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Grammar Help

Alphabetized Listing

Verbs:  Indicative Tenses

Verbs: Subjunctive

Verbs: Conditional

Verbs: Linking Verbs

Verbs: General

Articles

Pronouns

Nouns

Adjectives

Quantifiers

General


Alphabetized Listing

Topics in alphabetical order

Adjectives
Adjective Inflections
Article Inflections
Ser/Estar
Cardinal Numbers
Comparative Adjectives
Conditional Perfect
Conditional
Definite Articles
Demonstrative Adjectives
Demonstrative Inflections
Demonstrative Pronouns
Diminutive Nouns
Direct Objects
Double Object Pronouns
Estar
For
Future Perfect
Future Tense
Gender
General Quantifiers
Gustar
Imperative
Imperfect Tense
Indefinite Articles
Indirect Objects
Intensified Adjectives
Interrogative Inflections
Negative Words
Negatives
Non-Inflecting
Noun Inflections
Ordinal Numbers
Para
Passive Voice
Past Perfect Subjunctive
Personal Pronoun Inflections
Past Perfect
Past Progressive
Past Subjunctive
Por
Possessive Inflections
Possessive Pronouns
Present Perfect Subjunctive
Present Perfect
Present Progressive
Present Subjunctive
Present Tense
Preterite Perfect
Preterite Tense
Pronoun Inflections
Quantifier Inflections
Que
Questions
Reflexive Pronouns
Ser
Ser/Estar
Stress/Accents
Superlative Adjectives
Syllables
Que
Usted/Tú


Verbs: Indicative Tenses

Present Tense

Preterite Tense

Imperfect Tense

Future Tense

Present Perfect

Preterite Perfect

Past Perfect

Future Perfect

Imperative

Past Progressive

Present Progressive


Present Tense

The present tense is used in the following cases:
•To express something that is presently occurring:
Yo juego en el partido.
I play in the game.

•To translate the English Present Progressive most of the time:
Yo leo un libro bueno.
I am reading a good book.

•To express something that is accurate for only a short period of time:
Él vive en la cuidad en este momento.
He lives in the city at this moment.

•To express a sentiment that may extend indefinitely back into the past and forward into the future.  This usage is referred to as the "universal present".  For example:
Dios es misericordioso.
God is merciful.

•In conversation to express vivid and immediate experience.  It may also be used to show scheduled future events.  For example:
Me llaman al teléfono.  Vuelvo en seguida.
They are calling me to the telephone.  I'll be right back.

Formation:
The present tense is formed by adding the following endings:

	-AR verbs	-ER verbs	-IR verbs
yo	-o	-o	-o
tú	-as	-es	-es
él, ella, Ud.	-a	-e	-e
nosotros	-amos	-emos	-imos
vosotros	-ais	-eis	-eis
Uds, ellos(as)	-an	-en	-en
See also:
Present Progressive


Preterite Tense

The preterite tense is the simple past tense.  The preterite tense expresses an action that was completed in the past.  For example:
Ayer fui a la playa.
Yesterday I went to the beach.

Alex la comió anoche.
Alex ate it last night.

The preterite can also be used to define a period of time if the beginning and ending of the period are stated and are both completed in the past.
Estudié en la universidad entre 1980 y 1984.
I studied in college between 1980 and 1984.

Confusion of the preterite with the imperfect:  The use of the preterite is often confused with the use of the imperfect tense.  The preterite contrasts with the imperfect in that the imperfect is used to denote a repeated past action.  The preterite, however, usually denotes a one-time action which took place in the past.
Hint:  If you can pinpoint an action to a specific time (i.e. on May 16 at 2.34 p.m.), the correct tense to use would probably be the preterite.

See also:
Imperfect Tense

Formation:
The preterite is formed by adding the following endings:

	-AR verbs	-ER verbs	-IR verbs
yo	-é	-í	-í
tú	-aste	-iste	-iste
él, ella, Ud.	-ó	-ió	-ió
nosotros	-amos	-imos	-imos
vosotros	-asteis	-isteis	-isteis
Uds, ellos(as)	-aron	-ieron	-ieron
Please note that there are many irregular preterite stems.

To the irregular stems the following endings are added for all infinitive types:

yo	-e
tú	-iste
él, ella, Ud.	-o
nosotros	-imos
vosotros	-isteis
Uds, ellos(as)	-ieron
Drop the i from the ieron suffix when adding to a stem which ends in u or j.

See also:
Imperfect Tense
Past Progressive


Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense can best be thought of as denoting a repeated or continuous past action or one that took place over a period of time.  This tense expresses:

• Two different actions happening in the past at the same time:
Él trabajaba mientras mi primo dormía.
He was working while my cousin was sleeping.

• An action taking place in the past when another action interrupts:
Los estudiantes hablaban cuando el maestro llegó.
The students were talking when the teacher arrived.

• A habitual action that takes place in the past:
Cuando yo estaba en la universidad, trabajaba cada fin de semana.
When I was in college, I worked every weekend.

Cuando mi padre era joven, jugaba al tenis cada dia.
When my father was young, he would play (used to play) tennis every day.

• Mental, emotional, and physical conditions in the past as well as other past conditions such as weather, time, and age:
Él la amaba mucho.
He loved her very much.

Hacía mucho calor y estaba muy húmedo.
It was very hot and humid.

Eran las cuatro de la tarde.
It was four in the afternoon.

• A completed action that preceeded another past action.  In English this is formed by using "had been" and the present participle.  This is an idiomatic use of the imperfect tense of a verb with hacía, which is also in the imperfect.
Hacía dos horas que tocaba el piano cuando los vecinos llamaron.
He had been playing the piano for two hours when the neighbors called.

• Always use the imperfect when referring to someone's age in the past:
Ella se fue a la universidad cuando tenía 16 años.
She left for college when she was 16 years old.

Formation:
The imperfect tense is formed by adding the following endings:

	-AR verbs	-ER and -IR verbs
yo	-aba	-ía
tu	-abas	-ías
él, ella, Ud.	-aba	-ía
nosotros	-ábamos	-íamos
vosotros	-abais	-íais
Uds., ellos/as	-aban	-ían
The English equivalent is usually was or were followed by the present participle (-ing) or used to plus the infinitive.

See also:
Preterite Tense


Future Tense

The future tense in Spanish is formed by adding the following endings to the infinitive:

yo	-é	nosotros	-emos
tú	-ás	vosotros	-éis
él, ella, Ud.	-á	Uds., ellos/as	-án
Because the endings are added to the entire infinitive, as opposed to just the stem, they are the same for -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs.

There are three uses for the future tense:
• To express that something will take place at a time future to the present:
La banda marchará en el desfile hoy.
The band will march in the parade today.

• To express present intent or determination:
Iré a verlo hoy.
I will go to see him today.

• To express present probability:
Ya estará aquí.
He's probably already here.

Very often, the conjugated form of ir + a is used along with the infinitive to express a future action.  This is a colloquial usage which implies the future, but grammatically, it is not considered the future tense.  This usage can be equated to the English "going to" plus the infinitive.

Voy a cantar en la misa mañana.
I am going to sing at Mass tomorrow.

Voy a visitar a mi abuelita el martes.
I am going to visit my grandma on Tuesday.


Present Perfect

The present perfect is formed from the Present Tense of haber and the past participle of the main verb.  It indicates a past action that has been completed but relates to the present.  This relationship is often indicated by the presence of related verbs or adverbs referring to the present time.

Yo he visitado a tu madre últimamente.
I have visited your mother recently.

