32.1 Basic Sentences — A Conversation After Dinner

After dinner, White, Carmen, and José chat at the Molina house. They discuss the pleasant surroundings, then White changes the subject to ask about attending church together the next day.

Vocabulary

English	Spanish
must	deber
the better (best) thing	lo mejor
the garden	el jardín
the theme, subject	el tema
to change the subject	cambiar de tema
to request, ask for	pedir
to treat of, to deal with	tratar de
the miracle	el milagro
the (one) of the miracles	la de los Milagros
precisely	precisamente

Dialog

English	Spanish
It doesn’t surprise me that you don’t want to go to the city.	No me extraña que no quiera irse a la ciudad.
It must be pleasant to live here.	Debe dar gusto vivir aquí.
I find that the nicest thing is the garden.	Yo encuentro que lo mejor es el jardín.
Joe, changing the subject, I’m going to ask you all for a favor.	José, cambiando de tema, les voy a pedir un favor.
Of course. What’s it about?	Cómo no. ¿De qué se trata?
What church are you all going to tomorrow?	¿A qué iglesia van mañana?
I don’t know. Ask Carmen.	No sé. Pregúntaselo a Carmen.
To the Church of the Miracles, 11 o’clock mass.	A la de los Milagros, a misa de once.
Precisely the same one that I wanted to see.	Precisamente la misma que yo quería conocer.
Oh! Then come with us.	¡Ah! Entonces ven con nosotros.
Thanks. That’s what I wanted to ask you all.	Gracias. Eso es lo que yo quería pedirles.

32.10 Notes on the Basic Sentences

(1) The form quiera is a present subjunctive form which will be taken up in detail beginning with Unit 36. Since subjunctive forms most usually occur in subordinate clauses, they are shown as subjunctive in the build-ups by the device of translating only with que.

(2) ‘Must’ here means something like ‘it probably is’: it is the must of a sentence like ‘You must have had a nice vacation,’ or ‘You must think she’s a real nice girl.’

(3) There is no distinction between comparative and superlative degrees of comparison of adjectives in Spanish: only ‘good, better (best), the better (the best).’

(4) Conocer is translated ‘see’ rather than ‘get acquainted with’ because it means something like ‘to see for the first time.’ In this context ver ‘to see’ can replace conocer. For the meaning ‘to know’ in the sense of ‘to become acquainted with,’ see grammar point 32.21.2.

32.2 Drills and Grammar

32.21.1 Cardinal Numbers, Days of the Week, Months of the Year

The system of cardinal numbers in Spanish is quite similar to that of English. One difference is the occurrence of y ‘and’ between tens and units, instead of between hundreds and tens as in English. Another difference is in the use of periods and commas; in Spanish a comma marks the decimal point and a period marks off each group of three numbers.

Number Table

Digit	Teens	Tens	Hundreds
0 — cero	10 — diez
1 — uno, -a	11 — once	20 — veinte	100 — cien(to)
2 — dos	12 — doce	30 — treinta	200 — doscientos, -as
3 — tres	13 — trece	40 — cuarenta	300 — trescientos, -as
4 — cuatro	14 — catorce	50 — cincuenta	400 — cuatrocientos, -as
5 — cinco	15 — quince	60 — sesenta	500 — quinientos, -as
6 — seis	16 — dieciséis	70 — setenta	600 — seiscientos, -as
7 — siete	17 — diecisiete	80 — ochenta	700 — setecientos, -as
8 — ocho	18 — dieciocho	90 — noventa	800 — ochocientos, -as
9 — nueve	19 — diecinueve		900 — novecientos, -as
			1000 — mil
			10,000 — diez mil
			100,000 — cien mil
			1,000,000 — un millón

Notes on numbers:

The final -e of veinte drops when a unit number follows: veintitrés.
The -ie- of siete and the -ue- of nueve become -e- and -o- in numerical multiples: setenta, setecientos; noventa, novecientos.
The form ciento appears only with following tens and/or units; alone before a noun it is shortened to cien.
The form quinientos is out of the pattern.
The only number forms which inflect for gender are uno, -a (alone or in compounds) and the plurals …cientos, -as.
The form millón is a noun; all other numerals are adjectives.

Days of the week: lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo

The days of the week are all masculine nouns and regularly occur with the definite article. The combination of article and noun translates ‘on ___’: Viene el martes ‘He’s coming on Tuesday.’ Only sábado and domingo have regularly inflected plural forms: sábados, domingos.

