Lesson 7 Flashcards
Common irregular verbs in the present tense
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to begin
comenzar, empezar
to begin - comenzar, empezar. Note that both empezar and comenzar are irregular verbs that belong to the category of verbs that change their base from -e- to -ie
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I begin to write my book today
Hoy empiezo a escribir mi libro
I begin - empiezo
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You begin your math class today
Hoy empiezas tu clase de matemáticas
you begin - empiezas. Note that hoy can also be placed at the end of the sentence, as it is in English, but serves as emphasis when used at the beginning of the sentence
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Pablo begins to take pictures of his family
Pablo empieza a tomar fotos de su familia
he/she begins - empieza
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You (usted) begin to run
Usted empieza a correr
you (ud) begin - empieza
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My dad and I begin to work in our house
Mi papá y yo empezamos a trabajar en nuestra casa
we begin - empezamos
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You (vosotros) begin your essays
Vosotros empezáis vuestros ensayos
you (vosotros) - empezáis
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You and Jaime begin (ustedes) your Spanish class
Tú y Jaime empiezan su clase de español
you (uds) begin - empiezan
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Rafa and Daniel begin to talk to Sandra
Rafa y Daniel empiezan a hablar con Sandra
they begin - empiezan
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TO BEGIN
- I begin
- You begin
- He/She begins
- We begin
- You begin
- They begin
EMPEZAR
- Yo empiezo
- Tú empiezas
- Él/Ella/Ud empieza
- Nosotros empezamos
- Vosotros empezáis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds empiezan
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José closes the door to his room
José cierra la puerta de su cuarto
to close - cerrar. Follows the same -e- to -ie- base change pattern as empezar
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My cousins lie to their parents
Mis primos mienten a sus padres
to lie - mentir. Follows the same -e- to -ie- base change pattern as empezar
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I think that your idea is very good
Pienso que tu idea es muy buena
to think - pensar. Follows the same -e- to -ie- base change pattern as empezar. Note that creo (“I believe”) can also be used to mean “I think” when referring to an idea, but pienso is used when describing deeper reflection
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Rocío always thinks about you, Roberto
Rocío siempre piensa en ti, Roberto
to think about - pensar en
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I want a big house
Quiero una casa grande
to want - querer. Follows the same -e- to -ie- base change pattern as empezar
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I want that
Quiero eso
that - eso. Note that in Spanish, eso is gender neutral and is used for unidentified objects or abstract concepts
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I want this
Quiero esto
this - esto. Note that in Spanish, esto is gender neutral and is used for unidentified objects or abstract concepts
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I want that book
Quiero ese libro
that - ese, esa. When the object is known, we use the gender-specific adjective ese or esa before it, rather than the neutral pronoun eso
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Do they sell shoes at that store?
¿Venden zapatos en esa tienda?
store - la tienda
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These shoes are new
Estos zapatos son nuevos
new - nuevo
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We want this magazine
Queremos esta revista
this - este, esta. When the object is known, we use the gender-specific adjective este or esta before it, rather than the neutral pronoun esto
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You (plural) want to work in the United States
Ustedes quieren trabajar en los Estados Unidos
to want to ___ - querer + (infinitive)
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Miguel prefers my house to his house
Miguel prefiere mi casa a su casa
to prefer - preferir. Follows the same -e- to -ie- base change pattern as empezar. Note that the construction “I prefer this to that” is Prefiero esto a eso
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My little cousin (f.) does not understand when we speak Spanish
Mi primita no entiende cuando hablamos español
to understand - entender, comprender. Follows the same -e- to -ie- base change pattern as empezar. Note that the synonym comprender is used a bit less frequently than entender
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We do not want to lose our pens
No queremos perder nuestros bolígrafos
to lose - perder. Follows the same -e- to -ie- base change pattern as empezar
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to move
mover
to move - mover. Note that mover is an irregular verb that belongs to a category of verbs that change their base from -o- to -ue-. Also note that mover does not mean to move from one house/country/state to another
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I move the tables with my brothers
Muevo las mesas con mis hermanos
I move - muevo
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You do not move your feet when you dance
Tú no mueves los pies cuando bailas
you move - mueves. Remember that you do not need to use the possessive for body parts when the subject is understood. So tus pies would have been awkward here
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Sofía moves her books to the table when she studies
Sofía mueve sus libros a la mesa cuando estudia
he/she moves - mueve
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We move the chairs to our room to play cards
Nosotros movemos las sillas a nuestro cuarto para jugar cartas
we move - movemos
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Adriana and Alejandra do not move their chairs
Adriana y Alejandra no mueven sus sillas
they move - mueven
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TO MOVE
- I move
- You move
- He/She moves
- We move
- You move
- They move
MOVER
- Yo muevo
- Tú mueves
- Él/Ella/Ud mueve
- Nosotros movemos
- Vosotros movéis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds mueven
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Maite and Ariana show their photos to their grandparents
Maite y Ariana muestran sus fotos a sus abuelos
to show - mostrar. Follows the same -o- to -ue- base change pattern as mover
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I _can_not go to Argentina with my family because I have to go to the university
No puedo ir a Argentina con mi familia porque tengo que ir a la universidad
to be able to - poder. (-o- to -ue- base change in present tense). When conjugated in the present, poder is the equivalent of the English word “can”
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Is there anyone who speaks English?
