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Spanish Praxis better – Flashcards

Claire Scott

7 July 2022

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David Alfaro Siqueiros

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A Mexican painter. He was one of three main Mexican muralists: Orozco, Rivera, and Siquieros. He painted murals in Mexico after the Mexican Revolution. His murals and other works are more realistic than those of Rivera and Orozco, but they also show aspects of Pre-Colombian culture and its relationship with colonial culture in Mexico. He was very influenced by the politics and his works have Marxist messages. all his works are in Mexico City. Among his best known pieces are Nueva democracia, Victimas de la guerra, Victimas del fascismo, El tormento de Cuauhtémoc, El entierro del obrero sacrificado, Los elementos, Los mitos, and El llamado de la libertad.

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Diego Rivera

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A Mexican painter that is most famous muralists in the world and the most famous of the three main Mexican muralists: Orozco, Rivera, and Siquieros. He was influenced by the Italian Renaissance but also by the Russian communist movement. After the Mexican Revolution, he painted several murals in Mexico City. Many of his pieces include the revalorization of the indigenous Mexican roots. They also include symbols and historical figures from the colonial period. His major works (La creación, La leyenda de Quetzalcoatl, Historia de México: de la conquista al futuro, Sueño de una tar de dominical en la Alameda Central, La historia de la cardiología) are in Mexico City in the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the Escuela Preparatoria Nacional, the Universidad Iberoamericana, and the Palacio Nacional. Other works can be found in New York and Detroit.

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Francisco Goya

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A painter born in Spain in 1746. He went from the baroque, to the rococo, and then to the neoclassicism and expressionism. He worked in the Real Fábrica de Tapices de Madrid and was later appointed court painter. He was a great influence for the modern artists as he was the forst artist to paint what he wanted and not what the king or the church told him to paint. His paintings are mainly historic. His piece El tres de mayo shows the execution of Spanish soldiers by the French army. Among his best known works are La maja desnuda, La maja vestida, El dos de mayo, and the series of prints, Caprichos.

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Salvador Dalí

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Spanish surrealist painter that began his career as a cubist, but became a surrealist. His works can be found in museums all over the works. Among his best known pieces are La cesta del pan, El hombre invisible, La persistencia de la memoria, Metamorfosis de Narciso, Madona de Port Lligat, Ultima cena, and Descubrimiento de América por Colón. Teatre-Museo Dalí in Figueres, Spain includes some of his paintings.

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Celia Cruz

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Cuban singer known as the queen of salsa. She was also known as the Guarachera de Cuba. She was born in Cuba and later lived in the US. Cruz and her music became a worldwide success. Her discography includes 23 golden albyms. She recorded with other artists such as Tito Puente, Johnny Pacheco and Ray Barretto. Celia Cruz is considered the most influential igure of the Cuban music in the 20th century. Her best known songs are La vida es un carnaval, La negra te tiene tumbao, Rie y llora, and Usted abusó.

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José Clemente Orozco

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Mexican painter part of one of the three main Mexican muralists. He did murals after the Mexican Revolution, and his work shows different aspects of the human condition. Besides the revolution, he focused on Pre-Columbian culture. He was less political than Rivera, but still political issues influenced his work. In his murals, messages of social justice for the working class and for the native Indians are found. Orozco's works can be found in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Veracruz, and New York. Among his best known pieces are Omnisciencia, Luchas proletarias, La justicia, Riquezas nacionales, Buena vida, and La independencia nacional.

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The zarzuela

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The zarzuela is a particular type of performance art that mixes theater and music. In a zarzuela singing and speaking take turns. The zarzuela originated in Spain in the 17th century, and the pieces were very popular with the kings and other members of the privileged class. In Spain its popularity started to decline with the arrival of opera. Nevertheless, zarzuelas kept on being popular in other countries such as Cuba. In the 19th and 20th century, they became popular again in Spain. The most famous composers of zarzuelas are Amadeo Vives, Federico Chueca, José Serrano, and Jacinto Guerrero.

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Fernando Botero

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A painter born in Medellín, Colombia. He was trained as a matador while in high school and later on lived for some time in Spain and France. In his figurative paintings, he uses exaggerated and disproportionate volumes, especially to depict the human figure, adding humorous details to show criticism and irony. His figures are easily recognized and his particular, unmistakeable style is sometimes referred to as Boterismo. He continues to exhibit regularly and lives and works in New York and Paris.

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Frida Kahlo

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A 20th-century Mexican painter. She was born and died in Mexico City. She contracted polio as a child, and throughout her life she suffered from this and other health issues, some of which were caused by a bus accident when she was a teenager. After the accident, she stopped pursuing medical studies and began her career as a painter. She married Mexican painter Diego Rivera. In her work, she used bright colors and simple and primitive forms deeply rooted in Mexican and Amerindian culture. Her paintings were also influenced by Surrealism. She is known mainly for her self-portraits and other depictions of the feminine form. Julie Taymor directed the movie Frida in which Salma Hayek played the role of the artist.

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Spanish Architecture

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Varied and reflects its history. It had a significant Roman influence from when it was a part of the Roman Empire. It then incorporated Arab features, especially in the area of Córdoba, under the Moors domination. Romanesque and gothic elements were later integrated. The 20th century brought Modernism to architecture, with Antoní Gaudi and Barcelona as its center. Contemporary Spanish architects are internationally recognized, among them Rafael Moneo, and Santiago Calatraca.

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Ernesto Sábato

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Argentinian writer who studied physics in this country and then attended the Sorbonne University in Paris and worked at the Curie Institute and later at MIT. After WWII he started to write and to be politically involved in the events of his country. He also started to paint. He translated some scientific books and wrote numerous essays and articles on literature, science, metaphysics, and politics. He is internationally recognized for his novels El túnel, Sobre héroes y tumbas, and Abaddón el exterminador. His second son Mario, a film director and screenwriter, directed the movie El poder de las tiniemblas, which is based on the section Informe sobre ciegos from Sobre héroes y tumbas .Ernesto Sábato was almost 100 years old when he died.

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Plácido Domingo

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Spanish opera singer known as one of the three most famous tenors of Spain. He was born in Spain, but he was educated in Mexico. In the 1960s, he came back to Spain where he was a great success. He had done may operas including Marina, Rigoletto, Lucia di Lammermoor, Carmen, Madame Butterfly, and Don Rodrigo. He has also performed as a conductor. He first sang at the NY Metropolitan Opera in 1968, and has the record of being the singer there the most times. Presently he is the director of the LA Opera

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Political and Economic facts about Spain today

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Spain is a democracy under a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a hereditary monarchy and a bicameral parliament. It is a member of the EU and uses the euro. Spain's capital is Madrid, and its population was estimated at 47 million in 2011. Other important cities include Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Sevilla, and Zaragoza. Regarding religion, Roman catholics seem to be the most numerous. Due to Spain's climate, rich historic and cultural quality, and geographic position, tourism has become one of the main sources of income for the country. Spain is also one of the most important developers and producers of renewable energy, in particular solar power.

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Royal Spanish Academy in the Spanish Language

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The Real Academia Española was created in 1713 and is responsible for regulating the Spanish language. Its motto is "Limpia, fija y da esplendor" (It cleans, sets and gives splendor). The academy seeks to provide linguistic agreement and a common standard among all the Spanish-speaking regions. It has a formal procedure to incorporate new words, and it periodically publishes dictionaries and grammars. The academy has sometimes been criticized as too conservative and slow to react to change. It is located in Madrid and is affiliated with other national language academies in 21 Spanish-speaking countries.

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Relevant artists and films of Spanish cinema

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The successful history of Spanish cinema started in the 1930s with Luis Buñuel, who was the first Spanish director to be recognized internationally through such films as Belle de Jour, El discreto encanto de la burgesía and Ese oscuro objeto del deseo. He was associated with the surrealist movement and worked in Spain, France, Mexico, and the US. Carlos Suara (La Madriguera, Cría Cuervos, Sweet Hours) was also a world-known Spanish director beginning in the 1950s. At present time, Pedro Almodóvar's works (Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, Todo acerca de mi madre, Volver) are well known in both Europe and the Americas and have made household names of some of the actors (Antonio Banderas) and actresses (Penélope Cruz) that have worked in his films.

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Diego Velázquez

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Diego Velázquez was a Spanish painter of the 17th century. Born in Sevilla, he moved to Madrid where he became a court painter for King Philip IV. He lived in Italy for a time but later returned to Madrid, where he died. He was mainly a portraitist, producing historical and cultural depictions of royalty, notables, and commoners. His most famous painting is Las Meninas, a baroque portrayal of the Infanta Margarita, one of the daughters of the king, surrounded by maids of honor and other members of the court. It is now at the Museo del Prado. Impressionists and realists of the 19th century as well as modern painters such as Picasso and Dalí used his art as a model for their work.

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Compare metric and imperial measurement systems

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Spanish speaking countries mostly use the metric system for all measurements. Although some units such as those of time (segundos, horas, días, etc.) and angles (degrees/grados) are the same, other units are different. For longitude and distances, Spanish use centimeters (centímetros), meters (metros), and kilometers (kilómetros), while English often uses inches (pulgadas), feet (pies), yards (yardas), and miles (millas). Gram (gramo), kilogram (kilogramo), and ton (tonelada) will be the units used in Spanish for weight; the English ones are ounce (onza), pound (libra), and ton (tonelada). When it comes to volume, Spanish uses milliliter (mililitro), centiliter (centilitro), and liter (litro), while English uses onza, cup (taza), quart (cuarto), and gallon (galón). Units in both systems are not directly equivalent and have to be convert from one system to another according to their particular relationship.

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Sociolinguistics

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Sociolinguistics studies the relationships between language and society, how they interact, and how they modify and impact each other. Language changes and is modified by features such as geographical location, socioeconomic class, education level, age group, gender, ethnicity, and contact with or knowledge of other languages. These elements affect all languages to various degrees depending on the particular social factors, constantly altering different parts of the language such as pronunciation, word choice, and sentence structure. With Spanish spoken in so many different countries, geographical location is one of the most significant sociolinguistic factors that affect it, and it is very important to pay attention to the local nuances.

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The imperfect of the subjunctive

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To form the imperfect of the subjunctive of regular verbs, take the third person plural of the preterit of the indicative (ellos hablaron), drop ron, and add the endings shown below: yo: -ra tú: -ras él: -ra nosotros: -ramos vosotros: -rais ellos: -ran Examples: yo hablara, tú caminaras, él viajara, nosotros regresáramos, ellos llamaran yo comiera, tú aprendieras, él corriera, nosotros entendiéramos, ellos dependieran

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Present of the subjunctive

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To form the present of the subjunctive of regular verbs, take the first person singular of the present of the indicative (yo hablo), drop the o, add the opposite ending. AR ER/IR yo -e -a tú -es -as él -e -a nosotros -emos -amos vosotros -éis -áis ellos -en -an Examples: yo hable, tú camines, él viaje, nosotros regresemos, ellos dependan yo coma, tú escribas, él corra, nosotros entendamos, ellos dependan.

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The subjunctive

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The subjunctive is used in subordinate clauses introduced by que to express: WEIRDOS: Wishes (desires, imperatives), Emotion, Impersonal observations, Recommendations, Doubt (denial, disbelief), Ojalá, Speculation. The subjunctive is also used with adverbial clauses introduced by the following conjunctions: cuando, antes que, hasta que, tan pronto como, mientras, para que, afin de que, de manera que, sin que, aunque, a menos que and a tal que.

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Cual

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In those cases where the use of que as a relative pronoun may create confusion or ambiguity, que is replaced by el cual (el primo de mi amigo, el cual vive en Miami, se fue de vacaciones). El cual takes the form la cual, los cuales, and las cuales to agree in gender and number with its antecedent (ellos tienen cuatro hijos, dos de los cuales viven en Houston). El cual is also used after the prepositions por, sin, después de, además de, contra, detrás, and hacia.

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The conditional tense (formation)

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To form the conditional of all regular verbs, add the endings shown in the table below the infinitive, regardless of the conjugation, -ar, -er, or -ir. yo -ía tú -ías él -ía nosotros -íamos Vosotros -íais ellos -ían Examples: yo hablaría, tú caminarías, él viajaría, nosotros, regresaríamos, ellos llamarían. yo comería, tú aprenderías, él recibiría, nosotros desapareceríamos, ellos beberían

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Perfect tenses (uses)

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The present perfect is used to denote an action that took place at an indefinite period in the past (yo he leído este libro) or to describe a past action that continues into the present time (hemos vividos aquí muchos años). The past perfect of the indicative is used to denote an action in the past that happened before the second action (cuando me desperté, Mart ya había llegado). The future perfect is used to denote an action that will be completed in the future before a certain time or another action in the future occurs (me habré graduado antes de ir de vacaciones). The conditional perfect is used to denote an action that would have been completed in the past under certain conditions (ella le habría dicho la verdad).

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Progressive tenses

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Progressive tenses use the verb estar as an auxiliary verb with the present participle of the main verb: estar + -ando, -iendo (yo estoy comiendo). The progressive tenses are used to denote an action that is or was in progress (yo estaba durmiendo, estuvimos mirando). Progressive tenses are never used in reference to the future ("going to" in English). For those cases, Spanish uses ir a and the infinitive of the verb.

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The gerund

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The present participle (the -ing form in English) is formed in Spanish by dropping the infinitive ending of the verb and adding -ando or -iendo. -Er/-ir verbs with irregularities in the present of the indicative usually have an irregular present participle (dormir:durmiendo; creer:creyendo; poder:pudiendo; ir:yendo)

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Formal commands

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Affirmative commands for the usted form are formed with the present of the subjunctive of the third person singular (él hable). When needed, direct/indirect pronouns are added at the end of the verb (llámame más tarde/ hágalo ahora). Be aware that the addition of the pronoun changes the syllabic structure of the word and requires a written accent or stress mark. Negative informal commands simply add no befire the verb (no hable tan fuerte). Negative formal commands, like informal commands, use the direct/indirect pronoun as a separate word between no and the verb (no me llame esta noche, no lo haga).

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Que and Quien

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Que is used in Spanish as a relative pronoun in reference to persons, objects, and ideas, both for the singular and for the plural (la persona que llamó por teléfono). If the pronoun is preceded by a preposition, then quien must be used instead of que for more clarity (habé con la maestro nueva, quien estaba muy contenta). Quien has to agree in number with its antecendent (las niñas, quienes habían domido hasta tarde, estaban desayunando).

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The imperfect (uses)

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The imperfect is used to express: -habitual actions in the past (cuando era niño, siempre...) -age in the past -time in the past -physical and emotional characteristics -continuous actions interrupted by another action in the past -description -action in progress

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Adjectives before or after the noun

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Examples of different meanings with adjective position: -La antigua capital/the former capital or la capital antigua/the old capital. -una cierta condición/ a certain condition or una condición cierta/a sure condition. -diferentes ideas/various ideas or ideas diferentes/ different ideas. -gran universidad/great university or universidad grande/big university. -el mismo jefe/the same boss or el jefe mismo/the boss himself -pobre hombre/man who deserves pity or hombre pobre/destitute man -un simple carpintero/just a carpenter-un carpintero simple/a simple carpenter -la única oportunidad/the only opportunity or la oportunidad única/the unique opportunity

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Por

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Is used for through, by, and per. Por is used: -means of transportation or communication -exchange/substitution -duration -Quantity -Object of an errand (voy al mercado por la leche) -Agent (el libro fue escrito por....)

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Para

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Is used for: -Direction or destination -Recipient of something -Purpose -Time/deadline -Comparison -Intended use

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Conjunctions that always/sometimes require the subjunctive

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The conjunctions antes (de) que, para que, sin que, a fin de que, a menos que, con tal (de) que, and en caso de que ae always followed by the verb in the subjunctive. The conjunctions aunque, como, donde, de manera que, de modo que, según, and mientras, when used to express the opinion of the speaker, uncertainty or a conjecture, require the use of the subjunctive mode.

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Cuyo

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The relative pronoun cuyo in Spanish is equivalent to whose or of which in English. Cuyo has to agree with the gender and number of the noun it modifies, not with the subject that executes the action (la película cuyo director ganó el premio)

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Conditional tense (uses)

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The conditional tense in Spanish is used in the same way the conditional is used in English: -with the subjunctive in true conditional if clauses (si yo fuera Juan, no iría a la fiesta/If I were Juan, I wouldn't go to the party) -in indirect speech, when the main verbs is in the past and the second verb denotes a future action in the past (Juan dijo que hablaría con ella/Juan said he would talk to her)

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Diminutives

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Diminutives are used to denote smallness or to express affection, and are usually formed in Spanish by adding the suffix ito at the end of the noun. If it ends in a vowel the vowel is dropped librito, if it ends in e, n, or r, a c is added to the suffix padrecito. The suffix has to agree with the gender and number of the noun.

