Infinitve verbs

Question

Hello again

I've just finished the lesson on AR, ER, and IR verbs(Present tense). I tried to form my own sentences and I wanna know if my sentences are grammatically correct. Please correct my mistakes. Gracias

1. (Yo) toco la guitarra muy bien (I play the guitar very well)
2. (Yo) no bailo muy bien (I don't dance very well)
3. (Nosotros) trabajamos todos los dias (We work everyday)
4. Ella come mucho (She eats a lot)
5. Ellos no beben cerveza (They don't drink beer)
6. (Yo) vivo en Mejico ahora con mi abuelo (I live in Mexico now with my grandfather)
7. Ellas practican cada sabado (They practice every Saturday)
8. El enseña Español (He teaches Spanish)

9. ¿(Tú) trabajas temprano? (Do you work early?)

10. ¿Estudia ella? (Does she study?)

11. ¿Hablan mucho ellos (Do they talk a lot?)

changed category to *proofreading* - Izanoni1, Feb 28, 2010

While on the subject of grammar...."wanna"? - gadjetman, Feb 28, 2010

los días, with an eccent. - Eddy, Feb 28, 2010

Answer 1

I don't have to include the pronouns b'coz [sic]the verbs will tell who's doing the action.

I noted, Estudiante F (should probably be Estudiante "A") that you implied understanding of not needing the pronouns due to the inflection of the verbs by yourself including them in parentheses.

And indeed, one would, on the other hand, require them if the reader or listener cannot tell from context whether you are writing or speaking about "el", or "ella", "ellos" or "ella"- in your sentences here, I mean in these individual examples. If you have otherwise made it clear from context whom you are referring to with the pronoun, you do not need it in those cases either.

So the rule is not a matter of those pronouns being used with verb forms that have the same inflection, but rather whether or not one can tell what the pronouns have to be without seeing or hearing them explicitly.

Keep in mind that if you have good reason or even need to emphasis the subject, you may use the pronoun, too, even when it is understood.

I can suggest an excellent grammar for the beginning...maybe even for the advanced student. Gramatica basica por el estudiante de Español.

A Spanish gentleman with the screen name Lazarus1907 suggested this text when still active on Span¡shD!ct.com. It is completely in Spanish, but I could understand its excellent explanations as a beginner, and it includes many exercises.

The authors even include information about common errors.

Answer 2

Perfect!! Just one correction:

Ahora vivo en Méjico con mi abuelo or Vivo en Méjico con mi abuelo ahora

Answer 3

Thanks for all your correction, I appreciate them. This site is my class in Spanish

So what Señora Janice means is I don't have to include the pronouns b'coz the verbs will tell who's doing the action.

Por ejemplos

  Hablo español. (I speak Spanish)

  Vivimos en Mejico. (We live in Mexico)

  Bailan muy bien. (They dance very well)

  Comes muy rapido. (You eat very fast)

So the verbs in the sentences above tell who's doing the action even though the pronouns are not included, is that right?

But the sentences below need a pronoun b'coz El, Ella and Usted has the same conjugation.

Él / Ella / asiste sus clases regularmente. 

          (He his classes regularly / She attends her classes regularly)

Usted asiste tus clases regularmente.

            (You attend your classes regularly)

Answer 4

Another slight correction. The capital "e" that begins the sentence

Él enseña Español.

requires an accent.

By the way, why did you include the "yo's"? Not incorrect, but you should probably have written those sentences without the pronoun given that in none of the three cases was there an indication that you will have wanted to include the "yo" to express emphasis.....that it was YOU who play the guitar, not a possible someone else! or YOU who do not dance well, as opposed to your partner, and YOU who live with your grandfather in Mexico and not your brother.

I think the subjects that are listed in parentheses are there to tell us who he wanted to talk about and to see if he conjugated the verb right. :) - Luciente, Feb 28, 2010

I agree, but decided to post in the spirit of clarifying, indeed, of adding to his or her knowledge. I just hope I got it right:-) - Janice, Feb 28, 2010

We note, for example, that he/she used parenthesis, but did not when in fact the pronoun was required. (Well, maybe the misspelled Él was not needed.) - Janice, Feb 28, 2010

Answer 5

(Yo) vivo en Mejico ahora con mi abuelo->

ahora, vivo en Mejico con mi abuelo.

OR

vivo en Mejico con mi abuelo

and

Ellas practican cada sabado-> Ellas practican los sábados

Other than, that, your sentences are perfect. Keep up the good work! :D

"cada sábado" is not incorrect :) - Benz, Feb 28, 2010