spanish obsessed vocabulary course handbook

© Spanish Obsessed, 2014

Vocabulary Course

Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 4

Our example phrases .......................................................................................................................... 4

Using Anki ........................................................................................................................................... 4

Module 2: Cognates ............................................................................................................................ 6

2.2: tion ........................................................................................................................................... 6

2.3: ate ............................................................................................................................................ 6

2.4: ity ............................................................................................................................................. 6

2.5: al ............................................................................................................................................... 7

2.6: ary ............................................................................................................................................ 7

2.7: ble ............................................................................................................................................ 7

2.8: ify.............................................................................................................................................. 8

2.9: ic .............................................................................................................................................. 8

2.10: ly ............................................................................................................................................. 8

2.11: or/our ..................................................................................................................................... 8

2.12: y .............................................................................................................................................. 9

2.13: ous .......................................................................................................................................... 9

Module 3: Vocabulary Concept #1 ................................................................................................... 10

Module 4: Power Verbs .................................................................................................................... 10

Tener ............................................................................................................................................. 10

Hacer ............................................................................................................................................. 13

Dar ................................................................................................................................................. 15

Llegar ............................................................................................................................................. 17

Llevar ............................................................................................................................................. 18

Dejar .............................................................................................................................................. 20

Salir................................................................................................................................................ 21

Poner ............................................................................................................................................. 22

Module 5: Common Spanish Roots ................................................................................................... 23

5.1 Abrir: ....................................................................................................................................... 23

5.2 Acción ...................................................................................................................................... 23


5.3 Agua ........................................................................................................................................ 23

5.4 Ánimo ...................................................................................................................................... 24

5.5 Beso ......................................................................................................................................... 24

5.6 Boca ......................................................................................................................................... 25

5.7 Tener ....................................................................................................................................... 25

5.8 Hacer ....................................................................................................................................... 25

5.9 Saber ....................................................................................................................................... 26

5.10 Romper .................................................................................................................................. 26

5.11 Poner ..................................................................................................................................... 26

5.12 Pasar ...................................................................................................................................... 27

5.12 Mal ........................................................................................................................................ 27

Module 7: Suffixes ............................................................................................................................ 28

7.2 –able/-ible ............................................................................................................................... 28

7.3 –ado ........................................................................................................................................ 29

7.4 –aje .......................................................................................................................................... 29

7.5 –ante/-ente ............................................................................................................................. 29

7.6 –dor/-dora ............................................................................................................................... 30

7.7 -era .......................................................................................................................................... 31

7.8 –ería ........................................................................................................................................ 31

7.9 –ita/o ....................................................................................................................................... 31

7.10 –ico ........................................................................................................................................ 32

7.11 –idad...................................................................................................................................... 32

7.12 –ificar .................................................................................................................................... 33

7.13 –ísimo .................................................................................................................................... 33

Appendix: Tests ................................................................................................................................. 35

Test 1 ............................................................................................................................................. 35

Test 2 ............................................................................................................................................. 35

Test 3 ............................................................................................................................................. 36

Test 4 ............................................................................................................................................. 36

Test 5 ............................................................................................................................................. 37

Test 6 ............................................................................................................................................. 37

Test 7 ............................................................................................................................................. 38

Test 8 ............................................................................................................................................. 38

Test 9 ............................................................................................................................................. 39


Test 10 ........................................................................................................................................... 40

Test 11 ........................................................................................................................................... 40

Test 12 ........................................................................................................................................... 41

Test 13 ........................................................................................................................................... 41


Introduction

Welcome to the Spanish Obsessed Vocabulary Course! This handbook is designed to be used in

conjunction with the audio course, and provides supporting transcripts, vocabulary, and further

details. Use it while you listen along with the course to help clarify any concepts you might have

trouble with.

Our example phrases

We often provide example phrases for our chosen verbs. This can often be dangerous in language

learning, as inventing phrases is not a great example of natural language - which is what we strive for

throughout the course. This is why we made use of “corpora” in sourcing our phrases. A “corpus” is a

huge database of recorded natural language, using both texts and transcriptions. You can search

through corpora to find example words, and see what the most common phrases and uses are. The

corpus we used was http://www.corpusdelespanol.org/. That’s why we are so confident in what we

suggest as most common uses of certain words – we’ve got the data to back it up!

We recommend having a play with the corpus if you have time, and seeing what common

collocations (something we’ll explore in the course) you can find.

Using Anki

We’ve provided all of the vocabulary we present in this course as Anki downloads. Anki is a “spaced

repetition software”, and is what we recommend for vocabulary study. It’s completely free, and a

breeze to set up. Even better, you can install it on your mobile and sync to your desktop version, so

that you can practise Spanish whenever, wherever.

Setting up Anki

1. Go to http://ankisrs.net/

2. Click “download”, and follow the instructions.

Using our flashcards with Anki

Our flashcards are available per module, and are saved as “.akpg” files. The following steps show you

how to import these into Anki:

1. Select “file”> “import”


2. Navigate to the relevant module, making sure that you select the “.akpg” file.

For more tips on using Anki, see the below:

http://spanishobsessed.com/blog/some-more-memory-tricks/

As we mention, other software is available. Although we haven’t used these, here are other SRS

systems you could try:

http://fullrecall.com/

http://www.supermemo.com/

http://sourceforge.net/projects/jmemorize/


Module 2: Cognates

Cognates are those words where Spanish and English overlap. These are the words which are very

similar in both English and Spanish, and require minimal changes to translate. These are incredibly

useful for expanding your vocabulary quickly, as by following some guidelines we can convert a large

portion of our English vocabulary into Spanish.

