Michel Thomas Method: Spanish Vocabulary Course

CD

ISBN-10: 0340939737

Published: 25/05/2007

Extent: 6 Hrs

Series: Michel Thomas Series

 

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Summary:

Learn another language the way you learnt your own! As a child, you learnt your own language naturally and enjoyably: now you can learn Spanish vocabulary in the same way.

Use the unique method perfected over fifty years by the celebrated psychologist and linguist Michel Thomas

This method works with your brain, helping you to build up your Spanish in manageable, enjoyable steps by thinking out the answers for yourself.

You learn through listening and speaking - the way you learnt as a child.

You then pick up the language naturally and unforgettably.

This NEW Vocabulary Course builds on the Foundation and Advanced Courses to increase the number and range of words you will be able to use. Rose Lee Hayden, Michel Thomas's most trusted teacher, shares her first-hand insights to give you over 1,000 words in a unique and memorable way. She is joined by two native speakers to make sure your pronunciation is perfect, while a booklet shows you the written language.

You'll stick with it because you'll love it!

• THE SERIES MICHEL THOMAS FANS HAVE BEEN DEMANDING - the natural extension of the teaching programme
• ROSE LEE HAYDEN - Michel's most trusted and experienced teacher shares her insights and knowledge
• ALL AUDIO - faithful to Michel's methodology and beliefs

• ACCOMPANYING BOOKLET - for those who want to see the written language - helps with spelling and navigating the course

