Guide for Spanish 261 Spanish for the Professions (Medical Spanish)

Guide for Spanish 261
Spanish for the Professions (Medical Spanish)
ARE YOU READY TO TAKE SPANISH 261?
USE THIS GUIDE TO FIND OUT!
This guide, while by no means exhaustive, lists key prior knowledge (vocabulary and grammar) which
you should have a good grasp on before taking Spanish 261. While it is not necessary to know every
single word, nearly all of it should be language you have already seen and can use with reasonable
confidence. This background will help you make the most out of the intensive 3-week experience of
Spanish 261.
Review the topics below (starting on p. 2) and evaluate yourself!
If, after reading through everything …
… 75%+ of the topics are familiar/accessible:
You are likely ready for Span 261. You are encouraged
to use this guide to refresh your Spanish before the first day of class and learn any isolated words which
may be unfamiliar.
… 50-75% of the topics are familiar/accessible: You may be ready for Span 261.
We would only
recommend you take the course if you have ample time and resources to study (8-10 hours) before the
first day of class.
… <50% of the topics are familiar/accessible:
You are likely not ready for Span 261. The course is
intensive and fast-paced, and we don’t want anyone to feel lost. Consider taking Span 101 or 102 in the
summer or during the regular school year to improve on the basics!
Guide for Spanish 261
Spanish for the Professions (Medical Spanish)
VOCABULARIO
QUESTION WORDS
Know the basic question words:
qué, cuál(es), por qué, (a/de) quién, (a/de/en) dónde, cómo, cuánt@s
Ask and answer questions:
¿Por qué estudias español?
---Porque me gusta.
SUBJECT PRONOUNS
Know the subject pronouns:
yo, tú, usted, él, ella, nosotr@s, ustedes, ell@s
Know that in Spanish, subject pronouns are not required to be grammatically correct
I am from Vancouver:
Yo soy de Vancouver / Soy de Vancouver
SER + ADJECTIVES
Describing a person’s appearance:
viejo/joven, delgado/gordo, alto/bajo, rubio/ trigueño, fuerte/ débil, moreno/ blanco, bonito/feo, etc.)
Ask and respond to questions like this, using ser:
¿Cómo es tu mejor amigo?
---Mi amigo es alto, moreno y muy guapo. Él es trabajador,
simpático y muy cómico.
ESTAR +ADJECTIVES
Describing how a person is feeling:
relajado/ nervioso, ansioso, enojado/ alegre-contento-feliz, preocupado/despreocupado, aburrido, etc.
Ask and respond to questions like this, using estar:
¿Cómo está tu mejor amiga? ---Ella está muy feliz y relajada.
COLORS
Know the basic colors:
rojo, anaranjado, amarillo, verde, azul, morado, rosado, café-marrón, negro, blanco, gris
Ask and respond to questions like:
¿De qué color son los libros? ---Los libros son azules.
NUMBERS
Know numbers 1-1000
Know how to say years in Spanish (as whole numbers, not 19-95)
Ask and respond to questions like:
¿Cuántos estudiantes hay?
---Hay veinticinco estudiantes.
CLOTHING
Know many clothing items, such as:
blusa, camisa, camiseta, pantalones, zapatos, medias, vestido, abrigo, sandalias, bata de casa,
pantuflas, sombreros, gorros, guantes, botas, etc.
Verbs related to clothing:
llevar, usar, quedar bien/mal, etc.
Ask and respond to questions related to clothing:
¿Qué ropa llevas hoy?
---Hoy llevo unos vaqueros azules y una blusa blanca .
HOUSE
Be familiar with the rooms of the house and some to several of the items found within:
sala: sofá, sillones, mesitas, lámparas, ventanas, alfombras
comedor: mesa , sillas, platos, cucharas, tenedores, cuchillos, vasos, mantel
cocina: estufa, horno, refrigerador, fregadero, lavaplatos, filtro de agua, comida
baño: ducha, inodoro, lavamanos, calefacción, papel sanitario, jabón, champú, toallas, espejo
cuarto/recámara: cama, clóset, armario, cómoda, sábanas, frazadas-colchas-cobijas, colchón
garaje/cochera: carro-automóvil-coche, camioneta, gasolina, motor, moderno, antiguo, deportivo,
elegante
Ask and respond to questions related to your home, using verbs like ser, estar, tener, y hay:
¿Cómo es tu casa?
---Mi casa es pequeña y vieja. Tiene dos cuartos y un baño. En la
¿Qué hay en tu casa?
sala hay tres mesitas, sillones y un sofá. En el garaje está mi
carro. Mi carro es pequeño y azul.
SPORTS/ACTIVITIES/PASTIMES
Know verbs and nouns related to pastimes and athletics:
caminar, correr, bailar, hacer ejercicio, levantar pesas nadar, andar en bicicleta, hacer senderismo,
escalar, hacer alpinismo, jugar al golf, jugar a las cartas, el tenis, el fútbol, el fútbol americano, la pista, el
campo, la cancha, el estadio, el gimnasio, etc.
Ask and respond to questions like:
En las vacaciones, ¿cuáles son tus actividades favoritas?
Mis actividades favoritas son bailar, correr en la pista y nadar en la piscina.
EXPRESSIONS WITH TENER
Know several basic expressions that use tener in Spanish, but “to be” in English:
tener hambre / frío / calor / sueño / suerte, etc.
