PARAM ETROS CUANTITATIVOS

encantar: Me encanta el campo. = I love the countryside.

interesar: ¿Te interesan los libros? = Are you interested in books?

apetecer: Me apetece salir. = I fancy going out.

quedar: No me queda nada. = I’ve nothing left.

faltar: Me faltan diez euros. = I’m ten euros short.

sobrar: Nos sobra dinero. = We’ve got money to spare.

doler (ue): Me duelen los pies. = My feet hurt.

• Although the verbs above, in common with gustar, are normally used only in the third person singular or plural, they are used in a variety of tenses.

Me gustaría comer. = I’d like to eat. Nos encantaría ir. = We’d love to go

No me interesaba. = I wasn’t interested. ¿Te apetecía? = Did you fancy it? Les quedará un minuto. = They’ll have a minute left.

No les ha faltado nada. = They’ve not been short of anything. Nos sobraron dos horas. = We had two hours to spare. Le dolía mucho la pierna. = His/her leg was hurting a lot.

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ARTICLES

• The indefinite article (A or AN = UN or UNA) is used in English but NOT in Spanish in the following cases:

• Professions:

Soy abogado. = I’m a lawyer Ella es diseñadora. = She’s a designer

Quiero ser bombero.= I want to be a fireman. Ella trabaja de actriz.= She works as an actress.

• Some numbers, fractions of measurements and frequency:

mil = a thousand, cien = a hundred, medio kilómetro = half a kilometer, media hora = half an hour, kilo y medio = a kilo and a half,

una vez al día = once a day, dos veces al año = twice a year, cien kilómetros por hora = a hundred kilometers an hour.

• Exclamations:

¡Qué día más bonito! ¡Qué perro tan feo! ¡Qué pena!

What a nice day! What an ugly dog! What a pity!

• After SIN: Salí sin paraguas. = I went out without an umbrella.

• After TENER (Un/una are sometimes omitted, especially in questions and negatives):

¿Tienes teléfono? = Do you have a phone? No tenemos coche. = We don’t have a car.

• Un and una have a plural form: unos and unas which mean some although they are used less than in English. Similarly the word “any” is not normally translated.

He comprado (unas) gambas. = I have bought some prawns. Quiero (unos) melocotones. = I want some peaches.

No tengo dinero. = I don’t have any money. No hay sillas. = There aren’t any chairs.

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The definite article (EL LA LOS LAS = THE) is omitted in English but USED in Spanish in the following cases:

• Things in general: (as opposed to specific things)

Me gustan los pasteles pero no me gusta el pan. = I like cakes but I don’t like bread. Me interesan los deportes pero creo que el fútbol es aburrido.

I’m interested in sports but I think football is boring.

La comida china es muy popular. = Chinese food is very popular.

• Languages:

El alemán es más difícil que el español. = German is more difficult than Spanish • Meals:

Tomamos el desayuno a las ocho, el almuerzo a las dos y la cena a las diez. We have breakfast at eight, lunch at two and dinner at ten

• Some places:

Estoy en la cama. Mi mujer está en el trabajo. Los niños están en la escuela.

I am in bed. My wife is at work. The children are at school.

Voy a la cama. Mi esposa va al trabajo. Mis hijos van a la escuela. I am going to bed. My wife is going to work. My children are going to school • Parts of the body and clothing:

(where in English we use the possessives: my, your, etc.)

Ayer me lavé el pelo. El chico se rompió el brazo. Me he cortado el dedo.

Yesterday I washed my hair. The boy broke his arm. I’ve cut my finger.

Antes de salir voy a ponerme el abrigo. ¡Quítate los zapatos!

Before going out I’m going to put on my coat. Take off your shoes!

• Titles: Los señores Smith. El Rey Juan Carlos Primero y la Reina Sofía.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía,

• Days: Trabajo los lunes. Voy a salir el sábado por la noche.

I work on Mondays. I’m going out on Saturday night.

• Streets: Vivo en la calle Cuesta. El banco está en la Avenida España.

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TENER

• Tener means to have:

¿Cuánto dinero tienes? Tengo dos euros..

How much money have you got? I’ve got two euros Ahora tenemos un gato pero antes teníamos un perro. Now we have a cat but before we had a dog.

• Tener que means to have to:

Tengo que ir al dentista. Ayer tuvimos que trabajar. Tendrás que estudiar.

I have to go to the dentist. Yesterday we had to work. You’ll have to study.

• Tener translates the verb to be (See p.37) in certain expressions:

tener … años to be … years old

tener (mucha) hambre to be (very) hungry

tener (mucha) sed to be (very) thirsty

tener (mucha) suerte to be (very) lucky

tener (mucha) prisa to be in a (great) hurry

tener (mucho) frío to be (very) cold

tener (mucho) calor to be (very) hot

tener (mucho) sueño to be (very) sleepy

tener(mucho) miedo to be (very) frightened

• As you can see, because these expressions literally mean “to have”, mucho/a (a lot of) is used instead of muy to translate “very”. (See p.50)

¿Tienes mucho frío? Sí, y tengo mucha hambre también. Are you very cold? Yes, and I’m very hungry too.

• The question “How old are you?” is translated literally as “How many years do you have?”

¿Cuántos años tienes? Tengo cuarenta años. How old are you? I’m forty years old.

• Two expressions with tener:

tener ganas de = to feel like: Tengo ganas de salir = I feel like going out.

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