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Español III H El 30 de enero 2015La Introduccíon al curso y El Repaso Para concluir
Direct Object Pronouns: Part IAnswers the question Whom? Who or What?The object that directly receives the action of the verb is called the direct object.
Bill hit the ball.
"Ball" receives the action of the verb "hit."
Sherry reads the book.
"Book" receives the action of the verb "reads."
The direct object can also be a person.
Sherry hit Bill.(DO=Bill)The direct object answers the question "what?" or "whom?" with regard to what the subject of the sentence is doing.
Bill hit the ball.Bill hit what?Bill hit the ball.
Often, it is desirable to replace the name of the direct object with a pronoun.
Example 1Paul bought the flowers. He took the flowers home and gave the flowers to his wife.
Example 2Paul bought the flowers. He took them home and gave them to his wife.
When the pronoun replaces the name of the direct object, use the following pronouns:
me (me)te (you-familiar)lo, la (him, her, it, you-formal) le you when speaking to a male in Ud.nos (us)os (you-all-familiar)los, las (them, you-all-formal)
In an affirmative statement with one verb, the direct object pronoun comes immediately before the conjugated verb.Tengo = I haveTengo la pluma. = I have the pen.La tengo. = I have it.The pronoun (la) comes immediately before the verb (tengo).
Notice that if the subject of the sentence changes, this does not affect the direct object pronoun.Juan la tiene.Juan tiene = John hasJuan tiene la pluma. = John has the pen.Juan la tiene. = John has it.andMaría la tiene.María tiene = Mary hasMaría tiene la pluma. = Mary has the pen.María la tiene. = Mary has it.
However, if the direct object of the sentence changes to a masculine noun, the masculine pronoun must be used.
Juan lo tiene.
Juan tiene = John hasJuan tiene el libro. = John has the book.Juan lo tiene. = John has it.butJuan la tiene.Juan tiene = John hasJuan tiene la pluma. = John has the pen.Juan la tiene. = John has it.
Likewise, if the direct object of the sentence changes from singular to plural, the plural pronoun must be used.Juan lo tiene.Juan tiene = John hasJuan tiene el libro. = John has the book.Juan lo tiene. = John has it.
But
María los tiene.María tiene = Mary hasMaría tiene los libros. = Mary has the books.María los tiene. = Mary has them.
Look at how Spanish and English are different."Lo tengo" and "La tengo" BOTH mean "I have it."
Differences:
1. "It" has two forms in Spanish: lo, la2. "Tengo" one word in Spanish = two words in English (I
have)3. The word order is different. In Spanish, the pronoun (lo, la)
comes before the verb; in English, the pronoun (it) comes after the verb.
When you try to translate literally from English to Spanish, sometimes it works very well:John eats the soup.John = Juan
John eats = Juan comeJohn eats the = Juan come laJohn eats the soup = Juan come la sopa.
Other times, direct translation doesn't work so well:I eat the soup.I = YoI eat = Yo comoI eat the = Yo como laI eat the soup = Yo como la sopa.Because "como" means "I eat," the word "yo" is redundant. A better translation might be:
I eat the soup.Como la sopa.
Sometimes, when you try to translate literally, you run into much bigger problems:I eat it. (the soup - la sopa)I = YoI eat = Yo comoI eat it. = Yo como la.This is completely incorrect!The correct translation would be:I eat it. (the soup)La como.
As you can see, directly translating sentences with direct object pronouns doesn't work, so ... don't do it! There is a better, easier way.
Learn to translate groups of words, rather than individual words. The first step is to learn to view two Spanish words as a single phrase.Try to think of each line as a single phrase, not two separate words:la comolo comola leo lo leo
la veolo veola tengolo tengola comprolo compro
Read each line again. Before you do, glance at the translation beneath it. Then, read each line thinking of it as a phrase that has the same meaning as the English phrase below it.la como
I eat it (feminine DO - la sopa, la comida, etc.)
lo como
I eat it (masculine DO - el pollo, el arroz, etc.)
la leo
I read it
lo leo
I read it
la veo
I see it
lo veo
I see it
la tengo
I have it
lo tengo
I have it
la compro
I buy it
lo compro
I buy it
In the previous examples, it is clear that the subject of the sentence is "I" because the verbs are all conjugated in the "yo" form. With other verb forms, it is often desirable to add a word to clarify the subject.Juan la come. (la comida)
Juan eats it.
María lo tiene. (el libro)
María has it.
El chico la compra. (la pluma)
The boy buys it.
La chica lo ve. (el edificio)
The girl sees it.
Ustedes lo leen. (el periódico)
All of You read it.
Now, some examples of plural direct objects.Juan come dos bocadillos .Los come. or Juan los come.
María tiene tres libros.Los tiene. or María los tiene.
El chico compra dos revistas.Las compra. or El chico las compra.
La chica ve dos coches.Los ve. or La chica los ve.
Ella compra dos televisores.Los compra. or Ella los compra.
Tenemos dos mesas.Las tenemos. or Nosotros las tenemos.
Now, some examples where the direct object is a person.I know you.Te conozco.
