How do you say "you" in Spanish? In contrast to English, where "you" just say "you," there are a plethora of different ways to say this in Spanish, which we'll explore today. 

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Spanish Subject Pronouns for "You"

Subject pronouns in Spanish (e.g. yo (I), tú (you), él/ella (he/she), etc.) are the most basic way to say "you." While in English, "you" is the only second person subject pronoun, in Spanish, there are five different ones, and the one you choose will depend on such factors as whether you are addressing one or more than one person, if the situation is more or less formal, and what region you are in. Let's take a closer look. 

 

1. Tú

Simply put, tú means "you" for speaking to just one person in less formal situations, such as speaking to someone you already know. This is the most common familiar second person subject pronoun in most Spanish-speaking countries.

 

Tú hablas obviamente muy bien el español, pero

You obviously speak Spanish very well, but

Caption 10, Carlos y Xavi Part 4 Tradiciones y comida de Barcelona

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2. Vos

Vos is used in a similar fashion as tú in certain countries/regions. It is heard predominantly in Argentina and Uruguay but also in certain areas of Paraguay, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Mexico, and Venezuela. 

 

¿Y vos hablás de mí?

And you talk about me?

Caption 51, Muñeca Brava 18 - La Apuesta - Part 11

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3. Usted

Usted is used to address just one person in more formal situations. Examples might be when you don't know someone and wish to be polite or, perhaps, when addressing an elder. 

 

¿Usted habla del ganso ese? -Sí.

Are you talking about that goose? -Yes.

Caption 54, Muñeca Brava 1 Piloto - Part 10

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4. Vosotros/Vosotras

Vosotros and vosotras are employed to address more than one person informally and are thus the plural equivalent of tú. Vosotros is used for a group of all males or a mixed male-female group, while vosotras is used for more than one person when everyone is female. Vosotros and vosotras are only used in Spain. 

 

Vosotros habláis.

You [plural] speak.

Caption 11, Fundamentos del Español 7 - Ser y Estar

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5. Ustedes 

Ustedes is used in all Spanish-speaking countries except Spain as the only plural form of saying "you," regardless of formality. However, in Spain, it is used more formally as the plural equivalent of usted (to distinguish it with the less formal vosotros/as). 

 

Y es que hay muchas diferencias entre la forma en que ustedes hablan el español

And it's just that there are a lot of differences between the way in which you guys speak Spanish

Captions 44-45, Carlos y Xavi Part 2 Ustedes y Vosotros

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All of the aforementioned subject pronouns in these clips have been translated as "you" with the exception of the last one, which was translated with the informal "you guys" to emphasize that it is directed to more than one person. However, it would be perfectly acceptable to translate ustedes as merely "you" since English often employs this pronoun to address multiple people.

 

For an abundance of additional information on these five subject pronouns for "you" in Spanish, we recommend Carlos' five-part video series on the Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo. 

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Verb Conjugation 

As you may have noticed in the examples above, all of which contain the simple present form of the verb hablar (to speak), the form of "you" utilized affects the verb conjugation. Although this happens in every verb tense in Spanish, let's start by taking a look at the simple present tense conjugations of three common Spanish verbs with their various "you" forms highlighted. 

 

Personal Pronoun	Hablar	Comer	Subir
Yo	hablo	como	subo
Tú	hablas	comes	subes
Vos	hablás	comés	subís
Él/ella	habla	come	sube
Usted	habla	come	sube
Nosotros/nosotras	hablamos	comemos	subimos
Ellos/ellas	hablan	comen	suben
Ustedes	hablan	comen	suben
Vosotros/vosotras	habláis	coméis	subís

 

You will note that the verb conjugations for all of the five forms of "you" in Spanish differ from one another. Additionally, the conjugation for usted is the same as the conjugation for the third person singular él/ella (he/she) while the conjugation for ustedes is the same as the third person plural conjugation for ellos/ellas (they). Additionally, the conjugations for vos and vosotros/as are the same for -ir verbs.

 

Remember that in Spanish, you don't necessarily need to explicitly say the subject pronoun in order to know which one is in use because the verb tenses themselves make that clear. That said, let's examine a few examples with different forms of "you" and the verb saber (to know). 

 

¿Sabéis qué es un volcán?

Do you know what a volcano is?

Caption 18, Aprendiendo con Silvia Los volcanes

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Ay, ¿sabes qué?

Oh, you know what?

Caption 21, Club 10 Capítulo 1 - Part 1

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¿Sabe que no me parece suficiente?

Do you know that it doesn't seem like enough to me?

Caption 62, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 3 - Part 3

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Despite the absence of subject pronouns, you can tell from the verbs' conjugation that the first example refers to vosotros, the second example refers to tú, and the third example refers to usted, and for this reason, all three have been translated with "you know." While the third example could technically refer to él or ella as well since the conjugations for all three are the same, the context (one person speaking directly to another rather than talking about anyone else) alerts you that the speaker is addressing the other person as usted. 

 

Alternative "You" Pronouns in Spanish

Subject pronouns are not the only way to represent the word "you" in Spanish. Other types of Spanish pronouns (direct object, indirect object, and prepositional) also mean "you." Let's see which of each of these types of pronouns correspond with which "you" subject pronouns:

 

Subject Pronoun	Direct Object Pronoun	Indirect Object Pronoun	Prepositional Pronoun
Tú	te	te	ti
Vos	te	te	vos
Usted	lo, la	le	usted
Ustedes	los, las	les	ustedes
Vosotros/as	os	os	vosotros/as

 

While we won't delve too deeply into these topics, we will provide a brief summary of each of them and give you some examples.

 

Direct Object Pronouns

Direct object pronouns take the place of the direct object (the recipient of an action) in a sentence and answer the question of "what" or "who." Let's see a couple of examples:

 

Vale, no... no os veo... no os veo con mucha...

OK, I don't... I don't see you... I don't see you with a lot...

Caption 39, Escuela BCNLIP Clase con Javi: el futuro - Part 3

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Los veo en el próximo video.

See you in the next video.

Caption 44, Manos a la obra Postres de Minecraft

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In both examples, the translation of the direct object pronoun is "you." In the first, os takes the place of vosotros, and in the second, los takes the place of ustedes. 

 

Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect object pronouns answer the question "to who/whom" or "for who/whom" an action is carried out. Let's take a look:

 

De verdad, yo le doy la plata que tengo ahí;

Seriously, I'll give you the money I have there;

Caption 25, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 1 - Part 1

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Otra recomendación que les puedo hacer es que traigan zapatos para el agua,

Another recommendation that I can give you is to bring water shoes,

Captions 35-36, Alan x el mundo Mi playa favorita de México! - Part 2

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In the first example, le lets you know that the speaker will give the money "to" usted, while in the second, the recommendation is being given "to" ustedes. While the indirect object pronouns in these two captions have been translated with simply "you," the translator might also have opted for "I'll give the money I have there to you" and/or "Another recommendation that I can give to you is to bring water shoes."

 

To learn more about indirect and direct object pronouns, check out this two-part lesson on How to Use Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns.

 

Prepositional Pronouns

Prepositional pronouns are pronouns that follow a preposition (words like para (for), de (of, about), en (in, about), etc.) in a sentence. 

 

Este libro es para ti. Este libro es para vos.

This book is for you. This book is for you.

Captions 47-48, Carlos y Cyndy Uso del Voseo en Argentina

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y hoy, he preparado para ustedes estos objetos

and today, I've prepared these objects for you

Caption 3, Ana Carolina El uso correcto de los adjetivos

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Interestingly, ti is the only prepositional pronoun meaning "you" that differs in form from its corresponding subject pronoun.

 

We hope that this lesson has made clear the many different ways that Spanish expresses the concept of "you." That's all for today... and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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Now that you've learned how to introduce yourself in Spanish, let's go over some basic questions and answers when telling others about ourselves or asking about them. 

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Where are you from?

Asking someone where they are from might be a common introductory question when getting to know someone. Let's take a look at both the tú (informal "you") and usted (formal "you") forms of this question: 

 

O, ¿de dónde eres? ¿De dónde es?

Or, where are you from? [with "tú"]. Where are you from? [with "usted"].

Captions 13-14, Karla e Isabel Tú y Usted

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And, what if someone asks you this question? You might use the construction Yo soy de (I'm from) to say the city, country, etc. you come from. Let's see some examples:

 

Yo soy de San Fernando, Cádiz.

I am from San Fernando, Cádiz.

Caption 27, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 21

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Yo soy de Argentina, de la provincia de Córdoba, eh... exactamente de un pueblito que se llama Río Ceballos,

I'm from Argentina, from the province of Córdoba, um... precisely from a little town called Río Ceballos;

Captions 8-9, Luana y Fede Viajes

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Alternatively, you might say your nationality, particularly when talking about yourself in a foreign country: 

 

Yo soy argentina.

I'm Argentine.

Caption 53, Carlos y Cyndy Uso del Voseo en Argentina

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soy español,

I'm Spanish,

Caption 2, Madrid Un recorrido por la capital de España

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To learn more about how to talk about nationalities in Spanish, check out this lesson on Adjectives of Nationality in Spanish. Let's explore some additional common questions/answers when getting acquainted with someone in Spanish. 

 

What do you do?

Another is common question you might ask or get asked is, "What do you do (for a living)"? Let's explore a few ways to ask this question:

 

Bueno, perdón. ¿Tú a qué te dedicas?

Well, sorry. What do you do?

Caption 48, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 5 - Part 9

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¿En qué trabajas tú, Inmaculada?

In what [field] do you work, Inmaculada?

Caption 31, 75 minutos Gangas para ricos - Part 12

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The usted versions would be "¿Usted a qué se dedica?" and "¿En qué trabaja usted?" Another possible way to ask this question is:

 

¿Cuál es tu/su trabajo?

What's your job? 

 

Now, let's look at some possible responses.

 

Me dedico a vender la leche.

I sell milk for a living.

Caption 2, Milkman Milk Seller, Nicaragua

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Yo trabajo en una tienda de ropa de segunda mano... -Ah...

I work at a second hand clothing store... -Oh...

Caption 69, 75 minutos Gangas para ricos - Part 14

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No, yo soy azafata.

No, I'm a flight attendant.

Caption 49, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 5 - Part 9

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Note that when talking about your profession in Spanish, the appropriate verb is ser ("to be" for fixed characteristics) rather than estar ("to be" for more temporary states) and that, in Spanish, unlike English, you don't include the article. For that reason, the aforementioned example reads soy azafata rather than soy una azafata. 

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How old are you?

The ways to say "How old are you?" in Spanish are "¿Cuántos años tienes?" when using tú and "¿Cuántos años tiene?" with addressing someone with usted. Let's hear the tú version in action:

 

¿Tú cuántos años tienes, Mariano?

How old are you, Mariano?

Caption 69, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 6

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To answer this question, we use the verb tener años, which literally means "to have years," inserting the correct number of years between these two words. This is the Spanish equivalent of "being (a certain number) of years old." Let's take a look:

 

Tengo dieciséis años.

I'm sixteen years old.

Caption 7, Cleer Entrevista a Lila

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If you'd like to learn or refresh your Spanish numbers, check out the lesson The Numbers from One to One Hundred in Spanish.  

 

Are you married?

In this caption, you will hear both the question and answer to this question.

 

¿Y eres casado o soltero? Estoy casado con una mujer italiana de Nápoles.

And are you married or single? I'm married to an Italian woman from Naples.

Captions 8-9, Carlos y Xavi Part 2 Ustedes y Vosotros

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You might notice that in the example above, the first speaker uses the verb ser, saying "¿Y eres casado...?" instead of "¿Y estás casado?" while the second speaker uses the verb estar to answer. Although the adjective casado/a (married) is traditionally used with the verb estar, you might hear it used with ser in some Spanish-speaking regions. For more on the nuances of these two verbs, check out Ser vs. Estar- Yo Soy and Ser vs. Estar- Yo Estoy. 

 

Do you have kids/brothers and sisters?

We ask both of these questions with the Spanish verb tener (to have), which is conjugated as tiene with usted and tienes with tú. Let's hear how to ask these two questions with tú: 

 

¿Tienes hijos? -No.

Do you have children? -No.

Caption 87, Adícora, Venezuela El tatuaje de Rosana

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It is worth noting that, as the plural masculine noun los hermanos could refer to either just "brothers" or to both "brothers and sisters" or "siblings," you could simply say "¿Tienes hermanos?" when asking if someone has brothers and/or sisters. Similarly, los hijos could specifically mean "sons" or include both male and female "children." The singular and plural feminine nouns la(s) hermana(s) and la(s) hijas, on the other hand, refer to specifically female "sister(s)" and "daughter(s)." With that in mind, let's look at some potential answers to these questions:

 

Yo tengo dos hijos pequeños y...

I have two small children, and...

Caption 66, El Aula Azul Un día de surf

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Sí, tengo una hermana más pequeña que tiene tres años menos.

Yes, I have a younger sister who is three years younger.

Caption 6, Carlos y Xavi Part 2 Ustedes y Vosotros

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Let's move on to our last common question when getting to know someone in Spanish. 

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What do you like to do in your free time?

Here are some possible ways to broach the topic of what people like to do when they aren't working. 

 

¿qué te gusta hacer?

what do you like to do?

Caption 24, Cleer Entrevista a Lila

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¿Qué cosas te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?

What do you like to do in your free time?

Caption 15, El Aula Azul Los profesores de la escuela - Part 1

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Or, you could simply say: "¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?" A good formula for answering what you like to do is to say (a mí) me gusta (I like) or (a mí) me encanta (I love) plus a verb in the infinitive. Let's see some examples: 

 

Me gusta salir a rumbear...

I like to go out dancing...

Caption 15, Zoraida Lo que gusta hacer

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Pues, me gusta escuchar música, eh... pintar, y me gusta viajar mucho.

Well, I like to listen to music, um... paint, and I like to travel a lot.

Captions 25-26, Cleer Entrevista a Lila

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y me encanta ir a la playa con mis amigos.

and I love going to the beach with my friends.

Caption 39, Clara y Cristina Saludar

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We hope that this lesson has helped you learn some basic questions/answers for getting to know someone and telling them about yourself. Can you think of any other preliminary question you would like to learn to ask or answer in Spanish? Feel free to let us know with your suggestions and comments. 

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Let's learn some common expressions to talk about being hungry or thirsty in Spanish (or to say we're not)!

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Saying "I'm Hungry" in Spanish 

The most common way to talk about "being hungry" in Spanish is with an idiomatic expression with the verb tener, which is tener hambre (literally "to have hunger"). So, if you wanted to say "I'm hungry," in Spanish, you'd say "Tengo hambre."

 

Fede, tengo hambre. Tengo hambre, Fede.

Fede, I'm hungry. I'm hungry, Fede.