In this section, we review some of the most useful cognates, and also look at a couple of “false

cognates” – where the translation is not quite as simple as it at first seems!

2.2: tion

English nouns which end with “tion” are often equivalent to Spanish nouns ending with “ción”

(bolded letters are accentuated when pronounced):

Celebración Celebration

Aplicación Application

Collección Collection

Condición Condition

Fracción Fraction

Acción Action

Satisfacción Satisfaction

2.3: ate

English verbs which end with “ate” can often be translated to Spanish by changing the “ate” to “ar”:

Liquidar To liquidate

Acelerar To accelerate

Coordinar To co-ordinate

Considerar To consider

Crear To create

Fascinar To fascinate

Asociar To associate

Terminar To terminate/finish

2.4: ity

English nouns ending with “ity” can often be translated to Spanish by changing “ity” to “idad”:

Habilidad Ability

Prioridad Priority

Seguridad Security


Realidad Reality

Electricidad Electricity

Identidad Identity

Capacidad Capacity

2.5: al

English adjectives ending with “al” can be translated into Spanish, with no changes needed other

than a change in pronunciation. The stressed syllable is always the last one in Spanish:

Natural Natural

Moral Moral

Original Original

Normal Normal

Radical Radical

Gradual Gradual

Real Real

Legal Legal

2.6: ary

Many Spanish words ending with “ary” can be translated into English by changing “ary” to “ario”.

The stress falls on the “a” syllable:

Salario Salary

Diario Diary

Necesario Neccesary

Imaginario Imaginary

Santuario Sanctuary

Complementario Complementary

Secretario/ Secretaría Secretary

Ordinario Ordinary

Comentario Commentary

2.7: ble

Words ending in “ble” do not generally need to change. However, the stressed syllable changes,

always falling on the penultimate syllable in Spanish:

Posible Possible

Adorable Adorable

Terrible Terrible

Visible Visible

Adaptable Adaptable


2.8: ify

English verbs ending with “ify” can be translated to Spanish by changing “ify” to “ificar”, forming –AR

verbs in the infinitive:

Amplificar Amplify

Simplificar Simplify

Identificar Identify

Cuantificar Quantify

2.9: ic

Adjectives ending with “ic” in English can be converted to Spanish by adding an “o”:

Fantástico Fantastic

Orgánico Organic

Romántico Romantic

Básico Basic

Magnético Magnetic

Académico Academic

2.10: ly

Some adverbs ending in “ly” in English can be translated to Spanish by changing “ly” to “mente”

Normalmente Normally

Correctamente Correctly

Finalmente Finally

Inmediatamente Immediately

Secretamente Secretely

2.11: or/our

Words ending with “or” (typically with American English spelling) are often exact cognates. The final

syllable is stressed:

Humor Humour

Actor Actor

Factor Factor

Error Error

Interior Interior

Exterior Exterior

Autor Author


2.12: y

English nouns which end with “y”, and are usually topics/subjects, can be translated to Spanish by

changing the “y” to “ía”. The “í” is accentuated (except for “historia”):

Historia History

Biología Biology

Geografía Geography

Fotografía Photgraphy

Astronomía Astronomy

Homeopatía Homeopathy

2.13: ous

English adjectives ending with “ous” can often be translated to Spanish by changing the “ous”

ending to “oso”:

Famoso Famous

Glorioso Glorious

Fabuloso Fabulous

Maravilloso Marvellous

* Note that “serious” does not follow this rule. The translation of “serious” is “serio”.


Module 3: Vocabulary Concept #1

In the first vocabulary concept, we talk about how to approach memorising vocabulary in the first

place. What are some of the best memorisation techniques, and how can we ensure that what we

learn sticks in our brain?

Vocabulary presented:

Spanish English

Visible Visible

Un gancho Hook

El mundo World

En la punta de la lengua On the tip of the tongue

Una cisma Split

Un partido Group/ Team

Porfiar To strive/endeavour

Un hito Milestone

La llegada The arrive

Gozar To enjoy

The article was:

http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2014/01/05/52c83359ca47410b798b4570.html

Module 4: Power Verbs

“Power verbs” are verbs which are frequent, highly useful, but which also have various uses and

meanings. Using these correctly is highly important to developing a more natural Spanish. You’ll

soon discover that there’s a lot more to learning a word than just learning one translation! A verb

such as “tener” is used for all sorts of different meanings, and many of these are quite different to

our English uses. That’s why it’s so important to focus on them.

In this section, we look at our top “power verbs”, and explore their highly important uses.

Tener

Conjugations:

Present simple Preterite tense Future

Yo Tengo Tuve Tendré

Tú Tienes Tuviste Tendrás

Él/ella/usted Tiene Tuvo Tendrá


Nosotros/as Tenemos Tuvimos Tendremos

Vosotros/as Tenéis Tuvisteis Tendréis

Ustedes/ellas/ellos Tienen Tuvieron Tendrán

Uses:

Tener Ganas

Track Spanish English

4.2.2 Tener To have

4.2.2 Tener ganas To feel like

4.2.2 Tengo ganas de I feel like

4.2.2 De qué tienes ganas? What do you fancy?

4.2.2 Tengo ganas de ir a dormir I feel like going to sleep

4.2.2 Tengo ganas de un buen vino I feel like a good wine

Tener Lugar


4.2.3 Tener lugar to take place

4.2.3 El concierto tendrá lugar en Londres el 20 de febrero

The concert will take place in London on the 20th February

Tener Pinta


4.2.4 Tener pinta To look like

4.2.4 Tiene pinta de ser bueno It looks good

4.2.4 Tiene pinta de ser malo It looks bad

4.2.4 Él tiene pinta de ser buena gente He looks like a good guy

4.2.4 Él tiene pinta de hippy He looks like a hippy

4.2.4 Tiene pinta de estar muy rico It looks good (with food)

4.2.4 Tiene buena pinta It looks good

4.2.4 Tiene mala pinta It looks bad


Tener que ver con


4.2.5 Tener que ver con To have to do with

4.2.5 ¿Qué tiene que ver el arte con la realidad? What does art have to do with reality?

