Lección 2.1

Pasatiempos y actividades diarias

In this chapter, you will learn how to add to your conversation skills in Spanish by communicating your likes and dislikes, asking questions, and talking about favorite pastimes (hobbies) and some daily activities. You will also be able to tell people what you are doing presently and what you are going to do in the future. In order to deepen conversation, it is important to be able to conjugate verbs. In this chapter, you will learn how to conjugate regular -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs in the present tense. You will also memorize the contractions in Spanish, the days of the week, and count from 30 to 100.

Vocabulario

Actividades

Days of the Week

In Spanish, the days of the week are not capitalized, as they are in English. All the days of the week are masculine. When learning the days of the week, the question ¿Qué día es? (What day is it?) is helpful to know.

Video: pronunciations for the days of the week in Spanish.

When expressing thoughts using the days of the week, it is important to note that the article el is used if something is happening on a given day. However, the article los is used if something happens habitually.

-AR verbs in the present tense

Learning to conjugate regular -ar verbs in the present tense is fundamental for learning the Spanish language. Conjugation of regular -ar verbs is important for communication because it expands vocabulary, since there are many regular -ar verbs in the Spanish language that follow a consistent pattern when conjugated. Focusing on the most commonly used -ar verbs can provide a solid foundation for effective communication.

Conjugation of regular -ar verbs in the present tense

In order to start conjugating regular verbs, it is important to understand what the infinitive form of the verb means. The infinitive form of a verb is a version of the verb that is typically found in the dictionary. In English, infinitives are formed by adding the word “to” before the base verb, such as “to eat,” “to run,” “to dance.” In Spanish, the infinitives are single words ending in -ar, -er, or -ir. This lesson focuses on -ar verbs like nadar, cantar, and estudiar. It is important to conjugate verbs because in Spanish, the verb endings change to reflect the subject performing the action. For example, when the verb bailar (to dance) is conjugated, it can express “I dance,” “You dance,” “She dances,” “We dance” depending on the ending. Let’s learn how to conjugate regular -ar verbs.

To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the present tense, remove the -ar ending from the infinitive so the root or stem remains. For example, when the -ar is removed from bailar, you are left with bail-. Once you have the stem, add the regular present-tense -ar endings.

Bailar – to dance
bail- – stem/root

-AR Verbs