Carbón Homework Class 1
Lesson 1: Gender of nouns
Unlike in English, nouns in Spanish are almost always classified as masculine or feminine.

Masculine nouns:
-Usually en in "-o"
-Can end in "-ma" if Greek in origin
(problema, dilema, poema, and sistema are all fall in this category)

Feminine nouns:
-Often end in "a"
-Words with the following endings are feminine: -ción, -sión, -dad, -tud

Lesson 2: Definite and Indefinite Articles
Definite articles mean "the." In Spanish, the form they take corresponds to their respective noun.

This is also true of indefinite articles, but they mean "a" or "some."

Examples:
                                        Definite
                    Masculine                      Feminine
singular         el libro (the book)            la mesa (the table)
plural             los libros (the books)      las mesas (the tables)

                                        Indefinite
                    Masculine                       Feminine
singular         un libro (the book)          una mesa (the table)
plural             unos libros (the books)   unas mesas (the tables)

Assignment 1
Write down two different lists of 12 nouns in Spanish--that's 24 nouns in
total. Of the 24:
6 should be masculine singular
6 should be masculine plural
6 should be feminine singular
6 should be feminine plural

Use simple, concrete words that you’ll should be able to convey to a partner without using English. Mix up the order of the words so that all the masculine singular words, for example, are not together.

Next to each noun on the first list, write the noun's corresponding
definite article (el, la, los, las). Next to each noun on the second list,
write the noun's corresonding indefinite article (un, una, unos,
unas).

On a separate sheet of paper, rewrite the two lists, but without the
articles. Put an underlined space next to the nouns where the article
would go. In the next class, you'll give this second sheet to another
student to fill in.

Assignment 2
Read a children's book and bring it to class to share.

 

Carbón Homework Class 2

Regular Verbs of the First Conjugation (-AR)

This is the biggest group of verbs in Spanish. These verbs are conjugated like this:
1. Take off the -ar at the end.
2. Stick on the ending that is appropriate for the subject of the verb:
yo            -o     Nosotros            -amos
tú            -as
él/ella/usted -a     ellos/ellas/ustedes -an

So with, for example, the verb HABLAR, what you get looks like this:
yo            hablo      Nosotros            hablamos
tú            hablas
él/ella/usted habla      ellos/ellas/ustedes hablan

Assignment:
1. Fully conjugate, in writing, each of the verbs below full in the present just
like HABLAR is conjugated above.
hablar
caminar
escuchar
bailar
estudiar
2. Practice these forms orally, memorizing their conjugation to the point where you can do it with your eyes closed.
3. Write one unique sentence for each form of each verb. (5 forms per verb, 5 verbs, 25 sentences in total!)

 

Carbón Homework Class 3

Lesson 1: Formation of Plural Nouns

A. To nouns that end in a vowel, add "s"
libro, libros (book, books)

B. To nouns that end in a consonant, add "es"
reloj, relojes (clock, clocks)

C. Because adding "es" to a word adds a syllable, this can affect use of accents.
Words that end in a vowel, N, or S are normally emphasized on the second to last syllable.
Examples: (Normal) CAsa, somBREros, eXAmen, naCIOnes
(Not normal) eXÁmenes, naCIÓN

Note that "examen" and "naciones" follow the rule while "exámenes" and "nación" do not.

D. The letter Z at the end of a word is changed to C in the plural form.
Example: lápiz, lápices (pencil, pencil)

E. Weekdays do not changes in the plural.
Example: el miércoles, los miércoles (Wednesday, Wednesdays)

Assignment 1:
1. Write a list of 20 nouns (some of each of the above types) in their singular form.
2. Next to this list, rewrite the nouns in their plural form.
3. On a separate sheet of paper, copy only the first list. In class, another
student will have to make these nouns plural.

 

Carbón Homework Class 4

Lesson: Demonstrative Adjectives
These are words used to distinguish one things from another,
differentiate, or merely indicate what one is talking about.

                  	THIS     THESE
MASCULINE		este        estos
FEMININE		esta        estas

Example: Estos libros son rojos. (These books are red.)

THAT     THOSE
ese        esos
esa        esas

Example: Esa mesa es redonda. (That table is round.)

THAT one over there     THOSE ones over there
aquel                               aquellos
aquella                            aquellas

Example: Aquella casa es la del alcalde. (That house over there is the
mayor’s.)

NOTE: Unlike in English, in Spanish there are two THATs. If you find the notion of AQUEL (and its forms) confusing,
rest assured that, at this stage in your Spanish acquistion, it’s more important that you understand it than know when
to use it: you can get by with out using it, but you WILL hear it.

ASSIGNMENT
1. Write 12 sentences: one for each form listed above.
Examples:
Estos libros son rojos.
Esa mesa es redonda.
Aquella casa es la del alcalde.






 
Carbón Homework Class 5
Irregular verbs SABER, TRAER, HACER, PONER

These are four very important and useful irregular verbs.

They are irregular because the first person singular form (yo) does not follow the regular pattern of just dropping
the infinitive ending and adding “o.”
 
