Spanish lesson 1: NOUNS
Nouns are the naming words in a language; such as man, waiter, hotel,
house, girl, flower. The important thing to remember about Spanish nouns
is that they are either masculine or feminine (male or female). In other
words, each Spanish noun falls into one of these two 'gender' categories.
MASCULINE NOUNS
i.e. el hombre (the man)
i.e. los hombres (the men)
NOTES ON MASCULINE NOUNS
In the singular, 'el' means 'the'
In the plural, 'los' means 'the'
The 's' on the noun (hombres) in the second example makes it plural
FEMININE NOUNS
i.e. la casa (the house)
i.e. las casas (the houses)
NOTES ON FEMININE NOUNS
In the singular, 'la' means 'the'
In the plural, 'las' means 'the'
The 's' on the noun (casas) in the second example makes it plural
NOTES ON ALL NOUNS
If the noun ends in a consonant, add 'es' in the plural.
EXAMPLES:
The hotel/s ... el hotel - los hoteles (masculine)
The flower/s ... la flor - las flores (feminine)
Homework: MAKE THESE NOUNS PLURAL!
The dog ... el perro
The book ... el libro
The teacher ... el profesor
The hospital ... el hospital
The rose ... la rosa
The shop ... la tienda
The woman ... la mujer
The beer ... la cerveza
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
The dogs ... los perros
The books ... los libros
The teachers ... los profesores
The hospitals ... los hospitales
The roses ... las rosas
The shops ... las tiendas
The women ... las mujeres
The beers ... las cervezas
So, how did you get on?
*** *** ***
ADJECTIVES are the describing words in a language; such as red, big,
attractive, new.
The important thing to remember about Spanish adjectives is that they
MUST AGREE with the nouns they describe. If the noun is masculine, so
must its describing adjective. Similarly, if the noun is singular, so
must the adjective be.
Let's use the nouns from last time to illustrate this.
MASCULINE NOUNS PLUS ADJECTIVES
i.e. el hombre grande (the big man)
i.e. los hombres grandes (the big men)
i.e. el hospital nuevo (the new hospital)
i.e. los hospitales nuevos (the new hospitals)
FEMININE NOUNS PLUS ADJECTIVES
i.e. la casa roja (the red house)
i.e. las casas rojas (the red houses)
i.e. la tienda nueva (the new shop)
i.e. las tiendas nuevas (the new shops)
NOTES ON ADJECTIVES
put your adjective after the noun (in English we do it the other way
round)
add 's' to make your adjective plural
change the 'o' on the end of the adjective to an 'a' to make it feminine
Homework: MAKE THESE NOUN + ADJECTIVE COMBINATIONS PLURAL!
The big dog ... el perro grande
The new book ... el libro nuevo
The good teacher ... el profesor bueno
The red rose ... la rosa roja
The new shop ... la tienda nueva
The attractive woman ... la mujer guapa
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked
The big dogs ... los perros grandes
The new books ... los libros nuevos
The good teachers ... los profesores buenos
The red roses ... las rosas rojas
The new shops ... las tiendas nuevas
The attractive women ... las mujeres guapas
How did you do?
*** *** ***
VERBS are the 'doing' or 'action' words in a language; such as eat,
drink, do, think, jump.
Verbs in Spanish fall into the Irregular or Regular categories.
Irregular verbs do not 'behave', but regular ones follow a standard
formula. It's these we'll have a look at now.
There are 3 Groups of regular verbs, those which end in -ar, -er, and -ir.
Given that -ir verbs are less common in Spanish, we'll focus on -ar and -
er.
Here's an example of a common -ar verb: HABLAR (to speak). It goes like
this:
hablo - I speak
hablas - You speak
habla - He/She/It speaks
hablamos - We speak
hablaís - You speak (plural)
hablan - They speak
So, the trick is this. Take only the 'stem' of the verb (all except the
last two letters) and add the following endings: o, as, a, amos, aís, an
Here's another example. FUMAR (to smoke)
fumo - I smoke
fumas - You smoke
fuma - He/She/It smokes
fumamos - We smoke
fumaís - You smoke (plural)
fuman - They smoke
Check out the endings! Just like the HABLAR example.
-er verbs are almost identical. Just alter the -a after the verb stem to
an -e. Like this:
COMER (to eat)
como - I eat
comes - You eat
come - He/She/It eats
comemos - We eat
comeís - You eat (plural)
comen - They eat
Hey, we're just about ready to make sentences now, so hang on until the
next free class. Meanwhile, here's this week's homework. It shouldn't
present you with any difficulties, as long as you follow the pattern.
Good luck.
According to the examples given above, write out in full the following 5
verbs:
We now know that VERBS are the 'doing' or 'action' words in a language;
such as eat, drink, do, think, jump.
We also know that verbs in Spanish fall into an Irregular or Regular
category.
Time now to see what happens to IRREGULAR verbs.
We'll look at the verb SER as a first example because it's the most
important verb in Spanish (so many of the irregular verbs are those most
commonly used in a language).
Trouble is, these verbs do not behave as we might hope - hence the tag
'irregular'. Just look what happens to this one:
SER 'To be'
Soy - I am
Eres - You are
Es - He is
Somos - We are
Sois - You are (plural)
Son - They are
You've got to memorise all the forms of these irregulars when you come
across them because they contain little or no pattern to help you (unlike
the formulaic regular verbs).
Anyway, SER is used to talk about origin and characteristics:
Soy de Londres (I am from London)
Soy inglés (I am English)
Have a look at this:
Eres inglés - You are English
Eres inglés? - Are you English?
No eres ingles - You are not English
No eres ingles? - Aren't you English?
Eres ingles, no? - You are English, aren't you?
See how it works? If in doubt, look again - the patterns are simple
(linguistically speaking!) and logical.
So, now to the homework - short sentences in English to be translated
into Spanish. First, some adjectives: irlandés (irish), escocés (scottish).
Use the model above to make your answers.
1. You are Scottish
2. Is he English?
3. You are not Irish
4. She is English, isn't she?
5. Aren't you (plural) Scottish?
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
5. Aren't you (plural) Scottish?
No sois escoceses?
How did you do?
*** *** ***
In the last edition I introduced SER (to be) as the key irregular verb in
the Spanish language. Now to an irregular verb which is not only common;
it is also used in a nice grammatical formula to express the future.
IR (to go)
Voy - I go
Vas - You go
Va - He/She/It goes
Vamos - We go
Vais - You go (plural)
Van - They go
It's an unusual looking verb alright, but try to get used to it because
it'll enable you to talk about future events in Spanish, not just things
happening in what's called the Present Simple tense (that's the one we've
seen so far).
Before we see the Future in action, you might recognise 'Vamos!' ('Let's
go!) They often use that one in the Western movies.
Look at this: Voy a hablar español - I am going to to speak Spanish. NOW
WE ARE INTO THE FUTURE!!
It's all about following this formula: IR + A + INFINITIVE OF VERB (in
the above example 'to speak')
Here's another example: Vas a comer patatas fritas? - Are you going to
eat chips?
Returning to Vamos for a moment, check this one out: Vamos a tomar una
cerveza! - We are going to drink a beer, or Let's drink a beer!
Homework time now. Translate these into Spanish:
1. She is not going to travel
2. I am going to work in the house
3. Are you (plural) going to learn Spanish?
4. We are going to drink beer in the bar
5. Let's eat!
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
1. She is not going to travel No va a viajar
2. I am going to work in the house Voy a trabajar en la casa
3. Are you (plural) going to learn Spanish? ¿Vaís a aprender español?
4. We are going to drink beer in the bar Vamos a beber cerveza en el bar
5. Let's eat! Vamos a comer!
How did you do?
*** *** ***
Last time we looked at a new tense - the future. You should now be in
position to do more with verbs.
Communicating in a foreign language is often about Question and Answer,
so let's check out how to form some common questions. We've already seen
how easy it is to form basic questions in Spanish - just add a question
mark and speak your sentence in the style of a question. For example:
Estás bien - you are well ... ¿Estás bien? - are you well?
Here now are some of the common 'question words' (and how to pronounce
them) used to start sentences in Spanish:
¿Cómo? komo how
¿Qué? kay what
¿Por qué? pour kay why
¿Cuál? kwal which
¿Cuándo? kwando when
¿Cuánto? kwanto how much
¿Cuántos? kwantoss how many
¿Quién? key-en who ¿Dónde? donday where
Here are a few in action:
¿Dónde estás? where are you?
¿Quién es? who is it?
¿Cuánto es? how much is it?
¿Cómo están? how are they?
By the way, do you like the upside-down ¿question mark? The Spanish
language uses ¿ to denote where the question begins and ? to show where
it ends. For example, "Buenós días, ¿Cómo estás?" Hello, how are you?
To do the upside-down question mark press ALT 168 on your keyboard.
Now for the homework. Translate these from English-Spanish, or
Spanish-English, as appropriate
1. What is it?
2. Who are they?
3. Why do you live in England?
4. ¿Qué es un libro?
5. ¿Cuántas personas viven en la casa?
6. ¿Cuándo vas a beber el agua?
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
1. What is it? ¿Qué es?
2. Who are they? ¿Quiénes son?
3. Why do you live in England? ¿Por qué vives en Inglaterra?
4. ¿Qué es un libro? What is a book?
5. ¿Cuántas personas viven en la casa? How many people live in the house?
6. ¿Cuándo vas a beber el agua? When are you going to drink the water?
*****
How did you get on with those?
Notice how in Question 6. the future tense is used. I hope you'll
remember that we covered the Future in Lesson 5.
To complete the picture, we'll look now at what is technically called the
'preterite' or 'past simple' tense. It's enough to call this more
strightforwardly the Past Tense if you prefer. If you have been following
the lessons carefully (and I know some of you have!) you should now be
able to express yourself in the present and future tenses. So it's time
to learn how to speak Spanish in the Past.
Is that difficult? Not really, but once again you have to learn the
formula to apply to the verbs.
Here we go with a regular -ar verb, our old friend 'HABLAR', 'to speak':
Hablé - I spoke
Hablaste - You spoke
Habló - He/She/It spoke
Hablamos - We spoke
Hablasteís - You spoke (plural)
Hablaron - They spoke
NB Yes, the 1st person plural 'we' form looks exactly like the present
'we speak'
Now an -er verb in the preterite: Comer - to eat
Comí - I ate
Comiste - You ate
Comió - He/She/It ate
Comimos - We ate
Comisteís - You ate (plural)
Comieron - They ate
Although the verb 'to eat' is irregular in English (we do not say 'eated')
it is regular in Spanish. BUT - there's always a 'but' isn't there! -
once again there are the irregular verbs in Spanish with forms all of
their own in the preterite. Interestingly both SER and IR, two verbs
we've explored previously, have exactly the same form in the preterite;
one worth learning:
Fuí - I went/ I was
Fuiste - You went / You were
Fue - He/She/It went / was
Fuimos - We went / were
Fuisteís - You went / were (plural)
Fueron - They went / were
Here are some sentences to translate for this week's homework:
1. I spoke Spanish
2. Did he speak Italian?
3. They went because they didn't eat.
4. Why did you go?
5. We talked, we ate, we went (!)
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
1. I spoke Spanish Hablé español.
2. Did he speak Italian? ¿Habló italiano?
3. They went because they didn't eat. Fueron porque no comieron.
4. Why did you go? ¿Por qué fuiste?
5. We talked, we ate, we went (!) Hablamos, comemos, fuimos.
*****
How did you get on?
A proper sentence (in English or Spanish, by the way) should have a
subject, object and verb.
Here's that old favourite, oft quoted as an example: "The cat sat on the
mat." The Verb (sat) pertains to the Subject (cat) and does to the Object
(mat).
