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Business Spanish - Defective and Pronominal Verbs

. Learn Spanish Grammer .

LESSON XXI.
(Lección vigésima primera.)

DEFECTIVE AND PRONOMINAL VERBS.

=Defective Verbs= are those only certain parts of which are in use, the
rest having never existed in the language or having died out of it.

The principal ones are--

_Soler_. "To be wont," "to be accustomed to." Used in the pres. indic.,
Suelo, sueles, suele, solemos, soleis, suelen; in the imperf. indic.,
Solía, solías, etc.; and in the pres. perf., He solido, has solido,
etc., as--

En su juventud solía trabajar con ahinco--ahora ya ha aflojado un poco:
When he was young he used to work with fervour, now he begins to flag a
little.

_Yacer_. "To lie"; generally on tombstones, as: Aquí yace: Here lies.

(In poetry, but seldom in prose, it is found conjugated throughout.)

_Salve_ and _Vale_ used in the Imperative for "Hail!" and "Farewell!"

_Placer_ (to please). Generally used in "Plegue á Dios" (may it please
God) and "Pluguiera (pluguiese) á Dios" (might it please God).

It is still used also in the 3rd pers. of Pres. Indic., Imperf. Indic,
and Past Def. (the Past Def. is "Plugo").

EXAMPLES--

Mucho me place: It pleases me much.

Plegue á Dios que no se declare la huelga: May it please God that a
strike is not declared.

_Abolir_ (to abolish) is irregular like "mover" (viz., changes _o_ into
_ue_ when stressed). Its irregular parts are however never used, and are
substituted by giving a different turn to the sentence, as--

Digo que =se debe abolir= _instead of_ =se abuela=: I say that it must
be abolished.

_Atañer_ (to bear upon) is only used in the 3rd pers., as--

Lo que atañe al asunto: What bears on the subject.

Las noticias que atañen a nuestro proyecto: The news that bears on our
scheme.

_Concerner_ (to concern) is only used in the pres.
participle--concerniendo (concerning) and in the 3rd persons, as:
concierne (it concerns), etc.

=Pronominal Verbs= are verbs conjugated throughout with a double pronoun
of the same person, as--

_Amarse_--Yo me amo, tú te amas, el se ama, nosotros nos amamos,
vosotros os amais, ellos se aman.

These are--

1. Reflexive Verbs (when the action falls back on the subject. See
Lesson XVIII), as--Yo me amo: I love myself.

N.B.--The second pronoun must be direct object. If the second pronoun
is indirect object, the verb is called Transitive Pronominal, as--

Procurarse una clientela: To get a _clientèle_ (a connection).

2. Intransitive Pronominal Verbs (see Lesson XIX).

3. Intransitive Verbs made Pronominal from verbs ordinarily transitive
(see Lesson XIX), as--

Hacerse, Volverse: To become.

La competencia se ha hecho imposible: Competition has become impossible.

4. The 3rd pers. pronominal forms the Passive Voice, same as the verb
_ser_, as--

La sabiduría se alaba _or_ es alabada: Wisdom is praised.

N.B.--If the doer is expressed after using _ser_ it may be preceded by
_de_ or _por_, as--

La sabiduría es alabada de _or_ por todos[134]: Wisdom is praised by
all.

[Footnote 134: When the verb does not mean a physical action _de_ is
preferable.]

If it is expressed after using _se_, =Por= must be used, as--

La sabiduría se alaba por todos: Wisdom is praised by all. (Grammar of
the Academy.)

Pronominal Verbs are used in Spanish very frequently in conjunction with
the article to avoid the use of the possessive adjective before parts of
the body, or articles of dress,[135] as--

Me he quebrado la pierna: I broke my leg.

Se ha dañado los ojos, _or_ la vista: He has damaged his eyes or
eyesight.

[Footnote 135: The article is most generally substituted for the
possessive pronoun referring to parts of the body or articles of dress,
whenever this can be done _without producing ambiguity_, as--

Me dió la mano: He gave me his hand.
Tiene los ojos azules: His eyes are blue.
Le cogí el brazo: I caught his arm.
Me duele la cabeza: My head aches.
Me lastiman las botas: My boots hurt me.]

=Irregular Verbs= (_contd._).

[Footnote 136: And its group (see Appendix IV)]

[Footnote 137: And its group (see Appendix IV)]

VOCABULARY.

=acusar recibo=, to acknowledge receipt
=ascensor=, lift, hoist
=bien estar=, well being
=colección=, collection, set of samples
=confiar á=, to entrust
=confiar en=, to trust in
=corresponder á las necesidades=, to meet the requirements
=corriente, el que rige=, inst.
=cucharas=, spoons
=cuchillo=, knife
=cueros=, hides
=*deshacerse=, to get rid of
=deshecho=, got rid of
=distrito=, district
=empacar=, to pack
=empaqué, etc=., I packed, etc.
=*establecerse=, to establish oneself
=me establezco, etc=., I establish myself, etc.
=fantasías=, fancies
=herramientas=, tools
=manga=, sleeve
=*manifestar=, to inform, to say by letter
=manifiesto, etc=., I inform, etc.
=moeres=, mohair
=nanquines=, nankeens
=pieles=, skins
=planchas de hierro=, sheet iron
=principio=, beginning
=telas para trajes= (=de Señora=), dress goods
=tenedores=, forks
=*torcer=, to twist
=tuerzo, etc=., I twist, etc.
=vale=, farewell, adieu
=viajante=, traveller (commercial)
=viajar=, to travel
=vivamente=, earnestly, vividly

EXERCISE 1 (41).

Translate into English--

1. Sin ningunas de sus gratas á que referirnos dirigimos á Vs. la
presente para manifestarles que estando muy á corto (short) de fondos
nos hemos visto precisados (we have been obliged) á girar á su cargo (on
you) por el saldo de nuestra factura de Planchas de Hierro y
Herramientas.

2. ¡Plegue á Dios que nuestros buenos deseos tengan pleno cumplimiento
(may be fully realised)!

3. ¿Quiere V. encargarse (take charge) de ese asunto?

4. Mucho me place (with much pleasure).

5. Se dice que pronto se abolirá esta ley.

6. Tendré mucho gusto que sea abolida (_not_ se abuela).

7. Todo lo que atañe al desarrollo de la agricultura ó que concierne el
bien estar general del país me interesa vivamente.

8. La honradez (honesty) es alabada de (_or_ por) todos pero nunca se
alaba tanto como por los de manga ancha (those who themselves are not
over-scrupulous).

9. El comerciante después de haberse muy bien establecido se consumió el
capital en especulaciones bursátiles.

10. Nos hemos deshecho de los cuchillos, tenedores y cucharas sin tanta
pérdida como temíamos.

11. El cajero bajando en el ascensor se ha torcido el pie y se está en
casa guardando cama (in bed).

12. ¿Entiende V. las razones porque ha de subir el cambio?

13. Para que las entienda debo leer la revista de la Bolsa (Exchange
Review).

14. Entienda V. que esto no ha de hacerse otra vez. ¡Entendido!

EXERCISE 2 (42).

Translate into Spanish--

1. With reference to your esteemed order of 1st inst. for skins and
hides, we understand exactly what you want, but we much regret to say
that we are unable to get in (obtenerlos) at your limit.

2. We acknowledge receipt of your favour (apreciable) of the 1st inst.
with note of purchase we are to make on (de _or_ por) your account, and
we shall report thereon (contestaremos, relataremos) by our next.

3. We have picked up (escogido) a few suitable clearing lines (saldos),
which are awaiting shipment (se embarcarán) by next steamer.

4. Stripes and checks.--Owing to a breakdown in the works these will not
be ready for (antes de) another fortnight.

5. The goods were packed according to (de conformidad con) your
instructions, but we take no responsibility for sending them (haberlos
mandado) in bales instead of cases as usual (como de costumbre).

6. We hand (pasamos) you enclosed the invoice amounting to (importando
en, ascendiendo a) £155 6s. 7d. to the debit of your account, value
(valor al) 15th inst.

7. We can assure you that any (cualesquiera) orders entrusted to our
care (que se nos confíen) will receive careful attention.

8. Our traveller will be in your district by the beginning of September,
and he will have much pleasure in waiting upon you (en visitarles) with
our full (completa) collection of dress goods and fancies.

9. We hasten to offer you a lot of cheap mohairs and nankeens and hope
they will meet your requirements.