Upgrade your Spanish 9781315832432, 1315832437, 9781317858843, 1317858840, 9781317858850, 1317858859

Table of contents :
Content: Day 1. Agreements --
day 2. Describing people --
day 3. Easy subjunctive constructions --
day 4. Accents, part I --
day 5. Politics and current affairs --
day 6. Regular verbs --
day 7. Visual arts --
day 8. Accents, part ii --
day 9. Literature --
day 10. Ser and Estar --
day 11. Geography --
day 12. Time --
day 13. Rhetorical signposts --
day 14. History --
day 15. Radical-changing verbs --
day 16. Music --
day 17. Dependent prepositions --
day 18. Cinema --
day 19. Irregular verbs --
day 20. Education --
day 21. Conditional sentences --
day 22. Health --
day 23. Dialogue --
day 24. Spelling changes --
day 25. Science --
day 26. Imperatives --
day 27. Similes and set expressions --
day 28. Minor points --
day 29. Vocabulary test --
day 30. Grammar test.

Citation preview

U P G R A D E you /

SPANISH

A B I G A I L LEE SI X

Upgrade your Spanish

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Upgrade your Spanish

Abigail Lee Six ROVAI

HOLLOW AY

U N IV E R S IT Y

OF

LO NDON

I I Routledge | %

Taylor & Francis Group

LONDON AND NEW YORK

First published 2 0 0 1 by H o dd er Arnold, a m e m b e r o f th e H o dd er H eadlin e G roup

P u b lis h e d 2 0 1 4 b y R o u tle d g e 2 P a rk S q u a r e , M i l t o n P a r k , A b in g d o n , O x o n 0 X 1 4 4 R N 7 1 1 T h ir d A v e n u e , N e w Y o r k , N Y , 1 0 0 1 7 , U S A

R o u t le d g e is a n i m p r i n t o f t h e T a y lo r & F r a n c is G r o u p , a n i n f o r m a b u s in e s s

C o p y r ig h t © 2 0 0 1 A b ig a il L e e Six

A ll r ig h ts r e s e r v e d . N o p a r t o f th is b o o k m a y b e r e p r i n t e d o r r e p r o d u c e d o r u tilis e d in a n y f o r m o r b y a n y e le c t r o n ic , m e c h a n ic a l, o r o t h e r m e a n s , n o w k n o w n o r h e r e a f t e r in v e n t e d , in c lu d in g p h o t o c o p y in g a n d r e c o r d in g , o r in a n y in f o r m a t io n s t o r a g e o r r e t r ie v a l s y s t e m , w i t h o u t p e r m is s io n in w r it i n g f r o m t h e p u b lis h e r s .

T h e a d v ic e a n d in f o r m a t io n in t h is b o o k a r e b e li e v e d t o b e t r u e a n d a c c u r a t e a t t h e d a t e o f g o in g t o p r e s s , b u t n e i t h e r t h e a u t h o r s n o r t h e p u b lis h e r c a n a c c e p t a n y le g a l r e s p o n s ib ilit y o r lia b ilit y f o r a n y e r r o r s o r o m is s io n s .

B ritis h L ib r a r y C a t a lo g u in g in P u b lic a t io n D a t a A c a t a l o g u e r e c o r d f o r t h is b o o k is a v a ila b le f r o m t h e B ritis h L ib r a r y

L ib r a r y o f C o n g re s s C a t a lo g in g - in - P u b l ic a t i o n D a t a A c a t a lo g r e c o r d f o r t h is b o o k is a v a ila b le f r o m t h e L ib r a r y o f C o n g re s s

IS B N 1 3 : 9 7 8 - 0 - 3 4 0 - 7 6 1 8 6 - 1 ( p b k )

T y p e s e t in F o r m a t a b y J & L C o m p o s it io n L td , F ile y , N o r t h Y o r k s h ir e

C o v e r D e s ig n : T e r r y G r if f it h s

Illu s t r a t io n s : C o lin W h e e l e r ( c h a p t e r o p e n e r s ) , G e jo C a s a n o v a s ( il lu s t r a t io n s )

Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Day l: Day 2: Day 3: Day 4: Day 5:

Day 6: Day 7:

Day 8: Day 9: Day 10: Day 11; Day 12: Day 13: Day 14: Day 15: Day 16: Day 17: Day 18: Day 19: Day 20: Day 21: Day 22: Day 23: Day 24: Day 25: Day 26: Day 27: Day 28: Day 29: Day 30:

Agreements Describing People Easy Subjunctive Constructions Accents, Part I Politics and Current Affairs Regular Verbs Visual Arts Accents, Part II Literature Ser and Estar Geography Time Rhetorical Signposts History Radical-changing Verbs Music Dependent Prepositions G'nema Irregular Verbs Education Conditional Sentences Health Dialogue Spelling Changes Science imperatives Similes and Set Expressions Minor Points Vocabulary Test Grammar Test

Progress Chart Answers to Exercises Index

vi VII

I 7 13 17 21

25 31 37 43 51 57 63 69 75 79 85 91 97 101

111

117 123 127 133 137 143 149 153 159 161 164 165 177

Acknowledgements i should like to thank my former and present institutions, Queen Mary & Westfield College and Royal Holloway, for granting me sabbatical leave to write Upgrade. I am grateful to my students for their willingness to be guinea-pigs when I was trying out different learning and revision strategies. Finally, 1 thank my two young sons, for die hours they let me spend at my desk instead of being with them. Abigail Lee Six

Introduction Upgrade is a thirty-day home revision and consolidation programme for Spanish language students at all levels from the sixth form to the final year of university or college. If you are not confident of getting an 'A' grade in your Spanish language examinations, this book can help you. Bearing in mind that you will have other subjects to revise in the vacation prior to your examinations, each day's exercises are designed to take between half an hour and one hour to complete. If you work through Upgrade seriously, you can improve your grade, so, for example, if you are likely to get a C without using the book, you can expect at least a B by studying it conscientiously AIMS OF THE BOOK At this late stage, and working on your own, it is unrealistic to expect yourself for the first time to master the most complex and subtle aspects of the Spanish language, whatever progress you were going to make on those fronts has already been achieved. So, fascin­ ating as these aspects are, Upgrade steers clear of them and focuses instead on the basics at the expense of the finer distinctions and the juicier exceptions to each rule. This book does not aim to cover everything - a reference grammar and a dictionary serve that purpose - but instead to focus on three key areas where you can make a real difference in this last month: - eliminating basic errors and slips of the pen, - expanding and consolidating your vocabulary; - injecting some sophistication into the style of your Spanish. Keeping concentration at the optimum level is a major concern during uninterrupted hours of home revision. With this in mind and because you have dictionaries and reference grammars for systematic and ordered information, Upgrade may seem oddly random to you in its structure. Vocabulary is not in alphabetical order and grammar rules are covered only as and when they are thought to be of value to you, on your own, at the eleventh hour. The sections alternate between grammar and vocabulary, with style sections placed at longer intervals. All these varied and apparently random qualities are intended to keep you awake! But if you prefer to copy information into your own notes ordered differently, that in itself will be a good learning strategy. However, the daily exercises are designed to consolidate and build on work covered on previous days, so you should follow the order of the book to obtain the best results from it. GETTING THE MOST FROM THIS BOOK Different students will find different days harder than others, so don’t be surprised if you can get a top score relatively effortlessly on one day, while another is a battle. This is simply because people's strengths and weaknesses differ. Remember that you are not

UPCKADC YOU« SPANISH

Vtu

wasting your tim e if you fin d certain exercises easy: you are consolidating, building confidence and learning w here yo ur particular strengths lie, all o f w hich are very im portant aspects o f preparation fo r examinations. If you com plete fhe exercises fo r one day in under half an hour, it is advisable not to go straight on to the next day's section. Do some ianguage revision o f your own (fo r example, past papers o r yo ur ow n vocabulary lists and notes) to make up the tim e you have allotted to language w ork, and com e back to Upgrode tom orrow . On the other hand, if you find that you have not finished a particular day's exercises after about half an hour, rt is best to stop anyway and com e back to it later on, w hen you w ill have a new lease o f concentration. Doggedly p lodding on past saturation point is not the best w ay to achievement. So switch to another type o f revision altogether and leave language w o rk for at least an hour. You may like to w ork in pencil so that if you do find the exercises fo r a certain day particularly difficult, you can rub yo ur answers out and try it aU over again after an interval. H O W THE EXERCISES W O R K The daily exercises carry 30 points each, num bered 1 -30 w ith arabic numerals. All other sequences are num bered using roman numerals. W here an exercise consists o f filling gaps w ith Spanish words, the num ber of letters for each w ord you are looking fo r is show n by the num ber o f blanks, th u s :_______for a three-lettered word, for example. Where you are being asked to provide English words, a dotted line w ill be used, th u s :............. w ith no indication o f word-lengths. A sound w ill be presented w ithin oblique strokes, thus: /g /. A letter o f the alphabet, by contrast, w ill be in bold type, thus: g. W here the stressed vowel in a w ord needs to be shown, it w ill be underlined, thus: Isabel. Use the answer sect/on to mark your ow n w ork and then put each day's score on the progress chart at the end o f the book.

