Madrigals Magic Key to Spanish (8 page)

B

Translate the following sentences into Spanish. Write out each sentence in Spanish, using the columns above as a guide. After
you have written out all the sentences check with the correct translations below this exercise.

1. I invited my mother to the movies.
   
2. I invited your mother to the party.
   
3. I invited Robert to the movies tonight.
   
4. I visited your mother this morning.
   
5. I visited Robert this afternoon.
   
6. Did you visit my father this afternoon?
   
7. Did you visit my mother this morning?
   
8. Did you visit Robert tonight?
   
9. Did you invite Robert to the party?
   
10. Did you invite a friend to the class?
    
11. Did you invite your mother to the movies?
    
12. Did you invite your father to the theatre?
    

Check your sentences with the correct translations below.

1. Invité a mi mamá al cine.
   
2. Invité a su mamá a la fiesta.
   
3. Invité a Roberto al cine esta noche.
   
4. Visité a su mamá esta mañana.
   
5. Visité a Roberto esta tarde.
   
6. ¿ Visitó usted a mi papá esta tarde?
   
7. ¿ Visitó usted a mi mamá esta mañana?
   
8. ¿ Visitó usted a Roberto esta noche?
   
9. ¿ Invitó usted a Roberto a la fiesta?
   
10. ¿ Invitó usted a un amigo a la clase?
    
11. ¿ Invitó usted a su mamá al cine?
    
12. ¿ Invitó usted a su papá al teatro?
    

In Spanish we do not say “Visité
a el
doctor”; instead, we say “Visité
al
doctor.” The word “al” is a contraction of “a” and “el.”

EXAMPLES
:

Copy the material that is shown on the sample below onto a card. Carry the card with you and glance at it whenever you get a chance.

You can convert many English words that end in “ry” into Spanish words by changing the “ry” to “rio.”

RY = RIO

the canary
= el canario

Some of the above words may be made feminine simply by changing the final “o” to “a.”

EXAMPLES
:

el secretario (masc.), la secretaria (fem.)

You can convert some English words that end in “em,” “am,” “om” into Spanish words by adding the letter “a.”

Some words that end in “ma” are alike in English and Spanish: el drama, el panorama, el dilema.

“El clima” means “the climate.”

el teléfono

ou have already learned that if you are speaking of yourself you must end the verb in “é.”

When speaking of anybody but yourself (singular), you must end verbs in the letter “ó.”

EXAMPLES
:

Roberto preparó la lección.
Robert prepared the lesson.

El doctor tomó un taxi.
The doctor took a taxi.

El general visitó al presidente.
The general visited the president.

¿ Preparó usted la cena?
Did you prepare dinner?

Remember, then, that if you speak of yourself you must end the verb in “é” and if you speak of anyone else (singular) you must end the verb in “ó.” This is easy to remember if you say a kind of jingle to yourself: “É for me, Ó for others.”

In order to help you connect the letter “ó” with everything and everybody in the world (except yourself), I have devised a figure which I call the third man. Every time the third man appears before a verb, you can be sure that the verb must certainly end in the letter “ó.”

Allow me to present the third man:

The third man is really the figure of a sleeping man wearing a sombrero. The figure has been drawn in the shape of a number 3 and will appear in the rest of the lessons like this:
.

The third man is a versatile fellow. He represents EVERYTHING and EVERYBODY in the world except you. When speaking of a star, a flower, a table, Julius Caesar, or your Aunt Sarah you must use the third man form, that is, you must end the verb in the letter “ó.”

You already know hundreds and hundreds of verbs in English that are also Spanish verbs if you change them very slightly.

“Visité” and “invité” are like the English verbs “visited” and “invited” with the letter “d” dropped. There are a great many verbs in English that can be changed into Spanish in the same way.

Following is a list of these verbs that you can learn virtually at a glance. Notice the little drawing of the third man before every third man form below.

FIRST PERSON	THIRD MAN FORM
usé, I used	usó, you, he, she used
voté, I voted	votó, you, he, she voted
inventé, I invented	inventó, you, he, she invented
importé, I imported	importó, you, he, she imported
copié, I copied	copió, you, he, she copied
curé, I cured	curé, you, he, she cured
examiné, I examined	examinó, you, he, she examined
noté, I noted, noticed	notó, you, he, she noted, noticed
presenté, I presented	presentó, you, he, she presented
comparé, I compared	comparó, you, he, she compared
combiné, I combined	combinó, you, he, she combined
causé, I caused	causó, you, he, she caused
deposité, I deposited	depositó, you, he, she deposited