Unit 3: Introduction to the present tense and adjectives
Adjetivos:
| alguno |
some |
| barato |
cheap, inexpensive |
| bueno |
good |
| cada |
each, every |
| caliente |
warm, hot |
| caro |
expensive, dear |
| difícil |
difficult, hard |
| distraído |
absentminded, distracted |
| enfermo |
ill, sick (“invalid,” as noun) |
| fácil |
easy |
| frío |
cold |
| gran/ grande |
great, large |
| malo |
bad |
| medio |
half (media– half past the hour) |
| nuevo |
new |
| orgulloso |
proud, haughty |
| otro |
other, another |
| pequeño |
little, small |
| rico |
rich, wealthy, delicious |
| seguro |
safe, sure |
| solo |
alone, lonely |
| todo |
all, every |
| viejo |
old |
| vivo |
alive, clever, sharp |
¡Ojo! When todo or one of its forms precedes a noun (used as an adjective), no comprehension problem is presented. When todo is used a pronoun, however, you must distinguish between singular and plural meaning:
- Todos están aquí.
- Everyone is here.
- Todo es fácil.
- Everything is easy.
Adjetivos: Los colores:
| amarillo |
yellow |
| anaranjado |
orange |
| azul |
blue (cognate: azure) |
| blanco |
white (cognate: to blanch) |
| castaño |
brown, chestnut, hazel |
| color de café |
brown |
| gris |
gray |
| marrón |
brown |
| morado |
purple |
| naranja |
orange |
| negro |
black |
| pardo |
brown |
| púrpura |
purple |
| rojo |
red |
| rosado |
pink |
| verde |
green (cognate: verdant) |
Adverbios:
| bien |
well |
| mal |
bad, badly |
| menos |
less (combined with adjective- least) |
| pronto |
soon |
| siempre |
always |
| sólo |
only |
| todavía |
still, yet |
| ya |
already (sometimes, “now” or “later”; See section 12.4.) |
Adverbios temporales (Adverbs of Time):
| antes |
before |
| después |
after, afterwards |
| esta mañana |
this morning |
| esta tarde |
this afternoon |
| esta noche |
tonight |
| tarde |
late |
| temprano |
early |
| todos los días |
everyday |
Expresiones:
| a casa |
home (to home) (expresses motion) |
| a la vez |
at the same time |
| a tiempo |
on time |
| en casa |
at home (expresses location) |
| hay que + inf. |
it is necessary (to do something) |
| no sólo … sino también |
not only… but also |
| por eso |
therefore, for that reason, that’s why |
| ¿qué tal + (form of estar)? |
how are you/ is he, she, etc. (doing)? |
Nacionalidades:
As appropriate, the masculine form of nationalities also serves as nouns for the language of the country. Both forms function as nouns referring to natives of these countries.
