Read Madrigals Magic Key to Spanish Online
Authors: Margarita Madrigal
Tags: #Reference, #Language Arts & Disciplines
Madrigals Magic Key to Spanish (125 page)
“CER” VERBS
Verbs that end in “cer” in the infinitive end in “ZCO” in the first person singular of the present.
ESTABLECER,
to establish
This verb is completely regular except for the “z,” which is inserted in the first person singular of the present.
Following is a list of “cer” infinitives that have been converted into the first person singular of the present.
- Cover up the right-hand column.
- Remove “cer” from the infinitives in the left-hand column.
- Add “ZCO” to form the first person singular of the present and translate.
- Check your results with the right-hand column below.
| INFINITIVE | FIRST PERSON SINGULAR |
| establecer, to establish | establezco, I establish |
| conocer, to know (people) | conozco, I know |
| reconocer, to recognize | reconozco, I recognize |
| crecer. to grow | crezco. I grow |
| desaparecer, to disappear | desaparezco, I disappear |
| obedecer, to obey | obedezco, I obey |
| desobedecer, to disobey | desobedezco, I disobey |
| merecer, to deserve | merezco, I deserve |
| nacer, to be born | nazco, I am born |
| ofrecer, to offer | ofrezco, I offer |
| parecer, to seem like | parezco, I seem like |
| compadecer, to sympathize (with) | compadezco, I sympathize (with) |
“Conocer” (
to know
) is a very rich verb. It is used frequently in
conversation and has several different meanings. They are:
1. “Conocer” is used in the sense of knowing people. In this case it takes the personal “a.”
Conozco a Juan.
I know John
.
Roberto conoce a Elena.
Robert knows Helen
.
¿ Conoce a Luis?
Do you know Louis
?
Conocemos a su tío.
We know your uncle
.
Conocen a su hermana.
They know your sister
.
“Conocer” takes the personal pronouns “lo, la” because you don’t say “I know to” or “I know for.” (Only verbs that can be followed by “to” or “for” take the
indirect
pronoun “le.”)
Lo conozco.
I know him
.
La conozco.
I know her
.
¿ La conoce?
Do you know her?
¿ Lo conoce?
Do you know him?
¿ Los conoce?
Do you know them?
Lo he conocido por mucho tiempo.
I have known him for a long time
.
2. “Conocer” is used in the sense of knowing places, such as cities, countries, roads, buildings, etc. In this case “conocer” does not take the personal “a.” The personal “a” is only for persons.
¿ Conoce México?
Do you know Mexico?
¿ Conoce la ciudad?
Do you know the city?
¿ Conoce el edificio?
Do you know the building?
¿ Conoce la carretera?
Do you know the highway?
¿ Conoce el camino?
Do you know the road?
¿ Conoce el pueblo?
Do you know the town?
3. “Conocer” means “to meet” when you are meeting people for the FIRST TIME, that is, when you are being introduced to people. It does not mean to meet people by appointment or to meet people on the street. It only means “to meet” on being introduced.
¿ Dónde conoció a Roberto?
Where did you meet Robert
(
Where were you introduced to Robert
)?
Conocí a Enrique en el barco.
I met Henry on the boat
.
¿ Cuándo lo conoció?
When did you meet him?
Lo conocí ayer.
I met him yesterday
.
RECONOCER,
to recognize
“Reconocer” also takes the direct object pronouns “lo, la.”
Lo reconocí.
I recognized him
.
¿ Lo reconoce?
Do you recognize him?
GUSTAR,
to like
In Spanish we actually haven’t an expression that can be translated to mean “I like it.” Instead, we use the expression “me gusta,” which really means “it is pleasing TO me.” Since you can say “TO me,” this verb takes the indirect object pronoun “le.”
| Me gusta. I like it . | ¿ Me gusta? Do I like it? |
| Le gusta. You, he, she likes it . | ¿ Le gusta? Do you like it? Does he, she like it? |
| Nos gusta. We like it . | ¿ Nos gusta? Do we like it? |
| Les gusta. They like it . | ¿ Les gusta? Do they like it? |
Notice that the questions and answers are identical; only the punctuation changes. In conversation only the inflection of the voice changes.
Me gusta la música.
I like music
.
Notice that you use the article “la.” The article is absolutely required before the noun.
Me gusta el café.
I like coffee
.
Me gusta la leche.
I like milk
.
Me gusta la carne.
I like meat
.
Le gusta la ensalada.
She likes the salad
.
Nos gusta la casa.
We like the house
.
¿ Le gusta la revista?
Do you like the magazine?
¿ Le gusta el garage?
Does he like the garage?
¿ Le gusta el vestido?
Does she like the dress?
¿ Le gusta el vestido a María?
Does Mary like the dress?
A María le gusta el vestido.
Mary likes the dress
.
In the sentence “Le gusta el vestido” (
She likes the dress
), if you put the words “a María” before the expression, it makes a statement, “Mary likes the dress.” If you put “a María” after the expression, it makes a question, “Does Mary like the dress?”
Le gusta la casa.
He likes the house
.
A CARLOS le gusta la casa.
Charles likes the house
.
¿ Le gusta la casa A CARLOS?
Does Charles like the house?
Le gusta la blusa.
She likes the blouse
.
A MI TÍA le gusta la blusa.
My aunt likes the blouse
.
¿ Le gusta la blusa A MI TÍA?
Does my aunt like the the blouse?
If the person goes before the expression, it makes a statement of fact. If a person goes after the expression, it makes a question. The personal “a” is required in all of these expressions.
Les gusta el té.
They like tea
.
A LOS INGLESES les gusta el té.
The English like tea
.
¿ Les gusta el té A LOS INGLESES?
Do the English like tea?
“Me gusta” is also used with the infinitive.
Me gusta nadar.
I like to swim
.
No me gusta trabajar.
I don’t like to work
.
A mis primos les gusta jugar bridge.
My cousins like to play bridge
.
IF WHAT YOU LIKE IS PLURAL, “GUSTA” BECOMES PLURAL (GUSTAN).
| SINGULAR : | Me gusta la rosa. I like the rose . |
| PLURAL : | Me gustan las rosas. I like the roses . |
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
| Me gusta el sombrero. I like the hat . | Me gustan los sombreros. I like the hats . |
| Me gusta el gato. I like the cat . | Me gustan los gatos. I like cats . |
| Me gusta el perro. I like the dog . | Me gustan los perros. I like dogs . |
| ¿ Le gusta el disco? Do you like the record? | ¿ Le gustan los discos? Do you like the records? |
| Nos gusta el muchacho. We like the boy . | Nos gustan los muchachos. We like boys . |
| Le gusta la muchacha. He likes the girl . | Le gustan las muchachas. He likes girls . |
The past of “gustar” is “gustó” and “gustaron.”
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
| Me gustó el libro. I liked the book . | Me gustaron los libros. I liked the books . |
| Me gustó el cine. I liked the movie . | Me gustaron las frutas. I liked the fruits . |
| Me gustó la sopa. I liked the soup . | Me gustaron los espárragos. I liked the asparagus . |
| Me gustó el baile. I liked the dance . | Me gustaron los discos. I liked the records . |
“Gustar” is used in the third man verb form of all tenses.
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
| PRESENT :  me gusta,I like (something singular) |  me gustan,I like (something plural) |
| PAST : me gustó,I liked (something singular) | me gustaron, I liked (something plural) |
| PRESENT PERFECT : me ha gustado,I have liked (something singular) | me han gustado, I have liked (something plural) |
| FUTURE : me va a gustar,I’m going to like (something singular) | me van a gustar, I’m going to like (something plural) |