Present Tense

Every verb in Spanish ends in one of three ways: -ar, -er, and –ir.  Here are some examples.

-AR                                         -ER                                          -IR                  

Gustar = to please                   Comer = to eat                        Dormir = to sleep       

Ayudar = to help                     Beber = to drink                      Corregir = to correct              

Pensar = to think                     Poder = to be able to               Decir = to say/to tell

Each of these endings conjugate in a certain way.  In English conjugating is usually pretty easy.  I eat, she eats, they eat, you eat, etc.  In Spanish there’s a little more to it, but once you get down the pattern you can conjugate almost any verb (except the irregulars that we’ll discuss in a second).

Get to know this conjugating tree:

                                                                        I                         We              

Yo           Nosotros                                         You (familiar,     You (familiar,

Tú            Vosotros                                          singular)              plural)                             

Usted,      Ustedes,                                          You, (formal,         You (formal,
Él,            Ellos                                                singular)                plural)

Ella          Ellas                                                 He                       Them (masculine)

                                                                       She                      Them (feminine)                                                    

These are the subject pronouns of Spanish and English (by the way, there are object pronouns as well, but we’ll go over that in a later post).  Yo=I, nostotros=we, ella=she, él=he, and then we have some confusing things with you.  In Spanish, and many other Latin-based languages, you can be familiar or formal, and singular or plural. 

When you’re talking to one person you know very well or someone who is younger than you, use the familiar, singular form of you, which is tú.  This is appropriate for family members, friends, peers you have gotten to know, and children.  If you’re speaking to a group of these familiar people, use vosotros.  It’s the Spanish equivalent of ya’ll, really.  However, vosotros is almost exclusively used only in Spain, and Latin-American countries use ustedes instead.

When you’re talking to one person you don’t know well or who is older than you, use the formal, singular form of you, which is usted.  This is appropriate for strangers, peers you haven’t gotten to know yet, people you want to show respect to, and elderly people who aren’t family (note that every family is different, and some families only talk to each other in tú, but others may use usted to speak to older members of the family.  It’s just a matter of preference).  If you’re speaking to a group of unfamiliar people, use ustedes.  Also, as discussed above, in Latin-American countries ustedes is also used to talk to many people even if they are familiar.  So, if you were talking with a group of children you would use ustedes, just like you would with a group of older people.

Now, back to the tree.  This tree makes a pattern that you’ll use again and again in every tense.  In the present tense, verbs that end in -AR, -ER, and –IR will conjugate and end like this:

-AR                                                   -ER                                                -IR

    -o           -amos                                   -o           -emos                            -o            -imos

    -as          -áis                                      -es          -éis                                -es           -ís    

    -a           -an                                       -e           -en                                 -e            -en

I’m betting you could use some examples of how what on earth I’m talking about.  Let’s look at some –AR endings first.

     Echar (to throw)                           trabajar (to work)                      aceptar (to accept)

    echo       echamos                       trabajo     trabajamos                  acepto    aceptamos

    echas     echáis                            trabajas     trabajáis                    aceptas   aceptáis   

    echa      echan                             trabaja      trabajas                      acepta    aceptan

So, when you conjugate a verb that ends in –AR in Spanish, you drop the –ar and add the appropriate ending.  I throw = echo, we throw = echamos, all of you (formal) throw = ustedes echan.  And the nice thing in Spanish is that we often don’t have to explicitly say the pronoun.  If I say, “Yo trabajo,” I could just as well take off the yo and just say, “Trabajo,” because you know by the way I conjugate the verb that I’m talking about myself.  If I say, “Acepta,” it can be more confusing because in that form it could mean, “She accepts,” “He accepts,” or “You (formal) accept.”  In cases like that where we aren’t sure who the subject is we might use the pronoun: “Ella acepta, él acepta, usted acepta.”  However, if you can infer who the pronoun is based on context you won’t even have to specify if it’s she, he, or you (formal).

Now, how about some –ER verbs!

   Creer (to believe)                         beber (to drink)                       comer (to eat)

   Creo       creemos                       bebo      bebemos                   como    comemos

   Crees      creéis                           bebes     bebéis                      comes   coméis   

   Cree        creen                           bebe       beben                       come     comen

It’s the same idea here.  To conjugate a verb that ends in –ER, drop the –er and add the appropriate ending.  You (familiar) believe = crees, we drink = bebemos, he eats = él come.  Cool?  Next up, -IR verbs.

