Making Spanish sentences Flashcards
Where is the verb places in regards to the pronoun?
Pronouns almost always go before the verb in Spanish. Quiero un coche. Example: Quiero un coche.
Where does the adjective go?
Adjectives are placed behind the noun.
Where is negation placed in Spanish?
In Spanish, negation always goes before the verb. Ex: No tenemos tiempo. We have no time.
What are the two parts of speech that can get between the negation and the verb?
Object pronouns
and reflexive pronouns. Ex:
No lo quise leer.
I didn’t want to read it.
What if there are more than one negation in a Spanish sentence?
place one before the verb, the rest after the verb:
No le he dicho nada a nadie.
I haven’t said anything to anyone.
What is the correct placement of direct and indirect objects in a Spanish sentence?
Subject Verb Direct Object Indirect Object
Ex: Ana regaló un libro a su mamá.
Ana gave her mom a book.
If you are replacing direct or indirect objects with their corresponding pronouns, what are the rules?
In Spanish, direct and indirect object pronouns go before the conjugated verb (but after the subject (and negative if present)!
If you have both a direct object and an indirect object pronoun where do they go?
Subject Indirect Object Pronoun Direct Object Pronoun Verb
Ex: Ana se lo regaló.
Ana gave it to her.
What verbs always have an indirect object pronoun, and what is the word order?
Remember that the verb gustar and similar verbs always have an indirect object pronoun and the typical word order is:
Indirect object pronoun + verb + subject
Ex: Me gustan las cerezas.
I like cherries.
If you have both a reflexive and a direct object pronoun, where do they go?
the reflexive pronoun
goes before the direct object pronoun. For example, if we wanted to say, “She washes her hands” and replaced “her hands” with a direct object pronoun, we would end up with this ↴
Subject Reflexive Pronoun Direct Object Pronoun Verb
Ella se las lava.
She washes them (her hands).
If you have two verbs, where are the pronouns placed?
In the case that you have two verbs, a conjugated form followed by an infinitive
or gerund
, the pronouns can go in one of two places: before the first verb or attached to the second verb. This rule applies to single pronouns or double pronouns.
For example: Marcos lo está enviando.
OR Marcos está enviándolo.
Marcos is sending it.
Ella se las tiene que lavar.
OR Ella tiene que lavárselas.
She has to wash them.
If your sentence has a prepositional phrase (they start with prepositions such as en (“in, on, at”) or con (“with”)), where are they placed?
They normally go at the end, after the objects.
Ex: Yaneth planea estudiar inglés en la biblioteca.
Yaneth plans to study English at the library.
What is the exception to prepositional phrase placement?
The only exception is if you want to emphasize them, in which case they can be placed at the beginning of your sentence.
A las 5 vamos a ir al cine.
At 5, we’re going to the movies.
Where do Spanish prepositional phrases always appear?
Spanish prepositional pronouns always appear after the preposition. Once together, both words can move around in the sentence depending on what the speaker wants to emphasize or call attention to.
Ex: Sin ella, no nos divertiremos en el viaje.
Without her we will not have fun on the trip.
What is the typical sentence structure in Spanish?
Subject Verb Object
