Study guide for 3.2 test

Study Guide

Unidad 3, etapa 2

You must be familiar with all of the vocabulary from past chapters. There are many units by now, so go over them from the beginning. This will help you for the final. Make flash cards (if you want, using quizlet.com or phone apps) for words you have forgotten)

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

Ex,. 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

Ex.
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.
                 
         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.

                            

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.

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



d)  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

       iii.   Me gusta comer tacos tanto como pizza.

C. Using “más de/menos de”

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

            compare.

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

            homework.

iii.                  Hay más de veinte chicos en esta clase. = There are more than twenty boys

            in this class.