• SHORT CUTS TO LEARNING - thousands of words painlessly acquired

• BRAND NEW SERIES - the Michel Thomas language learning phenomenon continues

Table of Contents:
Introduction: How this course came about, what it does and does not include, how it works, and how it is both faithful to and expands upon the Michel Thomas Language Courses
COURSE SEGMENT 1: WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW
1. Introduction; “-ible” to “-ible”
> possible - posible (one stingy “s”); horrible – horrible; etc.
2. “-able” to “able”
> probable – probable; acceptable – aceptable; etc.
3. “-AR” verbs to “-able”
Remove the “-AR” and add “-able”
> dudar (to doubt) to dudable (doubtful); soportar (to bear) to soportable (bearable); tolerar (to tolerate) to tolerable; etc.
4. Add “in” to make a negative word
> evitable (avoidable) to inevitable (inevitable; unavoidable); tolerable to intolerable; etc.
Diminutive “-ito”
> hijo (son) to hijito (affectionate, little boy);
> Juan to Juanito (nickname).
> besar (to kiss) to besable (kissable)
5. “ –ER verbs to “ible”
> creer (to believe) to creíble (believable); vender (to sell) to vendible (sellable); etc.
“ - IR verbs to “-ible”
> definir (to define) to definible (definable)
“-ible” to “-ible”
> flexible to flexible; compatible to compatible; etc.
6. “ – ant” to “-ante”
> important to importante; restaurant to restaurante; etc.
“-AR” verbs to “-ante”
>participar (to participate) to participante (participant); alarmar (to alarm) to alarmante (alarming); etc.
7. “-ent to “-ente”
> different to diferente (one stingy “f”); evident to evidente; incompetent to incompetente; etc.
8. “-tion” to “-ción”
> condition to condición; attention to atención; formation to formación; etc.
9. “-sion” to “-sión”
> impression to impresión (one stingy “s”); decision to decisión; mission to misión (one stingy “s”); etc.
10. “ence” to “encia”
> influence to influencia; difference to diferencia (one stingy “f"); preference to preferencia; etc.
11. Words that look feminine but are masculine
> the problem to el problema; the map to el mapa; the climate to el clima; etc.
“-ance” to “-ancia”
> importance to importancia; elegance to elegancia; intolerance to intolerancia; etc.
12. “-ly” to “-mente”
automatically to automáticamente; naturally to naturalmente; personally to personalmente; etc.
Use “realmente” for actually.
13. “-ary” to “-ario”
> vocabulary to vocabulario; necessary to necesario (one stingy “s”); contrary to contrario; etc.
14. “-ive” to “-ivo”
> exclusive to exclusivo; positive to positivo; constructive to constructivo; etc.
15. “-ute” to “-uto”
>absolute to absoluto; substitute to substituto; institute to instituto; etc.
“-ous” to “-oso”
> famous to famoso; etc.
16. “-ical” to “-ico”
> practical to prático; basic to básico; magic to “mágico”; etc.
Require an accent over stressed syllable.
17. “-ent” to “-ento”
> talent to talento; moment to momento;
“-t” or “-it” to “-to”
> honest to honesto; Robert to Roberto; credit to crédito; etc.
“-ic” to “-ico”
> dramatic to dramático; automatic to automático; ironic to irónico; etc.
Require an accent over the stressed syllable.
18. “-ure” to “-ura”
- temperature to temperatura; literature to literatura; culture to cultura; etc.
19. “-tude” to “-tud”
> aptitude to aptitud; altitude to altitud; gratitude to gratitude; etc.
20. “-ity” to “-dad”
> possibility to posibilidad (one stingy “s"); humanity to humanidad; infinity to infinidad; etc.
21. “-ist” to “-ista”
> artist to artista; dentist to dentista; optimist to optimista; etc.
22. “-y” to “ía”
> irony to ironía; astronomy to astronomía; philosophy to filosofía (phonetic ph – f); etc.
Require an accent over the stressed syllable.
23. “-in” or “-ine” to “-ina”
> aspirin to aspirina; discipline to disciplina; gasoline to gasolina; etc.
“-ice” to “ina”
> office to oficina (one stingy “f”)
24. “-id” to “-ido”
> solid to sólido; valid to válido; timid to tímido; etc.
Require an accent over the stressed syllable.
25. “-ism” to “-ismo”
> organism to organismo; capitalism to capitalismo; heroism to heroismo; etc.
“ –ure” to “-uro”
> future to futuro.
COURSE SEGMENT 2: MORE STRUCTURE: MORE VERBS AND HOW TO USE THEM
1. “-AR” “Good Guy” Regular Verbs
>evitar (to avoid); tentar (to tempt); usar (to use); inventar (to invent); mencionar (to mention); formar (to form); gastar (to spend)
Using “gustarse” – “It is pleasing...” “It pleases me, you, us, them...”
Using “debería” to express “should”
More “-AR” “Good Guys”
