Spanish

The Knowledge

I want to do well in Spanish. I’m prepared to put the work in to do really well. But I don’t know where to start. Can I just have the stuff I need to learn to understand what I’m doing, how to get a good grade, and how to actually speak Spanish? Please? I’ll work really really hard if you just tell me what it is I need to know!

No longer

Pronunciation

Difficulty rating: 0 = Learn the rules, follow themImportance rating: 10 = No excusesOfficial title: Phonetic writing system. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy

The basics:Vowels never change: a e i o u y –monkey noisesDon’t forget the vowel on the end of words: hace, chocolateCombinations of vowels: seis siete viento veinte cuatro puedoConsonants: silent h (that’s one down)ll llamo ch ocho z diez (th) j jardín ñ años qu quece once (th) ci gracias (th)ge geografía gi colegio Everyone likes going “ge” so don’t be shy or lazy. Watch out for accents.

You should be able to read anything aloud in Spanish perfectly. Well, I haven’t told you about “ü” but I can’t be bothered just yet.

Write down some of your fave words here, and some of the tricky ones:

niebla –don’t you just love that word. Means fog!zumo de naranja – maybe I’ll just have a coffee instead

n/una unos/unas

Difficulty rating: 0 Importance rating: 10 = if you get it wrong, you look like a muppetOfficial title: Indefinite article (and partitive article?)

The basics:Un means “a”Una means “a”If it’s masculine, use “un”, if it’s feminine use “una”.Hey look! That means you say “un piso” and “una casa”.

Secret:No-one knows how to say “some”. Well, the easiest way is to take un/una and make it plural: unos pisos / unas casas

Whinge:Yes, but what if it doesn’t end in o / a ?You’re going to have to learn it. Or look it up. But don’t guess it. You wouldn’t guess in maths. Work it out, use your calculator, or look in those answers they put in the back of the book. AND DON’T imagine that if you make it un in one sentence and una in the next, then it will average out. It will just show you really don’t care about getting it right.

Calm down and give me some help here:If it ends in o, ón, ín, el, ema, ama it is usually masculineIf it ends in a, tud, dad, ión it is usually feminine

Rant:OK, so if it’s that easy, why do you keep getting it wrong? Not because you don’t get it, but because you don’t care.Un casa = a house in your head, so that’s OK.Well, it’s not OK. It’s wrong. You should have a little thing in your brain that HURTS when you hear “un casa” instead of una casa. I put that in bold, in case any of you are getting the idea that it actually is un casa (no it isn’t). Listen, when I first went to France, I asked for 2 of everything so I couldn’t possibly get un/une wrong. It cost me a lot of money and I put on a lot of weight. But I didn’t show myself up with my knowledge of genders. Now you’re doing Spanish, not French, so you’ve got no excuse. If you can’t be bothered to get it right, we’ll have to arrange a pairwork teaching method where your partner inflicts physical pain until you develop an aversion to saying un casa (Ow, that hurts, please stop).

Did you know:The o / a ending thing comes from the um / a endings in Latin. The um got changed into o. So words like problema, drama, tema, esquema that come from Greek, not Latin, don’t have any reason to be feminine. They end in ema/ama not just “a”.

El/la/los/las

Difficulty rating: 1 = Watch out for “me gusta el chocolate” – I like chocolateImportance rating: 10 Official title: Definite article

The basics:el/la/los/las mean “the”el is masculine la is feminine los is masc plural las is fem pluralNo ! So… the flat = el piso the house = la casa

the flats = los pisos the houses = las casas

Warning, I can’t take the same rant as on the page before.You’d better get it right then.

