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Formal and Informal "You" How do you say "you" in Spanish? If you're new to learning Spanish, the answer isn't as simple as it may appear.

That's because Spanish, like many other languages, has several different ways that you can address other people, all of which can be translated by the English word "you."

First and most obvious, there are singular and plural forms, which aren't distinguished in the English word, although we can usually tell which is meant. But more important to learning how the Spanish language is used, Spanish also has formal and informal (also called "familiar") ways of saying "you," the usage depending on the person you're talking to and/or the circumstances. The difference doesn't come across in translating to English, but if you use the informal "you" where the formal is required, you run the risk of sounding presumptuous or even arrogant.

First, here is a chart showing the various ways of saying "you" as the subject of a sentence:

<ul> <li>Singular informal: tú</li> <li>Singular formal: usted</li> <li>Plural informal: vosotros</li> <li>Plural formal: ustedes</li> </ul> Here are simple examples of how these pronouns might be used: <ul> <li>Katrina, ¿quieres tú comer? (Katrina, do you want to eat?)</li> <li>Señora Miller, ¿quiere usted comer? (Mrs. Miller, do you want to eat?)</li> <li>Katrina y Pablo, ¿queréis vosotros comer? (Katrina and Pablo, do you want to eat?)</li> <li>Señora Miller y Señor Delgado, ¿quieren ustedes comer? (Mrs. Miller and Mr. Delgado, do you want to eat?)</li> </ul> Important note: In the above sentences, the pronouns have been included for clarity and for explaining the pronoun usage. In real life, the pronouns would normally be omitted, because the context would make clear who the subject of each sentence is.

One reason for knowing which form of "you" to use is that there are corresponding words for "your" and "yours" as well as for "you" when it isn't the subject of a sentence. Also, Spanish uses different verb forms for the informal and formal usages, with the informal forms taking a second-person conjugation while the formal forms take a third-person conjugation (the same used for the equivalents of "he," "she," and "they").

The basic rule: As a general rule — although keep in mind that there are exceptions — when speaking with one person you can use the informal forms under roughly the same circumstances where you can use a person's first name in English. Of course, when that is can vary with age, social status and the specific culture you are in.

More specifically, the singular informal tú is used when speaking with family members, children, pets, friends or close acquaintances, while usted is used when speaking with others. In most types of Christianity, at least, tú also is used when addressing God in prayer. Tú can also be used contemptuously when speaking to a stranger.

Obviously, the use of tú suggests a certain amount of intimacy. But the degree of intimacy varies with region. In some places, people of similar social status will start using tú upon meeting, while in other areas doing so might seem presumptuous. If you're uncertain which to use, it is usually better to use usted unless until the person starts speaking to you using tú, in which case it is usually OK to reciprocate (unless you're a child or the person speaking to you is a police officer or other authority figure). Spanish even has a verb, tutear, meaning to address someone using tú. In a few areas, as in much of Colombia, usted is used even with close friends and family members.

Plurals: In Latin America, the informal plural, vosotros, is seldom used, even when talking with family members, so ustedes is used in plural cases. In Spain, vosotros is generally used as the plural of tú.

The pronoun vos: In some parts of Latin America, the pronoun vos replaces or partly replaces tú, especially in spoken Spanish. In some areas, vos implies even greater intimacy than tú does, and in some other areas it has its own verb forms. As a foreigner, however, you're perfectly safe using tú even where vos is common.

January 5, 2009

Noun-Adjective Agreement.... spanish class As in English, nouns in Spanish can be either singular or plural. But, unlike in English, adjectives in Spanish can also be singular or plural. Also, nouns in Spanish can be either masculine or feminine, and so can adjectives.

The general rule of noun-adjective agreement in Spanish is simple: Singular nouns are accompanied by singular adjectives, and plural nouns are accompanied by plural adjectives. Masculine nouns are described by masculine adjectives, and feminine nouns are described by feminine adjectives. In other words, the adjectives chosen to describe nouns must match in both number and gender.

