Thursday, January 31, 2008

25 Subject Pronouns (pronombres sujetos)

Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. A subject pronoun is used as the subject of the verb. (Los pronombres son palabras que toman el lugar de sustantivos. Un pronombre sujeto es usado como el sujeto del verbo.)

I / yo - I used the car. (Antonio) / Usé el coche.
you / tú, usted, ustedes - You love the gym. (Franki) / Tú amas el gimnasio.
he / él - Was he at the house? (Ramsis) / ¿Estaba él en la casa?
she / ella - She hates the cats. (Estella) / Ella odia los gatos.
it - It moved. (The table) / Esto se movió.
we / nosotros, nosotras - We wanted the keys. (Antonio and Alex) / Quisimos las llaves.
they / ellos, ellas - They like the coffee from the restaurant. (Kendon and Wendy) / Ellos les gusta el café del restaurante.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

24 The Fruits (las frutas)

manzana / apple
naranja / orange
piña / pineapple
uva / grape
fresa / strawberry
pera / pear
cereza / cherry
limón / lemon
melón / melon
banano / banana
melocotón / peach
mango / mango
coco / coconut
sandía / watermelon
papaya / papaya
toronja / grapefruit
ciruela / plum
limón verde, lima / lime
kiwi / kiwi
albaricoque / apricot
plátano / plantain
pasas / raisins


Instructions: Conjugate the following verbs into the correct form. (Instrucciones: conjugue los siguientes verbos en la forma correcta.)

+ to mix, you / + to like, we / + to do, I / + to fix, she / + to use, he / + to finish, it / - to hope, he / - to wash, the woman / ? to be, you / ? to enjoy, they

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

23 Quasi-Regular Verbs (verbos cuasi-regulares)

For the third person singular in present tense, the verbs that end in ‘ch’, ‘sh’, ‘x’, and ‘ss’ add ‘es’ to the end of the word. (Para la tercera persona singular en presente, los verbos terminan en –ch, -sh, -x, o -ss agrega ‘es’ al final de la palabra.)

10 quasi-regular verbs (10 verbos cuasi-regulares)
::wash:: lavar We washed our hands. / Lavamos nuestras manos.
::touch:: tocar You touched my leg. / Usted tocó mi pierna.
::watch:: mirar Luis watches the television. / Luis mira la televisión.
::push:: empujar She pushes the chair. / Ella empuja la silla.
::mix:: combinar I will mix the clothes. / Combinaré las ropas.
::brush:: cepillar I will brush my teeth. / Cepillaré mis dientes.
::finish:: terminar I finished my homework. / Terminé mi tarea.
::reach:: alcanzar We reached the church. / Alcanzamos la iglesia.
::fix:: componer He fixed my chair. / Él compuso mi silla.
::kiss:: besar I kissed my girlfriend. / Besé mi novia.

Instructions: Conjugate the following verbs into the correct form. (Instrucciones: conjugue los siguientes verbos en la forma correcta.)

+ to lie, they / + to reach, I / + fix, he / + to want, she / + to touch, she / + to kiss, it / - to feel, she / - to be, we / ? to have, I / ? to kiss, he

Monday, January 28, 2008

22 Plural Nouns (nombres plurales)

A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. A singular noun names one and a plural noun names more than one. (Un sustantivo es una palabra que designa una persona, un lugar, una cosa, o una idea. Un sustantivo singular llama un y un sustantivo plural llama más de uno.)

To make a noun plural, add ‘s’ to the end of the word. (Para hacer un sustantivo plural, agrega la letra ‘s’ al final de la palabra.) For example, (Por ejemplo,)
tree -> trees gym -> gyms book -> books

exceptions (excepciónes):
1 When the singular noun ends with –ch, -s, -sh, -x, -z add ‘es’ to the end of the word to make it plural. (Cuando el sustantivo singular termina con –ch, -s, -sh, -x, -z agrega ‘es’ al final de la palabra para hacer un sustantivo.) For example, (Por ejemplo,)
beach -> beaches boss -> bosses church -> churches

2 When the singular noun ends with –f, -fe remove –f or –fe and add ‘ves’ to the end of the word to make it plural. (Cuando el sustantivo singular termina en –f, -fe quita –f o –fe y agrega ‘ves’ al final de la palabra para hacerlo plural.) For example, (Por ejemplo,)
wife -> wives knife -> knives leaf -> leaves

3 When the singular noun ends with a consonant + ‘y’ remove –y and add ‘ies’ to the end of the word to make it plural. (Cuando el sustantivo singular termina en una consonante + ‘y’, quita –y y agrega ‘ies’ al final de la palabra para hacerlo plural.) For example, (Por ejemplo,)
party -> parties country -> countries butterfly -> butterflies

4 When the singular noun ends with ‘us’ remove –us and add ‘i’ to the end of the word to make it plural. (Cuando el sustantivo singular termina en ‘us’, quita –us y agrega ‘i’ al final de la palabra para hacerlo plural.) For example, (Por ejemplo,)
octopus -> octopi

5 Some nouns are irregular in plural form: (Algunos sustantivos son irregulares en la forma plural:)
man -> men woman -> women child -> children
person -> people mouse -> mice tooth -> teeth

6 Some nouns are the same in singular and plural form: (Algunos sustantivos son el mismo en la forma singular y plural:)
deer -> deer sheep -> sheep fish -> fish