Never forget another agreement!

D o you ever fo rg e t to m ake y o u r adjectives a gre e ? M o s t students do. Here are som e exercises to help you re m em b e r w ith o u t fail, a n d som e to give you practice a t checking y o u r w ork effectively b y tra inin g y o u r eye to sp o t forgotten agreements.

A GR EEM ENTS FOR G ENDER N ot all adjectives have a different form fo r m asculine and fe m inine. Here is a basic list o f the ones that do: ► Those that end in -o in the m asculine change to -a in the fem inine, e.g. bonito [pretty] becomes bonita. ► Those that end in -dor in the masculine change to -dora in the fem inine, e.g. hablador [talkative] becomes habladora. ► Those that end in -án, -in, -ón o r -és in the masculine, change to -ana, -ina, -ona, -esa in the fem inin e ( nb : no accent in the fem inine endings), e.g. holgazán [lazy] becomes holgazana, pequeñín [tiny] becomes pequeñina, besucón [liking to kiss] becomes besucona, and francés [French] becomes francesa.

Add the correct ending to the fo llo w in g : Q

¡N o seas t o n t_ , M aría!

Q

D o n 't be silly, M a ria ! Q

Teresa es gorda porque es tan cornil_______ Teresa is fa t because she is so greedy.

O Pilar es muy parlanch_______ . Pilar is a real chatterbox.

W aiter! M y soup is cold!

A G R EEM ENTS FOR N U M B E R The basic rule is that adjectives ending in a vowel add s; adjectives ending in a consonant add -es. If there is a w ritten accent on the last syllable of the adjective, re m em b e r that it w ill often lose it w hen you pluralize because you w ill have added a syllable to the end of the w ord (e.g. inglés becomes ingleses). D on 't touch an accent anywhere else, though. Stress rules w ill be covered m ore tho ro ug h ly on Day 8 . Adjectives ending in z w ill change it to c before adding es (e.g. voraz [voracious] becomes voraces), b ut you w ill have a chance to th ink about spelling changes like this again on Day 24.

2

U PG RAD E YO U R SP A N IS H

A fe w a d je ctive s d o n o t h ave a p lu ra l fo rm ; o fte n th is is b eca u se th e y are re a lly n o u n s . An e x a m p le is n a ra n ja [o ra n g e ]. T h is is to o c o m p lic a te d to g o in to h ere . H o w e v e r, a g o o d ide a in th e se cases is to tu rn th e p h ra se a ro u n d , so, fo r e x a m p le , to tra n s la te 'o ra n g e flo w e rs ', say flo re s d e c o lo r n a ra n ja . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2

To g e t a g re e m e n ts rig h t e v e ry tim e , ► firs t m a ke a n y a g re e m e n t n e ce ssa ry fo r g e n d e r; ► th e n p lu ra liz e if re q u ire d . Thus, to d e scrib e m u je re s [w o m e n ] w ith th e a d je ctiv e s in te lig e n te [c le v e r] and b o n ito [p re tty ]: Step 1

M a ke each a d je c tiv e fe m in in e if it has a fe m in in e fo r m : in te lig e n te + b o n ita - (in te lig e n te d o e s n o t e n d in -o , so th e re is n o c h a n g e fo r th e fe m in in e fo rm ).

Step 2

M a ke each a d je c tiv e p lu ra l. B o th e n d in a v o w e l so b o th ju s t a d d s: m u je re s in te lig e n te s y bo nitas.

C o m p le te th e fo llo w in g a d je ctive s:

H

M is hijas son m u y tra b a ja

B

Ten g o q u e d a rte n o tic ia s im p o r ta n t _____

H

Estos ejercicios son f á c i l_____

M y d a u g h te rs are

1 have to give you som e

These exercises

very h a rd -w o rk in g .

im p o r ta n t news.

are easy.

N o w practise y o u r checking strategy Read th e fo llo w in g passage, im a g in in g yo u w ro te it y o u rs e lf in an e x a m in a tio n a n d are n o w ch e ckin g it th ro u g h . Find each a d je c tiv e a n d ch eck w h e th e r o r n o t it agrees w ith its n o u n as it s h o u ld . C o rre c t it if necessary. Tick th e o n e s y o u th in k are c o rre c t as th e y sta n d , to p ro v e to y o u rs e lf th a t y o u have c o n s id e re d th e m .

Q - Q

A l v o lv e r a la U n iv e rs id a d d e s p u é s d e una e s ta n c ia d e t r e s años en P u e r to R ico, P e d ro S a lin a s e s c rib ió algu no e n sayo s d e c rític a lite r a r io y puso e l to q u e fin a l a a lgu nos p ie z a s te a t r a le s , p e ro s o b re to d o , en los ú ltim o s a ños d e su v id a , s e c o n c e n tró en la p ro s a n a rra tiv o . P ublicó su r e la to o rw e llia n o , La bom ba im p e c a b le , y luchó con a q u e lla novela que ta n to tr a b a jo le c o s ta b a , titu la d o p ro v is io n a lm e n te ‘E l v a lo r d e la v id a ’, novela s o b re e l te m a d e la g u e r r a q u e , p o r f in , d e jó in acabado.

H o w m a n y c o rre c tio n s h ave y o u m a de ? If y o u fo u n d six, sco re 6 p o in ts a n d g o o n to th e n e x t exercise. If yo u fo u n d fe w e r (o r m o re !) th a n six, try again b e fo re c o n s u ltin g th e a n sw e r se c tio n ; th e n take o ff a m a rk fo r e v e ry o n e y o u m isse d o r 'c o rre c te d ' w h e n it w as really rig h t.

DAY I: AGREEMENTS

J

C O M M O N C O N F U S IO N S O VER A G R E E M E N T S I

Past participles

These (e.g. hablado, dicho or, as above, titu la d o ) do n o t agree w h e n th e y are p art o f a c o m p o u n d tense (i.e. o ne m ade up o f tw o w o rd s), conjugated w ith haber. The rest o f the tim e th e y do agree. For exam ple: Rocío había hablado con el profesor sobre el asunto. [Rocío had spoken to the teacher a b o u t th e m a tte r ] ► N o a greem ent because había hablado is the plup e rfe ct, a c o m p o u n d tense conjugated w ith haber. Esta novela fue escrita en 1907. [This novel was w ritte n in 1907.] ► Agrees because the past participle (escrito) is w ith ser (fu e ), n o t haber. La puerta está cerrada. [The d o o r is shut.] ► Agrees because the past participle (cerrado) is w ith estar (está), n o t haber.

C om plete th e u n fin ish ed w ord s below , m aking agreem ents w he re necessary: La ensalada había sid_ p re p a ra d _ con m uchos ingredientes exó tic_____ Lots o f exotic ingredients h a d been used to m ake the salad. Las chicas tienen que haber te r m in a d _ estos ejercicios antes de las 10 .

Q

The girls need to have fin is h e d these exercises by ten o'clock. m

m

Tengo le íd ____ cien páginas, pero Cecilia ha le íd ___ la novela entera ya. I ’ve g o t th ro u g h a hun d re d pages, b u t Cecilia has already read the whole novel.

II

Present participles

These (e.g. hablan do [speaking], com iendo [eating]) do n o t agree: M a ría y Juana están hablando - never hablandas [Maria and Juana are speaking]. N ote th a t th e y should never be confused w ith past participles: La puerta está abierta. [The d o o r is open.] ► M ust agree because the past p articiple (a b ie rta) is conjugated w ith estar. La puerta se ha abierto. [The d o o r has opened.] ► Does n o t agree because th e past participle (a b ie rto ) is conjugated w ith h aber (ha). La puerta se está ab rie n d o . [The d o o r is opening.] ► Does n o t agree because a briendo is a present p articiple.

4

UPGRADE YOUR SPANISH

Tick the correct sentences and correct any that have errors o f agre e m e nt in th e m :

E9

La tienda estaba c erra d a .

