Michel Thomas Spanish

This is a summary of information provided by Michel Thomas; it also includes my comments and notes marked in red. (Remember: there are always exceptions.) FOUNDATION NOTES c or z is pronounced as a soft s. In some parts of Spain, it is pronounced as th in front of an e or i. Avoid using this form. Key endings: words ending in -ible and -able are pronounced differently but often have the same meaning. Use no to make negative sentences. Inflection is not necessary if you use a question word like why (por qu?). o verb ending expresses I, so theres no need to use the Spanish for I (yo). If you do use yo, then it makes it more emphatic. Key endings: English ent and -ant endings become -ente and -ante in Spanish. diferente, importante, restaurante, constante, evidente, urgente hablo, como, vivo Add before the first verb in the sentence Use stress to avoid confusion. porque ~ because es posible ~ no es posible Por qu no es aceptable para usted as? Porque no es bueno. posible, aceptable cero, decir [thero, dethir]

There is only one stressed syllable per word in Spanish. When a word ends in a vowel, the stress will usually be on the penultimate syllable. h is not pronounced in Spanish. g before e and i is pronounced like ch, as in Scottish loch. When a word ends in a consonant, the stress will be placed on the last syllable. Key endings: English words ending in -ary end in -ario in Spanish. Key endings: English words ending in -ory end in orio. Pronunciation of Spanish v is the same as b. If there are two or more consecutive verbs in a sentence, the second and subsequent verbs will be in the full form (the to form in English, i.e. the infinitive). Key endings: words in English ending in -ence and -ance end in -encia and -ancia in Spanish. Exception: documentary ~ documental More like 'h' in English.

importante

gimnasio, gente

flor, animal

necesario, contrario, vocabulario accesorio, obligatorio

Puede verlo

diferencia, importancia, preferencia, influencia

Key endings: words ending in -ion, -tion, and -ation in English end in -in, -cin, and acin in Spanish. puede is used both for can you? (question) and will you please (polite request). The difference is in the inflection. Verbs that are derived from nouns that are similar in English and Spanish will also be similar. To make the verb in Spanish, you just add -ar to the English. The whole form of a verb, the infinitive, is expressed with to in English (for example, to eat). In Spanish, it is expressed in an ending. There are three types of verbs: -ar, -er, -ir. All Spanish verbs have an -r at the end, so the stress is on the last syllable.

Exception: translation ~ traduccin.

condicin, reservacin, posicin, explicacin, atencin

Puede hacerlo para m por favor

form - formar, confirm confirmar

hablar, comer, vivir

Michels NOSE rule: words ending in -n, -s or any vowel are stressed on the penultimate syllable; words ending in any other consonant are stressed on the last syllable. Words that are stressed in defiance of the NOSE rule have a written accent to show the stress. There are two types of me: m as in para m (for me) and me as in verme (to see me). Key endings: words ending in -ical in English end in -ico in Spanish. To say the political situation in Spanish, you say the situation political (la situacin poltica). poltico changes to poltica because situacin is a la word (feminine). In Spanish, you make a distinction between masculine (Roberto) and feminine (Roberta). Dont confuse cunto (how much) with cundo (when). est (with an accent) means you are but esta means this.

Mrida, Mxico, situacin, impresin

poltico, econmico, filosfico, lgico

Add s to make plurals in Spanish.

Correction: that rule is for words ending in vowels, but add 'es' for words ending in consonants

buenos das [flores, animales]

For all verbs, the form for you is the same for he/she/it. Use a clarifier if it is not clear whom you are talking about. For example, Dnde est? could mean Where are you? or Where is he/she/it?. You can add l (he), ella (she) or usted (you) to make it clear (Dnde est el/ella/usted?).

'you' in this context is the polite/formal 'usted' form

Va a - you are/he is/she is/it is going to.

There are two verbs in Spanish for to be estar and ser. estar expresses to be as a state of being: how one is, where one is. The word estado from estar means state (los Estados Unidos, United States). ser can also be a noun: el ser means the being (el ser humano, the human being). ser expresses the characteristics of who one is and what one is. estar expresses variable characteristics. ser expresses [more or less] permanent characteristics. listo has two meanings: ready and clever. ready is not a permanent characteristic, so you use estar. clever is a permanent characteristic, so you use ser.

ser - soy, eres, es, somos, son; estar estoy, ests, est, estamos, estn

Pablo est bien vestido hoy. Pablo es bien vestido. Notice the difference: es bien vestido 'he is always well dressed' est bien vestido 'he is well dressed (today)'.

