Complete Spanish

Track 30

1. Asking how and where someone is Grammar

Asking how somebody is means asking about their state, so it takes estar.

¿Cómo estás?
how are you? (informal)
¿Cómo está?
how are you? (formal)
¿Cómo están?
how are you? (more than one person)
¿Dónde estás?
where are you?

No sé dónde estamos · Estoy aquí · Quiero estar aquí

2. estar after the useful verbs Grammar

Estar slots in after quiero, voy a, tengo que and debo exactly like any other "to" form.

Quiero estar aquí · Voy a estar aquí más tarde · ¿Dónde vas a estar? · ¿Dónde tienen que estar más tarde?

Do not forget the que: tienen alone is possession, and it is tienen que that gives have to.

3. The full set with the subject words Grammar

Worth running through both sets together, which is what this track does.

yo estoy
I am
tú estás
you are (informal)
usted está
you are (formal)
él está / ella está
he is / she is
nosotros estamos
we are (nosotras if all female)
ellos están / ellas están
they are

4. debe for probability Grammar

Deber is to owe, and debe is he must. Just as in English, you can use it to talk about probability rather than obligation: "oh, he must be here by now".

deber
to owe, to must
debe
he/she must

The e does not split here.

Debe estar aquí · Debe estar cansado · Deben estar cansados · Deben estar cansadas

5. porque, because Vocabulary

Porque is because, the same word as why.

porque
because
cómo
how
dónde
where

No vamos a quedarnos porque estamos muy cansados · No nos vamos a quedar porque estamos muy cansados

Both positions for the nos are fine, as usual.

6. Rushing costs you time Method

Building the final sentence, the instruction is to do it block by block and not from memory, even the second time through.

If you rush it, you will trip, and tripping is very time-consuming. Thinking about it again, block by block, is faster than recovering from a stumble.

no vamos a quedarnos · porque · estamos muy cansados

And on not skipping the ending: asked to redo the sentence for a female group, the student answers with just the changed word. The teacher asks for the whole thing again, "don't miss the fun".