Question

-I conjugated the verb cambiar for you (plural) and it is cambiais. I'm not sure about the pronounciation. Would it be cam-bye-ice?

-Is Spanish like French in that if you have two vowel sounds next to each other (la assistencia) you change the first to make it more distinct?

Answer 1

The pronunciation is cam-bee-AYS.

The answer to the second question is yes.

Answer 2

1. Many textbooks do not use the vosotros/vosotras form, but if yours does, the Present Indicative IS cambiais. The pronunciation is more like: a = ah cam-bee-ay-ees with the stress on the "ay"

2. 2 vowels together is a dipthong. If you remember "u" (you) and "i" (I) ARE WEAK, you will understand why often they have accent marks. (caí, continúas) Otherwise you would have the sound of "cay" or "con-tin-wasss" with the stress on the "i" of the 2nd syllable.

Actually you do not CHANGE anything in a dipthong. When a Spanish word has two vowels side by side, various pronunciation issues come into play: syllable division, diphthongs, and hiatus. A dipthong is also known as a "sliding vowel." American English vowels are REALLY dipthongs: a, e, i, o, u. Say them aloud and you hear a faint "y?"a-e / e-uh / i-yuh / o-wah / eu-uh? (Please forgive trying to use English letters to represent sounds!)

Sra (aka Mme)

Answer 3

Para México no usarías "cambiais" sino "cambias"