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Spanish II Tutorial

Spanish Index | Spanish I | Spanish III | Spanish IV | Spanish V

21. To Do or Make

22. Work and School

23. Countries and Nationalities

24. To / In and From

Remember to use the prepositional contractions when a noun with an article follows the preposition.

25. To Come and to Go

26. Misc. Words

27. Conjugating Regular Verbs

Verbs in Spanish end in -ar, -er or -ir.  Before a verb is conjugated, it is called the infinitive.  Removing the last two letters gives you the stem of the verb (cantar is to sing, cant- is the stem.)  To conjugate regular verbs in the present tense, add these endings to the stems:

Remember that verbs do not require the subject pronouns, so just canto means I sing.  Here are some more regular verbs:

To make sentences negative, simply put no in front of the verb.

28. Reflexive Verbs

The subject and the object are the same with reflexive verbs - the subject acts upon itself.  A reflexive verb in Spanish will be marked with se attached to the end of the infinitive.  These verbs are conjugated like regular verbs, except the reflexive pronoun agrees with case and gender and precedes the verb when not used in the infinitive form.  Reciprocal verbs are the same as reflexive except the action passes from one person to another.  It can only be used in the first and third person plural forms.  Reflexive verbs sometimes use the "-self" forms in English, while the reciprocal verbs use "each other."

Some common reflexive verbs:

acostarse - to go to bed
bañarse - to bathe oneself
casarse - to get married
despertarse - to wake up
irse - to go away
levantarse - to rise
sentarse - to sit down
vestirse - to dress oneself
atreverse - to dare
quejarse - to complain

29. Irregular Conjugations

Some verbs have vowel changes in the present tense for all forms except first and second person plural.  After dropping the endings (-ar, -er, or -ir), the e of the last syllable changes to ie, and o of the last syllable changes to ue.  Some -ir verbs change the e to i, while verbs ending in -uir change the i to y for all forms except first and second plural.

30. Personal "a"

When the direct object of a verb (except tener) is a person, it is preceded by a.  It isn't used if a number precedes the object though.  The pronouns alguien (somebody), alguno (someone), nadie (nobody), and ninguno (no one) require a as well, when used as the direct object.

Veo a Juan.  I see John.
Conozco a tu amiga. I know your friend.
Veo a alguien.  I see somebody.

31. Preterite Tense

The preterite tense expresses an action in the past.  It is used to describe events that are finished or complete.  It is formed by adding these endings to the infinitive stem.

Viví en España dos años.  I lived in Spain for two years.
Ellos hablaron con los niños.  They spoke with the children.
Quién comió la fruta?  Who ate the fruit?

32. Irregular Preterite Tense

A few verbs are irregular in the preterite tense.  The following are the most common:

33. Imperfect Tense

The imperfect is another past tense that is used to express an action as going on in the past, as repeated or habitual.  It is also used with mental and physical conditions and for descriptions.  The preterite tense is used much more often than the imperfect tense though, except with these verbs:  querer, creer, poder, esperar, tener, and saber.  It is formed by adding these endings to the infinitive stem.

Yo vivía en España.  I used to live in Spain.
Luisa estaba triste.  Louise was sad.
El vendía radios.  He was selling radios.

Only a few verbs are irregular in the imperfect tense:

34. Food and Meals

bacon	el tocino	lunch	el almuerzo	wine	el vino
beef	la carne de vaca	meal	la comida	yogurt	el yogur
beer	la cerveza	meat	la carne	bag	la bolsa
beverage	la bebida	milk	la leche	bowl	el tázon
biscuit	el bizcocho	milkshake	la malteada	bottle	la botella
bread	el pan	mustard	la mostaza	box	la caja
breakfast	el desayuno	mutton	la carne de carnero	can	la lata
butter	la mantequilla	oil	el aceite	can opener	abrelatas
cake	la torta	omelet	la tortilla	carton	el tetrabrik
candy	los dulces	pepper	la pimienta	chopsticks	los palillos
cheese	el queso	pie	el pastel	coffee pot	la cafetera
chicken	el pollo	pork	la carne de cerdo	colander	el colador
chocolate	el chupete	rice	el arroz	corkscrew	el sacacorchos
chop	la chuleta	roast	el asado	cup	la taza
coffee	el café	roll	el panecillo	dish	el plato
cookie	la galleta	salad	la ensalada	fork	el tenedor
cottage cheese	el requesón	salami	el salchichón	frying pan	la sartén
cotton candy	el algodón de azúcar	salt	la sal	glass	el vaso
cream	la crema	sandwich	el bocadillo	jar	el tarro
custard	las natillas	sauce	la salsa	jug	la jarra
dessert	el postre	sausage	el chorizo	kettle	la caldera
dinner	la comida	soft drink	el refresco gaseoso	knife	el cuchillo
egg	el huevo	soup	la sopa	lid	la tapa
fried eggs	huevos fritos	sour cream	la crema agria	napkin	la servilleta
fat	la grasa	steak	el bistec	plate	el plato
flour	la harina	stew	el guisado	saucer	el platillo
ham	el jamón	sugar	el azúcar	saucepan	la cacerola / el cazo
hamburger	la hamburguesa	supper	la cena	spoon	la cuchara
honey	la miel	tea (iced)	el té (helado)	spray can	el spray
hot dog	el perro caliente	toast	las tostadas	table	la mesa
ice	el hielo	veal	la ternera	tablecloth	el mantel
ice cream	el helado	vegetable	la legumbre	teapot	la tetera
jam	la jalea	vinegar	el vinagre	tube	el tubo
juice	el jugo	water	el agua
lollipop	el chupete	whipped cream	la nata montada

35. Gustar

Gustar plus a noun means to like something.  Literally, it means to please and takes an indirect object, so the construction of the sentence will be different than that of English. The verb will only be conjugated in the third person singular or plural because it is agreeing with the noun or infinitive that follows it, not the subject.

Gusta is used with singular nouns or an infinitive, while gustan is used with plural nouns. It is also possible to add a + complement pronoun to emphasize the subject, but this is not necessary. The complement pronouns are the same as the suject pronouns except a mí and a ti.

Me gustan las flores.  I like the flowers.  (Literally: To me are pleasing the flowers or the flowers are pleasing to me.)
A nosotros nos gusta la casa.  We like the house.
No me gusta.  I don't like it.
Le gusta a Ud.?  Do you like it?
A ellos les gustan los caballos. They like the horses.

36. Fruits, Vegetables and Meats

Note: Los frijoles is used in South America, whereas las judías is used in Spain.

37. To Take or Drink

When tomar means to drink, it usually refers to alcohol. In Mexico, tomar can be intransitive, as beber is almost never used. In Spain, tomar is always transitive, such as tomar una copa- to have a drink and tomar un café - to have a coffee.

38. Commands / Imperative

To form commands, drop the final -s on the present tense conjugation for the tú form and change the final -r of the infinitive to -d for the vosotros form.  The other imperative conjugations (for Usted, Ustedes, and nosotros) use the present subjunctive forms. (More about the Subjunctive at #70.) You use the nosotros form when you mean Let's + infinitive. Negative commands use no + the present subjunctive conjugations for all forms. So the only forms that differ between affirmative and negative commands are tú and vosotros. Verbs that end in -car, -gar and -zar have the following changes in commands as well:  c becomes qu, g becomes gu, and z becomes c.

Habla!  = Speak!  (tú form)
Comed! = Eat!  (vosotros form)
No comáis! = Don't eat!  (negative vosotros form)
Beba! = Drink!  (Usted form)
Coman! = Eat (Ustedes form)
No beban! = Don't drink! (negative Ustedes form)

There are 8 irregular verbs in the imperative, but they are only irregular for the tú form. The rest of the commands follow the pattern above.

