Today's lesson will highlight clips from our Yabla Spanish library to teach you some pertinent terms to talk about many people's favorite holiday... Halloween!!! So get ready, and enjoy this lesson about Halloween in Spanish!
Although Halloween is primarily thought of as a North American holiday, its fun festivities have been adopted by many countries throughout the world. When we speak about Halloween in Spanish, we typically keep its English name:
Esta noche es Halloween y seguro que muchas veces habéis pensado disfrazaros con vuestra mascota
Tonight is Halloween and surely you've thought many times of dressing up with your pet
Captions 137-138, Animales en familia Un día en Bioparc: Coatís
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This caption describes the common Halloween costumbre (custom) of disfrazarse (dressing up). You'll note from the previous sentence that costumbre means "custom" or "tradition" rather than "costume" as you might think, making it somewhat of a false cognate. On the other hand, the correct way to say "the costume" in Spanish is el disfraz.
Ay, Aurelito, ¿me prestarías un disfraz?
Oh, Aurelito, would you lend me a costume?
Caption 32, Club 10 Capítulo 1 - Part 2
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What other vocabulary words might we associate with Halloween? We might start by reviewing some Spanish vocabulary for the autumn season since Halloween falls at that time of year. We could then move on to some of Halloween's personajes más espeluznantes (spookiest characters).
Let's look at some video clips that include the names of some of the most typical Halloween characters:
¿Quién no ha querido a una diosa licántropa?
Who hasn't loved a werewolf goddess?
Caption 5, Shakira Loba
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porque sí sé... ahí está el monstruo.
because I know... here's the monster.
Caption 29, Antonio Vargas - Artista Comic
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El fantasma y la loca se quieren casar
The ghost and the madwoman want to get married
Caption 24, Gloria Trevi Psicofonía
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En la época, eran utilizadas para espantar a las brujas
In the era, they were used to scare away witches
Caption 46, Viajando en Colombia Cartagena en coche - Part 2
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Let's look at another verb that means "to frighten" or "scare":
o cuando hay una fecha importante, ellos salen... a divertir y a asustar a la gente porque están como unos diablos.
or when there is an important date, they go out... to amuse and to frighten people because they're [dressed] like devils.
Captions 45-46, El Trip Ibiza
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And, in addition to asustar, we learn the word for another Halloween character: un diablo (a devil). Let's see another verb that means "to scare":
¡Me da miedo! -¡Ahí te tienes que quedar, ya está!
It scares me! -There you have to stay, ready!
Caption 24, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 7
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Note that the noun el miedo means "the fear," and the verb dar miedo (literally "to give fear") can thus mean either "to scare" or "be scary." When employed in conjunction with an indirect object pronoun to indicate to whom this action is happening (le in this case, which corresponds with usted), the most common translation is "to scare," as we see in this caption.
So, what if we want to say that we "are" or "feel scared"? A common verb for this is tener miedo (literally "to have fear"), as seen in this caption with the Halloween-appropriate noun la oscuridad (the dark/darkness):
¡Porque le tiene miedo a la oscuridad!
Because he's afraid of the dark!
Caption 24, Guillermina y Candelario El parque de diversiones - Part 2
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The reflexive form of asustar, asustarse, also means "to be" or "get scared":
Aparecieron unos cazadores, y el patito se asustó mucho
Some hunters appeared, and the duckling got really scared
Caption 36, Cleer El patito feo
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Yet another way to talk about being "scared" in Spanish is with adjectives like asustado (scared) or aterrorizado (terrified):
Llegan muy asustados, muy aterrorizados,
They arrive very scared, very terrified,
Caption 25, Los Reporteros Caza con Galgo - Part 3
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For more on the ways in which verbs, adjectives, and nouns can be used to describe our feelings, be sure to check out our lesson on expressing emotions in Spanish.
Let's conclude this section with a few ways to express the concept of "scary":
¡Uy, qué miedo!
Oh, how scary!
Caption 21, Guillermina y Candelario La Peluqueria del Mar - Part 1
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Literally meaning "What fear!" the Spanish expression ¡Qué miedo! is a common way to say "how scary" something is. We can also use our previously-mentioned verb dar miedo (this time without the indirect object pronoun) to convey the idea of "being scary":
Eh... Sí. Lo desconocido siempre da miedo.
Um... Yes. The unknown is always scary.
Caption 13, Yago 13 La verdad - Part 8
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We can also say "scary" with adjectives like escalofriante, sinestro/a, or miedoso/a:
¿Y esa calavera tan miedosa?
And that very scary skull?
Caption 20, Guillermina y Candelario Un pez mágico - Part 2
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And with the word for "the skull" in Spanish (la calavera), we come to our last category: Halloween objects!
