Spanish 1/Television

Chapter 18 (Television)

likes/dislikes

• me gusta(n) - I like
• no me gusta(n) - I don't like
• no me gustan mucho - I really don't like
• me gustan mucho - I really like
• odio - I hate

Television programs

• canal - channel
• programa de concursos - game show
• programa de dibujos animados - cartoon show
• programa de entrevistas - interview program
• programa de la vida real - reality program
• programa de noticias - news program
• programa educativo - educational program
• programa musical - musical program
• telenovela - soap opera

Note: Programa is a masculine noun.

Types of movies

• comedia - comedy
• drama - drama
• película de ciencia ficción - science fiction movie
• película de terror - horror movie
• película policíaca - crime movie
• película romántica - romantic movie

Entertainment adjectives

• cómico(a) - funny
• emocionante - exciting
• fascinante - fascinating
• infantil - childish
• realista - realistic
• tonto(a) - silly, stupid
• violento(a) - violent

Boring or interesting

• me aburre(n) - it bores me (they bore me)
• me interesa(n) - it interests me (they interest me)

Entertainment terms

• actor - actor
• actriz - actress
• dar - to show
• durar - to last
• empezar - to begin
• terminar - to end

Being specific

• más/menos de - more/less than
• medio(a) - half
• ¿Qué clase de...? - What kind of...?

Verbs

• acabar de... - to have just...
• aburrir - to bore
• doler - to hurt, to ache
• encantar - to love
• faltar - to be missing
• interesar - to interest
• quedar - to fit

Note: Use acabar de... in its conjugated forms when referring to an object that has just finished doing something. Doler is a stem-changing verb, the o changes to ue when conjugated.

Other words

• antes de - before (time)
• ante de - before (position)
• casi - almost
• ¿De veras? - Really?
• especialmente - especially
• por eso - therefore
• sobre - about
• ya - already

Seguir (to follow)

Seguir, like hacer has an irregular yo conjugation..

• sigo - I follow
• sigues - you follow (singular)
• sigue - he/she follows
• seguimos - we follow
• seguís - you follow (plural)
• siguen - they follow

Note: The usual, usted and ustedes warning, they both conjugate in the 3rd person form.

Cultural Insight (Television and movies)

In Spanish-speaking countries, going to the movies, like in many countries, is a favorite pastime. Mexico, United States, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, and Spain produce many Spanish language movies annually. Telenovelas, or soap operas are also popular in Spanish-speaking countries, unlike American soap operas that last for years, Spanish language soap operas only last for a few weeks.

Country Focus (Chile)

Chile (Spanish: Chile) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage at the country's southernmost tip. It is one of only two countries in South America that does not have a border with Brazil. The Pacific forms the country's entire western border, with a coastline that stretches over 6,435 kilometres. Chilean territory extends to the Pacific Ocean which includes the overseas territories of Juan Fernández Islands, the Sala y Gómez islands, the Desventuradas Islands and Easter Island located in Polynesia. Chile claims 1,250,000 km² (482,628 sq mi) of territory in Antarctica.

Chile's unusual, ribbon-like shape —4,300 km long and on average 175 km wide— has given it a hugely varied climate, ranging from the world's driest desert - the Atacama - in the north, through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, to a snow-prone Alpine climate in the south, with glaciers, fjords and lakes. The northern Chilean desert contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates the country in terms of population and agricultural resources. This area also is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century, when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. The Andes Mountains are located on the eastern border.

Santiago skyline, overshadowed by the Andes.

Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while the indigenous Araucanians (also known as Mapuches) inhabited central and southern Chile. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern regions. It was not until the 1880s that the Araucanian Indians were completely subjugated. The country, which had been relatively free of the coups and arbitrary governments that blighted the South American continent, endured a 17 year military dictatorship (1973-1990), one of the bloodiest in 20th-century Latin America that left more than 3,000 people dead and missing.

Currently, Chile is one of South America's most stable and prosperous nations. Within the greater Latin American context it leads in terms of competitiveness, quality of life, political stability, globalization, economic freedom, low perception of corruption and comparatively low poverty rates. It also ranks high regionally in freedom of the press, human development and democratic development. Its status as the region's richest country in terms of gross domestic product per capita (at market prices and purchasing power parity) is countered by its high level of income inequality, as measured by the Gini index.

Torres del Paine in the Andes, towers 2,460 m or 8,100 ft above sea level.

Northern Chile was an important center of culture in the medieval and early modern Inca empire, while the central and southern regions were areas of Mapuche cultural activities. Through the colonial period following the conquest, and during the early Republican period, the country's culture was dominated by the Spanish. Other European influences, primarily English, French, and German began in the 19th century and have continued to this day.

Factbox:

-Official Language: Spanish

-Other Languages: Mapudungun, European languages, Native American languages

-Capital: Santiago

-Government: Democracy

-Area: 756,102 sq km (292,183 sq mi) (33rd)

-Population: 17,063,000 (60th)

-Religion: Christianity (Catholic 70%, Protestant 15.1%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1%, Mormon 0.9%) 87%, Non-religious 8.3%, Traditional beliefs 0.88%, Judaism 0.22%, other (Bahá'i, Buddhism, Islam) 3.6%

The Andes Mountains terminate in southern Chile after winding south from Venezuela.

-Human Development: 0.878 (44th, HIGH)

-Independence: September 18, 1810

-Currency: Chilean Peso