Grammar Review
Verbs
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All verbs have a tense and mood, and agree with the person or thing which is the subject. We call this "conjugation". |
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There are three basic tenses: present, past and future. |
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Moods express the attitude of the speaker toward an action. The three moods are: Indicative, Subjunctive and Imperative. |
INDICATIVE
The indicative is composed of the following tenses: present, present perfect, preterite, imperfect, pluperfect, past perfect, future, future perfect.
The present tense (El presente)
The present tense is used for action taking place now or in general.
Regular present tense
| hablar (to speak) | hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis, hablan |
| comer (to eat) | como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen |
| escribir (to write) | escribo, escribes, escribe, escribimos, escribís, escriben |
Irregular verbs (Algunos verbos irregulares)
estar (to be): estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están
hacer (to do): hago, haces, hace, hacemos, hacéis, hacen
ir (to go): voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van
ser (to be): soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son
tener (to have): tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen
The present tense of reflexive verbs (verbos reflexivos)
Some verbs in Spanish have se attached to the end of the infinitive. The se is a reflexive pronoun (pronombre reflexivo) and the verb is called a reflexive verb (verbo reflexivo) because it reflects action back upon the subject of the sentence.
| lavarse (to wash oneself) reflexive verb | me lavo, te lavas, se lava, nos lavamos, os laváis, se lavan |
| lavar (to wash) nonreflexive verb | lavo, lavas, lava, lavamos, laváis, lavan |
Reflexive verbs are conjugated the same as nonreflexive verbs; however, they are used with a corresponding reflexive pronoun. (see pronouns section)
El presente de los verbos seguir y conseguir
The verbs seguir (i, i), "to continue, to follow, to keep on," and conseguir (i, i),"to obtain," are conjugating following the pattern of pedir (i, i). However, seguir and conseguir require a spelling change, dropping the u before the letter o.
| conseguir | seguir |
| consigo, consigues, consigue, conseguimos, conseguís, consiguen | sigo, sigues, sigue, seguimos, seguís, siguen |
saber vs. conocer
Both saber and conocer mean to know.
Conocer means to know, to meet or to be familiar with a person or a place. Remember to use the " personal a" when referring to a person.
¿Conoces a Juan?
¿Conoces las Pirámides de Egipto?
Saber means to know a fact or to have information about something of someone. It also means to know how to do something
when used with an infinitive.
Quiero saber más de gramática española.
María sabe hablar varios idiomas.
Present tense of stem-changing verbs (Cambios en la raíz)
If these verbs end in -ar or -er, they have only one change. If they end in -ir, they have two changes. The stem change of -ar and -er verbs and the first stem change of -ir verbs occur in all forms of the present tense, except nosotros and vosotros.
| cerrar (ie) (to close) e - ie | cierro, cierras, cierra, cerramos, cerráis, cierran |
Verbs like cerrar: apretar (to tighten), atravesar (to cross), calentar (to heat), comenzar (to begin), despertar (to wake up), despertarse (to awaken), empezar (to begin), encerrar (to lack), negar (to deny), nevar (to snow), pensar (to think), quebrar (to break), recomendar (to recommend), regar (to water), sentarse (to sit down), temblar (to tremble), tropezar (to trip).
| contar (ue) (to tell) o - ue | cuento, cuentas, cuenta, contamos, contáis, cuentan |
Verbs like contar: acordar (to agree), acordarse (to remember), acostar (to put to bed), acostarse (to lie down), almorzar (to have lunch), colgar (to hang), costar (to cost), demostrar (to demonstrate), encontrar (to find, to meet someone), mostrar (to show), probar (to taste, to try), recordar (to remember), rogar (to beg), soltar (to loosen), sonar (to ring, to sound), soñar (to dream), volar (to fly), volcar (to spill, to turn upside down).
