White's Arrival in Surlandia

3.1 Basic Sentences — White’s Arrival in Surlandia

John White, an American arriving for the first time in Surlandia, a country south of the United States, has been met at the airport and seen through customs to his hotel by American friends. They leave him at the hotel, where he checks in at the desk and is accompanied to his room by the porter carrying his bags.

At the Hotel Room

English	Spanish
Porter	Mozo
Do you like the room?	¿Le gusta el cuarto?
White	White
Yes, I do.	Sí, me gusta.
Porter	Mozo
Do you want soda water?	¿Quiere usted agua mineral?
White	White
Yes. Bring it up to me later.	Sí. Súbamela después.
Porter	Mozo
Do you need anything else?	¿Necesita algo más?
White	White
Yes. Is the American Embassy near here?	Sí. ¿Está la Embajada Americana cerca de aquí?
Porter	Mozo
No. It’s quite a distance. On Columbus Avenue.	No. Está lejos. En la avenida de Colón.
It’s necessary to take a taxi.	Hay que tomar un taxi.
White	White
Thanks. Here you are.	Gracias. Aquí tiene.
Porter	Mozo
Thank you very much, sir.	Muchas gracias, señor.

Going Down

English	Spanish
Porter	Mozo
Are you going down in the elevator?	¿Baja en el ascensor?
White	White
Yes. Right now.	Sí, ahora mismo.
Where’s the cashier’s desk?	¿Dónde está la caja?
Porter	Mozo
On the first floor, to the right of the entrance.	En el primer piso, a la derecha de la entrada.

At the Cashier’s Desk

English	Spanish
White	White
Can you change a few dollars for me?	¿Puede cambiarme unos dólares?
Cashier	Cajero
Yes. How many?	Sí. ¿Cuántos?
White	White
Ten. What’s the rate of exchange?	Diez. ¿A cómo está el cambio?
Cashier	Cajero
In bills or in a check?	¿En billetes o en cheque?
White	White
This traveler’s check.	Este cheque viajero.
Cashier	Cajero
Five to one, then.	A cinco por uno, entonces.
How do you want it?	¿Cómo lo quiere?
White	White
Eight in bills and two in change.	Ocho en billetes y dos en moneda.
How much does a taxi to the American Embassy cost?	¿Cuánto cuesta un taxi a la Embajada Americana?
Cashier	Cajero
Two pesos, more or less.	Dos pesos, más o menos.
White	White
Thanks for the information.	Gracias por la información.

---

3.10 Notes on the Basic Sentences

(1) As can be seen by comparing the literal and free translations, there is no direct way to equate the English idea of “liking” something with a word in Spanish. Rather, one has to say that the object is “pleasing” to him. Thus “I like it” becomes me gusta — literally “it is pleasing to me.”

(2) Agua mineral, which literally means “mineral water,” may be carbonated soda water or simply purified drinking water. The terms for purified drinking water differ from one area to another — sometimes called by a trade name like Agua Güitig in Ecuador or Agua Chuquisanta in Peru, or simply agua cristal. One should be sure to find out what to ask for, since the public water supply is safe in only very few places in the Spanish-speaking world.

(3) The forms me and la in the utterance súbamela are called clitic pronouns (or just clitics). They will be discussed in detail beginning with Unit 10.

(4) Note that the word cerca (“near”) modifies a verb but does not function as a phrase relator. In English, “near” functions in both capacities: “He didn’t even get near” and “He didn’t even get near the house.” The Spanish equivalent is cerca in the first example, but cerca de (“near of, near to”) in the second.

(5) The idiom hay que is especially useful. It is the equivalent of several English expressions: “It is necessary to…”, “You’ve got to…”, “You have to…” — in all of which the “you” does not refer to you personally, but really means something like “One should…” or “One ought to…“

---

3.2 Drills and Grammar

Gender of Singular Nouns and Adjectives

All Spanish nouns belong to one of two grammatical subclasses: masculine or feminine. A noun’s gender is inherent and does not change, though nouns can change for number (singular/plural).

The definite articles el (masculine) and la (feminine) correspond to English “the.” The indefinite articles un (masculine) and una (feminine) correspond to English “a” or “an.” When memorizing each noun, it is best to memorize the article along with it to learn its gender. (Note: el agua is an exception — it is actually feminine.)

	Masculine	Feminine
Definite (“the”)	el libro	la mesa
Indefinite (“a/an”)	un libro	una mesa

Spanish adjectives must agree in gender with the noun they modify. Many adjectives show a gender change with endings -o (masculine) and -a (feminine): mucho / mucha, americano / americana. Others — primarily those ending in -e or a consonant (mineral, excelente) — do not change form for gender.

Adjectives in Spanish usually follow the noun: Embajada Americana, cheque viajero. Some adjectives, like the articles, always precede the noun: la avenida, dos pesos. A few may either follow or precede: pluma buena or buena pluma.

