NUMBERS FROM 1 TO 1,000,000






Cardinal Numbers: 31-1000




First, let's review the cardinal numbers 1-30:




    
1. uno
    
2. dos
    
3. tres
    
4. cuatro
    
5. cinco
    
6. seis
    
7. siete
    
8. ocho
    
9. nueve
    
10. diez
    
11. once
    
12. doce
    
13. trece
    
14. catorce
    
15. quince
    
16. dieciséis
    
17. diecisiete
    
18. dieciocho
    
19. diecinueve
    
20. veinte
    
21. veintiuno
    
22. veintidós
    
23. veintitrés
    
24. veinticuatro
    
25. veinticinco
    
26. veintiséis
    
27. veintisiete
    
28. veintiocho
    
29. veintinueve
    
30. treinta 








The next step is to learn to count by 10s all the way to 100:




    
10. diez
    
20. veinte
    
30. treinta
    
40. cuarenta
    
50. cincuenta
    
60. sesenta
    
70. setenta
    
80. ochenta
    
90. noventa
    
100. cien








Now, see how easy it is to fill in the gaps:




    
31. treinta y uno
    
32. treinta y dos
    
33. treinta y tres
    
34. treinta y cuatro
    
35. treinta y cinco
    
36. treinta y seis
    
37. treinta y siete
    
38. treinta y ocho
    
39. treinta y nueve
    
40. cuarenta
    
41. cuarenta y uno
    
42. cuarenta y dos
    
etc.








This pattern continues all the way to 100:




    
53. cincuenta y tres
    
54. cincuenta y cuatro
    
65. sesenta y cinco
    
66. sesenta y seis
    
78. setenta y ocho
    
88. ochenta y ocho
    
99. noventa y nueve
    
etc.








From 101-199, use "ciento":




    
ciento uno
    
ciento dos
    
ciento tres
    
ciento sesenta y uno
    
ciento sesenta y dos
    
etc.








Notice that "y" is used only in numbers 31-99 (and 131-199, 231-299, 331-399, etc.) and it is not used to separate hundreds from tens.




    
Correct:
    
ciento ochenta y nueve

    

Incorrect:
    
ciento y ochenta y nueve








To get to 1000, all of the rules you have learned so far continue to apply. All you need to do now is learn to count by 100s all the way to 1000, and that is quite easy:




    
100. cien
    
200. doscientos
    
300. trescientos
    
400. cuatrocientos
    
500. quinientos
    
600. seiscientos
    
700. setecientos
    
800. ochocientos
    
900. novecientos
    
1000. mil
    








Here are some more examples:




    
142. ciento cuarenta y dos
    
375. trescientos setenta y cinco
    
612. seiscientos doce
    
907. novecientos siete
    
999. novecientos noventa y nueve








Remember from an earlier lesson, there is a masculine and a feminine form for the number one:




    
un libro
    
one book

    

una pluma
    
one pen








This is also true for the numbers 200, 300, 400, etc.




    
doscientos libros
    
doscientas plumas

    

cuatrocientos señores
    
cuatrocientas señoras








When there is exactly 100 of something, and the number is used with the noun, use the shortened form "cien."




    
cien dólares
    
cien gatas
    
cien perros
    
cien pesetas








Finally, in Spanish a period is used to indicate thousands, and a comma is used as a decimal point.




    
English
    
1,543.67

    

Spanish
    
1.543,67




(courtesy: www.studyspanish.com)

And to get from 1,000 to 1,000,000, it's just a few easy steps:

1,000       =  mil
2,000       =  dos mil
5,000       =  cinco mil
10,000      =  diez mil
100,000     =  cien mil
500,000     =  quinientos mil
999,999     =  novecientos noventa y nueve mil, novecientos noventa y nueve

1,000,000   =  un millón

and so on...

These numbers will be useful when you win the LOTTO...  


THE PRETERITE TENSE  (TALKING IN THE PAST)


The word "preterite" is a fancy grammatical term, which I don't like to use much, 
but you need to be aware of it so that we can talk about it.

If you want, though, think of this tense as the "I DID IT" form of the verb.

Here's how you conjugate it:

As one of the Spanish's two simple past tenses, the preterite (also often called the preterit) has a conjugation that is essential to learn. It is the verb form used most often to tell of events that have already happened.  (If you don't know what the terms in this paragraph mean, be sure to read the top two lessons linked to in the box under "Related Resources.")

As is the case with some of the other conjugation forms, the preterite  forms are made by removing the infinitive ending of the verb (-ar, -er or -ir) and replacing it with an ending that indicates who is performing the action of the verb. 

To take one example, the infinitive form of the verb that means "to speak" is hablar. Its infinitive ending is -ar, leaving the stem of habl-. To say "I spoke," add -é to the stem, forming hablé. To say "you speak" (singular informal), add -aste to the stem, forming hablaste. Other forms exist for other persons. 

The endings are slightly different for verbs that end in -er and -ir, but the principle is the same. Remove the infinitive ending, then add the appropriate ending to the remaining stem. 

The following chart shows the conjugations for each of the three infinitive types. The added endings for each verb are indicated in boldface. 




	

		  
		hablar (to speak) 
		aprender (to learn) 
		escribir (to write) 


	

		yo (I)  
		hablé (I spoke)
		aprendí (I learned) 
		escribí (I wrote) 


	

		tú (you, singular informal)  
		hablaste (you spoke)
		aprendiste (you learned) 
		escribiste (you wrote) 


	

		él (he), ella (she), usted (you, singular formal)  
		habló (he spoke, she spoke, you spoke) 
		aprendió (he learned, she learned, you learned) 
		escribió (he wrote, she wrote, you wrote) 


	

		nosotros, nosotros (we)  
		hablamos (we spoke) 
		aprendimos (we learned) 
		escribimos (we wrote) 


	

		vosotros, vosotras (you, plural informal)  
		hablasteis (you spoke)
		aprendisteis (you learned) 
		escribisteis (you wrote) 


	

		ellos (they), ellas (they), ustedes (you, plural, formal)  
		hablaron (they spoke)
		aprendieron (they learned, you learned) 
		escribieron (they wrote, you wrote)





As you may notice, the -er and -ir verbs follow the same pattern in the preterite.  You might also have noticed that in the first-person plural (the "we" form), the same conjugation is used for both the present indicative and the preterite for -ar and -ir verbs.  Thus hablamos can mean either "we speak" or "we spoke," and escribimos can mean either "we write" or "we wrote." Almost always the context makes clear what is meant.



Note also that the conjugations above are for verbs that follow the regular conjugation. Although most verb conjugate regularly, the most common verbs usually do not (just as in English, where verbs such as "to be" and "to go" are highly irregular). 

(courtesy: spanish.about.com)


TIME EXPRESSIONS USED WITH THE PRETERITE


This is another matter of simple vocabulary memorization of the items on page 154.  

Test yourself.  

Do you know what the following words and phrases mean?

anoche, ayer, anteayer, hacer tres días, la semana pasada, el sábado pasado, 
hace dos semanas, de repente...


PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE


Again, vocabulary items.  Do you know what the following phrases mean?

If not, break out the flash cards!

delante de/enfrente de, detrás de
a la izquierda de, a la derecha de
debajo de, encima de
al lado de
cerca de, lejos de
fuera de (outside of), dentro de (inside of)


PRETERITE of IR and SER


Strange little verbs, these two.  For some reason, they just didn't want to 
let go of each other, and, when the big preterite threshing machine came along,
they clung to each other for dear life, and came out of the machine exactlly 
the same...

IR
fui 		(I went)						fuimos  		(we went)
fuiste   (you went)					fuisteis  	(y'all went)
fue		(he went, she went)		fueron 		(they went, you all went)
fue		(you went formal)fueron		(you all went formal)

SER
fui		(I was)						fuimos 		(we were)
fuiste 	(you were)					fuisteis		(y'all were)
fue		(she/he was)				fueron		(they were)
fue		(you were)					fueron		(you all were)



PRETERITE of HACER and DAR


These are strange, too.  The only way through them, is to memorize them:

HACER  (to do, to make)
hice				hicimos
hiciste			hicisteis
hizo				hicieron

DAR  (to give)
di					dimos
diste				disteis
dio				dieron



PREPOSITIONAL PRONOUNS



As in English, prepositions in Spanish need an object to be complete. That object can be a noun or a pronoun (or sometimes a verb functioning as a noun).