A pronoun is a substitute for a noun (the prefix 'pro' hailing from the
Latin for 'instead of') so if we were to re-write the above example with
a subject pronoun, it would look like this: "It sat on the mat."
Here are the corresponding subject pronouns in Spanish:
I - yo (pronounced 'yoh')
You - tú (pronounced 'too')
He - él
She - ella (pronounced 'eh-ya')
It - él/ella
We - Nosotros/Nosotros (pronounced 'nos-o-tross')
You (plural) - Vosotros/Vosotras (pronounced 'vos-o-tros')
They - Ellos/Ellas (pronounced 'eh-yos')
NB 'It' in Spanish is effectively he/she because all Spanish nouns are
masculine or feminine. We, You (plural) and They could be used in the
masculine or feminine, depending on the gender of the subject.
When speaking Spanish, then, put your subject pronoun in front of the
verb. For example: Yo hablo español - I speak Spanish.
Why have we not seen this combination before? Because 'Hablo español' is
enough. Cleverly, Spanish verb forms contain the subject already. When I
look at the word 'Hablo' I can see from the ending on the verb that the
subject of the sentence is 'I'.
Some straightforward homework now to end on. Just add in the appropriate
pronouns to these Spanish sentences; then translate them into English.
Example: ¿Eres inglés? - ¿Tú eres inglés? - Are you English?
1. We speak Spanish.
2. He doesn't work.
3. They are Italian.
4. I drink water in the house.
5. She isn't English; she's Spanish.
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
1. We speak Spanish - Hablamos español - Nosotros hablamos español
2. He doesn't work - No trabaja - El no trabaja
3. They are Italian - Son italianos - Ellos son italianos
4. I drink water in the house - Bebo agua en la casa - Yo bebo agua en la
casa
5. She isn't English; she's Spanish - No es inglesa - Ella no es inglesa
*****
How did you get on?
As said in the last issue, a proper sentence (in English or Spanish)
should have a subject, object and verb:
"I eat apples."
Apples is the object of the sentence
If we were to replace the word apples with an OBJECT PRONOUN the sentence
would look like this:
"I eat them"
Here are the corresponding object pronouns in Spanish:
Me - me (pronounced 'meh')
You - te ('teh')
Him - le ('leh')
Her - la
Us - nos
You - os
Them - les, las (feminine)
Here are some object pronouns in action:
1. I eat them - los como
NOTE: THE OBJECT PRONOUN MUST PRECEDE THE VERB
2. You talk to me in Spanish - me hablas en español
3. You drink it (beer) in the house - la bebes en la casa
Got the idea? In English the object pronoun comes after the verb. It's
the reverse in Spanish.
Try these for homework:
1. You speak to him
2. They eat it (el pan - bread).
3. She smokes them (los cigarrillos - cigarettes) in the house.
4. Are you going to learn it (español)?
5. We are going to speak it (inglés)
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
3. She smokes them (los cigarrillos - cigarettes) in the house.
Los fuma en la casa.
4. Are you going to learn it (español)?
Lo vas a aprender.
5. We are going to speak it (inglés)
Lo vamos a hablar.
*****
So we come to the end of this little Spanish learning experience. ):
It's been our aim to introduce you to some of the basics of grammar which
can give you the grounding you'll need to go on and speak Spanish. A
sound grammatical structure is crucial if you want to become a fluent
speaker. Fluency really can be achieved quicker than you might think,
especially if you have a good grasp of the technical 'building bricks'.
To make speedy progress, try our intensive tuition. One of our private
teachers will guide you and get the best out of your language learning
ability.
*****
Let's RECAP now on what's been learnt in the nine Spanish lessons to
date.
1. Nouns - the naming words in a language.
NB: Spanish nouns are masculine or feminine in gender.
2. Nouns with adjectives - adjectives describe nouns.
NB: Spanish adjectives must 'agree' with the nouns they describe, and are
placed after rather than before the noun.
3. Regular verbs (present tense) - verbs are the 'doing' words in a
language.
NB: Regular verbs have a familiar pattern which needs to be learned
quickly!
4. Irregular verbs (present tense).
NB: Their pattern is not predictable. They must be learned individually.
5. All verbs: the future tense
NB: The formula is IR + A + INFINITIVE
6. Question words
NB: These are the words which begin sentences asking questions, such as
where? (dónde)
7. All verbs: the past tense
NB: This particular past tense (there are several) is known as the
preterite.
8. Subject Pronouns - pronouns are substitutes for nouns
NB: The use of Spanish subject pronouns is optional
9. Object Pronouns
NB: Spanish object pronouns, almost without exception, are to be found
directly in front of the verb.
In this lesson you will learn some greetings and useful everyday phrases.
The lesson also introduces:
the word order
the German word for 'the'
some nouns and their plurals
Guten Tag! - this is the greeting most frequently used during the day
'Good day'.
Guten Morgen! - good morning
Guten Abend! - good evening
Wie geht es Ihnen? - How are you doing? [polite]
Danke, gut. or Gut, Danke - thanks, fine/good or fine/good, thanks.
Auf Wiedersehen - good bye
Tschu? - bye
There are three different words for 'the':
der - masculine
die - feminine
das - neuter
When we talk about masculine, feminine or neuter we are talking about the
gender of a word. Whenever we learn a new noun, we must also learn the
gender or if you prefer which 'the' goes with it, for example:
der Junge [the boy] is masculine
die Tante [the aunt] is feminine
das Kind [the child] is neuter
15 nouns are listed below. For your homework, place der, die or das in
front of the word, depending on whether it is masculine, feminine or
neuter:
Mann [m] - man/husband
Frau [f] - woman/wife
Mädchen [n] - girl
Fenster [n] - window
Bruder [m] - brother
Schwester [f] - sister
Tisch [m] - table
Zeitung [f] - newspaper
Wasser [n] - water
Katze [f] - cat
Hund [ m] - dog
Buch [n] - book
On the whole a native English speaker will find German easier to
pronounce than say French as there are few sounds in the German language
which are unfamiliar. Thankfully, there is far greater consistency
between spelling and pronunciation in German than exists in English!
However, be careful as some German letters require a different
pronunciation to their English counterparts.
The German alphabet contains all the 26 letters of the English alphabet.
In addition three of the vowels appear with an umlaut a/A, o/O, u/U : ä/Ä,
ö/Ö, ü/Ü. The vowels with an umlaut represent completely different
sounds.
There is also a symbol for a double ss : ß. This never occurs at the
beginning of a word.
Here are the letters of the alphabet and their imitated pronunciation:
A - ah B - beh C - tseh D - deh E - eh
F - ef G - geh H - hah I - ee J - yot
K - kah L - el M - em N - en O - oh
P - peh Q - koo R - eer S - es T - teh
U - oo V - fow W - veh X - iks Y - uepsilon
Z - tset
Vowel sounds
Long 'a' like father = Bahn. Short 'a' like track = Bann
Long 'e' like drape = Beet. Short 'e' like get = Bett
Long 'i' like keen = ihm. Short 'i' like fit = im.
Long 'o' like home = Hof. Short 'o' like shot = hoff.
Long 'u' like moon = Ruhm. Short 'u' like put = Rum.
Long 'ä' leg = käme. Short 'ä' exactly like the short German 'e' = Kämme.
Long 'ö' is like a long German 'e' said while rounding and protruding the
lips = Höhle. Short 'ö' is produced in the same way Hölle.
Long 'ü' is like German i[e] while rounding and protruding the lips =
Wüste. Short 'ü' is like the German short 'i' while rounding and
protruding the lips = wüßte.
Vowel combinations:
Ai/ei like bribe or guide = Mai, Kleid
Au like cow/mouth = Haus, Haut
Äu/eu like annoyed = läuft, neun
I haven't translated these words as I have chosen them more for their
usefulness as a pronunciation aid! It would be a good exercise to look
them up in your dictionary though! Just call it Hausaufgaben [homework].
As pronunciation can really only be taught effectively face-to-face, so
the learner can get feedback from the teacher, I am not going to deal
with consonants today - they are not nearly as complex as vowels though!
I will do a short piece on consonants in the next lesson.
Meanwhile practice the above sounds for a couple of minutes out loud
every day.
Here are the answers to last week's Hausaufgaben:
der Mann; die Frau; das Mädchen; das Fenster; der Bruder; die Schwester;
der Tisch; die Zeitung; das Wasser; die Katze; der Hund; das Buch.
How did you get on?
What about if you want to say 'a man' instead of 'the man'?
der becomes 'ein' zum Beispiel [for example] ein Mann
die becomes 'eine' zum Beispiel eine Frau
das becomes 'ein' zum Beispiel ein Mädchen
So the masculine and the neuter word for 'a' are the same. Hmmmm.
Now let's make some sentences:
Da = there; das = that [as well as neuter the] and ist = is.
So if you wanted to say 'there is a man' in German, how would you say it?
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.Da ist ein Man!
Sehr gut!
Now try using all the words you found the gender for in last times
homework to write short sentences using either 'there is the man' or
'that is a man'. Make sure you check whether it should be ein or eine.
'ch' - whisper Hugo or human forcefully and with the initial sound you
will achieve the right sound - such as Blech, Reich
'ch' - after a, au, o, u: is more like the Scottish pronunciation of
loch, for example auch, Bach
'l' - there is only type of German 'l' and it is akin to English 'clean'
or 'leek' for example lieb, leben
'r' - difficult! It is not similar to any English sounds and comes from
the back of the throat for example rund, Gruß.
Pronouns
ich - I
du - you [informal]
er - he
sie - she
es - it
wir - we
ihr - you [friendly plural]
Sie - you [polite singular and plural]
sie - they
You will immediately notice that there are four different ways of saying
you! What are they?
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du, ihr, Sie and Sie.
This is always a bit tricky as in English we just say you. Germans in
general are polite so to be on the safe side use 'Sie', but if you are
talking to children or family members or very close friends use 'du'.
Verbs
Here are three [fairly] regular yet indispensable ones:
sein - to be; haben - to have; machen - to make.
sein - to be
ich bin - I am
du bist - you are
er ist - he is
sie ist - she is
es ist - it is
wir sind - we are
ihr seid - you are
sie sind - you are
Sie sind - they are
haben - to have
ich habe - I have
du hast - you have
er hat - he has
sie hat - she has
es hat - it has
wir haben - we have
ihr habt - you have
Sie haben - you have
sie haben - they have
machen - to make or to do
ich mache - I make/do
du machst - you make/do
er macht - he makes/does
sie macht - she makes/does
es macht - it makes/does
wir machen - we make/do
ihr macht - you make/do
Sie machen - you make/do
sie machen - you make/do
Verbs are not difficult but need to be memorised! Notice there are 9
different pronouns but not 9 different verbs changes. He she and it are
the same; we, you and they are the same leaving only I and you
[informal]! Come on you can do it learn them!
Try these sentences - ideally once you've had a go at learning the verbs
by heart!
1. He is a man.
2. She is a girl.
3. They are happy [glucklich].
4. We are here [hier].
5. They make bread [Brot].
6. You [informal] do sport.
7. We have a cat.
8. He has a book.
9. You [polite] have the newspaper.
10. I have a brother and a sister.
Answers in the next newsletter! Viel Gluck!
And here are the answers to last time's homework:
Da ist ein/der Mann.
Da ist eine/die Frau.
Da ist ein/das Mädchen.
Da ist ein/das Fenster.
Da ist ein/der Bruder.
Da ist eine/die Schwester.
Da ist ein/der Tisch.
Da ist eine/die Zeitung.
Da ist ein/das Wasser.
Da ist eine/die Katze.
Da ist ein/der Hund.
Da ist ein/das Buch.
In the last newsletter we learnt how to make simple sentences using sein,
machen and haben. Today we are going to learn how to construct questions.
It is not necessary to use "do" like in English. For example: 'Do you
make bread?' In German would be translated directly as 'Make you bread?'
