Grammar/ Gramбtica

• Alphabet / Alfabeto

• Vowels / Vocales

• Diphthong / Diptongo

• Triphthong / Triptongo

• Pronunciation Tips/ Consejos para la pronunciación

• Greetings and Farewells/ Saludos y Despedidas Cultural Notes.

• Courtesy Forms/ Palabras de Cortesía

• To Be/ Ser y estar

• Interrogatives/ Interrogativos

• Accentuation / Acentuación

• Gender and Number/ Género y Número

• Plural / Plural

• Pronouns / Pronombre

• Definite Articles / Artículos Definidos

• Demostrative / Demostrativo

• Possessive / Posesivo

• Indefinite Articles / Artículos Indefinidos

• Neuter Article/ Artículo Neutro

• Adjective / Adjetivo

• Agreement of Articles, Adjectives and Nouns / Concordancia de Artículos, Adjetivos y Sustantivos

• Regular Verb / Verbo Regular

• Present / Presente

• Comparative Forms / Comparaciones

• Conditional Tense / Condicional

• Future tense / Futuro

• Contractions / Contracciones

• Command forms/ Imperativo

• Negation/ Negación

• Past / Pasado

• Prefixes des-, in-, and re-/ Prefijos des-, in- y re-

• Diminutive/ Disminutivo

• To Know/ Conocer y saber

• Gerund/ Gerundio

• Progressive / Progresivo

• Reflexive / Reflexivo

• Prepositions / Preposiciones

• Difference between Pedir and Preguntar (ask)

• There is (are) expressions/ Hay

• Just have done something.../ Acabar de

• Imperfect Tense/ Imperfecto

• Irregular verb / Verbo Irregular

• Subjunctive I / Subjuntivo

• Passive Voice/ Voz Pasiva

• Weather Expressions/ Expresiones de clima

• To Make, do/ Hacer

• To Have, possess/ Tener

• To Like/ Gustar

The Alphabet

The gender of letters is feminine, for example, la "a"/ the "a", la "eme"/ the "m".

Letter/letra	Name/nombre	Example/ejemplo
A	a	Andrés
B	be larga o be alta	Beatriz
C	ce	Carlos
CH	che	Pancho
D	de	Darío
E	e	Elena
F	efe	Francisco
G	ge	Gustavo
H (always silent)	ache	Hugo
I	i	Irma
J	jota	Juan
K	ka	Karina
L	ele	Luis
LL	elle	Guillermo
M	eme	Marta
N	ene	Nora
С	eñe	Ñoño
O	o	Oscar
P	pe	Pablo
Q	cu	Quito
R	ere	Rosa
S	ese	Susana
T	te	Tito
U	u	Úrsula
V	ve corta	Vicente
W	doble ve o doble u	Walter
X	equis	Xavier
Y	i griega o ye	Yolanda
Z	zeta	Zulema

SER & ESTAR/ TO BE

Both verbs, ser and estar, are equivalent to the English verb to be; however, they have very specific meanings and are NOT interchangeable. NOTE in the following examples how the meaning of a sentence changes:

• La Miss Universo es linda./Miss Universe is pretty.

• La Miss Universo está linda./ Miss Universe looks pretty (at this specific moment).

• El niño es listo./ The child is smart.

• El niño está listo./ The child is ready.

• Mi madre es aburrida./ My mother is boring (she is a boring person).

• Mi madre está aburrida./ My mother is bored.

• Mi hijito es vivo./ My little son is smart.

• Mi hijito está vivo./ My little son is alive.

SER / TO BE

Pronoun	Present	Past	Future	Conditional
yo/ I	soy	fui	seré	sería
tъ/ you	eres	fuiste	serás	serías
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	es	fue	será	sería
nos./ we	somos	fuimos	seremos	seríamos
vos./you	sois	fuisteis	seréis	seríais
ellos, Uds./ they, you	son	fueron	serán	serían

1. Ser/ to be is used to describe essential or inherent characteristics or qualities:

Basic aspects: color, shape, material of which something is made out of, size, physical characteristics, and personality.

EXAMPLES

• La nieve es blanca./ The snow is white.

• La tierra es redonda./ The earth is round.

• El saco es de lana./ The jacket is wool.

• Yo soy alta./ I am tall.

• Mi socio es extrovertido./ My partner is outgoing.

2. Possession.

EXAMPLE

• El auto es mío./ The car is mine.

3. Relationship.

EXAMPLE

• Ella es mi prima./ She is my cousin.

4. Profession.

EXAMPLE

• Son cirujanos plásticos./ They are plastic surgeons.

5. Nationality.

EXAMPLE

• Soy argentina./ I am Argentine.

6. Origin.

EXAMPLE

• El interventor es de La Paz./ The auditor is from La Paz.

7. Ser/ to be is used to indicate marital status.

EXAMPLE

• Ella es divorciada./ She is divorced.

8. Expressions of time and dates.

EXAMPLES

• Es la una./ It's one o'clock.

• Hoy es jueves./ Today is Thursday.

9. Events taking place.

EXAMPLE

• La fiesta es esta noche./ The party is tonight.

10. Passive voice.

EXAMPLE

• La casa fue incendiada./ The house (was) burned down.

11. Impersonal expressions.

EXAMPLE

• Es imposible hablar con ellos./ It's impossible talking to them.

12. Noun and adjective complement (A complement completes the sentence by describing or defining the subject).

EXAMPLES

• Mi suegra es una abuela maravillosa./ My mother-in-law is a wonderful grandma.

• Ella es Ana./ She is Ana.

• El compasivo es él./ The compassionate one is he. (Remember that the verb to be is transitory; therefore, he is used instead of him.)

ESTAR / TO BE

Estar is used to express location, transitory aspects, and characteristics that are NOT inherant property of a noun, such as how something/someone looks, feels or tastes at a given moment.

Pronoun	Present	Past	Future	Conditional
yo/ I	estoy	estuve	estaré	estaría
tъ/ you	estás	estuviste	estarás	estarías
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	está	estuvo	estará	estaría
nos./ we	estamos	estuvimos	estaremos	estaríamos
vos./you	estáis	estuvisteis	estaréis	estaríais
ellos, Uds./ they, you	están	estuvieron	estarán	estarían

1. Location or position of people and things.

EXAMPLES

• El restaurante está en la esquina./ The restaurant is at the corner.

• Los inversores estarán en Venezuela./ The investors will be in Venezuela.

2. Transitory, unusual, recently changed or constantly changing state or condition.

EXAMPLES

• Pablo estuvo enfermo./ Pablo was sick.

• El café está frío./ The coffee is cold.

3. Results of an action.

EXAMPLE

• Nuestros problemas estarán resueltos pronto./ Our problems will be solved soon.

4. State or condition of a subject.

EXAMPLE

• El rehén está vivo./ The hostage is alive.

5. Progressive tenses.

EXAMPLE

• El lunes estaremos celebrando nuestro triunfo./ On Monday we'll be celebrating our triumph.

6. Weather expressions.

EXAMPLE

• Está lloviendo./ It's raining.

IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS

• Estar acostumbrado/ to be accustomed to

• Estar conforme/ to be satisfied, in agreement

• Estar de acuerdo/ to be in agreement

• Estar de buen (mal) humor/ to be in a good (bad) mood

• Estar apurado (a)/ to be in a hurry

• Estar de vacaciones/ to be on vacation

• Estar de vuelta/ to be back

• Estar listo (a)/ to be ready

• Estar de moda/ to be in fashion

• Estar de viaje/ to be on a trip

• Estar embarazada/ to be pregnant

• Estar de rodillas/ to be kneeling

PREGUNTAS/ QUESTIONS

In Spanish there are 3 ways of asking a question to elicit a yes or no answer, and they are the following:

1. Verb + pronoun ...Unlike English, the auxiliaries do and does are not used.

• ¿Quieren ustedes aprender español?/ Do you want to learn Spanish?

NOTE: That interrogative questions have an opening (ї) question mark and also a closing one (?).

2. Pronoun + verb...The intonation makes the sentence interrogative.

• ¿Ustedes quieren aprender español?/ Do you want to learn Spanish?

3. Verb +...+ pronoun. The pronoun goes last.

• ¿Quieren aprender español ustedes?/ Do you want to learn Spanish?

PALABRAS INTERROGATIVAS/ INTERROGATIVE WORDS

NOTE: These words are ALWAYS graphically accentuated, whether they are used to formulate a direct or indirect question.

• ¿Qué hora es?/ What time is it? (direct)

• Dime qué hora es./ Tell me what time it is. (indirect)

¿A qué hora...?	What time...?
¿Dónde?	Where?
¿De dónde?	From where?
¿Por dónde?	Which direction?
¿A dónde?	To where?
¿Cómo?	How?
¿Cuál/-es?	Which one/-s?
¿Cuándo?	When?
¿Cuánto/-a?	How much?
¿Cuántos/-as?	How many?
¿Qué?	What?
¿Para qué?	For what reason?
¿Por qué?	Why?
¿Quién/-es?	Who?
¿A quién?	To whom?
¿Para quién?	For whom
¿De quién/-es?	Whose?

Acentuaciуn/ Accentuation

Spanish words are classified into 4 categories, aguda, grave, esdrъjula and sobresdrъjula, depending on where the words are stressed.

A written accent indicates where a word is stressed; however, not all words have the written accent. Therefore, the following rules will be helpful.




AGUDA

Agudas are stressed in the last syllable. All words that do not have a written accent and end in a consonant other n or s, the stress is on the last syllable.

EXAMPLES:

azul/ blue

avestruz/ ostrich




Agudas are graphically accentuated only if the words DO end in n, s or a vowel.

EXAMPLES:

ratón/ mouse

interés/ interest

acné/ acne




GRAVE

Graves are stressed in the second to the last (penultimate) syllable. All words that do NOT have a written accent and end in n, s or a vowel, the stress is on the penultimate syllable.

EXAMPLES:

mono/monkey

ave/bird

pato/duck




Graves are graphically accentuated only if the words do NOT end in n, s or a vowels. Note that graves have opposite rules to agudas.

EXAMPLES:

lápiz/ pencil

difícil/ difficult

útil/useful




ESDRЪJULA

Esdrъjulas are stressed in the third from last (antepenultimate) syllable. They are always graphically accentuated.

EXAMPLES:

rápido/ quick

pájaro/ bird

América/ America




SOBRESDRЪJULA

Sobresdrъjulas are stressed in the fourth, fifth, sixth, etc. from last syllable. They are always graphically accentuated. Generally, sobresdrъjulas are adverbs, which end in mente.

EXAMPLES:

rápidamente/ quickly

fácilmente/ easily

Gйnero y Nъmero/ Gender and Number

In Spanish, all nouns, including those denoting non-living things and abstract concepts, are either masculine or feminine and singular or plural.

Therefore, the articles and adjectives change according to the grammatical gender and agree in number with the nouns they modify.




GENDER

The following are some rules to determine the gender; however, the gender of some nouns must be learned by memorization.

The gender of living beings, such as people or animals, determines their grammatical gender.

A noun that refers to a male is masculine; a noun that refers to a female is feminine.




FEMININE NOUNS

1. Most nouns that end in -a are feminine.

EXAMPLES:

• la cara/ the face

• la cabeza/ the head

EXCEPTIONS: The following words end in a; however, they are masculine:

• el dнa/ the day

• el sofб/ the sofa

• el maсana/ the tomorrow, the future (Note that la maсana means morning.)




2. Many female nouns that end in -a have a corresponding male form that end in -o.

Gender	gato/ cat	perro/ dog
Masculine	el gato	el perro
Feminine	la gata	la perra




3. Nouns that end in -ista may be masculine or feminine. In these instances, the article determines the gender of the person.

Gender	dentista/ dentist	electricista/ electrician
Masculine	el dentista	el electricista
Feminine	la dentista	la electricista




4. Nouns ending in -iуn, -d, -ez, and -umbre are generally feminine.

EXAMPLES:

• La televisiуn/ TV

• la comunicaciуn/ communication

• la oportunidad/ opportunity

• la aptitud / aptitude

• la vejez/ old age

• la costumbre/ custom




5. The letters of the alphabet are feminine.

EXAMPLES:

• la l/ l

• la a/ a




6. The following are nouns that can only refer to females despite of the ending:

• la actriz/ actress

• la mujer/ woman




7. The following nouns refer to females when the article is feminine:

• la bebй/ female baby

• la cliente/ female client

• la psiquiatra/ female psychiatric

• la columnista/ female columnist




8. Nouns of Greek origin that end in -ma, -pa, and -ta are masculine.

EXAMPLES:

• el programa/ program

• el mapa/ map

• el poeta/ poet

• el planeta/ planet

• el idioma/ language

• el sistema/ system

• el telegrama/ telegram

• el problema/ problem

• el clima/ climate

• el drama/ drama

• el cometa/ comet

• el diploma/ diploma

• el tema/ theme




MASCULINE NOUNS

1.Most of the masculine nouns end in -o.