Captions 34-35, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 1 - Part 7

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Now, let's listen to this verb in question form, conjugated with tú (the single familiar "you"):

 

An alternative way to talk about hunger in Spanish is with the verb estar (to be) plus the adjective hambriento/a(s). Remember that in the case of adjectives, they must agree in terms of both gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the subject in question. Let's take a look at an example with a single, female speaker:

 

Y yo estoy hambrienta.

And I am hungry.

Caption 7, Cata y Cleer En el restaurante

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Now, let's look at some more dramatic ways to say "I'm hungry" in Spanish (something more akin to "I'm starving"). 

 

Sí, ¿y viene la comida o no? Pues yo estoy muerto de hambre.

Yes, and is the food coming or not? I am dying of hunger.

Caption 35, Muñeca Brava 44 El encuentro - Part 6

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The adjective muerto/a(s) literally means "dead," of course, but the expression estar muerto/a(s) de hambre is roughly equivalent to the English "dying of hunger." Let's see a couple more:

 

¿por qué no me invita a desayunar algo que estoy que me muero de hambre?

why don't you serve me something for breakfast since I'm dying of hunger?

Captions 37-38, Tu Voz Estéreo Embalsamado - Part 5

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¿Pero será que podemos comer ya, por favor, que me estoy desmayando de hambre?

But could we please start eating since I'm passing out from hunger?

Caption 45, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 12 - Part 3

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Saying "I'm Thirsty" in Spanish 

Tener sed (literally "to have thirst") is probably the most common way to say "I'm thirsty" in Spanish. In the first person this would be: "Tengo sed" (I'm thirsty). Now, let's look at an example with tú:

 

Es muy útil si tienes sed y necesitas beber agua.

It's very useful if you're thirsty and need to drink water.

Caption 29, El Aula Azul Adivina qué es - Part 1

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And, in the same way you could say you are "dying with hunger," you could also use estar muerto/a(s) de sed to say you are "dying of thirst":

 

¡Estabas muerta de sed!

You were dying of thirst!

Caption 1, Muñeca Brava 47 Esperanzas - Part 5

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Another way to say "to be thirsty" in Spanish is estar sediento/a(s):

 

y yo... yo estoy muy, muy sedienta.

and I... I'm very, very thirsty.

Caption 42, Kikirikí Agua - Part 3

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To ask you if you're thirsty, someone might say "¿Tiene(s) sed?" (Are you thirsty?) or simply ask:

 

¿Quieres tomar algo, Pablo?

Do you want something to drink, Pablo?

Caption 28, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 1 - La llegada de Sam - Part 2

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Although this might initially sound like "Do you want to take something?" to a non-native speaker, remember that the verb tomar additionally means "to drink" in Spanish. The common expression "¿Quiere(s) tomar algo?" is thus used to ask someone in Spanish if he or she would "like something to drink."

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Saying "I'm Not Hungry/Full" in Spanish

So, what if you want to say you're not hungry in Spanish? You can simply use the verb tener hambre with the word "no" in front of it:

 

Pero igual no tengo hambre.

But anyway, I'm not hungry.

Caption 58, Muñeca Brava 3 Nueva Casa - Part 6

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Another option would be the verb llenarse (to be full). So, if someone asks you if you're hungry, you might use this verb in the preterite (simple past) tense to say:

 

No, gracias. Ya me llené.

No, thank you. I'm full (literally: "I already got full"). 

 

Now let's listen to this verb in the present:

 

Se infla, como que se llena,

You get bloated, like, you get full,

Caption 44, Los médicos explican Consulta con el médico: la diarrea

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An additional way to say you are full in Spanish is with the verb estar (to be) plus an adjective. Although you might hear satisfecho/a(s) (literally "satisfied") or, in some regions, repleto/a(s), lleno/a(s) is the most common adjective that means "full" in Spanish, as we see in the following example:

 

Estoy lleno. No puedo comer más.

I'm full. I can't eat any more. 

 

This adjective might also be used with the verb sentirse (to feel):

 

y para mantenerte y sentirte lleno.

and to stay and feel full.

Caption 29, Natalia de Ecuador Alimentos para el desayuno

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This brings us to a popular Spanish saying that is reminiscent of the English idiom "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach": 

 

Barriga llena, corazón contento.

Full belly, happy heart.

Caption 36, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 2 - Part 1

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To learn a lot more fun Spanish phrases, check out this lesson on Yabla's Top 10 Spanish Idioms and Their (Very Different!) English equivalents. 

 

We hope that this lesson has helped you to learn several ways to talk about hunger and thirst in Spanish, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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Do you know how to introduce yourself in Spanish? With just a few key words and phrases, you can feel comfortable doing so in no time!

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Elements of Introducing Yourself in Spanish

We can break up introducing yourself in Spanish into a few key categories that correspond to how we would introduce ourselves in English. Let's take a look:

 

Greeting

Like in English, you would often begin introducing yourself in Spanish by saying hello to the person:

 

¡Hola!

Hello!

Caption 66, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 16

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This might stand alone or go with some other very common greetings in Spanish: 

 

¡Buenos días!

Good morning!

Caption 2, Amaya La historia de Lukas

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Note that in some countries, like Argentina, it is more common to hear the singular version, Buen día. If it's later in the day (from about noon to sunset), you'd more likely hear Buenas tardes (Good afternoon/evening):

 

Buenas tardes.

Good afternoon.

Caption 31, Cita médica La cita médica de Cleer - Part 1

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And later than that, you might hear Buenas noches (literally "good night"). Note that in contrast to "Good night" in English, Buenas noches can be used as a greeting rather than just to send someone off to bed or say goodbye. That said, "Good evening" might be a more appropriate translation in that context. 

 

Muy buenas noches, bienvenida. -Hola, buenas noches.

Good evening, welcome. -Hello, good evening.

Caption 32, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 5 - Part 2

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Asking the Other Person How They Are

Again as in English, when introducing yourself in Spanish, it is common to ask the person with whom you are speaking how they are. As there are many ways to do this, we'll give you a just a few options.

 

¿Cómo está usted?

How are you?

Caption 25, Cleer y Lida Saludar en español

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Of course, because there are several ways to say "you" in Spanish (usted is the singular, more formal form), this phrase might be adjusted to "¿Cómo estás tú?" or "¿Cómo estás vos?" to address one person informally. And while there are additional ways to say "you" to more than one person in Spanish, for the purposes of today's lesson, we will stick to the singular forms. Let's see another way to say "How are you?"

 

¿Y cómo te va?

And how are you?

Caption 38, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 8 - Part 1

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The more formal alternative with usted would be: "¿Y cómo le va (a usted)?" However, regardless of the formality of the situation or to how many people you are speaking, you can always use the following simple phrase:

Answering How You Are

As the person to whom you are speaking will most likely respond by asking you how you are, we should give you some common answers to the aforementioned questions. Let's start with an answer to "¿Cómo está(s)?" 

If you are addressing one another with usted, you would instead say "¿y usted?" 

 

In contrast, if someone asks you '¿Cómo te/le va?" you might answer: "Bien, ¿y a ti?" or "Bien, ¿y a usted?" 

 

Although bien (well) or muy bien (very well) are by far the most common ways to answer the question of how you are, particularly when meeting someone for the first time, if you are interested in learning more about ways to say you are just OK, we recommend this lesson entitled ¿Qué tal? Ni bien ni mal (How Are You? Neither Good Nor Bad).

Saying your name

Now that we have gotten some formalities out of the way, it's time to say your name! Here are three common ways to do so:

 

Yo me llamo Lida.

My name is Lida.

Caption 12, Cleer y Lida Saludar en español

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Mi nombre es Diego Velázquez.

My name is Diego Velázquez.

Caption 9, Adícora, Venezuela Los fisioterapeutas

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Hola, yo soy Cleer.

Hello, I'm Cleer.

Caption 1, Recetas de cocina Arepas colombianas

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Asking the other person's name

And now, the moment has arrived to ask the other person their name:

 

¿Y cómo te llamas tú?

And, what's your name?

Caption 11, Cleer y Lida Saludar en español

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¿Cuál es tu nombre?

What's your name?

Caption 10, Cleer y Lida Llegando a una nueva ciudad

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The usted form is: "¿Cuál es su nombre?"

 

Saying "Nice to meet you"

When introducing yourself in Spanish, as in English, you should probably say something along the lines of "Nice to meet you." Here are several options:

 

Mucho gusto, Samuel.

Nice to meet you, Samuel.

Caption 29, Conversaciones en el parque Cap. 3: ¿De quién es esta mochila?

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Un placer, Mónica,

A pleasure, Monica,

Caption 3, Escribiendo un libro Algunos consejos sobre cómo comenzar - Part 1

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Hola, guapa. -Hola. -Encantada. -Encantada de conocerte.

Hello, beautiful. -Hello. -[A] pleasure. -[A] pleasure to meet you.

Caption 8, 75 minutos Gangas para ricos - Part 2

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And, if someone says one of those things to you, you might respond by saying "Igualmente" or "Yo también" (Me too). 

 

Hola Cristóbal, encantada. -Igualmente.

Hello, Cristobal. Pleased [to meet you]. -Me too.

Caption 35, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 2

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If you'd like to hear many of these phrases in the context of both informal and formal conversations, we recommend the video Saludar en español (Greeting in Spanish). We hope you have enjoyed this lesson on how to introduce yourself in Spanish, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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Last year, we chose the word pandemia (pandemic) as the Spanish Word of the Year. This year, our choice was a bit predictable. In fact, after reading our lesson about The Spanish Word of the Year 2020, one of our users sent us a message with a very accurate prediction. The following are his words:

 

"Dear friends from Yabla,

The Spanish Word of the Year 2020 is pandemia. And the Spanish Word for the Year 2021 will be vacuna!

Thanks for all the work, take care and stay safe."

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"Vacuna": The Spanish Word of the Year 2021

And yes! He was totally right! The Word of the Year 2021 is vacuna (vaccine). Let's hear how that word sounds in Spanish:

 

Espero que pronto puedan conseguir una vacuna y dar fin a esta situación.

I hope they can get a vaccine soon and end this situation.

Captions 17-18, El coronavirus La cuarentena en Coro, Venezuela - Part 2

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The Spanish word vacuna comes from the English word "vaccine," which in turn comes from the Latin word "vaccīnus," meaning "of or from a cow." In fact, there was a cow involved in the first ever vaccine: the smallpox vaccine developed by British scientist Edward Jenner.

 

Vacuna, however, wasn't the only trendy word this year. Just like last year, most of the runner-up words were related to the coronavirus pandemic, this year, some of our runners-up are linked to the word vacuna. Let's take a look at some of the other terms that defined 2021.

 

BY THE WAY, HAVE YOU SEEN OUR SPECIAL SERIES ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS? CHECK IT OUT!

 

Runners-up for 2021 Spanish Word of the Year

 

dosis (dose)

y también a disminuir las dosis necesarias de insulina

and also to reduce the necessary doses of insulin

Caption 55, Los médicos explican Beneficios del ozono

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Keep in mind that because the word dosis is a paroxytone noun ending in "s," it has the same form in singular and plural:

la dosis (the dose)

las dosis (the doses)

 

For more about this topic, please check out our lesson about the rules for forming the plurals of nouns in Spanish.

 

síntoma (symptom)

 

La verdad es que no tiene, pues, ningún síntoma, pues, por ejemplo que tenga poco apetito,

The truth is that he doesn't have, well, any symptoms, well, for example if he has lack of appetite,

Captions 70-71, Animales en familia Un día en Bioparc: Microchip para Nacahué - Part 1

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variante (variant)

As in the Delta or Omnicron variants.

 

impredecible (unpredictable)

Just recently, The Economist stated this: "it is time to face the world’s predictable unpredictability." It seem like impredecible is going to stay trendy for a little while. In the meantime, let's see how to say it:

 

Llueve, hace frío... frío, hace frío, llueve, todo... ah... aquí... es impredecible.

It rains, it's cold... cold, it's cold, it rains, everything... uh... Here... it's unpredictable.

Caption 27, Peluquería La Percha Félix

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híbrido (hybrid)

If you have been following the conversation about how people are working nowadays, you know why this word is on this list. While some workers have gone back to the office, there are millions of people around the world whose work model is now a hybrid one that mixes on-site and off-site work. Along those lines, another trendy word is teletrabajo (telecommuting):

 

Por ejemplo, las compañías han tenido que acudir al teletrabajo para seguir con sus actividades productivas

For example, companies have had to resort to telecommuting to continue with their production activities,

Captions 35-36, El coronavirus Efectos y consecuencias

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And that wraps up Yabla's Spanish Word of the Year for 2021. Do you agree with our choice? Can you think of any other pertinent term(s) that we didn't mention? What is your prediction for next year's Word of the Year? Please feel free to share with us your comments and suggestions, and here's to hoping that 2022 is a better year!

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Have you thought about your resoluciones de Año Nuevo (New Year's resolutions) yet? Let's go over ten of the most common propósitos de Año Nuevo (another Spanish term for "New Year's resolutions") and find out how to talk about them in Spanish. 

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The Top 10 New Year's Resolutions 

 

2. Hacer más ejercicio (Exercise more)

Related to losing weight and ponerse en forma (getting in shape) or volver a estar en forma (getting back in shape) is exercising. Let's see how to say this in Spanish: 

 

 

3. Empezar algún hobby nuevo (Start a new hobby)

One way to get in more physical activity might be to take up some new exercise-related hobby like el yoga (yoga), la natación (swimming), or pole dancing, to name a few, and, in fact, empezar un pasatiempo nuevo (starting a new hobby) is another common New Year's resolution.

 

Claro. Es muy importante romper con la rutina diaria y hacer cosas diferentes. Te hará sentirte mejor y desconectar del estrés.

Of course. It's very important to break the daily routine and do different things. It will make you feel better and disconnect from stress.

Captions 14-18, Karla e Isabel Nuestros hobbies

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Of course, hobbies range from physical activities to more cerebral pursuits, and for a plethora of hobby ideas and how to say them in Spanish, check out this lesson on Yabla's Top 40 Hobbies in Spanish.

 

4. Dejar de fumar/tomar alcohol (Stop smoking/drinking)

Also related to such fitness/health metas (goals) are quitting smoking and drinking (either permanently or for a while): 

 

Dejar de fumar, dejar de tomar alcohol. Por eso voy a dejar de tomar.

Give up smoking, give up drinking alcohol. That's why I am going to stop drinking.

Captions 52-53, Los médicos explican La hipertensión

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5. Ahorrar dinero (Save money)

Another common resolution is to get in shape financieramente (fiscally) rather than físicamente (physically):

 

y en el lado financiero, quiero salir de deudas, quiero comenzar a ahorrar, quiero hacer un presupuesto.

and on the financial side, I want to get out of debt, I want to start to save, I want to create a budget.

