Capitulo 3 - ¡Vamos a la ciudad!

I noticed (when grading your last Quiz) that many of you didn't study or didn't understand the PowerPoint on Possessive Adjectives in Edmodo, so I will include this material again in the test you are having on December 18 . I'll explain it in class when I come back from Jury Duty. Please let me know if you have any questions. You have to understand Possessive Adjectives very well and also how to answer questions like: "¿De quién es la regla?" "Es mi regla" or "Es tu regla" or "Es su regla" or "Es nuestra regla" or "Es vuestra regla," etc.

You are learning "Introductions" in Spanish in this Chapter. I hope you completed the assignments (handout - and Edmodo Assignments when I was out last week). I expect you to take the initiative to study on your own, especially when you are having difficulties understanding something, and to go beyond what I ask you to do (remembering to check this Spanish Blog and Edmodo on a daily basis). When I come back to school you can ask me questions and tell me your concerns. You can keep checking the Aventura Resource Center (link under "Fave" Links - bottom) and review the chapter's material, especially Lesson A, Vocabulary I and II.

If you check the Grammar & Vocabulary pages in: G&V (Aventura RC) you can begin to complete pages 24 - 30 (Chapter 3 - Lesson A). You can complete these pages directly in your computer and then save them and print them for yourself (these are PDF documents). Note (12/4/13): you already have pages 24, 25 and 29, 30 (I gave you these handouts and we reviewed them in class). You can review the other pages (26, 27 and 28).

¿Adónde vamos en la ciudad? (Vocabulario I)

In this chapter you will learn the verb "ir." Not the verbs ending in "-ir" yet, but the "verbo ir" which means "to go." Please write the Estructura on page 104 in your notebooks and notice that the endings are just like the "verbo estar" (this should make it easier for you to learn). The only difference with the endings of "estar" is that there are no accents, no tildes. Also, please save and study the PowerPoint on "Verbo Ir" that I downloaded in Edmodo (and that I already showed and explained in class - on 12/3/13).

Yo voy, tú vas, usted/él/ella va, nosotros vamos, vosotros vais, ustedes/ellos/ellas van.

You will have a Test (on Wednesday, December 18) on this verb (ir) and I will ask you to complete sentences similar to the ones on Exercise 28 (page 104). I will also ask you how to make introductions in Spanish and how to add the appropriate question words in "question sentences." It will be helpful to review the G & V pages 31 - 33 (Chapter 3 - Lesson B). Any questions, please feel free to ask Mrs. Feld.

The present tense of the "verbo ir," conjugated above, is irregular. The most irregular the verbs in Spanish are, the most common they are. Remember that "ir" (verbo ir) in Spanish means "to go" in English.

Another verb that is conjugated like the verbos "estar" and "ir" is "dar" (to give):

Yo doy, tu das, usted/él/ella da, nosotros damos, vosotros dais, ustedes/ellos/ellas dan.  
So "dar" is not conjugated like the typical "-ar verbs" for the first person singular pronoun (personal pronoun) "yo." Look at these endings: yo estoy (estar), yo voy (ir), yo doy (dar) - they're the same! Check this link for Present Tense of "Verbo Ir" (also under "Fave" links).
So, remember this: "ir" and "dar" are conjugated like the "verbo estar" (same endings except for the "tildes"). You already know that "-ar verbs" are conjugated like "estar" without "tildes" except for the personal pronoun "yo" - like "yo hablo." You can say that "ir," "dar" and "estar" are conjugated like " -ar verbs" except for the personal pronoun/first person "yo". PLEASE TRY TO UNDERSTAND THIS AND IT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER (when learning Spanish).

Suggestion: write these verbs (all the ones you learned and will learn in this Chapter) on index cards. Have them handy to review and study. I know some of you are not writing the Spanish vocabulary and verbs on index cards or in your notebooks. Print the Blog entries for yourself and highlight the important instructions and lessons.
Also write the adjectives you have learned and the question words (interrogative pronouns) on index cards and in your notebooks too. When you write things down, you learn better!
Remember: you MUST write the "Estructuras" from each Chapter in your notebooks. Read them and try to understand them. We will review this material in class. Also write the "Repaso Rápido" from page 96 (very important to review the question words).

