Spanish Essentials For Dummies

195 Pages·2010·1.52 MB·English

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Foreign Language/Spanish
Making Everything Easier!™
Presenting the core concepts
you need to write and Open the book and find: S p a n i s h
speak Spanish correctly
(cid:129) The parts of speech
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If you have some knowledge of Spanish and need a (cid:129) How to determine a noun’s p
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contains what you need to communicate effectively. possession i
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With its focus on everything from constructing
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sentences to conjugating verbs, this easy-to-follow (cid:129) How to select the correct
preposition E
guide will help you ace writing assignments and tests,
s
and master conversations. (cid:129) Rules for making adjectives agree s
e
(cid:129) Spanish 101 — get the lowdown on the basics, (cid:129) Tips for asking and answering n
from expressing the date and time to counting yes/no questions
t
to one million i
(cid:129) Ways to spice up your a
(cid:129) The here and now — learn how to communicate descriptions l
s
in the present tense with verbs and subject
pronouns, and how to form the present (cid:129) Ten important verb distinctions
progressive
(cid:129) Way back when — get guidance on working with
the past tense, including hints about when to use
the preterit and when to use the imperfect Learn:
(cid:129) What lies ahead — discover the different ways
(cid:129) The basics of Spanish grammar and
to express the future, whether you need to form
sentence construction
the future tense of a regular verb or just want to Go to Dummies.com
®
predict what may happen for videos, step-by-step photos, (cid:129) How to conjugate regular,
how-to articles, or to shop! irregular, and stem-changing
verbs
(cid:129) To express ideas about the past,
present, and future
$9.99 US / $11.99 CN / £6.99 UK Gail Stein, MA
Gail Stein, MA, was a foreign language
ISBN 978-0-470-63751-7 Retired foreign language instructor
instructor for more than 30 years and
and author, Intermediate Spanish
wrote Intermediate Spanish For Dummies.
For Dummies
Cecie Kraynak, MA, is a Spanish teacher
and authored Spanish Verbs For Dummies. Cecie Kraynak, MA
Spanish instructor and author,
Stein
Kraynak Spanish Verbs For Dummies
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Making Everything Easier!™
S p a n i s h
E s s e n t i a l s
Learn:
(cid:129) The basics of Spanish grammar and
sentence construction
(cid:129) How to conjugate regular,
irregular, and stem-changing
verbs
(cid:129) To express ideas about the past,
present, and future
Gail Stein, MA
Retired foreign language instructor
and author, Intermediate Spanish
For Dummies
Cecie Kraynak, MA
Spanish instructor and author,
Stein
Spanish Verbs For Dummies
Spanish
Essentials
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
by Gail Stein, MA, and
Cecie Kraynak, MA
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Spanish Essentials For Dummies®
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
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Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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ISBN: 978-0-470-63751-7
Manufactured in the United States of America
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About the Authors
Gail Stein, MA, is a retired language instructor who taught
in New York City public junior and senior high schools for
more than 33 years. She has authored many French and
Spanish books, including CliffsQuickReview French I and II,
CliffsStudySolver Spanish I and II, 575+ French Verbs, Webster’s
Spanish Grammar Handbook, and Intermediate Spanish For
Dummies. Gail is a multiple-time honoree in Who’s Who Among
America’s Teachers.
Cecie Kraynak, MA, earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish
and secondary education in literature from Purdue University,
and also received her master’s degree in Spanish literature
from Purdue. After graduating in 1983, Cecie began what was
to become a 20-year career teaching Spanish to junior-high and
high-school students. She continues to teach and travel and
has served as a consultant on several Spanish learning guides,
including Teach Yourself Spanish in 24 Hours (MacMillan) and
Spanish for Healthcare Professionals (Barron’s). She is the
author of Spanish Verbs For Dummies (Wiley).
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
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custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department
within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction ...............................................................................................1
Chapter 1: Brushing Up on the Basics ....................................................5
Chapter 2: Closing the Gender Gap .......................................................19
Chapter 3: It’s Happening in the Present..............................................43
Chapter 4: Spicing Up Your Descriptions with Adjectives,
Adverbs, and Prepositions ..............................................................67
Chapter 5: Making Inquiries ...................................................................89
Chapter 6: Revealing the Past ..............................................................103
Chapter 7: Looking to the Future ........................................................121
Chapter 8: Identifying Verb Moods .....................................................127
Chapter 9: Ten Important Verb Distinctions .....................................151
Appendix: Verb Charts .........................................................................157
Index........................................................................................................169
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Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
About This Book ........................................................................1
Conventions Used in This Book ...............................................2
Foolish Assumptions .................................................................2
Icons Used in This Book ............................................................2
Where to Go from Here .............................................................3
Chapter 1: Brushing Up on the Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Counting Down ...........................................................................5
Using cardinal numbers ..................................................5
Using ordinal numbers ....................................................8
Dealing with Dates .....................................................................9
Expressing the days of the week ...................................9
Naming the months of the year ...................................10
Making a date .................................................................11
Telling Time ..............................................................................12
Focusing on Parts of Speech...................................................14
Using nouns ....................................................................15
Substituting pronouns ..................................................16
Acting with verbs ...........................................................16
Describing with adjectives ...........................................17
Clarifying with adverbs .................................................17
Joining with prepositions .............................................18
Chapter 2: Closing the Gender Gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Being Specific with Definite Articles ......................................19
Identifying the definite articles ....................................20
Using definite articles....................................................20
Omitting the definite articles .......................................22
Contracting with definite articles ................................22
Being General with Indefinite Articles ...................................22
Identifying the indefinite articles .................................23
Omitting indefinite articles ...........................................23
Being Demonstrative with Adjectives ...................................24
Clarifying Gender .....................................................................25
Determining the gender of nouns ................................26
Reversing gender ...........................................................26
Using the same noun for both genders .......................27
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viii
Spanish Essentials For Dummies
Changing the meaning of nouns...................................28
Understanding special nouns .......................................28
Forming Plural Nouns ..............................................................29
Showing Possession.................................................................31
Using de ..........................................................................31
Employing possessive adjectives ................................32
Substituting with Object Pronouns .......................................33
Dealing with direct object pronouns...........................33
Understanding the personal a ......................................34
Coping with indirect object pronouns ........................35
Choosing the proper pronoun .....................................36
Doing an about face with gustar ..................................38
Positioning object pronouns ........................................39
Doing double duty .........................................................41
Chapter 3: It’s Happening in the Present . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Identifying Types of Verbs ......................................................43
Selecting Subject Pronouns ....................................................44
Using subject pronouns ................................................45
Omitting subject pronouns ..........................................47
Communicating in the Present Tense ...................................48
Defining regular verbs ...................................................48
Changing verb stems .....................................................50
Changing the spelling of verbs .....................................54
Double or nothing: Verbs with two changes ..............55
Using irregular verbs .....................................................56
Expressing yourself with irregular verbs ...................58
Recognizing reflexive verbs..........................................60
Making Progress with the Present Progressive ...................63
Understanding present participles ..............................63
Using estar to form the present progressive .............66
Chapter 4: Spicing Up Your Descriptions with
Adjectives, Adverbs, and Prepositions . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Adding Color with Adjectives .................................................67
Making adjectives agree................................................68
Positioning adjectives ...................................................72
Shortening certain adjectives ......................................73
Describing Actions with Adverbs ..........................................74
Forming adverbs ............................................................74
Positioning of adverbs ..................................................76
Making Comparisons ...............................................................77
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