¿Hay alguien que habla inglés?
someone, anyone - alguien
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No one wants to study today
Nadie quiere estudiar hoy
no one - nadie
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Who is the other woman?
¿Quién es la otra mujer?
other - otro, otra
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I think that she has another boyfriend
Creo que tiene otro novio
another, other - otro. Be careful not to say *un otro*, which is a common English-speaker mistake. The word otro means both “other” and “another”
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Can I go to the bathroom again?
¿Puedo ir al baño otra vez?
again - otra vez, de nuevo. Note that otra vez literally means “another time”
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Juan returns from Spain in nine days
Juan vuelve de España en nueve días
to return (from) - volver (de), regresar (de). Volver follows the same -o- to -ue- base change pattern as mover
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Marcos eats again
Marcos vuelve a comer
to __ again - volver a __. This is an alternative way to convey repetition of an action. The other way would be to say Marcos come otra vez or Marcos como de nuevo
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Do you (ud) dream about returning to the United States?
¿Sueña usted con volver a los Estados Unidos?
to dream (about) - soñar (con). Follows the same -o- to -ue- base change pattern as mover
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She’s looking for a boyfriend
Ella está buscando un novio
to look for - buscar. Note that we don’t say buscando “a” un novio here because un novio is unspecified. If we wanted to say “She is looking for her boyfriend,” we would say Está buscando a su novio
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María cannot find her pen
María no encuentra su pluma
to find, encounter - encontrar. Follows the same -o- to -ue- base change pattern as mover. We could also say no puede encontrar su pluma, but it would mean more like “she is incapable of finding her pen”
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I want to buy my own phone
Quiero comprar mi propio teléfono
own (possessive) - propio
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Tomás and I do not eat lunch with our friends today
Tomás y yo no almorzamos con nuestros amigos hoy
to eat lunch - almorzar. Follows the same -o- to -ue- base change pattern as mover
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At what time is lunch?
¿A qué hora es el almuerzo?
lunch - el almuerzo
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Carmen never returns her books to the library
Carmen nunca devuelve sus libros a la biblioteca
to return (something); to give back - devolver. Follows the same -o- to -ue- base change pattern as mover
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to serve
servir
to serve, to work - servir. Note that servir is an irregular verb that belongs to a category of verbs that change their base from -e- to -i-
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I serve my sisters something to eat
Yo sirvo de comer a mis hermanas
I serve - sirvo
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You serve lunch to our friends
Tú sirves el almuerzo a nuestros amigos
you serve - sirves
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Your car does not work?
¿Tu carro no sirve?
he/she/it works - sirve. Note that servir can mean “to work”, when used without a direct object. You cannot use trabajar to describe whether an object works. Another alternative would be to use the word funcionar, which means “to work, to function”
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We serve lunch every day
Nosotros servimos el almuerzo todos los días
we serve - servimos
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You (vosotros) do not serve lunch to the students
Vosotros no servís el almuerzo a los estudiantes
you (vosotros) serve - servís
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You all serve something to eat to our grandparents
Ustedes sirven de comer a nuestros abuelos
you (uds) serve - sirven
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The pens do not work very well
Las plumas no sirven muy bien
they serve - sirven
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TO SERVE
- I serve
- You serve
- He/She serves
- We serve
- You serve
- They serve
SERVIR
- Yo sirvo
- Tú sirves
- Él/Ella/Ud sirve
- Nosotros servimos
- Vosotros servís
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds sirven
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The principal of the school fires your teacher
El director de la escuela despide a tu maestro
to fire - despedir. Follows the same -e- to -i- base change pattern as servir
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Juan measures his tall cousins
Juan mide a sus primos altos
to measure - medir. Follows the same -e- to -i- base change pattern as servir
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to grab, to take
coger
to grab, to take - coger. Note that coger is an irregular verb that belongs to a category of verbs that change spelling from -g- to -j-. This spelling change only occurs in the singular first person, yo cojo. Caution: In some countries, coger means “to make love”
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I grab my books
Yo cojo mis libros
I grab - cojo
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You grab your brother’s pen
Tú coges el bolígrafo de tu hermano
you grab - coges
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We grab all of the notebooks
Nosotros cogemos todos los cuadernos
we grab - cogemos
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I choose my books well
Yo escojo bien mis libros
to choose - escoger. Follows the same -g- to -j- base change pattern as coger
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- Maria loves me more than anyone (loves me)
- Maria loves me more than (she loves) anyone
- María me quiere más que nadie
- María me quiere más que a nadie.