Write the plural form of each singular word: (Escriba la palabra plural de cada palabra singular:)
(1) monkey
(2) dish
(3) city
(4) ball
(5) bed
(6) class
(7) octopus
(8) secretary
(9) turkey
(10) donkey
(11) person
(12) watch
(13) whale
(14) deer
(15) movie
(16) knife
(17) letter
(18) gym
(19) grocery store
(20) fish
(21) mouse
(22) foot

Sunday, January 27, 2008

21 The Irregular Verb ‘To Feel’ (verbo irregular ‘to feel’)

to feel :: sentir

continuous tense (progresivo)
feeling

vocabulary (vocabulario)
frío / cold
calor / hot
hambre / hungry
sed / thirsty
mal / bad
bueno / good

Translate the following sentences from Spanish to English (Traduzca los siguientes oraciones del español a inglés):
Yo siento calor. / I feel hot.
Yo sentí hambre. / I felt hungry.
Ella se siente cansada. / She feels tired.
Nosotros nos sentimos mareados. / We feel dizzy.
Ellas sintieron frío. / They felt cold.
¿Se siente usted enfermo? / Do you feel sick?
Él se siente mal por usted. / He feels bad for you.
Mi cabeza se siente caliente. / My head feels hot.

Instructions: Conjugate the following verbs into the correct form. (Instrucciones: conjugue los siguientes verbos en la forma correcta.

+ to have, I / + to talk, you / + to want, they / + to do, she / + to be, we / - to feel, you / - to open, it / ? to play, they / ? to shop, he / ? to die, it

present tense, past tense, future tense, continuous tense, español

Form sentences using the following words: (Forme oraciones usando las siguientes palabras:)

? when, to have, you / ? where, to learn, they / ? who, to be, he / ? how, to be, you / ? why, to be, she / ? what, to play, they / ? did, to feel, your head / ? do, to travel, you

Saturday, January 26, 2008

20 Parts of the Body (partes del cuerpo)

ojo / eye
oreja / ear
nariz / nose
boca / mouth
ceja / eye brow
frente / forehead
cabeza / head
cuello / neck
hombro / shoulder
codo / elbow
brazo / arm
espalda / back
pecho / chest
muñeca / wrist
cintura / waist
ombligo / belly button
muslo / thigh
rodilla / knee
pierna / leg
tobillo / ankle
pie / foot
mano / hand
dedos / fingers
uña / fingernail
pulgar / thumb
barbilla / chin
lengua / tongue
dientes / teeth
pelo / hair
perilla, candado / goatee
piel / skin
barba / beard
bigote / mustache
cara / face
estómago / stomach
pulmones / lungs
corazón / heart
hueso / bone
garganta / throat
sangre / blood
músculo / muscle

examples (ejemplos):
Jugué con sus orejas. / I played with her ears.
Él abrió la puerta con su barbilla. / He opened the door with his chin.
¿Usó usted su cabeza? / Did you use your head?
¿Trabaja con sus manos? / Do you work with your hands?
Él movió su pulgar. / He moved his thumb.
Tenemos dientes. / We have teeth.

Friday, January 25, 2008

19 Animals (los animales)

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. Psalm 42:1
Cual ciervo jadeante en busca del agua, así te busca, oh Dios, todo mi ser. Salmos 42:1

ciervo / deer
tigre / tiger
león / lion
elefante / elephant
gorila / gorilla
serpeinte / snake
gallo / rooster
pavo / turkey
cerdo / pig
perro / dog
oveja / sheep
caballo / horse
vaca / cow
conejo / rabbit
pato / duck
gato / cat
burro / donkey
oso / bear
ave, pájaro / bird
cocodrilo / crocodile
mono / monkey
tortuga / turtle
ardilla / squirrel
cabra / goat
araña / spider
abeja / bee, honeybee
hormiga / ant
pez / fish
águila / eagle
lagarto / lizard
rana / frog
sapo / toad
delfín / dolphin
ballena / whale
mosquito / mosquito
loro / parrot
ratón / mouse
rata / rat
escorpión / scorpion
cangrejo / crab
pollo / chicken
camello / camel
tiburón / shark
búho / owl
toro / bull
gusano / worm
mariposa / butterfly
pulpo / octopus

more vocabulary (más vocabulario)
mascota / pet
jaula / cage
zoológico / zoo

Translate the following sentences from Spanish to English. (Traduzca los siguientes oraciones del español a inglés.)
¿A ti te gusta el zoológico? (Answer: Do you like the zoo?)
¿Tiene una mascota? (Do you have a pet?)
Sí, tengo un gato. (Yes, I have a cat.)
No, yo no tengo una mascota. (No, I do not have a pet.)
Él caminó el perro. (He walked the dog.)
¿Habla su loro? (Does your parrot talk?)
No, mi loro no habla. (No, my parrot does not talk.)
Sí, mi loro habla. (Yes, my parrot talks.)
El pez se murió. (The fish died.)
¿Se movió la serpiente? (Did the snake move?)

Thursday, January 24, 2008

18 Question Words (palabras interrogativas)

There are three basic types of questions. (Hay tres tipos básicos de preguntas.)

(1) Yes/No Questions. The answer to the question is either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. (La respuesta a la pregunta es ‘sí’ o ‘no’.)
(2) Question Word Questions. The answer to the question is information. (La respuesta a la pregunta es información.)
(3) Choice Questions. The answer to the question is in the question. (La respuesta a la pregunta está en la pregunta.)


(1) Yes/No Questions
Do (auxiliary verb) + you (subject) + want (main verb) + dinner? (¿Quiere usted la cena?)
Can (auxiliary verb) + you (subject) + drive (main verb)? (¿Puede usted conducir?)
Has (auxiliary verb) + she (subject) + finished (main verb) + her work? (¿Ha terminado ella su trabajo?)
Did (auxiliary verb) + they (subject) + go (main verb) + home? (¿Se fueron a casa ellos?)

