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.

Capítulo 2 – Días de la Semana, Colores, Materias y Ropa

In this chapter you will learn the days of the week, colors, subjects and articles of clothing in Spanish. Please check some of the links under "Fave" Links to start learning this material really well. Also, study the PowerPoints I downloaded in Edmodo.

I found another silly video to learn the days of the week here: Días (click the word). You can find many others in YouTube. Another video here: Días2. To say "On Mondays" you say "los lunes." To say "On Tuesday" you say "el martes." "Lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves y viernes" don't change for singular or plural forms: el lunes, el martes, el miércoles, el jueves, el viernes; or, los lunes, los martes, los miércoles, los jueves, los viernes. But, for Saturday and Sunday (sábado y domingo) it changes. You say: el sábado, el domingo and los sábados, los domingos. Please write this down in your notebooks.

How do you say "yesterday"? Ayer. How about "the day before yesterday"? Anteayer or antier, both terms are acceptable. Some people prefer one or the other. They say "antier" was first mostly used in rural areas, but now many people use this word. I say "antier" other people say "anteayer" and other people even say "el día antes de ayer."

How do you say "the day after tomorrow"? Pasado mañana. (Remember: "tomorrow" is mañana). To say weekend, you say: el fin de semana; and to say weekends, you say: los fines de semana.

Spanish.about.com says that "like other adjectives, names of the common colors when used in Spanish must agree with the nouns they describe in both gender and number. However, names of some of the more unusual colors are treated differently in Spanish than they are in English. Also, in most cases, names of colors come after the nouns they describe, not before as in English." Check: Colores for more information on colors. Also: Colores2. There are some exceptions to the rules: the colors "violeta" (purple), café (brown), and "naranja" (orange) don't change. When you use these colors, the words remain the same for all genders and whether they are singular or plural. Another example of this is the color "crema" for cream. Please check the handout on "Colores" that I gave you.

These are some examples of how some colors change (like other adjectives, only the ones that end with "o" change to "a" for feminine forms): La blusa blanca... La camisa roja... La chaqueta amarilla... La falda rosada... La faja negra... La camiseta morada..., etc. or la camisa es roja, la falda es rosada, etc. You can also say: Ella tiene una blusa blanca or ella lleva una blusa blanca (she has a white blouse or she is wearing a white blouse); or la blusa de Marta es blanca (Marta's blouse is white).

If I ask: ¿De qué color es la blusa de Susana? You can respond: La blusa de Susana es blanca or la blusa de Susana es azul (or enter whatever color you want). If you answer with the words "de color," then the word for the original color remains: la blusa es de color blanco, la falda es de color morado (instead of la blusa es blanca and la falda es morada).

Colors like: verde, gris, marrón or café, azul -and others ending in "e" or a consonant- don't change with feminine nouns (colors like café and violeta can remain the same for plural forms). Examples: La falda gris. La camiseta azul (but if you want to say the "light blue T-Shirt," then you say la camiseta azul clara or la camiseta celeste), los pantalones  café, la blusas violeta. The words "claro" (for light) and "oscuro" (for dark) do change like regular adjectives (the "o" becomes "a" for feminine forms). To change to plural forms the rule for nouns applies: add "s" to colors that end in a vowel and add "es" to colors that end in a consonant. Practice how to make plural the singular forms of colors and days of the week. Check the most basic colors below, and remember that purple can also be morado, and marrón can also be café.

TEST: On November 12, 2013 you will have a test on Capítulo 2 - Leccion B (Vocab. I), especially the information on this blog, textbook pages 60 to 70 (skip pg. 63) workbook pages 31, 32, 33 (#5 only), 34, and 35. Study the PowerPoints in Edmodo (for this chapter). I will include Present Tense of -AR verbs, Colors, Days of the Week, Subjects and Articles of Clothing. It is a lot of material, so I'm hoping that you are studying a little bit every day, please don't leave the studying for the day before the test. Create index cards, review the workbook and textbook, ask me questions, check the Spanish Blog links, etc.

Quiz: You will have a quiz on November 20, 2013 on Reflexive Pronouns, Possessive Adjectives and Negative Sentences. I decided not to include these on the Test of November 12.

Capítulo 2 - En mi colegio

This month of October we will try to complete all of Lesson A and part of Lesson B, from this Chapter (Capítulo 2). I asked you on Friday (10/11/13) to write all the new vocabulary from Vocabulario II (Lección A) in your notebooks with their respective definite and indefinite articles. It is essential that you memorize these new words with their respective articles, and that you learn to change them to their plural forms too. Please remember the rules for adding the definite and indefinite articles to nouns, and the rules on how to change to their plural forms.

Usually nouns that end in "o," are masculine; and nouns that end in "a," are feminine. But as you learned, there are some exceptions: la mano (not "el mano"), el mapa (not "la mapa") and "el día" (not "la día"). Also, el problema (not "la problema"), el tema (not "la tema"). If a noun is masculine and singular you add the definite article "el." If a noun is feminine and singular you add the definite article "la." If a noun is masculine and plural the definite article is "los." If a noun is feminine and plural the definite article is "las." Check below to review both definite and indefinite articles.

