LESSON 2

15. Definite Article. The definite article has the

following forms:
Masculine
Feminine

Singular
el
la

el hombre
los hombres

the man
the men

la tienda
las tiendas

the store
the stores

Plural
los
las

16. Contractions. The preposition a, (to) and de, (of)

or (from), with the masculine singular article el
contract into al, (to the), and del, (of the), (from
the).
al muchacho
del hombre

to the boy
of the man, from the man

Note that a and de do not contract with the feminine singular, or

with the plural forms of the article.

a la muchaha
a las muchachas
de los muchachos

a los muchachos
de la muchacha
de las muchachas

17. Plural of Nouns.

a) The plural of nouns is formed by adding s or
es to the singular. If the noun ends in an unstressed
vowel, -s is added.
cuaderno
cuadernos
precio
precios

notebook
notebooks
price
prices

b) If the nouns ends in a consonant, -es is added.

animal
animales
mujer
mujeres

animal
animals
woman
women

c) If the nouns end in z, this is changed to c

before es.
lapiz
lapices

pencil
pencils

18. Second and Third Conjugations.

a) The infinitives of all verbs of the second
conjugation end in er.
comer

to eat

b) The infinitives of all verbs of the third

conjugation end in ir.
vivir

to live

c) what precedes er or ir is the radical: com,

viv
19. Present Indicative of Comer and Vivir. The
following endings are added to the radical: second
conjugation, -o, -es, -e, -emos, -eis, -en; third
conjugation, -o, -es, -e, -imos, -is, -en.
Singular
como
I eat, etc
vivo
comes
you eat, etc
vives
usted come you eat, etc
usted vive
come
he/she/it eats
vive

comemos we eat, etc

comeis
you eat
ustedes comen you eat
comen
they eat

live, etc.
you live
you live
he/she/it lives

Plural
vivimos
we live
vivis
you live
ustedes vivis
you live
viven
they live

Note that the endings of these two conjugations in the present

indicative differ only in the first and second persons of the
plural: comemos, vivimos; (comeis), (vivis).

Vocabulary for Lesson 2

a
to
al
to the
el animal the animal
beber
to drink
la camisa the shirt
la carta
the letter
comer
to eat
el cuaderno the notebook
de
from

del
escribir
la escuela
la leche
mucho
el pan
el papel
el precio
vivir

from the
to write
the school
the milk
much, a great deal

the bread
the paper
the price
to live

Lesson 2 Exerices
I. Place the definite article before each noun.

1. cartas
2. camisa
3. casa
4. cuchillos
5. escuela
6. hombres
7. libro
8. manzanas
9. papeles
10. plumas
11. precios
12. tienda
II. Translate into English
1. to the man
2. of the knife
3. to the animal
4. of the animal
5. to the notebook
6. of the price
7. I drink milk
8. We eat bread
9. He writes a letter
10. I eat apples
11. We buy shirts
12. They do not buy milk

III. Translate into English

1. Un muchacho compra pan.
2. Compra el pan en la tienda.
3. Una muchacha compra una manzana.
4. El muchacho come el pan.
5. Un animal come la manzana.
6. El muchacho bebe leche.
7. El animal no bebe mucho.
8. El hombre no vive en la casa.
9. Vive en una tienda.
10. Compramos camisas en la tienda.
11. El muchacho compra papel.
12. Escribe cartas en el papel.
13. No escribe en el cuaderno.
14. Escribe con una pluma.
15. No escribe con el lapiz.
IV. Change the articles and nouns to the plural.
1. a la casa
2. del lapiz
3. con el muchacho
4. en la escuela
5. a la mujer
6. con el cuaderno
7. de la tienda
8. en la carta

9. a la muchacha
10. con la pluma
11. del cuaderno
12. en el libro
V. Translate and then repeat in the negative.
1. I buy pencils.
2. We buy pens.
3. He buys a shirt.
4. They buy the notebook.
5. We buy paper.
6. I cut the bread.
7. We drink milk.
8. He eats bread.
9. I write a letter.
10. He lives in the school.
VI. Write in Spanish
1. I write letters to the boy.
2. I do not write to the man.
3. He writes to the woman.
4. The girl buys a pencil in the store.
5. She writes with the pencil.
6. She writes on the paper.
7. We do not eat apples.
8. The boys eat apples
9. They do not drink milk.

10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

The girls write letters.

They cut the pencils with a knife.
I cut the pencil and the pen.
He writes a letter to the man.
The man does not write to the boy.
The woman writes to the girl.