Me, Te, Lo/La, Nos, Los/Las

The “Indirect Object” is the receiver of something. It is not always a person, it can also be an object: dí un golpe a la mesa (I hit the table); compré esta blusa para vos (I bought this shirt for you). Who did you hit? For whom did you buy the blouse?

Me, Te, Le, Nos, Les

In this recipe you will see the “imperative” with pronouns. Remember that when we are using the “affirmative Imperative” the pronouns are placed at the end of the verb, and in the Negative they go before the verb.

Compre las tapas para lasaña en el supermercado, medio kilo de carne picada, un trozo de queso para derretir, 3 o 4 tomates, dos zanahorias, crema de leche y queso crema. Tome una sartén y póngale un chorrito de aceite. Caliéntelo unos segundos y agréguele la carne. Cocine removiendo con una cuchara hasta que la carne esté levemente cocida. Vaya agregando el tomate cortado en cubitos, la zanahoria rayada y la cebolla picada. Condimente a gusto. Cocine unos minutos todo junto a fuego lento. Retire del fuego y tape la mezcla dejándola reposar. (Buy covers for lasagna in the supermarket, half a kilo of beef, a piece of cheese to melt, 3 or 4 tomatoes, two carrots, cream and cream cheese. Take a pan and put a little oil. Heat a few seconds and added the meat. Cook it, stirring with a spoon until the meat is lightly cooked. Add the diced tomato, grated carrot and chopped onion. Season it to taste. Cook a few minutes all together over low heat. Remove from heat and cover the mixture by letting it sit.)

Mientras, en una cacerola pequeña ponga la crema y el queso. Cocínelos a fuego lento mientras revuelve con cuchara de madera. Cuando el queso esté derretido agréguele a la mezcla una cucharada de queso crema. (Meanwhile, in a small saucepan put in the cream and cheese. Cook over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. When the cheese is melted add to the mix a tablespoon of cream cheese.)

Caliente el horno a 200 grados por unos minutos. Cubra la superficie de una asadera con un poco de aceite y póngale encima una de las tapas de la lasaña. Arriba, póngale un poco de la mezcla con carne y un poco de salsa; luego, tápela con una nueva tapa y continúe en este orden hasta formar una torre. (Preheat the oven to 200 degrees for a few minutes. Cover the surface of the pan with some oil and top it with one of the tops of the lasagna. Then add some meat mixture and a little sauce, then cover it with a new lid and continue in this order to form a tower.)

Finalmente meta la lasaña en el horno y caliéntela por aproximadamente 20 minutos. (Finally, finish the lasagna in the oven and heat for about 20 minutes.)

Lets clear the air and take a look at when both of these important expressions should be used.

We use “Después” and “Antes” in a chronological way.

“Me levanté, después me duché, luego me vestí, más tarde salí de casa.” (I got up, then showered, then got dressed, then later on left the house). In this context, “después”, “luego” and “más tarde” are synonyms.

In this sense, “Antes”, is the same thing in reverse.

“Me vestí, pero antes me duché”. (I got dressed, but before I showered).

Now let’s take a look at another very important instance where we use “Antes” and “Después.”
When referring to another action, I have to use “Antes de” or “Después de” plus (+) Infinitive.
For example: “Antes de vestirme, me duché” (Before getting dressed, I showered). “Después de vestirme, salí de casa. ” (After getting dressed, I left home).

When we use “después de que”, and “antes de que”, we congugate the verb that follows. We usually use this form when we change the subject.

“Preparé la cena antes de que llegaras” (I prepared the dinner before you arrived) / “Siempre preparo la cena antes de que lleguen mis hijos” (I always cook dinner before my children arrive).

Pay attention here because this is tricky!! In the following case, we have to use the Subjunctive mood, more specifically the present subjective, when the principal verb is in Present tense (Indicative), and Imperfect subjunctive when the principal verb is in the past tense (Indicative).

“Siempre voy a dormir después de que se duerman los niños” (I always go to sleep after the children fall sleep)/ “Laura estuvo muy triste después de que su novio rompiera con ella” (Laura was very sad after her boyfriend broke up with her).