Soy listo - I am clever. Estoy listo - I am ready.

Michels definition of verb, adjective and noun: Any word in front of which you can place the article the is a noun: the happiness, the pride, the situation, the condition. Any word in front of which you can place am or is is an adjective: happy, proud. Any word in front of which you can place to is a verb: to be, to have, to go, to see. Verbs are the backbone of a language. If you know how to handle the verbs, you know how to handle the whole language. Whenever there are two or three consecutive verbs, the second or third verb will be in the full form of the verb with the r at the end (the infinitive). If another verb follows a verb of coming and going, use a. Puede venir a verlo conmigo esta noche Can you come to see it with me tonight. Puede venir conmigo can you come with me

Stress in the present tense is on the syllable before last (the penultimate syllable). If there are only two syllables, you stress the first syllable. English am/is + -ing is usually expressed with just the present tense in Spanish. The Spanish -ing tense expresses what you are doing right now. -ing becomes -iendo (saliendo). For you are saying, e in decir becomes i in dice. what at the beginning of a sentence is qu. In the middle of a sentence, what is lo que. The combination of want and say in Spanish means to mean. There are three types of verbs: -ar, -er and -ir. They are divided into two categories or tracks: the -ar track and the er/-ir track. Endings in Spanish, even unstressed, need to be very clear.

Exceptions to the present tense rule: estoy, est; voy, va.

At what time (hour) are you leaving? - A qu hora sale? Estoy saliendo - I am in the process of leaving right now.

decir - to say

Qu dice? - What are you saying? No s lo que quiere. - I don't know what you want.

tense form of querer + decir

No entiendo muy bien lo que quiere decir. - I dont understand very well what you mean. hablar, comprar, preparar; comprender, escribir, hacer, salir

For they, you just add an n after a or e depending on which track you are on. The same n you use for they also goes for you all (you plural). There are only a few exceptions in the entire Spanish language where you dont have a clear o for the I form. There are four exceptions where you have oy instead of o. One exception where there is no o at all for the I form is the verb to know. In Spanish, you have two words for you. With family members and friends [informal], you may switch from the use of usted to t. For t you add s to a or e at the end of the verb. If you switch tracks in the present tense (from a to e or e to a), that gives you the imperative (the command). If you take out the t in este and esta, then you have that.

'you all' in this context is the polite/formal 'ustedes' form; vosotros form is used mostly in Spain

hablan - they speak; lo hacen - they do it.

soy (ser - to be), estoy (estar - to be), voy (ir to go), doy (dar - to give)

s (saber - to know)

Hablas ingls? - Do you speak English? (to Roberto/Roberta)

Hable espaol conmigo! - Speak Spanish with me! Compra el libro! - Buy this book! (to Roberto/Roberta). Esperemos aqu. - Let's wait here. Ese libro - That book; Esa mesa - That table.

If you want to say this without a noun, use esto. If you use the positive command with a pronoun (me, him, it), add the pronoun to the end of the verb. Dont add the pronoun to the verb in the negative command. For we the verb ending is -mos. Whenever you want to use we, go to the whole verb, drop the r and add -mos. go-go verbs: some verbs add a g before the o in the I form.

using previous note: 'eso' Quiero ver esto y eso - I is 'that' want to see this and that. Cmprelo! - Buy it! No los compre! - Don't buy them.

The verb ir (to go) is an exception: we go is vamos. voy, vas, va, vamos, van

hablamos, comemos, vivimos

tengo (tener), vengo (venir), salgo (salir), pongo (poner), traigo (traer), caigo (caer), oigo (or)

Verbs in English with pose will be formed with -poner in Spanish. to do and to say are short go-go verbs. The go-go verbs turn ga-ga in the imperative. for he/she/it/you (ud.)/we/they in both affirmative and negative forms and for the 't' in the negative form add 's'

to oppose oponer, to suppose suponer, to compose componer. hago (hacer), digo (decir) diga, digamos, digan, no digas

There is only one occasion when you dont switch tracks in the imperative: in the positive imperative to Roberto or Roberta you dont switch tracks and you dont use the s. Use se for himself/herself/yourself /themselves.