She loves him.Ella lo ama.
She loves me.Ella me ama.
Juan sees her.Juan la ve.
They call us.Ellos nos llaman.
We call them.Los llamamos
Indirect Object Pronouns: Part I Answers the question-
To whom? To what? For whom? For what?
The indirect object (IO) tells us where the direct object (DO) is going.
He gives the book to María.DO=BookWhere is the book going?To María.IO=María
He gives María the book.DO=BookWhere is the book going?To María.IO=María
The indirect object answers the question "To whom?" or "For whom?" the action of the verb is performed.
He gives María the book.To whom does he give the book?To María.IO=María
He buys me flowers.For whom does he buy the flowers?For me.IO=me
Sentences that have an indirect object usually also have a direct object. Remember, the IO tells us where the DO is going. Notice how the sentences below just wouldn't work without a direct object.
He gives María . . .the book, the pen, the diamond, etc.He buys me . . .flowers, candy, an ironing board, etc.
Sometimes the direct object is not stated; rather it is implied, or understood.
My mother writes me every week.DO=letter (understood)IO=me(My mother writes me a letter every week.)
She told him.DO=it (understood)IO=him(She told it to him.)
To identify the indirect object use our two guidelines:
1.The IO tells us where the DO is going.2.The IO answers the question "to whom?" or
"for whom" the action of the verb is performed.
When a pronoun takes the place of the name of the indirect object, use the following pronouns: TO
me (to me)te (to you-familiar)le (to him To her, To you-formal)nos (To us)os (To you-all-familiar)les (To All of you formal, To Them)
In an affirmative statement with one verb, the indirect object pronoun comes immediately before the conjugated verb.
Juan me compra un regalo.John buys me a gift.John buys a gift for me.
Juan te compra un regalo.John buys you a gift.John buys a gift for you.
Juan le compra un regalo.John buys her a gift.John buys a gift for her.Juan nos compra un regalo.John buys us a gift.John buys a gift for us.
Juan os compra un regalo.John buys you-all (familiar) a gift.John buys a gift for you-all.
Juan les compra un regalo.John buys them a gift.John buys a gift for them.
Now, focus in on one part of each of the previous examples:Juan me compra un regalo.John buys (for) me a gift.
Juan te compra un regalo.John buys (for) you a gift.
Juan le compra un regalo.John buys(for YOU formal Ud.) (for) her (for him) a gift.
Juan nos compra un regalo.John buys (for) us a gift.
Juan os compra un regalo.John buys (for) you-all (familiar) a gift.
Juan les compra un regalo.John buys (for) them a gift.
Let's extract the IO phrase and its English equivalent:me comprabuys (for) mete comprabuys (for) youle comprabuys (for) You for her for himnos comprabuys (for) usos comprabuys (for) you-allles compra buys (for all of YOU for them
Just like with the direct object, the indirect object presents a problem if one tries to translate word-for-word:Juan me compra un regalo.John for me he buys a gift.
The key to learning to use the indirect object pronouns is the same as the key for direct object pronouns. You must learn to think in phrases, not words. The phrases consist of a pronoun and a conjugated verb. In the following examples, note that the IO remains the same, while the subject of the phrase changes.me comprahe buys meme compranthey buy meme comprasyou buy me
The IO pronouns le and les present a special problem because they are ambiguous. That is, they can stand for different things.leto (for) himto (for) herto (for) you-formallesto (for) themto (for) you-all-forma
The following sentences, while grammatically correct, are ambiguous:Ella le escribe una carta.Ella les escribe una carta.Out of context, there is no way we can know the meaning.
Ella le escribe una carta.
She writes him a letter.She writes her a letter.She writes you (formal) a letter.
Ella les escribe una carta.She writes them a letter.She writes all of you (formal) a letter.
Since le and les can mean more than one thing, a prepositional phrase is often added to remove the ambiguity.
Ella le escribe a Juan una carta.Ella le escribe a su hermana una carta.Ella le escribe a usted una carta.
Ella les escribe a sus padres una carta.Ella les escribe a ustedes una carta.
Sometimes a prepositional phrase is added not for clarity, but rather for emphasis.
Juan me da a mí el dinero.John gives me the money.(emphasizing that the money is given to me and not to someone else)
Juan te da a ti el dinero.John gives you the money. (emphasis on you)
There is no ambiguity in the following sentence. It can only mean one thing.Juan me da el dinero.John gives me the money.
The addition of a prepositional phrase merely adds emphasis.Juan me da a mí el dinero.John gives me the money.
Indirect Object Pronouns and Direct Object Pronouns together
Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns Used Together
Here are the direct object pronouns and the indirect object pronouns side by side:
When you have both a direct object pronoun and an indirect object pronoun in the same sentence, the indirect object pronoun comes first.Ellos me los dan.They give them to me.IO pronoun: meDO pronoun: losElla te la vende.She sells it to you.IO pronoun: teDO pronoun: la
DO Pronouns IO Pronouns English Equivalent
me me me
te te you (familiar)
lo, la le him, her, it, you (formal)
nos nos us
os os you-all (familiar)
los, las les them, you-all (formal)
Whenever both pronouns begin with the letter "l" change the first pronoun to "se."le lo = se lole la = se lale los = se losle las = se lasles lo = se loles la = se lales los = se losles las = se las
In negative sentences, the negative word comes directly before the first pronoun.