Most of the pronouns used with prepositions in Spanish are the same as the subject pronouns, but they are different in the first- and second-person singular. Otherwise their use is fairly straightforward, as indicated in the following chart.



	

		mí
		me
		Es un regalo para mí. It is a gift for me. Salieron sin mí. They left without me.


	

		ti
		you (singular familiar)
		Hablan de ti. They are talking about you. No valía nada mi vida antes de ti. My life before you was worthless.


	

		usted
		you (singular formal)
		Las flores son para usted. The flowers are for you. Ella no tolera fumar alrededor de usted. She doesn't put up with smoking around you.


	

		él, ella
		him, her
		Corrieron hacia él. They ran toward him. Fue escrito por ella. It was written by her.




	

		nosotros, nosotras
		us
		Vienen tras nosotros. They are coming after us. Andan al lado de nosotros. They are walking beside us.


	

		vosotros
		you (plural familiar)
		No estoy contra vosotros. I am not against you. Salgo sin vosotros. I am leaving without you.


	

		ellos
		them
		El coche no es para ellos. The car isn't for them. Salgo con ellas. I am leaving with them.





There are two main exceptions to the above usages:



Conmigo and contigo: When used with con (usually translated as "with") the forms conmigo and contigo are used instead of con mí and con ti, respectively.

Examples: Voy contigo. ¿Vas conmigo? I'm going with you. Are you going with me?

Use of yo and tú with certain prepositions: The following six prepositions are used with the subject pronouns yo and tú instead of mí and ti, respectively: entre (usually translated as "among" or "between"), excepto ("except"), incluso ("including" or "even"), menos ("except"), salvo ("except") and según ("according to"). Also, hasta is used with the subject pronouns when it is used with roughly the same meaning as incluso.

Examples: Es la diferencia entre yo y tú. It's the difference between you and me. Muchas personas incluso/hasta yo creen en las hadas. Many people including me believe in fairies, or many people, even I, believe in fairies. Todos excepto/menos/salvo tú creen en las hadas. Everybody except you believes in fairies. Es la verdad según yo. It's the truth according to me.

(courtesy: spanish.about.com)


VERBS FOLLOWED BY "A", "DE", or "EN"


Once again, vocabulary mastery is called for here. Learn the following verbs
the way they're written here:

casarse con			to get married to
asistir a			to attend
entrar en/a			to enter (into a place)
salir de				to leave from
aprender a			to learn (to do something)
comenzar a			to begin (to do something)
empezar a			to begin (to do something)
enseñar a			to teach (to do something)


WHAT ARE INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS?








Indirect Object Pronouns: Part I





The indirect object (IO) tells us where the direct object (DO) is going.




    
He gives the book to María.
    
DO=Book

    
Where is the book going?
    
To María.

    
IO=María
    


    
He gives María the book.
    
DO=Book

    
Where is the book going?
    
To María.

    
IO=María
    








The indirect object answers the question "To whom?" or "For whom?" the action of the verb is performed.




    
He gives María the book.
    
To whom does he give the book?
    
To María.

    
IO=María
    

    
He buys me flowers.
    
For whom does he buy the flowers?
    
For me.

    
IO=me








In order for a sentence to have an indirect object, it must have a direct object. Remember, the IO tells us where the DO is going. Notice how the sentences below just wouldn't work without a direct object.




    
He gives María . . .
    
the book, the pen, the diamond, etc.
    

    
He buys me . . .
    
flowers, candy, an ironing board, etc.








Sometimes the direct object is not stated; rather it is implied, or understood.




    
My mother writes me every week.
    
DO=letter (understood)
    
IO=me
    
(My mother writes me a letter every week.)
    