These last uses of “Antes” and “Después” can get pretty tricky and are geared towards more advanced students. If it is too confusing for you, don’t worry, keep on practicing the simpler ways of using “Antes” and “Después” until you are more comfortable using the Subjunctive mood.

PRESENT

YA

El bebé ya camina. (The baby is already walking). We use this idea when we were expecting something from someone that we know he/she was going to do in any moment.

Ya regreso. (I will be right back). We use this phrase when we are going to do something soon, for example in a restaurant, the waiter could say: Ya te traigo la cuenta. (I will bring you the check in a moment.

Ya no tomo alcohol. (I don’t drink alcohol anymore.) We use it when we used to do something and we stopped doing it.

TODAVÍA

El bebé todavía no habla. (The baby doesn’t speak yet). We use this idea when we are expecting something from someone that we know he/she is going to do in any moment

Vivo con mis padres todavía. (I still live with my parents.) We can use this form when something that we used to do in our lives could of changed, but we still continue to do it in the same way.

PAST (Past Perfect, Simple Past or Pluperfect)

YA

No quiero cenar. Ya he cenado. Gracias. (I don’t want to eat dinner. I have already eaten dinner. Thanks.)
In this context we have done something already in the past.

Cuando Juan llegó a casa, yo ya me había duchado. (When Juan came home, I had already showered.) In this example I had already showered before Juan came home. It is the “past before the past.”

TODAVÍA

Tengo hambre. No he cenado todavía. (I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten dinner yet.) In this context I haven’t done something on my list of plans yet, but I plan on doing it.

Cuando Juan llegó a casa yo todavía no había preparado la comida. (When Juan came home I still had not prepared the food.) In this case it is a “past before another past”, but the action had not happened before the most recent past.

IMPERFECT PAST

YA

A los 20 años yo ya tenía a mi primer hijo. (At age 20 I already had my first child.) This is an actual situation that was the same in a moment in the past.

TODAVÍA

Cuando te conocí yo todavía vivía con mi ex novia. (When I met you I was still living with my ex-girlfriend.) This is something that has changed in the present, but in the past was happening at the same time as another event.

In this lesson we are going to see some tricks on how to use: era, fue, estaba or estuvo.

ERA is the verb Ser in the Imperfect Tense, for this reason we can use it in a description.

For example, in part of a context:

Era un da lindo y haba sol, por eso decidimos salir a pasear. (It was a beautiful day and there was sun, so we decided to go for a walk.)

Julio era camarero cuando lo conoc. (July was a bartender when I met him.)

La escuela a donde asista cuando era pequeo era muy grande. (The school where I attended when I was small was very large.)

FUE is the verb Ser in Preterit Tense (remember it has the same conjugation as IR in this tense, and could be confused with Ir), so, when we are using this verb we are speaking about something specific and close.

Kennedy fue un presidente de Estados Unidos. (Kennedy was a U.S. president.)

Ayer fue un lindo da. (Yesterday was a nice day.)

In this case the phrase is closed, it is not the context for something more.

ESTABA is the verb Estar in the Imperfect Tense. So, we use it for descriptions or Imperfect Continues.

Mi escuela estaba cerca del ro. (My school was near the river.)

Ayer estaba muy cansada, por eso no sal. (Yesterday I was very tired, so did not go out.)

Antes la casa de mis tos estaba muy cerca de la ma. (Before the house of my uncle was very close to mine.)

Estaba tomando sol, cuando apareci una nube. (I was sunbathing when a cloud appeared.)

Estabas durmiendo cuando llegu, no quise despertarte. (You were sleeping when I arrived, I did not want to wake you up.)

ESTUVO is the Preterit Tense, we use it to speak about something specific, close, or in the “Preterit Tense Continues” to express more emphasis in the action.

La fiesta estuvo divertida. (The party was fun.)
Estuve muy triste toda la semana. (I was very sad all week.)
Ayer estuvo lloviendo todo el da. (Yesterday it rained all day.)
El fin de semana estuve limpiando mi casa. (On the weekend I was cleaning my house.)

Me da igual/ Me da lo mismo: It doesn’t matter to me.
¿Qué preferís para cenar, pastas o pollo? (Do you want pastas or chicken for dinner?)
Me da igual. (I don’t care.)

