Grammar Flashcards
lo
direct object pronoun
no lo veo
lo puedo hacer
puedo hacerlo
lo + adjective
using “cosa” instead of lo doesn’t sound natural
es lo mismo
(it’s the same thing)
lo unico que
(the only thing that)
lo interesante de
(the interesting thing about)
lo + de
the thing about
“lo de la comida es que no me gusta sopa…”
(the thing about the food is that I don’t like soup)
lo + ser
reference to previous thing. sort of like “that”
“mi jefe piensa que es una buena idea, pero no lo es.”
que vs de lo que comparisons
que (direct noun)
“eres más alto que yo”
(you are taller than I am)
“tiene menos dinero que su hermano”
(he has less money than his brother)
de lo que (with verb or clause)
“es más difícil de lo que pensaba”
(It’s harder than I thought)
que vs como in comparisons
que for inequality (“more/less than”)
“el es más alta que su hermano”
(he is taller than his brother)
tengo menos dinero que antes
(I have less money than before)
tan como for equality (“as… as”)
“el es tan alta como su hermano”
(he is as tall as his brother)
“tengo tantos libros como tú
(I have as many books as you)
se
reflexive se
irse
“me voy ahora”
passive se
passive voice in english
“se venden comida aquí?”
(is food sold here?)
“el carro se vendio en 2010”
(the car was sold in 2010.)
can also be represented with Ser + Participle, but not common in conversation
“el carro fue vendido en 2010”
(the car was sold in 2010.)
“esto es lo que Carlos necesita hacer.”
(this is what Carlos need to do.)
“esto es lo que se necesita hacer.”
(this is what needs to be done.)
impersonal se
subject is undefined. like “you” in english. can often overlap with passive se.
“como se hace”?
(how is it made?)
“como se puede pagar?”
(how can one pay?)
“donde se puede pagar?”
(where can one pay?)
“se puede pagar por alli?”
(do you pay over there?)
“como se puede encontrar?”
(how can it be found? / how can one find it?)
accidental se
only sort of exists, is just a way certain reflexive verbs work with an indirect object
there is no verb in spanish for drop
caerse
“se me cayó el vaso.”
(the cup fell on me)
prepositions with relative pronouns (advanced)
Prepositions can’t be at the end and must always be followed by a pronoun, noun or infinitive.
Generally ignoring these for uses other than “the one/ones”.
relative pronouns
el que | la que | los que | las que
“whom”, “the one(s)”, “with, about, in”
Think formal english “with whom, about which”, and then move the preposition right behind the subject.
English: “the person I spoke to”
Spanish: “la persona con la que hablé”
English: “the book I was talking about is here.”
Spanish: “El libro de el que hablaba está aquí”
English: “this is the person I was talking about”
Spanish: “esta es la persona de la que estaba hablando”
English: “that’s the bed I slept in”
Spanish: “esa es la cama en la que dormí”
passive constructions
Classic Passive Voice
Ser (preterite) + Past Participle
“la mesa es hecho en mexico”
“la mesa fue hecho en mexico”
“las galletas fueron hechas por las mujeres.”
present tense rarely used.
preterite tense used, but formal not conversational
# Passive Se
Se + Verb
“la mesa se hace en mexico”
“la mesa se hizo en mexico”
“las galletas se hicieron por las mujeres.”
common in conversational spanish
haber
Hay: Present (there is/are) → Hay un libro.
Había: Imperfect (there was/were, ongoing)
→ Había mucha gente.
Hubo: Preterite (there was/were, specific event)
→ Hubo un accidente.
Habrá: Future (there will be)
→ Habrá una reunión.
relative pronoun replacements
el que / la que / los que / las que are complex, formal, and don’t need to be used in most cases.
Instead:
que → which / who (that)
“el libro que compré es interesante.”
(the book which I bought is interesting.)
“la persona que vino es mi amiga.”
(the person who came is my friend.)
donde → where
“la casa donde crecio es pequeña.”
(the house where he grew up is small.)
quien → who/whom
“la persona con quien hablé es muy amable.”
(the person with whom I spoke is very kind.)
asking know questions
sabes dónde..?
sabes dónde hay un supermercado?
(do you know where there is a supermarket?)
sabes cuándo..?
sabes cuándo llega el autobús?
(do you know when the bus arrives?)
sabes qué..?
sabes qué vamos a hacer mañana?
(Do you know what we are going to do tomorrow?)
sabes quién..?
sabes quién canta esta canción?
(Do you know who sings this song?)
sabes cuánto..?
sabes cuánto cuesta esto?
(do you know how much this costs?)
sabes por qué..?
sabes por qué está cerrado el banco?
(do you know why the bank is closed?)
time / duration
Cuánto tiempo necesitas infinitive
cuánto tiempo necesitas hacerlo?
(how much time do you need to make it?)
Cuánto tiempo toma + infinitive
cuánto tiempo toma llegar allí?
(how long does it take to get there?)
cuánto tiempo toma hacerlo?
(how long does it take to make it?)
use to ask about the time required to complete an action
Cuánto tiempo llevas + gerundio
cuánto tiempo llevas estudiando español?
(how long have you been studying Spanish?)
use to ask how long someone has been doing something.
Llevar + [unit of time] + en + place
llevo tres meses en México.
(I’ve been in Mexico for three months.)
use to talk about how long you’ve been in a place.
Hace + [unit of time] + que + past tense
hace dos horas que salimos.
(we left two hours ago.)
use to express how long ago something happened.