    
She told him.
    
DO=it (understood)
    
IO=him
    
(She told it to him.)








To identify the indirect object use our two guidelines:




    

  1. The IO tells us where the DO is going.

  2. The IO answers the question "to whom?" or "for whom" the action of the verb is performed.








When a pronoun takes the place of the name of the indirect object, use the following pronouns:




    
me (me)
    
te (you-familiar)
    
le (him, her, you-formal)
    

    
nos (us)
    
os (you-all-familiar)
    
les (them, you-all-formal)








In an affirmative statement with one verb, the indirect object pronoun comes immediately before the conjugated verb.




    
Juan me compra un regalo.
    
John buys me a gift.
    
John buys a gift for me.
    

    
Juan te compra un regalo.
    
John buys you a gift.
    
John buys a gift for you.
    

    
Juan le compra un regalo.
    
John buys her a gift.
    
John buys a gift for her.
    

    
Juan nos compra un regalo.
    
John buys us a gift.
    
John buys a gift for us.
    

    
Juan os compra un regalo.
    
John buys you-all (familiar) a gift.
    
John buys a gift for you-all.
    

    
Juan les compra un regalo.
    
John buys them a gift.
    
John buys a gift for them.
    

    








Now, focus in on one part of each of the above examples:




    
Juan me compra un regalo.
    
John buys (for) me a gift.
    


    
Juan te compra un regalo.
    
John buys (for) you a gift.
    


    
Juan le compra un regalo.
    
John buys (for) her a gift.
    


    
Juan nos compra un regalo.
    
John buys (for) us a gift.
    


    
Juan os compra un regalo.
    
John buys (for) you-all (familiar) a gift.
    


    
Juan les compra un regalo.
    
John buys (for) them a gift.








Let's extract the IO phrase and its English equivalent:




    
me compra
    
buys (for) me
    


    
te compra
    
buys (for) you
    


    
le compra
    
buys (for) her
    


    
nos compra
    
buys (for) us
    


    
os compra
    
buys (for) you-all
    


    
les compra
    
buys (for) them








Just like with the direct object, the indirect object presents a problem if one tries to translate word-for-word:




    
Juan me compra un regalo.
    
John for me he buys a gift.










The key to learning to use the indirect object pronouns is the same as the key for direct object pronouns. You must learn to think in phrases, not words. The phrases consist of a pronoun and a conjugated verb. In the following examples, note that the IO remains the same, while the subject of the phrase changes.




    
me compra
    
he buys me
    

    
me compran
    
they buy me
    

    
me compras
    
you buy me








The IO pronouns le and les present a special problem because they are ambiguous. That is, they can stand for different things.




    
le
    
to (for) him
    
to (for) her
    
to (for) you-formal
    

    
les
    
to (for) them
    
to (for) you-all-formal








The following sentences, while grammatically correct, are ambiguous:




    
Ella le escribe una carta.
    
Ella les escribe una carta.





Out of context, there is no way we can know the meaning.




    
Ella le escribe una carta.
    
She writes him a letter.
    
She writes her a letter.
    
She writes you (formal) a letter.
    

    
Ella les escribe una carta.
    
She writes them a letter.
    
She writes you-all (formal) a letter.








Since le and les can mean more than one thing, a prepositional phrase is often added to remove the ambiguity.




    
Ella le escribe a Juan una carta.
    
Ella le escribe a su hermana una carta.
    
Ella le escribe a usted una carta.
    

    
Ella les escribe a sus padres una carta.
    
Ella les escribe a ustedes una carta.








Sometimes a prepositional phrase is added not for clarity, but rather for emphasis.




    
Juan me da a mí el dinero.
    
John gives me the money.
    
(emphasizing that the money is given to me and not to someone else)
    

    
Juan te da a ti el dinero.
    
John gives you the money. (emphasis on you)








There is no ambiguity in the following sentence. It can only mean one thing.




    
Juan me da el dinero.
    
John gives me the money.





The addition of a prepositional phrase merely adds emphasis.




    
Juan me da a mí el dinero.
    
