Lesson 1.1 · Unit 1 · Structures
The yo form is the key
Third-year Spanish begins by checking the tool you will use most. Every present-tense form you wrote in the first two years is about to matter again, because the present subjunctive you learn in unit 2 is built from one form only: the yo form of the present tense. A student who knows that form cold will learn the new mood in a week, and a student who guesses it will lose marks for the whole year. This lesson reviews the present tense with that purpose.
- Regular endings. -ar: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -an. -er: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -en. -ir: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -en. Hablo, comes, vive, escribimos, beben.
- Boot verbs change in four forms. e → ie (pensar), o → ue (poder), e → i (pedir). The change shows in yo, tú, él, ellos and not in nosotros: pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, piensan.
- Go verbs. tener → tengo, venir → vengo, poner → pongo, salir → salgo, hacer → hago, decir → digo, traer → traigo, oír → oigo. The rest of the verb is regular or a boot.
- Other odd yo forms. saber → sé, conocer → conozco, ver → veo, dar → doy, ir → voy, ser → soy, estar → estoy.
- Spelling in the yo form. escoger → escojo, seguir → sigo, construir → construyo, dirigir → dirijo. The sound stays the same, so the spelling changes.
- Uses. The present tells what is true now, what happens regularly, and what is planned soon: Estudio español. Viajo a Chile en julio.
- Hace plus time. Hace tres años que estudio español means "I have been studying Spanish for three years." The verb stays in the present.
- Why the yo form matters. In unit 2 you will drop the -o from tengo, hago, salgo, pienso and add new endings. Learn the yo form of every verb as its own word.
Where students lose marks: Boots in nosotros (pienso is right, pensamos is right, pienzamos is not a word), a regular form for a go verb (tieno for tengo), and forgetting the personal a before a specific person. Write the yo form first, then build the others from it.
The problem. Write six sentences: (1) I do my homework and I put it in my backpack. (2) She prefers tea, but we prefer coffee. (3) I go out on Fridays and I call my friends. (4) They sleep eight hours, but I sleep six. (5) I know the city and I see the park from my window. (6) You (informal) are tired, but she is happy.
Step one: sentence 1. Hacer and poner are go verbs: Hago mi tarea y la pongo en mi mochila.
Step two: sentence 2. Preferir is a boot in ella and not in nosotros: Ella prefiere el té, pero nosotros preferimos el café.
Step three: sentence 3. Salir has the go form: Salgo los viernes y llamo a mis amigos.
Step four: sentence 4. Dormir is a boot in ellos and in yo: Ellos duermen ocho horas, pero yo duermo seis.
Step five: sentence 5. Conocer and ver have odd yo forms: Conozco la ciudad y veo el parque desde mi ventana.
Step six: sentence 6. Estar for a state, in two persons: Estás cansado, pero ella está contenta.
Step seven: yo forms. The six yo forms are hago, pongo, salgo, duermo, conozco, veo. These are the forms the subjunctive will be built from.
Step eight: check. Each boot is outside nosotros, each odd yo form is spelled out, and each estar carries its accent.
Problems 1 to 5 are routine. Problems 6 to 10 are multi-step or ask for reasoning.
- Write the yo form of hacer, poner and salir.
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All three are go verbs. hago, pongo, salgo
- Write the present of poder for yo and nosotros, and of pensar for ellos.
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Poder and pensar are boot verbs, and nosotros stays outside the boot. puedo, podemos, piensan
- Complete: Yo ___ (saber) la respuesta y ___ (conocer) a la profesora.
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Both verbs have odd yo forms. sé, conozco
- Complete: Mi hermano ___ alto, pero hoy ___ cansado.
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A lasting trait takes ser and a passing state takes estar. es, está
- Complete: Nosotros ___ (volver) a casa y ellos ___ (dormir) en el sofá.
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Nosotros is outside the boot and ellos is inside it. volvemos, duermen
- Say "I bring the book and I see the teacher."
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Traer has the go form, ver has veo, and a specific person takes the personal a. Traigo el libro y veo a la profesora.
- Find and fix the errors: Yo tieno un perro. Ellos pensan en el examen. Nosotros duermemos hasta tarde.
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Tener has the go form tengo, pensar needs the boot in ellos, and dormir has no boot in nosotros, and its ending is -imos. Yo tengo un perro. Ellos piensan en el examen. Nosotros dormimos hasta tarde.
- Explain why queremos has no boot but quieren does.
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The boot change happens only in the stressed forms, yo, tú, él and ellos. In nosotros the stress falls on the ending, so the stem keeps its original vowel. Queremos has no boot because the stress falls on the ending.
- Say "I have been studying Spanish for three years."
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Use hace plus the time plus que and a present-tense verb. Hace tres años que estudio español.
- Write five present-tense sentences about your week, with at least three irregular yo forms.
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One correct answer: Salgo de casa a las siete. Hago la tarea por la tarde. Pongo la mesa para la cena. Los sábados veo a mis amigos. Duermo tarde los domingos. The irregular yo forms are salgo, hago, pongo, veo, duermo. Salgo de casa a las siete. Hago la tarea por la tarde. Pongo la mesa para la cena. Los sábados veo a mis amigos. Duermo tarde los domingos.