Grammar Topics 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)
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
Past: había, hubo, ha habido
Present: hay
Conditional: habría
Future: habrá, va a haber
Subjunctive (present): haya
hubo (preterite)
hubo un accidente en la calle ayer.
(there was an accident on the street yesterday.)
había (imperfect)
había un gato en la ventana todos los días.
(there was a cat on the window every day.)
ha habido (present perfect)
ha habido varios problemas con el proyecto.
(there have been several problems with the project.)
hay (present)
hay muchas personas en el parque.
(there are many people in the park.)
haya (present subjunctive)
espero que haya suficiente comida.
(I hope there is enough food.)
habría (conditional tense)
habría más espacio si movieras esos muebles.
(there would be more space if you moved those pieces of furniture.)
habrá (future tense)
habrá una reunión mañana.
(there will be a meeting tomorrow.)
ha habido (present perfect)
ha habido muchos cambios en la oficina.
(there have been many changes in the office.)
va a haber
va a haber una fiesta esta noche.
(there is going to be a party tonight.)
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.
significar vs quieres decir
que significa?
what does it mean?
que quieres decir?
what does you mean?
you can say that a phrase or word means something using significar, but you can’t ask what a person means using significar.
So if a person says something and you don’t understand what they’re saying, you have to say “que quieres decir?”
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.)
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”
