Grammar Flashcards
To conjugate regular -ar verbs
Hablar (to speak)
Yo -o
Tú -as
Él/ella/usted -a
Nosotros/nosotras -Amos
Vosotros/vosotras -áis
Ellos/Ellas/ustedes -an
To conjugate regular -er verbs
Comer (to eat)
Yo -o
Tú -es
Él/ella/usted -e
Nosotros/nosotras -emos
Vosotros/vosotras -éis
Ellos/Ellas/ustedes -en
To conjugate regular -ir verbs
Vivir- to live
Yo -o
Tú -es
Él/ella/usted -e
Nosotros/nosotras -imos
Vosotros/vosotras -ís
Ellos/Ellas/ustedes -en
Make a plural noun (ending in a vowel)
Add s
Make a plural noun (ending in a consonant)
Add -es
If a noun ends in ión
Add es and drop the accent
El avión — los aviones
If a noun ends in z
Change the z to c
Use of ser
Date/description
Occupation
Characteristic
Time
Origin
Relationship
Also to show possession or to identify someone or something
Use of estar
Position
Location
Action
Condition (also health)
Emotion
Forms of the definite article
El
La the
Los (male and mixed)
Las the (plural)
Stem changing verbs E:I
The letter e in the stem changes to i in all but the nosotros/vosotros forms. This type of stem changing is only in -ir verbs.
Gendered Parts of Speech
pronouns, adjectives, articles, nouns
feminine noun endings
-a, -dad, -tad, -z, -ión, -ción, -umbre, -ie
masculine endings
“loners”
-l, -o, -n, -e, -r, -s
gendered parts of speech
nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, articles
Definite article
The definite articles is used when speaking in specific and general terms (I like the cat; I like cats= Me gusta el gato/ me gustan los gatos)
article agreement
the article matches the noun in gender and number
forms of the indefinite article
un, unos
una, unas
possessives
only one way to express: noun possessed + de + definite/indefinite article + the noun possessor (if the possessor is a proper noun, there’s no article)
la bolsa de la señora
the infinitive form is always used for a verb…
that follows any verb other than ser, estar, or haber
subject
The person or thing that performs the action of the verb (the who or what, singular or plural)
The antecedent of the pronoun
The word that is replaced by or referred to by the pronoun
subject pronoun
A pronoun used as a subject of the verb; “He worked while she read.” He is subject of the verb “worked,” she is subject of the verb “read.”
1st person pronoun
I, we; yo, nosotros/nosotras
2nd person pronoun
you; tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, ustedes
3rd person pronoun
he, she, it, they; él, ella, ellos/ellas
Latin American you
tú (informal), usted (formal), ustedes (both familiar and formal)
The English “it”
“It” is not generally expressed
The English “they” referring to objects
“They” is not expressed when referring to something other than people
stem-changing e
the letter e in the stem changes to ie in all but the nosotros and vosotros forms. This particular type of stem-changing verb is found in all three verb types.
stem-changing o
the letter o in the stem changes to ue in all but the nosotros and vosotros forms. This particular type of stem-changing verb is found in all three verb types.
auxiliary/helping verb
A verb that helps another verb (the main verb) form one of its tenses. Estar (to be), haber (to have), and ser (to be). English auxiliaries like do, does, did, will, or would do not exist as auxiliaries in Spanish. Their meaning is conveyed either by a different structure of by the form of the main verb.
Simple tense
A tense composed of only the main verb: Julia estudia. Simple present tense of estudiar.
Compound tense
A verb tense composed of an auxiliary verb plus a main verb: Julia ha estudiado. (Julia has studied.) ha-auxiliary verb. estudiado-present perfect tense of esudiar
passive voice and auxiliary verb
The verb ser (to be) is used to form the true passive voice.
Perfect tenses and auxiliary verbs
A compound tense with the auxiliary verb haber (to have) followed by the past participle of the main verb is used to form the many perfect tenses. (have arrived, had arrived)
Progressive tenses and auxiliary verbs
A compound tense with the auxiliary verb estar (to be) is followed by the present participle of the main verb to form the progressive tenses. (am doing, was doing)
to turn an affirmative sentence into a negative sentence
Place no in front of the conjugated verb: Estudiamos mucho–> No estudiamos mucho.
Negative words in a negative sentence
Often “no” is used in the same sentence as nada, nadir, and nunca: No tengo nada para ti.
declarative sentence
subject + verb:
Juan estudia.
interrogative sentence
verb + subject:
¿Estudia Juan?