John gives me the money.








Let's sum up the important points of this lesson:




    

  • The IO tells us where the DO is going.

    

  • The IO answers the question "to whom" or "for whom."

    

  • In order for a sentence to have a IO, it must also have a DO.

    

  • Sometimes the DO is not stated, but rather is implied, or understood.

    

  • The IO pronouns are: me, te, le, nos, os, les.

    

  • Place the pronoun before the conjugated verb.

    

  • Think in phrases, do not translate word-for-word.

    

  • Le and les are ambiguous.

    

  • Prepositional phrases are often used for clarity and for emphasis.








Indirect Object Pronouns: Part II





Let's begin with a review of the previous lesson.



The indirect object (IO) tells us where the direct object (DO) is going.




    
He gives the book to María.
    
DO=Book

    
Where is the book going?
    
To María.

    
IO=María
    


    
He gives María the book.
    
DO=Book

    
Where is the book going?
    
To María.

    
IO=María
    








The indirect object answers the question "To whom?" or "For whom?" the action of the verb is performed.




    
He gives María the book.
    
To whom does he give the book?
    
To María.

    
IO=María
    

    
He buys me flowers.
    
For whom does he buy the flowers?
    
For me.

    
IO=me








In order for a sentence to have an indirect object, it must have a direct object. Remember, the IO tells us where the DO is going. Notice how the sentences below just wouldn't work without a direct object.




    
He gives María . . .
    
the book, the pen, the diamond, etc.
    

    
He buys me . . .
    
flowers, candy, an ironing board, etc.








Sometimes the direct object is not stated; rather it is implied, or understood.




    
My mother writes me every week.
    
DO=letter (understood)
    
IO=me
    
(My mother writes me a letter every week.)
    

    
She told him.
    
DO=it (understood)
    
IO=him
    
(She told it to him.)








To identify the indirect object use our two guidelines:




    

  1. The IO tells us where the DO is going.

  2. The IO answers the question "to whom?" or "for whom" the action of the verb is performed.








When a pronoun takes the place of the name of the indirect object, use the following pronouns:




    
me (me)
    
te (you-familiar)
    
le (him, her, you-formal)
    

    
nos (us)
    
os (you-all-familiar)
    
les (them, you-all-formal)








In a negative statement with one verb, the indirect object pronoun comes between the negative word and the conjugated verb.




    
Él no me compra nada.
    
He doesn't buy me anything.
    
He doesn't buy anything for me.
    

    
Ella no te trae el desayuno.
    
She doesn't bring you breakfast.
    
She doesn't bring breakfast for you.
    

    
No le mando a él la cuenta.
    
I don't send him the bill.
    
I don't send the bill to him.
    

    
Ellos no nos compran ningún regalo.
    
They don't buy us any gifts.
    
They don't buy any gifts for us.








Compare the affirmative statements with their negative counterparts.




    
Él me compra algo.
    
Él no me compra nada.

    

Ella te trae el desayuno.
    
Ella no te trae el desayuno.

    

Le mando a él la cuenta.
    
No le mando a él la cuenta.

    

Ellos nos compran regalos.
    
Ellos no nos compran ningún regalo.








Remember, don't translate word-for-word. Instead, think in terms of phrases, or concepts. "Ellos no nos compran ningún regalo" contains 3 concepts:




    

  1. ellos nos compran (they buy us)

  2. regalo (gift)

  3. no, ningún (make the sentence negative)








The key to learning to use the indirect object pronouns is the same as the key for direct object pronouns. You must learn to think in phrases, not words. The phrases consist of a pronoun and a conjugated verb. In the following examples, note that the IO remains the same, while the subject of the phrase changes.




    
no me compra
    
he doesn't buy (for) me
    

    

no me compras
    
you don't buy (for) me








Remember, the IO pronouns le and les present a special problem because they are ambiguous. That is, they can stand for different things.




    
le
    
to (for) him
    
to (for) her
    
to (for) you-formal
    

    
les
    
to (for) them
    
to (for) you-all-formal








The following sentences, while grammatically correct, are ambiguous:




    
Ella no le escribe una carta.
    
