2.3 Lesson Flashcards
The preterite (past) verb tense, "here" and "there" recap, and demonstrative adjectives
What is the preterite tense in Spanish?
The preterite is one of two past tenses in Spanish. It is associated with a single action that is terminated and complete, rather than an action that was ongoing for a period of time.
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I studied with my cousins
Estudié con mis primos
I studied - estudié
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Do you think that I studied last night? Because I didn’t study
¿Piensas que estudié anoche? Porque no estudié
last night - anoche
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Rodrigo, did you study with your girlfriend?
Rodrigo, ¿estudiaste con tu novia?
you studied - estudiaste
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That is not true; María did not study with my sister. She studied with my cousin
Eso no es verdad; María no estudió con mi hermana. Estudió con mi primo
he/she studied - estudió
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Since Raquel did not study yesterday, she is scared to take the test today
Como Raquel no estudió ayer, entonces tiene miedo de tomar el examen hoy
yesterday - ayer
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What are you saying? We did study yesterday!
¿Qué dices? ¡Nosotros sí estudiamos ayer!
we studied - estudiamos
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You (vosotros) did not study last night
Vosotros no estudiasteis anoche
you (vosotros) studied - estudiasteis
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Maite and Ricardo studied for their art test
Maite y Ricardo estudiaron para su examen de arte
they, you (uds) studied - estudiaron
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TO STUDY (Preterite Tense)
- I studied
- You studied
- He/She studied
- We studied
- You studied
- They studied
ESTUDIAR (Tiempo Pretérito)
- Yo estudié
- Tú estudiaste
- Él/Ella/Ud estudió
- Nosotros estudiamos
- Vosotros estudiasteis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds estudiaron
What are the endings of regular - ar verbs (such as estudiar) conjugated in the preterite?
Regular Preterite -ar endings
- -é (yo)
- -aste (tú)
- -ó (él, ella, usted)
- -amos (nosotros)
- -asteis (vosotros)
- -aron (ellos, ellas)
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I did not learn anything this year. Did you?
No aprendí nada este año, ¿y tú?
I learned - aprendí. Note that -í is the regular preterite ending for both -er and -ir verbs in the first person singluar form (yo)
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Miguel, you didn’t learn anything in this class
Miguel, tú no aprendiste nada en esta clase
you learned - aprendiste
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What did José learn from reading this book?
¿Qué aprendió José de leer este libro?
he/she learned - aprendió
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Monica and I learned to drive yesterday
Monica y yo aprendimos a conducir ayer
we learned - aprendimos
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Did you (vosotros) learn how to cook at home?
¿Aprendisteis a cocinar en casa?
you (vosotros) learned - aprendisteis
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They say that they didn’t learn anything this year
Dicen que no aprendieron nada este año
they learned - aprendieron
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TO LEARN (Preterite Tense)
- I learned
- You learned
- He/She learned
- We learned
- You learned
- They learned
APRENDER (Tiempo pretérito)
- Yo aprendí
- Tú aprendiste
- Él/Ella/Ud aprendió
- Nosotros aprendimos
- Vosotros aprendisteis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds aprendieron
What are the endings of regular - er and -ir verbs (such as aprender) conjugated in the preterite?
Regular Preterite -er and -ir endings
- -í (yo)
- -iste (tú)
- -ió (él, ella, usted)
- -imos (nosotros)
- -isteis (vosotros)
- -ieron (ellos, ellas)
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This is the last dessert that we have
Este es el último postre que tenemos
last - último. Note that último can be used as both an adjective and as an adverb
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Did you learn anything last year?
¿Aprendiste algo el año pasado?
last year - el año pasado. Note that that you are literally saying “the year past”. This would apply whenever you are talking about time that has gone by, such as a year, a month, or a week: el año pasado, el mes pasado, or la semana pasada
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I lived in Mexico last year
Yo viví en México el año pasado
I lived - viví. Note that vivir follows a regular -ir ending pattern of conjugation in the preterite
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Marcos, did you live in a big house?
Marcos, ¿viviste en una casa grande?
you lived - viviste
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Our professor lived in this building right here
Nuestro profesor vivió en este edificio aquí
he/she lived - vivió
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We never lived in Spain; we lived in Mexico
Nunca vivimos en España; vivimos en México
we lived - vivimos
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Alejandro says that you (vosotros) lived with your grandmother
Alejandro dice que vosotros vivisteis con vuestra abuela
you (vosotros) lived - vivisteis
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Did Pepe, Esperanza, and Xavier live there?
¿Vivieron allí Pepe, Esperanza y Xavier?
they lived - vivieron
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TO LIVE (Preterite Tense)
- I lived
- You lived
- He/She lived
- We lived
- You lived
- They lived
VIVIR (Tiempo Pretérito)
- Yo viví
- Tú viviste
- Él/Ella/Ud vivió
- Nosotros vivimos
- Vosotros vivisteis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds vivieron
Remember that the conjugation of regular -ir verbs in the preterite is the same as for -er verbs
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Maricarmen never cleaned the kitchen
Maricarmen nunca limpió la cocina
to clean - limpiar
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We watched a movie last night
Vimos una película anoche
movie - la película
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The movie ended at midnight
La película terminó a medianoche
to end - terminar
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I already sent the letter
Ya mandé la carta
to send, to command - mandar. Remember that we can use both enviar and mandar to mean “to send”
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You never sent the email
Nunca mandaste el correo electrónico
email - el correo electrónico. Note that correo also means regular “mail”, and that some countries simply use the English word “email” in their Spanish conversation
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Did Jaime receive the email?
¿Recibió Jaime el correo electrónico?
Note that Spanish does not have an equivalent helping verb to the English word “Did”. Instead, we simply begin the question with the conjugated verb, and place the subject directly after it
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My sister’s baby is going to be born in three days
El bebé de mi hermana va a nacer en tres días
to be born - nacer
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My grandmother was born ninety-nine years ago
Mi abuela nació hace noventa y nueve años
(length of time) ago - hace (medida de tiempo)
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And the man came out suddenly
Y el hombre salió de repente
suddenly - de repente
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The female students are over here with us
Las estudiantes están acá con nosotros
over here - acá
What are the uses of aquí, acá, allí, and allá?
- aquí, acá –>“here”. The variation in meaning depends on the country
- allí –>“there” and means that something is less near
- allá –>“over there” and means that something is farther
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I do not want that orange; I want that one that is way over there
No quiero esa naranja; quiero aquella que está allá
that one - aquel. Note that aquel expresses that the object is far away. Also note that the plural for aquel is aquellos
What is the meaning of este, esta, esto and their respective plural forms?
- este –> masculine for “this”; estos–> masculine plural for “these”
- esta –> feminine for “this”; estas –> feminine plural for “these”
- esto –> gender neutral for “this” and is never followed by a noun
- éste –> masculine for “this one”; éstos –> masculine plural for “these ones”. They are never followed by a noun
- ésta –> feminine for “this one”; éstas –> feminine plural for “these ones”. They are never followed by a noun
What is the meaning of ese, esa, eso and their respective plural forms?
- ese –> masculine for “that”; esos –> masculine plural for “those”
- esa –> feminine for “that” ; esas –> feminine plural for “those”
- eso –> gender neutral for “that” and is never followed by a noun
What is the meaning of aquel, aquella, aquello and their respective plural forms?
- aquel –> masculine for “that one over there”; aquellos –> masculine plural for “those over there”
- aquella –> feminine for “that one over there”; aquellas –> feminine plural for “those over there”
- aquello –> gender neutral for “that over there” and is never followed by a noun
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I was a good student
Yo fui un buen estudiante
I was - fui. Note that fui is the irregular preterite form of ser (“to be”) in the first person singular (yo). Also note that fui indicates that at one time you were a good student. If you mean to say that you “used to be” a good student during a protracted amount of time, you would use the imperfect tense, which we will learn later.
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You were Marta’s friend, but you’re not her friend anymore
Fuiste amigo de Marta, pero ahora ya no eres su amigo
you were - fuiste
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Pamela was an art teacher
Pamela fue maestra de arte
he/she was - fue
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Jaime and I were best friends
Jaime y yo fuimos mejores amigos
we were - fuimos
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You (vosotras) were beautiful
Vosotras fuisteis guapas
you (vosotros/as) were - fuisteis
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TO BE (ser, Preterite Tense)
- I was
- You were
- He/She was
- We were
- You were
- They were
SER (Tiempo Pretérito)
- Yo fui
- Tú fuiste
- Él/Ella/Ud fue
- Nosotros fuimos
- Vosotros fuisteis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds fueron
Note that the conjugations for ser in the preterite tense are irregular and are conjugated the same as they are for ir
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TO GO (Preterite Tense)
- I went
- You went
- He/She went
- We went
- You went
- They went
IR (Tiempo Pretérito)
- Yo fui
- Tú fuiste
- Él/Ella/Ud fue
- Nosotros fuimos
- Vosotros fuisteis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds fueron
Remember that the conjugations for ir in the preterite tense are irregular and are the same as they are for ser
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I went to the restaurant with my aunt and uncle
Fui al restaurante con mis tíos
I went - fui. Note that the irregular preterite forms of ir are exactly the same as they are for ser
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José, did you go to school yesterday?
José, ¿fuiste a la escuela ayer?
you went - fuiste
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Paloma did not go to the beach last week
Paloma no fue a la playa la semana pasada
he/she went - fue
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Our grandmother is sick; therefore we didn’t go to her house on Sunday
Nuestra abuela está enferma, entonces no fuimos a su casa el domingo
we went - fuimos
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Did you (vosotros) go to art class at noon?