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Adverbs in Spanish

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Adverbs: -of manner: rápidamente, bien, apropiadamente -of place: aquí, allá, alrededor -of time: ahora, pronto, hoy -of frequency: nunca, ocasionalmente, a menudo -of degree: muy, bastante, demasiado -interrogative: cuándo, dónde, por qué -relative: cuando, donde, por que

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Comment on the definite article and its differences between English and Spanish

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There is only one definite article in English, the, used to refer to something in a general way. It does not denote quantity or gender, being the same for singular, plural, feminine, and masculine nouns. By contrast, Spanish has different forms or variations depending on the characteristics of the noun (el, los. la. las). The definite article must always be in agreement in number and gender with the noun it precedes.

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Discuss the equivalents in Spanish of many/much and few/little

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In English, many is used before countable nouns (many books, many things), and much before uncountable nouns (much money). The Spanish language does not differentiate between the countable and uncountable nouns and uses only the word mucho. However, the ending of mucho will change according to the gender and the number of the noun that follows (muchos libros, muchas cosas). The same thing happens with few (few mistakes, few houses) and little (little time). In both cases they will be translated as poco, whose ending will agree in gender and number with the noun that follows (pocos errores, pocas casas).

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Discuss the equivalents in Spanish of neither...nor and either...or

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Spanish does not have two different words to express a combination of two alternative things. In the case of a negative connotation, it uses ni for both conjugations neither and not (neither the father not the son are blond/ ni el padre ni el hijo son rubios). Similarly, for affirmative or interrogative sentences, the Spanish language only uses o for both conjunctions either and or, (we can eat either meat or fish/podemos comer o carne o pescado)

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Explain distributive adjectives and pronouns in Spanish

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While in English there are usually two different distributive adjectives and pronouns with the same meaning (each and every, everyone and everybody), in Spanish there is only one form for each particular connotation. Each and every are translated as cada (each season has its advantages/cada estación tiene sus ventajas). The equivalent of everyone and everybody is todos (everyone loves him/todos lo aman) and everything is todo (everything he said was true/todo lo que dijo era verdad).

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List the most common reflexive verbs that have a different meaning in Spanish.

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There are several verbs in Spanish that have a different meaning, depending on whether they are used as reflexive verbs or not. Parecer means to seem or to appear (parece que va a llover/it seems it is going to rain) while parecerse means to resemble (Juan se parece a su padres/Juan resembles his father). Dormir means to sleep while dormirse means to fall asleep (Jorge se durmió en el tren/Jorge fell asleep in the train). Other examples are llamar (to call) and llamarse (to be named) and llevar (to carry) and llevarse (to get along).

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Clarify the use of reflexive verbs instead of the passive voice in Spanish

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The reflexive form of a verb is very commonly used in Spanish instead of the passive voice in those cases where the subject of the sentence is an inanimate object or when the performer of the action is not important or is not specified. This particular structure is more often used in the present tense. For example: se vende carne en esa tienda instead of carne es vendida en esa tienda.

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Discuss the use of compound relative pronouns and the subjunctive in Spanish

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The compound relative pronouns quienquiera (whoever), cualquiera (whatever/whichever), and dondequiera(wherever) are always followed by que and then the verb in the subjunctive mode. quienquiera que escucha este sermon será transformado/whoever listens to this sermon will be transformed...)

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Describe how to use ojalá and the subjunctive mode in Spanish

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The Spanish word ojalá does not have an exact translation in English. It is used to express a wish or hope. In these cases the word ojalá is always followed by the subjunctive.

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Comment on the position of pronouns when using the present participle in Spanish

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The personal pronouns me, te, le, lo, la, nos, les, los, and las, when used as direct or indirect objects of a present participle are attached to the end of the present participle to form a single word (escribiéndome). In the case of the progressive tenses with estar, there are two different and correct forms commonly used: the pronoun object can either be before the present participle as a separate word (Pedro me estaba diciendo) or attached to the end of the participle (Pedro estaba esperándome).

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Use of quisiera in Spanish

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Quisiera and other forms of the imperfect subjunctive of querer are used very often in Spanish followed by an infinitive to express a polite request or desire and to soften a statement. It can be compared to "would like" in English. If a different subject is subject is introduced after quisiera (yo quisiera que usted...), then an infinitive clause cannot be used, and it must be replaced by a subordinate clause that uses the imperfect of the subjunctive (yo quisiera que usted me acompañara)

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Parecer and its different meanings in Spanish

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The verb parecer has different meanings in Spanish depending on whether it is used as a nonreflexive or reflexive verb. When used as a nonreflexive verb, it means to appear/to seem and expresses some level of uncertainty. Used as the reflexive verb parecerse, it means to resemble.

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Discuss the use of the expression hace...que in Spanish

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To describe an action that starts in the past and continues in the present, the Spanish language uses the present perfect tense (yo he estudiado). Very often, these same type of ideas are expressed with hace..que, which can be compares to the it's been in English (hace un año que yo estudio español)/ When using hace...que, the sentence begins with hace, the time modifier, and then que, followed by the subject and verb, which is no longer in the present perfect of the indicative.

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Differences between conocer and saber

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Both mean to know in English. Saber is used when to know implies a mental effort, study, or training (ella sabe cocinar pasta). Conocer is used when to know denotes knowing through familiarity or acquaintance (ella conoce a Sr. Jones/él conoce esta parte de la ciudad).

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Describe the use of vos as an informal form of address

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In some areas of the world, such as Argentina and Bolivia, the informal second-person singular pronoun tú is very seldom used. Instead, these countries use vos. Vos has its own conjugations. For most tenses, these conjugations are the same as those of tú (tú comiste/vos comiste). The conjugations for vos are almost always different in the present indivative. In the case of regular verbs, the conjugation for vos is usually the same as tú, but with the stress on the last syllable (tú comes/vos comés). Exceptions abound with irregular verbs: tú vienes/vos venís, tú eres/vos sos, tú cierras/vos cerrás)

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Discuss the issue of gender in Spanish words

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There are two genders in Spanish, masculine and feminine, for nouns. adjectives, and articles. Every noun has a gender. There is no neutral (like it in English), and inanimate objects and other nouns that define similar concepts have a gender. There are no rules to determine which gender is assigned to each noun. With some exceptions, nouns that end with the letter o are masculine (carro, libro), and nouns that end with the letter a are feminine (casa, mesa). Nouns that refer to people or animals generally have the two versionsL one ending in a for the female (niña, gata, perra), and one ending in o for the male (niño, gato, perro). Sometimes as in English, the female and male of the same animated onject use different nouns (mujer/hombre) but the gender assignment is consistent with the gender they represent. The same rules apply to adjectives and articles.

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Clarify the differences and similarities in the word order in sentences in English and Spanish

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Both English and Spanish are basically SVO languages: languages in which the more common sentence structure is Subject + Verb + Object. English is more structured and allows variations in word order mainly only for questions or in literature. Spanish is more flexible, and it is very common to find sentences where the verb or the object is at the beginning of the sentence (Pedro leyó este libro/Leyó Pedro este libro/este libro lo leyó Pedro). The meaning of the sentence remains basically the same but with some subtle variations on emphasis. It is important to remark also that very often the subject is included in the verb in Spanish.

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Define word derivatives and explain some of their advantages when learning a language

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A derivative word is one that has been formed using an existing word as the basis. Derivatives are not variations of a word, like different conjugation forms of the same verb (eat/eats/eating) but new words (clear/clearly/unclear, respect/respectful/disrespect). The concept is the same in Spanish (persona/personalmente/impersonal, conocer/conocimiento/desconocer). In many cases, similar rules apply to English and Spanish. For example, deriving an adjective from an English noun ending in -tion by adding -al (recreation/recreational) is equivalent to replacing the ción ending in a Spanish noun with -tive to form an adjective (recreación/recreative). Knowing the concept and the rules of derivation in Spanish is very useful to improve listening and comprehension skills, expand vocabulary, and increase fluency in the target language.

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Give examples of instances where the same word is used both in Spanish and in English

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All languages incorporate words and phrases from other languages. English words related to technology have crossed over to a wide range of languages and words like e-mail, click., and DVD, for example, have been absorbed into Spanish becoming part of it. Spanish words have made their way into English, too. For some of them there is translation (bodega/grocery store, fiesta/party, patio/courtyard), but many have no equivalent in Enflish (adobe, armadillo, tango). Both languages also share the use of some French words (amateur, ballet, boulevard). Examples of loan words from Italian used both in English and Spanish include many musical terms (aria, cadenza, opera, piano, viola). And many of the words borrowed from German are used in philosopy in Spanish and in Englush (angst, ersatz, gestalt, geist).

