Verbs Flashcards
What are radical changing (stem change) verbs?
These are verbs which have a change in the spelling of their stem.
Compare the regular -ar verb cantar with the radical-changing -ar verb encontrar and -er verb preferir:
cantar
encontrar
preferir
canto
encuentro
prefiero
cantas
encuentras
preferes
cantal
encuentral
prefiere
cantamos
encontramos
preterimos
cantáis
encontráis
preferís
cantan
encuentran
preferen
The stem (or ‘radical’) changes its spelling in all persons in the singular and in the 3rd person in the plural. In the ist and 2nd persons plural it does not change. Verbs like these are sometimes called BOOT verbs - you can see why!
quiero
queremos
quieres
quereis
quiere
quieren
There are three types of spelling change.
O changes to UE: several verbs in all the conjugations have a change of stem from o to ue. Poder is an example; other common ones are contar, mostrar, volver and dormir. Jugar is unique in changing from u to ue.
puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden juego, juegas, juega, jugamos, jugáis, juegan
E changes to IE: several verbs in all the conjugations have a change of stem from e to ie. Preferir is an example; other common ones are pensar, querer, sentir.
prefiero, prefieres, prefiere, preferimos, preferis, prefieren
E changes to I: Some -ir verbs have a change of stem from e to i. Pedir (to ask for) is an example; other common ones are decir and vestir.
pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedis, piden
When a verb is stem-changing, compound verbs based on that verb have the same change. For example:
volver (devuelvo), sentir (consiento), vestirse (me visto).
Other verbs take the reflexive form to alter their meaning slightly such as:
caer to fall > caerse to fall over parar to stop > pararse to stop unexpectedly
What are reflexive verbs?
Reflexive verbs conjugate the same way as other verbs but also have a reflexive pronoun me, te, se, nos, os, se.
Si me organizo bien, puedo tener una tarde libre.
If I organize myself, I can have a free evening.
The reflexive pronoun usually precedes the verb …
La gente no se preocupa de las emisiones de dióxido de carbono de su casa.
People don’t worry about the carbon dioxide emissions of their homes.
… although in the infinitive (and therefore in the dictionary) it is attached to the end: organizarse, quejarse.
In compound tenses (e.g. the perfect), the reflexive pronoun always precedes the auxiliary verb haber
Nunca me he planteado hacer otra cosa.
I’ve never considered doing anything else.
In verb + infinitive constructions where the infinitive verb is reflexive, the pronoun must agree with the subject of the hrst verb.
Quiero acostarme.
I want to go to bed.
When giving positive commands using reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun is attached to the end of the imperative:
¡Callate!
Be quiet!
¡Cálmese, señora!
Calm down, madam!
But when giving negative commands, the reflexive pronoun stays in its usual position, in front of the verb:
No te enfades, por favor.
Please don’t get annoyed.
What is the passive and how do you avoid it?
Usage and formation
Passive expressions tell you what has happened to someone/something who is on the receiving end of an action or event. Here are some examples in English: I was attacked; that car has been sold; the building had been closed
Passive forms are an impersonal way of saying what happened, instead of using an ‘active’ form. The ‘active’ equivalent of these three phrases, for example, would be: he/she/they/someone attacked me; they’ve sold that car; they had closed the building
In Spanish, the passive is made up of ser + past participle, and the past participle must agree with the subject of the sentence.
Isabel fue atacada al salir de clase.
Isabel was attacked as she was leaving the class.
However, this passive form is very rare in spoken Spanish, and is mainly limited to formal, written language. You should avoid using it in conversation and informal language, because it sounds very unnatural in Spanish. There are two very common and easy ways to avoid it.
• Use the pronoun se and the third person of the verb:
En eBay se vende y se compra de todo.
On eBay people buy and sell all sorts.
En los sitios como YouTube o Flick se cuelgan videos.
Videos are posted on sites like YouTube or Flickr.
• Use an active form instead. For example, to say I was failed and had to repeat the year, say:
Me suspendieron y tuve que repetir el año. rather than
Fui suspendido y tuve que repetir el año.
What are impersonal verbal constructions?
Using gustar and other impersonal verbs
Verbs like gustar and encantar are ‘back to front’ expressions: if you say ‘me gusta mucho esta película, you are actually saying ‘this film is very pleasing to me. The film is the subject, and you are the object. The verb therefore needs to change to plural when the subject is plural.
Me encanta la obra de Almodóvar.|
Me gustan los guiones de sus películas.
Singular verb for singular subject. Plural verb for plural subject.