EXAMPLES:

• el libro/ book

• el sombrero/ hat

EXCEPTIONS: Some nouns that end in a are masculine.

EXAMPLES:

• la mano/ hand

• la foto/ photo




2. Colors, numbers, and days of the week are masculine.

EXAMPLES:

• el verde/ green

• el rojo/ red

• el uno/ one

• el cien/ hundred

• el lunes/ Monday

• el martes/ Tuesday




3. The following are nouns that refer to males, regardless of the ending:

• el hombre/ man

• el profesor/ male professor

• el juez/ male judge

• el policнa/ male police officer

• el doctor/ male doctor




4. Compound nouns are always masculine and plural.

EXAMPLES:

• el abrelatas/ can opener

• el sacacorchos/ bottle opener




NUMBER

Number identifies words as singular or plural. To make a noun, plural follow the rules below:

1. Add -s to a noun ending in a vowel, as in huevo/ egg and uva/ grape.

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	el huevo	los huevos
Feminine	la uva	las uvas




2. Add -es to a noun ending in a consonant.

Word	Singular	Plural
cereal	el cereal	los cereales
examen	el examen	los exбmenes




NOTE: At times, it is necessary to add or drop a written accent when a word is made plural because the stress of their singular form is maintained in their plural form.

Word	Singular	Plural
water melon	el melуn	los melones
exam	el examen	los exбmenes




3. For the nouns that end in -z, change the z to ces.

Word	Singular	Plural
rice	el arroz	los arroces
walnut	la nuez	las nueces




4. Nouns ending in -es and -is do NOT change in the plural.

Word	Singular	Plural
Monday	el lunes	los lunes
crisis	la crisis	las crisis




5. Compound nouns have the same form in the singular and plural forms.

Word	Singular	Plural
can opener	el abrelatas	los abrelatas
bottle opener	el sacacorchos	los sacacorchos

Pronombres/ Pronouns

1. Pronombres personales/ Personal pronouns

2. Diferencias con el inglés/ Differences with English

3. Posesivo/ Possessive

4. Demostrativo/ Demonstrative




PRONOMBRES PERSONALES/ Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns can be used as subjects of a sentence. They replace a noun.

Singular	Plural
yo/ I	nosotros (mas.), nosotras (fem.)/ we
tъ (informal), usted (formal)/ you	vosotros (mas.),vosotras (fem.), ustedes/ you
йl/ he, ella/ she	ellos, ellas/ they




Tъ is the singular informal form of you. It is used to address family members, children, and friends.




Ud. is the abbreviation of usted and is the singular formal form of you. It is preferable to use Ud. in all other instances.




Vosotros is the familiar plural form of you that is only used in Spain. In all other Latin American countries, ustedes is used. NOTE: That ustedes is used for both informal and polite plural.




Nosotros, vosotros, ellos are used to refer to a male group or a group of mixed gender. However, nosotras, vosotras and ellas refer to only a group of females.




DIFERENCIAS CON EL INGLЙS/ Differences with English

1. In Spanish, verb endings indicate the subject. Therefore, subject pronouns are often omitted.

EXAMPLES:

• Abrimos a las ocho./ We open at eight.

• Cierran primero./ They close first.




2. In order to emphasize the subject, a pronoun is used. When used, it precedes the verb.

EXAMPLE:

• Yo soy el mejor./ I am the best.




3. A pronoun is used in order to avoid confusion when verb forms present ambiguity.




4. Pronouns are always used when there are 2 verbs and 2 subjects.

EXAMPLE:

• Yo soy feliz, y йl no lo es./ I am happy, but he is not.




5. The pronoun it is rarely used.

EXAMPLES:

• Es posible alcanzar esa meta./ It is possible to reach that goal.

• Estб lloviendo./ It's raining.




6. In a question, subject pronouns can precede or follow the verb.

їUd. es el presidente?	Are you the president?
їEs Ud. el presidente?




7. Unlike English, personal pronouns are used in the following constructions:

• Como ella, йl, ellos, ellas/ like her, him, them

• Entre tъ y yo/ between you and me

• Excepto ella, йl, ellos, ellas / except her, him, them

• Incluso/ incluyendo ella, йl, ellos, ellas / including her, him, them

• Segъn ella, йl, ellos, ellas / according to her, him, them

Article

1. Artículo definido/ Definite article: rules when to use it.

2. Artículo definido/ Definite article: rules when NOT to use it.

3. Contracciones/ Contractions

4. El artículo neutro/ The neuter article

5. Artículo indefinido/ Indefinite article: rules when to use it.

6. Artículo indefinido/ Indefinite article: rules when NOT to use it.




ARTНCULO DEFINIDO/ Definite Article

In Spanish, there are 4 forms that are equivalent to the English definite article the. They agree in number and gender with the noun they modify.

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	el	los
Feminine	la	las

EXAMPLES:

• el banco/the bank

• los bancos/ the banks

• la casa/ the house

• las casas/ the houses




Rules when to use the definite article:

1.The definite article is used when the noun is determined.

EXAMPLES:

• Hay una casa en el bosque. La casa es blanca./ There is a house in the forest. The house is white.




2. The definite article is used also with nouns that refer to the totality, abstract sense, essence, or general idea.

EXAMPLES:

• La libertad es esencial./ Liberty is essential.

• El amor es inmortal./ Love is immortal.




3. The definite article is used with the meals of the day and with the time.

EXAMPLES:

• Yo compro la cena./ I buy the dinner.

• Son las dos./ It's 2 o'clock.




4. It is also used with days of the week.

EXAMPLES:

• Te llamaré el lunes./I'll call you on Monday.

• Nos vemos el martes./ We'll see each other on Tuesday.

Exception to the above rule is with the verb ser/ to be; the article is NOT required.

EXAMPLES:

• Ayer fue sábado./ Yesterday was Saturday.

• Hoy es jueves./ Today is Thursday.




5. The definite article is used with names of body parts and pieces of clothing. In English, possessive adjectives are used instead.

EXAMPLES:

• Yo saco el brazo./ I take out my arm.

• Ella se lava la camisa./ She washes her shirt.




6. The definite article is used with the following titles that are followed by the name of the person:

Definite article used	Example
señor (Sr.)/ Mr.	El Sr. López es feliz./ Mr. Lopez is happy.
señora (Sra.)/ Mrs.	La Sra. de López saluda./ Mrs. Lopez greets.
señorita (Srta.)/ Miss	La Srta. Pérez come. / Miss Perez eats.
doctor (Dr.)/ Dr. (male)	El Dr. Roberto Lee es muy bueno./ Dr. Robert Lee is very good.
doctora (Dra.)/ Dr.(female)	La Dra. Ana Aguilar es mejor./ Dr. Ana Aguilar is better.

The following titles DO NOT require the definite article:

NO definite article used	Example
don (used with first name)/ Mr.	Me saluda don Juan./ Mr. Juan is greeting me.
doña (used with first name)/ Mrs.	Y doña Marina llora./ And Mrs. Marina cries.
San/ St.	Vamos a ver a San Pablo./ Let's go to see St. Paul.
Santo/ holy or St.	Ellos creen en Santo Domingo./ They believe in Saint Dominic.
Santa/ holy	Santa Madre Iglesia/ Holy Mother Church
fray/ Brother	Fray Luis es un luchador./ Brother Luis is a fighter.

NOTE: That NO articles are used when talking directly to the person.

EXAMPLE:

• Dr. Pereyra, dígame por favor./ Dr. Pereyra, tell me please.




7. The definite article is used with most names of oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, mountains.

EXAMPLES:

• Los Alpes están lejos./ The Alps are far away.

• El Atlántico es inmenso./ The Atlantic is immense.

• El Titicaca está en Bolivia./ The Titicaca is in Bolivia.




DO NOT use the definite article in the following situations:

1. The definite article is NOT used with nouns that express an undetermined amount.

EXAMPLES:

• El gerente tiene dinero./ The manager has money.

• Necesito pan y queso./ I need bread and cheese.




2. The definite article is NOT used with languages if they are followed immediately by the verb hablar and the prepositions de and en.

NO definite article used	Example
hablar/ to speak	Hablan coreano./ They speak Korean.
de/ of	Yo quiero hablar de inglés./ I want to talk about English (language).
en/ in	Ella habla en chino con su padre./ She speaks Chinese with her father.

However, if the languages go after the verbs aprender, estudiar, and escribir, the use of a definite article is optional.

Optional use of definite article	Example
aprender/to learn	Quiero aprender (el) español./ I want to learn Spanish.
estudiar/to study	Estudio (el) español./ I study Spanish.
escribir/ to write	Leo y escribo (el) inglés./ I read and write English.




NOTE: If there is an adverb after a verb, the article is required for the succeeding noun.

EXAMPLE:

• Hablan fluídamente el coreano./ They speak fluently Korean.




3. The definite article is NOT used with roman numbers that denote the numerical order of a pontiff or sovereign.

EXAMPLES:

• Juan Pablo II/ John Paul the second

• Victoria III/ Victoria the third




NOTE: It is incorrect to add an article before any person's name.

• Incorrect: la Juana or el Pedro




4. Most country names do NOT require an article, however, when the word Repъblica/ Republic is omitted, the article is required:

ARTICLE REQUIRED	NO ARTICLE REQUIRED
La Argentina	Nicaragua
El Brasil	Rusia
Los Estados Unidos (US)	España (Spain)
El Canadá	Indonesia
El Ecuador	Australia
El Japón	Inglaterra
La China	Chile
La India	Méjico (Mйxico can also be spelt with x)




NOTE: If a geographic name is modified by an adjective, an article is needed.

EXAMPLE:

• El Chile prehistórico es importante./ The prehistoric Chile is important.




THE NEUTER ARTICLE LO

This neuter article is used to express a quality or an abstract idea.

EXAMPLES:

• Lo importante es que Juan es feliz./ The important thing is that Juan is happy.

• Lo bueno de vivir en Canadá es.../ The good thing to live in Canada is...




NOTE: That Lo + adjective or adverb + que is equivalent to the English expression how.

EXAMPLES:

• El presidente sabe lo difícil que es la situación económica./ The President knows how difficult the economic situation is.

• Entiendo lo malo que es fumar./ I understand how bad smoking is.




ARTНCULO INDEFINIDO/ indefinite article

In Spanish, there are 4 forms of indefinite articles that are equivalent to a, an, and some.

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	un	unos
Feminine	una	unas

EXAMPLES:

• Un hombre/ a man

• Unos cheques/ some checks

• Una puerta/ a door

• Unas ventanas/ some windows

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NOTE: Un is used instead of una, when the nouns are feminine and start with a- or ha- that are stressed in that syllable.

EXAMPLES:

un ala/ a wing	unas alas/ some wings
un hacha/ an axe	unas hachas/ some axes




Rules when to use the indefinite article:

1. The indefinite article is used when the noun is undetermined.

EXAMPLE:

• Mándeme un reporte./ Send me a report.




2. Unas and unos express an undetermined quantity. When they are used with nouns or numbers, they are equivalent to some or about in English.

EXAMPLES:

• Vendimos unos productos./ We sold some products.

• Comimos unas veinte manzanas./ We ate about 20 apples.




3. The indefinite article is used to indicate a quality that characterizes the modified noun.

In the following sentence, laziness is the main characteristic of this person.

EXAMPLE:

• Juan es un haragán./ Juan is lazy.




DO NOT use the indefinite article in the following situations:

1. The indefinite article is NOT used with the following words:

NO ARTICLE REQUIRED	EXAMPLE
tal/ such	Pedro no dijo tal cosa./ Pedro didn't say such a thing.
otro/another	Quiero cambiarla por otra billetera./ I want to exchange it for another wallet.
cien/ hundred	Deposito cien dólares./ I deposit a hundred dollars.
mil/ thousand	El cheque es por mil pesos./ The check is for a thousand pesos.
quй...!/ what...!	¡Qué niño!/ What a child!




2. The indefinite article is NOT used when stating the profession, nationality, political affiliation,or religion of a person.

However, if the noun is being modified, the indefinite article is used.