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Explain formal and informal forms of address in Spanish

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In English, there is only one second-person singular pronoun, you, for both formal and informal ways of addressing people. In Spanish, there are two forms: the formal usted and the informal tú. The informal tú has its own particular conjugation for all tenses. The informal tú also has its own set of possessive and reflexive pronouns. The formal usted, on the other hand, uses the same verb conjugations as the third-person singular pronoun él. In a similar way, usted uses the third-person singular possessive and reflexive pronouns. In much of the Spanish speaking world, the second-person plural form for both formal and informal uses is ustedes, which shares its verb forms with ellos/ellas. A few areas (such as Spain) differentiate between the formal and informal second-person plural, using ustedes formally, and vosotros informally.

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Clarify changes in spelling for verbs ending in uir

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Verbs ending in -uir (incluir, huir, construir, contribuir, destruir) have a y in the present tense (yo incluyo, tú huyes, él construye, ellos constribuyen) before all endings except those beginnin with an i (nosotros destruímos). The same rule applies for the past tense (él construyó). The letter y in these words is pronounced like an i except in Argentina and Uruguay where its sound is closer to the sh sound in English.

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List some special cases for the spelling of conjunctions in Spanish

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For phonetic reasons, the conjunction y changes to e when the word after the conjugation starts with i or hi (español e inglés, padre e hijo). Something similar occurs with the conjugation o (or), which is changed to u when the word that follows it starts with o or ho (setenta u ochenta, casas u hoteles). When the conjunction but (pero) introduces a positive phrase that is contrary to the negative statement that precedes the conjunction, the conjunction used is sino (no quiero vino sino cerveza).

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Describe spelling changes in verbs ending in gar

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The letter g in Spanish has always a hard sound before a (garúa), o (cargo), and u (gusano) but a soft sound before e (coger) and i (régimen). In those verbs ending in -gar (jugar, pagar, llegar), in order to keep the hard sound of the letter g, a u is added after the g for the first person singular form of the past tense (yo jugué), as well as in some subjunctive and imperative forms (jueguen).

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Discuss spelling changes in verbs ending in cer and cir

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Verbs in Spanish that end in -cer (conocer) or -cir (conducir) preceded by a vowel are irregular in the present tense of the indicative for the first person singular yo. These verbs have a -zco as the ending for that particular tense and person (yo conozco). Similarly, in the present of the subjunctive tense, for all persons, these verbs use the ending -zca (que el merezca). The same rules apply to all other verbs derived from those mention above (desconocer, desaparecer, aparecer, desmerecer, deslucir).

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Discuss spelling changes in verbs ending in ger and gir

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The letter g in Spanish always has a hard sound like the same letter in English in words such as garnet and gray before the letters a (gaviota), o (govierno), and u (agudo), but a soft sound befroe e (gerente) and i (agitar). In those verbs ending in -ger (escoger, recoger) and -gir (elegir, dirigir), to keep the soft sound for the first person singular in the present tense, the letter g is replaced by the letter j, which always has a soft soung (yo escojo, yo recojo, yo eligo, yo dirijo), as well as in all present subjunctive forms, and negative commands.

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Expand on spelling changes in verbs ending in car

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In Spanish, the letter c has a hard sound, like the letter k in English when it is followed by an a (carro), o (colegio), or u (curva), and a soft sound like the c found in English in words such as century and cigar, when it is followed by the vowels e (celoso) or i (cien). To keep the hard sound of the letter c in the first person singular of the past tense of verbs ending in -car (sacar, tocar, buscar), the letter c is replaced by qu (yo saqué, yo toque, yo busqué) as well as in most subjunctive and imperative forms (toquemos ¡no saques!)

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Clarify the differences between Spanish and English when writing numbers

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The English language uses a period to denote the decimal point in a number and commas every 3 digits. In the Spanish language, it is just the opposite: a comma is used to denote the decimals and periods are used every 3 digits. The value of a penny would be written as 0.01 of a dollar in English and 0,01 of a dollar in Spanish. The number ten thousand will be written in English as 10,000, while in Spanish it will be 10.000. When writing or reading a definite number, the words hundred, thousand, and million in Englush are always in singular. In Spanish, the words cien and millón use the singular or the plural form in accordance with the number, while the word mil is always in singular (200=doscientos, 1.000.000=un millón, 5.000.000=cinco millones; 3000=tres mil)

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Outline the exclamatory form in Spanish

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Exclamations in Spanish are usually expressed with qué in a very similar manner as English does with what and how. The exclamatory form is also use to denote a warning, an order, and emotions in the same way as the English language does. As with interrogative adjectives, pronound and adverbs such as qué, cómo, cuánto, etc., have a written stress or accent mark. In Spanish, also, all exclamations require an exclamation mark (¡) at the beginning as well as the end (!).

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Outline the interrogative form in Spanish

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The structure of sentences denoting interrogation is very much the same in English and in Spanish. If the questions include interrogative adjectives, pronouns and adverbs such as quién, cuál, cómo, etc., the questions begins with those words. In all other cases the question will begin with the verb followed by the subject, as it is done in English. Be aware that many times the subject is included in the verb and not specified otherwise. In their interrogative form, the interrogative adjectives, pronouns, and adverbs mentioned above always have a written stress or accent mark. Questions in Spanish require an interrogation mark at the beginning (¿) as well as at the end (?).

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Describe how to write dates in Spanish

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In Spanish the days of the week and the months of the year are not capitalized unless they are at the beginning of a sentence. The proper way to write a date is 19 de diciembre de 1948. When using the dashes or slashes, the order is not the same: in English it is month/date/year while in Spanish it's day/month/year.

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Explain the differences and similarities in capitalization in English and Spanish

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Capitalization is not used in Spanish as much as in English. The first word of a sentence is always capitalized. Proper names of people, companies, and places are capitalized. Abbreviations of personal titles (Sr., Dr.) are capitalized but, if the full word is used it is written in small case (el señor Aguilar). For titles of books, stories, poems, essays, songs, films, etc., only the first word is capitalized (La guerra de las galaxias. The days of the weeks and the months of the year are not capitalized, neither are nationalities and languages.

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List some of the special rules in the use of the written stress or accent mark in Spanish

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-One-syllable words never have a written accent except when there are two possible different meanings: el and él, si (if) and sí (yes), tu and tú, mas (but) and más (more). -Some two-syllable words that might have two possible different meanings or functions in the sentence: solo (alone) and sólo (only), este (demonstrative adjective) and éste (demonstrative pronoun). -Adverbs such as cuándo, dónde, and cómo as well as pronouns such as quién, qué, and cuál require an accent when used in questions and interrogatory sentences

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Explain the general rules for written stress or accent mark in Spanish

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The Spanish language uses a written stress or accent mark on vowels to denote exceptions to its stressing rules. Words with a stress in the last syllable will have a written stress or accent mark if they end in a vowel (mamá, café, así) or the consonants n (camión, común, jamón) or s (jamás, francés). For those words stressed in the second-to-last syllable, an accent mark is needed when they end in any consonant (ángel. álbum, lápiz) except n and s. For words stressed in the third-to-last syllable, a written stress is always required, regardless of the last letter (apéndice, códigos, diplomático).

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Describe how to use the letter z in Spanish

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In Spanish the letter z, regardless of which letter comes after it, has the same sound as the letter c before an e (centauro) or i (cocina). Therefore in most Latin America countries, it sounds like the s in English words such as silence and serious, while in most of Spain it sounds like th in English words such as think and thunder. In Spanish, the letter z cannot be used before an e or i except in words of foreign origin (zepelin, zigzaguear). Due to this rule, the letter z is replaced by a c when forming the plural of words ending in z (lápiz/lápices, tapiz/tapices).

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Discuss the use of the letter q in Spanish

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In Spanish, the letter q has the sound of the English letter k. The letter q is always followed by a u (qu) and then either an e or an i. There are very few exceptions (quantum, quorum) and they all have foreign roots.

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Explain the differences in the spelling of the phoneme f in English and Spanish

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The sound of the phoneme f in Spanish is the same as the sound of the phoneme in English as found in words such as family and future. It is never pronounced with the v sound found in of for example. Another major difference is that the phoneme f is obtained in Spanish only by the use of the letter f, while in English the same sound appears in words with f (face), ff (coffin), and ph (photograph). The letter f is never doubled and the ph combination does not exist in Spanish. In some foreign words the ph has been replaced by a single f (teléfono, fotografía).

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Discuss the different pronunciations of the letter c in Spanish

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The letter c has two different pronunciations depending on which letter is after it, much as it is in English. If followed by an a (camino), o (correr), u (cuñado), or a consonant (conectar), the letter c sounds like the English hard c in come and camera or the k in break and kimono. If followed by the vowels e (centro) o i (cigarillo), the letter c sounds like the c in face and celery. In some countries, Spain for example, the s sound of the letter c is much softer, almost like the sound of the letter z. Note that in the particular case of the letter c followed by the consonant h (chico), it forms the new letter ch, which has a similar sound as the English ch in church.