| pedir (i, i) (to ask) e - i | pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden. |
Verbs like pedir: conseguir (to obtain, to attain, to get), despedirse (to say good-bye), elegir (to choose, to elect), medir (to measure), perseguir (to pursue), repetir (to repeat), seguir (to follow, to continue), vestirse (to get dressed).
| poder (ue) (to be able to) o - ue | puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden |
Verbs like poder: contar (to count, to tell), costar (to cost), dormir (to sleep), encontrar (to find), llover (to rain), volver (to return, to turn)
| jugar (ue) (to play) | juego, juegas, juega, jugamos, jugáis, juegan |
The present progressive tense (El presente progresivo)
The present progressive tense indicates what is happening at this very moment. It is formed by combining the present tense of estar and the present participle (gerundio) of a verb: estoy estudiando, estás comiendo, está viviendo. The present participle corresponds to the -ing form in English.
The present participle of most Spanish verbs is formed by replacing the infinitive ending -ar with -ando and by replacing the infinitive endings -er or -ir with -iendo.
The following are some irregular present participles:
| decir | diciendo | poder | pudiendo |
| leer | leyendo | traer | trayendo |
| oír | oyendo | venir | viniendo |
| morir | muriendo | preferir | prefiriendo |
When the stem of an -er or -ir verb ends in a vowel, the i changes to y: iendo - yendo
The present perfect tense (El pretérito perfecto)
The present perfect tense indicates that an action has been finished in the very recent past. Form the present perfect by adding the present tense form of the auxiliary verb haber (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) to the past participle (participio) of the main verb.
The past participle of a verb in Spanish is often equal to English words ending in -ed. Form the past participle of regular -ar verbs by changing the infinitive to -ado. For regular -er and -ir verbs, change the infinitive to -ido.
Look at these examples:
Ya he comido la cena.
I have already eaten dinner.
Siempre hemos querido a los animales.
We have always loved animals.
The preterite tense (El pretérito)
The preterite is used to talk about what happened on a particular occasion or within a certain period of time in the past.
| -ar | -er | -ir |
| hablé | comí | viví |
| hablaste | comiste | viviste |
| habló | comió | vivió |
| hablamos | comimos | vivimos |
| hablasteis | comisteis | vivisteis |
| hablaron | comieron | vivieron |
Verbos irregulares:
dar: di, diste,dio, dimos, disteis, dieron
decir: dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron
estar: estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron
hacer: hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron
ir: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron
ser: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron
tener: tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron
vi: vi, viste, vio, vimos, visteis, vieron
The imperfect tense (El imperfecto)
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past. It also describes the way things were, what used to happen, what was going on, mental and physical states in the past including age, clock time in the past, and the way people felt in general.
Drop: -ar, -er, -ir, and add: -aba, -ía, -ía
Yo trabajaba en Argentina .
I worked/used to work/was working in Argentina.
The verbs ir (to go), ser (to be) and ver (to see) are irregular in the imperfect.
ir: iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban.
ser: era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran.
ver: veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían.
The past progressive tense (El pasado progresivo)
It is a tense to express or describe an action that was in progress at a specific moment in the past. The past progressive is formed with the imperfect of estar + present participle of the verb: (estaba, estabas, estaba, estábamos, estabais, estaban + past participle).
Estabas estudiando cuando llegó Josefa.
You were studying when Josefa arrived.
The pluperfect (El pluscuamperfecto)
It is a tense used to describe an action that was completed before another action in the past. The past perfect is formed by combining the imperfect of haber + the past participle of the verb: (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían + past participle). This tense corresponds to the past perfect had + participle.
Los niños ya habían salido cuando tú llamaste.
The children had already left when you called.
The future tense (El futuro)
The future tense is used to describe what will take place. It can also be used to indicate probability about the present. The English equivalent is will/shall + verb.
| hablar (to speak) | hablaré, hablarás, hablará, hablaremos, hablaréis, hablarán |
| comer (to eat) | comeré, comerás, comerá, comeremos, comeréis, comerán |
| vivir (to live) | viviré, vivirás, vivirá, viviremos, viviréis, vivirán |
¿Qué harás mañana? Iré al museo.
