SA 135: The Essentials of Spanish Grammar
Dr. Perez
lperez@emporia.edu
Welcome! We in the Department of Modern Languages and Literature are very pleased to offer this new course designed to introduce you to the grammatical structures of the Spanish language. We don't expect anyone to become fluent in Spanish through this course, but we do hope that it will prepare you to use and understand some simple phrases and to perhaps to anticipate the meaning of more complex phrases based on familiarity with grammatical patterns.
Since this is an internet course, there are no traditional class sessions. This format gives you a great deal of flexibility, but it can also create serious problems for those who fail to plan well. Please avoid the temptation to put off your work for this class. I suggest careful reading of these materials on on-line education prior to beginning your work.
The course is divided into ten lessons. Each lessons consists of a reading assignment from our textbook, Directo al grano: A complete reference guide for Spanish Grammar , additional explanatory notes on this website, and accompanying exercises. The links below contain a great deal of valuable information and I recommend them as supplements to the course.
Fundamentals of Spanish, University of Houston
Spanish PowerPoint Presentations
Lessons are worth 100 points each. Please note the deadline for submission of lessons in the outline below.
To submit a lesson, simply copy and paste the exercise material into your word processor, complete the exercises, and then e-mail them to the instructor .
Homework Assignment Dates
Chapter and topics
1 1 (articles), 2 (nouns)
2 5 (pronouns)
3 3 (adjectives), 4 (adverbs)
4 6 (verbs p. 46-52)
5 6 (verbs p. 57-66)
6 6 (verbs p. 90-92)
7 7 (prepositions)
8 8 (indefinites), 9 (conjunctions)
9 10 (interrogative words), 11 (exclamatory words)
10 12 (accentuation), 13 (diphthongs and tripthongs), 14 (syllabication)
To return to this list, click on the 
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Lesson 1: Chapters 1 (articles), 2 (nouns)
We use articles to mark the presence of a noun. There are two kinds of grammatical articles . Definite articles mark the presence of a specific person, animal, place, thing, etc. while indefinite articles , surprisingly enough, indicate an unspecified person, animal, place, thing, etc.
In English, we have just one definite article: the , and two indefinite articles: a and an . We use the definite article when we refer to a specific thing, person, place, animal, etc. For example, the piñata, the mayor, the soccer field, or the duckbilled platypus. The indefinite articles refer to unspecified nouns as in a piñata, a mayor, a soccer field, or a duckbilled platypus.
Definite and indefinite articles in Spanish have the same function, but there are more of them. As the saying goes, the more the merrier! There are more articles in Spanish because Spanish nouns have gender and number .
Grammatical gender means that a noun in Spanish will always be either masculine or feminine . Although some obvious words are masculine ( el chico--the boy--is a masculine noun; la chica--the girl--is a feminine noun), grammatical gender often times has nothing to do with biological gender or even cultural practice. For example, the word for dress is el vestido , a masculine noun. La corbata , the word for necktie, on the other hand, is feminine. English articles do not show gender because English nouns don't have gender.
Spanish nouns that end in -o are most often, but not always, masculine. Spanish nouns that end in -a are generally, but not always, feminine.
Other feminine endings include: -a, -dad, -tad, -z, -ión, -ción, umbre, -ie.
Other masculine endings include: -l, -o, -n, -e, -r, -s.
These guidelines will help you guess the gender of a noun you may encounter for the first time, but since there are always exceptions, the best practice is to check the dictionary when learning a new word.
Number simply means that a noun can be singular or plural. While the form of the noun changes when it is plural, English definite articles do not show number. The parakeet, the parakeets.
The definite articles in Spanish are as follows:
Masculine singular: el Masculine plural: los
Feminine singular: la Feminine plural: las
Ejercicio: Supply the definite article for the words provided below. (Don't worry. We won't get to the trick questions until later in the semester!)
1. _____ carta
2. _____ libro
3. _____ mesa
4. _____ caballo
5. _____ instituto
6. _____ iglesia
7. _____ bandera
8. _____ río
9. _____ isla
10. _____ burro
We use indefinite articles in English and in Spanish to refer to unspecified things, persons, places, animals, etc. In English, we say a before a non-specific noun beginning with a consonant sound, and an before an unspecified noun beginning with a vowel sound. We do not use the indefinite articles with plural nouns in English. We use the word some instead. In Spanish, the indefinite articles show gender and number just as do the definite articles. Plural indefinite articles in Spanish should be translated as some.
The indefinite articles in Spanish are as follows:
Masculine singular: un Masculine plural: unos
Feminine singular: una Feminine plural: unas
Ejercicio: Supply the missing indefinite articles for the words below. (It is later in the semester, but still not late enough for trick questions.)
