Life Transplanet

Today’s Spanish tip will cover some animals. Animals may be called different things in different parts of the world, but these should cover some of the more common ones.

Gato -Cat
Perro -Dog
Mouse -Raton
Ave/Pajaro- Bird
Oso- Bear
Elefante- Elephant
Tigre- Tiger
Leon -Lion
Pollo- Chicken
Gallina -Hen
Gallo- Rooster
Cabra -Goat
Cochino-Pig
Aguila -Eagle
Gusano -Worm
Pez/Pescado -Fish
Vaca -Cow
Toro -Bull
Caballo -Horse
Burro- Donkey
Insecto -Insect
Pato- Duck
Sapo -Frog
Mono- Monkey
Abeja -Bee

There are so many animals out there, but this can help get you started on your animal vocab. Enjoy!

Today’s Spanish tip are about some of the more commonly used verbs.

Bailar -the word “to dance” with its root and -ar ending that gets conjugated

As a grammar review, a verb is an action word -something that the subject of the sentence does. In English the “infinitive” of a verb starts with “to”. For example: to be, to do, to have, to go, to know, to want, to run, to sing, etc. In Spanish, the word “to” or “a” is not usually used to designate the infinitive. Instead, they end in “r” for example:

Estar- To be (temporarily)
Ser -To be (more permanently)
Hacer -To do
Tener- To have
Ir- To go
Saber -To know (something)
Conocer -To know (someone or some place)
Querer- To want
Correr -To Run
Cantar -To Sing

In English, conjugation of verbs is nearly non-existent except in “to be” which is a very IRREGULAR verb. For example (present tense):

To Be:
I AM
You ARE
He/She/It IS
They ARE
We ARE

In other English verbs the conjugation is simpler.
To Sing:
I SING
You SING
He/She/It SINGS
They SING
We SING
(Notice the only change is is the he/she/it with the s at the end)

In Spanish it’s a little more involved, but fairly easy to learn to conjugate. For a simple regular Spanish verb, here are the basics:
Cantar (to sing)

Cant-ar -The beginning part or root stays the same. Cantar is considered a regular -ar verb. The ending -ar is the only thing that will change:

Yo canto
Tu cantas
El/Ella/Usted canta
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes cantan
Nosotros cantamos.

Other examples of regular -ar verbs include: caminar (to walk), parar (to stop), bailar (to dance).

Other verbs are -ir or -er verbs. Like the regular verbs escribir (to write), leer (to read).

Yo escribo
Tu escribes
El escribe
Ellas escriben
Nostotros escribimos.
Notice that only the “yo” or “I” form is still just an “o” the rest have changed because of the verb.

-Ir and -er verbs are very similar in their conjugations.
Yo leo
Tu lees
El lee
Ustedes leen
Nosotros leemos.

The only real difference here is in the “nosotros” (we) form where it stays an “e” whereas with the -ir verb it matches with “i”.

In Spanish, unlike in English, you do not always need to say they subject because the conjugation (usually) tells you who is talking to whom. So you can leave off the “yo” when you say “leo” it is implied that “I read”.

Examples in a sentence:

Leo una parte de un libro cada noche despues de caminar o cantar.
(I read part of a book every night after walking or singing.)
Notice that in this case the gerund form and the infinitive are the same. In English these change to the -ing form but not in Spanish. In your everyday world notice that “No Smoking” in Spanish is “No Fumar” instead of “No Fumando” which would be the gerund form.

Ustedes necesitan escucharme bien. Voy a escribir un blog fantastico acerca de conjugar verbos y pienso que toda la gente en el mundo va a leerlo.
(You all need to listen up. I am going to write a fantastic blog about conjugating verbs and I think that everyone in the world is going to read it.) *Not really…conjugating verbs is necessary but not really a fun topic *

Verbs are very important in a language. It tells what is happening. So it is important to learn to conjugate verbs in order to not speak like Tarzan. For example: “Go. Store. Food.” or “Hungry. Has. We.” That might get the point across but not very well…

Clothes are another important thing when speaking in Spanish.