4.2.5 ¿Qué tiene que ver el amor con esto? What does love have to do with this?

4.2.5 No tiene nada que ver It has nothing to do with

4.2.5 No tiene nada que ver conmigo It has nothing to do with me

4.2.5 Tiene algo que ver conmigo It has something to do with me

4.2.5 Nada Nothing

4.2.5 Algo Something

Tener que


4.2.6 Tengo que terminar, no tengo tiempo I have to finish, I don't have time

4.2.6 Tener que To have to

4.2.6 Tengo que I have to

4.2.6 Tengo que hacerlo I have to do it

4.2.6 Tengo que irme I have to go

4.2.6 Irse To leave

4.2.6 Tengo que estudiar I have to study

4.2.6 Estudiar To study

Tener Prisa


4.2.7 Tener prisa To be in a hurry

4.2.7 Prisa A hurry

4.2.7 Tengo prisa I'm in a hurry

4.2.7 Tengo que terminar porque tengo prisa I have to finish because I'm in a hurry

4.2.7 ¿Tienes prisa? Are you in a hurry?


Hacer

Conjugations:


Yo Hago Hice Haré

Tú Haces Hiciste Harás

Él/ella/usted Hace Hizo Hará

Nosotros/as Hacemos Hicimos Haremos

Vosotros/as Hacéis Hicisteis Haréis

Ustedes/ellas/ellos Hacen Hicieron Harán

Uses:

Hacer caso


4.3.1 Hacer To do/make

4.3.2 Hacer caso To pay attention

4.3.2 Caso Fact/case

4.3.2 Él no me hace caso He doesn't pay attention to me

4.3.2 Ignorar To ignore

4.3.2 Los niños no hacen caso a su profesora The children don't pay attention to their teacher

4.3.2 Hago caso I pay attention

4.3.2 No hice caso al consejo de mi mamá I didn't pay attention to my mum's advice

4.3.2 Consejo advice

Hacer Falta

“Faltar” means to lack, or when something is missing. “Hacer falta” therefore translates as “to

need”, with the implication of something missing or lacking. It’s known as a “reverse construction”

verb (as with “gustar”, for example), where the thing that is needed is the object, and the person

that needs it is the subject.

We conjugate verbs to match the subject. So, in a phrase like “a Rob le hacen falta unas naranjas”

(Rob needs some oranges), the construction “hacer falta” is conjugated for “naranjas” – using the 3rd

person plural –en ending. We only conjugate “hacer” – the word “falta” doesn’t change when using

“hacer falta”.


For more information on reverse construction verbs, see the following article:

http://spanishobsessed.com/spanish-grammar/like-in-spanish/


4.3.3 Hacer falta To be missing/ to need

4.3.3 Me hace falta I need/I'm missing

4.3.3 Me hace falta el almuerzo I need my lunch

4.3.3 A Liz le hace falta el almuerzo Liz needs her lunch

4.3.3 Me hace falta el dinero I need money

4.3.3 Nos hace falta el dinero We need money

4.3.3 ¿Hago falta? Am I needed?

4.3.3 Yo no hago falta I'm not needed

4.3.3 Me hace falta mi carro/coche I need my car

4.3.3 Les hace falta más dinero They need more money

4.3.3 No haces falta You're not needed

Hacer Gracia


4.3.4 Hacer gracia To be funny

4.3.4 Gracia Joke/funniness

4.3.4 Me hace gracia I find it funny

4.3.4 Le hace gracia He finds it funny

4.3.4 No me hace gracia I don't find it funny

Hacer + Time

4.3.5 Hace 5 años 5 years ago

4.3.5 Hace 2 años 2 years ago

4.3.5 Hace 3 días 3 days ago

4.3.5 Hace una hora 1 hour ago

4.3.5 Hace mucho tiempo A long time ago


Dar

Conjugations:


Yo Doy Dí Daré

Tú Das Diste Darás

Él/ella/usted Da Dio Dará

Nosotros/as Damos Dimos Daremos

Vosotros/as Dais Disteis Daréis

Ustedes/ellas/ellos Dan Dieron Darán

Uses:

Dar Calor/Frio


4.4.1 Dar To give

4.4.2 Dar calor To make hot

4.4.2 Dar frío To make cold

4.4.2 Me da calor It makes me hot

4.4.2 Me da frío It makes me cold

4.4.2 Puedes cerrar la ventana, me da frío Can you close the window, it's making me cold

4.4.2 Este sol me da calor This sun is making/makes me hot

Dar Risa (emotions)


4.4.3 Dar risa To make (someone) laugh

4.4.3 Dar asco To disgust

4.4.3 Dar emoción To excite

4.4.3 Asco Disgust

4.4.3 Me da asco It disgusts me

4.4.3 Tú me das asco I find you disgusting/you disgust me

4.4.3 Te doy asco I disgust you

4.4.3 Risa Laughter

4.4.3 Me da risa It makes me laugh

4.4.3 Me das risa You make me laugh


Dar Igual


4.4.4 Dar igual To not mind (lit: To give equal)

4.4.4 Me da igual I don't mind, I don't care, it's the same to me

4.4.4 A él le da igual He doesn't mind

Dar Pena


4.4.5 Dar pena Spain: To feel pity/sad Colombia/South America: To feel embarrassed

4.4.5 Pena Spain: Pity Colombia/South America: Embarrassment

4.4.5 Me da pena Spain: It makes me feel pity Colombia/South America: It’s embarrassing

4.4.5 Me da mucha pena Spain: It makes me feel a lot of pity Colombia/South America: It’s really embarrassing

4.4.5 ¿Te doy pena? Am I embarassing you?