Warning:You probably get this right a lot of the time because you’ve been taught it that way:me gusta el chocolate me gustan los caramelosme gusta la fruta me gustan las cerezas (that’s cherries, not beers)

Otherwise, it’s the same as the previous page, so now I’ve got some space for a funny cartoon… or maybe just a box for you to write down some un/una/el/la/los/las examples:

Tengo un problema –need to remember that one

Opinions

Difficulty rating: 2 = watch out for the sneaky back to front verbs when it’s pluralImportance rating: 10 = can’t think of a topic where you won’t be giving an opinionOfficial title: Sir (Señor to you)

The basics:Me gusta No me gusta Me encanta Prefiero Odio

You can’t go wrong:Follow them with an infinitive and you have a foolproof opinion.Me gusta jugar al tenis No me gusta comer fresas Me encanta nadarPrefiero comer plátanos Odio ir al instituto

Unless you have a love/hate relationship with yourself (hey, you poor messed up kid, why are they making you learn Spanish?).Me prefiero = I prefer myself Me odio = I hate myself

What’s with the “me” then?me gusta = it pleases me ……… = I like itIt’s not just the “me” you should have spotted. Why didn’t you ask about the “a” ending on “gusta”? It’s the 3rd person (o, as, a), for it pleases me.Which is why you get me gustan for they please me…. = I like it.

If you want to mess with your mind, look at the page on Back to Front verbs!

Just keep it simple for now. How do you know prefiero means I prefer if there’s no “me”?It’s o, as, a / o, es, e To hate – odiar. I hate = odio. To prefer = preferir. I prefer = prefiero.Hope you didn’t notice the extra complexity of the e ie in the middle of prefiero?Check out the Radical Changers page if you are ready for it!

Here, write yourself some opinions:

No, do it properly. You’ve got room for more than that!

Reasons

Difficulty rating: 1 = but don’t just use puedo every single timeImportance rating: 10 = the second most important meal of the day

The basics:porque puedo = because I am able to (I can)porque tengo que = because I have toporque quiero = because I want toporque me gustaría = because I would like toDon’t forget you can use a “no” to change it around. And follow them up with an infinitive.So, I give an opinion, then give a reason? Just like that?Just like that.Me gusta ir al instituto porque puedo ver a mis amigosNo me gusta ir al instituto porque tengo que ver a los profesores

Can you tart it up a bit to look better than the rest?How about an “if I want” ?Me gusta ir a Norwich porque si quiero ir de compras puedo ir a Topboy, pero si tengo que quedarme en Dereham tengo que ir a “Fatboy”.

What about “because it is good”?I despise you. You can say “because it is good” only while you think of something to actually explain what you mean.

Here. Give me some reasons for these opinions, and I don’t want “puedo” every time.

Me gusta ver la televisión en mi dormitorio

No me gusta ir al cine

Me gusta estudiar español

No me gusta comer en el instituto

Examples in the future:Difficulty rating: 0 = stop making a fuss and just do itImportance rating: 10 because they think it’s sooooo hardOfficial title: Don’t get me started about whether it should be called “the near future” (unless it’s lesson 5 on a rainy Friday and you’ve just had PE).

The basics:Voy a + infinitive.What can be easier than that?

Anything to make me actually look clever? Believe it or not, they think “voy a” + infinitive is about your level, sonny Jim (sorry girls).Espero Me gustaría Quiero Tengo que Mi proyecto esMi destino es (for the weirdos) Tengo ganas de Tengo la intención de

But, you can’t just go chucking them in without specifying a future time.Quiero comer chocolate – I just do!Quiero ir a la piscina el próximo fin de semana = Kerchting… = future!

Write this out without repeating “voy a”. Could do with some connectives too. An altogether better holiday with a few connectives, in my experience.

En las vacaciones voy a ir a España. Voy a alojarme en un hotel. Voy a comer platos típicos en el restaurante. Voy a nadar en la piscina. No voy a nadar en el mar. Voy a ir al centro. Voy a sacar fotos de los monumentos. Voy a visitar los museos.

Examples in the past

Difficulty rating: 1 = some people really can’t tell past from present (and I don’t mean your history teacher)Importance rating: 10 = they think this is even harder than the future. They being the tw*rps who are going to be marking your work. How does that feel? Let them have it!Official title: Preterite tense, first person

The basics:ar verb, stick an é on the ender/ir verb, stick an í on the endI went = fui I saw = vi (too short for an accent) I did/made = hicenadé visité juguécomí bebí

Want a cheat?Use decidí + infinitiveCheat, me?Just like on your DS, gets you through those boring levels, onto more boring levels. And in fact here the cheat looks better than the real thing:The leading brand: Nadé en la piscina = I swam in the pool.Expensive, but leaves you wanting more.Own brand: Iba a jugar al tenis, pero decidí nadar en la piscina = I was going to play tennis, but I decided to swim in the pool.So much better, I can’t believe I ever bothered with the leading brand

List all the verbs you can think of in the infinitive and then in the past. It’s a BIG box:

jugar - jugué

More cheats

Difficulty rating: 1 = Just use them, they’re cheats!Importance rating: 10 = You want to get ahead? CheatOfficial title: Wow, I think I saw a conditional perfect subjunctive in there, no hang on, isn’t it actually a pluperfect subjunctive. Give that child an A*.