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Explain the regional differences in pronunciation of the letter y in Spanish

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In Spanish, the letter y is treated as a vowel. At the end of a word (rey, muy, soy), it is always pronounce as the vowel i. If the letter y is before a vowel (yo, ya, yarda), in most countries it is also pronounced as the vowel i. However in Argentina and Uruguay, the letter y before another vowel sounds more like the sh English phoneme as found in words such as shower and show.

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Comment on the pronunciation of the double c in Spanish

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Occidente, collección, and diccionario are some words in Spanish that use the "double c" or cc. In the phoneme, the first c has the strong sound of an Englush k, while the second c is much softer and has the same sound as an s. Overall, the cc sounds mostly like the same combination of letters sound in English in words such as accident and access, or like the x sound found in x-ray and excess.

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Explain how the pronunciation is the letter j in Spanish differs from its pronunciation in English

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The letter j has a completely different pronunciation from that of the same letter in English. Actually, the sound of the Spanish j does not exist in English. The closest sound would be an extremely hard and strong hm an exaggeration of the sound in words such as hot and home. In some regions the j is pronounced slightly softer but it still is much harder than the English h. Be aware that in Spanish, the letter g, when followed by the vowels e as in género and digerir or i as in registrar and higiene, has the same strong sound as the letter j.

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Discuss the existence of the letter ñ in Spanish `

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The letter ñ does not exist in English, and, although it is written as an n with a ~ on top, it is completely distinct from the letter n. In Spanish, it can be found in words such as mañana, año, señor, niña, etc. The most similar sounds in English that resemble the ñ in Spanish are the ny or ni phonemes as found in words such as canyon, onion, or opinion, but pronounced fairly stronger. In the Spanish alphabet the ñ is located after the letter n.

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Discuss the differences and similarities between the pronunciation of the letter ch in Spanish and English

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The Spanish ch is different from English in the sense that it is always pronounced the same way. It has the exact same sound as found in English words such as church, charcoal, and march. Spanish dictionaries have a separate section for the ch, and it is located after the letter c. Common words in Spanish with ch are chancho, chispa, chino, chaqueta, etc.

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Discuss the use of the letter w in Spanish

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The letter w is not native to the Spanish language, and it appears only in words that come from other languages. Depending on the country, it is called "uve doble," "v doble," "doble u," or "doble v." Words in Spanish with a w have mostly English roots (waterpolo, hawaino, whisky) and are usually pronounced with the English w sound as found in water, when, winter, etc. In some countries, however, the w is pronounced with a very soft g added before the English w for a gu sound.

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Discuss the pronunciation of the letter r in Spanish

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The letter r has two distinctly different pronunciations in Spanish; a soft one, similar to the English tt or dd sounds, and a strong, rolling one. The soft sound is used whenever a single letter r is in the middle of a word between two vowels (caro, puro, aire), between a vowel and most consonants (tren, jardín, parte), and at the end of a word (caminar, comer, recinir). At the beginning of a word (teto, rápido, rojo) or after the consonants l, n, and s (alrededor, sonrisa, Israel), the letter r is pronounced with the trilling sound used in the "double r" or rr phoneme.

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Explain the Spanish pronunciation of vowels and how it differs from the English pronunciation

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Spanish has five vowels, the same as in English, but they are different from English in the sense that they have one and only one associated sound regardless of their position in the word and which letter come before and after them. For example, the vowel a in Spanish is always pronounced like a shorter version of the a in car. There is no difference in the way it sounds whether it is at the beginning of the word (amanecer), between two consonants (caro), between a consonant and a vowel (caer) or at the end of a word (mesa). In English, though, the vowel a has multiple sounds and is pronounced differently in, for example, apple, daughter, day, walk, and also. The same rule applies to e, i, o, and u: there is only one sound for each of them.

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Explain the regional differences in pronunciation of the double l.

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The way the "double l" sounds varies by region, and sometimes even within the same country. In most Spanish speaking areas, the ll has a soft sound similar to the English y in yes or yellow. In many parts of Argentina and Uruguay, however, the ll is much stronger and is pronounced like the zh phoneme found in English in words such as measure and pleasure. Common words that have the ll phoneme are lluvia, llave, llorar, and llegar.

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Explain the pronunciation of the double r in Spanish

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The "double r" or rr is not considered a separate letter, but it is a very frequently used phoneme in Spanish. Some common words that include the rr are correr, perro, arriba, carro. The rr has a trilling sound that can be achieved by flapping the tongue against the front of the mouth. If properly rolled, the rr sound should be similar to the one you get when you try to imitate a motor. Be aware that the rr is used only between vowels. A similar trilling sound at the beginning of a word or after certain consonants (n, n, s) is spelled with a singular r.

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Discuss the different pronunciations of the letter g in Spanish

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When followed by a consonant (regla, negro) or by the vowels a, o, or u (gaviota, agosto, gusto), the sound of the letter g in Spanish is similar to the sound of that same letter in English words, such as good and game. If the letter g in Spanish is like the sound of the Spanish j (a very hard English h). If there is a u between the letter g and the vowels e or i (guerra, guiso), the letter g recovers its soft sound.

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Explain the differences in the pronunciation of the letter h in Spanish and English

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In Englihs, the letter h has a soft, aspirated sound. In Spanish, by contrast, it is always completely silent. Most of the words that contain a letter h in Spanish have Latin or Greek roots, and the h has been kept just for etymological reasons. The only exceptions to this tule are some foreign words with no equivalent spelling in Spanish such as Hawaii, hamster, and hobby. In those cases, the letter h sounds like the Spanish letter j. When the letter h follows the letter c (mucho), it forms a new different phoneme ch which has its own particular sound.

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Future tense

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To form the future add the ending shown below to the infinitive: yo: -é tú: -ás él: -á nosotros: -emos vosotros: -éis ellos: -án Examples: yo hablaré nosotros beberemos tú caminarás vosotros batiréis él correrá ellos vivirán

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Estar

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Estar is used for conditions and sometimes is considered less permanent about a person, object, or idea. Used for: -Location or position (where something is) -Physical appearance (how someone looks) -emotional state

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Ser

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Ser is used to describe something that is intrinsic to a person, object, or idea. -Nationality -Origin -Identification -Physical characteristics -Generalities -Dates -Time of the day -Places of events (where something is occurring) -Possession -Personality traits

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Informal commands

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Affirmative commands for tú (salta más alto) are formed with the present of the indicative conjugation of the third person singular (él salta). When needed, direct personal pronouns can be added at the end of the verb (llamamé más tarde). Be aware that the addition od the pronoun changes the structure of the word and usually requires a written accent or stress mark. Negative informal commands are formed using the present of the subjunctive (no hables tan fuerte). No is always placed before the verb. Negative informal commands use the direct or indirect personal pronoun as a separate word between no and the verb (no me llames esta noche).

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Past participles

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Past participles can be used as adjectives. When used as such, the past participle has to agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies (libería cerrada). To form the past participle of regular -ar verbs, drop the ending of -ar and add -ado (hablar/hablado); for -er/-ir verbs, drip the ending and add -ido (comer/comido, dormir/dormido). -Er and -ir verbs that have an a, e, or o before the ending of the infinitive require a written accent in their past participles.

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Present perfect

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The present perfect tense denotes an action in the recent past and is generally used in Spanish the same way it is used in English. It is formed with the present of the indicative of the auxiliary verb haber (he, has, ha, hemos, han) and the past participle of the verb (he comido bien hoy).

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Feminine nouns

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Rules: -nouns that end in or, án, ón, and in are usually masculine and form the feminine by adding an a (doctor/doctora; alemán/alemána) -nouns ending in e, ista, and nte stay the same in both the feminine and the masculine forms (el agente/la agente; el artista/la artists -Some nouns have the same form for the feminine and the masculine, but their meaning is different depending on their gender (el capital/money-la capital/city; el frente/front-la frente/forehead; el orden/neatness-la orden/command; el policía/policemen-la policía/police force but also police woman).

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The relative superlative

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The relative superlatice applies to a noun in the context of a group. The superlative degree of adjectives in Spanish is expressed by using the comparative form of the adjective (el más lindo, menos inteligente) preceded by the definitive article. The definite article has to agree in gender and number with the noun it refers to (María es la más bonita de las hermanas). This rule also applies to the irregular comparatives such as mejor, peor, mayo, and menor.

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The absolute superlative

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The absolute superlative is the very or extremely in Englush and does not describe a noun within the context of a group. One way to denote the absolute superlative in Spanish is by adding mut or extremadamente before the adjective (Pedro es muy intelligente). Another option is to add the suffix -ísimo to the adjective (Pedro es inteligentísimo) in accordance in gender and number with the noun it refers to (ísima, ísimos, ísimas). Adjectives ending in a vowel lose it when the suffix is added (mucho.muchísimo). Be aware of spelling changes required to comply with spelling rule (rico/riquísimo).

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Reading comprehension, informative and styles

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When reading a text, it is important to determine the style of the piece in the informative style, the author presents the information and the data in an objective way. He/she is trying to educate of give something to the audience. On the other hand, in the persuasive style, the writer is trying to convince the reader of his/her ideas. he/she presents the information from his/her own point of view. In a piece written in the persuasive style, it is important to be able to separate the actual facts from the opinions of the author.

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Expand on the fact that Spanish is a phonetic language

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Spanish is a purely phonetic language, which means that every letter, vowels as well as consonants, and combination of letters have their own associated sound. This associated sound is used every single time that this particular or combination of letters appears in a word. Therefore, as in all phonetic languages, if you know how to spell a word you know how to pronounce it. The only exceptions are words adopted from a foreign languages. Like in most other language, foreign or nonnative words are sometimes pronounced in Spanish the same way they are pronounced in the original language. In some cases, though, the original pronunciation is modified, and how and in which way it is modified varies by region.

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Uruguay

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Uruguay is in South America between Argentina and Brazil, in the area of the Rio de la Plata. In Pre-Colombian times, several indigenous peoples inhabited the area, most notably the Charrúas, who rebelled against the Spaniards who wanted to conquer the region. In 1516, Juan Díaz de Solís arrived at the Rio de la Plata, and shortly after the area we know today as Uruguay was explored. Sebastián Gaboto founded the first settlement in 1527, but it was destroyed by the Indians. in 1680, the Portuguese founded a colony that was given to the Spaniards in 1777. Montevideo was occupied the British in 1806. After fighting against the Spaniards and the Portuguese and after several different changes in the government, Uruguay was established as a state in 1825. The capital is Montevideo, and the currency is the Uruguayan peso.

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Argentina

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Argentina is in South America to the south of Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and part of Brazil. Chile is to its west. Several indigenous peoples inhabited the large territory in Pre-Colombian times, including the Tehuelche and Mapuche. In 1516, Juan Díaz de Solís was the first European to arrive at the Río de la Plata, and in 1536 Pedro de Mendoza founded Buenos Aires. The region was not very important to Nueva España until 1776 when Spain established the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. Argentina stayed under the dominance of Spain until 1816 when it declared its independence. Part of the Andes run through Argentina. The economy of Argentina is based on livestock and oil. The capital is Buenos Aires, and the currency is the Argentine peso.

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Bolivia

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Bolivia is in South America to the south of Brazil and Peru, to the east of Chile, and to the north of Argentina and Paraguay. It is interesting to note that the country does not have access to the ocean. In Pre-Colombian times, the Pukina and the Aymara inhabited the area but were under the Inca empire. In 1530, Gonzalo and Hernando Pizarro were the first Europeans to arrive in Bolivia while they were exploring what is now Peru. Bolivia was important during the colonial period because of its silver mines in Cerro Rico in Potosí. Bolivia was part of the Alto Peru until 1776 when it was incorporated to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. 1825, Simón Bolívar declared the independence of Bolivia. The administrative capital and seat of the government is La Paz. The constitutional capital is Sucre. It has three official languages: Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara. Bolivia's currency is boliviano.

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Paraguay

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Paraguay is in South America to the south of Bolivia and to the east of Argentina. The river Paraguay divides the country into east and wet. It is interesting to note that the country does not have access to the ocean. In Pre-Colombian times, the Chané, the Agacé, and, most important, the Guaraní inhabited the area. In 1524, Alejo García was the first European to arrive in the region, and in 1525, Pedro de Mendoza began the colonization. Between 1735 and 1756 the Guarani rebelled against the Spaniards. In 1777, it was incorporated to the Viceroaylty of the Río de la Plata. Paraguay fought against Spain and against Argentina, and, in 1830, declared its independence. Paraguay has two official languages: Spanish and Guaraní. The capital is Asunción, and the currency is the gauraní.

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Peru

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Peru is in South America to the south of Colombia and Ecuador, the west of Brazil and Bolivia, and to the north of Chile. The Pacific Ocean is at its west. The Andes mountains run through the country. Machu Picchu is located in Peru. In Pre-Colombian times, several indigenous groups inhabited the area under the Inca Empire. In 1524, Francisco Pizarro arrived to the area. Between 1531 and 1535, the region was conquered by Pizarro. In 1544, the first Viceroyalty of Peru was established. In 1572, the Inca Túpac Amaru rebelled against the Spaniards. In 1820, José de San Martín took control of the country and declared independence. The economy of Peru is based in agriculture. The capital is Lima, and the currency is the sol. The official languages are Spanish and Quechua.

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Chile

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Chile is in South America to the south of Peru, the southeast of Bolivia, and the west of Argentina. The Andes Mountains run through the country. The Atacama Desert is in the north. The Pre-Colombian times, the Incas inhabited the area. In 1513, Diego de Almagro was the first European to arrive to the territory. In 1552, Pedro de Valdivia conquered the area. In 1778, it was incorporated to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. After long fights led by Bernardo O'Higgins and José de San Martín, Chile declared its independence from Spain in 1818. The economy of Chile is based in agriculture. Vineyards and exports of wine are important to the country's economy. The capital is Santiagao, and the currency is the Chilean peso.

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Venezuela

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Venezuela is in South America, north of Brazil and east of Colombia. Guyana is to its east and the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean are to its north. The Arawaks and the Caribes inhabited the area in Pre-Colombian times. The first Europeans to arrive in Venezuela were in an expedition of Alonso the Ojeda and Pedro Alonso Niño. Caracas was founded in 1567, and the area became important due to its experts of cocoa. It was part of the Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada, and the Audencia de Caracas was formed in 1786. In 1811 it declared its independence. The economy of Venezuela is based on oil and its products. The capital is Caracas, and the currency is the bolivar.

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The Mayans

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The Mayans were one of the three most important indigenous groups of the Pre-Colombian world. They inhabited what today is the Yucatán in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize. The Mayan culture was the most advanced in the Pre-Colombian world. The Mayans were intellectuals, and they had an arithmetic system, a calendar, and the hieroglyphic writing. The Popol Vuh is a Mayan literary work. The best known historic Mayan sites are Palenque, Copán, Tikal, Uxmal, and Chichen Itzá. The Mayan practiced human sacrifices to appease their gods. Itzamná, the supreme god, Kinich Ahau, the sun, Txchil, the moon, and Chac, the rain. Their language was Mayan.

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The Aztecs

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The Aztecs were an Indian group that inhabited what is now Central Mexico. Before the arrival of Cortés, the Aztecs were the most powerful group in Mesoamerica. The name Aztecs covers two groups, the Aztecs and the Mexicas. The best known Aztec leaders were Montezumas I and Montezuma II. The capital of the empire was Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs had a very developed society, with different classes. They believe the daily sacrifice of a human heart was the only way to please the sun and make sure it would shine every day so they could survive. The main gods were Quetzalcoatl, the god of life, Tezcatlipoca, the god of the sorcerers and the young warriors, Huitzilopochtli, the god of war and the sun, Tlalok, god of the rain, and Coatlicue, the mother goddess. Their language was Náhuatl.

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The Incas

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The Incas were the people that inhabited the region that is now Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile. The Incas had a very advanced culture; its social structure was based in ayllu, or clans. The culture was also based in communal agriculture. The Incas extended their empire over other weaker and less advanced neighboring tribes. They had a tyrannical policy and used violence to control their subjects. The most famous Inca sites are Machu Picchu, Cuzco, and Pisac. Their main gods were Inti, the sun god, and Viracocha, the supreme god. They were not as advanced as the Mayan and the Aztecs in questions of art. Architecture was their most important form of art. Their language was Quechua, which is still spoken in some parts of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. The Incas practiced human sacrifices and would sacrifice a child or a virgin to please their gods. Their offerings were based on the agricultural cycle.