    Decidir (to decide)                       cubrir (to cover)                         vivir (to live)

   Decido      decidimos                    cubro     cubrimos                     vivo    vivimos

   Decides     decidís                        cubres    cubrís                         vives   vivís    

   Decide       deciden                      cubre     cubren                         vive    viven

Again, drop the –ir and add the appropriate ending.  I decide = decido, ya’ll cover = cubrís, they live = viven.  Notice that verbs that end in –ER and –IR conjugate in a very similar way.  –IR verbs conjugate just like –ER verbs except when conjugating for nosotros (we) and vosotros (familiar, plural you).  That’s actually going to be important with other tenses we learn.

So, now you know how to conjugate every verb in Spanish, right?  Well, not quite.  It turns out there are some exceptions to the rules.  We call them irregular verbs.  English has lots of irregularities, and you know how to speak that, so you shouldn’t complain.

In English, we have this verb “to be.”  We conjugate it like this: I am, you are, he is.  None of those sound anything like the root “be.”  That would be an irregular verb.  Spanish has some irregulars that are just a little off, irregulars that are stem changers, and irregulars that are so off you wouldn’t even think they came from the same root.  Unfortunately there aren’t any rules to tell if a verb will be irregular or not.  You really just have to memorize them.  Here are a few examples.

        Ir (to go)             ser (to be)                    estar (to be)                 seguir (to follow)

   Voy     vamos          soy        somos             estoy      estamos            sigo      seguimos

   Vas      vais             eres         sois                estás      estáis                sigues    segís     

   Va        van             es            son                 está        están                sigue    siguen

    Tener (to have)     sentir (to feel/regret)       dormir (to sleep)         hacer (to do/make)

   Tengo    tenemos      siento    sentimos        duermo    dormimos        hago    hacemos

   Tienes   tenéis          sientes    sentís            duermes   dormís            haces    hacéis   

   Tiene     tienen         siente     sienten           duerme     duermen         hace     hacen

    Elegir (to choose)          querer (to want)            decir (to say, to tell)         dar (to give)

     Elijo     elegimos         quieros   queremos            digo    decimos            doy     damos

     Eliges   elegís             quieres    queréis               dices   decís                 das      dáis   

     Elige    eligen              quiere    quieren                 dice     dicen                da        dan

While there isn’t really a good way to predict whether or not a verb will be irregular, there are some patterns.  Next time we’ll talk about stem changers.

Homework for this week: the following verbs are regular.  Draw up a verb tree for each.

1. Asistir (to attend)
2. Gritar (to shout)
3. Expresar (to express)
4. Insistir (to insist)
5. Hablar (to speak)
6. Necesitar (to need)
7. Leer (to read)
8. Extrañar (to miss)
9. Sacar (to take out)
10. Responder (to respond)

How do you say...

Alright, I know I promised we’d jump right into present tense, but I forgot you don’t know how to pronounce anything.  So, let’s start with the basic alphabet.

Letter	What it sounds like in Spanish	How do you spell and pronounce the letter itself?	How do I make that sound?
A	Makes a sound like “Ah” as in saw.	A Ah	Open your mouth and say ah.
B*	Makes a soft b/v sound.  B and V actually sound the same in Spanish.	Be Beh (like better, but make it more V-ish)	The lips barely touch as you rub them together and make a b/v sound.
C	In front of E or I, it makes an “S” sound as in city.  In front of consonants and A, O, or U it makes a “K” sound as in act or can’t.	Ce Ceh (like send)	Say ssss or ka.
Ch	Just like English as in church.	Che Cheh (like chess)	Say cha.
D	Usually sounds like “the.” However, at the beginning of words it is pronounced like a soft English D.  Some books say if it comes after certain consonants it also makes a soft D.	De Deh (like den)	Make a sound like “the” or for a soft D place the tip of the tongue behind the teeth as you say da.
E	Makes a sound like “Eh” as in send.	E Eh	Say eh like you’re shrugging and don’t care.
F	Just like English F as in found.	Efe Ehfeh	Say ffff.
G	In front of E or I, it makes a sound like the English H like “heat.”  In front of consonants and A, O or U it sounds like the English G as in “gone” or “again.”	Ge Heh (like hemp)	Say ha or ga.
H	Silent.  Unless it is preceded by C, then it makes the “Ch” sound.	Hache Ah-cheh	Don’t make a noise.
I	Sounds like the English E as in me.	I Ee (like see)	Say eeeeee like you’re really excited.
J	Sounds like the English H	Jota Ho-ta	Say ha.
K**	Just like English K as in kid.	Ka Kah (like Karl)	Say ka.
L	Just like English L as in lime.	Ele Eh-leh	Say la.
Ll	There are different sounds for Ll depending on what country you are in.  It can be like the English Y as in you, or like Sh as in shush, or like a mix between Z and J as in measure or mahjong, or like a solid J as in just.  I usually either say it like Y or the Z and J mix.	Elle Eh-yeh or eh-sheh or eh-zjeh or eh-jeh. And there are others….	To make the Y, say ya. To make the Sh, say sha To make the Zj, say something like the S in measure. To make the J, say ja.
M	Just like English M as in mine.	Eme Eh-meh (like men)	Say ma.
N	Just like English N as in nine.	Ene Eh-neh (like neck)	Say na.
Ñ	Sounds like the ny combination in canyon.	Eñe Eh-nyeh (like canyon)	Say the ny in canyon.
O	Just like the hard English O as in open.	O Oh	Say oh.
P	Just like English P as in pound.	Pe Peh (as in peck)	Say pa
Q	Must always come before a U.  If the U then comes before E or I, the U is silent and the Q sounds like K as in kink.  If the U comes before A or O the Q and U make a combination sound like quack.  See below for further explanation.	Qu Coo (as in cool)	Say ka or qua
R	If it comes at the beginning of a word, roll the R like you’re Spanish.  If it comes after the beginning, it is like a weird English D.	Ere Eh-reh (as in rest, but make like it a D…)	Rolling R’s can be hard. The tip of the tongue repeatedly strikes the hard palate.  Practice by taking a big breath and forcing out, “Harrrrr.”  That’s how my dad got it down in Italy. R/D’s are almost as bad.  Instead of making the regular English R, tap the tip of the tongue on the hard palate of the mouth.  For practice, try just saying Eddie using only your tongue and not your teeth.  Then say it fast.  This is about the sound you want.  (If you can get down the R/D, do it many times very fast and you’re rolling the R!)
Rr	Roll the R.	Erre Eh-(roll the R)eh	See above.
S	Just like English S as in seat, though in Spain they sometimes make it a “th” sound as in thought.  We’re in America, so we’re not going into that.	Ese Eh-seh	Say sa
T	Similar to English T as in touch, but softer.	Te Teh (like ten)	Place the tip of the tongue behind the teeth, just like we did with the soft D, and say ta.
U	Similar to hard Engish U as in astute, but never give it a yu sound as in accuse.  (In Spanish usar, which means to use, should never sound like you-sar.  It’s oo-sar)	U Oo (like Oo, we’re almost done!)	Say oo, like you’re really excited.
V	Soft B/V sound.  See B above.	Ve Beh (see B above)	See B above
W***	Just like English W as in walk.	Doble Ve Doh-Bleh Beh	Say wa
X	Usually just like English X as in extinct.  However, in native words like Mexico or Oaxaca, the X sounds like the English H as in hot.  At the beginning of words like xilófono, it makes a Z sound.	Equis Eh-kees	Say ex. (Note, it’s not like exactly, which has a sound like eggs.  More like excite.) Or ha. Or za.
Y	See Ll	I Griega Ee gree-eh-gah	Se Ll
Z	Just like English S as in sight.	Zeta Seh-tah.	Say sa.  Don’t say za.

*Which is why you’ll sometimes see things like “Vien Benidos” on signs instead of the correct “Bien Venidos.”

** K is not really a Spanish letter and is usually only used in words brought over from other languages, as in bikini and kilometro.

***W is not really a Spanish letter and is usually only used in words brought over from other languages, as in walkman and windsurfista.

G has some funny rules associated with it.  If a U and then an A or O comes after, then you make a “guah” or “guoh” sound.  If a U and then an E or I comes after, then you don’t say the U, and you say, “geh” as in get, or “gee” as in geezer.  Also, there’s a symbol in Spanish, ü.  If this symbol comes after the G and is followed by an E or I, then you do make the U sound.