Darse Cuenta


4.4.6 Darse cuenta de To realise

4.4.6 Una cuenta a bill; a count

4.4.6 Me doy cuenta I realise

4.4.6 Él se da cuenta He realises

4.4.6 Me doy cuenta de que me hace falta el almuerzo I realise that I haven't had my lunch

4.4.6 No me dí cuenta de la hora y llegué tarde I didn't realise the time and arrived late

4.4.6 La hora The hour/the time


Llegar

Conjugations:


Yo Llego Llegué Llegaré

Tú Llegas Llegaste Llegarás

El/ella/usted Llega Llegó Llegará

Nosotros/as Llegamos Llegamos Llegaremos

Vosotros/as Llegáis Llegasteis Llegaréis

Ustedes/ellas/ellos Llegan Llegaron Llegarán

Uses:

Llegar a ser


4.5.1 Llegar To arrive

4.5.2 Llegar a ser To become

4.5.2 Llegó a ser un actor famoso He became a famous actor

4.5.2 Llegó a ser muy popular He became very popular

Llegar a tiempo


4.5.3 Llegar a tiempo To arrive on time

4.5.3 Llegar temprano To arrive early

4.5.3 Llegar tarde To arrive late

4.5.3 Hace una hora One hour ago

4.5.3 Llegó hace una hora He/she arrived one hour ago

4.5.3 Rob siempre llega a tiempo, nunca llega tarde

Rob always arrives on time, he never arrives late

4.5.3 Liz siempre llega tarde, nunca llega a tiempo

Liz always arrives late, she never arrives on time

4.5.3 Llego diez minutos tarde I arrive ten minutes late


Llevar

Conjugations:


Yo Llevo Llevé Llevaré

Tú Llevas Llevaste Llevarás

El/ella/usted Lleva Llevó Llevará

Nosotros/as Llevamos Llevamos Llevaremos

Vosotros/as Lleváis Llevasteis Llevaréis

Ustedes/ellas/ellos Llevan Llevaron Llevaran

Uses:

Llevar + Time


4.6.1 Llevar To carry/take

4.6.1 Llevó mi móvil I carry my phone

4.6.2 Llevó un año en Londres I've been in London 1 year

4.6.2 Llevó mucho tiempo aquí I've been here a long time

4.6.2 No llevo mucho tiempo aquí, acabo de llegar I haven't been here long, I've just arrived

4.6.2 Acabar de To have just

4.6.2 ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas en Londres? How long have you been in London?

4.6.2 Llevo mucho tiempo esperándote I've been waiting for you for ages

4.6.2 Llevo años esperando I've been waiting years

4.6.2 Cuánto tiempo llevas con tu novia? How long have you been with your girlfriend?

Llevar a Cabo


4.6.3 Llevar a cabo To carry through with/accomplish

4.6.3 Un cabo An ending

4.6.3 Quiero llevar a cabo mis sueños I want to carry out my dreams

4.6.3 Voy a llevar a cabo mi plan de negocios I’m going to carry out my business plan


Llevar as a comparison


4.6.4 Te llevó dos años I'm two years older than you

4.6.4 Te llevó cinco años de experiencia I have five years more experience than you

4.6.4 Te llevó diez puntos (más) I've got ten points more than you

4.6.4 Tú me llevas dos años You are two years older than me

4.6.4 Te llevamos cinco kilómetros adelante We are five km further ahead than you

4.6.4 Al Manchester City le lleva cuatro goles a Barcelona Manchester City are 4 goals ahead of Barcelona

Llevarse con alguién


4.6.5 Llevarse con alguién To get on with someone

4.6.5 Me llevo muy bien con Liz I get on very well with Liz

4.6.5 ¿Cómo te llevas con tu hermano? How do you get on with your brother?


Dejar

Conjugations:


Yo Dejó Dejé Dejaré

Tú Dejas Dejaste Dejarás

Él/ella/usted Deja Dejó Dejará

Nosotros/as Dejamos Dejamos Dejaremos

Vosotros/as Dejáis Dejasteis Dejaréis

Ustedes/ellas/ellos Dejan Dejaron Dejarán

Uses:

Dejar de


4.7.1 Dejar To leave/let/permit

4.7.1 No me dejas terminar You don't let me finish

4.7.1 ¿Por qué me dejaste? Why did you leave me?

4.7.2 Dejar de To stop/give up

4.7.2 Dejar de hacer To stop doing

4.7.2 Dejé de fumar I stopped smoking

4.7.2 Dejé de beber I stopped drinking

4.7.2 Dejé de quejarme I stopped complaining

4.7.2 Quejarse To complain

Dejar de ser


4.7.3 Dejar de ser To stop being

4.7.3 Hace un año, dejó de ser un actor famoso A year ago, he stopped being a famous actor

4.7.3 Hace cinco años, dejé de ser un estudiante Five years ago I stopped being a student

4.7.3 Un estudiante A student

4.7.3 Hace dos años, dejé de ser una trabajadora de oficina

Two years ago I stopped being an office worker

4.7.4 Dejé de ser celosa I stopped being jealous

4.7.4 Dejé de ser popular I stopped being popular

4.7.4 Dejé de ser perezosa I stopped being lazy


Salir

Conjugations:


Yo Salgo Salí Saldré

Tú Sales Saliste Saldrás

El/ella/usted Sale Salió Saldrá

Nosotros/as Salimos Salimos Saldremos

Vosotros/as Salís Salisteis Saldréis

Ustedes/ellas/ellos Salen Salieron Saldrán

Uses:


4.8.1 Salir To leave (exit)

4.8.2 Salgo a las seis I leave at six

4.8.2 ¿Cuándo sale la película? When does the film come out?