(2) Question Word Questions
Where do you live? (¿Dónde vives tú?)
When will we have lunch? (¿Cuándo almorzaremos?)
Who did she meet? (¿A quién encontró ella?)
Why has not Tara done it? (¿Por qué no lo ha hecho Tera?)
What is the answer? (¿Qué es la respuesta?)
How are you doing? (¿Cómo estas haciendo?)
Which is your car? (¿Cuál es su carro?)

(3) Choice Questions
Do (auxiliary verb) + you (subject) + want (main verb) + tea or coffee? (¿Quieres té o café?)
Will (auxiliary verb) + we (subject) + meet (main verb) + John or Paul? (¿Encontraremos a John o Paul?)
Did (auxiliary verb) + she (subject) + go (main verb) + to London or New York? (¿Fue ella a Londres o Nueva York?)

Basic Question Structure (estructura de pregunta básica)
auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

Do + you + like + Mary? (¿Le gusta Mary?)
Are + they + playing + football? (¿Juegan ellos al fútbol americana?)
Will + Antonio + go + to Cobán? (¿Irá Antonio a Cobán?)
Have + you + seen + the movie? (¿Ha visto usted la película?)

Exception: (Excepción:) for the verb ‘to be’ in simple present and simple past, we do not use an auxiliary verb. We simply reverse the position of ‘be’ and the subject. (Para el verbo ‘to be’ en presente y pasado, no usamos un verbo auxiliar. Simplemente invertimos la posición de ‘to be’ y el sujeto.)

For example, (por ejemplo,)
He is German. (Él es Alemanian.)
Is he German? (¿Es él Alemanian?)
Was Jon home? (¿Estuvo Jon en casa?)
Where is Bombay? (¿Donde es Bombay?)
How was she? (¿Cómo era ella?)
Is your car white or black? (¿Es su coche blanco o negro?)
Were they $15 or $50? (¿Eran $15 o $50?)


Exercise (ejercicio)
Instructions: conjugate the following verbs in the correct form. (Instrucciones: conjugue los siguientes verbos en la forma correcta.)

+ to learn, I / - to play, you / ? to need, we / + to have, they / - to walk, she / ? to live, you / + to be, we / - to open, you / ? to use, he / + to do, I

present tense, past tense, future tense, continuous tense, español

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

17 The Irregular Verb ‘To Have’ (verbo irregular ‘to have’)

to have :: tener



continuous tense (progresivo)
having

as a main verb: (verbo primero:)
We have a lot of homework. / Tenemos mucha tarea.
I have a car. / Tengo un carro.
When did you have dinner? / ¿Cuándo comió usted la cena?
You had a cat. / Tuviste un gato.

as an auxiliary verb: (verbo auxiliar:)
They had walked home. / Habían camindo a casa.
Have you talked to María? / ¿Ha hablado usted con María?
I will have eaten the food. / Habré comido la comida.

>> As an auxiliary verb, ‘to have’ is always followed by the main verb used with the past participle (-ed) to form the perfect tense. (Como un verbo auxiliar, ‘to have’ siempre es seguido del verbo principal usando con el participio pasado, ‘-ed’ para formar el tiempo perfecto.)

examples: (ejemplos:)
They had walked home. = past perfect tense (pasado perfecto)
Have you talked to María? = present perfect tense (presente perfecto)
I will have eaten the food. = future perfect tense (futuro perfecto)

Contractions with ‘To Have’ (contracciones con el verbo ‘to have’)
There are contractions with the verb ‘to have’ in the present and past negative tenses. (Hay contracciones con el verbo ‘to be’ en presente y pasado negativo.)

present tense (presente)
have + not = haven’t

has + not = hasn’t

past tense (pasado)
had + not = hadn’t

Uses of ‘to have’ (Usos de ‘to have’)
(1) Indicate posession (indica posesión): She has a house in the city. / Tiene una casa en la ciudad.
(2) Take things (tomar alimentos): I have breakfast in the morning. / Tomo el desayuno en la mañana. I don’t have coffee. / No tomo café.
(3) To give (dar una fiesta, un paseo, una mirada, ...): We had a party yesterday. / Damos una fiesta ayer. I have a walk on Saturday mornings. / Doy un paseo los sábados por la mañana. Can I have a look at your magazine? / ¿Puedo dar un vistazo a su revista?


Exercise (ejercicio)
Instructions: conjugate the following verbs in the correct form. (Instrucciones: conjugue los siguientes verbos en la forma correcta.)

+ to use, it / - to play, the dog / - to learn, you / - to be, they / - to name, we / - to hate, she / + to open, the banks / - to be, I

present tense, past tense, future tense, continuous tense, español

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

16 Auxiliary Verbs (Los verbos auxiliares)

An auxiliary verb combines with another verb to help form tense, mood, voice or condition of the verb it combines with. They are also called helping verbs. (Un verbo auxiliar se combina con otro verbo para ayudar a formar el tiempo, el humor, la voz o la condición del verbo con el que esto se combina.)

>> The verbs ‘to do’, ‘to be’ and ‘to have’ are the three most common auxiliary verbs. (Los verbos ‘to do’, ‘to be’ and ‘to have’ son los tres verbos auxiliares más comunes.)

For example, (por ejemplo,)
The old lady is traveling to Honduras. / La vieja señora esta viajando a Honduras.
The film was watched in Hollywood. / La película se miró en Hollywood.
I am living here. / Estoy viviendo aquí.
You are talking with Wendy. / Tú estas hablando con Wendy.
He is needing more time. / Él esta necesitando más tiempo.

-- When using ‘to do’ as an auxiliary verb, it is used with the base form (infinitive).
-- When using ‘to be’ (am, is, are, was, were, be, been) as an auxiliary verb use it with the present participle (-ing) or the past participle (-ed). (Cuando usa ‘to be’ como un verbo auxiliar, usa con –ing o –ed.)
-- When using ‘to have’ as an auxiliary verb, it is used with the past participle (-ed) to form the perfect tense.

Note. This lesson is just meant to give a basic introduction to auxiliary verbs. You may want to skip the rules for using auxiliary verbs here, or just go just present the idea and come back to them in greater detail later.

10 regular verbs (10 verbos regulares)
::use:: usar I used the car. / Yo usé el carro.
::die:: morir My grandfather died in September. / Mi abuelo se murió en septiembre.
::lie:: mentir He lies a lot. / Él mentía mucho.
::learn:: aprender I am learning English. / Estoy aprendiendo Inglés.
::move:: mover The house moved. / La casa se movió.
::need:: necesitar You need milk. / Tú necesitas leche.
::open:: abrir The door is opening. / La puerta esta abriendo.
::play:: jugar We played soccer. / Nosotros jugamos fútbol.
::shop:: ir de compras I am shopping tomorrow. / Voy a ir de compras mañana.
::travel:: viajar She traveled to England. / Ella viajó a Inglaterra.

Exercise (ejercicio)
Instructions: conjugate the following verbs in the correct form. (Instrucciones: conjugue los siguientes verbos en la forma correcta.)

+ to live, you / + to die, he / - to lie, they / - to hope, Luis / + to walk, she / - to travel, we / - to be, I / + to shop, Juan

Note. I like to make five columns: 1 for past tense, 1 for present tense, the third for future tense, the fourth for continuous tense and the last for the word translated in Spanish (I just write ‘español’.) Then the student can fill in the grid by writing the correct form of each verb in each tense across the table.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Exercise (ejercicio)

Do or Does?

Note. Write the sentence on the board and leave the form of the verb ‘to do’ as an underline and blank. The student must fill in the correct form of the verb either orally or by writing the correct form in the blank.

(1) Does Mr. Garcia work on the weekend? / ¿Trabaja señor García en el fin de semana?
(2) Do Jennifer and John go to school during the week? / ¿Jennifer y John van a la escuela durante la semana?
(3) When do they watch movies? / ¿Cuándo miran ellos películas?
(4) Where does Pablo work? / ¿Dónde trabaja Pablo?
(5) Do you speak Spanish? / ¿Habla español?
(6) What does Edwin do during the week? / ¿Qué hace Edwin durante la semana?

Negative: (negativo:)
(1) Osvaldo and Franki don’t work on the weekend. / Osvaldo y Franki no trabajan durante el fin de semana.
(2) Jennifer does not work at the bank. / Jennifer no trabaja en el banco.
(3) We do not watch movies during the week. / No miramos películas durante la semana.
(4) My son does not play a musical instrument. / Mi hijo no toca un instrumento musical.
(5) My sister and I do not eat at the restaurant. / Mi hermana y yo no comemos en el restaurante.
(6) Our dog does not like our neighbors. / A nuestro perro no le gustan nuestros vecinos.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

15 The Irregular Verb ‘To Do’ (verbo irregular ‘to do’)

to do :: hacer


continuous tense (progresivo)
doing

as a main verb: (verbo primero:)
My husband does the dishes. / Mi esposo lava los platos.
Yes he did. / Sí él los lavó.
Did he do them yesterday? / ¿Los lavó él ayer?
I do my homework. / Hago mi tarea.
You did the laundry. / Usted lavó el lavado de ropa.

as an auxiliary verb: (verbo auxiliar:)
I do not have cats. / No tengo los gatos.
Do you like cheese? / ¿Te gusta queso?
>> As an auxiliary verb, ‘to do’ is always followed by the base form, infinitive, of the main verb. (Como un verbo auxiliar, ‘to do’ siempre es seguido del verbo primero en infinitivo.)

examples: (ejemplos:)
I did read the book. / Leí realmente el libro.
Do you eat here? / ¿Come usted aquí?

Contractions with ‘To Do’ (contracciones con el verbo ‘to do’)
There are contractions with the verb ‘to do’ in the present and past negative tenses. (Hay contracciones con el verbo ‘to be’ en presente y pasado negativo.)

present tense (presente) past tense (pasado)
do + not = don’t did + not = didn’t
does + not = doesn’t

Saturday, January 19, 2008

14 More Nouns: person, place, thing (más nombres: una persona, un lugar o una cosa)

Vocabulary (vocabulario)
llave / key
foto / photo
carro, coche / car
pelota / ball
tienda / store
película / movie, film
puerta / door
dinero / money
reloj / watch, clock
cocinera / cook, chef
presidente / president
banco / bank
restaurante / restaurant
vecino / neighbor
platos / plates, dishes
tarea / homework
periódico / newspaper
libro / book
persona / person
jabón / soap
cama / bed
lámpara / lamp
cartas / cards
clase / class
cine / movie theatre, cinema
playa / beach
supermercado / grocery store, supermarket
mercado / market
hoja / leaf
cámara / camera

