www.whyville.net Nov 9, 2008 Weekly Issue



Wicked777
Times Writer

Spanish for the Clueless

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I know some of you were very disappointed last week to find out that we wouldn't be saying "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in Spanish. I would like to apologize for the 3.289 seconds of false hope I may have caused you.

Moving on to bigger and hopefully better things . . .

This week we're going to learn the pronouns. In English, some examples of pronouns are "I," "he," and "you." They come in handy when you're referring to a specific person or group of people.

Yo
Pronounced: "Joh"
Means: I

Tu
Pronounced: Too (keep in mind that there is supposed to be an accent mark over the "u")
Means: You (singular familiar - you are talking to one person and that you know that person very well)

El
Pronounced: Ehl (there is supposed to be an accent mark over the "e")
Means: He

Ella
Pronounced: Ehya (any time there are two "l"s in a row, it is pronounced as "y")
Means: She (Tip: just remember that Ella is a girl's name)

Usted
Pronounced: Ooh-stehd
Means: You (singular formal - you are talking to one person and that person has authority over you. Ex: a teacher or boss)

Nosotros/Nosotras
Pronounced: Noh-soh-trohs/Noh-so-trahs
Means: We (Nosotros is usually used. Nosotras is only used when everyone in the group is a girl)

Vosotros
Pronounced: Voh-soh-trohs
Means: You (plural familiar - you are talking to a group of friends. Make note that it is ONLY used in Spain)

Ellos
Pronounced: Ehyos
Means: They (only used when talking about a group of males or a mixed group of males and females)

Ellas
Pronounced: Ehyas
Means: They (only used when talking about a group of females)

Ustedes
Pronounced: Ooh-steh-dehs
Means: You (plural formal or informal - you are talking to a group of people that you may or may not know well)

Okay, time for a quick review. Here's are the different ways to say "you."

Singular familiar - Tu (accent over u)
Singular formal - Usted
Plural familiar (Spain) - Vosotros
Plural familiar or formal - Ustedes

And now, for everything else:

I - Yo
He - El (accent over e)
She - Ella
We - Nosotros/Nosotras
They (boys or mix of boys and girls) - Ellos
They (girls only) - Ellas

I've got to go cook some platanos. Hasta luego!

-Wicked777

 

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