Spanish II Country Project

Country Project
Project explanation:
•    The entire project must be in Spanish (points will be deducted for anything in English).
•    There are three elements to your project: essay, visual, and presentation.
•    The essay must be three pages, Times New Roman size 12, double-spaced in MLA format.
•    There must be a bibliography accompanying the essay, with all sources cited in MLA format.
•    The essay must contain the following:
•    name of the country in Spanish
•    capital
•    explanation of 3 holidays celebrated in that country
•    approximate population
•    5 geographical features and what makes them important
•    explanation of 10 cultural facts/events
•    explanation of 3 historical facts/events
•    2 famous people from that country with an explanation of why they are/were important
•    any other languages spoken in that country (every country speaks more than just Spanish!)
•    The visual must contain the following:
•    name of the country (in Spanish)
•    map of country
•    capital (in Spanish) located on the map
•    approximate population
•    5 geographical features identified on the map
•    The presentation may be done in English, and must be done on the date assigned; you will present everything you’ve done in the project

Project due date:
•    The project is due on: __________________________
•    Everyone must turn in the project on the due date, and assume that you will be presenting on that date.  If project presentations run beyond our normal class time, we will extend presentations into the next class.
•    A project not turned in on the due date will get a 10 point deduction per day it is late.
•    If you are absent on the due date, you must turn it in on the next day you are in school, regardless of whether it’s a Green or White day.  I can easily check this in Web2School.  If you do not turn the project in on the next day you are in school, it will begin accruing 10-point deductions.
•    If you are tardy to school, you must turn in the project when you arrive at school.  I can check your attendance in Web2School.  If you do not turn the project in upon arrival at school, it will begin accruing 10-point deductions.

Grading deductions:
•    As noted above, there will be a 10 point deduction for every day the project is late.
•    Do not translate your work!  It will be very obvious to me if you use a translator, as we have not learned all of the verb tenses.  There is an automatic 15-point deduction for the use of a translator at any point in your essay.  Do not try to say anything beyond your ability level in this class; stick to the present, preterite, imperfect, and future tenses.
•    Dictionaries are fine to use, but be sure to use it correctly.  See Ms. Schreiber if you need an explanation.

First draft:
•    If you wish to turn in a first draft to be analyzed by Ms. Schreiber, you need to do this by: __________________________.  It will be handed back at the next class.

Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns

We know that the subject of the sentence is the person or the thing that does the action, and that the verb is the action.  Now we’re going to discuss direct objects and indirect objects, and how to make them into pronouns.

First, a pronoun simply replaces a noun.  For example, I could change the sentence “I read a book” to “I read it.”  “It” is the pronoun that replaced “a book.”

The direct object in a sentence answers the questions “Who?” or “What?” (but they ARE NOT the subjects of the sentence!).  A direct object can be either a person or a thing.  For example, in “I have a friend,” the direct object is “a friend”; in “I read a book,” the direct object is “a book.”

To make a direct object a pronoun in Spanish, I replace it with one of the following:

me (me)……………………….nos (us)

te (you)………………………..os (you guys)

lo (him, it)/la (her, it)…..los/las (them, you plural)

If the direct object is not referring to me, you, or us, we can narrow it down to lo, la, los, or las.  Then you can narrow it down depending on the number and gender of the direct object.  Use the following examples.  (We will discuss putting them in a sentence later.)

el libro = lo

las hermanas = las

la clase = la

The indirect object in a sentence answers the questions “To whom?” or “For whom?”  This means that the indirect object is a person or something with personality.  For example, in the sentence “I throw a party for Bob,” the indirect object is “for Bob.”

To make an indirect object a pronoun in Spanish, replace it with one of the following:

me (to/for me)………………..nos (to/for us)

te (to/for you)………………….os (to/for you guys)

le (to/for him/her)……………les (to/for them/you plural)

Most of the times, the indirect object pronoun will be present in the sentence.  Also, when there is an indirect object, there is almost always a direct object as well.

Rule: if both of your pronouns start with l, then le or les becomes se.

In a normal sentence, the word order is: Subject + verb + direct object + indirect object.  However, when you replace direct and indirect objects with a pronoun, the word order changes: Subject + indirect object pronoun + direct object pronoun + verb.

Use the following examples, where I replace direct and indirect objects with pronouns and rewrite the sentences.

Yo leo el libro.

Yo lo leo.

Tú le escribes una carta a tu madre.

Tú se la escribes.  (Notice that le was already present referring to a tu madre, but because una carta becomes la, I had to change le to se)

Paco me da una fiesta.

Paco me la da.

El profesor nos da un examen.

El profesor nos lo da.

Irregular future tense

We’ve already learned the regular future tense; now we will learn the irregular future tense.  Just like the name sounds, the future tense tells us what will happen in the future.  The translation of these verbs would be “will (verb).”

The irregular verbs share the same endings as the regular verbs, and are as follows:

yo -é………………………..nosotros -emos

tú -ás……………………….(vosotros -éis)

él/ella/Ud. -á………….ellos/ellas/Uds. -án

However, unlike the regular verbs, we cannot just add an ending on.  We have to change the original verb to find a new stem, then add the appropriate ending.  There are 9 irregular verbs, and are as follows (with the original, the definition, and the new stem):

poner (to put)………….pondr-

salir (to leave)………….saldr-

venir (to come)………..vendr-

tener (to have)………..tendr-

poder (to be able)…….podr-

querer (to want)………querr-

saber (to know)……….sabr-

hacer (to make/do)….har-

decir (to say)……………dir-

With the verbs highlighted in red, you replace the e or i of the ending with d. With the verbs highlighted in green, you drop the e of the ending.  With the verbs highlighted in blue, you drop the c and e in the verbs.  It is onto these new stems that you add the future endings.

Use the following sentences as examples:

El mozo me pondrá el equipaje en el cuarto.  The bellhop will put the luggage in the room for me.

Tendré que llenar una ficha.  I will have to fill out a registration card.

Vendremos mañana.  We will come tomorrow.

¿Podrás venir a la fiesta?  Will you be able to come to the party?

Future tense

Just like the name sounds, the future tense tells us what will happen in the future.  The translation of these verbs would be “will (verb).”

The formation of the future tense is very simple.  There are only 9 irregular verbs (which we will discuss in another forum), and all verbs (-ar, -er, and -ir) share the same endings.

To form the future tense, you keep the verb infinitive (meaning, you do not drop anything first), and then add on the correct ending for the given subject.  The endings are as follows:

yo -é………………………..nosotros -emos

tú -ás……………………….(vosotros -éis)

él/ella/Ud. -á………….ellos/ellas/Uds. -án

Use the following examples to help you out.  Just remember: DO NOT DROP AN ENDING FIRST!

Yo hablaré con ella más tarde.  I will talk to her later.

Ellos irán a la escuela mañana.  They will go to school tomorrow.

¿Verás arte en tu visita al museo?  Will you see art during your visit to the museum?

Nosotros compraremos una soda en el tren.  We will buy a soda on the train.

aburrir, interesar, gustar

First, you need to know indirect object pronouns, which answer the questions “To whom?” and “For whom?”  In the case of these three verbs, they answer to whom the thing is boring, interesting, or pleasing.

The indirect object pronouns are:

me…………nos

te

le………….. les

If the question has te, the answer will have me (and vice versa).  If the question has les in reference to Uds., the answer will have nos.  Anything else will stay the same.  These pronouns are placed directly before the verb.

The two most common conjugations of aburrir (to bore) are aburre (for singular things) and aburren (for plural things).  You make the verb agree with the thing that bores, not with whom it bores.  Most of the time, you will not have the change the verb in the question when you answer, because you are referring to the same thing as in the question.

The two most common conjugations of interesar (to interest) are interesa (for singular things) and interesan (for plural things).  Like aburrir, you make the verb agree with the thing that interests, not with whom it interests.  Most of the time, you will not have the change the verb in the question when you answer.

Gustar literally means “to be pleasing.”  In English, we say “I like Spanish,” but in Spanish, we say “Spanish pleases me.”  The most common conjugations are gusta (for singular things) and gustan (for plural things).  Unlike English, you make the verb agree with the thing that pleases, not with whom it pleases.  Most of the time, you will not have the change the verb in the question when you answer.

This sounds difficult in theory, but the practice is easy.  Just look:

Q: ¿Te gusta el béisbol?

A: Me gusta el béisbol.

——————————————–

Q: ¿Te interesan las matemáticas?

A: Sí, me interesan.

——————————————–

Q: ¿Te interesa la historia?

A: No, me aburre la historia. (Different verb because you are disagreeing, but the same conjugation- él, ella, Ud.)

e–>ie and o–>ue stem-change verbs

When you have a stem-changing verb (i.e. querer, perder, volver, devolver, morir, dormir) you change the e to ie or o to ue in the yo, tú, él, ella, Ud, ellos, ellas, and Uds. forms.  Nosotros and vosotros do not get a stem change.  The verb keeps the same ending as normal -ar, -er, or -ir verbs.  (When you put the verbs in a verb chart, there is a boot shape around the subjects that get a stem change!)  Examples (note that jugar is a u–>ue stem-change):

perder (e–>ie)

yo pierdo……………………nosotros perdemos

tú pierdes…………………..(vosotros perdéis)

él/ella/Ud. pierde………..ellos/ellas/Uds. pierden

jugar (u–>ue)

yo juego…………………….nosotros jugamos

tú juegas……………………(vosotros jugáis)

él/ella/Ud. juega…………ellos/ellas/Uds. juegan

dormir (o–ue)

yo duermo………………….nosotros dormimos

tú duermes…………………(vosotros dormís)

él/ella/Ud. duerme………ellos/ellas/Uds. duermen

Can you see the imaginary boot around the forms that have a stem change?

