Spanish 1/Community

Recycling / Reciclaje

 * bolsa plástica - plastic bag
 * botella de vidrio - glass bottle
 * caja - box
 * cartón - cardboard
 * centro de reciclaje - recyling center
 * lata - can
 * llevar - to carry
 * periódico - newspaper
 * plástico - plastic
 * reciclar - to recycle
 * recoger - to collect
 * separar - to separate
 * usado(a) - used
 * vidrio - glass

Community sights

 * barrio / urbanización / vecindario - neighborhood
 * calle - street
 * comunidad - community
 * jardín - garden
 * río - river

Volunteer relations

 * ancianos - older people
 * anciano - older man
 * anciana - older woman
 * campamento - camp
 * demás - others
 * escuela primaria - primary school
 * gente - people
 * hospital - hospital
 * juguete - toy
 * niños - children
 * niño - young boy
 * niña - young girl
 * pobre - poor
 * problema - problem
 * proyecto de construcción - construction project
 * trabajo voluntario - volunteer work
 * voluntario, voluntaria - volunteer

Other words

 * a menudo - often
 * decidir - to decide
 * recibir - to receive
 * Es necesario. - It's necessary.
 * experiencia - experience
 * Hay que... - One must...
 * increíble - incredible
 * inolvidable - unforgettable
 * ¿Qué más? - What else?
 * vez - time
 * otra vez - again

Decir (to say, to tell)
Decir is a verb that has an irregular yo conjugation. While yo is irregular, all the other forms are conjugated using the -ir conjugation. Below is the conjugation for decir:


 * digo - I say, I tell
 * dices - you say, you tell (singular)
 * dice - he/she says, he/she tells
 * decimos - we say, we tell
 * decís - you say, you tell (plural)
 * dicen - they say, they tell

Note: Of course you should remember by now that usted (Ud.) and ustedes (Uds.) conjugate to the 3rd person form.

Indirect object pronouns
Indirect object pronouns indicate the person to, for, or from whom any action occurs.


 * me - me
 * te - you
 * le - he, she, you (formal)
 * nos - us
 * os - you
 * les - them, you (formal)

Preterite of dar
Dar, like decir has an irregular yo conjugation, so I give is doy and you give is das. However, its preterite form is completely irregular from the preterite forms of other -ar verbs, including its nosotros(as) and vosotros(as) forms.


 * di - I gave
 * diste - you gave (singular)
 * dio - he/she gave
 * dimos - we gave
 * disteis - you gave (plural)
 * dieron - they gave

Preterite of hacer
Hacer is also similar to decir and dar because it has anm irregular yo conjugation. However, like dar, its preterite is completely different from the regular -ar conjugation.


 * hice - I did
 * hiciste - you did (singular)
 * hizo - he/she did
 * hicimos - we did
 * hicisteis - you did (plural)
 * hicieron - they did

Vocabulario adicional

 * ave - bird
 * canguro - kangaroo
 * cebra - zebra
 * cocodrilo - crocodile
 * delfín - dolphin
 * elefante - elephant
 * foca - seal
 * gorila - gorilla
 * hipopótamo - hippopatamus
 * jirafa - giraffe
 * león - lion
 * oso polar - polar bear
 * pingüino - penguin
 * tigre - tiger

Note: Use ave when referring to a zoo bird and pájaro when referring to a pet bird or wild bird.

Cultural Insight (United Nations peacekeeping missions)
In the 1970s to early 1990s, many Latin American countries and Spain were ruled by dictators. They forced the people to follow their laws and those who refused were put to death. The most notable event was the Argentine crisis of 1976-1983, known as the "Dirty War", in which up to 30,000 people "disappeared" or were executed by the government. In Central America, a storm of civil wars occurred and in Spain, a revolution occurred. UN intervention soon replaced the govenrments with UN administration and in Panama, the U.S. fought a war with the Panamanian government and later established a democracy. The UN soon placed peacekeeping missions in Central America to regulate peace and rebuild schools, hospitals, businesses, and homes for civilians. This lasted until 1997, when the last of UN peacekeepers withdrew from Guatemala.

Country Focus (Paraguay)
Paraguay (Spanish: Paraguay) is one of the only two landlocked countries in South America (along with Bolivia). It lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, bordering Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest, and is located in the center of South America, the country is sometimes referred to as Corazón de América del Sur - Heart of South America along with Bolivia and Brazil.

Paraguay's history has been characterized by long periods of authoritarian governments, political instability and infighting, and devastating wars with its neighbors.



With one of the most homogeneous populations in Latin America, Paraguayans' cultural ancestry can be traced to the extensive intermarriage among the original male Spanish settlers and female indigenous, Guaraní, brides. Paraguayan culture therefore is a fusion of two cultures and traditions: one European, the other Guaraní. More than 80% of Paraguayans are mestizos, and this makes Paraguay one of the most homogeneous countries in Latin America. A characteristic of this cultural fusion is the extensive bilingualism present to this day: more than 80% of Paraguayans speak both Spanish and the indigenous language, Guaraní. Jopará, the mixture of Guaraní and Spanish, is also widely spoken, although it is prevalent in the urban areas and is considered somewhat a mixed pidgin code, not a language.



Factbox:

-Official Languages: Spanish, Guaraní

-Other Languages: Native American languages

-Capital: Asunción

-Government: Democracy

-Area: 406,752 sq km (157,048 sq mi)

-Population: 6,349,000 (101st)



-Religions: Christianity (Catholic 89.6%, Protestant 6.2%, other Christian, mainly Mormon 1.1%) 96.9%, Non-religious 1.1%, Buddhism 0.5%, others (Traditional beliefs, Judaism, Islam) 1.5%

-Human Development: 0.761 (101st)

-Independence: May 14, 1811

-Currency: Guaraní