Learn about describing things using adjectives
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Natalia: Buenos días me llamo Natalia. |
| Carlos: What’s going on? My name is Carlos. |
| Natalia: Bells are ringing. |
| Carlos: What’s going on pod101 world? Welcome to the newbie series, season 2 at spanishpod101.com where we study modern Spanish in a fun and educational format. |
| Natalia: So brush up on the Spanish that you started learning long ago or start learning today. |
| Carlos: Natie, looks like Adolfo is taking the plunge. |
| Natalia: It’s good that he is taking responsibility for his actions, you know. |
| Carlos: But he is understandably nervous. |
| Natalia: What a newbie? |
| Carlos: Well yeah but luckily he has a friend there to comfort him. |
| Natalia: A friend usually has a better way to describe the situation. He is looking from the outside. |
| Carlos: So a friend would make the conversation informal. |
| Natalia: Yes and using the word describing was a hint about the grammar point which are adjectives. |
| Carlos: Let’s get into today’s conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| SANTIAGO: ¡Es el Gran día! ¿cómo te sentís? |
| ADOLFO: Quiero que me trague la tierra... |
| SANTIAGO: No creo que sea tan mala la situación. |
| ADOLFO: Tengo un suegro asesino, una novia que me odia. ¿Qué más querés? |
| SANTIAGO: Bueno, vas a tener un bebé que te sonría al verte la cara. |
| ADOLFO: Sabés, no lo había pensado, pero tal vez no sea tan malo después de todo. |
| Carlos: And now slower. Una vez más esta vez lentamente. |
| SANTIAGO: ¡Es el Gran día! ¿cómo te sentís? |
| ADOLFO: Quiero que me trague la tierra... |
| SANTIAGO: No creo que sea tan mala la situación. |
| ADOLFO: Tengo un suegro asesino, una novia que me odia. ¿Qué más querés? |
| SANTIAGO: Bueno, vas a tener un bebé que te sonría al verte la cara. |
| ADOLFO: Sabés, no lo había pensado, pero tal vez no sea tan malo después de todo. |
| Carlos: And now with the translation. Ahora incluiremos la traducción. |
| SANTIAGO: ¡Es el Gran día! ¿cómo te sentís? |
| SANTIAGO: It's the big day! How do ya' feel? |
| ADOLFO: Quiero que me trague la tierra... |
| ADOLFO: I want the world to swallow me whole... |
| SANTIAGO: No creo que sea tan mala la situación. |
| SANTIAGO: I don't think that the situation is that bad. |
| ADOLFO: Tengo un suegro asesino, una novia que me odia. ¿Qué más querés? |
| ADOLFO: I have got a murderer for a father-in-law, a fiance that hates me. What else do you want? |
| SANTIAGO: Bueno, vas a tener un bebé que te sonría al verte la cara. |
| SANTIAGO: Well, you are going to have a baby that smiles at you, when he looks you in the face. |
| ADOLFO: Sabés, no lo había pensado, pero tal vez no sea tan malo después de todo. |
| ADOLFO: You know, I had not thought about it, but maybe it will not be so bad after all. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Carlos: That’s a pretty positive way to look at it Natie. |
| Natalia: I say so you know, after all, he is doing it for the baby you know. |
| Carlos: Yeah I know but like I mean the girl is not very happy with him and trying to kill him. |
| Natalia: Yeah, yeah…They are going to divorce in two weeks. |
| Carlos: Wow! Two weeks. |
| Natalia: Think about my pessimist self, I am sorry. No I just don’t think people should be pushed to those scenarios you know. |
| Carlos: Well you know what we are going to push now Natie, the vocabulary. Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. Empezamos con un verbo reflexivo. |
| Natalia: sentirse |
| Carlos: To feel. |
| Natalia: sen-tir-se, sentirse |
| Carlos: Y un ejemplo sería.. |
| Natalia: Me siento muy mal. |
| Carlos: I feel very bad. A continuación tenemos otro verbo |
| Natalia: tragar |
| Carlos: To swallow. |
| Natalia: tra-gar, tragar |
| Carlos: Como por ejemplo. |
| Natalia: ¡O no, se trago una moneda! |
| Carlos: Oh no, he swallowed a coin. La proxima palabra es un sustantivo femenino, |
| Natalia: situación |
| Carlos: Situation. |
| Natalia: si-tua-ción, situación |
| Carlos: A ver un ejemplo. |
| Natalia: Es una situación es delicada hay que tratarla con tacto. |
| Carlos: It’s a difficult situation. It must be handled tactfully. Y ahora estudiaremos un sustantivo femenino o masculino. |
| Natalia: suegro, suegra |
| Carlos: Father in law, mother in law. |
| Natalia: sue-gro, sue-gra, suegro, suegra |
| Carlos: Como por ejemplo. |
| Natalia: ¿Qué dice tu futura suegra sobre el embarazo? |
| Carlos: What does your future mother in law have you say about the pregnancy? A continuación tenemos el sustantivo o adjetivo. |
| Natalia: asesino, asesina |
| Carlos: Killer, homicidal. |
| Natalia: a-se-si-no, a-se-si-na, asesino, asesina |
| Carlos: Como por ejemplo. |
| Natalia: Leí en el periódico que los asesinos escaparon. |
