Duty chemists

From Friday, March 12 till Thursday March 18

Alfaz del Pi

Friday March 12: Avda. Miguel Hernández 1, Saturday March 13: Cami Vell d'Altea s/n, Sunday March 14: Cami Vell d'Altea s/n, Monday March 15: C/ Bulevar de los Músicos 18, Tuesday March 16: C/ de la Ferreria 19, Wednesday March 17: Avda. del Albir 44, Thursday March 18: C/ Federico García Lorca 19.

Alicante

Friday March 12 till Thursday March 18: C/ Pintor Peyret 38.

Altea

Friday March 12: C/ Cap Negret 18, Saturday March 13: C/ Beniardá 2, Sunday March 14: C/ Beniardá 2, Monday March 15: Avda. Comunidad Valenciana 6, Tuesday March 16: Paseo San Pedro 36, Wednesday March 17: Ctra. Callosa, 67 (Altea la Vella), Thursday March 18: C/ Pont de Moncau 1.

Benidorm

Friday March 12 till Thursday March 18: Avda. del Mediterráneo 29.

Benissa

Friday March 12 till Thursday March 18: C/ Padre Andrés Ivars 1.

Calp

Friday March 12: Avda. Europa 6, Saturday March 13: Avda. Conde de Altea 32, Sunday March 14: Avda. Conde de Altea 32, Monday March 15: Avda. Juan Carlos I 13, Edif. El Dorado, Tuesday March 16: Urb. El Tosal 2J, Wednesday March 17: C/ Benidorm 12, Edif. Perlamar, Thursday March 18: C/ Corbeta 10.

El Campello

Friday March 12: Avda. Generalitat 4, Saturday March 13: Av. Fabraquer 38, Sunday March 14: Av. Fabraquer 38,

Monday March 15: C/ San Juan Bosco 1, Tuesday March 16: Avda. Germanias 8, Wednesday March 17: C/ Virgen Desamparados 4, Thursday March 18: C/ San Bartolomé 26.

Dénia

Friday March 12: Avda. Joan Fuster 28 B, Saturday March 13: C/ Cop 3, Sunday March 14: C/ Constitución 3, Monday March 15: Avda. Marques de Campo 48, Tuesday March 16: Avda. Marqués de Campo 66, Wednesday March 17: Plaza del Raset 6, Thursday March 18: C/ Elche 2.

Jávea

Friday March 12: C/ Sevilla 1, Saturday March 13: Avda. de la Libertad 7, Sunday March 14: Avda. Lepanto 12, Monday March 15: Avda. del Pla-Cabo de la Nao 126, Tuesday March 16: Plaza Joanot Martorell 5, Wednesday March 17: Avda. de la Fontana 18, Thursday March 18: Avda. de Palmela 16.

Guardamar del Segura (G) San Fulgencio (SF) Friday March 12: Avda. Pais Valenciano 29 (G) und C/ Amsterdam

14 (SF), Saturday March 13: Avda. Pais Valenciano 123 (G), Sunday March 14: C/ Jose Antonio 8 (SF), Monday March 15: C/ Mayor 9 (G), Tuesday March 16: C/ Mayor 9 (G) und C/ Plaza Sierra de Castilla 2, Urb. La Marina (SF), Wednesday March 17: C/ Madrid 1 (G), Thursday March 18: C/ Madrid 1 (G) und Avda. Londres 1 (SF).

La Nucia (LN) - Polop (P) Friday March 12: Avda. de la Marina Baixa 35 (LN), Saturday March 13: C/ Rembrand 2A (LN), Sunday March 14: C/ Rembrand 2A (LN), Monday March 15: C/ Carretera 2 (LN), Tuesday March 16: C/ Aladroc 1 (LN), Wednesday March 17: C/ Alicante 8 (LN), Thursday March 18: Avda. de la Marina Baixa 35 (LN).

Orihuela-Costa

Friday March 12: Avda. Playa, Ed. La Zenia, Saturday March 13: Avda. de las Adelfas s/n, Sunday March 14: C/ Pirineo L63 y 64, Monday March 15: C/ del Mar 15, Edif. Aquamarina, Tuesday March 16: C/ Panticosa 2, C.C. Vía Park

III, Wednesday March 17: C/ Pablo Picasso 1, Thursday March 18: Avda. Playa, Ed. La Zenia.

