Spanish - dishes, office supplies, verbs, nouns, grammar

vocabulary from Rosetta stone, first version and version 4
Latin American Spanish

Dishes:
el vaso - cup
el tazo - cup
el tazón - bowl
el plato- plate


Office supplies-
la pluma - pen
el bolígrafo -pen (version 4)
el papel - paper


verbs-
tener - to have
sostener - to hold (usage of con with sostener - sostiene el telefono CON su mano izquierda)


Adjectives - 
redondo - round
cuadrado- square (adj)
rectangular - rectanular
algo - something
Ambas mujeres - some women
ninguna mujer - no women


Use of a pronoun?
- una esta senalando con su mano derecha y la otra esta con su mano izquierda.

Nouns - 
el micrófono - microphone
la cantante and el cantante - singer
la guitarra- guitar (grammar) tiene una guitarra en la mano izquierda y una en la mano derecha - note the pattern here of una
gire - turn
no estacione - no parking
no gire a la izquierda/a la derecha - no left turn, no right turn
no gire en U - no U turn
el reloj - watch
la ventana - window
la casa - house
señal - sign
la vaca - cow
el canguro - kangaroo


words to be confirmed-
Aviso - caution?
venado - deer?


Grammar -
- Está señalando CON su mano derecha. - pointing with the right hand.
- shapes grammar- no es X, Y, ni Z
use 'es' with shapes like round or square.

Izquierda and derecha

la izquierda
la derecha

la mano derecha - the right hand
la mano izquierda - the left hand

For where something is, like being in someone's hand, you use the verb 'estar'
If it's in a hand, use the preposition 'en'

For example, a ball in a woman's hand is:
La pelota está en la mano de la mujer.

Remember that for two or more things, estar has to change forms;
Las pelotas están...

Japanese particle: de

で
Used in Unit 2 in the middle and latter half of the Unit
One use seems to be as a particle that means 'by way of' or 'using'

Like, 手で is used when something is done by hand, or left or right hand if it's done with one hand or the other (左手で).  1-2-5, I think.

Used when describing what something is doing with their head, and the hands are used to do it.
1-2-9

Japanese - size comparison and placement in hands

1-2-4

Using the phrase 'よりも.'

When used to compare the sizes of circles and squares, the pattern is this:
Object A は Object B よりも 大きい(おおきい))/ 小さい(ちいさい) です。
It seems to mean: Object A, in comparison to object B, is bigger/smaller.


Placement in hand
left hand - 左手 (ひだりた)
right hand - 右手 (みぎて)

To say how many of something was in one hand or the other, for inanimate objects, the Rosetta stone patter introduced was this:
Object A が 'counter' 左手 / 右手 に あります。
It seems to mean: Counter # of Object A are in the left/right hand.

Example: 黄色いボールが二つ左手にあります。

Another example pattern was:
Object A は Person の 左手 / 右手 にありまう。
It seems to mean: Object A is in Person's left/right hand.

The 'left hand'/'right hand' plus に seems to be the important part, as if the verb 'to have' (持つ) is used, then ball is made an object, using を.  But に is still used with the hands designated.

Also a reminder, the counters come AFTER the を, just like they came after the が.

Questions or unknowns about placement or hands
When asking about where something was, and it's in the hand, they used 'どこに,'  with the pattern:
Object は どこにありますか。
When talking about 'something unspecified' being in the left or right hand, the object was referred to as 何か (なにか) and treated like an object (like nanika wo motteimasu.)

Phrases de wa nai

Rosetta - 1 -2 - 2

Describing something by what it is not:
男の人でわない人
The person who is not a man

the 'de wa nai' construction seems to hold true for people and animal descriptions, at least.

Counters in Japanese

Counting words used in Japanese*
Things that are counted in Japanese often have these counting words, and sometimes more than one word can be used for one item. As an example, a noodle might have one counting word for cylindrical items, but also can be counted with the food counting word, or with the counting word for 'bundled items' if it was in a bundle.  So, it's flexible.

japanese Particles ne and yo, and sou desu

http://www.japaneseprofessor.com/lessons/beginning/the-sentence-ending-particles-ne-and-yo/

There was so much good information for me to remember, I've got a lot more quotes this time around, to help.