Ella no les escribe una carta.





Out of context, there is no way we can know the meaning.




    
Ella no le escribe una carta.
    
She doesn't write him a letter.
    
She doesn't write her a letter.
    
She doesn't write you (formal) a letter.
    

    
Ella no les escribe una carta.
    
She doesn't write them a letter.
    
She doesn't write you-all (formal) a letter.








Since le and les can mean more than one thing, a prepositional phrase is often added to remove the ambiguity.




    
Ella no le escribe a Juan una carta.
    
Ella no le escribe a su hermana una carta.
    
Ella no le escribe a usted una carta.
    

    
Ella no les escribe a sus padres una carta.
    
Ella no les escribe a ustedes una carta.








Sometimes a prepositional phrase is added not for clarity, but rather for emphasis.




    
Juan no me da a mí el dinero.
    
John doesn't give me the money.
    
(emphasizing that the money is not given to me but rather to someone else)
    

    
Juan no te da a ti el dinero.
    
John doesn't give you the money. (emphasis on you)








There is no ambiguity in the following sentence. It can only mean one thing.




    
Juan no me da el dinero.
    
John doesn't give me the money.





The addition of a prepositional phrase merely adds emphasis.




    
Juan no me da a mí el dinero.
    
John doesn't give me the money.








Remember:




    

  • The IO tells us where the DO is going.

    

  • The IO answers the question "to whom" or "for whom."

    

  • In order for a sentence to have a IO, it must also have a DO.

    

  • Sometimes the DO is not stated, but rather is implied, or understood.

    

  • The IO pronouns are: me, te, le, nos, os, les.

    

  • In a negative sentence, place the pronoun between the negative word and the conjugated verb.

    

  • Think in phrases, do not translate word-for-word.

    

  • Le and les are ambiguous.

    

  • Prepositional phrases are often used for clarity and for emphasis.









Indirect Object Pronouns: Part III





Remember, the indirect object answers the question "To whom?" or "For whom?" the action of the verb is performed.




    
He gives María the book.
    
To whom does he give the book?
    
To María.

    
IO=María
    

    
He buys me flowers.
    
For whom does he buy the flowers?
    
For me.

    
IO=me








To identify the indirect object use our two guidelines:




    

  1. The IO tells us where the DO is going.

  2. The IO answers the question "to whom?" or "for whom" the action of the verb is performed.








When a pronoun takes the place of the name of the indirect object, use the following pronouns:




    
me (me)
    
te (you-familiar)
    
le (him, her, you-formal)
    

    
nos (us)
    
os (you-all-familiar)
    
les (them, you-all-formal)








In an affirmative statement with one verb, the indirect object pronoun comes immediately before the conjugated verb.




    
Juan me compra un regalo.
    
John buys me a gift.
    
John buys a gift for me.
    

    
Juan nos compra un regalo.
    
John buys us a gift.
    
John buys a gift for us.
    

    








When a sentence has two verbs, the first verb is conjugated and the second verb remains in the infinitive form.




    
poder
    
to be able

    

pagar
    
to pay

    

Puedo pagar diez pesos.
    
I am able to pay 10 pesos.

    

    

preferir
    
to prefer

    

hablar
    
to speak

    

Elena prefiere hablar español.
    
Elena prefers to speak Spanish.








In sentences with two verbs, there are two options regarding the placement of the indirect object pronoun.




    
1. Place it immediately before the conjugated verb
    
2. Attach it directly to the infinitive








Here are examples of the indirect object pronoun placed before the conjugated verb:




    
Me necesitas dar un regalo.
    
You need to give me a gift.

    

Te necesito comprar un sombrero.
    
I need to buy you a hat.

    

Juan nos debe prestar el dinero.
    
Juan must lend us the money.

    

María le quiere alquilar a Juan el apartamento.
    
María wants to rent the apartment to Juan.








Here are examples of the indirect object pronoun attached directly to the infinitive:




    
Necesitas darme un regalo.
    
You need to give me a gift.