SABER - to know
yo sé (I know)                                nosotros sabemos (we know)
tú sabes  (you know, familiar)
él sabe  (he knows)                        ellos saben (they know, masculine, mixed)
ella sabe (she knows)                    ellas saben (they know, feminine)
usted sabe (you knows, formal)    ustedes saben (you know, plural)

TRAER- to bring
yo traigo (I bring)                           nosotros traemos (we bring)
tú traes  (you bring, familiar)
él trae  (he brings)                          ellos traen (they bring, masculine, mixed)
ella trae (she brings)                      ellas traen (they bring, feminine)
usted trae (you brings, formal)      ustedes traen (you bring, plural)

HACER - to make or to do
yo hago (I make)                            nosotros make (we speak)
tú haces  (you make, familiar)
él hace  (he makes)                         ellos hacen (they make, masculine, mixed)
ella hace (she makes)                     ellas hacen (they make, feminine)
usted hace (you makes, formal)     ustedes hacen (you make, plural)

PONER - to put
yo pongo (I put)                           nosotros ponemos (we put)
tú pones  (you put, familiar)
él pone  (he puts)                       ellos ponen (they put, masculine, mixed)
ella pone (she puts)                    ellas ponen (they put, feminine)
usted pone (you put, formal)    ustedes ponen (you put, plural)

Notice that there are five forms I’m giving you for each verb. PONER, for example: pongo, pones, pone, ponemos, ponen.

Assignment 1
Stop by the front porch and pick up a copy of the unit “A COMER.” It’s in the folder that says BEGINNING UNITS. If this
is your first course with us, pick up one that has a paper clip. Read pages 1-2 of the unit and the stuff that paperclipped
to the unit as well.

Assignment 2
Write out the conjugation for these IRREGULAR VERBS (SABER, TRAER, HACER, PONER) over and over (just like I did above,
but without the english) until you can do it from memory without looking at another piece of paper on which they are
already written.

Assignment 3
Practice the conjugations orally until you can recite them without looking.

Assignment 4
Write one original sentence using each form of each verb: that’s 20 original sentences! Use a dictionary of course and
be creative. But keep them simple: don’t use words that you’ll have difficulty explaining to a partner without using English.

Example:
Yo pongo el sombrero en la mesa. (I put the hat on the table.)





 
Carbón Homework Class 6
Lesson 1: Irregular verb DAR (to give)

DAR in the present indicative
doy 			damos
das
da  	 		dan

NOTE: The preposition “a” is used when expressing the giving of something TO someone.
Example: Yo le doy el libro a Simón. (I give the book to Simón.)
(Don’t worry about the “le” right now.)

Lesson 2: Irregular verb SALIR (to go out)

SALIR in the present indicative
salgo 			salimos
sales
sale  	 		salen

NOTE: The preposition “de” is used when expressing WHERE someone is going out from.
Example: Yo salgo de la casa a las 7:00. (I go out of the house at 7:00.)

Assignment 1
Write out the conjugation for DAR and SALIR. Do it over and over until you can do it from memory without looking at
another piece of paper on which they are already written.

Assignment 2
Practice the conjugations orally until you can recite them without looking.

Assignment 3
Write one original sentence using each form of each verb: that’s 10 original sentences. Again, use a dictionary of course
and be creative. Again, keep them simple: don’t use words that you’ll have difficulty explaining to a partner without usin
 English.




 

 
Carbón Homework Class 7

Lesson 1: Expressing Posession with "de"

There’s no "apostrophe ‘s’" in Spanish.

You can’t say "Bob’s tacos." You have to say "the tacos of Bob."

You say it like this: "Los tacos de Bob." (Bob’s tacos)

Or "Los tacos son de Bob." (The tacos are Bob’s.)
Lesson 2: Use of Articles with "de"

If the posessor is not stated as a proper noun (like Bob), it will
usually have an article in front of it (un, el, etc.)

Examples:

Los tacos son de la mujer.

Las casas son de las mujeres.

Los libros son de los hombres.

Las mesas son del hombre.
Note that the last example features the contraction DEL, which is the
combination of DE and EL.
Lesson 3: Use of Definite Articles with Titles

When using someone’s title to refer to them, there’s a difference between
when you address them directly and when you talk about them to someone
else.
When talking about them to someone else, you use a definite article
in front of their title.

Examples:

Hoy el señor Rodríguez no está aquí. (Today
Mr. Rodriguez is not here.)

¿Dónde está la señora Ruíz? (Where
is Mrs. Ruiz?)
When addressing someone directly, you don’t use the article.

Examples:

Hola señor Rodríguez.

¿Cómo está señora Ruíz?
ASSIGNMENT 1

Write 12 sentences that state possession similar to those in Lesson
2. Write:

3 with de la

3 with de las

3 with de los

3 with del
But mix up the sentences so that they aren’t in the above groups together.
The structure of each sentence should be as follows:

noun 1, SER, de, definite article, noun 2
ASSIGNMENT 2

Copy the sentences, leaving DE and the article blank. Another student
will have to fill in the appropriate words.

Example:

(Page 1) Los gatos son de la mujer loca.

(Page 2) Los gatos son __________ mujer loca.

 


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Last updated 9 November 2006



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Last updated 23 June 2010