h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Sorry, clumsy adjective agreement in the blonde example - "con el pelo rubio".

OK, some VERY basic basics on the gerund.

Basically, the gerund is translated with "-ing" in English.

Verbs ending in -ar: hablar > hablando
Verbs ending in -er: comer > comiendo
Verbs ending in -ir: vivir > viviendo
So, -ar verbs take an 'ando' ending, and -er/-ir verbs go to 'iendo'.

The thing is, often you can get away with using a normal verb when you'd use "-ing" in English... hard to explain. It's partly a matter of style - for example:

I was eating: comía (imperfect tense)
I was eating: estaba comiendo (imperfect continuous)
The gerund version implies a more continuous action. I'll go into more detail another time, when it isn't 11.30pm and when I've got my book with me to make sure I'm not talking complete rubbish

hola

me llamo es Pinky o Pink, no cuido que

soy de tejas. tengo quince años. necesito ayuda con mi español

*********

my name is pinky or pink, i dont care which

I am from texas. I am 15 years old. I need help with my spanish

Bienvenidos!

Welcome!

gracias

thank you

Hola,
Me llamo Anne, soy de France, tengo diez y ueve y dos anos.

Hi,
my name's anne, I'm from france, I'm 19 years old.
I've already tried to learn spanish a few months ago (and therefor introduced myself on this thread) but then I gave up because I was too lazzy, but I'm giving it another try
I think I won't post for a while coz I'll try to read and learn all that have been posted before but I'll be back soon

Hola otra vez - !y bienvenido!
=====
Hello again - and welcome!

¡Hola!
Me llamo Vašek y soy de la Republica Checa. Tengo 19 años.

Hello!
My name's Vašek and I live in the Czech Republic. 19 years old.
I want to learn some basic Spanish. Looking forward to reading your 'lessons'.

Gracias Joe

yo trato de escribir unas frases con los palabras que aprendo. laborioso !!

Los amigos escuchan música.
Yo asisto una lección de español.
Un perro come.
Una chica canta y toca la guitarra.

Thanks Joe

I try to write some sentence with the words I learn (I don't know past or future times yet). Difficult !!

Friends listen to music.
I attend a spanish lesson.
A dog eats.
A little girl sings and plays the guitar.

Those sentences are a bit silly but I was just trying out the new words I've learnt.
Can you teach me the verb "be" (ser), I think it's irregular?

The verb 'to be' is indeed irregular - I don't know of any languages where it isn't! Unfortunately, in Spanish, it's more complicated - there are actually TWO verbs which both mean 'to be' in different contexts. Sorry if you already know this, but I'll explain for completeness.

Broadly speaking, 'ser' means 'to be' in a descriptive and permanent context. It's used for the time (Es la una - it's one o'clock. Son las dos - it's two o'clock), descriptions of a person's qualities (Es muy feo - he is very ugly. Eres alto - you are tall) and most general uses without a specific meaning (No es una cuestión de... - it's not a question of...).

'Estar' means 'to be' in some more specific contexts. It describes location (!Estamos aquí! - we're here! Mi casa está en Valencia - my house is in Valencia), non-permanent states or moods (?Estás listo? - are you ready? Estoy feliz - I'm happy).

You can compare the two verbs quite well in this test frame: "!_____ guapa!" If you said "!Estás guapa!" to your friend before going out, it would mean "You look lovely!" in the sense of the clothes she's wearing, her makeup, etc. "Eres guapa!" would be more akin to "You're gorgeous!" - it refers to how she is permanently.



Right, enough context - here are the conjugations.

ESTAR - to be
irreg

Yo estoy
Tu estás
Él/Ella/Usted está
Nosotros estamos
Vosotros estáis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes están

SER - to be
irreg

Yo soy
Tu eres
Él/Ella/Usted es
Nosotros somos
Vosotros sois
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes son

Oh, before I forget, another usage of 'ser' - it describes where a person is from, as in:

"?De dónde eres? -Soy de Londres" ("Where are you from? -I'm from London")

Gracias Joe,
yo usaro los nuevos palabras: Soy estudiantes. No soy paciente. Estoy en hootoo. Estoy escuchando mùsica.
Las frases son pobres màs yo soy commensando español. podes tù me corrigir?

Thanks Joe,
I use the new words : I'm a student. I'mnot patient. I'm on hootoo. I'm listenning to hootoo.

Again the sentences are quite poor but I'm really starting. Can you check them?

For the hootoo one, it's a bit dubious - you would probably use "usar", as in "I am using hootoo":"Ahora uso hootoo"

Also, the progressive/continuous tenses (estoy escuchando) have a slightly specific use, which is hard to explain but you'll pick up if you read about them, begin to use them, etc. Normally, for something you're doing right now, use "Ahora" and then the present tense verb:"Ahora escucho música"

Hola, que tal, hombres?

Hello, how are you, hombres...er....brothers? (I can't remember!)

Me llamo Feuille. My name is Feuille!

What a way to introduce myself...

Hola Feuile.

¿Quieras aprender?
Do you want to learn?

Si, Yes!

hola! Me llamo Kelsey. La clase de epanol es muy dificil!! uhh...HELP...por favor(sorry don't know how to put in ~ or`)
Gracias
Kelsey

Hola Kelsey
¿Hay algo especfico con que quiera la ayuda?
Is there anything specific with which you want help?

Feuille-
¿qué quieres aprender? Hay unas clases generales en el backlog.
What do you want to learn? There are some general lessons in the backlog.

Hey there, just a quick reminder, please put an English translation of everything that you write

Hola. Me he presentado ya una vez, puesto que probablemente no me recordáis, me presento otra vez : Me llamo Norbera. Estoy una chica de Dinamarca. Estudio español y quiero aprender más porque me gusta esta idioma aunque pienso que es muy dificil aprenderle.

Translation (or what I meant to say):
Hi. I've introduced myself before, but since you probably don't remember me, I'll introduce myself once more: My name's Norbera. I'm a girl from Denmark. I study spanish and wish to learn more because I like this language though I think it's hard to learn.

I'll be happy to be corrected by you, and particapate in your lessons

~ Norbera

Permíteme corregirte, "estoy una chica de Dinamarca" no tiene sentido, debes decir una de las siguientes cosas, dependiendo de lo que quieras decir
1. Soy una chica de Dinamarca
2. Estoy con una chica de Dinamarca.

En tu caso la opción es la número uno.
Espero que sirva de ayuda

translation ( now you can corret my English)
Allow me to correct you. "estoy una chica de Dinamarca" makes no sense, you should have said either:
1. I´m a girl from Denmark
2. I'm with a girl from Denmark.

In this precise case the option must be number one.
Hope this helps