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Ecuador

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Ecuador is in South America, to the south of Colombia and to the east of Peru. The Pacific Ocean is to its wet. In Pre-Colombian times, several Indian tribes inhabited the area but were eventually conquered by the Incas. The center of the Incan empire was in what is today and the city of Quito. In 1527, Spaniards arrived in Ecuador, and in 1533 it was conquered by Sebastián de Belalcázar. In 1563, the Audencia of Quito, but in the 17th century the area was incorporated to the Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada. After several battles and changes in government during the 18th and 19th century, Ecuador declared its independence from Spain. The economy of Ecuador is based on agriculture and the country is the largest exporter of bananas. Oil and its products are also important for the economy of Ecuador. The capital of the country is Quito and the currency is the US dollar.

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Colombia

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Colombia is in South America, south of the Isthmus of Panama, and is the northernmost country of South America. It borders Venezuela and the Atlantic Ocean on the east, the Pacific Ocean on the northeast, Ecuador and Peru on the southwest, and Brazil on the southeast. The Andes mountains run through the country. In Pre-Colombian times, the Chibchas, the Muiscas, and the Quechuas inhabited the area. In 1501, Rodrigo de Bastidas was the first European to arrive to the region. Between 1524 and 1534, the Spaniards colonized the area and called it Nueva Granada. In 1821, after many battles and changes in government, Colombia, together with Ecuador and Venezuela, was organized under the name República de la Gran Colombia. In 1830, and with the secession of Ecuador and Venezuela, Colombia ended with the same borders it has now. The Colombian economy is based on agriculture and its most important exports are coffee, corn, rice, sugar, cotton, and bananas. The capital is Santa Fe de Bogotá, and the currency is the Colombian peso.

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Hernán Cortés

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Hernán Cortés was a very successful Spanish conquistador who founded La Española in his first trip to the new world (today's Dominican Republic and Haiti). Later, he conquered Cuba and arrived in Mexico. He is known as the conqueror of the Aztecs. He took advantage of the indigenous people, and he used his alliance with the Tlaxcaltecs, enemies of the Aztecs, to defeat the Aztec empire. He was governor and General Captain of Nueva Española, and he was responsible for the abuse of other native people in the north of the country.

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Simón Bolivar

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Simón Bolivar is known as the liberator of Venezuela. He also helped Peru and the Alto Peru (today's Bolivia) to obtain their independence. It is said he was the most important man of the wars of independence in South America. Besides being a general, he was an educated man and a writer. He had studied with Andrés Bello and Simón Rodríguez, who taught him the ideas of freedom. He wrote several works, including Memoria dirigida a los ciudadanos de Nueva Granda por un caraqueño (1812) and Carta a Jamaica (1815). He also wrote the constitution for the republic of Bolivia.

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Cristóbal Colón

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Cristóbal Colón was a Genoese navigator who sailed to the West to find a route to the East under the approval of the Catholic Kings of Spain. He won the trust of the Catholic Kings after asking the King of Portugal's approval first, but the King of Portugal had denied Colón the terms he wanted. He has three ships, the Pinta, the Niña, and the Santa María. He arrived at the new world in October of 1492. He is considered the first of the European "discoverers" of America, though he died without knowing he had not landed in the East Indies. He made several trips to the Americas, but was never credited for his work until after his death.

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Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

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Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz is known as the most important American author of lyric poetry. She lived in Mexico and wrote poetry, theater plays, and prose. Many of her works are about the disadvantages of being a woman. She was a nun, and she used solitude to escape and hide from the world and from love. She is an important representative of the baroque, and her best known works are Respuesta a Sor Filotea de la cruz (prose), Primer sueño (poetry) and El divino Narciso, El cetro de José, and El mártir de Sacramento (theater).

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Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla

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Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, better know as Miguel Hidalgo, was a Mexican priest and patriot. He is known as the father of the country, as the initiator of the independence, and as Father Hidalgo. On September 16, 1810, he gave a cry in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, known as "the cry of Dolores" that started the Mexican war of independence from Spain. He is a very important figure in Mexican history, because he also ended slavery and fought for the rights of the indigenous people of Mexico. He suceeded in establishing a national government but soon after Realists executed him.

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José de San Martín

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José de San Martín was an Argentinian general, known as the liberator of Argentina and Chile. He fought with the Spaniards against the French in Spain's war of independence, but later he fought against the Spaniards for the independence of Latin American countries. With the help of the Chilean General Bernardo de O'Higgins, he organized the army of the Andes. San Martín unified several independence movements and helped Argentina, Chile, and Peru gain their independence. He is also known as the protector of Peru.

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José Enrique Rodó

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José Enrique Rodó was a Uruguayan writer who wrote modernistic essays. He is know as the best modernist prose writer. His message always included a warning about North American influence in Latin America. He wanted the Latin American youth to reject materialism and to embrace their own culture. He tried to connect modern literature with spiritualism. His best know work is Ariel, which has been taken as the intellectual guide for people of his generation. His work deals with democracy, morality, and idealism. Another important work of his is Los motivos de Proteo.

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Rubén Dario

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Ruben Darío was a writer from Nicaragua, and he is a major figure of modernism. He is best known for his poetry, in which he searched for the ideal beauty. He also wrote about social problems created by materialism. He used novel meter and rhythms that transformed poetry. His most popular works are Prosas profundas, Cantos de vida y esperanza, and Canto errante. He also wrote prose, and his best known works are Azul, Peregrinaciones, and Historia de mis libros.

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El cantar del mio Cid

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El cantar del mio Cid was anonymously written in about 1140. It is in the style of a singing poem, a very popular literary form in medieval Spain. First epic poem in Spanish. El cantar del mio Cid takes place during the reconquista, when the Spaniards were trying to regain control of their land from the Arabs that had been in the country since 711. The main character is Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, who is seeking to recover his honor after being exiled by king Alonso VI. He takes part in the battle of Valencia and after recovering his honor, his two daughters marry the heirs of the house of Carrión, relatives of the King. These men mistreat the girls and almost kill them. The Cid fights against the bad husbands and after defeating them, the daughters marry the heirs of the house of Navarra and Aragón. Because of this, the Cid is known as the man who unified Spain during the reconquista.

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The Muslims in Spain

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In 711, the Muslims from the north of Africa invaded the Iberian Peninsula and conquered most of it. What is known today as Spain was under Arab control until 1492. Due to the many years the region was under control of Muslims, Arab influence can be seen everywhere. Many of the Spanish words that begin with al- have Arab roots: álgebra, aldea, alguacil, alférez, alcoba, algodón, and alachofa. Another example is the word ojalá, which comes from the phrase "may Allah grant." Many cities in Spain show buildings with clear Muslim influences. the Most famous of these buildings is the mosque of Córdoba, whose architecture and tile decor is typically Arab.

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La Celestina

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La Celestina, also known as Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea, was written by Fernando de Rojas in 1499. Many considered La Celestina as the first Spanish novel although it is not strictly a novel as it is written as a dialogue between the characters. The piece has 21 acts. It deals with the seduction of a young virgin, Melibea, and how an old woman, Celestina, tries to arrange this seduction for Calisto, the man who loves Melibea. The work begins in an orchard where Calisto meets Melibea and falls madly in love with her. Melibea does not feel the same for Calisto. Calisto goes to Celestina for help. After being together for some time. Melibea and Calisto fall in love and Celestina's help is not needed anymore, which causes a lot of trouble. By the end of the work, almost all the characters have died.

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Alfonso X

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Alfonso X or Alfonso el Sabio was the king of Castilla-León from 1252-1284. Alfonso X is important in history because of his decision of using Castilian as the official language of his kingdom. Castilian or Spanish became more important than other languages or dialects spoken in the territory. During his reign, many works were written, revealing much about medieval Spain. The Crónica general de España is one of these works and is very useful in understanding Spanish history.

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Spanish possessions

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Three groups of islands belong to Spain: the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, and Melilla and Ceuta. The Balearic Islands are in the Mediterranean Sea, and include Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza. The capital is Palma de Mallorca. The Canary Islands are in the Atlantic Ocean, and include Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas. Their capitals have the same name as the islands. Melilla and Ceuta are north of Morocco, and they are much less significant than the Balearic and Canary islands.

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Spain

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Spain is in the Iberian Peninsula and has 50 provinces. Its five main rivers are the Ebro, the Duero, the Tajo, the Guadiana, and the Guadalquivir. Spanish is the official language of their country, although in some parts of the country other languages are spoken, for example Catalon in Catalonia, Galician in Galicia, and Basque in the Basque Country. Spain can be divided in the following regions: north, center, south, east, and extraterritorial possessions. Spain is significant as the country where the Spanish language originated. Its capital is Madrid and its currency is the Euro.

