Elementary Spanish/Tradition:Unit1

Goals

  • Introduce language used at holidays and gatherings
  • Begin Present Tense
  • Advance production for simple present tense phrases.

Articles and Nouns

Articles in Spanish are classified in two sets of categories.
These two sections, gender and number, determine how nouns are treated within a sentence.

Article Description Feminine:
Singular
La : The Una: A
Plural
Las: The Unas A

Examples:
La amiga. ---> Las amigas.
Una casa. ---> Unas casas.

Article Description Masculine:
Singular
El : The Un: A
Plural
Los The Unos A

Examples:
Un amigo. --> Unos amigos.
El hogar --> Los hogares

Nouns: Family Traditions

General Vocabulary
Español Inglés
comida food
familia family
amigo friend
cena dinner
casa house
apartamento apartment
hogar home
restaurante restaurant
fiesta party
Holiday Types
Español Inglés
Navidad Christmas
Kwanzaa Kwanzaa
Hanukkah Hanukkah
Día de los Muertos Day of the Dead
Solsticio de Invierno Winter Solstice
Diwali (Festival de las luces) Diwali (Festival of lights)
Pascua Easter
Año Nuevo New Years
Día de Independencia Independence Day



Subject Pronouns

Classes of gender and number also exist within subject pronouns.
These two sections, gender and number, determine how nouns are treated within a sentence.
In Spanish, it is common for subject pronouns to be omitted, as they are incorporated as part of a verb conjugation.
We will begin verb conjugations next.

Nouns Check Point Activity:

Subject Pronouns

Persona Person
Español Inglés
Yo I
You
Él He
Ella She
Nosotros We
Ellos They
Ellas They (females)

Infinitive Verbs: Family Tradition

There are three broad categories of verb-types in Spanish:
Verbs that end in ...

  • -AR*
  • -ER*
  • -IR*

Infinitive Verb List

Regular Verbs
Español Inglés
preparar to prepare
invitar to invite
cocinar to cook
viajar to travel
celebrar to celebrate
decorar to decorate
deber should
comer to eat
vivir to live
escribir to write
leer to read
Irregular Verbs
Español Inglés
ir to go
venir to come
tener to have
salir to go out / to leave
querer to want
ser to be (permanent)
estar to be (temporary)

Conjugated Verbs:Present Tense

In Spanish, verbs are conjugated depending on the subject they are associated with, as well as the tense.
For now, we will focus on Present Simple Tense
Each subject pronoun is associated with a particular verb-ending type.

Subject - Verb Ending Conjugations

Persona Verb ends in:
Español Inglés
Yo : I -o
Tú : You -as / -es
Él : He -a / -e
Ella: She -a / -e
Nosotros: We -amos / -emos
Ellos / Ellas: They -an / -en



The general formula for creating verb conjugations is to replace the infinitive verb ending (-ar/-er/-ir) with the appropriate ending of the subject.
Although there are three verb-ending categories, -er and -ir verbs tend to share most of the conjugation endings.

Regular Verbs: Present Tense

-Ar Verbs Table

-AR Verbs
Subject Pronoun Verb Ending Infinitive Verb Conjugated Verb Example - Spanish Example - Translation
Yo -o celebrar celebro Yo celebro a la fiesta. I celebrate at the party.
-as invitar invitas Tú invitas a tú amigo. You invite your friend.
Él -a preparar prepara Él prepara la comida. He prepares the food.
Ella -a cocinar cocina Ella cocina la cena. She cooks the dinner.
Nosotros -amos viajar viajamos Viajamos a Florida cada Navidad. We travel to Florida every Christmas.
Ellos / Ellas -an decorar decoran Ellos no decoran el árbol. They don't decorate the tree.


ER/IR Verbs Table

-ER / -IR Verbs
Subject Pronoun Verb Ending Infinitive Verb Conjugated Verb Example - Spanish Example - Translation
Yo -o comer como Yo como la cena. I eat the dinner.
-es escribir escribes Tú escribes una carta. You write a card.
Él -e leer lee Él lee la carta. He reads the card.
Ella -e vivir vive Ella vive en Nueva York. She lives in New York.
Nosotros -imos / -emos comer comemos Comemos juntos a la fiesta del Día de Independenia. We eat together at the Independence Day party.
Nosotros -imos / -emos vivir vivimos Nostoros vivimos en Mexico. We live in Mexico.
Ellos -en deber deben Ellos deben cocinar. They should cook.