Months of the year: enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre

The months are also masculine nouns. They never appear with articles, however.

Arithmetic Drill

Problem	Answer
3 + 6 = 9	Tres más seis son nueve.
12 − 4 = 8	Doce menos cuatro son ocho.
6 × 3 = 18	Seis multiplicado por tres son dieciocho.
10 ÷ 2 = 5	Diez dividido por dos son cinco.
25 + 3 = 28	Veinticinco más tres son veintiocho.
13 − 2 = 11	Trece menos dos son once.
15 × 3 = 45	Quince multiplicado por tres son cuarenta y cinco.
18 ÷ 6 = 3	Dieciocho dividido por seis son tres.
3 + 4 = 7	Tres más cuatro son siete.
1 − 1 = 0	Uno menos uno es cero.
7 × 3 = 21	Siete multiplicado por tres son veintiuno.
50 ÷ 10 = 5	Cincuenta dividido por diez son cinco.

32.21.2 Some Semantic Correlations: saber / conocer and pedir / preguntar

The range of meaning of the English verb ‘to know’ covers what are considered two distinct concepts in Spanish: conocer is often equated with ‘be acquainted with’ while saber is confined to a knowledge of factual information. Also, saber has the additional meaning of ‘to know how to’: Sabe jugar tenis muy bien translates ‘He knows how to play tennis very well.’ In past I, both concepts have the meaning ‘began to know,’ so that supo usually means ‘learned’ and conoció, ‘met.’

There is a similar overlap with preguntar and pedir. To ask for information the verb preguntar is used, but to ask for results, pedir is used.

Concept	”to know"	"to ask”
facts / information	saber	preguntar
people / places / results	conocer	pedir

Translation Drill — saber vs. conocer

English	Spanish
I don’t know Mr. Molina.	No conozco al señor Molina.
I don’t know where he lives.	No sé dónde vive.
He doesn’t know the names of the students.	El no sabe los nombres de los estudiantes.
He doesn’t know them (the students) very well.	No los conoce muy bien.
They don’t know how to go downtown.	Ellos no saben ir al centro.
They don’t know the downtown (section).	Ellos no conocen el centro.
We don’t know that building.	No conocemos ese edificio.
We don’t know where it is.	No sabemos donde está.
He knew my daughter very well.	Conocía muy bien a mi hija.
He knew where she was working too.	Sabía dónde trabajaba también.
We don’t know anything.	No sabemos nada.
We don’t know anybody.	No conocemos a nadie.

Translation Drill — pedir vs. preguntar

English	Spanish
I asked how much a coffee cost.	Pregunté cuánto costaba un café.
I asked for a coffee.	Pedí un café.
They never ask for anything.	Ellos nunca piden nada.
They never ask anything.	Ellos nunca preguntan nada.
He asked me the time.	El me preguntó la hora.
Then he asked a favor of me.	Después me pidió un favor.
I asked for the information that you wanted.	Pedí la información que quería.
But I didn’t ask the prices.	Pero no pregunté los precios.
That gentleman’s asking him something.	Ese señor le está preguntando algo.
That gentleman’s asking him for something.	Ese señor le está pidiendo algo.

32.23 Variation Drills

A. Como en 1900.

English	Spanish
About in 1903.	Como en mil novecientos tres.
About in 1909.	Como en mil novecientos nueve.
About in 1920.	Como en mil novecientos veinte.
About in 1925.	Como en mil novecientos veinticinco.
About in 1833.	Como en mil ochocientos treinta y tres.
About in 1746.	Como en mil setecientos cuarenta y seis.
About in 1574.	Como en mil quinientos setenta y cuatro.

B. No me extraña que no quiera irse a la ciudad.

English	Spanish
It doesn’t surprise me that you don’t want to go to the country.	No me extraña que no quiera irse al campo.
It doesn’t surprise me that you don’t want to move.	No me extraña que no quiera mudarse de casa.
It doesn’t surprise me that you don’t want to remain a bachelor.	No me extraña que no quiera quedarse soltero.
It doesn’t surprise me that you don’t want to promise yet.	No me extraña que no quiera comprometerse todavía.
It doesn’t surprise me that you don’t want to forget that.	No me extraña que no quiera olvidarse de eso.
It doesn’t surprise me that you want to complain.	No me extraña que quiera quejarse.
It doesn’t surprise me that you want to go away.	No me extraña que quiera marcharse.