Q , 0

La tiend a se estaba c erran d a cuando llegó corriendo mi m ad re.

m

La casa fu e des tro zad o por el incendio.

Q , Q

La abuela tie n e guardado mucho recuerdo s de su ju v e n tu d .

E3, Q

Las nietas no habían visto nunca ta n ta s cosas bonitos.

Have you m ade five corrections? If not, reread th e guidelines before th e exercise and then give yo urse lf o ne m o re chance before tu rn in g to the answ er section to add up y o u r score.

Ill D em asiado [too m u ch] agrees w hen it is used as an adjective b u t does n o t agree w he n it is used as an adverb. R em e m b e r th a t adverbs tell yo u m o re a bo u t verbs, adjectives and o th e r adverbs. For exam ple: Ana habla dem asiado. [Ana talks to o m uch.] ► No a greem ent because dem asiado is te llin g you m o re a bo u t th e verb hablar, so it is an adverb here. Conchita es dem asiado tonta para com pren derlo. [C onchita is to o stupid to understand.] ► No agreem ent because dem asiado is telling you m ore a bo u t the adjective tonta, so that means it is an adverb here too. No se puede te n e r dem asiados am igos. [You ca n't have too m any friends.] ► Agrees because in this sentence dem asiado is te llin g you m o re a b o u t a n oun, amigos, w hich m eans it is an adjective. N ow try these: 0

Estoy d e m a s ia d _

5 1 Lourdes ha puesto

E 9 N o bebas d e m a s ia d _ ,

cansada para

d e m a s ia d _ sal en

hacerlo.

el arroz.

A m paro. D o n ’t d rin k too m uch,

1 a m to o tire d to

Lourdes has p u t too

A m paro.

do it.

m u ch salt in the rice.

Was any o f the vo cabulary in this section u n fa m ilia r to you? If so, have you noted it? Make sure you have listed any nouns w ith th e ir gender and any verbs w ith th e ir irregularities and d ep e n d e n t prep o sition s (if any). If you know you have a te n d e n cy to miss agreem ents, especially in a stressful situation like an e xam ination, make sure you leave tim e to check th ro u g h any Spanish you have w ritte n, loo kin g p ure ly at the agreem ents.

DAY I: AGREEMENTS

5

N ow check w h e th e r yo u r answers are correct. If you scored 30 o u t o f 30, you can consider this section finished. If you scored less than 20 o u t o f 30, you should do it all over again, b u t n o t now. D o som eth in g else fo r at least an h o u r before com in g back to it. If you scored betw een 20 and 29 o u t o f 30, loo k back to m o rro w at th e m istakes you have m ade before starting the next section. Be sure you understand w he re and w h y you w e n t w ro n g before m o vin g on. Follow this procedure fo r each day yo u w o rk on U pgrade.

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Upgrade your vocabulary: describing people

DAY 2

D o n 't expect a boo k o f this kin d to provid e you w ith a ll the vocabulary you m ig h t need in an exam ination. The aim o f Upgrade is a diffe re nt one: it is inten d e d to consolidate som e words a n d phrases you know alre a d y a n d to link them to others th a t have the sam e origin. These e tym o lo g ically associated item s are called 'cognates'.

Making links between such w ords should help you in three m ain ways: a) to expand yo ur vocabulary; b) to provide you w ith a technique fo r accelerating yo u r acquisition o f vocabulary in the future, after the im m ediate threat o f exam inations has passed. If you make a poin t of always learning a new w ord alongside one o r tw o others th a t are cognate, you w ill get tw o or three items fo r hardly m ore than the 'price' o f one; c) to build up yo ur understanding o f how the Spanish language is constructed, enabling you to guess m ore confidently at w ords you have n ot com e across before. For exam ple, if you had learnt la d e m o c ra c ia [dem ocracy] alongside d e m o c rá tic o [democratic] and e l/la d e m ó cra ta [dem ocrat)], then you w ou ld find it quite easy if the need arose, to guess that a ristócra ta m ust be 'aristocrat', rather than, say, 'aristocratic' and even perhaps to risk inventing how to say 'aristocrat' actively w hen w ritin g or speaking Spanish. This type of know ledge w ill n ot only help you in exam inations, but also enable you to read faster and m ore accurately, com prehend the spoken language better and, above all, contribute to developing that all-im po rta n t but elusive 'feel' fo r Spanish. Here are ten groups of w ords relating to the physical description o f people. You w ill probably know at least one in each group already. Try to learn any o f the others that you do not know by linking them in yo ur m ind to the one(s) you do. Then practise using som e of them by sketching appropriate features on the blank faces next to the sentences at the end of the list on page 8 . To consolidate the agreem ent rules in yesterday's section, the endings have been left o ff the adjectives in the sentences, fo r you to complete.

el rizo

curl

las cejas eyebrows

rizad o curly

fru n c ir las cejas to frow n

riza r to curl

a rq u e a r las cejas to raise one's

liso straight (o f hair), sm ooth (o f skin or surface) a lisa r to sm ooth

eyebrows c e jiju n to w ith eyebrows that m eet in the m iddle

8

UPGRADE YOUR SPANISH

el p e lo hair

la cara face

p e lu d o hairy

te n e r cara de s u e ñ o to look tired

p e lia g u d o tricky (in sense o f d ifficu lt)

e n ca ra rse con to face up to, co n fro n t

no te n e r p e lo s en la le n g u a n o t to

d e sca ra d o cheeky, sham eless

m ince one's w ord s

¡Q ué cara! W hat a cheek!

con el p e lo al ra p e w ith cropped hair el o jo eye la b a rb a beard, chin

¡o jo ! watch out!

d e ja r la b a rb a to g row a beard

las o je ra s bags o r rings u n d e r one's eyes

b a rb u d o bearded

el o ja l b u tto n h o le

la b a rb illa (tip of th e ) chin

c o s ta r u n o jo de la cara to cost an arm

la n a riz nose n a rig u d o w ith a big nose e sta r hasta las n a rice s de . . . to be fed up to th e back teeth w ith . . . en sus p ro p ia s n a rice s rig h t in h is /h e r/th e ir face

and a leg la fre n te forehead ( nb n o t to be confused w ith el fre n te m ilita ry o r w ea th e r fro n t) te n e r la fre n te d e s p e ja d a to have a high forehead

la boca m o uth d e s e m b o c a r to flo w (rive r) into, com e o u t (street) into b o q u ia b ie rto o p e n -m o u th e d (w ith aston ish m e nt) u n a b o ca n a d a p u ff (e.g. o f sm oke) b o q u e a r to gasp (used fo r fish w hen taken o u t o f w ater), th e re fo re used figura tive ly fo r 'to be at death's d o o r’

N o w practise as o u tlin e d above.

Q -B

Este chico tie n e la frente

B -B

d e s p e ja d _ y el pelo al rape.

B

Esta chica tiene el pelo lis_y larg—

Este barbudo está frunciendo las cejas.

B -B

iQu¿ cara de sueño tiene este hombre! ¡M ira las ojeras que tiene!

DAY 2: DESCRIBING PEOPLE

Check yo u r answers against th e answ er section. Score an extra p o in t Q

9

if you got all the

agreem ents right. N ow , here are ten groups of w o rd s relating to character. Again, you w ill p rob a b ly k now at least o ne in each grou p already. Use th a t know le dg e to m ake learning th e rest easier.

el h u m o r m o od

te rc o stu b b orn

m a lh u m o ra d o b ad-tem pered

la te rq u e d a d stubbornness

suave gentle

la in d o le disp o sition , nature

s u a viza r to soften, calm

de b u e n a /m a la in d o le g oo d /b a d -

el s u a viza n te hair co n d itio n e r, fabric softener la pere za laziness, lethargy p e re zo so lazy d e sp e re za rse to stretch (as on first w aking up) el o rg u llo pride o rg u llo s o prou d el p u d o r m odesty (especially sexual) p ú d ic o m odest p u d ib u n d o prudish

natured frív o lo frivolous la friv o lid a d frivo lity ta c a ñ o m iserly, m ean (w ith m o ne y), stingy la ta ca ñ e ría m iserliness, m eanness, stinginess la ve rg ü e n za sham e, em barrassm ent u n sin v e rg ü e n z a sham eless person, g o o d -fo r-n o th in g d e sv e rg o n z a d o shameless

10

UPGRADE YOUR SPANISH

N ow practise by doing this w ord fit puzzle. Each tim e you fit a w ord into the grid, copy it against its m eaning opposite. (Here's a clue - start w ith the longest w ord first!) The shaded squares w ill give you the letters fo r one w ord that is missing from the grid. Note that all nouns should appear w ith their definite article in the grid. You should only count the answer as correct if you have got the article right too and rem em bered any accents.

5 letters

6 letters

7 letters

8 letters

suave

púdico

frivolo

la/índole

terco

tacaño

e l/h u m o r

la/pereza

e l/p u d o r

perezoso suavizar

9 letters

11 letters

12 letters

13 letters

el/orgullo

m alhum orado

desperezarse

desvergonzado

orgulloso

la/tacañeria

la/frivolidad

pudib un d o

la/terquedad

el/suavizante

la/vergüenza

DAY 2: DESCRIBING PEOPLE

C l m o od bad-tem pered IE1 gentle to soften h a ir co nd itio ne r

C l laziness, lethargy lazy to stretch

Q

sham e g oo d -fo r-n othin g shameless

Q

pride p rou d

Q

modesty m odest p rudish

□

stubborn stubbornness

Q

disposition

Q

frivo lo u s friv o lity

0

m iserly miserliness

11

12

UPGRADE YOUR SPANISH

The fo llo w in g vocabulary grou p is linked to clothing. Once you th in k you have learnt it all, test yo u rse lf by tryin g to co m ple te th e sentences.

la camisa sh irt

los tejanos/vaqu eros jeans

la cam iseta te e -sh irt o r vest

tejano Texan o r denim

el cam isón nightdress

la vaca cow

en m angas de camisa in shirtsleeves

el vaquero co w b o y

descam isado ragged, o r fo llo w e r of

but

G eneral Perón o f Argentina el abrigo overcoat o r shelter

los zapatos shoes las zapatillas slip p e rs/b a lle t sh oes/sports

abrigar to shelter ('give shelter to ') abrigarse to w rap up w arm

shoes zapatear to stam p o r tap one's feet but

los calcetines socks hacer calceta to kn it (old -fa sh ion e d expression; hacer punto used m ore now adays)

la am ericana sports jacket

el zapatista fo llo w e r o f Zapata in Mexican Revolution

el gorro hat (in fo rm a l type w ith o u t brim , e.g. w o o lly)

descalzo b arefoot

la gorra de visera peaked cap

calzarse to p u t on (o f fo o tw e ar)

pasar la gorra to pass the hat around (i.e. to beg)

el cinturón belt

g o rrear to scrounge

la cintura w aist abrocharse el cinturón de seguridad to fasten one's seat-belt

el traje o utfit, suit el traje de luces b u llfig h te r's o u tfit

N ow co m ple te the sentences and then check y o u r answers in the answers section: m

Se ruega a los señores pasajeros q u e ____ ______________________

Passengers are requested to fa ste n th e ir seatbelts. m

Se com pró d o s ________________________ n u e v _ s en las rebajas. She bou g h t herse lf tw o new nightdresses in the sales.

B -B 3

L le v a b a _________________ / ____________________ y u n a _____________ ____ ____________________He was w earing je a n s a nd a peaked cap.

□ m

_______ , que hace frío. I t ’s cold, so w rap up w ell (tú fo r m ) . E l _____________de novia de A delaida era m a g n ific _ . A d e la id a ’s wedding-dress was m agnificent.

m

N o m e gusta que los niños a n d e n ______________________ , por si se resfrían. I d o n ’t like the children to be barefoot in case they catch cold.

m

El p u b l i c o __________________ en señal de protesta. The audience stam ped th e ir fe e t in protest.

Upgrade your style: Easy but elegant constructions using the subjunctive

DAY 3

M o s t students s h u d d e r a t a n y m e n tio n o f the s u bju n ctive a n d it is true th a t so m e aspects o f its use in Spanish a re d iffic u lt to m aster. H ow ever, there are p le n ty o f su bju n ctive co nstructions th a t a re easy to use a n d i f yo u a cqu ire the h a b it o f d o in g so, y o u r w ritte n style in S panish w ill be s ig n ific a n tly im pro ve d . The constructions in this section a ll d e m a n d the subju n ctive (i.e. th e in d ica tive is im p o s s ib le ); this m e an s th a t y o u do n o t h a ve to decide b etw e e n in d ica tive a n d subjunctive, w hich is u s u a lly the trickiest part. Here are som e examples. I

O ja lá + present subjunctive is an expression o f hope

e.g. O ja lá ve nga p ro n to . [I h o p e /le t's hope he/she com es soon.] II

O ja lá + p lu p e rfe ct subjunctive expresses 'if o nly . .

e.g. O ja lá m e lo h u b ie ra s d ic h o III

C o m o si +

antes. [If o nly you had to ld m e before.]

past subjunctives expresses 'as i f '/ 'as th o u g h '

e.g. M e h a b la /h a b ló c o m o si fu e ra m i p a d re . [He speaks/spoke to m e as if he w ere m y father.] N ote that in co llo q uia l English w e could easily say 'H e speaks to m e as if he is m y father', b u t that is in fact incorrect and is n o t used in Spanish. IV

P or + adjective + q u e + su bju n ctive is a special construction

e.g. P or rid íc u lo q u e p u e d a p a r e c e r . . . [R idiculous as it m ay seem . . . ] ; P or m u c h o q u e m e lo ru e g u e s, no lo h aré . [N o m a tte r h ow m uch you beg m e, I shan't d o it.] V

F o rm a re d u p lic a tiv a

e.g. Sea c o m o s e a .. . [Be th a t as it m a y ...]; Vaya d o n d e v a y a ... [W herever he/she g o e s ...] VI

D ich o sea de paso - literally, 'le t it be said in passing', a set expression to introduce

an incidental p o in t e.g. Esta c u e stió n tie n e m u c h o peso p o lític o y, d ic h o sea de paso, n o s o la m e n te en España. [This m atter carries m uch political w e ig h t and, incidentally / o ne m ig h t add, not just in Spain.) VII Q u izá fo llo w e d by subju n ctive expresses 'p erh a p s' at the m o re u nlikely end of the spectrum o f possibility N ote that th e subjunctive is necessary o nly w h e n q u iz á com es befo re th e verb. To make y o u r w ritte n Spanish m o re elegant, w h y n o t m ake a p o in t of p u ttin g it there? e.g. Q u izá ve n g a m a ñ a n a . [Perhaps h e /sh e w ill com e to m o rro w .]

14

UPGRADE YOUR SPANISH

N ow practise using these constructions in the sentences below.

n

____________________ __________ ________________, te querré siem pre. W hatever yon do, l 'l l always love you. (U se tú.)

□

me entonces nada de esto habría sucedido. I f only he h a d listened to me, none o f this w ou ld have happened. (H in t: use hacer caso fo r ‘ lis te n e d ’ in th is co nte xt.)

□

_____________la v u e lv _ a ver un dia. Perhaps I ’ll see her again one day.

Q

Por poco probable reconocí la voz en seguida. Im probable as it m a y seem, I recognized her voice a t once.

H

Tenía el pelo tan d e s m e len ad _, era com o si llev_______ sem anas sin peinarse. H e r h a ir was so messy, it was as i f she h a d n o t com bed it in weeks.

n

_____________ n o s e _______________________ nunca la verdad. Let’s hope the tru th is never discovered.

B

Es un gran novelista y , _______________________ _______ _____________ ,s u esposa no le va a la zaga. H e is a grea t novelist and, by the way, so is his wife.

Are you in danger o f m isreading an indicative as a subjunctive o r vice-versa? If you m ake this m istake you could m isunderstand a w h o le sentence (o r p lo t o f a novel!). Consider, fo r exam ple, these tw o sentences that m ig h t be crucial in a detective story: N o lo m a té p o rq u e era m i h e rm a n o . N o lo m a té p o rq u e fu e ra m i h e rm a n o . In the first sentence the speaker did n o t kill h is/he r b ro th e r and the reason was because it was h is/h e r brother. In the second sentence, the speaker did kill h is /h e r b ro th e r b u t the reason was unrelated to the fact th a t it was h is/h e r brother. M ig h t you aim fo r a subjunctive b u t accidentally w rite the indicative o r vice versa? You w ill have a chance to practise yo u r verb fo rm s on Days 6 ,1 5 , and 19, b u t fo r n ow try this q uick check to fin d o u t h ow m uch a tte n tio n you need to give to the subject. Ring S fo r subjunctive o r I fo r the indicative, after each of the fo llo w in g verb form s. You should not have to stare and stare at th e m to w o rk it out; if you do, you do n o t know y o u r verbs w ell eno u g h.

DAY I: EASY SUBJUNCTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS

IS

□

pueda

S

1

Q

fue

S

1

B 1 sintieron

S

1

□

dijeron

S

1

H

conozco

S

1

B 1 busque

S

1

m

hablaran

S

1

Q

hicim os

S

1

Q

S

1

A re y o u

a p t to

f o r g e t to

viva

u s e th e

su b ju n ctive in a ny o f th e co n stru ctio n s p ractised in th is section? T he fo llo w in g sentences co n ta in s o m e e rrors o f this kind . Try to s p o t and th e n co rre ct th e m as yo u w o u ld th r o u g h

if y o u w e re ch e ckin g

your own

w r itte n

S p a n is h .

There m a y be so m e m issed agre e m e nts to o , so check th ro u g h , tw ice at least, b e fo re lo o k in g up th e answ e r section.

□

A m is h ijos no les g usta el chocolate

Por sorp ren d e n te q u e p u ed e parecer, a m is hijos no les gusta el chocolate. S u rprising as it m a y seem, m y ch ild re n d o n 't like chocolate.

63

D ig a lo que dice, yo sé que es verdad. W h a te ve r he says, I k n o w i t ’s true.

m

O ja lá llegue a tie m p o . L e t’s hope he gets there in tim e .

m

H ab la s co m o si no qu isieras a tu prop io hija. You ta lk as i f you d id n ’t love y o u r o w n daughter.

9

M a rg a rita es bastan te bo nita y, dicho sea de paso, es de m uy buen ín dole. M a rg a rita is q u ite p re tty and, in cid e n ta lly, is very g o o d -n a tu re d too.

m

Por m uy gu ap o que sean, los tip os así no m e in teresan. H o w e ve r han d so m e th e y are, m e n like th a t d o n 't in te re s t me.

m

O ja lá se m e había ocurrido a tie m p o . I f o n ly i t h a d o ccurre d to m e in tim e .

Finally, fo r to d a y, p u t th e in fin itiv e in p arentheses in to its co rrect fo rm fo r th e fo llo w in g sentences and check y o u r answ ers in th e answ ers section.

□

Esa chica trata m i casa co m o si ( s e r ) _____________ la suya. T h a t g irl tre a ts m y house as i f i t were h e r own.

E l

( I r ) _____________ d o n d e _______________, yo te seguire. W herever you go, I 'l l fo llo w .

16

UPGRADE YOUR SPANISH

□

O jalá (encontrar [n o so tro s])______________________________la oportunidad para pasar m ás tiem po juntos en los años que vienen. Let us hope we have the chance to spend m ore tim e to g e th er in years to come.

m

Por absurdo que te (p o d e r)_____________parecer a prim era vista, mi decisión es final. Absurd as it m a y seem to you a t fir s t glance, m y decision is fin a l. Tu argum ento m e parece frívolo y , ____________ _________ ______ ___________ esta actitud arrogante que tienes tam poco m e im presiona. I f in d yo u r a rg u m e n t friv o lo u s and, by the way, th a t a rrog a n t a ttitu d e o f yours doesn’t impress me either.

m

Q u izá ( s e r ) _______ m ejor así. M aybe i t ’s b e tte r like this.

RS3 O jalá m e lo (e x p lic a r )_____________________ ___________________________ antes de ir corriendo a tu m adre. I f o nly you h a d explained it to m e before you w en t ru n n in g to y o u r m other.

Stop losing marks for accents! Part I: Accents for reasons other than stress rules

DAY 4

Accents a re n o to rio u s m ark-lo se rs fo r students in exam in a tion s. B u t resist th e te m p ta tio n to be d e fe a tist a b o u t this: y o u can a v o id a ll errors co nce rn ing accents i f yo u m a ke y o u r m in d up to i t this m o n th . Fo r som e students this a lo n e can im p ro v e th e ir m a rk b y a w h o le g ra d e !

ACCENTS IN TH E IN T E R R O G A T IV E /E X C L A M A T O R Y F O R M S There are th re e possible reasons fo r p uttin g a w ritte n accent on a w ord in Spanish.

I

To in d ic a te an in te rro g a tiv e o r e x c la m a to ry fo rm

e.g. ¿Qué haces? [W hat are you doing?]; ¡Q ué risa! [H ow funny!] II

To d is tin g u is h b e tw e e n c e rta in p a irs o f m o n o s y lla b ic w o rd s th a t have d iffe re nt

m eanings b u t w o u ld oth e rw ise loo k identical e.g. N o m e gusta el té. [I d o n 't like tea.): Te q u ie ro . [I love you.] III

To in d ic a te w h e re th e stress fa lls on a w o rd w hich does n o t obe y the stress rules of

Spanish e.g. d ifíc il [d ifficult]

The exercises fo r to d a y cover the first type. The th ird w ill be the subject o f Day 8’s exercises.

T h e basic ru le s fo r th e fir s t use i)

Interrogatives carry an accent (placed on th e stressed vo w e l), even in indirect questions. For exam ple:

¿C óm o te llam as? [W hat is y o u r name?] ► D irect question using the interrogative adverb ¿cóm o? ¿C uánto d in e ro tienes? [H o w m uch m o n e y have you got?] ► D irect question

using the

interrogative

adjective

¿cu án to?

adjective because it is te llin g you m o re a b o u t d in e ro ).

(here

c u á n to

is an

18

UPGRADE YOUR SPANISH

N o sé có m o se lla m a . [I d o n 't know w hat his nam e ¡s.] ► Indirect question using the interrogative adverb. M e pregunto cuánto dinero tiene. [I w o n d e r how m uch m oney she's got.] ► Indirect question using an interrogative adjective.

Exclamatory adjectives and pronouns carry an accent on the stressed vowel. For

ii)

example: ¡Qué vestido más bonito! [W hat a pretty dress!] ¡Cuánto me gusta! [I love it!] (Lit. 'H ow much it pleases m e !’ ) N ote that Spanish uses exclam atory form s m ore than English. A literal translation is very often inappropriate, as in this example. Choose a suitable w ord to fill each o f the gaps in the fo llo w in g interrogative and exclamatory sentences. To keep practising agreements, the endings o f adjectives w ill also need to be added. Q

¿ ____________ compraste e s _ camiseta tan origin______ ?

Q

¿ _______le dijiste para suavizar un poco la m a l_ noticia?

Q -Q

N o r e c u e r d o ____________ n i ________________ la conocí.

Where d id you buy th a t unusual tee-shirt?

W h a t d id you say to soften the bad news a little ?

/ d o n 't recall where o r when I m e t her. H

i _______horror! H o w a w ful!

B

j _______________ gente mal e d u c a d _ por aquí! The people round here are so rude!

The m ost com m on p itfall This is to confuse a relative w ith an interrogative. (If it is any consolation, native speakers get this w ron g to o !) R em em ber that n ot all questions contain an interrogative p ronoun, adjective or adverb. This type o f question is usually called a 'dosed question’, because it can be answered sim ply by 'yes' or 'no'. The type of question introduced by an interrogative is usually known as an 'open question'. For example: ¿Conoces a m i n o vio , Juan? [Do you know m y boyfriend, Juan?] ► Closed question because yes/no answer is possible.

DAY 4: ACCENTS. PART I

19

¿Quién eres? [W ho are you?] ► Open question because yes/no answer is n ot possible. A closed question o f the yes/no type m ight happen to contain a relative pronoun: ¿Has visto el coche que c o m p ré ayer? [Have you seen the car (that) I b ought yesterday?] If you find this confusing, th in k about the English translation of the closed sentence above: the relative p ronoun que is translated by 'that' b ut it can be left o ut altogether in English. The interrogative form , however, w ould have been translated by 'w hat' and could not have been left out. This tip is given to help you get a feel fo r the difference between relative and interrogative pronouns. But note it is n ot a fo o lp ro o f m echanism fo r identifying them . A closed question m ight also happen to contain an indirect question. Consider the follow ing: ¿Dónde viven tus padres? [W here do your parents live?] ► D irect open question. ¿Conoces el b a rrio d o n d e viven m is padres? [Do you know the n eighbourhood m y parents live in?] ► D irect closed question, happening to contain a relative adverb (d o n d e ). It can be o m itted altogether in the English translation, w hich helps to identify it as a relative and not an interrogative. ¿Sabes d ó n d e viven? [Do you know w here they live?] ► Direct closed question, happening to contain an indirect question, hence the accent on d ó n d e . Note that here the d ó n d e has to be translated; this helps to identify it as an interrogative and not a relative. Practise m aking these distinctions between relatives and interrogatives in direct and indirect questions by puttin g accents on the w ords that require them below. R em em ber to keep practising the agreem ents on adjectives. Q -Q

¿Por que me tra ta s así? ¿Es porque no me quieres ya? W hy are you tre a tin g me like this? Is it because you d o n 't love me any more?

□

□

¿C u a n ta s veces te n d ré que re p e tirte que eso no tien e nada que ver? H ow m any tim es w ill I have to repeat th a t th a t's g ot n oth in g to do w ith it? No sé como te atreves a em plear e s t _ tono a g re s iv _ conmigo. I d o n ’t know how you dare use th a t aggressive tone to me. ¿A sí que el fontanero no llegó hasta las seis? ¡Que pesadilla! So the p lu m b e r d id n ’t get there u n til six o ’clock? W hat a nig h tm a re !

20

U P G R A D E Y O U R S P A N IS H

□

□

¿ R e c u e r d a s c u a n to n o s g u s ta b a p a s e a r n o s p o r e s t _____c a lle s ta n tr a n q u il_____c u a n d o v ív ía m o s a q u í? D o y o u re c a ll h o w m u c h w e u sed to lik e s tr o llin g th r o u g h these q u ie t s tre e ts w h e n w e w ere liv in g h e re ?

□

¿ T e d a s c u e n ta d e la h o ra q u e e s ? D o y o u re a liz e th e tim e ?

m

¿ T e d a s c u e n ta d e q u e h o ra e s ? D o y o u re a liz e w h a t tim e it is? E x p líc a m e p o r q u e h a s a c tu a d o a s í. Tell m e w h y y o u ’ve a c te d th e w a y y o u h ave .

Reminder: A re you still n o tin g d o w n a n y u n fa m ilia r vo c a b u la ry th a t h a p p en s to a p p e a r in

th ese exercises? W h e n yo u d o , are you re m e m b e rin g to in clu d e th e g e n d e r o f no un s an d an y irregularities o r d e p e n d e n t p rep o sitio n s o f verbs? Finally, m atch th e fo llo w in g half sentences w ith th e ir m a te by c o n n ectin g th e m w ith a line and correct th e accents w h e re necessary. S o m e are correct, s o m e are su p erflu o u s, o th ers are m issing.

¿ C u a l d e los e je r c ic io s q u é h a s h e c h o . . .

___ p o r q u e lo hab ía a b a n d o n a d o ?

0 -E 3 N o t e im a g in a s c u á n to tie m p o . . .

___ s in v e r n o s l ¿ Q u e m e c u e n ta s ?

m -m i C u a n to tie m p o . . .

___ t e c o s tó m á s ?

m -m N o s é c u á n d o ....................h e p a s a d o e n e s to y c u a n to m e han a y u d a d o t u s a p u n te s .

¿ S a b ía s u m a r id o , q u é t a n to la q u e r ía , . . .

___ ni d o n d e la v o lv e r é a v e r .

Upgrade your vocabulary: politics and current affairs

DAY 5

To be com fortable when you talk, read, o r write a b o u t politics a n d current affairs, you need to have sufficient vo cab u lary re la tin g to both the A n g lophone a n d H ispanic spheres. Obviously, this is an enorm ous lexical d om ain, fa r too extensive to cover fu lly in one day. But you can m ake sure you kn ow som e basic g e n e ra l terms. So the exercises fo r to d a y w ill h ig h lig h t a selection o f these, a lo n g w ith som e th a t focus on Spain, Britain, a n d Europe; i f y o u r p a rtic u la r needs are m o re transatlantic you could devise a p a ra lle l list to learn alongside, o r instead of, som e o f those given here. As before, vocabulary is given in related sets o f term s so that you can learn by linking. Here are the first 10: el g o b ie rn o governm ent e l/la g o b e rn a d o r/-o ra governor g o b e rn a r (radical-changing see Day 1 5 )to govern g u b e rn a m e n ta l governm ental (note the

las elecciones g en e ra le s /m u n ic ip a le s general/local election (N otice the plural in Spanish.) e le g ir (radical-changing, as p e d ir - see Day 15) to elect, choose

'u ' in Spanish), e.g. los o rga n ism os

la elección choice

no g ub e rn a m e n ta le s

e l/la e le c to r/-o ra voter

n on-governm ental organizations,

el e le cto ra d o the electorate

NGOs

e le cto ra l election (adj.), as in la

g o b e rn a n te ruling, e.g. la dase g o b e rn a n te the ruling class

ca m pa ñ a e le cto ra l election campaign

las C ortes the Spanish Parliament

el p resu p u esto the budget

la co rte (royal) court

el su pu e sto supposition, assum ption

h acerle la co rte a a lg u ien to w oo /

p re s u p o n e r (irreg., as p o n e r -

court s.o. (also fig.) v o ta r a to vote for e m itir su v o to to cast one's vote el v o to vote, or religious vow un v o to a fa v o r de algo a vote in favour o f s.th. un v o to en co ntra de algo a vote against s.th. (N ote the prepositions fo r this pair.) el e xvoto votive offering

see Day 19) to presuppose la C ám ara de los C om unes the House o f C om m ons la C ám ara de los Lores the House of Lords la cám ara cham ber e l/la cám ara cameram an / cam erawoman el c a m a re ro /la ca m arera w aiter/waitress; bellb oy/ho te l m aid

22

UPGRADE YOUR SPAN ISH

la m a y o ría m a jo rity

el tr a ta d o treaty

m a y o r ita r io m a jo rity (a d j.), as in u na

el tr a to deal, as in h a c e r u n tra to to

d e c is ió n m a y o rita ria - a m a jo rity

m ake a deal e s ta r en tra to s co n to be in

d ecision la m in o r ía the m in o rity m in o r ita r io m in o rity (a d j.), as in un

neg o tia tio n s w ith de tr a to fá c il easy-going

g o b ie rn o m in o r ita r io a m in o rity el ( p r im e r ) m in is tr o /la ( p rim e ra ) g o v e rn m e n t m in is tra th e (P rim e ) M in is te r

lle g a r a la m a y o ría d e e d a d to c o m e

el m in is te rio m in is try o f age el c o n s e jo de m in is tro s el m itin (p o litic a l) m e e tin g

C ouncil o f M iniste rs (Sp. and EU);

el líd e r (p o litic a l) lea d e r

C ab in et (G B )

el lid e ra z g o (p o litic a l) lea d e rship

O nce yo u th in k yo u have le a rn t these, practise b y fillin g th e gaps in th e sentences belo w . To c o n so lid a te th e w o rk y o u d id ye ste rd ay o n rules fo r accents placed fo r reasons o th e r than stress, s o m e accents have been left o ff -

so m ake sure y o u add th e m w h e re

necessary.

D -B

¿A que hora anoche l l e g ó ____ ______________________ _______ _________________________ a un a cu erd o s o b r e ______ _______________________________de la Unión E urop ea? A t w h a t tim e last n ig h t d id the C ou n cil o f M iniste rs reach agre e m e nt on the b ud g e t o f th e EU?

B -B

las reu nio nes de las N aciones U nid as, se que

____ _____________________________________________ tie n e n el de rec h o de a s is tir p e ro ¿ p u e d e n _____________ ? I k n o w th a t N C O s have th e rig h t to a tte n d U N m e etin g s b u t can th e y vote?

B -B

A t ________________ _________________________ d e u n ______________________ __________________________________ le cuesta im poner el program a legislativo que ha prom etido al

It is h a rd f o r th e p rim e m in is te r o f a m in o rity g o v e rn m e n t to push th ro u g h th e legislative p ro g ra m m e th a t he has p rom ise d th e electorate. Q

La re fo rm a d e ____ _________________ ________________ _______________ ha com enzado ya pero m uchas cues tio n e s quedan po r res o lv er. R eform o f th e H ouse o f Lords has n o w begun b u t m a n y questions have yet to be resolved.

DAY 5: POLITICS AN D CURRENT AFFAIRS

□

□

quien vas a

23

_____________c u a n d o _________

________________ ________________ ? W ho w ill you be v o tin g f o r in th e general election? E m ____ ________________del partido socialista e sta M anana, se _______________ a

______ n u e v o _______________.

A t a socialist p a rty m eeting this m orning, a new leader was elected.

