Grammar geeks only
Let me preface this blog post by saying itās probably not going to interest many people beyond English grammar geeks or Spanish language geeks. Deal with it. Itās my blog.
So I came to Spain with some basic travelerās phrases, and I had maybe 5-10 verbs (have, want, is). In fact, one of the first things I learned in my Spanish class here is that the verb āto beā or āisā has two forms: permanent (es) and temporary (estĆ”). For example, Ā āShe is Americanā (Soy Americano) and āShe is tiredā (Estoy cansado) are two different verbs: one for the temporary state of being tired and one for the permanent state of being from America. I still donāt really have a solid grasp on the difference, but I like to think that is because I am very zen. What is the real line between permanent and temporary? Isnāt everything ultimately temporary in life?
In general, I find Spanish to be like English with a mixed up word order. For example, adjectives go after the noun instead of beforeāI think by the time we leave I will be able to do this. Right now, beyond agua fria (which I say all the time), I always wind up saying the adjective before the noun. Also, the order of the subject in relation to the verb is much less important than English. Direct objects can go in front of verbs, except when they donāt. A question can be asked with the subject or object either before or after the verb.
And then thereās the challenge of matching gender and singular/plural nouns. Word have genders here. So you just have to memorize what is masculine and what is feminine. For example, mesaĀ means table. But if I wanted to say a āwhite tableā, I would say mesa blanca, and if I wanted to say āwhite tablesā, I would say mesas blancas, changing the adjective to plural. But if I wanted to say white dog (perro), I would have to change the adjective to end in āoā for blanco for masculine and match it to singular or plural. And so it goes with the word āourā for example. In English, we only have one word: our. In Spanish we have nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras for each of the four types of nouns it could modify.
The biggest shift between the two languages is in verbs. I understood the concept of conjugation, but hadnāt really done it since high school. Ā We do not have so many verb conjugations in English, but we do have some. Most of the time English verbs do not change much between the types of the first person (I), second person (you), third person (he, she), first person plural (we), and third person plural (they). For example in English: I have, you have, she has, we have, they have. You see only one change from āhasā to āhaveā. But in Spanish, it is: Tengo, Tienes, Tiene, Tenemos, Tienen. Every single verb form is a different word.
I find this both inefficient (because there are so many words for the same verb), but also more efficient because the subject is inside the verb itself. To say āI love you.ā is te amo. My son asked why wouldnāt it be āYo amoā, because it is āI love youā and āYoā means āIā. Whereās the āIā? I explained that objects are not always after the verb and the subject is inside the verb. So the āIā is inside the word āamoā because it is conjugated to first-person. And the subject āteā which is the āyouā is before the verb. See what I mean? Itās efficient and complicated at the same time.
I also enjoy that you canāt do word-for-word literal translations because sometimes the entire sentence structure does not work in English. For example, double negatives are required: āNo quiero el gato nunca.ā technically translates to āI donāt want a cat never.ā But it means āI never want a cat.ā And of course, those of you who speak Spanish will have noticed that earlier I skipped over a complete verb form that does not exist in English at all: the plural you (vosotros). Use vosotros when you want to say āYou are doing somethingā, but you mean many people, not one person. The closest thing in English isĀ āYāallā, but again, this is something that is informal slang in English but required in Spanish.
Even better, this week we learned about a whole sentence form that simply doesnāt exist in English. āMe gusta la cama.ā (I like the bed) and āMe gustan los tacos.ā (I like tacos.) In this case, the verb āgustaā doesnāt conjugate as described aboveāit just changes from singular (gusta) to plural (gustan) based on the thing being liked. And you change the word in front of the verb based on who is doing the liking: me, te, le, nos, etc. So the object of the sentence is actually the subject of the sentence. Itās fantasticāand it totally canāt happen in English.
But truly, the thing I am most improved at is nodding at people like I know exactly what they are talking about. You canāt even tell I have no idea what they are saying. Itās very impressive. My Spanish is much improved in this senseā¦
Adios Amigos!
