End of Fourth Quarter

The last test this Fourth Quarter will be on MONDAY, MAY 19. I originally planned it for May 14; but decided to move the date, to give everyone more time to study the material that will be included.

The test will cover the following: Lección B (check the vocabulary on this Blog -previous entry- and page 252 [LIBRO] - you should translate ALL this vocab and use the definite articles with these words as shown); page 253, No. 19; page 254, Nos. 20 and 21 and Diálogo II; the last three handouts on Verbo Decir, Expressing Wishes - Querer or Gustaría (also LIBRO page 250 and Exercises No. 13 and 14); and on Verbos Pedir, Repetir and Decir. 

Study "La Casa" PowerPoint in Edmodo, with the Vocab. from Lección B (Cap. 6).

Those of you who had difficulties with the Stem-Changing verbs and the Demonstrative Pronouns MUST review/study them for the Final Exam. If you have any questions, please come and see me.

Workbook pages to do and study: pg. 111 and 112 (La Casa), pg. 115, No. 6 only (Verbo Decir), pg. 116 (vocab Lección B), pg. 118, No. 12 (Verbo Repetir), pg. 119 (Verbo Pedir), pg. 164 (Verbo Preferir).

You will also learn the Parts of the Body this quarter. Please find the following Vocabulary online (I will explain in class too) and do Workbook page 162. I will give you information on what to study for the Final Exam later. Learn how to say the following in Spanish: hair, head, face, body, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, shoulders, arm(s), hand(s), fingers, knees, leg(s), toes, foot, feet, neck, elbow, teeth and any other parts of the body you'd like to learn. You can check this website (click link) or others online. Quizlet Body Parts here... and Señor Jordan's video here...

CAPÍTULO 6 - "En Casa" (At Home)

In this chapter you will learn how to say the different parts of the house and its appliances. Also things like silverware, tablecloth and a few other food items.

Vocabulary to learn (Lección A):

El plato, los platos, los cubiertos, la mesa, la luz, las luces, la lámpara, las servilletas, el comedor, el mantel, el cuchillo, la cuchara, la cucharita, el tenedor, la sopa, la taza, la mantequilla, la sal, la pimienta, el aceite, el postre, el pan, "pásame…," "está muy buena."

Vocabulary to learn (Lección B):

La cocina, la sala, el comedor, las plantas, el cuarto, el baño, el garaje, la piscina, grande, pequeño (a), la escalera, el primer piso, la planta baja and other vocab in "La Casa" PowerPoint (in Edmodo). Other (Vocabulario II): tengo frío, tengo miedo, tengo sueño, tengo prisa, tengo calor, tengo mucho calor, tengo sed, tengo mucha sed, tengo ganas de…, la prima pequeña, yo también.

Verbs you will learn:

Stem-Changing Verbs E:IE like verbo pensar, verbo querer and other E:IE verbs: calentar, cerrar, comenzar, empezar, despertar, recomendar, encender, entender, perder, preferir, sentir and mentir. Also review verbos tener and venir. You will also learn other Stem-Changing Verbs, O:UE, U:UE and E:I, check the paragraph below. Also, check the videos on Stem-Changing Verbs under "Fave" Links, or listen to the "Stem-Changing" Song here: Like Adele's.

Class Assignment and HOMEWORK:
LIBRO página 238, read "Estructura" on Demonstrative Adjectives and take notes. Also review the verbs on página 256. Stem-Changing Verbs pgs. 433 and 434 - write them in your notebooks and translate them (know the meaning) - Stem Changing Verbs E:IE cerrar, perder, sentir; O:UE contar, volver, dormir; U:UE jugar; E:I pedir (and add "medir"). WRITE 12 SENTENCES (TOTAL) USING THESE VERBS and using all the different subject pronouns, hand in to me by Thursday, May 1, 2014. Don't forget there will be a test on May 6, 2014 on ALL Stem-Changing verbs, and Demonstrative Adjectives; plus the vocabulary from Lección A (only), mentioned above. The last test of this Fourth Quarter will be on May 14, 2014 (or May 28 - we'll see how we're doing!).

You will also learn the "Adjetivos Demostrativos" (Demonstrative Adjectives), check page 238.

You must understand these adjectives really well. You can also check the links on "Fave" Links - Demonstrative Adjectives 1 and Demonstrative Adjectives 2. Also check this link to practice: Dem.Adjectives.

CAPÍTULO 5… Más (Lección B)

We should complete "Capítulo 5" next week (Week of April 7). We will concentrate on numbers in Spanish, "El Calendario" (fechas) - including days of the week (Días de la Semana), months of the year (Los Meses del Año), seasons (las Estaciones). Everyone should have completed already the two-page handout on "Números." You must remember how to say and write the years; i.e. 2014 (dos mil catorce), 1999 (mil novecientos novena y nueve), 1776 (mil setecientos setenta y seis), 2000 (dos mil), etc. 

Please review Lección B and do the following homework.

HOMEWORK: (I will collect next week, and I will explain "el lunes 7 de abril")

Workbook (WB): page 91 (dates) - Note the expression "Noche Vieja" which means New Year's Eve. 

LIBRO: pg. 201 #3; pg. 209 #16; pg. 210 #18; pg. 213 #23 and pg. 214 - review the "Estructura" and understand it. Important for next Quiz and Test. Any questions? Please ask señora Feld. 

VOCAB AND EXPRESSIONS TO REMEMBER (translate in your notebooks):

La fecha, hoy, mañana, pasado mañana, la semana que viene, la semana pasada, el fin de semana, los fines de semana, la semana, ayer, anteayer, fue (third person/past tense "verbo ser" - was in English), temprano, el Año Nuevo, la Navidad, mi cumpleaños, el mes (los meses), el día (los días), todos los días, el invierno, la primavera, el verano, el otoño, las estaciones. Also, ¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy? ¿Cuándo es la fecha de tu cumpleaños? ¿Cuántos años vas a cumplir? Voy a cumplir 15 años (or whatever age you're going to be) or ¿Cuántos años cumples? Cumplo 15 años. ¿Qué día es hoy? ¿En qué mes estamos? Estamos en el mes de abril or Estamos en abril. ¿En qué año estamos? Estamos en el año dos mil catorce. 

Please review the days of the week, the months of the year and the seasons in Spanish, and "los números del 1 - 1.000" (and the years 1000 to 2014) ¿Tienen preguntas? Please ask señora Feld.

Next Test:  El lunes 14 de abril del 2014. (Lección B - Dates, "El Calendario" PowerPoint, Numbers and all the material mentioned above, including numbers). 

(Review these numbers 100 - 1.000)

Direct Object Pronouns and Personal "a" (Capítulo 5)

First of all you must remember that a direct object in a sentence is the person, event or thing affected by the verb. The main difference between the use of the direct object pronouns in Spanish and English is their placement. While in English they substitute the direct object (and its article) and are placed where the original object was, in Spanish this pronoun is placed in front of the verb, replacing also any article used with the object previously.

Direct object pronouns (DOP's) are words that replace direct object nouns (DON's). Like in English, Spanish sometimes uses a DOP to avoid repeating a noun already mentioned. Example: Felipe compra el sombrero ("el sombrero" is the direct object noun or DON) - Felipe lo compra ("lo" is the DOP). Another example: Vicky tiene el libro - Vicky lo tiene (which is the DON and which is the DOP?). You must be able to recognize which is which, which is a direct object noun (DON) and which is a direct object pronoun (DOP).

Note: In affirmative sentences the DOP's generally appear before the conjugated verb, like in: Adela practica el tenis ("el tenis" is the DON) - Adela lo practica ("lo" is the DOP). Carmen compra los tiquetes ("los tiquetes" is the DON) - Carmen los compra ("los" is the DOP).

In negative sentences, the pronoun is placed between the word NO and the verb. Examples: Pablo no tiene los zapatos - Pablo no los tiene; Diego no tiene las llaves - Diego no las tiene.

When the verb is an "infinitive construction," like "van a escribir" or "van a mirar," the DOP can be placed before the conjugated form. Examples: Ellos van a escribir unas cartas - Ellos las van a escribir. Lidia va a ver una película - Lidia la va a ver. You can also say: Ellos van a escribirlas (notice how the DOP "las" moves to the end of the verb) and Lidia va a verla ("la" moves to the end of the verb too).

As you can see below, the indirect object pronouns agree in number with the corresponding direct object pronouns me, te, nos and os, but not in gender.

