The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs, Second Edition

688 Pages·2008·5.197 MB·English

by  Ronni Gordon, David Stillman

THE Second Edition
BIG RED BOOK OF
SPANISH
VERBS
Ronni L. Gordon, Ph.D.
David M. Stillman, Ph.D.
New York Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City
Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto
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Copyright © 2009 by Ronni L. Gordon and David M. Stillman. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States
Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed
in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 QPD/QPD 0 9 8 (0-07-159156-7)
ISBN 978-0-07-159155-3
MHID 0-07-159155-9 (book and CD set)
ISBN 978-0-07-159156-0
MHID 0-07-159156-7 (book for set)
ISBN 978-0-07-159153-9
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Interior design by Village Bookworks, Inc.
CD-ROM for Windows
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MP3 Downloads:
MP3 fi les in “Top 50 Verb Mini-Dialogues” can be downloaded from the CD-ROM. Select
Download All, save and then expand the compressed zip folder “All_Spanish_Verb_MP3s.”
To load onto your iPod, drag and drop the expanded folder into your LIBRARY in iTunes.
Once synced with your iPod, locate the fi les in Music/Artists under “Spanish Verbs: Big Red.”
Call 800-722-4726 if the CD-ROM is missing from this book.
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This book is printed on acid-free paper.
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Para Mimi, Alex, Kathleen y Juliana,
los soles de nuestro universo
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Contents
Preface vii
Spanish Tense Profi les 1
(cid:2) Easy-to-view summaries of formation and uses of each tense
The Basics of Conjugation 1
The Simple Tenses 3
The Present Tense 5
The Imperfect Tense 9
The Preterit Tense 11
The Future Tense 14
The Conditional Tense 16
The Present Subjunctive 18
The Imperfect Subjunctive 23
The Compound Tenses 25
The Present Perfect Tense 26
The Pluperfect (or Past Perfect) Tense 26
The Preterit Perfect Tense 27
The Future Perfect Tense 27
The Conditional Perfect Tense 28
The Present Perfect Subjunctive 28
The Past Perfect (or Pluperfect) Subjunctive 29
The Progressive Tenses 30
The Infi nitive 31
Principal Parts of the Verb 35
The Imperative (Commands) 37
Refl exive Verbs 41
Reverse Construction Verbs 43
The Passive Voice 44
Se le Construction for Unplanned or Unexpected Occurrences 45
555 Fully Conjugated Verbs 47
(cid:2) Alphabetically ordered with examples of common usage
Top 50 Verbs: Full page of examples adjoining select conjugations
English-Spanish Verb Index 654
(cid:2) 555 verb models cross-referenced by their English meaning
Irregular Verb Form Index 659
(cid:2) Index showing the infi nitive of diffi cult irregular Spanish verb forms
Spanish Verb Index 664
(cid:2) More than 2,300 verbs cross-referenced to the full verb models
v
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Preface
It was the Verb that mixed the hands, it was the Verb that lacked stability,
it was the Verb that had no permanent opinion about anything, it was the Verb
that was always dodging the issue and putting out the light and making all the
trouble . . . I must catch a Verb and tame it.
mark twain
Th e Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs, Second Edition sets a new standard for verb reference
books with important enhancements that guide the learner toward mastery of the Spanish
verb system.
We have expanded the Spanish Tense Profi les, ever a favorite with users of Th e Big Red
Book of Spanish Verbs, to give the learner even more guidance than in the fi rst edition on
verb formation and how to use the tenses of the Spanish verb correctly. To illustrate, we
have added many new and interesting examples of tense usage.
Th e Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs, Second Edition, like the fi rst edition, is designed to
provide beginning through advanced learners of Spanish with a powerful reference and
practice tool. It can be used successfully by independent learners, in conjunction with
any self-teaching program, as well as in a traditional classroom setting. Teachers who use
our book report signifi cant progress in their students’ performance. In writing this second
edition, we have taken into account and deeply appreciate the valuable feedback we have
received from learners and teachers.
Th e Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs, Second Edition retains all the features that have
made it so popular with users: 555 fully conjugated verbs and more than 2,300 verbs cross-
referenced in the index, the Top 50 Verbs selected for their high frequency, and productive
examples that make use of all tenses in the Usage sections. We have added hundreds of
new examples in many fi elds to the Usage sections based on the contemporary language
written and spoken by educated Spanish speakers in Spanish-speaking countries so that
learners using Th e Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs, Second Edition are exposed to rich and
expressive current, everyday Spanish. Th us, learners are provided with even more exam-
ples of idiomatic Spanish that they can incorporate into their own repertoire.
Easy-to-read verb charts are essential for a verb reference book. We have retained the
highly accessible and manageable organization of verb tenses and paradigms you liked so
much in the fi rst edition and modifi ed the appearance of the tables for even greater clar-
ity and ease of use. Th e very useful English-Spanish Verb Index, Irregular Verb Form
Index, and Spanish Verb Index remain important features of the second edition.
If you have the version with the CD-ROM, you will see that we have added to the
CD-ROM hundreds of oral exercises that will take you from conjugation to conversation.
Th ese include conversational exchanges selected from the Usage sections of the Top 50
Verbs and are read by native speakers of Spanish, with pauses to allow you to repeat. Th ese
Mini-Diálogos—¡Vamos a conversar! appear on screen with their English translations as
they are read. Th ey are indicated by this icon M in the book. Also new is the Audio Prac-
tice section ¿Comprende Ud.?, which includes 100 oral multiple choice questions that are
read by native speakers of Spanish. Immediate feedback is provided by means of a “cor-
rect/incorrect” screen that gives you the option of hearing the question again, seeing the
question written out, or proceeding to the next question.
vii
