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| lunes | Monday | viernes | Friday |
| martes | Tuesday | sábado | Saturday |
| miércoles | Wednesday | domingo | Sunday |
| jueves | Thursday |
| ¿Qué día es hoy? | What day is (it) today? |
| Hoy es jueves. | Today is Thursday. |
| El martes voy a visitar a mi tío. | On Tuesday I am going to visit my uncle. |
| No vamos a la escuela los sábados y los domingos | We do not go to school on Saturday and Sunday (on Saturdays and on Sundays). |
| Vamos a la escuela el lunes, el martes, el miércoles, el jueves y el viernes (los lunes, los martes, os miércoles, ...). | We go to school on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (on Mondays, on Tuesdays, on Wednesdays, ...). |
1. On followed by a day of the week is expressed by el in Spanish if the day is in the singular. If the day is in the plural, los is used.
2. In English, the names of the days are often used in the singular even when they refer to more than one day. For example, on Saturday may mean either a particular Saturday or every Saturday. Before translating such phrases, you must decide which meaning is intended:
| We are going to the movies on Saturday. | Vamos al cine el sábado. |
| We go to the movies on Saturdays. | Vamos al cine los sábados. |
3. The names of the five weekdays end in -s in both the singular and the plural: el jueves, los jueves.
4. The Spanish names for the days of the week generally begin with a small letter; they are not capitalized as in English.
Exercise: Complete the Spanish translations.
1. On Wednesdays we do not watch TV.
_______________________________ no miramos la televisión.
2. They generally visit their grandparents on Friday.
Generalmente visitan a sus abuelos ___________________________.
3. What are you doing on Sunday?
¿Qué haces ___________________________________ ?
4. On Monday my uncle is coming to our house.
___________________________________ mi tío viene a nuestra casa.
| enero | January | julio | July |
| febrero | February | agosto | August |
| marzo | March | septiembre | September |
| abril | April | octubre | October |
| mayo | May | noviembre | November |
| junio | June | diciembre | December |
5. The Spanish names of the months are generally not capitalized.
Exercise: Complete each sentence with the name of the appropriate month.
1. Celebramos la Navidad en el mes de _________________________.
2. El primer mes del año es _________________________.
3. No vamos a la escuela en los meses de _____________ y __________.
4. El tercer mes del año es ________________________.
| ¿Cuál es la fecha (de hoy)? | What is the date (today)? |
| Hoy es el primero de mayo. | Today is May 1st ("the first of May"). |
| Viene el dos de junio. | He is coming on June 2nd. |
| Es el veintiuno de noviembre. | It is November 21st. |
| Hoy es el trece de abril de mil novecientos setenta y nueve. | Today is April 13th, 1979. |
6. The preposition de is used to separate the month from the number:
August 5 = el cinco de agosto.
7. With the exception of el primero, the cardinal numbers (dos, seis,
veinte, etc.) are used in dates.
8. On before a date is expressed by el in Spanish.
9. Unlike English, which expresses the year in abbreviated form (1937 = nineteen thirty-seven), Spanish expresses the year fully:
1937 = mil novecientos treinta y siete
(one thousand nine hundred thirty-seven)
Exercise: Write the following dates in Spanish words.
Example:
| (on) June 19, 1762 | el diecinueve de junio de mil setecientos sesenta y dos |
| 1. (on) July 1, 1929 | ________________________________________ |
| 2. (on) January 5, 1876 | ________________________________________ |
| 3. (on) October 30, 1684 | ________________________________________ |
| 4. (on) November 28, 1513 | ________________________________________ |
| la primavera | spring | el otoño | autumn (fall) |
| el verano | summer | el invierno | winter |
| En el verano generalmente hace calor. | It is generally warm in summer (the summertime). | ||
| La primavera es una estación muy bonita. | Spring (The springtime) is a very pretty season. | ||
10. The names of the seasons in Spanish are generally preceded by the definite article (el or la). The seasons are masculine except for la primavera.
Exercise: Write the Spanish name of the season.
1. _________________ Hace mucho frío.
2. _________________ la estación que viene después de la primavera.
3. _________________ Empieza el veinte y uno de septiembre.
4. _________________ Termina el veinte de junio.
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