Azul Homework Class 1
Lesson 1: Gender of nouns
Unlike in English, nouns in Spanish are almost always classified as masculine or feminine.
Masculine nouns:
-Usually en in "-o"
-Can end in "-ma" if Greek in origin
(problema, dilema, poema, and sistema are all fall in this category)
Feminine nouns:
-Often end in "a"
-Words with the following endings are feminine: -ción, -sión, -dad, -tud
Lesson 2: Definite and Indefinite Articles
Definite articles mean "the." In Spanish, the form they take corresponds to their respective noun.
This is also true of indefinite articles, but they mean "a" or "some."
Examples:
Definite
Masculine Feminine
singular el libro (the book) la mesa (the table)
plural los libros (the books) las mesas (the tables)
Indefinite
Masculine Feminine
singular un libro (a book) una mesa (a table)
plural unos libros (some books) unas mesas (some tables)
Assignment
Write down two different lists of 12 nouns in Spanish--that's 24 nouns in
total. Of the 24:
6 should be masculine singular
6 should be masculine plural
6 should be feminine singular
6 should be feminine plural
Use simple, concrete words that you?ll should be able to convey to a partner without using English. Mix up the order of the words so that all the masculine singular words, for example, are not together.
Next to each noun on the list on the LEFT, write the noun's corresponding
definite article (el, la, los, las). Next to each noun on the list on the
RIGHT, write the noun's corresponding indefinite article (un, una, unos,
unas).
On a separate sheet of paper, rewrite the two lists, but without the
articles. Put an underlined space next to the nouns where the article
would go. In the next class, you'll give this second sheet to another
student to fill in.
Azul Homework Class 2
Lesson 1: Formation of Plural Nouns A. To nouns that end in a vowel, add "s" libro, libros (book, books) B. To nouns that end in a consonant, add "es" reloj, relojes (clock, clocks) C. The letter Z at the end of a word is changed to C in the plural form. Example: lápiz, lápices (pencil, pencil) Assignment 1: 1. Write a list of 10 nouns in their singular form along with their definite article. Include words that end in vowels, consonants and "-ción." 2. Next to this list, rewrite the nouns (and articles) in their plural form. Lesson 2: Regular Verbs of the First Conjugation (-AR) This is the biggest group of verbs in Spanish. These verbs are conjugated like this: 1. Take off the -ar at the end. 2. Stick on the ending that is appropriate for the subject of the verb: yo -o Nosotros -amos tú -as él/ella/usted -a ellos/ellas/ustedes -an So with, for example, the verb HABLAR, what you get looks like this: yo hablo (I speak) Nosotros hablamos tú hablas (you speak) él/ella/usted habla ellos/ellas/ustedes hablan (he, she speaks, you (formal) speak) (they, you (plural) speak) Assignment 2: 1. Fully conjugate, in writing, each of the verbs below full in the present just like HABLAR is conjugated above. hablar caminar escuchar bailar estudiar 2. Practice these forms orally, memorizing their conjugation to the point where you can do it with your eyes closed. 3. Write one unique sentence for each verb. Use a different subject for each sentence so that the verb in each sentence has a different form.
Azul Homework Class 3
Lesson 1: Regular Verbs of the Second Conjugation (-ER) This is the second biggest group of verbs in Spanish. These verbs are conjugated like this: 1. Take off the -er at the end. 2. Stick on the ending that is appropriate for the subject of the verb: -o -emos -es -e -en So with, for example, the verb COMER, what you get looks like this: yo como nosotros comemos tú comes él/ella/usted come ellos/ellas/ustedes comen Lesson 2: Regular Verbs of the Third Conjugation (-IR) This is the third biggest group of verbs in Spanish. These verbs are conjugated like this: 1. Take off the -ir at the end. 2. Stick on the ending that is appropriate for the subject of the verb: -o -imos -es -e -en NOTE that the only difference between these endings and those of the second conjugation is the letter "i" in the second person plural. So with, for example, the verb VIVIR, what you get looks like this: vivo vivimos vives vive viven Assignments 1. Conjugate the following verbs orally (or, if you already know these verbs, five other regular verbs in each of these groups) and memorize their conjugation to the point where you can do it with your eyes closed. -ER -IR comer escribir beber abrir aprender cubrir leer recibir meter vivir 2. Write one unique sentence with each verb (10 sentences total). Use each verb ending (-o, -es, -e, etc.) twice. Examples: Yo como tacos en la mañana con mi gato anaranjado. Tú bebes tequila en la tarde con limón y sal.
Azul Homework Class 4
Lesson 1: SER
SER is used to express something?s IDENTITY.
(SER means "to be" in the sense of EXISTING and being identified as
something.)
USES of SER
1. Identifying something as a noun.
Esto es un libro.
