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Lesson Introduction

Puff Puff! Smoking is harmful but oh so human, and SpanishPod doesn't shy away from the habits of mortals! Today's lesson is all about smoking. Learn to ask for a light and discuss the habits of smokers.

Comments (30) RSS

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jgrob says

Cómo se dice “I used to smoke” en español? Como "Habitúo fumar"?

 

 

How do you say "I used to smoke" in Spanish? Like "Habitúo fumar"?

Gracias, Jeff

April 12, 2009 from the Web.
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lilianamata says

La pregunta del día es:

¿Fumas?

¿Do you smoke?

Yo fumo en algunas ocasciones cuando tomo una copa de vino. Soy fumadora social.

I smoke sometimes when I have a glass of wine. I am a social smoker.

Jeff

Se dice: "Yo fumaba" o "Fumé por x tiempo".

 

April 12, 2009 from the Web.
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jgrob says

Gracias Lili. Glad to see you are feeling better.

 

Jeff

April 12, 2009 from the Web.
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spanishlearners says

Yo no fumo y no tomo pero comio mucho (puff!!!).

Guess I will be healthy if I look after my food but after cooking with Tabasco you have to eat something you know.

Did not find words for Cigar, are there different ones as much as the lighter?

April 12, 2009 from the Web.
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donperigo says

spanishlearners

cigar is the key word in this lesson

si fumais aun de vez en cuando, todavia estais fumador@s. Hacía 20 años que fumaba y lo dejaba muchas veces pero siempre comenzaría de neuvo.  Dejar fumar es dificil pero debeis aguantar.
Ahora, felizmente, no he fumado por 15 años.
por favor, dejadlo otra vez  y para siempre antes de que os deje.

if you smoke even occasionally you are still smokers. I smoked for 20 years and stopped many times but would always start again. To stop smoking is dificult but you must be strong. Now, happily i havent smoked for some 15 years.
please stop it again and for good before it stops you

you might want to be careful saying poof to macho aussis or brits as there is potential for a misunderstanding. A chorus of poof the magic dragon though would get a laugh on the karaoke circuit.

April 13, 2009 from the Web.
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tatykovalski says

Yo no fumo ahora, pero cuando era adolecente fumaba en la escuela com mis amigas.

April 13, 2009 from the Web.
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cutthatcity says

Yo nunca fumaría, lo odio. Pero solo tengo 17 años así que sé más de los peligros que los mayores.

April 13, 2009 from the Web.
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khin says

yo nunca fumo en mi vida.me lo odio mucho. ¿

sabe uds ? las cigar poderia morir uds poco a

poco,si fume cada dia. si uds justan su vida, los

que mojores es dejelos ahora mismo.

April 13, 2009 from the Web.
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khin says

quiero corregir las palablas de alto commentario.

yo nunca humar en mi vida. me los odio mucho.¿ sabe uds? lo cigar poderia morir uds poco a poco si fume cada dia. si uds gustan sus vida lo que major es  se lo deje ahora mismo.

si me tengo algunas equivocas, por favor corregirme .

gracias mucho

April 13, 2009 from the Web.
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jgrob says

El Pretérito imperfect:

The use of “Yo fumaba.” For “I used to smoke.”

The usage of the preterite and the imperfect is one of the most difficult aspects of Spanish for an English-speaker. Essentially, both the preterite and the imperfect are past tenses, much as the way "he did" and "he was doing" both express past action in English. The deciding factor between the two tenses is a characteristic of verbs not frequently talked about in English: aspect.

Every action has a beginning, a middle, and an end. When one wishes to focus on the middle of an action, the action is on-going, that is, nothing changes radically (which is not to say that nothing happens). For example, "he was eating" indicates the "middle" of the action of eating in the past. We don't know when he started to eat or when he finished (or even if he finished). We just know that at a certain time in the past, he was in the middle of eating. This focus on the middle of an action is called the imperfective aspect. Not surprisingly, it is associated with the imperfect tense in Spanish, for example:

hablaba =

I was speaking

Yo fumaba =

I used to smoke

estaban =

they were

In each case, there is no notion that the action began or ended, only that at some point it was on-going. Notice, however, that English has three different, common ways to indicate the imperfect: the past progressive ("was speaking") to show that a single action continued, the "used to" construction to show that a series of separate actions continued, and the simple past, used particularly with verbs that show state of mind or body ("was," "thought," etc.) as ongoing in the past. (www.trinity.edu)

 

April 13, 2009 from the Web.
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toucan says

Cuándo era pequeño mi abuelo (que fumaba mucho) me dio un cigarrillo para fumar.

Me dijo que aspirar profundo. ¡Casi me morí!

Desde ese momento odio los cigarrillos y fumar.

¡Gracias Abuelo!

April 14, 2009 from the Web.
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paulag says

Gracias a jgrob.  No se "aspect".  El preterito imperfect es mas claro.