No se lo tengo.I don't have it for you.
Nunca se los compro.I never buy them for her.
Because the pronoun se can have so many meanings, it is often helpful to clarify it by using a prepositional phrase.Él se lo dice.Ambiguous. He tells it to (whom?).
Él se lo dice a Juan.He tells it to him. (to Juan)
Él se lo dice a María.He tells it to her. (to María)
Él se lo dice a ella.He tells it to her.
In sentences with two verbs, there are two options regarding the placement of the pronouns. Place them immediately before the conjugated verb or attach them directly to the infinitive.She should explain it to me.
Ella me lo debe explicar.Ella debe explicármelo.
I want to tell it to you.Te lo quiero decir.Quiero decírtelo.
You need to send it to them.Se la necesitas enviar a ellos.Necesitas enviársela a ellos.
Note that when attaching the pronouns to the infinitive, a written accent is also added to the final syllable of the infinitive. This preserves the sound of the infinitive.
When the pronouns are attached to the infinitive, make the sentence negative by placing the negative word directly before the conjugated verb.Ella debe explicármelo.Ella no debe explicármelo.Quiero decírtelo.No quiero decírtelo.
Necesitas enviársela a ellos.No necesitas enviársela a ellos.
When the pronouns come before the conjugated verb, make the sentence negative by placing the negative word directly before the pronouns.Ella me lo debe explicar.
Ella no me lo debe explicar.Te lo quiero decir.
Se la necesitas enviar a ellos.No se la necesitas enviar a ellos.
direct objects are the recipient of a verbs action. more examplesExampleEscribí una carta. [I wrote a letter.] una carta is the direct object, and can be replaced by the direct object pronoun la, placed before the verb: La escribí. [I wrote it.]
In [link to lesson 31- Indirect Object Pronouns] we learned that indirect objects are the secondary recipients of the action – they are affected by the action without being the direct recipient of it. It is done to or for them. Example:Escribí a Pedro. [I wrote to Pedro.]Pedro is the indirect object here – he is not what is being written; rather, he is the recipient of that object. A Pedro can be replaced by the indirect object pronoun le, placed before the verb:Le escribí. [I wrote him.]
Here are all the direct [DO] and indirect [IO] object pronouns. Note that they are translated the same in English.
DO Pronouns IO Pronouns Englishme me mete te You (familiar, singular)lo, la le Him, her, it, you (singular, formal)nos nos Usos os You (plural, familiar)Los, las les Them, you (plural, formal)
Some sentences have both an indirect and a direct object pronoun. The indirect object comes before the direct object pronoun.
Examples:Ella me los manda. [She sends them to me.] IO: me DO: losNosotros te la damos. [We give it to you.] IO: te DO: la¿Quién nos los vende? [Who sells them to us?] IO: nos DO: los
If you need to use the direct object lo/la/los/las and the indirect object le in the same sentence, le changes to se. This helps avoid the choppiness of having two short words starting with "l" next to each other.
Examples:Se la escribí. [I wrote it to him.] IO: se Do: laNosotros se los buscamos. [We are looking for them for her.] IO: se DO: losSiempre se los doy. [I always give them to him.] IO: se DO: los
In sentences with two verbs, you also have the option of attaching the pronouns to the end of the infinitive. The IO still precedes the DO, and if the addition of syllables changes the stress of the word, add an accent.
Examples:Nosotros te lo podemos explicar. [We can explain it to you.] IO: te DO: loNosotros podemos explicártelo. [We can explain it to you.] IO: te DO: loSe la debo mandar. [I should send it to her.] IO: se DO: laDebo mandársela. [I should send it to her.] IO: se DO: la
In negative sentences, the negative word comes directly before the first pronoun.
Examples:No se la escribí. [I didn't write it to him.] IO: se DO: laNadie me las compra. [No one buys them for me.] IO: se DO: laIn negative sentences with pronouns added to an infinitive, the negative word is placed in front of the verb as usual.
Examples:
Nosotros no podemos explicártelo. [We can't explain it to you.] IO: te DO: loNo debo mandársela. [I shouldn't send it to her.] I: se DO:
laBecause it is easy to lose track of which pronoun stands for which person or item, often clarifying phrases are added to the end.Se lo digo. [I tell it to… {whom is unclear.}] IO: se DO: loSe lo digo a él. [I tell it to him.] IO: se... a él DO: loSe lo digo a Juanita. [I tell it to Juanita.] IO: se... a Juanita DO: loSe lo digo a usted. [I tell it to you.] IO: se.. a usted DO: lo
Using the Pre terite AND the Imperfect Tense
The Imperfect Tense and The Preterite Tense are both ways to talk about actions that happened in the past. Learning when to use which is one of the more frustrating things a Spanish student has to do because we just don't think the same way in English. We have only one past tense conjugation
I went fishing.