Remember that nouns are words that name a person, place, thing or idea. They can refer to "living things," or "non-living things." In Spanish all nouns have gender, they can be masculine or feminine. Most nouns that refer to males are usually masculine, and most nouns that refer to females are usually feminine. Examples of masculine nouns are: el hombre, el chico, el muchacho, el conductor, el profesor, el escritor, el turista. Examples of feminine nouns are: la mujer, la chica, la muchacha, la profesora, la escritora, la turista. 

Most masculine nouns (for "living things") end in "o," "or," "ista." Most feminine nouns (for "living things") end in "a," "ora," "ista." Some nouns (like "turista" and "artista") have identical endings in masculine and feminine forms. So, in those cases, gender is indicated by the article. Other examples are "joven" and "estudiante." 

Examples of masculine nouns that refer to "non-living things" are: el cuaderno, el bolígrafo, el problema, el autobús. Examples of feminine nouns that refer to "non-living things" are: la palabra, la conversación, la profesión, la lección, la nacionalidad, la vecindad. Common endings for masculine nouns ("non-living things") are "o," "ma," and "s." And for feminine nouns ("non-living things") are "a," "ción," "sión," and "dad." As seen above, there are exceptions to these rules. This is why you SHOULD memorize each noun with its article (el or la). 

Once you know that the definite article of a noun is "el," you will know that the indefinite article is "un." Example: "el libro" - "un libro." The plural form is "los libros - unos libros." Practice this with all the new vocabulary words from this chapter. Spanish nouns that end in a vowel, form the plural by adding "s." Other examples: "el diccionario" - "los diccionarios," "la fotografía - "las fotografías." 

For nouns that end in a consonant, add "es" to form the plural. Examples: "la comunidad - las comunidades," "el profesor - los profesores," "la conversación - las conversaciones." Notice that for the word "conversaciones" the accent was dropped, because the emphasis is not placed on the "o" anymore. Nouns that end with a "z" change the "z" to "ces." Examples: "el lápiz - los lápices," "la cruz - las cruces," and "la luz - las luces."

Also remember that if you have a group of males and females, you will refer to them as "los chicos," or "los muchachos." In Spanish, the masculine plural form is used to refer to a group that includes males and females.

You will have a TEST on Singular and Plural Nouns (from "Capítulo 2 - En mi colegio") and its Definite and Indefinite Articles on Thursday, October 24, 2013. Study Capítulo 2, Lección A, Vocabulario II. You must know the vocabulary from pages 48 and 49; and also know how to spell these words properly. Please check Edmodo, I have more detailed information there. I also added a very good PowerPoint on Nouns and Definite and Indefinite Articles. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Señora Feld.

El Primer Trimestre Continúa… (The First Quarter Continues…)

The First Quarter continues... it ends the 31st of October. In this quarter you must also learn the Reflexive Pronouns in Spanish, the "Verbo Ser" and the present tense of AR verbs. You will also learn how to tell time in Spanish. You have already used some Reflexive Pronouns when asking "¿Cómo te llamas?" and responding "Me llamo…" We used them in Capítulo 1 (and I gave you a handout) and we will continue using them in Capítulo 2. In Spanish, a Reflexive Verb has an extra pronoun used with or without the subject pronoun that reflects the subject. For the Reflexive Verb "llamarse" (to call oneself) you use the following conjugations of this verb using the following Reflexive Pronouns:

You already know that the real (literal) translation of
"¿Cómo te llamas?" is "How do you call yourself?" - which really doesn't make sense in English. In English we say "What is your name?" So the te is used for "yourself." The me is used for "myself" (you will literally respond "I call myself..."). To translate "What is his or her name?" (How does he or she calls herself?) you will ask in Spanish "¿Cómo se llama él?" or "¿Cómo se llama ella?" etc. There are other Reflexive Verbs like lavarse (lavar - to wash), peinarse (peinar - to comb), vestirse (vestir - to dress) that you don't need to learn right now. When they end in se you know they are Reflexive Verbs ("llamarse" comes from the verb "llamar" - you add the pronoun "se" to the infinitive to make it a Reflexive Verb). To learn to conjugate Reflexive Verbs, you need to learn a different set of pronouns called Reflexive Pronouns (in the image above). These pronouns are positioned before the verb, while the ending "se" is dropped and the verb is conjugated normally (in this case like regular AR verbs - notice the endings o, as, a, amos, áis and an). They correspond to the English forms: myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, or themselves. 

A Reflexive Verb is used to indicate that the subject does something to or for himself or herself, it reflects the action of the verb back to the subject. Other examples are "peinarse," "lavarse," "limpiarse," "dormirse," "ponerse." Examples: Yo me lavo las manos (I wash my hands), Ella se peina (She combs her hair), El chico se duerme (The boy falls asleep).

