Mexican Independence Day, September 15, 1810: Tarea- The Lucas Story

¡Hola estudiantes de español 2!

Primer0- Lauren, I hope that you get a chance to check your homework here, but mostly that you get well soon! We missed you in class. Email me if you have any questions. (amalisa@grav.k12.ca.us)

Here is the format for the story we are changing to past tense. I have helped out by conjugating all the imperfect verbs and putting them in italics. The preterite verbs are underlined. You simply need to convert them to past tense. Please do this and retype the story with your new ending in past tense!!!! (¡Genial!)

**OJO (Look)**

At the end of the story, I have put some more grammar discussion about "estaba vs. estuvo" (to use estar in imperfect or preterite.)

Había (imperfect) una chica que se llamaba (imperfect) Lauren. Lauren se sienta en una silla. Mientras sentaba (imperfect), se peina el pelo. De repente, ¡un ratón le roba el peine y desaparece! Lauren se siente muy triste. Va a buscar el ratón. No estaba (or estuvo imperfecto o pretérito) en California, así que va a Costa Rica con Elizabeth. El ratón no estaba (or estuvo, imperfecto o pretérito) en Costa Rica.

Lauren no quiere comprar otro peine. Quiere su peine. Decide viajar por todo latinoamerica buscandolo. No encuentra su peine, ¡pero sí encuentra sus amigos!

Por fin, llega a Brazil con sus amigos. Cerca de la playa, Lucas bailaba (imperfect) la samba mientras se peina el pelo… ¡con el peine de Lauren! Después de bailar y comer todos los amigos del clase de español dos preguntan a Lucas, <<¿de dónde viene su peine?>>

Lucas dice que este peine le cuesta mucho dinero. Todavía paga (stays present tense! Todavía means “still”) cincuenta tres dólares y setenta dos centavos cada mes para usarlo. Pero las muchachas brazileñas les gusta mucho el pelo de Lucas y él está felíz. (está can stay present tense, because Lucas is still happy.)

(not in past tense here.) Pero, hay una problema: Lauren puede convencer a Lucas que debe regresarle su peine?

Good. I hope you have the basic idea. Let me tell you that learning the past tense of a language is, obviously, necessary. But learning the past tense of Spanish especially is complicated. It can be argued that Spanish is much more complicated than English when it comes to verb conjugation. I am sure you would agree. The more you learn, the more you begin to see how complicated it is. Pretty soon, you'll start to geek out on the finer points of verb usage like I do. Really, it gets more and more fun. The more you speak and listen, the more things will begin to sound natural, and you won't have to overanalyze it. (Like Ian, who can throw out irregular past tense verbs and doesn't even know how he knows them!)

Anyway, for now, please accept that Spanish speakers could use both "estaba" (imperfect) or "estuvo" (preterite) for the sentence, "El ratón no estaba en Costa Rica." The rat wasn't in Costa Rica. Long term and short term are both arguably correct. This from a semantics (linguistic) perspective, and also from a usage perspective where most people who speak Spanish just say things, and don't study grammar.

If it interests you to know more, check out any one of the endless strings of conversation about the confusion on "was/were" in Spanish.

TOP TEN TIPS FOR LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE

Don't expect to be perfect!

Can you remember when learned to ride a bicycle? Did you ride perfectly from the first time you sat on the seat? When learning a new language, expect that you will make mistakes, and don't be embarrassed by them!

Work on developing an "ear" for Spanish.

Remember that language is first and foremost oral communication. A written alphabet is merely a collection of symbols used to represent the sounds of the language, and cannot be expected to capture every nuance of sound and intonation. Try to develop a "good ear" for Spanish. An easy and fun way to do this is by listening to Spanish music, watching Spanish movies, or watching Spanish cable TV.

Practice SPEAKING!

The only way to learn to speak a language, is by actually SPEAKING. You can study for years, and master all of the grammar rules, but unless you actually practice speaking, you will never speak well. When you are practicing speaking, remember to do it out loud, at normal conversational volume.

Be consistent.

To really learn a language takes time and committment. Consistency is by far the most important factor. If you can devote a solid twenty minutes a day, nearly every day, you will be far more successful than if you "cram" for an hour or two, but only sporadically.

Talk to yourself.

When learning a foreign language, it is common for listening skills to develop more rapidly than speaking skills, leaving the learner in the unfortunate situation of being able to understand, but unable to respond. A good way to surmount this problem is to talk to yourself as much as possible. Because there is no one else around, you won't be weighed down by the inhibition that so frequently burdens the beginning language student.

Use flashcards.

One of the best tips we can give you is to make and use flashcards. Make cards that are small enough to easily carry with you, and write the English on one side and Spanish on the other. Be sure to ALWAYS have some cards with you. This way, you can capture "wasted" time (standing in line, riding the bus, waiting for class to start, etc.) and turn it into productive study time. Even if you only have a couple of minutes, you can use it to study a few flashcards.

Label your surroundings.

Make labels for things all over your house. For example: la pared (wall), la puerta (door), el escritorio (desk) etc. Remove the labels only after you have mastered the vocabulary.

Be patient.

Progress in language learning does not follow a straight-line graph. You cannot expect to make the same amount of progress, day after day, week after week. You may find yourself struggling at times, seeming to make no progress. Don't let this discourage you. It is normal to reach plateaus in your learning progress. If you find yourself "stuck" try spending time going back and reviewing things that you already know well. Often this will help prepare you to break through to the next level.

Find a partner.

Try to find a native speaker who can be your conversation partner. This can be your greatest asset and perhaps you can also provide assistance to your partner in your native language.

Read out loud.

Try reading out loud. You will get all of the benefits of reading, plus you'll get really good pronunciation practice. In fact, as a beginner, you should read aloud as much as possible.

Mexican Independence Day, September 15, 1810

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Amigos for learning SPANISH

Tarea- The Lucas Story

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TOP TEN TIPS FOR LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE