Posts tagged w/ verb

Time expressions in the past

Posted by adir ferreira
Feb
2
2009

Spanish has several verb tenses to express the past; two of them are Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto (present perfect simple) and Pretérito Perfecto Simple (simple past). This is how to distinguish them:

Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto is normally accompanied by expressions that refer to the present time. The reason for this is that this tense describes a perfect (finished) action that was completed within the same time frame the speaker is talking from. This is a subjective measure, and can change depending on the speaker’s perspective, according to how relevant the past action is in today’s world.

Hoy (today)
Esta mañana (this morning)
Esta semana (this week)
Este mes (this month)
Este verano (this summer)                               he estado en Buenos Aires.
Nunca (never)
Ya (already, yet)
Todavía no (not yet)

Pretérito Perfecto Simple can be accompanied by past time expressions that are not related to the present. It is a finished action that was completed in a time frame that is different to the one the speaker is talking from (again, subjectively). Therefore, the action is not relevant today.

Ayer (yesterday)
Hace cinco años (five years ago)
El mes pasado (Last month)
La semana pasada (last week)                           estuve en Buenos Aires.
El 4 de enero de 1989 (January 4th, 1989)
Hace mucho tiempo (a long time ago)
Cuando era pequeño (when I was a child)

If you have any questions about this, don’t hesitate to post a comment.

See you next time!

 
Posted under Grammar, Language
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The future… the future?

Posted by adir ferreira
Aug
18
2008

Let’s talk a bit about the future in Spanish. There are two basic forms: the first one is a specific verb conjugation called the simple future (futuro simple). For example, the verb estar (estaré, estarás, estará, estaremos, estaréis, estarán) in the simple future tense is equivalent in English to the form “will” (I will be, you will be, etc.).

The second type of future is made up of the phrase ir a (where the verb ir is conjugated) and the main verb in infinitive: voy a estar, vas a ir, etc. This form is equivalent to the English “to be going to” (I’m going to be, you’re going to go, etc.

The future can also be used as a command. When we were kids our mothers would say: “You will wash your hands before eating!” with a strong emphasis on the “will”. In this sentence will is being used not only to express the future, but also as a clear order. The same structure occurs in Spanish: ¡Te lavarás las manos antes de comer!

In addition, the conjugated future form in Spanish can also express probability or likelihood. Take a look at these examples:

  • María todavía no ha llegado. Estará en el trabajo. (María hasn’t arrived yet. She must be at work.)
  • ¿Qué hora es? Serán las dos. (What time is it? It must be two o’clock.)
  • Pedro ha trabajado mucho. Estará cansado. (Pedro has worked a lot. He must be tired.)
  • Estoy confundido. ¿Me amará María? (I’m confused. I wonder if María loves me.)

There is also a quaint idiomatic expression that uses ser in the future tense to emphatically express a person’s negative attributes.

  • ¡Serás maleducado! (You’re so rude!)
  • ¡Será cabrón! (He’s such a jerk!)

See you next time!

 
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Verbs in -ducir

Posted by admin
Jul
18
2008

We know that a suffix is often added to a word stem to create new words, but that isn’t always the case. Let’s take the example of the suffix –ducir in Spanish and some verbs formed with it: conducir, reducir, deducir, etc. Such verbs are derived from Latin ducere, which meant “to lead”. The examples below are cognates of English verbs ending in either “-duce” or “-duct” and their meanings coincide in English and Spanish. They have irregular conjugation in the first person singular in the present (yo conduzco) and its preterite forms are conjugated as conduje, condujiste, condujo, etc. The website 123 Teach Me (www.123teachme.com) has a very good Spanish verb conjugator, so make sure you check it out. Here are the most common verbs ending in -ducir, along with a usage example of each:

Aducir (to adduce, to allege) – Él adujo que estaba borracho como atenuante. (He alleged being drunk as an extenuating circumstance.)

Conducir (to drive, to manage, to lead) – El director condujo la reunión de forma muy dinámica. (The director conducted the meeting in a very dynamic way.)

Deducir (to deduce, to infer) – Como llegaba empapado, deduje que había estado en la lluvia. (As he arrived soaking wet, I deduced he had been caught in the rain.)

Inducir (to induce, to lead) - A mí me indujeron el parto en la semana 41 del embarazo. (They induced labor on the 41st week of my pregnancy.)

Introducir (to introduce) – Este país introdujo el café en Europa. (This country introduced coffee to Europe.)

Producir (to produce) – Emilio Estefan produjo discos para artistas como Ricky Martin, Shakira y Thalía. (Emilio Estefan produced records for artists like Ricky Martin, Shakira and Thalia.)

 
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Expressions with TOMAR

Posted by admin
Jun
20
2008

Tomar is a very common verb in Spanish. Here are some uses and expressions with it.

1. to take

Tomó el libro en las manos. – He took the book in his hands.
El camarero no ha querido tomar la propina que le daba. – The waiter didn’t want to take the tip he was being given.
He tomado el tren para venir aquí. – I took the train to come here.
Toma algunas fotos cuando viajes. – Take some pictures when you travel.
Tomó apuntes durante la conferencia. – She took notes at the conference.

2. to consider

Lo toman por tonto. – They consider him stupid.

3. to have (food, drink)

He tomado mucha gaseosa. – I’ve had a lot of soda.
Anda a la escuela después de tomarte el desayuno. – Go to school after you have breakfast.

4. no tomar en serio – not to take something seriously

El dueño no tomó en serio nuestra propuesta. – The owner didn’t take our proposal seriously.

5. ser de armas tomar – be bold and demanding.

Es una mujer de armas tomar, no se detiene ante nada. – She’s a very bold woman, nothing will stop her.

6. tenerla tomada – to have it in for someone or something

La profesora la tiene tomada conmigo. – The teacher has it in for me.

7. tomar en cuenta – take something into account

No tomó en cuenta nuestro esfuerzo. – He didn’t take our effort into account.

8. tomar por donde quema – to take something the wrong way

No tomes estas cosas por donde queman, deja de ser suspicaz. – Don’t take things the wrong way, stop being suspicious.

9. tomar el pelo – to make fun of

Me estás tomando el pelo, ¿verdad? – You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?

10. toma y daca – give and take

No puedes pretender que solo trabaje yo en ello; esto ha de ser un toma y daca. – You can’t expect me to be the only one working on this; it has to be give and take.

Hasta la próxima.

 
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