Category Archives: Vocabulary

Personal pronouns.

Some of my older students find it hard to understand technical grammar terms so, in those cases, I think it’s better to leave them a side as they will just get them confused.

So, if you need to learn personal pronouns, but you don’t know what pronouns are,  then… don’t worry and  simply learn them! Don’t let the terminology to put you off learning the language.

 

I————- YO

YOU ——- TÚ

HE———- ÉL

SHE ——- ELLA

WE ——– NOSOTROS/NOSOTRAS

YOU —— VOSOTROS/VOSOTRAS

THEY —– ELLOS /ELLAS

Grammatical terms

Before you start to learn Spanish grammar you ,need to familiarise yourself with some grammatical terms.

Look at this sentence:

The boy reads an interesting book at home.

He reads an interesting book at home.

Each word has a grammatical term :

The – definitive article

boy – noun (it is the subject of the sentence)

reads – verb

a – preposition

interesting – adjective

book – noun (it is a direct object in the sentence)

at – preposition

home – noun.

He – pronoum

Articles always go in front of the noun and agrees with it in gender and number. Grammatical name given to the word “THE”.

In many circumstances where the definite article is necessary in Spanish , it is omitted in English.

Las mujeres están en el partido – Women are present in the party.

Using Spanish articles will take practise , since quite a few situations require their use in Spanish but not in English.

Nouns designate people, places, actions, things, events and concrete or abstract ideas, and so on. Example: Tom, boy, London, chair, cat…

In Spanish nouns are either feminine or masculine, grammatically speaking. Sometimes this classification will not make sense to the English-speaking learner of Spanish.

A verb is a word that describes an action ( example: eats, slept, is going).

An adjetive can have two functions:

It can complement the noun it follows , completing its meaning with various characteristics and qualities.

Example: Don’t you want that big , inexpensive bag?

The can also limit or determine a noun.

Example: My watch is not working. / This rose has a strong fragance.

Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun. Therefore djetives are either feminine or masculine, singular or plural, acording to the noun they modify.

A Preposition is a connector. It links a noun, a pronoun, or a phrase to other words in a phrase or sentence.

Example: They work for me. / They are travelling through Spain.

Spanish prepositions can present a challenge to English speakers .You will need to acquire them gradually.

A pronoun is a word that stands in place of a noun.

Example: I, you, he , she…..

A conjunction is a word that links parts of a sentence . The most common conjunctions in English are “and” and “but”.

The subject is the name given to the person or things doing the action.

Relative pronoun is a word that links one part of the sentence to another. In English the relative pronouns are “ who”, “whom”, “which”, “where” and “that”

Example: I gave him all the money that I earned.

Madalenas Caseras

Ingredientes ( Ingredients)

3 Huevos ( 3 eggs)

250 gramos de azúcar (250 grams of sugar)

1 vaso de leche ( a glass of milk)

1 vaso de aceite de semillas ( a glass of sunflower oil)

3 cucharitas de baking power ( 3 teaspoons of baking power)

300 gramos de harina (300grams of flour)

Rayadura de un limón (one lemon zest)

Preheat the oven at 180.

Mixed all the ingredients in a cooking bowl using a mixer or a wood spoon.

Bake them in the oven for about 20 minutes.

 

 

At the airport

When travelling abroad to Spain or any latin country is very useful to know some basic sentences to find you way at the airport.

The following is a standard conversation you could have with a stewardess when doing your check in at the airport:

 

A- Buenos días señor/señora! (Good morning, Sir/madam)
C-  Buenos días (Good Morning)
A-¿Su pasaporte o DNI por favor? (Pastport or Identity car, please?)
C-Aquí tiene. (There you are)
A-Muchas gracias  ¿Lleva maletas para facturar? (Thank you. Are you checking in any  luggage?)
C-Si, tengo una. (yes, one case)
A-Por favor colóquelas sobre la cinta transportadora. ( Please, can you put the on the band so that I can weight it?)
C-Si, un momento. ( Yes. One moment please!)
A- Pesa 20kg*. ¿Lleva también equipaje de mano? (It is 20kgr. Do you have any hand luggage?)
C-Si, llevo esta maleta pequeña. (Yes, this little case)
A-Por favor colóquela también sobre la cinta transportadora. ( Please, can you put the on the band so that I can weight it?)
A-Bien aquí tiene su tarjeta de embarque. La hora de embarque es las 19:25 por la puerta de embarque numero 20. Muchas gracias y que tenga un buen viaje. ( This is you boarding card. Boarding time is 19:25 at gate number 20. Thanks you and have a nice flight!)
C-Muchas gracias, adiós. (Thank you. Good bye!)
 
 

If the suit case was overweight the this might be the end of the conversation:
*A- El peso de su maleta es superior a 20 kg. Le recuerdo que por cada kg que supera los 20kg, el coste es de 4€. Su maleta excede 6kg por lo tanto tendría que abonar en nuestra oficina de tasas 24€ y luego regresar a facturación con la factura que le darán y  finalizar su embarque. ( Your case is over weight. I remind you that every kilogram extra costs 4 euros. Your case is 6kg overweight there for you would need to pay 24 euros taxes at our office and, after that, come back with your payment receipt  to finish your check in)

C- ¿Dónde está la oficina de tasas? (Where is you office?)
A-Esta justo en frente. (It’s there, in front of us)
C- Muchas gracias (Thank you!)
A-Gracias a usted

Comida – Food

Las comidas

el desayuno – breakfast

la comida, el almuerzo – lunch                                        

la merienda – afternoon snack

la cena – evening meal

Desayuno

los cereales – cereals                                            

pan tostado – toasted bread

la mantequilla – butter

la mermelada – jam

el pan – bread

la leche – milk

café con leche – coffee with milk

la miel – honey

las madalenas – muffins

En la mesa (on the table)                                          

el  azúcar – sugar

el bol – bowl

la cafetera – coffeepot

el cubierto – cutlery

la cuchara – spoon

el cuchillo – knife

el tenedor –fork         

el mantel – tablecloth

la servilleta – napkin

la mesa – table

la sal – salt

la pimienta – pepper

el plato – the plate

el vinagre – vinegar

el vaso – glass

La fruta (Fruit)

la manzana – apple

la pera – pear

la fresa – strawberry

el limón – lemon

el melocotón – peach

la naranja – orange

el plátano –  banana

el melón – melon

la piña – pineaple

las uvas – grapes

la frambuesa – raspberry

la cereza – cherries