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Octavio Paz

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Octvio Paz was a Mexican poet and essayist. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1990. He can be classified neither as an idealist nor as a symbolist because his way of writing was very unique. The concepts he most often touched in his works to loneliness and existential restlessness. His most important poetry works are Libertad bajo palabra, Piedra de sol, Salamandra, Ladera este, Topoemas, Prueba del nueve, Arbol adentro, and Obra poética. The most famous of his prose work is El laberinto de la soledad, el arco y la lira, Corriente alterna, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz o las trampas de la fe.

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Domingo Faustino Sarmiento

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Domingo Faustino Sarmiento was an Argentinian writer and politician who wrote essays and novels. He was president of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was interested in education and worked as a teacher. One of his main interests was to fight against ignorance, chieftains, and dictatorship. In 1845, he wrote his novel Civilización y barbarie: vida de Facundo Quiroga, also known as Facundo. Other works by Sariento include De la educación popular, Las ciento y una, conflictos y armonías de las razas de América, Mi defensa, and Recuerdos de provincia.

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José Martí

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José Martí was a Cuban writer and politician who is known as one of the most important writers of his times. He wrote modernistic pieces. He was a hero of the Cuban independence and fought against the Spaniards. The main message of his work is freedom and liberalism. His most important works are Ismalillo, Versos libres, and Versos sencillos. His most famous novel is Amistad funesta. He also wrote articles such as "Nuestra América," "El Presidio en Cuba," "La República Española ante la revolución cubana," and "Bases del partido revolucionario cubano." His theater play Carta de Nueva Your is also very well known.

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Pablo Neruda

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Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet with Marxist convictions. He identified with the victims of wars, social injustice, and tyranny. He is known as one of the most important poets of the 20th century. His works are modernistic and celebrate nature and the American man. In 1971, Neruda won the Nobel prize for Literature for his poetry, which includes Crepúsculo, Veinte poemas de amor y una canción deseperada, España en el corazón, Residencia en al tierra, Canto general, Odas elementales, and Cantos ceremoniales.

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Horacio Quiroga

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Horacio Quiroga was a Uruguayan writer, best known for his short stories. He lived most of his life in Argentina, and he also wrote poetry. Horacio Quiroga was influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, and his stories have elements of horror, American nature, and the supernatural. He is known as a writer of bizarre. His main work of poetry is "Arrecifes de coral." HIs stories include El crimen del otro, Historia de un amor turbio, cuentos de amor, de locura y de muerte, Cuentos de la selva, Anaconda, and Los desterrados. He also wrote a short novel, Pasado amor.

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Carlos Fuentes

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Carlos Fuentes was a Mexican writer, known mainly for his novels. In his novels, he examines Mexican culture and seeks a way to preserve it. His novels include several themes and aspects of human psychology. They are based in the historical and explore real themes but in fictional works. His novels include La region más transparente, Las buenas conciencias, Cambio de piel, La muerte de Artemio Cruz, Aura, Zona sagrada, Terra nostra, Cumpleaños, La cabeza de hidra, Gringo viejo, Cristóbal Nonato, and La frontera de cristal His writing also includes essays and theater plays, but his novels are his most significant works.

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Jorge Luis Borges

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Jorge Luis Borges is one of the best known Spanish-language writers. He was born in Argentina but lived in Europe for some time. Besides writing poetry, essays, and stories, he was a professor of English literature at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. Borges founded a literary movement called Ultraismo. His works are fantastical and deal with metaphysical problems. Borges' genre is known as cosmovision. HIs most famous works of poetry are Fervor de Buenos Aires, Luna de enfrente, and Cuaderno de San Martín. His best known short stories include "Historia universal de la infamia," "El jardín de los senderos que se bifurcan," "Ficciones," "El Aleph," and "Historia de la eternidad."

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Julio Cortázar

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Julio Cortázar was a very important Argentine author who wrote stories, essays, and novels. He lived for a while in Europe, but returned to Argentina to study. He had great influence in the narrative art. He was a surrealist and his work deals with reality, fantasy, and the absurd. He used realistic images of the monstrous to transmit his ideas in his novels. His most famous works are Rayuela, Final del juego, Bestario, Las armas secretas, Todos los fuegos el fuego, Alguien que anda por ahí, Los premios, and Nicaragua tan violentamente dulce.

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Gabriel García Márquez

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Gabriel García Márquez was a Colombian writer who is mostly known for his novel Cien años de soledad, His writing incorporates magical realism and seeks to examine the relationships between the space and time and also expose Colombian life and the relationship between the social and the political in everyday life. In 1982, Gabriel García Márquez won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Other novels include La hojarasca, El coronel no tiene quien le escriba, El amor en el tiempo de cólera, El general en su laberinto, and Del amor y otros demonios.

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Juan Rulfo

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Juan Rulfo was a Mexican writer who wrote novels and short stories. He is considered the most profound of the Mexican prose writers of the 40s. Rulfo is known as a writer of magical realism. He created historical stories based on ignorant, poor, and desolated country people. His work deals with social injustice, hard life, pain, and suffering. The magical aspects of his works include the fantastic and the supernatural, such as the use of ghosts as characters in his works. Although Rulfo wrote only two pieces, a collection of stories, El llano en llamas, and a novel, Pedro Páramo, he won several awards.

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The Alhambra

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The Alhambra was built between the 12th and 13th century in Granada when the Moors occupied Spain. After the Spaniards recovered their land, the Catholic kings built their own palaces in the Alhambra, therefore it has both Islamic and Christian architectural elements. The Alhambra is a very large complex, with several buildings and different components, including courts, fountains, gardens, etc. It is known for its ornamentation, which is made of marble, stucco, and tile. At the present time it continues to be a very important touristic attraction, and in 1984 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Pablo Picasso

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Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish painter born in Málaga. He lived in Madrid, Barcelona, and Paris and is mainly known for his cubist paintings, though he also painted surrealist works. His art includes book illustrations and ceramics as well. Artists such as El Greco and Francisco Goya inspired him. Many of his works have a political inspiration. Picasso hated the fascist government of Franco, and he turned to communism. He was a prolific artist and many of his works are today in museums all around the world. His best known works include Guernica, Dora Maar au chat, and Massacre en Corréo.

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Isabel Allende

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Isabel Allende is a writer born in Peru. Shortly after, she moved to Chile with her family, and she considers herself Chilean. Allende mixed in her works the fantastic with the real. Her works could be classified as of the magic realism genre. Her most celebrated piece is La casa de los espíritus, in which she follows a Chilean family for four generations. In the novel, Allende examines sociopolitical issues in Chile in the postcolonial period. Other works from Allende are De amor y de sombra, Eva Luna, Cuentos de Eva Luna, El plan infinito, Paula, Hija de la fortuna, La ciudad de las bestias, and Inés del alma mía. She continues to write novels, and in 2009, she published Los amigos son los amigos and La isla bajo el mar.

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Mario Vargas Llosa

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Mario Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian writer who wrote novels and other political narrative pieces. As a genre, his work falls into realism. In his work he examines the vulgarity of human nature. His topics are usually politic in nature. In 1990 he was a presidential candidate for Peru and in 2010, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. His best known works are: Los jefes, La ciudad y los perros, Conversación en la catedral; Pantaleón y las vistadoras, Lituma en los Andes, La guerra del fin del mundo, Historia de Mayta, El hablador, and ¿Quién mató a Palomo Montero?

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Popol Vuh

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The Popol Vuh, also known as El libro de consejo, was written in the Mayan-Quiché language and later translated to Spanish. There is a great deal of controversy regarding who wrote and who translated the book. In this work, the author compiles the Mayan myths that explain the creation of the world, the history of the Mayans, and some Mayan traditions. It is considered a very important source about the Mayan people pf the Pre-Colombian period.

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Félix Lope de Vega

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Félix Lope de Vega was a Spanish writer who wrote poetry, theater plays, and prose. He founded the Teatro Nacional de España, and he is known as the father of modern comedy. Important subjects of his work are national history and honor. His most famous theater pieces include El perro del hortelano, La viuda de Valencia, and Fuente Ovejuna. His works in prose include Arcadia, El peregrino, and La Dorotea. His poems include "El Isidro," "Rimas sacras," "La Filomena," and "La Circe."

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Political and economic facts about Spain

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Today, Spain is a democracy under a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a hereditary monarchy and a bicameral parliament. It is a member of the European Union and its currency is the euro. Spain's capital is Madrid, and its population was estimated at 47 million in 2011. Other important cities in Spain include Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Sevilla, and Zaragoza. Regarding religion, Roman Catholics continue to be the most numerous. Due to Spain's climate, rich historic and cultural quality, and geographic position, tourism has become one of the main sources of income for the country. Spain is also one of the most important developers and producers of renewable energy, in particular solar power.

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