The basics:iba a + infinitive… pero decidí + infinitivemi padre me dijo, “….”dije, “…”Me hubiera gustado + infinitivoYou can use them as a pick and mix, or just pick, and pick…

Leading brand: Fui a España.Don’t get much for your money!Our (no longer very secret) recipe: Iba a ir a Francia, pero mi padre dijo, “Hablas español entonces ¿por qué no ir a España?”. Entonces decidimos ir a España aunque me hubiera gustado ir a Francia.

Try cloning the cheat for different topics:

Connectives

Difficulty rating: 0 = just use them, no point making a fussImportance rating: 10 = initiative, developing your ideas, expanding, extending, ex…,what else begins with ex and ends in ing?Official title: conjunctions

The basics:y porque sobre todo si por ejemplo entonces pero

Why in that order?y = add extra informationporque/sobre todo si = a reasonpor ejemplo = future/pastentonces = future/pastpero = change topic

Are there any more?Why not keep your own list? You can’t expect me to do everything for you.

Time words

Difficulty rating: 0 = If you get “next” and “last” mixed up, then sort it out. Now.Importance rating: 10 = Everything falls apart without thisOfficial title: Temporal adverbs and adverbial phrases

The basics:You are going to need lots of these, in a list. Refer to the list until you know them perfectly.

now ahora then entonces soon prontoin a bit dentro

de pocoalways siempre at times a veces

from time to time

de vez en cuando

suddenly de repente on special occasions

en ocasiones especiales

every cada often a menudo often muchas veces

never nunca not very often

pocas veces before/earlier antes

afterwards después yesterday ayer tomorrow mañanatoday hoy straight

awayenseguida finally finalmente

last year el año pasado

next year el año próximo

last month el mes pasado

next month el mes próximo

last week la semana pasada

next week la semana próxima

last weekend

el fin de semana pasado

next weekend

el fin de semana próximo

And why does no-one know this one?hace dos años – two years ago

Me, mi, mis, mí.

Difficulty rating: 0 = are you looking like a pl*nker again Rodney?Importance rating: 10 = personally, I’d rather not look like a pl*nkerOfficial title: possessive adjectives, direct and indirect object pronouns, disjunctive pronouns, reflexive pronoun. (first person)

The basics:If you are pronouncing “me” with an “e” and “mi” with an “i”, then you’re probably OK. If not then you probably don’t care and the examiner will think you are a pl*nker.

mi = my. And don’t forget to use mis for pluralmi familia, mis amigos (if you are lucky enough to have more than one friend)

me = “me” or “ to me”/ “for me”:Me dijo me duele me gusta me compró un regalo me ayudó

mí has an accent so you can tell it’s different to “mi”. Use it after de/para and stuff.Es para mí? Is it for me?

Weird (but not very wonderful):With me = conmigo . Don’t ask. It just is.

Make your own notes and examples here:

Ali Baba, Mama mía

Difficulty rating: 0 = Just follow the ruleImportance rating: 10 = Let me explain. The people who mark your Spanish think that you have to learn Spanish in a certain order, so if you throw in an imperfect, they assume you know all the other stuff you’re meant to have done first, like the present tense, the present continuous, reflexive verbs, radical changers, irregular present tense, the preterite tense, strong verbs, preterite radical changers. So, you can either learn that little lot, or just chuck in the odd imperfect.Official title: The imperfect tense, first person singular

The basics:ar verbs: _aba jugaba = I was playing OR I used to player/ir verbs: _ía comía = I was eating OR I used to eat

Sounds easy, but what do you do with it?Use it to answer those same old “Do you like….” questions:¿Te gusta ver la televisión?Veía mucho la televisión, pero ahora prefiero salir con mis amigos.I used to watch…

Or, use it with “cuando”

El fin de semana jugaba al fútbol cuando mi hermano dijo, “Quieres ver el fútbol en la televisión?” entonces fuimos a casa.