¿Fuisteis a la clase de arte a mediodía?
you (vosotros) went - fuisteis
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They didn’t go to swim; they went to eat
Ellos no fueron a nadar; fueron a comer
they went - fueron
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They say she left with Marcos. I don’t believe it
Dicen que se fue con Marcos. No lo creo yo
While in English, placing spoken emphasis on the subject (“I don’t believe it”) is enough to convey semantic emphasis, in Spanish we emphasize the subject by placing it after the verb
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I was in Pepe’s house all afternoon
Estuve en casa de Pepe toda la tarde
I was - estuve. Note that in the preterite tense, estar follows an irregular conjugation pattern
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Were you in the kitchen? Because someone cooked my chicken
¿Estuviste en la cocina? Porque alguién cocinó mi pollo
you were - estuviste
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Fernanda was not with Marcos; she was with Maite
Fernanda no estuvo con Marcos; estuvo con Maite
he/she was - estuvo
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Mauricio walked from here up to over there
Mauricio caminó desde aquí hasta allá
until, to, up to - hasta
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They went up to the Atlantic coast
Fueron hasta la costa del Atlántico
coast - la costa
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Thanks for coming Mauricio. I’ll see you later!
Gracias por venir Mauricio, y ¡hasta luego!
see you later - hasta luego. This literally means “until later”
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Valentina and her mom are never in agreement
Valentina y su mamá nunca están de acuerdo
in agreement - de acuerdo
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Alright mom, I will come home early
De acuerdo mamá, voy a volver a casa temprano OR Está bien mamá . . .
alright - está bien, de acuerdo
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Alright, I will go with you to Marta’s house on Friday night. See you soon!
Está bien, voy a ir contigo a la casa de Marta el viernes por la noche. ¡Hasta pronto!
see you soon - hasta pronto
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See you tomorrow Carlos!
¡Hasta mañana Carlos!
see you tomorrow - hasta mañana
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Even the chef is hungry
Hasta el cocinero tiene hambre
Note that the word hasta loosely translates to the English word “even” in this case. Think of it as, “[Everyone], up to the chef, is hungry”
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We were with Ana from five in the afternoon until dawn. What a crazy night!
Estuvimos con Ana desde las cinco de la tarde hasta la madrugada. ¡Qué noche tan loca!
we were - estuvimos
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TO BE (estar, Preterite)
- I was
- You were
- He/She was
- We were
- You were
- They were
ESTAR (Tiempo Pretérito)
- Yo estuve
- Tú estuviste
- Él/Ella/Ud estuvo
- Nosotros estuvimos
- Vosotros estuvisteis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds estuvieron
Remember that the conjugations for estar in the preterite tense are irregular
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I didn’t do that, it was Miguel
Yo no hice eso, fue Miguel
I did/made - hice. Note that hice is the irregular preterite form of hacer in the first person singular. All preterite forms of hacer are irregular
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You did all of this for your girlfriend? You are such a good boyfriend!
¿Hiciste todo esto para tu novia? ¡Eres un novio tan bueno!
you did/made - hiciste
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Linda did not do her homework, and now she wants to go out. What are we going to do with her?
Linda no hizo su tarea y ahora quiere salir. ¿Qué vamos a hacer con ella?
he/she did/made - hizo
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We didn’t make anything for dinner and now we are very hungry
No hicimos nada de cenar y ahora tenemos mucha hambre
we did/made - hicimos
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Marcos is not Silvia’s boyfriend anymore
Marcos ya no es novio de Silvia
not anymore - ya no
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What did you (vosotros) do? I can’t deal with you anymore!
¿Qué hicisteis? ¡Ya no puedo más con vosotros!
you (vosotros) did/made - hicisteis
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They did their homework until ten at night, but they finished.
Hicieron su tarea hasta las diez de la noche, pero ya terminaron
they did/made - hicieron
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TO DO/MAKE (Preterite)
- I made
- You made
- He/She made
- We made
- You made
- They made
Hacer (Tiempo Pretérito)
- Yo hice
- Tú hiciste
- Él/Ella/Ud hizo
- Nosotros hicimos
- Vosotros hicisteis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds hicieron
Remember that the conjugations for hacer in the preterite tense are irregular
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I had a dream last night
Tuve un sueño anoche
I had - tuve. Note that tuve is the irregular preterite form of tener in the first person singular. All the preterite forms of tener are irregular
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Did you have to go to the beach with your family this weekend?
¿Tuviste que ir a la playa con tu familia este fín de semana?
you had (to) - tuviste (que)
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Do you know if Margarita had to read all of those books for today?
