Spanish Grammar and Vocabulary: Weather, Dates, and Comparisons

Chapter Learning Objectives

  • Weather: Talk about the weather

  • Time and Dates: Talk about months and seasons of the year and express dates

  • Location: Use prepositions and cardinal points to locate people, places, and things

  • Present Progressive: Use the present progressive to express what is happening right now

  • Ser vs. Estar: Use the verbs ser and estar correctly, especially with adjectives

  • Comparisons: Compare people, places, things, and actions (Pages 1

  • Culture: Recognize and describe at least 2–3 aspects of Costa Rican cultures.

Gramática en breve: The Present Progressive (Point 15)

  • Basic Construction Formula:     estar+-ndo\text{estar} + \text{-ndo}

  • Verb Endings (Present Participles):

    • For -ar verbs, add the ending -ando.

    • For -er/-ir verbs, add the ending -iendo.

  • Spelling Changes in Present Participles:

    • Unaccented i: When the stem ends in a vowel, the unaccented "i" changes to a "y". Example: leyendo (from leer).

    • -ir Stem-changing Verbs:

      • The vowel e changes to i. Example: pidiendo (from pedir).

      • The vowel o changes to u. Example: durmiendo (from dormir).

Summary of the Uses of Ser and Estar (Point 16)

Uses of Ser

  • Inherent Qualities: Describing characteristics and essential traits.

  • Identification: Defining who someone is, including their profession.

  • Nationality and Origin: Stating where someone is from or their background.

  • Material: Identifying what something is made of.

  • Possession: Detailing ownership of an item.

  • Destination/Intention: Identifying for whom something is intended.

  • Time and Date: Stating the current time or the calendar date.

  • Generalizations: Making general statements about things or situations.

Uses of Estar

  • Conditions: Describing mental, physical, or health states.

  • Location: Identifying the position of people, places, or things.

  • Present Progressive: Acting as the auxiliary verb in continuous actions.

  • Fixed Expressions: Used in set idiomatic phrases.

Idioms with Tener (Expressing "To Be")

  • Certain physical states use the verb tener (to have) instead of ser/estar:

    • tener (mucho) calor: to be (very) warm or hot.

    • tener (mucho) frío: to be (very) cold.

Comparisons (Point 17)

Comparisons of Inequality

  • Basic Structure: maˊs/menos…que\text{más/menos} \dots \text{que} (more/less… than).

  • Direct Comparison: maˊs/menos que\text{más/menos que} (more/less than).

  • Numerical Comparison: maˊs/menos de+nuˊmero\text{más/menos de} + \text{número} (more/fewer than + number).

  • Age and Quality Irregulars:

    • mayor/menor que: older/younger than.

    • mejor/peor que: better/worse than.

Comparisons of Equality

  • Adjectives/Adverbs: tan…como\text{tan} \dots \text{como} (as… as).

  • Nouns: tanto/a/os/as…como\text{tanto/a/os/as} \dots \text{como} (as much/many… as).

Vocabulario: Verbos y El Tiempo

Los Verbos

  • celebrar: to celebrate.

  • continuar (continúo): to continue.

  • pasar: to happen.

  • pasar tiempo: to spend time.

  • quedarse: to stay, remain in a place.

  • seguir (sigo): to continue.

  • Repaso - divertirse (me divierto): Remember that the parenthetical letter gives you the stem change for the present participle.

¿Qué tiempo hace? (The Weather)

  • el clima: climate.

  • el tiempo: weather; time.

  • ¿qué tiempo hace?: what's the weather like?

  • está…: it's…

    • (muy) fresco: (very) cool.

    • (muy) nublado: (very) cloudy, overcast.

  • hace…: it's…

    • (muy) buen/mal tiempo: (very) good/bad weather; (very) nice/bad out.

    • (mucho) calor: (very) hot.

    • (mucho) frío: (very) cold.

    • (mucho) sol: (very) sunny.

    • (mucho) viento: (very) windy.

  • hay (mucha) contaminación: there's (lots of) pollution.

  • llover: llueve: to rain: it rains, it's raining.

  • la lluvia: rain.

  • nevar: nieva: to snow: it snows, it's snowing.

  • la nieve: snow.

Calendario y Estaciones (Calendar and Seasons)

Los meses del año (Months of the Year)

  • enero: January.

  • febrero: February.

  • marzo: March.

  • abril: April.

  • mayo: May.

  • junio: June.

  • julio: July.

  • agosto: August.

  • septiembre: September.

  • octubre: October.

  • noviembre: November.

  • diciembre: December.

La fecha (Dates)

  • ¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy? / ¿Qué fecha es hoy?: What's today's date?

  • el primero de: the first of (month).

  • el año: year.

  • la fecha: date (calendar).

  • el mes: month.

Las estaciones del año (Seasons of the Year)

  • la primavera: spring.

  • el verano: summer.

  • el otoño: fall, autumn.

  • el invierno: winter.

  • la estación: season.

Los Adjetivos (Adjectives)

  • abierto/a: open.

  • aburrido/a: bored.

  • alegre: happy.

  • cansado/a: tired.

  • cariñoso/a: affectionate.

  • cerrado/a: closed.

  • congelado/a: frozen; very cold.

  • contento/a: content, happy.

  • desordenado/a: messy.

  • difícil: hard, difficult.

  • enfermo/a: sick.

  • fácil: easy.

  • furioso/a: furious, angry.

  • limpio/a: clean.

  • loco/a: crazy.

  • mismo/a: same.

  • molesto/a: annoyed.

  • nervioso/a: nervous.

  • ocupado/a: busy.

  • ordenado/a: neat.

  • preocupado/a: worried.

  • querido/a: dear.

  • seguro/a: sure, certain.

  • sucio/a: dirty.

  • triste: sad.

Las Preposiciones y Lugares (Prepositions and Places)

Los lugares (Places)

  • la capital: capital city.

  • la playa: beach.

Las preposiciones (Prepositions of Location)

  • a la derecha de: to the right of.

  • a la izquierda de: to the left of.

  • al lado de: alongside of.

  • cerca de: close to.

  • debajo de: below.

  • delante de: in front of.

  • detrás de: behind.

  • encima de: on top of.

  • entre: between; among.

  • lejos de: far from.

Los puntos cardinales (Cardinal Points)

  • el norte: North.

  • el sur: South.

  • el este: East.

  • el oeste: West.

Palabras Adicionales y Repaso

Otros sustantivos (Other Nouns)

  • el cumpleaños: birthday.

  • la medianoche: midnight.

  • el mediodía: noon.

  • el/la novio/a: boyfriend/girlfriend.

  • la respuesta: answer.

Adverbios y Expresiones (Additional Words)

  • afuera (adv.): outdoors.

  • ahora mismo: right now.

  • conmigo: with me.

  • contigo: with you (fam.).

  • está bien: it's fine, OK.

  • esta noche: tonight.

  • estar bien: to be comfortable (referencing temperature).

  • mí (obj. of prep.): me.

  • por: because of; about.

  • sin embargo: nevertheless.

  • ti (obj. of prep.): you (fam.).

  • todavía: still.

  • Repaso - estar de acuerdo: to agree.