Abby and Norma --- by Erika Hammerschmidt --- Oct 29, 2007

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comic strip

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After posting this strip, I began putting my comic on a new website at www.abbyandnorma.com. Go there to see the most recent strips.

To see the next strip after this one, go here.

 

 

 

 

 

TEXT OF COMIC:

Okay, Norma, get out of my Spanish 399 class. This is the class your friend Abby goes to. You take Spanish 111.

We told you, it's Halloween. Norma and I are dressing up as each other. I'm Abby.

Then prove it. Conjugate the verb "calamar" in the preterit, imperfect and perfect tenses.

Ooh, nice trick question.

You can't conjugate "calamar." It ends like a verb, but it's really a noun. It means "squid."

Okay, you're right... but you could have learned that from Abby. Let's try another one.

Translate the following into English: "Tengo que vacunar la carpeta."

Tough one. That's not Spanish, that's Spanglish.

Someone who said that would most likely be trying to say, "I have to vacuum the carpet," mixing Spanish words with English words pronounced in a Spanish way. "Vacunar" and "carpeta" also have Spanish meanings, but the sentence would be nonsense if you interpreted it as being fully in Spanish. It would mean "I have to vaccinate the folder."

Okay, good. But can you get this one? Tell me the difference between "sŽ" with an accent mark and "se" without an accent mark.

"Se" without an accent mark is the third person reflexive pronoun. "SŽ" with an accent mark is the first person singular present form of the verb "saber," meaning "to know."

In fact, in the present tense, the first person singular is the only form that shows the difference between the two meanings of "saber": "to know" and "to have a flavor." If the latter were put in the first person singular, it would be "sabo." But it's rarely, if ever, put in that form.

I can't understand it. How did you know all that, Norma? That was perfect.

No, it wasn't. It was present.

Okay, now I believe you. Only Abby could make a pun that bad.

Or a very, very well-prepared Norma. You will never know for sure.