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This learn Spanish post is about the use of “vos,” which you may have heard of. It’s most commonly heard of and used in Argentina. Just like English has its different variations as used in the United States, England, Australia, etc., Spanish also is spoken differently throughout the various Spanish-speaking countries around the world. The singular subject pronoun for “you” in Spanish is “tú” and “usted,” the informal and formal subject pronouns for you, respectively.

However, if you go to Argentina, rather than “tú,” you will often hear “vos.” It’s commonly used in other Latin America countries, such as Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

In Argentina, verbs in the “vos” form are conjugated in the following way:

Rule 1 - stem changing verbs do not undergo the stem-change with Vos:

For example, using tú, the Spanish verb poder would be conjugated as “puedes.” But using vos, it is “podés.”

Rule 2 - add an accent over the “a,” “e” or “i.” For example:

Vos hablás (hablar - to speak). Vos comés (comer - to eat). Vos dormís (dormir - to sleep).

Rule 3 - the Spanish verb Ser is conjugated using vos with “sos.”

E.g., Vos sos muy buena persona (You are a very good person), whereas using “tú,” it would be Tú eres muy buena persona.

Rule 4 - commands using Vos are the same as using Tú, except you add an accent on the “a,” “e,” or “i.” See below for commands with irregular verbs:

Verb Tú Vos

Ser Se Sé
Ir Ve Andá
Hablar Habla Hablá
Comer Come Comé
Dormir Duerme Dormí
Venir Ven Vení
Poner Pon Poné
Salir Sal Salí
Tener Ten Tené
Decir Di Decí
Pedir Pide Pedí

For more info on Vos, check out Wikipedia.

New students to the Spanish language often find a bit of initial difficulty with verbs like Gustar, which literally means “to give pleasure,” but is actually translated as “to like” something. In Spanish, to say that you like something, you really end up writing it as if you were saying that something gives you pleasure. For example:

Me gusta jugar al tenis. (I like to play tennis, but literally translated as, “Playing tennis gives me pleasure.”).

Les gustan las películas a ellos. (They like movies, but literally translated as, “Movies give them pleasure.”).

So as you can see, you are not going to conjugate the verb gustar as you normally would. For example, this is wrong: Gusto jugar al tenis. Verbs like Gustar are always conjugated in the third-person singular or plural form depending on the “thing” or “things” giving pleasure to someone.

Now here’s the common mistake that many Spanish-learning students will make after learning this. Many will use the infinitive form of verbs like gustar the wrong way. Here’s an example of the right and wrong way to say, “You’re going to like the movie”:

The wrong way:

Vas a gustar la película.

The right way:

Te va a gustar la película (or) Va a gustarte la película.

Remember, in Spanish, a verb like gustar is actually used to convey an action happening to someone, not someone conveying the action themselves.

So looking at the right way, the literal translation would be, “The movie is going to pleasure you.” Te represents the indirect object; Va a represents the action of the movie (The movie is going to …); gustar representes the infinitive verb following the use of “IR;” and so you end up with, “The movie is going to give pleasure to you,” or commonly translated as, “You’re going to like the movie.”
Let’s take a look at another example, this time using the third-person plural format: “We are going to like all three cities.”

The wrong way:

Vamos a gustar las tres ciudades.

The right way:

Nos van a gustar las tres ciudades (or) Van a gustarnos las tres ciudades.
The nos represents the indirect object. Van a represents the action that “las tres ciudades” take (going to); and gustar represents the infinitive verb to give pleasure. Thus, the three cities are going to give us pleasure, or more commonly translated as “We are going to like the three cities.”

Hope this helps!

The Spanish verbs Quedar and Quedarse (reflexive) have different meanings and uses. Let’s take a look at them:

Quedar: to remain
1. Yo fui al kiosco, pero no quedaba Coca-Cola. I went to the kiosk, but there wasn’t any Coca-Cola left.

In this sense, the Spanish verb Quedar is used to describe what is remaining or left.

2. Son las dos y cuarto, nos quedan cuarenta minutos de clase. It’s 2:15m, we have 40 minutes of class remaining.

Again, Quedar is used in this sense to describe what is remaining.

3. Mi casa queda en el centro, al final de la calle Oakwood. My house is in downtown, at the end of Oakwood Street.

In this sense, the Spanish verb Quedar is used to describe location, where something is.

4. Mi amigo y yo quedamos a las cinco y media en el parque. My friend and I agree (or make plans) to meet up at the park at 5:30.

In this sense, Quedar is used to express an agreement to meet with another, or in other words, make plans to meet up.

Quedarse (to remain, stay; synonymous with the Spanish verb Permanecer)

1. Ella se quedó en casa en lugar de ir a la clase . She stayed home instead of going to class.

Quedarse is used to describe the idea of staying somewhere or remaining in a particular condition. More examples:

Me quedo triste. I remain sad.