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viii
PREFACE
We have included another important and highly eff ective new feature, Listening for Key
Contrasts—Los sonidos del español. Th ese listening drills target some of the key sound
contrasts in the Spanish verb system. By learning to listen for subtle diff erences in spoken
Spanish, learners improve their comprehension so that they can understand everyday
speech.
Th e Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs, Second Edition provides you with the information
you need to conjugate and use any Spanish verb you may encounter. Mastering the Span-
ish verb system is the key fi rst step to communicating with confi dence. To that end, we
recommend using our acclaimed texts, Th e Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice with
CD-ROM and Th e Ultimate Spanish Verb Review and Practice, as companion texts for
grammar review and the development of profi ciency in Spanish.
Ronni L. Gordon, Ph.D.
David M. Stillman, Ph.D.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Ronni L. Gordon, Ph.D., is a prominent author of foreign language textbooks,
reference books, and materials for multimedia. She is Vice President of Media-
theque Publishers Services, a leader in the development of foreign language
instructional materials for trade, college, and high school. She is an education con-
sultant specializing in foreign languages, literature, history, curriculum develop-
ment, and teacher training. She holds a Ph.D. in Spanish language and Spanish and
Latin American history and literature from Rutgers University and has taught
Spanish language and Latin American literature and history and coordinated Span-
ish language programs at Harvard University and Boston University. She has read
in foreign languages for the National Endowment for the Humanities, presented at
the U.S. Department of Education, and consulted on states’ K–12 academic stan-
dards for world languages. She founded the Committee for Quality Education, an
organization devoted to the improvement of academic standards in the public
schools in Brookline, MA. She is an associate scholar of a Philadelphia-based think
tank.
David M. Stillman, Ph.D., is a well-known writer of foreign language textbooks,
multimedia courses, and reference books. He is President of Mediatheque Pub-
lishers Services, a leader in the development of instructional materials in Spanish,
French, Italian, German, and ESL. He holds a Ph.D. in Spanish linguistics from the
University of Illinois. He has taught at Boston University, Cornell, and Harvard. He
has been appointed to national committees devoted to the improvement of teacher
training and the academic level of future teachers in foreign languages. He is an
As sistant Professor at Th e College of New Jersey, where he teaches languages and
lin guistics and coordinates an innovative program of student-led conversation
practice.
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Spanish
Tense Profi les
THE BASICS OF CONJUGATION
Conjugation is a list of the forms of the verb in a conventional order. Th e forms of the verb
in a particular tense vary to show person and number. Th e three persons are: the speaker,
or fi rst person (I), the person spoken to, or second person (you), and the person or thing
referred to, or third person (he, she, it). Th ere are two numbers in English and Spanish,
singular and plural. Th e verb forms are designated by person and number, as summarized
in the chart below:
singular plural
first person I we
second person you you
third person he, she, it they
Th us, in the English conjugation of the verb to be
singular plural
first person I am we are
second person you are you are
third person he, she, it is they are
We say that am is fi rst-person singular, while is is third-person singular. Th e form are is
used for the second-person singular and plural as well as for the fi rst- and third-persons
plural. Th e above order of forms is called a conjugation paradigm and is conventional in
both English and Spanish for the presentation of verb forms. Th is is the pattern that will
be used to present the forms of Spanish verbs in this book.
The Persons of the Verb in Spanish
Th e subject pronouns in Spanish do not correspond exactly to the English system.
singular plural
first person yo nosotros, nosotras
second person tú vosotros, vosotras
third person él, ella, usted ellos, ellas, ustedes
Note the following:
1 · Usted and ustedes are oft en abbreviated in writing as Ud. and Uds., respectively. Th e
abbreviations Vd. and Vds. are also used.
2 · Th e Spanish of Spain has four forms for you. Th ey vary for formality and number. Tú
is informal singular, vosotros(-as) is informal plural. Ud. (singular) and Uds. (plural)
are markers of formality, politeness, and seniority.
1
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2
THE BASICS OF CONJUGATION
3 · In Spanish America, vosotros(-as) is not used. Uds. is used as the plural of both tú and
Ud.
4 · Ud. and Uds. are used with third-person, not second-person verbs, in spite of the fact
that they mean you.
5 · Th e plural pronouns in Spanish distinguish gender: nosotros vs. nosotras; vosotros
vs. vosotras; ellos vs. ellas. Th e feminine form is used for groups consisting solely of
females. Th e masculine form is used for groups of males or groups of males and
females.
6 · Subject pronouns are oft en omitted in Spanish since the verb endings make the subject
clear. Subject pronouns are used for emphasis or contrast. Compare:
Él estudia marketing. He is studying marketing.
Él estudia marketing pero ella estudia He is studying marketing, but she is
contabilidad. studying accounting.
Verb Classes
Spanish verbs diff er from English verbs in that they have endings that show both who is
performing the action (the subject of the sentence) and when the action occurs (the tense—
present, past, future, etc.).
All Spanish verbs fall into three major classes, called conjugations. Each conjugation has
its own set of endings, although there is quite a bit of overlap among the three. Th e conju-
gation to which a verb belongs is shown by the infi nitive, the form ending in -r that is not
marked for person or tense. Th e key element is the vowel that comes before the -r of the
infi nitive. Th e verbs hablar to speak, vender to sell, and vivir to live represent the three
conjugations. Notice the names used for the conjugations:
hablar fi rst-conjugation verb or -ar verb
vender second-conjugation verb or -er verb
vivir third-conjugation verb or -ir verb
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