Captions 25-26, Cuentas claras Sobreviviendo enero - Part 1

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6. Pasar más tiempo con amigos y familia (Spend more time with family and friends)

Pasar tiempo (spending time) with our seres queridos (loved ones) might not seem like something we have to vow to do more of, but we all too often neglect it due to being ocupados (busy), estresados (stressed), or enfocados en nuestro trabajo (focused on our jobs). And, the pandemic has definitely made us value our ability to spend time with people more than ever before. 

 

Eh... Tengo muchísimas ganas porque hace mucho tiempo que no veo a la familia y a los amigos.

Um... I really want to because it's been a long time since I've seen my family and friends.

Captions 8-9, El Aula Azul Conversación: Planes de fin de semana

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7. Viajar más (Travel more)

Having taken away our ability to travel for a time, the pandemic has also made many of us long to do so even more. A travel-related resolution might be hacer más viajes (to take more trips) generally or perhaps to finally take that special trip one has long been planning:

 

Quiero viajar a Japón este año.

I want to travel to Japan this year.

Caption 63, Clase Aula Azul Pedir deseos - Part 1

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8. Leer más (Read more) 

Carlos puts it very simply:

 

Lea más libros.

"Lea más libros" [Read more books].

Caption 42, Carlos explica El modo imperativo 2: Irregulares, Usted + plurales

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Although the aforementioned stressors might make us feel like we don't have time for la lectura (reading), many set this as a resolution because they know it can enrich their vocabulary and/or language abilities while simultaneously providing a valuable escape. 

 

9. Organizarse (Get organized)

Organizarse (getting organized) might entail cleaning up our clutter or picking up after ourselves more regularly:

 

Ahora sí, mi dormitorio está en orden.

At last, my bedroom is organized.

Caption 43, Ana Carolina Arreglando el dormitorio

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Another aspect of organization might be writing things down to avoid forgetting them or overbooking:

 

Pues yo, Montse, me lo apunto en la agenda, ¿eh?

Well, I, Montse, am writing it down in my planner, huh?

Caption 78, Amaya Teatro romano

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10. Vivir la vida a lo máximo (Live life to the fullest)

This is a more general resolution that could include having el coraje (the courage) to tackle some or many of the previous resolutions we have mentioned, as well as simply learning to vivir y valorar el momento (live and appreciate the moment). It is the notion of making the most out of each day and doing things to work towards inner paz (peace), alegría (happiness), and equilibrio (balance), while not perder oportunidades (missing out on opportunities), the specifics of which are, of course, different for each person. Let's take a look at some clips that reflect this sentiment:

 

y que vivan una experiencia, que vivan realmente el momento,

and that they live an experience, that they really live the moment

Captions 25-26, Melany de Guatemala Su Método de Actuación

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No tengas miedo. Debes ser fuerte y arriesgarte.

Don't be afraid. You should be strong and take risks.

Captions 44-45, De consumidor a persona Short Film - Part 1

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Entonces, vale la pena aprovechar la oportunidad.

So, it is worth it to take advantage of the opportunity.

Caption 29, Outward Bound Fabrizio

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Cumplir con los propósitos de Año Nuevo

Now that we have established them, ¿cómo cumplir con los propósitos de Año Nuevo (how do we keep our New Year's resolutions)? With a lot of enfoque (focus), disciplina (discipline), and determinación (determination), and by setting objetivos realistas (realistic goals) and working on them poco a poco (bit by bit). That said, les deseamos mucha suerte (we wish you a lot of luck) following through with your New Year's resolutions a largo plazo (in the long term)... and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments!

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What are some differences between Castilian Spanish from Spain and Latin American Spanish? As with North American and British English, there are many more similarities than differences, and Spanish speakers from all countries can usually understand one another in spite of differences between continents, countries, and even regions. That said, this lesson will point out a few key differences between Castilian and Latin American Spanish that might aid your understanding of and/or communication with different Spanish speakers. 

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Pronunciation

You may have noticed that the letters "c" and "z" are pronounced with a "th" sound in Castilian Spanish in order to distinguish them from the letter "s." Let's take a look:

 

Muchas gracias.

Thank you very much.

Caption 88, Ana Teresa Canales energéticos

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Although it sounds like Ana Teresa from Spain says "grathias," you will note that there is no difference in the pronunciation of the "c" and the "s" in Latin American Spanish. To confirm this, let's hear Ana Carolina from Ecuador pronounce this same word:

 

Muchas gracias por acompañarnos hoy;

Thank you very much for joining us today;

Caption 37, Ana Carolina El comedor

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Yabla's Carlos and Xavi provide a lot more examples of this pronunciation difference in this video about the difference in pronunciation between Spain and Colombia. 

 

Vosotros/as vs. Ustedes

Spanish speakers from both Spain and Latin America tend to address a single person formally with the pronoun usted and use tú (or vos in certain Latin American countries and/or regions) in more familiar circumstances. However, Castilian Spanish additionally makes this distinction for the second person plural forms: they formally address more than one person as ustedes and employ vosotros/as, along with its unique verb conjugations, in less formal ones. Let's look at an example with this unique-to-Spain pronoun. 

 

Practicáis un poco vosotros ahora.

You guys practice a bit now.

Caption 105, Clase Aula Azul El verbo gustar - Part 5

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Most Latin American speakers, on the other hand, do not use vosotros/as and instead use ustedes to address more than one person, regardless of whether the situation is formal or informal.

 

O sea menos que los... -No, ustedes tienen que hacer dos acompañamientos

I mean less than the... -No, you guys have to make two side dishes

Caption 68, Misión Chef 2 - Pruebas - Part 8

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Although the teacher in this video, who is from Mexico, refers to his individual students with the informal prounoun tú, as a group, he refers to them as ustedes. For more information about the pronouns vosotros/as and ustedes, we recommend Carlos' video Ustedes y vosotros.

 

Use of Present Perfect vs. Preterite 

Another difference you might notice when speaking to someone from Spain is the more prevalent use of the present perfect tense (e.g. "I have spoken," "we have gone," etc.) to describe things that happened in the recent past in cases in which both Latin Americans and English speakers would more likely use the simple past/preterite. Let's first take a look at a clip from Spain:

 

Oye, ¿ya sabes lo que le ha pasado a Anastasia? No, ¿qué le ha pasado?

Hey, do you know what has happened to Anastasia? No, what has happened to her?

Captions 4-5, El Aula Azul Conversación: Un día de mala suerte

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Now, let's look at one from Argentina:

 

¿Pero qué le pasó?

But what happened to her?

Caption 92, Muñeca Brava 43 La reunión - Part 5

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While the speakers in both videos use the same verb, pasar (to happen), to describe events that took place that same day, note that the speaker from Spain chooses the present perfect ha pasado (has happened), which would be less common in both Latin American Spanish and English, while the Argentinean speaker opts for the preterite pasó (happened). 

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Vocabulary

There are many terms that are said one way in Spain and a totally different way in Latin America (with a lot of variation between countries, of course!). Although there are too many to name, Yabla has put together our top ten list of English nouns and verbs whose translations differ in Spain and Latin America. 

 

1. Car: El coche vs. el carro/auto 

Spanish speakers from Spain tend to use the word coche for "car":

 

Hoy vamos a repasar cómo alquilar un coche.

Today we are going to go over how to rent a car.

Caption 2, Raquel Alquiler de coche

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Although the word carro would instead refer to a "cart" or "carriage" to Spaniards, this is the word most commonly used to say "car" in many countries in Latin America:

 

Recójalas allí en la puerta y tenga el carro listo, hermano.

Pick them up there at the door and have the car ready, brother.

Caption 54, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 2 - Part 4

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Auto is another common Latin American word for "car":

 

El auto amarillo está junto al dinosaurio.

The yellow car is next to the dinosaur.

Caption 18, Ana Carolina Preposiciones de lugar

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2. To Drive: Conducir vs. manejar

And speaking of cars, while the verb conducir is the most typical way to say "to drive" in Spain, Latin Americans are more likely to utter manejar. Let's compare a clip from Spain to one from Colombia:

 

Ahora os vamos a dar algunos consejos que nos ayudarán a conocer mejor nuestro coche y a conducirlo.

Now we are going to give you some advice that will help us get to better know our car and how to drive it.

Captions 2-4, Raquel y Marisa Aprender a conducir - Part 2

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Usted sabe que para mí manejar de noche es muy difícil por mi problema de la vista.

You know that for me, driving at night is very difficult because of my vision problem.

Captions 50-51, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 3 - Part 2

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3. To Take: Coger vs. tomar

When listening to someone from Spain speak about "taking" or "grabbing" something, from the bus to an everyday object, you are likely to hear the verb coger:

 

Puedes coger el autobús.

You can take the bus.

Caption 6, Marta Los Modos de Transporte

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While you may occasionally hear coger in this context in some Latin American countries, it is less common and, in fact, even considered vulgar in some places. Hence the more common way to say this throughout Latin America is tomar.

 

Te vas a ir a tomar un taxi

You are going to go take a taxi

Caption 7, Yago 12 Fianza - Part 1

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4. Computer: El ordenador vs. la computadora

Let's check out some captions from Spain to find out the word for "computer" there:

 

5. Juice: El zumo vs. el jugo

Not only can we hear the Castilian Spanish word for "juice" in this clip, but also the aforementioned "th" pronunciation of the "z":

 

Sí, un zumo de naranja.

Yes, an orange juice.

Caption 26, Raquel Presentaciones

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Latin Americans, in contrast, usually call juice jugo:

 

Y jugo de naranja y jugo de manzana.

And orange juice and apple juice.

Caption 23, Cleer y Lida El regreso de Lida

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6. Peach: El melocotón vs. el durazno

 

Macedonia de frutas. -Sí. Por ejemplo con melocotón. 

Fruit salad. -Yes. For example, with peach.

Captions 52-53, Recetas Tortilla

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Me volvió a gustar la compota de durazno 

I started liking peach baby food again,

Caption 4, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 7 - Part 1

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7. Apartment: El piso vs. el departamento/apartamento

Another set of words that differ significantly are the words for "apartment": piso in Spain and departamento or apartamento in Latin America, as we can see below in these videos from Spain and Argentina:

 

Vender un piso se ha puesto muy difícil,

Selling ​​an apartment has become very difficult,

Caption 39, 75 minutos Gangas para ricos - Part 1

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Tienes un lindo departamento, realmente. -Gracias.

You have a nice apartment, really. -Thank you.

Caption 27, Yago 10 Enfrentamientos - Part 3

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8. Cell phone: El móvil vs. el celular 

In Spain, you'll hear people talking about their moviles, or cell phones:

 

mi móvil funciona, normalmente.

my cell phone works, usually.

Caption 22, Clase Aula Azul Se involuntario - Part 1

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As we can hear in the following clip, Mexicans and other Latin Americans instead say celular: 

 

¡Eh! ¿Tienes tu celular?

Hey! Do you have your cell phone?

Caption 55, Conversaciones en el parque Cap. 1: No tengo mi teléfono.

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9. Glasses: Las gafas vs. los lentes

Many articles of clothing are called different things in different countries, and "glasses" are no exception, as we see via examples from Spain and Mexico:

 

Tiene el pelo gris y lleva gafas.

He has gray hair and wears glasses.

Caption 30, El Aula Azul Adivina personajes famosos - Part 1

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También tienes unos lentes.

You also have some glasses.

Caption 13, Conversaciones en el parque Cap. 1: No tengo mi teléfono.

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10. Socks: Los calcetines vs. las medias:

Let's conclude with the words for "socks" in Spain vs. Latin America, with videos from Spain and Venezuela:

 

Una chaqueta y unos calcetines también... calientes.

A jacket and some socks, too... warm ones.

Caption 25, Un Viaje a Mallorca Planificando el viaje

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Además, esos animales huelen peor que mis medias después de una patinata.

Besides, those animals smell worse than my socks after a skating spree.

Captions 10-11, NPS No puede ser 1 - El concurso - Part 11

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To hear even more examples of vocabulary that differs from Spain to Latin America, we recommend Carlos and Xavi's video on some differences in vocabulary between Spain and Colombia. We hope you've enjoyed this lesson, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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Let's take a look at some holiday-themed videos to get in a festive mood! We'll also point out some similarities and differences between the ways in which this December/January época de fiestas (holiday season) is celebrated in the United States versus various Spanish-speaking countries.

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La Navidad (Christmas)

As much of Spain and Latin America is Catholic or Protestant, most of the Spanish-speaking world celebrates la Navidad (Christmas):

 

Al fin y al cabo, la Navidad es una época en que los sueños se hacen realidad,

After all, Christmas is a time when dreams come true,

Caption 32, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 10 - Part 2

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That said, different Spanish-speaking countries have different ways of kicking off the Christmas season. In Colombia, it starts quite early: 

 

Pero oficialmente celebramos la Navidad el siete de diciembre que es El día de las velitas o del alumbrado.

But we officially celebrate Christmas on December seventh, which is the Day of the Little Candles or Lighting [Day].

Captions 20-21, Cleer y Lida La Navidad en Colombia

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This clip is from the video La Navidad en Colombia (Christmas in Colombia), which we recommend you tune into to learn more about Colombian Christmas traditions. Las novenas is another festivity celebrated during this season in Colombia and other countries, and it marks the kickoff of Ecuador's Christmas celebrations:

 

Novena significa "nueve", de "nueve días". Por eso se le ora y se le canta del dieciésis de diciembre al veinticuatro.

"Novena" means "nine," from "nine days." That's why it's prayed and sung to on December sixteenth to the twenty-fourth.

Captions 29-31, Cleer y Lida La Navidad en Colombia

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In this clip, Cleer and Lida describe the tradition of praying to a pesebre (Nativity scene), which Ana Carolina explains more in detail in her video Símbolos de Navidad (Symbols of Christmas). Let's now move on to the Basque Country in Spain, where the La Feria de Santo Tomás inaugurates the Christmas season:

 

Esta feria es la que marca el inicio de la Navidad en varias ciudades del País Vasco,

This fair is the one that marks the beginning of Christmas in several cities in the Basque Country,

Captions 8-9, Viajando con Fermín La Feria de Santo Tomás

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La Nochebuena (Christmas Eve)

Although people from the United States tend to celebrate el 25 de diciembre (December 25th), or Christmas, as the season's main day, el 24 de diciembre (December 24th), or la Nochebuena (Christmas Eve), is the most important day in many Latin American countries, and often the day when los regalos se intercambian (presents are exchanged):

 

Solo un día y sería Nochebuena. Y siempre había que hacer una compra de última hora.

Just one more day and it would be Christmas Eve. And there was always a last-minute purchase to make.

