Learning Spanish language

Thread: Learning Spanish language

Tags: None
  1. istanbulgal's Avatar

    istanbulgal said:

    Default

    Nice to see you here Orwie, I had thought you had abandoned your Spanish studies!

    Soy queiro (yo quiero) to know what is the end of the verbs for the following:

    1- I am hungry
    2- She/he/it's hungry
    3- You're hungry
    4- They're hungry
    5- We're hungry

    In Spanish you don't say 'I AM hungry', but rather, 'I HAVE hunger'. Unfortunately, 'tener' (to have) is an irregular verb so there is no pattern to follow/study, you just have to memorize it.

    Tener - to have

    yo tengo hambre - I am hungry
    tienes hambre - you are hungry
    él -ella tiene hambre he/she is hungry ('it' works differently in Spanish, I'll explain another time)
    nosotros/nosotras tenemos hambre - we are hungry
    ellos/ellas tienen hambre - they are hungry
    usted/ustedes tienen hambre - you are hungry

    tú/usted ('you' in familiar & formal - singular)
    usted/ustedes ('you' in formal singular & plural)
    'os' ending in pronoun = plural masculine, 'as' = plural femenine

    The ending of the verb identifies the pronoun - tengo = 1st person 'yo', therefore, the use of the pronoun is optional, so for example you could simply say: 'tengo hambre' instead of 'yo tengo hambre.

    i only know that hamborintO is for "Yo soy", but how about the rest?? what is hamborinto?!
    Plus, could you "por favor" tell me the meaning of "Have/own" - 'have' = tener. It has been conjugated above. I am not sure what you mean by 'own', is it the verb you want to know?. If so, it is 'poseer'.

    1- I have
    2- You have
    3- She/he/it has
    4- They have
    5- We have

    Already done at top of the page.

    and the last thing, why we say "estoy bien" instead of "yo soy es bien", what is the difference between the "Yo say & Estoy"?, and the same with "Ella, El", why it must be "Ella esta bien" intead of "ella es bien"??
    before you ask this, it would be better to learn the verb 'to be' = estar. Once you have learned that, then it will make better sense. Btw, did you buy a Spanish grammar book?

    The language seems to be beautiful but difficult If you were able to learn Chinese, Spanish should be a piece of cake!
    Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.
    Albert Einstein
     
  2. Orwa's Avatar

    Orwa said:

    Default

    Istanbulgalita, i am getting shy now, you're a teacher in english & spanish too?, thanks you very very much for explaining.., that was really great very great from you

    So, now "have" means "tener", and "Tengo" is for I, "Tienes" for you, "Tiene" for she, and blah blah blah, is that a rule, mean.., when i want to say, He has, directly it must be el tiene ......., right??

    Ok, teacher....., no i didn't buy a book until now, but i want to learn some vocabloury now, and then i start with grammer, i'll buy the book in Syria when i go to there

    But really thank you, the thanks system isn't enabled now, i'll try soon :
    " Those that don't appreciate life..do not deserve life...how much blood are you willing to give to stay alive....live or die...make your choice... " ( Jigsaw)
     
  3. Zahra2008's Avatar

    Zahra2008 said:

    Default

    I think you Orwito wanted to say "hambriento" and in English = "I am hungry"

    I = yo estoy hambriento/a
    you = tú estas hambriento/a
    he = él está hambriento
    she = ella está hambrienta
    we = nosotros estamos hambrientos /as
    they = ellos estan hambrientos / ellas estan hambrientas
    they (formal) = ustedes estan hambrientos / ustedes estan hambrientas

    o / os = male
    a / as = female

    these sentences are correct but are not so used as "yo tengo hambre"
    the first love is gone ... am waiting for the last one!!
     
  4. istanbulgal's Avatar

    istanbulgal said:

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Orwa View Post
    1. Istanbulgalita, i am getting shy now, you're a teacher in english & spanish too?,
    2. So, now "have" means "tener", and "Tengo" is for I, "Tienes" for you, "Tiene" for she, and blah blah blah, is that a rule, mean.., when i want to say, He has, directly it must be el tiene ......., right??
    1. Don't forget I speak Punjabi too (not!).
    2. Yes Orwie, you got it right, well, almost....you forgot the accent, él.

