xjwsforChrist

AGUEST SAID

"companion in learning/studying/studies" would be more formal, dear Char (peace to both you and dear Zoe!). Informally, it's "fellow student".

I might get to next lesson today! Here's hoping!

Peace!

YSSFS of Christ,

SA

CHARIKLO SAID

Ah! Fellow student sounds good, and aren't we all!

AGUEST SAID

LESSON ONE – How To Reference Oneself and/or Others

There are a few other “rules” you’ll have to know in order to communicate what you want/can do, etc. For instance, you need to know how to refer to yourself and others which, in Spanish, can be tricky because there are a couple ways to go about this. But once you understand the tricks, and they’re really not that difficult, you’ll do fine.

So, let’s start:

If you’re going to say I/he/they/we/she, etc., want/love/have, etc., you would use the following:

I = Yo
You = Tu (or su, formally)
You all = Vosotros
He = El (which also applies to “it” masculine)
She = Ella (which also applies to “it” feminine)
We = Nosotros
They = Ellos/Ellas (masculine/feminine, and always masculine if both)

However, most words include the “I/you/he/we/they” IN them when you state them. This occurs because the end of the word is changed; they vary, depending on the reference. For example:

- When referring to oneself or “I”... the final vowel is replaced with an “o.”
- When referring to another whom you are addressing the word will end with an “s”.
- When referring to another but whom you are NOT addressing, the word ends with the final vowel.
- When referring to a group whom you are addressing but are not a part of, the word will end with “an” or “en”.
- When referring to a group of whom you are a part, the word will end with “mos.”

IMPORTANT NOTE: Although the next rule doesn't apply solely to verbs, verbs are the easiest to understand in relation to it because Spanish verbs almost always end with the letter “r”. For example:

Sing = CantaR... meaning “to sing”.
Dance = BailaR... meaning “to dance.”
Eat = ComeR... meaning “to eat.”
Drink[/b] = BebeR... meaning “to drink.”
Speak/Talk = HablaR... meaning “to speak/talk”

So, for example, using the Spanish word for “speak/talk”... HABLAR... you could say YOU do so one of two ways:

“Yo hablO” or just “hablO.” Meaning, “I speak” or “I talk”.

If you want to say HE or SHE speaks/talks, you would say:

“El hablA” or “hablA” or even “hablA el”... for the masculine... and “ella hablA” or “hablA” or “hablA ella” for the feminine. This means “HE speaks/talks” (or “speaks/talks HIM”... or “SHE speaks/talks” (or “speaks/talks HER”).


So, let’s take those words above... sing, dance, eat, drink, speak... and see how they would be said in referencing oneself or others:

To Sing or “Cantar” –

I sing = Yo canto... or canto... or
You sing = Tu cantas... or cantas
He/She sings = El canta (masc.)... or ella canta (fem.)... or canta (for either)
They sing = Ellos cantan (masc.)... ellas cantan (fem.)... or cantan (for either)
We sing = Nosotros cantamos... or cantamos


To Dance or “Bailar” –

I dance = Yo bailo... or bailo
You dance = Tu bailas... or bailas
He/She dances = El baila... ella baila... or baila
They sing = Ellos bailan... ellas bailan... or bailan
We sing = Nosotros bailamos... or bailamos


To Eat or “Comer” –

I eat = Yo como... or como
You eat = Tu comes... comes
He/She eats = El come... ella come... or come
They eat = Ellos comen... ellas comen... or comen
We sing = Nosotros comemos... or comemos


To Drink or “Beber” –

I drink = Yo bebo... or bebo
You drink = Tu bebes... or bebes
He/She drinks = El bebe... ella bebe... or bebe
They drink = Ellos beben... ellas beben... or beben
We drink = Nosotros bebemos... or bebemos


To Speak/Talk or “Hablar” –

I speak = Yo hablo... or hablo
You speak = Tu hablas... or hablas
He/She speaks = El habla... ella habla... or habla
They speak = Ellos hablan... ellas hablan... or hablan
We speak = Nosotros hablamos... or hablamos


So, you only need to remember the following for verbs (which usually end in “r”):

I = drop last vowel and “r” and replace with “o”
You = replace last “r” with “s”
He/She/It = drop last “r”
They = replace last “r” with “n”
We = replace last “r” with “mos”


To get you through the weekend, here are some words to try this with:

Ganar (to win, earn)
Limpiar (to clean)
Mandar (to send)
Manejar (to drive, as in vehicle)
Pintar (to paint)
Planchar (to iron)
Lavar (to wash)
Saltar (to jump)
Cuidar (to care for, take care of)
Ayudar (to help)
Alquilar (to rent)
Dudar (to doubt)
Cambiar (to change)
Llorar (to cry)
Tomar (to take)
Concinar (to cook)
Terminar (to finish)
Contestar (to answer)
Arreglar (to arrange)
Nadar (to swim)
Trabajar (to work)
Comprar (to buy)
Pasar (to pass, spend time)
Dejar (to let, allow, leave)
Llevar (to wear, carry, take)
Bajar (to descend, go down – stairs; get off – train, bus, plane)


Here’s what I would suggest next, if you want to really get this down:

WITHOUT USING AN ONLINE TRANSLATOR post what you come up with here and I will look it over. Do NOT to use a translator; you want to figure this out on your own and be corrected where you makes errors (so that you LEARN by your mistakes! I promise you, that works better than almost anything!). A translator will only handicap you and defeat the purpose. If you don’t want to, no worries. If you want to have me look at your results... but feel uncomfortable posting here (although you shouldn’t; this is early AND not serious – we’re supposed to have fun!)... you can PM them to me. You don’t have to do ALL of the words, but the more you do the more practice you get.

So, okay! That’s Lesson One! I will post more as soon as I can but no later than next Tuesday. In the meantime:

Aprendizaje feliz y nos vemos la próxima "lección" el lunes/martes!
Or...
Happy learning and see you for the next “lesson” Monday/Tuesday!

Y paz a todos!

Su sirviente, compañero de estudios, y un esclava de Cristo,

SA

CHARIKLO SAID

Wow, Shel, that's brilliant! You are a born teacher! (Are you a teacher, by any chance?)

Thank you very much!

ZOE SAID

This is fantastic, Shelby you are great at teaching. I am going to copy this out and put it in a document file so I don't lose it.
Thank you so much

CHARIKLO SAID

LOL! RL...I must be dense!

RL....I'm guessing now....Real Life?

LOZ SAID

Wow Shelby this is impressive! Is it ok if I copy it to a doc too? I will also have to reread a few times. Could you please conjugate the verb 'to be' next time, so that we get 'I am, you are ' etc.

I've been thinking about how very difficult Welsh is compared with French for example, and apart from fun, I honestly don't think it would be much help to anyone at all. I don't mind helping with the French one though.

Currently I am very busy with my teaching placement in a university as well as ongoing pedagogical modules so I can't devote much time at the moment, sorry. It's occurring to me seeing these 'lessons' though that maybe we'd be better tackling these one at a time? Speaking for me, it'll take me a while to get my head around the Spanish and the thought of another at the same time just hurts my brain lol!

Many many thanks for all your hard work here Shelby, and it's really clear and well set out.

Loz x
_________________
Don't let anyone put you down, and don't do it to yourself.

CHAPPY SAID

Looks like Mexican Spanish. Would that be right? I'm just going on the alphabet pronunciations you provided. It's kind of fun to recognize the different accents. ll in Mexican is Y, as in Yes, but in some parts of the world (Spain is one, if I'm not mistaken), they mix the l and y sounds. Fun to listen to. My Argentinian friend, from many years ago, used to pronounce her D's so softly, they were almost T's.

Anyway, carry on. Just thought some would find that interesting.

I used to tutor Spanish a lifetime ago, but have forgotten much.

CHARIKLO SAID

Chappy, just read back. You'll see that Shelby has already highlighted some of the differences between Spanish Spanish, European Spanish, as it were, and the New World Spanish with which she's familiar and which she's imparting here.