Pleeeeeease (I’m being nice now)… Don’t start putting aba/ía when you shouldn’t.How could anyone possibly write “Me gusta jugaba al tenis” : I like I was playing tenniswhen they know it’s Me gusta jugar al tenis – I like to play tennis.You’ve been warned.

Answer these questions with “I used to.. . but…” or using “I was …ing when…”

¿Te gusta ir de vacaciones con tu familia?¿Te gusta la geografía?¿Te gusta ir al cine?

Weather

Difficulty rating: 2 = some people muck this up. They exist to make you look good.Importance rating: 10 = Use it to look better than the other tw*rpsOfficial title: Madame

The basics:hace sol hace calor hace frío hace viento hace buen tiempohace mal tiempo

llueve nieva está lloviendo está nevando

hay tormentas hay niebla

está nublado está cubierto

Why are there so many different ones?To annoy you. As long as you don’t put hace in front of llueve, you’re probably getting it right.

How to use it:With “si”. Do you like to play football?Si hace sol, me encanta jugar al fútbol sobre todo con mis amigos en el parque, pero si llueve, prefiero ver el fútbol en la televisión, por ejemplo el fin de semana pasado iba a jugar al fútbol, pero Kevin dijo, “Está lloviendo” entonces decidimos ir a mi casa a ver el fútbol en la televisión.There you are, an A* just for talking about the weather!

Try it yourself:

Is “es” is?

Difficulty rating: 3 = People actually get this wrong! Come on now!Importance rating: 10 = Obviously

The basics:Yes, “es” is “is”.

So what about “está”?OK, fair enough. If it is position or a temporary state, then use está:Está enfrente del correos Está cerrado Está roto Está enfermoIf you are defining what some thing is, or saying what it is like (always) then use es:Es mi hermano Es grande Es joven Es simpático

The fun part:Sometimes you can be clever and choose, depending on what you mean:Mi comida está caliente – my lunch is hot (at the moment)El sol es muy caliente – the sun is hot (it just is, OK?)Mi profesor está aburrido – my teacher is bored (at the moment)Mi profesor es aburrido – my teacher is boring (and you’d better get used to it)

Watch out for time. You might think it is momentary but you can’t change it so use es: Es la una Es la hora de comer Es mi cumpleaños Es lunes

Try these:

You are forgetting one thing, Mr Bond: What about hace?It is sunny – hace calorIt is cold – hace fríoIt is raining – llueve OR está lloviendo (at the moment)

Or maybe two things:There is = hayHay un pelo en mi bocadillo There is a hair in my sandwich.

maloliente – smellyMy dad is very smelly:This sock is smelly:

tarde - lateIt is late:He is late:

feo – uglyHe is ugly:He’s looking ugly:

¿Hay un pelo en tu bocadillo? Is there a hair in your sandwich?

Is “was” era?

Difficulty rating: 3 = It might beImportance rating: 10 = You need to know this stuff!

The basics:If you would use “es” in the present, then use “era” in the past – era mi profesorIf you would use “está” in the present, then use “estaba” in the past – estaba enfermoIf you would use “hace” in the present, then use “hacía” in the past – hacía sol

Watch out for “he was ….ing”. That’s not a was, it’s the imperfect.He was eating: comía He was talking: Hablaba (but not with his mouth full)

I’m not going to tell you about:fue ( the preterite of es) for when it’s in a narrative sequence:I saw an icecream. I stole it from the little girl. I looked at it. I licked it. Fue delicioso.And I’m certainly not going to tell you about:estuvo (the preterite of está but it sounds silly and you don’t need it – just use estaba)

Now, if I gave you some exercises to do, you’d get them all right, so how about a big empty box that just says “write some examples of your own here”:

Write some examples of your own here.

Are muy, mucho and más all the same?

Difficulty rating: 0 = Use your brainImportance rating: 10 = If you get it wrong you’re going to look dim againOfficial title: no doubt there’s some fancy name for this. Mmmm? That’s it: m words!