Note that the use of the personal a changes the meaning of the sentence. Also remember that querer means both “to want” (for an object) or “to love” (for a person)
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I protect my children
Yo protejo a mis hijos
to protect - proteger. Follows the same -g- to -j- base change pattern as coger
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I gather all of our books
Yo recojo todos nuestros libros
to collect, to gather - recoger. Follows the same -g- to -j- base change pattern as coger
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He picks up his son from school
Él recoge a su hijo de la escuela
to pick up (a person) - recoger. Note that the word recoger means both “to collect/gather” and “to pick up”
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to get, to obtain
conseguir
to obtain - conseguir. Note that conseguir is an irregular verb that belongs to a category of verbs that change their base from -gu to -g. In the first person, the base changes from -e- to -i-
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Where do I get that book?
¿Dónde consigo ese libro?
I get/obtain - consigo. Note that consigo only means “get” in the sense of obtaining something. Other English uses of the verb “get” will be discussed later
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We never get anything good
Nunca conseguimos nada bueno
we get - conseguimos
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TO GET, OBTAIN
- I get
- You get
- He/She gets
- We get
- You get
- They get
CONSEGUIR
- Yo consigo
- Tú consigues
- Él/Ella/Ud consigue
- Nosotros conseguimos
- Vosotros conseguís
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds consiguen
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I never follow my older sisters
Nunca sigo a mis hermanas mayores
to follow - seguir. Follows the same -i- to -e- base change pattern as conseguir
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I chase the bad men
Yo persigo a los hombres malos
to pursue, to chase - perseguir. Follows the same -i- to -e- base change pattern as conseguir
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to construct, to build
construir
to construct, to build - construir. Note that verbs like construir undergo a spelling change from -i- to -y- in most forms in the present tense
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I build one building each year
Construyo un edificio cada año
I build - construyo
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Do you build a lot of houses?
¿Construyes muchas casas?
you build - construyes
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Is it true that Rafael builds a building each year?
¿Es verdad que Rafael construye un edificio cada año?
he/she builds - construye
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My brother is building a wall in his room
Mi hermano está construyendo una pared en su cuarto
wall - la pared
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We never build on this street
Nunca construimos en esta calle
we build - construimos
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Do they build tall buildings?
¿Construyen ellos edificios altos?
they build - construyen
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The men are building a very big house on this street
Los hombres están construyendo una casa muy grande en esta calle
building, constructing - construyendo
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TO CONSTRUCT, TO BUILD
- I build
- You build
- He/She builds
- We build
- You build
- They build
CONSTRUIR
- Yo construyo
- Tú construyes
- Él/Ella/Ud construye
- Nosotros construimos
- Vosotros construís
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds construyen
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What’s wrong with Maru? It seems that she is sad
¿Qué tiene Maru? Parece que está triste
to seem, to appear - parecer.
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It seems that Paloma destroys her room every week
Parece que Paloma destruye su cuarto cada semana
to destroy - destruir. Follows the same -i- to -y- base change pattern as construir
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We play Monopoly every day
Jugamos Monopoly todos los días
to play - jugar
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It’s a very good game
Es un juego muy bueno
game - el juego
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We are going to play a game after dinner
Vamos a jugar un juego después de la cena
after - después de
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We will arrive before lunch
Vamos a llegar antes del almuerzo
before - antes de
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It is late
Es tarde
late - tarde
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My friend and I are going to talk later
Mi amigo y yo vamos a hablar luego
later - luego. It is also acceptable to say más tarde
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The children do not contribute to our ideas
Los niños no contribuyen a nuestras ideas
to contribute - contribuir.