If we know how to say "skull," we had better find out how to say "skeleton" in Spanish:
con una forma parecida a la del esqueleto de un dinosaurio,
with a shape similar to that of a dinosaur's skeleton,
Caption 30, Raquel Valencia - Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias
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So, where might we find such esqueletos? Why, in their tumbas (graves) in el cementerio (the cemetery) of course!
en Ricardo, en su tumba en el cementerio,
about Ricardo in his grave in the cemetery,
Caption 28, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 10 - Part 8
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So, let's set the scene in that cemetery with a "full moon" in Spanish, which might inspire some hombre lobo (another word for "werewolf") to come out:
Y la luna llena Por los cielos azulosos, infinitos y profundos esparcía su luz blanca
And the full moon In the bluish skies, infinite and profound, scattered its white light
Captions 11-12, Acercándonos a la Literatura José Asunción Silva - "Nocturno III"
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Now, let's focus on some slightly less ominous symbols of Halloween such as el gato negro (the black cat), seen in its diminutive form in the following caption:
También está este gatito negro
There's also this black kitty
Caption 73, Fermín y los gatos Mis gatas vecinas
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The "pumpkin" is, perhaps, the most famed Halloween symbol of all:
Justo en el doblez del papel, trazamos la mitad de la calabaza.
Right on the fold of the paper, we draw half of the pumpkin.
Caption 67, Manos a la obra Papel picado para Día de muertos
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And finally, we associate Halloween with trick-or-treating, or going door to door to get "candy":
Y ahora cortamos pedacitos de caramelo.
And now we cut little pieces of candy.
Caption 38, Manos a la obra Postres de Minecraft
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The way to say "Trick or treat!" varies from region to region, but some popular ways are: "Dulce o truco" in Argentina, "Dulce o travesura" in Mexico, and the more literal but less accurate "Truco o trato" (from the verb "tratar," or "to treat") in Spain, where they also say "Dulce o caramelo." In Colombia, you might hear "Triqui, triqui," where kids sing the following song:
Triqui triqui Halloween/Quiero dulces para mí/Si no hay dulces para mí/se le crece la naríz,
which translates as:
Trick or treat, Halloween/I want treats for me/If there are no treats for me/Your nose will grow.
Meanwhile, Pedir dulce o truco/travesura, etc. can be used to talk about the action of "trick-or-treating."
Let’s conclude today’s lesson with a review of the Halloween vocabulary we have learned:
el Halloween: Halloween
¡Feliz Halloween! Happy Halloween!
difrazarse: to dress up
el disfraz: the costume
la costumbre: the custom, tradition
el personaje: the character
espeluznante: spooky
el/la licántropo/a: the werewolf
el hombre lobo: the werewolf
el monstruo: the monster
el fantasma: the ghost
el/la loco/a: the madman/madwoman
la bruja: the witch
el diablo: the devil
espantar: to scare away
asustar: to scare
el miedo: the fear
dar miedo: to scare/be scary
tener miedo: to be scared
asustarse: to be/get scared
asustado/a: scared/frightened
aterrorizado/a: terrified
escalofriante: scary
siniestro/a: scary
miedoso/a: scary
¡Qué miedo! How scary!
la oscuridad: the darkness/dark
la calavera: the skull
el esqueleto: the skeleton
la tumba: the graveel cementerio: the cemetery
la luna llena: the full moon
el gato negro: the black cat
la calabaza: the pumkin
el caramelo: the candy
¡Dulce o truco/travesura/caramelo! Trick or treat!
¡Truco o trato! Trick or treat!
¡Triqui triqui! Trick or treat!
Pedir dulce o truco/travesura: to go trick or treating
We hope you've enjoyed this lesson about Halloween in Spanish, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.
¡Feliz Halloween! (Happy Halloween!).
We all know that mastering irregular verbs like ser (to be) and ir (to go) can be tricky. Very often, however, we can take advantage of those special rules that make the learning process a bit easier. In this lesson, we will explore one of them: the ser and ir preterite conjugation!
First of all, the good news: the verbs ser and ir share the same simple past conjugation! By simple past, we are referring to what is known in Spanish as pretérito perfecto simple or just pretérito (preterite). That being said, let’s review the ser and ir preterite conjugation of these two verbs.
Yo fui | I was
Tú fuiste | You were
Él/Ella fue | He/She was
Nosotros fuimos | We were
Vosotros fuisteis | You were
Ellos fueron | They were
Let's see a couple of examples:
Pensar que un día fui la respuesta
To think that one day I was the answer
Caption 15, Belanova - Tal vez
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Aprendí que los primeros en hacer cómic fueron los aztecas.
I learned that the first ones to make comics were the Aztecs.
