Conversation is the most fluid and accessible key to organizing the language. At first a little slower than organization of concepts through written language, learners of conversational language make a variety of attempts at listening and speaking to find the most effective ways to communicate. Frequent LISTENING and SPEAKING practice is key to learning Spanish and is the most important factor in developing appropriate Spanish conversational skills. Here again, the correlation of frequent practice and improved language skills is undeniable. One factor that increases efficiency while practicing conversation is to have an interlocutor of natural Spanish ability. Conversation is the most imperative skill in language learning in that a language exists first and foremost for the purpose of communication through conversation anywhere in the world.
Step 4: Emphasis Possibilities
Identify whether a word has a natural emphasis in order to correctly categorize it by last-, second-to-last- or other- syllable emphasis, using proper nouns and cognates (words that are spelled similarly and mean the same in both languages).
The meaning of a word can change just by changing which syllable of the word is emphasized. There are two possible natural emphases on any word in Spanish: last syllable or second-to-last syllable. The natural emphasis of a word is changed in writing by adding an accent over the vowel in the syllable that needs to be emphasized.
| 3 or more syllables: | 2 or more syllables, and ending in the following letters: | |
| Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú | -A, -E, -I. -O, -U, -S, -N (or á, é, í, ó, ú) | -B, -D, -L, -R, -Y, -Z (or á, é, í, ó, ú) |
| NOUNS: ánimo, círculo, artículo ADJECTIVES: práctico, célebre | VERBS (1st person singular “I”, present) animo, circulo, practico, articulo, celebre (subjunctive verb) | VERBS (3rd person singular, past tense) animó, circuló, practicó, articuló celebré (1pS, past tense) |
Lesson 4 Summary
Pronunciation Organizer Example
The lyrics from “De America, yo soy” (From America, I am), a song by Los Tigres del Norte from Mexico, are organized into the following pronunciation charts which summarize the steps in the process of correct Spanish pronunciation.
- MULTI-SYLLABLE WORDS CATEGORIZED BY EMPHASIS:
| Words with “á, é, í, ó, ú” over the 1st of 3 or more syllables indicating NOT NATURAL (last or second-to-last syllable) emphasis. | second-to-last syllable emphasis (Natural for words ending in vowel, “n” or “s”) | last syllable emphasis (Natural for words ending in a consonant not “n” or “s”) |
| América, imágenes, Jíbaro, príncipe, África, México | nacido, una, flores, herencia, castellano, norte, dicen, Latino, quieren, Charrúa, Africano | bendición, corazón, canción, decir, aquí, podrá, importar, color, Paraguay, Uruguay |
Three “Be”
When we add a preposition to connect two noun phrases, the second phrase acts like an adjective. It is a description of the first noun phrase. Practice the following sentences with nouns that make sense. Then practice adding adjectives to create different variations of the nouns.
| verb phrase | noun phrase | CNCTR | noun phrase | |||
| N | VERB | ART. | NOUN | DESCRIPTIONS | ||
| – | # | WHAT? | WHICH? | WHERE? | ||
| EXISTE/ HAY | ES | ESTÁ | ||||
| Existe | un | auto | original | en | Cuba. | |
| No | hay | un | hábitat | natural | en | un área industrial. |
| Existe | una | capital | popular | en | México. | |
| Hay | una | propaganda | subliminal | en | una crisis. | |
| No | existe | una | idea | universal | en | una agenda unilateral. |
Now let’s put it all together to talk a little about our own experiences. Write “No” in front of any sentences that are false (Negative) in your own experiences. Note: “Sí” (“yes”) is optional and serves to emphasize an affirmative answer.
| N | VERB | ART. | NOUN | ADJECTIVE | ||
| EXISTE/ HAY | ES | ESTÁ | ||||
| Existe | un | motor | original | en | mi auto. | |
| Hay | un | área | natural | en | mi patio. | |
| Existe | una | capital | popular | en | mi region. | |
| Hay | una | propaganda | subliminal | en | mi television. | |
Compare all of the versions of TO BE in Spanish. We will discuss HOW and WHERE something is as well as what is being done. Let’s start by making semantic comparisons between English and Spanish words that are the most common in Spanish. This chapter we will discuss two versions of TO BE in Spanish. First we will focus on HOW something is. Let’s start by making semantic comparisons between English and Spanish words that are the most common.
In Spanish grammar, just like in English grammar, there are a lot of patterns!
ESTÁ
- To ask if SOMETHING is alright (okay)…
| QUESTION | ANSWER |
| ¿Está bien? | Sí. / No. |
- To ask or express if SOMEONE (or any third person option) is alright (okay)…
| PRO-/ PROPER- NOUNS | N | VERB | ADVERB |
| ¿Usted | no | está | bien |
| María | |||
| El Salvador |
- Combined with “en”, meaning “at”, to tell where… (We will practice this in ch 4.)
| ART/ ADJ | NOUN | N | VERB | C | ART/ ADJ | NOUN |
| La | persona | no | está | en | el | agua. |
- Another helpful way to use “está” is for talking about something that is happening right now or ongoing, just like something we have in English…
Está _____-ndo = Is _____-ing
| ART/ ADJ | NOUN | N | VERB | C | ART/ ADJ | NOUN |
| La | persona | no | está existiendo | en | la | vida. |
There are many lists compiled of the most frequent or common words in Spanish which are a great place to start with VOCABULARY. There are many study options online so I recommend doing a search of this concept and choosing something that works well for you.
