballinas, teacher and director of Escuela Experiencia in Tepoztlán, Mexico, Antonio Zea, linguist and professor at Escuela Acacias in Málaga, Spain, Alonia King, Janet Odums, and Lois Shearer. I would also like to thank all my students from District Council 37 in New York City. Guide to Pronunciation Spanish spelling is an exact reflection of the pronunciation of the language. The pronunciation of each letter is subject to precise and consistent rules, and words are pronounced by adding together the sounds of each individual letter. Vowels The sounds of the vowels are clear and short. Pronounce the examples. Consonants In Spanish, the b and v have the same sound. The sound of English v does not exist in Spanish. Stress, Written Accentuation, and Spelling Natural Stress Words that end in a vowel ( a, e, i, o, u) or the consonants n or s have their natural stress on the next to last syllable. cucaracha mañana triste hablo volumen examen tomates Words that end in any consonant other than n or s have their natural stress on the final syllable. salud amistad papel vegetal azul mujer cantar doctor nariz Written Accets When a word does not follow one of these two rules, it will have a written accent on the syllable that is stressed. teléfono lámpara música café canción lección difícil fácil If a one-syllable word has a written accent, it means that there is another word in the language that has the same spelling, but another meaning. el si tu se él sí tú sé the if your oneself he yes you I know If a two-syllable word has a written accent that does not affect the pronunciation, it means that there is another word that has the same spelling, but a different meaning. este ese éste ése this that this one that one Interrogative words have an accent mark that does not affect pronunciation. ¿qué? ¿quién? ¿dónde? ¿cómo? ¿por qué? ¿cuál? what? who? where? how? why? which? Spelling Changes • z to c Nouns and adjectives that end in z change to c to form the plural. el lápiz la nariz feliz los lápices las narices felices Z followed by a or o changes to c before an e or i. The sound of z and c are the same. comienza comience empiezo • empiece Other spelling changes All other spelling changes occur in order to maintain a required sound. Tocar, for example, has a hard c sound that must be preserved in other forms of the verb. If you see toque, with qu replacing the c, it is to maintain the k sound. Llegar, for example, has a hard g sound, which must be preserved. If you see llegue, with gu replacing the g, it is to maintain the hard g sound. Castilian Spanish There are only a few differences in pronunciation between the Spanish spoken in Latin America and that spoken in Spain. • Both the c that precedes e or i and the z have the th sound heard in English thought and thing. • When j or g precedes e or i, it has a slightly more guttural sound. Tips for Pronunciation • While practicing, remember to keep the vowel sounds short and clear. • Always use the Spanish r sound. Resist the use of the English r. • Implode the sounds of p and t. Make sure there is no puff of air. • Always pronounce z like the letter s. • Give the syllables an almost equal emphasis, a sort of staccato sound. Pronounce every syllable clearly and precisely in order to develop an even speech pattern. The Alphabet El alfabeto o abecedario Letter(s) A B C CH D E F G H (always silent) I J K L LL M N Ñ O P Q R RR S T U V W X Y Z Name a be larga/be grande ce che de e efe ge hache i jota ka ele elle eme ene eñe o pe cu ere erre ese te u ve corta doble ve/doble u equis i griega/ye zeta Greetings and Salutations Hola. Buenos días. Buenas tardes. Buenas noches. Me llamo Susana. ¿Cómo se llama usted? Me llamo David. Mucho gusto. ¿Cómo está usted? Bien, gracias, ¿y usted? Regular. Más o menos. Hasta luego. Hasta mañana. Hasta pronto. Adiós. Hello. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. My name is Susan. What’s your name? My name is David. Pleased to meet you. How are you? Fine, thanks. And you? So-so. More or less. So long. Until tomorrow. See you soon. Good-bye. I Elements of a Sentence 1 Nouns, Articles, and Adjectives The Gender of Nouns and the Definite Article A noun is a person, place, or thing. In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine. In Spanish, the definite article (English the) agrees with the noun in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural): el, la, los, las. Singular Nouns Masculine The masculine singular noun takes the definite article el. Most nouns that end in -o are masculine. Pronounce the following words aloud. el amigo el banco el baño el carro el gato el hermano el libro el muchacho el niño el perro el teléfono el vino the friend the bank the bathroom the car the cat the brother the book the boy the little boy, the child the dog the telephone the wine Many masculine nouns do not end in -o; therefore, it is necessary to learn each noun with its article. el animal el café el doctor el hombre el hospital el hotel el tomate el tren the animal the coffee the doctor the man the hospital the hotel the tomato the train Some masculine nouns end in -a or -ma. el clima el día el drama el idioma the climate the day the drama the language el mapa el planeta el poema el problema el programa el sistema the map the planet the poem the problem the program the system Feminine The feminine singular noun takes the definite article la. Most nouns that end in -a are feminine. Pronounce the following words aloud. la amiga la blusa la bolsa la cama la casa la cerveza la comida la hermana la iglesia la lámpara la mesa la muchacha la niña la persona la planta la silla la tienda la ventana the friend the blouse the bag the bed the house the beer the meal the sister the church the lamp the table the girl the little girl the person the plant the chair the store the window Nouns that end in -ción, -sión, -dad, -tad, or -tud are feminine. la canción la conversación la invitación la lección la ilusión la televisión la ciudad la verdad la amistad la actitud the song the conversation the invitation the lesson the illusion the television the city the truth the friendship the attitude A few nouns that end in -o are feminine. la foto the photograph la mano la radio the hand the radio Many feminine nouns do not follow these patterns; therefore, it is important to learn each noun with its article. la clase la flor la luz la mujer la piel la suerte the class the flower the light the woman the skin the luck Exercise 1.1 Write the appropriate masculine or feminine form of the definite article for each of the following nouns. As you write the answer, make sure you know the meaning of the word. 1. _______ amigo 2. _______ hombre 3. _______ casa 4. _______ luz 5. _______ hotel 6. _______ hermano 7. _______ ciudad 8. _______ carro 9. _______ tomate 10. _______ cerveza 11. _______ persona 12. _______ canción 13. _______ teléfono 14. _______ muchacho 15. _______ flor 16. _______ mujer 17. _______ baño 18. _______ vino 19. _______ comida 20. _______ conversación A noun ending in -ista can be masculine or feminine, depending on whether it refers to a male or a female. The article indicates the gender of the noun. el artista la artista the (male) artist the (female) artist el dentista la dentista the (male) dentist the (female) dentist el pianista la pianista the (male) pianist the (female) pianist el taxista la taxista the (male) cabdriver the (female) cabdriver A noun ending in -nte can be masculine or feminine, depending on whether it refers to a male or a female. The article indicates the gender of the noun. el cantante la cantante the (male) singer the (female) singer el estudiante la estudiante the (male) student the (female) student el gerente la gerente the (male) manager the (female) manager el presidente la presidente the (male) president the (female) president Plural Nouns Masculine A masculine noun that ends in a vowel adds -s to form the plural; it takes the definite article los. Singular el día el hermano el libro el muchacho el perro el problema Plural los días los hermanos los libros los muchachos los perros los problemas If the noun ends in a consonant, el changes to los and the noun adds -es. el animal el doctor el hospital el hotel el tren los animales los doctores los hospitales los hoteles los trenes Feminine A feminine noun that ends in a vowel adds -s to form the plural; it takes the definite article las. la bolsa la lámpara la niña la persona la tienda la ventana las bolsas las lámparas las niñas las personas las tiendas las ventanas If the noun ends in a consonant, la changes to las and the noun adds -es. la canción la ciudad las canciones las ciudades la flor la invitación la lección la mujer las flores las invitaciones las lecciones las mujeres