What will you do tomorrow? I will go to the museum.
Some verbs have irregular stems in the future tense: caber, haber, poder, querer, tener.
Yo haré la tarea
María tendrá la tarea lista.
The future can also be expressed with ir a + infinitive: Voy a ver una película.
The future perfect tense (El futuro perfecto)
The future perfect tense is a compound tense that indicates an action will take in the future, and be completed after another action in the future has taken place. The future perfect is formed with the future of haber + the past participle: (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán + past participle of the verb).
Mara habrá terminado de soñar cuando levante el sol.
The conditional (El condicional)
The conditional expresses a hypothetical situation. It is also used after if clauses and to express probability about the past. The conditional has two tenses: conditional present, and conditional perfect. The verbs that have irregular stems in the future tense have the same stems in the conditional. The present conditional is formed by adding the following endings to the complete infinitive of -ar, -er, and -ir verbs:
| -ar | -er | -ir |
| hablaría | comería | viviría |
| hablarías | comerías | vivirías |
| hablaría | comería | viviría |
| hablaríamos | comeríamos | viviríamos |
| hablaríais | comeríais | viviríais |
| hablarían | comerían | vivirían |
The conditional perfect is used to express what would have ocurred at a moment in the past. It is formed with the conditional forms of haber + past participle of the verb:
Los estudiantes habrían tenido que estudiar Somos Listos para pasar brillantemente el examen.
The students would have had to study Somos Listos in order to pass the exam brilliantly.
Past perfect (El pretérito anterior)
Form the preterite perfect by using the auxiliary form haber (hube, hubiste, hubo, hubimos, hubisteis, hubieron) with the past participle of the main verb:
Yo hube hablado.
I had spoken.
SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD
The subjunctive is a verbal mood that expresses the attitude the speaker has toward a fact or action. Primarily it indicates that the outcome is uncertain. It has four tenses:
present subjunctive: cante (that I sing)
imperfect subjunctive: cantara (that I sang)
present perfect subjunctive: haya cantado (that I have sung)
pluperfect subjunctive: hubiera cantado (that I had sung)
Some of the situations where the subjuntive is required are:
| In all dependent clauses in which the verb of the main clause indicates request, intention, wish, suggestion or recommendation, or preference.Some verbs are: querer, desear, prohibir, sugerir, preferir, and aconsejar. |
| With expressions of emotions, such as: espero que (I hope that), ¡ojalá! (hopefully), me alegro que (I am happy that),etc. |
| If the verb in the main clause expresses doubt, disbelief, uncertainty, or disagreement. |
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The subjunctive must be used after certain conjunctions, such as: antes (de) que (before), para que (so that), etc. |
Present subjunctive (el presente del subjuntivo)
| hablar | hable, hables, hable, hablemos, habléis, hablen |
| comer | coma, comas, coma, comamos, comáis, coman |
| vivir | viva, vivas, viva, vivamos, viváis, vivan |
The following verbs are irregular in the subjunctive:
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dar: dé, des, dé, demos, deis, den estar: esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén haber: haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan ir: vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan saber: sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepaís, sepan ser: sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean |
The past imperfect subjunctive (El pasado imperfecto del subjuntivo)
The past subjunctive is formed by removing -on from the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of the preterite and adding the following endings:
| -ar | -er | -ir |
| hablara | pudiera | durmiera |
| hablaras | pudieras | durmieras |
| hablara | pudiera | durmiera |
| habláramos | pudiéramos | durmiéramos |
| hablarais | pudierais | durmierais |
| hablaran | pudieran | durmieran |
The past subjunctive is used in contrary to fact if-clauses: Si pudiera, iría.
The present perfect subjunctive (El presente perfecto del subjuntivo)
The present perfect subjunctive is formed with the present subjunctive of haber (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) and a past participle. It is used like the present perfect indicative but only after verbs and expressions that requiere the subjunctive:
Ojalá que te hayas ganado la lotería.