4.8.2 Una película A film

4.8.2 Todo salió bien Everything turned out ok

4.8.2 Labios Lips

4.8.2 No sale nada de mis labios Nothing comes out of my lips (I'm not saying anything)

4.8.2 No salió con nada He/she didn’t leave with anything

4.8.2 Salirse con la suya To get one's own way

4.8.2 Liz se salió con la suya Liz got her own way

4.8.2 Te saliste con la tuya You got your own way

4.8.2 Salir con alguién To go out with someone

4.8.2 Rob y Liz están saliendo Rob and Liz are going out

4.8.2 Ellos están saliendo They are going out


Poner

Conjugations:


Yo Pongo Puse Pondré

Tú Pones Pusiste Pondrás

Él/ella/usted Pone Puso Pondrá

Nosotros/as Ponemos Pusimos Pondremos

Vosotros/as Ponéis Pusisteis Pondréis

Ustedes/ellas/ellos Ponen Pusieron Pondrán

Uses:


4.9.1 Poner To put

4.9.2 Poner en/de pie To stand up

4.9.2 Se puso de pie He/she stood up

4.9.2 Poner en las manos de To put in the hands of

4.9.2 Vamos a poner esto en las manos de Dios We're going to put this in the hands of God

4.9.2 Te voy a poner en las manos de Dios I'm going to put you in the hands of God

4.9.2 No te pongas bravo Don't get mad

4.9.2 Esa película me puso muy triste That film made me very sad

4.9.2 Los niños se pusieron muy felices con los regalos de Navidad

The children were very happy with the Christmas presents


Module 5: Common Spanish Roots

This is where we try to get under the skin of Spanish vocabulary, and take a long look at how many

common words are formed, and where they come from. Imagine vocabulary as a tree, with a head

word as the trunk. From the trunk many words are formed as branches, which are all related to the

original headword. By learning the headword and some commonalities in the branches, we can start

to build out our vocabulary and understand the “roots” of Spanish vocabulary.

5.1 Abrir:

5.2 Acción

Spanish English

Voy a accionar la alarma I’m going to activate the alarm

El presidente coaccionó a la guerrilla The president co-erced the guerrilla

5.3 Agua

Abrir

Reabrir

To reopen

Abrecartas

Letter opener

Abrelatas

Can opener

Entreabrir

To open partially

Acción

Accionar

To activate/action

Coaccionar

To co-erce

Reacción

Reaction

Interacción

Interaction

Transacción

Transaction

Agua

Water

Aguar

To water down

Desaguar

To remove water/drain

Aguafiestas

Party pooper

Un paraguas

An umbrella

Aguanieve

Sleet


Spanish English

Aguaron la cerveza They watered down the beer

Vamos a desaguar el río We’re going to drain the river

No olvides tú paraguas Don’t forget your umbrella

Eres un aguafiestas You’re a party-pooper

Ánimo

Spanish English

Una persona animada A lively person

¡Anímate! Cheer up!

