The secret lives of verbs Flashcards
El sí como mucho
He does eat a lot
se va
she’s going (note no progressive tense)
te cuento
te contaré
mañana te cuento
I’ll tell you (now)
I’ll tell you (someday)
I’ll tell you tomorrow
Vuelvo en seguida
I’ll be right back
Quién habra sido?
Who might that have been?
te habría gustado
you would have like it
“used to” verb
“would” verb
use imperfect
Estaba en casa cuando se fue la luz
I was at home when the lights when out.
Imperfect waiting for something to happen.
Quisieron
vs
Querían
They wanted (and did/got)
The wanted (but didn’t)
No quería ir a la fiesta
No quise ir a la fiesta
I didn’t want to the party (but went anyway)
I didn’t want to go (and didn’t go)
No quisieron dar sus nombres
They refused to give their names
pudo
vs
podía
could (and did)
could (in theory)
pudo
vs
podía
could (and did)
could (in theory)
No podía caminar
No pudo caminar
I couldn’t walk (perhaps because tired)
I couldn’t walk (and implied that actually tried and failed)
for saying “to find out” (saber) use…
imperfect
No sabía eso
I didn’t know that
sabía que llegarías
I knew you’d show up
Sabías hablar español cuando llegaste aqui?
Did you know how to speak Spanish when you got here?
for “found out” as in heard, use…
preterite (supe, supiste, supo)
Supiste que gané la lotería
Did you hear that I won the lottery?
Estaba agotado
he was worn out (at that moment)
Fue agotado
he was worn out (from something)
Estaba destruido
vs.
Fue destruido
It was destroyed (unclear how)
It was destroyed (implied by something)
Las tiendas son cerradas a las nueve
vs.
Las tiendas están cerradas a las nueve
The shops close at nine.
The shops are closed by nine (but may have closed earlier than nine)
Fue cambiado
vs.
Estaba cambiado
It was changed (by someone)
It was (looked) changed
fue dormido
vs
estaba dormido
it was put to sleep
it was asleep
fue roto
vs
Estaba roto
it was broken (by someone)
it was (already) broken (and we don’t know by whom or when)
es alto
vs
está alto
He is tall
He is so tall / Gosh he’s tall
Está alto para su edad
es feo
vs
está feo
he is ugly (fact)
He is ugly (now, temporarily, maybe bad haircut)
He is so ugly
es difícil
vs
está difícil
always difficult
surprisingly difficult, unexpected
es viejo
vs.
está
he is old (fact)
he feels old / he seems (looks) old
he is too old (for some specific task)
es joven
vs.
está joven
he is young (fact)
he feels young
he is young (for a quarterback)
he is still young (making a case)
cuando eras joven
vs
cuando estabas joven
when you were young
when you still had pep, youthful
es buena la película vs está buena la película vs es una buena película
it is a good film, well-done (fact)
it’s a good film (personal approval)
it’s a good film but… (often used with art films where presumption of supposed to like it)
“es loco” o “está loco” persona
está loco (as crazy is a defect rather than normal condition)
es enfermo
vs
está enfermo
He is sick (right now)
He is sick (and has been for awhile)
es muerto
vs
está muerto
he is killed
he is dead
fue muerto a tiros, y ahora está muerto
Pórtate bien
be good
Llega a tiempo
be there
no seas malo
be a pal
no seas tonto
don’t be a fool
no seas imbécil
don’t be a jerk
no estés molestando
quit bugging me
no estés gritando
quit shouting
no te enojes
don’t be mad
no llegues tardes
don’t be late
no te aloques
don’t be crazy
no hagas ruido
don’t make noise
basic perspective:
llevar vs traer
llevar = to take traer = to bring = bringing is only for cases when something away from the speaker is being moved toward the speaker
basic perspective:
ir vs venir
You can’t “come” (with venir) to a location that is somewhere other than where you are at the moment. Venir can only refer to present location, e.g., to come to this location, come from London, came to see me in the hospital