QUALITY	NO ARTICLE REQUIRED	ARTICLE REQUIRED
profession	Soy doctor./ I am a doctor.	Soy un doctor especializado./ I am a specialized doctor.
nationality	Ella es francesa./ She is French.	Ella es una francesa típica./ She is a typical French.
political affiliation	Él es peronista./ He is a Peronist.	Él es un verdadero peronista./ He is a true Peronist.
religion	Ella es católica./ She is a catholic.	Ella es una católica dedicada./ She is a dedicated catholic.

Demonstrative

When a demonstrative adjective (DA) functions as a noun, it is called a demonstrative pronoun (DP).

DA and DP are used to indicate distance or proximity in space or in time.

1. Adjetivos demostrativos/ Demonstrative adjectives

2. Pronombres demostrativos/ Demonstrative pronouns

3. Formas neutras/ Neuter forms




ADJETIVOS DEMOSTRATIVOS/ Demonstrative adjectives (DA)

DA point out nouns, such as people, places, or things. DA are more specific than definite or indefinite articles.

Dem. Adjectives	Gender	Singular	Plural
this/ these	Masculine	este	estos
		Feminine	esta	estas
	that/ those (nearby)	Masculine	ese	esos
		Feminine	esa	esas
	that/ those (far away)	Masculine	aquel	aquellos
		Feminine	aquella	aquellas

EXAMPLES:

• El auto/ the car

• Un auto/ a car

• Este auto/ this car

NOTE: As shown in the above examples, DA agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify, and DA precede the nouns.




ESTE and all its forms indicate proximity to the speaker.

• Este sobre estб abierto./ This envelope is open.

ESE and all its forms indicate proximity to the listener.

• Esa flor (que tъ tienes) es linda./ That flower (that you are holding) is pretty.




AQUEL and all its forms indicate distance from both the speaker and the listener or far away from the speaker.

• Aquel бrbol (a dos cuadras) es verde./ That tree (two blocks away) is green.




PRONOMBRES DEMOSTRATIVOS/ Demonstrative pronouns (DP)

DP replace a noun. They have the same form as DA, but they have written accents that distinguish them from DA.

Dem. Pronouns	Gender	Singular	Plural
this/ these	Masculine	йste	йstos
		Feminine	йsta	йstas
	that/ those (nearby)	Masculine	йse	йsos
		Feminine	йsa	йsas
	that/ those (far away)	Masculine	aquйl	aquйllos
		Feminine	aquйlla	aquйllas

EXAMPLES:

• Esta casa es vieja, pero йsa es moderna/ This house is old, but that one is modern.

• Esos бrboles son bajos pero йstos son altos/ Those trees are short, but these are tall.




ЙSTE and all its forms replace the latter noun in a sentence. Aquйl and all its forms replace the former noun.

EXAMPLE:

• Chivas es mбs aсejo que J.Walker. Йste es de 4 aсos. Aquйl es de 7 aсos./ Chivas has been aged longer than J.Walker. This is 4 years old. That is 7 years old. (Йste refers to J. Walker; Aquйl refers to Chivas)

NOTE: DP also agree in gender and number.




FORMAS NEUTRAS/ Neuter forms

There are 3 neuter DP, йsto, йso and aquйllo. They are used to refer to abstract ideas, concepts, or situations, and unidentified or undetermined objects.

EXAMPLES:

• Pregunta йsto al profesor./ Ask about this (matter) to the professor.

• Йso es imposible./ That is impossible.

• Aquйllo es mнnimo. Йsto es mejor./ That is minimal. This is better.

Pronouns

1. Pronombres personales/ Personal pronouns

2. Diferencias con el inglés/ Differences with English

3. Posesivo/ Possessive

4. Demostrativo/ Demonstrative




PRONOMBRES PERSONALES/ Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns can be used as subjects of a sentence. They replace a noun.

Singular	Plural
yo/ I	nosotros (mas.), nosotras (fem.)/ we
tъ (informal), usted (formal)/ you	vosotros (mas.),vosotras (fem.), ustedes/ you
йl/ he, ella/ she	ellos, ellas/ they




Tъ is the singular informal form of you. It is used to address family members, children, and friends.




Ud. is the abbreviation of usted and is the singular formal form of you. It is preferable to use Ud. in all other instances.




Vosotros is the familiar plural form of you that is only used in Spain. In all other Latin American countries, ustedes is used. NOTE: That ustedes is used for both informal and polite plural.




Nosotros, vosotros, ellos are used to refer to a male group or a group of mixed gender. However, nosotras, vosotras and ellas refer to only a group of females.




DIFERENCIAS CON EL INGLЙS/ Differences with English

1. In Spanish, verb endings indicate the subject. Therefore, subject pronouns are often omitted.

EXAMPLES:

• Abrimos a las ocho./ We open at eight.

• Cierran primero./ They close first.




2. In order to emphasize the subject, a pronoun is used. When used, it precedes the verb.

EXAMPLE:

• Yo soy el mejor./ I am the best.




3. A pronoun is used in order to avoid confusion when verb forms present ambiguity.




4. Pronouns are always used when there are 2 verbs and 2 subjects.

EXAMPLE:

• Yo soy feliz, y йl no lo es./ I am happy, but he is not.




5. The pronoun it is rarely used.

EXAMPLES:

• Es posible alcanzar esa meta./ It is possible to reach that goal.

• Estб lloviendo./ It's raining.




6. In a question, subject pronouns can precede or follow the verb.

їUd. es el presidente?	Are you the president?
їEs Ud. el presidente?




7. Unlike English, personal pronouns are used in the following constructions:

• Como ella, йl, ellos, ellas/ like her, him, them

• Entre tъ y yo/ between you and me

• Excepto ella, йl, ellos, ellas / except her, him, them

• Incluso/ incluyendo ella, йl, ellos, ellas / including her, him, them

• Segъn ella, йl, ellos, ellas / according to her, him, them

Adjectives

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Adjectives are words that describe a noun or a pronoun. Adjectives that are attributes or nationality generally follow a noun.

EXAMPLES

lección fácil / easy lesson
cielo azul / blue sky
comida china / Chinese food




EXCEPTIONS are possessive, demonstrative, or numerical adjectives. As in English, they precede the noun.

EXAMPLES

mi casa/ my house
ese libro/ that book
siete sillas/ seven chairs




FORMS OF ADJECTIVES (Agreement)

1. Most adjectives change form, depending upon whether the noun they modify is masculine or feminine and singular or plural. For words that end in o, a, and e, their endings are the following:

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	-o	-os
Feminine	-a	-as
Masc. or Fem.	-e	-es




2. In Spanish, adjectives must correspond in number and gender to the article and noun they modify. In English, adjectives do NOT change.

EXAMPLES

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	el gato blanco/ the white cat	los gatos blancos/ the white cats
Feminine	la gata blanca/ the white cat	las gatas blancas/ the white cats
Masculine	el hombre inteligente/ the intelligent man	los hombres inteligentes/ the intelligent men
Feminine	la mujer inteligente/ the intelligent woman	las mujeres inteligentes/ the intelligent women




3. Generally, words that end in a consonant, -es is added to form their plural; however, the ending, -es, remains constant despite of the gender of the noun they modify.

EXAMPLES

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	El libro azul/ The blue book	Los libros azules/ The blue books
Feminine	La caja azul/ The blue box	Las cajas azules/ The blue boxes

NOTE: That adjectives are made plural by adding -s, -es; however, when words end in z, it changes to -ces.

EXAMPLES

el hombre capaz/ the capable man

los hombres capaces/ the capable men.

Present Tense

A verb expresses an action or indicates a state or condition.

An infinitive is the form of a verb that shows no subject or number, such as comprar/ to buy, vender/ to sell, recibir/ to receive.

Verbs consist of a stem, such as compr in comprar, vend in vender, recib in recibir , and an ending, such as -ar, -er, -ir. Stems of regular verbs do not change, but stems of irregular verbs sometimes do change.




Clasificaciуn de los verbos/ Classification of verbs

In Spanish, verbs are classified according to the endings of their infinitive.

1. First conjugation: verbs ending in -ar

2. Second conjugation: verbs ending in -er

3. Third conjugation: verbs ending in -ir

Unlike English, each subject has a distinct verb ending.




FIRST CONJUGATION:

Comprar/ to buy

yo compro/ I buy tъ compras/ you buy йl, ella, usted compra/ he, she, you (formal) buy(s) nosotros compramos/ we buy vosotros comprбis/ you buy ellos, ustedes compran/ they, you buy




SECOND AND THIRD CONJUGATIONS:

The endings for the second and third groups are identical except for the nosotros and vosotros.

Vender/ to sell	Recibir/ to receive
yo vendo tъ vendes йl vende nos.vendemos vos. vendйis ellos venden	yo recibo tъ recibes йl recibe nos. recibimos vos. recibнs ellos reciben

NOTE: In the above examples, to conjugate a verb, the ending of the infinitive (-ar, -er, -ir) is removed and an appropriate ending is added.




Use the present tense in the following situations:

The Spanish present tense is equivalent to following 4 forms in English:

Yo firmo el contracto.

I sign the contract. I do sign the contract. I am signing the contract. I will sign the contract. (in the immediate future)

1. It is used to indicate what is happening now.

EXAMPLE:

• Yo como ahora./ I am eating right now.




2. The present tense is also used to express an action that will take place in the immediate future:

EXAMPLE:

• Firmo el contracto maсana./ I will sign the contract tomorrow.




3. It is also used to make a request or ask for instructions:

EXAMPLES:

• їQuieren cenar conmigo? Will you have dinner with me?

• їEscribo el cheque?/ Shall I write the check?




4. This tense is used to indicate habitual actions:

EXAMPLES:

• Los Argentinos cenan alrededor de las 10 de la noche./ Argentines eat dinner around 10 P.M.

• Los espaсoles duermen una siesta despuйs de almorzar./ Spanish people take a nap after lunch.




NOTE: Since the verb endings indicate who the subject is, the subject pronouns are frequently omitted; however, it is ALWAYS used when there are 2 subjects and 2 verbs.

EXAMPLES:

• Correct: Yo tomo, y ella come./ I drink, and she eats.

• Incorrect: Tomo y come./ I drink, and she eats.

Comparatives

Comparatives allow the comparison of equal and unequal degrees of qualities, attributes and characteristics.

There are 5 levels of comparison:

1. equality

2. inferiority

3. superiority

4. superlative

5. irregular




IGUALDAD/ EQUALITY

1. When comparing adjectives and adverbs, tan…como/ as...as is used. Tan never changes in the comparison or contrast of qualities.

EXAMPLES:

• La amortizaciуn es tan importante como los gastos./ The depreciation is as important as expenses.

• El porcentaje de interйs es tan bajo como las ganancias./ The interest rate is as low as the profits.




2. When equating quantities or comparing nouns, tanto…como (as much as, as many as) is used. Tanto changes to tanta, tantas, tantos to agree with the noun's gender and number.

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	tanto	tantos
Feminine	tanta	tantas

EXAMPLES:

• Esta compaснa no tiene tanto dinero como su competiciуn./ This company doesn't have as much money as its competition.

• Sin embargo sн tiene tantos autos como su competiciуn./ However, it does have as many cars as its competition.




DESIGUALDAD/ INEQUALITY

In Spanish, the comparative of most adjectives, adverbs, and nouns is formed by using mбs… que/ more...than for superiority and menos…que/ less...than for inferiority.

NOTE: That the words mбs and menos do NOT change with gender or number.

EXAMPLES:

• La tasa de interйs al consumidor es menos atractiva que la interbancaria./ The consumer's interest rate is less attractive than that of the interbank's.

• Tengo mбs interйs en las finanzas que en la mercadotecnia./ I have more interest in finance than in marketing.




NOTE: De is used instead of que before an expression of quantity or amount.

EXAMPLES:

• Hay mбs de 3 competidores./ There are more than 3 competitors.

• Tengo menos de 30 minutos para terminar la lecciуn./ I have less than 30 minutes to finish the lesson.




SUPERLATIVOS/ SUPERLATIVES

They express the highest or lowest degree of comparison when comparing two or more things.

There are 2 main ways to express a superlative idea. Its construction is similar to that of the comparative form:

1. Superlatives are formed by placing the definite article before the noun being compared, and note that the words mбs and menos do NOT change with gender or number. In these instances, the article determines the gender and the number of the subject.

Degree	Gender	Singular	Plural
Highest	Masculine	el mбs/ the most	los mбs/ the most
		Feminine	la mбs/ the most	las mбs/ the most
	Lowest	Masculine	el menos/ the least	los menos/ the least
		Feminine	la menos/ the least	las menos/ the least

EXAMPLES:

• Este banco es el mбs grande del paнs./ This bank is the largest in the country.

• Estos bancos son los mбs grandes del paнs./ These banks are the largest in the country.

