Grammar Tips – Page 2 – Nina Schmidt ~ Vancouver German and Spanish Lessons

Grammar Tips: Commonly Confused Verbs in Spanish Part 1

Nothing is more confusing for the beginner student of a language than words that look similar. Over the years I have seen students struggle with remembering the following verbs simply because they are common and all begin with a double ‘l’ combination. Below is a complete list of these verbs along with some examples sentences.

1. llegar: to arrive

We are arriving at 5 o’clock.

Llegamos a las cinco de la tarde.

2. llevar: to bring someone somewhere, to wear

I am bringing my father to the airport.

Llevo a mi padre al aeropuerto.

I am wearing my new hat today.

Llevo mi nuevo sombrero hoy.

Note: llevar can also be used in an idiomatic sense to express a length of time

How many years have you been in Canada?

¿Cuántos años llevas en Canadá?

3. llover: to rain (Note: stem-change verb, only used in the third person singular)

It is raining a lot today.

Llueve mucho hoy.

4. llamar: to call (Note: this verb can also be used reflexively to express your name)

I am calling my brother.

Llamo a mi hermano.

He is called Robert.

Él se llama Roberto.

5. llorar: to cry

Amanda cries a lot.

Amanda llora mucho.

6. llenar: to fill (up)

She is filling up the bathtub with water.

Ella llena la bañera con agua.

November 20, 2014

Grammar Tips: Spanish Linking Words

As Spanish only has roughly one-third the vocabulary of English, around 330,000 versus 1 million words, it is only natural to see the same linking words used frequently. This sometimes feels unnatural for English speakers who were taught to never repeat the same linking word in essays or reports. Keep in mind however, it is very frequent in Spanish that one word has various meanings in English. It is always the context which helps determine which word is meant. The following words are extremely useful when writing short stories or essays and are paramount when you are recounting a story or something that happened to you. They should be at the top of the vocabulary list for new learners to the language.

pero (but)

sino (but rather)

porque (because)

sin embargo (however)

también (also)

bastante (enough)

salvo, excepto (except)

aunque, más bien (even though)

hasta (until)

a causa de (because of)

después (after)

antes (before)

mientras (while)

a pesar de (que) (in spite of)

al principio (at first)

luego (later/then)

de repente (suddenly)

para empezar (to begin)

por fin (at last)

September 23, 2014

Grammar Tips: Common Idioms with ‘estar’

The Spanish verb estar has many idiomatic expressions associated with it. Idioms are phrases or sentences that do not translate directly from one language to another. A common example in English is ‘ it’s raining cats and dogs.’ Idioms developed over time in languages and sometimes the origin of them is known and other times it is unknown. They are a colourful part of any language and should be learned along with regular vocabulary and grammar to become a fluent speaker. Here are some of the more common idioms with estar:

estar de viaje to be travelling

estar de vacaciones to be on vacation

estar de negocios to be somewhere on business

estar de moda to be in fashion/style

estar en forma to be in shape

estar de acuerdo to be in agreement

estar de jefe to be the acting boss

estar en un lío to be in a mess/trouble

estar de rodillas to be kneeling

estar de pie to be standing

estar de buen/mal humor to be in a good/bad mood

Being mindful when using adjectives with estar to agree your adjective with your noun!

estar hecho/a polvo to be worn out

estar hecho/a una sopa to be soaking wet

estar apurado/a to be in a hurry

August 22, 2014

Grammar Tips: Uses of ‘ya’ in Spanish

Ya is a tricky word in Spanish. In the dictionary, it usually translates as now or already. However, it can also have other nuanced meanings including emotions such as agreement or impatience. Tone in your delivery also plays an important role in deciphering meaning. Finally, one finds ya more in casual speech than in formal written Spanish. Below are some possible translations with example sentences.

already -I already have it. = Ya lo tengo.
already- (to express surprise) You’re eating already? = ¿Ya comes?
right away: You need to work right now. = Tienes que trabajar ya.
still, any more (especially in the negative): = No longer/Not anymore. = Ya no.
as: As they are not here, we can leave: = Ya que no están aquí, podemos salir.
now: (after some effort) Now I get it. = Ya entiendo.
to show frustration: Enough already! = ¡Basta ya!
to indicate emphasis: I believe you already! = ¡Ya te creo!
to express irony or doubt: Sure you have it. = Ya lo tienes.
to offer reassurance: You will be okay. = Ya estarás bien.