- Machst du Brot?
Again the importance of learning your verbs can not be stressed enough!
Try these ones on your own:
Are you [polite] happy?
Is he here?
What do you [informal] do?
Has she a brother?
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Sind Sie glucklich?
Ist er hier?
Was machst du?
Hat sie einen Bruder?
More Verbs - LEARN THEM
lieben - to love; rufen - to call; kaufen - to buy; kommen - to come;
trinken - to drink
lieben - to love
ich liebe - I love
du liebst - you love
er liebt - he loves
sie liebt - she loves
es liebt - it loves
wir lieben - we love
ihr liebt - you love
sie lieben - you love
Sie lieben - they love
Ich liebe dich! - I love you.
rufen - to call
ich rufe - I call
du rufst - you call
er ruft - he calls
sie ruft - she calls
es ruft - it calls
wir rufen - we call
ihr ruft - you call
Sie rufen - you call
sie rufen - they call
Now take the stem of the verb and add the endings yourself to make the
following verbs:
kaufen - to buy
ich ….e - I buy
du ….st - you buy
er ….t - he buys
sie ….t - she buys
es ….t - it buys
wir ….en - we buy
ihr ….t - you buy
Sie ….en - you buy
sie ….en - you buy
kommen - to come
ich ….e - I come
du ….st - you come
er ….t - he comes
sie ….t - she comes
es ….t - it comes
wir ….en - we come
ihr ….t - you come
Sie ….en - you come
sie ….en - you come
trinken - to drink
ich
du
er
sie
es
wir
ihr
Sie
sie
Verbs are not difficult but need to be memorised! Notice there are 9
different pronouns but not 9 different verb changes. He she and it are
the same; we, you and they are the same leaving only I and you
[informal]! Come on you can do it learn them!
Where do you come from? is 'Woher kommst du [friendly]?' And the answer
is 'Ich komme aus England'.
Try the following for homework - remember 'kommen aus' means to come
from:
Where does he come from?
He comes from Germany.
Where do you come from?
I come from France.
Where do they come from?
They come from Spain?
Do they drink beer?
Yes they love beer!
Answers in the next newsletter! Viel Gluck!
Here are the answers to last times homework:
1. He is a man. Er ist ein Mann.
2. She is a girl. Sie ist ein Mädchen.
3. They are happy [glucklich]. Sie sind glucklich.
4. We are here [hier]. Wir sind hier.
5. They make bread [Brot]. Sie machen Brot.
6. You [informal] do sport. Du machst Sport.
7. We have a cat. Wir haben eine Katze.
8. He has a book. Er hat ein Buch.
9. You [polite] have the newspaper. Sie haben eine Zeitung.
10. I have a brother and a sister. Ich habe einen Bruder und eine
Schwester.
Wer ist das?
Wie heißt er/sie?
Woher kommt er?
Kommt sie aus Italien?
Wo wohnt sie?
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Only wer and wohnt are new here, meaning 'who' and 'live' respectively.
Who is that?
What's he/she called?
Where does he come from?
Does she come from Italy?
Where does she live?
Here are the details of some international students make the above
questions and answer them - in German of course!
Ronald Brooke from USA lives in Atlanta
For example, your answer should look like this:
Wie heißt er? Er heißt Ronald Brooke.
Woher kommt er? Er kommt aus USA.
Kommt er aus Italien? Nein, er kommt aus Amerika [USA].
Wo wohnt er? Er wohnt in Atlanta.
1. Lucienne Destree from France lives in Marseille.
2. Levent Ergok from Turkey lives in Izmir.
3. Linda Salt from Great Britain lives in Bristol.
4. Yasmin Yung from Korea lives in Seoul.
5. Vasquez Jimemez from Peru lives in Lima.
Have a go at conjugating the whole of the verb wohnen - just like the
verbs below.
Now answer the following:
1. Kommen Yasmin und Vasquez aus Peru?
2. Kommt Lucienne aus Spanien?
3. Wohnt Linda in Birmingham?
4. Wie heißt Levent mit Familienname?
5. Wer wohnt in Seoul?
6. Wer wohnt in Marseille?
7. Wohnt Yasmin in Lima?
8. Kommen Levent und Vasquez aus China?
9. Wo wohnen Linda und Levent?
10. Wo wohnst du?
Answers in the next newsletter! Viel Gluck!
Recap of the Verbs - Have you learnt them yet?
lieben - to love; rufen - to call; kaufen - to buy; kommen - to come;
trinken - to drink
lieben - to love
ich liebe - I love
du liebst - you love [informal singular]
er liebt - he loves
sie liebt - she loves
es liebt - it loves
wir lieben - we love
ihr liebt - you love [informal plural]
sie lieben - you love [polite singular and plural]
Sie lieben - they love
Ich liebe dich! - I love you.
rufen - to call
ich rufe - I call
du rufst - you call
er ruft - he calls
sie ruft - she calls
es ruft - it calls
wir rufen - we call
ihr ruft - you call
Sie rufen - you call
sie rufen - they call
Now take the stem of the verb and add the endings yourself to make the
following verbs:
kaufen - to buy
ich kaufe - I buy
du kaufst - you buy
er kauft - he buys
sie kauft - she buys
es kauft - it buys
wir kaufen - we buy
ihr kauft - you buy
Sie kaufen - you buy
sie kaufen - you buy
kommen - to come
ich komme - I come
du kommst - you come
er kommt - he comes
sie kommt - she comes
es kommt - it comes
wir kommen - we come
ihr kommt - you come
Sie kommen - you come
sie kommen - you come
trinken - to drink
ich trinke - I drink
du trinkst - you drink
er trinkt - he drinks
sie trinkt - she drinks
es trinkt - it drinks
wir trinken - we drink
ihr trinkt - you drink [informal plural]
Sie trinken - you drink [polite]
sie trinken - they drink
Verbs are not difficult but need to be memorised! Notice there are 9
different pronouns but not 9 different verb changes. He, she and it are
the same; we, you and they are the same leaving only I and you
[informal]!
Here are the answers to your last homework:
Where does he come from? - Woher kommt er?
He comes from Germany. - Er kommt aus Deutschland
Where do you come from? - Woher kommst du? Or Woher kommt ihr? Or Woher
kommen Sie? All correct depending on who you are talking to [du for one
person who is a friend or younger than you; ihr used in the same way but
for more than one person; Sie for when you are being polite singular and
plural!]
I come from France. - Ich komme aus Frankreich.
Where do they come from? - Woher kommen sie? [Note the small 's'
otherwise it would mean you].
They come from Spain? - Kommen sie aus Spanien?
Do they drink beer? - Trinken sie Bier?
Yes they love beer! - Ja, sie lieben Bier!
Please do not email your answers to us; the answers will be included in
the next edition of Talking Languages.
Remember last time we were practising questions; how did you get on with
the following?
1. Lucienne Destree from France lives in Marseille.
Wie heißt sie? Sie heißt Lucienne Destree.
Woher kommt sie? Sie kommt aus Frankreich.
Wo wohnt sie? Sie wohnt in Marseille.
2. Levent Ergok from Turkey lives in Izmir.
Wie heißt er? Er heißt Levent Ergok.
Woher kommt er? Er kommt aus der Turkei.
Wo wohnt er? Er wohnt in Izmir.
3. Linda Salt from Great Britain lives in Bristol.
Wie heißt sie? Sie heißt Linda Salt.
Wo wohnt sie? Sie wohnt in Bristol.
Woher kommt sie? Sie kommt aus Großbritanien.
4. Yasmin Yung from Korea lives in Seoul.
Wie heißt sie? Sie heißt Yasmin Yung.
Wo wohnt sie? Sie wohnt in Seoul.
Woher kommt sie? Sie kommt aus Korea.
5. Vasquez Jimemez from Peru lives in Lima.
Wie heißt er? Er heißt Vasquez Jimemez.
Woher kommt er? Er kommt aus Peru.
Wo wohnt er? Er wohnt in Lima.
Here is the verb wohnen:
ich wohne - I live
du wohnst - you live
er wohnt - he lives
sie wohnt - she lives
wir wohnen - we live
ihr wohnt - you[friendly singular]
Sie wohnen - you [polite] live
sie wohnen - they live
Here are the answers to your homework:
1. Lucienne Destree from France lives in Marseille.
2. Levent Ergok from Turkey lives in Izmir.
3. Linda Salt from Great Britain lives in Bristol.
4. Yasmin Yung from Korea lives in Seoul.
5. Vasquez Jimemez from Peru lives in Lima.
1. Kommen Yasmin und Vasquez aus Peru?
Nein, Yasmin kommt aus Korea aber Vasquez kommt aus Peru.
2. Kommt Lucienne aus Spanien?
Nein Lucienne kommt nicht aus Spanien, sie kommt aus Frankreich.
3. Wohnt Linda in Birmingham?
Nein Linda wohnt nicht in Birmingham, Linda wohnt in Bristol.
4. Wie heißt Levent mit Familienname?
Levent heißt Ergok mit Familienname.
5. Wer wohnt in Seoul?
Yasmin wohnt in Seoul.
6. Wer wohnt in Marseille?
Lucienne wohnt in Marseille.
7. Wohnt Yasmin in Lima?
Nein, Yasmin wohnt in Lima.
8. Kommen Levent und Vasquez aus China?
Nein, Levent kommt aus der Turkei und Vazques kommt aus Peru.
9. Wo wohnen Linda und Levent?
Linda wohnt in Bristol und Levent wohnt in Izmir.
10. Wo wohnst du?
Ich wohne in London.
No homework this week. Lots more in the next newsletter!
After your holiday, time to get back into it - here's a mini dialogue for
you to translate:
· Hallo
· Hallo!
· Wer ist da?
· Ich!
· Wer - ich?
· Mein Gott - ich!
· Wer sind Sie denn?
· Meier!
· Wie bitte?
· Ich heiße Meier!
· Ach so!
· Und Sie?
· Wie bitte?
· Und wer sind Sie?
· Meier.
· Ich verstehe nicht!
· Ich heiße auch Meier.
· Ach so. Ja dann Guten Tag!
· Guten Tag, Herr Meier!
And who said the Germans didn't have a sense of humour??
When talking about your job in German you make it either masculine or
feminine [depending on your gender or the gender of the person you are
talking about]. For example:
Der Bäcker means the male baker.
What do you think the female baker would be?
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Ja, gut.
Die Bäckerin
Just add -in and make it die
Try making the following feminine:
Der Student - the student
Der Mechaniker - the mechanic
Der Bauer - the farmer
Der Ingenieur - the engineer
Der Programmierer - the programmer
Der Grafiker - the graphic designer
Der Lehrer - the teacher
Here are some question and answers for you to try, the first one is done
for you:
Klaus Henkel - Ingeniuer
Was macht Klaus Henkel?
Klaus ist Ingenieur. [notice it isn't necessary to put a or 'ein' in
front of the job].
Jan van Groot - Programmier
Anton Becker - Kaufmann
Rita Kurz - Sekretärin
Jochen Pelz - Lehrer
Paul Schäfer - Mechaniker
Margot Schulz - Telefonistin
Here is a typical conversation between a new employee and his colleague:
Guten Tag, ist hier noch frei?
>Ja, bitte.
Sind Sie neu hier?
>Ja, ich arbeite erst drei Tage hier.
Ach so, und was machen Sie?
>Ich bin Mechaniker. Und Sie?
Ich bin Programmierer.
>Ich heiße Jan van Groot…..
Now translate into English.
Answers next time.
Viel Gluck!
A useful phrase based on Saturday's football result:
Endlich haben wir gewonnen! - Finally we have won!
More practice on giving and receiving personal information.
Here's the mini dialogue from last time translated:
· Hallo Hello
· Hallo!
· Wer ist da? Who's there?
· Ich! Me.
· Wer - ich? Who - me?