1. _____ enciclopedias
2. _____ puerta
3. _____ bolígrafo
4. _____ cuadros
5. _____ teléfono
6. _____ cuchara
7. _____ regla
8. _____ lavabos
9. _____ maestros
10. _____ tazas
As we have seen, nouns can be masculine or feminine, singular or plural. The plural forms of the definite and indefinite articles are listed above, but we have yet to discuss the plural forms of the nouns themselves. In most cases, making a Spanish noun plural is simply a matter of adding an -s. This is the case when the noun ends in a vowel. For example,
| el libro | los libros |
| la casa | las casas |
| el disco | los discos |
| la silla | las sillas |
If the noun does not end with a vowel, simply add -es.
| la lección | las lecciones |
| el papel | los papeles |
| la ciudad | las ciudades |
| el avión | los aviones |
As is the case with la lección and el avión, some plurals have an internal spelling change. These are exception to the basic rules outlined above that must be learned separately.
Ejercicio: Again, without worrying about trick questions and irregular cases, please form the plurals of the nouns listed below.
1. el barco __________
2. la reparación __________
3. el coche __________
4. el criminal __________
5. el militar __________
Now, correct any mistakes you may find in the sentences below.
1. Las riqueza naturales de Costa Rica son espectaculares.
2. Esta es otra de las calidad que hacen del país unos destino excepcional.
3. Los 11 volcanes son imponentes.
4. Otro de los punto más altos del país es los Cerro de las Muerte.
5. La tortugas son muy grandes.
Ejercicio: Finally, please summarize the key points of this chapter.
Links:
Fundamentals of Spanish, University of Houston
Spanish PowerPoint Presentations
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Lesson 2: Chapter 5 (pronouns)
Speaking with young children is often an exercise in abused pronouns. I know a boy, for example, who says things like "Him mommy name Julie," or "When we go we house?" Since pronouns change with their function in a given sentence ( he , him , his , we , us , our ), this young child has a hard time keeping track of what it is he is supposed to say.
Since you have now read Chapter 5, you may be feeling like this three-year-old. At the very least, you now know that there are many different kinds of pronouns in Spanish, each with a long list of words to learn. At this point it may be wise to relax, maybe take a refreshing walk around the block, and remember that in this course you don't have to memorize it all.
The overarching and most basic point to remember is that pronouns take the place of nouns. They allow us to communicate economically by replacing words or phrases with a simple pronoun. However, since replacing a noun with a pronoun reduces the specificity of a sentence, we generally use pronouns only after clearly establishing what it is we are talking about.
For example, in English we might say, "Did you find the file on the zoning case?" or "I need to wash my socks." Since it is clear what we are talking about finding, we can use a pronoun instead of the noun in response to such statements. You might respond to the question about the file by stating "Yes, I found it ." Likewise, you might respond to the statement about the socks by saying, "Fine, but don't wash them with anything of mine."
Ejercicio: In the example above, "It" and "them" are pronouns, but what kind? _____________________________
We will focus in this lesson on subject pronouns and on the importance of the distinction between formal and informal forms of address.
When speaking of pronouns, it is important to remember two key concepts: first, the difference between singular and plural, and second, the distinction between first, second, and third person.
| Singular | Plural |
| First person | First person |
| Second person-informal | Second person-informal |
| Third person-feminine | Third person-feminine |
| Third person-masculine | Third person-masculine |
| Second person-formal* | Second person-formal* |
| Singular | Plural |
| yo (I) | nosotros/nosotras (we) |
| tú (you-informal) | vosotros/vosotras (you-informal) |
| él (he) | ellos (they-masculine or mixed group) |
| ella (she) | ellas (they-feminine) |
| usted (you-formal) | ustedes (you-formal) |
To review, please complete the following exercises.
Ejercicio: Indicate if the italicized pronouns are first, second, or third person; if they are singular or plural, and what the corresponding Spanish pronouns would be. ¡Ojo! (Be careful!) There are sometimes more than one possible answer!
1. They have to repair the major appliances first. Person: _____ Singular/Plural: _____ Pronoun: _____ 2. After the presentation, the president will take questions. Person: _____ Singular/Plural: _____ Pronoun: _____ 3. We thought that Eduardo Florentín was the leader of the group. Person: _____ Singular/Plural: _____ Pronoun: _____ 4. She ordered the tamales yesterday. Person: _____ Singular/Plural: _____ Pronoun: _____ 5. Did you turn off the iron before leaving? Person: _____ Singular/Plural: _____ Pronoun: _____ 6. I called you last night, but no one answered. Person: _____ Singular/Plural: _____ Pronoun: _____ 7. The boys called after lunch.
Person: _____ Singular/Plural: _____ Pronoun: _____
8. My tango instructor has arthritis. Person: _____ Singular/Plural: _____ Pronoun: _____ 9. Selma Hayek will star in a movie about Frida Kahlo. Person: _____ Singular/Plural: _____ Pronoun: _____ 10. Antonio Banderas is from Spain. Person: _____ Singular/Plural: _____ Pronoun: _____ It is very important in Spanish-speaking countries not only to use grammar correctly, but to be culturally correct as well. This is not much of an issue in our informal American culture, but all students of Spanish need to know that this is forms of address are taken serious in the Hispanic world. " Ustedes is the plural of tú or usted in Latin America, but in Spain, it is only the plural of usted ; vosotros is the plural of tú .
" Usted is used to varying degrees in different dialects. As a general rule, you will notice that it is more common in Latin America than it is in Spain. It is used to mark difference of some sort, either of age or of status. For example, an adolescent would address an adult of equal or higher status with usted ; the parents of a household would possible address the servants with tú , but the servants would use usted to address them. In some families, usted is used between parents and children; in others, tú is more common, but at times you might hear a scolding parent switch to usted as a form of address for a son or daughter from who (s)he wishes to establish greater distance to be effective in the scolding.
"As for deciding which form of address to use in any given situation, usted or tú , the local use should help determine your choice, but while you wait to hear what others do, the following rule of thumb might serve: at places of business or government offices, it would be safest to use usted as a general rule; in social contexts, it is generally safe to use tú with anyone your age or younger; it would be safest to use usted with anyone else."
(Eleanor Dozier and Zulma Iguina, Manual de gramática: Grammar Reference for Students of Spanish . Boston: Heinle and Heinle, 1999. p. 57)
1. In Cádiz, you greet your coworkers: tú usted ustedes vosotros
2. In Asunción, you address your employer: tú usted ustedes vosotros
3. In Colonia Juárez, you speak to your children: tú usted ustedes vosotros
4. In Tegucigalpa, you initiate a conversation with business associate: tú usted ustedes vosotros
5. In Barcelona, you greet a prospective employer: tú usted ustedes vosotros
Ejercicio: Please summarize the ideas behind the uses of tú/vosotros and usted/ustedes.
Links:
Fundamentals of Spanish, University of Houston
Spanish PowerPoint Presentations
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Lesson 3: Chapters 3 (adjectives), 4 (adverbs)
As has been the case with articles, nouns, and pronouns, our approach to adjectives and adverbs will be very selective. Rather than attempt an additional general overview, we will present here a focused review of two kinds of adjectives (descriptive and possessive), and the adverbial suffix -mente .
The key to understanding adjectives in Spanish is remembering that Spanish nouns carry gender and number . Descriptive adjectives generally follow the noun, and they agree with the noun in both gender and number. So, if the noun is masculine plural, the adjective will also be masculine plural. For example: l os castillos antiguos. Since not all adjectives end in -o or -a , make special note of these cases as presented on page 14 of Directo al grano .
Ejercicio: Based on your reading of Chapter 3, supply the appropriate forms for the adjectives listed below:
1. Las chicas (lindo) __________
2. Los trabajadores (cansado) __________
3. El profesor (guapo) __________
4. Las mujeres (amable) __________
5. La clase (super interesante) __________
6. Las gallinas (bravos) __________
7. Los tesoros (preciosas) __________
8. Las tierras (lejano) __________
9. Los teléfonos (roja) __________
10. La casa (nuevo) __________
For the most part, possessive adjectives agree with nouns only in number. The exceptions to this rule occur in the 1st person plural and 2nd person plural (nosotros and vosotros) forms. For example, to say "my aggressive children," we say mis hijos agresivos . Hijos and agresivos show both gender and number, but mis shows only number. However, we say nuestros hijos agresivos to express the idea "our aggressive children." In this case, the possessive pronoun nuestros shows number and gender.
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st person sing. | mi | mis |
| 2nd person sing. | tu | tus |
| 2nd person sing. | su | sus |
| 3rd person sing | su | sus |
| 1st person plural | nuestro/nuestra | nuestros/nuestras |
| 2nd person plural | vuestro/vuestra | vuestros/vuestras |
| 3rd person plural | su | sus |
When choosing the possessive adjective, remember that the thing possessed rather than the possessor determines the number and gender of the adjective. So, even though "my" is a first person singular term, I still say mis problemas to express the idea, "my problems." Similarly, even though "our" is a first person plural term, we say nuestro amigo to express the idea, "our friend."
Ejercicio: Please supply the possessive adjectives for the following phrases.
1. (my daughter) __________ hija
2. (our professors) __________ profesoras
3. (your (informal singular) calculator) __________ calculadora
4. (his books) __________ libros
5. (their house) __________ casa
6. (our assignment) __________ tarea
7. (her cousins) __________ primos
8. (my beliefs) __________ creencias
9. (their marbles) __________ canicas
10. (her employees) __________ empleados
Adjectives modify nouns. Adverbs modify verbs, other adverbs, and adjectives. They tell us how or in what fashion a given action was done. There are some exceptions ( well , too , very ), but adverbs in English are usually formed by adding -ly to an adjective. For example, we might say that someone is efficient , and that she did the work efficiently . Similarly, Spanish adverbs are generally composed of an adjective with the adverbial ending -mente , with some exceptions ( bien , mal , muy, etc . ).
Please take careful note of the information on page 27 of Directo al grano concerning the formation of adverbs.
Ejercicio: Change the following adjectives into adverbs.
1. directo __________
2. alegre __________
3. altos __________
4. primeras __________
5. nueva __________
6. loco __________
7. difícil __________
8. universal __________
9. constante __________
10. inmediato __________
Links:
Fundamentals of Spanish, University of Houston
Spanish PowerPoint Presentations
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Verbs, verbs, verbs! We could spend the next seven years on verbs!
But we won't.
Rather than spend the afore-mentioned seven years exploring the richness of the Spanish verb system, we will content ourselves with skimming the surface, focusing on a few key areas like infinitives , the present tense , the past tenses , and commands.
In Chapter 4, we will work on infinitives and regular verbs in the present tense.
In Chapter 5, we will turn to the past tenses .
In Chapter 6, we will turn to command forms.
So, to misquote Buzz Lightyear, "To the infinitive, and beyond!"
In English, infinitives are composed of two words. For example, to study , to understand , to learn , and to remember are infinitives. In Spanish, the infinitive is just one word, and all infinitives end in -ar , -ir , or -er . For example, estudiar , comprender , aprender , and recordar are the Spanish equivalents of the English infinitives listed above. Since the Spanish infinitive is just one word, there is no need to add a preposition for "to." That sense is contained in the Spanish infinitive.
The infinitive of a verb includes the verb stem and the infinitive ending. The infinitive ending is always the -ar , -ir , or -er , so the stem is everything else.
The book lists several important uses of the infinitive on pages 45-46.
The infinitive is valuable and all, but the verb party doesn't really get going until we learn to conjugate verbs. Once you do that, the fun never stops.
English is a fine language, but its verb conjugations aren't very exciting. Take a look, for example, at the conjugation of two typical verbs: to eat , to write and to bathe .
| to eat | to write | to bathe | |
| 1st person singular | I eat | I write | I bathe |
| 2nd person singular | you eat | you write | you bathe |
| 3rd person singular | he/she eats | he/she writes | he/she bathes |
| 1st person plural | we eat | we write | we bathe |
| 2nd person plural | you eat | you write | you bathe |
| 3rd person plural | they eat | they write | they bathe |
There are only two forms for each verb: eat / eats , type / types , bathe / bathes . Just a little bit dull. Things look up a bit with the verb to be (I am , you are , he/she is , we are , you are , they are ), but even there we don't get much variety.
With Spanish verbs, on the other hand, the fun never stops. Taking the Spanish verbs for to eat ( comer ), to write ( escribir ), and to bathe ( bañar ) as our examples, it becomes immediately clear that there is more fun to be had with a Spanish verb.
| comer | escribir | bañar | |
| 1st person singular | yo como | yo escribo | yo baño |
| 2nd person singular | tú comes | tú escribes | tú bañas |
| 3rd person singular | él/ella/usted* come | él/ella/usted* escribe | él/ella/usted* baña |
| 1st person plural | nosotros/as comemos | nosotros/as escribimos | nosotros/as bañamos |
| 2nd person plural | vosotros/as coméis | vosotros/as escribís | vosotros/as bañáis |
| 3rd person plural | ellos/ellas/ustedes* comen | ellos/ellas/ustedes* escriben | ellos/ellas/ustedes* bañan |
As the book makes clear, Spanish also has several entertainingly irregular verb forms. We won't go into these forms in any detail, but I do encourage you to review pages 48-52.
Ejercicio:
Please conjugate the following regular verbs.
1. trabajar (to work)
yo __________
tú __________
él/ella/usted __________
nosotros/nosotras __________
vosotros/vosotras __________
ellos/ellas/ustedes __________
2. aprender (to learn)
yo __________
tú __________
él/ella/usted __________
nosotros/nosotras __________
vosotros/vosotras __________
ellos/ellas/ustedes __________
3. sufrir (to suffer)
yo __________
tú __________
él/ella/usted __________
nosotros/nosotras __________
vosotros/vosotras __________
ellos/ellas/ustedes __________
4. masticar (to chew)
yo __________
tú __________
él/ella/usted __________
nosotros/nosotras __________
vosotros/vosotras __________
ellos/ellas/ustedes __________
5. vender (to sell)
yo __________
tú __________
él/ella/usted __________
nosotros/nosotras __________
vosotros/vosotras __________
ellos/ellas/ustedes __________
Ser, estar, haber, hacer or tener?
Anyone who has studied even a few weeks of Spanish knows that translation from one language to another involves much more than simply looking up words in a dictionary. Different languages are more than different vocabularies. Spanish and English, for example, differ in the structure of their grammar as well as in the specific words used to describe things. An important example of this is the verb to be . This apparently innocent expression can be translated in many ways depending on context and purpose. To quote a famous elected official, when translating is , it really does "depend on what the meaning of is is"!
A few irregular forms just for fun.
| ser | |
| yo soy | nosotros/as somos |
| tú eres | vosotros/as sois |
| él/ella/usted es | ellos/ellas/ustedes son |
| estar | |
| yo estoy | nosotros/as estamos |
| tú estás | vosotoros/as estáis |
| él/ella/usted está | ellos/ellas/ustedes están |
| haber |
| hay (special irregular form) |
| hacer | |
| yo hago | nosotros/as hacemos |
| tú haces | vosotros/as hacéis |
| él/ella/usted hace | ellos/ellas/ustedes hacen |
| tener | |
| yo tengo | nosotros/as tenemos |
| tú tienes | vosotros/as tenéis |
| él/ella/usted tiene | ellos/ellas/ustedes tienen |
Use ser:
with a noun or a pronoun that identifies the subject.
El senador es abogado.
(The senator is an attorney.)
Yo soy profesor.
(I am a professor)
Don Quixote y Cien años de soledad son mis novelas favoritas.
( Don Quixote and One Hundred Years of Solitude are my favorite novels.)
with nouns or adjectives that describe nationality, religion, political affiliation, or occupation.
Los turistas son franceses.
(The tourists are French.)
La mayoría de estos políticos son republicanos.
(The majority of these politicians are Republicans.)
El presidente es bautista.
(The president is a Baptist.)
(The jungle is fascinating.)
Los platos en este restaurante son excelentes.
(The dishes in this restaurant are excellent.)
El coche de Marilú es verde. Mi coche es rojo.
(Marilú's car is green. My car is red.)
(Ulises is from Mexico.)
Aquellas bufandas son mías.
(Those scarves are mine.)
(The party is at eight.)
El examen es mañana.
(The test is tomorrow.)
(It is Friday.)
Hoy es martes.
(Today is Tuesday.)
(It is 4:40.)
Es la una de la tarde.
(It is 1:00.)
to indicate the location of objects and persons. Mi casa está en la calle sexta.
(My house is on 6th street.)
¿Dónde están tus compañeros?
(Where are your companions?)
(The detective is looking for me.)
Javier y Jaime están jugando al jai alai.
(Javier and Jaime are playing jai alai.)
Yo estoy mirando un vídeo. El título es Daffy Duck: The Golden Years .
(I am watching a video. The title is Daffy Duck: The Golden Years .)
(The professor is very happy.)
El policía está enojado.
(The policeman is angry.)
Estamos cansados.
(We are tired.)
Tienes que descansar porque estás enfermo.
(You have to rest because you are sick.)
(You look so nice!)
Mi suegra está bien flaca.
(My mother in law looks really thin.)
estar aburrido = to be bored
ser listo = to be smart, clever
estar listo = to be ready
ser maduro = to be mature
estar maduro = to be ripe
ser verde = to be greeen
estar verde = to be unripe
ser rico = to be rich
estar rico = to be rich when it is a departure from the norm; also, to be delicious (food)
There are a number of common expressions that would appear to the native English speaker to require either ser or estar, but which use tener, hacer, or haber. to be cold (weather) = hacer fríoto feel cold = tener frío
to be hot (weather) = hacer calor
to feel hot = tener calor
to be hungry = tener hambre
to be thirsty = tener sed
to be in a hurry = tener prisa
to be afraid = tener miedo
In Spanish, the ideas "there is" and "there are" to indicate the existence of one or more nouns are expressed with the verb haber . Use the special form hay. Hay varios libros y papeles en los estantes.
(There are several books and papers on the shelves.)
No hay buenos restaurantes en mi pueblo.
(There are no good restaurants in my town.)
¿Hay sal en la mesa?
(Is there salt on the table?)
Perdone señor, pero hay dos enormes arañas peludas en la ensalada.
(Excuse me sir, but there are two enormous hairy spiders in the salad.)
Links:
Fundamentals of Spanish, University of Houston
Spanish PowerPoint Presentations
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As has been the case with previous chapters, the past tenses in Spanish provide enough material for many weeks of interesting, productive work. Since we don't have that kind of time, we will restrict our discussion in this chapter to a cursory introduction of the preterite and imperfect.
There are many ways to talk about past actions. We might say, for example, "The roofers made an amazing amount of noise." We might also state that "The roofers were making an amazing amount of noise," "The roofers used to make an amazing amount of noise," or that "The roofers had made an amazing amount of noise." We can talk about a given past action with a variety of verbal tools, each giving a slightly different cast to our presentation of that past action.
The preterite and the imperfect and two of the many ways in which we can talk about past actions in Spanish. While any verb can be conjugated in either the preterite or the imperfect, there are guiding principles that guide our use of these tenses in general terms. The preterite is used to describe past actions viewed by the speaker as completed, to describe the beginning or ending of actions in the past, or to narrate changes in conditions. The imperfect, on the other hand, is the tense to use when describing actions viewed by the speaker as habitual or ongoing in the past, to present physical or emotional conditions in the past, or to introduce the background against which other actions occur. Give special attention to pages 62-64 of Directo al grano .
The forms of regular and irregular verbs in the preterite and the imperfect are provided in Directo al grano . Rather than duplicate that information here, I simply direct your attention to pages 57-60 of that book. My hope is that you will develop a sense for the meaning of these tenses rather than a mastery of their forms.
The distinction between the preterite and the imperfect is famously difficult to master, and there any number of methods for explaining the difference. My method, and I must confess that I think it is brilliant, is to quote several paragraphs from a book that explains the distinction better than I could, Breaking Out of Beginning Spanish . "The Preterit Versus the Imperfect"
"The face-off is one of the trickiest in Spanish, mostly because in English we often gloss over the distinction. We do have the progressive past, of course, in such constructions as "He was flying a kite," but not all "ongoing" past activities use it. In many cases, you'll have to slow your translating computer down a few megas and think about exactly what kind of past action you are describing.
"Basically the Spanish imperfect covers two constructions:
"1. The progressive past, including actions that are taking place over a period of time in the past, usually in relation to some other action that happened suddenly. For example, "He was sleeping when the alarm went off." Or, "She was overseas when the new president was elected." Keep your eye (and your mind's eye, if you're speaking) out for these juxtapositions; they represent one of the most common uses of the imperfect. Because of the explicit juxtaposition, these are also the easiest situations to recognize as an opportunity for the imperfect.
"2. Actions that took place over a period of time in the past, often keyed to the English constructions "used to" and, on occasion, "would." This second common use of the imperfect is indispensable in describing the way things were: "I used to work night" is expressed Yo trabajaba de noche . The key words aren't always present, though. "When I was a kid, the teachers beat the students" would be Cuando yo era niño, los maestros golpeaban a los estudiantes .
"The problem of the disappearing key words can be seen in the following sentences. Just as you could say "My father ate at seven every night," "My father used to eat at seven," or "My father would eat at seven," you could just as easily state, pure and simple, "My father ate at seven." Grammatically this last example is correct, but it is confusing without a clarifying context. Did he eat at seven o'clock just once, or did he always eat at seven? Spanish lets you make the distinction in the verb itself: ceno a las siete is clear in communicating that he ate at seven on a certain occasion; cenaba a las siete , using the imperfect, indicates that it was his custom to eat at seven night after night.
"Understanding this distinction will clear up a lot of the conflicts between imperfect and preterit, but incorporating that knowledge into your storytelling skills will take some time and practice. Often, when relating a story, you'll have to jump nimbly back and forth from imperfect to preterit, and this requires analyzing each action as it pops up.
"Let's say this father usually ate at nine, but on one particular night he ate at seven; while he was eating, he found a fly in his soup and fainted. What tenses will make his meaning clear in Spanish? First, we have to explain that the father used to eat or usually ate ( cenaba ) at nine; on the night in question, though, he ate ( cenó ) at seven. While he was eating ( cenaba --the imperfect again), he found a fly in his soup ( encontró una mosca en la sopa --preterit) and fainted ( se desmayó --also preterit)." (Joseph J. Keenan, Breaking Out of Beginning Spanish .University of Texas Press, 1998. p. 52-53)
Ejercicio: Please succinctly summarize the differences between the preterite and the imperfect as you understand them.Ejercicio: Using the relevant pages from Directo al grano as your guide, please describe the patterns of the preterite and the imperfect for regular verbs.
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Turn off the stereo!
Put down the donut!
Don't slouch in your seat like that!
Now, open your book!
With that, we are ready to talk about commands . Commands, or the imperative , are the verb forms we use to give direct orders. As in the examples above, commands can be affirmative or negative.
As you have seen in your study of the imperative as presented in Directo al grano , the imperatives are based on other verb forms. Note that if a verb has an irregular first-person singular form, that irregularity will appear throughout the command forms. The chart below summarizes those forms for regular verbs.
| -ar verbs (hablar) | Affirmative | Negative |
| Informal singular | habla | no hables |
| Informal plural | hablad | no habléis |
| Formal singular | hable | no hable |
| Formal plural | hablen | no hablen |
| -ir verbs (escribir) | Affirmative | Negative |
| Informal singular | escribe | no escribas |
| Informal plural | escribid | no escribáis |
| Formal singular | escriba | no escriba |
| Formal plural | escriban | no escriban |
| -er verbs (comer) | Affirmative | Negative |
| Informal singular | come | no comas |
| Informal plural | comed | no comáis |
| Formal singular | coma | no coma |
| Formal plural | coman | no coman |
| -ar verb (pensar) | Affirmative | Negative |
| Informal singular | piensa | no pienses |
| Informal plural | pensad | no penséis |
| Formal singular | piense | no piense |
| Formal plural | piensen | no piensen |
| irregular verb (decir) | Affirmative | Negative |
| Informal singular | di | no digas |
| Informal plural | decid | no digáis |
| Formal singular | diga | no diga |
| Formal plural | digan | no digan |
| verbs with irregular affirmative "tú" commands |
| decir | di |
| hacer | haz |
| ir | ve |
| poner | pon |
| salir | sal |
| ser | sé |
| tener | ten |
| venir | ven |
Ejercicio: Please state if the following commands are formal or informal, plural or singular. Once you have made that identification, please supply an example of someone you would address with each command.
1. (contar) Cuente los discos. Form: _______________ Example: _______________ 2. (salir) No salgas tarde. Form: _______________ Example: _______________ 3. (tener) Tengan cuidado con los tiburones. Form: _______________ Example: _______________ 4. (comer) Coman el huitlacoche. Form: _______________ Example: _______________ 5. (alabar) Alaba las buenas acciones de tus hijos. Form: _______________ Example: _______________
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Lesson 7: Chapter 7 (prepositions)
Prepositions relate nouns or their equivalents to other nouns, to verbs, or to other elements in a sentence. You should, as always, carefully study the entire chapter. Our discussion here, however, will center on three issues. Those are the personal a , showing possession with de , and the contrast between por and para .
The Personal a "In Spanish, direct object nouns referring to human being are preceded by the personal a . The reason for the addition of the personal a is a combination of factors regarding the subject that might otherwise cause confusion: first, the subject of a verb might not be present, since subject pronouns in Spanish are most frequently omitted because the verb ending is considered to contain adequate reference whenever there is no ambiguity in the context; second, there is flexibility of word order in Spanish, and the subject may precede or follow a verb. Compare the following examples. " Comprendió . He understood.
" Mi hermano comprendió . My brother understood.
"If you want to form sentence with [he + understands + my brother], in Spanish you could not simply say [ él + comprende + mi hermano ], since either él or mi hermano could be the subject of the verb comprende , and such an ambiguous construction would be grammatically incorrect. To form the sentence correctly in Spanish, add the personal a (and omit the personal pronoun if the context is otherwise unambiguous). " Comprendió a mi hermano . He understood my brother. "The use of the personal a with human direct objects extends to all contexts, no matter what the subject of the verb may be. The personal a is used with persons, as its name indicates, and not with things."If the persons referred to are not specific, and are thus dehumanized to the point of being perceived for all practical purposes as objects, omit the personal a .
"Conversely, if the nonhuman direct object could act as the subject of the verb, it is considered equivalent to human, and is preceded by the personal a . This is the case for animals and impersonated concepts.
"With the verb tener, do not use the personal a if tener means "to have" or "to possess."
(Manual de gramática: Grammar Reference for Students of Spanish. Eleano Dozier and Zumla Iguina. Heinle and Heinle, 1999. p. 32-33)
Ejercicio: Summarize the above information in your own words.Showing Possession with de
We use the apostrophe after a person's name to indicate ownership in English. We say, for example, "Thelma's medication," "Lucy's thyroid problem," or "Wayne's thinning hair." There is no apostrophe in Spanish. In Spanish, we use the preposition de according to the following pattern. Noun + de + owner
El coche de Ernesto es rojo.
Los campeones son los hijos de la señora Martínez.
Martina es la hermana de mi tío Juan Dahlmann.
Ejercicio: Form five possessive phrases by combining elements from three columns.| la minifalda | mis primos | |
| el diccionario | Ernesto Zedillo | |
| los pantalones | Marc Anthony | |
| el libro | Placido Domingo | |
| la blusa | de | Hugo Chávez |
| el traje de baño | Nicanor Parra | |
| la tarea | mi hermana | |
| el suéter | José Bemavides | |
| la computadora | Gloria Estefan | |
| el dinero | tus compañeros |
The contrast between por and para
Por and para can both mean "for," but as we will see, these prepositions have many other meanings. It is often the case that using por for para (or vice versa) will produce a grammatically correct sentence that says something other than what you may have intended.
For example, the sentence, Trabajo por él means "I am working for him (literally in his place)." The sentence Trabajo para él , on the the other hand, mean "I work for him (I am his employee)."
Por expresses:
the object or goal of an action ( for, because of, on behalf of ) Vengo por usted a las ocho.
(I'll come by for you at eight.)
Los estudiantes fueron por el cartel.
(The students went for (to get) the poster.)
(Do you want five dollars for that book?)
¿Deseas cambiar tu computadora por la mía?
(Do you want to trade your computer for mine?)
(We are going to study for four years.)
Estuve en Paraguay por cinco días.
(I was in Paraguay for five days.)
(We came in through the door, but the flies entered through the windows.)
Me encanta caminar por el parque después de una nevada.
(I love to walk through the park after a snowfall.)
(They sent me the tickets through Fed Ex.)
Ese libro fue escrito por Cervantes.
(That book was written by Cervantes.)
(Is there a gas station around here?)
Sí, señor. Hay una por allá, pasando la avenida Constitución.
(Yes, sir. There is one over there, past Constitution Avenue.)
(We are going to have to memorize five verbs per day.)
Se alquilan los coches por día y no por hora.
(They rent cars by the day and not by the hour.)
(Thanks for the flowers!) on behalf of ( for ) Yo estaba enfermo, así que Luisa hizo el trabajo por mí.
(I was sick, so Luisa did the work for me.) mistaken identity ( for ) Sólo porque entré por la ventana de noche, me tomaron por ladrón.
(Just because I came in through the window at night, they they thought I was a thief.)
Ya que habla tan bien, lo tomaron por nativohablante.
(Since he speaks to well, they took him for a native speaker.)
purpose of an object, action or event, or one's studies ( for, to, in order to ) Escribí estas oraciones para ayudarles a ustedes.
(I wrote these sentences to help you.)
Para escribir bien, hay que revisar mucho.
(To write well, you have to revise a lot.)
(For a professor, Dr. Hunsaker is very short.)
Para un principiante, tú hablas muy bien.
(For a beginner, you speak very well.)
(When is the assignment due?)
Tienes que entregar la composición para las cuatro de la tarde.
(You have to turn in the compositions by four in the afternoon.)
(The trophy is for the team from Olpe.)
Salgo mañana para el volcán Poás.
(I'm leaving tomorrow for Poás Volcano.)
(Now we are ready to practice a little bit more.)
Estaba para acostarme cuando llamaste.
(I was just about to go to bed when you called.)
to show opinion ( for ) Para mí, no hay nada que sea mejor que un día en la playa.
(For me, there is nothing better than a day at the beach.)
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Lesson 8: Chapters 8 (indefinites) and 9 (conjunctions)
I don't know about you, but I am ready for something a little different . Instead of a detailed review of the two chapters that you have studied, I have prepared a little activity to help you practice that material.
Ejercicio: Complete the paragraphs by supplying the appropriate prepositions, indefinites, or conjunctions. Much of the grammar and vocabulary will be new to you, but the last step of this exercise will be to state what you think the article is about.
"Lleva ( some ) __________ gafas de sol al estilo Martirio, un traje de color fucsia bordado de lentejuelas, el pelo recogido en un moño. ( Behind ) __________ ella, una banda de músicos – ( none of them/not any ) __________ aparenta superar los 30 años– aporrea una batería, un bajo, unos teclados y las darbukas. Al frente, como un mascarón de proa lleno ( of ) __________ energía, ella: Cheikha Rimiti, de 72 años, argelina y cantante. Al pie del escenario, gente de todas las edades se mueve a ritmo de raï, que ella inventó. El concierto lleva en marcha ( close to ) __________ una hora. Un tipo ( with ) __________ aspecto de manager-guardaespaldas invade el escenario ( and ) __________ coge a la cantante del brazo. Parece que su avanzada edad aconseja que se retire de las tablas de una sala de conciertos de Madrid. En absoluto, cinco minutos más tarde, la artista vuelve a la carga. Otro vestuario, más música durante una hora. Definitivamente, por esta mujer afincada ( in ) __________ París no pasan los años.
"( at ) __________ 11.005 kilómetros de la capital francesa, en Buenos Aires, vive otra cantante ( and ) __________ actriz que, parafraseando el tango, afirma que 60 años no es ( nothing ) __________. Ni siquiera cuando esas seis décadas corresponden ( to ) __________ su edad actual. Se trata de Nacha Guevara, una artista que se ha convertido en la abanderada de un movimiento que se ha impuesto, lento pero imparable, a través del tiempo. Un levantamiento ( without ) __________ adeptos, ( but ) __________ ( with ) __________ el que miles de personas han conseguido transformar radicalmente el concepto ( of ) __________ edad. Una revolución planetaria en el mundo desarrollado, impulsada ( by ) __________ los descubrimientos en el campo de la biología, la cosmética, la cirugía y la vida sana, que hace cada día más invisible la frontera ( between ) __________ personas de diferentes generaciones."
De 
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Lesson 9: Chapter 10 (interrogatives), 11 (exclamatory words)
That last lesson was fun enough that I think we ought to do it again! Based on your reading of chapters 10 and 11 (and whatever other chapters I might throw in for review), supply the missing words in the following paragraph and sentences.
1. ¿( Why ) __________ millones de personas ( from/since ) __________ principios del siglo XIX emigraron masivamente, dejando sus países de origen ( in order to ) __________ establecerse en tierras lejanas?
¿( How ) __________ se combinaron los factores estructurales -es decir, las condiciones de los países de origen y de destino- ( with ) __________ las estrategias ( of ) __________ los propios migrantes, es decir ( how ) __________ decidían emigrar en función de sus proyectos, de la información de la cual disponían ( and ) __________ de sus relaciones sociales primarias: amigos, parientes, paisanos?
2. ¿De ( where ) __________ son los aztecas?
3. ¿( How much ) __________ dinero gana un arqueólogo?
4. ¡( How ) __________ delicious!
5. ¡( What ) __________ suerte!
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Lesson 10: Chapters 12 (accentuation), 13 (diphthongs and tripthongs), 14 (syllabication)
Amazingly, this is the last lesson . You are almost finished with the course. Congratulations on your good work.
Chapters 12, 13, and 14 cover a lot of information that advanced students frequently need help remembering. Ejercicio: Your final assignment is to imagine that you are the professor and that your students are having trouble with accentuation, diphthongs and tripthongs, and syllabication. To assist those poor struggling students, please prepare a summary of these issues for them to study. Provide examples, but be sure to avoid examples that appear in the book.
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¡Gracias!