Tag questions
A statement can be turned into a (yes/no) question by adding a short phrase at the end
Affirmative statement tag
To make a tag questions, add ¿no? ¿verdad? ¿no es verdad? to an affirmative statement
tag questions
Negative statement tag
To make a tag question, add ¿verdad? to the end of a negative statement
tener
sometimes (English to be + adjective) is expressed with tener (to have) + noun. These are idiomatic and must be memorized (I’m hungry, I’m twenty–> Tengo hambre, tengo veinte años
Hay
There is or there are. Hay is invariable, and can be singular or plural. To avoid confusing with star, check if the “is” or “are” of the English sentence can be replaced with “there is/are.” If you can, use hay, if not, then está or están must be used.
tense
The tense of a verb indicates when the action of the verb takes place: present, past, or future.
simple tense
Consists of only one verb form- I studied.
Compound tense
Consists of one or more auxiliaries plus the main verb- I am studying, I had been studying. These are formed with the auxiliary verbs estar/haber + the main verb
the present tense
indicates that the action is happening at the present time; it can be at the moment the speaker is speaking, a habitual action, or a general truth. Spanish expresses these three forms of the tense as a simple tense (unlike English), only conjugating the verb.
present tense compared
English: Mary Studies in the library.
Spanish: Maria estudia
present progressive
English: Mary is studying in the library.
Spanish: Maria estudia
Present emphatic
English: Mary does study in the library.
Spanish: Maria estudia
past tense
Used to express an action that occurred in the past
simple past
since it’s a simple tense, it consists of one word
the preterite
A simple tense formed by adding a set of endings to the stem of the verb. There are many irregular verbs in the preterite tense. This generally translates as the simple past in English.
the imperfect
A simple tense formed by adding a set of endings to the stem of the verb. The conjugation is very regular. This is used in Spanish where English uses “used to” or “was/were playing”
preterite usage guideline
this tells “what happened” during a fixed period of time: I went to the park yesterday
imperfect usage guideline
tells “how things used to be” or “what was going on” during a period of time: What did you do when you were a kid?
participle
A form of a verb that can be used in one of two ways: with an auxiliary verb to indicate certain tenses (he has closed the door) or as an adjective to describe something (he heard me through the closed door). There are two types, the present participle and the past participle.
present participle
Used as the main verb in compound tenses with the auxiliary verb “to be” to indicate a progressive tense; as an adjective.
In English -ing form: is writing, sleeping child.
Spanish present participle
It is used primarily in the formation of progressive tenses. It can be regular or irregular.
The regular endings:
-ar verbs add -ando to the stem
-er/-ir add -idendo to the stem
Never assume that -ing will become -ndo
Past participle
It is the form of the verb that follows “I have” (in English) and has two primary uses: 1. as the main verb in compound tenses with the auxiliary verb “haber” (to have) to indicate a perfect tense. 2 as an adjective that agrees with the noun it modifies in gender and number
Past participle regular endings
-ar verbs add -ado to the stem
-er and -if verbs add -I do to the stem
The -do of the Spanish participle often corresponds to the -Ed of the English past participle
Progressive tenses
They talk about actions that are in progress at a specific moment in time; they emphasize the moment that an action takes place. Made of the auxiliary verb to be/estar + the present participle of the main verb.
Use of the progressive tenses
Used more frequently in English, where they’re used for habitual actions, to state general truths, or to indicate that an action is happening at a specific moment. In Spanish, they’re used only for emphasis: that an action is taking place at a particular moment, as opposed to another time, or to stress the continuity of an action. Where English uses the present progressive tense, Spanish often uses the present tense.
mood
applies to verbs and indicates the attitude of the speaker toward what they are saying: indicative, subjunctive, and (English only) imperative.
indicative mood
it states the action of the verb; it indicates facts. It is the most common mood in English and Spanish and most of the tenses learned belong to this mood: present tense, past tense, and future tense.
subjunctive mood
is used to express an attitude or feeling (wish, hope, uncertainty, etc) toward the action of the verb; it is subjective about it. it is used more frequently in Spanish than English.
imperative mood
is used to give commands or orders and is not divided into tenses. It does not have its own grammatical mood in Spanish, but is often expressed through present subjunctive forms.
