spanish basic grammar

Spanish Basic level Grammar

Spanish Grammar of 39

Index

PRONUNCIATION........................................................................................................................................4

GREETINGS.................................................................................................................................................7

PERSONAL PRONOUNS...........................................................................................................................8

SER : TO BE..................................................................................................................................................9

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SENTENCES.........................................................................................11

MASCULINE/ FEMININE GENDER....................................................................................................12

ARTICLES...................................................................................................................................................17

PREPOSITIONS / CONJUNCTIONS....................................................................................................18

REGULAR VERBS....................................................................................................................................19

INTERROGATIVES..................................................................................................................................21

TENER: TO HAVE...................................................................................................................................22

QUERER AND PODER.............................................................................................................................25

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES...................................................................................................................26

FAMILY.......................................................................................................................................................27

NUMBERS...................................................................................................................................................30

TIME.............................................................................................................................................................33

MONTHS......................................................................................................................................................35

DAYS OF THE WEEK..............................................................................................................................35

SEASONS.....................................................................................................................................................36

COUNTRIES AND NATIONALITIES...................................................................................................37

ESTAR – TO BE..........................................................................................................................................38


PRONUNCIATION

1) Vowel sounds are always fixed:


Some Phrases to use in Spanish Class:

¿Qué significa….? What is the meaning of….?

No entiendo I don’t understand

cómo se dice….. How to say……

¿Puede repetir, por favor? Can you repeat, please?


GREETINGS

English Spanish

Good morning! ¡Buenos días!

Good afternoon! / Good evening! ¡Buenas tardes!

Good night! ¡Buenas noches!

Hi! ¡Hola!

Good bye / Bye! Adiós, ¡Chao!

Please. Por favor.

See you / See you later. Hasta luego.

See you soon. Hasta pronto.

See you tomorrow. Hasta mañana.

Thank you very much. Muchas Gracias.

You're welcome. De nada.

What is your name? ¿Cómo se llama usted?

My name is…… Me llamo....../Soy……

I'm sorry Lo siento

Nice to meet you. Mucho gusto / Encantado.

what's up ¿Qué tal?

good bien


PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Yo I

Tú you (informal)

Usted You (formal)

él he

ella she

Nosotros/ Nosotras* we

Vosotros/ Vosotras* you all (Informal)

ellos / ellas* they

Ustedes You(all) plural, formal

*The only difference between nosotros and nosotras, vosotros and vosotras, ellos and

ellas is in gender. Nosotros/vosotros/Ellos is masculine and is used to refer to a group of

men only or a group mixed of men and women. (Even if there are 99 women and 1 man,

still use the masculine form.)

Nosotras/Vosotras/Ellas is feminine and is only used when the entire group is female.


SER : TO BE

Yo Soy I am

Tú Eres You are (informal)

Él / Ella/ Usted Es He/She is/

You (formal) are

Nosotros/as Somos We are

Vosotros/as Sois You all are

(informal)

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes Son They are/You all are

(formal)

Vocabulary

Spanish Español (m) / Española (f)

Indian Hindú

Italian Italiano (m) / Italiana (f)

American Americano (m) / Americana (f)

Doctor Medico

Nurse Enfermera

Pilot Piloto

Teacher Profesor (m) / Profesora (f)

Student Estudiante

lawyer Abogado

reporter Periodista

Singer Cantante

writer Escritor

engineer Ingeniero

architect Arquitecto

Air hostess azafata

house wife ama de casa

businessman hombre de negocios


POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SENTENCES

YES SÍ

NO NO

To make a sentence negative, put “no” immediately before the verb.

Ella no es inglesa.

She is not English.

Él no es profesor.

He is not a professor.


MASCULINE/ FEMININE GENDER

Spanish has only two genders, there is no neutral gender:

Masculine: chico, regalo, libro, hombre, cuaderno

Femenine: chica, imagen, playa.

1) Asa general rule, masculine nounsend in -o (Ex chico, tio) and feminine nouns end in –

a (Ex chica, tia).

Apart from this also, nouns ending with –al, -in, -miento, -ote, -estre are masculine.

2) Nouns ending in-ción, -tad, -dad, -tud, and -umbre arealways feminine. Ex: canción,

facultad, ciudad, virtud.

3) Nouns endingin consonants and vowelsother than -o and-a can be either masculine or

feminine. Example: padre (masculine), madre (feminine).