· Mein Gott - ich! My God - me!
· Wer sind Sie denn? Who are you then?
· Meier! Meier!
· Wie bitte? Pardon?
· Ich heiße Meier! I am called Meier!
· Ach so! Ah!
· Und Sie? And you?
· Wie bitte? Pardon?
· Und wer sind Sie? And who are you?
· Meier. Meier.
· Ich verstehe nicht! I don't understand!
· Ich heiße auch Meier. I'm also called Meier.
· Ach so. Ja dann Guten Tag! Ah, well that's good then, hello!
· Guten Tag, Herr Meier! Good day, Mr Meier.
Wie gehts? How did you get on?
Here are the feminine forms of the following masculine jobs:
Der Student - the student die Studentin
Der Mechaniker - the mechanic die Mechanikerin
Der Bauer - the farmer die Bauerin
Der Ingenieur - the engineer die Ingenieurin
Der Programmierer - the programmer die Programmiererin
Der Grafiker - the graphic designer die Grafikerin
Der Lehrer - the teacher die Lehrerin
Here are the answers to exercise from the last newsletter:
Klaus Henkel - Ingeniuer
Was macht Klaus Henkel?
Klaus ist Ingenieur. [notice it isn't necessary to put a or 'ein' in
front of the job].
Jan van Groot - Programmier
Was macht Jan van Groot?
Jan ist Programmierer.
Anton Becker - Kaufmann
Was macht Anton Becker?
Anton ist Kaufman.
Rita Kurz - Sekretärin
Was macht Rita Kurz?
Rita ist Sekretarin.
Jochen Pelz - Lehrer
Was macht Jochen Pelz?
Jochen ist Lehrer.
Paul Schäfer - Mechaniker
Was macht Paul Schafer?
Paul ist Mechaniker.
Margot Schulz - Telefonistin
Was macht Margot Schulz?
Margot ist Telefonistin.
Wie gehts?
Here is a typical conversation between a new employee and his colleague
and the translation:
Guten Tag, ist hier noch frei? Hello, is this place free?
>Ja, bitte. Yes, please [sit down].
Sind Sie neu hier? Are you new here?
>Ja, ich arbeite erst drei Tage hier. Yes, I've been working here for 3
days.
Ach so, und was machen Sie? Ah, and what do you do?
>Ich bin Mechaniker. Und Sie? I'm a mechanic, and you?
Ich bin Programmierer. I'm a programer.
>Ich heiße Jan van Groot….. I'm called Jan van Groot…
Wie gehts?
Here is a short dialogue followed by some questions, read the dialogue
and try to answer the questions - before looking at the answers!
Das ist Lore Sommer. Sie ist Deutsche und lebt in Hamburg. Sie ist
verheiratet und hat zwei Kinder. Sie ist Grafikerin.
Wie heisst sie?
Woher kommt sie?
Wo wohnt sie?
Ist sie verheiratet? [married]
Hat sie Kinder?
Was macht sie?
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Sie heisst Lore Sommer.
Sie Kommt aus Deutschland.
Sie wohnt in Hamburg.
Sie ist verheiratet.
Sie hat zwei Kinder.
Sie ist Grafikerin.
Now try to make questions and answers to the following 2 dialogues:
Peter-Maria Gluck, Schasteller, wohnt im Wohnwagen. Er ist heute in
Stuttgart, morgen in Heidelberg und uebermorgen in Mannheim. Er hat fuenf
Kinder.
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Hint! Name? Job? Where lives? Children?
Das ist Klaus Henkel. Er ist Chemiker und arbeitet bei Siemens in Wein.
Er ist ledig und wohnt allein. Er ist vierzig Jahre Alt.
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Hint! Name? Job? Where works? Married? Age?
Remember the verb 'trinken' from lesson 5? Well here is the verb 'essen'
-
to eat:
Ich esse - I eat
Du ißt - you eat
Er/sie/es ißt - he/she/it eats
Wir essen - we eat
Sie essen - you eat [polite]
sie essen - they eat
Some new food and drink vocabulary:
Essen und Trinken
Das Obst fruit
Der Käse cheese
Die Wurst sausage
Die Kartoffeln potatoes
Der Salat salad
Die Milch milk
Das Gemüse vegetable
Der Reis rice
Das Brötchen bread roll
Die Pizza pizza
Der Hamburger hamburger
Die Cola coke
Das Hähnchen chicken
Der Fisch fish
Das Fleisch meat
Das Bier beer
Der Wein wine
Die Suppe soup
Das Wasser water
Das Brot bread
Die Butter butter
Das Ei egg
Der Kuchen cake
Was ißt Franz Kaiser? Was trinkt Franz?
For breakfast: bread and butter and a glass of milk
For lunch: hamburger and coke
For dinner: pizza, salad and beer
More vocabulary:
Zum Frühstuck for breakfast
Zum Mittagessen for lunch
Zum Abendessen for dinner
Was ißt Clara Mai? Was trinkt sie?
Breakfast: bread roll, egg, water
Lunch: fish, potatoes and salad
Dinner: soup, chicken, vegetables and beer
Wie gehts?
Answers next time.
Here are the answers to last week's homework:
Peter-Maria Gluck, Schausteller, wohnt im Wohnwagen. Er ist heute in
Stuttgart, morgen in Heidelberg und übermorgen in Mannheim. Er hat fünf
Kinder.
Wie heißt er?
Wo wohnt er?
Ist er verheiratet?
Hat er Kinder?
Was macht er?
Er heißt Peter-Maria Gluck.
Er wohnt im Wohnwagen [caravan].
Ich weiß nicht.
Er hat fünf Kinder.
Er ist Schausteller.
Das ist Klaus Henkel. Er ist Chemiker und arbeitet bei Siemens in Wein.
Er ist ledig und wohnt allein. Er ist vierzig Jahre Alt.
Wie heißt er?
Wo arbeitet er?
Ist er verheiratet?
Wie Alt ist er?
Was macht er?
Er heißt Klaus Henkel.
Er arbeitetbei Siemens in Wien.
Nein, er ist nicht verheiratet, er ist ledig.
Nein, er ist nicht verheiratet, er wohnt allein und er ist ledig
[single].
Er ist Chemiker.
The last German lesson will appear in the next bulletin
This is the last German lesson, the following exercise is a recap of
everything we've learnt so far….. Viel Glück!
1. Essen Sie gern Fisch?
a. Nein, ich habe noch genug.
b. Ja, aber Kartoffeln.
c. Ja, sehr gern.
2. Ist sie Grieche?
a. Ja, ich bin Grieche.
b. Ja, aus Griechenland.
c. Ja, sie ist aus Griechenland.
3. Lernen Sie Portugiesisch?
a. Nein, ich spreche Deutsch.
b. Nein, Spanisch.
c. Ja, ich bin Französin.
4. Wo wohnen Sie?
a. In Mailand.
b. Aus Belgien.
c. Mechaniker.
5. Was machst du?
a. Ich bin Mechaniker.
b. Ich möchte doch Biologie studieren.
c. Ich lerne hier Deutsch.
6. Guten Tag. Mein Name ist Kurz.
a. Guten Tag. Ich bin Luisa Tendera.
b. Guten Tag. Ich komme aus Spanien.
c. Guten Tag. Kommt sie aus Holland?
7. Was machst du hier?
a. Ich lerne hier Englisch.
b. Ich bin Bäcker.
c. Ich wohne in Bonn.
8. Sprechen Sie Norwegisch?
a. Nein, lieber Schwedisch.
b. Nein, ich spreche Schwedisch.
c. Ja, ich lerne Schwedisch.
9. Wie alt is Frau Brecht?
a. Sie ist schon 38.
b. Er ist schon 38.
c. Sie ist schon 38 Jahre hier.
10. Was macht Frau Beier?
a. Sie ist Mechanikerin.
b. Er ist Ingenieur.
c. Er arbeitet hier schon fünf Monate.
Which answer has the same meaning?
11. Woher kommt sie?
a. Woher kommen Sie?
b. Woher ist sie?
c. Woher sind Sie?
12. Kommt er aus England?
a. Er kommt aus England.
b. Woher kommt er?
c. Ist er aus England?
13. Wer ist aus Köln?
a. Wer kommt aus Köln?
b. Kommt er aus Köln?
c. Woher kommt er?
14. Heißt sie Anne Sommer?
a. Ist das Anne Sommer?
b. Wie heißt sie?
c. Wer ist Anne Sommer?
15. Ich heiße Luisa Tendera.
a. Ich komme aus Izmir.
b. Ich bin aus der Turkei.
c. Mein Name ist Luisa Tendera.
16. Sind Sie neu hier?
a. Nein, ich bin hier neu.
b. Ja, ich bin schon zwei Monaten.
c. Nein, ich bin schon vier Jahren hier.
17. Kommen Sie aus Spanien?
a. Arbeiten Sie in Spanien?
b. Kommt sie aus Spanien.
c. Sind Sie Spanierin?
d. Woher kommen Sie?
18. Woher sind Sie?
a. Wo wohnst du?
b. Woher bist Du?
c. Wo wohnen Sie?
d. Woher kommen Sie?
19. Ich komme aus Wien.
a. Ich studiere in Wien.
b. Ich bin aus Wien.
c. Ich möchte in Wien wohnen.
d. Ich arbeite in Wien.
20. Was machst du?
a. Was bist du von Beruf?
b. Was machst du hier?
c. Was machen Sie?
d. Was sind Sie von Beruf?
Answers are below…….
Was ißt Franz Kaiser? Was trinkt Franz?
For breakfast: bread and butter and a glass of milk
For lunch: hamburger and coke
For dinner: pizza, salad and beer
More vocabulary:
Zum Frühstuck for breakfast
Zum Mittagessen for lunch
Zum Abendessen for dinner
Zum Frühstuck ißt er Brot, Butter und ein Glas Milch.
Zum Mittagessen ißt er einen Hamburger und eine Cola.
Zum Abendessen ißt er eine Pizza, einen Salat und ein Bier.
Was ißt Clara Mai? Was trinkt sie?
Breakfast: bread roll, egg, water
Lunch: fish, potatoes and salad
Dinner: soup, chicken, vegetables and beer
Zum Frühstuck ißt sie ein Brötchen, ein Ei und ein Glas Wasser.
Zum Mittagessen ißt sie einen Fisch, Kartoffeln und einen Salat.
Zum Abendessen ißt sie eine Suppe, ein Hähnchen, Gemüse und ein Bier.
Wie gehts?
Answers to the Revision test:
1. C
2. A
3. B
4. A
5. A
6. A
7. A
8. B
9. A
10. A
11. B
12. C
13. A
14. A
15. C
16. C
17. C
18. D
19. B
20. A
ah must always be pronounced very short and sharp
ng [italics] must never be pronounced; these letters merely indicate that
the preceding vowel has a nasal sound
r [italics] must never be pronounced; we insert it to ensure the correct
pronunciation of the preceding vowel
sh [bold type] always sounds like s in leisure
er is the sound of u in fur
EE or E represents the sound of the French u, the exact sound does not
exist in English. Say tree with the lips rounded.
Consonants
c before e, i or y sounds like s or like k
ç always sounds like s
g before e, i or y sounds like s in measure, otherwise like g in go
h is generally silent
j always sounds like s in measure
r is stronger than in English
s between two vowel sounds like z
Vowels are nearly always pronounced short unless there is a circumflex
accent [â] over them and will be dealt with in detail next time.
Nouns
A or an is translated un before a masculine noun and une before a
feminine noun:
A ticket un billet
A mother une mere
Most names of things are masculine in French, except those ending in -e,
most of which are feminine [also those ending in -te, -eur, -ion and
-son].
