bnormal (anormal) curtailment of production in the United States Cotton
Mills.

14. They cannot take the risk of piling up stocks when the demand is so
slight (exigua).

15. Foreign Bourses.--Berlin. A weak tone ruled at the opening. During
the later dealings (operaciones posteriores) a slight (ligera)
improvement was noticeable (se observo).

LESSON XVI.
(Leccion decima sexta.)

THE VERB.

The verb is a word by which we affirm something. It is the essential
word in a sentence: without it (expressed or understood) no sentence can
be construed.

Verbs are divided into Auxiliary, Transitive and Intransitive.

The Auxiliary verbs in Spanish are: Haber, Tener, Ser, Estar.

_Haber_ is a true auxiliary because it helps to form compound
tenses[112] but it presents the following peculiarities--

1. It is used as an impersonal verb (as well as the verb _hacer_ which
is given here for the sake of completeness) for expressions of time,
as--

Dos anos ha (_or_ ha dos anos) _or_ hace dos anos la exportacion de los
Caldos espanoles estaba muy floreciente: Two years ago the exportation
of Spanish wines and oils was very flourishing.

Ha dos anos (_or_ hace dos anos) que la casa Guillermo Fernandez y Cia
esta establecida en La Coruna como Comisionistas: The firm, G.F. & Co.,
has been established in Corunna as Commission Agents these last two
years.

?Cuanto tiempo ha (_or_ hace) que estudia V. el castellano? How long
have you been studying Spanish?

[Footnote 112: The Past Part. following "haber" IS ALWAYS INVARIABLE.]

2. It is also used impersonally as "there to be" (French, "y avoir"),
as--

Hay mucha pimienta, clavos, y canela en el mercado de Londres: There are
much pepper, cloves, and cinnamon in the London market.

Si, hubo muchas especias el ano pasado tambien: Yes, there were many
spices last year also.

Cuando estaba en El Cairo habia miedo de que estallara algun motin: When
I was in Cairo there was the fear of some riots breaking out.

(N.B.--Impersonal verbs are only used in the 3rd pers. singular.)

In English we have "there is" and "there are," because "there to be" is
not used impersonally, the meaning being, e.g., "a man is there"; "two
men are there." In Spanish, however, _haber_ is used impersonally and
both "there is a man" and "there are two men" are translated "Hay un
hombre," "Hay dos hombres."