What's the time frame of this action? Clearly the fishing took place in the past. However, we don't know anything
more about the situation than that, do we? For example: did the fishing occur once or many times?
To get across to the reader or listener important information such as when or how often this event occurred we have to add some extra information:
I went fishing yesterday.
I went fishing every morning at sunrise.
In the first sentence we know not only when this action happened but that it only happened once. In the second we know this event happened repeatedly.
Most of the decision to use either the preterite or the imperfect boils down to the difference in the two example sentences above. In Spanish, information as to whether the event happened once or went on for awhile is "built-in" to the conjugation you choose.Let's start with the imperfect...
When to Use the Imperfect TenseNote: For this lesson imperfect conjugations will be indicated like this: imperfect conjugation
The Imperfect
The imperfect tense is used to refer to actions in the past that occurred repeatedly.I used to walk every day.Yo caminaba cada día.
The imperfect tense is also used to refer to actions in the past that occurred over an extended period of time.I used to eat paella frequently.Yo comía frecuentemente paella.
The imperfect tense is also used to "set the stage" for an event that occurred in the past.We were coming home when we saw Juan.Veníamos para casa cuando vimos a Juan.
Actions which are not physical, that is feelings and mental actions, usually use the imperfect tense.Juan was feeling sick.Juan estaba enfermo.
The imperfect is frequently associated with phrases that describe the frequency of past actions.
a menudooften
a vecessometimes
cada día every day
cada añoevery year
con frecuenciafrequently
de vez en cuandofrom time to time
en aquella épocaat that time
frecuentementefrequently
generalmenteusually
muchas vecesmany times
muchoa lot
nuncanever
por un ratofor awhile
siemprealways
tantas vecesso many times
todas las semanas
every week
todos los díasevery day
todo el tiempoall the time
varias vecesseveral times
Regular forms of the imperfect are formed by adding the following endings to the stem of the verb:
-ar verbs example: hablar
abaabasabaábamosabaisaban
hablabahablabashablabahablábamoshablabaishablaban
-er verbs, -ir verbs example: vivir
íaíasíaíamosíaisían
vivíavivíasvivíavivíamosvivíaisvivían
Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect:ser ver ir
eraeraseraéramoseraiseran
veíaveíasveíaveíamosveíaisveían
ibaibasibaíbamosibaisiban
Repeated, Usual, Habitual Actions
We mainly use the imperfect tense when talking about repeated, usual, or habitual actions in the past:
Los sábados yo jugaba con mi vecino.
On Saturdays I played with my neighbor.
Usualmente él llegaba temprano.
He usually arrived early.
Mi madre siempre me preparaba desayuno.
My mother would always prepare breakfast for me.
In the first example we use the imperfect jugaba (rather than the preterite jugué) because we see this happened repeatedly, over the course of many Saturdays. In the second we use the imperfect llegaba (rather than the preterite llegó) because we know from the context that this was a usual activity. And in the third we use preparaba (rather than preparó) because this was a habitual action that happened often.Words such as "always," "frequently," "generally," "never," "often," "usually" "used to" and "would" clue us into the fact that we should use the imperfect.
Background Information
We use the imperfect to describe the setting or provide background information such as what people, places, or conditions were like at some unspecified time in the past:
La ciudad era vieja y sucia.
The city was old and dirty.
La sirenita se llamaba Ariel y tenía seis hermanas.
The little mermaid was named Ariel and she had six
sisters.
Times and Ages
We also use the imperfect to state the time and people's ages in the past:
Isabel tenía ocho años.
Isabel was eight years old.
Era la una de la mañana.
It was one in the morning.
Ongoing ActionsThe Imperfect Progressive
Additionally, use the imperfect to describe actions that were ongoing or in progress in the unspecified past. This is roughly equivalent to using the imperfect progressive. In these sentences, when the action began or ended is unimportant, it just happened to be occurring at that moment:
Rosa hacía su tarea a las 9:00.
Rosa was doing her homework at 9:00.
Yo dibujaba durante la clase de arte.
I was drawing during art class.
Translating the Imperfect
Because in English we only have one past tense conjugation, we often have to resort to adding additional words to get our exact meaning across. Consider these sentences. All three could be translated the same way in Spanish (and vice versa):I walked on Sundays.
I would walk on
Sundays.
I used to walk on
↔ Yo caminaba los
domingos.
Sundays.
When to Use the Preterite TenseNote: For this lesson preterite conjugations will be indicated like this: preterite conjugation
Single, Completed Actions
If the imperfect is primarily used to describe actions that happened over and over again, what is the preterite used for? You're right! To talk about single, completed actions that took place at specific points in time:
El sábado yo jugué con mi vecino.
On Saturday I played with my neighbor.
Ayer él llegó temprano.
Yesterday he arrived early.
Mi madre me preparó desayuno esta mañana.
My mother prepared breakfast for me this morning.