Liz está muy animada hoy Liz is very lively today

5.5 Beso

Spanish English

Ellos se estaban besuqueando en el cine They were necking at the cinema

Ánimo

Desire/Will

Animar

To encourage

Desanimar

To discourage

Animado

Lively

Beso

A kiss

Besuquear

To water down

Besamanos

A hand-kissing

Besuqueo

Smooching


5.6 Boca

5.7 Tener

Spanish English

Eso contiene That contains

Yo te entretengo I entertain you

Voy a retener tu depósito I’m going to retain your deposit

Voy a sostener a toda mi familia I’m going to sustain all of my family

5.8 Hacer

Boca

Mouth

Bocadillo

A sandwich/snack

Un Bocado

A mouthful

Un bocadito

A little mouthful

Un tapabocas

A gag

Pasabocas

Canapes

Tener

To have

Contener

To contain

Entretener

To entertain

Obtener

To obtain

Retener

To retain

Sostener

To sustain

Un tenedor

A fork

Hacer

To make/do

Deshacer

To undo

Rehacer

To redo

Un quehacer

A chore


Spanish English

Tengo muchos quehaceres está semana I have a lot of chores this week

5.9 Saber

Spanish English

Eres un sabelotodo You´re a know-it-all

Liz es muy sabia Liz is very wise

5.10 Romper

Spanish English

Vamos a romper el hielo Let’s break the ice

5.11 Poner

Saber

To know

Un sabelotodo

A know-it-all

Sabio/a

Wise

Sabiduría

A chore

Romper

To break

Un rompecorazones

A heart-breaker

Un rompecabezas

A puzzle

Un rompehielos

An ice-breaker

Un rompeolas

An wave-breaker

Poner

To put

Contraponer

To oppose

Imponer

To impose

Proponer

To propose

Suponer

To suppose

Disponer

To have available/to

get something ready

Disponible

Available


5.12 Pasar

Spanish English

Vamos a repasar el artículo Let’s review the article

5.12 Mal

Pasar

To pass

El pasado

The past

Repasar

To review

Traspasar

To trespass

Un pasajero

A passenger

Un pasaje

A passage

Un pasatiempo

A pastime

Mal

Bad

Maldecir

To curse

Malgastar

To waste

Maleducado

Poorly mannered

Malicioso

Malicious

Malestar

Malaise

Una maldición

A curse


Module 7: Suffixes

People often joke that to learn Spanish, all you need to do is add an “o” to the end of everything. Actually, sometimes that’s the case, as we’ve already seen! An “o” is a suffix, a part which is added to the end of another word to alter its meaning. Spanish has loads of these, in fact a confusing amount. We’ve chosen some of the best ones, which are frequently used, and often have their own wonderful Spanish kind of logic which our English lacks. These suffixes can be used on many words, and have an effect on the meaning of that word. We’ll look at a load of suffixes, see how they change the meaning of the root word, and a few examples in each case. We’ll also take a couple of words, and see how many different meanings we can get out of them by using some of these suffixes. Suffixes can be used to multiply the vocabulary you already have. What you get out of applying these guidelines will often depend on your base vocabulary to start with. Applying the suffixes guidelines to a small base vocabulary will give you a smaller end vocabulary than if you had a larger base vocabulary to begin with. Of course, the beauty of this is that you can remember these suffixes as you continue to learn Spanish, and will be able to apply them to all the new words that you meet!

7.2 –able/-ible

The English equivalent to this is “able”. In fact, the word “capable” involves this suffix in English! We’ve got plenty of words we share with Spanish that use these forms - in fact most of these are cognates. But, you can expand this suffix to lots of other verbs too, to add the sense of “being able” to do something -

it’s “do-able”. People often do this in English, inventing new words with this same suffix.

Spanish English

Acabar To finish

Acabable “Finishable”

Dudar To doubt

Dudable Doubtable

Eso es dudable That's doubtful

Recomendar To recommend

Recomendable Recommendable

Variar To vary

Variable Variable

Ver To see

Visible Visible

Sentir To feel

Sensible Sensitive

Sensato Sensible

Reir To laugh

Risible Risible/laughable


7.3 –ado

One meaning for this suffix is “the one who is”, or the result of an action – often similar to our “ee” ending. For example, the one who is invited is an “invitee”. Spanish uses “ado” to signify this.

Spanish English

Adoptar To adopt

Adoptado/a Adoptee

Aficionado Aficionado

Invitar To invite

Invitado Guest/invitee

Resultar To result

Resultado The result

7.4 –aje

We find this suffix in nouns, where the English version ends with “age”. It changes the meaning of the noun, so

that we go from a single noun to a collection or set of that noun, or it forms an abstract noun.

Spanish English

Lengua Tongue

Lenguaje Language (collection of tongues!)

Por ciento Percent

Uno por ciento 1%

Porcentaje Percentage

Peaje Toll

Aterrizaje Landing of a plane

7.5 –ante/-ente

Use this ending with verbs to form adjectives. Our English equivalent is “ing” - from the adjective, rather than the verb. So, boring is an equivalent, but going is not. For -ar verbs, we use ante, but for er/ir verbs, we use ente.

Spanish English

Alarmar To alarm

Alarmante Alarming

Interesar To interest

Interesante Interesting

Absorber To absorber

Absorbente Absorbing


Creer To believe

Creyente Believing

Existir To exist

Existente Existing (adjective)

Nacer To be born

Naciente nascent/new

Andar To walk

Andante Walking (adjective)

7.6 –dor/-dora

This suffix means “one who”, and often.refers to professions. we have a similar suffix in English “er” an engineer comes from the word engine, boxer is someone who boxes, a consumer is one who consumes. To form words using this suffix, we take the infintive verb, and remove the final “r”. So, in the case of “hablar”, we get “habla”. Then, we add “dor”, or “dora”, if it’s female. So, in the case of “hablar” we get “hablador”, or “habladora”.

Spanish English

Hablar To talk

Hablador/a A talker

Boxear To box

Boxeador A boxer

Jugar To play

Jugador A player

Matar To kill

Matador A killer

Cazar To hunt

Cazador A hunter

Perder To lose

Perdedor A loser

Eres un perdedor You're a loser


7.7 -era

Use this suffix with nouns, adding the meaning “holder”, or “container”.

Spanish English

Té Tea

Tetera Teapot

Sal Salt

Salera Salt cellar/shaker

Perro Dog

Perrera Kennel

Salsa Sauce

Salsera Sauce holder/gravy boat

Carta Letter

Cartera Wallet/briefcase/handbag

Papel Paper

Papelera Wastepaper basket

7.8 –ería

“-ería” is commonly used to denote a shop or store. It’s a suffix applied to nouns, typically the item that is

being sold. All the nouns using “-ería” are feminine.

Spanish English

Café Coffee

Cafetería Coffee shop

Dulce Sweet/candy

Dulcería Sweet shop

Joya Jewel

Joyería Jewel shop

Papel Paper

Papelería Stationers

Droga Drug

Droguería Drug store/chemist

Pelo Hair

Peluquería Hairdressers

7.9 –ita/o

This suffix forms what’s called the “diminutive”, which can indicate either physical smallness, or can express

endearment.

Spanish English

Mamacita Mum (diminutive)


Abuela Grandmother

Abuelita Grandmother (diminutive)

Una risa A laugh

Una risita A giggle

Caja Box

Cajita Little box

Rama Branch

Ramita Twig

Pata Paw

Patica Little paw

Chica Girl

Chiquita Little girl/small (adjective)

7.10 –ico

This means “like”, or “relating to”, and is applied to nouns to turn them into adjectives.