Clothes =Ropa
Wear clothing= Llevar ropa
Naked or Nude= Desnudo/a

Blouse or Shirt=Blusa o camisa
Pants=Pantalones
Shorts =Cortos
Long Sleeve=Mangas largas
Sleeveless=Sin Mangas
Dress=Vestido
Dressed in=Vestido en…
Suit= Traje
Bathing Suit =Traje de baño
Underwear =Ropa Interior or Calzones -a slang form is- Chones
Jacket =Chaqueta
Coat =Abrigo
Hat= Sombrero (literally a shader), gorra (cap)
Shoes=Zapatos
Sandals=Sandalias
Socks= Calcitines
Stockings/Hose=Medias
Skirt= Falda
Necktie =Corbata
Gloves =Guantes

Since it is summer (verano) and all the food is growing, people are out having bbqs and enjoying the weather, I thought today’s Spanish tip could be about food!

Food probably has the most variation among Spanish speaking countries. What one country calls “turkey” for instance can be many different words in different countries. However, here is a starting point.

Food -Comida, Alimento

Breakfast is desayuno

Lunch is almuerzo -or in Spanglish -lonche

Dinner is cena

Snack -Bocadillo, Refrigerio, Merienda, Tentempie -I’ve heard many words for snack, but no consensus on the standard. I usually use bocadillo

Tengo hambre =I’m hungry (Literal translation is “I have hunger”)

Tengo sed =I’m thirsty.

Comer = To eat. For example, “Me gusta comer” means “I like to eat” -if you like a certain food, you can add that food to the end. “Me gusta comer fresas” =”I like to eat strawberries”

Estoy lleno(a) -I’m full -When I lived in Mexico, everyone said this, but when I did, I was corrected by my host family to say “Estoy satisfecha” which is a more polite way of saying the same thing basically “I feel satisfied”.

Buen Provecho -I find it interesting that we don’t have an expression in English to say that we hope the food is good, that we enjoy it, that we have a good appetite for it. Instead we’ve borrowed from the French with “Bon Apetit”, or simply say “Enjoy”. But Buen Provecho is used at even the most casual of dining experiences in Latin America, so it is useful to know.

Many foods that have become folded into American dininig experience are known by their Spanish names -most commonly from Mexico such as burrito, taco, chimichanga, tortilla, jalapeño, churro, torta, salsa, tamale, rellenos, enchilada, and more. Many other countries such as Puerto Rico have different foods with different names. Sometimes they are the same food, but just called by a different name. Some foods in Puerto Rico are: pinchos, mofongos, tostones, pasteles (different than pastel in Mexico which is cake -these are closer to tamales), coquito (a drink), and more.

However, there are many other more common foods that may be good to know:

Bread =Pan

Egg = Huevo

Butter = Mantequilla

Fruit = Fruta

Apple =Manzana

Vegetable = Verdura, Vegetal

Zanahoria =Carrot

Grains =Granos, Cereales

Flour =Harina

Meat =Carne

Beef = Carne de res

Chicken =Pollo

Fish =Pescado (as opposed to pez or peces that are still swimming)

Milk =Leche

Cheese =Queso

Nut = Nuez

Candy/Sweets =Dulce(s)

Sugar =Azúcar

Postre = Dessert

For food, there is a lot to know. Everyone has to eat and there’s lots of variety! However, this is usually an area that most people learn just by doing, so don’t worry too much about it. If you have the basics, you’ll learn the foods (hopefully) by eating them with people who speak Spanish! And it will definitely be a little different wherever you learn it. ¡Buen provecho!

Today’s Spanish tip is about las estaciones del año, or the seasons of the year.

Spring =Primavera
Summer=Verano
Fall/Autumn =Otoño
Winter=Invierno

Here is a cute video about the seasons that I found on YouTube;