Since the actions referred to in these examples are one-time events, we choose the preterite. In the first case we use the preterite jugué (instead of jugaba) because the playing we're referring to only occurred once, on Saturday. Likewise, in the second case we choose the
preterite llegó (instead of llegaba) because we're referring to one arrival, yesterday. And lastly, mother prepared breakfast once, this morning.Time cues such as a specific season, month, day, or time of day indicate that we should be using the preterite.What if…?
What if you have both a repeated action and a definite time frame? Use the preterite when a completed action is repeated a specific number of times.
.
What if there isn't a definite timeframe in the sentence, but it's implied by context? A preterite sentence doesn't necessarily have to include a time reference (as in the second sentence below):
Ayer hice mi tarea. También miré dos películas.
Yesterday I did my homework. I also watched two
movies.
The Imperfect vs. The Preterite
Differences in Meaning
This might be a good time talk about why it's called the "imperfect" tense. It doesn't have anything to do with quality, but rather the idea that the action is "incomplete;" it doesn't have a specific beginning or end. Because we're using the imperfect and not attaching a definite timeframe to these actions, we're indicating that when they began and when (or if) they ended is unknown or unimportant. For example:
Marcos se sentía enfermo.
La plaza estaba decorada para la fiesta.
Esmeralda tenía que regresar a casa.
El tiempo hacía frío.
"Marcos was feeling sick." (We don't know exactly when he started feeling bad or if he's now feeling better.) "The plaza was decorated for the party." (Who knows for how long?) "Esmeralda was supposed to return home." (We're not sure when or if she did.) "The weather was cold." (When or if the weather changed isn't important.)On the other hand…Let's look at the same examples, this time with preterite conjugations and definite timeframes. Now we are explicitly stating when the action started (or ended), and therefore indicating that the timeframe is important.
Because of this we are subtly indicating that a change has occurred:
La semana pasada Marcos se sintió enfermo.
La plaza estuvo decorada por un mes.
Esmeralda tuvo que regresar a casa el martes.
El tiempo hizo frío hace dos días.
"Last week Marcos got sick." (Marcos started feeling sick last week.) "The plaza was decorated for one month." (But it isn't anymore.) "Esmeralda had to return home on Tuesday." (And she did.) The weather was cold two days ago." (But it's much warmer now.)Note: Due to their meanings, some verbs tend to be conjugated in the imperfect tense and some verbs are more naturally preterite. Because the verb soler means "to usually" or "to be in the habit of" it cannot be used in the preterite.Due to the differences in emphasis between a preterite and imperfect conjugation, some verbs will have significant differences in meaning when translated. Hopefully by now these variations will make some sense to you. Notice how the preterite tends to signal a change:
imperfect: preterite:
conocer Conocía a Ana. Conocí a Ana.
: I knew Ana. I met Ana.
poder:Podía salir.
I was able to leave.
Pude salir.
I managed to leave.
no poder:No podía terminar.
I was not able to finish.
No pude terminar.
I failed to finish.
querer:Quería hablar.
I wanted to speak.
Quise hablar.
I tried to speak.
no querer:No quería leer.
I didn't want to read.
No quise leer.
I refused to read.
saber:Sabía la razón.
I knew the reason.
Supe la razón.
I found out the reason.
tener:Tenía guantes.
I had gloves.
Tuve guantes.
I got gloves.
The Imperfect & the Preterite Together
See also:
The Imperfect Progressive
It's not at all uncommon to have both preterite and imperfect conjugations in the same sentence. In fact, it happens a lot. The imperfect (or the imperfect progressive) is used to explain what has happening when a preterite action occurred:
Los perros dormían cuando Carlos entró.
The dogs were sleeping when Carlos entered.
Cuando llegaron a la carretera el tiempo hacía calor.
When they reached the highway the weather was hot.
Yo me caí mientras que estábamos corriendo.
I fell while we were running.
For Visual LearnersIf you're still having trouble with the imperfect and the preterite, sometimes it can be advantageous to imagine a timeline. On the right side is the present (we'll ignore the future for now). Toward the left is the past.
If you know with any certainty when the action happened, you should be able to pinpoint on the timeline (with an arrow) exactly when it happened. For example:
On Saturday his friend went to the baseball game.
On the other hand, if you find it difficult to pin down, you may have to indicate only an indefinite range (with a squiggly line) of the action. For example:
His friend was a good baseball player.
So, what good does this do us? Whenever you would draw an arrow you should use the preterite; whenever you would draw a squiggly line you should use the imperfect. Like this:
El sábado su amigo fue al partido de béisbol.
Su amigo era un buen jugador de béisbol.
One more example:
Esperanza broke her arm when she was a girl.
This sentence has two verbs which will both go on the timeline: "Esperanza broke her arm" and "Esperanza was a girl." One of the verbs was a one-time event, the other was a situation with an indefinite time frame so we'll use both an arrow and a squiggly line.
Therefore:
Esperanza rompió su brazo cuando era niña.
