IMPROVE+MY+SPANISH!

= I want to IMPROVE MY SPANISH! =

Below you'll find Vocabulary and Grammar topics together with links and activities that will help you step up your grammar. Remember on the AP Exam, a few well-placed samples of advanced grammar will earn you a score of 4 or 5, but errors (especially repeated ones) in basic grammar will bring your score down to a 1 or 2. No basic errors? You're at a score of 3 or above!

In Spanish, all nouns show gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular and plural). Most are easily recognized by the -o or -a ending, but some end in -e or a consonant and must be learned. Others are just irregular and will fool you.
 * NOUN GENDER / NUMBER: **
 * Print these pages out for reference. [[file:“El género de los sustantivos”.pdf]]
 * Go to this website link for [|gender practice].

The Present Tense - //(He does, Does he? Is he doing?)// has the most irregularities. There are regular -AR, -ER and -IR ending verbs, but there are also STEM-CHANGING (cambio radical) verbs and verbs with ORTHOGRAPHIC (cambios ortograficos) to make the verb sound right. Additionally, there are irregular "Yo form" verbs with -GO or -ZCO and verbs that are just irregular like IR and SER. Practice the present tense with the link below from COLBY.
 * PRESENT PRACTICE: **

Present Tense Practice: []

The Preterite tense in Spanish is used to say "what happened" or "who did what." It describes a one-time (or set of actions in a close time frame i.e., "last week") ACTION that was completed. These links are from COLBY.
 * PRETERITE PRACTICE: **

Preterite Practices: []

Irregular Preterite Verbs: []

Preterite vs. Imperfect: []

These two verbs are VERY CONFUSING. While they do both translate "to be," they are NOT interchangeable. SER comes from the latin word "sere" - in English, we have the word "essence." It's the basic description of something - it is used to identify and define things, describe physical qualities and characteristics, personality traits, origin, occupation, marital status, religious affiliation, race and nationality, etc. Those things that generally remain the same. ESTAR comes from the latin "estare" - in English we have the words: "status" and "state" - used to describe the current situation like the "State of the Union" or your current "Status" on FaceBook.
 * SER vs. ESTAR: **

This video may help you understand all of the uses of the verb SER: media type="file" key="Verbs in Spanish Verb SER - Present.flv" width="360" height="270"

This video may help you understand all of the uses of the verb ESTAR: media type="file" key="SPANISH-LESSONS_-EL-VERBO-ESTAR-THE-VERB-TO-BE[www.savevid.com].mp4" width="300" height="300"

Here is a COLBY practice. Ser vs. Estar: []

Some words will be problematic because the Spanish language is more precise than English. For example, in English "hard" can mean that "the wood is hard," "the test was hard," and "he works hard." Each use of the word suggests something different. In Spanish, different words would be used for each situation. Ex: "La madera es dura," "El examen fue dificil," and "trabaja diligentemente." Study the uses below.
 * PALABRAS PROBLEMÁTICAS: **
 * Download and print the handout for easy reference. [[file:Palabras Problematicas_with examples.pdf]]

You will receive this list from Profe, but if it is lost, you can access it here. Each vocabulary quiz will include words from a specific list, along with some bonus points for vocabulary from previous lists. Remember that on the AP Exam, you'll never know what topics will appear, so VOCABULARY IS POWER!
 * LISTAS DE VOCABULARIO AP: **


 * This is long, you can see it digitally, but if you plan to print . . . add extra pages to your printer. [[file:Vocabulario_for_AP.pdf]]

Gustar and verbs like it have a 3rd person subject - NOT "I like it," but rather "IT (a thing(s) or verb activity) PLEASES ME" or "is pleasing to me." Verbs like GUSTAR are generally conjugated in only 3rd person (singular or plural) and are used with an INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN (me/te/le/nos/os/les) to say to whom the activity is pleasing. Similar verbs include: interesar, fascinar, doler, encantar, faltar, aburrir, quedar. Practices are below:
 * VERBS LIKE GUSTAR: **

GUSTAR: [] VERBS LIKE GUSTAR: []