Captions 40-41, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 10 - Part 5

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Los regalos (Presents)

On the topic of presents, many people receive presents from their families, of course, but also from other popular characters that differ from country to country. One such character is Papá Noel (Santa Claus), who is also known as Viejito Pasquero in countries like Chile. And speaking of Santa, we invite you to see this video on a jolly Santa from Venezuela:

 

 

In Colombia, it is El Niño Dios or El Niño Jesús (Baby Jesus) who leaves presents under the tree for children, whereas Spanish children receive most of their gifts after Christmas on a holiday called el Día de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day) on el seis de enero (January sixth). 

 

 

Símbolos y costumbres de Navidad (Christmas Customs and Symbols)

Many costumbres navideñas (Christmas traditions) and símbolos (symbols) overlap in the United States and Spanish-speaking countries. These include, of course, los árboles de Navidad (Christmas trees)!

 

Este es mi árbol de Navidad, el símbolo más popular alrededor del mundo de esta festividad.

This is my Christmas tree, the most popular symbol of this celebration around the world.

Captions 21-22, Ana Carolina Símbolos de Navidad

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These also include la nieve (snow)... even in the tropics (which is probably because Santa lives at el Polo Norte (the North Pole)! 

 

Sin embargo, la nieve y los muñecos de nieve se han convertido en uno de los temas principales con los que festejamos la Navidad,

However, snow and snowmen have become one of the main themes with which we celebrate Christmas,

Captions 38-40, Ana Carolina Símbolos de Navidad

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Charitable activities are also popular during Christmas in both North and Latin America and Spain, as Diana Quintana tells us in her video En Navidad regalamos una sonrisa (At Christmas, We Give the Gift of A Smile).

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Comidas navideñas (Christmas Foods) and Villancicos (Carols) 

Of course, food is part of the Christmas celebration everywhere, although what is eaten varies from country to country. While many North Americans eat a meal very similar to the Thanksgiving feast for Christmas, each country gives la cena de Navidad (Christmas dinner) its own unique twist.

 

The same is true of traditional holiday fare, and to get a few ideas, we invite you to watch Ana Carolina make her version of eggnog, el ponche navideño (Christmas Punch), while Luis is eager to show you Venezuela's traditional Christmas pan de jamón (ham bread). You can also learn to make buñuelos, a popular Colombian holiday dessert, which Lida and Cleer prepare while singing a villancico (Christmas carol). 

 

And, on the topic of Christmas carols, Yabla has quite a few for you, including the Spanish versions of Jingle Bells, Silent Night, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town (by none other than Luis Miguel!), as well as A la Nanita Nana and Campana sobre campana (Bell Over Bell). You might also want to check out Christmas pop hits like Estoy buscando a Santa Claus (I'm Looking for Santa Claus) and the classic Feliz Navidad (Merry Christmas) by La Oreja de Van Gogh.

While traditions like food and carols overlap, other traditions are more specific to the Spanish-speaking world, and to learn more about them, we invite you to read this lesson on Christmas Vocabulary in Spanish.

 

Hanukkah

Of course, a significant portion of the Spanish-speaking world is Jewish and thus celebrates Hanukkah rather than Christmas, a holiday that shares the gift-giving tradition as well:

 

To learn more about this celebration, Yabla recommends this video on the meaning behind Hanukkah. 

 

In closing, whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or anything else, we'll leave you with the following:

 

 And don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.

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How do you translate expressions with words like "whatever," "whenever," and "however" to Spanish? Today, we will explore some simple manners of doing so using the Spanish subjunctive along with certain key words and/or phrases. 

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Whatever

It is fitting that the Spanish subjunctive is employed to express the notion of "whatever" because, in contrast to the more objective indicative, this mood describes things that are subjective, vague, or unknown. That said, the third person singular of the present subjunctive form of the verb ser (to be) appears in the Spanish equivalent of "whatever," lo que sea, which literally means "what it may be." With this in mind, we can use the formula lo que plus a subjunctive verb to convey the idea of "whatever" one may do, think, etc., when what that is not specifically known by the speaker. Let's look at some examples: 

 

Tú puedes hacer lo que tú quieras porque es tu libro,

You can do whatever you want because it's your book,

Caption 2, Escribiendo un libro Algunos consejos sobre cómo comenzar - Part 3

 Play Caption

 

Had this speaker said "Tú puedes hacer lo que tú quieres" ("You can do what you want"), in the indicative, he would probably be referring to something specific that this author wanted to do. However, the subjunctive form quieras makes it clear that her possibilities are endless. This is particularly interesting because the English equivalents of these Spanish sentences ("you can do what you want" vs. "whatever you want") do not necessarily make this distinction. Let's see another example:

 

haré lo que usted me diga.

I'll do whatever you tell me to.

Caption 83, Muñeca Brava 48 - Soluciones - Part 3

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Similarly, had this gentleman said, haré lo que usted me dice, the idea would be "I'll do what you're telling me (specifically) to do" rather than "I'll do absolutely any (perhaps crazy!) thing you might tell me."

 

Whenever

The idea of "whenever" in Spanish is very similar, and the words cuando (when) and siempre que ("as long as" or literally "always that") can be paired with verbs in the Spanish subjunctive to say "whenever" as in the following caption:

 

y con eso ya puedes mudarte cuando quieras.

and with that you can then move in whenever you want.

Caption 43, Ricardo La compañera de casa - Part 2

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Again, had the speaker said to his perspective tenant "puedes mudarte cuando quieres" (you can move in when you want), he would most likely be referring to a specific date, perhaps one that she had previously mentioned. However, the subjunctive form cuando quieras lets her know that whatever date she might choose will work fine. Here is one more example: 

 

Estos ejercicios los puedes realizar en la mañana, tarde o noche, siempre que necesites mover tu cuerpo.

You can do these exercises in the morning, afternoon, or night, whenever you need to move your body.

Captions 7-8, Bienestar con Elizabeth Activar las articulaciones

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Literally meaning "always that you need," siempre que necesites means "whenever you need" or "whenever you might need to move your body," rather than at any specific moment. 

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Wherever

You might have guessed by now that the word donde (where) plus a verb in the Spanish subjunctive can mean "wherever." Let's take a look:

 

Tú dejas las cosas, donde sea, da igual. 

You leave your things, wherever, it's all the same.

Caption 5, Arume Barcelona

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Here, we can see that donde sea is a popular way of saying simply "wherever," although the literal translation would be "wherever it might be." Let's check out an example with a different verb: 

 

en el restaurante, en el punto de información o donde estés.

at the restaurant, at the information point or wherever you are.

Caption 26, Natalia de Ecuador Palabras de uso básico

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Like the other expressions we have examined in this lesson, the speaker's intention in this caption is to explain that she would like to help people with basic expressions they might use, not in any specific place, but anywhere at all.  

 

Whichever

To say "whichever," we can use formulas such as a noun plus que plus a verb in the Spanish subjunctive or a relative pronoun (e.g. el que, la que, los que, or las que, which mean "the one(s)") plus que plus a verb in the Spanish subjunctive. Let's take a look:

 

Podéis utilizar el verbo que queráis.

You can use whichever verb you want.

Caption 58, Clase Aula Azul Pedir deseos - Part 2

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No pasa nada. Vamos a hacer los que tengamos,

No problem. Let's do whichever ones we have,

Caption 49, Escuela BCNLIP Clase con Javi: el futuro - Part 19

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In the first example, the teacher uses the formula to emphasize the students choice among all of the available verbs, while the second caption communicates that they can practice with any of the possible examples they might have gotten, even if they differ from student to student. 

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However

By "however," we don't mean sin embargo as in the conjunctive adverb, but rather "in whichever way" as in English expressions like "Do it however you see fit." For this purpose, Let's look at some examples in Spanish:

 

El destino hay que aceptarlo como venga. -¿Qué?

One has to accept destiny however it comes. -What?

Caption 56, Club 10 Capítulo 2 - Part 5

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Of course, we never know "how" destiny will unfold, so it is apt to use the subjunctive to talk about it! Another possible translation for this sentence could be "however it may come." Let's see one more example of this formula:

 

lo que tienen que hacer es aguantar como puedan las... los golpes de los de la red,

what they have to do is to withstand however they can, the... the hits from the ones by the net,

Caption 46, Escuela de Pádel Albacete Hablamos con José Luis

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Once again, as the ways they might withstand the hits from the players by the net are innumerable, the Spanish subjunctive comes into play. 

 

Whoever/Whomever

We bet you're getting the hang of this by now, but we'd better show you some examples of how to say "whoever" and "whomever" in Spanish:

 

No sé, pero quien sea la tiene difícil

I don't know, but whoever it is has got it rough

Captions 7-8, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 8 - Part 2

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An alternative translation could be "whoever it may be." 

 

Nosotras les hacemos la sugerencia a las personas que escuchen el programa

We make the suggestion to whomever listens to the program

Caption 19, Protección ambiental Ni una bolsa más

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These examples demonstrate that the formulas quien(es) or la(s) persona(s) plus que plus a subjunctive verb are the Spanish equivalents of expressions with "whoever" and/or "whomever," which are frequently confused in English ("whoever" is a subject pronoun, while "whomever" is an object pronoun). That said, the manner in which those formulas are translated will depend upon which function they fulfill within the grammatical context. 

 

Popular Expressions with "However," etc. in Spanish

Sometimes, repetition of the Spanish subjunctive verb is used to emphasize this idea of non-specificity, which we can see in many popular Spanish expressions. You will note that the repetition is not translated, and that another possible translation for such cases is "no matter":

 

pase lo que pase, yo siempre voy a estar contigo,

no matter what happens, I'm always going to be with you,

Captions 30-31, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 1 - Part 13

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An alternative translation here could be: "Whatever happens, I'm always going to be with you."

 

Haga lo que haga este tipo, este delincuente, aquí en el país es responsabilidad mía...

Whatever this guy might do, this criminal, here in the country it's my responsibility...

Captions 26-27, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 1 - Part 10

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Here, one might also say "No matter what this guy does." Let's conclude today's lesson with an excerpt from a song by our friend Luis Guitarra, which includes a plethora of similar cases: 

 

Vivan como vivan Hagan lo que hagan Sueñen con quien sueñen Sean como sean Vayan donde vayan Cuenten o no cuenten Digan lo que digan Salgan con quien salgan Piensen como piensen

No matter how they live No matter what they do No matter who they dream of No matter how they are No matter where they go No matter whether they tell No matter what they say No matter who they go out with No matter how they think

Captions 63-71, Luis Guitarra Somos transparentes

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We hope you've enjoyed this lesson on how to say things like "whatever," "however," "whichever," etc. in Spanish, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.

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What is the imperfect subjunctive tense in Spanish? It is basically the past version of the Spanish present subjunctive! That said, let's begin this lesson with a bit of background on the subjunctive, which is one of the three Spanish moods.

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The Spanish Subjunctive Mood

Most simply put, Spanish uses different verb tenses to distinguish between objective states and actions and subjective, uncertain, or emotional ones, for example, things we merely "hope" will happen. So, while there's no difference in verb form between "you come" and "I hope you come" in English, in the equivalent statement in Spanish, (usted) viene (you come) changes to the present subjunctive venga as we see here: 

 

Espero que venga a ver nuestros productos,

I hope you come see our products,

Caption 70, Otavalo Artesanos

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To get a tad more technical, as we see in the example above, in Spanish sentences with a subjunctive verb, we often (but not always) see the following structure:

 

1. An independent clause with a verb in the indicative that "triggers" the use of the subjunctive (we'll learn more about these later!)

2. A conjunction, or connecting word, like que

3. A dependent clause with a subjunctive verb

 

And while a "triggering" present tense verb provokes the present subjunctive, a "triggering" verb in some form of the past tense (e.g. preterite, imperfect, or past perfect) will be followed by a verb in the Spanish imperfect subjunctive, as we see here:

 

La verdad esperaba que usted viniera con su apoderada.

Truthfully I was hoping that you'd come with your client.

Caption 70, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 1 - Part 10

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How to Conjugate the Imperfect Subjunctive in Spanish

Now that you know a little bit about the Spanish imperfect subjunctive, let's learn how to conjugate it. If you know how to conjugate the third person plural of the preterite in Spanish, conjugating the imperfect subjunctive is relatively easy. You simply remove the -ron ending to get the imperfect subjunctive stem, then add one of two sets of endings (there are two distinct forms of the imperfect subjunctive in Spanish that are used interchangeably). Let's first take a look at these two ending sets:

 

Subject Pronoun:	Ending 1:	Ending 2:
yo:	-ra	-se
tú:	-ras	-ses
él/ella/usted:	-ra	-se
nosotros/as:	-ramos	-semos
vosotros/as:	-rais	-seis
ellos/ellas/ustedes:	-ran	-sen

 

Now, let's remove the -ron endings to come up with the imperfect stems for several common Spanish verbs: 

 

Verb	3rd Person Plural Preterite	Stem
hablar	hablaron	habla-
comer	comieron	comie-
subir	subieron	subie-
estar	estuvieron	estuvie-
ser	fueron	fue-

 

Now that we have the stems, let's add the endings to come up with the two versions of the Spanish imperfect subjunctive for all of these verbs, noting the addition of the accent in the nosotros/as (we) forms to maintain pronunciation. Although the first ending set is more commonly heard, while the second is the more "classic" form, there is no difference in meaning whatsoever.

 

Ending Set 1:

 

Pronoun/Verb:	hablar	comer	subir	estar	ser
yo:	hablara	comiera	subiera	estuviera	fuera
tú:	hablaras	comieras	subieras	estuvieras	fueras
él/ella/usted:	hablara	comiera	subiera	estuviera	fuera
nosotros/as:	habláramos	comiéramos	subiéramos	estuviéramos	fuéramos
vosotros/as:	hablarais	comierais	subierais	estuvierais	fuerais
ellos/ellas/ustedes:	hablaran	comieran	subieran	estuverian	fueran

 

Ending Set 2:

 

Pronoun/Verb:	hablar	comer	subir	estar	ser
yo:	hablase	comiese	subiese	estuviese	fuese
tú:	hablases	comieses	subieses	estuvieses	fueses
él/ella/usted:	hablase	comiese	subiese	estuviese	fuese
nosotros/as:	hablásemos	comiésemos	subiésemos	estuviésemos	fuésemos
vosotros/as:	hablaseis	comieseis	subieseis	estuvieseis	fueseis
ellos/ellas/ustedes:	hablasen	comiesen	subiesen	estuviesen	fuesen

 

And the good news is... there are no irregular verbs in the Spanish imperfect subjunctive!

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When to Use the Spanish Imperfect Subjunctive

So, what are some examples of Spanish verbs that trigger the subjunctive? The acronym W.E.I.R.D.O., which stands for Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal Expressions, Recommendations, Doubt/Denial, and Ojalá, can help you to remember many of them. Keep in mind that because today's lesson focuses on the imperfect subjunctive, all of said verbs will appear in one of the Spanish past tenses.

 

As you read the English translations, you might notice that while all of the Spanish sentences meet our aforementioned criteria for using the imperfect subjunctive, there is no "one size fits all" formula for translating this verb tense because it is used in a variety of different circumstances that call for varying verb tenses in English.  

 

1. Wishes

Verbs that describe our wishes, hopes, or desires call for the Spanish subjunctive and include desear (to want/wish/desire), esperar (to hope), exigir (to demand/require), insistir (to insist), mandar (to order), necesitar (to need), ordenar (to order), pedir (to ask), preferir (to prefer), and querer (to want). Let's take a look at two examples where said verbs in the Spanish imperfect tense prompt the use of the Spanish imperfect subjunctive:

 

que lo único que esperaba era que su madre pudiera acompañarlo a una presentación del colegio.

as the only thing he was hoping for was for his mother to be able to go with him to a school performance.

Captions 2-3, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 2 - Part 11

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Pero dijo que quería que fueran amigos.

But she said she wanted you guys to be friends.

Caption 55, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 11 - Part 4

 Play Caption

 

In these two examples, the English infinitives "to be" and "to be able" were used to translate the Spanish imperfect subjunctive because in English, we often say that we what we hoped was for something "to happen." However, in the first example "the only thing he was hoping for was that his mother could accompany him to a school performance" could be another viable/equivalent translation.

 

2.  Emotions

Emotional verbs like alegrarse (to be happy/glad), enojarse (to be/get angry), encantar (to delight), lamentar (to regret/be sorry), molestar (to bother), sentir (to be sorry), and sorprender (to surprise) also provoke the subjunctive. Let's see two examples of the imperfect subjunctive sparked by the imperfect and preterite tenses:

 

¿Y por eso te preocupaba tanto que él viniera a verme, que me contara algo?

And that's why it worried you so much that he'd come to see me, that he'd tell me something?

Caption 54, Yago 12 Fianza - Part 2

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No, me encantó que me llamaras, escucháme, eh...

No, I loved it that you called me; listen to me, um...

Caption 63, Muñeca Brava 2 Venganza - Part 3

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The first example describes one's past worry about what might happen (whether or not it did), and since in English, we often say we were worried about what "would happen," it was translated in this fashion. The second example, on the other hand, describes an action that actually took place: "you called". And yet, despite the necessary differences in the English translations, we see that in both cases, the use of an "emotional" verb in the first clause triggered the use of the Spanish imperfect subjunctive in the second. 

 

3. Impersonal Expressions

Impersonal expressions are constructions that don't involve any particular person and typically begin with the third person singular of some form of ser (to be) plus almost any adjective. Examples include bueno (good), curioso (interesting), dudoso (doubtful), extraño (strange), importante (important), necesario (necessary), probable (probable), raro (strange), urgente (urgent), and many more (the exception being adjectives that indicate certainty, such as cierto (certain) or seguro (sure). Let's see some examples of impersonal expressions in the imperfect tense that call for an imperfect subjunctive verb in the second clause:

 

Es que era muy raro que no abrieran la puerta.

It's just that it was very strange that they weren't opening the door.

Caption 20, Tu Voz Estéreo Embalsamado - Part 10

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Y para mí era bien importante que el grupo tuviera letras...

And it was really important to me that the band had lyrics...

Caption 61, La Gusana Ciega Entrevista - Part 1

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Again, the first caption describes an action that was actually happening (they weren't opening the door), while the second describes someone's past preference (which may or may not have come to fruition). Regardless, an impersonal expression in the imperfect tense triggered the use of the imperfect subjunctive. Note that an alternative translation for the second example might be: "And it was really important to me for the band to have lyrics."

 

4. Recommendations

Verbs that either recommend or don't recommend other actions, such as aconsejar (to advise), decir (to tell), dejar (to allow), exigir (to demand), hacer (to make/force), insistir (to insist), mandar (to order), ordenar (to order), prohibir (to forbid), proponer (to suggest), recomendar (to recommend), rogar (to beg), sugerir (to suggest), and suplicar (to beg) call for the subjunctive mood. Let's look at some examples in the preterite:

 

Le propuse que hiciéramos un pequeño taller de artesanía,

I suggested to him that we open a small craft studio,

Caption 40, Playa Adícora Francisco - Part 2

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Yo sé que les dijimos que no vinieran por acá pero

I know we told them not to come here, but

Caption 65, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 2 - Part 11

 Play Caption

 

Although we might find out later whether or not someone's advice was actually taken, in the moment it was given, the aforementioned "advising" verbs always trigger the Spanish imperfect subjunctive. 

 

5. Doubt/Denial

When conjugated in some form of the past, doubt verbs like dudar (to doubt), no creer (to not believe) or no poder creer (to not be able to believe), no parecer (to not seem), no pensar (to not think), and no suponer (to not suppose) call for the imperfect subjunctive:

 

Bueno, por un instante llegué a dudar de que estuvieras.

Well, for a moment, I even began to doubt that you would be [here].

Caption 41, Yago 4 El secreto - Part 11

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Yo no podía creer que me pasara que una chica así se me acercara

I couldn't believe this was happening to me that such a girl would approach me

Captions 7-8, Enanitos Verdes Cuánto Poder

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In these examples, past "doubt" causes the Spanish imperfect subjunctive, regardless of whether the situations were actually unfolding. The second example is interesting because it has been translated with both the past progressive "was happening" and the conditional "would approach" in English to represent that the speaker still can't believe such a situation "would happen" to him, even as it was. 

 

6. Ojalá

Although ojalá and ojalá que aren't technically verbs but rather conjunctions, they are roughly equivalent to such English expressions as "I hope," "let's hope," or "God willing" and require the subjunctive. When used with the imperfect subjunctive, these expressions are often to describe hypothetical situations that one wishes "were" true (interestingly, the change from "was" to "were" to represent a hypothetical situation is the only time we see a verb change in the subjunctive mood in English). Let's look at some examples:

 

No es crucial. Ojalá todos los problemas fueran estos.

It's not crucial. If only all problems were [like] these.

Caption 19, Cómetelo Crema de brócoli - Part 9

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Y ojalá todo el mundo estuviera lo suficientemente entusiasmado.

And I wish everyone were excited enough.

Caption 8, Club 10 Capítulo 1 - Part 1

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We hope that these examples have helped you to understand how to conjugate the Spanish imperfect subjunctive tense, some scenarios in which to use it, and some of the many ways in which it might be translated to English. In future lessons, we hope to focus on some additional, common uses of this tense, but in the meantime... don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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The present subjunctive in Spanish is one of the many verb tenses in the Spanish subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood is one of three moods in Spanish (the indicative, the imperative, and the subjunctive) that indicates the presence of doubt, emotion, or subjectivity, in contrast to the indicative, which states facts. The focus of today's lesson will be the conjugation of the Spanish present subjunctive tense. 

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An Example of the Present Subjunctive in Spanish: 

Before going on to conjugation, let's see an example of the present subjunctive in Spanish, which typically appears after the present indicative in dependent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction such as que (that). As a simple example, if you say, "I hope [that] you practice at home" with ustedes (plural you) in Spanish, the correct manner of doing so would be

 

espero que practiquen en su casa

I hope you guys practice at home

Caption 60, Lecciones de guitarra Con Cristhian - Part 3

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rather than espero que practican en su casa because the verb tense changes from the indicative (practican) to the subjunctive (practiquen) due to the "hope" regarding whether the action will take place. In another lesson, we will explore the many scenarios in which the Spanish subjunctive mood comes into play. 

 

Conjugating Verbs in the Present Subjunctive in Spanish

The first step in conjugating most verbs in the present subjunctive is to recall the present indicative yo (I) form of the verb. We then remove the -o in order to get the stem and add the corresponding endings for -ar and -er/-ir verbs, which we can think of as the "opposite" of the endings for each verb class in the present indicative. 

 

Let's use the aforementioned formula to get the stems for three of the most common regular verbs:

 

Verb	Yo Form	Stem
hablar (to speak)	hablo	habl-
comer (to eat)	como	com-
subir (to go up)	subo	sub-

 

 

 

 

Now, let's look at the present subjunctive endings for -ar vs. -er/-ir verbs: 

 

Personal Pronoun:	-ar Verbs:	-er/-ir Verbs:
yo	-e	-a
tú	-es	-as
él/ella/usted	-e	-a
nosotros/as	-emos	-amos
vosotros/as	-éis	-áis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	-en	-an

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Armed with this information, we can easily conjugate these verbs in the present subjunctive in Spanish. You will note that in the present subjunctive, the yo form and the él/ella/usted form are exactly the same.

 

Personal Pronoun:	hablar:	comer:	subir:
yo	hable	coma	suba
tú	hables	comas	subas
él/ella/usted	hable	coma	suba
nosotros/as	hablemos	comamos	subamos
vosotros/as	habléis	comåis	subáis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	hablen	coman	suban

 

In preparation for El Día de San Valentín (Valentine's Day), let's listen to several pertinent clips from the Yabla Spanish video library... and learn some vocabulary in the process!

 

Cupido vuelve a apuntar con su flecha

Cupid aims with his arrow again

Caption 5, Tito El Bambino Llueve el amor

 Play Caption

 

Chocolate Perfección: el chocolate para enamorados.

"Chocolate Perfección": the chocolate for lovers.

Captions 43-44, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 5: Ha nacido una estrella - Part 2

 Play Caption

 

 

Valentine's Day in North America 

The captions above include some common themes and traditions of Valentine's Day in North America, which is meant to  festejar el amor  (celebrate love) for romantic partners and family members, and, increasingly, to show appreciation for friends. Typical ways of doing so include  intercambiar regalos (exchanging gifts) and tarjetas de San Valentín  (valentines), mandar flores (sending flowers), most typically rosas rojas (red roses), giving cajas de chocolate en forma de corazón (heart-shaped boxes of chocolate), and planning special citas (dates), such as salir a cenar (going out to dinner). Valentine's Day in North America is celebrated on el catorce de febrero (February fourteenth).

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Valentine's Day in the Spanish-Speaking World

Valentine's Day is celebrated in a similar fashion on the same day in many Spanish speaking countries, with varying degrees of popularity. In addition to El Día de San Valentín, many countries refer to this holiday as El Día del Amor y la Amistad (Love and Friendship Day) or El Día de los Enamorados (Lovers' Day), while some use these terms interchangeably. And Guatemala has a unique name: El Día del Cariño (Affection Day).

 

Many Valentine's costumbres (traditions) in the Spanish-speaking world overlap with North American ones:

 

La floristería. ¿Sí? Es una tienda donde la gente compra flores, plantas, ¿sí? Por ejemplo, para cumpleaños, o para... en... en primavera, o para el Día de los Enamorados, por ejemplo.

The florist. Right? It's a store where people buy flowers, plants, right? For example, for birthdays, or for... in... in spring, or for Valentine's Day, for example.

Captions 3-6, Curso de español Tiendas y edificios públicos en la ciudad

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However, there are some differences. In Chile, las orquídeas (orchids) are the flowers of love rather than roses. And some countries, like the Dominican Republic, have the tradition of a game called Amigo secreto (Secret Friend) or Angelito (Little Angel) among friends or colleagues, which is similar to the idea of Secret Santa. 

 

Valentine's Day Alternatives

Some countries celebrate their Valentine's Day on a different date, while others commemorate both February 14th and additional love and friendship holidays. 

 

Colombia's El Día del Amor y la Amistad falls on the third Saturday in September, while Argentina's La Semana de la Dulzura (Sweetness Week), where amigos (friends) and amantes (lovers) exchange chocolate and other dulces (sweets), lasts from June 1st through 7th. Argentinians also recognize El Día del Amigo (Friend Day) on July 20th, whereas Mexico has its El Día Internacional de la Amistad (International Friendship Day) on August 30th. Additional romantic holidays include El Día del Estudiante, de la Juventud, de la Primavera, y del Amor (The Day of the Student, Youth, Spring, and Love) on September 21st in Bolivia and El Día de San Jorge (Saint George's Day) in Catalonia on April 23rd, where red roses are traditionally gifted to women and books to men. On El Día de San Dionisio (Saint Dionysius Day) in Valencia on October 9th, the gift of choice is the Spanish sweet mazapán (marzipan) wrapped in a pañuelo (handkerchief).

Valentine's Day Verbs

Now that we know about various international Valentine's-like festivities, let's learn some romantic Spanish vocabulary, starting with some verbs:

 

abrazar: to hug/embrace

acurrucar: to cuddle 

adorar: to adore/love

amar: to love

besar: to kiss 

coquetear: to flirt 

casarse: to marry/get married

enamorarse: to fall in love

encantar: to [cause] love

gustar: to [cause someone to] like 

querer: to like/love

 

Related to these words are, of course, essential Valentine's Day nouns like  el beso (the kiss) and el abrazo (the hug) and adjectives like enamorado/a (in love). Let's hear a few of these words in action:

 

Me quiero casar con ella. Estoy enamorado, ¿eh?

I want to marry her. I'm in love, huh?

Caption 59, Muñeca Brava 2 Venganza - Part 9

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¿Y no te alcanza el tiempo para coquetear con cierto chico... rubio, guapo, encantador?

And don't you have enough time to flirt with a certain guy... blond, handsome, charming?

Captions 116-117, NPS No puede ser 1 - El concurso - Part 10

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Siento que cada día te quiero más

I feel that each day I love you more

Caption 27, Alberto Barros Mano a mano

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Since the subtle differences between the different "love" verbs can seem a bit confusing for English speakers, we recommend our lessons on three different ways to express love in Spanish and Amar y Querer. And, since the way that verbs like gustar and encantar  work can feel a bit counterintuitive, we recommend this two-part lesson on Querer vs. "To Like": A Difference in Perception.

Terms of Endearment

Let's conclude today's lesson with some ways to refer affectionately to your romantic partner, although you might additionally hear many of them used among friends. While we will provide their literal translations below, many of them can be used similarly to the way that the terms "honey," "dear" or "sweetie" are used in English. 

 

Amor: love

Cariño: affection

Corazón: heart

Mi cielo: my sky

Mi rey/reina: my king/queen

Mi vida: my life

Querido/querida: dear

Let's hear a few of these in action:

 

y te mando un beso, corazón.

and I send you a kiss, sweetheart.

Caption 11, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 3 - Part 7

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Dame un beso. -¿De verdad, mi cielo?

Give me a kiss. -Really, my dear?

Caption 64, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 1 - Part 3

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¡Mi reina! Mi amor, cómo te extrañé. -Hola, yo también.

My queen! My love, how I missed you. -Hello, me too.

Captions 1-2, Yago 6 Mentiras - Part 2

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And remember that while gordo/a literally means "fat" or "fatty," it is also used as a term of endearment in some Latin American countries (although we definitely don't recommend employing it's English equivalent!).

We hope that this lesson rife with Valentine's Day vocabulary has been useful to you, and  ¡Feliz Día de San Valentín (Happy Valentine's Day)! And don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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What is the present perfect tense in Spanish? Despite its name in English, the Spanish present perfect tense is actually one of the past tenses in Spanish, which indicates that one "has done" some action within some specific period of time. This lesson will examine how to conjugate this useful Spanish tense as well as providing examples of when to use it. 

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How to Conjugate the Spanish Present Perfect Tense 

The present perfect tense in Spanish is relatively easy to conjugate. To do so, we should remember a simple formula: haber in present tense + participle. Let's first take a look at the present conjugation of the verb haber, which corresponds to the English "has" or "have" in the present perfect:

 

Personal Pronoun:	Conjugation of Haber:
yo	he
tú	has
él/ella/usted	ha
nosotros/as	hemos
vosotros/as	habéis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	han

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, let's examine how to conjugate the participle form of verbs in Spanish, which corresponds to English words with endings like -ed or -en, such as "taken," "looked," "baked," etc.

 

Conjugating the participle with -ar verbs:

Take the infinitive, remove the -ar, and add the suffix -ado:

 

hablar: hablado (to talk/speak: talked/spoken)

mirar: mirado (to watch: watched)

comenzar: comenzado (to start/begin: started/begun)

bailar: bailado (to dance: danced)

 

Conjugating the participle with -er and -ir verbs: 

Take the infinitive, remove the -er or -ir, and add the suffix -ido:

 

comer: comido (to eat: eaten)

aprender: aprendido (to learn: learned)

recibir: recibido (to receive: received)

subir: subido (to rise/go up: risen/gone up) 

 

Irregular Participles: 

There are several irregular participle forms in Spanish that it would definitely be helpful to memorize. Here are several:

 

abrir: abierto (to open: opened)

cubrir: cubierto (to cover: covered)

decir: dicho (to say: said)

escribir: escrito (to write: written)

hacer: hecho (to do: done)

morir: muerto (to die: died)

poner: puesto (to put: put)

romper: roto (to break: broken)

resolver: resuelto (to resolve: resolved)

satisfacer: satisfecho (to satisfy: satisfied) 

ver: visto (to see: seen)

volver: vuelto (to return/returned)

 

Now that we know how to conjugate the auxiliary verb haber as well as the participle, we can conjugate verbs in and formulate sentences using the present perfect in Spanish. 

 

For example, if we wanted to say, "I have spoken," we'd take the form of the verb haber that corresponds with yo (he) and the participle of the verb hablar (to speak), hablado, to get: Yo he hablado. And, we could take hemos (we have) along with the irregular participle abierto (opened) to get Hemos abierto la puerta (We've opened the door).

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When to Use the Present Perfect in Spanish 

Ahora que hemos aprendido (Now that we've learned) how to conjugate verbs in the present perfect tense in Spanish, we should think about when to use it. Just like the present perfect in English, we use the Spanish present perfect to describe actions that have been completed within a certain period of time. As previously mentioned, because these actions were completed in the past, however recent, the present perfect is considered a past tense in Spanish, in which it is known as el pretérito perfecto (literally the "past" or "preterite perfect"). With this in mind, let's take a look at some examples:

 

Ya hemos visto que reciclar contribuye de forma importante,

We have already seen that recycling contributes in an important way,

Caption 23, 3R Campaña de reciclaje - Part 3

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¿Pero se han preguntado alguna vez cómo se cultivan y se comercializan?

But have you ever wondered how they are grown and sold?

Captions 75-76, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 16

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Hoy ha llovido todo el día.

"Hoy ha llovido todo el día" [Today it has rained the whole day].

Caption 69, Carlos explica El pretérito Cap. 2: Perfecto compuesto I

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The examples above entail specific but different time periods. When the speaker says Ya hemos visto (We have already seen) in the first example, he is referring to us having already seen the importance of recycling in that video. In the second caption, the speaker asks if the people to whom he is speaking have ever (alguna vez) wondered, in their entire lives. And finally, this third example of the present perfect in Spanish explains what has happened that day.

 

It is important to note that while sentences in the present perfect often contain such references to the time period they describe as todo el día (all day), alguna vez (ever), ya (already), etc., this is not always the case. For example, in an effort to find out if "you have (ever) traveled to Spain," someone might simply ask: ¿Has viajado a España? 

 

Discrepancy Between the Spanish and English Present Perfect Tenses

Sometimes, Spanish speakers from Spain in particular use the present perfect to talk about actions in the recent past in situations in which English speakers would most likely use the past tense and Latin Americans would probably use the Spanish preterite. Let's look at an example:

 

Although the translators at Yabla opted to literally translate he dormido (I've slept) and he pasado (I've spent) with the present perfect in English, the English version sounds a bit awkward in this context because an English speaker would almost always say "I slept horribly. I had a bad night" when referring to the previous night. A Spanish-speaker from Central or South America, on the other hand, might say: "Dormí fatal. Pasé una mala noche" in the preterite. Let's look at another example: 

 

Pues nada, que ha empezado el día superbién, se ha levantado a las ocho, ha desayunado en la cafetería al lado de la escuela como siempre, ha venido a clase, hemos tenido la clase como todos los lunes.

Well, she's started the day very well, she's gotten up at eight, she's had breakfast in the cafeteria next to the school as always, she's come to class, we've had the class like every Monday.

Captions 6-10, El Aula Azul Conversación: Un día de mala suerte

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The caption above illustrates once again that, although the same is not true in English, when talking about the very recent past (typically the same day or perhaps the previous night), Spanish speakers from Spain are much more likely to employ the present perfect tense.

 

We hope that this lesson has made it clear how to conjugate and use the present perfect tense in Spanish. For further explanation and examples, check out Carlos' video on El pretérito compuesto, or "Compound perfect," which is yet another name for the present perfect in Spanish, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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What are grammatical "moods"? Many definitions of grammatical moods in linguistics explain them as features of verbs that describe "modality." But, what is "modality"?

 

In a nutshell, "modality" refers to a speaker's attitude toward what he or she is saying, which might entail such concepts as possibility, probability, certainty or doubt. "Moods" are not the same as tenses, which convey when things happen, and each of the sixteen Spanish tenses fall into one of the three mood categories. That said, let's delve deeper into the three grammatical moods in Spanish: the indicative, the subjunctive, and the imperative.

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1. The Indicative Mood

Most simply put, the indicative mood describes facts, things about which the speaker is certain, or "the objective truth." Let's take a look at some examples of sentences with verbs in the indicative mood. 

 

Estoy seguro que voy a poder ayudarla en algo.

I'm sure that I am going to be able to help you with something.

Caption 7, Yago 9 Recuperación - Part 7

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This speaker says in the Spanish present indicative tense that he's seguro (sure) that he will be able to help the person to whom he's speaking. Such phrases referring to certainty like Estoy seguro que (I'm sure that) or even Yo creo que (I believe that) are tip-offs that the verb(s) that follow(s) will be in the indicative because they indicate conviction. However, many examples of verbs in the indicative mood in Spanish won't be quite so straightforward. 

 

Hablaremos sobre el candombe.

We'll talk about candombe.

Caption 11, Sonido Babel El candombe de Uruguay

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In this example of the future indicative tense in Spanish, the speaker states (with certainty) what it is he will talk about. Let's take a look at an additional example. 

 

¡Sí! Fuimos a buscar conchas pero no fue fácil encontrarlas.

Yes! We went to look for shells but it wasn't easy to find them.

Caption 13, Guillermina y Candelario El Manglar

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In this final example in the Spanish preterite tense, the speaker clearly states the objective truth about what happened in the past: Fuimos a buscar (We went to look for) seashells, and no fue (it wasn't) easy. Although whether or not something is easy is a subjective concept, it is important to remember that it is the speaker's attitude or belief about what he or she is stating that determines the mood. 

 

There are ten verb tenses in the Spanish indicative mood: the present, the imperfect, the preterite, the future, the simple conditional, the present perfect, the pluperfect, the past anterior, the conditional perfect, and the future perfect. For a closer look at each of these tenses with examples, we recommend this lesson on the Spanish indicative tenses. 

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2. The Subjunctive Mood

While the indicative conveys certainty and objectivity, the subjunctive conveys such opposing concepts as subjectivity, doubt, wishful thinking, hypothetical situations, and more. Let's take a look at some examples:

 

No, no, no. No creo que sea muy peligroso

No, no, no. I don't think he's very dangerous,

Caption 55, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 5 - Part 8

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Just like the expression Creo que (I believe that) lets you know that the following verb will be conjugated in the indicative, the phrase No creo que (I don't believe that) is an indicator for the subjunctive. Although we won't enter into verb conjugation in this lesson, we will say that verbs in the subjunctive mood are conjugated differently than in the indicative: for example, sea is the subjunctive conjugation of ser (to be) in third person singular and is thus used in place of the indicative form es. Let's take a look at another example:

 

de verdad, esperamos que te hayamos podido devolver la alegría.

we really hope that we've been able to give you back your joy.

Caption 58, Tu Voz Estéreo Laura - Part 17

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Here, the indicative present perfect form hemos podido (we've been able) has been replaced with the subjunctive present perfect, hayamos podido, because the speaker is expressing a hope that something has happened rather than stating that it actually has. Let's look at another example of the subjunctive mood in Spanish:

 

Si yo fuera un hombre, yo pensaría que las mujeres son complicadas.

If I were a man, I would think that women are complicated.

Caption 28, Conjugación El verbo 'pensar'

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This sentence employs a common construction that combines the imperfect subjunctive with the Spanish conditional tense to talk about what "would" happen "were" a hypothetical situation in place. 

 

Learning all of the situations and/or constructions that require the subjunctive mood in Spanish can be quite challenging for native English speakers since verbs in the subjunctive mood in English rarely change. As a guideline, statements in which the second verb in a construction changes to the subjunctive include wishes like deseo que (I wish that...), emotions like me alegro de que (I'm happy that...), impersonal expressions like es importante que (it's important that...), recommendations like sugiero que (I suggest that...), and doubts like dudo que (I doubt that...), just to name a few. 

 

The Spanish subjunctive mood encompasses six tenses: the present subjunctive, the imperfect subjunctive, the future subjunctive, the present perfect subjunctive, the pluperfect subjunctive, and the future perfect subjunctive, which are explained in greater detail in this lesson on the subjunctive tenses in Spanish that also touches on our third and final Spanish mood. 

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3. The Imperative Mood 

Understanding the speaker's "attitude" in the imperative mood is less nuanced: one is "ordering" or "commanding" someone else to do something:

 

¡Hazlo todo de nuevo!

Do it all over again!

Caption 32, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 3 - Part 7

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This is an example of a positive, informal command (with tú, or the singular, informal "you") in Spanish. Let's see another example:

 

Chicos, no me hagan esta broma tan pesada. 

Guys, don't play this very annoying joke on me.

Caption 49, Club 10 Capítulo 1 - Part 1

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Here, we see the negative command that corresponds to the pronoun ustedes (plural "you"). Let's check out one more:

We hope that this lesson has shed some light on the concept of the three grammatical "moods" in Spanish and would like to conclude it with an imperative sentence: No te olvides de dejarnos tus sugerencias y comentarios (Don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments).

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Sometimes, various languages use very different idiomatic expressions to communicate exactly the same idea! As an example, the English expression "It was the straw that broke the camel's back," which refers to the last of a series of unpleasant events that causes some more extreme consequence, is conveyed with a Spanish saying with a totally different literal meaning: Fue la gota que derramó el vaso (It was the drop that spilled the glass). The purpose of today's lesson will be to bring to your attention several such idioms.

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Translating Idiomatic Expressions 

As you may have noticed, Yabla sometimes includes brackets that indicate what a word or phrase means "literally" as opposed to how it has been translated. This is because, while we want our subscribers to learn the literal meaning of the words they are reading, we also want them to glean the intention behind a particular expression (which is more obvious in some cases than in others) and/or depict what a native English speaker would say in the same context. With that in mind, let's take a look at Yabla's Top Ten Spanish Idioms from our Yabla Spanish library.

 

1.  La práctica hace al maestro

This Spanish equivalent of "Practice makes perfect" literally means "Practice makes the master":

 

Es así de sencillo: La práctica hace al maestro.

It's that simple: Practice makes perfect [literally "Practice makes the master"].

Caption 7, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 13 - Part 4

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2. Tomarle el pelo (a alguien)

Who knows why the concept of jokingly deceiving someone is expressed with "to take" or "pull one's hair" in one language and "to pull one's leg" in another? 

 

¿Qué tango, me estás tomando el pelo?

What tango, are you pulling my leg [literally: Are you pulling my hair]?

Caption 46, Muñeca Brava 30 Revelaciones - Part 3

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3. Andarse por las ramas

The Spanish idiom andarse por las ramas and its variants mean "to walk around/between the branches" and have the same meaning as the English saying "to beat around the bush," or avoid getting straight to the point. 

 

Mi abu también dice que yo ando entre las ramas,

My grams also says that I beat around the bush [literally "I walk between the branches"],

Caption 20, X6 1 - La banda - Part 1

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4. Al que madruga Dios lo ayuda

Literally translated, Al que madruga Dios lo ayuda means "God helps he who gets up early." Meant to tout the benefits of early rising, similar sayings in English include "The early bird catches the worm" and "Early to bed, early to rise makes the man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

 

Además, yo siempre madrugo, ¿vio? Porque, "Al que madruga..." "Dios lo ayuda".

Besides, I always get up early, you know? Because, "The early bird..." "Catches the worm" [literally "God helps him"].

Captions 33-34, Muñeca Brava 47 Esperanzas - Part 6

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5. Hablando del rey Roma

Spanish-speakers use the expression "Speaking of the King of Rome" instead of "Speak of the devil" in circumstances where one is, for example, talking about someone when that person appears.

 

Miren, hablando del Rey de Roma.

Look, speak of the devil [literally "the King of Rome"].

Caption 60, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 5 - Part 4

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For insight into even more idiomatic expressions from the intriguing Colombian series Confidencial: El rey de la estafa (Confidential: The King of Cons), we recommend the video Carlos Comenta- Confidencial- Vocabulario y expresiones (Carlos Comments- Confidential- Vocabulary and Expressions). 

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6. Hacer el oso

Word for word, hacer el oso means "to play" or "act like a bear"! However, this oft-used Spanish expresion, employed frequently in countries like Colombia, is used to say that someone is "making a fool of him or herself."

 

Hermano, deje de hacer el oso.

Brother, stop making a fool of yourself [literally "playing the bear"].

Caption 40, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 4 - Part 1

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To learn more such "Colombianisms," we suggest the lesson Colombian Slang: 100 Words and Phrases to Sound like a True Colombian.

 

7. Importar un pepino 

The word "darn" in English is an exclamation of disappointment, for example, when something goes wrong, while "not to give a darn" means "not to care." The Spanish equivalent importar un pepino, on the other hand, translates to "mattering as much as a cucumber" to the party in question:

 

¡Y el peor de todos es Pepino Pérez, que le importa un pepino todo!

And the worst of all of them is Pepino Pérez, who doesn't give a darn [literally "a cucumber"] about anything!

Caption 14, Kikirikí Agua - Part 1

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8. Con las manos en la masa

The image of getting "caught with one's hands in the dough," as the expression (atrapado) con las manos en la masa describes, seems like the perfect way to convey the notion of "getting caught red-handed" (in the act of doing some bad deed). 

 

Con las manos en la masa atraparon al ladrón

Red-handed [literally "with his hands in the dough"], they caught the thief

Caption 1, Eljuri Un fósforo

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9. La mosquita muerta

The expression la mosquita muerta, or "small dead fly," describes a person who appears nice or innocent but is actually evil or untrustworthy. Similar English expressions include "a wolf in sheep's clothing" or a "snake in the grass."

 

Como se equivocó la mosquita muerta esa.

What a big mistake that wolf in sheep's clothing [literally "small dead fly"] made.

Caption 11, Tu Voz Estéreo Embalsamado - Part 4

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10. Listo el pollo, pelada la gallina

Although the literal meaning of the Argentinian saying Listo el pollo, pelada la gallina is "The chicken's ready, the hen's plucked," it is used to announce the completion of some goal or task, making it similar to the more straightforward English expression, "Mission accomplished." Here, Mili from the popular Argentinian soap opera Muñeca Brava utters the second part of this expression to make this point:

 

¡Listo el último! -Va, ¡pelada la gallina!

The last one's ready! -Come on, mission accomplished [literally "the hen's plucked"]!

Caption 73, Muñeca Brava 47 Esperanzas - Part 3

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If Argentinean Spanish particularly interests you, you might read this lesson on the Top Ten Argentinian Slang Words You Need to Know. 

 

We hope you've enjoyed this lesson on Yabla's Top Ten Spanish Idioms and their English equivalents. If you are interested in learning more about what goes into translating idiomatic expressions and more, we recommend the lesson The Art of Translation, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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The use of the Spanish subjunctive can be a source of confusion for native English speakers. However, the easy-to-recall acronym W.E.I.R.D.O. can help you to understand when to use subjunctive in Spanish.

 

What is the Spanish Subjunctive Mood? 

The subjunctive is one of the three "moods" in Spanish: the indicative, the subjunctive, and the imperative. Most simply put, the imperative encompasses commands, the indicative describes objective or certain actions, and verbs in the subjunctive reflect subjectivity, a lack of certainty, or emotion.

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How Do You Know It's Subjunctive? 

You can tell a Spanish verb is subjunctive because it is conjugated differently than "normal." For example, while Tú hablas means "You speak" in the indicative, if you wish to say, "I hope you speak," the verb changes to hables in the translation Espero que tú hables because the concept of "hoping" something happens is subjunctive. In contrast, while the English language is perfectly capable of expressing these same ideas, there is no difference in the form of the verbs in the equivalent sentences "You speak" and "I hope you speak."

 

Because the subjunctive is a mood rather than a tense, it might depict actions in the past, present, or future. For this reason, just like in the indicative mood, there are many subjunctive tenses in Spanish. That said, the examples in today's lesson will be in the present subjunctive, which you can learn how to formulate in this lesson on conjugating the present subjunctive in Spanish. 

 

When to Use Subjunctive in Spanish

The Spanish subjunctive is used in dependent clauses that are often introduced by que or another conjunction. Subjunctive sentences typically involve more than one subject and more than one verb. For example, in our aforementioned sentence: Yo espero que tú hables, there are two subjects, Yo (I) and tú (you), and two verbs, espero (I hope) and hables (you speak), with the subjunctive verb hables appearing in the dependent clause that follows the word que.

 

The amusing acronym W.E.I.R.D.O., which stands for Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal Expressions, Recommendations, Doubt/Denial, and Ojalá, can help you to remember several contexts that require the subjunctive. In each subcategory, we will introduce you to several verbs that "trigger" the use of the subjunctive.   

 

1. Wishes

Just because one wishes or hopes things will happen doesn't mean they will, not to mention those actions we ask (or even order!) others to perform. Spanish employs the subjunctive mood to talk about such situations, often using the common formula of a "wishing" verb plus que plus a verb in the present subjunctive. Let's take a look at some examples: 

 

Si queremos que nuestro café sea más dulce podemos añadir azúcar, nata, leche condensada, miel.

If we want for our coffee to be sweeter we can add sugar, cream, condensed milk, honey.

Captions 25-26, Karla e Isabel Como pedir un café

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Así que, esperamos que lo disfruten, que lo sepan gozar, pero eso sí de una manera muy sana.

So, we hope you enjoy it, that you know how to enjoy it, but mind you in a very healthy way.

Captions 25-26, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 6 - Part 1

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Solo te pido que me digas cuál de ellos es Triskas:

I'll just ask for you to tell me which of them is Triskas:

Captions 11-12, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 5: Ha nacido una estrella - Part 4

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Verbs that fall into this category of describing wishes or desires include desear (to want/wish/desire), esperar (to hope), exigir (to demand/require), insistir (to insist), mandar (to order), necesitar (to need), ordenar (to order), pedir (to ask), preferir (to prefer), and querer (to want).

 

2. Emotions

Spanish also utilizes the subjunctive mood to talk about one's feeling regarding some action or state, even if it's objectively true. As an example, if you wanted to say "I'm very happy you have a new job," you might use the formula emotion verb plus a conjunction (e.g. que or de que) plus a subjunctive verb to get: Me alegro mucho de que tengas un trabajo nuevo. Let's see some more examples:

 

Me alegro de que le guste. 

I'm glad you like it.

Caption 15, Los casos de Yabla Problemas de convivencia - Part 2

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A mí lo que me molesta es que tú tengas la verdad de todo. -Loca...

What bothers me is that you have the truth about everything. -Girl...

Caption 54, Yago 9 Recuperación - Part 4

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Note that in this last example, the speaker omits the implied verb estar (to be), using only the adjective encantada to convey her delight as is often done in spoken Spanish.

 

Some common emotion verbs that invoke the subjunctive include alegrarse (to be happy/glad), enojarse (to be/get angry), encantar (to delight), lamentar (to regret), molestar (to bother), sentir (to be sorry), and sorpender (to surprise), among others. For more ways to talk about feelings in Spanish, we recommend this lesson on expressing emotions in Spanish. 

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3. Impersonal Expressions

Impersonal expressions in both Spanish and English are constructions that do not involve a particular person, for example, Hace viento (It's windy). Impersonal expressions in Spanish that involve the word Es (It's) plus almost any adjective plus the word que are indicators that the verb that follows should be conjugated in the Spanish subjunctive. 

 

Although the adjectives in such impersonal expressions are innumerable, several popular ones include: agradable (nice), bueno (good), curioso (interesting), dudoso (doubtful), estupendo (great), extraño (strange), importante (important), increíble (amazing), necesario (necessary), probable (probable), raro (strange), urgente (urgent), and vergonzoso (embarrassing). Here are a few examples:

 

No es necesario que mientas.

It's not necessary for you to lie.

Caption 17, Muñeca Brava 18 - La Apuesta - Part 12

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Although impersonal expressions can typically be positive or negative and still require the subjunctive, as in this last example (no es necesario in lieu of es necesario), the exception is when they state facts. Examples include es verdad que (it's true that), es cierto que (it's certain that), es seguro que (it's sure that) and es un hecho que (it's a fact that). However, the negative versions of these phrases do require the Spanish subjunctive, as we see in the following examples in which only the second sentence calls for the subjunctive switch: 

 

Es un hecho que él está enfermo (It's a fact that he's sick) = INDICATIVE.

No es un hecho que él esté enfermo (It's not a fact that he's sick) = SUBJUNCTIVE.

 

4. Recommendations

As with wishes, the fact we can't be sure if the actions we suggest or recommend will come to fruition is expressed with the subjunctive in Spanish. Our formula would thus consist of a "recommending verb" plus que plus a verb in subjunctive. Such "recommending" verbs include but aren't limited to aconsejar (to advise), decir (to tell), dejar (to allow), exigir (to demand), hacer (to make/force), insistir (to insist), mandar (to order), ordenar (to order), prohibir (to forbid), proponer (to propose), recomendar (to recommend), rogar (to beg), sugerir (to suggest), and suplicar (to beg), some of which overlap with the "wishes" category. Let's see some examples: 

 

te recomiendo que muevas algunos muebles del salón a la cocina.

I recommend that you move some pieces of furniture from the living room to the kitchen.

Captions 32-33, Karla e Isabel Preparar una fiesta

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les aconsejo que vayan a Zipaquirá,

I advise you to go to Zipaquira,

Caption 29, Aprendiendo con Carlos América precolombina - Mitos y leyendas Muiscas

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The Yabla video Escuela Don Quijote- En el aula- Part 1 can teach you even more about using the Spanish subjunctive to give advice.

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5. Doubt and Denial 

Sentences that express doubt and denial also call for the Spanish subjunctive via a similar formula: a doubt/denial verb plus que plus a verb in the subjunctive. Interestingly, although this includes the verb dudar (to doubt) in sentences like Dudo que venga (I doubt he'll come), most of the other verbs in this category are negative, in other words, consist of a verb with "no" in front of it. Examples include: no creer (to not believe), no estar seguro (to not be sure), no parecer (to not seem), no pensar (to not think), and no suponer (to not suppose). Let's see some of these in action:

 

No, no. No creo que haga falta; eso ya está aclarado.

No, no. I don't think it's necessary; that's already cleared up.

Caption 36, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 4 - Part 5

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No, no me parece que queden bien.

No, it doesn't seem like you fit together well to me.

Caption 41, Misión Chef 2 - Pruebas - Part 5

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On the other hand, the positive versions of these very same verbs (without no) trigger the indicative rather than the subjunctive:

 

Me parece que es la hora de terminar, ¿eh?

I think it's time to finish, huh?

Caption 76, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: parecer y parecerse

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Creo que necesito ir al médico.

I think I need to go to the doctor.

Caption 4, Ariana Cita médica

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6. Ojalá

Another construction that always goes with the subjunctive is ojalá que (or sometimes just ojalá), which can be translated with such expressions as "I hope," "Let's hope," "If only," and even "God willing." This can be seen in the title of the famous (and very catchy!) tune by Juan Luis Guerra, Ojalá que llueva café en el campo (I Hope it Rains Coffee on the Countryside). Let's watch another couple of examples from our Yabla video library: 

 

Pues, ojalá que tengáis siempre abiertas las puertas de vuestras casas y de vuestros corazones

Well, I hope that you always have open the doors to your homes and your hearts

Captions 56-57, Luis Guitarra Llegaste tú

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Ojalá que todo siga así.

I hope everything keeps going like that.

Caption 60, El reencuentro Las amigas hablan del trabajo y el amor.

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For more examples, check out Clase Aula Azul's video on the use of ojalá with the subjunctive in Spanish. Let's conclude with one last example:

 

Bueno, muchas gracias y... y ojalá nos veamos pronto.

Well, thank you very much and... and I hope we see each other soon.

Caption 36, Los Juegos Olímpicos Mario Mola

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Our sentiments exactly! On that note, we hope you've enjoyed this lesson on when to use the subjunctive in Spanish, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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In past lessons, we have spoken about informal commands and formal commands in Spanish when addressed to one or more people. But, what if we want to give a command to a group of people of which we are a part? That's where the imperative form for nosotros/as ("we") comes in. 

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Meaning of Commands with Nosotros/as

While the meaning of positive and negative commands with tú, usted, ustedes, and vosotros can feel more, well... "commanding" ("Do this!" or "Don't do that!"), the translation for commands with nosotros/as sounds more like a suggestion: "Let's..." do such and such a thing. That said, "let's take a look at" (veamos) a few examples:

 

Miremos quién era Pablo Escobar.

Let's look at who Pablo Escobar was.

Caption 3, Los Tiempos de Pablo Escobar Capítulo 1 - Part 7

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Comamos una pasta.

Let's eat some pasta.

Caption 74, Sofy y Caro Comida en un restaurante

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y abramos nuestro corazón a otras culturas,

and let's open our hearts to other cultures,

Caption 79, Silvina Una entrevista con la artista

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Conjugating the Imperative with Nosotros in Spanish

Now that we know the meaning of nosotros commands, let's learn how to conjugate them. In order to do so, we should revisit (or learn) how to conjugate verbs in the present subjunctive because the nosotros/as imperative form is the same as the nosotros/as present subjunctive.

 

To summarize briefly, to conjugate the present subjunctive, we take a verb's stem (most typically the yo form of the verb minus the -o), and add the appropriate endings (-e, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, and -en for -ar verbs and -a, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, and -an for -er and -ir verbs). Let's take a look:

 

Personal Pronoun:	-ar Verbs	-er Verbs	-ir Verbs
yo	hable	coma	suba
tú	hables	comas	subas
él/ella/usted	hable	coma	suba
nosotros/as	hablemos	comamos	subamos
vosotros/as	habléis	comáis	subáis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	hablen	coman	suban

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although these are simple examples with regular verbs, other verbs are a bit more complex. For example, stem-changing verbs like perder (to lose), which changes to pierdo in the present, change stems in the subjunctive in all forms except nosotros/as and vosotros/as, making the conjugation in the nosotros form perdamos (rather than pierdamos). However, the important thing to remember is that the present subjunctive "we" form is the exact same as the nosotros/as command form! So, if you know one, you know the other.

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Negative Commands with Nosotros 

So, how do we tell someone "let's not" (do something)? As Carlos explains to us in the following clip, constructing a negative command with nosostros in Spanish is as easy as adding "no" in front of the affirmative form:

 

imperativo afirmativo: "Hablemos de este tema", imperativo negativo: "No hablemos de esto con tu mamá".

affirmative imperative: "Hablemos de este tema" [Let's talk about this subject], negative imperative: "No hablemos de esto con tu mamá" [Let's not talk about this with your mom].

Captions 30-32, Carlos explica El modo imperativo 4: Nosotros + reflexivos

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Let's see one more example: 

 

Así que no perdamos más tiempo

So let's not waste any more time

Caption 11, NPS No puede ser 1 - El concurso - Part 2

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Irregular Nosotros Command Verbs

Of course, verbs that have an irregular form in the present subjunctive also have an irregular form in the nosotros/as imperative form, for example, sepamos for saber, seamos for ser, estemos for estar, etc. So, when we talk about irregular verbs in the nosotros command form, we are talking about verbs whose form deviates from the present subjunctive form. This is only the case for the verb ir (to go) because, to say "Let's go" in Spanish, the present indicative conjugation of nosotros is used rather than the present subjunctive conjugation: 

 

Vamos, Merycita.