Besides qué, de qué, dónde, de dónde, cuál, cuáles, cómo, quién, quiénes, de quién, de quiénes, I need you to add por qué and adónde. Also add cuándo, cuánto, cuánta, cuantos, cuántas. You must know the meaning of all these question words and be able to create questions with them.

When you complete all of Lesson A you can move on to Lesson B - Vocabulario I "En el centro" (downtown) page 110. Homework: Workbook pages 42 (No. 4 only) and 43.

FOR THE TEST ON DECEMBER 18: please study the G & V pages 24 to 30, Workbook pages 42 (No. 4 only) and 43 (on Introductions), and pages 47-49 (on "Verbo IR"), Textbook pages 94 (Exercise No. 8), 95 (Exercises No. 9 and 10), 104 ("Verbo IR" - Exercise 28), 114 (Exercises No. 8 and 9). Please memorize the "verbo IR." You must understand how to introduce people in Spanish and when to use te, le, and les. Also, the quiz material will be included (Possessive Adjectives and Reflexive Pronouns), study your last quiz.

I won't ask you Chapter 3 vocabulary words on this test, but I will on the next one (and on the Midterm).

Possessive Adjectives & Negative Sentences

On November 20, 2013 you will have a Quiz on Possessive Adjectives, Reflexive Pronouns and Negative Sentences. Please review the videos on Possessive Adjectives under "Fave" Links - on the right or here: Possessive Adjectives 1 and Possessive Adjectives 2 (Sr. Jordan videos).

Also check the card below (click on it to enlarge):

I will give you a handout to practice these possessive adjectives. Remember: Possessive adjectives in Spanish, like those in English, are a way of indicating who owns or is in possession of something (they indicate "possession" like the word implies). Their use is straightforward, although they (like other adjectives) must match the nouns they modify in both number and gender. Unlike English, Spanish has two forms of possessive adjectives, a short form that is used before nouns, and a long form that is used after nouns. The ones above are the "short form" possessive adjectives, also known as "possessive determiners."

Note: Possessive adjectives vary by number and gender. The change is with the nouns they modify, not with the person(s) who own or possess the object. Thus, you would say "his book" and "her book" in the same way: su libro; and "his books" and "her books" - sus libros. Sometimes you want to specify who is the owner (or who are the owners) of an object or objects, or the person(s) you are referring to when you use "su" or "sus": el libro de ella (su libro), la mochila de Susana (su mochila), las amigas de Marta (sus amigas), las clases de Arturo (sus clases), los cuadernos de las estudiantes (sus cuadernos), etc.

Summarizing, possessive adjectives indicate the owner of the noun they modify. They are usually placed in front of the noun and MUST match the gender and number of the noun they describe, not the gender and number of the owner of the noun.

Please review the Blog entry of September 29 (below), to review the reflexive pronouns.

Negative Sentences: To make a sentence negative, place the word "no" before the verb or before the reflexive pronoun and verb (i.e. Ella no se llama Marta, se llama Susana).

Ella no habla inglés. (Affirmative sentence: Ella habla inglés)

She doesn't speak English.

Él no es profesor. (Affirmative sentence: Él es profesor)

He is not a professor (teacher).

Other examples: Alicia es de Arizona - Alicia no es de Arizona. Es una camisa verde - No es una camisa verde, es una camisa azul. Me llamo Marta - No me llamo Marta. Ella es de Filadelfia - Ella no es de Filadelfia, ella es de Nueva York. Nosotros bailamos - Nosotros no bailamos.

One of the main differences between English and Spanish negative sentences is that in Spanish the negative sentences are "simpler." You simply place the word "no" in front of the conjugated verb. If you translated the Spanish sentences "literally" to English, they would sound funny: Yo no bailo - "I no dance" (in English we say: "I do not dance"); Ella no canta - "She no sing" (instead of "She does not sing"). In Spanish, unlike English, we don't use "helping verbs" to make a sentence negative. It is also common to use "double negatives" in Spanish: ¿Estudias mucho? No, no estudio mucho. ¿Necesitas un abrigo nuevo? No, no necesito un abrigo nuevo. ¿Llevas una mochila nueva? No, no llevo una mochila nueva. (The affirmative responses could be: Sí, si estudio mucho, Sí, si necesito un abrigo nuevo. Sí, si llevo una mochila nueva).

Also review the PowerPoint on "Capítulo 2" (in Edmodo) with this material.