There are several irregular stems that appear in the present subjunctive, and therefore in the imperative.

infinitive	imperative stem
dar	d-
decir	dig-
estar	est-
haber	hay-
hacer	hag-
ir	vay-
poder	pued-
poner	pong-
querer	quier-
saber	sep-
salir	salg-
ser	se-
tener	teng-
traer	traig-
venir	veng-

39. More Negatives

To make sentences negative, you place no before the verb.  Other negatives may precede or follow the verb, but if they follow, they must follow a negative verb (a double negative).  The word order is either no + verb + negative or negative + verb. Nunca means ever when it follows a comparative; jamás means ever when it follows an affirmative verb. Ya no + verb means the same thing as no + verb + más (no more, no longer).

No bailas nunca. = Nunca bailas. You never dance.
No juego más. = Ya no juego. I no longer play.

40. Holiday Phrases

Spanish National Anthem: Marcha Real

There are no words to the Spanish national anthem; it is completely instrumental.

Mexican National Anthem: Mexicanos, al Grito de Guerra

by Francisco González Bocanegra

Mexicanos, al grito de guerra El acero aprestad y el bridón; y retiemble en sus centros la tierra Al sonoro rugir del cañón. Ciña ¡oh patria! tus sienes de oliva De la Paz el arcángel divino, Que en el cielo tu eterno destino Por el dedo de Dios se escribió. Mas si osare un extraño enemigo Profanar con su planta tu suelo, Piensa ¡oh patria querida! que el cielo Un soldado en cada hijo te dio. ¡Guerra, guerra sin tregua al que intente De la patria manchar los blasones! ¡Guerra, guerra! Los patrios pendones En las olas de sangre empapad. ¡Guerra, guerra! En el monte, en el valle Los cañones horrísonos truenen Y los ecos sonoros resuenen Con las voces de ¡Unión! ¡Libertad! Antes, patria, que inermes tus hijos Bajo el yugo su cuello dobleguen, Tus campiñas con sangre se rieguen, Sobre sangre se estampe su pie. Y tus templos, palacios y torres Se derrumben con hórrido estruendo, Y sus ruinas existan diciendo: De mil héroes la patria aquí fue. ¡Patria! ¡patria! Tus hijos te juran Exhalar en tus aras su aliento, Si el clarín con su bélico acento Los convoca a lidiar con valor. ¡Para ti las guirnaldas de oliva! ¡Un recuerdo para ellos de gloria! ¡Un laurel para ti de victoria! ¡Un sepulcro para ellos de honor! Mexicanos, al grito de guerra El acero aprestad y el bridón, y retiemble en sus centros la tierra Al sonoro rugir del cañón.

Mexicans, at the cry of battle lend your swords and bridle; and let the earth tremble at its center upon the roar of the cannon. Your forehead shall be girded, oh fatherland, with olive garlands by the divine archangel of peace, For in heaven your eternal destiny has been written by the hand of God. But should a foreign enemy Profane your land with his sole, Think, beloved fatherland, that heaven gave you a soldier in each son. War, war without truce against who would attempt to blemish the honor of the fatherland! War, war! The patriotic banners saturate in waves of blood. War, war! On the mount, in the vale The terrifying cannon thunder and the echoes nobly resound to the cries of union! liberty! Fatherland, before your children become unarmed Beneath the yoke their necks in sway, May your countryside be watered with blood, On blood their feet trample. And may your temples, palaces and towers crumble in horrid crash, and their ruins exist saying: The fatherland was made of one thousand heroes here. Fatherland, fatherland, your children swear to exhale their breath in your cause, If the bugle in its belligerent tone should call upon them to struggle with bravery. For you the olive garlands! For them a memory of glory! For you a laurel of victory! For them a tomb of honor! Mexicans, at the cry of battle lend your swords and bridle; and let the earth tremble at its center upon the roar of the cannon.

Spanish Index | Spanish I | Spanish III | Spanish IV | Spanish V

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