Dárselas de: to pose as…, to claim to be…, to brags about being…

Hernán habla mucho sobre sus muchos amigos de Facebook. Se las da de popular. (Hernan talks a lot about his many friends on Facebook. He brags about being popular.)

Dar la cara: to take responsibility.

Juan Carlos fue el responsable de la demora en el trabajo. Sin embargo, cuando el jefe preguntó, no dio la cara. (Juan Carlos was responsible for the delay in the work. However, when the boss asked, he didn’t take responsibility.)

Dar la espalda: to reject.

Le pedí a Andrea ayuda con la mudanza, pero me dio la espalda. (I asked Andrea help with the move, but she rejected me.)

Dar una mano: to lend a hand…
Puedo darte una mano con tu tarea de matemáticas, si quieres. (I can lend you a hand with your math homework, if you want.)

Dar a luz: to give birth.

Susana ha dado a luz a una nena y todos están felices. (Susana has given birth a girl, and everybody is happy.)

Dar con: to come upon.

La policía dio con el ladrón. Estaba escondido en el garaje de la casa. (The police found the thief. He was hiding in the garage of the house.)

Dar la nota: to stand out.

Verónica se cayó porque estaba borracha. Siempre está dando la nota. (Veronica fell because she was drunk. He is always standing out.)

Dar lugar a: to give cause for…

La suba en los impuestos dio lugar a muchas protestas. (The increase in taxes gave cause for many protests.)
Dar qué hablar: to set oneself up for criticism.

Esa mujer siempre da que hablar porque usa unos sombreros muy raros. (That woman always set’s herself up for criticism because she wears very rare hats.)

Dar qué hacer: to cause trouble.

Mi hijo me da mucho qué hacer, cada vez que va a jugar vuelve todo sucio. (My son causes me trouble, each time he goes to play, he comes back very dirty.)

Dar qué pensar: to give grounds for suspicion.

El mensaje de esa chica en el teléfono de mi novio me dio qué pensar. (That message from that girl on my boyfriend’s phone gives me grounds for suspicion.)

Dársele a alguien por…:to become fanatic/obsessive

A Ernesto se le dio por las artes marciales desde que vio “Matrix”. (Ernest is obsessive about martial arts since he saw “Matrix”.)
Dar por + past participle: to consider.

No encuentro mi libro hace 6 meses. En realidad, ya lo di por perdido. (I haven’t found my book in 6 months. Actually, I consider it lost.)

Dar por sentado/Dar por hecho: to take for granted.

Doy por sentado que mi mejor amiga estará en mi cumpleaños. (I take for granted that my best friend will be at my birthday.)

Dar vueltas a algo: to think something over.

Todavía no me decido si cambiar de trabajo o no. Le estoy dando muchas vueltas al asunto. (I still cannot decide if I will change jobs or not. I’m thinking it over.)

PARECER
Yo parezco
Tú pareces
Ud./Él/Ella parece
Nosotros-as parecemos
Uds./Ellos-as parecen

In this case, we use parecer to speak about our impression of someone.

Pareces cansado, ¿Dormiste bien? (You look tired, did you sleep well?)

No conozco mucho a esa chica, pero parece simpática. (I don’t not know much about this girl, but she seems nice.)

Él parecía muy inteligente, pero obviamente nos hemos equivocado, él ha respondido la mayoría de las preguntas incorrectamente. (He seemed very intelligent, but obviously we were wrong, he answered most of the questions incorrectly.)

PARECERSE
Me parezco
Te pareces
Se parece A (Person)
Nos parecemos
Se parece

We use Parecerse to compare one person with another person who we think is similar.

Juan se parece a su papá, porque ambos son altos. (Juan is like his father, because both are tall.)

¿A quién te pareces de tu familia? (Who do you look like in your family?)

Yo me parezco a mi mamá y mi hermano se parece a mi papá. (I look like my mom and my brother looks like my dad.)

When we are not being specific about if we are speaking about personality or physical, we are speaking about physical, if not, normally we have to be specific.

A mi mamá le encantan las matemáticas, y yo soy muy mala en matemáticas, las odio. En eso no nos parecemos. ( My mom loves math, and I am very bad at math, I hate it. In this case we are not alike.)

