Spanish 2/Chapter 1 (Classroom Events)

To talk about what you do in class
Note that sacar is regular in the preterite, with the exception of the yo-form.
 * aprender de memoria / memorizar - to memorize / to learn by heart
 * contestar - to answer
 * dar un discurso - to give a speech
 * discutir - to discuss
 * explicar - to explain
 * examen (el) - the exam
 * hacer una pregunta - to ask a question
 * informe (el) - report
 * laboratorio - laboratory
 * palabra - word
 * pedir ayuda - to ask for help
 * proyecto - project
 * sacar (un lápiz, una hoja de papel) - to take out (a pencil, a piece of paper)
 * sacar una buena nota - to get a good grade
 * saqué - I got / took out
 * sacaste - you got / took out (singular)
 * tomar apuntes - take notes in class
 * tomar nota - take a note (mentally or on paper) of something important

Classroom rules

 * a tiempo - on time
 * temprano - early
 * entregar - to turn in
 * llegar tarde - to arrive late
 * obedecer - obey
 * prestar atención - to pay attention
 * regla - rule
 * respetar - to respect
 * se prohíbe... - it's forbidden...

School objects

 * armario - locker
 * asiento - seat
 * carnet de identidad / identificación - I.D. card
 * cinta adhesiva - transparent tape
 * engrapadora / grapadora - stapler
 * escritorio - desk
 * materiales - supplies, materials
 * pupitre - student's desk
 * tijeras - scissors

Note: In northern Mexico, the United States, and Puerto Rico, locker is used more commonly than armario.

Negative and affirmative words

 * algo - something, anything
 * alguien - someone, anyone
 * algún, alguna, algunos(as) - some, any
 * siempre - always
 * nada - nothing
 * nadie - no one, nobody
 * ningún, ninguno(a) - no, none, not any
 * nunca - never
 * nunca jamás - never ever

Other words

 * conocer - to know
 * lo que - what
 * sobre - on, about

Almorzar (to have lunch)
Almorzar is a stem-changing verbs. To conjugate almorzar or any similar verb, in the present tense replace o to ue in those cases in which it is the tonic syllable (the three singulars and the third person plural). Tenses derived from the present — the imperative, the subjunctive mood — have the same change. Remember that the nosotros(as) and vosotros(as) forms don't need to be stem-changed.


 * almuerzo - I have lunch
 * almuerzas - you have lunch (singular)
 * almuerza - he/she has lunch
 * almorzamos - we have lunch
 * almorzáis - you have lunch (plural)
 * almuerzan - they have lunch

Note that almorzar is regular in the preterite, with the exception of the yo-form.


 * almorcé - I had lunch
 * almorzaste - you had lunch (singular)

Empezar (to start, to begin)
Empezar conjugates by dropping the e and replacing it with ie. Remember that the nosotros(as) and vosotros(as) forms don't need to be stem-changed.


 * empiezo - I start, I begin
 * empiezas - you start, you begin (singular)
 * empieza - he/she starts, he/she begins
 * empezamos - we start, we begin
 * empezáis - you start, you begin (plural)
 * empiezan - they start, they begin

Note that empezar is regular in the preterite, with the exception of the yo-form.

Comenzar follows the same pattern!
 * empecé - I started, I began
 * empezaste - you started, you began (singular)

Entender (to understand)
Entender has the same rule of conjugation as empezar in which the e is dropped to be replaced by ie.


 * entiendo - I understand
 * entiendes - you understand (singular)
 * entiende - he/she understands
 * entendemos - we understand
 * entendéis - you understand (plural)
 * entienden - they understand

Repetir (to repeat)
Repetir is also another stem-changing verb that is conjugates by dropping the e and replacing it with an i.


 * repito - I repeat
 * repites - you repeat (singular)
 * repite - he/she repeats
 * repetimos - we repeat
 * repetís - you repeat (plural)
 * repiten - they repeat

Vocabulario adicional

 * anotar - to take notes
 * ensayo - essay
 * reflexionar - to reflect on, to think about
 * responder - to respond
 * resumen - summary

Cultural Insight (Mexico City)
Mexico City (Ciudad de México), now CDMX, is the capital city of Mexico. It is the most important economic, industrial and cultural center in the country, and the most populous city with 8,918,653 inhabitants in 2018. Greater Mexico City (Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México) incorporates 58 adjacent municipalities of Mexico State and 1 municipality of the state of Hidalgo, according to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and state governments. In the last national census (2018) Greater Mexico City had a population of 21.2 million people, making it the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere and the third largest in the world by population.

Mexico City is located in the Valley of Mexico, also called the Valley of Anáhuac, a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 meters (7,349 ft). It was originally built by the Aztecs in 1325 on an island of Lake Texcoco. The city was almost completely destroyed in the siege of 1521, and was redesigned and rebuilt in the following years following the Spanish urban standards. In 1524 the municipality of Mexico City was established, known as La Nueva España then after Independence as Distrito Federal (Mexico Tenochtitlán), and as of 2016 it is officially known as Ciudad de México.