Lesson 15: Pasar, 'Softening verbs', Pensar, Intender and Perder
We'll look at a few more verbs and in particular at why there is a slight change on some verbs between the spelling of the to form and the I /you/he/she/it/they form.
Before we dive in there is a useful verb ...
Pasar - to pass / to happen / to spend (time)
'Pasar' covers a multitude of meanings although we use the verb "to pass" in English in a similar way sometimes:
- "I'll pass by" - to pass
- "What passed shocked everyone" - to happen
- "I passed the weekend in Paris" - to spend
In English it can sound very formal and we mentioned earlier that words with Latin roots are often used at the more flowery end of our language ... but Spanish is closer to Latin so these words are for every day use.
 Spanish |  English |
|---|---|
| Pasar | to pass |
| Pasa | he/she/it passes |
A very common phrase you will here in everyday Spanish is 'Qué pasa' which literally means "What passes?" but a better translation would be "What's happening".
It is used when people meet as a way of asking "What's up?", "What have you been doing?", "Whats been going on in your life?"
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Qué pasa? | What's happening |
| Quiero saber qué pasa | I want to know what's happening |
| ¿Qué pasó? | What happened |
We're dabbling a little with the past here but 'Qué pasó' is another very common phrase you will hear in every day language. Remember the accent on the 'o' means you should emphasis that letter while in 'Que paso' - there is no accent on the 'o' so it means "What am I doing".
Softening verbs
The Language Transfer method of learning Spanish is all about thinking - being curious, looking for patterns or wondering why something is as it is and going in search of answers!
If you have been following this approach you will have noticed some verbs are not following our rules for finding endings quite as this course suggests.
'Tener' ("to have") is a prime example. To get "he has" we should take off the 'er' and add our key sound ('e' as in elephant) to give us 'Tene'. But we've already seen that "he has" is actually 'tiene'.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Tener | to have |
| Tiene | he/she/it/you (formal) has/have |
So what's going on here?
In some Spanish verbs we can imagine this has the accent of the spoken word pushing down on the first 'e' and under the pressure it splits into 'ie'.
There's no rule as to when this happens so if you are talking and come across a verb you haven't used before which has an 'e' where the accent will be you can try both forms - leave it as an 'e' or split it into 'ie' - and it will be enough for the Spanish speaker tounderstand you and correct you.
All we can say is that this 'softening' process or the 'splitting under the pressure' is widespread.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Querer | to want |
| Quiero | I want |
| Venir | to come |
| Viene | he comes |
| Vienen | they / you guys come |
| Vienes | you (informal) come |
| ¿Cuándo vienes? | When are you coming? |
But this doesn't happen when the I form is a 'go' verb ('tengo', 'vengo', etc.). Mentally we can imagine the 'go' holds the verb together and so the 'e' does not split into 'ie' under the pressure.
We see this concept a little in English. We have the word "Time" but when we want to talk about time in a musical context we say "Tempo". And the Spanish for "time" is 'tiempo'.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Tiempo | Time |
| Concierto | Concert |
| Noviembre | November |
But remember this is not a univeral rule. There are plenty of times when the 'e' does not split into 'ie':
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| llegar | To arrive |
| llego | I arrive |
| Esperar | To wait / hope |
| Espero | To wait / hope |
Pensar - to think
'Pensar' ("to think") is another verb where the 'e' splits.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Pensar | To think |
| Pienso | I think |
| Piensa | he/she/it/you (formal) think(s) |
| Piensas | you (informal) think |
| ¿Qué piensas? | What do you (informal) think? |
| Pienso comer | I plan to eat |
| Pienso comer más tarde | I plan to eat later |
Intender - to understand
And here is another (very useful!) verb where the 'e' splits to 'ie'
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Entender | To understand |
There is a temptation sometimes to just learn 'Comprender' - its easier to remember because it sounds more like the English "Comprehend" and the 'e' doesn't split but this is used less in every day Spanish and it is 'Entender' that you will hear more in conversation.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Entiendo | I understand |
| Entiende | He understands |
| Entienden | They understands |
Perder - to lose
A useful way to remember 'Perder' is to think about the English verb "to perish" because when something perishes you lose it!
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Perder | to lose |
| Pierdo | I lose |
| Lo pierdo | I lose it |
| Los pierdo | I lose them |