Lección 4

team

mile

game, match

swimming pool

treadmill

athlete (masc. / fem.)

basketball

baseball

football

golf

tennis

volleyball

gymnasium

holidays

Thanksgiving

St. Patrick's Day

St. Valentine's Day

Hanukkah

Mardi Gras

Christmas

New Year's Eve

Christmas Eve

Passover

Easter

How old are you turning?

party pooper

chess

toast

birthday

others

surprise party

game (as in chess)

free / spare time

gift

card

last night

yesterday

strong

museum

fun (masc. / fem.)

rooms

furniture

household appliances

bathroom

rug; carpet

bathtub

shower

mirror

toilet

bathroom sink

kitchen

coffeemaker

stove

oven

dishwasher

microwave

freezer

refrigerator

dining room

bedroom

closet

bed

poster

dresser

bookshelf

lamp

end table

living room

painting

armchair

sofa

balcony

garage

garden

patio

desk

table

chair

housework

to sweep the floor

to make the bed

to wash the dishes

to clean the whole house

to vacuum
vacuum cleaner

to iron the clothing

to dust

to take out the garbage

soap

washing machine

iron

cleaning products

dryer

detergent

window

housing

house; home

private residence

roommate (masc.)
roommate (fem.)

housemate (masc.)
housemate (fem.)

address

owner / landlord (masc.)
owner / landlady (fem.)

home (as in "home, sweet home")

tenant

square feet
square meters

flat, apartment, or floor
floor of a building

doorperson; building manager

size

neighbor

view

apartment

condominium

residence

rent

neighborhood

building

office

dorm

furnished

me (obj. or prep.)

for; because of

you (obj. of prep.)

What size is...?

To make impersonal statements, ones in which the verb is singular and the subject is not specified, use the reflexive pronoun SE. The rough equivalent in English is one, you, or they.

EXAMPLES:
SE puede llamar a la professora si hay preguntas. (One can call the professor if there are questions)

SE necesita practicar el español todos los días. (One needs to practice Spanish every day)

The PRETERITE is used to talk about finished or completed events in the past. If the action or event is viewed by the speaker as completed by a certain point in time - no matter how long the action or event lasted - it will be expressed in the PRETERITE.

EXAMPLES:
--Sólo canté una canción. (I sang only one song)
--Los dinosaurios reinaron por millones de años. (Dinosaurs reigned for millions of years)

Note the following about -ar verb forms of the PRETERITE. The nosotros form is the same as that used in the present tense. Context usually lets you know whether past or present is intended.

EXAMPLE: Ayer visitamos el Museo del Prado. (Yesterday we visited the Prado Museum)

In the preterite, verbs that end in -car, -gar, and -zar have spelling changes in the YO form that keep the k, hard g, and soft c sounds.

EXAMPLES:
tocar: -car --> qu (toqué)
pagar: -gar --> gu (pagué)
empezar: -zar --> c (empecé)

Verbs with present-tense stem changes show no stem changes in the PRETERITE.

EXAMPLES:

-COMENZAR-
comienza (3rd person, present tense) / comenzó (3 person, preterite)

-ALMORZAR-
ALMUERZA (3rd person, present tense) / ALMORZÓ (3rd person, preterite tense)

Note the accent marks on the yo, usted, and él / ella forms in the PRETERITE. These are important to demonstrate the shift of stress from the stem of the verb to the verb ending.

To express the concept of "ago" Spanish uses HACE + the amount of time elapsed.

EXAMPLES:
HACE unos días (a few days ago)
HACE unas semanas (a few weeks ago)
HACE un mes (a month ago)
HACE varios años (several years ago)

As in the PRETERITE forms of -ar verbs, the stress or -er / -ir verbs shifts from the stem of the verb to the vowel in the ending.

Unlike those for the present tense, the PRETERITE endings (including those for nosotros & vosotros) are exactly the SAME for -er and -ir verbs.

As with stem-changing -ar verbs, -er verbs show NO stem change in the preterite. However, some -ir verbs do show a stem change in the preterite, but only in the usted, él, ella, ustedes, and ellos / ellas forms.

