Semana 5 – El hogar
Learning Objectives
This week we are going to learn:
- Home vocabulary: rooms and furniture
- Prepositions of place
- Comparative and superlative
Vocabulario: el hogar (home)
This week we’re going more in-depth with el hogar; we’re talking about the different rooms or spaces in a house.
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Despacho |
Office |
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Dormitorio |
Bedroom |
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Cuarto de baño |
Bathroom/toilet |
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Pasillo |
Hallway |
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Salón |
Living Room |
|
living Room |
Dining Room |
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Cocina |
Kitchen |
We’re also going to learn the furnishings of a home, according to the relevant room.
El salón:
|
El sofa |
The couch |
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La lámpara |
The lamp |
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La alfombra |
The rug |
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El sillón |
Armchair |
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La estanteria |
The bookshelf |
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La mesita |
The coffee table |
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El cuadro |
The picture |
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La chimenea |
The fireplace |
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La escalera |
The staircase |
La cocina:
|
El frigorífico o el refrigerador |
The fridge |
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El fregadero |
The sink |
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La sartén |
The pan |
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La cafetera |
Coffee machine |
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La hornilla |
The stovetop |
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El horno |
The oven |
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La despensa |
The pantry |
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La alacena |
The cupboard |
El baño:
|
El espejo |
The mirror |
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El inodoro |
The toilet |
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El lavabo |
The sink |
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La bañera |
The tub |
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La ducha |
The shower |
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La toalla: |
The towel |
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La alfombrilla |
The rug |
El dormitorio:
|
La cama |
The bed |
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La almohada |
The pillow |
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El armario |
The closet |
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La mesita de noche |
Bedside table |
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La cómoda |
The dresser |
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El tocador |
The dresser |
Adjetivos para comparar decoración y arte:
|
Abstracto/a |
Abstract |
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Absurdo/a |
Absurd |
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Alegre |
Happy |
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Bello/a |
Beautiful |
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Brillante |
Brilliant, shining, glowing |
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Caprichoso/a |
Capricious, whimsical |
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Claro/a, clear |
Light-colored |
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Concreto/a |
Concrete |
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Conservador/a |
Conservative |
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Curioso/a |
Curious, odd, weird |
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Extraño/a |
Strange, foreign |
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Espantoso/a |
Frightening |
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Colorido |
Colorful |
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Minimalista |
Minimalist |
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Obscuro/a |
Dark |
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Realista: |
Realistic |
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Sorpredente |
Surprising |
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Único/a |
Unique, sole, only |
Let’s have a look at some examples using some of the vocabulary from above.
Ejemplo
a. Luisa está durmiendo en su cama, ¿dónde crees que está?
b. En su dormitorio porque normalmente la cama está en el dormitorio.
a. Mamá está esperando en el coche porque es muy impaciente, ¿dónde crees que está?
b. En la cochera, porque es el lugar donde está aparcado el coche.
a. La abuela, que es muy fiestera, está preparándose un Bloody Mary, ¿dónde crees que está?
b. En la cocina porque es el lugar donde preparamos la comida y las bebidas.
a. Olga está buscando mi libro en la estantería, ¿dónde puede estar?”
b. En el salón, aunque puede estar en el despacho también.
a. Israel está limpiando el inodoro, ¿dónde crees que está?
b. En el baño.
Preposiciones de lugar
We use prepositions of place to express where things are located relative to other things or people. This will make more sense if we look at some:
|
Al lado de |
Next to |
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Delante de/en frente de |
In front of/opposite |
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Detrás de |
Behind |
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Dentro de |
Inside |
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Fuera de |
Outside |
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Encima de |
On top of |
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Debajo de |
Under |
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Arriba |
Upstairs; up |
|
Abajo |
Downstairs; down |
|
Alrededor |
Around |
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Entre |
Between |
Don’t forget to use the definite articles (el, la, los, las) with the nouns:
Ejemplo
El gato está dentro de la caja The cat is inside the box
As with many things in Spanish, learning these takes practice. Remember to use these prepositions with the verb estar.
Comparativos
Comparative sentences are used to compare two or more things, people, or concepts. These sentences normally use comparative adjectives or adverbs to indicate the degree of difference between the items being compared.
In Spanish, there are two overall types of comparisons we can make:
- comparisons of equality (we are just as tall as each other)
- comparisons of inequality (I am taller than you)
Within these two types of comparisons, we can compare the following things:
- actions -doing words/verbs (I study more than you do)
- qualities – descriptive words/adjectives (I am just as tall as you are)
- things/nouns – (I have more sheep than you)
There are specific rules and formulas or constructions to use for each of these comparisons. To understand the sentence structure of these sentences, we will use some formulas, like maths, but not quite.