Personal "a:" When the direct object is a place, the personal "a" is not required. Example (The direct object nouns are underlined): Susana visita el museo - Susana lo visita ("lo" is the Direct Object Pronoun). The personal "a" is required when the direct object is a person. Example: Susana visita a Cristina - Susana la visita ("la" is the Direct Object Pronoun or DOP). Also, when the DOP is a person (or persons) and includes a possessive adjective, like Yo llamo a mis primos, you use the personal "a." Other examples (Verbo Ver): Veo a mi amiga, veo a mi mamá, veo a mi prima, ¿ves a tus amigos hoy? and ¿comprendes al profesor? (el profesor) - "al" instead of "a el," remember? (Verbo Comprender) etc. But for "Tengo tres hermanos" you don't use the personal "a." With practice you'll see the difference. You very rarely use the "a personal" with the Verbo Tener. There are some examples that you don't need to learn at this time.

To understand the personal "a" and the "DOP's" better, I need you to work on the following exercises: Workbook page 86 - Exercises No. 8 and 9, I also want you to create sentences with the DOP's. Example: Todos los días llevo el perro al parque ("llevo" from "llevar" is the verb, "el perro" is the DON) - Todos los días lo llevo al parque ("lo" is the DOP). And pages 87 and 88.

On Friday, April 4, 2014: You will have a TEST on Direct Object Pronouns, Verbos Tener and Venir, Personal "a" and what we cover up to that date (Lecciones A & B - Capítulo 5). I won't include "El Calendario" and "Fechas" (Dates), and numbers.

Capítulo 5 – “Una Semana Típica"

"Una Semana Típica" means "A Typical Week." We already started this Chapter with "Verbos Tener y Venir." Try to understand these verbs and start memorizing them, please! I also gave you handouts with these verbs and exercises (to conjugate them in sentences). You will have a Quiz on this before the end of this Third Quarter (March 28).

Quiz date: Friday, March 21, 2014. I will add this quiz grade for this quarter, and also give you a Workbook grade. Workbook pages to complete for a grade: From Chapter 4, pages 72-79 (pg. 73, No. 4 only); from Chapter 5, page 81 (No. 2 only, to answer these True and False questions you must read pages 185 and 193 on your LIBROS, to learn about Costa Rica, my country); and also page 82 ("Verbo Tener") and page 94 ("Verbo Venir"), great to review for the Quiz. 

The quiz will include "muy" and "mucho." Remember: "muy" (adverb) means very and you use it with adjectives - ie. Estoy muy cansada; él es muy simpático. "Mucho" (an adjective and an adverb) means many or a lot, and you use it with nouns and verbs. When used with nouns it changes with the nouns' gender -whether they are feminine or masculine- and whether the nouns are singular or plural - ie. Mi hermano tiene muchos libros en su mochila; mi prima tiene muchas blusas verdes. So, unlike other adjectives, "mucho/mucha/muchos/muchas" is placed before the noun they modify. When used with a verb, as an adverb, "mucho" remains the same and is placed after the verb - ie. Me gusta leer mucho; yo como mucho (with a noun used as an adjective it would change: yo como muchos frijoles); ella estudia mucho; ella habla mucho. Check the video on "Fave Links" or click here: Muy vs. Mucho. Any questions? Please ask señora Feld.

Verbos Tener y Venir (also check Textbook pages 186 and 204)

 Notice that these verbs are very irregular, and they are also "stem-changing" verbs; which means that their base or stem changes. The stem of "tener" is "ten" and the "e" changes to "ie" in some of the conjugations, as you can see above. The same happens with "venir." The "e" changes to "ie" for "tú, Ud./él/ella" and "Uds./ellos/ellas;" but it remains the same for "nosotros y vosotros." The "yo" form is different, though. It's not "yo teno" or "yo veno," but "yo tengo" and "yo vengo."

Examples with Verbo Tener: ¿Cuántos años tienes (tú)? Yo tengo 15 años. ¿Cuántos libros tienes en tu mochila? Tengo seis libros grandes. ¿Qué tiene el profesor en la clase de español? Tiene un mapa de Costa Rica. ¿Qué tiene tu hermano en su mochila? Tiene dos cuadernos, tres libros y seis CDs. Daniel tiene una revista. Tu abuela tiene una casa muy bonita. Tus padres tienen un equipo de sonido muy bueno. Mi mamá tiene tres hermanas. ¿Cuántos hermanos tienes tú? Yo tengo un hermano y dos hermanas. Nosotros tenemos frío. Tenéis dinero? Mis tías tienen muchas revistas.

