Hablemos Español: October 2015

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Learn Spanish- Personal Pronouns or Subject Pronouns- Los Pronombres Personales

Personal Pronouns or Subject Pronouns

Los Pronombres Personales

We are going to learn the personal pronouns or subject pronouns. Before we do so, we are

going to talk about the subject and the pronoun.

The subject (el sujeto) usually tells us who or what is doing the action in a sentence.

A pronoun ( un pronombre) is a word that we use instead of a noun.

Hence, a personal pronoun is designating the person speaking (I,we), the person spoken to (you), or the person or thing spoken about (he, she, it, they).

Example: The girl threw the ball.

She (the girl) threw the ball.

Is it formal or informal?

¡Hola!

¿Qué tal?

(Answer in the video)

Buenas tardes.

¿Cómo está?

(Answer in the video)

Informal Dialogue

-¿Cómo estás?

-Bien ¿Y tú?

¿Y tú? Means (And you?)

as in How are you?

Tú means you in Spanish

What about “I”?

Yo means I in Spanish.

Tú means you in Spanish.

Usted (Ud.) means you (formal)

tú ( you informal) is used with friends, kids, and teens, etc.

usted (you formal) is used to show respect: adults, people you don”t know well.

So, What about un niño?

Which one would you choose, tú or usted?

What about un doctor?

tú or usted?

What about un perro?

tú or usted?

So, now we know:

yo (I)

tú (you)

usted (you) formal

What about ” he”?

él (he)

ella (she)

Let's review this:

Singular

yo (I)

tú (you) informal

usted (Ud.) (you) formal

él (he)

ella (she)

What about “we”?

nosotros (we [male]) used with a group of guys or men.

nosotras (we [female]) used with a group of women or girls.

What happens when we have a group of men and females together?

Do we say nosotros y nosotras? (we[ male and females])

No, in Spanish, when we have a mixture of guys and girls we use:

Watch video for answer!

If a group is one guy and one girl, what do we use?

____________________

What about five men and twenty females?

____________________

What about one guy among one thousand females?

____________________

What about “they”?

ellos (they [males])

ellas (they [females only])

What if we have a mixed group of males and females?

Then we use:

ellos (they[ males and females])

Let's see if we can remember:

él is he

ellos is they for the males.

ella is she

ellas is they for females only.

In the Americas we have to forms for “you”:

tú (you) informal

usted (you) formal

However in Spain, instead of “tú “, they use:

vosotros (you) informal for males and males and females.

vosotras (you) informal for females only.

When they want to be polite and show respect:

usted (you singular) formal

ustedes (you plural) formal

In the Americas::

ustedes (you plural) formal

Let's review the plural forms:

nosotros, nosotras (we)

vosotros, vosotras (you [familiar])

ustedes (Uds.) (you [formal])

ellos (they)

ellas (they [females only])

So, let's review one more time:

One person (Singular)

yo (I)

tú (you) (informal)

usted (Ud.) (you [formal])

él (he)

ella (she)

More than one person plural

nosotros (we [male and female])

nosotras (we [female])

vosotros (you [informal])

vosotras (you [informal])

ustedes (you [formal])

ellos (they)

ellas (they females only)

Let's see if you understood it all!

Cierto or Falso ( True or False)

There is only one word for “you” in Spanish.

Watch video for answer!

Yo means “you” in Spanish.

Watch video for answer!

With which of these would you use “usted”?

The president of Colombia.

A professor

Your sister

Your cat

Which personal pronouns do we use to talk about guys and girls mixed?

Yo

nosotros

nosotras

tú

vosotros

ellos

ella

usted

ustedes

Which of the following are personal pronouns in Spanish?

Yo nosotros nosotras

tú vosotros ellos

ella usted ustedes

él vosotras ellas

Bits and Pieces

The abbreviations of:

usted= Ud. Or Vds.

Ustedes= Uds. Vds.

In Argentina and Paraguay “vos” is used instead of “tú”. Other countries use both.