Contrast the simple past (Preterite Tense) to the present perfect:
Preterite:
Yo comí pollo ayer.
I ate chicken yesterday.

Present Perfect:
Yo he comido pollo.
I have eaten chicken.

The preterite tense is used to point out that the action was completed in the past.  The present perfect is used to refer to a past action without referring to a particular time.  The action may continue into the present or the speaker may see the action as related to the present.


Preterite Perfect

Preterite perfect (or past anterior) tense is formed with the Preterite Tense of haber plus the past participle of the main verb.  This tense, usually limited to formal writing such as history and literature, is not used much in Spanish.  It is normally used after some conjugations of time, i.e.:

después que	luego que
cuando	en cuanto
apenas
Using the preterite perfect:
Luego que hubo cinco personas, salió.
Now that there were five persons, he left.


Past Perfect

Past perfect (or pluperfect) is a compound tense which is used to indicate an action or state completed by (rather than occurring in) the past.  In Spanish this tense is formed from the Imperfect Tense of haber and the past participle of the main verb.  It is used to express an action completed in the past:
Era verdad que no nos había invitado.
It was true that he had not invited us.

Salimos mal en el examen porque no habíamos estudiado.
We did poorly on the exam because we hadn't studied.


Future Perfect

Future perfect (or future anterior) is a compound tense formed from the Future Tense of haber plus the past participle of the main verb.  There are two chief uses of this tense:

To express that an action will have been completed before a determined future time.  For example:
Lo habré terminado para el viernes.
I shall have finished it by Friday.

To express that an action will have been completed before a future action.  For example:
Lo habrá corregido antes de que el profesor lo lea.
She will have corrected it before the teacher reads it.


Imperative

Imperative (or command) has only one tense, the present.  The Present Subjunctive form of the verb is used for all commands except the affirmative second person familiar (tú and vosotros).

• To form the affirmative tú command, use the third person singular of the present indicative.
Lee el libro.
Read the book.

• To form the vosotros affirmative command, replace the final r of the infinitive with a d.
¡Venid acá de inmediato!
Come here immediately!

• Usted and Ustedes commands:
Hable más despacio.
Speak more slowly.

No cuenten el dinero.
Don't count the money.

• Nosotros commands:
Comamos los tacos.
Let's eat the tacos.

• Tú and Vosotros commands:
¡Corre rápido!
Run fast!

No salgas sin abrigo.
Don't leave without a coat.


Past Progressive

The past progressive tense, used extensively in English in place of the simple past, is limited in Spanish usage and very specific in meaning.  It is formed from the Imperfect Tense of the verb Estar and the present participle of the main verb (add -ando to the AR verb stem and -iendo to the ER and IR verb stem).

To express that something was right then in the act of happening:
Él estaba corriendo.
He was (right at that moment in the act of) running.
OR 	He was running (at that very moment).

In the Spanish usage, the above sentence might be in reply to the question:  Why wasn't Pablo here at 2:00? for example.

See also:
Present Progressive


Present Progressive

The present progressive tense, used extensively in English in place of the simple present, is very limited in Spanish usage.  It is formed from the Present Tense conjugation of the verb ser and the past participle of the main verb (add -ando to AR verb stems and -iendo to ER and IR verb stems.  The meaning is very specific.

To express that an action is right now in the act of taking place:
Ella está corriendo.
She is running.
OR	She is running right now.

Although in English the present progressive is commonly used, as in the above example, the Spanish present progressive is much more specific.  Therefore, the second translation conveys the real meaning of what is being said in Spanish.

To contrast the meaning of these two usages, examine the following examples in context:
Mary has lost a lot of weight! How did she do it?
She's running.

This usage does not imply that Mary is running this very moment, but, rather that she runs from time to time.  The Spanish usage would be much more time-specific:

We are having a meeting--why isn't Mary here?
Está corriendo
She is out running.

See also:
Present Tense


Verbs: Subjunctive

Present Subjunctive

Past Subjunctive

Present Perfect Subjunctive

Past Perfect Subjunctive


Present Subjunctive

The subjunctive mood has all but disappeared from English, but it is used extensively in Spanish.  The subjunctive mood indicates a doubt with regard to the action in question.  One way to think of the subjunctive is as an action which has not and/or may not necessarily occur, or an action over which the speaker has no control.

The subjunctive is used in the following situations:

• After impersonal expressions which do not imply certitude:
Es posible que no venga.
It's possible that he's not coming.

Es importante que consideres las consecuencias.
It's important that you consider the consequences.

• After verbs of doubt or denial:
Dudo que Ud. tenga razón.
I doubt that you are right.

• After negative expressions of believing, knowing, etc.:
No creo que Ud. tenga razón.
I don't think that you are right.

• After verbs of wish, hope, or desire:
Quiero que no se pierda este tesoro.
I don't want this treasure to be lost.

• After verbs of emotion:
Temo que usted llegue tarde.
I'm afraid you will arrive late.

• To express all commands other than tú and vosotros positive.

See also:
Imperative

• After verbs of requirement, command, or permission:
Pido que no hagas eso.
I ask you not to do that.

Él siempre le dice que no escriba así.
He always tells her not to write like that.

• After conjunctions where there is a change of subject:
Yo iré con tal de que tú te quedes.
I'll go provided that you stay behind.

Quiero hacerlo sin que lo sepan ellos.
I want to do it without their knowing it.

When the action of the subjunctive verb, or the tense of the verb which controls the use of the subjunctive, is past or conditional, then the past subjunctive is required.

Formation:
To form the present subjunctive, drop the o from the first person singular of the Present Tense (do not use the infinitive stem) and then add the following endings:

	AR verbs	ER and IR verbs
yo	-e	-a
tú	-es	-as
él, ella, Ud.	-e	-a
nosotros	-emos	-amos
vosotros	-éis	-áis
Uds., ellos(as)	-en	-an
See also:
Past Subjunctive


Past Subjunctive

The past subjunctive is used when the subjunctive is required but either the verb in the main clause or the subjunctive verb itself are in a past or conditional tense.  This tense can be compared to the English would + verb.

There are two forms of the Past Subjunctive:

• One is formed by dropping the -on from the third person plural form of the preterite and adding the endings

yo	-a
tú	-as
él, ella, Ud.	-a
nosotros	-amos
vosostros	-ais
Uds., ellos/as	-an
For example:

hablaras	You would talk.
estuviéramos	We would be...
comiera	He/She/It would eat...
• Another is formed by removing the -ron from the third person plural of the preterite and adding the endings

yo	-se
tú	-ses
él, ella, Ud.	-se
nosotros	-semos
vosotros	-seis
Uds., ellos/as	-sen
For example:
hablases, estuviésemos, comiese

These two forms are equally correct in all cases, and their use is governed by personal or regional preference only.

See also:
Present Subjunctive


Present Perfect Subjunctive

The present perfect subjunctive is formed by using the Present Subjunctive of haber as the helping verb plus the past participle of the main verb.

If the verb in the main clause is in the Present Tense, Future Tense, or Present Perfect tense, the present perfect subjunctive must be used in the dependent clause if there is some element which requires the use of the subjunctive.

The Present Subjunctive is used if the action is not in the past.  If the action is in the past the present perfect subjunctive is used as follows:
Juana duda que yo le haya hablado al chico.
Jane doubts that I have spoken to the boy.

Lo siento que tú no hayas venido a verme.
I am sorry that you have not come to see me.


Past Perfect Subjunctive

The past perfect subjunctive (or pluperfect subjunctive) tense is formed from the Past Subjunctive of haber plus the past participle of the main verb.