Imperfect vs. Preterite: A Final Note
One of the reasons learning when to use the preterite or the imperfect is so difficult is that it's not an exact science. Sometimes you can switch from one tense to the other without substantially changing the meaning of the sentence. Other times you'll completely change the meaning. There may be times when reading Spanish that you won't be able to tell why the author used the conjugation he or she did because it won't seem to follow any of the rules. Just roll with it. As you get more and more used to reading Spanish you'll be able to pick up on the subtle nuances that let you know why a verb is conjugated the way it is.
e
1. El Imperfect: Part I
In a previous lesson, you learned that the imperfect is used for past actions that are not seen as completed. Use of the imperfect tense implies that the past action did not have a definite beginning or a definite end. You also learned how to conjugate regular -ar verbs. In this lesson, you will learn how to conjugate -er and -ir verbs, and become more familiar with the uses of the imperfect.
To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the imperfect, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one of the following:abaabasabaábamosabaisaban
To conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the imperfect, simply drop the ending (-er or -ir) and add one of the following:íaíasíaíamosíaisían
Here are all three regular imperfect verb forms together:hablar comer vivir
hablaba comía vivía
hablabas comías vivías
hablaba comía vivía
hablábamos comíamos vivíamos
hablabais comíais vivíais
hablaban comían vivían
The imperfect is used for actions that were repeated habitually.Almorzábamos juntos todos los días.We would lunch together every day.Las señoras siempre charlaban por las mañanas.The ladies would always chat in the mornings.
The imperfect is used for actions that "set the stage" for another action.Yo leía cuando entró mi papá.I was reading when my papa entered. (note that "entered" is preterite)
The imperfect is used for telling time and stating one's age.Eran las siete de la noche.It was seven o'clock at night.La niña tenía cinco años.The little girl was five years old.
The above examples all fall within our general rule for using the imperfect:
EL IMPERFECTO Part I
The imperfect is used for past actions that are not seen as completed
Something that was happening…Something that happened often…
Imperfect: regular -er -ía-ías-ía-íamos-íais-íancomía, comías, comía, comíamos, comíais, comíanImperfect: regular -ir -ía-ías-ía-íamos-íais-íanvivía, vivías, vivía, vivíamos, vivíais, vivían
More examples of the Imperfect Tense in Spanish Note that the yo and él forms are identical; if the context leaves ambiguity as to which person was doing the action, be sure to use the pronoun.
Ir, ser, and ver are the only irregular verbs in the imperfecto.
Ir - to goyo iba nosotros íbamos
tú ibas vosotros ibaisél iba ellos iban
Ser - to beyo era nosotros éramos
tú eras vosotros eraisél era ellos eran
Ver - to seeyo veía nosotros veíamos
tú veías vosotros veíais
él veía ellos veían
Hablar - to talkyo hablaba nosotros hab
lábamos
tú hablabas vosotros hablabais
él hablaba ellos hablabanComer - to eat
yo comía nosotros comíamos
tú comías vosotros comíaisél comía ellos comían
Vivir - to liveyo vivía nosotros vivíamos
tú vivías vosotros vivíaisél vivía ellos vivían
El pretérito y el imperfecto:
The usage of the preterite and the imperfect is one of the most difficult aspects of Spanish for an English-speaker. Essentially, both the preterite and the imperfect are past tenses, much as the way "he did" and "he was doing" both express past action in English. The deciding factor between the two tenses is a characteristic of verbs not frequently talked about in English: aspect.
Every action has a beginning, a middle, and an end. When one wishes to focus on the middle of an action, the action is on-going, that is, nothing changes radically (which is not to say that nothing happens). For example, "he was eating" indicates the "middle" of the action of eating in the past. We don't know when he started to eat or when he finished (or even if he finished). We just know that at a certain time in the past, he was in the middle of eating. This focus on the middle of an action is called the imperfective aspect. Not surprisingly, it is associated with the imperfect tense in Spanish, for example:
hablaba I was speaking
viajábamos we used to travel
estaban they were
In each case, there is no notion that the action began or ended, only that at some point it was on-going. Notice, however, that English has three different, common ways to indicate the imperfect: the past progressive ("was speaking") to show that a single action continued, the "used to" construction to show that a series of separate actions continued, and the simple past, used particularly with verbs that show state of mind or body ("was," "thought," etc.) as ongoing in the past.If the imperfect is used to denote the middle of an action, the preterite is used to indicate the beginning or the end of an action. Sometimes it requires some thought to determine which part of the action is being described. For example, "The telephone rang at 8 last night" sounds like an action that is over and therefore we are describing the end of it. But the point of view is always some point in the past, in this case, at 8 last night. At that time, the telephone began to ring. It wasn't ringing at 7:59, but it very well might have rung until 8:01 or 8:02. When one says, "I shut the door," on the other hand, by the time one says that, the door is already shut; the action has been completed.There are many other ways to describe when one should use the imperfect or the preterite, but all of them are just different ways of describing the aspect of the verb in question. For example, one usually uses the imperfect to describe background (ongoing) actions and states, or something that was going on when another action
interrupted. Likewise, the preterite is used to describe a series of discrete actions that occurred in sequence and then were over. Of course, there are always some uses that do not necessarily fit the rule, such as the fact that one always tells time in the imperfect ("era la una"), and there are even some verbs whose meaning (or at least whose translation) changes when one uses one tense or the other. Here are a few examples; note that the standard meaning is the one reflected by the imperfect:Verb Preterite Imperfect
saber supe - "I found out" sabía - "I knew"
conocer conocí - "I met" conocía - "I knew"
querer quise - "I tried" quería - "I wanted"
In short, to express what was happening, What happened many times-often..... use the IMPERFECTO in SpanishMore Review of the Pretérito
El Pretérito
The Preterite tense is used to indicate a completed action in the past. something that was completed-finished in the past
Verbos regulares
-AR
-é-aste-ó-amos-asteis-aron
Verbos -er e -ir regulares
-í
-iste-ió-imos-isteis-ieron
______________________________________
Verbos irregulares
IRREGULAR CASES IN PRETÉRITO
Case I irregular below
DAR
DiDisteDio dimos disteisdieron
VER
ViVisteVioVimosVisteisVieron
Case II irregular
Caer
CaíCaísteCayóCaímosCaísteisCayeron.