Key Examples — Gender Agreement in Context

Spanish	English
Eso es una pluma.	That’s a pen.
Eso es un hotel.	That’s a hotel.
¿Dónde está el señor?	Where is the gentleman?
¿Dónde está la señorita?	Where is the young lady?
Ahí está la misma silla.	There’s the same chair.
Ahí está el mismo cenicero.	There’s the same ashtray.
Ahí está el otro cheque.	There’s the other check.
Ahí está la otra entrada.	There’s the other entrance.
¿Dónde está la señora americana?	Where is the American lady?
¿Dónde está el hotel americano?	Where is the American hotel?
Tiene una pluma buena.	She has a good pen.
Tiene un lápiz bueno.	She has a good pencil.

Translation Drill

English	Spanish
That’s a coin.	Eso es una moneda.
No, this is not a bill.	No, esto no es un billete.
The young lady is at the Embassy.	La señorita está en la embajada.
Do you want a chair?	¿Quiere una silla?
Do you have the check or not?	¿Tiene el cheque o no?
The teller’s window is to the left.	La caja está a la izquierda.
The Embassy is not far from here.	La embajada no está lejos de aquí.
I want you to meet a young lady.	Quiero presentarle a una señorita.
Do you like Columbus Avenue?	¿Le gusta la Avenida Colón?
The bathroom is to the right.	El baño está a la derecha.
I have a room in the hotel.	Tengo un cuarto en el hotel.
Do you want a pencil?	¿Quiere un lápiz?
Do you need a pen?	¿Necesita una pluma?
Where’s there a chair?	¿Dónde hay una silla?
Is the hotel downtown?	¿Está el hotel en el centro?

Variation Drills — Commands and Requests

These drills practice sentence variations within the structural frame of the basic sentences.

English	Spanish
Give me the book.	Déme el libro.
Pass me the pen.	Páseme la pluma.
Give us the book.	Dénos el libro.
Give us that.	Dénos eso.
Take us downtown.	Llévenos al centro.
Take me downtown.	Lléveme al centro.
Take me to the hotel.	Lléveme al hotel.

Variation Drills — ¿Le gusta…?

English	Spanish
Do you like the book?	¿Le gusta el libro?
Do you like the hotel?	¿Le gusta el hotel?
Do you like the Embassy?	¿Le gusta la embajada?
Do you like the avenue?	¿Le gusta la avenida?
Do you like Spanish?	¿Le gusta el español?
Do you like English?	¿Le gusta el inglés?
Do you like Miss Molina?	¿Le gusta la señorita Molina?

Variation Drills — Location

English	Spanish
No, it’s near.	No, está cerca.
No, it’s to the right.	No, está a la derecha.
No, it’s to the left.	No, está a la izquierda.
No, it’s up ahead.	No, está adelante.
Yes, it’s at the entrance.	Sí, está a la entrada.
Yes, it’s here.	Sí, está aquí.
Yes, it’s there.	Sí, está ahí.

Variation Drills — Hay que… (Necessity)

English	Spanish
Is it necessary to take a room?	¿Hay que tomar un cuarto?
Is it necessary to take the elevator?	¿Hay que tomar el ascensor?
Is it necessary to take anything else?	¿Hay que tomar algo más?
Is it necessary to say that?	¿Hay que decir eso?
Is it necessary to translate that?	¿Hay que traducir eso?
Is it necessary to cash a check?	¿Hay que cambiar un cheque?
Is it necessary to have traveler’s checks?	¿Hay que tener cheques viajeros?

Variation Drills — ¿Puede…? (Requests)

English	Spanish
Can you break this bill for me?	¿Puede cambiarme este billete?
Can you change one dollar for me?	¿Puede cambiarme un dólar?
Can you change the pen for me?	¿Puede cambiarme la pluma?
Can you take me to the hotel?	¿Puede llevarme al hotel?
Can you introduce Mr. Molina to me?	¿Puede presentarme al señor Molina?
Can you tell me that?	¿Puede decirme eso?
Can you repeat that for me?	¿Puede repetirme eso?

Variation Drills — ¿Cuánto cuesta…? (Cost)

English	Spanish
How much does a taxi to the Embassy cost?	¿Cuánto cuesta un taxi a la Embajada?
How much does a taxi to the hotel cost?	¿Cuánto cuesta un taxi al hotel?
How much does a taxi to Columbus Avenue cost?	¿Cuánto cuesta un taxi a la Avenida Colón?
How much does a taxi downtown cost?	¿Cuánto cuesta un taxi al centro?
How much does the book cost?	¿Cuánto cuesta el libro?
How much does the room cost?	¿Cuánto cuesta el cuarto?
How much does it cost?	¿Cuánto cuesta?

Note: The full drills and practice exercises are designed for oral work with the audio recordings. Open the Student Text PDF for the complete drill sets.