Si quieres ir al cine, prefiero quedarme en casa. If you want to go to the movies, I prefer to stay home.

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Two common Spanish verbs that can mean “to take” are Tomar and Llevar. However, these two Spanish verbs aren’t used interchangeably. Note that Tomar can also mean to drink (tomar vino - to drink wine) and Llevar can also mean to wear (llevar ropa - to wear clothes).
When you think of the Spanish verb Tomar, think of using something. And when you think of the Spanish verb Llevar, think of carrying something. Let’s go over some example to help you understand what I mean.

tomar el autobus - to take the bus (Tomo el autobus cada viernes - I take the bus every Friday)
tomar una ducha - to take a shower (No quiere tomar una ducha - He doesn’t want to take a shower). ** Note that ducharse also means to take a shower.
tomar pastillas - to take pills (Necesito tomar mis pastillas - I need to take my pills)
tomar tiempo - to take time (Tú tomas demasiado tiempo - You take too much time).
Did you notice that in each of these examples of using Tomar to express “to take” the underlying idea is to use something.

llevar los hijos - to take the kids (Voy a llevar a mis hijos afuera - I’m going to take my kids outside)
llevar el radio - to take the radio (Lleva el radio contigo - Take the radio with you)

As you can see in these two examples of using Llevar to say “to take” the underlying idea is carrying something physically.

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Many Spanish students are dumbfounded when they find out that Spanish doesn’t have a single word to mean “become” as it is in English. Check out these two examples:
1. I become frustrated when I don’t know how to do something.
2. I want to become a doctor.

In English, it’s nice and simple. But in Spanish it’s different!

1. Me frustro cuando no sé hacer algo. (I become frustrated when I don’t know how to do something). Note that the literal translation is “I frustrated myself …”

2. Quiero ser doctor. (I want to become a doctor). Note that the literal translation is “I want to be a doctor.”

The point I’m trying to make is that there isn’t one single way to say “become” in Spanish. Here are three common ways:

Ponerse - Me pongo triste cuando te veo así. I become sad when I see you like this.

Hacerse - Te haces frustrado cada día. You become frustrated (you make yourself frustrated) every day.

Volverse (used more for something that take a long time to accomplish) - Él se volvío un autor famoso. He became a famous author.

Many Spanish verbs when turned reflexive carry the meaning of “become.”

Compare:

Me pongo frustrado cada día. I become frustrated every day.
Me frustro (the verb frustrar) cada día. I become frustrated every day.

Other verbs that follow this pattern:

enojar (to anger)
alegrar (to make happy)

There are other verbs that essentially mean to convert or transform into something:

convertirse
transformarse

Don’t be surprised if you come across other verbs or ways to say “become” in Spanish!

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Today we’re going to analyze a few paragraphs in Spanish from an article published on BBC Mundo about the invention of the radio.

“En efecto, entusiastas de la nueva tecnología pusieron presión y el 14 de noviembre de 1921 se inauguró el primer servicio diario de radio en Inglaterra.

La radio capturó la imaginación del público y se convirtió en un fenómeno social y cultural.

El rey Jorge V fue uno de los primeros en hacer uso de ella, el 23 de abril de 1924, con ocasión de la apertura de la primera exhibición en el estadio Wembley Empire.”

First, let’s point out some useful vocabulary:

En efecto means “In fact, indeed, really.”
La entusiasta means “fan, lover”
La tecnología means “technology.”
Poner is a verb that means “to put, place.”
Inaugurar is a verb that means “to inaugurate.”
Diario means “daily.”
Inglaterra means “England” in Spanish.
Capturar means “to capture.”
La imaginación means “imagination.”
Convertir means to convert, and when it’s reflexive like convertirse it means to convert itself or to become.
El rey means “king.”
La apertura means “the opening.”
El estadio means “stadium.”

Let’s now translate the first sentence from Spanish to English: “En efecto, entusiastas de la nueva tecnología pusieron presión y el 14 de noviembre de 1921 se inauguró el primer servicio diario de radio en Inglaterra.”

In fact, fans of the new technology placed pressure, and on November 14, 1921, the first daily radio service in England was inaugurated.

Notice that the verb Poner was conjugated in the preterit and not in the imperfect tense because the action of putting pressure was completed in a specific time frame. Here’s another Spanish grammar lesson we can come away with here. In Spanish, the most common way of writing in the passive form is to place “se” in front of the verb. Now remember “sé” with an accent mark is the first person conjugation for the Spanish verb Saber, and “se” can also be the reflexive direct object pronoun or even the conversion of “le/les” into “se” when “le/les” is placed in front of the direct object prounouns “lo/la/los/las.” But here, in this example, “se inauguró,” (also conjugated in the preterit) was written in the passive form to mean - was inaugurated. And it was writteen passively because the author doesn’t define who inaugurated the first daily radio service in England.