¿Sabes si Margarita tuvo que leer todos esos libros para hoy?
he/she had (to) - tuvo (que)
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This time, we only had two hours to finish the exam
Esta vez sólo tuvimos dos horas para terminar el examen
we had - tuvimos
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Do you know if Mariana finished making lunch?
¿Sabes si Mariana ya terminó de hacer el almuerzo?
to finish - terminar de. Note that when terminar goes before the verb, you must add de after the verb, terminar + de + infinitive
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I know that Esperanza and Raquel had to do a lot of things, but I think that they already finished
Sé que Esperanza y Raquel tuvieron que hacer muchas cosas, pero creo que ya terminaron
they had - tuvieron
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TO HAVE (Preterite Tense)
- I had
- You had
- He/She had
- We had
- You had
- They had
TENER (Tiempo Pretérito)
- Yo tuve
- Tú tuviste
- Él/Ella/Ud tuvo
- Nosotros tuvimos
- Vosotros tuvisteis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds tuvieron
Remember that the conjugations for tener in the preterite tense are irregular
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I never knew that she went out at five
Nunca supe que ella salió a las cinco
I knew - supe. Note that supe is the irregular preterite form of saber in the first person singular. All preterite forms of saber are irregular
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You didn’t know (preterite) that Mariana was here yesterday?
¿No supiste que Mariana estuvo aquí ayer?
you knew - supiste
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We are not going to enter because I am afraid of the house
No vamos a entrar porque tengo miedo de la casa
to enter - entrar
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We didn’t know how to get to your house yesterday
Ayer no supimos como llegar a tu casa
we knew - supimos
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Did you (vosotros) know how to cook the meat?
¿Supisteis como cocinar la carne?
you (vosotros) knew - supisteis
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Maricarmen and Eduardo never knew that I know your brother
Maricarmen y Eduardo nunca supieron que yo conozco a tu hermano
they knew - supieron
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TO KNOW (Preterite)
- I knew
- You knew
- He/She knew
- We knew
- You knew
- They knew
SABER (Tiempo Pretérito)
- Yo supe
- Tú supiste
- Él/Ella/Ud supo
- Nosotros supimos
- Vosotros supisteis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds supieron
Remember that the conjugations for saber in the preterite tense are irregular
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Poor Miguel, he never knew why Sandra didn’t want to be his girlfriend
Pobre Miguel, nunca supo por qué Sandra no quiso ser su novia
poor (unfortunate) - pobre. If pobre is used before the noun, it means “unfortunate”. If used after the noun, it means “without money”
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Beautiful people are not always very interesting
La gente bella no siempre es muy interesante
people - la gente. Note that in Spanish, the word gente is treated like a singular noun, and verbs are conjugated accordingly
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The poor people from here don’t have money to buy food
La gente pobre de aquí no tiene dinero para comprar comida
poor (without money) - pobre. If pobre is used before the noun, it means “unfortunate”. If used after the noun, it means “without money”
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I can’t believe that you spent all of your money on me
No puedo creer que gastaste todo tu dinero en mí
to spend (money) - gastar
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I spent three hours at the hospital
Pasé tres horas en el hospital
to spend (time) - pasar
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There is so much poverty in the world
Hay tanta pobreza en el mundo
poverty - la pobreza
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In this world there are a lot of poor people
En este mundo hay mucha gente pobre
world - el mundo
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Those people are angry because of so much poverty
Esas personas están enojadas a causa de tanta pobreza
people (individuals) - las personas (f). The word personas is used instead of gente when emphasizing their individualilty. Gente is used more to refer to collective groups
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Sofía calls her boyfriend every day
Sofía llama a su novio todos los días
to call - llamar
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I couldn’t go out because I didn’t do my homework
No pude salir porque no hice mi tarea
I could - pude. Note that pude is the preterite of poder and that poder can also be translated as “to be able to”
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Were you able to go to the museum yesterday?
¿Pudiste ir al museo ayer?
you could - pudiste
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Do you (uds) know if María was able to go to the beach with Alejandro?
¿Saben si María pudo ir a la playa con Alejandro?
he/she could - pudo
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We couldn’t call on time. We are sorry
No pudimos llamar a tiempo. Lo sentimos
we could - pudimos
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You (vosotros) were not able to go, right?
Vosotros no pudisteis ir, ¿verdad?
you (vosotros) could - pudisteis
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They were not able to travel to Spain, and now they are sad
Ellos no pudieron viajar a España, y ahora están tristes
they could - pudieron
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TO BE ABLE TO (Preterite)
- I could
- You could
- He/She could
- We could
- You could
- They could
PODER (Tiempo Pretérito)
- Yo pude
- Tú pudiste
- Él/Ella/Ud pudo
- Nosotros pudimos
- Vosotros pudisteis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds pudieron
Remember that the conjugations for poder in the preterite tense are irregular
