Download Spanish Level I Grammar Review - LOTE-Wiki

Spanish Level I Grammar Review
1. Nouns- Nouns are words that name a person, place, or a thing. The nouns in
Spanish are either masculine or feminine in gender. To make a noun plural:
*if the noun ends in a vowel, add –s
*if the noun ends in a consonant, add –es
*if the noun ends in -z, change the –z to a –c and add –es
ex. el lápiz  los lápices
2. Definite articles- In English, there is one definite article (the). In Spanish, there
are four definite articles (el, la, los, las). The definite articles will tell you if the
noun is masculine or feminine (gender), singular or plural (number).
ex. el libro- the book
los libros- the books
3. Indefinite articles- The indefinite articles in Spanish are: un, una, unos, unas.
These mean a, an, some, or a few. The form that you use, just like for the definite
articles, depends on the number and gender of the subject.
Ex. un libro- a book
unos libros- some books
4.
Contractions- In Spanish, some words when in a specific order are combined to
form one word. Some examples are:
*a + el  al
*de + el  del
5. Possession- In English, we use an apostrophe s (‘s) to show possession (who
something belongs to). In Spanish, you use the word de to show possession.
ex. The book is Eduardo’s.
El libro es de Eduardo.
6.
Adjective agreement- In English, we use adjectives to describe nouns. In
Spanish, you also use adjectives to describe nouns but they must match in gender
and number with the noun they describe. In Spanish, the adjectives usually go
after the noun.
*If the adjective ends in an –o, the -o can be changed to –a, -os, and –as to
match in gender and number to the noun you are describing.
ex. un chico alto
una chica alta
unos chicos altos
unas chicas altas
*If the adjective ends in an –e or a consonant, it can only be singular or
plural (to match in number with the noun).
ex. un chico amable
una chica amable
unos chicos amables
unas chicas amables
7.
Subject pronouns- Pronouns are words that take the place of a noun. They are:
English:
Spanish:
I
yo
you
tú
he/she/it
él/ella/Ud.
we
nosotros/nosotras
they
ellos/ellas
8. Negative words- There are some Spanish words that can be used to make a
sentence negative, such as no (no), nunca (never), nada (nothing), and nadie
(nobody). These words either go at the beginning of the sentence, or the sentence
could begin with no and the negative word placed after the verb.
Ex. Nunca cuido a mi hermana.
No cuido a mi hermana nunca.
9. Possessive adjectives- Possessive adjectives show ownership or possession of the
subject that you refer to. They are:
English:
Spanish:
my
mi(s)
your
tu(s)
his/her
su(s)
our
nuestro/a(s)
their
su(s)
*note: possessive adjectives in Spanish must agree in number and gender with the
noun that it describes
10. Personal a- There is no English translation for the personal a. In Spanish, when
a person receives an action, the word a comes before it. When a thing
receives an action, no a is needed.
11. Present tense- The present tense verb conjugations talk about what you do.
There are three verb endings in Spanish: -ar, -er, and –ir. The endings for the
verbs are as follows:
When you conjugate a verb in Spanish, drop the –ar, -er, or –ir
ending and add:
-ar
-er
-ir
-o
-as
–a
-amos
-o
-emos
-es
-an
-e
-en
*Irregular verbs in the present tense are:
ser: soy, eres, es, somos, son
estar: estoy, estás, está, estamos, están
ir: voy, vas, va, vamos, van
-o
-es
-e
-imos
-en
*Verbs with irregular yo forms: hacer (yo hago), poner (yo pongo),saber
(yo sé), salir (yo salgo), traer (yo traigo)
12. Indirect object pronouns- Indirect objects take the place of nouns in a sentence
and tell for whom or to whom an action is done. The indirect object pronouns
are: me, te, le, nos, and les. The verbs encantar (to love) and gustar (to like) take
indirect object pronouns in Spanish. Remember that the verbs encantar and
gustar must match in number with the subject (gusta- singular, gustan- plural,
encanta- singular, encantan- plural) and must be followed by the definite article
(el, la, los, las) or an infinitive.
Ex. Me gusta leer.
I like to read.
Me encantan los tacos.
I love tacos.
13. Making comparisons- If you want to compare two items in Spanish, you can
use the following phrases:
más + adjective + que
=
more ________ than
menos + adjective + que
=
less _________ than
tan + adjective + como
=
as ____________ as
*Remember that the adjective needs to match in number and gender with the
noun it refers to
14. Demonstrative adjectives- Demonstrative adjectives point out people and things
and must agree in gender and number with the nouns they describe. The
demonstrative adjectives are:
English
this
that
these
those
Spanish (masculine)
este
ese
estos
esos
Spanish (feminine)
esta
esa
estas
esas
15. Present Progressive- The present progressive is a verb tense that tells you what
is happening right now. It is formed by using the correct conjugation of the verb
estar (present tense- estoy, estás, está, estamos, están), followed by the present
participle of the action verb. To form the present participle of the action verb:
*for –ar verbs, drop the –ar and add –ando
*for –er and –ir verbs, drop the –er or –ir and add –iendo
*for verbs with the stem ending in a vowel, change the –iendo
to –yendo (ex. leer leyendo)
examples: 1. Tú estás cantando.
You are singing.
2. Ellos están escribiendo.
They are writing.
3. Yo estoy leyendo.
I am reading.
16. Stem-changing verbs- There are many verbs (see your verb list) that have a
stem-change in the present tense. It changes in every form except the nosotros form.
17. Informal Commands- To make an informal command to someone you would
talk to in a familiar way, take the present tense tú form of the verb and drop
the s. There are five irregular command forms that you should memorize, and
they are:
hacer:
haz
venir:
ven
ir:
ve
salir:
sal
poner:
pon
18. Past tense- The past tense talks about something that has already happened.
To form this verb tense in Spanish, you drop the –ar, -er, or –ir verb ending
and add:
-ar
-é
-aste
-ó
-er
-amos
-aron
-í
-iste
-ió
-ir
-imos
-ieron
-í
-iste
-ió
-imos
-ieron
*The irregular verbs for the past tense are:
hacer: hice hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicieron
ir: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron
ser: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron
ver: vi, viste, vio, vimos, vieron
19. Direct object pronouns- Direct object pronouns receive the action of the
verb. The direct object pronouns are: lo (it, him, you), la (it her, you), los
(them- masculine, plural), and las (them- feminine, plural). These are placed
before the conjugated verb or can be attached to the infinitive form of the
verb.
20. Ser vs. Estar- These two verbs both mean to be in Spanish. Ser is usually
used for more permanent states, while estar is used for more temporary
descriptions. Here are some examples to help you remember which verb to
use in certain situations:
Ser
1. to give the date
Son las once.
2. to give the time
Es el tres de marzo.
3. to tell what something is made of
Son de cuero.
4. to tell what someone is like
Ella es inteligente.
5. to tell where you are from
Soy de Tejas.
6. to tell what someone does
Soy una profesora.
Estar
1. to give location
Está al lado del cine.
2. to talk about temporary conditions
Estoy cansada hoy.
3. to form the present progressive
Está lloviendo.
21. Affirmative and negative expressionsaffirmative:
negative:
algo (something)
nada (nothing)
alguien (someone, somebody)
nadie (no one, nobody)
alguno (algún),-a (some)
ninguno (ningún),-a (none)
o...o (either…or)
ni...ni (neither...nor)
siempre (always)
nunca (never)
22. Interrogative words¿Adónde?- (to) where
¿Cómo?- how or what
¿Cuál(es)?- what or which
¿Cuándo?- when
¿Cuánto/a?-how much
¿Cuántos/as?- how many
¿De dónde?- where
¿Dónde?- where
¿Por qué?- why
¿Qué?- what
¿Quién(es)?- who