• La casa es la mбs grande en la cuadra./ The house is the largest in the block.

• Las casas son las mбs grandes en la cuadra./ The houses are the largest in the block.

• El vicepresidente es el menos pagado en la compaснa./ The Vice President is the least paid in the company.

• Los vicepresidentes son los menos pagados./ The Vice Presidents are the least paid.

• La vicepresidenta es la menos pagada./ The Vice Presidente (female) is the least paid.

• Las vicepresidentas son las menos pagadas./ The Vice Presidents (female) are the least paid.




2. Superlatives are also formed by adding the suffix -нsimo (-a, -os, -as) to an adjective or an adverb.

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	-нsimo	-нsimos
Feminine	-нsima	-нsimas

EXAMPLES:

• Juan es inteligentнsimo./ Juan is extremely intelligent.

• Juan y Ana son inteligentнsimos./ Juan and Ana are extremely intelligent.

• Ana es inteligentнsima./ Ana is extremely intelligent.

• Ana y Rosa son inteligentнsimas./ Ana and Rosa are extremely intelligent.




IRREGULAR/ IRREGULAR

The following are adjectives and adverbs with irregular comparative forms:

Adjectives and adverbs	Comparative form
bueno/ good	mejor/better
bien/well	mejor/better
malo/bad	peor/worse
mal/badly	peor/worse
viejo/old (when referring to people only)	mayor/older
joven/young (when referring to people only)	menor/younger

Conditional Tense

The conditional tense in Spanish is equivalent to the conditional tense in English, would + verb.

To form this tense, add the endings -нa, -нas, -нa, -нamos, нais, нan to an infinitive. These roots are used for all three conjugations, -ar, -er, and -ir.

Note that all forms have a written accent.

EXAMPLES:

Pronoun	Calcular/ to calculate	Comer/ to eat	Escribir/ to write
yo	calcularнa	comerнa	escribirнa
tъ	calcularнas	comerнas	escribirнas
йl, ella, Ud.	calcularнa	comerнa	escribirнa
nosotros	calcularнamos	comerнamos	escribirнamos
vosotros	calcularнais	comerнais	escribirнais
ellos, Uds.	calcularнan	comerнan	escribirнan




IRREGULAR CONDITIONAL FORMS

The following verbs have irregular conditional stems to which are added the conditional endings. These forms are the same as their future tense stems.

Infinitive/ Conditional/ English

Salir / saldrнa /to go out

Venir/ vendrнa/to come

Tener/tendrнa/ to have

Poner/ pondrнa/to put

Poder/podrнa/ to be able

Valer/ valdrнa/ to be worth

Haber/ habrнa/ to be

Saber/ sabrнa/ to know

Caber/ cabrнa/ to fit

Hacer/ harнa/to do

Decir/ dirнa/to say

Querer/ querrнa/ to want

Futuro/ Future Tense

The future tense in Spanish is equivalent to the future tense in English, will or shall + verb.

There are 3 ways to express a future action:

4. The present tense : Indicative mode.

5. Ir + a + infinity : going to + verb.

6. The future tense : includes irregular forms.




THE PRESENT TENSE

This tense can be used to express an action taking place in the near future.

EXAMPLES:

• Esta tarde mi hija va al concierto./ This afternoon my daughter will go to the concert.

• Estoy en la oficina todo el dнa./ I'll be in the office all day.




The construction ir + a + infinitive

This construction is equivalent to the English expression going to + verb. It is frequently used to express a future action.

Ir / to go

Yo voy/ I am going

tъ vas/ you are going

йl, ella, (Ud.) va/ he, she, (you are) is going

nosotros vamos/ we are going

vosotros vais/ you are going

Uds., ellos, ellas van/ you, they are going

EXAMPLES:

• Voy a aprender espaсol./ I am going to learn Spanish.

• Vamos a abrir un negocio propio./ We are going to open our own business.




THE FUTURE

To form the future, add these endings to the infinitive, which serves as the stem of almost all Spanish verbs: -й, -бs, -б, -emos, -йis, -бn. The endings are the same for all 3 conjugations.




IRREGULAR VERBS

Some verbs have irregular future stems, which are the same as their irregular conditional stems. Add the future endings to them.




Use the future tense in the following situations:

1. To express probability, conjecture or doubt of an action, condition or state, in the present or future time, the future tense is used. It is equivalent to the English expressions: (probably, wonder, suppose, guess).

EXAMPLES:

• Hoy no me puse el reloj. їQuй hora serб?/ Today I am not wearing my watch. I wonder what time it is? (What time could it be?)

• Serбn las dos y pico./ It must be a little after two.

• їQuiйnes estarбn afuera? їSerбn los niсos? / I wonder who are outside? They must be the children. (They are probably the children.)




2. To express the willingness to do something, the verbs desear or querer are used instead of the future tense.

EXAMPLE:

• їQuiйren cenar conmigo?/ Will you have dinner with me?

NOTE: The Spanish future tense is NOT used to make requests, as it is in English.




3. The future tense is also used to express orders or commands.

EXAMPLES:

• Mandarбs estos folletos esta tarde./ Send these pamphlets this afternoon.

• Niсos, no irбn al cine./ Children, don't go (won't) to the movies.

Contracciones/ Contractions

In Spanish, there are only 2 contractions, al and del.

The prepositions a (to, toward) and de (from, of) combine with the definite article el to form al (a + el = al) and del (de + el = del).

EXAMPLES:

• Voy al hotel./ I am going to the hotel.

• Vengo del colegio./ I am coming from college.




NOTE: That the pronoun йl does NOT contract.

EXAMPLE:

• Decile a йl que venga./ Tell him to come.




NOTE: That no other definite articles (la, las, los) form contractions when combined with de.

EXAMPLES:

• La ventana de la casa estб sucia./ The window of the house is dirty.

• Las hipotecas de las casas./ The mortgages of the houses.

• Los empleados de los bancos./ The employees of the banks.

El Imperativo/ Imperative Form

The imperative form is used to give an order, direction, or command.

REGULAR VERBS

To form the command, drop the -o of the first person present form (indicative mode) of the verb and add the following endings:

Verbs ending in -ar, such as cobrar/ to collect money:

Positive Imperative	Negative Imperative
cobra (tъ) cobre (Ud.) cobremos (nosotros) cobrad (vosotros) cobren (Uds., ellos)	no cobres no cobre no cobremos no cobrйis no cobren

Verbs ending in -er and -ir, such as prender/ to turn-on and escribir/ to write, have the same endings, except for vosotros.




IRREGULAR VERBS -COMMANDS

The same endings mentioned above are used for irregular verbs for the imperative form.




IRREGULAR FORMS -COMMANDS

1. The following have irregular command forms for the pronoun tъ:

Infinitive	Pos. Imper.	Neg. Imper.
Ser/to be Tener/ to have Venir/ to come Decir/ to say Salir/ to go out Hacer/ to do Ir/ to go Poner/ to put	sй (tъ) ten (tъ) ven (tъ) di (tъ) sal (tъ) haz (tъ) ve (tъ) pon (tъ)	no seas no tengas no vengas no digas no salgas no hagas no vayas no pongas

2. The following verbs have irregular negative command forms:

Infinitive	Pos. Imper.	Neg. Imper.
Dar/ to give Estar/ to be Saber/ to know	da (tъ) estб (tъ) sabe (tъ)	no des no estйs no sepas




Although subject pronouns are rarely used with commands, they can be placed after the verb for emphasis or courtesy.

EXAMPLES:

• Coman Uds. sin falta./ Remember to eat.

• Firme Ud. aquн, por favor./ Please, sign here.




THE EXPRESSION LET'S...

1. This English expression is equivalent to the command form corresponding to nosotros.

EXAMPLES:

• Abramos el vino./Let's open the wine.

• No tomemos tanto./ Let's not drink too much.




2. The expression let's can also be expressed using vamos a + infinitive.

EXAMPLES:

• Vamos a abrir el vino./ Let's open the wine.

• No vayamos a tomar tanto./ Let's not drink too much.

Expresiones Negativas y Afirmativas/ Negative and Affirmative Expressions

The most common way to make a sentence negative is to place no before the verb.

The English auxiliaries do and does are not used in Spanish.

EXAMPLES:

• Juan abre una cuenta bancaria./ Juan opens a checking account.

• Juan no abre la cuenta bancaria./ Juan does not open the checking account.




Affirmative and negative expressions

NOTE: In Spanish, double negation is very common, as stated in the examples below.




ALGO y NADA/ Something and nothing

Algo and nada are invariable and refer to things and objects.

EXAMPLES:

• Hay algo afuera./ There is something outside.

• No hay nada en el refrigerador./ There is nothing in the refrigerator.




ALGUIEN y NADIE / Someone and no one

Alguien and nadie are invariable and refer to people. When alguien, nadie, alguno and ninguno are direct objects, they must be preceded by the personal a when they refer to a person.

EXAMPLES:

• Invitй a alguien a salir./ I asked someone out.

• No defiendo a nadie./ I don't defend anybody.




ALGUNO (someone or some) y NINGUNO (no one or none)

Alguno and ninguno can refer to people or things. Furthermore, alguno and ninguno drop the final -o before masculine singular nouns similarly, uno/one shortens to un, and bueno/ good to buen.

EXAMPLES:

• Algъn dнa venderemos millones./ Some day we'll sell millions.

• Ningъn producto estб fallado./ None of the products is damaged.

NOTE: Ninguno is never used in a plural form.




ALGUNA VEZ/ Ever

Alguna vez is equivalent to ever.

EXAMPLE:

• їHas diseсado alguna vez un logotipo?/ Have you ever designed a logo?




THE USE OF MULTIPLE NEGATIVE:

1. Whenever the negative words nada, nadie, nunca, tampoco, jamбs, follow the verb, no must precede the verb, which produces a multiple negative construction.

EXAMPLE:

• No como nunca espinaca./ I never eat spinach.




2. The negative word can be placed at the end of the sentence.

EXAMPLE:

• No como espinaca nunca./ I never eat spinach.




3. When the negative word precedes the verb, the word no is NOT used.

EXAMPLE:

• Nunca como espinaca./ I never eat spinach.




DOUBLE NO

When the answer to a question is negative, the word no appears twice. It appears at the beginning of the sentence and also in front of the verb.

EXAMPLE:

• Juan: їAbren ahora?/ Are you going to open now?

• Clerk: No, no abrimos hasta las diez./ No, we don't open until ten.

NOTE: Usually the subject pronoun is omitted in the answer because the verb ending identifies the subject, as in the example above.




NUNCA JAMБS/ never again

Nunca jamбs is one of the strongest negative forms that is equivalent to never ever or never again.

EXAMPLE:

• Nunca jamбs ganarбn./ They'll never ever win.




NUNCA MБS/ Never again

Nunca mбs is equivalent to never again.

EXAMPLE:

• Nunca mбs vi a Ana./ I have not seen Ana ever again




JAMБS/ Ever

Jamбs is used as a superlative and is equivalent to ever.

EXAMPLE:

• Este projecto es el mбs intenso que jamбs he empredido./ This project is the most intense that I have ever undertaken.




TAMBIЙN/ Also or too

Tambiйn expresses the union of two affirmative sentences. Tambiйn means also or too.

EXAMPLES:

• Yo quiero comer; tambiйn ellos quieren comer./ I want to eat; they want to eat too.

• Nosotros tambiйn ganamos la competencia./ We also won the competition.




TAMPOCO/ Neither

Tampoco means neither and is used to unite negative sentences.

EXAMPLE:

• Victoria no comiу, y yo tampoco./ Victoria didn't eat and neither did I.




NI/ Nor

Ni connects two negative constructions.

EXAMPLE:

• No quiero ni comer ni beber./ I don't want to eat or drink.




Ni siquiera and sometimes ni are equivalent to not even.

EXAMPLES:

• Pedro ni siquiera me saludу./ Pedro did not even greet me.

• Pedro no quiere ni saludarme./ Pedro doesn't even want to greet me.

PAST TENSE

In Spanish there are 2 simple past tenses, the preterite and the imperfect. A simple tense is one that does not need an auxiliary verb, such as to have.

1. El pretérito/ The preterite

2. El imperfecto/ The imperfect




EL PRETЙRITO/ THE PRETERIT

The preterite is used to refer to an action, state or condition that is considered fully completed in the past. It is formed by removing the infinitive endings -ar, -er, and -ir and adding the appropriate endings as follows:

NOTE: The endings of verbs ending in -er and -ir are identical.