OIR
OíOísteOyóOímosOísteisOyeron
CREER
CreíCreísteCreyóCreímosCreísteisCreyeron
LEER
LeíLeísteLeyóLeímosLeísteisleyeron
Case II also has-
All –uir verbs
ConstruirInfluir.....
Construir
ConstruíConstruísteConstruyóConstruímosConstruísteisConstruyeron
Case III SER AND IR
FuiFuisteFueFuimosFuisteisFueron
Ser
FuíFuisteFuéFuimosFuisteisFueron
JOTA group
Case IV
Jota group
All –cir verbs take the “J”
Decir
DijeDijstedijodijimosdijisteisdijeron
TRAER goes with the case IV verbsTrajeTrajisteTrajoTrajimosTrajisteisTrajeron
Case V “V” group
ESTAR TENER ANDAR
Estar
ESTUVEESTUVISTEESTUVOESTUVIMOSESTUVISTEISESTUVIERONANDAR
ANDUVEANDUVISTEANDUVOANDUVIMOSANDUVISTEISANDUVIERON
TENER
TUVE
TUVISTE
TUVO
TUVIMOS
TUVISTEIS
TUVIERON
Case VI Los independientes
Poner
PusePusistePusoPusimosPusisteisPusieron
Poder
Pude
Pudiste
Pudo Pudimos Pudisteis Pudieron
VenirVineViniste
VinoVinimosVinisteisVinieron
HacerHiceHicisteHizoHicimosHicisteisHicieron
Saber: to know a fact
Not used in conversation
In spoken Spanish it is used to mean “to have found out....!”
Supe SupisteSupoSupimos Supisteissupieron
knowing is a process
Saber- In order to say that you “knew....something” you must use th eimperfect tense form of the verb
SabíaSabíasSabíaSabíamosSabíaissabían
Yo no sabía la respuesta.
Querer - to want
You can not use the preperite form of the verb QUERER since ¨wanting¨ implies an on going sense of desire......
In conversational Spanish you must use the Imperfect form of the conjugation to indicate “wanting...or wanted”
Preterite form of the verb QUERER
QuiseQuisisteQuisoQuisimosQuisisteisQusieron
In spoken Spanish this means to have refused when the word NO comes before each conjugate.Yo no quise ir. I refused to go.
No qusimos ir de compras.We refused to go shopping.
No quiseNo quisisteNo quisoNi quisimosNo quisisteisNo quisieron
To expres “I wanted, you wanted, he/she wanted....” you must use the imperfect form of the verb querer.
QueríaQueríasQueríaQueríamosQueríaisQuerían
Yo quería estudiar en la biblioteca.I wanted to study in the library.
Dormir
Dormí
Dormiste
Durmió
Dormimos
Dormisteis
Durmieron
PEDIR
Pedí
Pediste
Pidió
Pedimos
Pedisteis
Pidieron
Other e to i stem-changing verbs.....
Servir reir pedir dormir sonrei.........
________________________________________
Case VIII irregular Preterite
-Car qué
-Gar GUÉ
-Zar CÉ in the yo form
Tocar
Toqué
Tocaste
Tocó
Tocamos
Tocasteis
tocaron
-GAR verbs
LLEGAR
Llegué
Llegaste
Llegó
Llegamos
Llegasteis
llegaron
-ZAR verbs
Empezar
Empecé
Empezaste
empezó
Empezamos
Empezasteis
Empezaron
MINI-LecciónDel QUADERNO DE CASA- HOME JOURNAL
Content – contenidos Reflexive verbs
Objective- To tell someone what time you wake up, get out of bed and what time you get ready for school.
1. Reflexive verbs are verbs in which the subject is the direct recipient of the action of the verb in active voice.There is no OBJECT in the sentence since the ¨subject¨plays that role.
María sees herself in the mirror.
She is seeing herself. The action of SEEING reflects back to the subject María .
Reflexive verbs use the reflexive pronouns.Me te se nos os se2. Reflexive pronouns
Me - myselfTe - yourself familiarSe - youself formal Himself Herself
Nos - ourselvesOs - yourselvesSe - Yourselves formal, themselves.
