Spanish Tip of the Day: necesitar, faltar, y hacer falta

Today we review faltar, necesitar, and hacer falta and their uses. SpanishDictionary.com defines them this way:

necesitar – to need/to require;  faltar – to miss; to be absent, to be missing. hacer falta – to need, to be necessary, to miss. It is made up of two concepts:  hacer – to do/make and la falta –the shortage/lack of/absence of someone/something. (In class I said hacer falta is to miss, but it also means to need)

 

In English, to miss is different than to need.  You may miss someone/something for various reasons: you need them, you want them, or you love them. These concepts don’t match 1:1 with Spanish concepts but using the 80/20 rule, here’s how to use them correctly most of the time.

 

necesitar and hacer falta are generally interchangeable, with the understanding that hacer falta is like gustar in that it’s not about who does the missing rather what is missing. “I miss you” is tú me haces falta” in the same way “I like you” is tú me gustas., Examples:

 

Yo te necesito. <and> Tú me haces falta both mean I need you.

Necesito ir al correo. <and> Me hace falta ir al correo  both mean I need to go to the post office. 

 

[Advanced Topic: One could say that necesitar is favored for abstract concepts (Estudiantes necesitan ir a la escuela todos los días; Students need to go the school every day, OR:

Necesita calentar el horno a 350 grados F. para cocinar una torta. (You need to heat the oven to 350F to cook a tart.)

Hace falta calentar el horno a 350 grados F. despues de servir el pollo este viernes.  (You need to heat the oven to 350F after serving the chicken this Friday.]

 

hacer falta can also mean to miss (someone/something),

 

faltar can also mean to miss, but in the sense that you run out of time or miss an activity.

 

Si falto el trabajo un día más, lo pierdo.

If I miss work one more day, I’ll lose it (get fired from the job).

 

Faltar is commonly used to say something is missing, or to be short something. 

 

Esta fiesta está muy aburrida. Falta música. 

This party is too boring. Music is missing.

Me faltan cinco pesos para comprar ese libro. I’m missing (I am short) 5 pesos to buy that book.

 

[Advanced Topic: So here is an example of using all three in a short story.

Necesita calentar el horno a 350 grados F. para cocinar una torta. (One needs to heat the oven to 350F to cook a tart)

Hace falta calentar el horno a 350 grados F. despues de servir el pollo este viernes.

Cinco minutos faltan para llegar a los 350 grados F.  (Five minutes are missing to arrive at 350F.)]

 

Finally, la falta is a noun that means the shortage, the lack of, the absence of.

Él murió por falta de aire.  He died because a lack of air.

El coronavirus ha creado una falta de papel higiénico. The corona virus has created a shortage of bathroom tissue)

¡Qué falta de respeto!  What lack of respect!  (How disrespectful, or how rude!)

 

 

Lección 62: Un Poquito Tuyo - Capítulos 5 y 6

Capítulo 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VXlB-bjxcw

Capítulo 6 ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlmIsJksoZQ

Capítulo 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHdMjTo5jN0

For Subtitles Press cc (on) and settings set to auto-translate English.

You can also slow down the playback….easier to pick up words.

 

Capítulo 5:  See Lesson 61.

Catalina and mother lie in bed lamenting the future lean years… Two of the help quit

2.     Antonio visits Julieta’s shop alone and offers her cash as compensation for the accident that led to their meeting. He hopes the money will help Julieta’s career as a clothing designer. She hesitates taking the help so as not to irritate his wife Catalina. Antonio has to leave to attend to other matters. “Tengo unos asuntos que atender.” I have some matters to attend to

3.     Elvis is convinced that the person, who fed information to Julieta about his infidelity, works with Julieta, based on some of the text messages he has seen. He asks Elena to help find out who it is and to help win Julieta back. Elena feels the heat since she is the one but Elvis doesn’t know it. She refuses to help him win back Julieta, exclaiming “Jamás, jamás, jamás” (Never, never, never). He goes on to say “Ándale, Elena.  Por favor. No te cuesta nada. Ayudame. ”Go on (Mexican colloq.) Elena, please. it doesn’t cost you anything. Elena agrees “Sí, te voy a ayudar, pero no te prometo nada.” Yes I will help you, but I promise you nothing (note the double negative in the Spanish). Elvis is made aware of Julieta’s presence at the mall…he runs to see her but Elena holds him back saying, no he has to change strategies and ignore her. “Castígala con latigos de indeferencia.” Punish her with whips/lashes of indifference.