The is translated le before a masculine singular noun and la before a
feminine singular noun:
The day le jour
The woman la dame
Before a vowel or H use l':
The friend l'ami
The man l'homme
Try the following exercise:
1. A brother [frere]
2. A sister [soeur]
3. A ticket
4. A mother
5. A day
6. A door [porte]
7. An hotel
8. A railway station [gare]
9. A friend
10. The book [livre]
Answers next week.
Some conversational sentences:
Où est la gare?
La gare est là.
Qui est à la porte.
Un homme est à la porte.
Qui a le livre?
Le frère a le livre.
What do you think they mean?
Scroll down for answers..
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Answers:
Where is the station?
The railway station is there.
Who is at the door?
A man is at the door.
Who has the book?
The brother has the book.
Vowels are nearly always pronounced short unless there is a circumflex
accent [â] over them and will be dealt with in detail next time.
A is like 'ah'
E in the middle of a syllable is like 'ai' in fair
E at the end of a syllable is like 'u' in fur
E is mute at the end of a word
É [acute accent] is like the interjection 'eh'!
È [grave accent] and ê [circumflex] are like 'ay'
I or y is like 'ee' in seen if long or like 'I' in ill if short
O is like 'o' in not
u is the tricky 'ee' pronounced with rounded lips
ai, ei are both simlar to 'ay'
au, eau are like 'oh'
eu, oeu are like 'u' in fur
oi is like 'wah'
ou is like 'oo'
Nouns
Answers to last week's exercises:
1. A brother [frere] un frere
2. A sister [soeur] une soeur
3. A ticket un billet
4. A mother une mere
5. A day un jour
6. A door [porte] une porte
7. An hotel un hotel
8. A railway station [gare] une gare
9. A friend un ami
10. The book [livre] le livre
Plurals
THE must always be translated as les if followed by a plural noun. The
's' which forms the plural is silent unless it is followed by a noun
beginning with 'h' or a vowel.
The sisters les soeurs
The friends les amis
The days les jours
The churches les eglises
Homework:
1. The books
2. The fathers
3. The tables
4. The suitcases
5. The hotels
6. The addresses
7. The tickets
8. The hours
1. The books les livres
2. The fathers les peres
3. The tables les tables
4. The suitcases les valises
5. The hotels les hotels
6. The addresses les adresses
7. The tickets les billets
8. The hours les heures
How did you get on? Ça va?
This week we're going to have a look at a verb - to have - avoir
I have j'ai
You have tu as [friendly you]
He/she has il a / elle a
We have nous avons
You have vous avez [polite you]
They have ils ont / elles ont
How do you say?
1. He has a car
2. We have two suitcases
3. They have a letter
4. The brother and the sister have a dog
5. I have two parcels
6. You have the passports
7. She has a TV
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1. Il a une voiture
2. Nous avons deux valises
3. Elles ont une lettre
4. Le frere et la soeur ont un chien
5. J'ai deux paquets
6. Vous avez les passeports
7. Elle a une television
Possessive Adjectives
Notre - our [singluar]
Nos - our [plural]
Votre - your [singluar]
Vos - your [plural]
Leur - their [singluar]
Leurs - their [plural]
Conversational sentences
Ou est votre voiture? Where is your car?
Notre voiture est ici. Our car is here.
Qui a les passeports? Who has the passports?
J'ai les passeports I have the passports
Qui a les lettres? Who has the letters?
Ils ont les paquets et les
lettres They have the parcels and the letters.
Notre pere a une voiture Our father has a car and a TV
et une television
Learn the above and then complete the exercises below. Answers next week:
1. He has our brothers
2. They have our sister
3. We have 2 dogs
4. You [friendly] have our car
5. You [polite] have your friends
6. They have our letters
7. We have their parcels
8. Your sisters have the passports
9. Who has the book?
10. She has the book
1. Il a nos freres
2. Ils ont notre souer
3. Nous avons deux chien
4. Tu as notre voiture
5. Vous avez vos amis
6. Ils ont nos lettres
7. Nous avons leurs paquets
8. Vos soeurs ont les passeports
9. Qui a le livre?
10. Elle a le livre.
How did you get on? Ça va?
Plurals
The plural of most French nouns is formed by adding 's', as in English.
This 's' is not pronounced. There are a few exceptions:
· Words ending in -s, -x, -z do not change in the plural
Un mois a month deux mois 2 months
Un prix a price deux prix 2 prices
Le nez the nose les nez the noses
· Words ending in -au, -eu add x
Un chapeau a hat deux chapeaux 2 hats
Un neveu a nephew deux neveux 2 nephews
· Most words ending in -al change to aux
Un animal an animal deux animaux 2 animals
Try these for homework - make them plural:
1. A knife couteau [m]
2. An arm bras [m]
3. The newspaper journal [m]
4. The voice voix [f]
5. The fire feu [m]
6. The son fils [m]
Remember we looked at the verb avoir last time?
What did it mean?
That's right 'to have'.
Since it's Christmas and the newsletter is on holiday try these tag
questions, they will make you sound tres French!
Have I?
Have you?
Has he?
Has she?
Have we?
Have you?
Have they?
1. Il a nos freres
2. Ils ont notre souer
3. Nous avons deux chien
4. Tu as notre voiture
5. Vous avez vos amis
6. Ils ont nos lettres
7. Nous avons leurs paquets
8. Vos soeurs ont les passeports
9. Qui a le livre?
10. Elle a le livre.
Possessive Adjectives
My - mon [masculine]
ma [feminine]
mes [plural]
His, her, its son [masculine]
sa [feminine]
ses [plural]
Your [familiar form] ton [masculine]
ta [feminine]
tes [plural]
What do you think the following mean?
Mon frere
Ma soeur
Sa soeur
Son frere
Mes freres
Ses soeurs
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That's right - Tres bien!
My brother
My sister
His or her sister
His or her brother
My brothers
His or her sisters
How can "sa soeur" mean his and her sister?
Because these words always take the gender of the noun that follows.
Try these for homework - answers as always next time!
1. My book
2. His father
3. My hat
4. Her mother
5. My arms
6. His shirts
7. My room
8. His mother
9. Her handbag
10. Her family
11. His family
12. Her hats
1. My book mon livre
2. His father son pere
3. My hat mon chapeau
4. Her mother sa mere
5. My arms mes bras
6. His shirts ses chemises
7. My room ma chambre
8. His mother sa mere
9. Her handbag son sac a main
10. Her family sa famille
11. His family sa famille
12. Her hats ses chapeaux
More Possessive Adjectives
mon, ton, son are all used before words beginning with a vowel or a H
mute - EVEN IF THE NOUN IS FEMININE.
my friend mon ami
her address son adresse
Try the following:
her handwriting [ecriture, f]
his school [ecole, f]
his room
her uncle
his street [rue, f]
his shoulder [epaule, f]
her shoulder
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That's right - Tres bien!
son ecriture
son ecole
sa chambre
son oncle
sa rue
son epaule
son epaule
Not is translated by 2 words "ne...pas" - pas always occupies the same
place in the sentence as the English word not and ne always precedes the
verb.
je n'ai pas I have not
tu n'ais pas you have not
il n'a pas he has not
nous n'avons pas we have not
vous n'avez pas you have not
ils n'ont pas they have not
Try these for homework - answers as always next time!
Haven't you got my book?
He hasn't seen her handwriting [seen - vu]
We haven't the gloves
Haven't they written to your friends? [written - ecrit]
I haven't read this letter [read - lu]
1. My book mon livre
2. His father son pere
3. My hat mon chapeau
4. Her mother sa mere
5. My arms mes bras
6. His shirts ses chemises
7. My room ma chambre
8. His mother sa mere
9. Her handbag son sac a main
10. Her family sa famille
11. His family sa famille
12. Her hats ses chapeaux
Question words
Which? What? What a are all translated:
Singular masculine quel [kell]; feminine quelle [kell]
Plural masculine quels [kell]; feminine quelles [kell]
Which street? Quelle rue?
Which hats? Quels chapeaux?
Try the following for homework:
1. Which school?
2. What months?
3. Which rooms?
4. What a man!
5. What voices?
6. Which family?
7. What station?
This, that are translated:
Singular masculine: ce [ser]; feminine cette [set]
Plural - these, those - ces [say]
For example:
this or that book - ce livre
these or those books - ces livres
that or this street - cette rue
those or those streets - ces rues
"cet" is used instead of ce if the next word begins with a vowel or an H
muted, for example:
this or that friend - cet ami
that or this man - cet homme
cet is never used instead of cette or ces
Try these for homework - answers as always next time!
1. This car
2. That flower fleur, f
3. These knives
4. Those forks fourchette, f
5. This child enfant, m
6. That restaurant
7. This hour
8. Those days
9. This hotel
10. These gardens
11. This shop magasin, m
Bonne Chance!
That's all until next time…!
Au revoir!
1. This car cette voiture
2. That flower cette fleur
3. These knives ces couteaux
4. Those forks ces fourchettes
5. This child cet enfant
6. That restaurant ce restaurant
7. This hour cette heure
8. Those days ces jours
9. This hotel cet hotel
10. These gardens ces jardins
This shop ce magasin
Possessive sentences must be changed like this:
My father's hat à the hat of my father
Your sister's husband à the husband of your sister
Try these:
1. My sister's husband
2. Your father's car
3. This flower's colour
4. My sister's address
5. Which girl's dress
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Answers
Le mari de ma soeur
La voiture de votre pere
La coleur de cette fleur
L'adresse de ma soeur
La robe de quelle fille?
The Verb "to be"
I am je suis
You are te es
He is il est
She is elle est
We are nous sommes
You are vous etes
They are ils sont [m]
They are elles sont [f]
Try these for homework - answers as always next time!
1. Who is there?
2. Where are our friends?
3. I am very tired
4. He is very rich
5. She is at the church
6. We are at his hotel
7. You are late
8. The book is on the table
9. Who are these men?
10. Where are our newspapers?
Bonne Chance!
That's all until next time!
Au revoir!
1. Who is there? Qui est la?
2. Where are our friends? Ou sont nos amis?
3. I am very tired Je suis tres fatigue.
4. He is very rich Il est tres riche.
5. She is at the church Elle est a l'eglise.
6. We are at his hotel Nous sommes a son hotel.
7. You are late Vous etes en retard.
8. The book is on the table Le livre est sur la table.
9. Who are these men? Qui sont ces hommes?
10. Where are our newspapers? Ou sont nos journaux?
Adjectives
Adjectives need to agree with the noun they are describing [in number and
gender]. Adjectives generally form the feminine by adding 'e'; 's' is
generally added in the plural.
Masculine
Singular Plural
right droit droits
left gauche gauches
large grand grands
small petit petits
Feminine
Singular Plural
droite droites
gauche gauches
grande grandes
petite petites
Try these:
1. The man is tall
2. The woman is tall
3. The men are tall
4. The women are tall
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Answers
L'homme est grand
La dame est grande
Les hommes sont grands
Les dames sont grandes
Recap of the Verb "to be"
Did you spot the mistake in Newsletter 8?
It should of course be tu es [not te es as printed in Newsletter 8].
I am je suis
You are tu es
He is il est
She is elle est
We are nous sommes
You are vous etes
They are ils sont [m]
They are elles sont [f]
Thank you to all newsletter readers who spotted this and let me know.
Here is some vocabulary to help you with this week's homework:
absent - absent; water - eau; too - trop; hot - chaud; apple - pomme; bad
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mauvais; kind - aimable; ill - malade; cold - froid.
Try these for homework - answers as always next time!