Notes:
- both work kind of like 'ka,' it changes the meaning of the sentence.
- "The particle ね “ne”, variously translated as “right?”, “huh?”, or “isn’t it?”, can be put at the end of a sentence to create sort of question."
- "Essentially, ne asks for agreement or confirmation. This sentence ender is used frequently when making observations, as in “Ii o-tenki desu ne?” which you learned earlier. In such situations, the speaker is trying to promote a smooth conversation by giving the other person an easy way to agree with them.

It’s also used when the speaker fully expects the listener’s agreement..."

- The sentence ending particle, よ “yo” asserts a fact that the listener may not know. So, rather than asking for agreement, it's more like telling

"Oishii desu ne. This is delicious, isn’t it? (Listener has also tasted it)

Oishii desu yo. It’s good, you know. (Listener hasn’t tried it yet)

The particle is also translated as “I tell you”, but is often left out of the English translation.

In general, yo shows the speaker’s conviction towards whatever they are asserting. When used with commands, it makes the command more forceful. The particle is also sometimes used to answer questions using who/what/etc. as a means of emphasis. (Read more about question words)

In summary, ne asks for agreement, and yo tells how it is."

- "Somewhat paradoxically, Japanese people will often use both yo and ne at the end of a statement.

...Tanoshii desu yo ne. This is fun! (And I hope you agree)

Basically, the yo shows the speaker’s strong conviction for their opinion, but also expects the other person to agree with them. This highlights the softening effect of the particle ne. In an effort to avoid seeming overly assertive, Japanese people will often ask for the other person’s agreement, as well as a variety of other strategies to soften the message of the sentence."

- Some great information on sou desu that I've been trying to figure out forever!

"はい、そうです。 Hai, sou desu. exp. “Yes, that right.” (Response to a question)

そうですか。 Sou desu ka? exp. “It that so?” (Receiving new information)

そうですね。 Sou desu ne. exp. “So it is, isn’t it?” (Agreement with a statement)

そうですよ。 Sou desu yo. exp. “Yes, I agree.” (Strong agreement with a statement)

そうですよね。 Sou desu yo ne. exp. “Yes, I agree.” (Strong agreement with softening)

“Sou desu” means something “that’s how it is” or “so it is”. Each of its variants has a different nuance.

The first version is a way to affirm a yes-no question without repeating the complete sentence.

“Sou desu ka?” is a general response to any new information, and doesn’t necessarily imply any doubt about what was just said.

The variants including yo and ne all express agreement with what the other person just said.

Note that the simple confirmation “sou desu” (or the informal “sou da” or “sou”) can be somewhat abrupt, and adding yo or ne (or both) is often more appropriate."

Japanese Adjectives and Copula (to be)

This site has been very useful for some basics to go over again.

On adjectives: http://www.japaneseprofessor.com/lessons/beginning/japanese-adjectives/
On the copula, desu: http://www.japaneseprofessor.com/lessons/beginning/the-copula-desu/

Notes on interesting points:


Copula -
- verbs are pretty much past and non-past, as there is really little distinction made between now and the future in Japanese. If the time period (now, in a week) isn't specified, it must be inferred.
- "As a side note, desu is believed to be a contraction of "de gozaimasu", which is now mainly used in keigo (honorific speech). At some point, the negative forms of gozaimasu were also replaced by the negative forms of arimasu."
- the topic of a sentence is often implied rather than stated.

And some more links on copula information:
http://www.japaneseprofessor.com/reference/grammar/conjugations-of-the-japanese-copula/

Japanese color notation

This information is collected from various sources, on color vocabulary.

This is a great source for information on colors, on why sometimes there is an 'i' at the end, and sometimes not. Why sometimes you use a 'no' between the color and the word it modifies, and sometimes you don't.

http://www.japaneseprofessor.com/lessons/beginning/colors-in-japanese/

Lots of very good information, and many color words. Worth exploring more.

Trivia on parental address in Japanese

Just a little forum posting:
http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question62677.html

Noting some forms of address, and what you might use to refer to parents, but not address parents with.

Ordering food in Japan

Nice little blog post with a lot of information on phrases you will likely hear, or may be able to use, when ordering food in Japan. Looks useful!

http://www.fluentu.com/japanese/blog/how-to-order-food-in-japanese/

Japanese Question words and this,that

Japanese
1-1-10

Who - 誰　= だれ

Ex. 'dare ga oyoide imasu ka' is asking who is swimming.
Answer: otokonohito ga oyoide imasu.