Here is a second set o f term s. These have m o rph o log ical rather than lexical links. In o ther w ords it is the fo rm rather than the m eaning w hich links the groups: la d e m o c ra c ia dem ocracy

el P a rtido L ab o rista Labour Party (C B)

e l/la d e m ó c ra ta dem ocrat

el la b o ris m o Labour m o ve m e n t

d e m o c rá tic o dem ocratic

e l/la la b o ris ta Labour su p p o rte r or party

p o c o d e m o c rá tic o

undem ocratic

m e m be r

la a ris to c ra c ia aristocracy

el P a rtido C o m u n is ta C om m u n ist Party

e l/la a ris tó c ra ta aristocrat

el c o m u n is m o co m m un ism

a ris to c rá tic o aristocratic

e l/la c o m u n is ta co m m un ist el P a rtido S ocialista Socialist Party

el s e na d o senate or senate b uild in g /h ou se e l/la s e n a d o r/-o ra senator s e n a to ria l senatorial (note t h e 't ' in Spanish) el e c u a d o r e quator e c u a to ria l equatorial

el s o c ia lis m o socialism e l/la so cia lista socialist

b u t el P a rtid o C o n s e rv a d o r Conservative Party (GB) el c o n s e rv a d u ris m o Conservatism e l/la c o n s e rv a d o r/-o ra Conservative s u pp o rte r or party m e m be r

el e sta d o state e statal state (adj.), as in una s u b v e n c ió n e sta ta l state subsidy

de iz q u ie rd a s left-w ing de dere ch a s right-w ing de bue n a s a p rim e ra s all o f a sudden

24

UPGRADE YOUR SPANISH

Once yo u have learnt these, try to deduce h ow to say the fo llo w in g : □

a technocrat: u n /u n a

Q

m

a bureaucrat: u n /u n a

Q a n a r c h is m : ______

a dictator: u n /u n a

Q

□

_____________________ /-o ra

dictatorial:

an anarchist: u n /u n a _____________________

Find the best w ay to translate the fo llo w in g : Q -Q

En el fondo es un político de derechas no obstante su im agen centro izquierdista.

Q -Q

El co n s e rva d _ ris m o británico no se parece m ucho a la derecha política de los Estados U nidos.

m

Las escuelas del sector estatal suelen tener clases más num erosas que las del sector privado.

E-ES

En el África e cu a _ o ria l, el tribalism o puede tener m ás im portancia que las ideologías políticas.

Perfect precision with regular verb forms

DAY 6

Are you one o f the m a n y students w ho m ig h t m a ke a m istake w ith a re g u la r verb fo rm ? I f so, it is n o t too late to re m ed y the p ro b le m a n d i t is d efinitely w orth m a kin g the e ffo rt to do so. A ll it takes is som e clear thinking a n d the determ ination never to lose a no the r m a rk fo r som ething as elem e n ta ry as this. The key to success is tw o fo ld : ► first, you have to know the three conjugations one hundred percent; ► second, you have to be able to match the verb you are trying to use to the right pattern. Today, therefore, the first exercises are designed to help you ensure that you are rock solid on the form s o f regular -a r (e.g. h a b la r [to speak]), -e r (e.g. co m e r [to eat]), and -ir (e.g. v iv ir [to live]) verbs. Then there w ill be a chance to practise the best technique fo r always going to the right conjugation fo r each verb you are using. R em em ber th a t if you find reciting verbs helpful as a way to m em orize them , you m u st pronounce them correctly to yourself -

w hether in yo u r head or aloud. The tem ptation

is to place the stress on the ending. But if you do that w ith a verb whose correct pronunciation stresses the stem, you w ill have spelling problem s w ith accents. You w ill im prove your spoken Spanish, and help yourself enorm ously w ith spelling, if you make sure that you use yo ur best accent at all times, even w hen you are just m u m bling verbs to yourself. As w ell as looking at w here the stress falls in each fo rm , this also means differentiating between a single and double Y sound - fo r example, reciting n a rra r [to narrate) o r p a ra r [to stop]. In this section, the stressed vowel w ill be underlined so that you can check on your pronunciation as w ell as yo ur spelling.

I

Present in d ica tive

h a b la r

co m e r

v iv ir vivo

hablo

como

hablas

comes

vives

habla

come

vive

hablam os

com em os

vivim os

habláis

coméis

vivís

hablan

comen

viven

26

UPGRADE YOUR SPANISH

N otice that there is a certain logic to these form s: it m ig h t help you to bear in m in d that the m o st stra igh tfo rw a rd tense and m o o d - the present indicative - features a in the endings of -a r verbs and e in the endings o f -e r verbs, and i figures strongly in the endings o f - ir verbs.

II

P re sen t s u b ju n c tiv e

R em e m b e r th a t the present subjunctive (you can th in k o f it as being perverse if it helps!), m akes -a r verbs look a b it like -e r ones and m akes -e r and - ir verbs loo k rather like -a r ones.

Of

h a b la r

com er

v iv ir

hable

coma

viva

hables

comas

vivas

hable

coma

viva

hablem os

com am os

vivam os

habléis

com áis

viváis

hablen

com an

vivan

course you kn ow all this, so w h y do you still so m etim e s get it w rong? Is it because you

are n o t systematic enough w hen w ritin g dow n a verb form ? Follow these steps and you can e lim ina te the mistakes.

To get th e present subjunctive righ t every tim e , ask yourself: Step 1

W hat is the in fin itive o f th e verb I w a n t to use?

Step 2

W h a t tense and m o o d am I a im in g for?

Step 3

Is it regular? If so, I match it to the a pp ro p ria te fo rm o f h a b la r, c o m e r, o r v iv ir. Is it radical-changing? If so, I m atch it to th e app ro p ria te fo rm o f e n te n d e r [to understand], m e n tir [to lie], o r p e d ir [to ask for].

Step 4

Is it irregular? If so, I m u st call on m y m e m o ry to know h ow to conjugate it.

The fo llo w in g co m m o n mistakes arise fro m a lack o f th in kin g clearly th ro u gh the fo u r steps o u tlin e d above:

► confusing cre ar, the regular -a r verb m e aning 'to create', w ith cre er, the irregular -e r verb m e aning 'to believe'; and ► confusing se nta rse the regular (b u t radical-changing) -a r verb m e aning 'to sit d o w n ', w ith se ntirse the regular (b u t radical-changing) - ir verb m e aning 'to feel'.

Practise the regular present indicative and subjunctive fo rm s by first tryin g to w rite o u t the three conjugations fro m m e m o ry u ntil you have been able to do so faultlessly, at least twice in succession.

DAY 6: RECULAR VERBS

27

Now try these: Q

¿Quieres que te c a n t_

a

¿Dónde viv____ los González? Where do the González fa m ily live?

mi últim a canción?

B

N o m e le v a n t_ nunca antes de las nueve. 1 never get up before nine o'clock.

□

¿Por qué dices que no me ere____ ? ¡Es la pura verdad! Why are you saying you d o n ’t believe m e? I t ’s

W ould you like me to sing you

absolutely tru e !

m y latest song?

B

P a s _ lo que p a s _ , puedes contar conmigo. W hatever happens, you can count on me.

III

P reterite

There is no need to reprint all the regular verb form s here; you can find them in a dictionary or a specialized verb reference book. Look through them now and w rite o ut any you feel you need to, as m any tim es as necessary. Then try to fill in the table below from m em ory, u nderlining the stressed vowel:

IV

hablar

com er

vivir

□

(yo)

----------------

------------

------------

□

(tú)

--------------------------

----------------------

----------------------

B

(él/ella)

_________

_________

_________

□

(n o s o tro s /-a s )_______________

_____________

_____________

Q

(v o s o tro s /-a s )___________________ ___________________ ____________________

D

(ellos/ellas)

_______________

Im p e rfe c t su bju n ctive

Now use the third-person plural (e llo s/e lla s) form o f each verb to create the stem fo r the im perfect subjunctive. For example:

Take h a b la ro n , and rem ove the -ron. ►

That leaves you w ith h ab la - to w hich the -ra or -se endings are added.

This m ethod of finding the stem for the im perfect subjunctive from the third-person plural of the preterite is valuable w hen it comes to irregular verbs, so you m ight as w ell use it with the regular ones too.