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to convince
convencer a (alguien) de (algo)
to convince - convencer. Note that convencer is an irregular verb that undergoes a stem change from -c- to -z- in the first person
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I convince my mother to go to the United States
Convenzo a mi madre de ir a los Estados Unidos
I convince - convenzo
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Every day after class, we convince our parents to eat lunch at McDonald’s
Cada día después de clase, convencemos a nuestros padres de almorzar en McDonald’s
we convince - convencemos
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TO CONVINCE
- I convince
- You convince
- He/She convinces
- We convince
- You convince
- They convince
CONVENCER
- Yo convenzo
- Tú convences
- Él/Ella/Ud convence
- Nosotros convencemos
- Vosotros convencéis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds convencen
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to obey
obedecer
to obey - obedecer. Note that obedecer is an irregular verb from a category of verbs ending in -cer that undergoes a stem change from -c- to -zc- in the first person, yo obedezco
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I do not obey my parents every day
No obedezco a mis padres todos los días
I obey - obedezco
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My brother and I never obey our sister
Mi hermano y yo nunca obedecemos a nuestra hermana
we obey - obedecemos
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TO OBEY
- I obey
- You obey
- He/She obeys
- We obey
- You obey
- They obey
OBEDECER
- Yo obedezco
- Tú obedeces
- Él/Ella/Ud obedece
- Nosotros obedecemos
- Vosotros obedecéis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds obedecen
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Raúl wants your help
Raúl quiere tu ayuda
help - la ayuda
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I offer to help my grandmother
Yo ofrezco ayudar a mi abuela
to offer - ofrecer. Follows the same -c- to -zc- base change pattern as obedecer
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I never disobey my teachers
Nunca desobedezco a mis maestros
to disobey - desobedecer. Follows the same -c- to -zc- base change pattern as obedecer
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I grow a lot in one year
Crezco mucho en un año
to grow - crecer. Follows the same -c- to -zc- base change pattern as obedecer
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I thank my father every day
Agradezco a mi padre todos los días
to thank (for), to give thanks - agradecer (por). Follows the same -c- to -zc- base change pattern as obedecer
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Natalia and Alex thank their teacher for all of her help
Natalia y Alex agradecen a su maestra por toda su ayuda
for - por. Note that por has many uses beyond those fulfilled by the English “for”, as we will see later
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I translate the book from English to Spanish
Traduzco el libro de inglés a español
to translate - traducir. Note that verbs ending in -ucir undergo the same stem change as verbs ending in -cer, changing from -c to -zc in the conjugation of the first person, yo
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I do not drive my dad’s car
No conduzco el carro de mi papá
to drive (a car) - conducir. Follows the same -c- to -zc- base change pattern as traducir
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I introduce my girlfriend to art
Introduzco a mi novia al arte
to introduce - introducir. Follows the same -c- to -zc- base change pattern as traducir. Note that introducir can only mean “to introduce someone to something”. If you want to introduce two people, you say presentar
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Today I introduce my girlfriend to my family
Hoy presento a mi novia a mi familia
to introduce - presentar. Note that we do not use the word introducir, since that can only mean “to introduce someone to something”.
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Do I know all of your cousins?
¿Conozco a todos tus primos?
to know (to be aquainted) - conocer. Follows the same -c- to -zc- base change pattern as obedecer. Note that conocer is used in the following cases:
- to be acquainted with or well versed in,
- to know people (remember to include the personal a), and
- to be familiar with places and things
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If you speak English, then you can translate the book
Si hablas inglés, puedes traducir el libro
if - si. Note the difference between si “if” and sí “yes”
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Do you know if she is Jorge’s cousin? Because I don’t know
¿Sabes si ella es prima de Jorge? Porque yo no sé
to know - saber. Note that saber is only irregular in its first person conjugation (yo sé). Also note that saber is used in the following cases:
- “to know that…”,
- to know facts, and
- to know information
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I don’t know who is there
No sé quién está allí
I know - yo sé. Note that this yo conjugation is the only irregular form of the verb saber. The other forms are regular in the present tense.
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What is the difference between saber and conocer (which both mean “to know” in English)?
SABER: to know facts or to know information.
CONOCER: to be acquainted with, to be fluent in, to know people, and to be familiar with places and things
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Do you know the answer?
¿Sabes la respuesta?
answer - la respuesta
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Do you know the people that live here?
¿Conoces a la gente que vive aquí?
people - la gente. Note that la gente acts as a singular noun
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Do you know when the TV show starts?
¿Sabes cuando empieza el programa de televisión?
TV show - el programa de televisión
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to send
enviar, mandar
to send - enviar, mandar. When conjugated, enviar is spelled with an accent over the i, as are many other verbs ending in -uar, -iar, and -ar
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I send letters every day
Yo envío cartas todos los días
I send - envío
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Do you send letters to all of your friends?
¿Envías cartas a todos tus amigos?
you send - envías
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Jaime sends letters to his girlfriend but does not receive letters from her
Jaime envía cartas a su novia pero no recibe cartas de ella
he/she sends - envía
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We always send letters to Mexico
Siempre enviamos cartas a México
we send - enviamos
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The teachers send their students’ grades to their parents
Los maestros envían las notas de sus estudiantes a sus padres
they send - envían
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TO SEND
- I send
- You send
- He/She sends
- We send
- You send
- They send
ENVIAR
- Yo envío
- Tú envías
- Él/Ella/Ud envía
- Nosotros enviamos
- Vosotros enviáis
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds envían
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Paula continues to talk to her teacher from elementary school
Paula continúa a hablar con su maestra de la escuela primaria
to continue - continuar. Follows the same accent change as enviar
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Do you know my cousin Carla?
¿Conoces a mi prima Carla?
Note that saber is never used to describe knowing people; for people, you must always use conocer
