Wednesday 10 December 2014

Past Participle / El participio

 To form the past participle (participio) of most verbs, change the infinitive ending:
from -ar to -ado:
terminar ~ terminado
from -er, -ir to -ido:
comer ~ comido ; vivir ~ vivido
  -er and -ir verbs whose stems end in a strong vowel (a ,e ,o) add -ído:
caer : caído • creer : creído • leer : leído • oír : oído • reír : reído • traer : traído
BUT: construir : construido (because the stem ends in a weak vowel, u).
  The following irregular forms exist:
abrir : abierto
cubrir : cubierto
decir : dicho ; predecir : predicho
escribir : escrito ; describir: descrito
hacer : hecho
morir : muerto
poner : puesto ; suponer : supuesto
resolver : resuelto
romper : roto
satisfacer : satisfecho
ver : visto
volver : vuelto ; devolver : devuelto
   together with verbs derived from them:
absolver: absuelto, componer: compuesto, descubrir: descubierto, inscribir: inscrito.
- The participle has no feminine or plural in tenses with haberLas niñas han salido. (§53)
- When used as an adjective, though, it needs to agree in number and gender with the noun:La música escrita, el libro escrito, los documentos escritos.
 The past participle (such as English known, defeated, written, lost, etc.) is used:
• with haber to form compound perfect tenses (see §53).
• with ser to form the passive voice (see §41).
• as an adjectiveVoy a ver unos programas hechos en España.
Las circunstancias descritas en la película son fascinantes.
• with estar (also as an adjective) to describe a condition or state:
La ventana está rota.
Todavía no estamos preparados.
Las tiendas están cerradas por la noche.
Para 1492, España ya estaba unificada.
The window is broken.
We're not ready yet.
Stores are closed during the night.
By 1492, Spain was already unified.


Wednesday 3 December 2014

El gerundio y el infinitivo

A. THE GERUNDIO is used for actions in progress (present participle in English):
A1. with the appropriate form of estar (or hay) to form the progressive tenses:
Lisa está estudiando.
Estamos aprendiendo.
No hay nadie hablando.Lisa is studying.
We are learning.
There’s no one talking.
  Note that in Spanish this construction cannot be used to express the future, as it frequently is in English (I am leaving next week). The simple present can be used in this sense: “Salgo la próxima semana”.
A2. with the verbs seguir and continuar to mean "go on doing something":
Continuó diciendo.
Siguió cantando.He went on saying.
She continued to sing.
   Note that, unlike English, Spanish does not offer the option of using an infinitive after seguir or continuar:
He went on to say → Siguió diciendo.
A3. to express "by doing" or "while doing" something (no preposition in Spanish):
Vas a mejorar estudiando mucho.
Me duermo leyendo esto.You are going to improve by studying a lot.
I fall asleep (while) reading this.
 Spanish does not use the gerundio as an adjective.Clauses or different expressions have to be used:
the answering machine
a never-ending process
passengers carrying a big case...
an intriguing beginning
a disappointing endingla máquina contestadora (el contestador)
un proceso que nunca termina (interminable)
los pasajeros que llevan una maleta grande...
un comienzo intrigante
un final decepcionante
 B. THE INFINITIVE is the verb form that Spanish uses as a noun:
B1. as the subject of a sentence or the object of a verb*:
Ver es creer.
No me gusta estudiar.
Decidir casi siempre es difícil.Seeing is believing.
I don't like studying.
Deciding is difficult most of the time.
B2. immediately after any preposition:
Voy a salir después de comer.
Es su manera de hablar.
Habla sin usar las manos.I am going to leave after eating.
It's his/her way of speaking.
He speaks without using his hands.
 Note that, unlike English, Spanish does not use thegerundio after prepositions or as the subject of a sentence. The infinitive must be used in such cases:
the problem of leaving → el problema de salirliving is good → vivir es bueno
*  Many verbs require no preposition before the infinitive: Quiero dormir.
Some, however, require different prepositions: Sueño con viajar. Ayudan a mejorar. Tratamos de entender. (See Appendix D).