The basics:muy = verymucho = much (surprise) or a lot ofmuchos = manymás = more

What can go wrong?Mucho can be mucho/mucha/muchos/muchasMucho dinero Mucha atenciónMuchos amigos Muchas amigas (if you’re lucky)Or it can stick at mucho, if it’s an adverb not an adjective:Te quiero mucho (mucho describes the verb I love, so it won’t change, even if it’s a girl you love).Pleeeeease (or I’ll have to be nasty to you) don’t put “mucho de”. Some people think it means “a lot of”. Wrong: Tengo mucho de amigosRight: Tengo muchos amigos (at least, I like to think so)

Seeing as it’s so easy and you’re never going to get it wrong, why not have a look at demasiado as well:Demasiado caro –too expensive (m sing)Demasiado cara – too expensive (f sing)You’ll notice demasiado doesn’t change. The adjective does, but demasiado doesn’t. That’s because it’s describing the adjective (caro) so it’s errr an adadjective. An adadjective is a made up word. It is really called an adverb but it shouldn’t be.

Demasiados niños – too many children – now demasiado is an adjective (describing the pesky children) so it does agree. Never say “demasiado mucho”. If you want to say “too much” then just use demasiado/demasiada.

And remember if you want to say “too” as in “as well” then don’t use demasiado at all. Use “también” because that’s the right word.

Finally on this page, (!) if you think mucho doesn’t sound convincing, use “tanto”.Te quiero mucho – I love you a lot (Oh yeah, really?)Te quiero tanto – I love you so much (it hurts)

Room for notes:

Back to front verbs

Difficulty rating: 3 = Unfairly difficultImportance rating: 10 = Use it to show offOfficial title: Impersonal verb, present tense

The basics:Saying he likes/she likes is easy:le gusta el chocolate (chocolate pleases him/her)le gustan los animales (animals please him/her)

Let’s do we like and they like while we’re at it:nos gusta (we like it) nos gustan (we like them)les gusta (they like it) les gustan (they like them)

How to look really clever:To say “My brother likes tennis” you have to say:“To my brother tennis pleases him”. Starting with the word “To”. No-one ever remembers this, so if you do you will look like a genius.A mi hermano le gusta el tenisA Gordon le gustan los animalesA mi profesor le gusta escuchar música extrañaA mis padres les gusta trabajar en el jardín

Mess with your mind:Me gustas = you please me = I like youTe gusto = I please you = You like meNos gustas = You please us = We like youNo les gustamos = We don’t please them = They don’t like usStop! That’s enough. You’re getting close to the edge.

Do these, without forgetting the “a” when you say to whom it is pleasing:

She likes cake:

My sister likes cake:

He doesn’t like dogs:

My brother doesn’t like dogs:

They like to eat chips:

My parents like to watch television:

We like Spanish:

room for your own examples

Opinions in the past

Difficulty rating: 0 = stick to what you know and you won’t go wrongImportance rating: 10 = Do you want an A* or not?Official title: What do you call a gorilla with a machine gun?

The basics:Me gusta me gustaba (I liked/I used to like)Me gustan me gustabanMe encanta me encantaba (I loved/I used to love)Me encantan me encantabanPrefiero prefería (I prefered/I used to prefer)Odio Odiaba (I hated/I used to hate)

I’m not going to tell you about “me gustó” (the preterite – it pleased me). You use it in a narrative sequence: I saw a little girl with an icecream. I took it. I licked it. Me gustó.

You can work out for yourself:le gustaba / le gustaban les gustaba / les gustaban

Use it to make more out of boring “do you like questions”:Well, I used to like…. but one day I. went to… I saw… and I really liked it. Now I prefer… so next weekend I’m going to…

Try some here:

o as a amos áis an o es e emos éis en o es e imos ís en

Difficulty rating: 0 = Just look it up until you know itImportance rating: 10 = Otherwise you can only talk about yourself!Official title: Persons of verbs. Regular verbs, present tense.