Spanish English

Alcohol Alcohol

Alochólico Alcoholic

Atleta Athlete

Atlético Athletic

Paz Peace

Pacífico Peaceful

Drama Drama

Dramático Dramatic

Energía Energy

Energético Energetic

Activo Active

Actividad Activity

7.11 –idad

We’ve got a suffix in English which is really close in meaning to “idad”, which is “ity”. We can attach “idad” to an adjective, which changes it into a noun - with the sense of a “state of being”. Activo → AcEvidad From active, to activity. From an adjective to the general noun - or “state of being active”.

Claro → Claridad From clear, to clarity - or the state of being clear. Actual → Actualidad


This is a “false friend”. The Spanish word “actual” really translates as “current”, and “actualidad” is the state of

being current - or present time. If you say “en la actualidad”, you’re saying “nowadays”.

Spanish English

Claro Clear

Claridad Clarity

Actual Current

En la actualidad Nowadays, currently

Creativo Creative

Creatividad Creativity

Débil Weak

Debilidad Weakness

Feliz Happy

Felicidad Happiness

Feliz cumpleaños Happy birthday

Feliz navidad Happy christmas

Probable Probable

Probabilidad Probability

7.12 –ificar

You can add “ificar” to both nouns and adjectives, and it turns them into verbs, adding the meaning of “to

make like”.

Spanish English

Falso False

Falisificar Falsify

Justo Just

Justificar Justify

Clase Class

Clasificar Classify

Puro Pure

Purificar Purify

Simple Simple

Simplificar Simplify

Unido United

Unificar Unify

7.13 –ísimo

“-ísimo” is a superlative ending, meaning that it adds extra intensity to adjectives. For example, “bueno” means “good”. If we use the suffix ending, we get “buenísimo” - which means super, amazingly good! We don’t really have an English equivalent, so this shows how rich the Spanish language can be.

To use these suffixes, we take the base adjective - for example, “Bueno” - and remove the final vowel, if it has


one. So in this case, we’re left with “buen”, then we add “ísimo” - leaving us with “buenísimo”. If the adjective

ends with “ble”, then we add an i between the b and the l - so “notable” (notable) becomes “notabilísimo”.

Spanish English

Bueno Good

Buenísimo Very good

Delicado Delicate

Delicadísimo Very delicate

Notable Notable

Notabilísimo Very notable

Bello Fair, beautiful

Bellísimo Very fair

Clarísimo Very clear

Guapo Handsome

Guapísimo Very handsome

Liz es bellísima Liz is very beautiful

Amable Friendly

Amabilísimo Very friendly


Appendix: Tests

Test 1

Spanish English

Crear To create

Seguridad Security

Original Original

Colección Collection

Acelerar To accelerate

Habilidad Ability

Moral Moral

English Spanish

Action Acción

Identity Identidad

Celebration Celebración

Radical Radical

Real, true Real

Co-ordinate Coordinar

Normal Normal

Test 2

Spanish English

Comentario Commentary

Visible Visible

Magnético Magnetic

Secretario/ Secretaría Secretary

Diario Diary

Básico Basic

Santuario Sanctuary

Posible Possible

English Spanish

Terrible Terrible

Fantastic Fantástico

Academic Académico

Necessary Necesario

Adorable Adorable

Identify Identificar

Romantic Romántico

Amplify Amplificar


Test 3

Spanish English

Error Error

Finalmente Finally

Glorioso Glorious

Actor Actor

Geografía Geography

Famoso Famous

Factor Factor

Correctamente Correctly

English Spanish

Marvellous Maravilloso

Author Autor

Humour Humor

Biology Biología

Serious Serio

Normally Normalmente

Photography Fotografía

History Historia

Test 4

Spanish English

Tiene buena pinta It looks good

Tengo que hacerlo I have to do it

Tengo ganas de ir a dormir I feel like going to sleep

Tengo que estudiar I have to study

Tengo que terminar porque tengo prisa I have to finish because I´m in a hurry

¿De qué tienes ganas? What do you fancy?

No tiene nada que ver conmigo It has nothing to do with me

La fiesta tendrá lugar en mi casa el sábado

The party will take place in my house on Saturday

English Spanish

It looks good Tiene buena pinta

It looks bad Tiene mala pinta

It has nothing to do with it No tiene nada que ver

I have to do it because it's very important

Tengo que hacerlo porque es muy importante

You have to go Tienes que irte/Te tienes que ir

Are you in a hurry? ¿Tienes prisa?

It has something to do with you Tiene algo que ver contigo


Test 5

Spanish English

Él no me hace caso He doesn’t pay attention to me

Yo no hago falta I’m not needed

Le hace gracia He finds it funny

Hace 3 días 3 days ago

Los niños no hacen caso a su profesora Children don´t pay attention to their teacher

Me hace falta el carro/el coche I need the car

Hace mucho tiempo A long time ago

No me hace gracia I don´t find it funny

English Spanish

One hour ago Hace una hora

Not long ago Hace poco/no hace mucho

I didn't listen to my mum's advice No hice caso del consejo de mi mamá

We need money Nos hace falta dinero

You're not needed No haces falta

Two years ago Hace dos años

Test 6

Spanish English

Dar calor To make hot

Dar asco To disgust

Me das asco You disgust me

Me doy cuenta I realice

Le da igual He/she doesn’t care/mind

Me da mucho frío It makes me very cold

¿Te doy risa? Do I make you laugh?

No se dio cuenta He/she didn’t realice

English Spanish

I didn't realise the time No me dí cuenta de la hora

You make me laugh Me das risa

It makes me feel very embarassed Me da mucha pena

Am I embarassing you? ¿Te doy pena?