Teulada(T)-Moraira (M) Benitachell (B) Friday March 12: Plaza Gabriel Miró 1 (T), Saturday March 13: C/ Capelletes 3 (B), Sunday March 14: Ctra. Moraira-Calpe 116 (M), Monday March 15: C/ Médico Pitarch 6 (T), Tuesday March 16: Avda. del Portet 161 (M), Wednesday March 17: C/ La Iglesia 6 (M), Thursday March 18: Ctra. Del Mar s/n, Urb. Cumbres del Sol (B).

Torrevieja

Friday March 12 till Thursday March 18: C/ Ramón Gallud 196.

Villajoyosa

Friday March 12: Avda. Juan Carlos I 2, Saturday March 13: C/ Colón 121, Sunday March 14: C/ Colón 121, Monday March 15: C/ Arsenal 44, Tuesday March 16: C/ Barranquet 14, Wednesday March 17: C/ Colón 72-74, Thursday March 18: C/ Canalejas 1.

SOMETIMES you have to take one step backwards to move two steps forward, and sometimes you just have to revisit things you may have forgotten.

To go on to our next topic we need to remind ourselves about some things called ‘past participles’.

We learnt about them in my earlier articles.. At that stage we were learning what I call the ‘recent past’ tense.

That is the one that translates ‘I have seen’, ‘we have been’, ‘he has driven’ etc. and we learnt that the forms ‘seen’, ‘been’, ‘driven’ and many more, are called ‘past participles’ (in Spanish ‘participios’) which combined with ‘have’ and ‘has’ (in Spanish the verb ‘haber’) they form a past tense which refers to things that happened recently and still affect the present (I have lost my keys – ‘he perdido mis llaves’) and also to refer to things that occurred in an undefined time in the past (She has been to France – ‘ha estado en Francia’).

That was a rather brief summary of something that needed two or three articles at the time, but I want to get on to a related subject now.

Actually, I think I will stick to English for a bit longer to give an example of where I’m going.

We have a verb in English ‘to break’. The past participle of this verb is ‘broken’.

To form the tense I have just mentioned, we could say for example: ‘The child has broken the vase’ or perhaps ‘My boyfriend and I have broken up’.

In both cases we are using ‘have or has’ plus the ‘past participle’ to form this ‘recent past’ tense.

However, as English speakers, you will also be aware that I can use the word ‘broken’ in other ways. ‘This vase is broken’ or ‘This is a broken vase’.

In this case ‘broken’ is being used as an adjective, even though it was originally a past participle.

An adjective is a ‘describing word’ and describes the vase, in the same way as adjectives like ‘big’ or ‘red’ - ‘the pretty vase’; ‘the red vase’; ‘the broken vase’.

So, let’s get back to the Spanish language. The verb ‘to break’ is ‘romper’ and it has an irregular past participle – ‘roto’, meaning ‘broken’.

To go back to our examples, I can say: ‘El niño ha roto el florero’ or ‘Mi novio y yo hemos roto’.

In these sentences, and when the past participle of any verb is used to form this tense, it never changes its ending.

It always ends in the letter ‘o’ and is not affected by whether it refers to things or people that are singular or plural, masculine or feminine.

However, when this participle is taken out of this tense context and is used as an adjective, it starts obeying the rules of adjectives.

We would say ‘El florero roto’ (the broken vase – masculine singular) but also ‘los floreros rotos’ (the broken vases); ‘la silla rota’ (the broken chair – feminine singular) and also ‘las sillas rotas’ the broken chairs.

At the end of last week’s article a participle is used in a similar way. I said: ‘You would be very confused! - Estaríais muy confundidos’. ‘Confundido’ is a past participle, from the verb ‘confundir’ which is being used here as an adjective, and therefore agreeing with the plural form of ‘you’, with the added ‘s’ ending.

This is on the assumption that more than one person reads these article. I think I’d better stop at this point.