Basic Spanish - Lesson 4 Notes

Grupo Básico Español – lección cuatro

Buenos diás señores y señoras. Bienvenidos a la lección cuatro de la clase de español. Estamos haciendo (present continuous tense) un buen progreso. Entonces,  empecemos de nuevo.

Before we start today’s lesson, let’s look at our homework questions:

The following sentences all use either the verb ser or estar. Choose the correct verb and the correct conjugation:

1.            I am very well thank you.  Estoy muy bien gracias. Being well is a temporary state, you might be ill tomorrow, so you use estar.

2.           Good morning John, how are you today? Buenos días Juan ¿cómo estás hoy? Addressing someone by their first name suggests you are speaking informally, therefore you use the informal version of how are you. We use estar becuse “how you are now” is not a permanent state.

3.           I like that shirt, what colour is it? Me gusta esa camisa, de qué color es. We use ser because the colour of a shirt is permanent.

4.           Where is the church? ¿Dónde está la Iglesia? We use estar for locations, even though the church is always there.

5.           Good morning Mr Rojas, how are you today? Buenos días, Sr. Rojas, ¿cómo está hoy? We are clearly in a formal situation; therefore use the formal versions of you in estar.

6.           What time is it? ¿Qué hora es? I know the time changes, but the time that it is at any moment is an unmovable fact, therefore use ser.

7.           It is half-past three. Son las tres y media. See 6.

8.           I am married. Estoy casado/a. In this case, estoy or soy would be OK. The textbooks say otherwise, but it seems public opinion (in Latin America at least) is on the side of ser.

9.           I am retired. Soy jubilado. No-one who is retired goes back to work (if they have a choice and any sense). We expect to stay retired, therefore ser.

10.         I am a carpenter. Soy carpintero. I know you may change job, but you will always have the skills of a carpenter.

I also asked you to write a paragraph in Spanish saying where you are from, where you were born and where you live now. How did that go?

Revisión

How did everyone find last week and the homework – any questions?

We’re not doing any new work today, we’re going to do some revision. You’ve done two chapters of Sueños, which is great progress in two weeks. Some people have asked about some phrases used in the book and what they mean ...

Así se habla = One speaks like this (así means ‘like this’ so you could say lo quiero así – I want it like that or, more likely, no lo quiero así).

Así se dice = One says it like this

Temas = themes

Veamos de nuevo = let us see again

Así se acostumbra = this is how we usually do it

Hay = there is ... hay galletas = there are biscuits

No hay = there is no ... no hay galletas = there are no biscuits

Hay que = one must (impersonal) ... hay que esperar aquí = one must wait here

As I say, you’re making great progress. You might feel confused, but that’s how you should feel. When I speak Spanish I am permanently challenged (and often I forget the word). But things that I thought I would never understand a year ago, now I do, and this is how it will be with you.

Don’t worry, just plough on!

What have we learned?

We know how to:

Say hello

Say goodbye

Ask how someone is

Tell them how we are

Say please

Say thank you

Say sorry

Say excuse me

Ask someone’s name

Ask where they are from

Ask where they live

Ask them if they speak a language.

Does everyone feel confident with that? OK, it’s time for humiliation.

Don’t worry, humiliation and looking dumb are essential when learning any language. I want you to find a partner (whoever is sitting next to you) and come to the front in turn. Trust me, this will be fun.

Seriously, you can’t learn a language by sitting and listening, you have to get up and open your mouths. So you are going to have a conversation with your partner in front of the class and you will be speaking entirely in Spanish. We will pretend we are at a party and will speak in the informal mode. If you are stuck, ask me for help.

Necesito ayuda por favor = I need help please

Puedes ayudarme por favor = Can you help me please

But to make it easy, you will have a script. Of course, the script is in English, so you have to translate ...

A: say hello to B

B: respond

A: Ask B what their name is

B: Tell A your name and ask their name.

A: Using their name, Ask B how they are

B: Tell A how you are and ask how they are, using their name

B: Ask A where they are from

A: Tell B where you are from and ask B where they are from

B: Tell A where you are from

A: Ask B where they live

B: Tell A where you live and ask where they live

A: Tell B where you live.

B: Pues, fue un placer conocerte, adiós.

A: Gracias, fue un placer conocerte también. Hasta luego.

¡Muy bien!