Generally, the "normal" form of adjectives, the form you will find listed in dictionaries, is singular and masculine. To make the adjective plural, follow one of these steps:

<ul> <li>If it ends in an unstressed vowel, add -s. Examples: verde ("green," singular), verdes ("green," plural). El árbol es verde, the tree is green. Los árboles son verdes, the trees are green.</li> <li> </li> <li>If it ends in a z, change the z to a c and add -es. Example: feliz ("happy," singular), felices ("happy," plural). Soy feliz, I'm a happy person; somos felices, we are happy people.</li> <li> </li> <li>If it ends in another consonant or a stressed vowel, add -es. Example: difícil ("difficult," singular), difíciles ("difficult," plural). La tarea es difícil, the task is difficult; las tareas son difíciles, the tasks are difficult.</li> <li> </li> <li>Note that in some cases it is necessary to add or remove an accent mark to maintain the stress on the correct syllable.</li> </ul> Making a masculine adjective feminine is even easier. Just follow these steps: <ul> <li>If the singular masculine adjective ends in an -o, change it to an -a. Example: pequeño ("small," masculine singular), pequeña ("small," feminine singular). El gato es pequeño, the cat is small; los gatos son pequeños, the cats are small; la chica es pequeña, the girl is small; las chicas son pequeñas, the girls are small.</li> <li>If the singular masculine adjective ends in any other letter, the feminine form is the same. El autobús es grande, the bus is big; la casa es grande, the house is big.</li> </ul> As you will learn elsewhere, adjectives can come before or after nouns, or they can be used with verbs such as ser ("to be") to describe nouns. But (except for invariable adjectives) they will always match the nouns they describe in both number and gender.

Important note: Invariable adjectives don't change in form and are very rare. Most of them are either uncommon colors or words of foreign origin. An example is web as in la página web (the web page) and las páginas web (the web pages). As a beginner you will seldom have the need to use invariable adjectives, but you should be aware that they exist so they don't confuse you when you see them.

October 23, 2008

Introduction to the Definite Article ..."the( el, la, los, las)" The word "the" occupies a unique place in the English language as the only word that grammarians classify as a definite article. It's not quite so simple in Spanish, where the English "the" has four equivalents. Like most adjectives, the definite article in Spanish varies with number and gender: <ul> <li>Singular masculine: el</li> <li>Singular feminine: la</li> <li>Plural masculine: los</li> <li>Plural feminine: las</li> </ul> Although there are a few exceptions, as a general rule a definite article is used in Spanish whenever "the" is used in English. But Spanish also uses a definite article in many cases where English does not. Although the following list isn't exhaustive, and there are exceptions some of these rules, here are the major instances where Spanish includes a definite article absent in English:

With abstract nouns and nouns used in a general sense: In English, the article is often omitted with abstract nouns and nouns that refer more to a concept than a tangible item. But it still is needed in Spanish. A few examples might help clarify: La (Science is important.) Creo en la justicia. (I believe in justice.) Estudio la literatura. (I study literature.) La (Spring is beautiful.) primavera es bella. ciencia es importante.

With most titles of people: The definite article is used before most titles of a person being talked about. El (President Bush lives in the White House.) Voy a la oficina de la doctora González. (I'm going to the office of Dr. Gonzalez.) Mi vecina es la señora Jones. (My neighbor is Mrs. Jones.) The article is omitted, however, when directly addressing the person. ¿Cómo está usted? profesora Barrera. (How are you, Professor Barrera?) presidente Bush vive en la Casa Blanca.

Before days of the week: Days of the week are always masculine. Except in constructions where the day of the week follows a form of ser (a verb for "to be"), as in hoy es martes (today is Tuesday), the article is needed. Vamos a la escuela los lunes. (We go to school on Mondays.) El tren sale el miércoles. (The train leaves on Wednesday.)

Before verbs used as subjects: In Spanish, infinitives (the basic form of a verb) can be used as nouns. The article el is used when one is used as the subject of a sentence. El escribir es difícil. (Writing is difficult.) El (Skiing is dangerous.) No me gusta el nadar. (I don't like swimming. In Spanish, this sentence has an inverted word order that makes nadar the subject.) esquiar es peligroso.

Often before names of languages: The article generally is used before names of languages. But it can be omitted immediately following a verb that is used often with languages, such as hablar (to speak), or after the preposition en. El (English is the language of Belize.) El (German is difficult.) Hablo bien el español. (I speak Spanish well.) But, hablo español. (I speak Spanish.) No puede escribir en francés. (He can't write in French.) alemán es difícil. inglés es la lengua de Belice.

With some place names: Although the definite article is seldom mandatory with place names, it is often used with many of them. La (Havana is pretty.) La (India has many languages.) India tiene muchas lenguas. Habana es bonita.

With nouns joined by "and": In English, it often isn't necessary to include the "the" before each noun in a series. But Spanish often requires it. La madre y el padre están felices. (The mother and father are happy.) Compré la silla y la mesa. (I bought the chair and table.)

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Marco. A.

October 21, 2008

Put Your Pronunciation Skills to the Test.....Trabalenguas (Spanish Tongue Twisters) Think you have your Spanish pronunciation down? If so, test your skills with the tongue twisters below. If they seem too easy, try repeating them rapidly. Even if you're a native speaker, you're likely to be tripped up sooner or later.

Incidentally, the Spanish word for "tongue twister" is trabalenguas, or (loosely translated) "thing that ties the tongue."

October 19, 2008

Spanish Abbreviations

This list shows the Spanish abbreviation in boldface, the Spanish meaning and the corresponding English abbreviation or translation.

<ul> <li>a.C., a. de J.C., a.J.C., a. de J.C. — antes de Cristo, antes de Jesucristo — B.C. (before Christ), BCE (before Common Era)</li> <li>a.m. — antes del mediodía — a.m. (before noon)</li> <li>apdo. — apartado postal — P.O. Box</li> <li>aprox. — aproximadamente — approximately</li> <li>Av., Avda. — avenida — Ave. (avenue, in addresses)</li> <li>Bs. As. — Buenos Aires — Buenos Aires</li> <li>c.c. — centímetros cúbicos — c.c. (cubic centimeters)</li> <li>Cía — compañia — Co. (company)</li> <li>cm — centímetros — cm. (centimeters)</li> <li>c/u — cada uno — apiece</li> <li>D. — don — Sir</li> <li>Da. — doña — Madam</li> <li>d.C., d. de C., d.J.C., d. de J.C. — después de Cristo, después de Jesucristo — A.D. (anno domini), CE (Common Era)</li> <li>dna. — docena — dozen</li> <li>Dr., Dra. — doctor, doctora — Dr.</li> <li>E — este (punto cardinal) — E (east)</li> <li>EE. UU. — Estados Unidos — U.S.</li> <li>esq. — esquina — street corner</li> <li>etc. — etcétera — etc.</li> <li>FF. AA. — fuerzas armadas — armed forces</li> <li>f.c., F.C. — ferrocarril — R.R. (railroad)</li> <li>Gob. — gobierno — Gov.</li> <li>Gral. — general — Gen. (military title)</li> <li>h. — hora — hour</li> <li>Ing. — ingeniero — engineer</li> <li>kg — kilogramos — kg (kilograms)</li> <li>km/h — kilómetros por hora — kilometers per hour</li> <li>l — litros — liters</li> <li>Lic. — licenciado — attorney</li> <li>m — metros — meters</li> <li>mm — milímetros — millimeters</li> <li>m.n. — moneda nacional — sometimes used to distinguish the national currency from others</li> <li>N — norte — N (north)</li> <li>no., núm. — número — No. (number)</li> <li>O — oeste — west</li> <li>OEA — Organización de Estados Americanos — OAS (Organization of American States)</li> <li>ONU — Organización de Naciones Unidas — UN (United Nations)</li> <li>OTAN — Organización del Tratado del Norte — NATO (North American Treaty Organization)</li> <li>pág. — página — page</li> <li>P.D. — postdata — P.S.</li> <li>p.ej. — por ejemplo — e.g. (for example)</li> <li>p.m. — post meridien — p.m. (after noon)</li> <li>Prof, Profa. — profesor, profesora — Professor</li> <li>q.e.p.d. — que en paz descanse — R.I.P. (rest in peace)</li> <li>S — sur — S (south)</li> <li>S.A. — Sociedad Anónima — Inc.</li> <li>S.L. — Sociedad Limitada — Ltd.</li> <li>Sr. — señor — Mr.</li> <li>Sra. — señora — Mrs., Ms.</li> <li>Srta. — señorita — Miss, Ms.</li> <li>s.s.s. — su seguro servidor — your faithful servant (used as salutation in letters)</li> <li>tel. — teléfono — telephone</li> <li>Ud., Vd., Uds., Vds. — usted, ustedes — you</li> <li>v. — véase — go see</li> <li>vol. — volumen — vol. (volume)</li> <li>W.C. — water closet — bathroom, toilet</li> </ul> Did you like this topic? <img alt="" src="/FCKeditor/editor/images/smiley/msn/wink_smile.gif" />
Marco A.

October 17, 2008

Spanish Pluralization Rules Have Few Exceptions If you know how to make nouns plural in English, you're close to knowing how to do so in Spanish.

The basic principle is the same: In Spanish, plurals end with the letter s, as is usually the case in English. Spanish plurals usually have an unaccented vowel preceding the s, as is often the case in English.

Basic Rule

In fact, if you can remember that the Spanish plural is formed by making sure the plural word ends with s preceded by an unaccented vowel, usually e, you've taken care of nearly all of what you'll have to learn. Most of what's left is learning the few exceptions as well as the spelling changes needed to make the written form of the language conform to what is spoken.

The basic rule is this: If a word ends in anything other than an s preceded by an unstressed vowel, add either s or es to the end of the word so that it does. In some cases, a spelling change is needed to maintain the sound that would be needed to follow this rule.

Here's how the rule is applied in various cases:

Words ending in an unstressed vowel:

<ul>Add the letter s.

Examples: el libro, the book, los libros, the books; el gemelo, the twin, los gemelos, the twins; el pato, the duck, los patos, the ducks.

</ul> Words ending in a stressed vowel: <ul>Add the letters es.

Examples: el tisú, tissue, los tisúes, tissues; el hindú, the Hindu, los hindúes, the Hindus.

</ul> Words ending in a consonant: <ul>Add the letters es.

Examples: el escultor, the sculptor, los escultores, the sculptors; la sociedad, the society, las sociedades, the societies; el azul, the blue one, los azules, the blue ones; el mes, the month, los meses, the months.

Note: Y is treated as a consonant for this rule. la ley, the law, las leyes, the laws.

</ul> Words ending in s preceded by an unstressed vowel: <ul>The plural form is the same as the singular form.

Examples: el lunes, Monday, los lunes, Mondays; el rompecabezas, the puzzle, los rompecabezas, the puzzles; la crisis, the crisis, las crisis, the crises.

</ul>

The Exceptions

Exceptions to the above rules are few. Here are the most common ones:

Words ending in é:

<ul>Simply add an s.

Example: el café, the coffeehouse, los cafés, the coffeehouses.

</ul> Foreign words: <ul>Some foreign words maintain the pluralization rules of the originating language.

Examples: los jeans, jeans; el camping, the campground, los campings, campgrounds; el curriculum vitae, the résumé, los curricula vitae, the résumés.

</ul> Specific exceptions: <ul>A few words simply don't follow the rules.

Examples: el papá, the father, los papás, the fathers; la mamá, the mother, las mamás, the mothers; el sofá, the couch, los sofás, the couches.

</ul>

Orthographic Changes

Changes in either spelling or accents are needed sometimes due to the phonetic nature of the Spanish language. The rules above still apply — you just need to make sure plural word is spelled the way it is pronounced, or that it is spelled according to Spanish convention. Here are the orthographic changes sometimes required:

Words ending in z:

<ul>Change the ending zes to ces.

Examples: el pez, the fish, los peces, the fish; el juez, the judge, los jueces, the judges.

</ul> Words ending in an accented vowel followed by s or n: <ul>Eliminate the accent in the plural.

Examples: el interés, interest, los intereses, interests; el francés, the Frenchman, los franceses, the Frenchmen; el avión, the airplane, los aviones, the airplanes.

</ul> Words ending in n in an unstressed syllable: <ul>Add an accent to the appropriate vowel to maintain the correct stress.

Examples: el examen, the exam, los exámenes, the exams; el crimen, crime, los crímenes, crimes.

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Marco A.

</ul>

October 17, 2008

Making Nouns and Adjectives Plural (spanish) In English, as you already know, we usually make nouns plural by adding "-s" to the end of the word, unless it ends in "-y," in which case the "-y" is dropped and replaced by an "-ies." (Hyphens indicate word endings, not that a hyphen is used.) In Spanish, it is almost as simple, and Spanish has few of the numerous and unpredictable exceptions that English has. For the sake of simplicity and clarity, the examples given in this lesson are for nouns, but the same rules apply for adjectives.

The basic rule: The rule that you follow most of the time is roughly the same as the rule in English: If a word ends in a consonant, add -es. If it ends in an unaccented vowel, simply add an -s. In Spanish, y is treated as a consonant for purposes of pluralization.

<ul>Examples: un árbol (one tree), dos árboles (two trees), el actor (the actor), los actores (the actors), el hotel (the hotel), los hoteles (the hotels), un taco (a taco), dos tacos (two tacos), un perro (a dog), tres perros (three dogs), un rey (a king), cuatro reyes (four kings). </ul>

Orthographic changes: Some words follow the general rule in terms of pronunciation, but a change in either a letter or an accent mark is needed. In plurals of words that end in -z, the -z changes to -ces for the plural. And if the addition of -es would change which syllable gets the accent, an accent is either dropped or added.

