Book #1, Chapter #6, Grammar, Set #1

Question 1

Conjugate the verb “saber”.

Answer 1

yo sé
tú sabes
usted/él/ella sabe

nosotros/as sabemos
vosotros/as sabéis
ustedes/ellos/ellas saben

Question 2

Conjugate the verb “conocer”.

Answer 2

yo conozco
tu conoces
Usted/él/ella conoce

nosotros/as conocemos
vosotros/as conocéis
ustedes/ellos/ellas conocen

Question 3

What is “the personal a” and how is it used?

Answer 3

When the direct object of the verb “conocer” is a person or pet, the “personal a” is used:

“¿Conoce a Celia Cruz?”: Do you know Celia Cruz?

The personal a is placed before the direct object.

Question 4

What is the special rule about conjugating the verbs “parecer” and “ofrecer”?

Answer 4

They are conjugated like the verb “conocer”.

Question 5

Give all of the indirect object pronouns by number and person.

Answer 5

me (to, for) me
te (to, for) you (familiar)
le (to, for) you (formal), (to, for) him/her

nos (to, for) us
os (to, for) you (familiar plural)
les (to, for) you (formal plural), (to, for) them

Question 6

What is the special rule about stating indirect object nouns in a Spanish sentence?

Answer 6

Spanish speakers often use both an indirect object pronoun and the noun to which it refers in a single sentence. This is done to clarify and emphasize to whom the pronoun refers:

A) Ella la vende la ropa a Elena
B) Les prestamos el dinero a Inés y a Álex.

Question 7

Where are indirect object pronouns usually placed in a Spanish sentence?

Answer 7

Usually before the conjugated form of a verb. In negative sentences, it is placed between “no” and the conjugated form of the verb.

A) Martin me compra un regalo.
Martin is buying me a gift.
B) Eva no me escribe cartas.
Eva doesn’t write me letters.

Question 8

What is the special rule about using indirect object pronouns in sentences with an infinitive or a verb in the present progressive?

Answer 8

When a conjugated verb is followed by an infinitive or the present progressive, the indirect object may be placed before the conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive or the present participle. When an indirect object pronoun is attached to the present participle, an accent mark is added to maintain the proper stress.

A) Él no quiere pagarte/Él no te quiere pagar.
He does not want to pay you.
B) Él está esribiéndo una postal a ella./ Él le está escribiendo una postal a ella.
He is writing a postcard to her.

Question 9

What is the special rule about using the preposition “a” with the indirect pronouns “le” and “les”?

Answer 9

Since the indirect object pronouns le and les have multiple meanings, Spanish speakers often clarify to whom the pronouns refer with the preposition “a” + [pronoun] or “a” + [noun].

A) Yo le compro un abrigo. –> Yo le compro un abrigo a usted/él/ella.
B) Ella le describe un libro –> Ella le describe un libro a Juan.
C) Él les vende unos sombreros –> Él les vende unos sombreros a ustedes/ellos/ellas.
D) Ellos les hablan my claro. –> Ellos les hablan muy claro a los clientes.

Question 10

What is the special rule about the irregular verbs “dar” and “decir” with indirect object pronouns? How are these two verbs conjugated?

Answer 10

The irregular verbs “dar” and “decir” are often used with indirect object pronouns.

Dar:
yo doy
tú das
usted/él/ella da

nosotros/as damos
vosotros/as dais
ustedes/ellos/ellas dan

Decir:
yo digo
tú dices
usted/él/ella dice

nosotros/as decimos
vosotros/as decís
ustedes/ellos/ellas dicen

Question 11

What are the verb endings for the preterite tense of -ar, -er and -ir verbs?

Answer 11

-ar:
yo -é
tú -aste
usted/él/ella -ó

nosotros/as -amos
vosotros/as -asteis
ustedes/ellos/ellas -aron

-er:
yo -í
tú -iste
usted/él/ella -ió

nosotros/as -imos
vosotros/as -isteis
ustedes/ellos/ellas -ieron

-ir:
[same endings as the -er verbs]

Question 12

What is the special rule about -ar and -ir verbs conjugated in the first person plural in the preterite and present tenses?

