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Fundamental Spanish

by Barbara Bregstein

315 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-0143; ISBN 1-55395-780-6; US$29.00, C$34.00, EUR23.50, £16.50

For self-learners, a clear and accessible Spanish grammar book for beginners and intermediates. For teachers: a flexible and interesting text for classroom use. Pronounciation tips plus oral and written exercises are included throughout the book to guide progress and encourage talking and understanding.

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpts or Table of Contents      catalogue info

About the Book Fundamental Spanish is a clear, concise grammar book for teachers and beginner to intermediate self-learners. The book is structured so that each chapter becomes the base for the next. Once a lesson is understood, it becomes the basis for the next. The sequence of learning is orderly, logical and clear. There are tons of written and oral exercises to facilitate and guide learning so that self-learners can test their own progress and practice speaking and understanding. A pronunciation chart is provided and pronunciation tips are given throughout the book as reminders that the ultimate goal of this grammar book is not only to be able to read and write Spanish, but also to speak and understand Spanish. For the teachers: Fundamental Spanish is based on the idea of the task chain; the successful completion of one sequence of gramar is dependent on the successful completion of the task before. The book builds the grammatical base lesson by lesson. The order and clarity of the explanations will give you the flexibility to move as quickly or as slowly as you wish as you teach grammar and conversation. It can also be used to review any elements that your particular class requires.

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About the Author Barbara Bregstein, (B.A. University of Pennsylvania; M.A. University of Madrid) has been teaching Spanish in New York City for the past 20 years. She is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of Educational Theater of New York and has adapted and directed Socrates on Trial, an adaptation of Plato's dialogues. Barbara has also created and directed three plays for students of English as a Second Language.

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Sample Excerpts or Table of Contents

Fundamental Spanish can be used for independent study or as a flexible textbook for classroom use.

• Easy to use. A step-by-step introduction to Spanish for beginner and intermediate learners.
• Logical and orderly progression of language learning.
• Clear, concise explanations and examples.
• Pronunciation chart and tips.
• Challenging written and oral exercises to guide progress.
• Short stories for reading comprehension.
• Complete answer key included.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

Guide to pronunciation

Una conversacion tipica

LEVEL I: Elements of a Sentence

Chapter 1 - Nouns, articles, and adjective

• Gender of nouns and the definite article
• Singular nouns
• Plural nouns
• The indefinite article
• Agreement and position of adjectives

Chapter 2 - Estar, ser, and subject pronouns

• Subject pronouns
• Conjugation and uses of estar
• Conjugation and uses of ser

Chapter 3 - Hay, interrogative words, days, months

• Hay
• Interrogative words
• Prepositions
• Days of the week
• The months, seasons, time of day

Chapter 4 - Numbers, dates, time

• Cardinal numbers
• Ordinal numbers
• The date
• Telling time

Chapter 5 - Regu ar verbs, present tense

• Regular -ar verbs
• Uses of the present tense
• The preposition a
• Regular -er verbs
• Regular -ir verbs

Chapter 6 - Irregu ar verbs

• Irregular -ar verbs
• Irregular -er verbs
• Irregular -ir verbs

Chapter 7 - Ir and the future

• Conjugation and uses of ir
• The future with ir
• Idioms with tener
• Idiomatic expressions
• The relative pronoun que
• The conjunction que
• The preposition para
• Parts of the body
• Family vocabulary

Chapter 8 - Adjectives and adverbs

• Possessive adjectives
• Demonstrative adjectives
• Neuter demonstrative pronouns
• Adjectives of nationality
• Adjectives which precede the noun
• Comparing adjectives
• Comparing nouns
• Comparing verbs
• Adverbs

Chapter 9 - Negatives and prepositions

• Negatives
• Negative expressions
• Prepositions
• Pronouns which follow prepositions
• The preposition por
• Comparison of por and para
• Nature vocabulary
• Weather expressions
• Verb reference list Level I

Chapter 10 - Short stories

LEVEL II: Objects, reflexive verbs, present subjunctive

Chapter 11 - The indirect object

• Gustar and the indirect object
• Verbs like gustar
• Definition and uses
• Intransitive verbs
• Positions of the indirect object

Chapter 12 - The direct object

• The personal -a
• Transitive verbs
• The direct object pronoun
• Positions of the direct object pronoun
• Review chart of object pronouns

Chapter 13 - Reflexive verbs

• Definition and form
• Frequently used verbs
• Reflexive pronoun positions
• More reflexive verbs
• Review chart of object pronouns
• With reciprocal meaning
• The impersonal expression se

Chapter 14 - The present subjunctive

• Formation and uses
• Conjugation of -ar verbs
• Conjugation of -er and -ir verbs
• Irregular verbs
• Verbs with spelling changes
• Uses:
  • After impersonal expressions
  • After specific verbs
  • After certain conjunctions
  • After cuando
  • After certain dependent clauses
  • After certain expressions
  • Verb reference list Level II

Chapter 15 - Short stories

Answers

Index

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Estar - to be

Spanish has two verbs that are the equivalent to the English to be. Begin with the conjugations of estar.

• yo estoy = I am
• nosotros estamos = we are
• tu estas = you are
• vosotros estais = you are
• el esta = he is
• eos estan = they are
• ella esta = she is
• eas estan = they are
• Ud. esta = you are
• Uds. estan = you are

Practice the conjugations of the verb aloud. Notice that el, ella, Ud. (called the third person singular), have the same form of the verb. Notice also that ellos, ellas, Uds. (called the third person plural), have the same form of the verb.

Estar is used to express four basic ideas: location, health, changing mood or condition, and personal opinion in terms of taste or appearance.

Location: where something or someone is physically located.

• Yo estoy en la clase. = I am in the class.
• Nosotros estamos en el carro. = We are in the car.
• El restaurante esta en la ciudad. = The restaurant is in the city.
• Ellas estan en el baño. = They are in the bathroom.
• Estas tu en el hospital? = Are you in the hospital?

The verb, which carries the actions of the phrase, is the essential element of the Spanish sentence or question because of the amount of information it carries.

Verb definitions: the infinitive is the unconjugated form of the verb. For example, to be is an infinitive in English. The conjugations are the forms of the verb that belong to a particular pronoun or noun subject. I am, he is, are examples of conjugations of the infinitive to be.

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Ser - to be

Ser is also the equivalent to the English to be.

In English, there is only one verb that means to be. We say, for example:

The dog is here. The dog is brown.

The verb is the same in both cases. But in Spanish, there is a difference, and you have to choose which verb to use. So, in Spanish, it truly matters what the meaning of 'is' is.

• yo soy = I am
• nosotros somos = we are
• tu eres = you are
• vosotros sois = you are
• el es = he is
• ellos son = they are
• ella es = she is
• ellas son = they are
• Ud. es = you are
• Uds. son = you are

Ser is used to express seven basic ideas: description, profession, point of origin, identification, possession, material, and where an event takes place.

Description:

• La casa es roja. = The house is red.
• El libro es azul. = The book is blue.
• Los carros son viejos. = The cars are old.
• Somos simpaticos. = We are nice.
• Es la flor amarilla? = Is the flower yellow?

Profession:

• Yo soy estudiante. = I am a student.
• el es arquitecto. = He is an architect.
• Ellas son maestras excelentes. = They are excellent teachers.
• Somos doctores. = We are doctors.

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Catalogue Information

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