Remember: when you ask with the Uds. form, you answer with Nosotros, but you have to take out the stem change!!!

3/23 Homework

Spanish I- Wkbk. pp. 71-72

Spanish II- Study for Chapter 3 Test

Spanish III- Study for 3.3 Test

3/22 Homework

Spanish I- Wkbk. pp. 71-72

Spanish II- Study for Chapter 3 Test

3/19 Homework

Spanish I- nada

Spanish II- Wkbk. pp. 27-28 Exercises C-E

Spanish III- Wkbk. pg. 49

3/18 Homework

Spanish I- Bring notes for quiz over famous people

Spanish II- Wkbk. pp. 26-27 Exercises A and B

Spanish III- Wkbk. pg. 48

3/17 Homework

Spanish I- Bring notes for a quiz over the famous people

Spanish II- Wkbk. pp. 27-28 Exercises C-E (Green 4 only)

Imperfect tense

We’ve already learned the preterite tense (one of the past tenses).  The preterite indicates that an action began and ended at a specific time in the past, and that it happened only once.

The imperfect, on the other hand, indicates that an action was repeated or habitual in the past.  It is also used for any kind of description in the past (appearance, age, weather, time, condition, mood, health, etc.).

The formation of the imperfect is very simple.  All -ar verbs follow the same pattern; there are no irregulars.  The following are the verb endings for all -ar verbs:

yo -aba………………………….nosotros -ábamos

tú -abas…………………………(vosotros -abais)

él/ella/Ud. -aba…………….ellos/ellas/Uds. -aban

The following are the verb endings for all but two -er or -ir verbs (we will discuss the other two in a moment):

yo -ía……………………………..nosotros -íamos

tú -ías…………………………….(vosotros -íais)

él/ella/Ud. -ía……………….ellos/ellas/Uds. -ían

There are only two irregular verbs in the imperfect: ser and estar.

ser

yo era………………………..nosotros éramos

tú eras……………………….(vosotros erais)

él/ella/Ud. era…………..ellos/ellas/Uds. eran

ir

yo iba………………………..nosotros íbamos

tú ibas……………………….(vosotros ibais)

él/ella/Ud. iba………….ellos/ellas/Uds. iban

The verb ver is also slightly irregular.  It takes on the normal -er/-ir verb endings, but you do not drop the “e” from the ending.  Its forms, therefore, are:

yo veía……………………….nosotros veíamos

tú veías………………………(vosotros veíais)

él/ella/Ud. veía………….ellos/ellas/Uds. veían

Although it’s called the imperfect tense, it’s so easy that I would have to call it “perfect”!

Here are some example sentences:

Yo escuchaba a la maestra. I listened to the teacher.

¿Escribían Uds. ensayos en español? Did you guys write essays in Spanish?

No, escribíamos ensayos en inglés. No, we wrote essays in English.

Ella quería un helado. She wanted an ice cream.

Mi madre trabajaba en Bangor por 15 años. My mother worked in Bangor for 15 years.

3/16 Homework

Spanish I- Continue work on famous person project (due Thursday)

Spanish II- Study for Chapter 3 Vocabulary Quiz

Spanish III- Wkbk. pg. 47

3/15 Homework

Spanish I- None

Spanish II- Wkbk. pp. 26-27 Exercises A & B

3/11 Homework

Spanish I- Continue work on famous person project (due Monday 3/15)

Spanish II- Study for Chapter 3 Vocabulary Quiz

Green 4- Rewrite essay; final draft due Monday 3/15

3/10 Homework

Spanish I- Continue work on famous person project

Spanish II- Wkbk. pp. 24-25

Spanish III- nada

3/9 Homework

Spanish I- Continue work on famous person project

Spanish II- Wkbk. pp. 24-25

3/3 Homework

Spanish I- Rewrite essays

Spanish II- G1- Rewrite essays; G4- Write 100+ word essay (see worksheet)

3/2 Homework

Spanish I- Rewrite essays

Spanish II- Rewrite essays

Spanish III- Wkbk. pg. 46

3/1 Homework

Spanish I- Write 50+ word essay about yourself

Spanish II- Wkbk. pp. 19-21