Complete Spanish

Track 59

1. The point in the past, for -er and -ir verbs Rule

The other half. The key sound is i, and the endings are stressed just as for -ar verbs. Use comer as your hook.

comí (I ate)  ·  comió (he/she ate)
salí / salió
I left / he left
vi / vio
I saw / he saw
duré / duró
I lasted / it lasted

No salió todavía · No sé por qué no salió todavía · Lo vi · No lo vi · Lo vi, pero no me vio · Duró dos minutos

Ver is regular here, so go back to comer and you get vi.

2. que also means "than" Grammar

You have que for what and for that. It is also than.

Comí más que él. (I ate more than him)

Note what follows it: not him but he. Spanish is being more literal, since what you mean is more than he ate.

Comió más que yo (he ate more than I did)

English is the odd one here. Saying me where you mean I is peculiar to it: asked who wants to go to the park, we answer "me!", which makes no sense. Cut that negative language transfer when you spot it.

3. Spanish uses double negatives Rule

Where English forbids it, Spanish requires it. You say I didn't see nothing.

nada
nothing
nadie
nobody

No vi nada · No comí nada · ¿No comió nada? · ¿Por qué no comió nada? · Nadie vio nada

4. durante, for a period of time Vocabulary

Built with the -ante ending from the previous track, though it is not an adjective. It works alongside por for periods of time.

durar
to last (endure, duration)
durante
during, for
media hora
half an hour
el minuto
the minute
sin
without
parar
to stop

Durante dos minutos · Comió durante media hora · Habló durante media hora sin parar

Note sin parar, not "sin parando". Sin is a preposition, so the "to" form follows.

Watch for Latin roots used in branding to appeal to an understanding you did not know you had. Duracell batteries is a good example: you know what it means without knowing why.

5. par, the pairing family Pattern

Par means pair, and it opens up a small family of verbs.

un par
a pair (un par de zapatos)
parar
to stop, perhaps "the pairing"
comparar
to compare, "with pairing"
preparar
to prepare, "pre-pairing"
separar
to separate, "pair apart"

In comparar the m is really con-, softened by the p, so to compare is "with pairing". English shows the same thing in repair, to pair up again.

6. Contrasting needs the subject words Grammar

When two people are set against each other, you will feel the urge to name them even where context would do.

Lo vi, pero él no me vio · Yo lo vi, pero él no me vio