The basics:You have to get your brain round the 3 persons. Then you can always just look stuff up:

hablar comer vivir1st person sing = I hablo como vivo2nd sing = you hablas comes vives3rd sing = he/she/it habla come vive1st person plur = we hablamos comemos vivimos2nd plur = yous habláis coméis vivís3rd plur = they hablan comen viven

What can go wrong?Do NOT bring in masculine/feminine. You did not learn Vivo en Dereham if you were a boy and Viva in Dereham if you were a girl. That would be wrong. The first person ends in o. Nothing to do with m/f.

This is incredibly powerful. If you are fed up with just writing about yourself, now you are away! Use this space to write about some people you know:

Just occasionally you meet people who decide that o as a amos áis an are words, so they think “amos jugar” means we play. Avoid them. They live in the dark and eat spiders without pulling the legs off first.Verbs ending in *rse

Difficulty rating: 0 = the first thing you learnt in Spanish! Me llamo…Importance rating: 10 = You’ll see these everywhere, so get your brain round themOfficial title: Reflexive verbs

The basics:Me visto – I dress myself Me lavo – I wash myself (not in that order)

What’s going on?lavarse = to wash ones self. Take the “se” off the end and you’ve got a normal ar verb hiding in there. Lavar/se.The se changes to me for “myself” and then you change the ar/er/ir to the tense you want:Me lavo Me lavé Me lavabaIf it’s the infinitive, the me stays on the end: Voy a lavarme

What about the other persons of the verb?me lavo I wash myself = I get washedte lavas you wash yourself = you get washedse lava he/she washes him/herself = he/she gets washednos lavamos we wash ourselves = we get washedos laváis you wash yourselves = you get washedse lavan they wash themselves = they get washed

Interesting points (vaguely)1. If you want to say “get” – get married, get wet, get dressed… it’s probably going to be reflexive in Spanish (don’t think about the get wet one too hard…)2. Se, nos and os can also mean “each other”.Se lavan = they wash each other.

Make yourself a list of reflexive verbs here:

Boot verbs

Difficulty rating: 4 = How do you know if it’s a boot verb or not?Importance rating: 10 = This will explain some of those weird things you worry aboutOfficial title: Radical changing verbsAlias: 1, 2, 3, 6 verbs

The basics:All verbs change their endings for person/tense.Some verbs also change their stem or root (think radish) –radical changing verbs.jugar

juego jugamosjuegas jugáisjuega juegan

Put a picture round the ones that have changed to ue and you have, da da dah: a boot!

That’s all there is to it. Easy, you think, but how do you know which verbs are going to be boot verbs? Make a list here:

volver – vuelvo tener (tengo) – tienes querer – quiero preferir – prefieropoder – puedo

Secret: The change happens only when that syllable is stressed – it cracks under the stress. A similar thing happens with numbers:Setenta Setecientos but when the stress falls on it, it cracks: sieteNoventa Novecientos but when the stress falls on it, it cracks: nueveHow do you say “he can”?

Difficulty rating: 0 = learn a few and use themImportance rating: 10 = takes everything up a gear if you can talk about other peopleOfficial title: Verb + infinitive

The basics:If you are good at: puedo quiero tengo quethen try: puede quiere tiene que (he/she)

podemos queremos tenemos que (we)

Why not do this too:podía quería tenía queI was able to I wanted to I had toand spookily:podía quería tenía quehe/she was able to he/she wanted he/she had to

podíamos queríamos teníamos quewe were able to we wanted to we had to

Look, you’re on a roll:podré tendré que podría tendría queI will be able to I will have to I would be able to I would have to

Put it all together:Last year I wanted to go to Spain but my dad wanted to go to France so we had to go to Spain. We couldn’t go to Spain because my dad wanted to go to Spain.

Try a few of your own in Spanish:

Can or can?

Difficulty rating: 1 = Oh no, we’ve been doing it wrong!Importance rating: 10 = Let’s start getting it rightOfficial title: Saber – to know how to

The basics:We often say “because I can…” with “puedo…”. Sometimes, I think it’s wrong. If it means “I know how to”, then it should be “sé”.Hay una piscina en el hotel entonces puedo nadar –fineNo voy a la piscina porque no puedo nadar – a bit wrong!!!No voy a la piscina porque no sé nadar – that’s better

Is there anything else you’ve been lying to us about?No.So that leaves this page free for a funny cartoon about someone who can’t swim:

More stuff I just forgot to mention

Difficulty rating: 1 = You’ve probably worked it out for yourselfImportance rating: 10 = Put them in to make yourself look goodOfficial title: Irregular verbs

The basics:Guess which verbs don’t follow the rules. That’s right, the most common ones!!!

