Poder, the verb for to be able, is irregular in many conjugations. Podría - the conditional could - is one of them. As discussed here and as seen below.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
Spanish by Choice: She's Not Mexican
Spanish uses the reflexive verb llamar when discussing names. As seen below and in this lesson.
"Very well, tell me madam Yamilah, what is this gentleman's name?" "Serafin." "Is that true, sir?" "It's true!" |
"I would like to speak with Mr. Tintin." "For what? Is your name Rackham the Red too?" "What's that?" |
"I'm pleased to meet you. My name is Sunflower. Silvester Sunflower." "Ah!" |
Meanwhile... "I have a retired horse for you..." "Oh...a nice horse!" "Look, it's very docile. It's name is Beatriz." "Hello, Beatriz!" |
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Spanish By Choice: At the Bar
Spanish has two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine. All nouns fall into one of these two categories, and the gender of a given noun changes the ending of most adjectives that modify it. This lesson discusses this topic, as well as how to order a beer in Spanish.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Spanish by Choice: Birthday Party
As in many languages, ir - to go is an irregular verb in Spanish.
As seen below and in this lesson.
As seen below and in this lesson.
"Where are you going?" "To find some scissors." |
"With much pleasure, but before that, Irma! Where is the...ahem...little something for Captain Kodack?" "In the taxi, Ma'am. I'll go get it." |
"Now is the moment. Let's go!" |
"Arumbayas! They're very bad! I'm not going!" "How brave!" |
"Careful, the diamond!" "It's going to go in the water!" |
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Spanish by Choice: Are You Ready Yet?
With few exceptions, the command form (also known as the imperative) of verbs in Spanish is formed by dropping the final r of the infinitive. Thus, as seen below and in this lesson, esperar - to wait becomes espera! - wait!
"Just wait a little until I find you, you lout!" |
"Sir...sir...it's horrible...all of those foreigners have set up camp..." "Wait, Nestor, wait a moment..." |
"Shut up! Just a moment..." |
"Wait, I'll turn on the light..." |
Monday, June 23, 2014
I Don't Believe You
From La Garrapata:
Notes:
The direct object form of tú is te.
straw is a word with lots of regional variation. Besides sorbete - which is also the word for sorbet, and apparently comes from Arabic - you may also come across pajita, popote, or pitillo.
"Err...Yes, I...I...I...suck blood all the time." "I don't believe you." "I have a straw right here, pal! Do you want a demonstration?" |
The direct object form of tú is te.
straw is a word with lots of regional variation. Besides sorbete - which is also the word for sorbet, and apparently comes from Arabic - you may also come across pajita, popote, or pitillo.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
I Suggested That We Get a Dog
Calvin's parents on the decision to have kids:
Notes:
educar is to educate, but it can also mean more generally to raise or to teach manners, so it can be used for what parents do as well as what teachers do
arrepentirse - to regret and negarse - to refuse are reflexive in Spanish
proponer - to propose or to suggest conjugates like poner: propuso, propuse, propusimos, etc...
Notes:
educar is to educate, but it can also mean more generally to raise or to teach manners, so it can be used for what parents do as well as what teachers do
arrepentirse - to regret and negarse - to refuse are reflexive in Spanish
proponer - to propose or to suggest conjugates like poner: propuso, propuse, propusimos, etc...
Friday, June 20, 2014
That Depends on Who's Asking
From a slightly disturbing Aliens comic featuring a mad scientest:
Notes:
morir has an irregular past participle: muerto
preguntar is in the subjunctive in the second panel because it's a hypothetical clause
the subject can be moved to the end of a sentence in order to emphasize it: se lo pregunto yo
"Why don't we encode you in the bioscan now?" "How many members of the team have died in the course of your investigation?" "That depends on who's asking." "I'm asking." "None." |
morir has an irregular past participle: muerto
preguntar is in the subjunctive in the second panel because it's a hypothetical clause
the subject can be moved to the end of a sentence in order to emphasize it: se lo pregunto yo
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
You're Going to Leave Us to Burn?
Bobba Fett leaves two criminals handcuffed to a burning car:
Notes:
Two new verbs for me: arder - to burn, pillar - to catch. Notice that both are in the subjunctive in these panels.
os, as a direct object, can follow the gerund, resulting in a rare 'double o' spelling: os está buscando or está buscandoos.
"You're going to leave us to burn?" "Rolu? What's happening?" "The owner of the sculpture is probably looking for you. It may be that he catches you before the fire." |
Two new verbs for me: arder - to burn, pillar - to catch. Notice that both are in the subjunctive in these panels.
os, as a direct object, can follow the gerund, resulting in a rare 'double o' spelling: os está buscando or está buscandoos.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
I Avoid Stepping on Bugs
Notes:
Costar - to cost or to cause effort - is a stem-changing verb.
The personal a is used even though bugs aren't people because Carlitos is treating them with respect.
Monday, June 16, 2014
You Saw Me Die
From Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Return to New York:
Notes:
Asi es is an extremely common expression used for general agreement.
The personal a is required in viste morir a Oroku Saki
"That's right." "Three years ago I saw you die. How did you return?" "Does it matter to you? Yes...I suppose it does. Long ago on that roof you saw Oroku Saki die...blown to pieces! You saw me die!" |
Notes:
Asi es is an extremely common expression used for general agreement.
The personal a is required in viste morir a Oroku Saki
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
I'm Going to Monster Island
Lots of simple future here:
Notes:
Verbs in the simple future tense typically have a stress on the last syllable, which requires an accent mark: iré, diré, harás etc. Notice that the first person plural breaks this pattern by stressing the "normal" penultimate syllable: iremos.
Notes:
Verbs in the simple future tense typically have a stress on the last syllable, which requires an accent mark: iré, diré, harás etc. Notice that the first person plural breaks this pattern by stressing the "normal" penultimate syllable: iremos.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
No One Will Harm You
La Cosa has inexplicably joined El Hombre Topo:
Notes:
mayor could mean either great, or old. I translated it as the former.
hacer daño is literally to make damage.
"Benjamin, I heard voices! Who are you talking to?" "The Moleman!" "My greatest enemies!" "Easy, nothing's wrong! You don't have to worry! No one will do you harm while I'm here!" |
mayor could mean either great, or old. I translated it as the former.
hacer daño is literally to make damage.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
We Didn't Say That
Spanish can distinguish between singular and plural with verbs only. No subjects necessary:
Notes:
Quizá and quizás are both regional variations for the word maybe.
Listo means ready, but also bright or clever.
Notes:
Quizá and quizás are both regional variations for the word maybe.
Listo means ready, but also bright or clever.
Monday, June 2, 2014
I Remember It As If It Were Yesterday
La Cosa ruminates in the rain:
Notes:
mejorar is derived from the adjective mejor - better.
poder has the irregular stem podr- in the simple future.
Notes:
mejorar is derived from the adjective mejor - better.
poder has the irregular stem podr- in the simple future.
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