Lesson 28

Dialects, Knowing People, and Useful Endings

Language Transfer Complete Spanish is by Mihalis Eleftheriou. Listen to the original audio first; use these notes for revision.

Spanish dialects are remarkably stable compared to, say, Arabic. Slang changes a lot between countries — money might be dinero (standard), plata (silver, Latin America), or pasta (Spain) — but the grammar stays consistent. All Spanishes are completely mutually intelligible.

Son = they are (from ser). Caro = expensive. Notice the difference: carro (car, rolling double rr) vs caro (expensive, single r). This is a great pair for practicing the rolling R.

Adjective agreement: if the adjective ends in -o, it changes for gender and number (caro/cara/caros/caras). If it ends in -e or a consonant, it does NOT change for gender: grande stays grande for masculine and feminine, global stays global.

Profesor/profesora = teacher. Doctor/doctora = doctor. These nouns change gender to match the person.

English -ive → Spanish -ivo/-iva: activo, positivo, negativo, creativo, atractivo, intuitivo, agresivo, intensivo, nativo.

Conocer = to know (personally, to be familiar with). Conozco = I know (irregular -zco form). This is different from saber (to know facts/skills). You sabes the answer, but you conoces a person or a city.

Muy = very.

Sentences practiced

Spanish	English
El carro.	The car.
Un carro.	A car.
Los carros.	The cars.
El carro es caro.	The car is expensive.
Es caro.	It's expensive. (masculine)
Es cara.	It's expensive. (feminine)
Los carros son caros.	The cars are expensive.
Las máquinas son caras.	The cars are expensive. (using máquina)
La máquina es cara.	The car is expensive. (using máquina)
Es profesor.	He's a teacher.
Es profesora.	She's a teacher.
Son profesoras.	They are teachers. (feminine)
Son profesores.	They are teachers. (masculine/mixed)
Es doctor.	He's a doctor.
Es doctora.	She's a doctor.
Son doctores.	They are doctors. (masculine/mixed)
Son doctoras.	They are doctors. (feminine)
Es adictivo.	It's addictive.
Es positivo.	He's positive.
Es positiva.	She's positive.
Son positivos.	They're positive.
Son intuitivos.	They're intuitive.
Ella es muy atractiva.	She is very attractive.
Ella es muy creativa.	She is very creative.
Son agresivos.	They are aggressive.
Ellos son agresivos.	They (masculine/mixed) are aggressive.
Es muy negativo.	He is very negative.
Él es negativo.	He is negative.
Son nativos.	They are natives. (masculine/mixed)
Son nativas.	They are natives. (feminine)