28

UPGRADE YOUR SPANISH

If you find accuracy w ith verb form s difficult, you do not need to learn the -se form of the im perfect subjunctive except to recognize it when you see (or hear) it. The -ra form is always possible where the im perfect subjunctive is required, but the -se form has other complexities and can sound pretentious in some contexts, so if you decide to live w ithout learning one of the two, miss out the -se form . Fill in the follow ing table w ith the im perfect subjunctive and underline the stressed vowel: hablar

comer

vivir

hablaron

com ieron

vivieron]

3rd person plural o f the preterite □

(yo)

1 9 (tú)

El El

(él/ella) (nosotros/-as)

Q

(vosotros/-as)

U

(ellos/ellas)

Practise any other tenses that you think you could be shaky on in the same way - by making a table of the three conjugations. When you are satisfied that you know all the regular verb forms, try the following:

m

(yo) bailar to dance (pres, s u b j.):

m

(tú) beber to drink (im pe rfe ct):

m

(él) sorprender to surprise (preterite):

□

(ella) mirar to look a t (future): (nosotros) pelear to fig h t (pres, indicative):

□

(vosotros) subir to go up (im perf. subj.):

□

(ellos) discutir to argue (pres, perfect):

m

(ellas) besar to kiss (im perfect):

D A Y 6: R E G U L A R V E R B S

29

SPOT THE HOWLER! B elo w are five o f th e kind o f m istakes th a t ex a m in e rs regard as u n fo rg ivab le. T h e y m ay be v e rb fo rm s, a g re e m e n ts , or accents. Read th ro u g h th e p iece th re e tim es, lo o kin g fo r, an d co rrecting , each ty p e o f m istake in tu rn . M a k e sure yo u check y o u r o w n w ritte n S panish in th e sa m e m e th o d ic a l w a y - read in g th ro u g h several tim es , each tim e lo o kin g fo r o n e specific ty p e o f m istake.

E3-ES

Juan (lego ta rd e a la escuela aquella mañana. S e fu e directam ente a sentarse, esperando que el profesor no le dijera nada. Pero el señor Jiménez no iba a dejarlo pasar. - ¿Sabe usted que hora es? - fulminó. - S í, señor - respondo Juan con una sonrisa. - Son las diez en punto. Al p rofesor no le gustaba que un chico le hablare así delante del resto de la clase. - iCien líneas! ‘Un alumno se disculpe si llega tard e a la escuela

A re yo u still n o tin g d o w n an y vo c a b u la ry th a t is n e w to yo u as yo u go along? Remember th at th e re is little p o in t kn o w in g th e in finitive o f a verb if yo u do n o t k n o w ho w

it is c o n ju g ated . So m ake su re yo u in clu d e th at in fo rm a tio n w ith each n e w ve rb yo u learn: (a ) reg u lar o r irregular; (b ) if radical-ch an g in g , w h ich ty p e it is.

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Upgrade your vocabulary: The visual arts

DAY 7

The vocabulary for today is based on the principle introduced in earlier sections, namely, the linking o f cognate items: i.e. words that are derived from the same source. But now there w ill be an opportunity to extend your vocabulary by 'inventing' words that you can guess at. Being able to make a good educated guess is vital to a ll foreign language learning. CUESSABILITY

Here you have a chance to practise this skill to help you (a) im prove yo u r feel fo r the sorts o f w ords you are likely to be able to guess right; and (b) see how a know ledge of sim ilar w ords can contribute to the guessing process. In m ost cases, an accurate guess is m ade up o f tw o elem ents: first, having the know ledge o f a cognate te rm ; and second, the know ledge o f m o rp h o lo gically sim ilar relationships - th a t is w o rd-g rou p s w ith a sim ilar shape. For exam ple, if you w anted to guess the w o rd fo r 'p lu m -tre e ', you w o u ld pro b a b ly get it rig ht if you th o u g h t a b o ut tw o things you already know: one, th a t la ciru e la m eans 'p lu m '; and tw o, th a t the nam es o f fru it trees are often fo rm e d from the m asculine version o f the fruit, fo r exam ple in the pairs la cereza ¡cherry] - el ce re zo [cherry-tree] and la n a ra n ja [orange] - el n a ra n jo [orange-tree]. That know ledge should lead you to try the w o rd el c iru e lo fo r 'p lu m -tre e ' - and you w ill be right. It should also stop you from tryin g to guess w h a t a le m on-tree is, since you know th a t el lim o n [le m o n ] is already m asculine, so there is no obvious guess to be m ade here and this should encourage you to go for a sly paraphrase rather than a rash guess. (A lem on-tree, incidentally, is un lim o n e ro .) By the sam e token, this type o f logic com bined w ith previous know ledge should enable you also to w o rk o u t w ords from Spanish to English, w hen you com e up against an u n fam ilia r term . For instance, you w o u ld have been able to w o rk o u t th a t el c iru e lo m eans 'p lu m tree ’ if you had already know n the w ords la ciru e la and el n a ra n jo . N ow use this o p p o rtu n ity to practise guessing in the same way. la fo to g ra fia p h otography sacar una fo to (g ra fia ) to take a p h o to (g ra p h ) (nb the long form is identical to the w o rd fo r 'p h oto g rap h y'. R em em ber th a t w hen you use the sh o rt fo rm , la fo to , the g ender looks od d because o f the -o ending. Finally, note th a t unexpected verb sacar, and that its use extends to photocopies

too: sacar una fo to c o p ia to take a photocopy. The -c at the end o f the stem m eans it w ill need som e spelling changes - this w ill be covered on Day 24.) e l/la fo to g ra fo /a pho to g ra ph e r fo to g ra fia r (irreg., cf. c o n tin u a r) to p hotograph

UPGRADE YOUR SPANISH

12

The use o f

fo to -

as a prefix is parallel to English, m a kin g a h ost o f o th e r w ord s reliably

guessable. For exam ple, w o rk o u t h ow yo u say:

B

pho tog e n ic (w o rk o u t th e stre ss c a re fu lly: th in k o f el pànico p a n ic as a c o m p a r i s o n ) : ___________________________

B

pho tom o n ta g e (w o rk o u t th e g en d e r c a refu lly: th in k o f el garaje garage as a c o m p a r i s o n ) : ____ _________________________________

B

photosynthesis (w o rk o u t th e g en d e r c a refu lly: th in k o f la tesis thesis as a c o m p a r i s o n ) : ____ ____________________________________

el marco fram e enm arcar to fra m e but

m arcar - this is a false frie n d ! It can m ean 'to d ia l' (as in a te lep h o ne n u m b e r), 'to

score' (as in a goal), 'to set' (as in o n e ’s hair) and, o nly in certain contexts, 'to m ark'

Guess the m eaning: B

Las negociaciones actuales se enm arcan dentro de la política de diálogo de la cual el gobierno tanto se enorgullece. The cu rren t n e g o tia tio n s ...................................................... ............................. the policy o f dialogue o f w hich the gove rn m e nt is so proud.

grabar to engrave, also to record (a ud io or vid e o )

el grabado engraving la grabación recording

Guess th e m eaning:

B

La cara de su m adre la últim a vez que la vio se le quedó grabada el resto de su vida. For the rest o f his life, his m o th e r’s fa ce the last tim e he saw her

cuadrado square (as in g e o m e try), b u t

un cuadro picture

also squarely o r w ell b u ilt (w hen

el cuadrado the square

describing a person)

but

la cuadra stable

DAY 7: VISUAL ARTS

D

G uess How to say q u a d ra ph o n ic (th in k c a re fu lly a b o u t th e lik e ly stre ss p a tte rn - c o m p a re w ith w o rd s like cronico chronic):

el agua (fe m . - see Day 28 fo r m o re on th is) w ater el aguafuerte e tching una acuarela w ate r-co lo u r (co m pa re w ith el acuario a qu a riu m )

Q

G u e ss th e S p a n ish fo r w ater-colourist (c o m p a re w ith w o rd s lik e e l/la pianista): e l/la

______________________________

la escultura sculpture

Q

G uess w h a t th e ve rb to sculpt w o u ld be:

el esbozo sketch

B

el escultor/la escultora scu lp to r

esbozar to sketch

G uess w h a t yo u are d o in g ifesbozas una sonrisa (a nd th e a n s w e r is n o t d ra w in g a ske tch o f s o m e o n e ’s s m ile !)

el pincel (false frie nd : n o t ’p e n cil') paintbrush

Guess the meaning: Q

Este estilo de pintura deja ver las pinceladas. This style o f p a in tin g lets t h e ......................................... .... show.

el cincel chisel

Q

G uess th e ve rb to chisel'.

33

34

UPGRADE YOUR SPANISH

el retrato p ortrait retratar to m ake a p o rtra it o f (in clu d in g p h o tog ra ph ic)

M is c e lla n e o u s unguessables

C

Est*cuadro >. m ed