't' form in affirmative imperative is the 'you/he/she/it' form in present tense

oye, habla, come [some exceptions: ten, ven, di]

use 'me' for 'myself', 'te' for 'yourself' (Roberto/Roberta), and 'nos' for 'ourselves'; these verbs are called reflexive verbs

me levanto, te levantas, se levanta, nos levantamos, se levantan [se levantar - to lift oneself up which means to get up]

Usually words ending in a are la words. da is an exception (el da). Words ending in o are el words. mano is an exception (la mano). Words ending in ma are el words (el problema). ourselves in Spanish has two meanings: it can mean ourselves and each other. The present tense is widely used in Spanish to talk about the future. If you use the present tense to talk about the future, you need to use words such as maana, la semana que viene (next week), etc. going is also frequently used to talk about the future. Nos vemos - We see ourselves or We see each other. Hasta nos vemos. Until we meet (see each other) again. Te llamo maana. / Le llamo maana. - I call you tomorrow. Voy a llamarle maana. - I am going to call you Voy a llamarle maana. tomorrow.

To construct the future tense: for I will you use the whole verb and hit the ending of the verb with -r; for you will (Roberto) add -rs; for he/she/it will and you will (ud.) add -r; for we will you add -remos; and for they/you all (uds.) will add -rn. Go-go verbs in the future tense need a d before -r (-dr). For digo (decir) and hago (hacer) drop the go and add -r. The conditional (would) follows the same pattern as will, but the ending is -ra. Rio is river, make it ra and you are in the "woods" it is same for I/he/she/it/you (ud.) would, for 'you would' (Roberta) add -ras, for 'we would' add -ramos, for 'they/you all (uds.) would' add -ran correction: this only applies to verbs that end in -ner, -nir, -ler, -lir

hablar - hablar, hablars, hablar, hablaremos, hablarn; comer - comer, comers, comer, comeremos, comern; vivir - vivir, vivirs, vivir, viviremos, vivirn.

tendr (tener), pondr (poner), vendr (venir), valdr (valer), saldr (salir) har, dir

hablar - hablra, hablaras, hablara, hablaramos, hablaran comer - comera, comeras, comera, comeramos, comeran vivir - vivira, viviras, vivira, viviramos, viviran

Applying the conditional tense based on the future tense to the gogo verbs ending in -ner, -nir, -ler, -lir. For 'digo' and 'hago' drop the 'go' and add ra. Whenever you have two pronouns, the personal pronoun comes first.

tendra, pondra, vendra, valdra, saldra

hara, dira; Querer querra Me lo manda. - He is sending it to me.

Whenever you have two verbs and the second one is in its infinitive form and the personal pronouns are add to the end of the infintive verb. Whenever you have the combination of le and lo, you change the l of le to an s and you make it se lo. The se doesnt mean oneself in this case. So se lo means it to you. To clarify use a + el, ella, ud., ellos, ellas, uds. Different ways to express the same thought: quiero (I want), me gusta (I like), me gustara (I would like), quisiera (I may want). How to form the past participle: It depends on which track you are on. On the -ar track, you dive into -ado. On the er/-ir track, you dive into -ido. In Spanish, there are two verbs for to have. The verb to have is the diving board you need to dive into the past, which in this case is haber and not tener. haber is the auxiliary verb for compound tense conjugation

Va a mandarmelo - He is going to send it to me. No se lo diga. Dont tell it to him.

Se lo mando. - I am sending it to you. Voy a mandrselo. - I am going to send it to you. Digaselo a ellos. Tell it to them.