If the verb in the main clause is in a past tense, the past perfect subjunctive is used in the dependent clause if there is some element in the dependent clause which requires the use of the subjunctive.  See also Present Subjunctive for rules.

Using the past perfect subjunctive:
Lo sentí mucho que no hubiera venido Elena.
I was very sorry that Helen had not come.

No creía que María hubiera llegado.
I did not believe that Mary had arrived.

Note that both of these sentences contain elements of doubt indicating the subjunctive.  In the first example, an action which was expected to occur did not, whereas in the second example the subject (I) does not know whether an action took place.


Verbs: Conditional

Conditional

Conditional Perfect


Conditional

The conditional is formed by adding the following endings to the infinitive to all verbs:

yo	-ía	nosotros	-íamos
tú	-ías	vosotros	-íais
él, ella, Ud.	-ía	Uds., ellos(as)	-ían
Verbs that have an irregular stem in the future tense use the same stem for the formation of the conditional.  Irregular Examples:

Infinitive	Future	Conditional
decir	diré	diría
haber	habré	habría
tener	tendré	tendría
The conditional tense has three chief uses:

• To state that an action was future with respect to the past.
Dijo que visitaría pronto.
She said she would visit soon.

• To conclude contrary-to-fact sentences:
Si yo fuera usted, no lo haría.
If I were you, I would not do it.

• To express probability in past time:
Sería Carlo quien lo hizo.
It was probably Carl who did it.


Conditional Perfect

The conditional perfect is formed by using the Conditional of haber and the past participle of the main verb.  It has two chief uses:

• To express an action that would have been done if, or on condition that, something else had been possible.
Si hubiera sido posible, yo habría ayudado.
If it had been possible, I would have helped.

• To express probability after a past verb:
Nos parecía que ya se habría ido.
We thought that he had (probably) already left.


Verbs: Linking Verbs

Ser/Estar

Ser

Estar


Ser/Estar

Both ser and estar are translated as to be in English, causing confusion for the English speaker.  Please remember that these words are never interchangeable; each has a specific set of uses.

It might be helpful to think of ser as a permanent condition and estar as a temporary condition.  Compare the following:
Él es viejo.
He is old.

Él está enfermo.
He is sick.

Ella es alegre.
She is a happy person.

Ella está triste.
She is sad.

See also:
Ser
Estar


Ser

The verb ser is used primarily to describe permanent characteristics and expressions of time.

Using ser:

• Quality or non-momentary characteristics.
Ella es alta.
She is tall.

Ellos son jóvenes.
They are young.

Yo soy joven.
I am (a) young (person).

• Expressions of time:
Son las cuatro.
It is four o'clock.

Eran las siete.
It was seven o'clock.

Ser can also be used to designate origin or ownership, as well as what material an object is constructed from:

• Origin:
La Sra. Valdivia es de Chile.
Mrs. Valdivia is from Chile.

El café es de Brasil.
The coffee is from Brazil.

Ownership or Content:
El coche es el mío.
The car is mine.

El plato es de plata.
The plate is (made of) silver.

See also:
Ser/Estar
Estar


Estar

The verb estar is used primarily to describe location or change of condition.

Using estar:

• Momentary physical or mental conditions:
Su cara está roja.
Her face is (looks) red.

Estoy cansado.
I am tired.

La leche estaba fría.
The milk was cold.

Está enferma.
She is sick.

• Location:
José está aquí.
Joe is here.

Las nubes están en el cielo.
The clouds are in the sky.

María está en Chile.
María is in Chile.

• Special uses of Estar with the adjectives muerto and contento:
Está muerto.
He is dead.

Está contenta.
She is happy.

See also:
Ser/Estar
Ser


Verbs: General

Passive Voice

Gustar


Passive Voice

The passive voice indicates that although an action was performed, the agent, or doer of the action, is not the subject of the sentence.  That is, in a Passive voice sentence the agent may or may not be stated, but in either case the action of the sentence is more important than the person (or group) performing the action.
Compare the following:

Active:	My two sons painted the house.
Passive with Agent:	The house was painted by the painters.
Passive without Agent:	The house was painted.
The passive voice in Spanish has two forms which correspond to the two forms shown above.  One is used when there is an agent and the other is used when there is no agent.

• Passive with Agent:  This form of the passive is sometimes known as the ser form, because it is formed from the Preterite Tense of the verb Ser and the past participle of the main verb.

The past participle is formed by adding -ado to the AR verb stem and -ido to the ER and IR verb stems.  The past participle in this usage is now an adjective and must agree with the modified noun in gender and number.
Examples:
La canción fue cantada por Roberto.
The song was sung by Robert.

Los libros fueron traídos por Ramón.
The books were brought by Ramon.

• Passive without Agent:  When there is no agent, form the passive using se.  The verb will agree with its object in both tense and number.

Examples:
Se habla Español aquí.
Spanish is spoken here.

Se pintó la casa.
The house was painted.


Gustar

Gustar and expressing liking:  To express liking for something in Spanish, the verb gustar (to please or be pleasing to) must be used with an indirect object pronoun indicating the "liker" or the person being pleased.

A good way to think of the verb gustar is to translate it as is pleasing to.  For example:
Me gusta.
It is pleasing to me.
OR	I like it.

Te gustan las frutas.
The fruit is pleasing to you.
OR	You like the fruit.

Le gustan los monos.
The monkeys are pleasing to her.
OR	She likes the monkeys.

Nos gustan.
They are pleasing to us.
OR	We like them.

Les gustan los helados.
Ice cream is pleasing to them.
OR	They like ice cream.

If the indirect object is referred to by name, the preposition a must be placed before it.  For example:
A mi hermana le gustan los carros.
Cars are pleasing to my sister.
OR	My sister likes cars.

La música les gusta a los jóvenes.
The music is pleasing to young people.
OR	Young people like the music.

Note:  The verb agrees with what is being liked (in this case the subject) and not "the liker", since "the liker" is actually the indirect object rather than the subject.  For example:
Me gusta.
It is pleasing to me.
OR	I like it.

Me gusta el mar.
The ocean is pleasing to me.
OR	I like the ocean.

Me gustan las flores.
Flowers are pleasing to me.
OR	I like flowers.


Articles

Article Inflections

Definite Articles

Indefinite Articles


Article Inflections

Spanish articles exist in both masculine and feminine, singular and plural, and definite and indefinite forms:

	Masculine	Feminine
	Definite	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite
Singular	el	un	la	una
Plural	los	unos	las	unas
Examples:
el hombre
un libro
la mujer
una casa
los vasos
unos carros
las palmas
unas amigas

The word a may also combine with the masculine singular article el to form the contraction al:
Vamos al cine cada semana.
We go to the movies every week.

Yo vi al payaso en el circo.
I saw the clown in the circus.

Unlike English a, an, the Spanish indefinite articles have regular plural forms which are commonly used to express the idea of "some", "several" or "a few".
Unas niñas jugaban en el jardín.
Some girls were playing in the garden.

Habían unos libros en la mesa.
There were several books on the table.

Él se fue después de unos minutos.
He left after a few minutes.

Similarly, Spanish Assistant may classify as articles some words such as "any" "some", "every" and "few", which are not considered articles in traditional grammar, in order to facilitate the translation of these words between English and Spanish.


Definite Articles

Closely associated with the noun is an adjective known as the definite article.  In English it only has one form, the.  In Spanish, it has five:  el, la, lo, los, las.  The explanation of this difference is that in Spanish, unlike English, adjectives agree with the noun they modify in two ways, in gender and in number.  A Spanish noun is almost never used without an article.