| alemán |
German |
| austríaco |
Austrian |
| brasileño |
Brazilian* |
| canadiense |
Canadian* |
| español |
Spaniard |
| francés |
French |
| griego |
Greek |
| inglés |
British |
| noruego |
Norwegian |
| portugués |
Portuguese |
| sueco |
Swedish |
| suizo |
Swiss |
*These endings (-eño and –ense) are very common adjective endings referring to the natives or inhabitants of countries and cities:
| madrileño |
native of Madrid |
| limeño |
native of Lima |
| costarricense |
Costa Rican/ native of Costa Rica |
| estadounidense |
American/ native of the United States |
All such words can also carry meaning of “pertaining to” without indicating a person:
| Es (una) costumbre madrileña cenar muy tarde. |
It’s a Madrid custom (custom of Madrid) to eat dinner very late. |
Números:
| treinta |
thirty |
| cuarenta |
forty |
| cincuenta |
fifty |
| sesenta |
sixty |
| setenta |
seventy |
| ochenta |
eighty |
| noventa |
ninety |
| cien(to) |
one hundred |
| mil |
one thousand |
Otras palabras:
| algo |
something |
| como |
like, such, as, how |
| más |
more (or with adjective- most) |
| porque |
because |
| que |
that, which, who |
Pronombres (Pronouns):
| todo el mundo |
everyone (synonymous with todos) |
| cada uno/-a |
each one, every one |
Sustantivos:
| el agua (fem.) |
water* |
| el/la alumno/-a |
student (false friend) |
| el año |
year |
| el árbol |
tree (cognate-arbor, arboreal) |
| el bolígrafo |
pen |
| el carro |
car (L.A.) |
| la casa |
house, home |
| el centro |
center, center of city, uptown, downtown |
| el coche |
car (Sp., esp.) |
| la comida |
food, meal, evening meal |
| la cosa |
thing |
| el cuaderno |
notebook |
| la cuenta |
bill** |
| el cuento |
story, short story**, *** |
| el cumpleaños |
birthday |
| el día |
day |
| la escuela |
school |
| el/la estudiante |
student |
| la fecha |
date (of month, year) |
| la frase |
sentence, phrase |
| la hija |
daughter |
| el hijo |
son |
| los hijos |
children***** |
| la historia |
story (in a general sense), tale, history *** |
| el lápiz |
pencil |
| la mañana |
morning**** |
| el mes |
month |
| la mesa |
table |
| la noche |
evening, night |
| la nota |
grade; bill (currency); note |
| el papel |
paper |
| la pared |
wall |
| la pizarra |
chalkboard |
| la pregunta |
question |
| la puerta |
door** |
| el puerto |
port** |
| la ropa |
clothes, clothing (false friend) |
| la semana |
week |
| el señor (Sr.) |
Mr. |
| la señora (Sra.) |
Mrs. |
| los señores (Sres.) |
Mr. and Mrs. |
| la señorita (Srta.) |
Miss |
| la silla |
chair |
| la tarde |
afternoon |
| la telenovela |
soap opera |
| el tiempo |
time, weather |
| la ventana |
window |
| la vez |
time, occasion |
| el viaje |
trip |
| la vida |
life (cognate- vital, vitality) |
*Agua takes the masculine definite article for phonetic reasons only. It remains feminine and all adjectives modifying it are feminine (see section 3.2.): El agua está fría hoy.
**Be careful to differentiate between the very similar nouns el cuento and la cuenta, as well as el puerto and la puerta.
***Cuento and historia are often not synonymous. The former often refers to the literary genre while the latter mean “story” in a general sense. If one wrote of “the story of Romeo and Juliet,” la historia de Romeo y Julieta would be used.
****When mañana is preceded by an article, its meaning is “morning.” When not, it is an adverb of time and means “tomorrow.”
*****Hijos are always one’s own children, regardless of age. Niños refers to small children, which may or may not be one’s own.
Verbos:
| ayudar |
to help |
| buscar |
to look for, to search for |
| caminar |
to walk |
| cenar |
to dine, to have dinner, to eat the evening meal |
| cocinar |
to cook (cognate: cuisine) |
| comprar |
to buy |
| dejar |
to leave (behind), to abandon, to let, to permit |
| escuchar |
to listen |
| esperar |
to wait, to hope, to expect |
| lavar |
to wash (cognate: lavatory) |
| llegar |
to arrive* |
| llevar |
to carry, to take |
| limpiar |
to clean |
| mirar |
to look at (cognate- to admire) |
| nadar |
to swim (cognate: natatorium) |
| necesitar |
to need |
| pagar |
to pay |
| preguntar |
to ask |
| preparar |
to prepare |
| sacar |
to take (photos), to take out, to get a grade |
| tomar |
to take (in/by the hand), to drink, to eat (not a solid food) |
| usar |
to use, to wear |
| viajar |
to travel (cognate- voyage) |
* It may help to remember that the verb of motion of the two is llegar, which has the g, as in the verb of motion “to go.”