Spanish’s four subjunctive tenses
Unlike English, Spanish subjunctive has four tenses in the subjunctive: present, imperfect, present perfect, and past perfect (pluperfect). Most imperative or common forms are also present subjunctive forms.
the present subjunctive setup
some verbs/expressions require the verb that follows (the second verb) to be in the subjunctive, providing that the first and second verb do not have the same subject. The first verb/expression remains in the indicative, the second verb is put in the subjunctive. If the first and second verbs have the same subject, the subjunctive is not required.
which verbs/expressions call for the second verb to be in the present subjunctive
A verb of wishing or wanting, an expression of doubt or uncertainty, an impersonal expression (es + adjective), a verb of advice or command, an expression of emotion
present subjunctive stems
regular stems: 1st person singular form of the present indicative minus the -o ending. Irregular stems must be learned as vocabulary.
present subjunctive endings
-ar verbs use the present indicative endings for -er, -ir verbs. -er/-ir verbs use the present indicative endings for -ar verbs. (the present subjunctive is identifiable from the present indicative by the traded endings.
the imperative
Is used to give someone an order. In English and Spanish the absence of a pronoun in a sentence is a good indication it is dealing with an imperative and not a present tense.
affirmative imperative
An order to do something: Come here!
negative imperative
An order not to do something: Don’t come here!
English imperative command types
- “You” command, when an order is give to one or more persons, the dictionary verb form is used (answer the phone, don’t answer the phone)
- “We” command, when an order is given to oneself as well as to others (let’s + dictionary form: Let’s go.)
Spanish “You” command types: Tú
“Tú” affirmative command in regular form: same form as the 3rd person singular of the present indicative tense (Habla. Speak.).
The “tú” negative command has the same form as the 2nd person singular of the present subjunctive (no hables. Don’t speak.).
Spanish “You” command types: Vosotros
Familiar plural command used only in Spain. Affirmative vosotros command: drop -r from the infinitive ending and replace it with -d (hablad. speak.)
The negative vosotros command has the same form as the 2nd person plural of the present subjunctive (No habláis. Don’t speak.).
Spanish “You” command types: Usted
Both the affirmative and negative used commands have the same form as the 3rd person singular of the present subjunctive (Hable. Speak.) and (No hable. Don’t speak.)
Spanish “You” command types: Ustedes
Formal in Spain, in/formal in Latin America. Both the affirmative and negative ustedes commands have the same form as the 3rd person plural of the present subjunctive (Hablen. Speak) and (No hablen. Don’t speak.).
Spanish “We” command type:
The affirmative and negative nosotros commands have the same form as the 1st person plural of the present subjunctive (Hablemos. Let’s talk.) and (No hablemos. Let’s not talk.).
Spanish Command Forms
tú: present indicative 3rd person singular, negative: present subjunctive 2nd person singular
vosotros: infinitive -r to -d, negative present subjunctive 2nd person plural
Usted: present subjunctive 3rd person singular for affirmative and negative
Ustedes: present subjunctive 3rd person plural for affirmative and negative
nosotros: present subjunctive 1st person plural for affirmative and negative
perfect tenses
The perfect tenses are compound verbs made up of the auxiliary verb “to have” + the past participle of the main verb. I have not seen him; they had already gone. The name of the tense is based on the tense used for the auxiliary verb to have.
four perfect tenses English and Spanish share
Present perfect- perfecto, past perfect (pluperfect)- pluscuamperfecto, future perfect- futuro perfecto, conditional perfect- condicional perfecto
Spanish perfect tenses in the subjunctive
Present perfect subjunctive- perfecto del subjuntivo, pluperfect subjunctive- pluscuamperfecto del subjuntivo
present perfect / perfecto
to have (haber) in the present tense + the past participle of the main verb. “I have eaten/ He comido.” Generally the Spanish present perfect is used in the same way as in English.
past perfect (pluperfect) / pluscuamperfecto
to have (haber) in the simple past + the past participle of the main verb. “I had eaten before six/ Había comido antes de las seis.” The past perfect I used to express an action completed in the past before some other past action or event. Generally it’s used in Spanish in the same way as in English.
future perfect / futuro perfecto
to have (haber) in the future tense + the past participle of the main verb. “I will have eaten by six o’clock/ Habré comido para las seis.” Generally the Spanish future perfect is used in the same way as in English.
conditional perfect / condicional perfecto
to have (haber) in the conditional + the past participle of the main verb. I would have eaten if I had had the time/ Habría comido si hubiera tenido tiempo.
present perfect subjunctive / perfecto del subjuntivo
haber in the present subjunctive + the past participle of the main verb. This tense is really just a present perfect used when a subjunctive is required. He hopes that they have arrived (“hopes” requires that the following verb be in the subjunctive, so “have arrived” would be present perfect subjunctive)
pluperfect subjunctive / pluscuamperfecto del subjuntivo
haber in the imperfect subjunctive + the past participle of the main verb. He hoped that they had arrived (“hoped” requires that the following verb be in the pluperfect subjunctive)
Future tense
Indicates that an action will take place some time in the future. In English it’s formed with the auxiliary words “Will” or “shall” + dictionary form of the main verb.
