[MUSIC PLAYING] [SPEAKING SPANISH] Using two verbs together. Your Spanish will sound much more advanced once you're able to combine two verbs. You will also drastically increase the number of things you're able to communicate. You naturally do this in English. For example, you need to fill out this form. You should take this medicine with water. Can you return at 4:00?
Now you might be thinking we just learned how to function with one verb. Why in the world would we want to complicate our lives and use two together? So here's a secret. Using two verbs is actually easier. You only have to conjugate the first one. The second one remains in the infinitive form, the unchanged form. Being that there are only a certain number of helping verbs that you could put in that first verb spot, that actually greatly reduces the number of verbs you need to know in your mind in order to have the conjugations handy. The second verb can be anything at all in the infinitive. So you'll see that once we run through these scenarios, it's actually easier to use two than one.
So just like in English, the first verb is the one that will be conjugated or changed to agree with the subject. The second one is left alone in the infinitive. For example, you need to take the medicine. Not you need you take the medicine. Or she needs to take the medicine, not she needs she takes the medicine, but she needs to take. [SPEAKING SPANISH]. Not, [SPEAKING SPANISH], but [SPEAKING SPANISH].
So the first verb is actually going to usually be one of these-- [SPEAKING SPANISH] should or ought to, [SPEAKING SPANISH], to need to, [SPEAKING SPANISH], to be able to, [SPEAKING SPANISH], to want to, [SPEAKING SPANISH], to have to. By using these verbs, you can get very important information from your patients and to them, and it allows you to politely tell them what they need to do.
It's a substitution for commands, in a certain sense, because you can tell them how important it is to do certain things without sounding too bossy, and from a grammatical standpoint, it helps you to eliminate the need to learn how to conjugate commands which have completely different endings than the present tense that you've just learned. So these are polite ways of bossing people around, and there are ways that are much easier to construct from a linguistic standpoint.
Here's some examples. [SPEAKING SPANISH]. You should take the medicine three times a day. Notice that [SPEAKING SPANISH] is conjugated. It agrees with [SPEAKING SPANISH] is not. It's in the infinitive form. [SPEAKING SPANISH]. You need to take the medicine with water. Again, [SPEAKING SPANISH] is conjugated, but [SPEAKING SPANISH] is not. [SPEAKING SPANISH] is very useful when asking questions. So can you do something. [SPEAKING SPANISH]. Can you return at 4:00? [SPEAKING SPANISH] is conjugated, [SPEAKING SPANISH] is not.
Now you could just as easily say [SPEAKING SPANISH] or eliminate [SPEAKING SPANISH] altogether and say [SPEAKING SPANISH] because the pronouns are optional. Here this shows the most common way, you'll hear a question if a Spanish speaker phrases one, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. They generally put a verb first, and then the pronoun after that verb. If there's another verb, that generally comes after the pronoun. Again, you can mix that up a little bit, and it will still mean the same thing. So [SPEAKING SPANISH] or [SPEAKING SPANISH] is even fine, or leaving out [SPEAKING SPANISH] altogether. Your choice.
[SPEAKING SPANISH] is to want to. [SPEAKING SPANISH]. I want to explain to you this medicine. [SPEAKING SPANISH] Taco Bell. You've probably heard that one right? [SPEAKING SPANISH] is to have, to have something. To say to have to actually add the word [SPEAKING SPANISH]. Now this is the only one of these five verbs that needs something added, and the [SPEAKING SPANISH] really does not translate into English. You just have to remember to use it after [SPEAKING SPANISH] when you want to use another verb after [SPEAKING SPANISH]. So [SPEAKING SPANISH]. I have to call the doctor is an example of that.
So you can use [SPEAKING SPANISH] to say what you personally need to do, or what the patient needs to do. [SPEAKING SPANISH]. So the patient's the one who needs to call the doctor. Then you would use the [SPEAKING SPANISH] form which is [SPEAKING SPANISH]. So remember that the verb list is where you'll find the conjugations of these verbs, but you'll probably want to go ahead memorize the forms for these five that we just reviewed.
So for [SPEAKING SPANISH], that one's normal, [SPEAKING SPANISH], that one's normal as well. And then for [SPEAKING SPANISH] is I can, [SPEAKING SPANISH] is you or he or she can, [SPEAKING SPANISH] for I want, [SPEAKING SPANISH] for you or he or she wants, and [SPEAKING SPANISH] is [SPEAKING SPANISH] for [SPEAKING SPANISH] and [SPEAKING SPANISH] for the third person.
Here's another little shortcut for you. If you want to make a request in a very polite manner, you can use the phrase [SPEAKING SPANISH]. It's like, could you please, pretty please, can you possibly? So [SPEAKING SPANISH], and you put any verb in the infinitive after that. Or you can use the expression [SPEAKING SPANISH], literally favor of, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. So you can ask [SPEAKING SPANISH] or [SPEAKING SPANISH]. Both would translate as could you please fill out this form?
OK, so if you're thinking that you've been learning the five verbs that we just reviewed [SPEAKING SPANISH], all of those. If learning the different conjugations of even just those five verbs is a little much for you, here are three general expressions. You can use these in every situation in order to communicate something that's necessary important or asking someone if something is possible.
So again, you can imply what is needed to be done, and you can ask what's possible to be done just with these three expressions. And because the word [SPEAKING SPANISH] the verb [SPEAKING SPANISH] is already conjugated for you to [SPEAKING SPANISH] which is [SPEAKING SPANISH] or it is, you don't have any conjugation to do at all. [SPEAKING SPANISH] as necessary. [SPEAKING SPANISH]. It's necessary to take all the medication. [SPEAKING SPANISH]. It's important not to drink alcohol with this medicine. [SPEAKING SPANISH]. It's possible, or is it possible. [SPEAKING SPANISH]. Is it possible to make an appointment for today? So have these three phrases handy and you'll be golden.
Your Spanish will sound much more advanced once you are able to combine two verbs. You will also drastically increase the number of things you are able to communicate. Consider how you naturally combine verbs in English.
EXAMPLE
You need to fill out this form. You should take this medicine with water. Can you return at 4:00?When you combine two verbs in Spanish, simply conjugate (change) the first verb and leave the second verb in the infinitive. The first verb will almost always be one of the following:
Verb | Example Sentence | English Translation |
---|---|---|
deber | Usted debe tomar la medicina tres veces cada día. | You should take the medicine three times a (each) day |
necesitar | Usted necesita tomar la medicina con agua. | You need to take the medicine with water. |
poder | ¿Puede usted volver a las cuatro? | Can you return at four? |
querer | Yo quiero explicar a usted esta medicina. | I want to explain to you this medicine. |
tener | Yo tengo que llamar a la doctora. | I have to call the doctor. |
Note that when using the verb "tener" with another verb, you must put que (pronounced "kay") after "tener."
1a. Making a Request
The most polite way of making a request in Spanish is to use the word pudiera, which means could you (please).
EXAMPLE
"¿Pudiera llenar esta forma?" means "Could you please sign this form?"You can also say favor de, which literally translates to favor of. Simply put an infinitive after it.
EXAMPLE
"¿Favor de llenar esta forma?" also means "Could you please fill out this form?"You can also use some very general expressions to express similar sentiments. Again, just add an infinitive.
Expression | Example Sentence | English Translation |
---|---|---|
es necesario | Es necesario tomar toda la medicina. | It is necessary to take all of the medicine. |
es importante | Es importante dormir bien. | It is important to sleep well. |
es posible | ¿Es posible caminar un poco? | Is it possible to walk around a little? |
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Source: This content has been adapted from "Spanish for Nurses" by Stephanie Langston.