HERRAMIENTAS DE ESPAOL

CAPTULO PRELIMINAR 1-5

Spelling, Accents, Capital Letters, Subject Pronouns

CAPTULO PRELIMINAR

1. Consonants / Las consonantes

Spanish spelling is pretty consistent: most letters represent a single sound regardless of their position in a word. Note the following peculiarities:
Hla hache is never pronounced. Thus, words like Honduras, ahora and alcohol have no aspiration before the /o/ sound.

CH - la che is always pronounced as in "cheers": coche, ocho.

La hache is not combined with any other consonants: There is no th, sh, ph, gh, etc. (English "ph" often translates to "f": Filadelfia, fsica, fantasma). Cla ce is pronounced /k/ (as in "case") in most positions: caso, cosa, frecuente, crisis. - Before -e, -i, la ce is pronounced /s/ (as in "sin") in America or /th/ (as in "thin") in Spain: cielo, acento. - Before -e,-i, the /k/ sound (as in "kiss"), is spelled "qu" (mute "u"): queso, quince. la ge is pronounced /g/ (as in "go") in most positions: gala, gota, guante, globo. - Before -e, -i, it is pronounced almost like English /h/ (as in "hen"): general, gitano. - Before -e,-i, the /g/ sound (as in "get"), is spelled "gu" (mute "u"): guerra, guitarra. If the letter "u" is to be pronounced in a "gue/gui" combination, it is marked with a dieresis: pingino, nicaragense. la ku is used only in the que/qui combinations. The "u" is always mute in this position. Therefore, the word quinteto has no /u/ sound, and English "quota" and "frequent" translate to cuota and frecuente. la zeta is pronounced /s/ in America and /th/ in Spain. Spanish avoids the ze/zi combination and prefers ce, ci: lpiz lpices ; cebra, cenit.

G-

Q-

Z-

Only four consonants can be duplicated in Spanish to represent specific sounds:

cc only used before -e, -i, sounds /ks/ in America, /kth/ in Spain: accin, acceso but acento, ocurrir ll sounds /y/: calle, llama but ilegal, aludir, inteligente rr represents the "rolling r" between vowels only: perro, carro vs. pero, caro nn is used only when a prefix ending in -n is added to words that begin with n-: innecesario, connotacin but anual, anotacin, conexin.

No other consonants are duplicated in Spanish: efectivo, comn, oportunidad, imposible, adicin.

CAPTULO PRELIMINAR 1-5

SPANISH TOOLS

Summary / Resumen Never pronounce the letter H (hache): alcohol, ahora, humano, Honduras, holocausto Hard C sound: /k/ as in kiss ca que qui co cu buscar, busqu Soft C/Z sound: /s/ or /th/ as in sink/think za ce ci zo zu realizar, realic Hard G sound: /g/ as in get ga gue gui go gu pagar, pagu Soft G sound: /h/ as in hen ja je ji jo ju ge gi hija, gitano No double consonants except rr, ll, cc for specific sounds. (nn rarely) ph f : filosofa

PRCTICA 1 Escriba en espaol el equivalente de las siguientes palabras (consulte el diccionario si es necesario), notando la ortografa (spelling): 1. connection __________________ 2. different 3. occur 4. frequency 5. possible __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ 10. accuse 11. zeal ____________________ ____________________

12. photograph ____________________ 13. chemistry 14. intellectual 15. immigrant 16. bilingual ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________

6. recommend __________________ 7. committee __________________ 8. difficult 9. intelligent __________________ __________________

17. architecture ____________________ 18. accent ____________________

Puede escuchar y hacer este ejercicio interactivo en: www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/ats/01a02.htm.

Answers to Prcticas and Repasos can be found at the end of this book.

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2. Vowels / Las vocales

Spanish has five vowel sounds, each of which is always pronounced the same way: a e i o u like the a sound in "father" like the e sound in "let" like the ea sound in "leap" like the aw sound in "lawn" like the oo sound in "loom" casa, alma lee, cena mil, millaje son, hoja t, Honduras

i and u are called "weak" (dbiles o cerradas) because, in combination with another vowel, are generally pronounced as one syllable. Thus Ruiz, fue, dio have only one syllable. These are considered true diphthongs in Spanish two vowels in one syllable, as in trauma or viento. a, o, and e are called "strong" (fuertes o abiertas). Two strong vowels are pronounced as two syllables: poema has three syllables, caos has two. These are not diphthongs, since the vowels belong in different syllables.

PRCTICA 2 Pronuncie las siguientes palabras y subraye los diptongos: mar amiga caos sociedad agua diez sea mente cooperar hondureo viento veinte leer China alcohol variable actuar aire hacer ciudad ahora azul luz guante ayer crisis serie sueos feo zorro

Puede escuchar y hacer este ejercicio interactivo en: www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/ats/01a02.htm.

Answers to Prcticas and Repasos can be found at the end of this book.

CAPTULO PRELIMINAR 1-5

SPANISH TOOLS

3. Stress and written accent / Los acentos

Every word has a stressed syllable (slaba tnica). For example, the word espaol stresses the last syllable. Word endings (terminaciones) and written accents (tildes) provide a predictable guide to stress syllables in Spanish, allowing you to read any word correctly.

A. BASIC ACCENT RULES / REGLAS BSICAS DE ACENTUACIN1

1. Words that end in a vowel, n or s stress the next-to-last syllable (penultimate). If they dont, an accent mark indicates which syllable is stressed: clase, examen, mesas caf, examines, rebelin 2. Words that end in any consonant other than n or s, stress the last syllable. If they dont, an accent mark indicates which syllable is stressed: bondad, papel, cantar rbol, Jurez, mrtir For example, the word regin needs an accent because a) it ends in -n and b) the penultimate syllable is not stressed. But the plural regiones does not need an accent because a) it ends in -s and b) the penultimate syllable is stressed.

PRCTICA 3A 1. Las siguientes palabras no necesitan tilde. Subraye la slaba tnica (stressed syllable): eliminar (cuatro slabas) cocina (tres slabas) gracias (dos slabas) varios (dos slabas) fiesta (dos slabas) alcohol (tres slabas) paciencia (tres slabas) aire (dos slabas) ciudad (dos slabas) frecuente (tres slabas) racial (dos slabas) suerte (dos slabas) cuello (dos slabas) sociedad (tres slabas) idea (tres slabas) europeos (cuatro slabas)
Puede escuchar estas palabras en: www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/ats/03.htm.

2. La slaba tnica est subrayada (underlined). Escriba la tilde si es necesaria: poema cancion origenes natural poetico canciones util espaol fuerte indigena sutil ingles feliz estan Panama panameo hasta verdad origen naturales
3. Ms prctica: www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/acent.htm.
Answers to Prcticas and Repasos can be found at the end of this book.

Spanish speakers learn this in a slightly different way that you may find easier to remember: 1. Words that stress the last syllable are called agudas. They need an accent if they end in n, s, or a vowel. 2. Words that stress the next-to-last syllable are called graves. They need an accent if they end in a consonant other than n or s. 3. Words that stress previous syllables are called esdrjulas. They always need an accent.

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B. OTHER USES OF THE WRITTEN ACCENT / OTROS USOS DE LA TILDE

3. The written accent also indicates stress on a weak vowel (i, u) that is followed or preceded by a strong vowel (a, e, o): da, Mara, odo, ah, raz, mo, do, Ral BUT: democracia (the weak vowel i is not stressed, so rule 1 above applies). 4. A written accent is not used for one-syllable words (fe, ti, tres, Dios), except to distinguish between certain words that are otherwise spelled identically, such as: si quiero, puedo (if I want, I can) el problema (the problem) tu pas (your country) mi lectura (my reading) se ven (they see themselves) quieren ms (they want more) vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. s, claro (yes, of course); l cree (he believes); t creas (you create); detrs de m (behind me); lo s (I know that). quieren, mas no pueden (they want to, but they cant)

Another common group of such pairs are words like que, which have a written accent if used as part of direct or indirect questions and in exclamations (see 12):
Cmo ests? Sabe dnde est Qu dices? How are you? vs. Como quieras as you want He knows where it is vs. Est donde te dije It is where I told you What are you saying? vs. Dije que hace calor. I said that its hot.

PRCTICA 3B 1. Escriba A, B o C junto a las siguientes palabras, segn la razn por la que necesitan tilde. (Write A, B, or C next to the following words, according to the reason why they need a written accent).
A: termina en consonante -no ene ni ese- y la slaba tnica no es la ltima. B: termina en vocal, ene o ese, y la slaba tnica no es la penltima. C: hay una vocal cerrada tnica junto a una vocal abierta.

as: ___ tambin: ___ pjaro: ___ economa: ___ an: ___ crcel: ___ da: ___ carcter: ____ nacin: ____ pas: ____ raz: ____ tnel: ____ despus: ____ 2. La slaba tnica est subrayada. Pronuncie las palabras y escriba la tilde si es necesaria: America feliz conexion frio americano mas (more) cualidad hacia (used to do) caracter pais diferente ingleses como? (how?) tambien dificil miercoles como (as) transiciones Dios Panama democracia tu (you) fotografia Que?
Puede escuchar estas palabras y hacer este ejercicio en: www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/ats/03.htm Escriba la tilde donde sea necesaria: a. Creo que tu hermano habla mas que tu. Que problema! (I think your brother is more talkative than you. What a problem!). b. El abuelo dice que de nio el se divertia mas que nosotros ahora. (Grandfather says that as a child he would have more fun than us now). c. Mi vida si mejorara si tengo fe en mi mismo. (Mi life will indeed get better if I have faith in myself). d. No quiero estar mas con el, mas el si quiere estar conmigo. No se que hacer. (I dont want to be with him anymore, but he does want to be with me. I dont know what to do).

3.

CAPTULO PRELIMINAR 1-5

SPANISH TOOLS

4. Use of capital letters / El uso de las maysculas

A. Not used for days, months, or religions: lunes, martes, enero, febrero, el budismo, un catlico. B. Used for geographical names such as rivers, countries, cities (Bolivia, Los ngeles), but not for the adjectives: venezolano, norteamericano, panamea, guatemalteco, caribeo. C. In long titles (of books, movies, etc.), only the first word and any proper nouns are capitalized: La cabaa del to Tom Antologa del cuento hispnico Cien aos de soledad

PRCTICA 4 1. Escriba tres oraciones utilizando palabras que s necesitan maysculas en ingls y no en espaol. 2. Reescriba el siguiente texto, incluyendo las maysculas y los acentos cuando sean necesarios: "el sr. juan valdez esta claramente asociado con el cafe colombiano a causa de la publicidad que la federacion nacional de cafeteros de colombia ha utilizado durante aos. recuerdo que, en mi niez, lo veia todos los miercoles durante mi programa favorito, "plaza sesamo", y me preguntaba como podia el mantener el delantal siempre tan limpio".
"Mr. Juan Valdez is clearly associated with Colombian coffee because of the publicity that the National Federation of Coffee Growers in Colombia has used for years. I remember that, in my childhood, I used to see him every Wednesday during my favorite program, "Sesame Street," and I wondered how he was able to keep his apron always so clean."
Puede escuchar este prrafo en: www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/ats/04a05.htm Puede practicar las nacionalidades y nombres de regiones en: www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/geo.htm

Answers to Prcticas and Repasos can be found at the end of this book.

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5. Subject Pronouns / Los pronombres de sujeto*

The verbs* hablar (speak), comer (eat) and vivir (live) are "regular" or predictable in their endings. Here is their conjugation in the present indicative with the corresponding subject pronouns*: Subject Pronouns I you you he she we you you yo (familiar, singular) t (formal, singular) usted (Ud.) l ella nosotros/as (fam. in Spain, plural) vosotros/as (formal in Spain, pl.) ustedes ellos they ellas hablar hablo hablas habla hablamos hablis hablan comer como comes come comemos comis comen vivir vivo vives vive vivimos vivs viven

Since the verb endings contain clues as to the speaker, subject pronouns are only used when required for clarity or emphasis (although usted is often used as a courtesy):
Vivimos aqu. No hablo japons. Vienen el lunes. Ella vive en Sudamrica, no l. We live here. I dont speak Japanese. Theyre coming on Monday. She lives in South America, not him.

When addressing friends, children, animals, and God, the forms of t are used. The form usted (commonly abbreviated to Ud.), which uses third-person verb forms, is used for polite address to people you do not know well or wish to express respect for. Ustedes is used as plural for both forms in America, while in Spain the plural of t is vosotros/vosotras. Note that Spanish does not capitalize yo but uses a capital for the abbreviation Ud. The subject pronoun it is indicated by the verb form in Spanish, so it is not translated:
Es posible. Est disponible. Quin es? Soy yo. It is possible. It is available. Who is it? Its me (It is I).

PRCTICA 5 A. Por qu no usa el espaol los pronombres de sujeto con frecuencia? Escriba varios ejemplos. B. Escriba el presente de "yo" y de "Ud." para los siguientes verbos: asimilar, escoger, asistir (a clase), distinguir, ofender, convencer
C. Traduzca al espaol (cuidado con las tildes!): 1. Where is it? 2. It is impossible. 3. You do not live in Panama. 4. I am not Venezuelan 5. They do not speak Japanese. 6. I always attend class.

For a succinct explanation of grammatical terms such as subject or verb, see Appendix E at the end of this book. In order to be able to apply the explanations in this book, you need to make sure you know the meaning of all grammatical terms.