Spanish 1/The Bedroom

Bedroom objects

 * alfombra - rug
 * armario - closet
 * cama - bed
 * cómoda - dresser
 * cortinas - curtains
 * cuadro - painting
 * el reloj despertador - alarm clock
 * dormitorio - bedroom
 * espejo - mirror
 * estante - shelf
 * lámpara - lamp
 * mesita - nighttable
 * pared - wall
 * puerta - door

Electronics

 * disco compacto - compact disc
 * equipo de sonido - sound (stereo) system
 * El DVD - DVD player
 * televisor - television
 * video - videocassette

Colors

 * ¿De qué color...? - What color...?
 * colores - colors
 * amarillo(a)(s) - yellow
 * anaranjado(a)(s) - orange
 * azul(es) - blue
 * blanco(a)(s) - white
 * gris(es) - gray
 * marrón, marrones, café - brown
 * morado(a)(s) - purple
 * negro(a)(s) - black
 * rojo(a)(s) - red
 * rosado(a)(s) - pink
 * verde(es) - green

Adjectives

 * bonito(a) - beautiful
 * hermoso(a) - beautiful
 * bello(a) - beautiful
 * lindo(a) - beautiful
 * guapo(a) - beautiful, good looking
 * está bueno(a) - hot
 * buen mozo(a) - handsome young man, good looking girl
 * feo(a) - ugly
 * grande - large
 * importante - important
 * mismo(a) - same
 * pequeño(a) - small
 * propio(a) - own

Location

 * a la derecha - to the right
 * a la izquierda - to the left
 * en la esquina - at the corner

Comparisions

 * mejor que - better than
 * el/la mejor - the best (singular)
 * los/las mejores - the best (plural)
 * menos...que - less, fewer...than
 * mas...que - more, more...than
 * peor que - worse than
 * el/la peor - the worst (singular)
 * los/las peores - the worst (plural)

Numbers 100-1000

 * cien - 100
 * ciento uno - 101
 * ciento veinticuatro - 124
 * doscientos - 200
 * trescientos - 300
 * cuatrocientos - 400
 * quinientos - 500
 * seiscientos - 600
 * setecientos - 700
 * ochocientos - 800
 * novecientos - 900
 * mil - 1.000

Note that Spanish speakers use a period in place of a thousands comma.

Other words

 * cosa - thing
 * para mí - in my opinion, for me
 * para tí - in your opinion, for you
 * posesión - possession

Dormir (to sleep)
Dormir is another one of the handful of irregular Spanish verbs; however, unlike tener and venir, its yo form is not irregular. Also, like other irregular verbs, with the exception of ir, the nosotros(as) and vosotros(as) form conjugate under normal rules. In dormir, o turns into ue.


 * duermo - I sleep
 * duermes - you sleep (singular)
 * duerme - he/she sleeps
 * dormimos - we sleep
 * dormís - you sleep (plural)
 * duermen - they sleep

Note: Always remember that usted (Ud.) and ustedes (Uds.) conjugate into the 3rd person form.

Poder (to be able)
Poder is yet another one of the handful of irregular Spanish verbs, it shares the same rule as dormir with the o changing to ue except in the nosotros(as) and vosotros(as) forms.


 * puedo - I can
 * puedes - you can (singular)
 * puede - he/she can
 * podemos - we can
 * podéis - you can (plural)
 * pueden - they can

Note: Remember the usted (Ud.) and usteded (Uds.) rule yet?

Vocabulario adicional

 * azul claro - light blue
 * azul marino - navy blue
 * azul oscuro - dark blue
 * música clásica - classical music
 * música folclórica - folk music
 * música hip-hop - hip-hop
 * música rap - rap
 * música reggeton - reggeton
 * música rock - rock music
 * música jazz - jazz
 * música latina - latin
 * música bailable - dancing music
 * música romántica - romantic
 * música lenta - slow
 * el blues - blues (as a musical genre)

Cultural Insight (Music)
Music is the common way of expressing culture in Spanish-speaking countries. In most countries, such as Cuba, musicians line the streets, playing traditional tunes and giving the streets flavor, rhythm, and vibrant life. Music in Latin America has been influenced by Spanish, Native American, African, and more recently, American styles. Spanish music was influenced by Arabic and Roman styles.

Country Focus (Colombia)
Colombia (Spanish: Colombia) is a country located in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Atlantic Ocean, through the Caribbean Sea; to the north-west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia also shares maritime borders with the Caribbean countries of Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and the Central American countries of Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Colombia is the 26th largest nation in the world and the fourth-largest in South America (after Brazil, Argentina, and Peru), with an area more than twice that of France. It also has the second largest population in South America after Brazil. Colombia is also the fourth most populous Spanish-speaking nation in the world after Mexico, the United States and Spain.

The territory of what is now Colombia was originally inhabited by indigenous tribes which had migrated from North and Central America, including the Muisca, Quimbaya, and Tairona. To the south lay the Inca Empire. The Spanish arrived in 1499, and initiated a period of conquest and colonisation which ultimately led to the creation of the Viceroyalty of New Granada (comprising what is now Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama) with its capital at Bogotá. Independence from Spain was won in 1819, but by 1830 "Gran Colombia" had collapsed with the secession of Venezuela and Ecuador. Modern day Colombia, with Panama, emerged as the Republic of New Granada. The new nation experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation (1858), and then the United States of Colombia (1863), before the Republic of Colombia was finally declared in 1886. Panama seceded in 1903.



Colombia has a long tradition of constitutional government, and the Conservative and Liberal parties, founded in 1843 and 1848 respectively, are two of the oldest surviving political parties in the Americas. However, tensions between the two have frequently erupted into violence, most notably in the Thousand Days War (1899-1902) and La Violencia, beginning in 1948. Since the 1960s, government forces have been engaged in conflict with left-wing insurgents and illegal right-wing paramilitaries. Fuelled by the cocaine trade, this escalated dramatically in the 1990s. However, the insurgents lack the military or popular support necessary to overthrow the government, and in recent years the violence has been decreasing. Insurgents continue attacks against civilians, and large swathes of the countryside remain under guerrilla influence, but the Colombian government has stepped up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, and now has a presence in every one of its municipalities.



Colombia is a standing middle power with the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world after Mexico. Colombian culture lies at the crossroads of Latin America, and is distinguished by having a very multicultural society. European, African, Native American, American, Middle Eastern, and other Latin American cultural influences such as Mexico and the Caribbean are all felt in Colombia's modern culture.

Factbox:

-Official Languages: Spanish

-Other Languages: English, Native American languages, French

-Capital: Bogotá

-Government: Democracy



-Area: 1,138,914 sq km (440,839 sq mi) (26th)

-Population: 45,586,233 (29th)

-Religion: Christianity (90% Catholic, other Christian 5%) 95%, Non-religious 1.9%, Traditional beliefs 1%, other (Islam, Buddhism, Judaism) 2.1%

-Human Development: 0.807 (77th, HIGH)

-Independence: August 7, 1819

-Currency: Colombian peso