Captions 47-48, Antonio Vargas - Artista - Comic
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Yo fui | I went
Tú fuiste | You went
Él/Ella fue | He/She went
Nosotros fuimos | We went
Vosotros fuisteis | You went
Ellos fueron | They went
Did you see that? The ser and ir preterite conjugation is the same! Now, let's see a couple of examples with the verb ir:
Y sí, definitivamente fuimos a tomar un café, fuimos a cenar.
And yes, we definitely went for a coffee, went to dinner.
Caption 18, Enanitos Verdes - Luz de día
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¿Y te fuiste a vivir con tu novio con cuánto?
And you went to live with your boyfriend when you were how old?
-Con diecisiete.
-I was seventeen.
Caption 92, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 14
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We also use the simple past conjugation of the verb ir for the reflexive form irse (to leave):
Yo me fui de la casa cuando tenía nueve años.
I left home when I was nine years old.
Caption 41, La Sub30 - Familias - Part 5
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Desde aquel día que te fuiste, supe que eras para mí
From that day on which you left, I knew you were for me
Caption 1, Andy Andy - Maldito Amor
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That's all for now. But before we leave, a short exercise for you: Write 10 sentences using the preterite of the verb ser and 10 sentences using the preterite of the verb ir. and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.
Let's learn some Spanish vocabulary related to emergency situations. We really hope you never find yourself needing to use these words, but it’s not a bad idea to keep them on hand.
Some of the most well-known emergency words in Spanish are ayuda and auxilio:
¡Uy, auxilio! ¡Callen a ese gallo!
Oh, help! Shut up that rooster!
Caption 12, NPS No puede ser - 1 - El concurso
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The word socorro is less known:
¡Socorro! ¡Sáquenme!
Help! Get me out!
Captions 9-10, Yago - 2 El puma
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Remember that being able to cry for help is just as important as remaining calm:
Cálmate, Yas.
Calm down, Yas.
Para que te tranquilices,
So that you calm down,
te voy a regalar un poquito del agua.
I am going to give you a little bit of the water.
Captions 19-21, Kikirikí - Agua
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Lately, the world has seen many natural disasters, especially massive hurricanes and earthquakes. You have to know what to do if you hear the phrase alerta de followed by the word huracán or ciclón (hurricane), or terremoto or sismo (earthquake):
En plena tormenta cuando va a entrar un huracán...
In the middle of the storm when a hurricane is coming...
Caption 17, Antonio Vargas - Artista - Comic
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El terremoto destruyó muchas casas.
The earthquake destroyed many houses.
Caption 18, Lecciones con Carolina - La voz pasiva
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Maybe you'll need to go to an albergue or refugio (shelter):
Los tenemos en el albergue.
We have them at the shelter.
Caption 29, Otavalo - Patrulla Amigo Fiel - Salvemos a los perros callejeros
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Mieke y su hija viven en Amsterdam
Mieke and her daughter live in Amsterdam
y acaban de llegar al refugio.
and they have just arrived to the shelter.
Caption 7, Los Reporteros - Caza con Galgo
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Certain phrases are very helpful in case of an emergency, for example, to call for medical help:
Alguien que llame a una ambulancia, por favor.
Someone should call an ambulance, please.
Caption 54, Muñeca Brava - 2 Venganza
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Me duele (it hurts) is vital:
Gün, me duele la cabeza mucho.
Gün, my head hurts badly.
Caption 61, Escuela Don Quijote - En el aula
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As is the phrase he tenido un accidente (I've had an accident):
Para que no tengamos ningún accidente...
So that we don't have any accident...
Caption 58, Adícora, Venezuela - Darío y el Kitesurfing
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Can you think of other emergency words that you would like to learn?
Direct and indirect object pronouns in Spanish are used to substitute indirect and direct objects. This lesson explores the proper way to do these substitutions using examples from our catalog of videos.
The direct and indirect object pronouns in Spanish are identical except for the third-person singular and plural (him, her, it, them) and the second-person formal (you) forms:
| Subject pronouns | Direct object pronouns | Indirect Object pronouns | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
yo
| I |
| me | me | me | me | |
|
tú
| you | te | you | te | you | ||
|
él, ella, usted
| he, she, you (formal) | lo, la | him, her, it, you | le | him, her, you | ||
|
nosotros, nosotras
| we | nos | us | nos | us | ||
|
vosotros, vosotras
| you (plural familiar) | os | you (plural familiar) | os | you (plural familiar) | ||
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | they, you (plural formal) | los, las | them, you (plural formal) | les | them, you (plural formal) | ||
So, the pronoun me is used to substitute either the direct object, as in:
A Adícora me trajo el viento.
The wind brought me to Adícora.