Pronoun	Comprar/ to buy	Vender/ to sell	Recibir/ to receive
yo/ I	compré	vendí	recibí
tъ/ you	compraste	vendiste	recibiste
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	compró	vendió	recibió
nos./ we	compramos	vendimos	recibimos
vos./you	comprasteis	vendisteis	recibisteis
ellos, Uds./ they, you	compraron	vendieron	recibieron




NOTE: The first person (yo), the third person ( йl, ella) and Ud. require written accents. Without the accents, these words mean something else. For instance, compro (without the accent) is the present tense for the first person. For accentuation rules, click here.




EL USO DEL PRETЙRITO/ THE USE OF THE PRETERIT

1. The preterite tense is used to report the beginning or the end of an action.

EXAMPLES

• Ana abrió la puerta y salió volando./ Ana opened the door and left swiftly.

• Esta mañana empezó a llover./ This morning it started to rain.




2. The Spanish preterite has 2 equivalents in English.

EXAMPLE

Llovió ayer.

It rained yesterday. It did rain yesterday.




NOTE: There is NO equivalent for the English auxiliary did. Therefore, to formulate a question in preterite tense, the subject and the verb are inverted or the interrogative intonation is used.

EXAMPLE

¿Subió el interés? ¿El interés subió?

Did the interest increase?




3. The preterite can be used to interrupt an action in the imperfect tense (IT).

EXAMPLE

• Trabajábamos (IT) intensamente cuando anunciaron los despidos masivos./ We were working intensely when they announced the massive lay-offs.




CASOS IRREGULARES/ IRREGULAR CASES

1. In order to preserve the sound of the infinitive, regular verbs that end in -car, -gar, and -zar have spelling changes in the first person (yo) as follows:

Change	EXAMPLES
		Infinitive	Preterit
	c to qu	buscar/ to look for	busqué/ I looked for
		sacar/ to pull out	saqué/ I pulled out
		atacar/ to attack	ataqué/ I attacked
	g to gu	llegar/ to arrive	llegué/ I arrived
		pagar/ to pay	pagué/ I paid
		apagar/ to turn-off	apagué/ I turned-off
	z to c	empezar/ to start	empecé/ I started
		comenzar/ to commence	comencé/ I commenced
		almorzar/ to eat lunch	almorcé/ I ate lunch




2. Verbs ending in vowel + ir and vowel + er, such as caer/ to fall, the preterite ending -iу (which is for йl, ella, Ud.) and -ieron (which is for ellos, Uds.), change to -yу and -yeron respectively.

EXAMPLES

Infinitive	йl, ella, Ud.	ellos, Uds.
leer/ to read	leyó (leyу)	leyeron
oír/ to hear	oyó	oyeron
caer/ to fall	cayó	cayeron
construir/ construct	construyó	construyeron
Other verbs: contribuir/ to contribute, destruir/ to destroy, incluir/ to include, atribuir/ to attribute, creer/ to believe, huir/ to run away.




3. The following examples have irregular endings for yo and Ud. The endings are -e and -o instead of -н and -iу. NOTE: NO written accent is required.

EXAMPLES

Infinitive	yo	Ud.
andar/ to go, to walk	anduve	anduvo
caber/ to be contained	cupe	cupo
estar/ to be	estuve	estuvo
hacer/ to make	hice	hizo
haber/ to have (auxiliary)	hube	hubo
poder/ to be able, can	pude	pudo
poner/ to put	puse	puso
saber/ to know	supe	supo
tener/ to have	tuve	tuvo
querer/ to want	quise	quiso
venir/ to come	vine	vino




4. Verbs that end in -decir and -ducir, j is used as follows:

EXCEPTION: The verb traer/ to bring is in this category.

EXAMPLES

Pronoun	decir/ to tell	reducir/ to reduce	traer/ to bring
yo/ I	dije	reduje	traje
tъ/ you	dijiste	redujiste	trajiste
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	dijo	redujo	trajo
nos./ we	dijimos	redujimos	trajimos
vos./you	dijisteis	redujisteis	trajisteis
ellos, Uds./ they, you	dijeron	redujeron	trajeron

Prefixes des-, in-, and re-

1. The prefixes des- and in- are used to indicate the opposite meaning to the word that they modify.

EXAMPLES

WORD	ANTONYM
Acuerdo/ agreement	desacuerdo/ disagreement
Hacer/ to do	deshacer/ to undo
Heredar/ to inherit	desheredar/ disinherit
Vestirse/ to get dressed	desvestirse/ to get undressed
Consciente/ conscious	inconsciente/ unconscious
Ъtil/ useful	inъtil/ useless
Experto/ expert	inexperto/ unskilled, inexpert
Feliz/ happy	Infeliz/ unhappy




2. The prefix re- is used to emphasize or increase the meaning of the word that it modifies. If re- is added to a verb, it means to repeat the same action. Furthermore, if re- modifies an adjective, it means very.

NOTE: In Spanish, there are two slang prefixes, requete- and super-, that are more intense than -re, but NOT as intense as superlative forms of adjectives. They mean practically the most. Furthermore, they can modify ONLY adjectives.

EXAMPLES

WORD	RE-	REQUETE-; SUPER-
Hacer/ to do	rehacer/ to redo	NA
difнcil/ difficult	redifнcil/ very difficult	requetedifнcil, superdifнcil
linda/ pretty	relinda/ very pretty	requetelinda, superlinda

DISMINUTIVO/ DIMINUTIVE

Diminutives are used to express smallness or affection.

English has a few common diminutives, such as kitty, doggy, sonny, also some proper names have diminutive forms, such as Bobby, Vicky, etc. In Spanish, most nouns and adjectives have diminutive forms, which is the equivalent to modifying a word with little. The most common diminutive suffixes are the following:

	SINGULAR	PLURAL
MASCULINE	-ito, -cito	-itos, -citos
FEMININE	-ita,-cita	-itas, -citas

The following diminutive suffixes are less commonly used:

	SINGULAR	PLURAL
MASCULINE	-illo	-illos
FEMININE	-illa	-illas




1. Generally, when words end in -a , -o or -te, the vowel is dropped and -ito(s) or -ita(s) is added. For the other words -cito(s), -cita(s) are used. However, these are NOT rules. They are only guides because there are many variations.

EXAMPLES

NOUN	DIMINUTIVE
dedo/ finger	dedito
cabeza/ head	cabecita
elefante/ elephant	elefantito
peine/ comb	peinecito
camiуn/ truck	camioncito
mujer/ woman	mujercita
sol/ sun	solcito
lunar/ mole	lunarcito
solo/ alone, lonely	solito

NOTE: When looking up a word in a dictionary, be aware of diminutives, which are NOT listed. Therefore, try to find the base word.




2. There are many words that end in -illa(s), -illo(s), -cilla(s), -cillo(s) that are NOT diminutives:

WORD	DIMINUTIVE
martillo/ hammer	martillito
ladrillo/ brick	ladrillito
pocillo/ demi-tasse (small cup)	pocillito
platillo/ saucer or dish (food preparation)	n/a
bocadillo/ finger food	bocadillito
bolsillo/ pocket	bolsillito
silla/ chair	sillita

Conocer & Saber/ to know

In Spanish, there are two verbs that are equivalent to the English verb to know: conocer and saber. They are used to express distinct types of knowledge; they are NOT interchangeable.




CONOCER/ TO KNOW

Pronoun	Present	Past	Future	Conditional
yo/ I	conozco	conocí	conoceré	conocería
tъ/ you	conoces	conociste	conocerás	conocerías
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	conoce	conoció	conocerá	conocería
nos./ we	conocemos	conocimos	conoceremos	conoceríamos
vos./you	conocéis	conocisteis	conoceréis	conoceríais
ellos, Uds./ they, you	conocen	conocieron	conocerán	conocerían

1. Conocer is used to express familiarity or acquaintance with a person, a place, or a thing.

EXAMPLES

• Conozco a tu mamá./ I know your mother. (person)

• Ella conoce Bariloche muy bien./ She knows Bariloche very well. (place)

• Ana conoce el idioma./ Ana knows the language.(thing)

NOTE: The preposition a is required before a direct object noun (mamб) only when that noun is a person, but a is NOT required when referring to a place or thing (Bariloche, idioma).




2. Conocer means to meet for the first time or to make someone's acquaintance.

EXAMPLES

• Conocí a tu mamá./ I met your mother.

• Voy a conocer a los padres de mi prometido./ I am going to meet my fiancйe's parents.

NOTE: In Spanish, the past tense of conocer expresses the meaning of meeting someone for the first time.




SABER/ TO KNOW

Pronoun	Present	Past	Future	Conditional
yo/ I	sé	supe	sabré	sabría
tъ/ you	sabes	supiste	sabrás	sabrías
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	sabe	supo	sabrá	sabría
nos./ we	sabemos	supimos	sabremos	sabríamos
vos./you	sabéis	supisteis	sabréis	sabríais
ellos, Uds./ they, you	saben	supieron	sabrán	sabrían

1. Saber is used to express knowledge of factual information.

EXAMPLES

• Sé dónde queda Buenos Aires./ I know where Buenos Aires is.

• Pedro sabe de qué hablamos./ Pedro knows about what we talked.




2. Saber means to know something by heart.

EXAMPLES

• Sé esa canción (de memoria)./ I know that song (by heart).

• Sabíamos todas las óperas./ We used to know all of the operas.




3. Saber + infinitive.

This construction is used to indicate knowledge of how to do something.

EXAMPLE

• Nosotros sabemos cocinar./ We know how to cook.

• Mi hijo sabe nadar./ My son knows how to swim.

GERUNDIO/ GERUND

The gerund is also called the present participle; however, the gerund is NOT the equivalent to the English gerund. It may NOT be used as a noun as in English. The English gerund is normally translated into Spanish as an infinitive.

EXAMPLES

7. Saludar con un beso es habitual en la Argentina./ Greeting with a kiss is customary in Argentina.

8. Abrir los negocios los domingos es raro./ Opening the stores on Sundays is rare.




HOW TO FORM THE GERUND

1. The gerund is formed by removing the infinitive endings, -ar, -er, and -ir and by adding -ando to -ar and -iendo to -er and -ir as follows:

Infinitive	Cancelar/ to cancel	vender/ to sell	salir/ to go out
Gerund	Cancelando/ canceling	vendiendo/ selling	saliendo/ going out




2. If the -er or -ir verb stem ends in a vowel, add -yendo instead of -iendo to form the gerund as follows:

Infinitive	Gerund
oнr/ to hear	oyendo/ listening
caer/ to fall	cayendo/ falling




VERBOS IRREGULARES / Irregular Verbs

There are many irregular verbs, but we are going to list only the following:

Infinitive	Gerund
decir/ to tell	diciendo
dormir/ to sleep	durmiendo
pedir/ to request	pidiendo
venir/ to come	viniendo
ir/ to go	yendo
poder/ to be able	pudiendo
sentir/ to feel	sintiendo
mentir/ to lie	mintiendo
preferir/ to prefer	prefiriendo
servir/ to serve	sirviendo
repetir/ to repeat	repitiendo
seguir/ to continue	siguiendo
reнr/ to laugh	riendo




WHEN TO USE THE GERUND:

1. The gerund is used in the present progressive.

EXAMPLES

• Estoy estudiando./ I am studying.

• Ana estб durmiendo./ Ana is sleeping.




2. The gerund is used as an adverb to describe another verb.

EXAMPLES

• Terminamos nuestro proyecto gritando./ Screaming, we finished our project.

• Nuestro cliente nos pagу sonriendo./ Smiling, our client paid us.




3. The gerund is used to express how something is done and also as a modifying phrase that is subordinate to another verb.

EXAMPLES

• Bajando los precios ganaremos la competencia./ By lowering the prices, we'll beat the competition.

• Abriendo mбs sucursales tendremos mбs clientes./ By opening more branches, we'll have more customers.




NOTE: When a sentence begins with a verbal phrase and is positive, the gerund is used. However, to form the negative of a sentence beginning with a verbal phrase, the preposition sin is used instead of the word no. Also note that sin needs to be followed by an infinitive (bajar and abrir)

• Sin bajar los precios no ganaremos la competencia./ Without lowering the prices, we cannot beat the competition.

• Sin abrir mбs sucursales no tendremos mбs clientes./ Without opening more branches, we won't have more customers.




4. To express a continuous action, the gerund is used with the verbs continuar/ to continue and seguir/ to follow.

EXAMPLES

• El acusado seguнa hablando aunque el juez se lo habнa prohibido./ The accused kept on talking although the judge had prohibited him to do so.

• Las ganancias continuaron incrementando durante la recesiуn. / The profits continued to increase during the recession.




5. To describe an action in progress, the gerund is used with the verbs andar/ to go or walk and ir/ to go.

EXAMPLES

• El reportero anda difamando mi persona./ The reporter goes around slandering my character.

• La sociedad va destruyendo el medio ambiente./ The society goes on destroying the environment.

PRESENTE PROGRESIVO/ Present progressive

Unlike the present indicative, which can express many different actions, the present progressive is very specific. It only expresses an action that is in progress at the moment. For instance, in the following example:

Present
Hablo	I speak (in general)
		I do speak (every day)
		I will speak (immediate future)
Progressive
Estoy hablando	I am speaking (right now)




The present progressive is formed with the present tense of estar + gerund (-ing form). Review how to form GERUND.

EXAMPLES

• La compaснa estб revelando los secretos./ The company is revealing the secrets.

• El gerente estб arriesgando su puesto./ The manager is risking his job.

• Ustedes estбn cosiendo la ropa./ You are sewing the clothes.

• Los empleados se estбn suscribiendo al Economista./ The employees are signing up for the Economist.

• Me estoy yendo a mi casa./ I am on my way home.

• El caso estб siendo investigado./ The case is being investigated.




NOTE: In Spanish, the present progressive is never used to express a future action. The present tense is used in expressions that would require the present participle in English.

EXAMPLES

• El interventor sale maсana para Mйjico (Mйxico can also be spelt with x). / The auditor is leaving tomorrow to Mexico.

• Los pasajeros llegan maсana a la maсana./ The passengers are arriving tomorrow morning.

REFLEXIVO/ REFLEXIVE

Reflexive verbs express that the subject of the sentence does the action to himself/herself (e.g., I introduced myself to the class.) In Spanish, -se at the end of an infinitive indicates that the verb is reflexive (levantarse/ to get up). When conjugated, the verb is followed by a reflexive pronoun.

Note that each subject of the verb has a corresponding reflexive pronoun as follows:

VESTIRSE/ TO GET DRESSED

Yo me visto./I get dressed, I dress myself.

Tъ te vistes./ You get dressed, you dress yourself.

Usted se viste./ You get dressed, you dress yourself.

Йl se viste./ He gets dressed, he dresses himself.

Ella se viste./ She gets dressed, she dresses herself.

Nosotros nos vestimos./ We get dressed, we dress ourselves.

Vosotros os vestнs./ You get dressed, you dress yourselves.

Ellos se visten./ They get dressed, they dress themselves.

Uds. se visten./ You get dressed, you dress yourselves.




I. Reflexive pronouns are positioned in a sentence in the following manners; keep in mind that in English, many verbs have reflexive meanings that are not expressed, but understood:

1. Before a conjugated verb

• Juan se queda en la reuniуn./ Juan stays in the meeting.

2. Before a verb in negative command

• No te quedes en la reuniуn./ Don't stay in the meeting.

3. After a gerund or before the verb estar

• Juan estб comiйndose una manzana./ Juan is eating an apple.

• Juan se estб comiendo una manzana./ Juan is eating an apple.

4. After an infinitive or before the main verb

• No querнa levantarme esta maсana./ I didn't want to get up this morning.

• No me querнa levantar esta maсana./ I didn't want to get up this morning.

5. At the end of the verb in an affirmative command

• Siйntense, niсos./ Children, sit down.

NOTE: In commands addressed to nosotros, the final -s is omitted and -nos is added.

• Alegrйmonos./ Let's rejoice.

• No nos alegremos./ Let's not rejoice.

6. Before a direct object pronoun:

• Te lavaste las manos? Sн, me las lavй./ Did you wash your hands? Yes, I did wash them.




II. In a reflexive construction, since the reflexive pronoun identifies who does the action, possession is understood; therefore, the definitive article is used rather than the possessive adjective, which is the case in English.

EXAMPLES

• Tienes que cortarte el pelo./ You need to get cut your hair (You need a haircut).

• Mi esposo se baсa y se lave la cara./ My husband bathes (himself) and washes his face.




III. Sentir (se)/ to feel is reflexive when used with an adjective and non-reflexive when used with a noun.

EXAMPLES

• Mi madre se siente aburrida./ My mother feels bored.

• Mi madre siente aburrimiento./ My mother feel boredom.




IV. The following verbs are typically used in a reflexive construction:

REFLEXIVE

Acostarse/ to go to bed

Afeitarse o rasurarse/ to shave

Baсarse/ to bathe

Callarse/ to stop talking

Despertarse/ to wake up

Ducharse/ to take a shower

Levantarse/ to get up

Peinarse/ to comb one's hair

Ponerse/ to put on

Probarse/ to try on

Quedarse/ to remain, to stay

Quitarse o sacarse/ to take off

Sentarse/ to sit down




V. The following verbs have slightly different meanings when used in their reflexive form:

NON-REFLEXIVE	REFLEXIVE
Abonar/ to pay	abonarse/to subscribe
Acordar/ to agree to	acordarse/ to remember
Acostar/ to put, to bed	acostarse/ to go to bed
Alegrar/ to cheer up	alegrarse/ to be glad, to rejoice
Burlar/ to deceive	burlarse/ to make fun of
Casar/ to marry	casarse/ to get married
Conducir/ to drive	conducirse/ to behave
Despedir/ to dismiss	despedirse/ to say goodbye
Detener/ to detain	detenerse/ to stop
Dirigir/ to direct	dirigirse/ to address
Dormir/ to sleep	dormirse/ to fall asleep
Encontrar/ to find	encontrarse/ to be located, to meet
Hacer/ to make	hacerse/ to be
Ir/ to go	irse/ to leave
Levantar/ to lift	levantarse/ to get up
Llamar/ to call	llamarse/ to be named
Llevar/ to carry, take	llevarse/ to take away
Negar/ to deny	negarse/ to refuse
Parecer/ to seem, appear	parecerse/ to look like
Poner/ to place, to put	ponerse/ to wear, to put on, to become
Probar/ to taste	probarse/ to try on
Quitar/ to take away	quitarse/ to take off
Volver/ to return	volverse/ to become, to turn around




VI. The following verbs are used with a reflexive pronoun but do not have a reflexive meaning:

NON-REFLEXIVE MEANING

Arrepentirse (de)/ to repent

Asomarse / to look out of

Atreverse (a)/ to dare

Darse cuenta (de)/ to realize

Empeсarse (en)/ to insist on

Enterarse (de)/ to find out (about)

Equivocarse/ to make a mistake

Portarse bien/ to behave

Portarse mal/ to misbehave

Quejarse (de)/ to complain

Tratarse (de)/ to be related to an issue (This is only for the 3rd person)

Resignarse/ to resign

VII. In Spanish there are 3 different ways of expressing the English to become or to be.

1. Volverse/ to become is used to refer to a change in physical or emotional state, but it denotes a sudden change.

EXAMPLES

• La madre se volviу loca cuando el hijo fue asesinado./ The mother (became) went crazy when her son was killed.

• El cielo se volviу negro antes de llover./ The sky (became dark) darkened before raining.

2. Ponerse / to be, to become is used refer to physical or emotional changes.

EXAMPLES

• Nos pusimos contentos cuando ganamos el partido./ We (became) were happy when we won the game.

• Sofнa se puso triste cuando el novio se fue a la Argentina./ Sofнa (became) was sad when her boyfriend left to Argentina.

3. Hacerse/ to be, become is used to indicate personal effort.

EXAMPLES

• Me harй famoso despuйs de esta pelнcula./ I'll become famous after this movie.

• Liliana se harб doctora despuйs de tanto estudiar./ Liliana will (become) be a doctor after so much studying.

PREPOSICIONES/ PREPOSITIONS

In Spanish there are 19 prepositions and several prepositional phrases. And they are used to express a relationship between two words. As it is in English, the use of prepositions is fairly arbitrary.

Prep.	Translations	Prep.	Translations
A	at, by, on, to	Hacia	toward, towards, to
Ante	before	Hasta	until
Bajo	under, below	Para	for, to
Cabe	beside, next to	Por	for
Con	with	Según	according to
Contra	against	Sin	without
De	of, about, from, to	So	on, under
Desde	from	Sobre	over, on
En	in , at, into, on, inside, over	Tras	after
Entre	between, among




USE OF PREPOSITION

Certain verbs in English require a preposition to follow the verb; however, in Spanish the preposition is NOT always required.

NOTE that the preposition a goes before an indirect object.

1. Buscar/ to look for

• Busquemos un lugar fresco./ Let's look for a cool place.

• Ella busca trabajo en Bariloche./ She looks for a job in Bariloche.

• Busquemos a Ana./ Let's look for Ana.

2. Escuchar/ to listen to

• La audiencia escucha la música./ The audience listens to the music.

• Los alumnos escuchan a la maestra./ The students listen to the teacher.

3. Esperar/ to wait for

• Estoy esperando el tren de las cinco./ I am waiting for the 5 o'clock train.

• Espero a Susana que viene en el tren./ I am waiting for Susana who is coming by the train.

• Te espero hasta las seis./ I'll wait for you until six.

4. Mirar/ to look at

• Miran las pinturas de Picasso./ They look at Picasso's paintings.

• Miran al futuro./ They look at the future.

5. Pagar/ to pay for

• Los subsidiarios de las compañías estadounidenses pagan los beneficios médicos./ American subsidiaries pay for medical benefits.

• Los subsidiarios de las compañías estadounidenses pagan por los beneficios médicos./ American subsidiaries pay for medical benefits.

6. Pedir/ to ask for

• Le pedí el número de teléfono./ I asked for her phone number.




USE OF PREPOSITION: General Rules.

A

Ante

Bajo

Cabe

Con

Contra

De

Desde

En

Entre

Hacia

Hasta

Para

Por

Según

Sin

So

Sobre

Tras

I. A / at, by, on, to

a. A is used with verbs that express direction or movement:

EXAMPLES

• El camión va a la estación./ The truck goes to the station.

• El camión llegó al destino./ The truck arrived at its destination.




b. A is used to indicate a specific time in which an action occurs; a is equivalent to at:

EXAMPLES

• El concierto empieza a las ocho./ The concert starts at eight o'clock.

• Los artistas llegaron a las seis./ The artists arrived at six o'clock.




c. A is used with the direct and indirect object:

EXAMPLES

• Visitamos al presidente de nuestra compañía./ We visited the president of our company.

• Le regalo a mi hermano las entradas del concierto./ I give away the concert tickets to my brother.




d. A is used in idiomatic expressions that indicate how something is made:

EXAMPLES

• El pulóver está hecho a mano./ The sweater is hand made.

• El pulóver fue tejido a máquina./ The sweater was machine woven.




e. A + quien is equivalent to whom:

EXAMPLES

• ¿A quién viste en el concierto?/ Whom did you see at the concert?

• Paula, a quien le vendí mi auto, se fue a París./ Paula, whom I sold my car to, left to Paris.




f. Estar + a indicates a distance between a point in reference to another one:

EXAMPLES

• Mar del Plata está a 400 kilómetros de Buenos Aires./ Mar del Plata is 400 kilometers away from Buenos Aires.

• Estoy a dos cuadradas del colegio./ I am two blocks away from school.




g. A is used after the verbs enseсar/ to teach, aprender/ to learn, comenzar, empezar/ to start; these verbs are followed by an infinitive:

EXAMPLES

• Quiero que me enseñes a hablar el español./ I want you to teach me how to speak Spanish.

• Victoria está aprendiendo a manejar./ Victoria is learning how to drive.

• Este año empezaremos a publicar más libros./ This year we'll start to publish more books.

DIF. BETWEEN PEDIR & PREGUNTAR

The verb pedir means to ask of or request something as in the following examples:

• Mis hijos me piden que vayamos al parque./ My children ask me to go to the park.

• El gerente me pidió mi opinión./ The manager asked for my opinion.

On the other hand, the verb preguntar means to ask a question.

EXAMPLES

• Mis hijos me preguntaron si yo quería ir al parque./ My children asked me (the question) whether I wanted to go to the park.

• El gerente me preguntó mi opinión./ The manager asked (a question) about my opinion.

HAY / THERE IS (ARE)

Hay is a conjugated form of the auxiliary verb haber/ to have. It is used to express both there is and there are depending on the context of a sentence. Furthermore, it has no subject.

EXAMPLES

• Hay mucho esmog en Los Angeles./ There is a lot of smog in Los Angeles.

• Hay muchos aviones en el aeropuerto./ There are many planes at the airport.

NOTE: It is important not to confuse hay with es (it is) and son (they are).




More Expressions of Existence

The following conjugations of haber are also used to express existence:

9. hubo, habнa / there was (were)

10. cuando haya/ whenever there is (are)

11. tiene que haber/ there has (have) to be

12. va a haber/ there is (are) going to be

EXAMPLES

• Hubo un debate entre los empleados./ There was a debate among employees.

• Cuando haya nieve iremos a esquiar./ Whenever there is snow, we'll go skiing.

• Tiene que haber refugiados en la frontera./ There have to be refugees at the border.

• Va a haber mucha gente en la fiesta./ There is going to be a lot of people at the party.




The Expression Hay que/ one (we) must or need to

Hay que is equivalent to one must (in a general sense) in English. This is an invariable expression, and no subject is required.

EXAMPLES

• Hay que ser sincero./ One must be sincere.

• Hay que tener compasión para los desafortunados./ We need to be compassionate to the unfortunate ones.

NOTE: Hay que has to be followed by an infinitive.

Subject + acabar de + infinitive.

Acabar de is equivalent to the English expression to have just done something.

EXAMPLES

• Acabo de terminar el reporte./ I have just finished the report.

• Habíamos acabado de llegar cuando vino el chofer./ We had just arrived when the driver came.

NOTE: An infinitive follows the preposition de.

IMPERFECTO/ IMPERFECT TENSE

The imperfect is the other past tense in Spanish. Its uses are different from those of the preterit. They are used in different contexts and emphasize the continuation of an action in the past. To form the imperfect tense, remove the infinitive endings (-ar, -er, and -ir) and add the following conjugated endings:

Pronoun	Comprar/ to buy	Vender/ to sell	Recibir/ to receive
yo/ I	compraba	vendнa	recibнa
tъ/ you	comprabas	vendнas	recibнas
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	compraba	vendнa	recibнa
nosotros/ we	comprбbamos	vendнamos	recibнamos
vosotros/ you	comprabais	vendнais	recibнais
ellos/ they	compraban	vendнan	recibнan




USES OF THE IMPERFECT TENSE

1. The Spanish imperfect tense has several meanings in English; the Spanish imperfect is used to describe actions that occurred repeatedly or habitually in the past. To communicate the same idea in English, the phrases used to or would, past continuous, or simple past are used.

El gerente negociaba con los vendedores.	The manager used to (would) negotiate with the vendors.
		The manager was negotiating (in the process of) with the vendors.***
		The manager negotiated (repeatedly) with the vendors.

NOTE in the above example, the imperfect is also used to describe a past action, which is still going on in the past, or an action whose beginning and ending are NOT specified or important. ***The equivalent in English is was or were + present participle.




2. The imperfect tense is used to describe physical conditions or characteristics of people and things in the past:

EXAMPLES

• La compañía tenía muchos problemas económicos./ The company had a lot of economic problems.

• El hijo de Susana era muy inteligente./ Susan's son was very intelligent.




3. It is also used to express ongoing emotional or mental states, desires and opinions in the past:

EXAMPLES

• Nuestra casa matriz quería fusionar nuestra sucursal con otra compañía./ Our parent company wanted to merge our branch with another company.

• Los trabajadores se sentían felices con el nuevo jefe./ The workers were happy with their new boss.

• Nosotros creíamos que la fusión no funcionaba./ We believed that the merger was not working.




4. The imperfect is used to express time or age in the past:

EXAMPLES

• Eran las tres de la tarde./ It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

• Tenía un año cuando nos mudamos a la Argentina./ I was a year-old when we moved to Argentina.




5. The imperfect is used with the conjunction mientras/ while to express 2 or more ongoing and simultaneous actions:

EXAMPLE

La empresa quería expandir el mercado mientras que el departamento de justicias la demandaba./ The company was trying to expand its market while the Justice Department was suing them.




6. It is also used to describe a scene in the past:

EXAMPLES

• La noche estaba calurosa./ The night was hot.

• El paisaje era maravilloso./ The scenery was marvelous.




NOTE that the following expressions reflect a habitual or repeated action, which often require the use of the imperfect tense: siempre/ always, con frecuencia/ with frequency, generalmente/ generally, todos los dнas (horas, meses, aсos)/ every day (hour, month, year), and por lo general/ in general.

EXAMPLES

• Siempre llovía en Londres./ It always rained in London.

• Pedíamos préstamos con frecuencia./ Frequently, we would ask for loans.

• Generalmente me sacaba un diez (10) en matemáticas./ Generally, I used to get an A in math.

• Todos los días, tomábamos mate en la Argentina./ Every day we used to drink green tea in Argentina.

• Por lo general, vendíamos mucho antes de Navidad./ In general, we used to sell a lot before Christmas.




7. Imperfect Tense: Irregular Verbs.

Pronoun	IR/ to go	SER/ to be	VER/ to see
yo/ I	iba	era	veнa
tъ/ you	ibas	eras	veнas
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	iba	era	veнa
nosotros/ we	нbamos	йramos	veнamos
vosotros/ you	ibais	erais	veнais
ellos/ they	iban	eran	veнan




DIFERENCES BETWEEN THE PRETERIT AND THE IMPERFECT

The following verbs communicate different ideas when said in the preterit and the imperfect tense:

Poder/ to be able to

• El inmigrante ilegal podía trabajar a escondidas./ The illegal immigrant was able to work secretly.

• Él pudo trabajar./ He did manage to work. (It adds more emphasis)

Conocer/ to meet

• El socio conocía a todos los empleados./ The partner used to know all of the employees.

• Él conoció a todos los empleados el mes pasado./ He met all of the employees last month.

Saber/ to know

• Sabía la clave de acceso./ I knew the password.

• Supe la clave de acceso./ I found out the password.

Querer/ to want, desire

• Mi cuñada no quería mudarse a los Estados Unidos./ My sister-in-law did not want to move to the US.

• Ella no quiso mudarse./ She refused to move.




IDIOMATIC USES OF THE IMPERFECT

The imperfect is used to form idiomatic expressions, such as acabar de and hacнa + time + que + imperfect tense:

1. Acabar de describes an action that "had just been done:"

• Acabábamos de comer asado./ We had just eaten some barbecue.

2. hacнa + time + que + imperfect tense is used in time expression:

• Hacía unos años que no íbamos al zoológico./ For many years, we had not been going to the zoo.

VERBOS IRREGULARES/ IRREGULAR VERBS

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Spanish verbs are composed of a stem and a root (-ar, -er and -ir). Some irregular verbs change their stem in the present tense, indicative mode. When a verb is conjugated, and e is the last stem vowel, and it's stressed, e changes to ie. However, in the third (nosotros) and second-person (vosotros) plural forms, there is NO stem change because the stress does not fall on the stem that contains e. For a fully conjugated list, click on an underlined Spanish verb.

NOTE their endings are regular in all forms.

Pronoun	Pensar/ to think	Querer/ to want	Preferir / to prefer
yo/ I	pienso	quiero	prefiero
tъ/ you	piensas	quieres	prefieres
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	piensa	quiere	prefiere
nosotros/ we	pensamos	queremos	preferimos
vosotros/ you	pensбis	querйis	preferнs
ellos/ they	piensan	quieren	prefieren

Other verbs in the same category:
For a full conjugation, click on a verb	Cerrar/ to close, comenzar/ to start, empezar/ to begin, entender/ to understand, mentir/ to lie, negar/ to deny, perder/ to lose.




Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Certain verbs change their stem in the present tense. When the last stem vowel is a stressed o, it changes to ue. Also note that stem vowel is NOT stressed in nosotros and vosotros; therefore, the o does NOT change to ue. Their endings are regular in all forms. For a fully conjugated list, click on an underlined Spanish verb.

Pronoun	Almorzar/ to have lunch	Poder/ to be able	Dormir/ to sleep
yo/ I	almuerzo	puedo	duermo
tъ/ you	almuerzas	puedes	duermes
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	almuerza	puede	duerme
nosotros/ we	almorzamos	podemos	dormimos
vosotros/ you	almorzбis	podйis	dormнs
ellos/ they	almuerzan	pueden	duermen

Other verbs in the same category:
For a full conjugation, click on a verb	contar/ to count, costar/ to cost (It's conjugated only in 3rd persons) devolver/ to return something, morir/ to die, mostrar/ to show, recordar/ to remember, soñar/ to dream about, sonar/ to ring, sound, volar/ to fly.




Stem-changing verbs: e to i

Verbs of the third conjugation group, -ir, change the stem vowel from e to i in the present tense, indicative mode. For these verbs, when e is stressed, and it's the last stem vowel, it changes to i. However, in nosotros and vosotros there is NO change. For a fully conjugated list, click on an underlined Spanish verb.

Pronoun	Competir/ to compete	Seguir/ to continue, follow
yo/ I	compito	sigo
tъ/ you	compites	sigues
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	compite	sigue
nosotros/ we	competimos	seguimos
vosotros/ you	competнs	seguнs
ellos/ they	compiten	siguen

Other verbs in the same category:
For a full conjugation, click on a verb	conseguir/ to obtain, corregir/ to correct, decir/ to say, tell, elegir/ to elect, choose, impedir/ to prevent, pedir/ to ask for, repetir/ to repeat, servir/ to serve




Irregular 1st person forms

The following verbs are irregular only in the first person singular of the present tense, indicative mode. The other conjugations (persons) are regular. For a fully conjugated list, click on an underlined Spanish verb.

Full conjugation	Present, Indicative Mode
Conducir/ to drive	conduzco, conduces, conduce, conducimos, conducнs, conducen
Conocer/ to know	conozco, conoces, conoce, conocemos, conocйis, conocen
Traducir/ to translate	traduzco, traduces, traduce, traducimos, traducнs, traducen
Hacer/ to do, make	hago, haces, hace, hacemos, hacйis, hacen
Poner/ to put, place	pongo, pones, pone, ponemos, ponйis, ponen
Salir/ to go out	salgo, sales, sale, salimos, salнs, salen
Traer/ to bring	traigo, traes, trae, traemos, traйis, traen
Oír/ to hear	oigo, oyes, oye, oнmos, oнs, oyen
Ver/ to see	veo, ves, ve, vemos, veis, ven
Saber/ to know	sй, sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabйis, saben

SUBJUNTIVO/ SUBJUNCTIVE

The subjunctive mode is used to express conjecture, emotion, uncertainty, subjectivity, influence, doubt, probability, or hypothesis that is yet unknown. Like Spanish, English has a subjunctive mode too. However, many speakers do NOT notice it because most of its forms are identical to the infinitive. There is a difference between the subjunctive and the indicative only in the singular she/he forms.

NOTE that the present indicative of the verb study is studies, but the present subjunctive is study, the form does NOT change spelling.

EXAMPLE

Present Indicative: Did you know that Juan studies every day?/ Sabнas que Juan estudia todos los dнas?

Present Subjunctive: It is necessary that Juan study every day./ Es necesario que Juan estudie todos los dнas.




HOW TO FORM THE SUBJUNCTIVE MODE:

Regular verbs

To form the present subjunctive, remove the final -o from the first person singular (yo) of the present (indicative mode) and add the following endings:

Pronoun	CComprar / to buy	Vender/ to sell	Recibir / to receive
yo/ I	compre	venda	reciba
tъ/ you	compres	vendas	recibas
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	compre	venda	reciba
nosotros/ we	compremos	vendamos	recibamos
vosotros/ you	comprйis	vendбis	recibбis
ellos/ they	compren	vendan	reciban




IRREGULAR VERBS

a. NOTE that the irregular form in the first person singular (present tense, Subjunctive mode) is maintained throughout the entire conjugation as follows; that is the reason why the present tense is used instead of the infinitive form.

