Sep
2
2010
Spanish Language By admin | No comments yet

Spanish Lesson Intermediate 4 How to use Presente de Subjuntivo when expressing hopes and wishes

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¡Hola a todos!

En lecciones anteriores hemos visto la forma del Presente de Subjuntivo. Hoy vamos a explicar uno de los usos de este tiempo.

In previous lessons we have seen the form of the Presente de Subjuntivo. Today, we are going to analyse one of the uses of this tense. We use the presente de subjuntivo when expressing hopes and wishes. We use it when the person refered to in the sentence is not the same person as the one who is hoping.

For example:

VERBO ESPERAR

Esperar que + subjuntivo: To hope that
Espero que ganes mucho dinero: I hope you win a lot of money
Espero ganar mucho dinero: I hope I win a lot of money

VERBO QUERER

Querer que + subjuntivo: To want that
Quiero que ganes mucho dinero: I want you to win a lot of money
Quiero ganar mucho dinero: I want to win a lot of money

VERBO DESEAR

Desear que + subjuntivo: To desire/wish that
Deseo que ganes mucho dinero: I desire that you win a lot of money
Deseo ganar mucho dinero: I desire to win a lot of money

OJALÁ

Ojalá (que)+ subjuntive: I hope/wish
Ojala (que) ganes mucho dinero: I hope you win a lot of money
Ojalá (que) gane mucho dinero: I hope I win a lot of money

QUE + SUBJUNTIVO

Que te mejores: I hope you get better
Que cumplas muchos más: I wish you many happy returns
Que lo pases bien: I hope you have a good time
Que tengas suerte: I wish you good luck
Que aproveche: I hope you enjoy your meal
Que todo salga bien: I hope everything goes well
Que tengas buen viaje: I hope you have a good trip
Que duermas bien: I hope you sleep well
Que te vaya bien: I wish you all the best
Que te sea leve: I hope it’s not too bad
Que seáis muy felices: I hope you are very happy
Que te diviertas: I hope you have fun

It takes some time to learn and use the Spanish subjuntivo properly, but as you can see from the examples we have discussed today it features a lot in everyday conversation. It is really important that you start learning and using the subjuntivo at Intermediate level once you are already confident with the regular indicative verb tenses.

Espero que practiquéis este uso esta semana

Que paseís un buen día

¡Hasta pronto!

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Sep
2
2010
Spanish Language By admin | No comments yet

Tan and Tanto

Tan and tanto are obviously related to each other, and they are both used in making what are known as comparisons of equality. However, they are not used the same way: Tan is used with adverbs and adjectives, while tanto (and its variations) is used with nouns.

Sep
1
2010
German Language By admin | No comments yet

Grüne Hand

 My sister has a beautiful garden as you can tell by the photograph. My garden on the other hand looks pitiful in comparison. I definitely don’t have eine grüne Hand. I much prefer the German way of this idiom since one tends to use the whole hand when gardening. Click on German Hand Idioms to see similar idioms.

Sep
1
2010
German Language By admin | No comments yet

Prepositions that require the DATIVE CASE

In one of my previous posts I started discussing about prepositions and which grammar cases they require for the following noun. In this post I am going to give some examples sentence with very common prepositions that require the DATIVE CASE.

The German prepositions, which require the dative case are: aus, bei, mit, von, seit, and zu. I will highlight all the case endings of the DATIVE CASE in GREEN. Additionally, I will provide the NOMINATIVE form of the noun in parentheses and I will also highlight the case endings for that grammar case in BLUE, so that you have the opportunity to recognize where and how the case endings change.

The German preposition AUS means either “out of” or “from” in English:

Sie trinkt den Kaffee aus der Tasse. – She is drinking the coffee out of the cup. (die Tasse; sgl. f.)

Ich komme aus der Stadt Berlin. – I come from the town Berlin. (die Stadt; sgl. f.)

Er schaut aus dem Fenster.  – He is looking out of the window. (das Fenster; sgl. n.)

Ihr könnt aus den Gläsern trinken. – You can drink out of the glasses. (die Gläser; pl.)