C. Yo encuentro que lo mejor es el jardín.

English	Spanish
I find the best thing is the fish.	Yo encuentro que lo mejor es el pescado.
I find the best thing is the food.	Yo encuentro que lo mejor es la comida.
I find the best thing is the meat.	Yo encuentro que lo mejor es la carne.
I find the best thing is the green vegetable.	Yo encuentro que lo mejor es la verdura.
I find the worst thing is the market.	Yo encuentro que lo peor es el mercado.
I find the worst thing is the headache.	Yo encuentro que lo peor es el dolor de cabeza.
I find the worst thing is this section of town.	Yo encuentro que lo peor es este barrio.

D. Cambiando de tema, les voy a pedir un favor.

English	Spanish
Changing the subject, I’m going to ask you for the total.	Cambiando de tema, les voy a pedir el total.
Changing the subject, I’m going to ask you for the list.	Cambiando de tema, les voy a pedir la lista.
Changing the subject, I’m going to give you the information.	Cambiando de tema, les voy a dar la información.
At least, I’m going to give you an excuse.	Por lo menos, les voy a dar un pretexto.
At least, I’m going to accept the certificate from you.	Por lo menos, les voy a aceptar el certificado.
By the way, I’m going to tell you the truth.	A propósito, les voy a decir la verdad.
By the way, I’m going to give you permission.	A propósito, les voy a dar el permiso.

E. No sé. Pregúntaselo a Carmen.

English	Spanish
I don’t know. Ask her about it.	No sé. Pregúntaselo a ella.
I don’t know. Tell her about it.	No sé. Díselo a ella.
I don’t know. Serve it to Mary.	No sé. Sírveselo a María.
I don’t know. Take it to Carmen.	No sé. Llévaselo a Carmen.
I don’t know. Let the boss know about it.	No sé. Avísaselo al jefe.
I don’t know. Tell it to some other person.	No sé. Cuéntaselo a otra persona.
I don’t know. Sell it to someone else.	No sé. Véndeselo a otro.

F. Entonces, ven con nosotros.

English	Spanish
Well, come with me.	Entonces, ven conmigo.
Well, come with her.	Entonces, ven con ella.
Well, hurry up.	Entonces, date prisa.
Well, leave right away.	Entonces, sal pronto.
Well, walk then.	Entonces, anda luego.
Well, be punctual.	Entonces, sé puntual.
Well, do what I told you.	Entonces, haz lo que te dije.

32.24 Review Drills

32.24.1 Strong Stress as a Function Differentiator: 1 sg Present vs. 2-3 sg Past I

English	Spanish
I speak because you spoke.	Hablo porque Ud. habló.
I help because you helped.	Ayudo porque Ud. ayudó.
I study because you studied.	Estudio porque Ud. estudió.
I call because you called.	Llamo porque Ud. llamó.
I pay because you paid.	Pago porque Ud. pagó.
I sing because you sang.	Canto porque Ud. cantó.
I work because you worked.	Trabajo porque Ud. trabajó.
I cook because you cooked.	Cocino porque Ud. cocinó.
I ask because you asked.	Pregunto porque Ud. preguntó.
I drive because you drove.	Manejo porque Ud. manejó.
I enter because you entered.	Entro porque Ud. entró.

32.24.2 Strong Stress as a Function Differentiator: sg Command vs. 1 sg Past I

English	Spanish
Study like I studied.	Estudie como yo estudié.
Call like I called.	Llame como yo llamé.
Drive like I drove.	Maneje como yo manejé.
Sing like I sang.	Cante como yo canté.
Speak like I spoke.	Hable como yo hablé.
Come down like I came down.	Baje como yo bajé.
Sign like I signed.	Firme como yo firmé.
Dance like I danced.	Baile como yo bailé.
Teach like I taught.	Enseñe como yo enseñé.
Help like I helped.	Ayude como yo ayudé.
Ask like I asked.	Pregunte como yo pregunté.

Note: The full drills (including replacement drills, counting drills, and conversation stimulus sections) are designed for oral work with audio. Open the Student Text PDF for complete drill sets.

A Conversation After Dinner

Grammar Focus

Reading Selections

Course Material