1. Our friends are absent.
2. These men are rich.
3. His house is too small.
4. We are tired.
5. The water is hot.
6. That apple is bad.
7. You are very kind.
8. I am ill.
9. This room is very cold.
10. My car is very small.
1. Our friends are absent. Nos amis sont absents.
2. These men are rich. Ces hommes sont riches.
3. His house is too small. Sa maison est trop petite.
4. We are tired. Nous sommes fatigues.
5. The water is hot. Cette eau est chaude.
6. That apple is bad. Cette pomme est mauvaise.
7. You are very kind. Vous etes tres aimable.
8. I am ill. Je suis malade.
9. This room is very cold. Cette chambre est tres froide.
10. My car is very small. Ma voiture est tres petite.
Interrogative of je suis etc
This is formed in the same way as in English except a - is placed between
the verb and the pronoun:
Am I? Suis-je?
Is he? Est-il?
Are we? Sommes-nous?
Are you etes-vous?
The negative uses ne .. pas again and the pas always occupies the same
position as the word 'not' in English.
I am not je ne suis pas
Am I not? Ne suis-je pas?
Try these:
1. She is not.
2. Are we not?
3. They are not.
4. Are you not?
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Answers
Elle n'est pas
Ne sommes-nous pas?
Ils ne sont pas
N'etes-vous pas?
Try the following exercise
1. She isn't young.
2. This lamp isn't very pretty.
3. Aren't you satisfied?
4. Isn't he too old?
5. Am I not late?
6. We aren't tired.
7. Those gloves are too small.
8. My coat isn't dirty.
9. Your neighbours are very rich.
Here is some vocabulary to help you with this week's homework:
Young - jeune; lamp - lampe [f]; pretty - joli; satisfied - satisfait;
old - vieux; coat - manteau [m]; dirty - sale.
Try these for homework - as this is the last French newsletter the
answers are below - try the exercises first thought!
Bonne Chance!
Au revoir!
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Elle n'est pas jeune.
Cette lampe n'est pas tres jolie.
N'es-tu pas satisfait?
N'est-il pas trop vieux?
Ne suis-je pas en retard?
Nous ne sommes pas fatiguees.
Ces gants sont trop petits.
Mon manteau n'est pas sale.
Vos voisins sont tres riches.
a can be long or short, but is always like 'a' in mat
c is like cat except before 'e' and 'I' when it is pronounced 'ch'
e is usually like 'e' in met
g is like go except before 'e' and 'I' when it is like 'j' for jug
gl is the same sound as 'li' in million
gn is like 'ni' in onion
h is never pronounced
I is like 'ee' in feet
O is like 'o' in hot
sc is pronounced 'sk' before 'a', 'o' or 'u'. Before 'e' and 'I', 'sc'
sounds like 'sh'
u is like 'oo' in food
z is usually 'ts' like in let's.
Stress
Most words are stressed on the penultimate vowel.
Now we are officially in spring let's celebrate by learning a little
basic Italian. The purpose of the following lessons is to provide you
with some "holiday Italian". Enjoy!
Booking accommodation
Translate the dialogue:
Buona sera. Ho prentato una camera per questa notte.
Si signore. Il suo nome per favore?
Mi chiamo Tom Brown.
Un attimo. E'la camera dieci. Mi da un documento per favore.
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Good evening. I have booked a room for tonight.
Yes, sir. What's your name?
My name is Tom Brown.
Just a moment, you're in room 10. Have you any identification please.
How did you get on?
Some more useful words:
solo colazione just breakfast
mezza pensione half board
pensione completa full board
Translate this dialogue for homework:
> Buon giorno. C'e una camera libera?
> Si signore. Per qunate persone?
> Per due persone e due bambini.
> Bene. Per quante notti?
> Per una notte.
I io
you [familiar] tu
you [polite] Lei
he lui
she lei
this questo [m], questa [f]
we noi
you [plural] voi
they loro
Useful vocabulary
Hello/good bye ciao
Good morning/day buon giorno
Good evening buona sera
Good night buona notte
Good bye arrivederci
Please per favore / per paicere
Thank you grazie
You're welcome prego
Yes si
No no
Translate the following conversation:
>Buon giorno! Che bella giornata! Come sta?
. Bene grazie, e lei?
>Mi chiarmo Irene. Como si chiama?
. Questo e mio marito, mio figlio, il mio amico.
>Piacere
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>Hello. What a lovely day! How are you?
. Fine thanks - and you?
>My name is Irene. What's your name?
.This is my husband, my son and my friend.
>Pleased to meet you.
What do you think the word for wife and daughter are?
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my wife mia moglie
my daughter mia figlia
Is the friend mentioned in the conversation male or female?
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Si, male. How do we know? Because of the masculine endings 'il mio amico'.
How would you say my female friend?
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Si, la mia amica. Bene!
Learn the following vocabulary for homework:
Un toast a toasted sandwich
Una birra a beer
Un succo di arancia an orange juice
Con ghiaccio with ice
Con zucchero with sugar
Un vino rosso/bianco a red/white wine
Translate the following typical conversation - answers next time!
>Buon giorno. Un cappuccino per favore. Quant' e?
. Tremila
>Grazie
.Prego
>Scusi, c' e una toilette?
>Hello. A cappucino please. How much is it?
Three thousand lire.
>Thank you.
You're welcome.
>Excuse me is there a toilet?
Translate the following conversation using the words you learnt for
homework:
> Buon giorno. Prego?
Buon giorno. Un espresso e una birra, per favore. Ha panini?
> Do che gusto? Col salame col tonno e pomodore? [col formaggio,
prosciutto]
Prendo un panino al formaggio.
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>Hallo. What would you like?
Hallo. A black coffee and a beer please. Have you any rolls?
>What kind? Salami, tuna and tomato [cheese, ham].
Prendo un panino al formaggio.
Useful phrase: Scusi, e libero questo posto? But what does it mean?
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Excuse me is this seat free?
Using the vocabulary from last time write a conversation in a restaurant.
Breakfast vocabulary:
un caffeelatte / te a white coffee / tea
del latte some milk
caldo/ freddo hot / cold
del pane / burro some bread / butter
della marmellata some jam
un uovo alla coque a boiled egg
Translate for homework:
>Buon giorno, signori. Desiderano?
.Buon giorno. Che cosa c 'e per colazione.
.. Vorrei una cioccolata. Ancora del caffe, per favore.
Good morning. What would you like?
Good morning. What is there for breakfast?
I'd like a chocolate.
Some more coffee, please.
Numbers
0 zero
1 uno
2 due
3 tre
4 quattro
5 cinque
6 sei
7 sette
8 otto
9 nove
10 dieci
11 undici
12 dodici
13 tredici
14 quattordici
15 quindici
16 sedici
17 diciassette
18 diciotto
19 diciannove
20 venti
Telling the time
Che ora e? What time is it?
Sono le otto. It's eight o'clock
E l'una. It's one o'clock
How do you say "It's nine o' clock?
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Sono le nove.
It's quarter past e un quarto
It's quarter to un quarto alle
It's half past e mezzo
Try these:
Quarter past eight
Quarter to nine
Half past eight
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le otto e un quarto
un quarto alle nove
le otto e mezzo
Other useful 'time' phrases
The morning la mattina
Noon mezzogiorno
The afternoon il pomeriggio
The evening la sera
The night la notte
Midnight mezzanotte
Sono le cinque e un quarto.
Un quarto alle sei.
Sono le sette.
Le tre e mezzo
Le sei e un quarto
Un quarto alle dodici/mezzanotte
Le dodici e mezzo
Un quarto alle cinque
Le due e un quarto
Le dieci e mezzo
This time we're going to have a look at food shopping
Ha [mele]? Have you any [apples]?
Quanti? How many?
Quanto costa? How much is it?
Vorrei [delle mele] I'd like some apples
Un chilo de mele a kilo of apples
Mezzo chilo di pomodori half a kilo of tomatoes
Due etti di formadjo 200g of cheese
Un etto di burro 100g of butter
Una fette/due fette di prosciutto a slice/two slices of ham
Uno/una per favore one please
Un po' di pui [meno] a little more [less]
Questi these
Va bene cosi/basta cosi that's enough/that's all
Vuole altro? Would you like anything else?
Guardo soltanto I'm just looking
Try to work out what the following dialogue means:
.Buon giorno
>Buon giorno, signora. Mi dica?
.Vorrei del pane. Quello la, per favore.
Ø Nero o bianco? Intero o mezzo?
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. Good morning
Ø Good morning. What would you like?
. I'd like some bread. That one there please.
Ø Brown or white? The whole loaf or half?
Now that wasn't too difficult, try this one on your own for homework:
. Anche dei panini. Tre per favore.
Ø Ecco. Desidera altro?
. Basta cosi, grazie. Quant' e?
Ø Sono cinquecento lire.
. Grazie.
Ø Prego. Buon giorno.
Here's some vocabulary to help you build your own dialogues, try some on
your own!
Agnello lamb
Arrosto roast
Bistecca steak
Cotoletta chop
Carne macinata mince
Coniglio rabbit
Fegato liver
Maiale pork
Manzo beef
Vitello veal
Trippa tripe
Rognoni kidneys
Pollo chicken
Pancetta bacon
Osso buco shin of veal
Affettato misto cold meat
Mortadella salami type sausage
Porchetta roast pork
Prosciutto ham
Cotto cooked
Crudo raw
Salame salami
Un pesce fish
Anguille eels
Baccala salt cod
Calamaretti prawns
Calamari squid
Fritto misto fried seafood
Granchio crab
Merluzzo cod
Polpo octopus
Vongole clams
Trota trout
Triglia mullet
Tonno tuna
Sogliola sole
Sgombro mackerel
Good luck… until next time!
. And some rolls. Three please.
Ø Here you are. Anything else?
. That's all. Thank you. How much is that?
Ø That's 500 lire.
. Thank you.
Ø Not at all. Good-bye.
Frutta e verdura
Dei fagiolini some green beans
Delle carote some carrots
Un cavolo a cabbage
Un cavolfiore a cauliflower
Del sedano some celery
Degli zucchini some courgettes
Un cetriolo a cucumber
Una lattuga a lettuce
Dei funghi some mushrooms
Dell' aglio some garlic
Delle olive some olives
Delle cipolle some onions
Dei piselli some peas
Dei peperoni some peppers
Delle patate some potatoes
Dei pomodori some tomatoes
Degli spinaci some spinach
Delle mandorle some almonds
Delle banane some bananas
Un pompelo a grapefruit
Un melone a melon
Delle mele some apples
Delle ciliegie some cherries
Dell' uva some grapes
Delle arance some oranges
Delle albicocche some apricots
Delle castagne some chestnuts
Un limone a lemon
Delle pesche some peaches
Delle pere some pears
Un ananas a pineapple
Delle prugne some plums
Delle fragole some strawberries
Un' anguria a watermelon
Un sachetto a bag
Practice buying the following:
5 apples
21 oranges
12 pears
8 lemons
a watermelon
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cinque mele
ventuno arance
dodici pere
otto limone
un' anguria
For homework practice your numbers - choosing the fruit and vegetables
you like -and putting them together as you would in an Italian shop.
.. And some rolls. Three please.
Ø Here you are. Anything else?
.. That's all. Thank you. How much is that?
Ø That's 500 lire.
.. Thank you.
Ø Not at all. Good-bye.
Frutta e verdura
Dei fagiolini some green beans
Delle carote some carrots
Un cavolo a cabbage
Un cavolfiore a cauliflower
Del sedano some celery
Degli zucchini some courgettes
Un cetriolo a cucumber
Una lattuga a lettuce
Dei funghi some mushrooms
Dell' aglio some garlic
Delle olive some olives
Delle cipolle some onions
Dei piselli some peas
Dei peperoni some peppers
Delle patate some potatoes
Dei pomodori some tomatoes
Degli spinaci some spinach
Delle mandorle some almonds
Delle banane some bananas
Un pompelo a grapefruit
Un melone a melon
Delle mele some apples
Delle ciliegie some cherries
Dell' uva some grapes
Delle arance some oranges
Delle albicocche some apricots
Delle castagne some chestnuts
Un limone a lemon
Delle pesche some peaches
Delle pere some pears
Un ananas a pineapple
Delle prugne some plums
Delle fragole some strawberries
Un' anguria a watermelon
Un sachetto a bag
Practice buying the following:
5 apples
21 oranges
12 pears
8 lemons
a watermelon
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cinque mele
ventuno arance
dodici pere
otto limone
un' anguria
For homework practice your numbers - choosing the fruit and vegetables
you like -and putting them together as you would in an Italian shop.