You disgust me Me das asco

It's all the same to me/I don't care Me da igual

It makes me very excited Me da mucha emoción


Test 7

Spanish English

Voy a llevar a cabo mi plan de negocios I´m going to carry out my business plans

Te llevo un año I´m one year old than you

¿Cuánto tiempo llevas con tu novia? How long have you been with your girlfriend?

Llegar a tiempo To arrive on time

Siempre llego a tiempo, nunca llego tarde I always arrive on time, I never arrive late

¿Llevas mucho tiempo aquí? Have you been here long?

Les llevamos 2 goles We’re two goals ahead

Llevo toda la vida esperándote I’ve been waiting for you my whole life

English Spanish

They are one point ahead of us Nos llevan un punto

I get on very well with my brother Me llevo muy bien con mi hermano

They arrived one hour ago Llegaron hace una hora

How long have you been in London? ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas en Londres?

We're 10 km further ahead than you Te llevamos 10 km más adelante

My sister is 4 years older than me Mi Hermana me lleva 4 años

I haven't been here long No llevo mucho aquí

Test 8

Spanish English

No me dejas terminar You don´t let me finish

Dejé de ser perezoso Stop being lazy

Ellos están saliendo They are going out

Salirse con la suya To get away with it, to get your own way

Liz se salió con la suya Liz got her own way

¿Cuándo sale la película? When does the film come out?

Voy a dejar de quejarme I´m going to stop complaining

Todo saldrá bien Everything will turn out ok

Poner de pie To stand up

Poner en las manos de Dios To put in the hands of God

No te pongas bravo Don´t get mad

English Spanish

Everything turned out ok Todo salió bien

To go out with someone Salir con alguién


Why did you leave me? ¿Por qué me dejaste?

Let me finish! iDejame terminar!

I'm going to stop being so jealous Voy a dejar de ser tan celoso

You got your own way Saliste con la tuya

He left two hours ago Salió hace dos horas

Don't get mad No te pongas bravo

It made me very happy Me puso muy feliz

Test 9

Spanish English

Accionar To activate/action

Eres un aguafiestas You’re a party pooper

Animar To encourage

Ellos se estaban besuqueando en el cine They were necking each other in the cinema

Una reacción fuerte A strong reaction

Se puso muy animado He/she became very encouraged/lively

Hay pasabocas en la fiesta There are canapés in the party

Quiero un bocadito! I want a mouthful!

Animate! Liven up! Look sharp!

English Spanish

I'm going to activate the alarm Voy a accionar la alarma

A transaction Una transacción

To water down Aguar

Sleet Aguanieve

A kiss Un beso

A gag Una tapabocas


Test 10

Spanish English

Eres un sabelotodo You´re a know-it-all

Deshacer To undo

Rompehielos An ice-breaker

Rompeolas A wave-breaker

Pasatiempo A pastime

Vamos a repasar el artículo We’re going to review the article/let’s review the article

Maleducado Ill-mannered/rude

Tengo muchos quehaceres está semana

I’ve got lots of chores this week

No está disponible It’s not available

No se puede cambiar el pasado It’s not possible to change the past

English Spanish

Where is my fork? ¿Dónde está mi tenedor?

I'm going to keep your deposit Voy a retener tu depósito

I did my chores yesterday Hice mis quehaceres ayer

My ex-girlfriend was a heart-breaker Mi ex novia era una rompecorazones

he broke the ice with a joke Rompió el hielo con un chiste

I curse you! Te maldigo!

Do you have any hobbies/pastimes? ¿Tienes algún pasatiempo?

It's a blessing Es una bendición

Stop being a know-it-all! Deja de ser un sabelotodo!

Test 11

Spanish English

Es recomendable It’s recommendable

Los invitados llegaron hace 2 horas The guests arrived 2 hours ago

Vamos a ver los resultados del experimento

Let’s see the results of the experiment

Hablamos el mismo lenguaje We talk the same language

2% de los ingleses hablan español 2% of English speak Spanish

English Spanish

That's doubtful Eso es dudoso

He's a sensible boy Es un niño sensate

He's very sensitive Es muy sensible

The results were variable Los resultados fueron variables


Test 12

Spanish English

Hablador/a A talker

Perrera A kennel

Alarmante Alarming

Dulcería A sweetshop

Voy a la peluquería I´m going to the hairdressers

¿Dónde está la droguería? Where’s the pharmacy?

No soy creyente I’m not a believer

Después de la carta roja, al Barcelona le falta un jugador

After the red card, Barcelona are missing a player

English Spanish

The paper is very absorbing El papel es muy absorbente

You're a loser Eres un perdedor

We're hunting rabbits Estamos cazando conejos

That's very interesting Eso es muy interesante

Pass me the salt shaker, please Pásame la salera, por favor

Are you a believer? ¿Eres creyente?

Test 13

Spanish English

Lo veo con claridad I see it clearly

En la actualidad Nowadays, currently

No es muy probable It’s not very likely

¿Cómo lo vas a justificar? How are you going to justify it?

Es una niña guapísima e inteligentísima She’s a very pretty and intelligent girl

Una risita A giggle

¿Tienes alguna debilidad? Do you have any weakness?

Hola abuelita! Hi Granny!

English Spanish

Currently Actualmente/en la actualidad

Can you simplify it? ¿Lo puedes simplificar?

The dog is super friendly El perro es amabilísimo

A giggle Una risita

I don't feel very energetic today No me siento muy energético hoy

Happiness is a cup of tea on a cold day La felicidad es una taza de té en un día frío.

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