Today`s Spanish-English Cognate - abandonar Spanish and English

English-Spanish Helpful Handouts – For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
Page 1 of 5
Today’s Spanish-English Cognate - abandonar
Spanish and English have many similar words known as cognates. These words come from Latin,
Greek, or another language. You can expand your Spanish vocabulary quickly by using cognates. By
studying cognates, you can use your knowledge of English to help you learn Spanish. Today we will
focus on this Spanish-English cognate:
abandonar – to abandon
These words share a common history. They come from the French language.
Take a look at the sample sentences below. Abandonar can be used to say several different things in
English. Please don’t be overwhelmed by the complexity of the Spanish sentences. The English
translation is provided. Focus on the different ways to use abandonar.
Ella tuvo que abandonar la idea de convertirse en actriz. (She had to abandon the
idea of becoming an actress.)
Ella tuvo que
abandonar la idea de
convertirse en actriz.
Los residentes de la ciudad abandonan sus casas cuando se acerca un huracán. (The residents of the
city abandon their houses when a hurricane approaches.)
Mi padre me hizo un gesto que abandonara el cuarto. (My father gestured to me to leave the room.)
Lo convencí para que abandonara la idea. (I convinced him to give up the idea.)
No me abandones. (Don’t forsake me.)
Es difícil abandonar el hábito de fumar. (It’s difficult to shake the smoking habit.)
Abandonó el coche en un callejón y se fue corriendo. (He ditched the car in an alley and took off
running.
Nos abandonó cuando lo necesitábamos. (He bailed on us when we needed him.)
Abandonó a su familia y se fue al extranjero. (He deserted his family and went abroad.)
Tarde o temprano la suerte lo abandonará. (Sooner or later he will run out of luck.)
Habían abandonado el proyecto pero lo empezaron de nuevo. (They had quit the project, but they
restarted it.)
As you can see, abandonar can be used in many ways. You can practice using the above sentences on
page 2.
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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts – For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
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Practice
Write the sentences that contain the different English meanings for abandonar.
Example:
Write the sentence that uses a form of abandonar to mean leave.
Mi padre me hizo un gesto que abandonara el cuarto.
1. Write the sentence that uses a form of abandonar to mean bailed.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Write the sentence that uses a form of abandonar to mean had quit.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Write the sentence that uses a form of abandonar to mean will run out of.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Write the sentence that uses a form of abandonar to mean to give up.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Write the sentence that uses abandonar to mean to shake.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Write the sentence that uses a form of abandonar to mean ditched.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Write the sentence that uses a form of abandonar to mean deserted.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Write the sentence that uses a form of abandonar to mean forsake.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Abandonar is a verb, and verbs must be conjugated into tenses and moods. Go to page 3 to examine
the ways in which the verbs in the example sentences are conjugated.
Tarde o temprano la suerte lo abandonará.
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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts – For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
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Conjugation of the Verbs
Here is some information about the conjugation of the verbs in the example sentences. If you are new
to Spanish, you might want to review just the points about the infinitive and the present indicative
tense. Please don’t stress yourself out by reading more. Perhaps you will come back to this handout
later in your study of Spanish to review the other tenses. For those of you who want to review all of
the tenses explained here, you will find a practice exercise on page 5.
1. Ella tuvo que abandonar la idea de convertirse en actriz. (She had to abandon the idea of
becoming an actress.)
Es difícil abandonar el hábito de fumar. (It’s difficult to shake the smoking habit.)
These sentences use the infinitive form of the verb which is abandonar. The infinitive is the simple
or basic form of the verb. In Spanish, infinitives have three different types of endings which are -ar,
-er, -ir. Abandonar is an -ar verb.
2. Los residentes de la ciudad abandonan sus casas cuando se acerca un
huracán. (The residents of the city abandon their houses when a hurricane
approaches.)
This sentence is in the present indicative tense (el presente de
indicativo). In this case, it indicates habitual action.
yo abandono
tú abandonas
usted/él/ella abandona
nosotros abandonamos
vosotros abandonáis
ustedes/ellos/ellas abandonan
Los residentes de la ciudad
abandonan sus casas
cuando se acerca un
huracán.
3. Abandonó a su familia y se fue al extranjero. (He deserted his family and went abroad.)
Abandonó el coche en un callejón y se fue corriendo. (He ditched the car in an alley and took off
running.
Nos abandonó cuando lo necesitábamos. (He bailed on us when we needed him.)
These sentences are in the preterit or past tense (el preterito). They express an action that was
completed at some time in the past.
yo abandoné
tú abandonabaste
usted/él/ella abandonó
nosotros abandonamos
vosotros abandonasteis
ustedes/ellos/ellas abandonaron
4. Tarde o temprano la suerte lo abandonará. (Sooner or later he will run out of luck.)
This sentence is in the future tense (el futuro). It expresses an action that will take place sometime in
the future.
yo abandonaré
tú abandonarás
usted/él/ella abandonará
nosotros abandonaremos
vosotros abandonaréis
ustedes/ellos/ellas abandonarán
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5. Habían abandonado el proyecto pero lo empezaron de nuevo. (They had quit the project, but they
restarted it.)
This sentence is in the past perfect indicative or pluperfect (el pluscuamperfecto de indicativo).
This tense is used to express an action in the past that happened before another action.
yo había abandonado
tú habías abandonado
usted/él/ella había abandonado
nosotros habíamos abandonado
vosotros habíais abandonado
ustedes/ellos/ellas habían abandonado
6. No me abandones. (Don’t forsake me.)
This sentence is in the present subjunctive mood (el presente de
subjuntivo). It expresses a plea.
yo abandone
tú abandones
usted/él/ella abandone
nosotros abandonemos
vosotros abandonéis
ustedes/ellos/ellas abandonen
No me abandones.
7. Mi padre me hizo un gesto que abandonara el cuarto. (My father gestured to me to leave the
room.)
Lo convencí para que abandonara la idea. (I convinced him to give up the idea.)
These sentences are in the imperfect subjunctive mood (el imperfecto de subjuntivo). They express
the idea that, in the past, one person wanted another person to do something. The imperfect
subjunctive is used because the verb in the main clause is in the preterit tense.
yo abandonara
tú abandonaras
usted/él/ella abandonara
nosotros abandonáramos
vosotros abandonarais
ustedes/ellos/ellas abandonaran
or
yo abandonase
tú abandonases
usted/él/ella abandonase
nosotros abandonásemos
vosotros abandonaseis
ustedes/ellos/ellas abandonasen
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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts – For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
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Practice
Write the sentence in Spanish. Answer the questions.
Example: Don’t forsake me. __No me abandones.__ Which tense or mood is used in this sentence? _el presente de
subjuntivo_ Why? __This sentence expresses a plea._
1. The residents of the city abandon their houses when a hurricane approaches.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Which tense or mood is used in this sentence? ____________________ Why? _____________________________
2. Sooner or later he will run out of luck.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Which tense or mood is used in this sentence? ____________________ Why? _____________________________
3. My father gestured to me to leave the room.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Which tense or mood is used in this sentence? ____________________ Why? _____________________________
4. They had quit the project, but they restarted it.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Which tense or mood is used in this sentence? ____________________ Why? _____________________________
5. He ditched the car in an alley and took off running.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Which tense or mood is used in this sentence? ____________________ Why? _____________________________
6. He abandoned his family and went abroad.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Which tense or mood is used in this sentence? ____________________ Why? _____________________________
7. He bailed on us when we needed him.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Which tense or mood is used in this sentence? ____________________ Why? _____________________________
8. I convinced him to give up the idea.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Which tense or mood is used in this sentence? ____________________ Why? _____________________________
9. She had to give up the idea of becoming an actress.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Which tense or mood is used in this sentence? ____________________ Why? _____________________________
Es difícil abandonar el hábito de fumar.
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