VERBOS
Know at least 30 basic, everyday functional –AR verbs, such as:
acostarse, almorzar, buscar, cantar, cenar, comenzar, comprar, contestar, desayunar, descansar,
empezar, escuchar, esperar, estudiar, hablar, jugar, lavarse, levantarse, llegar, llevar, manejar, pagar,
practicar, preguntar, regresar, viajar, terminar, trabajar, tocar, tomar
Know at least 20 basic, everyday functional –ER/-IR verbs, such as:
abrir, aprender, asistir, beber, caer, comer, comprender, contribuir, decidir, decir, escribir, hacer, leer,
poner, salir, tener, traer, ver, venir, vivir
GRAMMAR
PRESENT TENSE
Know how to conjugate verbs in the present tense, with correct endings for each verb family (AR/ER/IR)
Ask and respond to questions like:
¿Dónde vives?
---- Vivo en Ridgefield.
Know how to conjugate verbs with stem-changes and other spelling differences (e.g., i  ie)
Ask and respond to questions like:
¿A qué hora comienza la clase? ---- La clase comienza a las tres de la tarde.
Know how to conjugate verbs with irregular yo forms (“go-go” verbs and others)
Ask and respond to questions like:
¿Cuándo sales con tus amigos? ---- Salgo con mis amigos los sábados por la noche.
Understand the concept of reflexive verbs
lavar = to wash (a car, a window, the dishes)
lavarse = to wash oneself (hands, face, etc.)
Know how to conjugate reflexive verbs (me, te, se, nos, os, se)
Ask and respond to questions like:
¿Cuántas veces al día te cepillas los dientes?
---Me cepillo los dientes dos veces al día.
Know how to conjugate the highly-irregular present-tense verbs
ser, estar, ir, oír
MODAL VERBS
Know several modal verbs
deber, desear, esperar, necesitar, querer, etc.
Know how to use modal verbs with other verbs correctly; ask and respond to questions like:
¿Qué quieres hacer esta noche? ---- Hoy quiero ver televisión.
IMMEDIATE FUTURE
Know how to form the immediate future using ir + a + infinitivo
Ask and respond to questions like:
¿Qué vas a hacer mañana?
---- Voy a escribir un ensayo.
GUSTAR
Know how to use gustar properly (using me/te/le/nos/os/les and gusta/n)
Ask and respond to questions like:
¿Qué te gusta comer?
---- A mí me gustan las hamburguesas.
PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
Know how to form present progressive (-ing) sentences (estar + ando/iendo)
Ask and respond to questions like:
¿Qué estás haciendo?
---- Estoy estudiando para el examen.
Know that sometimes Spanish uses present where we would use present progressive:
I am studying at WSU
Yo estudio en WSU
PRETERIT TENSE
Know how to conjugate regular verbs in the preterit tense, with correct endings for each verb family
Ask and respond to questions like:
¿A qué hora saliste de trabajar? ---- Salí a las cinco y media de la tarde.
Know how to conjugate reflexive verbs in the preterit tense
Ask and respond to questions like:
¿Te acostaste tarde anoche?
---- Sí, me acosté a las once y media de la noche.
Know how to conjugate the highly-irregular preterit-tense verbs
conducir, dar, decir, estar, hacer, querer, poder, poner, saber, ser-ir, tener, traer, venir
IMPERFECT TENSE
Know that Spanish has two past tenses; the imperfect is used for descriptions and habitual actions
Yo fui al parque
I went to the park
Yo iba al parque
I used to go to the park
Know how to conjugate regular imperfect verbs (-ABA/-ÍA)
Know how to conjugate the irregular imperfect verbs (ser, ir, ver)
Ask and respond to questions like:
Cuando eras niña, ¿qué hacías en el verano?
---Yo nadaba en el mar todos los días.
OBJECT PRONOUNS (you don’t have to be perfect with these, but familiarity is important)
Know the direct object pronouns:
me, te, lo/la, nos, los/las
Know the indirect object pronouns:
me, te, le, nos, les
Have familiarity with placement of these objects in sentences and use them to ask and respond:
¿Tienes mi libro?
---Sí, lo tengo.
¿Les vas a servir la cena?
---Sí, voy a servirles la cena.
Have familiarity with the concept of le/les  se in sentences with two objects:
¿Le compras rosas a Rosa?
---Sí, se las compro.
DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES
Know the basic demonstrative adjectives (this/these, that/those, that/those over there)
Be able to ask and answer questions like
¿De quién es este libro?
---Ese libro es mío.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POR AND PARA
Know some key uses for por and para and use them with reasonable accuracy:
Yo corro por el parque.
Voy a México por una semana.
Este regalo es para Elisa.
La tarea es para el lunes.
OTHER
UNDERSTAND BASIC PRINCIPLES OF SPANISH GRAMMAR WHICH CONFLICT WITH ENGLISH
Adjectives generally go after the noun they are describing:
el chico guapo
the handsome boy
Adjectives match the noun they are describing:
la chica bonita
the pretty girl
Verbs are conjugated to match the subject (English is limited in this regard):
tú cantas muy bien
you sing very well
yo canto muy mal
I sing very badly
Subjects or subject pronouns are not required before verbs:
(yo) estudio español
I study Spanish
SPELL WITH REASONABLE ACCURACY
Question words carry accents
First- and third-person preterit forms usually have accents
Know when to use b and when to use v
Know when to use s, c, z
Recognize and use silent h properly
PRONOUNCE WITH REASONABLE ACCURACY
Know that vowel sounds in Spanish are extremely consistent and can be pronounced accurately by native
speakers of English:
a – ah (as in raw)
e – ey (as in day)
i – ee (as in tree)
o – oh (as in show)
u – ooh (as in dew)
Pronounce most words without major errors (you do not have to be able to roll your Rs)
CARRY OUT BASIC CONVERSATIONAL FUNCTIONS (Q&A)
Form yes/no questions and respond to them appropriately (double no for negative responses)
Form open-ended questions (using question words)
Ask for clarification when needed (¿Cómo? ¿Puede repetir?)
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