PARECER with Indirect Object
(A mí) Me
(A vos/ti) Te
(A Ud./él/ella) Le Parece/n
(A nosotros) Nos
(A ustedes/ellos) Les

In this case, the verb is used to make opinions.

¿Qué te parece el último CD de Julio Iglesias? (What do you think about the last CD of Julio Iglesias?)
Me parece un poco aburrido. (I think it is a bit boring.)
Me parece + Adjective: Me parece bueno. (I think it is good.)
Me parece que + Phrase with verb: Me parece que tiene muchas canciones lindas. (I think that it has a lot of nice songs.)
As with the verb Gustar, if after the verb I have a noun in plural, I have to use it in plural too.
¿Qué te parecen estas fotografías? (What do you think about these pictures?)
Me parecen geniales. (I think they are great.)

Para que (for/in order to)
Con el objeto de que (in order to)
A fin de que (in order to)

For example:

Los políticos hacen promesas para ganar elecciones. (Politicians make promises to win elections.)
Los políticos hacen promesas para que la gente los vote. (Politicians make promises so the people vote for them.)

So, when the verb before para que is in the Present Indicative, the verb after para que will be in the Present Subjunctive.
But, when the verb before the connector (para que) is in Past, the verb after the connector will be in Imperfect Subjunctive.

Josefina tiró dinero al mar para que la gente supiera que a ella no le interesa el dinero. (Josephine threw money into the sea to let people know that she is not interested in money.)

El maestro escribió una nota a los padres, a fin de que supieran lo que estaba pasando en la escuela. (The teacher wrote a note to parents so that they knew what was happening at school.)

Natalia y Mario hicieron una boda con el objeto de que sus amigos les hicieran regalos. (Natalia and Mario had a wedding so that his friends would give them gifts.)

Sometimes, an objective can be expressed like a desire; and remember that it needs Subjunctive too:

Los padres de Gabriel dejaron de darle dinero porque querían que él buscara un trabajo. (Gabriel’s parents stopped giving him money because they wanted him to get a job.)

María José le dijo la verdad a Pedro porque esperaba que él la entendiera. (María José told the truth to Peter because she expected that he would understand.)

Other use of the Subjunctive is with orders from a subject to another subject. When the principal verb is in the Present Indicative, we usethe Present Subjunctive, but when it is in Past, we need to use Imperfect Subjunctive.

Te pido (I ask you)
Te ruego (I beg you)
Te suplico (I beg you)
Te ordeno (I order you)

Te pido que limpies la casa, porque van a venir mis padres. (I ask you to clean the house because my parents are coming.)
Te pedí que limpiaras la casa porque iban a venir mis padres, finalmente tuve que hacerlo yo. (I asked you to clean the house because my parents were coming; in the end I had to do it.)

Te ruego que te portes bien, porque si no tendré que enviarte a la dirección. (I beg you to behave well, because if not I’ll have to send to the principal.)
Te rogué que te portaras bien, y no lo hiciste, ahora tendrás que ir a hablar con el director. (I begged you to behave yourself, and you did not, now you’ll have to go talk to the director.)

We are going to make a classification of the words according to where they have the greatest force in pronunciation.

The words called AGUDAS, are the words that you pronounce with force in the last syllable. For example:

Camión (truck)
Andar (to ride)
Valor (value)
Oración (sentence)
Francés (French)
Salí (I went out)

Those words have a Tilde when they end in N,S or a vowel.

The words called GRAVES, are the words that you pronounce with force in the penultimate syllable.

For Example:

Lápiz (pencil)
Mapa (Map)
Moneda (Coin)
Difícil (Difficult)

Those words have a Tilde when they don’t end in N,S or Vocal.

The words called ESDRÚJULAS are the words that you pronounce with force in the third to last syllable.

For Example:

Esdrújula
Brújula (Compass)
Díselo (Tell it to him)
Crédito (Credit)

Those words always have a Tilde.

The words called SOBREESDRÚJULAS are the words that you pronounce with force in the fourth to last syllable. For example:

Cuéntamelo (Tell me it)
Fácilmente (Easily)
Difícilmente (Difficulty)
Olvídatelo (Forget about it)

Those words always have a Tilde.

