Elma Eagles  

 

Click Here to Go Back to Spanish - 1

Grammar Summary

Spanish 1 Unidad 3 Etapa 1

Expressing Feelings with estar and Adjectives

You have already learned that the verb estar is used to say where someone or something is located.  Estar is also used with adjectives to describe how someone feels at a given moment.

ESTAR to express feelings  
I am sad = estoy triste We are sad = estamos tristes
You (fam.) are sad = estás triste You (fam.pl.) are sad = estáis tristes
He, she, You (formal) are sad = está triste They,you (pl) are sad = están tristes

A Note About ser and estar

One of the hardest things to keep straight for new students of Spanish is when to use ser and when to use estar.  They both mean "to be."  One simple rule that will serve you in most situations is the following.  Learn it and your life will be much simpler!    For location and temporary feelings or conditions, use estar.  For everything else, use ser.  So for example, if you want to say "I am tired" or "I am at the Mall" you would use estar.  But if you want to say "I am tall" or "I am a student" you would use ser.

Saying What Just Happened with acabar de + infinitive

ACABAR DE + infinitive  
I just ate = acabo de comer We just ate = acabamos de comer
You (fam.) just ate = acabas de comer You (fam.pl.) just ate = acabáis de comer
He, she, it, You (formal) just ate = acaba de comer They,you (pl) just ate = acaban de comer

Saying Where You Are Coming From with venir

Venir is similar to a verb you already know:  tener.   The only difference is venir is an -IR verb and so has the letter i in the nosotros and vosotros forms. Venir also has the same (e-->ie) spelling change as tener.

VENIR - to come  
I come = vengo We come = venimos
You (fam.) come = vienes You (fam.pl.) come = venís
He, she, it, You (formal) come(s) = viene They,you (pl) come = vienen

Using gustar + Infinitive

You already learned how to use gustar to say I like, you like and he/she likes to do something.  Now you can talk about what other people like to do:

IO Pronoun + GUSTAR + Infinitive  
I like = me gusta bailar We like = nos gusta bailar
You (fam.) like = te gusta bailar You (fam.pl.) like = os gusta bailar
He, she, it, You (formal) like(s) = le gusta bailar They,you (pl) like = les gusta bailar

(The short words in red in the table above are called "indirect object pronouns."  They are used to indicate "to whom" or "for whom" an action is performed.  Remember that with gustar the action or thing you like is the subject of the sentence and controls how the verb is conjugated.  So the sentence me gusta bailar translates literally as "to dance is pleasing to me.")

When you want to emphasize or identify the person that you are speaking about, use: a + name/noun/pronoun in front of the pattern in the table above:

A + person +IO pronoun + GUSTAR + Infinitive  
I like = A mi me gusta bailar We like = A nosotros(as) nos gusta bailar
You (fam.) like = A ti te gusta bailar You (fam.pl.) like = A vosotros(as) os gusta bailar
He, she, it, You (formal) like(s) = A él/ella/usted  le gusta bailar They,you (pl) like = A ellos(as)/ustedes les gusta bailar