Some Spanish nouns with their genders:

Masculine Feminine

Chico (boy) Chica (girl)

Jardín (garden) Universidad (University)

Padre (father) Madre (Mother)

Libro (book) Revista (Magazine)

Vestido (Dress) Corbata (Tie)


ADJECTIVES

Adjectives describe a noun. E.g : El hombre es rico.

In Spanish, the adjectives:

1) Usually come after the noun.

E.g: Ella es una mujer rica:

2) Agree with the gender and number.

E.g: Ellas son mujeres ricas.

3) Adjectives ending with “e” remain the same in masculine and feminine form.

E.g.: Juan es amable (Juan is friendly)

Maria es amable (Maria is friendly)

English Spanish

American Americano/ Americana

Bad Malo/ Mala

Beautiful Hermoso/ Hermosa

Big, Large Grande

Difficult, Hard Difícil

Easy Fácil

English Inglés/ Inglésa

Fat Gordo/ Gorda

Few, A Little Poco/ Poca

French Francés/ Francésa

Good Bueno/ Buena

Hard-Working Trabajador / Trabajadora

High, Tall Alto/ Alta

Honest Honesto/ Honesta

Intelligent Inteligente

Interesting Interesante


Kind Amable

Lazy Perezoso / Perezosa

Little, Small Pequeño/ Pequeña

Low, Short Bajo/ Baja

New Nuevo/ Nueva

Nice (Person) Simpatico/ Simpatica

Old Viejo / Vieja

Poor Pobre

Pretty Bonito/ Bonita

Rich Rico/ Rica

Sad Triste

Slow Lento/ Lenta

Spanish Español/ Española

Strong Fuerte

Ugly Feo/ Fea

Weak Débil

White Blanco/ Blanca

Some One Nice Agradable

Some One Not Nice Desagradable

Expensive Caro / Cara

Cheap Barato / Barata

Old Antiguo / Antigua

Modern Moderno / Moderna

Cruel Antipático / Antipática

Enjoyable Divertido / Divertida

Boring Aburrido / Aburrida

Egoist Egoísta


Generous Generoso / Generosa

Useful Útil

Useless Inútil

Extrovert Extrovertido / Extrovertida

Introvert Introvertido ,Timido

Happy Feliz

Unhappy Infeliz

Thin Delgado / Delgada

Fast Rapido / Rapida


SINGULAR / PLURAL

(1) Nouns that end with a vowel: add -s to make them plural.

casa: casas

coche : coches

(2) Nouns that end with consonant, add -es to make plural

professor : profesores

autobús : autobuses

(3) If the words already end with -s, the singular and plural remain same

la crisis : las crisis


ARTICLES

Articles are of two types: Definite articles (The) and Indefinite articles (A/An/Some)

Definite article – THE

Singular Plural

Masculine EL LOS

Feminine LA LAS

Example: la casa, las casas, el piano, los pianos

Indefinite Article – A/AN/SOME

Singular Plural

Masculine UN UNOS

Feminine UNA UNAS

.

Example: un chico, unos chicos, una chica, unas chicas


http://www.123TeachMe.com/mp3/wordss/unas_sillas.mp3

http://www.123TeachMe.com/mp3/wordsr/unos_relojes.mp3

http://www.123TeachMe.com/mp3/wordsr/un_reloj.mp3

http://www.123TeachMe.com/mp3/wordsp/los_pianos.mp3

http://www.123TeachMe.com/mp3/wordsp/el_piano.mp3

http://www.123TeachMe.com/mp3/wordsc/las_casas.mp3

http://www.123TeachMe.com/mp3/wordsc/la_casa.mp3

PREPOSITIONS / CONJUNCTIONS

De From/ OfPero ButEn InPara For/ To (objective)Con WithSin WithoutA To/ atO OrY AndPorque BecauseTambién Also

Contractions

When a or de precedes the definite article el, the two words combine to form a contraction. That is, the two words become one.a + el = alde + el = del

However, de + la, de + las, de + los, a + la, a + las, and a + los are never contracted.

Examples:

¿El libro es del profesor?No, el libro es de la profesora.


