As in any languages there are certain common mistakes that people can make when speaking and in writing Spanish. Study and review these topics and you will greatly improve your ability to speak and to write Spanish.
Pregunta
vs. cuestión| Tengo una duda y quiero hacerte una pregunta. | I have a doubt and I want to ask you a question. |
Cuestión means "question" in the sense of an issue, a matter, or a topic.
| Mi sueldo es una cuestión que no te importa. | My salary is a matter that doesn't concern you. |
Pedir vs. preguntar
Pedir means "to request" or "to ask
for".
| Mi hijo me pidió diez dólares. | My son asked me for ten dollars. |
Preguntar means "to ask [a question] about"
| Tengo problemas con esto; ¿puedo preguntarte algo? | I have problems with this; can I ask you something? |
Multiple adverbs ending in -mente
When two or more adverbs formed with -mente occur in a
series, the -mente ending is removed from all but the last one.
Note that the feminine form of the adjective remains.
| Ella habla lenta, clara y deliberadamente. | She speaks slowly, clearly, and deliberately. |
"To ask a question" is hacer una pregunta.
| ¿Te molesta si te hago una pregunta? | Will it bother you if I ask you a question? |
Note that this is similar in meaning to preguntar una cosa or preguntar algo:
| ¿Te molesta si te pregunto algo? | Will it bother you if I ask you something? |
Esta noche vs. anoche
"Tonight" = Esta noche ("this night" or
"this evening")
"Last night" = Anoche.
| ¿Quieres salir conmigo esta noche? | Will you go out with me tonight? | |
| ¿Otra vez? Ya salí contigo anoche? | Again? I went out with you last night. |
"To realize": realizar vs. darse cuenta de
Darse cuenta de (algo) is the standard way of saying "to
realize (something)", that is, when that mental light bulb
suddenly turns on.
| ¿No te das cuenta de que tengo 20 años? | Don't you realize I'm 20 years old? |
Realizar is a real Spanish verb, but it means "to accomplish" or "to carry out":
| Realicé todos los proyectos que me dieron. | I carried out all projects they gave me. |
"More than": más que and más de
"More than" is normally espressed by más que;
más de is used before numbers. However, no ... más que
is used to "only".
| Todos gana más que yo. | Everyone earns more than me [or: more than I do]. | |
| No ganaste más de 100 dólares ayer? | Didn't you earn more than 100 yesterday? | |
| No, no gané más que veinte. | No, I only earned $20. |
"To know": conocer vs. saber
The basic meaning of conocer is "to be acquainted with" and
thus may be used as "to know" persons or places, or "to be
familiar" with [rather than "to know by heart"] something such as a
literary work. In the preterit it can be equivalent of the word "met", that is,
"made the acquaintance of".
| Yo no conozco a nadie en este cuarto. | I don't know anyone in this room. | |
| Ah, pero conoces a Ana; la conociste anoche. | Ah, but you know Ana; you met her last night. | |
| Nadie aquí conoce el poema compuesto por Bécquer. | No one here is familiar with the poem comosed by Bécquer. | |
| Claro que conozco a Madrid; nací allí. | Of course I know Madrid; I was born there. |
Saber means "to know" a fact. It may also be used as "to know how to" when followed by an infinitive.
| Yo sé la verdad y sé que tú no la dijiste. | I know the truth, and I know that you didn't tell it. | |
| Sabes pronunciar esa palabra? | Do you know how to pronounce that word? | |
| No sabemos quién es el hombre sentado allí. | We don't know who the fellow seated over there is. |
Note that saber and not conocer is used in the third example --with quién-- because the issue is knowledge of information, not of acquaintance.
"To enter/go in": entrar en
Entrar means "to enter" or "to go [in]"; it must be used with a
preposition --en or a-- when followed by a place.
| No quiero entrar en un cuarto tan sucio. | I don't want to go in such a dirty room. | |
| ¿Quién entró en la tienda? | Who entered the store? |
"To leave/go out": salir
Salir is the verb most frequently used to mean "to go out
of" or "to leave" a physical place. When the place is added, the
preposition de must be used. Note that salir may also be used to mean go out
with someone as on a date.
| Voy a salir de la casalo más pronto posible. | I'm going to get out of the house as soon as possible. | |
| Mi jefe sale de la oficina a las siete. | My boss leaves the office at 7:00. | |
| Marta sale con el chico más guapo de la clase. | Marta is going out with the best-looking guy in the class. |
"By ... -ing": el gerundio
The gerund (that is, the -ndo form) is used to express the idea of "by
(do)-ing (something)". (The preposition por plus the infinitive is not used in
this way because it means "because of ... ing"; see the next section.)
| Aprendemos escribiendo. | We learn by writing. |
"Because of ... -ing" or "for ... -ing" is often translated with por plus the infinitive; note that the past infinitive is frequently used if a previous action is indicated:
| Lo queremos por ser tan amable. | We love him for being so kind [because of being so kind]. | |
| Lo encarcelaron por haber robado a mi hermana. | They robbed him for robbing my sister [because of having robbed my sister]. |
"Ago": Hace and hacía. If the verb describing the action is in the preterit or imperfect, hace (present tense of hacer) is used. If the action is given using the past perfect tense, hacía (the imperfect) is used:
| Vi la película hace un mes. (or) Hace un mes (que) vi la película. |
I saw the movie a month ago. | |
| Me había quejado hacía un año. | I had complained a year earlier. |
Sólo vs. solo
Sólo is an adverb, a synonym for solamente, "only". Solo
is an adjective which means "alone".
| Sólo queremos vivir en Indiana. | We only want to live in Indiana. | |
| Queremos vivir solos en el campo. | We want to live alone out in the country. |
"One thousand": mil
"One thousand" or "a thousand" is always mil, NEVER
"un mil". Mil, by the way, is used for all multiples of a
thousand: mil, dos mil, tres mil, cuatro mil, cien mil, doscientos mil, etc.
| Mi tío rico me regaló mil dólares ayer. | My rich uncle gave me one thousand dollars yesterday. |
"A million (things)": un millón de (cosas)
When millón or its plural form millones is followed by a noun, it must be
linked with de:
| Indianapolis tiene un millón de habitantes, pero dos millones de coches, al parecer. | Indianapolis has one million inhabitants, but two million cars, apparently. |
Days of the week and "On Monday(s)"
The days of the week in Spanish are lunes, martes, miércoles,
jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo. Normally they are not capitalized in Spanish.
Most of these names end in -es, in which cases the singular and plural forms
are one and the same; for example lunes means both "Monday" and
"Mondays". Therefore, to distinguish between "on Monday" and "on
Mondays", Spanish the definite article --el or los-- as a marker:
| Tengo muchas citas el martes, pero nada el miércoles. | I have many appointments on Tuesday, but nothing on Wednesday. | |
| Vamos a servicios religiosos los sábados o los domingos. | We go to religious services on Saturdays or on Sundays. |
The definite article with articles of clothing and parts of the body. Instead of using the possessive adjective (my, your, etc.) with articles of clothing or parts of the body, Spanish typically uses the definite article and then makes the person involved the indirect object:
| ¿Te lavaste bien las manos? | Did you wash your hands well? | |
| Me duelen los pies; voy a quitarme los zapatos. | My feet hurt; I'm going to take off my shoes. |
Gender-problem words. Note the gender of the words given below. Also remember that nouns ending in -ción, -dad, -umbre, -ie, and -sis are typically feminine (la nación, la cualidad, la pesadumbre, la barbarie, la crisis)
| el clima | climate, weather | |
| el cometa | comet; kite | |
| el día | day | |
| el problema | problem | |
| el programa | program | |
| el sistema | system | |
| el mapa | map | |
| la gente | people (singular!) | |
| la parte | part | |
| la mano | hand | |
| el/la artista | artist (and other words ending in -ista likewise can be either masculine or feminine |
"To continue (to do something)" or "to keep on (doing something)" is translated using the verb seguir or continuar plus the gerund (-ndo form). Remember that the stem vowel is the weak vowel u in continuar, so in the present tense indicative and subjunctive, an accent mark is needed on all but the nosotros and vosotros forms (continúo, continúas, etc.).