You also need to include the appropriate indirect object pronouns to show who likes:
me, te, le, nos, os, les.
¿Te gusta esa peli? Sí, me encanta.
Do you like that film? Yes, I love it.
There are other verbs in Spanish that are used ‘impersonally’ and have no obvious equivalent in English. Using these verbs impersonally makes your Spanish more idiomatic and more stylish. Here are some common ones:
bastar to be sufficient
Basta (con) decir que …
It’s sufficient to say that …
Basta saber que ….
It’s enough to know that …
¡Basta ya! (de tonterías)
That’s enough! (nonsense)
caber to be contained, to fit
Cabe mencionar que …
It’s appropriate to mention …
Cabe destacar que…
It should be pointed out that …
Cabe recordar que…
It’s worth remembering that …
convenir to be fitting, to be appropriate
Conviene que luchemos para proteger nuestro medio ambiente.
It’s appropriate to campaign to protect our environment.
Convino sentenciar a aquel hacker a dar clases de informática.
It was fitting to sentence that hacker to giving IT classes. escasear to be in short supply
En el futuro el agua escaseará.
In the future there will be a shortage of water.
Escasea la infrastructura para recibir a tantos inmigrantes.
There’s not enough infrastructure to cope with so many immigrants.
faltar to be lacking
Faltan instalaciones adecuadas.
There aren’t enough proper facilities.
Falta la determinación política.
The political will is lacking.
hay que you have to/one should/it is necessary
Hay que comer más fruta. you have to eat more fruit.
Hay que pensar en las posibilidades. one should think about all the possibilities.
importar to be important, to matter
No importa el estado físico de una persona.
A person’s physical condition doesn’t matter.
¿Le importa si me voy?
Do you mind if I go?
quedar to be remaining
Queda mucho por hacer.
There remains a lot to be done.
Quedó paralítico después del accidente.
The accident left him paralysed.
El proyecto se quedó sin realizar.
The project was never carried out. sobrar to be left over, to be in excess
Ha sobrado mucha comida.
There is a lot of food left over.
Nos sobra tiempo.
We have plenty of time.
Este ejemplo sobra.
This example is unnecessary.
urgir to be urgent, to be imperative Nos urge cumplir con los objetivos de Kioto.
It’s imperative that we comply with the Kyoto targets.
Urgen nuevas iniciativas para reducir la pobreza.
We urgently need new initiatives to reduce poverty. valer to be worth
No vale la pena.
It’s not worth it.
Más vale no hacerlo.
It’s better not to do it.
Juan no vale para el deporte.
Juan is no good at sport.
Using se with third person verb forms to make impersonal statements
The pronoun se and the third person of the verb are very often used for impersonal statements, i.e. when we don’t state who is the subject of the verb [see also 4.19].
En el mundo se produce alimento para millones de personas.
Enough food is produced in the world for millions of people.
No se ve más la publicidad para el tabaco.
You don’t see cigarette advertising any more./Cigarette advertising isn’t seen any more.
What are verbs + infinitive constructions?
There are many common verbs that can be used together with a second verb:
querer
poder
necesitar
soler
deber permitir
tener que odiar
detestar
gustar
• The first verb is conjugated according to the subject of the sentence. The second verb is always in the infinitive:
Quiero comprar un periódico.
I want to buy a paper.
Tenemos que hacer educación física.
We have to do PE.
A mis padres les gusta ver la tele.
My parents like watching TV.
Notice that although the present participle (jumping, playing) is often used in English in this construction, Spanish always uses the infinitive.
• There are also some common impersonal expressions which can be followed by the infinitive:
Es importante
Es necesario
Es imprescindible
Es preciso
Es vital/esencial
Es aconsejable/deseable
Es inaceptable
Es peligroso
Es fácil/difícil
Es útil
Es normal
Note: When any one of these expressions is followed by que + a different subject, the verb must be in the subjunctive, not an infinitive, e.g:
Quiero jugar al bádminton,
Quiero que José juegue al bádminton.
I want to play badminton, I want José to play badminton.
Es importante cuidar la salud,
Es importante que (tú) cuides la salud.
It’s important to look after your/one’s health, It’s important that you look after your health.
What are negative constructions?
To say you don’t do something, simply put no in front of the verb.
No sé.
I don’t know.
The idea of’any’ in ‘not any’ is not translated; just use the negative.
No tengo dinero.
I have no money. I don’t have any money.
Because no in Spanish means ‘no’ and ‘not’, you often see and hear it twice at the beginning of a sentence.
No, no sé.
No, I don’t know.