Let's go, Merycita.

Caption 39, Club 10 Capítulo 1 - Part 3

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On the other hand, when we want to say "Let's not go," we do use the subjunctive form, vayamos:

 

No vayamos al evento.

Let's not go to the event.

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An Alternative Way to Say "Let's" in Spanish

An alternative way to say "Let's" in Spanish is with the following formula:

 

Ir (to go) conjugated in the nosotros form + a (to) + infinitive verb

 

Let's take a look at some examples:

 

¡Vamos a bailar!

Let's dance!

Caption 36, Guillermina y Candelario La competencia de baile - Part 2

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Bueno, vamos a ver.

Well, let's see.

Caption 4, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 3 - Sam aprende a ligar - Part 2

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¡Vamos a empezar!

Let's begin!

Caption 10, Ana Carolina Gérmenes

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Note that while this very same construction can also mean "we are going to" (do something), you will often be able to tell one's intended meaning from context. For example, in the caption above, ¡Vamos a bailar! has been translated as "Let's dance!" However, if a dance teacher said, Hoy vamos a bailar la cumbia as an explanation of the class's daily agenda, the more likely translation would be "Today, we're going to dance cumbia." That said, there are cases in which the intention of such a statement may be difficult to discern. 

 

For more on this topic, check out Carlos' video on the imperative with nosotros. We hope you've enjoyed this lesson, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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Let's talk about hobbies in Spanish! Hobbies, or pursuits in which one engages in his or her tiempo libre (free time), can range from things you do, to things you study, to things you collect... and more! 

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How Do You Say "Hobby" in Spanish? 

There are three main ways to say "hobby" in Spanish, one of which is the English word "hobby":

 

Pues, a mí me encanta bailar. Ese es mi hobby favorito. -OK,

Well, I love to dance. That is my favorite hobby. -OK,

Captions 7-8, Cleer Hobbies

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The Spanish word pasatiempo is another way to say "hobby." You might remember it as being similar to the English word "pastime":

 

Ya ustedes... Todo mundo sabe qué es béisbol. Pero no el profesional, solamente como pasatiempo.

You already... Everybody knows what baseball is. But, not the professional [kind], just as a hobby.

Captions 50-51, Peluquería La Percha Félix

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La afición is yet another way to say "hobby" in Spanish:

 

Vale... o sea que habéis conseguido transformar vuestra afición en vuestra profesión, ¿no?

OK... in other words, you guys have managed to transform your hobby into your profession, right?

Caption 72, Novalima Entrevista - Part 2

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Top 40 Hobbies in Spanish

Now that you know how to say "hobby" in Spanish, we'll introduce you to the Spanish words for a multitude of different pastimes you might take up with examples from our Spanish video library. Since some internet hobby lists include as many as 1,001 hobbies, we narrowed it down to Yabla's Top 40 Hobbies in Spanish.

 

1. Acting: la actuación

Also known as el teatro (theater), la actuación (acting) could be a fun thing to study, perhaps culminating in participation in una obra de teatro (a play). The verb associated with la actuación is actuar (to act).

 

En esta universidad afortunadamente tenemos grandes talleres de teatro, de actuación, de música

At this university, fortunately, we have big workshops for theater, acting, music,

Captions 14-15, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Ana

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2. Astrology: la astrología

Estudiar astrología (studying astrology) involves the observation of celestial bodies like the sun (el sol), the moon (la luna), the stars (las estrellas), and the planets (los planetas) for the purpose of predicting traits or events. 

 

porque el fin último de la astrología es ser una herramienta de autoconocimiento.

because the ultimate goal of astrology is to be a tool for self-knowledge.

Caption 18, Conversaciones con Luis Astrología

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As there is some terminology overlap with la astronomía (astronomy), this lesson on Astronomy 101 in Spanish might come in handy, while the above-cited video on astrology might pique your interest. 

 

3. Baking: la panadería

La panadería (baking) might be a fun (and tasty) pursuit! Alternative Spanish words for "baking" in Spanish include la repostería and el horneado, while the verb hornear means "to bake."

 

Estudié panadería profesional y pastelería moderna en dos universidades de allá. 

I studied professional baking and modern pastry making in two universities there.

Caption 6, Misión Chef 2 - Pruebas - Part 3

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If you love baking, Yabla videos about baking such delectable dishes as Colombian buñuelos, Leche asada (also from Colombia), Ecuadorian Chaqui Tanda, or even a good old chocolate cake, might be right up your alley. 

4. Bargain hunting: la búsqueda de gangas

Who doesn't love a good ganga (bargain)? If you find them particularly intriguing, la búsqueda de gangas (or "bargain hunting," which could also be conveyed with the verb buscar gangas) might be right for you!

 

Los ricos también buscan gangas

Rich people also hunt for bargains

Caption 13, 75 minutos Gangas para ricos - Part 1

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The above-cited caption is from a series entitled Gangas para ricos (Bargains for Rich People).

 

5. Birdwatching: la observación de aves

Many people find realizar observación de aves (the verb for "birdwatching") to be an interesting and educational activity to do al aire libre (outdoors).

 

La Unidad Operativa de Punta Norte, que es por excelencia, bueno, un punto de observación de aves

The Operational Unit of Punta Norte, which is, par excellence, well, a birdwatching point

Captions 24-25, Perdidos en la Patagonia Península Valdés

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6. Chess: el ajedrez

Popular mundialmente (worldwide), el ajedrez (chess) is both a fun and cerebral pastime. You can describe the action of "playing chess" with the verb jugar al ajedrez.

 

Este... mis pasatiempos, me fascina lo que es el ajedrez.

Um... my hobbies, I love chess.

Caption 27, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Manuel Orozco Sánchez - Part 1

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7. Collecting: reunir

The verbs reunir and coleccionar both mean "to collect" while una colección refers to "a collection" of some artículo (item). Popular items to collect include las camisetas (t-shirts), los sellos (stamps), las tazas (mugs), los postales (postcards), las tarjetas de beisbol (baseball cards), and even los coches (cars), although, unless they are carros de juguete (toy cars), the latter is most probably less accessible to the masses!

 

Él ha conseguido reunir una gran variedad de modelos de las grandes marcas de automóvil:

He has managed to collect a great variety of models from the big automobile brands:

Captions 11-12, Málaga Museo del automóvil

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8. Cocktails: los cócteles 

A "cocktail" hobby might include simply tasting (probar) exotic drinks at various coctelerías (cocktail bars) or, alternatively, practicing la coctelería (which also means "bartending") or la mixología (mixology), the art of making alcoholic beverages oneself!

 

Mezclamos el hielo en todos nuestros cócteles y mucha azúcar.

We mix the ice in all our cocktails and a lot of sugar.

Caption 36, Otavalo Restaurante 'Carbón de Palo'

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You might kick off your cocktail hobby by making this simple recipe for Ponche Navideño (eggnog, or literally "Christmas Punch").

 

9. Cooking: la cocina

La cocina is the noun for "cooking" while the verb cocinar means "to cook."

 

Y también me gusta mucho cocinar. Ahora mismo, voy a un curso de cocina,

And also I really like to cook. Right now, I'm going to a cooking class,

Captions 37-38, Marta Se presenta

 Play Caption

 

For cooking aficionados, Yabla has many tasty recipe ideas, including Spanish crema de broccoli, Colombian pollo sudado, and Venezuelan arepas, just to name a few. You can also delve deeper into Spanish cuisine with the series La Cocina de María (María's Kitchen), while Misión Chef (Mission Chef) takes you behind the scenes of a Mexican cooking competition for underprivileged kids. 

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10. Cycling: el ciclismo

"Cycling" or "biking" are known as el ciclismo in Spanish, while the verbs to describe this action range from practicar ciclismo (literally "to practice cycling") to andar/montar en bici ("to bike" or "ride a bike"). Bici is, of course, short for la bicicleta (the bicycle). 

 

De por sí el ciclismo es un... es un deporte de.... del pueblo,

In itself, cycling is a... is a sport of... of the people,

Caption 34, Semilleros Escarabajos Chapter 2 - Part 1

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To glean more insight into the world of professional cycling, we recommend the above-referenced series entitled Semilleros Escarabajos from Colombia, where cycling is considered by many to be the national sport. 

 

11. Dance: el baile

El baile is the noun for "dance," and bailar (to dance) is probably one of the first verbs you learned when studying Spanish. Dancing provides a creative outlet as well as buen ejercicio (good exercise). 

 

Me encanta bailar,

I love to dance,

Caption 33, El Aula Azul Los profesores de la escuela - Part 1

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There are so many styles of dance you might choose to study, such as ballet, tap, jazz, and hip-hop, or Latin styles like salsa, bachata, cumbia, merengue, flamenco, and more. 

 

12. Dining out: salir a comer

Verbs like salir a comer, salir a cenar, or comer afuera describe the popular hobby of "dining out" or "going out to eat" at restaurants, enabling one to try una variedad (a variety) of cocinas (cuisines). 

 

¿Vamos a salir a comer, señor Urrutia?

Are we going to go out to eat, Mister Urrutia?

Caption 28, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 2 - Part 1

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13. Drawing: el dibujo

The hobby known as el dibujo (drawing/sketching) has been associated with improved self-confidence and mental health. The verb dibujar means "to draw," while the verbs bosquejar and bocetar mean "to sketch."

 

eh... primero que todo le doy gracias a Dios por haberme dado esta capacidad de expresión que es el dibujo.

um... first of all, I give thanks to God for having given me this capacity for expression, which is drawing.

Captions 75-77, Bucaramanga, Colombia Pintor callejero

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If drawing interests you, you might try this video about Mexican illustrator Antonio Vargas. 

 

14. Film: el cine

This hobby might entail the frequent viewing of películas (movies/films) at el cine (the movie theater), studying la historia del cine (the history of film/cinema), or perhaps even "filmmaking" (which can also be known as el cine or el rodaje) yourself. 

 

y me encanta ver películas en el cine.

and I love watching movies at the movie theater.

Caption 33, El Aula Azul Los profesores de la escuela - Part 2

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15. Geography: la geografía

Many people are passionate about estudiar geografía (studying geography), which examines both physical locations on la Tierra (Earth) and the relationship between people and their sociedades (societies).

 

Pero me di cuenta que cuando uno estudia geografía y estudia el mundo, en realidad eso es un reflejo de nuestra mente.

But I realized that when one studies geography and studies the world, that is actually a reflection of our minds.

Captions 50-51, Outward Bound Danny

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16. Gardening: la jardinería

"Gardening" can be known as la jardinería or el cuidado de un jardín (literally "the care of a garden"). Verbs for "to garden" include cuidar un jardín, cultivar, or plantar. 

 

Seguro que a muchas de vosotras y vosotros os gusta la jardinería

Surely many of you like gardening

Caption 2, Fermín La plumeria - Part 1

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Gardening fans might enjoy Yabla host Fermín's video on an interesting flower called la plumeria. 

 

17. Golf: el golf

We don't think you'll have a hard time remembering how to say "golf" in Spanish: el golf. Jugar al golf, on the other hand, means "to play golf."

 

son alumnos del instituto José Cadalzo de San Roque y son unos apasionados por el golf.

they are students from the José Cadalzo de San Roque Institute and they are golf enthusiasts.

Captions 4-5, Club de las ideas Biodiesel - Part 1

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If golfing is your cup of tea, try the video Pasión por el golf (Passion for Golf).

 

18. Horseback riding: la equitación

While the nouns la equitación and la cabalgata mean "horseback riding," the verb montar a caballo means "to ride a horse."

 

Recuerda también que tenemos cursos de música y cursos de equitación,

Also remember that we have music courses and horseback riding courses,

Captions 27-28, El Aula Azul Conversación: Los cursos de español - Part 1

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This clip references horseback riding as one of the many activities available in addition to learning Spanish at El Aula Azul language school in San Sebastián, Spain. 

 

30. Pottery: la cerámica

In the popular series Los Años Maravillosos (the Colombian version of The Wonder Years), Kevin's mom finds an escape from her everyday life by signing up for una clase de cerámica (a pottery class), and maybe you can too!

 

Es que me inscribí en el curso de cerámica de la parroquia.

It's just that I enrolled in the church's pottery class.

Caption 20, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 12 - Part 3

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31. Playing an instrument: tocar un instrumento 

Tocar un instrumento means "to play" or "playing an instrument."

 

y que quería aprender a tocar la guitarra 

and that I wanted to learn to play the guitar

Caption 18, Luis Guitarra Influencias musicales - Part 1

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To learn the names of musical instruments you might play in Spanish, try Spanish singer-songwriter Luis Guitarra's Instrumentos musicales or Karla e Isabel- Instrumentos musicales. Alternatively, the Curso de guitarra (Guitar Course) series can teach you how to play some simple chords and tunes. 

33. Running: correr

Interestingly, the word correr can be both a noun meaning "running" and a verb meaning "to run." Taken straight from English, el jogging is also used to talk about this hobby that relieves stress and builds endurance. 

 

En el próximo febrero quince, voy a correr la maratón de Austin, Texas, 

Next February fifteenth, I'm going to run the marathon in Austin, Texas,

Captions 28-29, Cerro de Ancón Entrenamiento

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34. Soccer: el fútbol

El fútbol is an internationally popular deporte (sport) with very enthusiastic fanáticos (fans), whether they prefer to simply watch los partidos de fútbol ​(soccer matches) or jugar al fútbol ​(play soccer) themselves.

 

Los viernes, juego al fútbol con mis amigas.

On Fridays, I play soccer with my friends.

Caption 21, Ariana Mi Semana

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35. Surfing: el surf

"Surfing" is called el surf in Spanish, and the verb for "to surf" is surfear.

 

Una de mis grandes aficiones desde niña es el surf, 

One of my big hobbies since I was a little girl is surfing,

Caption 4, Ana Teresa Yoga y surf

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For videos on surfing, try this one on the Costa Azul Surf Shop in Los Cabos, Baja, Mexico, and Ana Teresa's video on yoga and surfing as complementary practices.

 

36. Swimming: la natación

La natación is an excellent, low-impact way to get exercise, which many find muy relajante (very relaxing). The verb nadar means to "swim."

 

Para nosotros, que amamos este deporte, la natación es nuestro estilo de vida. 

For us, who love this sport, swimming is our lifestyle.

Captions 24-25, Víctor en Caracas La natación

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For swimming-related videos, try La natación or Socorrismo en Málaga (Lifeguarding in Málaga).

 

37. Tennis: el tenis

El tenis (tennis) could be an exhilarating and physically-challenging deporte (sport) to try. Jugar al tenis means "to play tennis."

38. Traveling: viajar

Traveling is known by the verb that means "to travel," viajar, whereas the noun los viajes refers to one's "travels" or "trips." We agree with the sentiment expressed in the following clip: