Spanish 2Unit 6

Grammar

• the difference between “saber” and “conocer”• how to conjugate -ar verbs in the preterite tense (including -car, -gar, and –zar)

By Melinda McCorkle

Learn . . .

“Saber” and “Conocer”

Saber - to know (a fact or how to do something)

Conocer - to know (a person, place, or general subject)

Yo sé Nosotros sabemos

Tú sabes Vosotros sabéis

Él/Ella sabe Ellos/Ellas saben

Yo conozco Nosotros conocemos

Tú conoces Vosotros conocéis

Él/Ella conoce Ellos/Ellas conocen

Both “saber” and “conocer” have irregular yo forms in the present tense.

Use Saber . . .• to talk about factual information you know.Example: Sé cuánto cuesta el bate.

I know how much the bat costs.

• +infinitive to say that you know how to do something.Example: Nicolás sabe patinar muy bien.

Nicolas knows how to skate very well.

Use Conocer . . .

• when you want to say that you are familiar with a person/place.

Example: Conozco a tu hermano David. 

I know your brother David.

How to Conjugate –ar verbs in the preterite tense

Use the preterite tense to talk about actions completed in the past.

Yo - é Nosotros - amos

Tú - aste Vosotros - asteis

Él/Ella - ó Ellos/Ellas - aron

*The yo and usted/él/ella forms have an accent over the final vowel.*The nosotros form is the same in the preterite as in the present tense.

Preterite Tense

Examples:

You lifted weights yesterday. Tú levantaste pesas ayer.

I swam in the sea. Nadé en el mar.

We walked on the beach. Caminamos en la playa.

Maria skated. Maria patinó.

They watched the game. Ellos miraron el partido.

Preterite of -car, -gar, and -zar verbs

Regular verbs that end in -car, -gar, or -zar have a spelling change in the yo form of the preterite.

VERB TRANSITION RESULT

buscar c becomes qu

(yo) busqué

jugar g becomes gu

(yo) jugué

almorzar z becomes c

(yo) almorcé

-car verbs

-car

quéExamples:

Yo practiqué deportes. Yo saqué la basura. I practiced sports. I took out the trash.

Yo busqué el libro. Yo toqué la guitarra.I looked for the book. I played the guitar.

-gar verbs

-gar

gué

Examples:

Yo jugué al beisbol. Yo pagué para la camisa.I played baseball. I paid for the shirt.

Yo llegué al fiesta.

I arrived at the party.

-zar verbs

-zar

cé

Example:

Yo almorcé en la cafetería.

I ate lunch in the cafeteria.

MINI QUIZ!Saber and Conocer:

1) Yo _______ cantar.

2) ¿Tú ________ dónde Maria vive?

3) El profesor _________ a cada uno en la clase.

4) Yo __________ la escuela.

5) ___________ a tu hermano David. 

sé I know how to sing.

Do you know where Maria lives?sabes

conoce The teacher knows everyone in the school.

conozco

I know the school.

Conozco I know your brother David.

MINI QUIZ (continued)

Preterite tense Conjugation:

1) Él _______ en el mar. 2) Ellos __________ a la música.a. nadó b. nadaste a. escucha b. escuchéc. nadar d. cantar c. miraron d. escucharon

3) Tú _________ en la playa. 4) Nosotros __________ un película.a. caminar b. caminaste a. mirar b. miróc. caminé d. caminaron c. hacer d. miramos

MINI QUIZ (continued)

Preterite Tense (-car, -gar, and -zar):

Connect the irregular verb ending with their yo form conjugation.

-car gué-gar cé-zar qué

Fill in the blank.

1) Yo ________________ deportes. (practicar)

2) Yo ________________ en la cafetería. (almorzar)

3) Yo ________________ la guitarra. (jugar)

practiqué

almorcé

jugué

MINI QUIZ (continued)

REVIEW:Describe each picture using the preterite tense of the verb.

__________________ ____________________ ______________

__________________

Ellos . . . Él . . . Tú . . .

Yo . . . _____________________Nosotros . . .

miraron buceó caminaste

nadé tomamos el sol

THINGS TO REMEMBER . . .

• Use “saber” to talk about knowing facts or how to do something.

• Use “conocer” to talk about knowing a person or place.

• Both “saber” and “concocer” have irregular yo forms.

• Use preterite tense to talk about things that happened in the past.

• The nosotros form is the same for preterite and present

tense.

• In preterite tense, the -car, -gar, and -zar verbs are only different in the yo form.

• Both the yo and the él/ella forms in preterite tense have accent marks.