How it’s spelled	How it’s said	How it’s spelled	How it’s said	How it’s spelled	How it’s said
Ga	Gah	Gua	Guah	N/A	N/A
Ge	Heh	Gue	Geh (get)	Güe	Gweh
Gi	Hee	Gui	Gee (geezer)	Güi	Gwee
Go	Goh	Guo	Guoh	N/A	N/A
Gu	Goo	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Q also has some interesting rules.  It will always be followed by U, but if it is then followed by an A or O, the U makes a sound.  If it is then followed by an E or I, the U doesn’t make a sound.

How it’s spelled	How it’s said.
Qua	Kwa
Que	Keh
Qui	Kee
Quo	Kuo

Accenting

So, now you know how to say the letters, but how about a word?  Here are the rules of where to put the accent so you get the emphasis on the right syllable.

If a word ends in a vowel, or in the consonants N or S, then the accent goes on the second-to-last syllable. 

            Ex: mosca, chistoso, contestan, asquerosos.

If a word ends in a consonant other than N or S, then the accent goes on the last syllable.

            Ex: cantar, electricidad, general, feliz.

However, if there’s an accent mark, then the above rules go out the window, and you put the accent where it says.

            Ex: difícil, fácil, nación, trabajáramos.

Diphthongs

A diphthong is when 2 vowels come together to make one syllable.  In English, we have words like quit, where the U and I make two different sounds but you say them together.  This is a diphthong.  However, in the word quiet, the U and I combine, yet the E doesn’t, and we have two syllables.  In Spanish, we also have diphthongs, and there’s an easy rule to know whether or not the vowels will or won’t combine.

A, E, and O are called strong vowels, and I, U and Y are called weak vowels.  I don’t know why, but that’s what they’re called.  If a strong and a weak vowel are next to each other in a word, or if two weak vowels are next to each other, they will make a diphthong.  If two strong vowels are next to each other, they will not make a diphthong.

Diphthong	Example of syllabication	Not a diphthong	Example of syllabication
Ai	Ai-re	Ae	Ca-er
Au	Aun-que	Ea	A-la-be-ar
Ay	Hay	Oa	An-cho-a
Ei	Trein-ta	Oe	Hé-ro-e
Eu	Eu-ro-pa
Ia	Di-stan-cia
Ie	Piel
Io	E-stu-dio
Iu	Viu-da
Oi	Sois
Oy	Soy
Ua	Cuan-do
Ue	Duer-mo
Ui	Fui-mos

There are more, but I can’t think of them right now.  There are also triphthongs (possibly not an English word…) which combine three letters in a row (usually a strong vowel sandwiched by two weak vowels, or vice versa) like continuéis. 

However, an accent mark can break a diphthong if it is over the weak vowel, as in the word oír.  Although it should be one syllable, the accent mark breaks the diphthong, creating two syllables. 

If the accent mark is over the strong vowel in a diphthong, there’s no problem.  In vivéis, the emphasis falls on the final syllable, but it’s still a monosyllable.

Okay… I think that’s everything.  Hopefully now you’ll be able to at least read the words correctly.  To make up for the fact that this post didn’t jump into present tense, I’ll post again a second time this week.

And hey, as promised, here are the answers from the homework. 

Hola, Señorita = Hello, Miss.

¿Cómo te llamas? = What is your name?

Me llamo Mike = I’m called Mike.

¿Dónde está el baño? = Where’s the bathroom? (PS, if you pronounce baño like that you don’t understand how to pronounce ah.)

Feliz cumpleaños = Happy Birthday.

¿Qué hora es? = What time is it?

Me gusta la biblioteca = I like the library.

Vivo en la casa roja = I live in the red house.

Yo tengo dos bicicletas = I have two bicycles.

Muchas gracias.  Sí, de nada = Many thanks.  Yes, you’re welcome.

¿Cuántos años tienes? = How old are you? (A dangerous question to be asking a woman whose name you don’t even know…)

Un momento, por favor = One moment, please.

Mi mama es bonita = My mom is beautiful.

Mi gato es muy blanco = My cat is very white.  (Again, that’s not how you say ah in blanco.)

Perdóneme = Excuse me/forgive me.  (By the way, when you learn command form you’ll learn that he’s changed from speaking to her in the familiar tú to the formal usted.)

And I think you can figure out the rest…

Now that I’ve sucked the fun out of that song, for homework this week you should practice saying ah, as in saw, not ah as in sand or bank.