Other negative expressions are used to express ‘never,
‘nothing, nobody, ‘no .. ‘neither .. nor. These are all used as ‘double negatives’, so no goes in front of the verb, and the other negative word goes after the verb. no … nunca/jamás never
(nunca is more common than jamás)
Ella no ha ido nunca a Madrid.
She has never been to Madrid.
no … nada
nothing/not anything
No tengo nada.
I have nothing./| haven’t got anything
no … nadie
nobody/no one
No vio a nadie.
He saw no one./He didn’t see anyone.
Note that you need personal a even in front of ‘nobody’ [see also 5.2).
no … ningún(o)/ninguna
no … /not any
No tengo ningún DVD.
I have no DVD(s).
[see also 2.4]
no… ni … ni…
not … either … or/neither … nor …
No tengo ni tiempo ni dinero para ir al cine.
I have neither time nor money to go to the cinema.
Gramática
You can start a sentence with Nada …, Nadie…. and Nunca .., but if you do, you don’t need the no:
Nunca ha ido a Madrid.
She has never been to Madrid.
Nadie fue a ver esa película.
Nobody went to see that film.
Using tampoco to express ‘neither’
Tampoco is used to express the idea of ‘neither/either, especially after a negative:
Tampoco me gusta esta peli.
Neither do I like this film./I don’t like this film either.
- Hoy tarde no salimos.
- Nosotros tampoco.
- We’re not going out tonight.
- Neither are we.
Using sino to express ‘not … but’
You need to use sino after a negative to express not … but:
No me gusta éste sino el otro.
I don’t like this one but (ilike) the other one.
Using ser and estar?
Ser
On its own, ser describes identity or existence.
¿Cuántos sois?
How many of you are there?
Buenos días, soy Marisa.
Hello, I’m Marisa.
¿Eres estudiante de moda?
Are you a fashion student?
Mi diseñador preferido es español.
My favourite designer is Spanish.
We also use ser
• with a pronoun or noun:
Éste es el anuncio en el que sale Dani Pedrosa.
This is the advert in which Dani Pedrosa appears.
Isabel Allende es escritora.
Isabel Allende is a writer.
• with adjectives of nationality:
Lionel Messi es argentino.
Lionel Messi is Argentinian.
• with an infinitive:
La meta de la publicidad es hacer que un producto nos parezca atractivo.
The aim of advertising is to make products seem attractive to us.
• with a clause:
Un aspecto engañoso de esa publicidad es que no menciona los riesgos.
One misleading aspect of that advertising is that it does not mention the risks.
• to talk about where an event takes place:
¿Dónde serán los Juegos Olímpicos de 2020?
Where will the 2020 Olympic Games be?
• with a past participle to form a passive [see 4.19]:
El torneo de fútbol fue patrocinado por varias empresas.
The football championship was sponsored by various companies.
• with an adjective that describes an unchanging attribute or an abstract idea:
Este anuncio es divertido. Es genial.
This advert is funny. It’s great.
La publicidad imaginativa es llamativa y efectiva.
Imaginative advertising is appealing and effective.
Estar
On its own, estar denotes location or presence.
- Hola, ¿está Juan?
- No, no está. Acaba de salir.
- Hi, is Juan there?
- No, he’s not here. He’s just gone out.
We also use estar
• to describe position (except to say where events take place, see above):
Su foto está en la portada de la revista.
His photo is on the cover of the magazine.
• with a past participle to describe a state which is the result of an action:
La publicidad del tabaco está prohibida en la televisión.
Cigarette advertising on TV is forbidden.
• with a gerund to form continuous tenses:
Estaban escuchando música.
They were listening to music.
• with an adjective to describe a state which might change:
Estábamos nerviosos antes del examen.
We were nervous before the exam.
• with bien and mal:
- ¿Estás bien?
- No, estoy muy mal.
- Are you well?
- No, I’m not at all well.
Using desde and hace in time expressions?
To talk about an action or state which began in the past but is still in progress in the present, use:
hace + time phrase + que + present tense:
Hace seis años que vivo en Barcelona.
I’ve been living in Barcelona for six years.
You can express the same idea using present tense + desde + hace + time phrase:
Vivo en Barcelona desde hace seis años.
I’ve been living in Barcelona for six years.
If the situation began and was still in progress in the past, use the imperfect instead of the present tense:
Hacía seis años que vivía en Barcelona. or
Vivía en Barcelona desde hacía seis años.
I had been living in Barcelona for six years.
To say how long ago something happened in the past, use preterite tense + hace + time phrase:
Marián y Asún se conocieron hace cuatro años.
Marian and Asún met four years ago.
