Let’s take a closer look at the conversation. |
Do you remember how Ms. Varela asks, |
"Are you Mexican?" |
¿Eres mexicana? |
First is eres, “[you] are”. Eres (enunciated). Eres. |
Note: eres is a shortened form of tú eres, "you are." In Spanish, tú, "you," can be omitted when it is understood from context. |
Eres is from the verb ser, meaning "to be." Ser. |
After this is mexicana, "Mexican." Mexicana (enunciated). Mexicana. |
Note: mexicana is feminine. |
Ms. Varela uses the feminine adjective, mexicana, to refer to Ms. Reyes. |
If Ms. Varela were talking to a male, she would use the masculine adjective, mexicano, to refer to him. As in ¿Eres mexicano? "Are you Mexican?" ¿Eres mexicano? |
Back to the question. |
All together, ¿Eres mexicana?, "Are you Mexican?" |
¿Eres mexicana? |
Let’s take a closer look at the response. |
Do you remember how Ms. Reyes says, |
"Yes, I'm Mexican." |
Sí, soy mexicana. |
This starts with the expression Sí, meaning “yes”. Sí. (enunciated). Sí. |
Note, that this word includes an accent mark. |
It answers Ms.Varelas yes-or-no question, "Are you Mexican?" |
¿Eres mexicana? |
Next is soy. "[I] am." Soy (enunciated). Soy. |
Note: in this sentence, soy is a shortened form of yo soy, "I am." In Spanish, yo, "I," is usually omitted, as it's understood from context. |
Soy is from the verb ser, meaning "to be." Ser. |
After this is mexicana, "Mexican." Mexicana. |
All together, Sí, soy mexicana. "Yes, I'm Mexican." |
Sí, soy mexicana. |
The pattern is |
Soy NATIONALITY. |
“I’m NATIONALITY.” |
Soy NATIONALITY. |
Simply replace the {NATIONALITY} placeholder with your nationality. |
Note: the pattern requires an adjective, and its gender will depend on the speaker -- in this case you. |
Imagine you’re Ms. Varela, and you're American. The word for "American" when referring to a female or a male is estadounidense. Estadounidense (enunciated). Estadounidense. |
Say |
"I'm American." |
Ready? |
Soy estadounidense. |
"I'm American." |
Soy estadounidense. |
In the conversation, the response to the yes-no question was "yes." |
¿Eres mexicana? |
Sí, soy mexicana. |
In case the answer were "no," the corresponding Spanish response would be No, "no." No (enunciated). No. |
For example, if Ms. Reyes were asked |
¿Eres estadounidense? |
"Are you American?" |
She could have answered |
No, soy mexicana. |
"No, I'm Mexican." |
Remember this pattern. You’ll need it for the practice section. |
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