• The masculine singular form:
El libro
The book

• The masculine plural form:
Los perros
The dogs

• The feminine singular form:
La casa
The house

• The feminine plural form:
Las muchachas
The girls

• The neuter singular form (It is never used before nouns but has a special use with singular adjectives):
Lo malo es...
The bad part is...

Lo especial es...
The special thing is...


Indefinite Articles

In Spanish, the indefinite articles are un, una, unos, and unas.  Their equivalent translations in English are a, an, and some.  Like every other Spanish adjective, the indefinite article must agree with its noun in person and number.

• The masculine singular form:
un libro
a book

• The feminine singular form:
una mesa
a table

• The masculine and feminine plural forms:

Masculine:	unos gatos	some cats
Feminine:	unas canciones	some songs
The Indefinite Articles are called "indefinite" because they are not specific, or defined (as the Definite Articles are.).  Compare the following sentences:

• Using the Definite Article:
Él es el hombre joven de quien hable.
He is the young man I spoke of.

• Using the Indefinite Article:
Ví un hombre joven en el parque.
I saw a young man in the park.

See also:
Definite Articles


Pronouns

Usted/Tú

Reflexive Pronouns

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive Inflections

Demonstrative Pronouns

Double Object Pronouns

Pronoun Inflections

Personal Pronoun Inflections


Usted/Tú

There are more pronouns in Spanish for the expression of the subject you than in English, because Spanish observes a distinction between styles of direct address that does not now exist in English.

Tú and its plurals (vosotros/vosotras), used with a second person form of the verb, are employed when the relationship between speaker and person spoken to is intimate or familiar (close friends and family).  Usted and its plural ustedes, used with a third person verb form, are used when the relationship is more formal.

Because of these rules, a sentence as simple as How are you? in English, can be translated in multiple ways in Spanish, depending on whom is being addressed:

Singular:
	Informal	¿Cómo estás (tú)?
	Formal	¿Cómo está (Ud.)?
Plural:
	Informal	¿Cómo estais (vosotros)?
	Formal	¿Cómo están (Ustedes)?
NOTE:  Ud. is the abbreviation for Usted, and Uds. for Ustedes.

In general, tú is used when a first-name style of address is appropriate; Usted is used in all other cases.  Vosotros is used mostly in European Spanish; in Latin America, Uds. is the plural of both tú and Ud.


Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used when the action in the sentence is both executed and received by the subject.  If an infinitive ends in -se, then all conjugated forms of that verb must include the appropriate reflexive pronoun, even if the verb is not reflexive in English.  See Direct Objects for placement rules.

• 1st Person Singular, using me:
Yo me llamo Carmen.
My name is Carmen.
(Literally:  I call myself Carmen.)

• 2nd Person Singular, using te:
Te levantas muy temprano.
You get up very early.
(Literally:  You get yourself up very early.)

• 3rd Person Singular, using se:
Ella se pone la blusa.
She puts on the blouse.
(Literally:  She puts the blouse on herself.)

• 1st Person Plural, using nos:
Nos miramos en el espejo.
We look at ourselves in the mirror.

• 2nd Person Plural, using os:
Os habláis todo el tiempo.
You (plural) talk to yourselves all the time.

• 3rd Person Plural, using se (plural):
Ellos se creen importantes.
They think they are important.
(Literally:  They believe themselves (to be) important.)

A conjugated verb:  sentirse - to feel (health)

yo	me siento	I feel...
tú	te sientes	You (informal) feel...
él, ella, Ud.	se siente	He, She, You (formal) feels...
nosotros	nos sentimos	We feel...
vosotros	os sentaís	You feel...
ustedes	se sienten	You feel...
Me siento bien
I feel well.


Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are used to replace a noun modified by a possessive adjective:

• Nouns modified by a possessive adjective:
Yo tengo mi libro, no tu libro.
I have my book, not your book.

Carmen tiene su cámara, no tu cámara.
Carmen has her camera, not your camera.

• Possessive pronoun replacing the above:
Yo tengo mi libro, no el tuyo.
I have my book, not yours.

Carmen tiene su cámara, no la tuya.
Carmen has her camera, not yours.

The possessive pronoun must agree with the noun it replaces and be accompanied by the appropriate definite article.

Possessive Adjectives	Possessive Pronouns
mi, mis	el mío, la mía, los míos, las mías
tu, tus	el tuyo, la tuya, los tuyos, las tuyas
su, sus	el suyo, la suya, los suyos, las suyas
nuestro, nuestra	el nuestro, la nuestra
nuestros, nuestras	los nuestros, las nuestras
vuestro, vuestra	el vuestro, la vuestra
vuestros, vuestras	los vuestros, las vuestras
su, sus	el suyo, la suya, los suyos, las suyas


Possessive Inflections

Possessives are sometimes referred to in traditional grammar as possessive pronouns or possessive adjectives. They convey a sense of ownership or inherent quality, and occur in both simple and emphatic forms corresponding to the personal pronouns.

Simple Forms

	Singular	Plural
First Person	mi	nuestro, nuestra (our)
Second Person	tu (you)	vuestro, vuestra (your)
Third Person	su (his, her)	su (their)
	su (your)	su (your)
Emphatic Forms

	Singular	Plural
First Person	mío, mía (mine)	nuestro, nuestra (ours)
Second Person	tuyo, tuya (yours)	vuestro, vuestra (yours)
Third Person	suyo, suya (his, hers)	suyo, suya (theirs)
	suyo, suya (yours)	suyo, suya (yours)
The simple forms precede the "possessed" noun or noun phrase, and agree in number (and, in the case of nuestro and vuestro, gender):

Me gusta tu carro rojo!
I like your red car!

Mis libros son muy pesados.
My books are very heavy.

Nuestras madres trabajan mucho.
Our mothers work very hard.

The emphatic forms usually follow the noun or noun phrase, and agree in both number and gender. They carry a sense of emphasis, or distinguish one person's ownership from another's. Together with the appropriate article, they may also substitute for the "possessed" noun.
La casa mía es la mejor.
My house is the best.

Me gusta el nuestro más que el tuyo.
I like ours better than yours.

Note that the su and suyo forms can be confusing to learners because of their multiple uses for third person and second personal formal. singular and plural.  It is important to remember that their number and gender agreement is determined by the nouns which they modify, while their specific meaning is determined by their usage in context:

Él es mi amigo.  Sus padres son amables.
He is my friend.  His parents are nice.

Ellos son mis amigos.  Sus padres son amables.
They are my friends.  Their parents are nice.


Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are pronouns which take the place of the nouns they refer to.  In Spanish, the demonstrative pronouns take an accent mark to distinguish them from the Demonstrative Adjectives.

There are two singular and two plural demonstrative pronouns in English.  In Spanish, there are three singular and three plural forms, each with a masculine and a feminine, for a total of twelve.

• When the object is near the speaker:

Singular:
éste, ésta	this one
éste	this one (masculine)
ésta	this one (feminine)
Plural:
éstos, éstas	these
éstos	these (masculine)
éstas	these (feminine)
Examples contrasting the demonstrative adjective with the demonstrative pronoun:
Singular:

Quiero este lapiz.
I want this pencil. (adjective)

Quiero éste.
I want this one. (pronoun)

Yo leo esta revista.
I read this magazine. (adjective)

Yo leo ésta.
I read this one. (pronoun)

Plural:
Me gustan estos discos.
I like these records. (adjective)

Me gustan éstos.
I like these. (pronoun)

Estas mesas son lindas.
These tables are pretty.

Éstas son lindas.
These are pretty.