May 27, 2014

Grammar Tips: The Spanish Present Tense

The present tense in the Spanish language can be tricky for newcomers, as one finds more than a few irregular verbs that need to be memorized. It may be helpful to think of present tense verbs belonging to one of four categories in the present tense: regular, stem-changing, first-person irregular and totally irregular.

1. Examples of regular verb conjugations are as follows:

trabajar

trabajo,trabajas,trabaja,trabajamos, trabajan

escribir

escribo, escribes, escribe, escribimos. escriben

2. Stem-changing conjugations are as follows:

cerrar (e-ie) poder (o-ue) pedir (e-i)

cierro puedo pido

cierras puedes pides

cierra puede pide

cerramos podemos pedimos

cierran pueden piden

3. Common first-person irregular conjugations:

hacer = hago conocer = conozco

poner = pongo conducir = conduzco

4. Common totally irregular verb conjugations:

tener ser estar ir

tengo soy estoy voy

tienes eres estás vas

tiene es está va

tenemos somos estamos vamos

tienen son están van

The present tense in Spanish is very versatile. It can be used in the following situations:

1. To express a habitual action Trabajo mucho. I work a lot.

2. To express an ongoing action. Trabajo mucho. I am working a lot.

3. To express a future action. Trabajo pronto. I am working soon.

4. To ask yes/no questions. ¿Trabajas mucho? Do you work a lot?

April 28, 2014

Grammar Tips: Spanish Prepositions

Prepositions are small words usually found in front of a noun that help establish its relation to another word in the sentence. Examples of prepositions in English include: in, under, with, for etc. Spanish has three key prepositions to do with location: a, de, en.

A (to, towards)

A is used with verbs of motion expressing movement towards a destination.

They are going to Cuba. Van a Cuba.

I am walking towards the man. Camino al* hombre.

*When a is coupled with a masculine singular noun a contraction occurs (a + el = al)

De (of, from)

De is used with verbs of motion expressing movement from a destination.

I am arriving from Miami soon. Llego de Miami pronto.

I am from the north. Soy del* norte.

*When de is coupled with a masculine singular noun a contraction occurs (de + el = del)

En (in, on, at)

En is used with verbs expressing where something is located at a given time.

I live in Boston. Vivo en Boston.

We are on the plane. Estamos en el avión.

March 27, 2014

Grammar Tips: German Words Found in English

A number of German words have made their way into the English language. Some of them we accept as a matter of course as they have been around for a long time. Others, have come into English rather recently. While most words maintain the same or similar meaning some change their meaning slightly when transplanted from one language to another. For example, the word angst. Below you will find a list of common German words and phrases used in English.

Achtung! (careful/watch out)

die Angst (fear in German)

das Aspirin

der Dachshund (wiener dog)

der Doppelganger (a body double/look-alike)

der Ersatz (substitute)

das Fest (party in German ex. filmfest)

Gesundheit! (health: used when someone sneezes)

der Hamburger

kaput (broken/not working)

der Kindergarten

der Poltergeist

der Rucksack

die Schadenfreude (taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune!)

verboten (not allowed/prohibited)

die Wanderlust

das Wunderkind

German Präfixes (prefixes) can also be used in English, particularly: über

He is überpatient with his wife. (This implies he is extremely or too patient with his wife)

For a longer list visit: http://german.about.com/library/blvoc_gerloan2.htm

February 18, 2014

Grammar Tips: Spanish Word Stress

Proper pronunciation is key to communicating in any language. Without proper pronunciation, it can become very difficult to make yourself understood. Review the guidelines below to better understand Spanish word syllabification and stress.

