Colonel Harris Talks About His Family's Arrival

14.1 Basic Sentences — Colonel Harris Talks About His Family’s Arrival

Colonel Harris is speaking to Molina and White after the introductions. His family is arriving tomorrow, and he discusses his plans and living arrangements.

New Vocabulary

English	Spanish
satisfied, contented	contento
besides	además
(they) come (to come)	vienen (venir)
the boat	el barco
by boat	en barco
the plane	el avión
by plane	por avión
(they’re) going to come	van a venir
the mother-in-law	la suegra
(she) gets seasick (to get seasick)	se marea (marearse)
the wife	la esposa
the child	el niño
the son	el hijo
the male	el varón
the (small) girl	la niña
Bellavista	Bellavista
behind, in back of	detrás de
the park	el parque
really (real)	realmente (real)
(it) is worth (to be worth)	vale (valer)
the sorrow, grief	la pena
(it) is worthwhile	vale la pena
the section (of a town)	el barrio
above	sobre
above all, especially	sobre todo
the sister	la hermana
the airport	el aeropuerto
(you’re) going to go	va a ir
the order	la orden
at your service	a sus órdenes
the car	el carro
the disposition	la disposición
at your disposal	a su disposición
look (to look)	mire (mirar)
(we’re) going to talk	vamos a hablar

Dialog

English	Spanish
Are you enjoying it here, Colonel?	¿Está contento aquí, Coronel?
Yes, very much so.	Sí, muy contento.
Besides, my family arrives tomorrow.	Además, mañana llega mi familia.
Are they coming by boat?	¿Vienen en barco?
No, they’re coming by plane.	No, van a venir por avión.
My mother-in-law gets seasick in a ship.	Mi suegra se marea en barco.
Oh, your mother-in-law’s coming too?	Ah, ¿viene su suegra también?
Yes, she’s coming with my wife and the children.	Sí, viene con mi esposa y con los niños.
How many children do you have?	¿Cuántos hijos tiene?
Three. Two boys and a girl.	Tres. Dos varones y una niña.
Do you have a house yet?	¿Ya tiene casa?
Yes, in Bellavista, on the other side of the park.	Sí, en Bellavista detrás del parque.
It’s really worthwhile to live in that section.	Realmente vale la pena vivir en ese barrio.
It’s very quiet.	Es muy tranquilo.
And it’s an especially good place for kids.	Y sobre todo, bueno para los niños.
A married sister of mine lives there.	Una hermana mía casada vive allí.
What time are you going to the airport?	¿A qué hora va a ir usted al aeropuerto?
At one.	A la una.
Let me know if I can help you.	Estoy a sus órdenes para ayudarle.
My car is at your disposal.	Mi carro está a su disposición.
Thanks, Molina. Look, the girls are waiting for you all.	Gracias, Molina. Mire, las muchachas los están esperando.
So long. We’ll talk later.	Hasta luego. Vamos a hablar después.

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14.10 Notes on the Basic Sentences

(1) The translation of contento in this sentence is far from literal, but there is no very satisfactory literal translation possible. It does not mean “contented” or “satisfied” or even “happy” in the sense that English speakers would mean in “Are you happy?” The sentence just means “Are things going smoothly, is life treating you right?”

(2) Note that English does not normally repeat the preposition before a double object; Spanish does: compare “with my wife and the children” with con mi esposa y con los niños.

(3) The word ya has received a variety of translations: “already” (Ya está aquí — He’s already here), “yet” (¿Ya está aquí? — Is he here yet?), “right away” (Ya voy — I’m coming right away), “now” (Ya estamos llegando — We’re arriving now), “any longer” (Ya no — Not any longer).

(4) It should be noted that vamos a hablar could mean “Let’s talk” instead of “We’ll talk.” The form vamos a + infinitive is also used in the hortatory sense. It will be examined more closely and drilled in Unit 28.