• Near the person addressed:

Singular:
ése, ésa	that one
ése	that one (masculine)
ésa	that one (feminine)
Plural:
ésos, ésas	those
ésos	those (masculine)
ésas	those (feminine)
• Remote from both speaker and person addressed:

Singular:
aquél, aquélla	that one
aquél	that one (masculine)
aquélla	that one (feminine)
Plural:
aquéllos, aquéllas	those
aquéllos	those (masculine)
aquéllas	those (feminine)
See also:
Demonstrative Adjectives


Double Object Pronouns

In many cases both a direct and an indirect object pronoun may appear in the same sentence.  When such occurs, the indirect object pronoun always precedes the direct object pronoun.

• Using me lo:
Juan me lo dijo.
John told it to me.

• Using te lo:
Juan te lo dio.
John gave it to you.

• Using nos los:
María nos los enseñó.
Mary showed them to us.

When the indirect and direct object pronouns both begin with the same letter, the indirect object pronoun becomes se.
Juan se lo explicó.
John explained it to him.
(not Juan le lo explicó.)

See also:
Direct Objects for placement rules.
Indirect Objects for clarification procedures.


Pronoun Inflections

There are three non-personal or "neuter" pronouns in Spanish: esto (this), eso (that) and aquello (that).

The pronouns are used to refer to indefinite things and intangible concepts:
¿Quién ha dicho esto?
Who has said this?

Eso me complace mucho.
I am very satisfied with that.

No quiero pensar en todo aquello.
I don't want to think about all this.

When the reference is to a definite noun, the demonstrative pronoun is usually preferable:
Este es un asunto importante.
This is an important matter.

Esa es la locura de la política.
That is the madness of politics.

See also:
Demonstrative Pronouns


Personal Pronoun Inflections

Like their English counterparts, Spanish personal pronouns exist in singular and plural forms for the first, second, and third persons.  Unlike English, Spanish personal pronouns
• distinguish gender in the first and second person plural forms;

• include both formal and informal forms of the second person pronouns;

• have three object forms, in addition to a subject form and reflexive form.

Subject forms

	Singular	Plural
First Person	yo (I)	nosotros, nosotras (we)
Second Person	tú (you)	vosotros, vosotras (you)
Third Person	él, ella, ello (he, she)	ellos, ellas (they)
	usted (you)	ustedes (you)
Direct object forms

	Singular	Plural
First Person	me (me)	nos (us)
Second Person	tu (you)	os (you)
Third Person	lo/le, la, lo (him, her) usted (you)	los/les, las, los(them) ustedes (you)
Indirect object forms

	Singular	Plural
First Person	me (me)	nos (us)
Second Person	tu (you)	os (you)
Third Person	le (him, her, it)	les (they)
	le (you)	les (you)
Reflexive forms

	Singular	Plural
First Person	me (myself)	nos (ourselves)
Second Person	te (yourself)	os (yourselves)
Third Person	se (himself, herself, itself)	se (themselves)
	se (yourself)	se (yourselves)
As do many European languages, Spanish distinguishes between a formal (usted) and informal (tú) second person pronoun. The use of one or the other is determined by the social relations between the speakers as well as regional and customary usage.

Usted and ustedes are often abbreviated to Vd. and Vds. or Ud. and Uds. in both formal and informal written speech.

The use and acceptability of the second person plural forms (vosotros) vary widely throughout the Spanish-speaking world. In many areas ustedes is the preferred form for both formal and informal use, while in others vosotros may substitute for ustedes (as well as vos for usted).

Similarly, the choice of lo or le as the third person masculine singular direct object form is largely determined by regional variations in usage.

In written Spanish, care should be taken to distinguish the accented personal pronoun él (he) from the unaccented masculine article el.


Nouns

Indirect Objects

Gender

Diminutive Nouns

Direct Objects

Noun Inflections


Indirect Objects

An indirect object is the recipient of the action in a sentence.  It may be recognized by a stated or understood to, or for preceding the object.

In Spanish, the direct object pronouns are as follows:

Singular:
1st Person	me	(to or for me)
2nd Person	te	(to or for you)
3rd Person	le	(to or for him, her, or it)
Plural:
1st Person	nos	(to or for us)
2nd Person	os	(to or for you all)
3rd Person	les	(to or for them)
Examples:
Juan me da un regalo.
John gives (to) me a gift.

Elena le hizo un favor.
Elena did him a favor.
OR	Elena did a favor for him.

Since the third person pronoun forms le and les have multiple meanings, they may be clarified using the preposition a followed by the desired person.  For example:
Julio les ve a Uds.
Julio sees you all.

Juan le habló a ella.
John spoke to her.

The same technique may be used for emphasis, whether or not clarification is needed.  For example:
Me invitó a mí.
He invited me (not you).

See also:
Direct Objects for rules of placement in the sentence.


Gender

In Spanish all nouns have gender.  A noun is either masculine or feminine.  For the most part, the classification of nouns according to gender is purely a grammatical matter, with the exception of some nouns designating human beings and certain animals.

There are some rules which can be used to determine what gender a noun will take.  All nouns ending in -ción, -sión, -tad, -dad, are feminine, as are most nouns ending in -a.  Most nouns ending in -o or anything else are masculine.  (Note:  exceptions occur and must be memorized.)

• A few masculine nouns:

libro	book
sillón	arm chair
hombre	man
• A few feminine nouns:

casa	house
libertad	freedom
acción	action
Because nouns have genders in Spanish, their articles must "agree" with them.  That is, the articles must have the same gender as the nouns they modify.  The masculine article is el, and the feminine article is la.

Using the same list as before, we would then encounter:

• Masculine:

el libro	the book
el sillón	the couch
el hombre	the man
• Feminine:

la casa	the house
la libertad	the freedom
la acción	the action
Some Exceptions:

la mano	the hand
el artista	the artist
el problema	the problem
Note:  Although articles are often ommitted in English, they are almost always included in Spanish sentences.


Diminutive Nouns

The most common diminutive endings in Spanish are:

Masculine	Feminine
-ito	-ita
-cito	-cita
The rules governing the use of these endings with particular nouns are not strict, and may vary according to the pronunciation of the word, as well as the region, customary usage, and personality of the speaker.

Nouns which end in a vowel may add -cita, or may drop the vowel and add -ita:
la casa	la casita

el libro	el librito

la mamá	la mamacita

el papá	el papacito

Nouns ending in -n or -r generally use -cito:
el salon	el saloncito

el amor	el amorcito

Words of one syllable usually add -e- before the diminutive ending:
la flor	la florecita

el pez	el pececito

The diminutive form is more commonly used in spoken than in written Spanish, and may indicate either small physical size or an affectionate attitude on the part of the speaker:
el librito de gramática
the little (small) grammar book

la casita linda
the nice little house

mi mamacita
my dear mother


Direct Objects

The direct object of a sentence is the object upon which the verb acts.  Thus, it receives the direct action of the verb.  In Spanish the direct object pronouns are:

me	me		nos	us
te	you		os	you all
lo	him,it		los	them, you all
la	her,it		las	them, you all
The pronoun will always agree in gender and number with the noun it replaces.  There are four correct locations for object pronouns in Spanish, whether they are direct, indirect, or reflexive.

• Directly before the conjugated verb:
José no lee el libro.
Joe doesn't read the book.

José no lo lee.
Joe doesn't read it.

Inés ha visto las flores.
Ines has seen the flowers.

Inés las ha visto.
Ines has seen them.

• Attached to the infinitive:
Ana quiere vender el oro.
Ana wants to sell the gold.

Ana quiere venderlo.
Ana wants to sell it.