3. verbs to be used to describe your morning routine
Despertarse LevantarseBañarseSecarseVestirse or ponerse la ropaDesayunarse
4. The conclusion the lesson and results
More on Reflexive Verbs-
Reflexive Verbs: Part I
A verb is reflexive when the subject and the object are the same.I wash myself.subject: Iverb: washobject: myselfSince the subject and object are the same, the verb is reflexive.
I wash the car.subject: Iverb: washobject: carSince the subject and object are different, the verb is not reflexive.
Here's another example of how a verb can be either reflexive or non-reflexive.I scratch myself.subject: Iverb: scratchobject: myselfSince the subject and object are the same, the verb is reflexive.
I scratch the dog.subject: Iverb: scratchobject: dogSince the subject and object are different, the verb is not reflexive.
When a verb is reflexive, the infinitive ends in "se."lavarto wash (non-reflexive)lavarseto wash oneself (reflexive)rascarto scratch (non-reflexive)rascarseto scratch oneself (reflexive)
There is one reflexive verb you have been using since you began studying Spanish.llamarse - to call oneself¿Cómo se llama usted?What do you call yourself?Me llamo Juan.I call myself Juan.
Note: A more "natural" translation would be "What is your name?" and "My name is Juan."
When you learned to conjugate regular verbs, you needed to learn a set of pronouns called "subject pronouns."lavaryo lavotú lavasél, ella, usted lavanosotros/as lavamosvosotros/as laváisellos, ellas, ustedes lavan
To learn to conjugate reflexive verbs, you need to learn a different set of pronouns called "reflexive pronouns." These pronouns are positioned before the verb, while the ending "se" is dropped and the verb is conjugated normally.lavarseyo me lavoI wash (myself)
tú te lavasyou wash (yourself) (informal)
él se lavahe washes (himself)
ella se lavashe washes (herself)
usted se lavayou wash (yourself) (formal)
nosotros nos lavamoswe wash (ourselves)
nosotras nos lavamoswe wash (ourselves) (feminine)
vosotros os laváisyou-all wash (yourselves) (informal)vosotras os laváisyou-all wash (yourselves) (informal, feminine)
ustedes se lavanyou-all wash (yourselves)(formal)
ellos se lavanthey wash (themselves)
ellas se lavanthey wash (themselves) (feminine)
The reflexive pronouns are not subject pronouns; rather they are object pronouns.
me (myself)
te (yourself)
se (himself, herself, yourself)
nos (ourselves)
os (yourselves)
se (themselves, yourselves)
The purpose of the reflexive object pronouns is to show that the action of the verb remains with the subject.
Juan se lava la cara.Juan washes his face. (reflexive)
Juan lava su carro. (non-reflexive)Juan washes his car.
Note: When referring to body parts, use the definite article, thus "la cara" not "su cara."
Note that many, many verbs can be made reflexive. All it means when a verb is reflexive is that the action remains with the subjec
wash the dog (non-reflexive)wash your face (reflexive)raise the book (non-reflexive)raise your arm (reflexive)put the baby to bed (non-reflexive)go to bed (reflexive)wake up your son (non-reflexive)wake up yourself (reflexive)...and so on
Yo me despierto a las siete de la mañana-
Me levanto Me baño Me seco Me visto Me desayuno
Otro ejemplo de una mini-lección HOME JOURNAL
Stem changing verbsVerbos de Cambio de raíz
I want to say that María closes the door.
Content-contenidos Stem-changing verbs Cambios de Raíz.
Objective To say that María closes the door
Method/ la lección
1. Stem changing verbs
The verb E - ie stem change
STEM CHANGING VERBS Verbos de CAMBIO RAÍZ
CERRAR
Conjugate the verb- e-ie
CERRAR
CierroCierrasCierra
CerramosCerráisCierran
The word DOOR is PUERTA
The conclusion-
María cierra la puerta.
Cambios de Raíz
EMPEZAR
EmpiezoEmpiezasEmpiezaEmpezamos
EmpezaisEmpiezan
Despertarse
Me despierto Te despiertasSe despiertaNos despertamosOs despertaisSe despiertan
Possessive Adjectives
MiTuSuNuestro nuestraVuestro vuestrasu
Adjectives agree in gender and in number with the nouns they describe!
Joan es alto.Joana es alta.
María y Josep son altos.María y Joana son altas.
El chico es gracioso.El chico es gordo.La chica es bonita.La chica es baja.
Mi casa es su casa.
Exceptions to the gender agreement law
Josep es popularMaría es popular.
María es inteligente.Marco es inteligente.
TENER + QUE + INFINITIVO = to have to…..
WHEN YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC HOUR GIVEN
Time: de la mañana = in the morning de la tarde = in the afternoon de la noche = at night/in the evening
Time: When NO hour is given- in general
Por la mañanaPor la tardePor la noche
Indirect Object Pronouns Again in REVIEW!
Don´t forget
HOME JOURNALS!!!!!!!!
5 to 10 minutes - at least 5 minutes per
night-
TAREA
