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Still lost on estar and some ser stuffThis is the place for questions about conjugations, verb tenses, adverbs, adjectives, word order, syntax and other grammar questions for English or Spanish. |
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#1
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Still lost on estar and some ser stuff
So I can ask basic questions about where things are, but my understanding stops there. So I believe "¿Donde está el cuaderno?" is correct, but then I wonder what the meaning of the variants are.
¿Donde estoy el cuaderno? = Where is my notebook? (this one I think is wrong). Think that "mia" should be somewhere in there. ¿Donde estás el cuaderno? = Where is your notebook? ¿Donde está el cuaderno? = Where is the notebook? ¿Donde estámos el cuaderno? = Where is our notebook? ¿Donde están el cuaderno? = Where is their notebook? Are these correct? Also can I say "Soy no Comprendo" = I don't understand. <--- Is this correct? |
#2
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The variants you tried won't work.
The verb needs to agree in person and number with the subject. Since 'el cuaderno' is referenced (not addressed, not self), it is a third person. Since there is only one notebook, the subject is singular third person. The verb ending for singular third person is 'á', for the verb estar. Use the possessive adjective 'mi' in front of 'cuaderno' to say 'my notebook'. ¿Dónde está mi cuaderno? = Where is my notebook? The possessive adjectives, arranged according to person and number, are:
¿Dónde está tu cuaderno? = Where is your notebook? ¿Dónde está nuestro cuaderno? = Where is our notebook? ¿Dónde están nuestros cuadernos? = Where are our notebooks? The last sentence shows how a plural third-person subject changes the verb ending, from 'á' to 'án', and the possessive adjective ending, from 'o' to 'os'. No entiendo = I don't understand (No comprendo = I don't comprehend) The verb ending, '-o', conveys the subject's person and number, so there's no need to use the subject pronoun 'yo' in front of 'no'. Soy = I am Soy no entiendo. = I am I don't understand. (This doesn't make sense.) Last edited by Rusty; March 08, 2016 at 01:48 AM. |
#3
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We have this: Yo soy Tu eres él/ellos/usted es Nosotros somos Ellos son Can you say ¿Dónde está somos cuaderno? = Where is our notebook? |
#4
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No, you can't. That's like saying "were is are we notebook". The problem is you're mixing up two different things: the verbs "ser" and "estar" and the use of possessive pronouns.
The verb "estar" talks about the situation of a thing or a person: where, how, when something/someone is. The notebook is the subject of the sentence, so the verb only admits one conjugation: present indicative for él. yo estoy tú estás él/ella está nosotros estamos vosotros estáis ustedes están ellos/ellas están The verb "ser" talks about the inherent qualities of a thing or a person: what someone or something is. yo soy tú eres él/ella es nosotros somos vosotros sois ellos/ellas son In order to answer where the notebook is, you only need one verb (not both), but if you want to include whose notebook it is, you need to know the possessive pronouns, and those are the ones Rusty presented. They agree in gender and number according to the property's number and gender. yo -> mi casa, mi hermano, mis maestras, mis lápices tú -> tu goma, tu coche, tus amigas, tus cuadernos él/ella -> su mamá, su reloj, sus lecciones, sus dibujos nosotros -> nuestra escuela, nuestro salón, nuestras mochilas, nuestros compañeros vosotros -> vuestra tarea, vuestro escritorio, vuestras clases, vuestros juegos ustedes -> su computadora, su profesor, sus preguntas, sus teléfonos ellos/ellas -> su oficina, su jardín, sus hijas, sus hijos
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#5
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So could I say something along the lines of....
Me: ¿Donde está mi libro? Me: Necesito leer. Where is my book? I need to read. I'm a little confused on the leer. I have read "leo", but also that when you have ser you only change the first describing word and not the ones after. |
#6
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Quote:
Quote:
In the sentence "necesito leer", the first verb "necesito" requires a complement; that is, something that specifies what I need. One possible complement is the infinitive of a different verb, just like English "I need to X". You use an infinitive in the complement of "necesitar" when both verbs have the same subject. |
#7
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Thank you for your help thus far. I'd give more rep, but the button is telling me that I have already given.
So if ser is used to describe qualities, does this work? Soy guapo y inteligente = I am good looking and intelligent Eres joven y tonto = You are young and stupid Es guapa y simpática = She is good looking and likable |
#8
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y is replaced by e before i, no exception it's the equivalent to "a car" but "an idea"
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