• Attached to the present participle (note need for accent):
Pepe está oyendo la voz.
Pepe is hearing the voice.

Pepe está oyéndola.
Pepe is hearing it.

• Attached to a positive (but never to a negative) command (accent if result is more than two syllables):
Coma el pan.
Eat the bread.

Cómalo.
Eat it.

BUT	No lo coma.
Don't eat it.


Noun Inflections

Spanish nouns have both singular and plural forms.  Masculine and feminine nouns share the same set of plural endings,  which are usually determined by the pronunciation of the final sound of a word:

Unstressed vowel: -s
el libro	los libros

la regla	las reglas

Stressed vowel: -s or -es
la mamá	las mamás

el café	los cafés

el rubí	los rubíes

Consonant (other than s): -es
el señor	los señores

la tempestad	las tempestades

Consonant (s): -es or no change
el inglés	los ingléses

el lunes	los lunes

Consonant (z): -z changes to -ces
el cicatriz	los cicatrices

la actriz	las actrices

Many words of two or more syllables may change their written accent in the plural form, in order to preserve the basic pronunciation:
la nación	las naciones

el joven	los jóvenes

Most English loan-words in Spanish preserve their original plural forms, except for some English words which have a long history of common usage in Spanish and which form normal plurals:
el poster	los posters

el comic	los comics

el club	los clubes

Note that nouns with "natural" gender, usually referring to people or animate objects, use the masculine noun to form a plural indicating both genders:
los padres	the parents

los reyes	the monarchs


Grammar Help - Adjectives
Adjectives

Adjectives

Adjective Inflections

Intensified Adjectives

Comparative Adjectives

Superlative Adjectives

Demonstrative Adjectives


Grammar Help - Adjectives - Adjectives
Adjectives

Adjectives in Spanish agree with their nouns in gender and number, and are almost always placed after the noun.  For example:

un muchacho alto	a tall boy
una niña alta	a tall girl
muchachos altos	tall boys
niñas altas	tall girls
In general, adjectives end in -o, -os, -a, -as depending on the gender and number of the noun being modified.  Adjectives ending in any other letter are considered both masculine and feminine, but still become plural with their nouns.

The same rules apply if the adjective appears in the predicate clause:
Juan es flaco.
John is thin.

Las flores son rojas.
The flowers are red.

When immediately preceding a singular, masculine noun, bueno, malo, alguno, ninguno, primero, and tercero all drop their final -o:
el primer día
the first day

BUT	la primera noche
the first night


Adjective Inflections

Most Spanish adjectives are regularly formed, and follow the model of alto (tall):

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	alto	alta
Plural	altos	altas
Other common models are:
Adjectives ending in -e (masculine and feminine forms the same)

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	verde	verde
Plural	verdes	verdes
Adjectives ending in accented -és

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	inglés	inglesa
Plural	ingleses	inglesas
Adjectives ending in -ista (masculine and feminine forms the same)

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	comunista	comunista
Plural	communistas	comunistas
Most adjectives regularly form their comparatives with más, and their superlatives with the appropriate article and más:
Este edifice es alto.
This building is tall.

Este edifice es más alto que el otro.
This building is taller than the other.

Este edificio es el más alto.
This building is the tallest.

Some very common adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms. These include:
bueno - mejor - el/la mejor - los/las mejores

malo - peor - el/la peor - los/las peores

Unlike English, Spanish adjectives usually follow the noun or noun phrase which they modify. A few adjectives , commonly bueno, malo, and grande, may also occur before the noun or noun phrase, often with a slight change of emphasis or meaning, and with a special short form for the masculine singular:

El estudiante leyó un buen libro.
The student read a good book.

Ella es una buena mujer.
She is a good (kind) woman

Me miró con mala intención.
He looked at me with evil intent.

El presidente es un gran señor.
The president is a great gentleman.

The substitution of an adjective for a noun referring to a person or object with a particular quality is more widespread in Spanish than in English.

La vieja vivía en una residencia palacial.
The old (woman) lived in a palatial residence.

Los condenados marcharon al prisión.
The condemned (men) marched to the prison.


Intensified Adjectives

Many adjectives have, in addition to their normal forms, intensified forms in -ísimo which add emphasis and convey a sense of "very" or  "extremely":
Un edificio altísimo.
A very tall building.

Las nubes blanquísimas.
The snow-white clouds.

The intensified adjective endings follow the regular model of normal adjectives such as alto.


Comparative Adjectives

When an adjective is used in an expression of comparison of superiority or inferiority, it is preceded by más (more), or menos (less).  The English word than, in such places, is que in Spanish:

• Comparing two nouns:
Juan es alto.
John is tall.

Juan es más alto que yo.
John is taller than I.

Juan es menos alto que yo.
John is less tall than I.


Superlative Adjectives

When an adjective is used in an expression of comparison of superiority or inferiority, it is preceded by más, (more), or menos, (less).

In English, the superlative can take two forms:
the most + adjective
OR	adjective + -est.

• The superlative is a way of comparing nouns:
Juan es alto.
John is tall.

Juan es el muchacho más alto de la clase.
John is the tallest boy in the class.

Juan es el más alto de la clase.
John is the tallest (boy) in the class.

María es inteligente, pero Sandra es la más inteligente.
Mary is intelligent, but Sandra is the most intelligent.

See also:
Comparative Adjectives


Demonstrative Adjectives

In contrast to the Demonstrative Pronouns, demonstrative adjectives are never used alone.  That is, they always precede the noun they modify.  They also never take accents.  Demonstrative adjectives specify the noun.

There are two singular and two plural demonstrative adjectives in English.  In Spanish, there are three singular and three plural forms, each with a masculine and feminine, for a total of twelve.  Demonstrative Adjectives, unlike most other adjectives, precede the noun.

• When the object or person is near the speaker:

Singular:
este, esta	this
este hombre	this man (masculine)
esta dama	this woman (feminine)
Plural:
estos, estas	these
estos libros	these books (masculine)
estas historias	these stories (feminine)
• Examples contrasting the Demonstrative Adjective with the Demonstrative Pronoun:
Singular:
Masculine:
Me gusta este libro.
I like this book. (adjective)

Me gusta éste.
I like this one. (pronoun)

Feminine:
Esta pila no sirve.
This battery's no good.

Ésta no sirve.
This one's no good.

Plural:
Estos viajes son caros.
These trips are expensive.

Éstos son caros.
These are expensive.

• Use of both demonstrative adjective and pronoun in the same sentence.  Often use of the demonstrative adjective and the demonstrative pronoun occur in the same sentence and are used to contrast the noun(s) in question:
Estoy casada con este hombre, no ése.
I am married to this (adjective) man, not that one (pronoun).

• When the object or person is near the person addressed:

Singular:
ese, esa	that
ese muchacho	that boy (masculine)
esa muchacha	that girl (feminine)
Plural:
esos, esas	those
esos chicos	those boys (masculine)
esas chicas	those girls (feminine)
• Remote from both speaker and person addressed:

Singular:
aquel, aquella	that
aquel señor	that man (masculine)
aquella señora	that woman (feminine)
Plural:
aquellos, aquellas	those
aquellos señores	those men (masculine)
aquellas señoras	those women (feminine)
See also:
Demonstrative Pronouns


Quantifiers

Quantifier Inflections

Cardinal Numbers

Ordinal Numbers

General Quantifiers


Quantifier Inflections

In Spanish. as in English, there are three major types of quantifiers: Cardinal Numbers, Ordinal Numbers, and General Quantifiers.  Please refer to the above sections for inflection information.


