Spanish 1/Activities

Activities

 * comer - to eat
 * beber - to drink


 * bailar - to dance
 * cantar - to sing


 * correr - to run
 * escribir cuentos - to write stories
 * escuchar música - to listen to music
 * estudiar - to study
 * esquiar - to ski
 * hablar por teléfono - to talk on the phone
 * ir a la escuela - to go to school
 * hacer la tarea - to do homework
 * jugar videojuegos - to play videogames
 * leer revistas - to read magazines
 * montar en bicicleta - to ride a bicycle
 * montar en monopatín / patineta - to skateboard
 * nadar - to swim
 * pasar tiempo con amigos / amistades - to spend time with friends
 * patinar - to skate
 * jugar deportes - to play sports
 * tocar la guitarra - to play the guitar
 * trabajar - to work
 * usar la computadora - to use the computer
 * mirar la televisión/ver la tele - to watch television

Words to describe something you like or dislike

 * A mí - (Used for emphasis when talking about what you like.)
 * A mí no - (Used for emphasis when talking about what you dislike.)
 * Me gusta... - I like to...
 * Me gusta más... - I like to...better.
 * Me gusta mucho... I like to...a lot.
 * Me gusta poco... I like to... very little.
 * A mí también. - I do too....
 * A mí tampoco. - I don't either / Me neither.
 * No me gusta... - I don't like to do...
 * No me gusta (para) nada... - I don't like to...at all.
 * ¿Qué te gusta hacer? - What do you like to do?
 * ¿Qué te gusta hacer más? - What do you like to do more?
 * ¿Te gusta...? - Do you like to...?
 * ¿Y a ti? - And you?

Other frequently used words

 * ni - neither, nor
 * o - or
 * y - and
 * ¡Bueno! - good
 * ¡Bien! - well
 * sí - yes
 * no - no
 * también - also, too
 * tampoco - neither {opposite of también}
 * nunca - never
 * a veces - sometimes
 * siempre - always
 * no... sino... - not... but rather...
 * No me gusta trabajar sino escuchar música. I don't like to work but rather listen to music.

Cultural note

 * Many schools in Latin America don't have a Physical Education class or sports teams, instead many students go to local gyms to join sports teams.

Cognates/False Cognates
Cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. False cognates look similar but actually have different meanings.

Cognates

 * popular = popular
 * usar = to use
 * guitarra = guitar
 * instrumento = instrument
 * importante = important
 * flamenco = flamenco
 * tango = tango
 * merengue = merengue
 * salsa = salsa
 * cumbia = cumbia
 * famoso = famous
 * famosa = famous
 * no = no

False Cognates

 * el pie = the foot
 * actual = current

Instrumentos

 * acordeón - accordian
 * bajo - bass
 * clarinete - clarinet
 * claves - keys
 * güiro - güiro
 * maracas - maracas
 * oboe - oboe
 * saxofón - saxophone
 * sintetizador - synthesizer
 * tambor - drum
 * trombón - trombone
 * trompeta - trumpet
 * tuba - tuba
 * violín - violin

Cultural Insight (Dances)
Many famous dances have originated in Spanish-speaking countries. Below are lists of dances and their country of origin:

-Flamenco: Spain

-Tango: Argentina

-Merengue: Dominican Republic

-Salsa: Puerto Rico

-Cumbia: Colombia

Country focus (Estados Unidos)
The United States of America (Spanish: Estados Unidos), usually referred to as the United States, the U.S. or America, is a constitutional federal republic comprising fifty states and a federal district, as well as several territories, or insular areas, scattered around the Caribbean and Pacific. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to its east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait, and the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific.

At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with more than 300 million people, the United States is the fourth largest country by total area, and third largest by population. The United States is one of the world's most ethnically diverse nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the largest national economy in the world, with a nominal 2006 gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$13 trillion (over 25% of the world total based on nominal GDP and almost 20% by purchasing power parity).

The nation was founded by thirteen colonies of Great Britain located along the Atlantic seaboard. Proclaiming themselves "states," they issued the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The rebellious states defeated Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, the first successful colonial war of independence. A federal convention adopted the current United States Constitution on September 17, 1787; its ratification the following year made the states part of a single republic. The Bill of Rights, comprising ten constitutional amendments, was ratified in 1791.



In the nineteenth century, the United States acquired land from France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Russia, and annexed the Republic of Texas and the Republic of Hawaii. Disputes between the agrarian South and industrial North over states' rights and the expansion of the institution of slavery provoked the American Civil War of the 1860s. The North's victory prevented a permanent split of the country and led to the end of slavery in the United States. The Spanish-American War and World War I confirmed the nation's status as a military power. In 1945, the United States emerged from World War II as the first country with nuclear weapons, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and a founding member of NATO. In the post–Cold War era, the United States is the only remaining superpower—accounting for approximately 50% of global military spending—and a dominant economic, political, and cultural force in the world. The United States is a multicultural nation, home to a wide variety of ethnic groups, traditions, and values.

Factbox:


 * Official languages: none (English is the de facto language)


 * Other Languages: Spanish, French, German, Cantonese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Italian, Korean, 327 other languages


 * Capital: Washington D.C.


 * Government: Democratic Republic


 * Area: 9,629,091 sq km (3,794,066 sq mi) (4th)


 * Population: 310,101,000 (July 2010) (3rd)


 * Religion: Christianity 78.5% (Protestant 51.3%, Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%), Non-religious 15%, Judaism 2.1%, Buddhism 2%, Islam 1%, Hinduism 0.4%, other 1% (mostly Unitarian Universalism, traditonal beliefs, Sikhism, Jainism, Confucianism, Taoism, etc.)


 * Human Development: 0.956 (VERY HIGH, 13th)


 * Independence: July 4, 1776


 * Currency: United States Dollar