Spanish 1/Activities

Chapter 2

Activities

comer - to eat
beber - to drink

bailar - to dance
cantar - to sing

correr - to run
escribir cuentos - to write stories
escuchar música - to listen to music
estudiar - to study
esquiar - to ski
hablar por teléfono - to talk on the phone
ir a la escuela - to go to school
hacer la tarea - to do homework
jugar videojuegos - to play videogames
leer revistas - to read magazines
montar en bicicleta - to ride a bicycle
montar en monopatín / patineta - to skateboard
nadar - to swim
pasar tiempo con amigos / amistades - to spend time with friends
patinar - to skate
jugar deportes - to play sports
tocar la guitarra - to play the guitar
trabajar - to work
usar la computadora - to use the computer
mirar la televisión/ver la tele - to watch television

Words to describe something you like or dislike

A mí - (Used for emphasis when talking about what you like.)
A mí no - (Used for emphasis when talking about what you dislike.)
Me gusta... - I like to...
Me gusta más... - I like to...better.
Me gusta mucho... I like to...a lot.
Me gusta poco... I like to... very little.
A mí también. - I do too....
A mí tampoco. - I don't either / Me neither.
No me gusta... - I don't like to do...
No me gusta (para) nada... - I don't like to...at all.
¿Qué te gusta hacer? - What do you like to do?
¿Qué te gusta hacer más? - What do you like to do more?
¿Te gusta...? - Do you like to...?
¿Y a ti? - And you?

Other frequently used words

ni - neither, nor
o - or
y - and
¡Bueno! - good
¡Bien! - well
sí - yes
no - no
también - also, too
tampoco - neither {opposite of también}
nunca - never
a veces - sometimes
siempre - always
no... sino... - not... but rather...
- No me gusta trabajar sino escuchar música. I don't like to work but rather listen to music.

Cultural note

Many schools in Latin America don't have a Physical Education class or sports teams, instead many students go to local gyms to join sports teams.

Cognates/False Cognates

Cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. False cognates look similar but actually have different meanings.

Cognates

popular = popular
usar = to use
guitarra = guitar
instrumento = instrument
importante = important
flamenco = flamenco
tango = tango
merengue = merengue
salsa = salsa
cumbia = cumbia
famoso = famous
famosa = famous
no = no

False Cognates

el pie = the foot
actual = current

Instrumentos

acordeón - accordian
bajo - bass
clarinete - clarinet
claves - keys
güiro - güiro
maracas - maracas
oboe - oboe
saxofón - saxophone
sintetizador - synthesizer
tambor - drum
trombón - trombone
trompeta - trumpet
tuba - tuba
violín - violin
cymbals - platillos

Cultural Insight (Dances)

Many famous dances have originated in Spanish-speaking countries. Below are lists of dances and their country of origin:

-Flamenco: Spain

-Tango: Argentina

-Merengue: Dominican Republic

-Salsa: Puerto Rico

-Cumbia: Colombia

Country focus (Estados Unidos)

The United States of America (Spanish: Estados Unidos), usually referred to as the United States, the U.S. or America, is a constitutional federal republic comprising fifty states and a federal district, as well as several territories, or insular areas, scattered around the Caribbean and Pacific. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to its east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait, and the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific.

At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with more than 300 million people, the United States is the fourth largest country by total area, and third largest by population. The United States is one of the world's most ethnically diverse nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the largest national economy in the world, with a nominal 2006 gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$13 trillion (over 25% of the world total based on nominal GDP and almost 20% by purchasing power parity).

The nation was founded by thirteen colonies of Great Britain located along the Atlantic seaboard. Proclaiming themselves "states," they issued the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The rebellious states defeated Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, the first successful colonial war of independence. A federal convention adopted the current United States Constitution on September 17, 1787; its ratification the following year made the states part of a single republic. The Bill of Rights, comprising ten constitutional amendments, was ratified in 1791.

Castillo de San Marcos, a fort in St.Augustine, Florida, the oldest European settlement in the USA.

In the nineteenth century, the United States acquired land from France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Russia, and annexed the Republic of Texas and the Republic of Hawaii. Disputes between the agrarian South and industrial North over states' rights and the expansion of the institution of slavery provoked the American Civil War of the 1860s. The North's victory prevented a permanent split of the country and led to the end of slavery in the United States. The Spanish-American War and World War I confirmed the nation's status as a military power. In 1945, the United States emerged from World War II as the first country with nuclear weapons, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and a founding member of NATO. In the post–Cold War era, the United States is the only remaining superpower—accounting for approximately 50% of global military spending—and a dominant economic, political, and cultural force in the world. The United States is a multicultural nation, home to a wide variety of ethnic groups, traditions, and values.

Los Angeles, formely a Spanish pueblo, is today a major city home to 4.1 million people and is a major world center in tourism and culture.

Factbox:

Official languages: none (English is the de facto language)

Other Languages: Spanish, French, German, Cantonese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Italian, Korean, 327 other languages

Capital: Washington D.C.

Government: Democratic Republic

Area: 9,629,091 sq km (3,794,066 sq mi) (4th)

Population: 310,101,000 (July 2010) (3rd)

Religion: Christianity 78.5% (Protestant 51.3%, Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%), Non-religious 15%, Judaism 2.1%, Buddhism 2%, Islam 1%, Hinduism 0.4%, other 1% (mostly Unitarian Universalism, traditonal beliefs, Sikhism, Jainism, Confucianism, Taoism, etc.)

Human Development: 0.956 (VERY HIGH, 13th)

Independence: July 4, 1776

Currency: United States Dollar