Impersonal verbs

Unit 15 (Unidad 15) Impersonal verbs (Los verbos impersonales) Level 1 1.1 Impersonal verbs (Verbos impersonales) 1.2 Uses of haber (Usos de haber) 1.3 Impersonal use of hacer meaning ago and since (Uso impersonal de hacer con el sentido de desde) 1.1 Impersonal verbs Impersonal verbs have neither subject nor object. Whatever they represent as being or as going on, nothing is suggested as taking any active part in it. There is no perfect example of such a verb in English but Spanish, like Italian, has many that are either always or occasionally used. The English pronoun it is a mere form of expression due to the habit of our language, but it does not represent the actor. Interestingly enough, the English it corresponds to the French il. Theverbs in question here are frequently associated with weather or natural phenomena: i llover (to rain), nevar (to snow), tronar (to thunder), lloviznar (to drizzle), granizar (to hail), relampaguear (to be lightning – very difficult to translate! [any suggestions?] and an excellent example of why literal translations are not to be recommended), hacer (to be) (especially this last one): Llueve mucho It rains a lot Relampaguea There’s lightning Est´anevando It’s snowing Hace buen tiempo It’s nice weather Est´atronando It’s thundering ¿Qu´e tiempo hace? What’s the weather like? Llovizna It drizzles Hace (mucho) viento It’s (very) windy ii With respect to weather, we should point out here the differences between hacer and tener. Whereas hacer is used to refer to the condition of the weather, tener is used for a person’s reaction to it. Compare the following examples: Hace calor It is hot Hace fr´ıo It is cold Tengo calor Iamhot Tengo fr´ıo Iamcold Estar caliente does not mean to be hot, unless used figuratively about the opposite sex! 119 ASTUDENT GRAMMAR OF SPANISH iii Furthermore, estar is used in this context, but for things: Esta cama est´afr´ıa This bed is cold La sopa est´a muy caliente The soup is very hot 1.2 Uses of haber i (There is a more limited treatment of haber in unit 13, 1.4.v on ser and estar. See also level 2 in this unit.) The verb haber has practically lost its original meaning of possession, connected as it is to the French verb avoir and the Italian avere which both retain the notion of possession. Its principal value is that of an auxiliary verb (he hablado = I spoke / have spoken) in forming compound tenses (see unit 5). It has one other wide acceptation, namely when it is used impersonally. Only the third person singular (hay), the infinitive (haber), the past participle (habido) and the gerund (habiendo)are used impersonally. One irregularity is that the present indicative is not ha but hay.This peculiar form is a combination of ha and the now obsolete y (there) which crops up in the French ilya(there is/are). Hay is used in the following way. ii Hay un coche / diez coches There is one/a car / are ten cars Hay un muchacho / varios muchachos There is/are one/a/several boy(s) It is clear from these examples that, while in English the verb agrees in number with the following noun or nouns, in Spanish it is singular throughout, like the French il y a. (See level 2.6.for similar use in other tenses.) iii Hay followed by que = hay que, and then followed by an infinitive, denotes necessity or obligation, witness these examples: Hay que ser prudente en carretera I/You/We, etc., have to be careful on the road Hay que ir ma˜nana I/You/We, etc., have to go tomorrow (See level 2 for similar use in other tenses and covering personal pronouns.) iv When a noun or equivalent word intervenes between haber and que, the idea of obligation is modified: Hay muchos monumentos que visitar There are lots of monuments to visit Hay m´as de una dificultad que vencer There is more than one difficulty to get over 1.3 Impersonal use of hacer meaning ago and since Apart from its