1. A syllable consists of at least one vowel sound and/or a vowel paired with one or two consonant sounds. (In the examples below the words are both Spanish and English)

animal: 3 syllables: a-ni-mal Argentina: 4 syllables: Ar-gen-ti-na

2a. Words that end in a consonant other than n or s are stressed on the last syllable.

a-zul

2b. Words that end in a vowel, n, or s are stressed on the second to last syllable.

li-bro

2c. Words whose accent falls on the third to last syllable always have an accent (tilde).

rápido

2d. Rarely, words are accented on the fourth, fifth, etc. to last syllable. These are limited to verbs with pronouns attached to them.

mí-ra-me-lo

3. Spanish features both weak and strong vowels. A, E, O are strong while I, U are weak.

This affects pronunciation as two strong vowels cannot be in the same syllable. Therefore, two strong vowels found next to each other belong to separate syllables whereas a combination of a weak and strong vowel, or two weak vowels create a diphthong or a gliding sound which results in a single syllable. In order to break this diphthong, an accent may be placed on one of the vowels.

ma-es-tro

puer-to

far-ma-cia

po-li-cí-a

January 22, 2014

Grammar Tips: English Words Found in German

Historically, German and English have shared a number of similar or even identically spelled words such as:

der Student, das Haus, die Maus, die Medizin

This is due to the fact that both languages stem from a common proto-Germanic language as well as the fact that they have imported words from the same languages such as French. Over time, these words have come to be part of each language without people giving much thought to it. However, in recent history a large number of English words have been adopted by German speakers, especially within the youth culture.

Many of these words are business and technology-related, but some of them are common words for referring to people, foods or even items around the house. This mixing has become so common it even has its own name: Denglish! While many older Germans lament the encroachment of English on their language, these words are a blessing for English speakers learning German!

For those loanwords that are nouns, learning the gender can be especially tricky as they do not fall into typical categories of gender assignment. Generally, however if the word is a replacement for a German word it will retain the same gender. For example, it is das Telefon, therefore it follows that it is das Smart Phone. Another hint is that words ending in -ing are always neuter, as are infinitives used as nouns in German. Compare: das Treffen = das Meeting

Here is a list of some common English words in the modern German language:

Nouns:

der Airbag

das Baby

das Bowling

der Bodybuilder

der Bestseller

das Catering

die Couch

das iPhone

der Loser

das Meeting

das Tshirt

Verbs:

babysitten

bloggen

downloaden

einchecken (to check in)

googlen

snowboarden

For an extensive list please check out this website.

What is your favourite English word that has migrated into modern German?

December 15, 2013

Grammar Tips: Two-way Prepositions in German

Prepositions are important words in sentences as they show the relation between the words. Common prepositions in English include: with, in, for, to etc. One major difference between English and German grammar is that each preposition in the German language is associated with a specific case. Here we are looking at a specific subset of prepositions called two-way prepositions which can be used with either the accusative or dative case. The following is the complete list of nine two-way prepositions:

in (into, in) über (over, above)

an (to, onto, on) unter (under, below)

auf (onto, on) vor (in front of)

hinter (behind) zwischen (between)

neben (next to)

1. The accusative is used if there is clearly motion from point A to B. Generally verbs of motion fall into this category. Commonly used verbs include to go (gehen), to drive (fahren), to fly (fliegen), to fall (fallen) etc.

I’m going into the car. Ich gehe in das Auto.

I am driving into the city. Ich fahre in die Stadt.

2. The dative is used if there is no motion, or motion occurs in a circular pattern or restricted area wherein you come back to your starting point i.e. pacing back and forth, swimming laps, jumping on the spot.

I am in the car. Ich bin in dem Auto.

I am swimming in the pool. Ich schwimme in dem Becken.

3. Specific verbs are used in German to clearly show in what position something is placed. For example, if a book is placed flat on a table one would use a different verb than if it was placed upright in a shelf.

Accusative Dative

stellen (to place upright) stehen (to be placed upright)

legen (to place flat) liegen (to be placed flat)

setzen (to place sitting up) sitzen (to be seated)

stecken (to stick somewhere) stecken (to be stuck somewhere)

hängen (to hang up) hängen (to be hanging)

Examples:

I am placing the cup on the table. Ich stelle die Tasse auf den Tisch.

The cup is on the table. Die Tasse steht auf dem Tisch.

4. Wo is always used in the dative case as it shows where something is located whereas wohin indicates motion and is therefore used with the accusative case.

Where are you? Wo bist du?

Where are you going (to)? Wohin gehst du?

5. Certain prepositions may be contracted with definite articles in both the accusative and dative. While these contractions are not mandatory, they are certainly common in both speech and writing and should be memorized. Some examples follow:

Accusative Dative

auf + das = aufs in + dem = im

in + das = ins an + dem = am

July 16, 2013

Category: Grammar Tips

Nouns:

Verbs: