Spanish Grammar Flashcards
Many nouns that denote living things have both a _________ and a ________ form.
masculine
feminine
Most nouns that end in -o are __________.
masculine
Most nouns that end in -a are __________.
feminine
Masculine nouns that end in a consonant often have a corresponding feminine form that ends in _______.
-a
Some nouns that refer to people use the same form for both masculine and feminine. These nouns indicate gender by _____________.
Give an example:
the article (el or la)
el pianista / la pianista
el estudiante / la estudiante
Nouns that end in -sión, -ción, -dad, -tad, -tud, and -umbre are ____________.
feminine
Many nouns that end in -ma are __________.
masculine
A few nouns that end in -o are ____________.
feminine
If a noun ends in a vowel simply add _____ to make it plural.
-s
If a nound ends in a consonant, simply add _______ to make it plural.
-es
If a noun ends in -z, change to z to ______ before adding ________ when making that noun plural.
c
-es
If a noun ends in -ión, drop the ____________ before adding __________.
written accent
-es
If the plural noun refers to a mixed group, use the ____________.
masculine
For compound nouns, change “el” to _______.
Give an example:
los
abre + latas = abrelatas
open + cans = canopener
el abrelatas / los abrelatas
What are the four definite articles in Spanish?
Singular Plural
Masc. el los
Fem. la las
What are the four indefinite articles in Spanish?
Singular Plural
Masc un unos
Fem una unas
Note: The plural indefinite articles are translated “some”.
A Spanish adjective agrees in __________ and __________ with the noun it modifies.
gender
number
Adjectives that end in -o have four forms:
Singular Plural
Masc alto altos
Fem alta altas
Adjectives that end in -e have two forms:
Singular Plural
M/F inteligente inteligentes
Most adjectives ending with a consonant have two forms:
Singular Plural
M/F popular populares
Adjectives of nationality ending in a consonant have four forms:
Singular Plural
Masc español españoles
Fem española españolas
Adjectives ending in -or, -án, -ón, or -ín have four forms:
Singular Plural
Masc hablador habladores
Fem habladora habladoras
Adjectives that are descriptive usually __________ the noun they describe.
Give an example:
follow
casa blanca = white house
When an adjective speaks of a quality that is inherent and usually taken for granted, the adjective __________ the noun.
Give an example:
precedes
la blanca nieve = the white snow
Adjectives of quantity usually come __________ the noun.
Give an example:
before
pocos libros = little books
Subject Pronouns
Singular Plural
1st yo nosotros
2nd tú vosotros
3rd él ellos
ella ellas
Ud. usted ustedes
estar = to be
Conjugate estar:
Singular Plural
1st estoy estamos
2nd estás estáis
3rd está están
Ud. está están
What are the four concepts “estar” is used to express?
- location
- health
- changing mood or condition
- personal opinion in terms of taste or appearance
ser = to be
Conjugate ser:
Singular Plural
1st soy somos
2nd eres sois
3rd es son
Ud. es son
What are the seven basic concepts “ser” is used to express?
- Description
- Profession (omit a/an for unmodified profession)
- Point of Origin (de = from)
- Identification
- Material (de = made of)
- Possession or Ownership (de = of)
- Where an event takes place
de + el = _______, which means _______
del
of the
Hay (pronounced like English “eye) means:
there is
there are
is there?
are there?
When “hay” is followed by a plural noun, the __________ is __________.
article
omitted
To make a sentence negative, place ______ before “hay”.
no
All interrogative words carry ____________.
written accents
“Cuantos” and “cauntas” are __________ and must agree in _________ with the plural nouns they describe.
adjectives
gender
To refer to a day of the week in English, we say Monday or _____ Monday. In Spanish, the article _____ is used with the name of the day to express this idea.
on
el
Days of the week are not __________ in Spanish.
capitalized
To form the plural of the days of the week, change _____ to _____ and add _____ only to ____________ and ____________. The names of the other days already end in _____.
el
los
-s
el sabado
el domingo
-s
Numbers 16 thru 19 and 21 thru 9 are expressed as _____ word.
For instance, 16 is NOT diez y seis, IT IS __________
and
22 is NOT veinte y dos, IT IS __________.
one
dieciseis
veintidos
Numbers 31 thru 99 are expressed as __________ words.
For instance, 34 is ________________
and
99 is ______________.
individual
triente y cuatro
noventa y nueve
In English we say one hundred and ten. Spanish does not use y to connect hundreds and the following number.
Examples:
110 = ____________________
220 = ___________________
315 = ___________________
ciento diez
doscientos veinte
trescientos quince
When a masculine noun follows the numbers 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71, 81, or 91, the _______ is __________ from uno.
Examples:
treinta y un libros = 31 books
cincuenta y un gatos = 51 cats
-o
dropped
When a ____________ noun follows a number ending in uno, the feminine form is ________.
Example:
cuarenta y una mujeres = 41 women
feminine
una
The number 100 in Spanish uses the following pattern:
100 = ____________
101 = ____________
150 = ____________
199 = ____________
100 = cien
101 = ciento uno
150 = ciento cincuenta
199 = ciento noventa y nueve
Cien becomes __________ if it is followed by any number __________ than itself.
Before all nouns, masculine and feminine, it remains ________.
cien libros = 100 books
cien mujeres = 100 women
ciento
less
cien
The numbers 200 to 900 agree with the _________ they modify.
Examples:
900 mirrors = ______________
900 naps = ______________
noun
novecientos espejos
novecientas siestas
mil = ________
1,000 years = ___________
2,000 years = ____________
1,000
mil años
dos mil años
1,000,000 = __________
a million dollars = _______________
two million questions = ___________________
un millón (de)
un millón de dólares
dos millones de preguntas
Mil does not __________.
2,000 = __________
3,000 = __________
5,000 = __________
Nor does it need the article _____ in front of it.
change
dos mil
tres mil
cinco mil
un
The plural _______ is used only to refer to a large but inexact amount, the way English uses _________.
Example:
Hay miles de personas en el restaurante.
means
There are tons of people in the restaurant.
miles
tons
Spanish uses the __________ to separate thousands and the __________ to indicate decimals.
Example: $1.095,25
This makes __________ head _________.
period
comma
Mommy´s
explode
Ordinal numbers in Spanish __________ the noun and agree in __________ with the noun they describe.
precede
gender
Primero and tercero drop the _______ before a __________ noun.
Examples: el primer hombre
el tercer día
-o
masculine
Ordinal numbers are used for kings, queens, popes, and centuries. In these cases, they _________ the noun they describe.
el siglo segundo = the second century
Carlos Quinto = Charles the Fifth
follow
Beginning with the ordinal number eleventh, state the __________ first, then the __________ number.
Example: Eleventh Street = ______________
noun
cardinal
la calle once
Spanish uses the cardinal numbers ___ to ____ to indicate all days of the month except the _______.
Spanish uses an __________ number only to indicate the __________ of the month.
2
31
first
ordinal
first
first of the month
el primero del mes
¿Qué hora es?
What hour is it?
What time is it?
In telling time, Spanish uses the _______ person singular or plural of _______.
Examples:
It is one o´clock = _____________
It is four o´clock = ______________
third
ser
Es la una
Son las cuatro
de la mañana
(of the) morning
a.m.
de la tarde
(of the) afternoon
p.m.
de la noche
(of the) night
p.m.
To indicate the exact hour or sharp, Spanish uses __________ or __________.
Examples:
It is exactly five o´clock. = ___________________
It is ten o´clock sharp. = __________________
exactamente
en punto
Son las cinco exactamente.
Son las diez en punto.
To indicate an approximate time, Spanish uses a eso de + the hour OR the hour + más o menos.
Examples:
It is about one o´clock. = ________________
It is one o´clock, more or less. = ______________
Es a eso de la una.
Es la una, más o menos.
To express a time after the hour, state the hour + y + the number of minutes.
Examples:
It is 1:20 = ___________
It is 5:10 = ___________
Es la una y veinte.
Son las cinco y diez.
When it is a quarter after the hour, Spanish uses quince or cuarto.
Examples:
It is 3:15 = _________
It is 6:15 = _________
Son las tres y quince.
Son las seis y cuarto.
When it is half past the hour, Spanish uses treinta or media.
Examples:
It is 9:30 = ____________
It is 8:30 = _____________
Son las nueve y treinta.
Son las ocho y media.
To express a time before the hour, state the hour + menos + the number of minutes.
Examples:
It is 2:50 = _______________
It is 10:55 = _______________
It is 8:45 = _______________
It is 11:45 = ________________
Son las tres menos diez.
Son las once menos cinco.
Son las nueve menos cuarto.
Son las doce menos quince.
menos
minus
An alternate way to express time before the hour is to state the number of minutes + para + the hour. This expression is ______ a full sentence.
Example:
Five minutes to three o´clock = _________________
not
Cinco para las tres
To indicate something is happening at a certain time, Spanish uses an expression with the preposition _________.
Example:
At what hour? = ___________
At two o´clock = ___________
a
¿A qué hora?
A las dos.
Spanish nouns ending in -a that begin with a stressed _____ or _____ are feminine, but they take the __________ article el in the singular and the ______________ article las in the plural.
Give an example.
a
ha
masculine
feminine
el arma, las armas
How many conjugations does Spanish have?
3
What are the infinitive endings of the 3 Spanish conjugations?
ar
er
ir
AR conjugation endings:
o amos
as áis
a an
All Spanish words that end in a ________ or the consonants _____ or _____ have their natural stress on the ___________ syllable.
vowel
n
s
penultimate (second-to-last)
The preposition a means ______ in English.
When a is followed by the masculine _____, the words contract to _________.
al means __________.
to
el
al
to the
ER conjugation endings
o emos
es éis
e en
IR conjugation endings
o imos
es ís
e en
Spanish verbs are considered __________ if there is a __________ in the __________ when they are conjugated.
irregular
change
stem
The nosotros and vosotros forms are __________ by the stem change in the _________ tense.
unaffected
present
Irregular verbs that end in -ar and -er have ______ possible changes in their stems.
These changes are:
_____ changes to _____
_____ changes to _____
two
e changes to ie
o changes to ue
Name four verbs ending in -er that are irregular in the yo form only:
hacer = to do, to make
poner = to put
saber = to know (a fact), to know how
ver = to see
Irregular verbs that end in -ir have _______ possible changes in their stem.
These changes are:
_____ changes to _____
_____ changes to _____
_____ changes to _____
3
e changes to ie
e changes to i
o changes to ue
Name two verbs ending in -ir that are irregular in the yo form only:
oír = to hear
salir = to leave, to exit, to go out
Ir + a + an infinitive is used to express ______________.
The English equivalent is _______________________.
Example: Ellos van a cantar esta noche. = ____________.
To form a question place the subject directly after the conjugated form of ir or after the infinitive.
Example: ¿Van ellos a cantar esta noche? = _____________.
future time
to be going to do something
They are going to sing tonight.
Are they going to sing tonight?
What is an idiom?
Idioms are expressions that do not translate directly from one language to another.
Many Spanish idioms use the verb ________.
tener
acabar de + infinitive =
to have just done something
dejar de + infinitive =
to stop doing something
tener que + infinitive =
to have to do something
tratar de + infinitive =
to try to do something
volver a + infinitive =
to do something again
What is the most common relative pronoun in everyday speech?
que
(that, which, who)
What can the relative pronoun que refer to?
persons or things
either singular or plural
Que can be used as the _________________.
When used this way, que refers to ____________.
When used as the object of a preposition, que is translated as _________.
object of a preposition
things only (not people)
which
When used as a conjuction, que is translated as _______.
that
Para has _____ meanings in English.
They are: __________
2
for
in order to
How do you ask how long someone has been doing something?
Give an example:
¿Cuánto tiempo hacer que + verb in the present tense
¿Cuánto tiempo hace que él estudia el francés? = How long has he been studying French?
How do you answer the question of how long someone has been doing something?
Give an example:
Hace + length of time + que + verb in the present tense
Hace un mes que él estudia el francés. = He has been studying French for a month.
How many possessive adjectives are there?
Name them:
5
mi
tu
su
nuestro
vuestro
Which possessive adjectives have only two forms (singular and plural)?
mi, mis
tu, tus
su, sus
Possessive adjectives in Spanish agree in _______ and ______ with the noun they modify.
gender
number
Possessive adjectives ________ the noun they modify.
precede
Because su/sus can be very ambiguous, to clarify meaning you may use:
the noun + de + the pronoun
Mi, tu and su do not have __________ and __________ forms.
masculine
feminine
Which possessive adjectives have four forms each?
nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras
vuestro, vuestra, vuestros, vuestras
Possessive adjectives are _____ used with _____________ or _____________.
Rather, the ______________ is used.
not
articles of clothing
body parts
definite article
Name all five possessive adjectives:
mi, mis
tu, tus
su, sus
nuestro, -a, -os, -as
vuestro, -a, -os, -as
In Spanish there are _____ demonstrative adjectives.
They agree in _______ and ________ with the nouns they modify.
three
number
gender
Demonstrative adjectives have _____ forms.
four
this
these
(demonstrative adjectives for things near the speaker)
Masculine Feminine
this este esta
these estos estas
that
those
(demonstrative adjective for things near the listener)
Masculine Feminine
that ese esa
those esos esas
that (over there)
those (over there)
(demonstrative adjectives for things far from both the speaker and listener)
Masculine Feminine
that (over there) aquel aquella
those (over there) aquellos aquellas
Neuter demonstrative pronouns refer to ______________, a ______________, or a _______________.
an object that is not know
a statement
or a general idea
There are ______ neuter demonstrative pronouns.
Name them:
three
esto = this
eso = that
aquello = that (farther away in place or time)
Comparative adjectives express what 3 concepts?
more than
less than
the same as
What is the comparative structure to express more than?
más + adjetivo + que
more + adjective + than
What is the comparative structure that expresses less than?
menos + adjetivo + que
less + adjective + than
What is the comparative structure that expresses the same as?
tan + adjetivo + como
as + adjective + as
What 2 things do superlative adjectives express?
the most
the least
What is the superlative structure that expresses the most?
el (la) más + adjetivo + de
(the) most + adjective + of
What is the superlative structure that expresses the least?
el (la) menos + adjetivo + de
(the) least + adjective + of
In the superlative structure, Spanish de can be translated as ______.
in
Menor and mayor refer only to ____________.
If you want to compare trees or buildings use the ________________.
Give an example:
people
regular comparative structure
Estos árboles son menos viejos que aquellos árboles.
more + noun + than
I have more pencils than Maria.
más + nombre + que
Tengo más lápices que María.
less + noun + than
She has fewer books than I.
menos + nombre + que
Ella tiene menos libros que yo.
as much + noun + as
as many + noun + as
He has as much hair as his uncle.
tanto + nombre + como
Él tiene tanto pelo como su tío.
Tanto is an __________ and agrees with the ________ it modifies.
adjective
noun
In Spanish adverbs are formed by adding _______ to the _____________ of the adjective.
-mente
feminine form
If an adjective does not end in ____ it has ________ form for masculine and feminine.
To form an adverb from these adjectives simply add _______ to the adjective.
-o
the same
-mente
If there are two adverbs in a series, only the ________ will add -mente.
The first in the series takes the ____________________.
Example: I speak clearly and concisely.
final one
feminine form of the adjective
Example: Hablo clara y concisamente.