I hope you have won the prize.
The pluperfect subjunctive (El pluscuamperfecto del subjuntivo)
The pluperfect/past perfect subjunctive expresses a completed action that took place in the past. Form the pluperfect by using the imperfect subjunctive of the auxiliary form haber plus the past participle of the verb.
The English equivalent is the past perfect: had + past participle.
Esperaba que ya hubieras pagado la cuenta.
I hoped that you had already paid the bill.
The Imperative
The imperative is a mood that expresses commands, requests, or directions. The imperative is formed by adding -a or -e to the stem of the first person singular of the present indicative.
| -ar | -er | -ir | |
| tú | habla (no hables) | come (no comas) | vive (no vivas) |
| Ud. | hable (no hable) | coma (no coma) | viva (no viva) |
| nosotros | hablemos (no hablemos) | comamos (no comamos) | vivamos (no vivamos) |
| vosotros | hablad (no habléis) | comed (no comáis) | vivid (no viváis) |
| Uds. | hablen (no hablen) | coman (no coman) | vivan (no vivan) |
Several verbs have irregular tú imperative forms:
decir: di (no digas)
hacer: haz (no hagas)
ir: ve (no vayas)
poner: pon (no pongas)
Negative tú and vosotros(as) commands are formed with the present subjunctive:
No comas ahora.
No salgáis sin abrigo.
Pronouns are always connected to affirmative commands. Pronouns always come right before the verb in negative commands.
¡Tráemelo!
No me lo traigas.
El comparativo y el superlativo
Use the following patterns when making comparisons in Spanish:
| más/menos + noun/adjective/adverb + que + person/item |
Este celular es más pequeño que ese celular.
This cellular phone is smaller than that cellular phone.
Hay menos gente aquí hoy que ayer.
There are fewer people here today than yesterday.
| tanto, -a, -os, -as + noun + como + person/item |
No tengo tanta información como tú.
I do not have as much information as you.
| tan + adjective/adverb + como + person/item |
Estas computadoras no son tan buenas como esas computadora.
These computers are not as good as those computers.
| verb + tanto como + person/item |
Yo estoy haciendo tanto como tú.
I am doing as much as you.
| definite article ( + noun) + más/menos + adjective ( + de + person/item) |
Es la chica más baja (de la clase).
She is the shortest girl (in the class).
| verb + lo + más/menos + adverb + posible |
Debes llegar lo más temprano posible.
You should arrive as soon as possible.
Some adjectives/adverbs have irregular comparative forms:
| peor worse/worst | mejor better/best |
| menor younger/youngest | major older/older |
El primer libro es bueno, pero el segundo es mejor y este libro es el mejor de todos.
That first book is good, but the second one is better and this book is the best of all.
PRONOUNS
| Subject Pronouns | Direct Object Pronouns | Indirect Object Pronouns | Reflexive Pronouns | Objects of Prepositions |
| yo | me | me | me | mí |
| tú | te | te | te | tí |
| él, ella, Ud. | lo, la | le (se) | se | él, ella, Ud. |
| nosotros(as) | nos | nos | nos | nosotros(as) |
| vosotros(as) | os | os | os | vosotros(as) |
| ellos(as), Uds. | los, las | les (se) | se | ellos(as), Uds. |
Expresiones afirmativas y negativas
Sentences in Spanish may contain two negatives. Often no is used before the verb and anothe negative expression follow the verb.
| expressiones afirmativas | expressiones negativas |
| sí (yes) | no (no) |
| algo (something,anything) | nada (nothing, anything) |
| alguien (somebody, anybody) | nadie (nobody, anybody) |
| algún, alguna (some, any) | ningún, ninguna (none, not any) |
| siempre (always) | nunca (never) |
| también (also, too) | tampoco (neither, either) |
| ya (already) | todavía no (not yet) |
| todavía (still) | ya no ( not yet) |