Thursday, May 26th

Spanish I study guide

Study Guide

Unidad 3, etapa 2

I.  Stem changing verbs:

these verbs, known as boot verbs have a different beginning for all pronouns except "nosotros" and "vosotros". It is the beginning that changes, not the ending. (See below in bold)

a) Jugar = to play    u to ue (the 'u' changes to 'ue')

    juego     jugamos
    juegas    jugáis
    juega     juegan

IMPORTANT: When you are playing a sport, you use jugar + a. Remember that "a" + "el" changes into "al".

Yo juego al béisbol. = I play baseball.

b) Pensar = to think              e to ie (the 'e' changes to an 'ie')

     pienso    pensamos
     piensas   pensáis
     piensa    piensan

The other verbs that are conjugated like “pensar” are:

cerrar = to close  (cierro…)
empezar = to begin (empiezo…)
entender = to understand (entiendo…)
merendar = to have a snack (meriendo…)
perder = to lose (pierdo…)
preferir = to prefer (prefiero…)
querer = to want (quiero…)


IMPORTANT: The 'e' that changes to 'ie' is the one in bold letter.

II. Saber = to know

Sé         sabemos
sabes    sabéis
sabe     saben

Yo sé hablar español. = I know how to speak Spanish.
Saber versus Conocer
You use "saber" when you are saying you know facts/information or how to do something. You use "conocer" when you are saying that you know people or places.

Conocer = to know
conozco          conocemos
conoces          conocéis
conoce            conocen

Yo conozco Ana. = I know Ana.
Yo conozco Paris. = I know Paris.

III. Comparisons

READ CAREFULLY AND LOOK AT ALL OF THE EXAMPLES

A. Using “más… que, menos…que, and tan…como”

You can place an adjective OR a noun between “más/menos” and “que” or “tan” and “como”.

a)      Más… que = More than

                            i.      Más + adjective + que

   Yo soy más alto que tú = I am taller (more tall) than you.

   Ella es más alta que tú. = She is taller then you.

  (alta MUST agree with the person, therefore it is feminine)

                            ii.      Mas + noun + que + noun

Me gusta más el futbol que el tenis. = I like soccer more than tennis.

Or

                             iii.  Más + noun + que

                                    Yo tengo más libros que tú. = I have more books than you.

       b)   Menos… que = less than

                         i.   Menos + adjective + que

               El tenis es menos divertido que el baloncesto. = Tennis is less fun

                than basketball.

                              ii.    Menos + noun + que + noun

Me gusta menos el futbol que el tenis. = I like soccer less than tennis.

Or

                              iii.    Menos + noun + que

               Yo tengo menos libros que tú. = I have less books than you.

    c)     Tan…como = as… as

             i. Tan + adj. + como

 El gato es tan grande como el perro. = The cat is as big as the dog.

 Mi falda es tan bonita como tu falda.= My skirt is as pretty as your skirt.

  

Don’t forget to watch adjective agreement! The adjective must agree with the noun (feminine/masculine/singular/plural)

             

B. Using “más que, menos que, and tanto como”

a)      Verb + más que + verb

              Me gusta leer mas que escribir. = I like to read more than to write.

b)       Verb + menos que + verb

             Me gusta leer menos que escribir. = I like to read less than to write.

c)      Tanto… como = as many… as

                              i. Tantos + plural noun + como
                                 Yo tengo tantos libros como tú. = I have as many books as you. 
                                  Yo tengo tantas faldas como tú. = I have as many skirts as you.

            d)    Tanto… como = as many… as

                              i. Tantos + plural noun + como

                                 Yo tengo tantos libros como tú. = I have as many books as you. 
                                  Yo tengo tantas faldas como tú. = I have as many skirts as you.

(Make the "tantos/tantas" agree with the noun)

e)  Tanto como...

i.  verb + tanto como + verb + = as much as

   Me gusta leer tanto como escribir. = I like to read as

                             much as to write.

ii. verb + noun + tanto como + noun

  Me gusta comer tacos tanto como pizza.

C. Using “más de/menos de”

iv.    When you are discussing numbers, you must use más de or menos de to compare.

                                                               i.      Menos de cinco personas tienen su tarea. = Less than five people have their homework.

                                                             ii.      Hay más de veinte chicos en esta clase. = There are more than twenty boys in this class.