| Ella no me hizo caso; siguió cosiendo. | Se didn't pay any attention to me; she kept on sewing. | |
| Ojalá que ustedes no continúen perdiendo tiempo. | I hope you don't continue to waste time. |
"To stop (doing something)" is expressed by using a verb such as dejar (or parar, etc.) plus de plus the infinitive.
| Raúl dejó de fumar la semana pasada. | Raúl stopped smoking last week. |
"To look at", "to look for", "to
ask for", "to wait for"
Several Spanish verbs include in their meaning what appear to be prepositions in English
such as "at" or "for". These include mirar ("to look
at"), buscar ("to look for", "to search for", or "to
look up [something in a reference source]", pedir"("to ask for"
or "to request") and esperar ("to wait for
(someone/something)").
| Mamá miró la cuenta unos minutos sin decir nada. | Mom looked at the bill a few minutes without saying anything. | |
| Busqué el anillo una hora entera. | I looked for the ring for a whole hour. | |
| Esta mañana pedí un aumento de sueldo. | This morning I asked for a pay raise. | |
| Voy a llegar tarde; no me esperes. | I'll be late; don't wait for me. |
Televisión vs. televisor. Televisor is the TV set, whereas televisión refers to the industry or programming.
| ¿Por qué pasas tanto tiempo ante el televisor? | Why do you spend so much time in front of the TV (set)? | |
| No me gusta la televisión. | I don't like TV. |
"Season": estación vs. temporada
Estación means "season" when dealing with the seasons of the year (la
primavera, el verano, el otoño y el invierno). Temporada is used for
most other seasons, such as for sports, bullfighting, television, and opera.
| Mi estación favorita es la primavera. | My favorite season is spring. | |
| Esta temporada de fútbol será fenomenal. | This soccer season will be phenomenal. |
"Mr. and Mrs. [García]" or "The [Garcias] is usually expressed with the article los plus the last name given in the singular form.
| Anoche conocí a los Gómez | Last night I met Mr. & Mrs. Gómez [the Gomezes.] |
"To sit down/be seated; lie down/be lying
down", etc.
When dealing with positions for the human body, be careful to distinguish between the action
and the resultant state or position. For example, sentarse expresses the action of
sitting down, whereas estar sentado describes some as being in a seated position. A
partial list of these actions/positions:
action |
resultant position |
|
| acostsarse (to lie down) | estar acostado/echado (to be lying down) | |
| arrodillarse (to kneel) | estar arrodillado (to be kneeling) | |
| sentarse (to sit down) | estar sendado (to be sitting/seated) | |
| levantarse (to get up, stand up) | estar de pie (to be standing) | |
| Me senté, pero mientras estaba sendado, no podia menos de seguir moviendo los pies. | I sat down, but while I was sitting, I couldn't help but keep moving my feet. |
"To move": mover(se) and mudarse.
Mudarse is used as to move in the sense of changing residences. Mover means
to move as in pushing or pulling somebody or something. Mover must have a direct
object; if no other direct object is expressed, the verb must be used reflexively.
| Nos mudaremos mañana a nuestra nueva casa. | Tomorrow we'll move to our new house. | |
| ¡No te mueves! ¡No mueves ni un músculo. | Don't move. Don't move even one muscle. |
"To become": ponerse, hacerse, volverse, and convertirse en are some of the expressions that can mean to become. Ponerse is used only with adjectives, and expresses a change in a physical or mental state. Hacerse is used with both adjectives and nouns and implies that a personal effort is involved in the change. Volverse is used only with adjectives and implies a complete change. Convertirse en is used with nouns and means to be changed into something.
| Ana se puso enojada/triste/cansada. | Ana got upset/sad/tired. | |
| Ellos se hicieron ricos; se hicieron abogados. | They became rich; they became lawyers. | |
| Don Quijote se volvió loco. | Don Quijote went crazy. | |
| Nadie se convirtió en rana. | Nobody turned into a frog. |
"To spend": gastar vs. pasar
"To spend" is usually pasar when referring to time, but gastar
when referring to money or effort. "To misspend or waste" can be rendered as perder
(time) and malgastar (money or effort).
| Pasaron tres días en Taxco, México, donde gastaron todo el dinero que traián consigo. | They spent three days in Taxco, México, where they spent all the money they had with them. | |
| Malgasté doscientos dólares y perdí un par de días tratando de reparar mi coche. | I wasted $200 and a couple of days trying to get my car fixed. |
"People": gente, pueblo, personas. Gente refers to people in the abstract and is a singular noun. Pueblo (besides meaning village) refers the group of people that makes up a country or geographical area. Personas (persons) or individuos [not individuales] can be used to a group of individual or specific persons.
| La gente hoy en día no sabe mucho de la geografía. | People nowadays don't know much about geography. | |
| Los romances son un tesoro del pueblo español. | Romances [ballads] are a treasure of the Spanish people. | |
| Hay varias personas aquí que hablan español. | There are several people here who speak Spanish. |
Individuo vs. individual: Individuo is a noun meaning (an) individual or (a) person. Individual is the adjective form meaning individual in the sense of single (only one).
| Es un individuo extraño. | He's a strange individual. | |
| El señor Gómez nos dio una lección individual. | Mr. Gómez gave us an individual lesson. |
"In the morning/afternoon/evening":
De la mañana/tarde/noche is used after the time of day where we would use A.M. or
P.M. En [or: por] la manãna/tarde/noche is used in other contexts, meaning
such things as "during the morning" or "at night".
| ¿Quién se levanta a las cuatro de la mañana? | Who gets up at 4:00 A.M.? | |
| Hago mi tarea por la noche [o: en la noche]. | I do my homework at night. |
Aparecer, parecer, and parecerse. Aparecer means to appear in the sense of to make an appearance, such as a ghost. Parecer means to appear in the sense of seem. Parecerese a means to resemble or to look like (someone).
| De repente una nube oscura apareció sobre nosotros. | Suddenly a dark cloud appeared over us. | |
| Eso parece ridículo. | That seems ridiculous. | |
| Elena se parece a su madre, ¿no? | Elena looks like her mother, right? |
Pero, sino, sino que. Pero is the usual conjunction that means but. Sino means but"in the sense of but rather and is used when preceded by a negated item which is replaced by what follows sino (i.e., "not this but rather the other"). Sino que is used in the same was a sino, but is followed by a clause (including a conjugated verb) that replaces the preceding negated item.
| Prefierimos jugar pero no podemos. | We prefer to play, but we can't. | |
| No quiero la blusa azul sino la roja. | I don't want the blue blouse but rather the red one. | |
| No salieron anoche sino que comieron en casa. | They didn't go out last night, but (instead) they ate at home. |
"So much" and "as much" = tanto [never *tan mucho!]. Note also that the plural form so many is tantos/as.
| Por favor, no bebas tanto. | Please, don't drink so much. | |
| Ella trabajó tanto como yo. | She worked as much as I (did). | |
| Nunca he visto tantas personas en un mismo lugar. | I've never seen so many people in one place. |
"To learn": aprender and enterarse de. Aprender means to learn by studying, whereas enterarse de is to learn in the sense of to find out, somewhat similar to descubrir.
| En esa clase aprendimos mucho vocabulario. | We learned a lot of vocabulary in that class. | |
| Nos enteramos de que alguien nos espiaba. | We learned (or: found out)that someone was spying on us. |
Another": otro [never *un otro! ] You cannot use the indefinite artifcle un(-a) before otro:
| Tengo otra idea. | I have another idea. |
Also note that in Spanish the plural form otros occurs before, not after, a number:
| Tengo que hacer otras mil cosas. | I have to do a thousand another things. |
"Most of" + noun is generally expressed as la mayor parte de:
| Pasaremos la mayor parte del día en el centro comercial. | We'll spend most of the day at the shopping center. |
Uses of the word "about":
| Tratarse de | To be about, to deal with | |
| ¿De qué se trata el cuento | What is the story about? | |
| Pensar de/Opinar de | To speak about, to have an opinion about | |
| ¿Que opinas/piensas de ese cuento? | What do you think about that story? | |
| Sobre | To write about a specific tobic | |
Muchos filósofos escribieron sobre el significado de la vida. |
Many philosophers wrote about the meaing of life. | |
| estar a punto de + infinitive | To be about to (do something) | |
| Estaba a punto de escribirte una carta. | I was about to write you a letter. |
Uses of the word "around"
| Por | In the sense of the general area | |
| No hay nadie por aqui | There's no one around (here). | |
| Alrededor de | In the sense of surrounding | |
| Hay muchos árboles alrededor de la casa. | Around the house there are many trees. |
Uses of the word "at":
| En | To refer to a place in which people or things are already located. | |
| El médico no está en su consultorio. | The doctor is not at his office. | |
| a | To refer, with verbs such as llegar, to a place to which someone is going. | |
| Llegaremos temprano al aeropuerto. | We will arrive at the airport early. |
Uses of the verb "Ser":
Used to identify when one one noun or pronoun = another noun or pronoun |
||
| Mi Mamá es abogada. | My mother is a lawyer. | |
Used to indicate time of day |
||
| ¿Qué hora es? Son las dos. | What time is it? It is two o'clock. | |
Use with adjectives to indicate personal qualities (physical, mental, emotional) that are changeable by an act of will |
||
| Carlos es alta. | Carlos is tall. | |
| Used in impersonal expressions to denote "it is + quality". | ||
| es necesario | it is necessary | |
| es importante | it is important | |
| es bueno | it is good | |
| Used to indicate when or where an event is taking place | ||
| La fiesta es a las siete; será en mi casa. | The party is at seven; it will be at my house. | |
| Used with the past participle to form the passive voice | ||
Esas casas fueron constridas por un arquitecto famoso. |
Those houses were built by a famous architect. | |
Uses of the verb "Estar":
| Used to indicate location | ||
| Madrid está en España. | Madrid is in Spain. | |
| Used with the adjective to indicate changeable qualities | ||
El café está caliente/frio. |
The coffee is hot/cold. | |
| Used with the past participle to indicate a state that is the result of a past action | ||
| La puerta está cerrada. | The door is closed. | |
Uses of the verb "Tener":
Used with certain nouns (hambre, sed, frío, sueño, suerte, prisa) to indicate certain feelings a person might have (to be hungry, thirsty, cold, hot, sleepy, lucky, in a hurry) |
||
Tengo mucho frío. |
I am very cold. | |
| Used with años to indicate a person's age | ||
| Mi hermano tiene diecinueve años. | My brother is nineteen. | |
Use of the verb "Hacer":
Used with certain nouns (tiempo, calor, frío, viento, sol) to describe the weather |
||
Hace mucho frío, pero hace sol. |
It is very cold, but it is sunny. | |
Use of the verb "Haber (Hay)":
Used to denote existence, it is translated "there is" or "they are" and is always is a third person, singular form: |
||
¿Cuántas estudiantes hay en esta clase? Hay viente. |
How many students are in the class? There are twenty. | |
Uses of the word "Because":
| Preceding an explanation with a conjugated verb = porque | ||
| Estudia literatura porque le gusta leer. | She studies literature because she likes to read. | |
| Because of a result (followed by a noun) = a causa de | ||
Tuvieron que mudarse a causa del fuego. |
The had to move because of the fire. | |
| Because of (followed) by a noun = por | ||
| Se casaron por amor. | They married because of love. | |
| Because introducing a sentence, in the sense of "as" or "since" = como | ||
| Como ayer fue sábado, me desperté a las diez de la mañana. | Because yesterday was Saturday, I got up at 10:00 a.m. | |
Uses of the word "But":
| Using but to mean "nevertheless" = pero | ||
| Estudio mucho, pero me divierto tambíen. | I study a lot, but I also have a good time. | |
| Using but to mean "but instead" or "but rather" = sino | ||
No estoy enfadada sino cansada. |
I'm not angry, but tired. | |
Note: this use of but is only in following a negative statement to express the idea of replacing one thing or idea with another. |
||
Using but to mean "but instead" or "but rather" = sino que (when following a conjugated verb) |
||
| No salió sino que se quedó en casa. | She didn't go out, but stayed at home. | |
| Using but to mean "except" = excepto, menos | ||
| Todos menos mi hermano hablan español. | Everyone, but my brother speaks Spanish. | |
Uses of the word "For":
| To indicate purpose, intention or destination = para | ||
| Tengo un regalo para ti. | I have a gift for you. | |
| To imply a comparison = para | ||
Ella canta muy bien para niña. |
She sings very well for a child. | |
To indicate the basis for an action ("in the name of", "for the sake of") = por |
||
| Los soldados luchan por la patria. | The soldiers fight for their country. | |
| To indicate a duration of time = por | ||
| Vivimos allí por tres años. | We lived there for three years. | |
To indicate reason = por |
||
| No me casaré por dinero sino por amor. | I will not marry for money, but for love. | |
To indicate "for that reason" or "that is why" = por eso |
||
| Perdí el vuelo y por eso llegué tarde. | I missed my plane and that is why I was late. | |
To indicate exchange = por |
||
| Paqué diez dólares por el libro. | I paid ten dollars for the book. | |
Uses of the word "Just":
| To have just done something = acabar de + infinitive | ||
| Acabo de recibir esta carta. | I (have) just received this letter. | |
| When just means "only" = sólo | ||
Sólo tengo tres dólares. |
I just (only) have three dollars. | |
When just means "fair" = justo |
||
| Mi padre es un hombre muy justo. | My father is a very just (fair) man. | |
| To indicate a duration of time = por | ||
| Vivimos allí por tres años. | We lived there for three years. | |
Uses of the word "Meet":
| To indicate meeting for the first time = conocer | ||
| Los conocimos ayer. | We met them yesterday. | |
| To indicate meeting by accident = encontrase con | ||
Nos escontramos con Alberto en el restaurante. |
We met Alberto at the restaurant. | |
| Note: to indicate a chance meeting = encuentro | ||
To indicate meeting as a group = reunirse |
||
| Se réunen los profesores el viernes. | The professors meet on Friday. | |
| Note: meeting = reunión | ||
| To meet by arrangement/to see each other = verse | ||
| Nos veremos a las siete. | We'll meet/see each other at seven. | |
Uses of the word "Only":
| Only used as an adjective = único, solamente | ||
| Es mi única amiga. | She is my only friend. | |
| Only used as an adverb = sólo, solamente | ||
Sólo tengo que estudiar los verbos. |
I only have to study the verbs. | |
Only used to mean "the only thing" = lo único |
||
| Lo único que necesito es un coche nuevo. | The only thing I need is a new car. | |
| Only to mean "if only" = ojalá (que) | ||
| Ojalá (que) pudiéramos ir a la playa. | If only we could go to the beach. | |
| Note: this meaning of "only" is always used with a form of the past subjunctive. | ||
Uses of the word "Real":
| Used to mean the true (real) = verdadero | ||
| Las victimas verdaderas son los niños. | The real victims are the children. | |
| Use to mean "realistic" (as in the arts) or "true to life" = verosímil | ||
Ese cuento mo es muy verosímil. |
That story is not ver realistic. | |
Use to mean "realistic" (in terms of attitude) = práctico, pragmático |
||
| Necesitamos un plan más práctico. | We need a more realistic plan. | |
| Use to mean realism (a literary movement) = el realismo | ||
| Used to mean realist (a work within realism) = realista | ||
Uses of the word "Reason":
| Used to indicate "the reason why" = la razón por la que | ||
| Esta es la razón por la que no pude terminar la tarea. | This is the reason why I couldn't finish my homework. | |
| Used to indicate "the reason for" = la razón por | ||
Es difícil la razón por el atraso. |
The reason for the delay is difficult to explain. | |
Used to mean "for the reason" = por eso |
||
Uses of the word "So":
| Used as an adverb = tan | ||
| El español no es tan dificil. | Spanish isn't so hard (difficult). | |
| Used as an adverb to mean "so much" = tanto/muchísimo | ||