> gritar (to shout); ganar (to earn; to win)
Wing tense endings: “-AR” Track and The Other Track
aba; abas, aba; ábamos, aban
ía, ías, ía, íamos, ían
2. Inventing “-AR” Verbs Using “-tion” Words in English. Just remove the “tion” and add an “r”.
> invitation to invitar (to invite); justification to justificar (to justify); etc.
More “-AR” “Good Guys”
olvidarse (to forget); cenar (to dine); imaginar (to imagine); admirar (to admire); instalar (to install); adorar (to adore); considerar (to consider); acusar (to accuse); inspirar (to inspire); clasificar (to classify); estudiar (to study); consolar (to console); administrar (to administer); etc.
3. More “-AR” “Good Guys”
> negociar (to negotiate)
Using “si fuera” for “If I were...” plus the conditional tense (-ría; rías; ríamos; rían)
> Si fuera más joven, compraría un apartamento en Mallorca. (If I were younger, I would buy an apartment in Mallorca.)
When “would” refers to the past.
> Cuando era un hombre rico, compraba un coche nuevo todos los años. (When I was a rich man, I WOULD buy a new car every year.)
4. More “-AR” “Good Guys”
> limpiar (to clean); llamar (to phone; to call); gastar (to spend); mirarse (to look at); prestar (to lend); besar (to kiss)
In Spanish, you spell it like it sounds.
> tocar (to touch) in command tense, “toque”, etc.
> atacar (to attack) in command tense, “ataque”, etc.
5. “Good Guys” from the Other Track: “-ER” and “-IR”
beber (to drink); aprender (to learn); comprender (to understand); entender (to understand); responder (to respond; to answer); escribir (to write)
6. Reflexive Verbs – When the Subject and Object are the Same: Think “...self”
> esconderse (to hide oneself); despertarse (to wake up; to wake oneself up); sentarse (to sit down; to sit oneself down); levantarse (to get up or stand up; to get oneself up) lavarse (to wash oneself); casarse (to get married); vestirse (to get dressed; to dress oneself); irse (to go away); dormirse (to fall asleep); hacerse (to become; make of oneself); quejarse (to complain); darse cuenta de (to realize); olvidarse (to forget); expresarse (to express oneself); alegrarse (to be glad)
The Impersonal “One”
> Se come bien aquí. (One eats well here.)
The Passive Voice: When the Subject is Acted Upon
> El museo se abre todos los días. (The museum is opened every day.)
7. More practice with “-ER” verbs and reflexives.
> prometer (to promise); poder (to be able to); responder (to respond; to answer); caber (to fit into); llover (to rain); ofrecer (to offer);
> protegerse (to protect oneself); defenderse (to defend oneself)
8. More “-ER” Verbs
> deber (should, ought to); vender (to sell)
“GO GO to GA GA” Verb
> valer (to be worth); valer la pena (to be worth it) Ex. valgo to valga in command tense.
Using “sino” to express “but rather”
No soy rico sino pobre. (I am not rich, but rather poor.)
9. More “-ER” Verbs
> temer (to fear); toser to cough); creer (to believe); crecer (to grow); reconocer (to recognize); meter (to place or put)
10. Some “-IR” Verbs
> admitir (to admit); insistir en (insist on); invadir (to invade); omitir (to omit); decidir (to decide); sufrir (to suffer); recibir (to receive); cubrir (to cover) describir (to describe); abrir (to open); huir (to flee); permitir (to permit); prohibir (to prohibit); asistir a (to attend); decir (to say or tell); salir (to go out; to leave); dormir (to sleep)
11. Some more “-IR” Verbs
In Spanish you spell it like it sounds.
> destruir (to destroy) I destroy = destruyo; command tense = destruya; construir (to construct) I construct = contruyo; command tense = construya; incluir (to include)
I conclude = concluyo; command tense = concluya.
12. Some more “-IR” Verbs
“Cuzco” Verb: traducir (to translate) I translate = traduzco; command tense = traduzca
Some “-IR” Verbs with spelling changes in the “DOT” Tense
traducir to traduje; tradujiste; tradujo; tradujimos; tradujeron; producir (to produce) to produje, produjiste, produjo; produjimos; produjeron
13. Some more “-IR’ Verbs
subir a (to climb up; to board a tren, etc.)
(Also used for “to raise your voice” or subir la voz.)
More practice with “-IR” Verbs
salir (to go out; to leave); salir con (to go out with); sufrir (to suffer)
14. Verbs that “cave in” from “e” to “ie”
> perder (to lose) pierdo; pierdes; pierde; perdemos (does NOT “cave in”); pierden
Command tense: pierda, pierdas, pierda; perdamos (does NOT “cave in”); pierdan
Following this pattern: negar (to negate); pensar (to think); cerrar (to close)
The “right now in the process of doing” “e” to “i”
mentir (to tell a lie) to mintiendo; pedir (to ask) to pidiendo
15. Verbs that “cave in” from “o” or “u” to “ue”
poder (to be able to) puedo, puedes; puede, podemos (does NOT “cave in”); pierden
Command tense: perida, pierdas; pierda; perdamos (does NOT “cave in”); pierdan
Following this pattern: costar (to cost); volver (to come; to return); acostarse (to lie down); acordarse con (to agree with)
16. More verbs that “cave in” from “o” or “u” to “ue
mostrar (to show); jugar (to play)
17. Verbs that go from “e” to “i”
vestirse (to get dressed; to dress oneself) to me visto, te vistes; se viste; nos vestimos (does NOT “cave in”); se visten
Following this pattern: servir (to serve); repetir (to repeat)
Command tense: me vista; te vistas; se vista; nos vistamos; se vistan
The “right now in the moment of doing” “e” to “i” = vistiéndose; mintiendo; pidiendo; sirviendo; repitiendo
18. Expressions that trigger the command tense.
Let’s = hablar to hablemos; comer to comamos; sufrir to suframos
Positive command: pronouns AFTER the verb
> Dígamelo. (Tell it to me.); Póngalos aquí.(Put them here.)
19. Expressions that trigger the Command Tense
Whenever you want someone else to do something
> querer que (to want that); preferir que (to prefer that); proponer que (to propose that); permitir que (to permit that); es necesario que (it is necessary that)
Expressing emotion
> temer que (to fear that); alegrarse de que (to be glad that); ser riículo que (to be ridiculous that); sentir que (to be sorry that); Es lástima que (It’s a shame that...); ser bueno/malo que (to be good or bad that)
Expressing Doubt, denial or unreality
> dudar que (to doubt that); ser imposible que (to be impossible that); ser improbable que (to be improbable that)
20. More practice with expressions that trigger the Command Tense
> querer que (to want that); dudar que (to doubt that); alegrarse de que (to be glad that)
COURSE SEGMENT 3: Everyday Expressions and Useful Bits and Pieces
1. Verb-plus expressions: acabar de (to have finished, to have just finished)
Followed by the “to” form of the verb.
2. More verb-plus expressions: dejar de (to finish, to stop doing something)
volver a (to return to; to return to doing something)
aprovecharse de (to take advantage of)
These verb-plus expressions are followed by the “to” form of the verb in examples such as these: Volvió a comerlo. (He returned to eating it.); Deben hacerlo. (They ought to do it.).
3. More verb-plus expressions: cambiar de (to change, to change your mind)
contar con (to count on)
darse cuenta de (to realize, to notice)
estar de acuerdo con (to agree with)
4. More verb-plus expressions.
querer decir (to mean)
valer la pena (to be worth it)
5. HACER in time expressions.
> Lo comí hace una hora. (I ate it an hour ago.); Hace mucho tiempo lo hizo. (He did it a long time ago.); Hacía dos años que Juan vivía en España. (Juan had been living in Spain for two years.); etc.
6. HACER in weather expressions.
> Hace frío. (It’s cold); “Hace calor.” (It’s hot.); Hace viento. (It’s windy.), etc.
Some other uses of HACER.
hacer un viaje (to take a trip)
hacer una pregunta (to ask a question)
hacer daño (to harm)
7. Expressions using TENER.
tener que (to have to; to have to do something) Followed by the “to” form of the verb.
tener frío (to be cold)
tener calor (to be warm)
tener sed (to be thirsty)
tener hambre (to be hungry)
tener suerte (to be lucky)
tener cuidado (to be careful)
tener sueño (to be sleepy)
tener prisa (to be in a hurry)
tener razón (to be correct)
tener la culpa (to be to blame)
tener ganas de (to desire to do something; to be in the mood for)
8. More expressions using TENER.
tener X años. (to be X years old)
tener lugar (to take place)
tener paciencia (to be patient)
tener lógica (to make sense)
tener remedio (to have a solution)
9. Uses of PARA.
to a destination; for a person; in order to; to or toward a location or goal; expressing deadlines
Words used to ask questions.
¿Cuándo? (When?); ¿Cuánto/a? ¿Cuántos/as? (How much; how many?)
¿Cómo? (How?)
¿Dónde? (Where?)
¿Quién(es) (Who?)
¿Cuál(es? (Which one?; which ones?)
Days of the week. (See Glossary)
10. Using Time Expressions
antes de (before)
después de (after)
More days of the week.
Seasons of the year.
Months of the year.
11. Telling time.
Es la una. (It’s one o’clock.)
Son las dos. (It’s two o’clock.)
Son las cuatro y cuarto. (It’s four fifteen.)
Son las cinco y media. (It’s five thirty.)
Time of day. (See Glossary)
Numbers (See Glossary)
12. More uses of PARA.
Compared with others in a category. (Para un joven... (For a young person...)
Purpose, what an object or objects are used for
To study to be – Estudiar para
In order to
13. Uses of POR.
In exchange for
per (e.g., per hour)
14. More uses of POR.
through a place or space
duration of time
Some expressions using POR.
por ahora (for now)
por eso (because of that; therefore)
15. More uses of POR.
Some more expressions using POR.
¡ Por Dios! (For Heavens sake!)
por ahora (for now)
por eso (because of that; therefore)
por ejemplo (for example)
por fin (at last; finally)
por lo visto (apparently)
More uses of POR.
by (agent of doing)
on behalf of; in place of another person
16. More uses of POR.
to go for, to fetch something or someone
Choosing between PARA and POR to convey different meanings.
17. Expressions using LO.
lo bueno (the good thing)
lo malo (the bad thing)
lo útil (the useful thing)
lo hecho (the done thing; that which is done)
lo necesario (the necessary thing)
lo importante (the important thing)
lo mío (mine; that which is mine)
lo suyo (lo tuyo) (yours; that which is yours)
18. Uses of SER.
to describe a rather permanent condition of being
to define something
to show possession (es de...)
19. More Practice with SER.
to describe the colour of something
to express where someone is from; origin or nationality
to describe someone’s profession
20. Uses of ESTAR.
to describe a temporary condition or state of being
to use with “-ando” and “-iendo” to describe actions that right now, at this moment, one is in the process of doing (e.g., estoy hablando – I am right now speaking)
to describe location
Choosing between SER and ESTAR to convey different meanings.
Using SER to express the passive voice (e.g. when the subject is being acted upon)
21. More practice choosing between SER and ESTAR to convey different meanings.
being ill vs. being an invalid
being handsome vs. looking good right now
22. Using Double Negatives in Spanish
something vs. nothing
someone vs. no one or nobody
sometimes vs. never
any vs. none
Expressions using negatives.
me neither (ni yo tampoco)
by no means; No way! (¡De ningún modo! ¡De ninguna manera!)
neither...nor (ni...ni)
either...or (o...o)
23. Making comparisons.
más...menos (more...less)
mejor...peor (better...worse)
lo mejor...lo peor (the best...the worst)
(older/younger)
24. Using opposites to build vocabulary.
bueno/malo (good/bad)
fácil/difícil (easy/difficult)
pequeño/grande (small/large)
entrada/salida (entry/exit)
25. Adding “-in” and “-des” to transform words into their opposites.
feliz/infeliz (happy to unhappy)
agradable/desagradable (pleasant/unpleasant)
26. Some more useful, everyday expressions.
sin embargo (without a doubt)
cada una de (each one of)
a ver (let’s see...)
Expressions describing location or where things are.
dentro de (inside)
cerca de ...lejos de (near...far)
behind (detrás de)
27. More ways to express location.
encima de (on top of)
debajo de (under; underneath)
Some more useful, everyday expressions.
al menos; por lo menos (at least)
Concluding remarks and suggestions for further practice.

About the Author(s):
Dr Rose Lee Hayden had a highly successful career in the US, before moving from New York to live in Italy in the wake of 9/11. At the age of 17 she started working as a volunteer for the American Red Cross travelling throughout South America and becoming fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. On graduating from university she went on to work as an instructor of Spanish for the Peace Corps, rising to become Deputy Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, responsible for a $20 million language and cultural programme. She met Michel Thomas in 1982 as a result of her interest in his innovative method and amazing results, and studied German with him. This was the beginning of a long and exciting collaboration, developing his programme and teaching his 'Second Phase' Spanish students. She now lives outside Rome, where she continues to write, teach, and play jazz piano.

Contributors:
Diane Roberts, Iain Gillespie, Jim McLauchlin, Bob Adak, Gordon Nichols, Keith Osborn, Richard Elson, Paul Gibbs, Bob Mitchell, Alec Kyriakides, Peter Hoffman, Rob Griffin, Christine Little, Christine ER Dodd, Martin Adams, Paul Hunter, Kaarin Goodburn, Sandra Westacott, Bharat Patel, Mac Johnson, Melody Greenwood, Judith Hilton.

Readership:
adults

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