4.     Eduardo & Vivian apply for a job at a restaurant, however the maître d’ (maître; name = Beto) knows them and is skeptical. He has them fill out an application and return within the hour. Beto is notably skeptical. He asks to speak with Viviana in private (privado) during which he confesses his love for her. She brushes him off saying that friends should not fall in love with each other. Beto then asks that she not contact him. “Necesito olvidarte.(I need to forget you)

5.     Paco (Julieta/Elena’s father?) once again meets with Doña Gregoria (Elvis’ mother) and flirts with her shamefully, while she becomes more and more incensed at his behavior. “Mientras más te enojas, más me gustas.”  (The angrier you get, the more I like you.) She calls him a pervert (abusador) and storms off.

6.     Elvis shows a his brother Elton the texts he’s been receiving. Elton looks at them and says, "Sé quién es.“ (I know who it is). The episode ends.

 

Capítulo 6: 

Julieta speaks with Elvis. She suspects he’s done something wrong (¿Qué hiciste? – what did you do?) Yo te conozco muy bien (I know you very well). Elvis dodges the question and leaves. His brother  Elton tells Julieta about Elvis’ secret admirer and his fascination in finding out who she is. Julieta is obviously not at all pleased.

 

Vivian speaks with her admirer Beto. She tried to get a job where  Beto works but the boss didn’t like her performance. Beto will try and secure her a 2^nd chance. She starts crying. “¿Por qué lloras” (Why are you crying?) She says “Tu me haces falta.” (I miss you). Beto reminds her they are no longer friends but perhaps in the future,…? Vivi apologizes to Beto for having treated him so poorly. Meanwhile the shirtless American comes by looking for her. Beto is disturbed but keeps his cool.

 

Julieta / Elena

Julieta confronts Elena about Elvis. She accuses Elena of helping Elvis to win her back. Julieta remains unaware that Elena is the secret admirer now pursuing Elvis. Elena denies helping Elvis.

 

Elvis/Elton and their mother Gabriela

Elton reveals that Paco (julieta’s father) French kissed his mother. Elvis is outraged. Hyperventilates. “Respira ondo”  Breathe deeply. The brother lies that the kiss is only a joke, meanwhile Gabriela receives a text/photo from Paco professing his love for her.

 

Catalina/Surgeon

Catalina is unhappy she’s on a waiting list for plastic surgery and flirts with him to gain special favors. She calls him Baby. He can’t help her “Solo soy tu medico.” (I’m only your doctor.)  They embrace and kiss. She responds “Hoy necesito alguien más que solamente un médico.” (Today I need someone more than just a doctor)

 

Julieta/Antonio

Antonio goes to see Julieta at her workplace. He received a text the day prior from Julieta but did not recognize the number so he deleted it accidentally: “Lo borré sin querer.” (I erased it without wanting).  He returns to ask for her number and Juliet gives Antonio her mobile number. He announces it’s his first day as a taxi driver.

Lección 61: Repaso de Pronombres (Pronouns), Un Poquito Tuyo Cap. 5

To fully understand how pronouns work, it’s important to identify what role they play in a sentence. They generally modify a noun whose role is listed in the table below. Some examples are helpful. 

Tomás compró a Susana un libro.

In this example, Tomás is the Subject, a book is the Direct Object and Susana is the indirect object. Then you choose from the appropriate list showing all the possible permutations (seeLesson 9).

 

Los Pronombres Españoles

Subject	Direct Object	Indirect Object	Reflexive	Prepositional	Reciprocal	Possessive
yo	me	me	me	mí	-	mio,mia,mios,mias
tú	te	te	te	tí	-	tuyo/-a, tuyos/-as
él	lo	le	se	él	-	[de él]
ella	la	le	se	ella	-	[de ella]
usted (Ud.)	lo, la	le	se	usted	-	suyo/-a/-os/-as
nosotros	nos	nos	nos	nosotros	nos	nuestro/-a, -os, -as
ellos	los	les	se	ellos	se	[de ellos]
ellas	las	les	se	ellas	se	[de ellas]
ustedes (Uds.)	los, las	les	se	ustedes	se	suyo/-a/-os/-as

 

Remember that object pronouns, including reflexives and reciprocals go BEFORE the verb:  e.g.  Hoy me compro una camisa (Today I buy myself a shirt). When you have both a direct and an indirect pronoun, then the indirect pronoun goes first: e.g. Él me la compró ayer. (He bought it for me yesterday). The TWO big exceptions are commands and infinitives:  e.g.  ¡Cómpratela! (Buy it for yourself!) and Ella tiene que comprarsela mañana. (She has to buy it for herself tomorrow)

 

Subject:                                    I eat breakfast.                        Yo como el desayuno.

Direct Object:                          I read the book                        Yo leo el libro.                        

(me/te/lo,la/nos/los las)             I read it.                                   Yo lo leo.

Indirect Object:                        I give Juan the book.              Yo doy el libro a Juan.         

(me/te/le/nos/les)                      I give him the book.                 Yo le doy el libro.

(me/te/se/nos/se)                       I give it to him.                        Yo se lo doy. ***

 

*** When using both a Direct Object pronoun and an Indirect Object pronoun in the same sentence, the Indirect Object pronouns le and les change to se when combined with the object pronouns lo, la, los, or las.

 

Practice Quiz Direct Object Pronouns:   https://studyspanish.com/grammar/test/dopro1

Reflexive:                                                    I wash my hands (I wash myself the hands)    Yo me lavo las manos

(me/te/se/nos/se)                                   You wash your hands.                                              Tú te lavas las manos.

                                                                        She washes her hands                                             Ella se lava las manos

                                                                        We wash our hands              Nosotros nos lavamos las manos.

                                                                        They wash their hands.        Ellos se lavan las manos

 

Prepositional:                                           I am in front of you.                       Yo estoy delante de tí.

(mí/tí/él,ella, Ud./nosotros/ellos,                You are in front of me.                   Tú estas delante de mí.

ellas, Uds.)                                                  I am in front of him.                      Yo estoy delante de él.                                           

                                                                        He is in front of them                Él está delante de ellos.

 

Reciprocal:                                                 We kiss each other.                      Nosotros nos besamos.

(each other, one another)                    You (all) kiss one another.                    Ustedes (Uds.) se besan.

(nos/se/se)                                                 They kiss each other.                     Ellos se besan.

 

Possessive:                                         The shirt is mine                                  La camisa es mía.                                                       The book is yours.                               El libro es tuyo.

                                                              The ice cream is ours                          El helado es nuestro.                             

                                                              The table is yours (formal)                  La mesa es suya.                   

 

Special cases: with me / you               You come with me.                              Tú vienes conmigo.

                                                                        I go with you.                             Yo voy contigo.

 

Un Poquito Tuyo Capítulo 5

 

1.     Catalina and mother lie in bed lamenting the future lean years… Two of the help quit

2.     Antonio visits Julieta’s shop alone and offers her cash as compensation for the accident that led to their meeting. He hopes the money will help Julieta’s career as a clothing designer. She hesitates taking the help so as not to irritate his wife Catalina. Antonio has to leave to attend to other matters. “Tengo unos asuntos que atender.” I have some matters to attend to

3.     Elvis is convinced that the person, who fed information to Julieta about his infidelity, works with Julieta, based on some of the text messages he has seen. He asks Elena to help find out who it is and to help win Julieta back. Elena feels the heat since she is the one but Elvis doesn’t know it. She refuses to help him win back Julieta, exclaiming “Jamás, jamás, jamás” (Never, never, never). He goes on to say “Ándale, Elena.  Por favor. No te cuesta nada. Ayudame. ”Go on (Mexican colloq.) Elena, please. it doesn’t cost you anything. Elena agrees “Sí, te voy a ayudar, pero no te prometo nada.” Yes I will help you, but I promise you nothing (note the double negative in the Spanish). Elvis is made aware of Julieta’s presence at the mall…he runs to see her but Elena holds him back saying, no he has to change strategies and ignore her. “Castígala con latigos de indeferencia.” Punish her with whips/lashes of indifference.

4.     Eduardo & Vivian apply for a job at a restaurant, however the maître d’ (maître; name = Beto) knows them and is skeptical. He has them fill out an application and return within the hour. Beto is notably skeptical. He asks to speak with Viviana in private (privado) during which he confesses his love for her. She brushes him off saying that friends should not fall in love with each other. Beto then asks that she not contact him. “Necesito olvidarte.(I need to forget you)

5.     Paco (Julieta/Elena’s father?) once again meets with Doña Gregoria (Elvis’ mother) and flirts with her shamefully, while she becomes more and more incensed at his behavior. “Mientras más te enojas, más me gustas.”  (The angrier you get, the more I like you.) She calls him a pervert (abusador) and storms off.

