Spanish 2/Chapter 6 (On the Road)

Chapter 6 (On the Road)

Driving

• avenida - avenue
• camión - truck
• carretera - highway
• conductor(ora) - driver
• cruce de calles - intersection
• cuadra - block
• esquina - corner
• estatua - statue
• fuente - fountain
• peatón - pedestrian
• permiso de manejar - driver's license
• plaza - plaza
• policía - police officer
• poner una multa - to give a ticket
• puente - bridge
• semáforo - stoplight
• señal de parada - stop sign
• tráfico - traffic

Note: Policía is both masculine and feminine. Señal is feminine.

Driving advice

• ancho(a) - wide
• ¡Basta! - Enough!
• De acuerdo. - OK., Agreed.
• dejar - to leave, to let
• Déjame en paz. - Leave me alone.
• despacio - slowly
• esperar - to wait
• estar seguro(a) - to be sure
• estrecho(a) - narrow
• Me estás poniendo nervioso(a). - You're making me nervous.
• peligroso(a) - dangerous
• quitar - to take away, to remove
• tener cuidado - to be careful
• ya - already

Asking and giving directions

• aproximadamente - approximately
• ¿Cómo se va...? - How do you get to...?
• complicado(a) - complicated
• cruzar - to cross
• derecho - straight
• a la derecha - to the right
• a la izquierda - to the left
• desde - from, since
• doblar - to turn
• en medio de - in the middle of
• hasta - as far as, up to
• manejar - to drive
• metro - subway
• parar - to stop
• pasar - to pass, to go
• por - for, by, around, along, through
• quedar - to be located
• seguir - to follow, to continue
• tener prisa - to be in a hurry

Note: Seguir is a stem-changing verb from e to i.

Present progressive: irregular verbs

Some verbs have irregular present participle forms. To form the present participle of -ir stem-changing verbs, the e in the infinitive changes to i and o changes to a u.

• decir: diciendo - saying, telling
• pedir: pidiendo - asking
• repetir: repitiendo - repeating
• seguir: siguiendo - following
• servir: sirviendo - serving
• vestir: vistiendo - dressing
• dormir: durmiendo - sleeping

In stem-changing -er verbs, the i in -iendo changes to y.

• creer: creyendo - thinking
• leer: leyendo - reading
• traer: trayendo - bringing

Remember that when you use object pronouns with the present progressive, you can put them before the conjugated form of estar or attach them to the present participle.

Irregular affirmative tú commands

Some verbs have irregular affirmative tú commands. To form many of these commands, simply take the yo form of the present tense and drop the -go.

(infinitive - yo - command)

• poner - pongo - pon
• tener - tengo - ten
• decir - digo - di
• salir - salgo - sal
• venir - vengo - ven

Hacer, ir, and ser have irregular tú command forms that must be memorized.

• hacer: haz - do
• ir: ve - go
• ser: sé - be

If you use a direct object pronoun with an affirmative command, attach the pronoun to the command. When a pronoun is added to a command of two or more syllables, a written accent mark is needed of the vowel.

ex. ¡Ayúdame!

Direct object pronouns

You know that direct object pronouns replace direct object nouns. The direct object pronouns lo, la, los, and las can refer to both objects and people. The pronouns me, te, nos, and os refer only to people.

• me - me
• te - you (familiar)
• lo, la - him, her, it, you (formal)
• nos - us
• os - you (familiar)
• los, las - them, you

Remember that in Spanish, the subject and verb ending tell who does the action and the direct object pronoun indicates who receives the action.

ex.¿Me ayudas, por favor?

Direct object pronouns usually come right before the conjugated verb. When an infinitive follows a conjugated verb, the direct object pronoun can be placed before the first verb or attached to the infinitive.

Vocabulario adicional

Transportation

• acera - sidewalk
• bache - pothole
• bajar de - to get off
• hacia - toward
• multa - fine (for traffic or criminal violation)
• parada - stop
• subir de - to get on
• taxi - taxi

Businesses

• panadería - bakery
• heladería - ice cream parlor
• peluquería - barber
• papelería - stationary store

Cultural Insight (El barrio)

Entrada a un parque en Mérida, Yucatán, México.

Neighbors in Spanish-speaking countries tend to know one another very well and usually act as housekeepers when a neighbor is away. Almost every person in a neighborhood has one another's telephone numbers in case of emergencies and for special events, such as an invitation to a party. Traditional neighborhoods are usually near a plaza where the open-air market is held, or other places, such as a theatre, shops, and restaurants.