IVY 030828

Spanish 101

In Spanish, nouns are grouped into two categories, "O" and "A". The words we use for "the" or "a" ("an") will depend on which category the noun belongs to. Words like "the", etc. must MATCH the noun that they are used with.

el libro	la casa
el muchacho	la muchacha

Nouns that refer to males (animals or people) are "O" category. Nouns that refer to females are "A" category.

The words for "a" are:

una

The words for "the" are:

el	la
los	las

Verbs are in two categories in Spanish also. They can be analyzed by dividing them into three parts. The first is the meaning. Some books call this the "stem" or "root" of the verb. The second part is the "A" or "E" which indicates the category. The third part is the ending which must MATCH the subject (who does the action). You should notice that there are two places in the pattern where the "slots" are blank. We drop the "A" or "E" from the center slot when it comes in front of the "O" in the form "I do something". Also, in the third form which means, "he" or "she" does something, the end slot which matches the subject is blank. Nothing comes after the "A" or "E" of the middle slot which indicates the category. Keep in mind that all verbs belong to either the "A" or the "E" category. When we learn a new verb you must memorize which category it belongs to since that will estáblish the pattern that the verb will follow in other forms that we will study in the future.

yo	habl	--	o
tú	habl	a	s
él, ella, usted	habl	a	--
nosotros	habl	a	mos
ellos, ellas, ustedes	habl	a	n

yo	le	--	o
tú	le	e	s
él, ella, usted	le	e	--
nosotros	le	e	mos
ellos, ellas, ustedes	le	e	n

There is one other possibility for the third "slot" of the verb. If we put the letter "R" in it, we have the equivalent of putting the word "to" in front of the verb in English.

to speak

habl

Notice that we don't use a separate word for "am", "is", or "are" when we say, "I am speaking". We just say, "I speak". We don't have a separate word for "is" when we say "He is reading". We just say, "He reads". There is a word which we use for "is" when we tell where something is located. If we tell where something "is", we say, "está".

Words to learn:

dice	says
que	that
necesitar	to need
hablar	to speak
estudiar	to study
el libro	the book
la página	the page
el capítulo	the chapter
el lapicero	the ballpoint pen
una hoja de papel	a sheet (leaf) of paper
el alumno	the student (male)
la alumna	the student (female)
el muchacho	the boy
la muchacha	the girl
el profesor	the teacher (male)
la profesora	the teacher (female)
creer	to believe
está	is (where)
la biblioteca	the library
el periódico	the newspaper
buscar	to seek (hunt something)
el artículo	the article
en	in
para	for
porque	because
trabajar	to work
el abogado	the lawyer
hoy	today
mañana	tomorrow
la clase de historia	the history class

I need a sheet of paper.
The boy needs a sheet of paper.
The teacher says that we need a sheet of paper.
I believe that the girl needs a sheet of paper.
The girl says that she needs a sheet of paper.
I need a book.
The boy needs a book.
I am reading a book.
I need to read a book.
The book is in the library.
The book that I need is in the library.
The teacher says that the book that I need is in the library.
I believe that the book is in the library.
I believe that the girl needs the book.
I believe that the book that the girl needs is in the library.
We need to read the book.
The book that we need to read is in the library.
The students need to read the page.
The students are studying the chapter.
The students need to study the chapter.
Mary is in the library.
Mary needs to study.
Mary is in the library because she needs to study.
The book is in the library.
Mary needs to read the book.
The book that Mary needs to read is in the library.
I am reading a newspaper.
I am studying for the history class.
I need to study for the history class.
I am reading a newspaper for the history class.
I need to read an article in the newspaper for the history class.
We need to study in the library.
We need to read an article in the newspaper for the history class.
The students need to study in the library.
I believe that the students need to read an article in the newspaper.
The teacher says that the students need to study in the library.
The teacher says that the students need to read an article in the newspaper for the history class.
I am working in the office.
I need to work in the office today.
John is working in the office.
John needs to work in the office today.
Mary is in the office.
John says that Mary needs to work in the office today.
We are working in the office today.
We need to work in the office tomorrow.
The teacher is in the office.
John says that he needs to speak with the teacher.
We need to speak with the teacher tomorrow.
The secretary says that the lawyer is in the office today.
We need to speak with the lawyer today.
I believe that the lawyer is in the office.
John is in the library because he needs to study.
The boys are in the library because they need to study.
John is in the library because he needs to read an article in the newspaper for the history class.
The teacher says that he believes that the students need to study in the library.
The teacher says that we need to read an article in the newspaper for the history class.
The newspaper that I need to read is in the library.
The teacher says that the newspaper that I need to read for the history class is in the library.
I believe that the newspaper is in the library.

The teacher says that he believes that the newspaper is in the library.

END

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Spanish 101

>Nosotros necesitamos leer un artículo en el periódico para la clase de historia.