Friday, January 18, 2008

13 Nouns: person, place, thing (nombres: una persona, un lugar o una cosa)

Vocabulary (vocabulario)
árbol / tree
parque / park
sol / sun
estrella / star
luna / moon
maestro, maestra / teacher
estudiante / student
amigo, amiga, cuates / friend
jefe / boss
país / country
ciudad / city
escuela / school
secretaria / secretary
fiesta / party
baño / bathroom
dormitorio / bedroom
cocina / kitchen
iglesia / church
doctor / doctor
dentista / dentist
mesa / table
silla / chair
casa / house
edificio / building
gimnasio / gym
carta / letter
muebles / furniture
cuchillo / knife
televisión / television, tv

Thursday, January 17, 2008

12 Verbs in Continuous Tense (verbos en progresivo)

Yo trabajo. = I work.
Yo estoy trabajando. = I am working.

to work :: trabajar

formación: sujeto + ‘to be’ + verbo + ‘ing’
formula: subject + ‘to be’ + verb + ‘ing’

present tense (presente)
+: I am working
-: I am not working
?: Am I working?

past tense (pasado)
+: I was working
-: I was not working
?: Was I working?

future tense (futuro)
+: I will be working
-: I will not be working
?: Will I be working?

>> We use the present continuous tense to talk about: (Usamos presente progresivo para expresar:)
- An action happening now: (Una acción en pregreso:)
o I am eating my lunch / Estoy comiendo mi almuerzo.
- An action in the future: (Una acción en el futuro:)
o I am using the soccer ball next month. / Estoy voy a usar la pelota el proximo mes.
- An action happening around now: (Una acción continua en progreso:)
o I am living with my sister until I find an apartment. / Estoy viviendo con mi hermana hasta hallo un aposento.
o Mario is learning to drive. / Mario es aprendiendo conducir.

Spelling the present continuous (formación de verbos en presente progresivo)
add ‘ing’ to the base verb (formación: raíz + terminación)
work -> working
be -> being
play -> playing
talk -> talking
Exception #1: if the base verb ends in a consonant + stressed vowel + consonant, double the last letter. (Si el verbo primero termina en consonante + vocal escrito + consonante entonces el ultimo letra es dos veces.)
shop -> shopping
open -> opening because the ‘o’ is stressed. (porque ‘o’ es con el escrito.)

Exception #2: if the base verb ends in ‘ie’, change the ‘ie’ to y. (Si el verbo primero termina en ‘ie’, cambia ‘ie’ a ‘y’.)
lie -> lying
die -> dying

Exception #3: if the base verb ends in vowel + consonant + e, omit the ‘e’. (Si el verbo primero termina en vocal + consonante + ‘e’, omite ‘e’ antes de agregar la terminación, -ing.)
move -> moving
name -> naming
live -> living

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

11 Days of the Week (los días de la semana)

lunes / Monday
martes / Tuesday
miércoles / Wednesday
jueves / Thursday
viernes / Friday
sábado / Saturday
domingo / Sunday

hoy / today
mañana / tomorrow
ayer / yesterday
el fin de semana / weekend

Today is Wednesday.
Tomorrow will be Thursday.
Yesterday was Tuesday.

Months of the year (los meses del año)
enero / January
febrero / February
marzo / March
abril / April
mayo / May
junio / June
julio / July
agosto / August
septiembre / September
octubre / October
noviembre / November
diciembre / December

Seasons (estaciónes del año)
primavera / spring
verano / summer (*October – April is summer in Guatemala.)
otoño / fall, autumn
invierno / winter (*May – September is winter in Guatemala.)
estación de las lluvias / rainy season
estación seca / dry season

Do you like summer? / ¿Le gusta el verano?
It is rainy season in Guatemala. / Esto es la estación de las lluvias en Guatemala.
I hate winter. / A mi no me gusta el invierno.

The date (la fecha)
Hoy es 5 de marzo. / Today is March 5th.
>> Cuando está escribiendo la fecha, el mes es antes del día. (When you are writing the date, the month goes before the day in English.)

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

10 Age (edad)

¿Cuantos años tiene? / How old are you?

Tengo 27 años. / I am 27 years old.
Tiene 6 años. / He is 6 years old.

Use ‘to be’ when describing age: (Usa ‘to be’ cuando está describiendo la edad:)
subject (sujeto) + verb form of ‘to be’ (la forma correcta del verbo ‘to be’) + number (numero) + “years old”.

Voy a tener 21 años en junio. / I will be 21 years old in June.
Tenía 5 años en la foto. / I was 5 years old in the photo.
Ella tiene un año. / She is 1 year old.

Ordinal numbers (los números ordinales)
1st: primero / first
2nd: segundo / second
3rd: tercero / third
4th: cuarto / fourth
5th: quinto / fifth
6th: sexto / sixth
7th: séptimo / seventh
8th: octavo / eighth
9th: noveno / ninth
10th: décimo / tenth

Monday, January 14, 2008

Exercises (ejercicios)

Instructions: Complete the following dialog with the correct form of the verb ‘to be’. (Instrucciones: complete el siguiente diálogo con la forma correcta del verbo ‘to be’.)

Note. As the teacher, you can write the sentence on a white board and leave the correct form of the verb ‘to be’ blank. Underneath the blank, you may want to write ‘present tense’ or ‘past tense’ or ‘future tense’. Or instead, you could just leave a blank and translate the sentence into Spanish- thereby telling the student which tense of the verb you are looking for.

(a) The keys are not on the chair. (Las llaves no están en la silla.)
(b) He was in school. (Él era en la escuela.)
(c) I am not here in the evening. (No estoy aquí en la noche.)
(d) We were sick. (Estábamos enfermos.)
(e) He is my friend. (Él es mi amigo.)
(f) She will be here soon. (Ella estará aquí pronto.)
(g) The pleasure is mine. (El gusto es mío.)
(h) His house is big. (Su casa es grande.)
(i) They are from England. (Ellos son de Inglaterra.)
(j) His pants are too small. (Sus pantalones son demasiados pequenos.)
(k) When I am with my brother, we talk a lot. (Cuando estoy con mi hermano, hablamos mucho.)
(l) I am fine. (Estoy bien.)
(m) You are welcome. (De nada.)
(n) His name is Miguel. (Se llama Miguel.)
(o) I was in love. (Estaba enamorado.)

Sunday, January 13, 2008

9 The Irregular Verb ‘To Be’ (verbo irregular ‘to be’)

to be :: estar, ser


the verb ‘to be’ with emotion words: (el verbo ‘to be’ con palabras emocciones:)
I am bored. / Estoy aburrido.
You are jealous. / Está celoso.
He is dizzy. / Él está mareado.
We are happy. / Estamos felices.
You are tired. / Ustedes están cansados.
They are sad. / Están tristes.

past tense (pasado)
+: I was / Yo estuve
-: I was not / Yo no estuve
?: Was I? / ¿Estuve yo?

present tense (presente)
+: I am / Yo soy
-: I am not / Yo no soy
?: Am I? / ¿Estoy yo?

future tense (futuro)
+: I will be / Estaré
-: I will not be / Yo no estaré
?: Will I be? / ¿Estaré yo?

>> For the verb ‘to be’, we do not use an auxiliary verb, even for questions and negatives. (Para el verbo ‘to be’ no usamos el auxiliar para frases positivos. No usamos ni preguntas ni frases negativos.)

Contractions with ‘To Be’ (contracciones con el verbo ‘to be’)
There are contractions with the verb ‘to be’ in the present and future tenses. (Hay contracciones con el verbo ‘to be’ en presente y futuro.)

present tense (presente)
I + am = I’m
you + are = you’re
he + is = he’s
she + is = she’s
it + is = it’s
Marta + is = Marta’s
we + are = we’re
they + are = they’re
future tense (futuro)
I + will = I’ll
you + will = you’ll
he + will = we’ll
she + will = she’ll
it + will = it’ll
-
we + will = we’ll
they + will = they’ll

future tense, negative (futuro, negativo)
we + will + not = we won’t

Saturday, January 12, 2008

8 Emotions (las emociones)

adjectives: emotions (adjetivos: las emociones)

feliz / happy
triste / sad
cansado / tired
aburrido / bored
nervioso / nervous
enojado / angry
preocupado / worried
tranquilo / calm
confundido / confused
mareado / dizzy
enfermo / sick
frustrado / frustrated
avergonzado / embarrassed
disgustado / disgusted
apenado / ashamed
esperanzado / hopeful
solo / lonely
enamorado del amor / love struck, in love
sorprendido / surprised
celoso / jealous
asombrado / shocked
tímido / shy
miedo / afraid, scared
emocionado / excited

>> Emotions use the verb ‘to be’, including verbs that use ‘tener’ in Spanish, such as celoso and miedo. (Las emociones usan el verbo ‘to be’, incluir verbos que usan ‘tener’ en español, como celoso y miedo.)

Friday, January 11, 2008

7 Regular Verbs (verbos regulares)

past tense (pasado)
+: I worked. / Yo trabajé.
-: I did not work. / Yo no trabajé.
?: Did I work? / ¿Trabajé yo?

>> For past tense, regular verbs always end in ‘ed’. Para el pasado, los verbos regulares siempre se terminan en ‘ed’.

future tense (futuro)
+: I will work. / Trabajaré.
-: I will not work. / No trabajaré.
?: Will I work? / ¿Trabajaré yo?


to like :: gustar

I like coffee. / Me gusta café.
You like coffee. / A ti te gusta café. A ustedes les gusta café.
He likes coffee. She likes coffee. / A él le gusta café. A ella le gusta café.
We like coffee. / A nosotros nos gusta café.
They like coffee. / A ellos les gusta café. A ellas les gusta café.

10 Regular Verbs (diez verbos regulares)
name :: llamar, nombrar I named my car. / Llamé mi coche.
enjoy :: gozar, disfrutar I enjoyed the movie. / Disfruté la película.
like :: gustar I like dogs. / Me gustan perros.
live :: vivir I live here. / Vivo aquí.
talk :: hablar He talks a lot. / Él habla mucho.
hope :: esperar They hope the store is open. / Ellos esperan que la tienda esté abierto.
hate :: aborrecer, odiar She hates vegetables. / Ella odia las verduras.
want :: querer We wanted the key. / Queremos la llave.
walk :: caminar, andar You walk home at night. / Usted camina a casa por la noche.
work :: trabajar It works. / Esto trabaja.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

6 Regular Verbs in Present Tense (verbos regulares en presente)

>> A verb expresses action or state of being. (El verbo expresa la acción física o mental.)

to work :: trabajar

present tense (presente)

>> We use the simple present tense when: (nosotros usamos presente para expresar:)
- the action is general (una acción general)
- the action happens all the time or habitually in the past, present or future. (se usa para expresar acciones continuas o habitual en el pasado o en el presente o en el futuro.)
- the action is not only happening now. (la acción solo no pasa ahora.)
- the statement is always true. (la acción es verdad siempre.)

I work. / Yo trabajo.
You work. / Tú trabajas. , Usted trabaja. , Ustedes trabajan.
He works. , She works. , It works. / El trabaja. , Ella trabaja.
We work. / Nosotros trabajamos.
They work. / Ellos trabajan. , Ellas trabajan.

Simple present tense exception #1: For third person singular, we add the letter ‘s’ to the main verb. (Verbos en Presente Excepción #1: Para la tercera persona singular, nosotros agregamos la letra ‘s’ al verbo primero.)

>> In Spanish, normally it is not necessary to include the personal pronoun subject in the sentence- but in English it’s necessary. En español, normalmente no es necesario incluir el pronombre personal sujeto en la oración- pero en inglés es necesario.

>> The pronoun ‘it’ signifies ‘he’ or ‘she’ when referring to things but not people. El pronombre ‘it’ significa ‘él’ o ‘ella’ cuando nos referimos a cosas, no a personas.

positive sentence (oración positivo), +: I work.
negative sentence (oración negativo), -: I do not work.
question (pregunta), ?: Do I work?

I – subject (sujeto)
do – auxiliary verb (verbo auxiliar)
not – negative word (la palabra negativo)
work – main verb (verbo)

>> When we make the simple present tense there are three important exceptions. (Cuando hacemos verbos regulares en presente, hay tres excepciónes importante.)

Simple present tense exception #2: For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary word ‘do’. (Verbos en Presente Excepción #2: Para oraciones positivos, nosotros no usamos el verbo auxiliar ‘do’.)

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

5 Basic Meet and Greet (conversaciones breves)

¿Hola, cómo esta? / Hi, how are you? , How are you doing?
Estoy bien. / I am fine. , I am great. , I am well.
gracias / thank you
mucho gusto / nice to meet you
igualmente / glad to meet you, too
Es un placer. / It is a pleasure.
El gusto es mío. / The pleasure is mine.
¿Qué pasa? / What’s up?
Le presento a Antonio. Te presento a Antonio. / This is my friend Antonio. , Let me introduce to you Antonio. , I want you to meet Antonio.
De nada. / You are welcome.
¿Y usted? / And you?
¿Qué tal? / How’s it going?
por favor / please
con permiso / excuse me
muchas gracias / thank you very much
no mucho / not much
¿Habla inglés? / Do you speak English?
Necesito salir. / I need to leave.
¿Adonde va? / Where are you going?


A basic conversation (una conversación básica)

Maybe a conversation you can practice having with your student. Or if you have two or more students, they can practice with each other in front of your guidance.

Good afternoon, sir. My name is Antonio. Nice to meet you. What is your name? My name is Franki. It’s a pleasure. The pleasure is mine. This is my friend Marcos. Nice to meet you. How are you doing, Marcos? I am well. Thank you. Where are you from? I am from Mexico. Do you speak English? Yes. Do you have any brothers or sisters? I have one brother. Do you have a wife? No. I am single. Do you have children? I do not have children. Excuse me. I need to leave. See you later. Goodbye.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Activity (actividad)

La Familia: Who is my family? (¿Quien es mi familia?)

Draw a family tree. Make it very involved. Use as much of the family unit vocabulary if possible. (I wish I could easily post/attach the picture I have made as it would clearly explain the activity!) In each box on the tree, leave it blank for a name to be written there by the student. Below each blank box, write the relationship (dad, sister, me, grandson, etc.) to the student in this space in English. Then, read the family members and their relationship in Spanish. The student must place each family member in the tree using English only. So that the task is not trivial, instead of using the student’s actual family members names and relationships, pick fictitious names and relationships. For example, “Tú esposo es Juan.” “Tú abuela es Karla.”

Monday, January 7, 2008

4 The Family (la familia)

hermano / brother
hermana / sister
padre, papá / father, dad
madre, mamá / mother, mom
abuelo / grandfather
abuela / grandmother
tío / uncle
tía / aunt
primo / cousin
sobrino / nephew
sobrina / niece
nieto / grandson
nieta / granddaughter
hijo / son
hija / daughter
suegro / father-in-law
cuñado / brother-in-law
yerno / son-in-law
nuera / daughter-in-law
esposo / husband
esposa / wife
parientes / relatives
padres / parents
hijos, niños / children, kids
novio / boyfriend
novia / girlfriend
chicos / boys
chicas / girls
casado / married
soltero / single
comprometido / engaged

Questions (preguntas)
¿Tiene usted hermanos? / Do you have brothers and sisters?
Sí, tengo tres hermanas. / Yes, I have three sisters.
¿Cuántos hijos tiene? / How many children do you have?
Tengo dos hijos. / I have two children.
¿Tiene parientes en Guatemala? / Do you have relatives in Guatemala?
Sí, tengo cuatro tíos y cinco sobrinos. / Yes, I have tour uncles and five nephews.
¿Tiene usted esposa? / Do you have a wife?
No, no tengo esposa. Soy soltero. / No, I do not have a wife. I am single.
¿Tiene Ana hijas? / Does Ana have daughters?
No, Ana no tiene hijas. Ella tiene un hijo. / No, Ana does not have daughters. She has a son.

Yo tengo / I have
Tú tienes / You have
El, Ella tiene / He, She has
Nosotros tenemos / We have
Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes tienen / They have

Note. The verb ‘tener’ (to have) will be taught in greater detail in a future lesson.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Activity (actividad)

Jugadores de fútbol

Show 10 different pictures of famous soccer players. The student must answer in English from the questions in English:
- Who is he? or What is his name?
- What country is he from?
- What color(s) is his team?
- What number is he?

