Before a verb in negative command

· No te quedes en la reunión./ Don't stay in the meeting.

3. After a gerund or before the verb estar

· Juan está comiéndo se una manzana./ Juan is eating an apple.

· Juan se está comiendo una manzana./ Juan is eating an apple.

After an infinitive or before the main verb

· No quería levantar me esta mañana./ I didn't want to get up this morning.

· No me quería levantar esta mañana./ I didn't want to get up this morning.

At the end of the verb in an affirmative command

· Siénten se, niños./ Children, sit down.

NOTE: In commands addressed to nosotros, the final -s is omitted and -nos is added.

· Alegrémo nos. / Let's rejoice.

· No nos alegremos./ Let's not rejoice.

6. Before a direct object pronoun:

· Te lavaste las manos? Sí, me las lavé./ Did you wash your hands? Yes, I did wash them.

II. In a reflexive construction, since the reflexive pronoun identifies who does the action, possession is understood; therefore, the definitive article is used rather than the possessive adjective, which is the case in English.

EXAMPLES

· Tienes que cortarte el pelo./ You need to get cut your hair (You need a haircut).

· Mi esposo se baña y se lave la cara./ My husband bathes (himself) and washes his face.

III. Sentir (se)/ to feel is reflexive when used with an adjective and non-reflexive when used with a noun.

EXAMPLES

· Mi madre se siente aburrida./ My mother feels bored.

· Mi madre siente aburrimiento./ My mother feel boredom.

IV. The following verbs are typically used in a reflexive construction:

REFLEXIVE

Acostar se / to go to bed

Afeitar se o rasurar se / to shave

Bañar se / to bathe

Callar se / to stop talking

Despertar se / to wake up

Duchar se / to take a shower

Levantar se / to get up

Peinar se / to comb one's hair

Poner se / to put on

Probar se / to try on

Quedar se / to remain, to stay

Quitar se o sacar se / to take off

Sentar se / to sit down

V. The following verbs have slightly different meanings when used in their reflexive form:

NON-REFLEXIVE	REFLEXIVE
Abonar/ to pay	abonar se /to subscribe
Acordar/ to agree to	acordar se / to remember
Acostar/ to put, to bed	acostar se / to go to bed
Alegrar/ to cheer up	alegrar se / to be glad, to rejoice
Burlar/ to deceive	burlar se / to make fun of
Casar/ to marry	casar se / to get married
Conducir/ to drive	conducir se / to behave
Despedir/ to dismiss	despedir se / to say goodbye
Detener/ to detain	detener se / to stop
Dirigir/ to direct	dirigir se / to address
Dormir/ to sleep	dormir se / to fall asleep
Encontrar/ to find	encontrar se / to be located, to meet
Hacer/ to make	hacer se / to be
Ir/ to go	ir se / to leave
Levantar/ to lift	levantar se / to get up
Llamar/ to call	llamar se / to be named
Llevar/ to carry, take	llevar se / to take away
Negar/ to deny	negar se / to refuse
Parecer/ to seem, appear	parecer se / to look like
Poner/ to place, to put	poner se / to wear, to put on, to become
Probar/ to taste	probar se / to try on
Quitar/ to take away	quitar se / to take off
Volver/ to return	volver se / to become, to turn around

 

VI. The following verbs are used with a reflexive pronoun but do not have a reflexive meaning:

NON-REFLEXIVE MEANING

Arrepentir se (de)/ to repent

Asomar se / to look out of

Atrever se (a)/ to dare

Dar se cuenta (de)/ to realize

Empeñar se (en)/ to insist on

Enterar se (de)/ to find out (about)

Equivocar se / to make a mistake

Portar se bien/ to behave

Portar se mal/ to misbehave

Quejar se (de)/ to complain

Tratar se (de)/ to be related to an issue (This is only for the 3rd person)

Resignar se / to resign

 

VII. In Spanish there are 3 different ways of expressing the English to become or to be.

1. Volverse/ to become is used to refer to a change in physical or emotional state, but it denotes a sudden change.

EXAMPLES

· La madre se volvió loca cuando el hijo fue asesinado./ The mother (became) went crazy when her son was killed.

· El cielo se volvió negro antes de llover./ The sky (became dark) darkened before raining.

2. Ponerse / to be, to become is used refer to physical or emotional changes.

EXAMPLES

· Nos pusimos contentos cuando ganamos el partido./ We (became) were happy when we won the game.

· Sofía se puso triste cuando el novio se fue a la Argentina./ Sofía (became) was sad when her boyfriend left to Argentina.

3. Hacerse/ to be, become is used to indicate personal effort.

EXAMPLES

· Me haré famoso después de esta película./ I 'll become famous after this movie.

· Liliana se hará doctora después de tanto estudiar./ Liliana will (become) be a doctor after so much studying.

PREPOSICIONES/ PREPOSITIONS

In Spanish there are 19 prepositions and several prepositional phrases. And they are used to express a relationship between two words. As it is in English, the use of prepositions is fairly arbitrary.