use with weather (see above), this verb may be followed by a measure of time, and has the value of ago or since: Hace tres a˜nos que estoy en M´exico I’ve been in Mexico for three years Hace m´as de un a˜no que no oigo hablar de ella Ihaven’t heard of her for more than a year Llegu´e hace cinco a˜nos Iarrived five years ago 120 15 Impersonal verbs Exercises Level 1 i Answer the following questions: Example ¿Qu´e tiempo hace ma ˜nana? > Hace buen tiempo ma ˜nana a ¿Qu´e tiempo hace hoy? b ¿Qu´e tiempo hace en verano? c ¿Qu´e tiempo hace en invierno? d ¿Qu´e tiempo hace en primavera? e ¿Qu´e tiempo hace en oto ˜no? f ¿Qu´e tiempo hace en marzo? g ¿Qu´e tiempo hace en el sur de M´exico? h ¿Qu´e tiempo hace en el centro de Espa˜na en julio? i ¿Qu´e tiempo hace en Nueva York en febrero? j ¿Qu´e tiempo hace en Arizona en agosto? ii Complete the following sentences with expressions related to the weather: Example Juego con mis amigos en el parque cuando ( ) > .cuando hace buen tiempo a No salgo en el carro (M)/coche cuando ( ) b Mis padres y yo vamos al campo cuando ( ) c No visitamos la costa cuando ( ) d No saco buenas fotos cuando ( ) e En Londres en noviembre ( ) f En Acapulco en verano ( ) g Pasan todo el d´ıa en casa cuando ( ) h ¿Vas al colegio en cami´on (M)/autob´us cuando ( )? i No me gustan las vacaciones cuando ( ) j Disfruto mucho cuando ( ) k Me siento muy rom´antico cuando ( ) l Es peligroso el mar cuando ( ) iii Make questions from the following statements, as in the example: Hay una regadera (M)/una ducha en el ba ˜no > ¿Qu´ehayenel ba˜no? a Hay una televisi´on en el estudio b Hay tres sillas en la rec´amara (M)/eldormitorio c Hay un microondas en la cocina d Hay unos peri´odicos en la mesa e Hay una computadora (M)/unordenador en el sal´on f Hay varios timbres (M)/sellos en el paquete g Hay un foco (M)/una bombilla en el techo h Hay cuatro mesas en el comedor i Hay un carro (M)/coche en el garage (M)/garaje j Hay dos espejos en el ba˜no 121 ASTUDENT GRAMMAR OF SPANISH iv Class activity Objective – Practice the use of impersonal verbs with reference to the weather Method – One member of the class draws weather phenomena on the board. The class guesses what kind of weather it is. Example The member draws drops of water coming down The class responds with: Llueve / Est´a lloviendo (same meaning) 1.1 above will give you plenty of help. Feel free to use your imagination to indicate heat, cold, etc. It would be easy to find ten illustrations. Level 2 2.1 More on impersonal verbs (M ´ as detalles sobre verbos impersonales) 2.2 Ser and estar used impersonally when followed by nouns and adjectives (Uso impersonal de ser y estar seguidos de nombres y adjetivos) 2.3 Modal auxiliary verbs (Verbos auxiliares de tipo modal) 2.4 Uses of caber and soler (Usos de caber y soler) 2.5 Uses of bastar, faltar, quedar, sobrar (Usos de bastar, .) 2.6 More on haber and hacer (M ´ as detalles sobre haber y hacer) 2.7 Use of haber + debido = Ought and ought to have (Uso de .) 2.8 Verbs in past tenses with hacer = ago (Verbos en pasado con hacer = ago) 2.9 Desde = since 2.1 More on impersonal verbs i In addition to the weather verbs above, there is a further cluster of verbs that stand freely, and often do not have a true equivalent in English. Among the most common are: amanecer to dawn, to get light encantar to please, to delight anochecer to begin to get dark gustar to please apetecer to attract, to appeal (to) importar to be important constar to be evident parecer to seem, to appear convenir to suit ventiscar to be snowing (and blowing) diluviar to pour down Of course, encantar and gustar may be used in other ways: Les encanto a mis estudiantes My students adore me Le gusto a mi novia My girlfriend likes me Ejemplos En invierno amanece tarde It gets light later in winter Me gusta el verano mediterr´aneo porque anochece tarde I like the Mediterranean summer because it gets dark later ¿Te apetece un helado? Do you feel like an ice cream? Me consta que tiene dinero It is clear to me that he has money 122 15 Impersonal verbs Conviene firmar el contrato It is sensible to sign the contract Le encanta la ´opera / ir a la ´opera She loves the opera / going to the opera ¿Os / les (M) gusta ir al cine? Do you like going to the movies? Importa mucho It is very important ¿Les importa que fumemos? Do you mind if we smoke? Siempre me molesta no ayudarte It always troubles me not to help you Me parece que es china It seems to me that she’s Chinese Ayer estuvo ventiscando todo el d´ıa It was snowing hard all day yesterday ii There are many cases where in English a verb would be used impersonally, governing an infinitive, while in Spanish the infinitive is the subject of the verb: Me cost´ounojo de la cara aprobar el examen It cost me an arm and a leg to get through the exam Nos toc´o jugar a nosotros It was our turn to play A ella le correspond´ıa ir de vacaciones en oto˜no It was her turn to go on vacation in the fall/autumn Compete a la compa˜n´ıa responder por el error It is incumbent upon the company to be responsible for the error = The company takes responsibility for . . . 2.2 Ser and estar used impersonally when followed by nouns and adjectives i The verbs ser and estar are used impersonally with special frequency when followed by nouns and adjectives: Es una pena ver a estos ni˜nos tan enfermos It is sad to see these children so sick Es l´astima que os teng´ais que marchar It’s a pity you have to go Es importante estudiar It’s important to study Es esencial trabajar It’s essential to work Es l´ogico terminarlo hoy It’s logical to finish it today Es natural cuidar a tus ni˜nos It’s natural to look after your children Estaba oscuro cuando me levant´e It was dark when I got up Est´a muy nublado It’s very cloudy Era muy tarde para ir al campo It was very late to go into the country ii There is an impersonal expression, of active form, but of passive value, formed by the verb ser, followed by de and the infinitive: Es de esperar que regresen It is to be hoped they will come back Es de lamentar que no haya aprobado It is to be regretted he did not pass 2.3 Modal auxiliary verbs i English has a relatively large number of auxiliary verbs (e.g. will, would, may, might, shall, should, must, ought) and verbal expressions (to be to, to have to, e.g. we were to arrive at nine, we have to go now). Their main function is to express intentions or 123 ASTUDENT GRAMMAR OF SPANISH commands. There is no straightforward match between these and their Spanish counterparts. Spanish has a rather small number of auxiliary verbs (deber, poder, querer) and verbal expressions (tener que hacer algo = to have to do something, haber de hacer algo = to have to do something). Their main uses are: ii Deber to have to, must (often has the value of ought, and less strong than tener que – see below; also suggests speculation = must) Debo ir ahora Imust go now Debe de ser muy pobre She must be very poor (speculation) Debi´odehacerlo He must have done it (speculation) iii Poder to be able, can Puedes ir conmigo Yo u can go with me ¿Puedes nadar doscientos metros? Can you swim two hundred meters? Podr´an jugar ma˜nana They will be able to / can play tomorrow Habr´ıa podido aprobar el examen He could have got through the examination iv Saber to know (how to) S´e hablar espa˜nol / cocinar / nadar / usar la computadora (M)/elordenador I know how to speak Spanish/cook/ swim/use the computer Note. Poder suggests physical capacity while saber suggests knowledge for doing something v Conocer (to know) should also be distinguished from saber.Ifyou associate it with to be acquainted with as in, for example, Conozco a tu hermano / a esta autora / la ciudad de M ´ exico (I know your brother, etc) you see the difference immediately. Bear in mind also that saber suggests to know a fact,asin: S´e que est´an en la casa / que vendr´an ma˜nana (I know that they are in the house / they will come tomorrow) vi Querer to want, to wish Quieren tocar los instrumentos They want to play the instruments Quer´ıamos subir al monte We wanted to go up the mountain Yo hubiera querido acompa˜narlos Iwould have wanted to accompany them vii Tener que to have to / must (often stronger than deber) Tengo que ir Imust go Te n´ıa que haberlo hecho I ought to have done it viii Haber + de has the meaning of to be/have to. It can also imply an assumption or a speculation = must. With this second meaning it fits in with deber de Hemos de trabajar duro We’ve got to work hard Habr´adeentregar los deberes esta tarde We’ll/He’ll/She’ll have to hand in the homework this afternoon Ha de haber un baile ma˜nana There is to be a ball tomorrow Hab´ıa de haber un partido de f´utbol al d´ıa siguiente There was to be a football game the following day Ha de ser muy rico He must be very rich La palabra ha de estar en el diccionario Theword must be in the dictionary 124 15 Impersonal verbs 2.4 Uses of caber and soler i There are two verbs which do not have an English equivalent: caber and soler. Using them is often a lot easier than translating them. caber = to be contained in, to be enough room for, to fit Los libros caben en la estanter´ıa There’s enough room for the books on the shelf i.e. The books fit Este armario no cabe por la puerta This wardrobe won’t go through the door No cabemos en el coche There is not enough room for us in the car ¿Quepo aqu´ı? Is there room for me here? ii Caber It also has the more impersonal meaning of to be possible, may: Cabe preguntar si es suficiente It is possible to ask if it is sufficient Cabe suponer que cometieron un error It is possible to suppose that they made an error iii Soler to be accustomed to Suelo venir aqu´ı los martes I usually come here on Tuesdays Estos melones sol´ıan ser muy buenos These melons used to be very good 2.5 Uses of bastar, faltar, quedar, sobrar i Bastar to be sufficient Basta (con) marcar el prefijo y el n´umero All you have to do is dial the code and number Bastaba (con) decirle que no podemos ir It was enough to tell her we can’t come ii Faltar to be lacking, to remain Falta el postre There remains the dessert Aqu´ıfaltan tres tenedores Threeforks are missing here Todav´ıa me faltan dos horas para terminar el ejercicio I still need a couple of hours to finish the exercise S´olo falta(n) un par de horas para llegar There’s just a couple of hours before we arrive iii Quedar to remain, to be over Quedan tres manzanas There remain three apples / Three apples are left over Quedan por barrer la salita y el despacho There just remains the living room and the office to sweep Queda por decir que est´aprohibido entrar ahora It remains to say that it is forbidden to go in now 125 ASTUDENT GRAMMAR OF SPANISH iv Sobrar to be in excess, to be over Una vez hecho el vestido me sobraron tres metros de tela Once I had made the dress I had three meters of fabric left over Parece que sobrar´an camas It looks as though we’ll have too many beds 2.6 More on haber and hacer i The use of hay extends to all tenses Hab´ıa una casa / dos casas There was one/a house / were two houses Hubo una explosi´on / varias explosiones There was an explosion / were several explosions Habr´a una fiesta / dos fiestas There will be a party / two parties Habr´ıa un invitado / varios invitados There would be a guest / several guests Es posible que haya un doctor (M)/dos doctores It is possible that there will be a/one physician/doctor / two physicians/ doctors Era probable que hubiera un accidente / varios accidentes It was probable that there would be an accident / several accidents ii The conditional corresponds to “ought”: Habr´ıa que salir ahora I/You/We, etc., ought to leave now 2.7 Use of haber + debido = ought and ought to have The imperfect subjunctive of haber + debido + infinitive is frequently used with the idea of “ought to have.” It has the same meaning but less weight than tener que above (see level 2.3) Yo hubiera debido decirle que . I ought to have told him that . Hubi´eramos debido ir We ought to have gone An alternative form of the above is: deb ´ ıa + haber + past participle (Yo) deb´ıa haberle dicho que . I ought to have told her/him that . 