What - 何　なに  or なん

Nani can be used in numerous situations.

What is the thing doing something (verb specific) 'Nani ga hashitte imasu ka? - what is running?
Answer: Uma ga hashitte imasu. - the horse is running.
NOTE: if it's a person, which rather than what is used.

What is the someone doing (verb specific that clarifies something about the verb)? - Otokonohito wa nani wo kite imasu? What is the man wearing?

What is someone doing (not verb specific)? otokonohito wa Nani wo shite imasu  What is the man doing?

What is this X item? Kono tabemono wa nan desu ka? What is this food? Answer would, say, Pan desu (it's bread).

What color is something? Kono kuruma wa nani iro desu ka? What color is this car.
Answer can replace the 'nani iro' with the color. Kono kuruma wa akai desu. This car is red

How many of something (with counting words)? Can combine ’何’ (なん) with counting word plus 'か’ (maybe, not certain if this last is always necessary) to ask how many of a certain thing there is. Ex. Nan dai ka no kuruma (how many cars - think the ka is there). Nan tooka no uma (how many horses).

Where - どこ　

Where is someone? - Otokonohito wa doko ni imasu ka? Where is the man?
Answer would be the exact same, but replace doko with the place, like 'Otokonohito wa teeburu no shita ni imasu.  The man is under the table.
Or use words like here, there, etc... ex. Kuruma wa doko ni arimasu ka?  where is the car?
Answer: Koko ni arimasu. The car is here.
NOTE: it is imasu for people, but would be arimasu for non-people, like another kind of animal, a car, food

Which - どの or どちらの (latter seems more polite, I think? Or possibly with people?)

Used to ask about which one is of something. Possibly non-human usually?
Ex. Dono uma ga tobikoete imasu ka? Which horse is jumping over something?
Answer: Kono uma ga tobikoete imasu. This horse is jumping over something.
Ex. Dochira no kodomo ga gyuunyuu o nonde imasu ka? Otokonoko ga gyuunyuu o nonde imasu.
Which child is drinking milk? The boy is drinking milk.

Useful vocab words

Demonstrative Pronouns that refer to things. (This is big. That is small. That over there is medium sized.
Question word associated with this: どれ
This  -これ - Kore wa pink desu. This is pink.
That　それ Sore wa akai desu. That is red.
That (over there)　あれ Are wa kuroi desu. That over there is black.
NOTE: Referenced from speaker, so this is near speaker, that is near listener but away from speaker, and that over there is far from both of them. UNLESS the speaker and listener are close together, and then can sometimes be treated like one entity with speaker, and the 'that' is far from both of them too, and that over there is further away.

Demonstrative pronouns that refer to places. (Near speaker (here). Near listener (there). Far from both (over there). If speaker shares territory, then the here is near both, the there is away from both, and over there is far away from both.
Question word associated with this: どこ
here (sorta) - ここ
there (sorta) - そこ
there (farther away, sorta) - あそこ

More polite demonstrative pronouns that refer to places. (Near speaker (here). Near listener (there). Far from both (over there). If speaker shares territory, then the here is near both, the there is away from both, and over there is far away from both.
Question word associated with this (the more polite way to ask, kind of means 'which direction'): どちら
here (sorta) (or this direction) - こちら
there (sorta) - そちら
there (farther away, sorta) - あちら

NOTE: the phrase どちら has other meanings too.
どちら - can mean which one of something.
 'どちらの +noun' means 'both of the noun' so dochira no otokonohito would be both men.
So sometimes the answer for a dochira question IS dochira, too.
Also, can mean "who" (dochira-sama desu ka = who is it?


Demonstrative adjectives (This (noun) is big. That (noun) is small. That (noun) over there is small.)
Question word associated with this: どの
This - この - Kono kuruma wa akai desu. This car is red.
That - その Sono kuruma wa pinku desu. That car is pink.
That (over there) - あの Are kuruma wa api desu. That car over there is blue.

(good link describing these words and usage: http://www.learn-japanese-adventure.com/demonstrative-pronouns.html )