Infinitive	Conjugated
Conducir/ to drive	conduzca, conduzcas, conduzca, conduzcamos, conduzcбis, conduzcan
Conocer/ to know	conozca, conozcas, conozca, conozcamos, conozcбis, conozcan
Traducir/ to translate	traduzca, traduzcas, traduzca, traduzcamos, traduzcбis, traduzcan
Hacer/ to do, make	haga, hagas, haga, hagamos, hagбis, hagan
Poner/ to put, place	ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pongбis, pongan
Salir/ to go out	salga, salgas, salga, salgamos, salgбis, salgan
Traer/ to bring	traiga, traigas, traiga, traigamos, traigбis, traigan
Oнr/ to hear	oiga, oigas, oiga, oigamos, oigбis, oigan
Ver/ to see	vea, veas, vea, veamos, veбis, vean




b. Stem-changing verbs that end in -ir and have a diphthong ( e:ie, o:ue) have an additional change (e:i, o:u) in nosotros and vosotros forms (NOTE that in the present of the indicative mode, they do NOT change)

Pronoun	Sentir/ to feel	Dormir/ to sleep
yo/ I	sienta	duerma
tъ/ you	sientas	duermes
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	sienta	duerma
nosotros/ we	sintamos	durmamos
vosotros/ you	sintбis	durmбis
ellos/ they	sientan	duerman




c. The following are irregular verbs in the present subjunctive:

Infinitive	Conjugated
Saber/ to know	sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepбis, sepan
Ser/ to be	sea, seas, sea, seamos, seбis, sean
Ir/ to go	vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayбis, vayan
Haber/ to have (auxiliary)	haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayбis, hayan
Dar/ to give	dй, des, dй, demos, deis, den
Estar/ to be	estй, estйs, estй, estemos, estйis, estйn

d. Verbs that end in -car, -gar, and -zar have spelling change in the subjunctive to maintain the original sound of the consonant as follows:

Pronoun	Cbuscar / to look for (c:qu)	llegar/ to arrive (g:gu)	cruzar / to cross (z:c)
yo/ I	busque	llegue	cruce
tъ/ you	busques	llegues	cruces
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	busque	llegue	cruce
nosotros/ we	busquemos	lleguemos	crucemos
vosotros/ you	busquйis	lleguйis	crucйis
ellos/ they	busquen	lleguen	crucen




e. Stem-changing verbs that end in -ar and -er have the same changes in the subjunctive mode as in the present indicative. NOTE that stems do NOT change in nosotros and vosotros.

Pronoun	Cpensar / to think	volver/ to come back
yo/ I	piense	vuelva
tъ/ you	pienses	vuelvas
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	peinse	vuelva
nosotros/ we	pensemos	volvamos
vosotros/ you	pensйis	volvбis
ellos/ they	piensen	vuelvan




f. Stem-changing verbs that end in -ir and have e:i change in the entire conjugation as follows:

Infinitive	Conjugated
Pedir/ to ask	pida, pidas, pida, pidamos, pidбis, pidan




USES OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE

1. Except for its use in the main clauses to express commands, the Spanish subjunctive is used in a sentence that has at least 2 clauses, a main and a subordinate or dependent clause. The verb in the main clause determines the use of subjunctive or indicative mode in the subordinate clause. The most common conjunction used to join the two clauses is que (that).

EXAMPLES

• Espero que cambiemos el proveedor./ I hope (that) we switch supplier.

• El gerente duda que podamos cambiarlo./ The manager doubts (that) we can switch him.




2. Generally the subjects of the main clause and the dependant clauses are different. However, if the subject of both clauses is the same, the infinitive is used instead of the subjunctive.

EXAMPLES

• El presidente espera que nosotros vayamos./ The president hopes that we go.

• El presidente espera ir./ The president hopes to go.

VOZ PASIVA/ PASSIVE VOICE

SUBJECT + SER+ PAST PARTICIPLE + POR ( DE**) + AGENT

The active voice is the most commonly used in ordinary conversation, and it indicates that the subject performs the action as in the following examples:

• El contador preparó el formulario./ The accountant prepared the form.

• Le pagamos al corredor su comisión./ We paid the broker his commission.




The passive voice is not frequently used in ordinary conversation, but it is used in writing, such as news broadcasting, newspapers, and formal speeches. In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action as in the following examples:

• El formulario fue preparado por el contador./ The form was prepared by the accountant.

• La comisión fue pagada por nosotros./ The commission was paid by us.




HOW TO FORM THE PASSIVE VOICE

To form the passive voice, the verb ser/to be is used. The past participle functions as an adjective; therefore, it agrees with the gender and number of the subject it modifies.

SUBJECT + SER + PAST PARTICIPLE + POR ( DE**) + AGENT

• La comida + fue + preparada + por + el cocinero./ The food was prepared by the cook.

• Las comidas + fueron + preparadas + por + el cocinero./ The foods were prepared by the cook.

• El oleoducto + será + construido + por + Shell./ The pipeline will be constructed by Shell.

• Los oleoductos + serán + construidos + por + Shell./ The pipelines will be constructed by Shell.




**NOTE: When the superlative is used, the preposition de is used instead of por.

EXAMPLE

• Madre Teresa fue la más amada de todos./ Mother Teresa was the most loved by everyone.




USING THE VERB ESTAR

To describe an action, the verb ser is used in the passive; however, to express the result of an action, the verb estar is used instead.

EXAMPLES

• El contrato fue escrito en inglés./ The contract was written in English (by someone).

• El libro está escrito en inglés./ The book is written in English (published in English).




SE CONSTRUCTION FOR PASSIVE VOICE

Se + verb conjugated in the 3rd person singular or plural construction for passive voice is much more frequently used in conversations. This construction is equivalent to the English construction to be + past participle. Usually the verb precedes the subject.

EXAMPLES

• Se recaudará el impuesto al tabaco en todos los estados./ Tobacco tax will be collected in all states.

• Se ha aprobado el aumento al impuesto al alcohol./ The increase to the alcohol tax has been approved.




In Spanish, some sentences conjugated in the third person plural are equivalent to the passive se construction. Even though the following sentence is in active voice, ellos/ they implies passive voice. They is used in a general sense.

EXAMPLE

• Dicen que lloverá./ They say that it will rain.

HACER/ TO DO, MAKE

Generally hacer means to do or to make. It is conjugated as a regular -er verb, except for yo, which ends in -go.

Pronoun	Present	Past	Future	Conditional
yo/ I	hago	hice	haré	haría
tъ/ you	haces	hiciste	harás	harías
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	hace	hizo	hará	haría
nosotros/ we	hacemos	hicimos	haremos	haríamos
vosotros/you	hacéis	hicisteis	haréis	haríais
ellos, Uds./ they, you	hacen	hicieron	harán	harían

EXAMPLES

• ¿Qué hacen después de trabajar?/ What do you do after work?

• Los niños hacen la tarea./ The children are doing their homework.

• Estoy haciendo la comida./ I am making food.

• Ellos hacen la torta./ They are making the cake.

TO HAVE

Tener is equivalent to the verb to have or to possess. It follows the pattern of e:ie stem-changing verbs, with the exception of yo/ I, which ends in -go.

Pronoun	Present	Past	Future	Conditional
yo/ I	tengo	tuve	tendré	tendría
tъ/ you	tienes	tuviste	tendrás	tendrías
йl, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	tiene	tuvo	tendrá	tendría
nos./ we	tenemos	tuvimos	tendremos	tendríamos
vos./you	teneis	tuvisteis	tendréis	tendríais
ellos, Uds./ they, you	tienen	tuvieron	tendrán	tendrían




1. Tener + que

This expression is equivalent to the English expression to have to (do something).

EXAMPLES

• Tengo que repetir cada ejemplo./ I have to repeat each example.

• Tuvimos que convencer a los inversionistas./ We had to convince the investors.

NOTE: Tener que is followed by an infinitive.




2. The simplest way of expressing possession is by using tener/ to have.

EXAMPLES

• Mi jefe tiene mucha experiencia./ My boss has a lot of experience.

• Tuvimos muchos fondos para invertir./ We had a lot of funds to invest.




3. In Spanish, tener is used for indicating age. On the other hand, in English the verb to be is used for telling age.

EXAMPLES

• Tengo 23 años./ I am 23 years old.

• Mi abuela tenía 88 años cuando falleció./ My grand-mother was 88 years old when she passed away.




4. Tener + noun

This expression is used for describing states, but in English to be is commonly used.

a. Tener calor/ to be hot

• Tengo mucho calor./ I am very hot.

b. Tener йxito/ to be successful

• Los productos importados tuvieron mucho éxito./ Imported goods were successful.

c. Tener frнo/ to be cold

• Tuvimos mucho frío en las montañas./ We were very cold in the mountains.

d. Tener celos/ to be jealous

• Mi novio tiene celos de mi./ My boyfriend is jealous of me.

e. Tener cuidado/ to be careful

• Ten cuidado por las noches./ Be careful at night.

f. Tener hambre/ to be hungry

• Tengo tanta hambre que me comería un caballo./ I am so hungry that I could eat a horse.

g. Tener la culpa/ to be at fault

• Yo tengo la culpa./ I am at fault.

h. Tener miedo/ to be afraid, scared

• Tengo miedo de ir al dentista./ I am scared of going to the dentist.

i. Tener paciencia/ to be patient

• Mi hermano tiene mucha paciencia./ My brother is very patient.

j. Tener presente/ to keep in mind

Ten presente el consejo de mamá./ Keep in mind mother's advice.

k. Tener prisa/ to be in a hurry

• Apúrense que tengo mucha prisa./ Hurry up, I am in a big hurry.

l. Tener razуn/ to be right, correct

• Tiene razón./ You're right.

m. Tener sed/ to be thirsty

• Tengo mucha sed./ I am very thristy.

n. Tener sueсo/ to be sleepy

• El bebé tiene sueño./ The baby is sleepy.

o. Tener suerte/ to be lucky

• Tienes mucha suerte./ You are very lucky.

p. Tener vergьenza/ to be ashamed

• Tengo vergüenza de pedir cosas prestadas./ I am ashamed of borrowing things.

More expressions:

1. Tener que ver con/ to have to do with

• No tengo nada que ver con tus problemas./ I have nothing to do with your problems.

2. Tener catarro, resfrнo/ to have a cold

• Tengo un resfrío terrible./ I have a terrible cold.

3. Tener derecho/ to have the right

• Tiene derecho a un abogado./ You have the right to an attorney.

4. Tener en cuenta/ to take into account

• Voy a tener en cuenta lo que me dijiste./ I will take into account what you told me.

5. Tener lugar/ to take place, to have space

• El concierto va a tener lugar en La Paz./ The concert is going to take place in La Paz.

• Tengo lugar para ti en mi auto./ I have space for you in my car.

6. Tener ganas de (+ infinitive)/ to feel like

• Tengo ganas de comer helado./ I feel like eating ice-cream.

GUSTAR / TO LIKE

The verb gustar is used to express likes and dislikes. Its literal translation is to be pleasing. The most common conjugation for gustar and other verbs in the same category (listed below) is the third person singular or plural. Usually, these types of verbs require the indirect object pronoun (IOP) at the beginning.

Singular	IOP	Plural	IOP
yo/ I	me	nosotros (mas.), nosotras (fem.)/ we	nos
tъ / you (informal)	te	vosotros (mas.),vosotras (fem.), ustedes/ you	les
йl/ he, ella/ she, usted (formal)/ you	le	ellos, ellas/ they	les

EXAMPLES

• Me gusta la música./ I like music.

• Te gustan las almendras./ You like almonds.

• A ella le gustan los mariscos./ She likes seafood.

• Nos gustan los bebés./ We like babies.

• Les gusta bromear./ They like to joke around.

• Tú me gustas mucho./ I like you very much.

NOTE: It is common to place the direct object or infinitive after the verb gustar, which agrees with the person or thing being liked. Furthermore, the person who does the liking is the indirect object.




1. A + pronoun or noun

This expression is used to clarify the meaning of a sentence when le is used, or to emphasize the indirect objects when there is duplication of indirect objects.

EXAMPLES

• A mamá le gusta cocinar./ Mom likes to cook. (Le is used for she, he, and Ud.; therefore, to clarify the meaning of the sentence A+ mamб is used.)

• A mi prima y a mí nos gusta dormir./ My cousin and I like sleeping.




2. Gustar + reflexive verb

If gustar/ to like is followed by a reflexive verb, the corresponding reflexive pronoun is added to the infinitive. (Click here for more info. about reflexive verbs.)

EXAMPLES

• Nos gusta levantarnos tarde./ We like to get up late.

• Me gusta sepillarme el pelo./ I like to brush my hair.




3. Gustar + INFINITIVES

When gustar / to like is followed by one or more infinitives (verbs not conjugated), the third person singular conjugation is used for gustar.

EXAMPLES

• A mi perro le gusta correr, nadar y saltar./ My dog likes to run, swim and jump.

• A mis perros les gusta comer, domir y ladrar./ My dogs like to eat, sleep and bark.




4. Other verbs in the same category are following:

1. Aburrir/ to bore

2. Asustar/ to scare

3. Disgustar/ to upset

4. Divertir/ to have fun

5. Doler/ to hurt

6. Encantar/ to delight, love

7. Enojar/ to get mad

8. Emocionar/ to be moved, touched

9. Faltar/ to lack, be missing

10. Fascinar/ to fascinate

11. Hacer falta/ to be necessary, to be in need of

12. Importar/ to matter

13. Interesar/ to interest

14. Molestar/ to bother, annoy

15. Parecer/ to seem

16. Preocupar/ to worry

17. Quedar/ to remain, stay

18. Sobrar/ to have extra

19. Sorprender/ to surprise

20. Tocar/ to be one's turn, to touch

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