Mr. A.’s compliments to Mr. B. (Mr. and Mrs. B.) and requests the favor of his (their) company on Thursday evening the 21st instant, at 8 o’clock.
Jan. 10.
A. if Y. P.
(An answer if you please.)
Don A. C. (A. C.) b. l. m. al Sr. Don B. (saluda al Sr. y la Sra. B.) y le (les) suplica se sirva (sirvan) favorecerle con su compañia la noche del Juéves 21 del corriente á las ocho.
Enero 10.
S. V. C.
(Sírvase V. contestar.)
Mr. D. F. requests the pleasure of Mr. G.’s company on Wednesday evening, the 9th instant, at eight o’clock.
Wednesday, Feb. 2.
Don D. F. (el Sr. D. F. or D. F.) suplica al Sr. G. le haga el gusto de favorecerle con su compañia en la noche del Miércoles 9 del corriente á las ocho.
Miércoles, Febrero 2.
Mr. B.’s compliments to Mr. A. and is happy to accept his polite invitation for Thursday evening, the 21st inst.
Jan. 12.
El Sr. B. b. l. m. al Sr. A. y acepta con gusto su atento convite para el Juéves 21 del corriente.
Enero 12.
Mr. B.’s compliments to Mr. A. and regrets that a pre-engagement does not allow him to accept his polite invitation for the 21st inst.
Jan. 11.
El Sr. B. saluda al Sr. A. y siente no poder aceptar su atento convite por hallarse comprometida de antemano para la noche del 21.
Enero 11.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The Gerundio (gerund) never changes its termination for gender or number.
[2] The participle past coming immediately after any of the tenses of the verb haber, (to have,) does not admit of any change of gender or number. After other verbs, it changes its termination to agree with that of the person or thing it refers to.
[3] V. in the singular, must be read Usted; VV. means Ustedes, and must be pronounced so.
[4] V. in the singular, must be read Usted; VV. means Ustedes, and must be pronounced so.
[5] When the English imperfect tense, for instance, he united, may be expressed by he was uniting, or he used or was accustomed to unite, preserving the same sense, then it is to be translated by the imperfect tense in Spanish; thus—él unía. When that cannot be done, but it may be changed into did, then the preterit must be used—él unió. The same must be understood of all the verbs in the imperfect tense.
[6] V. in the singular, must be read Usted; VV. means Ustedes, and must be pronounced so.
[7] V. in the singular, must be read Usted; VV. means Ustedes, and must be pronounced so.
[8] V. in the singular, must be read Usted; VV. means Ustedes, and must be pronounced so.
[9] V. in the singular, must be read Usted; VV. means Ustedes, and must be pronounced so.
[10] When the English imperfect tense, for instance, he united, may be expressed by he was uniting, or he used or was accustomed to unite, preserving the same sense, then it is to be translated by the imperfect tense in Spanish; thus—él unía. When that cannot be done, but it may be changed into did, then the preterit must be used—él unió. The same must be understood of all the verbs in the imperfect tense.
[11] The imperative mood is set as it is found in Murray’s English Grammar, with the object that the student may learn how to translate it. When the emphasis is laid on the auxiliary let, it may be translated by the verbs permitir or dejar, in the second person singular or plural; or in the third person singular or plural, if Usted or Ustedes is used.
[12] The terminations of the second person singular or plural, when the verb is used negatively, are es, eis, as, ais, thus—offend thou not, no ofendas; unite ye not, no unais.
[13] The numbers within a parenthesis refer to the pages in Ollendorff’s Method which the scholar is advised to consult.
[14] E is used instead of y when the following word begins with i or hi, as,
Wise men and ignorant. | Sabios é ignorantes.
Mother and daughter. | Madre é hija.
[15] U is employed instead of ó, when the word immediately following it begins with o or ho; as,
Silver or gold. | Plata ú oro
[16] From dos, (two,) up to ciento, (hundred,) inclusively, the numbers are plural, and common to both genders; as—
Three men, tres hombres.
Four women, cuatro mujeres.
[17] From doscientos to novecientos, inclusively, the termination os is changed into as for the feminine; as—
Three hundred miles. | Trescientas millas.
[18] Primero and tercero lose the o before a noun. Ex.—El primer tomo el tercer tomo.
[19] Usted and Ustedes, (you,) have always been written in abbreviation, thus—Vm., Vd., Vmd., for the singular, and Vms., Vds., Vmds., for the plural. At present V. for the former, and VV. for the latter, are used; and by either of them only, will those words be expressed in these dialogues.
[20] Don being a distinction of nobility, is omitted in the new republics; they address thus, Señor Anselmo Bravo. It will be better for foreigners to observe the style used by persons to whom the letters are addressed, and imitate it.
[21] Letters, particularly on business, generally begin with these words Muy Señor mio; which, according to circumstances, may be changed into Muy Señores mios, Muy Señor nuestro, Muy Señores nuestros. Persons mutually acquainted frequently begin their letters thus: Muy Señor mio, y amigo, or estimado amigo, or Muy Señor mio y de todo mi aprecio; My dear Sir, and friend, or esteemed friend, or valued friend.
[22] Letters are also ended thus: Dios guarde á V. (or la vida de V.) los ms. as. (muchos años) que desea S. S. S. (su seguro servidor) Q. B. S. M. (que besa sus manos.) Also, Soy de V. muy atento servidor Q. B. S. M. or Quedo de V. su muy afecto servidor, Q. B. S. M.
Transcriber Notes:
The cover image was created by the transcriber, and is in the public domain.
Uncertain or antiquated spellings or ancient words were not corrected.
Errors in punctuation and inconsistent hyphenation were not corrected unless otherwise noted.
Typographical errors have been silently corrected but other variations in spelling and punctuation remain unaltered.