Review the "Subject Pronouns" handout too. To conjugate the verb "lavarse" properly you need to know the present tense of regular AR verbs. So the table below is extremely important and you will be using it throughout this school year (and beyond). I suggest you print it and paste it in your notebooks or simply copy it there. It will really simplify everything for you. Once you memorize the endings of all the regular AR, ER and IR verbs like you see them below, your life will be a lot easier when learning Spanish (trust me). You need to remember all these endings for Spanish II, III and IV (and the AP Spanish courses).

Those are the endings of regular AR, ER and IR verbs. So if you have a verb like “cantar” (an AR verb because it ends in AR), the stem or base of the verb is “cant” and all you have to do is add the ending for each subject pronoun. So, for Yo you use canto (cant-o): Yo canto (I sing). Practice this with all the subject pronouns. How do you say “he sings”?

If you have a regular ER verb like beber (to drink) - you will say Yo bebo (for "Yo" - I), etc. For a verb like vivir (to live), an IR verb - Yo vivo. Practice this and ask señora Feld if you have any questions.

Ongoing homework: memorize the Verbo Estar if you haven't done so (many of you had difficulties conjugating this verb on the last test). Also memorize the Verbo Ser for all the subject pronouns. You can find the Verbo Estar in your textbook (libro) on page 76 and the Verbo Ser on page 44. Write these verbs on Index Cards. Learn when to use each verb (when do you use "Ser" and when do you use "Estar"). Remember: these are "irregular" verbs and don't follow the pattern of AR and ER verbs. Estar's endings are the same as the regular AR verbs except for the Yo form (estoy) and for the "a" accents, and Ser has completely different endings for all persons. You simply have to memorize both verbs...

¡Así es la vida! (Such is  life!)

Practice the conjugation of these verbs by completing the following sentences below (I will collect this on Wednesday, October 9, 2013). You can copy it, paste it in a Word document and enter the proper conjugation of these verbs - or write them on lose leaf. You don't have to enter the translations. Those of you who had many of these wrong on your test MUST write or type all the first two sections (on Verbo Estar) and conjugate this verb properly for extra-credit:

To make it easier I have translated the following sentences...

Verbo Estar

• 1.  Vosotros ________ en el edificio. (You are in the building)
• 2.  Ud. _________ en Madrid. (You are in Madrid)
• 3.  Yo no _________ contenta. (I'm not happy)
• 4.  Juan _________ de acuerdo contigo. (Juan is in agreement with you)
• 5.  ¿Dónde ________ tus padres? (Where are your parents?)
• 6.  Tú ________ en la universidad. (You are in the university)
• 7.  Yo ________ muy ocupada. (I'm very happy)
• 8.  Ella ________ muy triste. (She is very sad)
• 9.  La silla ________ en la sala. (The chair is in the living room)
• 10.  Nosotros _________ muy enojados. (We are very mad)

Verbo Ser

• 1.  Marcela y yo ________ muy trabajadoras. (Marcela and I are very hardworking)
• 2.  Tus padres ________ de los Estados Unidos. (Your parents are from the USA)
• 3.  ¿Vosotros ________ de Nueva York? (Are you from NY?)
• 4.  Mañana _______ lunes. (Tomorrow is Monday)
• 5.  Nosotros _________ muy buenos amigos. (We are very good friends)
• 6.  Tú _______ flaco. (You are thin)
• 7.  Nosotros __________ muy inteligentes. (We are very intelligent)
• 8.  Yo _________ muy creativa. (I am very creative)
• 9.  Ella ________ muy bonita. (She is very pretty)
• 10.  Él ________ muy buena persona. (He is a very good person)

This last sentence (No. 10) can be tricky, because "Él" as you know is the masculine subject pronoun for "He" - but the word "person" in Spanish is "persona" whether we're referring to a girl (woman) or boy (man). This sentence can also be written as "Él _________ una muy buena persona" (both ways, like you see in No. 10 and this way are correct).

Also review your last test. You will have a Test on "Verbos Estar y Ser" on Tuesday, October 15, 2013. The test will also include numbers 1-30 and whatever we cover to this date (including "Subject Pronouns" - I won't include the "Reflexive Pronouns"), how to tell time in Spanish, and the textbook exercises I asked you to complete, and workbook pages 11-13, 17 and 18, and 23-25. I won't include the Present Tense of AR, ER and IR verbs. But you must know the "uses" of the "Verbos Ser y Estar" (when to use these verbs). Study the "Ser y Estar" PowerPoint in Edmodo.

You will work on Workbook pages 17-18, and 21, 23-25 this week (I will check workbooks October 18). These pages are about "Telling Time in Spanish" and about "Personal (Subject) Pronouns" and "Verbo Ser." Also, Texbook pages 40-47 (we will work on these next week October 7-11.