Read Madrigals Magic Key to Spanish Online
Authors: Margarita Madrigal
Tags: #Reference, #Language Arts & Disciplines
Translate the following sentences into Spanish. Write out each sentence in Spanish, using the columns above as a guide. Check your sentences with the correct translation below this exercise.
Check your sentences with the translations below.
“Saber” means to know anything except persons or places.
“Saber” also means “to know how to.”
Sé nadar.
I know how to swim
.
Sabe bailar.
He knows how to dance
.
Sé la lección.
I know the lesson
.
Sé la dirección.
I know the address
.
No sé.
I don’t know
.
¿Sabe?
Do you know?
Most of the past participles of the nonconformist verbs are regular.
In the following list the auxiliary verb “he” (
I have
) will be combined with the past participle to form the present perfect tense.
INFINITIVE | PRESENT PERFECT TENSE |
1. salir, to go out | he salido, I have gone out |
2. tener, to have | he tenido, I have had |
3. venir, to come | he venido, I have come |
4. ir, to go | he ido, I have gone |
5. estar, to be | he estado, I have been |
6. dar, to give | he dado, I have given |
7. ser, to be | he sido, I have been |
8. poder, to be able | he podido, I have been able |
9. querer, to want, love | he querido, I have wanted, loved |
10. saber, to know | he sabido, I have known |
11. andar, to walk | he andado, I have walked |
Three past participles are regular except for the fact that they have an accent on the “i.”
12. traer, to bring | he traído, I have brought |
13. caer, to fall | he caído, I have fallen |
14. oír, to hear | he oído, I have heard |
There are four completely irregular past participles.
15. hacer, to do, make | HE HECHO, I have done, made |
16. decir, to say | HE DICHO, I have said |
17. poner, to put | HE PUESTO, I have put |
18. ver, to see | HE VISTO, I have seen |
Some of the members of the nonconformist
club have large families. “Poner” (
to put
), for example, has quite a number of
offspring. You can easily recognize them because they all end in “poner.” These verbs have the same irregularities as “poner” in all tenses. In the list below you will find the infinitive and the first person singular of the present of each important member of the “poner” family.
PONER, to put | PONGO, I put |
exponer, to expose | expongo, I expose |
imponer, to impose | impongo, I impose |
oponer, to oppose | opongo, I oppose |
proponer, to propose | propongo, I propose |
suponer, to suppose | supongo, I suppose |
componer, to compose, fix | compongo, I compose, fix |
disponer, to dispose | dispongo, I dispose |
“Descomponer” means “to decompose, to spoil, to get out of order.”
Next comes a list of the members of the “tener” family.
TENER, to have | TENGO, I have |
abstener, to abstain | abstengo, I abstain |
contener, to contain | contengo, I contain |
detener, to detain | detengo, I detain |
retener, to retain | retengo, I retain |
sostener, to maintain | sostengo, I maintain |
obtener, to obtain | obtengo, I obtain |
entretener, to entertain | entretengo, I entertain |
mantener, to support | mantengo, I support (financially) |
Next comes a list of the members of the “traer” family.
TRAER, to bring | TRAIGO, I bring |
atraer, to attract | atraigo, I attract |
contraer, to contract | contraigo, I contract |
distraer, to distract | distraigo, I distract |
extraer, to extract | extraigo, I extract |
substraer, to subtract | substraigo, I subtract |
There are a few completely irregular verbs that are not included in the membership of the nonconformist club merely because they are not frequently used.
TRADU
CIR,
to translate
PRESENT
PAST
he traducido,
I have translated
Five other verbs have the same irregularities as “traducir,” above.
producir, to produce | produzco, I produce |
reducir, to reduce | reduzco, I reduce |
reproducir, to reproduce | reproduzco, I reproduce |
CABER,
to fit
(not clothes),
to have room for
Ha cabido.
It has fit
(in a trunk, for example).
El libro cabe en la caja.
The book fits in the box
.
No cabe.
It doesn’t fit.