Lesson 17: Colgar, Tomar, Cerrar and the we form of verbs
We'll carry on building out new verbs and learn the we form of all verbs in the present tense.
Verb softening recap
So let's just recap on this concept that in some verbs the 'e' splits into 'ie' when we press down on it verbally and this also often happens with 'o' spludding to 'ue'.
In 'Querer' ("to want") we have the 'e' that we emphasis slitting into 'ie'.
 Spanish |  English |
|---|---|
| Querer | to want |
| Quiero | I want |
| Quiere | he/she/it/you (formal) want(s) |
| Quieren | They want |
| Quieres | You (informal) want |
| ¿Qué quieres? | What do you want |
In 'Perder' ("to lose" - and we remember that from the English word 'perishable') we have the 'e' that we emphasis slitting into 'ie'.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Perder | to lose |
| Pierdo | I lose |
| Pierde | he/she/it/you (formal) lose(s) |
| Pierden | they lose |
| Pierdes | you (informal) lose |
In 'dormir' ("to sleep - and we remember that for the English word 'dormitority') we have the 'o' splutting it 'ue'.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Dormir | to sleep |
| Duermo | I sleep |
| Me duermo | I fall asleep |
| Duerme | He sleeps |
| Duermen | They sleep |
But the important thing to remember here is that the 'e' or 'o' do not always split. There is no hard and fast rule surrounding this but you do tend to start forming an intuition over time!
Its also worth a reminder that if you can't remember or come across a new verb and you are unsure then 99% of the time you will actually be understood, a Spanish speaker can correct you and you will learn!
One place, for example, where the 'o' does not split is in 'Comer - "to eat".
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Comer | to eat |
| Como | I eat |
Colgar - to hang
This is a verb where the 'o' splits so ... before you scroll down to see the various forms ... you should be able to work them all out from the rules we have covered so far.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Colgar | to hang |
| Cuelgo | I hang |
| Cuelga | He hangs |
| Cuelgan | They hang |
| Lo Cuelgan | They hang it |
| Los Cuelgan | They hang them |
| Los Cuelga | She hangs them |
English words that begin 'al'
These words have their root in Arabic and the 'al' means 'the' in Arabic - like "algebra" (which is actually spelt the same in Spanish).
So 'alcohol' actually means "the cohol'.
In Spanish 'Azúcar' means "sugar" and this also comes from Arabic - the 'Al' has become merged with the start of the word but its clear to see the similarities with the English word.
In Spanish 'Arroz' means "rice" and this also comes from Arabic - the 'Al' also become merged with the start of the word but if you took that off and you are left with 'roz' its also close to the English word.
Much of Spain was under arabic rule for over 800 years so its no surprise that the Arabic language has a strong influence over modern day Spanish and we'll see more of these connections over time - helpful if you want to go on to learn Arabic or if you are an Arabic speaker!
We'll have a look at some of these words with various verbs now but if you come across a word in Spanish that starts 'al' you can assume it came from Arabic.
Tomar - to take
'Tomar' is also used as "to drink" in the same way as we say in English "Will you take tea now?". Again in English this is a very elegant way of asking someone if they want to drink tea but the form is everyday language in Spanish.
This is a verb where the 'o' does not split.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| No tomo alcohol | I don't drink alcohol |
| No tomo azúcar | I don't take sugar |
| Toma | he/she/it/you (formal) take(s) |
| Tomas | you (informal) take |
| ¿Qué tomas? | What are you taking? |
| ¿Qué tomas? | What do you want to drink? |
| Toman | They drink |
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Beber | To drink |
| Una Bebida | A drink |
| La Bebida | The drink |
But in every day language 'tomar' is much more common.
The We form of verbs
We haven't covered this yet but now that we're familiar with all the other forms of a verb and how they come about its a good time to have a look!
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Tomamos | We take |
So we've taken off the 'ar' and added 'amos' - a rule that is true for almost all verbs ending 'ar'.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Hablar | To speak |
| Hablo | I speak |
| Hablamos | We speak |
One major point here is that the accent is moving to the 'a' of 'amos' and that has an implication on verbs with 'e' or 'o' which split to 'ie' or 'ue'.
In the we form we are no longer pushing down on these, the accent has moved, so they do not split.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Encontrar | To find / encounter |
| Encuentro | I find / I'm finding |
| Encuentra | He finds |
| Encuentran | They find |
| Encuentras | You (informal) find |
| Encontramos | We find |
And another one to recap.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Mostrar | To show |
| Muestro | I show / I'm showing |
| Muestra | He shows |
| Muestran | They show |
| Muestras | You (informal) show |
| Mostramos | We show |
.. and another ...
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Pensar | To think |
| Pienso | I think |
| Pienso que sí | I think so |
| Piensa | he/she thinks |
| Piensan | They think |
| Piensas | You (informal) think |
| ¿Qué piensas? | What do you think? |
| ¿Qué piensas hacer? | What are you thinking of doing? |
| Pensamos | We think |
... and finally ...
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Cerrar | To close |
| Cierro | I close |
| Cierra | he/she/it/you (formal) close(s) |
| Cerramos | We close |