Let’s translate the next sentence from Spanish to English. “La radio capturó la imaginación del público y se convirtió en un fenómeno social y cultural.”

Radio captured the imagination of the public and became a social and cultural phenomenon.

Again, the Spanish verb Capturar was conjugated in the preterit. Also note that you can translate “se convirtió” (also in the preterit) as “converted itself” or “became.” Also let’s note how the two adjectives describing “fenómeno” followed this noun rather than preceded it.

Finally, the last translation from Spanish to English: “El rey Jorge V fue uno de los primeros en hacer uso de ella, el 23 de abril de 1924, con ocasión de la apertura de la primera exhibición en el estadio Wembley Empire.”

King George V was one of the firsts to make use of it, the 23rd of April, 1924, with the opportunity of the opening of the first exhibition in the Wembley Empire stadium.

Okay, maybe you’re wondering why “fue” was used (the preterit) instead of “era” (the imperfect), right? Well, take this into account - the purpose of this sentence was not to give a description of something in the past, but rather, to express an action that occurred at a specific point in time in the past.

If you have any Spanish grammar questions related to this post, please leave a comment and I’ll do my best to explain, otherwise, review Spanish grammar rules here.

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Technorati Tags: spanish, spanish verbs, spanish verb saber, spanish verb conocer

In Spanish, there are two different verbs that mean: to know - Saber and Conocer. So the critical question becomes when do you use Saber and when do you use Conocer, because these two verbs aren’t synomyms.

Saber:

The Spanish verb Saber is used to express knowledge of information, facts and the ability to do something. For example:

Yo sé la verdad. (I know the truth.)
Nosotros sabemos cuantas personas viven en México. (We know how many people live in Mexico).
Tú sabes bailar bien. (You know how to dance well).

Conocer:

Now the Spanish verb Conocer means to know people, being familiar with places or something, and it also means to meet (as in to meet someone). For example:

Yo conozco a Edmundo. (I know Edmundo).
Ellos conocen Paris bien. (They know Paris well (or They are familiar with Paris well, or They know pretty well what Paris is like).
Ayer, mi madre conocío a mi novia. (Yesterday, my mom met my girlfriend).
¿Te gustaría conocer España? (Would you like to get to know Spain?)
¿Conoces el restaurante cerca de mi casa? (Do you know (have you been there before) near my house?)
For example, you might know the population, weather and budget deficit of a country - in this case you use the Spanish verb Saber. However, if you actually visited this country and been there, then you can say you know it and use Conocer.

Click here to learn more Spanish grammar!

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A common mistake Spanish learners make when speaking Spanish is directly translating what they would say in English into what they want to say in Spanish. And one of the most common mistakes I see is when Spanish learners want to express: it’s me/you/him/her/us/you all/ them.

The common error I see is the following:

Es tú que tiene que prestar atención. (Literal translation: It is you that has to pay attention).

However, this is incorrect. It makes sense why one would translate “it’s you” this way, because we have learned that “es” means it is. But here are the correct translations when you want to express “its (somebody).”

Soy yo (it’s me)
Eres tú (it’s you)
Es él/ella/usted (it’s him/her/you)
Somos nosotros (it’s us)
Son ellos/ellas/ustedes (it’s them/you all)
So the sentence above that is incorrect should be written like this:

Eres tú que tiene que prestar atención.

Note: the verb following “it’s you” is always conjugated in the 3rd person singular (tiene) because it corresponds with the subject pronoun “it.”

I wanted to make a quick note about the verb Saber, which means to know, but to know in terms of knowing information or knowing how to do something — as opposed to the verb Conocer, which means to know also, but in terms of being familiar with a place, or knowing a person, or meeting a person (Yo conocí a mi novia en 2004 - I met my girlfriend in 2004).Regarding Saber, when an infinitive follows it, it turns the meaning into “know how to ___.” Essentially, you don’t need to add “cómo” to the sentence to say “how.” For example:

Yo sé jugar al tenis muy bien. I know how to play tennis very well.
Nosotros sabemos hablar español. We know how to speak Spanish.

A common MISTAKE that I see frequently is the use of cómo between the two verbs (saber + infinitive), like this — Yo sé cómo jugar al tenis. This is INCORRECT.

Here is the rule:

Saber + infinitive = to know how to do something

But don’t get me wrong, you can attach “cómo” after Saber, but for a different purpose. For example:

¡No sé cómo tú comiste el plato todo! I don’t know how you ate the whole plate!

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