| Carlos: I read at the newspaper that the killer escapes. Y la última palabra de hoy es un sustantivo masculino. |
| Natalia: bebé |
| Carlos: Baby. |
| Natalia: be-bé, bebé |
| Carlos: Como por ejemplo. |
| Natalia: Me gustan los bebes solo que no me gusta lo que les sale. |
| Carlos: I like the babies. It’s just that I don’t like what comes out of them. That is funny. Okay let’s take a closer look at the usage for some of these words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Natalia: The first word/phrase we will look at is tragar. |
| Carlos: Tragar. So what does this mean? |
| Natalia: This verb means to swallow. |
| Carlos: Okay so now you’d immediately think of a drink with this verb but do you know of another example that we could use the verb tragar that doesn’t have to do with beverages? |
| Natalia: Let me think. Bueno… I got one – actually something you complained about the other day. |
| Carlos: Okay it makes me nervous but shoot. |
| Natalia: Como traga gasolina este carro. |
| Carlos: Something to do with my car. |
| Natalia: I think you’d say something like this. This car is a real gas guzzler. |
| Carlos: Oh definitely. You know, I thought gas prices are crazy in the United States but here it’s unbelievable. |
| Natalia: For some reason, things change all over the world and they stay the same here. Carlos, that’s another reason why I don’t drive. |
| Carlos: Okay let’s not get into that discussion again. Now how was tragar used in today’s conversation? |
| Natalia: Quiero que me trague la tierra... |
| Carlos: I want the earth to swallow me whole. Man, there’s got to be some kind of pressure. |
| Natalia: I think we’ve all been there. |
| Carlos: Well not where the Adolfo is you know. You know, I know a word that is related to the word tragar. |
| Natalia: I know you do but which? |
| Carlos: Trago |
| Natalia: Yeah and what does that mean? |
| Carlos: An alcoholic drink. |
| Natalia: You just made my job easier. |
| Carlos: So what’s next? |
| Natalia: situación |
| Carlos: Situación. That’s easy enough. I think we all know what that means. |
| Natalia: Situation. |
| Carlos: And that is a feminine or masculine noun. |
| Natalia: What does it look like Carlitos? |
| Carlos: Well it looks like a masculine noun. I mean does it end in an a? |
| Natalia: That’s a good observation but a wrong one. Situación is one of those tricky words. It’s actually a feminine noun. |
| Carlos: Okay no doubt. |
| Natalia: So here is an example. Me puso en una situación muy embarazosa. |
| Carlos: He put me in an awkward position. |
| Natalia: Here is how it was used in the conversation. No creo que sea tan mala la situación. |
| Carlos: I don’t think that the situation is that bad. Well that’s a good friend. |
| Natalia: That’s a pretty bad situation. His friend should say the truth and you say like hey, get a cab. You can still run away. |
| Carlos: Wow okay. So Natie, what are some words that we can associate with situación. |
| Natalia: There is the word situar, to situate. |
| Carlos: Cool. So what’s next on the plate? |
| Natalia: Suegro, suegra. Which is father in law or mother in law. |
| Carlos: So that would make it either a masculine or feminine noun. |
| Natalia: Ahora déjame presentarte a mi suegro. |
| Carlos: Now let me introduce my father in law. Now the way it was used in the conversation is the situation no one wants. I know I don’t. |
| Natalia: Tengo un suegro asesino. |
| Carlos: I have got a murderer for a father in law. |
| Natalia: That’s one relationship you got to get right. Now as you know, there are other in laws. |
| Carlos: Sure. |
| Natalia: Yerno, yerna. Which means son in law and daughter in law. |
| Carlos: Okay. Suegro, suegra, mother in law, father in law. Yerno, yerna, son in law, daughter in law. Got it. |
| Natalia: Okay so next up, we have asesino, asesina. |
| Carlos: Assassin. |
| Natalia: Whoa! Like a killer or like homicidal. |
| Carlos: So that would make it not only a feminine or masculine noun but also an adjective. Wouldn’t it? |
| Natalia: That’s right. |
| Carlos: Okay so an example? |
| Natalia: No hallaron el arma asesina. |
| Carlos: They couldn’t find the murder weapon. Now we already saw the example from today’s conversation. |
| Natalia: Sure but let’s hear it again. Tengo un suegro asesino. |
| Carlos: I have got a murderer for a father in law. |
| Natalia: Some words to learn with this one are the word asasenar, to kill or to commit homicide. |
| Carlos: I am sensing the end of the list. |
| Natalia: I think you can take care of this one Carlos. |
| Carlos: And what is it again? |
| Natalia: bebé |
| Carlos: Oh bebé. I got this one but first just double-check. This is a masculine noun right? |
| Natalia: Yep. |
| Carlos: Okay good. Now how about an example then Natie? |
| Natalia: Estás actuando como un bebé. |
| Carlos: You are acting like a baby. That’s the negative connotation. How about the positive? |
| Natalia: Well in the conversation, we heard: Bueno, usted va a tener un bebé que le sonría al verte la cara. |
| Carlos: Well you are going to have a baby that smiles at you when he looks you in the face. That’s sweet. |
| Natalia: Oyi…A little bit. |
| Carlos: Maybe little sweet but the sweeter is the grammar coming up now. |
| Natalia: Carlos, where do you get this stuff. Please. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Carlos: Okay. |
| Natalia: Today’s grammar point is considerable, large, big, massive, et cetera, etcetera. |
| Carlos: Right. |
| Natalia: Carlos |
| Carlos: Yeah. |
| Natalia: Seriously Carlos, it’s momentous. |
| Carlos: Let me guess, adjectives. |
| Natalia: 10 points. |
| Carlos: There you go. All right, adjectives. |
| Natalia: Go ahead profe. |
| Carlos: Bueno. Adjectives are modifiers. |
| Natalia: Meaning what exactly? |
| Carlos: Well they shape the meaning of a noun by describing its characteristics. For example, your little game of important, big, considerable, momentous et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. |
| Natalia: Yeah we had an example in today’s vocabulary. |
| Carlos: We did. Asesino. Murderer, homicidal. |
| Natalia: Tengo un suegro asesino. |
| Carlos: I have a homicidal father in law. So father in law is the noun. |
| Natalia: And homicidal is the adjective. |
| Carlos: So Natie, remind us all what the rules are by which we use adjectives in Spanish. |
| Natalia: Well today’ let’s consider two aspects of the adjectives. One agreement and two, placement. |
| Carlos: Sounds good. So agreement. |
| Natalia: Right. Adjectives are either singular or plural. |
| Carlos: Now isn’t there another term for this? |
| Natalia: Definitely. When you are thinking, it’s called el número. The number of the adjective. |
| Carlos: And how can we know the number of the adjective. |
| Natalia: The number is shown in the ending of the word. This is what we call inflection. |
| Carlos: Is that all we can tell by the ending of the word? |
| Natalia: No also shown in the ending is the gender of the word no, not the sex of the person Carlos, no. |
| Carlos: Okay no doubt. So I think we could see from that, adjectives are either masculine or feminine. |
| Natalia: And they must agree with the noun they modify. |
| Carlos: Now what about placement? |
| Natalia: Adjectives are normally placed after the noun they modify. So in the example, tengo un suegro asesino. I have a homicidal father in law, what do you notice? |
| Carlos: Well I see that the adjective comes after the noun which it modifies. |
| Natalia: Which is |
| Carlos: Suegro. |
| Natalia: Right suegro asesino is an example of the normal placement. |
| Carlos: But why do you say normal? |
| Natalia: Well exceptions to this rule do exist. |
| Carlos: Okay so when do these exceptions occur. |
| Natalia: Well we want to place more emphasis on the characteristic being attributed to the meaning of the noun than to the meaning of the noun itself. |
| Carlos: How about some examples of this? |
| Natalia: The following are the normal endings for adjectives that have a number and gender. Singular asesin plus O, asesino. Asesin plus A, asesina. |
| Carlos: So then the pleural would be for the masculine asesin plus OS, asesinos. And feminine would be asesin plus AS, asesinas. |
| Natalia: Once you learn to recognize the gender and number of nouns using adjectives, it is pretty easy and all we need to do is make sure that they agree with each other. Unfortunately the system is not perfect in this regard and there are plenty of exceptions. |
| Carlos: Of course. |
| Natalia: For example, the adjectives like verde, green, and sonriente, smiley, end in an e in the singular and an es in the pleural. So one of these two forms is used by the gender of the noun it’s modifying. So we would say los niños sonrientes the smiling boys as well as las niñas sonrientes is the smiley girls without changing the gender. |
| Carlos: What about mixed genders? |
| Natalia: Bueno. For example, plural nouns that contain masculine and feminine characteristics el plato y la taza sucios se quedaron en la mesa. Using el plato is masculine and plural taza is feminine and plural, the adjective sucios is masculine and plural is used. In this way, it kind of acts like former is neutral in terms of its gender. |
| Carlos: I guess it’s one of those things that require extra study. |
| Natalia: A tiny bit. |
Outro |
| Carlos: You know what, that just about does it for today. |
| Natalia: Okay. |
| Carlos: Chao, nos vemos. |
| Natalia: Nos vemos pronto. |
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