Representation of Don Quijote y Sancho Panza from

Miguel de Cervantes’ El Ingenioso Hidalgo de la Mancha

INTRODUCTORY SPANISH: AN OVERVIEW

Spanish and English are at once astoundingly different and similar. Differences? Whereas I might use only one word to communicate “is” or “are” in the language of Anglo-Saxon Germanic and grafted Norman origin (vulgar: English), the tongue of Cervantes whose Iberian heritage blends Latin and Arabic roots, uses two distinct words, ser and estar. Spanish also communicates likes and dislikes in a distinct manner than that of its English counterpart.

When the English speaker takes a moment to think about those who speak his own language however, it becomes clear that Spanish is not as distinct as he or she might have originally imagined, for if the manner of placing the day before the month on a date seems backwards, he or she can surely think of having said the fifth of March or the twentieth of May. If “Me llamo” (I call myself) seems a bit awkward as well, then the person can also easily imagine using such a structure in English as well as the accustomed “My name is…”

Okay, then, you ask but really what motivation do I have to go playing a game of semantics like word structures which I have to rethink time and again ?! Well, perhaps numbers can convince you. In a recent census it was found that more than thirty million people of Hispanic descent inhabit the United States. Chances are pretty good, even in a place like East Tennessee, that you will find the opportunity or even the pressing need to use Spanish. So, before one of these situations presents itself or simply falls on top of you, why not be proactive?!

Themes of study in Introductory Spanish

My course includes the five fundamental parts of a conversational approach

A. Reading

B. Writing

C. Listening

D. Speaking

E. Last and certainly not least, Culture!

The following is but a brief “dew-point” condensation of topics in my class; if you want to fully satiate your thirst, you must take my class!! If you are really insistent upon divining knowledge from this site and “parched” for additional grammatical refreshment, may I suggest that you partake of following websites to supplement my meager portions:

http://studyspanish.com/

http://zonorus.marlboro.edu/~jmcconn/capstoneproject/capstone1.html

I also suggest that you check out the Jefferson County Schools webpage under "Teacher Tools" on the right hand side for the Spanish power point presentations at:

http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/tools

Go to "Curriculum Tools" and select "Foreign Language".

I. The Basics of a Conversation

a. Saludos – Greetings ¡Hola! Buenos días, Buenas tardes, Buenas noches

b. Things to nourish a conversation – how are you?/ how do you call

yourself? ¿Cómo estás? ¿Cómo te llamas?

c. despedidas – goodbye Adiós, Hasta luego, Nos vemos

II. ¿Qué hora es? Telling time

a. Use of a form of the verb ser: “Es la una (one o’clock).” “Son las dos,

tres, ocho, etc. (other hours).”

b. Traditional Time-telling is similar to mathematics; up to the half hour “y”

(+) is used. After the half hour , jump to the next full hour and “menos”

(-) the number of minutes remaining.

III. The Expression “Hay” – Means “there is or there are” ; another basic difference between Spanish and English

IV. Days of the Week – lunes (Monday), martes (Tuesday), miércoles (Wednesday); jueves( Thursday), viernes (Friday),

sábado (Saturday) and domingo (Sunday). Days of the week are not capitalized in Spanish!

V. Las Estaciones (The Seasons) - el otoño (fall), el invierno (winter), la primavera (spring), el verano (summer)

VI. Question words – all have an accent: ¿dónde? (where), ¿cuándo?

(when?) ¿qué? (what?) ¿por qué? (why) ¿cuál?

(what/which?) ¿cuánto/a cuántos/as? (How much,

singular, (how many?) plural ¿quién? (who?, singular)

quiénes (who? Plural)

VII. Prepositions of Position:

           encima de- on top
           debajo de - below/under
           delante de - in front of
           detrás de - behind
           al lado de - beside
           a la izquierda de - to the left of
           a la derecha de - to the right of
           dentro de- inside of
           fuera de- outside of
           cerca de- near to
           lejos de - far away from
           arriba - upward, above

Verbs:Regular/Present Tense ( I will only skim the proverbial surface here as well).

AR: Hablar – to speak

yo – hablo nosotros/as - hablamos

tú – hablas vosotros/as - habláis

él ellos

ella > habla ellas > hablan

Ud. Uds.

ER: Comer – to eat

yo – como nosotros/as - comemos

tú – comes vosotros/as - coméis

él ellos

ella > come ellas > comen

Ud. Uds.

IR: Vivir - to live

yo – vivo nosotros/as - vivimos

tú – vives vosotros/as - vivís

él ellos

ella > vive ellas > viven

Ud. Uds.

Some irregular verbs as well:

ser – to be some uses of ser

yo – soy nosotros/as - somos origin - Soy de Honduras. (I am from Honduras).

profession - Soy maestro (I am a teacher).

tú – eres vosotros/as - sois physical characteristics - Eres alta (You are tall).

¿Cómo eres? (What are you like?)

él ellos

ella > es ellas > son

Ud. Uds.

estar – to be some uses of estar

yo – estoy nosotros/as - estamos location - Estoy en México (I am in México).

emotional state which may change - Estoy feliz (I am happy).

tú – estás vosotros/as - estáis ¿Cómo estás? (How are you doing?)

él ellos

ella > está ellas > están

Ud. Uds.

tener – to have some idioms with tener

yo – tengo nosotros/as - tenemos tener hambre - to be hungry

                                                                                                               tener sed - to be thirsty
      tú – tienes        vosotros/as – tenéis
                                                                                                                tener frío/calor - to be hot/cold
      él                        ellos
     ella > tiene         ellas > tienen                                                               tener prisa - to be in a hurry
     Ud.                       Uds.                                                                         tener miedo - to be afraid

tener ganas de - to want to

tener.... años - to be .... years old

hacer - to make or to do some weather expressions with hacer

yo – hago nosotros/as - hacemos Hace frío. - It is cold.

Hace calor. - It is hot.

tú – haces vosotros/as – hacéis Hace buen tiempo. - It is good weather.

Hace mal tiempo. - It is bad weather.

él ellos

ella > hace ellas > hacen

Ud. Uds.

ir - to go Some uses of "ir + a"

yo – voy nosotros/as - vamos A. To describe future plans; "Voy a comer." - "I am going to eat."

B. To describe going to a destination. "Voy a casa." - "I am going home."

tú – vas vosotros/as – vais

él ellos

ella > va ellas > van

Ud. Uds.

Spanish is not as far away as you might think!