Complete Spanish

Track 44

1. este and ese: this and that Rule

You have had esta noche for a while. The masculine is este, and pulling the t out gives you the word for that.

este → ese  ·  esta → esa
este auto
this car
ese auto
that car
esta noche
this night, tonight
esa noche
that night
estas manos
these hands
esas noches
those nights

Quiero ese auto · No quiero ese auto, porque es muy grande

2. More -ma words from Greek Vocabulary

The group of masculine nouns ending -ma, which came in through Greek where they are neuter but look masculine.

el problema
the problem
el sistema
the system
el paradigma
the paradigm
el esquema
the outline, diagram (scheme)
el diagrama
the diagram

Esquema also shows the other rule at work: Spanish cannot start with s plus a consonant, so scheme gains an e, like España and espagueti.

3. Exceptions to the o and a genders Heads-up

Mostly words ending o are masculine and words ending a are feminine, but there are exceptions in both directions.

el planeta
masculine, though it looks feminine
la mano
feminine, though it looks masculine

Un planeta · Los planetas · Las manos · Esta mano · Esa mano

Mano is really the only true word ending in o that is feminine. La foto and la moto only look like exceptions: they are shortened from la fotografía and la motocicleta, and keep the la.

4. mano is the man- in many English words Pattern

Mano means hand, and that man- is hiding in plenty of English.

manual, manuscript
man- is hand
mantener
to maintain
manejar
to handle, to manage, and to drive

Manage means to handle, and historically it had a special use for handling horses. Which is neat, because manejar is used in some Latin American countries to mean to drive.

¿Me puedes dar una mano? / ¿Puedes darme una mano? · ¿Me podrías dar una mano? · Deberías darme una mano · Deberían darme una mano · Nos deberían dar una mano

5. Stacking the structures Grammar

With could and should in hand, the same sentence can be tuned. Could is would can, should is would owe.

¿Me puedes dar una mano? · ¿Me podrías dar una mano? · Deberías darme una mano

Watch your intonation. Deberías darme una mano said with a rising voice becomes a question, when you meant it as a statement.

6. New vocabulary Vocabulary

la mano
the hand
la foto
the photo (from fotografía)
la moto
the motorbike (from motocicleta)
mi cámara
my camera

For taking a photo you may hear either tomar or sacar.

Manejo el problema · Estoy manejando el problema · Estoy tomando una foto · Tomaría una foto · Me gustaría tomar una foto, pero no tengo mi cámara