REGULAR VERBS

Verbs are of three kinds:

–AR, -ER and -IR

To form the present tense of regular verbs, drop the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) and

add the endings given below:

Subject Pronoun -ar -er -ir

Yo -o -o -oTú -as -es -esÉl / Ella/ Usted -a -e -e

Nosotros/as -amos -emos -imos

Vosotros/as -áis -éis -ís

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes -an -en -en

Let us see how they are applied to verbs:

Subject Pronoun-ar; hablar (to speak) -er: comer (to eat) -ir; vivir (to live)

Yo hablo como VivoTú hablas comes Vives

Él / Ella/ Usted habla come Vive

Nosotros/as hablamos comemos Vivimos

Vosotros/as habláis coméis Vivís

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes hablan comen Viven


http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/COURSES/verbs/VIVIR.HTM

http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/COURSES/verbs/COMER.HTM

http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/COURSES/verbs/HABLAR.HTM

List of Some Spanish Regular Verbs

abrir (to open) descubrir (to discover) omitir (to omit)

admitir (to admit) desear (to desire) pagar (to pay for)

alquilar (to rent) discutir (to discuss) partir (to divide)

amar (to love) enseñar (to teach) permitir (to permit)

andar (to walk) entrar (en) (to enter (into)) poseer (to possess, to own)

aprender (to learn) enviar (to send) practicar (to practice)

asistir a (to attend) esconder (to hide) preguntar (to ask)

ayudar (to help) escribir (to write) preparer (to prepare)

bailar (to dance) escuchar (to listen to) prometer (to promise)

beber (to drink) esperar (to hope, to wait for) recibir (to receive)

buscar (to look for) estudiar (to study) regresar (to return)

caminar (to walk) existir (to exist) romper (to break)

cantar (to sing) firmar (to sign) saludar (to greet)

cocinar (to cook) ganar (to win, earn) subir (to climb, to go up)

comer (to eat) gastar (to spend money) sufrir (to suffer)

comprar (to buy) hablar(to speak, to talk) temer (to fear)

comprender (to understand) lavar (to wash) tocar (to touch, to play an

instrument)

contestar (to answer) leer (to read) tomar (to take, to drink)

correr (to run) llegar (to arrive) trabajar (to work)

creer (to believe) llevar (to wear, to carry) unir (to unite)

cubrir (to cover) mandar (to order) vender (to sell)

deber (to have to, to owe) meter en (to put into) viajar (to travel)

decidir (to decide) mirar (to watch, to look at) visitar (to visit )

dejar (to allow, to leave) necesitar (to need) vivir (to live )

describir (to describe) olvidar (to forget)


INTERROGATIVES

English Spanish

what qué

Who/ who all Quién / Quienes

how cómo

when cuándo

where dónde

why por qué

which cuál(es)

how much/how many Cuánto/a/os/as

whom a quién(es)

whose de quién(es)


TENER: TO HAVE

Subject Pronoun Tener

Yo tengo

Tú tienes

Él / Ella/ Usted tiene

Nosotros/as tenemos

Vosotros/as tenéis

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes tienen

Some Idiomatic Expressions with TENER

Spanish also has some idiomatic expressions with TENER. Although their literal

translations sound odd to English speakers, they sound perfectly natural to native

speakers. Here are some of them:

Expressions using “tener” express physical sensations:

Spanish English

tener frío to be cold

tener calor to be hot

tener hambre to be hungry

tener sed to be thirsty

tener sueño to be sleepy

tener dolor de to hurt or be sore, etc


Idiomatic expressions with “tener” that express sensations more psychological in

nature:

Spanish English

tener prisa to be in a hurry

tener miedo a

to be afraid of something

(noun)

tener miedo de

to be afraid of something

(verb)

tener celos to be jealous

tener confianza to be confident

tener cuidado to be careful

tener vergüenza to be ashamed

There are other idiomatic expressions with “tener” as well:

Spanish English

tener razón to be right

tener éxito to be successful

tener la culpa to be guilty

tener lugar to take place

tener ganas de to feel like

tener en cuenta to take into account


Expressions with “Tener que”

Tener que + infinitive is one way to express obligation or necessity. This expression can

be translated as "someone has to do something". Tener is conjugated according to the

subject of the sentence.

Examples:

Tengo que comer las verduras.(I have to eat the vegetables.)

Ángel tiene que leer el periódico. (Ángel has to read the newspaper.)

Ellos tienen que comprar una revista.(They have to buy a magazine.)


QUERER AND PODER

Subject Pronoun Querer (To want)

Yo Quiero

Tú Quieres

Él / Ella/ Usted Quiere

Nosotros/as Queremos

Vosotros/as Quereis

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes Quieren

Subject Pronoun Poder (Can / to be able to)

Yo Puedo

Tú Puedes

Él / Ella/ Usted Puede

Nosotros/as Podemos

Vosotros/as Podeis

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes Pueden

Both Querer and Poder are very important verbs because with these 2 verbs you can

express your wishes, opinion, ability etc.

Note: When there are two verbs in a sentence, only the first one is conjugated.


POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

English Masculine(singular) Feminine(singular) Masculine(plural) Feminine(plural)

my mi mi mis mis

your (informal) tu tu tus tus

his/her, your

(formal)su su sus sus

our Nuestro nuestra Nuestros nuestras

your (plural,

informal)Vuestro vuestra vuestros

vuestras

their, your (formal) su su sus sus

Ex: Mi casa, mi libro, mis casas


FAMILY

English Spanish

father padre

mother madre

brother hermano

sister hermana

husband esposo, marido

wife esposa, mujer

son hijo

daughter hija

uncle tío

aunt tía

cousin (male) primo

cousin (female) prima

friend (male) amigo

friend (female) amiga

nephew/niece Sobrino/Sobrina

son-in-law yerno

Daughter-in-law nuera

Prefix indicating great-: bis-

great-grandfather el bisabuelo

great-grandmother la bisabuela

Suffix indicating step-: -astro/-astra

stepbrother el hermanastro

stepdaughter la hijastra

stepfather el padrastro

stepmother la madrastra

stepsister la hermanastra


stepson el hijastro


DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVESNear to the speaker

singular Plural

Masculine este (this) estos (these)

Feminine esta (this) estas (these)

Ex: Este libro, estos libros, esta silla, estas sillas

Near to the listener

singular Plural

Masculine ese (that) esos (those)

Feminine esa (that) esas (those)

Far from the speaker as well as the listener

singular Plural

Masculine aquel (that)aquellos

(those)

Feminine aquella (that)aquellas

(those)


NUMBERS

-0 : cero

-1 : uno

- 2 : dos

- 3 : tres

- 4 : cuatro

- 5 : cinco

- 6 : seis

- 7 : siete

- 8 : ocho

- 9 : nueve

- 10 : diez

-11 : once

- 12 : doce

- 13 : trece

- 14 : catorce

- 15 : quince

- 16 : dieciséis

- 17 : diecisiete

- 18 : dieciocho

- 19 : diecinueve

- 20 : veinte

- 21 : veintiuno

- 22 : veintidós

- 23 : veintitrés

- 24 : veinticuatro

- 25 : veinticinco

- 26 : veintiséis

- 27 : veintisiete

- 28 : veintiocho

- 29 : veintinueve

- 30 : treinta

Let us now look at the Spanish numbers, going up in tens, from 40 to 90.

- 40 : cuarenta

- 50 : cincuenta

- 60 : sesenta

- 70 : setenta

- 80 : ochenta

- 90 : noventa

With these, you just have to add ... y uno, ... y dos, ... y tres etc. For example:

- 41 : cuarenta y uno

- 42 : cuarenta y dos


- 43 : cuarenta y tres

- 44 : cuarenta y cuatro

- 45 : cuarenta y cinco, etc

-100: cien

- 101 : ciento uno

- 114 : ciento catorce

- 127 : ciento veintisiete

- 165 : ciento sesenta y cinco

- 200 : doscientos

- 300 : trescientos

- 400 : cuatrocientos

- 500 : quinientos

- 600 : seiscientos

- 700 : setecientos

- 800 : ochocientos

- 900 : novecientos

- 1,000 : mil

- 10,000 : diez mil

- 100,000 : cien mil


Ordinal Numbers

Here are the ordinal numbers first - tenth:

primero - first

Segundo - second

tercero - third

cuarto- fourth

quinto - fifth

sexto - sixth

séptimo- seventh

octavo - eighth

noveno - ninth

décimo - tenth

Like many other adjectives, the ordinal numbers have a masculine and a feminine form,

as well as singular and plural forms. So, the ordinal numbers have four forms, just like

other adjectives that end in -o. Example:

primeroprimerosprimeraprimeras

Ordinal numbers usually precede the noun. However, if the noun they refer to is royalty,

a pope, or a street, they come afterthe noun.

e.g. Carlos Quinto (Calros V), quinto libro (fifth book)

Ordinal numbers are not normally used after 10.

la Calle DieciséisSixteenth Streetel siglo diecinuevethe nineteenth century

For all other days of the month, use the cardinal numbers.


TIME

¿Qué hora es? What time is it?

The basic way of telling time in Spanish is use to the singular form of ser ("to be"), which

is ‘es’, for one o'clock and the plural form, son, for other times. Minutes can be stated

simply by separating them from the hour using y, the word for "and."

Es la una. It is 1:00.

Es la una y dos. It is 1:02.

Son las dos. It is 2:00.

Son las tres. It is 3:00.

Son las seis y cinco. It is 6:05.

Son las siete y diez. It is 7:10.

To indicate the half hour, use“media”. Use “cuarto” to indicate the quarter hours.

Es la una y media. It is 1:30.

Son las cuatro y media. It is 4:30.

Es la una y cuarto. It is 1:15.

It is customary to use “menos” to tell time during the second half of each hour,

stating the number of minutes until the following hour.

Es la una menos diez. It is 12:50.

Son las cinco menos cinco. It is 4:55.

Son las diez menos veinte. It is 9:40.

Son las ocho menos cuarto. It is 7:45.


To indicate time of day when using the 12-hour clock, use“de la mañana” before

noon (mediodía), “de la tarde” between noon and early evening, and “de la noche”

between then and midnight (medianoche).

Es medianoche. It's midnight.

Son las siete y cuarto de la mañana. It's 7:15 a.m. (It is 7:15 in the morning.)

Es mediodía. It's noon.

Son las ocho y media de la noche. It's 8:30 p.m. (It is eight and a half at night.)

Useful time-related expressions:

Son las tres y cuarto en punto. It's 3:15 exactly.

Son las seis y media más o menos. It's about 6:30.

Salimos a las nueve. We are leaving at 9:00.

At what time: A que hora

e.g. A que hora tiene classe?A las once.

Adverbs of Time (adverbios de tiempo)

Spanish English

ayer yesterday

hoy today

mañana tomorrow

ahora now

esta noche tonight

Ya already

Pronto soon


MONTHS

English Spanish English Spanish

January enero July julio

February febrero August agosto

March marzo September septiembre

April abril October octubre

May mayo November noviembre

June junio December diciembre

The names of the months are written in small letters in Spanish.

To express "in a certain month," use the preposition "en."

Vamos a México en enero.

We are going to Mexico in January.

Las clases empiezan en el mes de septiembre.

Classes begin in September.

Days of the Week

English Spanish

Monday lunes

Tuesday martes

Wednesday miércoles

Thursday jueves

Friday viernes

Saturday sábado

Sunday domingo

The names of the week are written in small letters in Spanish.


SEASONS

English Spanish

spring la primavera

summer el verano

autumn el otoño

winter el invierno

Note that the articles are normally used with the seasons.

En América del Norte, la primavera empieza en marzo.

In North America, spring begins in March.

En América del Sur, la primavera empieza en septiembre.

In South America, spring begins in September


COUNTRIES AND NATIONALITIES

Country País Nationality

Germany Alemania alemán (alemana)

Australia Australia australiano(a)

China China chino(a)

Spain España español(a)

United States los Estados Unidos (norte)americano(a)

France Francia francés (francesa)

India India hindú

England Inglaterra inglés (inglesa)

Italy Italia italiano(a)

Japan Japón japonés (japonesa)

Russia Rusia ruso(a)


ESTAR – TO BE

Yo Estoy

Tú Estás

Él / Ella/ Usted Está

Nosotros/as Estamos

Vosotros/as Estáis

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes Están

Both Ser and Estar mean “TO BE”. The difference is:

Estar is used to describe:

-Location- My house is in Delhi

- Mood/emotion- I am happy

- State of things - The door is open.

- Present continuous tense - I am eating.

Ser is used for all other situations

To remember the use of Ser and Estar you can also use the following trick:

Ser is used to classify and identify permanent or lasting attributes. You can also think of

the acronym DOCTOR, which stands for

Description,

Occupation,

Characteristic,

Time,

Origin, and

Relationship.

Estar is used to indicate temporary states and locations. You can aslo think of the

acronym PLACE, which stands for


Position,

Location,

Action,

Condition, and

Emotion.

Words of Location

above sobre in front of enfrente deacross from a través de in the middle of en (el) medio deahead of delante de inside (of) dentro deat, in en (to the) left of a la izquierda debehind detrás de near cerca debelow debajo de next to al lado debeside al lado de on top of encima debetween entre outside of fuera defar from lejos de (to the) right of a la derecha dein en under debajo de


spanish basic grammar

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