Me gustara verlos - I would like to see them.

hablar - hablado; comer, comido; vivir - vivido [some exceptions hacer - hecho, decir - dicho, ver - visto, poner puesto]

To obtain the different forms of haber in the present tense, take the future tense ending, drop the r and add a silent h. In the future you have: -r, -rs, -r, -remos, -rn. For haber you will have: he, has, ha, hemos, han. Past tense = present tense of haber + past participle of the verb. He comprado algo. - I have bought something. Has ganado. - You (Roberto) have won. Lo ha vendido. - He has sold it. No hemos hecho nada. - We have done nothing. Me han dicho. They have told me. Past tense with -ing: Whenever you have -ing preceded by was or were, its the past tense with -ing. The w-ing tense: to express was/were + -ing you use -aba on the -ar track. On the -er/-ir track, you use -a. Haber (aux.) habra, habras, habra, habramos, , habran Ir iba, ibas, iba, bamos, iban Ser era, eras, era, ramos, eran Iba a drselo I was going to give it to you (he/her). Era importante It was important. I would have done it. Yo lo habra hecho. hablaba, hablabas, hablaba, hablamos, hablaban coma, comas, coma, comamos, coman viva, vivas, viva, vivamos, vivan

The w-ing tense (-aba, a) in Spanish expresses a straight line in the past. It is used for short and long periods in the past. The w-ing tense also expresses a broken line in the past, such as I used to do it or I did it very often / all the time. para means for, but in front of a verb it means in order to. acabo de + infinitive is I have just . present tense of acabar + de + infinitive of verb; acabo, acabas, acaba, acabamos, acaban hace (it makes) is also used for ago.

Lo haca todos los das. He did it everyday.

para saber - in order to know Acabo de salir - I've just left

I have just arrived here two days ago. Acabo de llegar aqu hace dos das.

ADVANCED NOTES In Spanish, there are two verbs for to know. One is for general knowledge (saber); the other is for acquaintance with a person or place (conocer). With the go-go verbs in the positive command to Roberto (or Roberta), you drop the -go altogether. Use of the personal a. [use with people] Dmelo tell it to me! Ven conmigo come with me! Tenlo have it! Ponlo aqu put it there! Sal Leave! Conoce a Pedro? Conoce Madrid? No lo conozco. I dont know him. No lo s. I dont know it.

How and when to use the subjunctive (command tense). The command tense has the same push as the present tense. Its rarely used in English. In the sentence it is important that you be here, be is subjunctive. The subjunctive is used quite a lot in Spanish. To form the subjunctive you just switch tracks, from a to e and from e to a. It is used to express doubt or uncertainty. Es importante que est aqu. - It is important that you be here. No es necesario que me espere. - It is not necessary that you wait for me. Because its very important that you write to me. - Porque es muy importante que me escriba. Words in Spanish never start with sc, st or sp. Theres always an e at the beginning: esc, est, esp. In Spanish, you cannot say I want you to <do something>. You must say I want that you <do something>. Use the command tense in Spanish in this context. The simple past (without diving): I bought it instead of I have bought it. In the simple past, the stress is on the last syllable: past is last. Endings for the simple past (regular) -ar track I - ; you aste; you (ud.)/he/she ; we amos; they/you all (uds.) -aron -er/ir track I -; you iste; you (ud.)/she/he i; we imos; they/you all (uds.) ieron [use clarifiers for we in the simple past to make it clearer] For -er verbs you use imos, so there is a difference between the simple past and the present. Lo tom I took it. Lo tom He/she/you took it. Sal I left. Sali He/she/you left. Me llamaron They called me. No comieron They didnt eat. A qu hora me llamaste? At what time did you call me? Hablamos ayer we spoke yesterday. Salimos ayer we left yesterday Comimos we ate. Quiero que lo haga. - I want you to do it Escuela, estudiar, especial

Hacer hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicieron Querer quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisieron Estar estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvieron Conducir conduje, condujiste, condujo, condujimos, condujeron Poder pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudieron Decir dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijeron Venir vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinieron Ser fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron Ir fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron Haber (aux.) hube, hubiste, hubo, hubimos, hubieron Tener tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvieron Traer traje, trajiste, trajo, trajimos, trajeron Andar anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvieron Dar di, diste, dio, dimos, dieron Ver vi, viste, vio, vimos, vieron Poner puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusieron Saber supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supieron (Supe is used only when you knew something at that moment else use Sabia.) Fue posible It was possible. Fui a verlo I went to see it.