6.     Elvis shows a his brother Elton the texts he’s been receiving. Elton looks at them and says, "Sé quién es.“ (I know who it is). The episode ends.

Lección 60: Un Poquito Tuyo, Capítulo 4

This episode was particularly difficult due to absence of subtitles in the You Tube version.

Summary

 

1.     Antonio and Catalina return from the hospital to an unauthorized pool party. Antonio is visibly angry and shuts down the party.

2.     Julieta’s sister Elena admits to sharing the video with Julieta of Elvis cavorting with other women

3.     Javi continues to pursue Madonna.

4.     Madona’s boyfriend Tomás confronts Madona and accuses her of having an affair with Javi.

5.     Meanwhile Madona’s sister Elena admits she shared the Elvis video to sabotage the wedding with Madona.

6.     Elvis’ mother (Conchita ?)  and Julieta/Elena’s father Paco have a heated exchange of words that neither did enough to make the wedding a success. Paco suggenly gives her a passionate kiss and all is caught on surveillance camera.

7.     Elvis accuses his cousin (name?) of releasing the video to Elena. Elena later runs into him and accuses him of the same thing and is angry that he did not disclose its contents

 

Additional Events (in the long version)

 

Antonio sends Julieta a texts signed “Romeo.” establishing a connection with Romeo & Juliet.

Antonio agrees to rent out rooms to tenants for a fee, to earn money for an education fund

Viviana is caught kissing the American student poolside

Antonio calls a family meeting to decide who will do what in this new era of imposed poverty.

Lucrecia, Antonio’s sister, complains that poverty is unfairly being imposed on her and her husband.

 

Memorable Phrases

la fiesta se acabó	The party is finished/over (The party has finished itself)
callate	Be quiet / Shut up (from callarse, to be quiet)
Lo hice por tu bien	I did it for your benefit
Te guste ó no	Like it or not.
Me largo de aquí.	I am getting (the h*ll) out of here From largarse, to leave.

Spanish Tip of the Day: When to use the definite article before the Noun in Spanish

Spanish nouns are often accompanied by a definite article (e.g. el, la, los, las), and they are often used in instances where an article would not be used in English.

During a recent conversation in class, a particular sentence similar to the one below raised this question "when do you use the definite article in front of a noun?" Consider the following statements:

Viví cinco años en la Florida. 

Viví cinco años en Venezuela. 

 In both sentences you have the name of a location (la Florida; Venezuela), In English it is translated as "I lived five years in Florida." or "I lived five years in Venezuela."

It turns out certain place names include the article in the name: el Canadá, la Florida, la Habana, los Estados Unidos, others do not: Nueva York, Venezuela, California. You need to remember which familiar places that you speak of frequently take the article or not.  Remember that Florida takes the article: Yo vivo en la Florida.

But there are useful rules that guide you for other nouns. Sometimes the use or lack of a definite article matches English:

Pásame el arroz, por favor.  --  Please pass me the rice. (article in both)

Me gusta comer helado -- I like to eat ice cream.(no article in either)

1.Proper nouns in beginning of sentences usually take the article:

 La comida mexicana es deliciosa. Mexican food is delicious.

Los gatos son inteligentes.  Cats are intelligent.

2. Days of the week:

Tengo que trabajar el lunes-- I have to work on Monday.  

Ella llega el viernes por trén. -- She arrives Friday by train.

3. Languages: the general rule is you include the article when the language is the subject of a sentence, and you leave it out when it's the object of a verb:

    Dicen que el aleman y el ruso son idiomas muy difíciles.

Yo estudio español.

4. Body Parts and Things you wear: In English you say "My head hurts." In Spanish you say "The head hurts me," or "To me hurts the head."

Me duele la cabeza.

A mi me duele la cabeza.

Hoy me pongo los espejuelos de sol-- Today I wear sunglasses.

5. Time: Always use the definite article when telling time.

Es la una de la tarde. It's one o'clock in the afternoon.

Son las dos y media. It is two thirty.

Ella se acuesta a dormir siempre a las dies de la noche. She always goes to bed at 10:30pm.

(Remember that time is always feminine, because la hora is feminine.)

As you can see, Spanish uses the definite articles much more that English. When in doubt, use the article.