Capítulo 5 starts on page 180, and I need you to learn the following vocabulary words and expressions (not all the vocabulary words from this chapter): una semana típica, el dinero, la tienda, los artículos electrónicos, el correo electrónico, el equipo de sonido, la computadora, el disco compacto, el CD, los discos compactos, los CDs, el DVD, los DVDs, la televisión, la radio (el radio), la canción, las canciones, la música, ¡Qué lástima!, la chica entra a la tienda, la película. You can learn the other vocabulary words from page 182 if you wish, or learn to recognize them (but I won't ask you to define them in test or quizzes - we can work with these words in sentences, but you don't have to memorize them). You only have to memorize the ones in this paragraph!

In this chapter, you will also learn the "Direct Object Pronouns" (los pronombres de complement directo), page 194. Read and understand the "Estructura" on this page. I will explain these in class and we will do many exercises to try to understand how to use these pronouns in sentences. So we will learn a new song, notice the differences. First song: me te se - nos os se (Reflexive Pronouns); Second song: me te le - nos os les (Indirect Object Pronouns); Third song: me te lo la - nos os los las (Direct Object Pronouns).

Cap. 4 - Lección B "A mí me gusta..."

In this lesson you are learning to master the expression of "likes and dislikes" in Spanish. I already explained this extensively in class; so my hope is that you understand it really well for the Test you will have Thursday, March 13, 2014. Next week you will have a Quiz, to see if you understand this material. The Quiz will be Friday, March 7, 2014.

You can watch the following "Me gusta" video: ¿Qué te gusta hacer? (click this link)

Indirect Object Pronouns used with GUSTAR:  me  te  le  nos  os  les

•  Use “gusta” with SINGULAR NOUN that follows or with INFINITIVE
• Me gusta el libro (libro is singular noun)
• Me gusta leer (leer is an infinitive)
•  Use “gustan” with PLURAL NOUN that follows
• Me gustan los libros (plural noun)
• Make negative by adding “no”  - no me gusta …
• Use “le” = to  mean Ud., ella, or él
• Use “les” = to mean Uds., ellas, or ellos

I asked you to complete the following homework so far: 1) Translate vocabulary (I and II), LIBRO ¡AVENTURA!, pages 154 and 155 and 164 and 165 (which will be included on the Test); 2) Exercise No. 2, page 155; 3) Exercise No. 4, page 156; 4) Exercise No. 7, page 158 (and review the "Estructura" on this page); 5) Handout on Lección B from the G&V Exercises (on "Gustar"), pages 49-52; Exercise No. 10, page 160 (also review the "Estructura" on this page); and 6) Handout (pg. 53 G&V) on "describing people."

Workbook Pages to complete: 72, 73 (#4 only), 74 and 75. Later, pages 76, 77 and 78. Pages 79 and 80 (optional).

We will review the "Verbos Ser y Estar" again! You must now clearly understand when to use one or the other. Review the "uses" of these verbs and make sure you know how to conjugate them. (Verbos Ser y Estar will be included on the Test)

Mac Lab Assignment (Friday, February 28, 2014)

You will work with a partner and together create a PowerPoint that includes the following:

1. At least six slides (or more). Select a template of your choice. 
2. Put your names on the first slide - Title: ¿Cómo son ellos? ¿Qué les gusta hacer?
3. Select at least six different people (they can be famous or not). It can be friends and family members or you can pretend they are. Try to find pictures online of these people, or find pictures that resemble family members or friends, if you wish, and add to the slides. One person per slide (or two slides per person, depending on how much information you have - you don't want to have too much information on each slide). Presentation is important!
4. Describe these people (use at least three adjectives per description). How are they? (¿Como son?) How would you describe them (in Spanish) using some of the vocabulary from Lección B (pages 164 and 165). You can find other descriptions and look for the right Spanish word online, or ask Señora Feld for help.
5. ¿Qué les gusta hacer (a ellos)? What do they like to do? Come up with different likes and dislikes for them (at least three of each). Refer to them appropriately, like "a ella le gusta nadar," "a él le gusta jugar al fútbol," etc. (or by name, i.e. "a Rodrigo le gusta cantar;" "a Susana le gusta patinar y bailar ballet").
6. Use some of the adjectives you learned in class (in Chapter 4 and others) to describe them and also some of the verbs we learned in class and the Vocabulario I (pages 154 and 155).
7. You can add more slides to describe each person. You don't want to have too much information in each slide; so it's preferable to have more than one slide per person. It should look neat!
8. If you want to add images of what they like, you can do so.
9. Optional: you can also add your descriptions (one slide per student). ¿Cómo eres? ¿Qué te gusta hacer? ¿Qué le gusta hacer a tu amiga? Add you name on the slide where you describe yourself and mention what you like and dislike.
10. Any questions? Please ask Señora Feld.
11. Get creative! ¡Sé creativa!
12. When done, save in your Account (in the Server) with your name, or names, and download in Edmodo.