Prep.	Translations	Prep.	Translations
A	at, by, on, to	Hacia	toward, towards, to
Ante	before	Hasta	until
Bajo	under, below	Para	for, to
Cabe	beside, next to	Por	for
Con	with	Según	according to
Contra	against	Sin	without
De	of, about, from, to	So	on, under
Desde	from	Sobre	over, on
En	in, at, into, on, inside, over	Tras	after
Entre	between, among

USE OF PREPOSITION

Certain verbs in English require a preposition to follow the verb; however, in Spanish the preposition is NOT always required.

NOTE that the preposition a goes before an indirect object.

Buscar/ to look for

· Busquemos un lugar fresco./ Let's look for a cool place.

· Ella busca trabajo en Bariloche./ She looks for a job in Bariloche.

· Busquemos a Ana./ Let's look for Ana.

Escuchar/ to listen to

· La audiencia escucha la música./ The audience listens to the music.

· Los alumnos escuchan a la maestra./ The students listen to the teacher.

Esperar/ to wait for

· Estoy esperando el tren de las cinco./ I am waiting for the 5 o'clock train.

· Espero a Susana que viene en el tren./ I am waiting for Susana who is coming by the train.

· Te espero hasta las seis./ I'll wait for youuntil six.

Mirar/ to look at

· Miran las pinturas de Picasso./ They look at Picasso's paintings.

· Miran al futuro./ They look at the future.

Pagar/ to pay for

· Los subsidiarios de las compañías estadounidenses pagan los beneficios médicos./ American subsidiaries pay for medical benefits.

· Los subsidiarios de las compañías estadounidenses pagan por los beneficios médicos./ American subsidiaries pay for medical benefits.

Pedir/ to ask for

· Le pedí el número de teléfono./ I asked for her phone number.

USE OF PREPOSITION: General Rules.

A

Ante

Bajo

Cabe

Con

Contra

De

Desde

En

Entre

Hacia

Hasta

Para

Por

Según

Sin

So

Sobre

Tras

I. A / at, by, on, to

a. A is used with verbs that express direction or movement:

EXAMPLES

· El camión va a la estación./ The truck goes to the station.

· El camión llegó a l destino./ The truck arrived at its destination.

b. A is used to indicate a specific time in which an action occurs; a is equivalent to at:

EXAMPLES

· El concierto empieza a las ocho./ The concert starts at eight o'clock.

· Los artistas llegaron a las seis./ The artists arrived at six o'clock.

c. A is used with the direct and indirect object:

EXAMPLES

· Visitamos a l presidente de nuestra compañía./ We visited the president of our company.

· Le regalo a mi hermano las entradas del concierto./ I give away the concert tickets to my brother.

d. A is used in idiomatic expressions that indicate how something is made:

EXAMPLES

· El pulóver está hecho a mano./ The sweater is hand made.

· El pulóver fue tejido a máquina./ The sweater was machine woven.

e. A + quien is equivalent to whom:

EXAMPLES

· ¿ A quién viste en el concierto?/ Whom did you see at the concert?

· Paula, a quien le vendí mi auto, se fue a París./ Paula, whom I sold my car to, left to Paris.

f. Estar + a indicates a distance between a point in reference to another one:

EXAMPLES

· Mar del Plata está a 400 kilómetros de Buenos Aires./ Mar del Plata is 400 kilometers away from Buenos Aires.

· Estoy a dos cuadradas del colegio./ I am two blocks away from school.

g. A is used after the verbs enseñar / to teach, aprender / to learn, comenzar, empezar / to start; these verbs are followed by an infinitive:

EXAMPLES

· Quiero que me enseñes a hablar el español./ I want you to teach me how to speak Spanish.

· Victoria está aprendiendo a manejar. / Victoria is learning how to drive.

· Este año empezaremos a publicar más libros./ This year we'll start to publish more books.

DIF. BETWEEN PEDIR & PREGUNTAR

The verb pedir means to ask of or requestsomething as in the following examples:

· Mis hijos me piden que vayamos al parque./ My children ask me to go to the park.

· El gerente me pidió mi opinión./ The manager asked for my opinion.

On the other hand, the verb preguntar means to ask a question.

EXAMPLES

· Mis hijos me preguntaron si yo quería ir al parque./ My children asked me (the question) whether I wanted to go to the park.

· El gerente me preguntó mi opinión./ The manager asked (a question) about my opinion.

HAY / THERE IS (ARE)

Hay is a conjugated form of the auxiliary verb haber/ to have. It is used to express both there is and there are depending on the context of a sentence. Furthermore, it has no subject.

EXAMPLES

· Hay mucho esmog en Los Angeles./ There is a lot of smog in Los Angeles.

· Hay muchos aviones en el aeropuerto./ There are many planes at the airport.

NOTE: It is important not to confuse hay with es (it is) and son (they are).