2. Characteristics
El gato es negro.
3. Profession
Ramón es doctor.
4. Religion
Nosotros somos budistas.
5. Ideology
Ellos son socialistas.
6. Nationality
Tú eres italiano.
7. Geographic origin
Soy de Wenatchee.
8. Material origin
La silla es de metal.
9. When telling time
¿Qué hora es? Son las ocho.
Lesson 2: ESTAR
ESTAR is used to express something?s CONDITION or LOCATION.
(ESTAR means "to be" in the sense of being in a particular STATE.) 1.
1. Physical condition
Estoy enfermo.
2. Mental condition
Ramón está contento.
3. Emotional condition
Nosotros estamos tristes.
4. Location
¿Dónde está Waldo? Waldo está en Puyallup.
5. Temperature of things
La sopa está fría.
Some comparisons of SER & ESTAR
¿Cómo está Roberto?
(This means "How is Roberto?" How is his mental/emotional/physical
condition.)
¿Cómo es Roberto?
(This means "What is Roberto like?" It requests a description of his
identity and characteristics.)
La casa es bonita.
(This means "The house is pretty." a characteristic)
La casa está bonita.
(This means "The house looks pretty." It has been dolled up, adorned with
Christmas lights or something. a condition)
Simón está aburrido.
("Simón is bored." a condition)
Simón es aburrido.
("Simón is boring." a charactersitic)
ASSIGNMENT
Write one original example of your own for each use of each verb for a
total of 14 sentences.
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Azul Homework Class 5
Lesson 1: Expressing Posession with "de" There’s no "apostrophe ‘s’" in Spanish. You can’t say "Bob’s tacos." You have to say "the tacos of Bob." You say it like this: "Los tacos de Bob." (Bob’s tacos) Or "Los tacos son de Bob." (The tacos are Bob’s.) Lesson 2: Use of Articles with "de" If the posessor is not stated as a proper noun (like Bob), it will usually have an article in front of it (un, el, etc.) Examples: Los tacos son de la mujer. Las casas son de las mujeres. Los libros son de los hombres. Las mesas son del hombre. Note that the last example features the contraction DEL, which is the combination of DE and EL. Lesson 3: Use of Definite Articles with Titles When using someone’s title to refer to them, there’s a difference between when you address them directly and when you talk about them to someone else. When talking about them to someone else, you use a definite article in front of their title. Examples: Hoy el señor Rodríguez no está aquí. (Today Mr. Rodriguez is not here.) ¿Dónde está la señora Ruíz? (Where is Mrs. Ruiz?) When addressing someone directly, you don’t use the article. Examples: Hola señor Rodríguez. ¿Cómo está señora Ruíz? ASSIGNMENT 1 Write 12 sentences that state posession similar to those in Lesson 2. Write: 3 with de la 3 with de las 3 with de los 3 with del But mix up the sentences so that they aren’t in the above groups together. The structure of each sentence should be as follows: noun 1, SER, de, definite article, noun 2
Azul Homework Class 6
Azul Homework Class 6 Lesson: The Present Progressive Tense The Present Progressivie is yet another use of ESTAR and is used to express an action that is actually in process. It a compound tense in which ESTAR serves as an auxiliary verb to another verb in its present participle (or gerund) form. Examples: El profesor está explicando. (The professor is explaining.) Los estudiantes están escribiendo. (The students are writing.) Note that ESTAR is conjugated as you’d expected based on the subject. Also note the endings of the present participles: -ANDO (as in "explicando") is used with -AR verbs. -IENDO (as in "escribiendo") is used with -ER and -IR verbs. (There are some verbs with irregular present participles: the verb IR itself—its present participle is YENDO—and those that end in -EER and -UIR. Their present participles end in -YENDO, as in "leyendo.") Assignment Write a one-page, double-spaced narrative about a room in your house. Choose a few objects there and answer these questions: -Where are things in relation to each other? -Where are they from? -What do they look like? -In what condition are they? -AND What is happening in the moment that you write? Use SER and ESTAR based on the assignment from class 4. In addition, endeavor to use the PRESENT PROGRESSIVE. Example: En la cocina, la lavadora de platos está a la derecha del horno. Es de Tacoma y es blanca. Es usada pero está como nueva. El gato está comiendo su comida a la izquierda de la refrigeradora. (In the kitchen, the dishwasher is to the right of the oven. It’s from Tacoma and it’s white. It’s used but it’s like new. The cat is eating its food to the left of the refrigerator.)
Azul Homework Class 7
Azul Homework Class 7 Repeat the exercise for week 6, but go somewhere else. Go outside, go to a park, a coffee shop, a dentist's office. Answer the same questions.
Questions?
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Last updated 20 May 2008