Saxon Genitive: Possessive 'S

La posesión, además de expresarse con el verbo 'have' (o 'have got') y los determinantes posesivos (my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their) se expresa mediante una construcción que en inglés llamamos Genitivo Sajón, que en español tiene el equivalente en la estructura con la preposición 'de'.

Observad estos ejemplos:
El libro del niño = the child's book
El libro de Juan = Juan's book

Como se ve, en inglés primero se pone el poseedor (persona) seguido del apóstrofe y 's' y tras éste la cosa poseída.
the student's new pencil = el lápiz nuevo del alumno
Mary's brother = el hermano de María

Si el poseedor está en plural (acabando en -s), sólo añadimos el apóstrofo. Si el plural es irregular (no acaba en -s) entonces se deja 's:

the students' uniforms = los uniformes de los alumnos
the children's toys = los juguetes de los niños


Por último, si el poseedor acaba en -s en singular, se deja la -s y se añade 's. Esa terminación se pronunciaría /zIz/:

James's house = la casa de Jaime
Charles's wife = la mujer de Carlos


¡OJO! Si el poseedor no es una persona, entonces no se usa el Genitivo Sajón, sino una construcción con of:

Las patas de la mesa = the legs of the table
Las manecillas del reloj = the handles of the clock
Las hojas del libro = the pages of the book



Possession, in addition to being expressed with the verb 'have' (or 'have got') and possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their), is expressed by a special construction which in English is called Saxon Genitive, and which in Spanish it is equivalent to the structure with the preposition 'de' (of).

Consider these examples:

El libro del niño = the child's book
El libro de Juan = Juan's book

As seen, in English, first we put the possessor (person) followed by the apostrophe and 's' and after this the thing possessed.
the student's new pencil = el lápiz nuevo del alumno
Mary's brother = el hermano de María

If the possessor is a regular plural (ending in-s), add only the apostrophe. If the plural is irregular (not ending in -s) then 's remains:
the students' uniforms = los uniformes de los alumnos
the children's toys = los juguetes de los niños

Finally, if the possessor's name ends in -s, 's remains. This ending is then pronounced /zIz/:
James's house = la casa de Jaime
Charles's wife = la mujer de Carlos

NOTICE! If  the possessor is not a person, then Saxon Genitive is not used, but an of-construction:
Las patas de la mesa = the legs of the table
Las manecillas del reloj = the handles of the clock
Las hojas del libro = the pages of the book


For practice:
Ejercicio1, Ejercicio2, Ejercicio3, Exercise4

Past Continuous

Hi guys!

When we studied the Past Continuous we saw that it was formed with the verb 'to be' in the past simple followed by a verb ending in '-ing'. I also told you that it is very common to use the past continuous in contrast with the past simple. Typically, the clause containing when has a past simple, and the other one a past continuous. Also, the clause containing while has a past continuous, and the other clause has a past simple; but there are some exceptions, because if the actions are simultaneous, the verbs in both clauses take past continuous, and they refer to consecutive actions they go in the past simple tense . Have a look at these examples:


You were studying when she called.
While you were studying, she called.
While you were studying, I was watching a TV series.
I screamed in fear when I saw you in the dark.



The main use of the past continuous is for uncomplete actions that happened at a defined moment in the past. The similarity with the past simple lies on the fact that we know when it happened exactly. The difference between simple and continuous past is that the action is complete in the past simple, but is not finished in the continuous.



Hola chicos!
Cuando estudiamos el pasado continuo vimos que se formaba con el verbo 'to be' en el pasado simple seguida de un verbo que terminaba en "-ing". También os dije que es muy común el uso del pasado continuo en contraste con el pasado simple. Por lo general, la proposición que contiene when tiene un pasado simple y la otra un pasado continuo. Además, la proposición que contiene while tiene un pasado continuo, y la principal un pasado simple; pero hay excepciones, porque si las acciones son simultáneas ambas proposiciones llevan un pasado continuo, y si se refiere a acciones consecutivas las dos van en pasado simple. Echad un vistazo a estos ejemplos:

You were studying when she called.
While you were studying, she called.
While you were studying, I was watching a TV series.
I screamed in fear when I saw you in the dark.

El uso principal del pasado continuo es para acciones incompletas que ocurrieron en un momento definido en el pasado. La similitud con el pasado simple se encuentra en el hecho de que sabemos cuándo ocurrió exactamente. La diferencia entre el pasado simple y continuo es que la acción se ha completado en el pasado simple, pero no se terminó en el continuo.

For practice:
Exercise 1, Exercise 2, Exercise 3, Exercise 4.



Do you want to listen to it in Spanish?

Ability: Can & Could

 Hello again!


Look at these sentences:

I can cook.
They could play chess.
Mary can't speak Japanese.
You couldn't record a CD.
It can rain tomorrow.
Could your grandfather read?

We use can and can't to talk about present abilities and possibilities. We use could and couldn't to talk about past abilities and possibilities. Can't is pronounced /ka:nt/. When can is in the middle of the sentence it is pronounced /kan/ but when it is at the end of the sentence it is pronounced /kaen/.  On the other hand, could is pronounced /kud/ and couldn't /'kudant/.


¡Hola otra vez!

Observa estas frases:
 I can cook.  (Sé cocinar) 
They could play chess. (Sabían jugar al ajedrez) 
Mary can't speak Japanese.  (María no sabe hablar japonés) 
You couldn't record a CD.  (No sabíais grabar un compact disc) 
It can rain tomorrow.    (Mañana puede llover)

Could your grandfather read? (¿Tu abuelo sabía leer?)

Usamos can y can't para hablar sobre habilidad y posibilidad en el presente. Usamos could y couldn't para hablar de la habilidad y la posibilidad en el pasado. Can't se pronuncia /ka:nt/. Cuando can está en medio de la oración se pronuncia /kan/ pero cuando está al final se pronuncia /kaen/.  Por otra parte, could se pronuncia /kud/ y couldn't /'kudant/.

For practice:

Exercise 1, Exercise 2, Exercise 3, Exercise 4