Interesting, when we look at the history, isn't it?

CHAPPY SAID

Cool. I probably missed it. I'm cooking for company tonight.

Yeah---colonialism and an ocean can really change pronunciation.

In my area, when they taught Spanish, they generally taught Mexican Spanish. But I had a teacher for 2 of 4 years that was always trying to get us to also learn to pronounce European Spanish. It could get overwhelming when new, but was fun as we got better.

CHARIKLO SAID

Gosh, if I had people coming, I certainly couldn't manage to be online as well!

Very accomplished!

AGUEST SAID

Hola y paz a todos pollos!

Okay, here's the thing: I learned Castillian Spanish (Spain), but I grew up around and spoke mostly Mexican Spanish. SO... you all will prolly get a variety of both here. Keep in mind, if you can, that, this isn't a formal class and I'm not a formal teacher (I think I stated that somewhere). So I might state something not completely accurate... and anyone is welcome to speak up and correct... 'cause that's what this is supposed to be about. Remember: I'm just the ASSISTANT professor!

So... you get what you get from me - LOLOLOLOL! I make NO promises, particularly none that says you will be able to take and pass the Certified Spanish Interpreter test. BUT I think you will be a little better able to survive a vacation where SOME form of Spanish is the primary language. That's all I can promise!

In that light, forget the pronunciation I posted after "baila" - that was for "baile" which was wrong and has been changed. "Baila" is pronounced with an "uh" on the end.

As for conjungating verbs, I thought about starting there, dear Loz (peace, chile'!) and then thought, no, I don't want to make this that formal so I'll just teach it as it was easiest for ME to learn and remember... and for which might help best on vacations FIRST. If you think verb conjugation is the best next step, then yes, sure, we can do that next.

Anyone else want to weigh in on that?

AGUEST SAID

Hola y paz a todos!



Yes, to both, dear Loz (peace to you, dear one!). Well, yes to the first, and I will TRY as to the second - LOLOLOL!

Here's the thing, folks: I learned Castillian Spanish (formal, from Spain) in all of my class taking... but I grew up around and spoke mostly Mexican Spanish. SO... you will prolly get a variety of both here. Keep in mind, if you can, that, this isn't a formal class and I'm not a formal teacher (I think I stated that somewhere). So I might state something not completely accurate... and anyone is welcome to speak up and correct... 'cause that's what this is supposed to be about. Remember: I'm just the ASSISTANT professor!

So... you get what you get from me - LOLOLOLOL! I make NO promises, particularly none that says you will be able to take and pass the Certified Spanish Interpreter test. BUT I think you will be a little better able to survive a vacation where SOME form of Spanish is the primary language. That's all I can promise!

In that light, please forget the pronunciation I posted after "baila" - that was for "baile" which was wrong and has been changed. "Baila" is pronounced with an "uh" on the end (so you can edit and remove the parens comment, if you want, dear tec; the other edits are fine - thank you!).

So, there you go! Remember, this is supposed to FUN! If you're the type who needs more formal lessons and/or tends to stress over a class, I might not be the best "instructor" for you - LOLOLOL! Might drive you crazy, actually... so continue here at your own risk (perhaps to your sanity - LOLOLOL!).

Otra vez, paz a todos pollos!

Su sirviente, compañero de estudios, y un esclava de Cristo,

SA

LOZ SAID

Shelby I wasn't suggesting you conjugate ALL the verbs only the verb TO BE lol, you're right it'd take forever and we'd all be bored! And I only want this one cos it'll help me personally to get my head round it better lol.

I think you're doing a great job with this, and I don't care what type of Spanish it is, as you say it'll help on vacations.

Loz x
_________________
Don't let anyone put you down, and don't do it to yourself.

CHARIKLO SAID

I don't care what type either, not in the least, but the occasional comment that the Spain version is different for a particular word is useful and interesting.

Whatever you do is MUCH appreciated, and I speak as the one who wimped out on the French!