Esos niños duermen tanto/muchísimo. |
Those children sleep so much. | |
Used an an adjective to mean "so much" = tanto,a/mucho,a, to mean "so many" = tantos,as/muchos,as |
||
| Tengo tantas/muchas responsabilidades. | I have so many responsibilities. | |
| Used as a conjunction implying result = así que | ||
| Llegúe tarde, así que todavia no he comido. | I arrived late, so I haven't eaten yet. | |
Used as a conjunction introducing an event that follows in a narration in a conversational style = pues |
||
| Pues a las siete fuimos al cine. | So at seven we went to the movies. | |
Uses of the word "That":
| Used as a relative pronoun that introduces clauses = que | ||
| Sabemos que trabajan en la ciudad. | We know (that) they work in the city. | |
| Note: in English "that" is not often used, but "que" must be used in Spanish. | ||
| Used as a demonstrative adjective that modifies a noun = ese, ese | ||
Ese coche es muy barato |
That car is very cheap. | |
| Note: the plural of the above is "those" = esos, esas | ||
Used as a demonstrative pronoun that refers to a noun that is not present in the sentence or phrase = ése, ésa |
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| Quiero comprar una blusa, pero no me gustan és. | I want to buy a blouse, but I don't like this (one). | |
Note: the plural of the above is "those" = ésos, ésas |
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| Used as a neuter demonstrative that refers to "that" as a general idea = eso | ||
| No comprendemos eso. | We don't understand that. | |
Uses of the word "Think":
| To Think (followed by an opinion or idea) = pienso/creo + conjugated verb | ||
| Pienso/creo que el libro es muy interesante | I think the book is very interesting. | |
| To think about someone or something = pensar en | ||
Siempre pienso/estoy pensado en ti. |
I am always thinking about you. | |
To think about, have an opinion about = pensar de or parecer |
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| ¿Qué piensas de mis amigos/¿Qué te parecen mis amigos. | What do you think of my friends? | |
Uses of the word "Time":
| Time of day = hora | ||
| ¿Qué hora es? | What time is it? | |
| Time as a general concept = tiempo | ||
Quiero ir de compras, pero no tengo tiempo. |
I want to go shopping, but I don't have any time. | |
Time refering to an instance = (la) vez |
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| Los vi ayer por primera vez. | I saw them for the first time yesterday. | |
| Time refering to instances = (las) veces | ||
| ¿Cuántas veces has leído Don Quijote? | How many times have you read Don Quijote? | |
| Refering to a period of historical time = época | ||
| En esa época no habia periódicos. | At that time there were no newspapers. | |
| Refering to a period of time doing something = temporada | ||
| Pasé una temporada en Colorado. | I spent some time in Colorado. | |
"Very", "more", "a lot":
| Very = muy | ||
| Sus novelas son muy importantes. | Her novels are very important. | |
| More = más | ||
Tienen más problemas este año. |
They have more problems this year. | |
More as a comparative = más |
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| Mis primas son más inteligentes que mis hermanas. | My cousins are smarter than my sisters. | |
| A lot = mucho | ||
| No tenemos mucho dinero | We don't have a lot of money. | |
"Who", "Whom":
| Who in a question as a subject = quién | ||
| ¿Quién escribió esto? | Who wrote this? | |
| Whom in a question as an object = a quién | ||
¿A quién visitaste ayer? |
Whom did you visit yesterday? | |
Who as a relative pronoun introducing a clause = que |
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| Juan es el joven que vive en México. | Juan is the young man who lives in Mexico. | |
Uses of the word "Work":
| To mean to perform work = trabajar | ||
| Elena trabaja en la biblioteca. | Helen works in a library. | |
| To mean to function properly, like a machine = funcionar | ||
Mi teléfono no funciona. |
My phone is not working. | |
To mean to work out, as in a plan = salir bien |
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| No salió bien su plan. | Their plan didn't work. | |
| As a noun to mean one's job = el trabajo | ||
| No me gusta el trabajo. | I don't like my work. | |
| As a noun to mean a literary or artistic work = obra | ||
| Las obras de Shakespeare son muy famosas. | Shakespeare's works are very famous. | |
All of the above examples were taken from Professor Fred Juhle's website or
from Professor Alix Ingber's website
used with permission