2.8 Verbs in past tenses with hacer = ago Los cuates (M)/amigos salieron hace media hora The friends left half an hour ago Visit´e Madrid hace un a˜no I visited Madrid a year ago Hac´ıa diez a˜nos que hab´ıa ido a Espa˜na It was ten years ago when I had been to Spain 126 15 Impersonal verbs 2.9 Desde = since Desde hace varios siglos los ´arabes han colaborado con los cristianos For centuries the Arabs have collaborated with the Christians Desde hac´ıa muchas horas el ni˜no no hab´ıa comido Thechild had not eaten for hours Hacer also expresses the length of time between two points: Hace diez a˜nos que fui a Espa˜na It was ten years ago that I went to Spain Exercises Level 2 i Rellena los blancos / Llena los espacios (M) con un verbo impersonal. Hay m ´as de una posibilidad en varios casos: Ejemplo El domingo ( )iralaalberca (M) / piscina > El domingo me gustar´ıa ira . a En verano ( )muy temprano b En invierno ( )muy temprano c ¿Te ( )iralcine? d No s´esi( )arreglar el asunto hoy e Nos ( )irala´opera f ¿Les (M)/os( ) aprender a coser? g No me ( ) manejar (M)/conducir toda la noche h Me ( ) que es de origen azteca i Estaba ( ) toda la noche cuando fui por los ni˜nos ii Haz frases con las siguientes expresiones: Ejemplo es natural > Es natural beber cuando hace mucho calor es una pena, es (una) l´astima, es importante, es esencial, es l´ogico, es natural, es inevitable, es mejor, es posible, es imposible iii Completa las siguientes frases con uno de estos verbos. Pon los verbos en singular o plural seg ´un convenga. En algunos casos, hay m ´as de una soluci ´on: caber, quedar, sobrar, faltar, bastar, tener que, haber de, poder, saber, deber, querer a ¿( )irconmigo? b ( )deequivocarse c ( )detrabajar duro porque hay que ganar dinero d ¿( )m´as sillas aqu´ı? Si no, nos sentamos por el suelo e Aqu´ı( ) cuchillos pero hay m´as en la cocina f ( ) nadar correctamente g ( ) que corregir tus errores h Despu´es del incendio s´olo ( )tresmuros i ( ) nadar m´as de un kil´ometro j ( ) tocar la guitarra k ( ) tenedores. Ponlos en el caj´on l ( ) media docena de huevos. Los otros los pones en el frigor´ıfico 127 ASTUDENT GRAMMAR OF SPANISH iv Actividad en parejas Objetivo – Distinguir entre el uso de saber y conocer M ´ etodo –Ale hace a B diez preguntas conteniendo saber y conocer,ylas siguientes palabras: 1 ciudad 2 hablar portugu´es 3 a Teresa 4 un restaurante bueno 5 la verdad 6 tocar el piano 7 un poco de italiano 8 Chile y Colombia 9 a tu madre 10 algo de japon´es Ejemplos Par´ıs PREGUNTA: ¿Conoces a Par´ıs? RESPUESTA: Conozco a Par´ıs muy, muy bien Est´aJuan PREGUNTA: ¿Sabes d´onde est´aJuan? RESPUESTA: No s´e donde est´a(Juan) Despu´es, se re´une todo el mundo, y el profesor le hace preguntas a toda la clase, variando las diez palabras/expresiones. Por ejemplo, en vez de usar ciudad, puede usar pueblo o pueblito (M)/pueblecito. En vez de tocar el piano puede usar tocar la guitarra. El profesor puede variar tambi´en los pronombres (t´u, Uds., ´el/ella o ¡yo!). Pueden descubrir as´ı talentos ocultos de su profesor. 128 . (Unidad 15) Impersonal verbs (Los verbos impersonales) Level 1 1.1 Impersonal verbs (Verbos impersonales) 1.2 Uses of haber (Usos de haber) 1.3 Impersonal. use of hacer meaning ago and since (Uso impersonal de hacer con el sentido de desde) 1.1 Impersonal verbs Impersonal verbs have neither subject nor object.