Present tense:ir hacer tener decirvoy hago tengo digovas haces tienes dicesva hace tiene dicevamos hacemos tenemos decimosvais hacéis tenéis decísvan hacen tienen dicen

Preterite tense:ir hacer tener decirfui hice tuve dijefuiste hiciste tuviste dijistefue hizo tuvo dijofuimos hicimos tuvimos dijimosfuisteis hicisteis tuvisteis dijisteisfueron hicieron tuvieron dijeron

Here’s room for some more!

He perdido

Difficulty rating: 1 = It’s the same as English!Importance rating: 10 = You’ll need itOfficial title: Perfect tense / pluperfect tense

The basics:Just like in English: I have lost my mum – he perdido a mi madreI have lost I have eatenhe perdido he comidoI have played I have livedhe jugado he vivido

Can it go wrong?Don’t use “tengo”. The auxiliary verb is haber – to have (done something)he I have había I hadhas you have habías you hadha he/she has había he/she hadhemos we have habíamos we hadhabéis yous have habíais yous hadhan they have habían they had

Don’t forget hubiera + ado/ido – I would have…

Try these:

---ado or---ido

---ado or---ido

I have played tennis, but I don’t like it:

I went home yesterday and my brother had eaten my dinner:

I would have played tennis but it was raining:

I said, “I have found this rabbit”:

Think of some of your own:

Shouldn’t we have done other people in the past?

Difficulty rating: 0 = just follow the table until you can do it withoutImportance rating: 10 = otherwise you can only talk about yourselfOfficial title: Preterite and Imperfect

The basics:Preterite (what happened)nadé comí decidínadaste comiste decidistenadó comió decidiónadamos comimos decidimosnadáis comisteis decidisteisnadaron comieron decidieron

Imperfect (what was happening)nadaba comía decidíanadabas comías decidíasnadaba comía decidíanadábamos comíamos decidíamosnadabais comíais decidíaisnadaban comían decidían

Try these:

I decided to go to the beach with my brother. When he was swimming, a dog ate his lunch:

We were swimming in the pool when my brother decided to go home. He forgot to get changed.

Room for some of your own:

I helped my dad

Difficulty rating: 0 = why did no-one tell you this before?Importance rating: 10 = you’ve been getting it wrong!Official title: The personal a

The basics:I saw my friend: Vi a mi amigoI helped my dad: Ayudé a mi padreWhen the object of a sentence is a person, you put “a” in front of them.

Why?Watch this:Juan besó su esposaBesó Juan su esposaJuan su esposa besóSu esposa besó JuanThey ALL can mean Juan kissed his wife. (Or they could all mean his wife kissed Juan). Oh dear, what a confusion. So they put in an “a” to clear up who was getting kissed:Juan besó a su esposa Besó Juan a su esposa Juan a su esposa besó

Don’t use one after ser/tener and stuff – tengo un hermano is right.Don’t worry when there is a preposition – Compré unas flores para mi esposa

Write some of your own examples here:

Le, lo se

Difficulty rating: 1 = only because no-one bothered to teach you itImportance rating: 10 = you need these little wordsOfficial title: Direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns, disjunctive pronouns

The basics:Write the English for these. They all mean the same:Compré un libro para mi hermanaCompré un libro para ellaLo compré para ellaLe compré un libroSe lo compré

Direct object pronoun him = lo her = la it = lo (m) or la (f) them = los/las

Indirect object pronounto him/for him = le to her/for her = le to them/for them = les

Put the pronoun before the verb. If there are 2 pronouns then the indirect pronoun goes first. To avoid saying le lo (red lorry yellow lorry) the le changes to se.

Disjunctive pronoun:for him – para él for her – para ella for them – para ellos/para ellascon él delante de él

Try these – you should be able to shorten each one 5 different ways as in the example above.

I gave a flower to my brother

I showed my homework to my dad