Cardinal Numbers

Cardinal or counting numbers (uno, dos, tres, etc.) may either stand alone or before a following noun or noun phrase:
Tres y cuatro son siete.
Three and four are seven.

Hay tres palmas en la playa.
There are three trees on the beach.

They are invariable in form with several exceptions:

Compound numbers with uno (one) agree in gender with the noun modified:
Veintiuna personas subieron del autobús.
Twenty-one people got off the bus.

Compound numbers with ciento (hundred) agree in number and gender with the noun modified:
El estudiante leyó doscientos libros.
The student read two hundred books.

Both uno and ciento have corresponding short forms un and cien used before nouns, adjectives and nouns, or mil:
Octubre tiene treinta y un días.
October has thirty-one days.

Cien años de soledad.
One hundred years of solitude.

Note that one hundred in Spanish is ciento or cien, never un ciento or un cien.


Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal or ordering numbers (primero, segundo, tercero, etc.) stand before a following noun or noun phrase, and agree in both gender and number:
Vive en el cuarto piso.
He lives on the fourth floor.

La segunda muchacha se llama María.
The second girl is named Mary.

The short forms primer (first) and tercer (third) are used before a masculine singular noun or noun phrase:
Enero es el primer mes del año.
January is the first month of the year.

Roma floreció durante el tercer siglo.
Rome flourished in the third century.


General Quantifiers

Spanish Assistant may classify as general quantifiers words such as all, some, first, and last, which carry a counting or ordering meaning.


General

Para

Por

For

That

Que

Demonstrative Inflections

Questions

Interrogative Inflections

Negative Words

Negatives

Stress/Accents

Syllables

Non-Inflecting


Para

Since both por and para can be translated as for in English, it is difficult to recognize when to use one or the other in a sentence without memorizing all the rules.  Distinguishing between the two usually becomes more natural as one becomes more familiar with the language.  The following are examples of usages for para:

• To express a purpose or a destination:
Una flor para ella.
A flower for her.

Me lo dio para comprar la comida.
He gave it to me (in order) to buy the food.

• To specify a point of time in the future:
Las ropas estarán listas para el lunes.
The clothes will be ready by Monday.

• To express a comparison of inequality:
Para un principiante, habla usted muy bien.
For a beginner, you speak  very well.

• To express for the purpose of:
Estudien para sacarse una buena nota.
Study in order to get a good grade.

• To express in the employ of:
Él trabaja para el gobierno.
He works for the government.

See also:
Por


Por

Since both por and para can be translated as for in English, it is difficult to recognize when to use one or the other in a sentence without memorizing all the rules.  Distinguishing between the two usually becomes more natural as one becomes more familiar with the language.  The following are examples of usages for por:

• To express the reason or cause for an action:
No fuí por falta de dinero.
I didn't go for (because of) lack of money.

• To translate through or along:
Entré por la puerta.
I entered through the door.

Ella corría por la calle.
She ran along the street.

• To indicate an exchange:
Les di diez dólares por la bicicleta.
I gave them ten dollars for the bicycle.

• To express the duration of time:
Yo fui al colegio por cuatro años.
I went to college for four years.

• To indicate the means by which something was done:
Conducía al niño por la mano.
He was leading the child by the hand.

• To indicate a unit of measurement (per):	Ellos venden galletas por la docena.
They sell cookies by the dozen.

El nada a veinte millas por hora.
He swims 20 miles an hour.

• To indicate time of day when the hour is not precise:
Me gusta ir a la playa por la tarde.
I like to go to the beach in the afternoon.

• To indicate for the sake of:
Él murió por su patria.
He died for his country.

• To indicate instead of, in the place of:
Luisa trabajó por Ana.
Luisa worked in Ana's place.

See also:
Para


For

As a preposition, for can be translated as either Por or Para.  Generally, use por when explaining the cause or reason for doing something, and para when designating the destination of something (in this case, either a place or person).  Note the difference in meaning:
I did it for you.
Lo hize por Usted.
(I did it instead of you.)

Lo hize para Usted.
(I did it to give to you.)

He bought milk for his mother.
Él compró leche por su mamá.
(He bought the milk, because for some reason his mother wasn't able to.)

Él compró leche para su mamá.
(He bought the milk to give to/destined for his mother.)

As in the above example, if you can substitute the phrase to give to for for, use para.

Additional examples:

Using por:
Decidí no ir por dos razones.
I decided not to go for two reasons.

!Lucha para el honor!
Fight for honor!

Using para:
Tengo una carta para Ud.
I have a letter for you.

Trabajé dos años para él.
I worked two years for him.

See also:
Por
Para

As a conjunction, for also has two possible translations:  porque and pues.  In this usage, for generally conveys the same meaning as because, for which porque is the most common translation.  Just as in English, for is used less commonly than because, and therefore seems somewhat awkward, as does pues in Spanish.  In Mexico, however, pues seems to be used more often.
Debes irte, porque la clase empiezará luego.
You should go for the class will start soon.

Deberías haber sabido, pues te dije.
You should have known, for I told you.

For can also be found in the phrases used below:
En cuanto a tu trabajo, hazlo bien.
As for your job, do it well.

¿Lo hizo? ¿ Para qué?
She did it? What for?


That

• As an adjective:
I know that boy.
Yo conozco ese niño.

That car is old.
Ese auto es viejo.

See also:
Demonstrative Adjectives.

• As a pronoun:
That is my book.
Ése es mi libro.

That is mine.
Éso es mio.
(Éso is the masculine pronoun for el libro.)

That is mine.
Ésa es mia.
[Here ésa is used to refer to a feminine pronoun such as la cartera (the purse).]

See also:
Demonstrative Pronouns.

• As a conjunction:
I know that she teachesSpanish.
Yo sé que ella enseña el (idioma) Español.

I'm sure that she can can do it.
Estoy seguro que ella lo puede hacer.


Que

Although the conjunction that is often ommitted from English sentences, que must be used in Spanish to separate any two clauses (two conjugated verbs) or after an adverbial expression which introduces a new subject.

• To separate two clauses:
Ella dijo que Juan es muy guapo.
She said (that) John is very handsome.

Yo supe que él había venido.
I knew (that) he had come.

• After an adverbial expression which introduces a new subject:
Vino antes de que hubiéramos terminado.
He came before we had finished.


Demonstrative Inflections

The Spanish demonstratives are este (this), ese (that), and aquel (that), with the following inflections for number and gender:

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	este	esta
Plural	estos	estas
	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	ese	esa
Plural	esos	esas
	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	aquel	aquella
Plural	aquellos	aquellas
Demonstratives may stand alone (demonstrative pronouns), or modify a following noun or noun phrase (demonstrative adjectives), and agree in both number and gender with the noun to which they refer. Traditionally, a written accent on the normally accented syllable of the word has been used to distinguish its use as a pronoun, although this usage may vary considerably in contemporary Spanish:
¡Este libro es muy interesante!
This book is very interesting!

¡Éste es un libro interesante!
This is an interesting book!

Esa muchacha me queda bien.
I like that girl.

Ésa no me queda bien.
I don't like that one.

Aquéllos son los soldados héroes.
Those are the heroic soldiers.

When the noun referred to is an indefinite concept or thing, the neuter pronouns esto, eso, and aquello should be used in preference to the demonstratives:
Ése es muy importante.
That (man) is very important.

Eso es muy importante.
That (idea) is very important.


Questions

Question Formation:  To correctly form a question in Spanish, follow this formula:
Question word (if there is one) + complete verb + complete subject + rest of predicate.
Be sure to place an ¿ before the question (this may not necessarily be the beginning of the entire sentence).