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14.2 Drills and Grammar

Present Tense Forms of Irregular Verbs ir, dar, ver

These three verbs are irregular in their 1st singular forms and share certain patterns. The verb ir has a special stem v- in the present tense that conjugates like a regular -ar verb except for the added final -y in voy. The verb dar is irregular only in having a final -y on the 1st singular form doy. The verb ver has its regular stem v- in all forms except 1st singular where the stem ve- occurs in veo. All monosyllabic conjugated forms carry stress on their endings.

	ir (to go)	dar (to give)	ver (to see)
yo	voy	doy	veo
tú	vas	das	ves
usted / él / ella	va	da	ve
nosotros	vamos	damos	vemos
ustedes / ellos / ellas	van	dan	ven

Translation Drill — ir, dar, ver

English	Spanish
I’m not going now.	Yo no voy ahora.
She’s going to the wedding.	Ella va a la boda.
They never give anything.	Ellos nunca dan nada.
Let’s go right away.	Vamos en seguida.
Why aren’t you all going?	¿Por qué no van Uds.?
I always look at the ads.	Siempre veo los anuncios.
From time to time I go to that restaurant.	De vez en cuando voy a ese restorán.
How many ladies are going?	¿Cuántas señoras van?
I’m giving all my old clothes.	Yo doy toda mi ropa vieja.
He doesn’t give many tips.	El no da muchas propinas.
We give too many tips.	Damos demasiadas propinas.

The Periphrastic Future Construction

The periphrastic future construction has three component forms: (1) a conjugated form of the verb ir, (2) the phrase relator a, and (3) an infinitive. These elements are usually not separated by any other forms. This construction is a roundabout way of expressing future time — a rather close equivalent of the English “to be going to…” construction. Spanish has a future tense (presented in Unit 53), but the periphrastic future occurs more frequently in most dialects.

	ir	+ a	+ infinitive
yo	voy
tú	vas
Ud. / él / ella	va	a	hablar / comer / vivir
nosotros	vamos
Uds. / ellos / ellas	van

The construction frequently brings two or three a phonemes into immediate sequence. The normal phonetic reduction to a single a in conversation may appear to be an omission of the relator. Thus va a comer becomes va comer in speech, but the relator becomes evident again with van: van a comer.

In its 1st plural form, this construction can express future time (Vamos a estudiar esta noche — “We’re going to study tonight”) or a hortatory construction (Vamos a comer — “Let’s eat”).

Translation Drill — Periphrastic Future

English	Spanish
We’re going to repeat that.	Vamos a repetir eso.
I’m going to shave.	Voy a afeitarme.
What are you going to do?	¿Qué va a hacer Ud.?
Where are you going to work?	¿Dónde va a trabajar?
I’m going to take a bath.	Voy a bañarme.
He’s not going to stick his foot in his mouth again.	El no va a meter la pata otra vez.
They’re going to practice some more.	Van a practicar más.
They’re going to look for a house.	Van a buscar casa.
We’re going to take a trip.	Vamos a hacer un viaje.

Yes-No Question Intonation

The most common intonation pattern for yes-no questions — particularly when the questioner does not anticipate whether the answer will be “yes” or “no” — is /1 2 2 2 ↑/. This pattern will give English speakers relatively little difficulty since it is very similar to an English pattern with the same meaning. The English pattern, however, ends somewhat higher, and this extra height might be interpreted as insistence or annoyance in Spanish.

Pattern	Meaning
/1 2 1 1 ↓/	Statement (normal)
/1 2 2 2 ↑/	Yes-no question (neutral)

Review Drill — Theme Class in -do Forms of Verbs

English	Spanish
I’ve talked and eaten a lot.	He hablado y comido mucho.
I’ve gone up and down a lot.	He bajado y subido mucho.
I’ve studied and translated very little.	He estudiado y traducido muy poco.
I’ve danced and gone out very little.	He bailado y salido muy poco.
I’ve studied and learned a little.	He estudiado y aprendido un poco.
I’ve washed and swept everything.	He lavado y barrido todo.
I’ve eaten and drunk too much.	He almorzado y bebido demasiado.
I’ve taken and brought back the car.	He llevado y traído el auto.
I’ve arranged and swept the room.	He arreglado y barrido el cuarto.
I’ve bought and brought everything.	He comprado y traído todo.
I’ve worked and lived there.	He trabajado y vivido ahí.

Note: The full drills and practice exercises are designed for oral work with the audio recordings. Open the Student Text PDF for the complete drill sets.