    

Necesito comprarte un sombrero.
    
I need to buy you a hat.

    

Juan debe prestarnos el dinero.
    
Juan must lend us the money.

    

María quiere alquilarle a Juan el apartamento.
    
María wants to rent the apartment to Juan.








Here are the two methods side by side. Neither method is "better" than the other.




    
Me necesitas dar un regalo.
    
Necesitas darme un regalo.
    
You need to give me a gift.

    

Te necesito comprar un sombrero.
    
Necesito comprarte un sombrero.
    
I need to buy you a hat.

    

Juan nos debe prestar el dinero.
    
Juan debe prestarnos el dinero.
    
Juan must lend us the money.

    

María le quiere alquilar a Juan el apartamento.
    
María quiere alquilarle a Juan el apartamento.
    
María wants to rent the apartment to Juan.








When reading or hearing sentences like these, you must learn to recognize whole groups of words, rather than inspecting each word independently.




    
Me necesitas dar un regalo.
    
Me necesitas dar = You need to give me

    

Necesitas darme un regalo.
    
Necesitas darme = You need to give me

    

Te necesito comprar un sombrero.
    
Te necesito comprar = I need to buy you

    

Necesito comprarte un sombrero.
    
Necesito comprarte = I need to buy you








Your success in being able to recognize these groups is largely dependent upon having learned previous material -- namely verb conjugation.





You need to be able to quickly recognize a conjugated verb and an infinitive. You need to automatically recognize "necesito comprar" as "I need to buy."





If you can do that, it is just one small step to recognize "te necesito comprar" as "I need to buy for you." From there, the final step is easy: "Te necesito comprar un regalo."



(courtesy: www.studyspanish.com)


USING THE NEGATIVE WORDS IN SPANISH


Negation: Using No and Related Words  
 
Spanish for Beginners  
 
  
 
 
Changing a Spanish sentence to a negative can be as easy as placing no before the main verb. But Spanish is different than English in that Spanish can require the use of the double negative under some circumstances. 

In Spanish, the most common negative word is no, which can be used as an adverb or adjective. As an adverb negating a sentence, it always comes immediately before the verb, unless the verb is preceded by an object, in which case it comes immediately before the object. 

No como. (I am not eating.) No quiere ir al centro. (She doesn't want to go downtown.) No lo quiero. (I don't want it.) ¿No te gusta la bicicleta? (Don't you like the bicycle?)
When no is used as an adjective, or as an adverb modifying an adjective or other adverb, it typically is the equivalent of the English "not" or of a prefix such as "non." In those cases, it comes immediately before the word it modifies. Note that while no is sometimes used to mean "not" in this way, this use isn't terribly common, and usually other words or sentence constructions are used. 
El senador está por la política de la no violencia. (The senator is for the policy of nonviolence.) Tiene dos computadoras no usadas. (He has two unused computers.) Mi hermano es poco inteligente. (My brother is unintelligent.) Ese doctor es sin principios. (That doctor is unprincipled.)
Spanish also has several negative words that are frequently used. They include nada (nothing), nadie (nobody, no one), ninguno (none), nunca (never), and jamás (never). Ninguno, depending on its usage, also comes in the forms ningún, ninguna, ningunos and ningunas, although the plural forms are seldom used. 
Nada vales tanto como el amor. (Nothing is worth as much as love.) Nadie quiere salir. (Nobody wants to leave.) Ninguna casa tiene más televisores que la mía. (No house has more televisions than mine.) Nunca bebemos la cerveza. (We never drink beer). Jamás te veo. (I never see you.)
One aspect of Spanish that may seem unusual to Spanish speakers is the use of the double negative. If one of the negative words listed above (such as nada or nadie) is used after the verb, a negative (often no) also must be used before the verb. Such a usage is not considered redundant. When translating to English, you shouldn't translate both negatives as negatives. 
No sé nada. (I don't know anything, or I know nothing.) No conozco a nadie. (I don't know anybody, or I know nobody.) A nadie le importa nada. (Nothing matters to anybody.)

(courtesy: spanish.about.com)