Note. If the student is not a crazy soccer fan, you could try doing the exercise with 10 different pictures of famous Latin celebrities, etc. People the student would hopefully recognize.

Note. It is assumed the student can count in English. If the student cannot count in English, this might be a good spot to go over numbers.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

3 The Colors (los colores)

blanco / white
negro / black
rojo / red
verde / green
amarillo / yellow
azul / blue
naranja, anaranjado / orange
rosado / pink
morado / purple
gris / grey
café / brown
granate / maroon
turquesa / turquoise
violeta / violet

Hair Color (los colores de pelo)
rubio / blonde
moreno / brown, dark-haired

Friday, January 4, 2008

Activity (actividad)

¿Quién es él? ¿Quién es ella?

Find 7 people and have them write four or five sentences about themselves in Spanish (and/or translate their English into Spanish for the student). The teacher reads the sentences about the mystery person. The student must identify who the person is using only English, using the phrase ‘His/Her name is __.’ The student must also answer the question of where the person being identified is from: ‘He/She is from Guatemala City.’

Sample questions to generate four or five sentences about the person:
Where are you from? / ¿De dónde eres tú?
What is your job? / ¿Qué eres tú?
What did you do yesterday? / ¿Qué hizo ayer?
How old are you? / ¿Cuántos años tienes?
Personality trait? / ¿Cómo eres tú?
Do you have a wife or a husband? / ¿Tienes esposa o esposo?
Do you have brothers or sisters here? / ¿Cuántos hermanos tienes tú aquí?
What do you like? / Qué te gusta?
What do you do every day? / ¿Qué haces todos los días?
What is your favorite memory of the student? / Una memoria favorita con ___.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

2 Identifying Origin (identificación de origen)

Yo soy de Guatemala. / I am from Guatemala.
Usted es de Los Estados Unidos. / You are from The United States.
El es de Francia. / He is from France.
We are from Korea. / Nosotros somos de Corea.
They are from Cobán. / Ellos son de Cobán.
You are from Mexico. / Ustedes son de México.

The Countries (los países)
Guatemala / Guatemala
Los Estados Unidos / The United States
México / Mexico
Inglaterra / England
Alemania / Germany
Francia / France
Italia / Italy
España / Spain
El Perú / Peru
Corea / Korea
Nueva York / New York
Suiza / Switzerland
Noruega / Norway
Suecia / Sweden
Polonia / Poland
República Dominicana / Dominican Republic

Questions (preguntas)
¿De dónde eres tú? / Where are you from?
¿De cuál país eres tú? / What country are you from?

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Review (repaso)

A note on reviewing material.

Reviewing vocabulary, questions, etc. from previous lessons can be done in many ways. Here are a few of my favorites:

(1) Translate the spoken vocab word or phrase - Traduzca los siguientes palabras o oraciones. Teacher reads the word in either Spanish or English and the student must translate it orally.

(2) Conjugate verbs given a subject and a tense - Conjugue los siguientes verbos en la forma correcta. Teacher writes verbs down the board and across the top puts a header with the different tenses - present (presente), past (pasado), future (futuro), present progressive (presente progressivo) forming a grid or table.

(3) Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in the correct tense and/or translate the word in the blank. - Compete las oraciones con el verbo correcto. Also done on the board with blanks left out as underlines.

(4) Write a sentence using the verb 'to live', for example, in present tense (positive sentence), 'to work' in present progressive (negative sentence), 'to walk' in past tense (positive sentence), 'to be' in present tense using an emotion word, 'to talk' in future tense (a question), etc. - Forme oraciones usando las siguientes palabras... el verbo 'to live' en presente (oracion positivo), 'to work' en presente progressivo (oracion negativo), 'to walk' en pasado (oracion negativo), 'to be' en presente usando una emoción, 'to talk' en futuro (una pregunta), etc.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

1 Greetings (saludos)

Good morning Sir.
Good afternoon Jon.
Good evening my friend.
Good night Edwin.

vocabulary (vocabulario)
buenos días / good morning
buenas tardes / good afternoon
buenas noches / good evening (usa solemente cuando llegando)
buenas noches / good night (usa solemente cuando saliendo)

hola / hello, hi
adiós / goodbye, bye

hasta luego / see you later (puedes usar 'later' mas informal o 'catch you later' o 'talk to you later')
hasta mañana / see you tomorrow
hasta pronto / see you soon

sí / yes, yeah
no / no, nah

Note. If writing the vocabulary words on something such as a white board (pizarŕon), I like to write the Spanish word first, and draw an arrow- asking the student if he/she recalls the word in English. Many times the student will search his/her brain and try to think of the word- which helps with the learning. Sometimes the student has never seen the group of words. In this case, asking him/her to recall groups of English words they don't know more than a few times is obviously a waste of time and can be discouraging if done repeatedly. Clearly, discernment will guide this.

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My name is Franki. / Me llamo Franki.
Your name is Antonio. / Te llamas Antonio.
His name is Pablo. / Se llama Pablo.
Our names are Hispanic. / Nuestros nombres son hispánicos.
Your last names are García. / Sus apellidos son García.
Their names are short. / Sus nombres son cortos.

Questions (preguntas)
¿Cómo se llama usted? / What is your name?
Mi amigo se llama Juan. / My friend’s name is Juan.
¿Cómo se llama ella? / What is her name?
¿Cómo se llama la escuela? / What is the school’s name?
¿Cómo se llama la ciudad? / What is the name of the city?
La ciudad se llama Villa Nueva. / The name of the city is Villa Nueva.