    Just in case you get bored while you're on vacation, you can learn the verb 'to be' in Spanish!. Unfortunately again, it is an irregular verb, not only that, but there are 2 verbs in Spanish!. They did this on purpose just to confuse foreigners. You should have started asking easy questions and not irregular verbs, especially 'to be', which is the most difficult to explain & understand in Spanish. Anyway, you're very smart as you made sure that you will never go hungry when you visit your Spanish amigas.

    Below will answer in part, the questions you had on the last part of your 1st email.

    1. to be = ser


    yo soy - I am
    eres - you are
    él/ella es - he/she is
    nosotros(as) somos - we are
    usted es - you are (singular) / ustedes son - you are (plural)
    ellos(as) son - they are

    2. to be = estar

    yo estoy - I am
    estás - you are
    él/ella está - he/she is
    nosotros(as) estamos - we are
    usted está - you are (singular) / ustedes están - you are ( plural)
    ellos(as) están - they are

    As you can see, Spanish has 2 versions of the verb 'to be' & it is not easy to understand the differences at first so it's ok. to be confused. Start with these simple explanations/examples for now:

    Ser = as in existing/being. Examples:

    I am young = soy joven
    I am very handsome = yo soy muy guapo (a)
    She is very friendly = ella es muy amistosa
    She is Spanish = ella es Española.

    Estar = as in location. Examples:

    I am at home = yo estoy en casa
    Where are you? = ¿dónde estás?
    I am here = estoy aquí.

    I hope the above did not confuse you further!. ¿Tienes hambre Orwie? Yo tengo hambre.
    Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.
    Albert Einstein
     
  5. bee. said:

    Default

    i'm learnig spanish on my own and i've got to say, thanks to learnspanish.com, its going very well. i went from only counting to 10 in spanish, to like all the basics. plus how to conjugate regular verbs and irregular verb ( tener, vener, ser, estar, ir, dar )and so much more. i am sooo proud of myself because i am doing this completly volentary and on my own. YAY ME.
     
  6. bee. said:

    Default

    I can understand a short simple sentence if i read it or hear it but for me to compose a proper sentence needs a little work. if anyone here can help me if i have questions that would be soo great and i would realy appreciate it. I'm a little stuck right now b/c i'm trying to memorize idiomatic expressions. theres just too many. especialy the one with tener, hace, and hay..

    The difference between Ser and estar ( pls correct me if i'm wrong ) is

    ser= is used to decribe HOW something is
    estar = is used to describe WHAT something is
     
  7. bee. said:

    Default

    If anyone is trying to learn spanish i urge you to check out learnspanish.comv have lots of determination and patience.
     
  8. dmoney101 said:

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bee. View Post
    I can understand a short simple sentence if i read it or hear it but for me to compose a proper sentence needs a little work. if anyone here can help me if i have questions that would be soo great and i would realy appreciate it. I'm a little stuck right now b/c i'm trying to memorize idiomatic expressions. theres just too many. especialy the one with tener, hace, and hay..

    The difference between Ser and estar ( pls correct me if i'm wrong ) is

    ser= is used to decribe HOW something is
    estar = is used to describe WHAT something is
    i found the easiest way to remember ser vs. estar is generally estar can change and ser doesn't. the only non-changeable thing i can think of where you use estar is muerto (dead) (esta muerto=he/she is dead)
     
  9. bee. said:

    Default

    thank you.. can you please clearify when and how to use the verb "ir"?
    for example i want to say - "they go up the stairs". do i say " ellos van arriba las escaleres". for somereason i'm having trouble placing this verb in a sentence. or creating a sentence for that matter.

    thank you.

    one more Q for Istanbulgal: can you please clearify when you wrote
    I am young = soy joven
    I am very handsome = yo soy muy guapo (a)

    in the first line you used just Soy where in the second line you used Yo Soy.
    Last edited by bee.; 07-07-2009 at 11:42 PM.
     
  10. citlalli's Avatar

    citlalli said:

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bee. View Post
    thank you.. can you please clearify when and how to use the verb "ir"?
    for example i want to say - "they go up the stairs". do i say " ellos van arriba las escaleres". for somereason i'm having trouble placing this verb in a sentence. or creating a sentence for that matter.

    thank you.

    one more Q for Istanbulgal: can you please clearify when you wrote
    I am young = soy joven
    I am very handsome = yo soy muy guapo (a)

    in the first line you used just Soy where in the second line you used Yo Soy.
    Hi Bee!

    Well, we don't really use the verb "ir" for something like your sentence. "They go up the stairs" = (Ellos) suben las escaleras. ("subir"=go up).

    "Ir" is used to express movement from A to B: Voy a la escuela; fui al mercado; fue a visitar a su amiga, etc. And it's also used for the near future, just like in english: Voy a hacer la tarea; van a salir de viaje; ¿cuándo vas a visitarme?

    Concerning what you asked Istanbulgal: in spanish we generally omit the personal pronoun unless we think it may not be clear enough or we want to stress who we mean.
    “If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” ― Terry Pratchett.
     
  11. istanbulgal's Avatar

    istanbulgal said:

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bee. View Post
    one more Q for Istanbulgal: can you please clearify when you wrote

    I am young = soy joven
    I am very handsome = yo soy muy guapo (a)

    in the first line you used just Soy where in the second line you used Yo Soy.
    I would like to congratulate you for your effort, it seems you are learning Spanish just for the love of the language, so keep up the patience & motivation!

    As Citlalli mentioned, in Spanish, the subject pronouns are pretty optional, they are used mostly for emphasis, or when it is not possible to identify the subject by the verb conjugation. Example:

    A. Spanish:

    Estoy muy feliz
    - I am very happy - we know in this example that the pronoun is 'I' by the verb ending in 'estoy', so you don't have to say "yo estoy feliz", therefore, it is optional; it's not grammatically incorrect to use it, but it's almost as though you're duplicating the 'I'. The same explanation applies to my prior example of 'soy joven' - here we also know by the verb ending that it is 'I' who is young, but you could have also said 'yo soy joven' to emphasize the subject. In the example 'yo soy guapo(a)', I had used the pronoun to emphasize the meaning of the sentence.

    B. English:

    Is sick
    - who is sick? We don't know unless we use the pronoun, we know by the verb 'is' that it can only be 'he' or 'she', but we don't know which one. In Spanish however, we do know without any pronoun, what a smart language, don't you think? Está enferma - here we know that she is sick as both the verb and adjective ending tells us so - está & enferma.

    I hope the above answered your question.

    Buena suerte!
    Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.
    Albert Einstein
     
  12. dmoney101 said:

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by istanbulgal View Post
    Estoy muy feliz
    Did you know it's not proper to use estar with feliz? it's common to do, but it's supposed to be ser. feliz is like a happy person. some one that's always like that.
     
  13. istanbulgal's Avatar

    istanbulgal said:

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dmoney101 View Post
    Did you know it's not proper to use estar with feliz?.
    I believe you're mistaken, but we can let a native set us straight. Mares/Xiurell, please help us!.

    My thoughts:

    You can use either verb, but it depends on the situation. We all know (among gringos & I am one ) that it is very confusing trying to decide when to use 'estar' as opposed to 'ser'. Consider the following examples:

    a. Qué feliz estoy!
    Por qué estás feliz?
    Porque estoy de vacaciones.

    b. Qué feliz soy!
    Por qué eres feliz?
    Porque soy de vacaciones.

    Which do you think is correct, a. or b.? The answer is a. because the correct verb in this case is estar and not 'ser', so both, 'soy' and 'eres' under b. are incorrect as both these are part of the verb 'ser'. A similar example would be estoy bien, not soy bien.

    Another example:

    a. Soy
    muy feliz viviendo sola.
    b. Estoy muy feliz viviendo sola.

    Which answer is correct & why? No cheating.

    Remember the basic rule is to use 'estar' to describe 'how' something is.

    Gracias por haberme confundido y haberme dado un dolor de cabeza dmoney!
    Last edited by istanbulgal; 07-08-2009 at 11:22 AM.
    Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.
    Albert Einstein
     
  14. MaresLejanos said:

    Default

    Estar feliz = being happy (right now or in a short period of time: I'm being happy)

    Ser feliz = be happy (long time: I'm happy in my marriege).

    "Estar" can be used with any adjetive that indicate a status in the person mood, or even "físicamente" (I don't know English word ), like for example: "Estoy gorda/o", I'm fat. You're not fat normally, you think you are NOW fat, overweight. To say "Soy gorda/o" means you're alway fat. Another one "I'm sleepy" = "Estoy dormida/o", you are not feeling sleepy all the time, just now when you're saying it.

    Can you see the difference between ser and estar talking about mood or things like that?. When you use estar+adjetive, you're talking about something temporary. When you use ser+adjetivo, you're talking about something permanent or with long duration.

    Was I clear? I don't know how to explain it, it's just my language and I know how to talk/write it, but I don't know why
    Last edited by MaresLejanos; 07-08-2009 at 08:11 PM.
     
  15. MaresLejanos said:

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by istanbulgal View Post
    I believe you're mistaken, but we can let a native set us straight. Mares/Xiurell, please help us!.

    My thoughts:

    You can use either verb, but it depends on the situation. We all know (among gringos & I am one ) that it is very confusing trying to decide when to use 'estar' as opposed to 'ser'. Consider the following examples:

    a. Qué feliz estoy!
    Por qué estás feliz?
    Porque estoy de vacaciones.

    b. Qué feliz soy!
    Por qué eres feliz?
    Porque soy de vacaciones.

    Which do you think is correct, a. or b.? The answer is a. because the correct verb in this case is estar and not 'ser', so both, 'soy' and 'eres' under b. are incorrect as both these are part of the verb 'ser'. A similar example would be estoy bien, not soy bien.

    Another example:

    a. Soy
    muy feliz viviendo sola.
    b. Estoy muy feliz viviendo sola.

    Which answer is correct & why? No cheating.

    Remember the basic rule is to use 'estar' to describe 'how' something is.

    Gracias por haberme confundido y haberme dado un dolor de cabeza dmoney!
    Can I cheat? You will get surprised with your second example !!!
     
  16. istanbulgal's Avatar

    istanbulgal said:

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MaresLejanos View Post

    1. Estar feliz = being happy (right now or in a short period of time: I'm being happy)

    2. Ser feliz = be happy (long time: I'm happy in my marriage).

    I don't know how to explain it, it's just my language and I know how to talk/write it, but I don't know why
    Thank you Mares for confirming my thoughts, that both verbs can be used given the correct scenario.

    You explained it brilliantly!!
    Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.
    Albert Einstein
     
  17. istanbulgal's Avatar

    istanbulgal said:

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MaresLejanos View Post
    Can I cheat? You will get surprised with your second example !!!
    You shock me, how can you ask me that Mares?!

    Careful, it was a tricky question!!
    Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.
    Albert Einstein
     
  18. MaresLejanos said:

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by istanbulgal View Post
    You shock me, how can you ask me that Mares?!

    Careful, it was a tricky question!!
    Hello dear friend!!!!

    Okey, if it's a tricky question, let's let (?) dmoney to answer it I wanna see his answer, and your answer to him hehehe...

    I've had visit until late after my work, I feel a little tired. I will catch you up soon, I hope. I don't work until next monday!!! I'm sooooo happy for that! (Tomorrow Independence day, and friday is a sanitary holiday because of the swine flu )... Long weekend I love it.

    I will try to write tomorrow, today my eyes are a little annoying, I mean I almost can't read . See you tomorrow!!! Kisses my friend!
     
  19. istanbulgal's Avatar

    istanbulgal said:

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MaresLejanos View Post
    Hello dear friend!!!!

    1. Okey, if it's a tricky question, let's let (?) dmoney to answer it I wanna see his answer, and your answer to him hehehe...
    2.I'm sooooo happy for that! (Tomorrow Independence day
    3. and friday is a sanitary holiday because of the swine flu )
    1. I'm waiting for dmoney too!
    2. Muy feliz dia! (El nuestro fué el 1ero de Julio)
    3. A what holiday?! Given my location, I think my country needs this more than yours.

    Have a great long weekend Mares & try to get lots of rest. Entonces, estás muy feliz, verdad?!

    Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.
    Albert Einstein
     
  20. MaresLejanos said:

    Default

    You're so sweet my friend! And that word that I can't remember now (thoughtful ?).

    You're write, Yo estoy muy feliz ahora .

    I have something to add about the difference between ser and estar, but I will wait for dmoney to response