Answer 12

The two conjugations are identical. Context is the only way to tell which tense is being used.

A) En invierno compramos ropa.
In the winter, we buy clothes.

B) Anoche compramos unos zapatos.
Last night we bought some shoes.

Question 13

What is the special rule about -ar and -er verbs that have a stem change in the present when conjugated in the preterite?

Answer 13

These verbs do not have a stem change in the preterite.

A) Present: La tienda cierra a las seis.
Preterite: La tienda cerró a las seis.

B) Present: Carlitos vuelve tarde.
Preterite: Carlitos volvió.

C) Present: Él juega al fútbol.
Preterite: Él jugó al fútbol.

Question 14

What is the special rule about -ir verbs with a stem change in the present tense when conjugated in the preterite?

Answer 14

These verbs do have a stem change in the preterite (unlike stem-changing -ar and -er verbs).

Question 15

What is the rule about verbs that end in -car, -gar, or -zar when conjugated in the first person singular preterite tense? What about the other persons and numbers?

Answer 15

They have a spelling change in the first person preterite:

A) buscar busc- qu- yo busqué
B) llegar lleg- gu- yo llegué
C) empezar empez- c- yo empecé

Except for the yo form, all other forms of -car, -gar and -zar verbs are regular in the preterite.

Question 16

What is the rule about the verbs creer, leer and oír in the preterite?

Answer 16

The “i” of the verb endings of creer, leer and oír carry an accent in the yo, tú, nosotros/as, and vosotros/as forms. Also, it changes to a “y” in the usted/él/élla and ustedes/ellos/ellas forms.

creer cre- creí, creíste, creyó, creímos, creísteis, creyeron

leer le- leí, leíste, leyó, leímos, leísteis, leyeron

oir o- oí, oíste, oyó, oímos, oísteis, oyeron

Question 17

What happens to the verb “ver” in the preterite?

Answer 17

It is regular in the preterite, but none of its forms have an accent:

ver vi, viste, vio, vimos, visteis, vieron

Question 18

What are some words and phrases commonly used in the preterite?

Answer 18

A) anoche: last night
B) anteayer: the day before yesterday
C) ayer: yesterday
D) de repente: suddenly
E) desde...hasta...: from...until
F) pasado/a (adj.): last, past
G) el año pasado: last year
H) la semana pasada: last week
I) una vez: once
J) dos veces: twice
K) ya: already

A) Ayer llegué a Santiago de Cuba.
Yesterday I arrive in Santiago de Cuba.

B) Anoche oi un ruido extraño.
Last night I heard a strange noise.

Question 19

How is the verb “acabar” used to convey that something has just occurred?

Answer 19

“Acabar de + [infinitive]” is used to say that something has just happened. The verb “acabar” is conjugated into the present tense in this construction:

A) Acabo de comprar una falda.
I just bought a skirt.

B) Acabas de ir de compras.
You just went shopping.

Question 20

Give all the words for the demonstrative adjectives in Spanish according to number and gender.

Answer 20

This/these:
Singular: este (masculine) / esta (feminine)
Plural: estos (masculine) / estas (feminine)

That/those:
Singular: ese (masculine) / esa (feminine)
Plural: esos (masculine) / esas (feminine)

That/those (over there):
Singular: aquel (masculine) / aquella (feminine)
Plural: aquellos (masculine) / aquellas (feminine)

Question 21

Give all of the demonstrative pronouns. How do they compare to their matching demonstrative adjectives?

Answer 21

This/these:
Singular: éste (masculine) / ésta (feminine)
Plural: éstos (masculine) / éstas (feminine)

That/those:
Singular: ése (masculine) / ésa (feminine)
Plural: ésos (masculine) / ésas (feminine)

That/those (over there):
Singular: aquél (masculine) / aquélla (feminine)
Plural: aquéllos (masculine) / aquéllas (feminine)

Question 22

What are the three neuter demonstrative pronouns? When are these pronouns used?

Answer 22

They are “esto” (this), “eso” (that), and “aquello”. These forms refer to unidentified or unspecified things, situations, ideas and concepts. They do not change in gender or number and never carry an accent mark.