The German preposition BEI means “at” in English:

Ich übernachte bei meinem Freund. – I stay the night at my boyfriend’s place. (der Freund; sgl. m.)

Ich übernachte bei meiner Freundin . – I stay the night at my girlfriend’s place. (die Freundin; sgl. f.)

Ich übernachte bei meinen Freunden. – I stay the night at my friends’ place. (die Freunde; pl.)

The German preposition MIT means “with” in English:

Ich spreche mit meinem Mann. – I am talking with my husband. (der Mann; sgl. m.)

Ich spreche mit meiner Frau. – I am talking with my wife. (die Frau; sgl. f.)

Ich spreche mit meinem Kind. – I am talking with my child. (das Kind; sgl. n.)

Ich spreche mit meinen Freunden. – I am talking with my friends. (die Freunde; pl.)

The German preposition SEIT means “since” in English:

Seit vergangenem Monat bin ich krank. – Since last month I am sick. (der Monat, sgl. m.)

Seit vergangener Woche bin ich krank. – Since last week I am sick. (die Woche; sgl. f.)

Seit vergagenem Jahr bin ich krank. – Since last year I am sick. (das Jahr; sgl. n.)

The German preposition VON means “from” in English:

Der Brief ist von meinem Freund. – The letter is from my boyfriend. (der Freund, sgl. m.)

Der Brief ist von meiner Freundin. – The letter is from my girlfriend. (die Freundin, sgl. f.)

Das Geschenk ist von meinem Kind. – The gift is from my child. (das Kind; sgl. n.)

Das Geschenk ist von meinen Freunden. – The gift is from my friends. (die Freunde; pl.)

The German preposition ZU means “to” in English:

Ich fahre zu meinem Freund. – I go to my boyfriend. (der Freund; sgl. m.)

Ich fahre zu meiner Freundin. – I go to my girlfriend. (die Freundin; sgl. f.)

Ich fahre zu meinem Kind. – I go to my child. (das Kind; sgl. n.)

Ich fahre zu meinen Freunden. – I go to my friends. (die Freunde; pl.)

As a rule of thumb:

When you have to use a noun in the dative case, all other parts of speech, which could precede the noun (definite articles, indefinite articles, personal pronouns or adjectives) will get the following endings:

- all masculine nouns get the ending -em (der -> dem; ein -> einem; mein -> meinem; nett -> nettem)

- all feminine nouns get the ending -er (die -> der; ein -> einer; mein -> meiner; nett -> netter)

- all neuter nouns get the ending -em (das -> dem; ein -> einem; mein -> meinem; nett ->nettem)

all plural forms, regardless of their grammatical gender, get the ending -en (die -> den; ——; mein -> meinen; nett -> netten)

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Sep
1
2010
Japanese Language By admin | No comments yet

Japanese Directors

The Japanese film industry and its film directors are a force to be reckoned with. These directors have received critical acclaim and a place in film history as great directors.

Hideo Nakata (中田秀夫) is responsible for directing Ring (リング) and Dark Water (仄暗い水の底から). His movies have been so popular, they’ve been remade for English speaking audiences. His 2010 film Chatroom is a joint production with the U.K. and was screened at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

Takashi Miike’s (三池崇史,) well known works include Audition (オーディション) and Ichi the Killer (殺し屋１,). His movies contain either gangs, violence, sexual perversions, blood, death, torture, or all of the above. Fans love his movies because they push the boundaries of social propriety.

Takeshi Kitano’s (北野武,) successful movies include Sonatine (ソナチネ) and Hanabi (はなび). Before Kitano became a director, he was a well regarded actor. Sonatine and Hanabi solidified his career as a director and gave him the respect he deserved as a director.

Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎駿,) is famous for directing animated films such as Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ,), Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫,), Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し,), Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (崖の上のポニョ) and other films. His films often feature children as the protagonists and are set in a fantasy world.

Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) is known for directing Seven Samurai (七人の侍), Yōjimbo (用心棒,), Ran (乱) and Ikiru (生きる). Kurosawa has earned the respect of international audiences and film critics. His movies are considered classics and studied by film students all over the world.

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