• Using Quién:
¿Quién habla?
Who is speaking?

¿Quién fue?
Who was it? (Who did it?)

Using Qué:
¿Qué quiere beber Juan?
What does John want to drink?

¿Qué significa éso?
What does that mean?

• Using Cuál:
¿Cuál de las dos pinturas es de Renoir?
Which of the two paintings is by Renoir?

¿Cuál es el problema?
What is the problem?

• Using Por qué:
¿Por qué no han venido tus hermanas?
Why haven't your sisters come?

¿Por qué estás enojada?
Why are you (f.) mad?

Using Cómo:
¿Cómo está Ud.?
How are you?

¿Cómo se llama?
How are you called? (What is your name?)

• Using Dónde:
¿Dónde está el mar?
Where is the ocean?

¿Dónde queda el baño?
Where is the bathroom (located)?

• Using Adónde:
¿Adónde van los alumnos de la primaria hoy?
(To) where are the elementary school students going today?

• Using Cuándo:
¿Cuándo es la fiesta?
When is the party?

¿Cuándo llegan?
When are they arriving?

• Using Cuánto(s):
¿Cuánto cuestan los juguetes?
How much do the toys cost?

¿Cuántas hamburguesas comió el perro?
How many hamburgers did the dog eat?

• Questions without question words:
¿Ayudó Juan a su mamá?
Did John help his mother?

La muchacha es muy bonita, ¿no lo crees?
The girl is very pretty, don't you think?

¿Es bastante?
Is that enough?


Interrogative Inflections

Many Spanish interrogative words are uninflected for gender and number:
¿Qué es eso?
What is that?

¿Porqué no le gusta las manzanas?
Why don't you like apples?

¿Cómo puedo llegar a la ciudad?
How can I get to the city?

¿Cuándo viene su hermano?
When is your brother coming?

Quién and cuál have both singular and plural forms. Cuál may stand alone, or modify a following noun or noun phrase:
¿Quién le espera en la esquina?
Who is waiting for you on the corner?

¿Quiénes son las maestras de inglés?
Who are the English teachers?

¿Cuál es su pelicula favorita?
Which is your favorite movie?

¿Cuáles son los asuntos más importantes?
Which are the most important issues?

Cuánto uses regular adjective endings. Like cuál, it may stand alone or modify a following noun or noun phrase, and agrees in both number and gender with the noun referred to
¿Cuánto cuesta el ordenador?
How much does the computer cost?

¿Cuántos años tiene él?
How old is she?

¿Cuántas personas asistieron a la clase?
How many people attended the class?

Note that the accents of the interrogatives are necessary to distinguish them from their corresponding relative pronouns:
¿Cuándo va a llegar?
When will he arrive?

Trabajaban cuando él llegó.
They were working when he arrived.


Negative Words

The most common negative words are:

nadie	no one
nada	nothing
nunca	never
ni...ni	neither...nor
ninguno(a)	no (as an adjective)
Negative words are called so, because they "negate" or contradict something "positive":
Queda mucho para comer?
Is there a lot left over to eat?

No, no queda nada.*
No, there is nothing left.

Here are some more examples:

• Using nadie:
Affirmative:
Alguien está aquí.
Someone is here.

Negative:
Nadie está aquí.
No one is here.

• Using nada:
Affirmative:
Tengo algo.
I have something.

Negative:
No tengo nada.
I have nothing.

• Using nunca:
Affirmative:
Él siempre va.
He always goes.

Negative

Él nunca va.
He never goes.

• Using ni...ni:
Affirmative:
¿Tienes una novela o un diccionario?
Have you got a novel or a dictionary?

Negative:
¿No tienes ni novela ni diccionario?
You have neither a novel nor a dictionary?

• Using ninguno, ninguna:
Affirmative:
Tiene alguna esperanza.
He has some hope.

Negative:
No tiene ninguna esperanza.*
He has no hope.

See also:
Negatives


Negatives

The most common way to make a sentence negative in Spanish is to place the word no before the verbal expression.

• Inserting no before the verb:
Juan conoce a María.
John knows Mary.

Juan no conoce a María.
John doesn't know Mary.

He terminado.
I have finished.

No he terminado.
I haven't finished.

• If an object pronoun precedes the verb, the negative word no precedes the object pronoun:
Lo conozco.
I know him.

No lo conozco.
I don't know him.

La he visto.
I have seen her.

No la he visto.
I haven't seen her.

Lo he probado.
I have tasted it.

No lo he probado.
I haven't tasted it.

• Here are some examples of using no in responding to a question: (Note that these sentences follow the same rules as above.)
Has visto a Ricardo?
Have you seen Richard?

No, no lo he visto.
No, I haven't seen him.

Es buen alumno Tomás?
Is Thomas a good student?

No, él no es un buen alumno.
No, he is not a good student.

See also:
Negative Words


Stress/Accents

In Spanish, the natural stress falls on the second to last syllable in all words ending in a vowel, -n, or -s.  In words ending in any other letter,  the natural stress falls on the last syllable.  Words not following the normal rules must indicate the stress with a written accent mark.

Examples of all three kinds of words (capitals indicate stress):

• Words ending in vowel, -n, or -s with the stress on the next-to-last syllable:

esposa	es PO sa	wife
joven	JO ven	young man
salimos	sa LI mos	(we) go out
• Words ending in other than vowel, -n, or -s with the stress on the last syllable:

azul	a ZUL	blue
corregir	co rre GIR	to correct
• Words which are not pronounced according to the stress rules and therefore require written accent:

caimán	cai MAN	alligator
lápiz	LA piz	pencil
See also:
Syllables


Syllables

In Spanish, syllables are divided so that the syllable begins with a consonant and ends with a vowel whenever possible.  In the following examples, capitals indicate stress.

The vowels a, e, and o are strong vowels, and therefore stand alone as separate syllables:

mareo	ma RE o - three syllables	mah-reh-oh
traer	TRA er - two syllables	trah-ehr
The vowels u and i are weak vowels which cannot stand as a separate syllable next to a strong vowel; in the case of a weak-strong or a strong-weak combination, a diphthong is formed with the stress on the strong vowel.

veinte	VEIN te - two syllables	bayn-te
Jamaica	Ja MAI ca - three syllables	hah-may-ka
Should pronunciation require breaking the diphthong (creating two syllables instead of the one), make the weak vowel strong with a written accent.

rió	RIO  - one syllable	RYO
río	rI o - two syllables	REE- oh
baul	BAUL - one syllable	BOW+l
baúl	ba Ul - two syllables	bah-OOL
When u and i fall together, they form a diphthong (one syllable) with the stress on the second of the two.

viuda	viU da - two syllables	view-the
huída	huI da - two syllables	hoo-ee-the
See also:
Stress/Accents


Non-Inflecting

The following parts of speech have no inflectional models:
• Conjunction
• Intensifier
• Non-Grammatical
• Note
• Preposition
• Prefix
• Relative
• Slot Phrase
• Suffix
• Title


Glossary of Terms

conjunction


conjunction

A word functioning as a connector between words, phrases,

clauses, or sentences.  For example: and, because, but,

however.


The passive voice is used much less frequently in Spanish than in English.


This formation is identical to the reflexive.


Note the positioning of the question mark right before the actual question part of the sentence.


Although in English double negatives should be avoided, there is no such rule in Spanish.  In fact, it is common to use multiple negatives in a single sentence:
¡No me molestes nunca!
Don't ever bother me!

Nunca me han dado nada.
They have never given me anything.


Accents are always placed above the vowel in a syllable, never above consonants.