If you are not sure whether to use “tú” or “usted”, it is best to use “usted”.

The other person can always give you permission to talk in the “tú” form.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Time Prepositions- Preposiciones de Tiempo

Time Prepositions

Learn Spanish- Time Prepositiones- Las Preposiciones de Tiempo

.¿ A qué hora come?

(At what time do you eat?) (Yo) como a las tres. (I eat at three.) To add the part of the day, we use the preposition de. When we want to add the part of the day, we add “de” a+ hora (hour)+ de + la mañana la tarde la noche (Yo) como a las tres de la tarde. ( I eat at three in the afternoon.)

However, we use “por” when we talk about a part of the day without telling the time: por + part of the day: la mañana la tarde la noche Por la mañana voy a clase. ( In the morning I go to class.) Por la tarde voy a estudiar. ( In the afternoon I am going to study.)

“Por” is not used when we talk about noon or midnight. Vino a vernos hoy a mediodía. (He/she came to see us today at noon.) Nos dieron una serenata a medianoche. (They gave us a serenade at midnight.)

On the other hand, we use “de” when we talk about “day” or “night”. Tenemos mucho trabajo de día. (We have a lot of work during the day.) De noche vamos a bailar. (At night we are going to dance.)
“en” is used when we talk about: months, years and the seasons. Nací en 1970. (I was born in 1970.) Estamos en otoño. (It is Fall.)

Remember that when we want to talk about the days of the week and dates, we do not use any prepositions. Instead, we use the article “el”. Las clases empiezan el lunes. (The classes begin on Monday.) Fui a Nueva York el 10 de agosto. (I went to New York el 10 de agosto.)

Las Preposiciones de Períodos de Tiempo (Period of Time Prepositions) When there is a time limit, we use: “en” La comida está en una hora. (The food will be ready in one hour.) “durante” (during) + Time period Estudié español durante cinco años. (I studied Spanish during five years.)

When there is a beginning point in time, we use: desde+ point in time Vivo en los Estados Unidos desde 1980. (I live in the United States since 1980.)

When there is a quantity of time, we use: desde hace Vivo en los Estados Unidos desde hace treinta y cinco años. (I live in the United States for thirty five years.)

When there is a limit or final time, we use: hasta + point in time Estuve en casa hasta las seis. ( I was home until six.)

When there is a period of time with beginning and end, we use: de + beginning hour +a + final hour La tienda abre de 9 a 10 horas. ( The store opens from 9 to 10 hours.)

We can also use: desde + beginning hour + hasta + final hour La tienda abre desde las 9 hasta las 10 horas. ( The store opens from 9 until 10 hours.)

When we want to talk about a period of time between two points, we use: entre + beginning and end La tienda abre entre las 9 y las 10 horas. ( The store opens between 9 and 10 hours.)

Notice that in the lasttwo examples, it was necessary to place the article “las” before the hours. La tienda abre desde las 9 hasta las 10 horas. (The store opens from 9 until 10 hours.) La tienda abre entre las 9 y las 10 horas. ( The store opens between 9 and 10 hours.)

Thanks for watching!
Remember to Subscribe!
Click the video to the right to watch a video on “Las Preposiciones” (Prepositions)

Google+: http://bit.ly/1OB7O6f

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Spanish Prepositions of Space

Las Preposiciones de Lugar
(Prepositions of Space)

Prepositions express a relationship in time and space.

The book is on the table.

The magazine is for you.

Some common prepositions in Spanish that you might have already used are:

a= to, at

con= with

de= from,about

en=in

entre= between, among

para= for, in order to

Let's learn some prepositions in Spanish:

cerca de= close to

lejos de= far from

delante de= in front of

detrás de= behind

a la izquierda de= to the left of

a la derecha de= to the right of

antes de= before (in time)

después de= after (in time)

junto a=next to, alongside of

al lado de= beside

So, let's see if you can use some of the prepositions.