Wednesday, October 5, 2011

The journey goes on somewhereelse

You are redirected because I have registered my own domain and will go on writing regularly on Spanish language from now on there. Hope to see you all at the new place!!

http://hispanyeros.com/

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Spanish Prepositions for Positions-Preposiciones de Lugar

This article is  on the Spanish prepositions used to express the positions of objects and people , e.g. what are the counterparts of on,under, inside, outside etc. in Spanish?

ON
sobre, encima (de), en
For example, let us answer the question

  •  ¿ Dónde está el ordenador? (where is the computer?)
  • El ordenador está sobre la mesa (The computer is on the table)
There is another preposition with the meaning "on" and it is "encima". 
  • El ordenador está encima de la mesa (The computer is on the table)
Note that "encima" is used together with "de" but sobre is used directly with the noun.
sobre=encima de

You may also see that the preposition "en" is used also for "on". So it is possible to say

  • El ordenador está en la mesa (The computer is on the table)
But "en" can also mean "inside". In the above sentence it is clear that the computer can not be in the table. But in  cases where it can mean "in/inside" avoid using "en". Instead choose one of the other two prepositions (sobre=encima de).

UNDER
debajo de
The preposition which means under in Spanish is debajo. It is used together with "de" as well.
  • La pelota está debajo de la mesa (The ball is under the table)

INSIDE
dentro (de), en 
  • La pelota está dentro de la caja (The ball is in the box)
As said above, the preposition "en" can also mean "in/inside

OUTSIDE
fuera (de)  
  • La pelota está fuera de la caja (The ball is in the box)

IN THE MIDDLE/ CENTER
en el centro de or en el medio de can be used:
  • la mesa está en el centro de/ en el medio de la habitación (The table is in the middle of the room)
ON THE LEFT
a la izquierda (de) means on the left hand side (of something)

  • mi casa está a la izquierda  (my house is on the left hand side)
  • la fotocopiadora está a la izquierda del (de+el) ordenador (the fotomachine is on the left hand side of the computer)
! In a Spanish sentence, if "el" comes after "de", the abbreviation "del" is used.


ON THE RIGHT
a la derecha (de)

  • El ordenator está a la derecha de la fotocopiadora (The computer is on the right hand side of foto machine)


! If you would like to say "something is on my left/right hand side, use "a mi izquerda/derecha" :
  • El ordenador está a mi izquierda (The computer is on my left hand side)
  • El ordenador está a mi derecha (The computer is on my right hand side)

BETWEEN
entre
  • El ordenador está entre la fotocopiadora y la ventana (The computer is between the foto machine and the window)

IN FRONT OF
delante (de)

  • El ordenador está delante de la ventana (The computer is in front of the window)

BEHIND
detrás (de)

  • la ventana está detrás de la masa (The window is behind the table)


CLOSE/NEAR/NEXT
There are three possibilities:
al lodo (de) 
junto a 
cerca (de)

FAR FROM
lejos (de)

! Note that the sentences that define the place of an object/someone are made with the to be verb "estar" not with the to be verb "ser".

! Among the prepositions presented in this article only sobre, en, entre, junta a are used without "de".
Frequently used Spanish words and their pronounciation (audio)

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Basic Spanish Vocabulary: Family

I go on with my posts on basic Spanish vocabulary. Today is for the family members and relatives in Spanish.

Most of such words follows the rule that if the masculine form ends with an "o", the feminine form ends with an "a". For example hermano means brother and hermana means sister. Below, I list the words for the family members following this rule.

(el) hijo son
(la) hija daughter

(el) hermano   brother
(la) hermana   sister

(el) tío uncle
(la) tía aunt

(el) sobrino nephew
(la) sobrina niece

(el) abuelo grandfather
(la) abuela grandmother

(el) nieto grandson
(la) nieta granddaughter

(el) cuñado brother in law
(la) cuñada sister in law
(el) suegro father in law
(la) suegra mother in law

(el) primo cousin  (male)
(la) prima cousin  (female)


and the following words are those which differ considerably in the masculine and feminine forms.

(el) padre father
(la) madre mother

(el) marido husband
(la) mujer wife

(el) yerno  son in law
(la) neura  daughter in law

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Basic Spanish Vocabulary: Clothes



New Dresses from Gayle <3
(la) ropa  clothes
(el) jersey  pullover
(la) camisa shirt
(la) blusa blouse
(la) camiseta  T-shirt
(la) manga  sleeve
  • camiseta de manga corta x camiseta de manga larga  (short sleeved t-shirt  x long sleeved t-shirt)
(la) raya  stripe
  • camiseta de rayas verdes (T-shirt with green stripes)
(el) sujetador  bra

! (la) gorra means cap and
  (el) gorro means hat, bonnet

(la) chaqueta jacket
(el) vestido dress
(la) falda skirt
(la) minifalda miniskirt

(el) bolso bag
(el) pijama pyjamas
(el) suéter sweater

(el) traje suit
(la) bufanda scarf
(el) abrigo coat
(el) chaleco waistcoat
(la) pajarita bow tie
(el) cinturón belt

(el) anillo ring
(el) collar necklace
(el) reloj watch


The following words are used mostly in plural:

Bootspantolones trousers
sandalias sandal
zapatos shoes
bragas  panties
calzoncillos  pants
botas boots
medias tights
vaqueros jeans
guantes  gloves






Sizes
(la) talla size
pequeño/-a small
mediano/-a medium
grande large


While describing clothes, knowledge of spanish colors is also essential.

Basic Spanish Vocabulary: Colors in Spanish

YOU WILL BE REDIRECTED TO MY NEW DOMAIN, WHERE I GO ON WRITING ON SPANISH LANGUAGE REGULARLY. HOPE TO MEET YOU ALL OF YOU THERE!!!!!


We may divide the colors in Spanish in three parts: those which are always feminine, those which can be either feminine or masculine and those which are neutral.

1) Spanish "feminine" Colors

naranja    (orange)
rosa      (pink)
lila   (lilac)

2) The following Spanish colors are neutral

verde   (green)
azul      (blue)
marrón (brown)
beige (beige)
gris (grey)

3) and for the following Spanish colors the masculine and feminine forms are different

(m) negro- (f) negra   (black)
(m) blanco-(f) blanca  (white)
(m) rojo - (f) roja    (red)
(m) amarillo - (f) amarilla (yellow)

That means for the third group of colors, the ending of the adjective will  change based on the article of the noun which it refers to. For example, let us say "red t-shirt" and "white pullover" in Spanish.

  • t-shirt is (la) camiseta in Spanish. Because it is feminine, "red-tshirt" is said like camiseta roja. camiseta rojo is wrong!
  • pullover is (el) jersey in Spanish. Because it is masculine, "white pullover" is said like "jersey blanco". jersey blanca is wrong!
Since the colors belonging to the first two groups do only have one version, similar descriptions are made like

  • camiseta lila-jersey lila, camiseta verde-jersey verde, camiseta naranja-jersey naranja, camiseta azul-jersey azul .....(Hence it does not matter whether the noun is feminine or masculine, always the same form of adjective is used).

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Describing Yourself in Spanish: Personality

Today I will explain how you can describe yourself  or someone else's personality. Another post will follow this one where I will show how to describe someone physically in Spanish. Both are important aspects of beginner Spanish vocabulary

Basic Spanish Adjectives You Can Use To Describe People
  • simpático/a x antipático/a (pleasant x unpleasant)
  • paciente x impaciente (impatient)
  • responsable x irresponsable (responsible x irresponsible)
  • nervioso/a (nervous)
  • tranquilo/a (calm)
  • egoísta (selfish)
  • puntual x impuntual (punctual)
  • generoso/a (generous)
  • raro/a (strange)
  • despistado/a (vague)
  • divertido/a (funny)
  • aburrido/a (boring)
  • intelligente (inteligent)
  • abierto/a (extravert)
  • desorganizado/a (disorganized)
  • tímido/a (shy)

Together with the previous post on interesar/gustar/encantar, we are now able to describe ourselves:

Example Description:
  • Creo que soy una persona bastante tranquila y muy responsable. También soy puntual y organizada. Pero soy un poco impatiente y tímida. Mucha gente piensa que soy simpática. En mi tiempo libre me gustan eschuchar musíca y leer libros. Otras cosas que me encanta hacer son ir al teatro y viajar. No me gustan nada hablar de fútbol y viajar en auto-stop. Mi color favorito es el rojo. Mi comida favorita es enchilada. Mi deporte favorito es pilates.

  • I think that I am a person who is quite calm and responsible. I am also punctual and organized. But I am a little bit impatient and shy. A lot of people think that  I am pleasant. In my free time,  I like to listen to music and read books. Other things that I love to do are going to theater and traveling. I don't like to talk about football and to travel with autostop at all. My favorite color is red. My favorite food is  enchilada. My favorite sport is pilates.
! As you see, for describing yourself you should use the verb "ser" (soy una persona ....)

! Note that "persona" is "feminino". That's why the adjectives, which can either end with o or a, are used with a (una persona organizada); whether you are a man or woman.

! Although it is not the subject of this article, note also that the word "(la)gente" means people in spanish. Contrary to English, it is singular.

RELATED ARTICLES:  Websites to practice Spanish reading