Spanish simple future
This doesn’t need an auxiliary. Regular verbs use the infinitive as a stem for the future tense, and endings, mostly with è’s. Irregular verbs have irregular future stems to be memorized.
Immediate future tense
English: “to go” in present progressive tense + infinitive of the main verb. “She is going to dance.”
Spanish: same construction; the verb ir (to go) in the present tense + a + infinitive of the main verb. “Ella va a bailar.” (She’s going to dance)
Future of probability Spanish
Instead of using the words must, probably, or wonder, to express probable facts; the main verb is simply put into the future tense. Qué hora será? (Será: main verb future tense) serán las cuatro (serán: main verb future tense). I wonder what time it is? It’s probably 4:00.
The conditional
has a present and past tense called the conditional (present) and the conditional perfect (past). It is a tense used to imply a condition: “If I were offered the job, I would take it.”
conditional (present)
- used as a polite form or in polite requests
- in the result clause of a hypothetical statement
- in an indirect statement to express a future-in-the-past
clause
a part of a sentence composed of a group of words containing a subject and a verb. In a hypothetical statement there are two types of clauses: the if clause and the result clause
if clause
expresses the condition which must be met. “If Paul had money…”
result clause
expresses the result if the condition is met. “…he would buy a house.”
direct statement
a word-for-word quotation of what someone said. Paul said, “Mary will come.”
indirect statement
repeats or reports, but does not quote someone’s words: “Paul said Mary would come.”
future-in-the-past
In an indirect statement, action 2 is called future-in-the-past because it takes place in the past after another action in the past. “[1] Paul said [2] Mary would come.”
Conditional perfect (past)
Is used in the result clause of contrary-to-fact statements. In both English and Spanish it is made up of an auxiliary verb (though different types) + the past participle of of the main verb.
“I would have spoken/ habría hablado”
Conditional perfect (past) English
The auxiliary “Would have” + past participle of the main verb: I would have eaten.
Conditional perfect (past) Spanish
The auxiliary verb “haber” in the conditional tense + the past participle of the main verb: habría hablado (I would have spoken).
Contrary-to-fact statement
When a condition was not met in the past and therefore the result was not accomplished
Sequence of conditional tenses
Hypothetical and contrary to fact statements are easy to recognize because side they are made up of two clauses, if and result clauses.
If clause is present, result clause is future
If clause is past (imperfect subjunctive in Spanish) the result clause is conditional
If class is past perfect (pluperfect subjunctive in Spanish) the result clause is conditional perfect
*the if clause can be before or after the result clause, but the tenses remain the same whatever order
Conditional (present) English
Compound tense made up of auxiliary verb “would” + the dictionary form of the main verb: “I would eat.”
Conditional (present) Spanish
Simple tense formed with the future stem + the endings of the imperfect tense for -er and -ir verbs. “Querría un vaso de agua” I would like a glass of water
Voice
The grammatical sense refers to the relationship between the verb and its subject . There are two voices, active and passive.
Active voice
A sentence is said to be in the passive voice when the subject is the performer of the action of the verb. In this instance, the verb is called the active verb. The subject performed the action of the verb and the direct object is the receiver of the action.
Passive voice
A sentence is said to be in the passive voice when the subject is the receiver of the action of the verb. In this instance, the verb is called a passive verb. The subject is the receiver of the action of the verb, and the performer of the action (if it is mentioned) is introduced by the word “by” and is called the agent.
English Passive voice
Expressed by the verb “to be” conjugated in the appropriate tense + the past participle of the main verb. The tense of the passive sentence is indicated by the tender of the verb “to be.”
The exam is/was/will be prepared by the teacher.
Spanish passive voice
Ser (to be) conjugated in the appropriate tense + the past participle of the main verb. The tense of the passive sentence is indicated by the tense of the verb ser, and all part participles agree in gender and number with the subject.
El examen es/fue/será preperado por el profesor.
To make an active sentence passive
- The direct object of the active sentence is made the subject of the passive sentence.
- The tense of the verb of the active sentence is reflected in the tense of the verb “to be” in the passive sentence.
- The subject of the active sentence is made the agent of the passive sentence introduced with “by.”
Spanish avoiding the passive
Spanish typically avoids the passive voice by one of two constructions:
1. “Se construction,” Se corresponding with “one,” making “one” the subject of an active sentence, even where English wouldn’t do that: instead of “English is spoken in many countries, one speaks English in many countries.”
2. Using the 3rd person plural of the verb, “they” corresponding too a general subject: “the New York Times is sold here, they sell the New York Times here.”
