spanish basic grammar
DESCRIPTION
Spanish language made easyTRANSCRIPT
Spanish Basic level Grammar
Spanish Grammar Page 2 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
Spanish Grammar Page 3 of 39
PRONUNCIATION
1) Vowel sounds are always fixed:
Spanish Grammar Page 4 of 39
Spanish Grammar Page 5 of 39
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?
Spanish Grammar Page 6 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 7 of 39
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.
Spanish Grammar Page 8 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 9 of 39
Spanish Grammar Page 10 of 39
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.
Spanish Grammar Page 11 of 39
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)
Spanish Grammar Page 12 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 13 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 14 of 39
Generous Generoso / Generosa
Useful Útil
Useless Inútil
Extrovert Extrovertido / Extrovertida
Introvert Introvertido ,Timido
Happy Feliz
Unhappy Infeliz
Thin Delgado / Delgada
Fast Rapido / Rapida
Spanish Grammar Page 15 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 16 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 17 of 39
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.
Spanish Grammar Page 18 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 19 of 39
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)
Spanish Grammar Page 20 of 39
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)
Spanish Grammar Page 21 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 22 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 23 of 39
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.)
Spanish Grammar Page 24 of 39
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.
Spanish Grammar Page 25 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 26 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 27 of 39
stepson el hijastro
Spanish Grammar Page 28 of 39
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)
Spanish Grammar Page 29 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 30 of 39
- 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
Spanish Grammar Page 31 of 39
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.
Spanish Grammar Page 32 of 39
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.
Spanish Grammar Page 33 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 34 of 39
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.
Spanish Grammar Page 35 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 36 of 39
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)
Spanish Grammar Page 37 of 39
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
Spanish Grammar Page 38 of 39
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 Grammar Page 39 of 39