April 14, 2009 from the Web.
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polyglot_hopeful says

Creo que fumar es muy lamentable y peligroso. Es muy difícil dejar de fumar, pero es muy importante. Creo que el hábito de fumar de vez en cuando es como tomar un poco de arsénico en ocasiones .

Soy médico y veo muchos problemas de salud de fumar. Buena suerte a todos en dejar de fumar.

April 14, 2009 from the Web.
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abarzafuentes says

In some Spanish-Speaking countries (in south America)(specifically in Chile) the word "mechero" changes to "encendedor".

"Mechero" refers to... humm...A bigger lighter, which is usually used in Chemical Experiments.

And finally, another word for "cerillos", in Chile would be "fósforos".

Chao a todos, espero haber sido útil...

April 15, 2009 from the Web.
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jmackay78 says

Si, creo que las Boriquas se usan fosforo tambien para matches.

April 15, 2009 from the Web.
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jpvillanueva says

jmackay78, yo casí siempre digo "los fósforos" también cuando hablo español, porque así se dice en filipinas.  Mis amigos me endienden, pero me dicen que ya no es corriente.  Bueno, de todos modos, el fumar es muy desaludable. 

April 15, 2009 from the Web.
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jmackay78 says

si....tienes razon JP

April 15, 2009 from the Web.
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jmackay78 says

JP...muchos filipinos hablan espanol?

April 15, 2009 from the Web.
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jpvillanueva says

jmackay78, my great-grandparent's generation was the last to speak Spanish fluently, my grandparents and parents studied it as a second language.  There are hundreds of words in Tagalog that are Spanish; even more in Pangasinan, which is my parents' dialect. 

I find that a lot of Filipinos are surprised at how many Spanish words they already know before they start studying Spanish.  Fósforo is one of them :)

April 16, 2009 from the Web.
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lilianamata says

Así es las diferentes palabras para decir "mechero" son:

  • Encendedor
  • Fuego
  • Cerillos (matches)
  • Fósforos

 

April 17, 2009 from the Web.
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jmackay78 says

JP...que interesante.  No sabia que muchas palabras en Tagalog son de Espanol. Gracias por el informacion.

April 17, 2009 from the Web.
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suz333 says

Me compré un paquete de cigarrillos cuando tenía 18 años. Ni siquiera he acabado y le dio lejos. Ahora estoy en mi cincuenta y no he fumado desde entonces. Mi marido deja de fumar más de 25 años atrás. Nadie está permitido fumar en nuestra casa. Quien desee fumar deben ir fuera o en el garaje, que se calienta en el invierno.

I bought a pack of cigarettes when I was 18. I did not even finish it and gave it away. I am now in my fifties and I have not smoked since. My husband stopped smoking more than 25 years ago. No one is allowed to smoke in our house. Anyone who wishes to smoke must go outside or in the garage, which is heated in the winter.

 

April 17, 2009 from the Web.
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russhuntley says

Yo fumaba, hace diez años. Empezaba cuando fuera dieciocho, porque mi novia me queria a fumar y tomar cafe con ella.  Al parecer, siempre he hecho cosas muy estúpido para las chicas muy bonita. No puedo decir NO  je je

April 17, 2009 from the Web.
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russhuntley says

y claro, hablamos sobre los cigarros de tabaco, no?  je je

April 17, 2009 from the Web.
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kevinryn says

No, yo no fumo. Es muy grueso también

May 6, 2009 from the Web.
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rachaelt says

Soy asmática, entonces no fumo.  Pero cuando estaba estudiante a la universidad fumaba a veces.  Muy estúpido por una asmática! 

May 18, 2009 from the Web.
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ewong says

Yo no fumo porque odio fumo oler y fumo hace los dientes negro

June 24, 2009 from the Web.
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bonito23 says

Holà todos!

Yo no fumo y no fumo tambien en algunas ocasiones pero me gusta tomo una copa de vino.

Hacia dos anos, mi amigo  fumaba. Felizmente, no he fumado por esos anos.

Yo nunca fuma, pero mi padre fuma. Felizmente, no he fumado tambien por cuarente anos.  Esta prohibido fumar en esa casa. Strange!!!!???

 

 

July 9, 2009 from the Web.
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donperigo says

bonito23

Hola

 me gusta tomar una copa de vino tambien.

i like to drink 

when you have two verbs next to each other you usually only conjugate the first one.
..............................................................

nunca he fumado = i have never smoked
no ha fumado = he has not smoked

muy saludable
..............................................................

fuma?? = present tense he/she/it smokes

mi padre fumaba = my dad used to smoke
fumó un cigarillo = he smoked a cigarette

hope you dont mind, keep up the good work :-)

July 9, 2009 from the Web.
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anstruther says

No fumo.  Lo traté unos veces quando mucho más joven pero quemó mi garganta y me hizo mareado (disfruté de esa parte). 

Ahora paso mucha hora hablando con pacientes de dejarlo.

July 24, 2009 from the Web.

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