[You can also have likes and dislikes without a verb, i.e. "a Mario le gustan los conciertos de rock"]

Verbs you can use:

cantar, bailar, patinar, caminar, correr, comer, hablar (hablar mucho, hablar por teléfono, hablar con sus amigas, etc.), ver la televisión, oír la radio, escuchar música, jugar al tenis, jugar al fútbol, jugar al... (check more vocabulary words on page 159 "¡Extra!"), pintar, dibujar, ir de compras, ir de paseo, dormir, estudiar, trabajar, pensar, viajar, bailar (bailar salsa, bailar merengue, etc.), ir al cine, tocar el piano (more on page 159), hacer la tarea, ir a comer en restaurantes, leer libros, leer revistas, jugar deportes, or other. You have plenty of choices...

After the verbs you can add words like "por," "en" and "con." Examples: "A mi amiga le gusta caminar en el parque," "a mi amigo le gusta correr en la playa," "a mí me gusta bailar con mis amigas," etc. Check the textbook and the workbook for more examples or ask Señora Feld. ¡Buena suerte!

Capítulo 4 - "Mi Familia y Mis Amigos"

After the Midterm (on Tuesday, January 28) we will start with Capítulo 4 - "Mi Familia y Mis Amigos." You must learn new vocabulary about families (like padre, madre, hermana, hermano, tío,  tía, abuelo, abuela, etc.). 

PLEASE CHECK THE YOUTUBE VIDEO ON "LA FAMILIA" POSTED UNDER FAVORITE LINKS (or click the link above). Also check Family Members in Spanish and Study Here (click the links). You will see the video (on "La Familia" from el señor Jordan) on Tuesday, January 28th and you are welcome to take notes. You can also review it at home to improve your notes. I need you to translate the callouts or boxes on page 134 (LIBRO). Page 135: do Exercise No. 2 (Pepe y su familia).

Also read the Diálogo 1 and answer the questions on Exercise No. 3 - ¿Qué recuerdas? Also do Exercise No. 8 (reviewing adjectives, remember how to change masculine adjectives to feminine and plural forms). Make sure that you read the "Repaso Rápido" on page 138 before you do Ex. No. 8. You will do Exercise No. 9 in groups, and later work on Exercises No. 10 - "Nuestra Familia" and No. 11 - ¿Quién va a venir...? Study the "Estructura" from page 139 (Reviewing Possessive Adjectives).

Other vocabulary words to add: hermanastro (stepbrother), hermanastra (stepsister), cuñado (brother-in-law), cuñada (sister-in-law). I may mention a few more in class. 

Third Quarter Homework (end of January/beginning of February) - important for the Test of 2/27/14: Workbook pages 61, 62, and 63 - #4 only. You will also work on a "Family Tree." You can draw one, similar to the one on page 134, and mention the names of your relatives (identifying them - hermano, hermano, primo, prima, tío, tía, etc.) - check Edmodo for more information. Also, Workbook pages 65, 67 and 69. I will collect Workbooks the end of February, for a Homework grade.

You will also learn Verbos -IR on this chapter (page 141) - write the "Estructura" in your notebooks. Conjugate the Verbo Vivir and the Verbo Salir - notice that the "Yo" form of Verbo Salir varies ("Yo salgo" not "Yo salo"). The endings of "Verbos -IR" are exactly like the endings of "Verbos -ER (like comer and beber) except for the "nosotros" and "vosotros" forms.

Exercises for "Verbo Vivir:" LIBRO, page 142 (#13, #14). "Verbo Salir:" page 142 (#15). Find four to six more regular verbs that end with -IR (be careful - not Stem-Changing verbs like "preferir" or "medir").

To practice Possessive Adjectives: review page 139 (LIBRO) and do exercises #10 and #11 (page 140). Also, check the handout (pdf) on possessive adjectives in Edmodo. To review adjectives used with "verbo estar," check pages 144, 145 and 148 (Estructura). You have to know how to change the adjectives (which describe a noun) to the proper form. If you want to say "he is nervous" - you should know that this sentence translates to "él está nervioso;" "she is happy" - "ella está contenta;" "they are tired" - "ellos están cansados."