The Monosyllables don’t have a Tilde, but many of them have a Tilde to differentiate between the other words with a different meaning.

Sí (Yes) Si (If)
Té (Tea) Te (Reflexive or IO Pronoun)
Más (More) Mas (But)
Tú (You) Tu (Your)
Él (He) El (Male Article)
Sé (I know) Se (Pronoun)
Mí (I after prepositions: Todo es para mí/Se ríen de mí) Mi (My)

The words used for questions, doubts or to demonstrate admiration always have a Tilde.

¿Cuál es tu nombre? (What is your name?)
¿Quién es tu padre? (Who is your father?)
No sé en qué habitación duermo yo. (I don’t know in which room I should sleep.)
¡Cuánto tardan para traer la cuenta! (How long it takes to bring the bill!)

But we use these words without accents when they are Relatives.

La casa donde crecí era maravillosa. (The house where I grew up was wonderful.)
Perdieron cuanto habían ganado. (They lost what they had won.)
Quien te haya dicho eso es un maleducado. (Whoever told you that is rude.)

Determinants and demonstrative pronouns:

The pronouns éste, ésta, ése, ésa, aquél and aquélla, and their plural forms have accents to differentiate the determinants equivalent.

Ésta es mi casa. (This is my house.)
Aquél es mi primo Raúl. (That man over there is my cousin Raúl.)

The Determinants este, esta, ese, esa, aquel and aquella and their plural forms, never have a Tilde.

Ese auto fue robado. (That car was stolen.)

Esto, Eso and Aquello never have a Tilde because they are always Pronouns and it is impossible to confuse them.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6781743

In most tenses we have to change the ending of the Infinitive Verb to another ending, for example, ComER in present tense is Yo como, tú comes, él come, nosotros comemos, ellos comen. But in Conditional, we don’t change the ending, but rather add an additional ending. It´s the same for all verbs ending in AR-ER or IR.

For example:

Dormir
Yo Dormiría
Tú Dormirías
Ud./él/ella Dormiría
Nosotros-as Dormiríamos
Uds./ellos-as Dormirían
IRREGULARS
Tener: Tendr (Tendría, tendrías, tendría, tendríamos, tendrían)
Poder: Podr
Poner: Pondr
Saber: Sabr
Querer: Querr
Haber: Habr
Hacer: Har
Decir: Dir
Venir: Vendr
Caber: Cabr

USES:
One of the ways we use the Conditional tense is when we want to speak more polite. For example, we can use the verb “Poder”, in the conditional tense followed by an unconjugated verb to simulate saying “could you….verb.”

¿Podría traernos una copa más? (Could you bring us another glass?)

We can also just use the conditional tense just using the verb and forget using Poder.For example:
¿Traería una copa más, por favor? (Would you bring another glass, please?)

Another example with Poder:
Tengo frío, ¿Podrías cerrar la ventana, por favor? (I´m cold. Could you close the window, please?

Without Poder:
Tengo frío, ¿Cerrarías la ventana? (I´m cold. Would you close he window?)

Another use for conditional is when we speak about difficult wishes, something impossible for some reason in the moment when we are speaking.

For example:
Comería un pollo con salsa Tabasco, pero solo tengo pastas y arroz en la casa. (I would eat chicken with Tabasco sauce, but I have only pasta and rice in the house.)
Me gustaría ir al Sur, pero este año no tengo dinero. (I would like to go to the South, but I don´t have money this year).

Conditional is also used to hypothesize. For example:

¿Participarías de un Reality Show? (Would you participate in a Reality Show?) Sí, Participaría (Yes, I would participate.)
¿Cómo sería tu propio programa de televisión? (What would be your own TV Program?) Sería un programa de preguntas y respuestas y habría muchos premios. (It would be a question and answer program and have many awards.)

Also, we use Conditional to give advice:

Let’s say a person has a problem with her teenage daughter, and her friends are given her recommendations:

Podrías intentar conocer a sus amigos. (You could try to meet her friends.)
Deberías prohibirle las salidas. (You should ban her from going out at night.)
Tendrías que obligarla a estudiar. (You would have to force her to study.)
Yo que Tú, hablaría con ella. (If I were you, I would speak with her.)
Yo, en tu lugar, organizaría salidas de madre e hija. (If I were in your place, I would organize mother-daughter outings.)
Yo consultaría con un psicólogo. (I would consult a Psychologist.)

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“No tengo tiempo para descansar.” (I don’t have time to rest.) (Direct Speech)
Él dice que no tiene tiempo para descansar. (He says he doesn’t have time to rest.) (Indirect Speech)

As you can see, we have to change the verb to third person. Also we should change the Indirect Object if there is one in the phrase: Me gusta el rock/ Dice que le gusta el rock. (I like rock / He says he likes the rock.).

Posesives: Mi casa tiene cuatro ventanas/Ella dice que su casa tiene 4 ventanas. (My house has four windows / She says her house has 4 windows.)

And the pronouns in the reflexive verbs: Siempre me afeito por la mañana/Dice que siempre se afeita por la mañana. ( I always shave in the morning / He says he always shaves in the morning.)

With a question we have to use: Pregunta or Pregunta si. ¿Qué música escuchas? /Pregunta que Qué tipo de música escuchas. (What music do you listen to? / She asks what type of music do you listen to.)

¿Comes sushi?/Ella me pregunta si como sushi. (Do you eat sushi? / She asked me if I eat sushi.)

When we have the principal verb (Dice que…) in the present tense or Past Perfect (Ha dicho que…) we don’t have to change the tense of the original verb that uses the person in the Direct Speech, with the exception of the Imperative by Subjective Present.

Haz tu tarea (Do your homework.)
Dice que hagas tu tarea. (He tells you to do your homework.)

But we have to do it when the principal verb is in Past Tense (Imperfecto or Indefinido).

Dijo que…(He/She said that…)
Decía que…(He/She said that…)
Contó que…(He/She told that…)
Comentó que….(He/She commented that…)
Preguntó si….(He/She asked if…)

Lets take a look at how the tenses change.

Present = Imperfect
Tengo frío/Juan comentó que tenía frío. (I am cold / John said he was cold.)

Imperfect = Imperfect
De chica me gustaba comer dulces/Ella contó que de chica le gustaba comer dulces. (As a child I liked to eat sweets / The girls said she liked to eat candy as a child.)

Indefinite = Pluperfect
Fui al cine solo/ Ella dijo que había ido al cine sola. (I went to the movies alone / She said she had gone to the movies alone.)

Perfect = Pluperfect
Nunca he estado en Disney World/ El niño comentó que nunca había estado en Disney. (I have never been to Disney World / The boy said he had never been to Disney World.)

Pluperfect = Pluperfect
Cuando llegué Rosa ya había cenado/ Dijo que cuando había llegado Rosa ya había cenado. (When Rosa arrived I had already ate dinner / He said that when Rosa arrived he had already eaten dinner.)

Future = Conditional
Iremos al campo este fin de semana / Contó que irían al campo este fin de semana. (We’ll go to country this weekend / He said he would go to the country this weekend.)

Conditional = Conditional
Me gustaría comer rabas/Dijo que le gustaría comer rabas. (like to eat squid rings / He said he would like to eat squid rings.)

Imperative = Subjunctive Imperfect
¡No comas eso!/ Me ordenó que no comiera eso. (Do not eat that! / He ordered me not to eat it.)

Subjunctive Present = Subjunctive Imperfect
No quiero que mis padres se enojen/ Él dijo que no quería que sus padres se enojaran. (I don’t want my parents to get angry / He said he didn’t want his parents to get angry.)

Subjunctive Imperfect = Subjunctive Imperfect
Me molestaba que mi ex novio fumara en la cama/ Dijo que le molestaba que su ex novio fumara en la cama. (It bothered me that my ex smoked in bed / She said it bothered her that her ex-boyfriend smoked in bed.)

Subjunctive Perfect = Subjunctive Pluperfect
No creo que haya llovido anoche/ Juan dijo que no creía que hubiera llovido anoche. (I don’t think it rained last night / John said he did not think it had rained last night)

Subjunctive Pluperfect = Subjunctive Pluperfect
No había nada que hubiera podido hacer/ Dijo que no había nada que hubiera podido hacer. (There was nothing I could have done /He said that there was nothing he could have done.)

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