Feliz cumpleaños = Happy Birthday

By Os

Hola amig@s. ¿Todo bien?  Today this column is celebrating one year of being around.  Muchas gracias for reading it, and saying good things about it.  You can find this and the other 11 (once) articles on this website:  www.OsCostaRica.com 

Last month there were two little (but VERY important) mistakes in some of the patterns we learned.  Specifically #2, the  –ER Pattern and #3, the  –IR Pattern.  One of the endings shown there, instead of being an “A” it should have been an “E”.  (Just for the record, the endings of a verb are called CONJUGATIONS).  Let’s review the three patterns we learned last month very quickly. 

#1.  –AR Pattern.  PRESENTE

Drop the –AR ending of an infinitive, like hablAR, and add the following endings:

                Yo                            hablO 

                Usted                      hablA

                Ella – Él                  hablA

 

                Nosotros                hablAMOS 

                Ustedes                  hablAN

                Ell@s                      hablAN

 

#2.  –ER Pattern.  PRESENTE

Drop the –ER ending of an infinitive, like comER, and add the following endings:

                Yo                            comO 

                Usted                      comE

                Ella – Él                  comE

 

                Nosotros                comEMOS 

                Ustedes                  comEN

                Ell@s                      comEN

 

#3.  –IR Pattern.  PRESENTE

Drop the –IR ending of an infinitive, like vivlR, and add the following endings:

                Yo                            vivO 

                Usted                      vivE

                Ella – Él                  vivE

 

                Nosotros                vivIMOS 

                Ustedes                  vivEN

                Ell@s                      vivEN

 

Let’s make it smaller:

 HablAR = TO talk-TO speak

I  hablO                  we  hablAMOS

you, s/he  hablA                  you all, they  hablAN

 

 ComER = TO eat

 I  comO                  we  comEMOS

you, s/he  comE                    you all, they  comEN

 

 VivIR = TO live

I  vivO                     we  vivIMOS

you, s/he  vivE                      you all, they  vivEN

 

Play with these:

 EstudiAR = TO study

I  _____O              we  _____AMOS

you, s/he  _____A               you all, they  _____AN

 

CorrER = TO run

I  _____O              we _____EMOS

you, s/he  _____E               you all, they  _____EN

 

EscribIR = TO write

 I  _____O              we _____IMOS

you, s/he  _____E               you all, they  _____EN

 

Use real names and situations: 

Yo  estudi___  en mi casa.

Usted  estudi___  en un hotel.

Pat  escrib___  en la oficina.

Bill  corr___  en el gym.

Pat, Bill y yo  escrib_______  en Quepos.

Ustedes  corr_____  en la playa.

Pat y Bill  estudi_____  mucho.

 

Check the answers: 

O  –  A  –  E  –  E  –  IMOS  –  EN  –  AN. 

Well done guys.  ¿Have you been learning one or two names of verbos everyday, just one or two, memorizing the meaning and playing with them?  ¿¿¿NO???  It’s a shame, I told you to do that 60 days ago. 

Imagine yourself knowing 60 verbos for now… or 120… or 55… or 30… or at least 12…  ¿Wouldn’t it be easier to express yourself and communicate with people who do not speak English? 

There is a book on the street named “501 Spanish Verbs”, it is yellow and muy gordito.  ¿Have you seen it?  Let me rewrite one paragraph for you: 

“Beginning students should pay careful attention to the 55 verbs in this list.  We have chosen them because they are useful for learning essential conjugations, tricky spelling changes, and common usage.  If you study (look at this word, STUDY) the verbs on this list, you will be able to conjugate just about any verb you come across and you will be able to express yourself (I like that, TO EXPRESS YOURSELF) in correct idiomatic Spanish.” 

If you want the full list let me know.  I just care about 12 of them: 

* hablar * comer * vivir * ser * estar * tener * hacer * ir * poder * llamarse * gustar * haber * 

We already know how to play with the first three.  ¡Right on! 

Os is a certified and experienced teacher of español.  Call him… you can start to learn NOW.

SPANISH PURAVIDA

(506)  88-222-936     www.OsCostaRica.com