24 most common words in Spanish
| Rank | Spanish | English | Connection | Part of sentence |
| 1 | el / la | the | ———- | noun phrase (article) |
| 2 | de | of, from | derived | connector (preposition) |
| 3 | que | that, which | question | connector (conjunction) |
| 4 | y | and | ———- | connector (conjunction) |
| 5 | A | to, AT | AT | connector (preposition) |
| 6 | EN | IN, ON | connector (preposition) | |
| 7 | UN / una | a, an | ONE | noun phrase (article) |
| 8 | ES | IS | ser (to be, permanent) | verb phrase (verb) |
| 9 | se | oneself (reflexive) | -SELF | verb phrase (pronoun) |
| 10 | NO | NO | verb phrase (adverb) | |
| 11 | hay | there is/ are | HABER (to HAVE) as in past done, been, etc. | verb phrase (verb) |
| 12 | POR | by, FOR, through | FOR, PER | connector (preposition) |
| 13 | con | with | connected | connector (preposition) |
| 14 | su | his, her, their, your | ———- | noun phrase (adjective that acts like article) |
| 15 | para | for, to, in order to | parasol | connector (preposition) |
| 16 | como | like, as | question mode | connector (conjunction) |
| 17 | está | is | estar (to be, temporary) STATE (initial S → Es) | verb phrase (verb) |
| 18 | tiene | has | tener (to have and hold) -TAIN | verb phrase (verb) |
| 19 | le | third person indirect object | —————- | verb phrase (pronoun) |
| 20 | lo / la | the/ third person masculine direct object | —————— | verb phrase (pronoun) |
| 21 | todo | all, every | TOTAL | noun phrase (adjective that acts like article) |
| 22 | pero | but, yet, except | —————- | connector (conjunction) |
| 23 | más | more | MASS | noun phrase (adjective that acts like article) |
| 24 | hacer | to do; to make | facilitar (facilitate) (Latin origin, F → H) | verb phrase (verb) |
Review
Let’s put it all together to talk a little about our own experiences. Write “No” in front of any sentences that are false (Negative) in your own experiences. Note: “Sí” (“yes”) is optional and serves to emphasize an affirmative answer.
| N | VERB | ART. | NOUN | ADJECTIVE | ||
| EXISTE/ HAY | ES | ESTÁ | ||||
| Existe | un | motor | original | en | mi auto. | |
| Hay | un | área | natural | en | mi patio. | |
| Existe | una | capital | popular | en | mi region. | |
| Hay | una | propaganda | subliminal | en | mi television. | |
People
The word following “es” in the following list are all nouns representing a profession or use of the person’s time. Find names of people in your community that complete each sentence…
| Hay un/ una… | __[name]___ es… | Está en… |
| …estudiante. …profesor. …profesora. …doctor. …doctora. …ingeniera. …ingeniero. …científico. …científica. …artista. …matemático. …matemática. …político. … secretaria. …recepcionista. …atleta. …mecánico. …profesional. …médico. …chef. … | _____________ es estudiante. _____________ es profesor. _____________ es profesora. _____________ es doctor. _____________ es doctora. _____________ es ingeniera. _____________ es ingeniero. _____________ es científico. _____________ es científica. _____________ es artista. _____________ es matemático. _____________ es matemática. _____________ es político. _____________ es secretaria. _____________ es recepcionista. _____________ es atleta. _____________ es mecánico. _____________ es profesional. _____________ es médico. _____________ es chef. _____________ es … | …la escuela. …la universidad. …la clase. …la television. …mi casa. …mi trabajo. …mi comunidad. |
Progress Check 4 and Final Evaluations
Complete Progress check 4. Check your answers.
Drawing Connections
In Spanish the meaning of a word may change simply due to an accent mark over a vowel. The words usually have the same root, but over time have changed their meaning drastically in some cases. Here are some examples…
| common English | ENGLISH | = | SPANISH | common Spanish |
| there is/ there are | TO HAVE (been/done) | HABER (-do) | hay | |
| only | alone | SOLO | SOLO, SOLA | SÓLO |
Estar
When you say how you are:
ESTOY (I am…)
- estudiando español. (studying Spanish.)
- trabajando de ________. (working as _____.)
- aqui. (here.)
- bien. (well./ fine./ good./ ok.)
ESTA (He/ She/ It is…)
- bien. (ok.)
ESTAMOS (We are…)
- estudiando español.
ESTAN (They are…)
- aqui. (here.)
- estudiando español.
- bien.
World Literate Now! 