The following are typical signs you'd see on Italian roads accompanied by
an appropriate symbol/illustration:
Lavori in corso roadworks
Pericolo danger
Rallentare slow
Deviazione diversion
Accendere i fari turn on lights
Centro citta town centre
Senso vietato no entry
Senso unico one way street
Sosta vietata no parking
Parcheggio car park
If you're driving around you might need to stop to fill up your petrol
tank:
la benzina petrol
senza piombo lead-free
normale 2 star
super 4 star
gasolio diesel
l'olio oil
l'aria air
l'acqua water
Garage attendant: Buon giorno. Super, normale o senza piombo?
Customer: Senza piombo. Faccia il pieno, per favore. Controlli l'olio.
What do you think this dialogue means?
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Hello. 4 star, 2 star or lead free?
Lead free. Fill it up, please. Please check the oil.
Some more useful role play scenarios:
Ho avuto un guasto. Mi aiuti, per favore. I have broken down. Can you
help me please?
Posso usare il telefono, per favore? May I use your phone please.
Dove c' e un garage? Where is there a garage?
Happy holidays. Homework returns next time with the penultimate Italian
lesson!
Hopefully you won't need to visit the doctor during your stay in Italy,
but if you do the following lesson should help.
Sto male. Ho bisogno di un medico.
I'm ill. I need a doctor.
Vorrei vedere il medico. Quando posso venire?
I'd like to see the doctor. When can I come?
If you're not feeling very well, and want to see a doctor you need to
find a Medicina General - a doctor who treats all ailments.
At the doctor's
Dove fa male?
Where does it hurt?
Da quanto tempo si sente male?
How long have you been ill?
Mi fa male qui.
It hurts here.
Ho la febbre. Ho vomitato.
I have a temperature. I've been sick.
Mi ha punto un insetto.
I've been stung.
E'vaccinato contro il tetano?
Have you been vaccinated against tetanus?
Some useful phrases:
Questa e la mia medicina abituale.
I take this medicine regularly.
Puo farmi una ricetta?
Could you give me a prescription?
Non deve mangiare ….. [bere].
You must not eat …. [drink].
Quanti anni ha?
How old is he/she?
Quanto le devo?
How much do I owe you?
When to take your medicine
Volte al giorno
Times a day
Ogni … ore
Every … hours
In caso di dolore
In case of pain
Prima/dopo ogni pasto
Before/after each meal
Per giorni
For … days
What the doctor needs to know:
Sono allergico/a contro
I'm allergic to
Ho l'asma/il diabete
I'm asthmatic/diabetic
Sono epilettico/a
I'm epileptic
Sono incinta
I'm pregnant
Ho la pressione alta
I've high blood pressure
Ho mal di cuore
I have heart trouble
Homework - learn the parts of the body:
il corpo
the body
la mano
the hand
la testa
the head
il ginocchio
the knee
la gamba
the leg
la bocca
the mouth
il collo
the neck
il naso
the nose
lo stomaco
the stomach
la gola
the throat
i capelli
the hair
il piede
the foot
il dito
the finger
la faccia
the face
l'occhio
the eye
il gomito
the elbow
l'orecchio
the ear
il petto
the chest
la schiena
the back
il braccio
the arm
la caviglia
the ankle
This is our last Italian lesson and we're going to have a quick look at
entertainment. But first of all a quick bit of revision concerning making
friends.
Can you remember what the following dialogue means?
.. Buon giorno! Che bella giornata! Come sta?
Bene grazie, lei?
.. Mi chiamo - . Come si chiama?
Questo e mio marito [mia moglie], mio figlio [mia figlia], il mio amico
[la mia amica].
.. Piacere.
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.. Hallo. What a lovely day! How are you?
Fine thanks and you?
.. My name is -. What's your name?
This is my husband [wife], my son [daughter], my friend [male/female].
.. Pleased to meet you.
How did you do? Did you remember?
.. A che ora comincia lo spettacolo?
Vorrei due biglietti per stasera [venerdi sera].
.. A quale prezzo?
Diecimila lire, circa.
Have a go at translating this?
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..
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.. When does the performance start?
I'd like two tickets for tonight [Friday night].
.. What price?
About 10,000 lire.
Other types of entertainment:
.. Cosa danno al cinema/teatro stastera [domani]?
What's on at the cinema/theatre this evening [tomorrow]?
Vorrei vedere una partita di calcio.
I'd like to see a football match.
.. C' e una discteca qui vicino?
Is there a disco here?
If any of you are lucky enough to be going skiing in Italy, perhaps this
will help:
.. Vorrei delle lezioni di sci.
> Potrei noleggiare una tenuta da sci?
.. Si certo.
Ho bisogno di uno skipass.
.. I'd like some skiing lessons.
> Can I hire some skiing equipment?
.. Yes, of course.
I need a lift pass.
Saying good-bye
[Mille] grazie per la serata. - Thank you [very much] for having me/us.
Mi sono divertito molto [Ci siamo divertiti]. - I had a lovely time [We
had.]
Grazie, altrettanto! - Thank you, the same to you.
Arrivederci. - Good-bye.
Portuguese Lesson 1
Portuguese is one of the Romance languages, descendent from the vulgar
Latin.
It is though related to languages such as French, Spanish, Italian,
Romanian, and Catalan. It is very similar to Spanish, and in fact, the
small differences between the two languages allow mutual understanding
with little difficulty, easily overcome with some practice.
Structurally, and like its Romance sisters, Portuguese is a flexive
language. The role of each element in the sentence is indicated by
prepositions, and word order is important, even though not as rigid as in
English. The language phonetics vary in some extent between different
parts of the Portuguese-speaking world, but without limiting mutual
understanding.
The grammar is far more complicated than in English, but not very
different from other Romance tongues. There are two genders: masculine
and feminine, but no neutral. Adjectives must agree with the nouns thay
are describing, but this is easier to do in Portuguese than in many other
languages. Verbs are perhaps the most complicated thing, but anyone who
has ever learned French or Spanish won't find that very hard.
Greetings
The first thing to know when learning a language is to say hello and good
bye! These expressions are the most common in Portugal, but there are
many others.
Olá - Hello, Hi
Oi - Hello, Hi (used mainly in Brazil)
Bom dia - Good morning
Boa tarde - Good afternoon
Boa noite - Good evening, Good night
Chau, Adeus - Goodbye
Some Verbs:
Ser - To be (permanent form)
Estar - To be (transient form)
Ter - To have
Cantar - To sing
Comer - To eat
Partir - To break, to leave
Some Nouns:
Mulher - Woman
Homem - Man
Rapariga - Girl
Rapaz - Boy
Gato - Cat
Cão - Dog
Some Adjectives:
Bom / Boa - Good
Mau / Má - Bad
Belo / Bela - Beautiful
Feio / Feia - Ugly
Novo / Nova - Young, New
Velho / Velha - Old
As you may have noticed, there are two forms for each adjective: the
masculine and the feminine. In Portuguese, the adjective must agree with
the noun in both gender and number. For those of you who are getting
scared and thinking that this is too complicated, just look at the above
examples. In most cases it is very straightforward to turn the masculine
into feminine: just change the final o to an a. Want to make it plural?
Even more simple: just add an s.
0 - Zero
1 - Um
2 - Dois
3 - Três
4 - Quatro
5 - Cinco
6 - Seis
7 - Sete
8 - Oito
9 - Nove
10 - Dez
11 - Onze
12 - Doze
13 - Treze
14 - Catorze (also "Quatorze" in Brazil)
15 - Quinze
16 - Dezasseis (also "Dezesseis" in Brazil)
17 - Dezassete (also "Dezessete" in Brazil)
18 - Dezoito
19 - Dezanove
20 - Vinte
Homework:
Translate the following sentences:
Three women.
One cat.
Two dogs.
Fourteen men.
Nineteen girls.
Six boys.
How did you get on translating the following sentences for homework:
Three women. - Três mulheres
One cat. - Um gatos
Two dogs. - Dois cãos
Fourteen men. - Catorze homens
Nineteen girls. - Dezanove raparigas
Six boys. - Seis rapazes
As you can see, when a word ends in a vowel, the plural is made by simply
adding an s. When the word ends with the letter m, the plural is made by
changing the m into ns. When the word ends with an l, see the vowel
before it: if it is an i, change the l into an s, if it is another vowel
change the l into is. If the word ends with a z or r, make the plural by
adding es.
You will see that most portuguese words end in vowels, and that the
majority of consonants that can end a word are the ones above (m, l, z,
r). There are some words that in their singular forms end in n, x, or
even s, but we'll deal with them as they appear.
I didn't mention the plural of words ending in ão, because there are many
things to say about them, and I will only explain them later. These words
are very common, but for now I'll just say that their plural is made by
replacing the ão with ãos, ões, or ães. The correct choice is the
difficult part...
Useful expressions:
These are the kind of expressions that you'd find very useful on a trip
to Portugal.
Sim - Yes
Não - No
Por favôr - Please
Obrigado (masc.)
Obrigada (fem.) - Thank-you
Como é que se diz _______? - How do you say ____?
Como é que se escreve ____?- How do you spell _____?
(it is implied if you do not fill in the blank).
Não percebo. - I don't understand.
O quê?- What?
Importa-se de repetir? - Would you mind saying that again?
Repete. - Say that again.
Mais devagar, faz favor. - Slower, please.
Muito bem. - Very Good.
Pronouns
Eu - I
Tu - You [singlular]
Ele/ Ela/ Você - He/ She Nós - We
Vós - You (plural)
Eles/ Elas - They (masc. & fem.)
The verbs "to be"
SER - to be [permanent]
Eu sou - I am
Tu és - you are
Ele/ela/você é - he/she is
Nós somos - we are
Vós sois - you are
Eles/elas/vocês são - they are
ESTAR - to be, stand, exist, remain, be present
Eu estou - I am
Tu estás - you are
Ele/ Ela/ Você está Eles/ Elas estão - he/she is
Nós estamos - we are
Vós estais - you are
Eles/ Elas estão - they are [masc and fem]
Here are some excamples to illustrate the differences between the 2
verbs:
Eu sou Português - I am Portuguese (permanent form)
Vós sois grandes - You are big (permanent form)
O céu está nublado - The sky is cloudy (transient form)
Eu estou sentado - I am sitting down (transient form)
The infinitive of all Portuguese verbs ends with an vowel+r. There are
different conjugation patterns depending on the vowel before the r. In
the list below you can find the patterns for the present tense of verbs
ending in ar, er, and ir. There are also a few verbs ending in or, but
that's a special case which will be treated in some advanced lesson.
To make the verb patterns, you first need to extract the stem. That
couldn't be more simple: just take the vowel+r out of the word. In cantar
the steml is cant, in comer the stem is com, and so on. Finally add the
ending for the person you want to conjugate.
Cantar (to sing)
Eu canto - I sing
Tu cantas - you sing
Ele canta - sings
Nós cantamos - we sing
Vós cantais - you [plural] sing
Eles cantam - they sing
Comer (to eat)
Eu como - I eat
Tu comes - you eat
Ele come - eats
Nós comemos - we eat
Vós comeis - you [plural] eat
Eles comem - they eat
Partir (to break, to leave)
Eu parto - I leave
Tu partes - you leave
Ele parte - leaves
Nós partimos - we leave
Vós partis - you [plural] leave
Eles partem - they leave
All the regular verbs follow this pattern. Now, suppose you want to say
"we run". In Portuguese, the verb "to run" is correr, a verb that ends in
er, and thus conjugated like comer. Try to conjugate it - go on!
