martes, 18 de marzo de 2014

Lesson XIII. Las Partes de la Casa

In this lesson we are going to learn the vocabulary related to the different parts of the house. Once we know the main parts of the house, we can learn the verbs related to them. That way we can be able to express in sentences what is going on in the house.

You don't have to learn those parts that are not often used. Is better to learn the few most useful vocabulary words. The rest of those words are shown only as a future reference.

You can go to the presentation "Las Partes de la Casa", and enjoy.

domingo, 9 de marzo de 2014

Lesson XII. More about "me duele", "me gusta", "me interesa"...

There is a good number of verbs that follow the structure "A mí me gusta la pizza".

Here we have a short list of them:

Me interesa (it´s interesting to me)
Me parece que... (it seems to me that...)
Me encanta (I love it, it´s charming for me)
Me importa (it matters to me)
Me cae bien (I like a person´s way of being)
Me cae mal (I don´t like a person´s way of being)
Me aburre (it´s boring to me)
Me divierte (I find it amusing)
Me da gusto (I feel happy about something)
Me da tristeza (I feel sad about something, I find something pitiful)
Me da asco (something is disgusting, loathsome to me).

Remember that "me" in Spanish sounds "meh", like in "mesh", "medicine", or "mess".

If you want to say the opposite of any of these expressions, just add "no" before "me":

No me gusta (I don´t like it),
No me interesa (I´m not interested),
No me parece que... (It doesn´t seems to me that...),
No me duele (It doesn´t hurt).

Sometimes you need to emphasize or clarify, so you can use the complete phrase (using "a mí"):

A mí me interesa (it´s interesting to me)
A mí me parece que... (it seems to me that...)
A mí me aburre (something is boring to me)

A mí no me gusta (I don´t like)
A mí no me importa (I don´t care, I don´t mind, or it doesn´t matter to me)

"A mí",
"a ti",
"a él",
"a ella",
"a nosotros",
"a ustedes",
"a vosotros" and
"a ellos"

are answers to the question: This is appealing to whom?

¿A quién le gusta la pizza? (Who likes pizza?)

A Juan le gusta la pizza.

A María le gustan las hamburguesas.

jueves, 6 de marzo de 2014

Lesson XI. Expressions with "me duele", "me gusta", "me interesa"...

In Spanish there are some expressions that have a particular structure: expressing pain, appealing, preference, interest, and so on.

The structure is like the one we used talking about pain: First the "prepositional phrase", then the "indirect complement"... ok, don't be scared yet. Let see the chart and a little explanation afterwards.

Frase preposicional
Complemento indirecto
Verbo
Sujeto
A mí
me
gusta, gustan
 
A ti
te
gusta, gustan
 
A él, a ella, a Usted
le
gusta, gustan
 
A nosotros
nos
gusta, gustan
 
A vosotros
os
gusta, gustan
 
A ustedes
les
gusta, gustan
 
A ellos, a ellas
les
gusta, gustan
 
















In Spanish, when you say "I like something", instead of me liking the thing, you have to express that this particular object is appealing to you. That is why we begin these phrases or sentences with "To me" (a mí) and then say "me gusta" (it's appealing) and then the object of my liking.

When you say "a mí me gusta el fútbol", what you are saying is that Soccer is appealing to you.

Or "a mí me duele el estómago", what you are saying is that the stomach is causing pain to you.

Now, if you have to ask someone about his or her pains or preferences, you would say:

¿A ti te gusta el fútbol? (Is Soccer appealing to you?).

¿A ti te duele el estómago? (Is your stomach hurting?).

Notice that when I am talking about myself I begin the sentence with "A mí me...", but when I am talking to you (the second person), I begin the sentence with "A ti te..."

If we go further and talk about the third person (he or she), we will begin the sentence with "A él le..." or "A ella le..."

A ella le gusta ver la televisión. (She likes watching TV).

A él le duele la cabeza. (His head is hurting).

"A nosotros" means "to us",
"A vosotros" means "to you" (talking to a group of people) (this is used only in Spain, in the classical literature and in the Bible).
"A ustedes" means "to you" (talking to a group of people. Used in Latin America).
"A ellos" means "to them" (all male or mixed male and female).
"A ellas" means "to them (all female).

After this part, you have to use the Indirect Complement:

me (for me) (Remember that the Spanish "me" is pronounced "meh")
te (for you)
le (for him or her)
nos (for us)
os (for "you all", in Spain)
les (for "you all", in Latin America)
les (for them).

Do we have to use both? Generally not. You can say "A mí me gusta la pizza", or only "me gusta la pizza", and it will be clear enough. Sometimes you need to clarify, and then is when you use both.

Then we have the verb. In this case is easy, because it´s only either singular or plural.

"Me gusta", if the object of my appealing is only one: "la pizza".
"Me gustan,  if the object of my appealing is more than one: "las hamburguesas".

martes, 25 de febrero de 2014

Lesson X. El Dolor (Pain)

¿Qué te duele? (What is hurting?)
 
Two ways to talk about pain in Spanish:
 
     1. "Tengo dolor de..."
 
      2. "Me duele ..."
 
Tengo dolor de cabeza. (I have a head ache).
 
Me duele la cabeza. (My head is hurting).
 
Tengo dolor de estómago. (I have a stomach ache).
 
Me duele el estómago. (My stomach is hurting).
 
Tengo dolor de dientes. (I have a teeth ache).
 
Me duelen los dientes. (My teeth are hurting).
 
(I am emphasizing than "n", because since "dientes" is plural, the verb has to agree and be in plural too).

martes, 18 de febrero de 2014

Lesson IX. Las partes del cuerpo humano

The objective of this chapter is to review the vocabulary related to the human body.

We have two Power Point presentations. One of them is set up in a "portrait" layout and the other one is set up in a "landscape" layout.

The one that is in the "portrait" layout doesn't show completely, but you can roll down a little to see the bottom of some of the pages or slides.

The other down side that I am noticing now is that once the show is complete, the window keep showing other presentations where I have no control on the content.

Preguntas: (Questions):

1.   ¿Para qué sirven las manos? (What are the hands for?)

Respuesta: Las manos sirven para tomar y mover algunos objetos, para sostener cosas en su lugar, para sostenerse a sí mismo,  para agarrar las herramientas, para ayudar a los demás, para demostrar nuestro afecto, para saludar, para sellar un trato o dar la bienvenida a alguien, para escribir, para trabajar.

Answer:   The hands are good for:

Taking and moving some objects  (tomar y mover algunos objetos),

Holding some things in place (sostener cosas en su lugar),

Holding one self (sostenerse a sí mismo),

Grabing the tools (agarrar las herramientas),

Helping others (ayudar a los demás),

Showing our affection (demostrar nuestro afecto),

Saying hello (saludar),

Sealing an agreement (sellar un trato),

Welcoming someone (dar la bienvenida a alguien),

Writing (escribir),

Working (trabajar).






viernes, 7 de febrero de 2014

Lesson VIII. Conjugation of the Verbs Tengo, Necesito, Puedo, Debo

The previous reading showed different forms of the verb "tener":  No tengo zapatos (I don't have shoes); No tienes zapatos? (don't you have any shoes?) ; Mi mamá tiene muchos zapatos. (My mom has a lot of shoes). The reason we change the form of the verb is in order to make it fit the person. The person could be "yo" (myself), or "tú" (you), or "él" or "ella" (he or she).

The same as in English, we have to change the form of the verb to make it fit the person, like in the case of the verb "to be": I am, you are, he / she is, we are...


miércoles, 5 de febrero de 2014

Lesson VII. How to say "I am" in Spanish.

In this presentation, I am showing the two different ways to say "I am" in Spanish:

    "Soy" for more permanent situations, or ways of being.
    "Estoy" for more temporary situations.

viernes, 31 de enero de 2014

Lesson VI. A Short Reading With "Tengo", "Tienes", "Tiene".

Vocabulary:

1. Para                    = for, to, in order to...
2. Porque                = because
3. muy                    = very (talking about some quality)
4. mucho                = a lot, a big amount (talking about some quantity)*
5. Entonces            = then
6. Pedir                   = to ask for; pedirle = to ask him or her for...
7. Chico or chica    = little or small. In the case of the reading, someone that is very young.

[*Attention!: in Spanish you cannot say "muy mucho", as a translation of "very much"].

Reading: The Silly Conversation.

One day I was talking with a friend of mine, and I told him: "No tengo zapatos, necesito ir a la tienda".

My friend didn't believe me and asked me again, in disbelief: "¿No tienes zapatos?"

Then he tried to show off and told me "mi mamá tiene muchos zapatos".

He kept going and asked: "¿Tienes dinero para comprar zapatos?"

I answered him: "No, no tengo dinero"

He believes he is wise, so he told me: "Necesitas trabajar para tener dinero". Then he realized it was a silly remark and asked "¿Puedes trabajar?"

I told him: "No, no puedo trabajar porque soy muy chica".

So, he said: "Entonces tienes que pedirle dinero a tu mamá o a tu papá", and asked "¿Tu papá tiene dinero?"

It was my turn to show off and I told him: "Sí, mi papá tiene mucho dinero".


Questionnaire:

1. What is the English word for tienda?
2. Why do we change the verb from "tengo" to "tienes" and "tiene"?
3. The conversation is between:
    a) Two boys.
    b) Two girls.
    c) One boy and one girl.



domingo, 26 de enero de 2014

Lesson V. Practice Expressions With "Tengo", "Necesito", "Debo", etc.

Here you have a Power Point presentation with some vocabulary and simple exercises with "tengo", "necesito", "debo", and so on. You can expand the presentation to view it on the whole screen. Enjoy!

viernes, 17 de enero de 2014

lunes, 13 de enero de 2014

Lesson III: The Legend of the Three Kings.

Legend of the Three Kings.

This is a story based in real life. The real facts are those mentioned in the Gospel (Matthew 2:1-12) Different cultures and traditions have added other facts that stir the imagination of children of all ages. Here we go...

Once upon a time, far far away...

Había una vez, en un país lejano...

Please, find at the top the Slideshare presentation. Set it in a full screen mode. Sorry all the nice effects of the original are lost. (Like the "notice" boxes don't enter smoothly, the answers to the questionnaire are there, instead of entering one by one, etc. By the way, before turning the page from the questionnaire to the answers, make sure you have your own answers written).

sábado, 11 de enero de 2014

Lesson II: Review of the Basic Question Words and Possessive Pronouns.

Objective: The students will be able to use the basic question words in simple phrases in Spanish.

Activity: Study the vocabulary and answer the questionnaire.

Evaluation: The student should be able to answer the questionnaire.

Vocabulary:

1. ¿Qué? (pronounce "Keh") = What?

2. ¿Cómo? = How?

3. ¿Quién? (pronounce "Kee-ehn") = Who?

4. ¿Cuántos? = How many?

5. Mi = my

6. Tu = your

7. Su = his, or her

8. Nuestro = our

Questionnaire: According to the chart provided in Lesson I,

1. ¿Quién es el padre de mi padre? (Who is the father of my father?)

     Answer: Mi abuelo paterno.

2. ¿Quién es la madre de mi madre?

     Answer: __________________________.

3. ¿Quién es el hermano de mi mamá?

     Answer: __________________________.

4.  ¿Cuántas hermanas tiene mi mamá?

     Answer: ___________________________.

5. ¿Cuántos hermanos tiene mi papá?

     Answer: ___________________________.

Lesson I: Review of the Basic Vocabulary Related to the Family Members.

Objective: The students will be able to use the terms of the family relationships in simple phrases in Spanish.


Activity: Read and copy the provided family tree structure, study the vocabulary and answer the questions from the worksheet (in this case, where it says "Activity").

Evaluation: The student should be able to answer the questionnaire.