Let’s start with the comparisons of equality and compare some qualities using either adjectives or adverbs.
Here we need to compare using the formula:
tan + adjective/adverb + como this expresses the idea _____
is just as + adjective + as
Fórmula fija: nombre/s + es/son + tan + adjetivo + como + nombre
Ejemplos
El gato es tan azul como la gata The male cat is just as blue as the female cat
La gata es tan hermosa como el gato The female cat is just as beautiful as the male cat
La gata es tan grande como el gato The female cat is just as big as the male cat
Let’s continue with our comparisons of equality but move on to how to compare quantities with nouns.
Here we need to compare using the formula:
tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas + nombre + como
This expresses the idea just as many/much + quantity + as
¡OJO! the expression tanto/os/a/as/ here must agree in gender and number with what is being compared!
Ejemplos
El gato come tanto atún como la gata The male cat eats just as much tuna as the female cat
El gato come tanta pizza como la gata The male cat eats just as much pizza as the female cat
La gata tiene tantos ratones como el gato The female cat has just as many rats as the male cat
La gata tiene tantas hamburguesas como el gato The female cat has just as many burgers as the male cat
To conclude the comparisons of equality, let’s move on to how to compare actions with verbs.
Here we need to compare using the formula:
Verbo + tanto como
this expresses the idea “x does this action just as much as y”
Ejemplos
El gato come tanto como la gata The male cat eats as much as the female cat
El gato camina tanto como la gata The male cat walks as much as the female cat
La gata se lava el pelo tanto como el gato The male washes his hair as much as the female cat
La gata duerme tanto como el gato The female cat sleeps as much as the male cate
Let’s move on to the comparisons of inequality. These follow a similar set of options. The math doesn´t stop there, but you are getting familiar with the formulas now, right?
Let’s start with comparisons of inequality using adjectives to compare qualities.
Here we need to compare using the formula:
Más/menos + que + adjective
This expresses the idea that “x has more/less of this adjective/trait than y”
Ejemplos
El gato es más gordo que la gata The male cat is fatter than the female cat
La gata es menos gorda que el gato The female cat is less fat than the male cat
La gata es más grande que el gato The female cat is taller than the male cat
El gato es menos elegante que la gata The male cat is less elegant than the female cat
Note: there are a few ideas that should be expressed differently. They don’t sound right if you use the above structure: these are older than, younger than, better than and worse than.
- más grande/viejo que: “mayor que”
- menos grande/viejo que: “menor que”
- más bueno que: “mejor que”
- menos bueno que: “peor que”
Ejemplos
La gata es mayor que el gato sounds better than la gata es más vieja que el gato
Let’s continue with comparisons of inequality using nouns to compare quantities.
Here, we need to compare using the formula:
Más/menos + noun + que +
This expresses the idea that “x has more/less of this noun than y”
Ejemplos
El gato come más atún que la gata The male cat eats more tuna than the female cat
La gata tiene menos comida que el gato The female cat has less food than the male cat
El gato tiene más hambre que la gata The male cat has more hunger than the female cat
La gata tiene menos hambre que el gato The female cat is less hungry than the male cat
Let’s finish off our comparisons of inequality using verbs to compare activities.
Here we need to compare using the formula:
Verb + más/menos + que
This expresses the idea that “x does more/less of this verb/activity than y”
Ejemplos
El gato come más que la gata The male cat eats more than the female cat
La gata come menos que el gato The female cat eats less than the male cat
El gato duerme más que la gata The male cat sleeps more than the female cat
La gata ronronea menos que el gato The female cat purrs less than the male cat
Finally, just a word on superlatives.
The superlatives are very similar to our comparisons above, but they are used to express an extreme idea about qualities or traits. They take the comparison to the highest degree. You use this to express things like: Jimi Hendrix is the best guitarist in the world.
Fórmula: el/la/los/las (nombre) + más/menos + adjetivo + de + artículo + lugar
Ejemplos
Flora es la gata más grande del mundo Flora is the largest cat in the world!
Purro es el gato más negro de la casa Purro is the blackest cat in the house
Flora es la gata más presumida del barrio Flora is the smuggest cat in the neighbourhood
Purro es el gato más pequeño del vecindario Purro is the smallest cat in the neighbourhood
Was this week a little easier than last week’s? If you think you need to review some adjectives to be able to describe them, this is time to check your vocabulary lists.
¡Hasta pronto!