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The stem of the verb is corr, and the ending corresponding to the first
person in the plural is emos (see the list for comer). So, "we run" is "nós
corremos" in Portuguese. Easy, no?
The Definite/Indefinite Articles
The definite and indefinite articles have in Portuguese four different
forms each, because of the different combinations between gender and
number: An article, either being definite or indefinite, must agree with
its corresponding noun.
The Definite Articles (like the english the):
masculine feminine
Singular o a
Plural os as
The Indefinite Articles (like the english a and an):
masculine feminine
Singular um uma
Plural uns umas
Making the Plural
In Portuguese, like in English, things can be either singular (when
there's only one), or plural (when there are many). Given a word in the
singular, the usual way to make its plural form is to add an s. This rule
can not be always directly applied, and often some modifcations on the
word are necessary. The following examples will give you an idea:
Singular form Plural form English (singular)
primo primos cousin
cebola cebolas onion
lente lentes lens
farol farois lighthouse
papel papeis paper
funil funis funnel
jardim jardins garden
motor motores motor
feliz felizes happy
When a word ends in a vowel the plural is made by simply adding an s.
When the word ends with the letter m, the plural is made by changing the
m into ns.
When the word ends with an i, see the vowel before it: if it is an i,
change the i into an s, if it is another vowel , change the i into is.
If the word ends with a z or r, make the plural by adding es.
You will see that most Portuguese words end in vowels, and that the
majority of consonants that can end a word are the ones above (m, l, z,
r).
There are some words that in their singular forms end in n, x, or even s,
but we'll deal with them as they appear.
I didn't mention the plural of words ending in ão, because there are many
things to say about them, and I will explain them later. These words are
very common, but for now I'll just say that their plural is made by
replacing the ão with ãos, ões, or ães. The correct choice is the
difficult part...
Try to make the following nouns feminine:
tio uncle/aunt
esperto smart (not expert!)
azul blue
quente hot
professor teacher
pintor painter
português portuguese
inglês english
os aguaceiros showers
o boletim meteorológico the weather report
o céu sky, heavens
a chuva rain
o granizo hail
as nuvens clouds
a neve snow
o nevoeiro fog
a subida rise
o sol sun
a tempestade, o temporal storm
a trovoada thunder
o vento wind
forte strong
fraco weak
frio cold
nublado cloudy
quente hot
úmido humid
ventoso windy
chover to rain
nevar to snow
soprar to blow
um frio de rachar very cold! (colloquial)
mau tempo bad weather
bom tempo nice weather
Talking about the weather
Como é que está o tempo hoje?
Está frio/ calor/ vento lá fora?
Achas que vai chover?
Levo guarda-chuva?
Não, está imenso calor.
what do you think these phrases mean?
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What's the weather like today?
It is cold/hot/windy?
Is it going to rain?
Should I wear a scarf?
No, it's very hot!
Portuguese ranks second after Spanish as the most widely spoken Romance
language. There are about 10 million speakers in Portugal, 150 million in
Brazil, and 4 million in Africa. Beyond that, there are half a million
Portuguese-speaking people in the United States.
Continental Portuguese differs from Brazilian Portuguese in many
respects, including pronunciation and vocabulary. For example, rapaz and
rapariga mean boy and girl in Portugal, while in Brazil the words moço
and moça are used. Standard Portuguese is based on the original dialect
of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.
Standard Portuguese is a modern version of the colloquial Latin spoken by
the Romans who occupied the Iberian Peninsula for more than half a
millennium. It was a simplified version of Latin that avoided passive
verbs forms, complicated tenses, and the entire declension system.
English words of Continental Portuguese origin include lingo, fandango,
albino, brocade, and molasses.
Some Portuguese words look deceptively like English -- but watch out!
They may have a different meaning. For example, if you describe someone
as breve, you are not complimenting them on their bravery -- you are
calling them brief! If you describe something as grosso, you are
describing it as thick. Férias doesn't have anything to do with fairies
or ferries, it means vacation.
Some useful phrases:
Fala inglês? Do you speak English?
Há alguém aqui que fala inglês? Does anyone here speak English?
Onde posso encontrar alguém que fale inglês? Where can I find someone who
speaks English?
Só falo um pouco de português. I only speak a little Portuguese.
É um prazer conhecê-lo. It is a pleasure to meet you.
Falaram-me muito de si. I have heard a lot about you.
Foi um prazer conhecê-lo. It was nice to meet you.
Não entendo. I don't understand.
Compreendo perfeitamente. I understand perfectly.
Compreende? Do you understand?
Compreendo-o se falar devagar. I understand if you speak slowly.
É muito melhor. That's much better.
Que disse? What did you say?
Que passe um bom dia! Have a nice day!
Translate the following dialgue:
John: Bom dia. Fala inglês?
Teresa: Desculpe-me, não falo inglês.
John: Receio que só falo um pouco de português.
Teresa: Não faz mal. Fala muito bem.
John: Fico nervoso quando falo português.
Teresa: Compreendo-o muito bem.
Scroll for answer...
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Good morning. Do you speak English?
I'm sorry, I don't speak English.
I'm afraid I only speak a little Portuguese.
That's all right, you speak very well.
I get nervous when I speak Portuguese.
I understand you very well.
.... until next time.
take me back up
Portuguese Lesson 8
Yes/no questions are very easy to make in Portuguese. Unlike English,
there is no need to rearrange the words in the sentence, or to use an
auxiliary verb. A yes/no question is different from affirmative sentences
only because there is a question mark ("?") at the end of the written
sentence, and an entonation difference when spoken.
Just see the following example:
English Portuguese
The bear is brown. O urso é castanho.
Is the bear brown? O urso é castanho?
The woman eats the apple. A mulher come a maçã.
Does the woman eat the apple? A mulher come a maçã?
Questions with an interrogative word
English Portuguese
What O que, O quê
Who Quem
Why Porquê
When Quando
Where Onde
How Como, Quão
How much Quanto
Which Qual
Usually, De onde (from where) is contracted to Donde, and A onde (to
where) is contracted to Aonde. There is also the form Adonde equivalent
to Onde, very common in the spoken language, but rare in written form.
Unlike yes/no questions, in these the subject-verb order is usually
reversed. This is not very apparent in Portuguese, because one rarely
includes the subject in a sentence. Here are some examples:
Onde estás? - Where are you? (singular and informal)
Quem sois vós? - Who are you? (plural and informal)
Quem são vocês? - Who are you? (plural and formal)
O que é isto? - What is this?
.... until next time.
take me back up
Portuguese Lesson 9
Na cidade - In the City
rua - street
estrada - road
auto-estrada - highway
avenida - avenue
esquina - corner
edifício, Prédio - building
casa - house
(o) parque - park
(a) estação - station
paragem - stop
carro - car
(o) táxi - taxi
comboio (also trem in Brazil) - train
autocarro (also ónibus in Brazil) - bus
No campo - In the Country
rio - river
ribeiro - stream
lago - lake
colina - hill
(o) monte - big hill (or small mountain...)
montanha - mountain
(a) árvore - tree
floresta - forest
(o) animal - animal
pássaro - bird
(o) peixe - fish
This is just a small list to give you something to start with. In some
words there is an (o) masculine or (a) feminine, indicating the gender of
the word. All the others follow the rules seen in a previous lesson.
Examples
Here are examples of affirmative/interrogative sentences that use some of
the vocabulary we've seen in this lesson. If you have difficulties with
anything, take a look at the previous lessons. There's also some extra
vocabulary you'll need:
nadar - to swim
chegar - to arrive (also "to reach" or "to be enough")
voar - to fly
peixe - fish
e - and
ou - or
mas - but
Try translating the following sentences into English [or to challenge
yourself more look at the answers below and try translating them into
Portuguese]:
O pequeno animal corre na montanha?
Sim, ele corre na montanha.
O pássaro azul nada no lago?
Não, ele voa. - No, it (he) flies.
Onde nadam os peixes?
Os peixes nadam no mar.
Quem canta no teatro?
Donde vêm eles?
Quando chegais à cidade?
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Does the small animal run in the mountain?
Yes, it (he) runs in the mountain.
Does the blue bird swim in the lake?
Where do the fish swim?
The fish swim in the sea.
Who sings in the theatre?
Where do they come from?
When do you arrive in (to) the city?
Very often, especially in the spoken language, Portuguese speakers add a
few words to a question to give it more strength.
One would rarely hear a sentence like "Quando chegais à cidade?". One
usually adds "é que" ("is it that") after the interrogative particle. So,
the sentence above would be: "Quando é que chegais à cidade?", which
roughly means "When is it that you arrive in the city?".
These somewhat redundant words are common in most questions, but aren't
usually translated literally to English - and of course make it even more
difficult to understand a native speaker!
The possessive pronouns are fairly easy in Portuguese. In languages like
English, and even in the closely related Spanish, there is a difference
between the adjective and the pronoun form, but not so in Portuguese. For
English speakers, the only thing to be aware of is the usual dichotomy
between masculine/feminine and singular/plural forms, but for those who
have reached this far in the lessons, that shouldn't be a problem. The
following table lists all the possessives: (Remember that both pronouns
and adjectives have the same form)
Person Masculine Singular Feminine Singular Masculine Plural Feminine
Plural
Eu meu minha meus minhas
Tu teu tua teus tuas
Ele/Ela/Você seu sua seus suas
Nós nosso nossa nossos nossas
Vós vosso vossa vossos vossas
Eles/Elas/Vocês seu sua seus suas
The plural forms are only included for the sake of completeness, as they
are very regular: take the singular form, and just add an s. Perhaps you
have noticed that Ele/Ela/Você have the same form. One important thing to
remember is that the gender and number of the form depends on the object
being possessed, not on the possessor. In English, the forms his/her vary
according to the gender of the possessor, but in Portuguese they are
equal, varying only according to the gender and number of the object.
In Portugal, the possessives usually have the defined article before
them, while in Brazil this is not common. But both forms are correct, and
you can hear them both in any of the countries. So, the sentence "My car
is green" could be translated as "O meu carro é verde" (more common in
Portugal), or as "Meu carro é verde" (more common in Brazil).
Perhaps you have noticed that the 3rd person forms are equal regardless
if there is just one or more owners, or if the owner is masculine or
feminine, this might lead to ambiguities. Pay attention on the following
sentence:
"Pedro e Inês cantam a sua canção"
Which of the following translations is correct?
1 - Pedro and Inês sing his song
2 - Pedro and Inês sing her song
3 - Pedro and Inês sing their song
4 - Pedro and Inês sing your song (a formal "your")
Well, any of the above forms could be correct. There is not enough
information to decide which, and for this reason, portuguese speakers
rarely use these forms. Instead, the contraction of the preposition "de"
with the pronouns ele/ela/eles/elas is usually used. These forms are
listed in the table bellow:
Contraction Meaning
de + ele = dele his
de + ela = dela her
de + eles = deles their (masculine or mixed gender)
de + elas = delas their (feminine)
Try translating each individual sentence below:
1 - Pedro and Inês sing his song
2 - Pedro and Inês sing her song
3 - Pedro and Inês sing their song
4 - Pedro and Inês sing your song (formal)
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1 - Pedro e Inês cantam a canção dele
2 - Pedro e Inês cantam a canção dela
3 - Pedro e Inês cantam a canção deles
4 - Pedro e Inês cantam a sua canção
The choice of which form to use depends on the context. If there is a
chance of ambiguity, then use the form that doesn't lead to it. In most
day-to-day conversations, the dele/dela/deles/delas are usually used, but
in written texts or in a more formal conversation, the forms seu/sua/seus/suas
forms are preferred.
