Spanish 1/The Bedroom

Chapter 12 (The Bedroom)

Bedroom objects

alfombra - rug
armario - closet
cama - bed
cómoda - dresser
cortinas - curtains
cuadro - painting
el reloj despertador - alarm clock
dormitorio - bedroom
espejo - mirror
estante - shelf
lámpara - lamp
mesita - nighttable
pared - wall
puerta - door

Electronics

disco compacto - compact disc
equipo de sonido - sound (stereo) system
El DVD - DVD player
televisor - television
video - videocassette

Colors

¿De qué color...? - What color...?
colores - colors
amarillo(a)(s) - yellow
anaranjado(a)(s) - orange
azul(es) - blue
blanco(a)(s) - white
gris(es) - gray
marrón, marrones, café - brown
morado(a)(s) - purple
negro(a)(s) - black
rojo(a)(s) - red
rosado(a)(s) - pink
verde(es) - green

Adjectives

bonito(a) - beautiful
hermoso(a) - beautiful
bello(a) - beautiful
lindo(a) - beautiful
guapo(a) - beautiful, good looking
está bueno(a) - hot
buen mozo(a) - handsome young man, good looking girl
feo(a) - ugly
grande - large
importante - important
mismo(a) - same
pequeño(a) - small
propio(a) - own

Location

a la derecha - to the right
a la izquierda - to the left
en la esquina - at the corner

Comparisons

mejor que - better than
el/la mejor - the best (singular)
los/las mejores - the best (plural)
menos...que - less, fewer...than
más...que - more, more...than
peor que - worse than
el/la peor - the worst (singular)
los/las peores - the worst (plural)

Numbers 100-1000

cien - 100
ciento uno - 101
ciento veinticuatro - 124
doscientos - 200
trescientos - 300
cuatrocientos - 400
quinientos - 500
seiscientos - 600
setecientos - 700
ochocientos - 800
novecientos - 900
mil - 1.000

Note that Spanish speakers use a period in place of a thousands comma.

Other words

cosa - thing
para mí - in my opinion, for me
para tí - in your opinion, for you
posesión - possession

Dormir (to sleep)

Dormir is another one of the handful of irregular Spanish verbs; however, unlike tener and venir, its yo form is not irregular. Also, like other irregular verbs, with the exception of ir, the nosotros(as) and vosotros(as) form conjugate under normal rules. In dormir, o turns into ue.

duermo - I sleep
duermes - you sleep (singular)
duerme - he/she sleeps
dormimos - we sleep
dormís - you sleep (plural)
duermen - they sleep

Note: Always remember that usted (Ud.) and ustedes (Uds.) conjugate into the 3rd person form.

Poder (to be able)

Poder is yet another one of the handful of irregular Spanish verbs, it shares the same rule as dormir with the o changing to ue except in the nosotros(as) and vosotros(as) forms.

puedo - I can
puedes - you can (singular)
puede - he/she can
podemos - we can
podéis - you can (plural)
pueden - they can

Note: Remember the usted (Ud.) and usteded (Uds.) rule yet?

Vocabulario adicional

azul claro - light blue
azul marino - navy blue
azul oscuro - dark blue
música clásica - classical music
música folclórica - folk music
música hip-hop - hip-hop
música rap - rap
música reggeton - reggeton
música rock - rock music
música jazz - jazz
música latina - latin
música bailable - dancing music
música romántica - romantic
música lenta - slow
el blues - blues (as a musical genre)

Cultural Insight (Music)

Music is the common way of expressing culture in Spanish-speaking countries. In most countries, such as Cuba, musicians line the streets, playing traditional tunes and giving the streets flavor, rhythm, and vibrant life. Music in Latin America has been influenced by Spanish, Native American, African, and more recently, American styles. Spanish music was influenced by Arabic and Roman styles.

Country Focus (Colombia)

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Colombia (Spanish: Colombia) is a country located in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Atlantic Ocean, through the Caribbean Sea; to the north-west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia also shares maritime borders with the Caribbean countries of Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and the Central American countries of Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Colombia is the 26th largest nation in the world and the fourth-largest in South America (after Brazil, Argentina, and Peru), with an area more than twice that of France. It also has the second largest population in South America after Brazil. Colombia is also the fourth most populous Spanish-speaking nation in the world after Mexico, the United States and Spain.

The territory of what is now Colombia was originally inhabited by indigenous tribes which had migrated from North and Central America, including the Muisca, Quimbaya, and Tairona. To the south lay the Inca Empire. The Spanish arrived in 1499, and initiated a period of conquest and colonisation which ultimately led to the creation of the Viceroyalty of New Granada (comprising what is now Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama) with its capital at Bogotá. Independence from Spain was won in 1819, but by 1830 "Gran Colombia" had collapsed with the secession of Venezuela and Ecuador. Modern day Colombia, with Panama, emerged as the Republic of New Granada. The new nation experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation (1858), and then the United States of Colombia (1863), before the Republic of Colombia was finally declared in 1886. Panama seceded in 1903.

Bogotá skyline, the city is the largest in Colombia, home to 7.3 million people.

Colombia has a long tradition of constitutional government, and the Conservative and Liberal parties, founded in 1843 and 1848 respectively, are two of the oldest surviving political parties in the Americas. However, tensions between the two have frequently erupted into violence, most notably in the Thousand Days War (1899-1902) and La Violencia, beginning in 1948. Since the 1960s, government forces have been engaged in conflict with left-wing insurgents and illegal right-wing paramilitaries. Fuelled by the cocaine trade, this escalated dramatically in the 1990s. However, the insurgents lack the military or popular support necessary to overthrow the government, and in recent years the violence has been decreasing. Insurgents continue attacks against civilians, and large swathes of the countryside remain under guerrilla influence, but the Colombian government has stepped up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, and now has a presence in every one of its municipalities.

The humid Colombian Pacific coast.

Colombia is a standing middle power with the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world after Mexico. Colombian culture lies at the crossroads of Latin America, and is distinguished by having a very multicultural society. European, African, Native American, American, Middle Eastern, and other Latin American cultural influences such as Mexico and the Caribbean are all felt in Colombia's modern culture.

Factbox:

-Official Languages: Spanish

-Other Languages: English, Native American languages, French

-Capital: Bogotá

-Government: Democracy

Coffee is Colombia's main export.

-Area: 1,138,914 sq km (440,839 sq mi) (26th)

-Population: 45,586,233 (29th)

-Religion: Christianity (90% Catholic, other Christian 5%) 95%, Non-religious 1.9%, Traditional beliefs 1%, other (Islam, Buddhism, Judaism) 2.1%

-Human Development: 0.807 (77th, HIGH)

-Independence: August 7, 1819

-Currency: Colombian peso