<ul>Examples: el juez (the judge), los jueces (the judges), una vez (once), dos veces (twice), el inglés (the Englishman), los ingleses (the Englishmen), la canción (the song), las canciones (the songs), el examen (the exam), los exámenes, the exams. </ul> Words ending in stressed vowels: Words that end in a stressed -é form the plural simply by adding -s. Words that end in other stressed vowels have an -es added. There are four common exceptions: el papá (the father), los papás (the fathers), una mamá (a mother), dos mamás (two mothers), el dominó (the domino), los dominós (the dominoes), and un sofá (a sofa), tres sofás (three sofas). <ul>Examples: el rubí (the ruby), los rubíes (the rubies), el hindú (the Hindu), los hindúes (the Hindus), el café (the coffee), los cafés (the coffees). </ul> Finally, the exceptions: The above rules cover probably 99 percent of the nouns you will use. Most of them are words that are identical in the singular and plural — e.g., la crisis (the crisis), las crisis (the crises) — and new words of foreign origin, which often follow the pluralization rules of the originating language — e.g., el applet Java (the Java applet), los applets Java (the Java applets). As a beginner, the main exceptions you need to know are the days of the week, Monday through Friday, which are the same in singular and plural — los lunes (Mondays), los martes (Tuesdays), and so on.

October 17, 2008

Pronouncing Vowels English speakers generally find the pronunciation of Spanish vowels fairly easy. Close approximations of all their sounds exist in English, and, with the exception of the E and the sometimes silent U, all the vowels have basically one sound.

The main thing to keep in mind is that in Spanish the vowels' sounds are generally more distinct than they are in English. In English, any vowel can be represented by what's known as the schwa, an unstressed vowel sound such as the "a" in "about," the "ai" in "mountain," and the "u" in "pablum." But in Spanish, such an indistinct sound isn't used. Although, as in most languages, the sounds of the vowels can vary slightly with the letters before and after them, in general the sound remains the same regardless of the word it's in.

<ul> <li><a name="A"></a>A is pronounced similarly to the "a" in "father" or the "o" in "loft." Examples: madre, ambos, mapa. There are some speakers who sometimes pronounce the a something halfway between the "a" in "father" and the "a" in "mat," but in most areas the first sound given is standard.</li> <li> </li> <li><a name="I"></a>I is pronounced similarly to the "ee" in "feet" and the "e" in "me," although usually a little briefer. Examples: finca, timbre, mi.</li> <li> </li> <li><a name="O"></a>O is pronounced like the "oa" in "boat" or the "o" in "bone," although usually a little briefer. Example: teléfono, amo, foco.</li> </ul> Now, the two vowels whose sound can change: <ul> <li><a name="E"></a>E is generally pronounced like the "e" in "met" when it is at the beginning or within a word. It is pronounced similarly to the Canadian "eh," kind of a shortened version of the "é" in the English "café," when it is at the end of the word. Sometimes it can be somewhere between those two sounds. It's not quite the sound of the English letter "A," which if pronounced slowly often has an "ee" sound at the end, but closer to the "e" of "met." Keep in mind that even when it's at the end of the word, in a sentence it may sound more like the "e" of met. For example, in a phrase such as de vez en cuando, each e has approximately the same sound. Examples: café, compadre, embarcar, enero.</li> <li> </li> <li><a name="U"></a>U is generally pronounced like the "oo" in "boot" or the "u" in "tune." Do not pronounced it like the "u" in "uniform." Examples: universo, reunión, unidos. In the combinations gui and gue, as well as after q, the u is silent. Examples: guía, guerra, quizás. If the u should be pronounced between a g and i or e, an umlaut (sometimes called a dieresis) is placed over it. Examples: vergüenza, lingüista.</li> </ul> Diphthongs and triphthongs: As in English, two or three vowels in Spanish can blend together to form a sound. The sound is basically the sound of the two or three vowels rapidly pronounced. For example, the u when followed by an a, e, i or o ends up sounding something like the "w" in "water." Examples: cuaderno, cuerpo, cuota. The ai combination sounds something like the sound of "eye." Examples: hay, airear. The i when followed by an a, e, i or u sounds kind of like the "y" in "yellow.": hierba, bien, siete. And other combinations are possible as well: miau, Uruguay, caudillo.

The letter <a name="Y"></a>Y: Generally, the y is pronounced the same as it would if it were an i, as part of a diphthong. Examples: rey, soy, yacer. In some words that are derived from English and have a y at the end often retain the English pronunciation. For example, in popular songs you may hear words such as sexy and phrases such as oh baby.

October 15, 2008

The Easy Consonants

Here are the pronunciations of the consonants with sounds most like English's:

October 15, 2008

Pronunciation: Difficult Consonants in spanish

While many of the Spanish consonants have sounds that are <a href="http://spanish.about.com/library/beginning/bl-beg-pronunciation-easycons.htm">similar</a> to those in English, many are distinctly different. In this lesson we will study those consonants.

Note the differences between the sounds of these consonants and their English counterparts in the following examples. Note also that these pronunciations are a guide only, as there are many subtle variations that can vary with locality.

October 15, 2008