EXAMPLE:
-COMPETIR- (to compete)
Yo competí
Ella compitió
Ustedes compitieron

In the PRETERITE, an unstressed i between vowels becomes a y for spelling and pronunciation purposes.

EXAMPLE:
-LEER- (to read)
Yo leí
Tú leíste
Él / Ella / Usted leyó
Nosotros(-as) leímos
Vosotros(-as) leísteis
Ellos / Ellas leyeron

The verb conocer in the preterite translates as MET.

EXAMPLE:
Conocí al nuevo estudiante. (I met the new student)

Three verbs that are irregular in the preterite tense are: HACER, IR, and SER.

IR and SER share the same FORMS in the preterite. Context will determine the meaning.

EXAMPLES:
--¿Fue Roberto al cine? (Did Roberto go to the movies?)
--Bill Clinton fue presidente de 1993-2001. (Bill Clinton was president from 1993-2001.)

the first

the second

the third

the fourth

the last

Aquarius

Aries

Cancer

Capricorn

Scorpio

Gemini

Leo

Libra

Pisces

Sagittarius

Taurus

Virgo

The verb andar is IRREGULAR in the preterite and means TO WALK.

anduve anduvimos
anduviste anduvisteis
anduvo anduvieron

The verb decir is IRREGULAR in the preterite and means TO SAY. The stem is dij-

dije dijimos
dijiste dijisteis
dijo dijeron

The verb estar is IRREGULAR in the preterite and means TO BE. The stem is estuv-

estuve estuvimos
estuviste estuvisteis
estuvo estuvieron

The verb poder is IRREGULAR in the preterite and means TO BE ABLE. The stem is pud-

pude pudimos
pudiste pudisteis
pudo pudieron

The verb poner is IRREGULAR in the preterite and means TO PUT. The stem is pus-

puse pusimos
pusiste pusisteis
puso pusieron

The verb querer is IRREGULAR in the preterite and means TO WANT. The stem is quis-

quise quisimos
quisiste quisisteis
quiso quisieron

The verb saber is IRREGULAR in the preterite and means TO KNOW. The stem is sup-

supe supimos
supiste supisteis
supo supieron

The verb tener is IRREGULAR in the preterite and means TO HAVE. The stem is tuv-

tuve tuvimos
tuviste tuvisteis
tuvo tuvieron

The verb traer is IRREGULAR in the preterite and means TO BRING. The stem is traj-

traje trajimos
trajiste trajisteis
trajo trajeron

The verb venir is IRREGULAR in the preterite and means TO COME. The stem is vin-

vine vinimos
viniste vinisteis
vino vinieron

There is NO stress shift for irregular preterite verbs andar, decir, estar, poder, poner, querer, saber, tener, traer, and venir in the YO, USTED, & ÉL / ELLA forms.

For irregular preterite verbs andar, decir, estar, poder, poner, querer, saber, tener, traer, and venir all the endings are the SAME regardless of whether they end in -ar, -er, or -ir.

The verb saber in the preterite translates as to FIND out / to COME to know in English.

EXAMPLE:
¿Y cuándo supiste eso? (And when did you find that out?)

Verbs whose irregular preterite stems end in j or a vowel DROP the i in the ustedes, ellos, and ellas forms.

EXAMPLES:

-DECIR- dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron

-TRAER- traje, trajiste, trajo, trajimos, trajisteis, trajeron

The verb dar is IRREGULAR in the preterite and means TO GIVE. There are no ACCENT marks in the yo, usted, él, and ella forms because they consist of one syllable.

di dimos
diste disteis
dio dieron

"Querer" normally translates as TO WANT, but in the preterite it means TO TRY.

EXAMPLE: Quise hacerlo. (I tried to do it)

"No querer" normally translates as not to want, but in the preterite it means to REFUSE.

EXAMPLE: No quise hacerlo. (I refused to do it)

"Poder" normally translates as to be able / can, but in the preterite it means to SUCCEED or to MANAGE to (do something)

EXAMPLE: Por fin pude hacerlo. (Finally I managed to do it)

"No poder" normally translates as not to be able / can't, but in the preterite means to FAIL (in doing something)

EXAMPLE: No pude hacerlo. (I failed to do it.)

fan of (masc. / fem.)