Caption 7, Adícora, Venezuela - Darío y el Kitesurfing
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Or the indirect object, as in:
Mi papá había ido a Nueva York
My father had gone to New York
en un viaje de negocios y me trajo unos discos.
on a business trip and brought me some records.
Caption 1, Carli Muñoz - Niñez
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In the previous example, me is the indirect object, while unos discos (some records) is the direct object, which is a plural masculine noun that according to our table is substituted by los (them). So, to substitute both objects you must say: me los trajo (he brought them to me).
Now, the pronoun te is used to substitute either the direct object:
Y de este lado sólo te revuelca,
And from this side it only pushes you around,
pero del otro lado te come.
but from the other side it eats you.
Captions 37-38, Antonio Vargas - Artista - Comic
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or the indirect object:
Bueno y por eso te traje las aspirinas.
Well, and that's why I brought you the aspirins.
Caption 43, Muñeca Brava - 2 Venganza
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In the previous example, te is the indirect object, while las aspirinas (the aspirins) is the direct object, which is a plural feminine noun that according to our table is substituted by las (them). So, to substitute both objects you must say: te las traje (I brought them to you).
For the third person of singular (him, her, it & formal "you"), though, Spanish uses lo, la for direct object and le for indirect object. So, for a feminine noun as cicatriz (scar) in the direct object position we use la (in genderless English we use "it"):
Porque tiene una pequeña cicatriz en el brazo que sólo yo conozco
Because he has a small scar on his arm that only I know about
porque se la hizo jugando conmigo.
because he got it playing with me.
Captions 41-42, Yago - 10 Enfrentamientos
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For a masculine noun as pollo (chicken) in the direct object position we use lo (again, English uses "it"):
Ya tenemos listo aquí nuestro pollo.
We already have our chicken ready here.
Y lo decoramos con un poco de ajonjolí y cebollín.
And we decorate it with a bit of sesame seeds and chives.
Captions 17-18, [Bears in the Kitchen] Osos en la cocina - Pollo asiático
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Take note that lo and la are also used for usted (the formal you) in the direct object position. Lo is used for a noun in the direct object position that designates a male person (Morgan):
Morgan, la Señorita Victoria
Morgan, Miss Victoria
está enterada de su regreso y lo espera en el escritorio.
is aware of your return and awaits you in the study.
Caption 29, Muñeca Brava - 18 - La Apuesta
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Or la for a noun in the direct object position that designates a female person (let's say Ms. Gonzalez):
Señora Gonzalez, el doctor la verá a las diez.
Ms. Gonzalez, the doctor will see you at ten.
On the other hand, the indirect object uses a different pronoun le (him, her, it & formal "you"). So, for a masculine noun like muchacho (boy) in the indirect object position we use le:
Otro muchacho que nunca escuchó
Another boy that never listened
Los consejos que su madre le dio
To the advice his mother gave him
Captions 40-41, La Secta - Consejo
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And we would also use le if we were talking about una muchacha (a girl):
Otra muchacha que nunca escuchó los consejos que su madre le dio
Another girl that never listened to the words of advice his mother gave her
Equally, we use le if we are addressing someone formally:
Usted que nunca escuchó los consejos que su madre le dio
You who never listened to the words of advice your mother gave you
Got it? Now a test. How do you substitute not only the indirect object (muchacho, muchacha, usted), but also the direct object los consejos (the words of advise) in the previous examples? This is how:
Otro muchacho que nunca escuchó los que su madre le dio
Another boy that never listened to the ones his mother gave him
Otra muchacha que nunca escuchó los que su madre le dio
Another boy that never listened to the ones his mother gave her
Usted que nunca escuchó los que su madre le dio
You who never listened to the ones your mother gave you
It's interesting to note how English can't use "them" to replace "the words of advise" in this particular construction because the wording is odd (it's somehow odd in Spanish as well). So let's simplify the example (the indirect object and indirect pronouns appear in bold):
Mamá dio unos consejos al muchacho / Mamá se los dio.
Mom gave the boy some words of advise / Mom gave them to him.
Mamá dio unos consejos a la muchacha / Mamá se los dio.
Mom gave the girl some words of advise / Mom gave them to her.
Mamá dio unos consejos a usted / Mamá se los dio.
Mom gave you some words of advise / Mom gave them to you.
As you can see, it was now possible to use "them" to replace "the words of advise" in English. But did you notice that Spanish used se instead of le to replace the indirect object this time! Why is that? Well, that's because in Spanish there's a special rule for combining pronouns: when le(s) and lo(s)/la(s) would end up next to each other in a sentence you must use se instead. So you can never say Mamá le los dio, you must say Mamá se los dio. We will learn more about this rule and continue with the plural forms of the direct and indirect pronouns in Part II of this lesson.
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