1. spanish parts of speech -...

Gramática básica niveles 1 y 2 Nombre: ___________________________ Bloque: ____

of 15 UHS -Sr. Gomez

1. Spanish Parts of Speech Words, depending on how they are used, can be classified in 8 categories:

1. Noun (El Sustantivo): The name of a person, place, thing, or concept.

Examples: María (Mary, a proper name) and libro (book).

2. Pronoun (El Pronombre): A word used in place of a noun.

Example: él (he) to replace the expression mi hijo (my son).

3. Verb (El Verbo): Shows action.

Example: hablar (to speak), leer (to read), and escribir (to write).

4. Adjective (El Adjetivo): Indicates quality or determines or limits a noun.

Example: inteligente (intelligent) and azul (blue).

5. Adverb (El Adverbio): Modifies or changes the meaning of a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

Example: rápido (quick), sí (yes), no (no), más (more/most).

6. Preposition (La Preposición): Shows relationship between words.

Example: a (to), con (with), de (of/from) and en (in, on, at).

7. Interjection (La Interjección): Exclamations.

Example: ¡ah! (oh!), ¡ay! (ow!, ouch!) and ¡bravo! (well done!)

8. Conjunction (La Conjunción): Links words or phrases.

Example: y (and), o (or), pero (but) and porque (because).

En Contexto Examples of parts of speech within the context of a sentence:

(possessive) adjective

noun verb conjunction verb adverb preposition (demonstrative)

adjective noun

My mom lives and works here in this city.

interjection verb adjective conjunction pronoun verb adjective (article)

noun

Oh! (It) is fantastic when she plays the guitar.



2. Pronombres Personales (Subject Pronouns) Subject pronouns are: I, you, he, she, it, we, you-all, and they. Spanish has corresponding subject pronouns:

Singular (1 subject) Plural (More than 1 subject)

I = yo we (♂ or ♂&♀)

we (♀ only)

=

=

nosotros

nosotras

you (familiar) = tú

you (familiar)

(♂ or ♂&♀)

you (familiar)

(♀ only)

=

=

vosotros

vosotras

you (formal)

he

she

=

=

=

usted

él

ella

you (formal or familiar)

they (♂ or ♂&♀)

they (♀ only)

=

=

=

ustedes

ellos

ellas

You Spanish has five (5) forms of the word “you.” (1) “Tú” is familiar and is used among friends, coworkers, relatives, or when addressing a child. (2) “Usted” is more formal and is generally used to express respect. (3) “Vosotros” and (4) “vosotras” are the plural, familiar forms of you used in Spain only. (5) “Ustedes” is the plural formal and informal form of you used in Latin America and Spain. Look more closely at the English word “you.” It can be translated into:

1. tú = you (singular, familiar)

2. usted = you (singular, formal)

3. vosotros = you (plural, familiar ♂ or ♂&♀)

4. vosotras = you (plural, familiar ♀ only)

5. ustedes = you (plural, formal or informal ♂ or ♂&♀)

Application 1. What Spanish form of “you” would you use in the following situations?

Speaking to your teacher: __________ Speaking to your niece/nephew: __________ Speaking to your boss: __________ Speaking to your friend: __________ Speaking to a group of children (in Spain): __________ Speaking to a group of children (in Latin America): __________ Speaking to a group of strangers (in Spain): __________ Speaking to a group of strangers (in Latin America): __________



2. What are the two ways of saying “we” in Spanish?

nosotros: we (males or males & females together) nosotras: we (females only)

3. What are the two ways of saying “they” in Spanish?

ellos: they (males or males & females together) ellas: they (females only)

4. What are the three forms of saying “you all” in Spanish?

vosotros*: you-all familiar (males or males & females) vosotras*: you-all familiar (females only) ustedes: you-all formal & familiar (males or males & females)

*NOTE: These forms are used in Spain, not Latin America. 5. Finally, don’t get confused over the difference between talking to a group and talking about a group. TALKING TO A GROUP, USE “YOU-ALL”: ustedes, vosotros, or vosotras TALKING ABOUT A GROUP, USE “THEY”: ellos or ellas

Summary: yo : I

tú : you (singular, familiar)

usted : you (singular, formal)

él : he

ella : she

nosotros: we (m or m/f)

nosotras: we (feminine)

vosotros : you (plural, familiar, Spain, m or m/f)

vosotras : you (plural, familiar, Spain, feminine)

ustedes : you-all (plural, formal in Spain. Formal and familiar in Latin America)

ellos : they (m or m/f)

ellas : they (feminine)



3. Articles

Definite Articles (Los Artículos Definidos) In English, the definite article is the word “the”. In Spanish, the definite article has 4 forms, depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, singular or plural.

Masculino ♂ Femenino ♀

Singular ☺ el la

Plural☺☺ los las

NOTE: The masculine plural is also used to indicate a group of mixed gender. Thus, “los estudiantes” could refer to a specific group of male students, or it could refer to a specific group of male and female students.

Indefinite Articles (Los Artículos Indefinidos) In English, the indefinite article is the word “a,” “an,” and “some”. In Spanish, the indefinite article has 4 forms, depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, singular or plural.

Masculino ♂ Femenino ♀

Singular ☺ un una

Plural☺☺ unos unas

NOTE: The masculine plural is also used to indicate a group of mixed gender. Thus, “unos estudiantes” could refer to any group of male students, or it could refer to any group of male and female students.

The Difference The difference between definite articles and indefinite articles can be observed in the following scenario: There are several apples on a plate. Ten of them are green and one is red. If you want to eat just any apple you would say: “I’d like to eat an apple.” If you want to eat that one apple that is different from the others, you would say: “I’d like to eat the red apple.”



Nonspecific: When the noun (person, place, thing, or idea) you are talking about is nonspecific, use an indefinite article. Specific: When the noun (person, place, thing, or idea) you are talking about is specific, use a definite article.

Aplicación

Artículos Definidos Artículos Indefinidos

Singular Plural Singular Plural

Noun ♂ ♀ ♂ ♀ ♂ ♀ ♂ ♀

cuaderno el cuaderno los cuadernos un cuaderno unos cuadernos

mochila la mochila las mochilas una mochila unas mochilas

libro el

libro

los libros

un

libro

unos libros

regla la

regla

las reglas

una regla

unas reglas

escuela la

escuela

las escuelas

una escuela unas escuelas

parque el

parque

los parques

un

parque

unos parques

Circle the appropriate article: 1. Yo quiero comer una hamburguesa.

I want to eat a hamburguer.

2. Me gustaría leer el libro de los vampiros de Twilight. I would like to read the book of the Twilight vampires. 3. Tengo que escribir un artículo para el periódico de la escuela. I have to write an article for the school’s newspaper. 4. La Casa Blanca es la residencia del Presidente. The White House is the President’s residence. 5. Mi madre va a comprar unas verduras y un pavo para la cena.

Mi mother is going to buy some vegetables and a turkey for dinner. 6. La profesora tiene unos bolígrafos de colores. The teacher has some color pens.



4. Gender of Nouns ♂ ♀

Remember? A noun (un sustantivo) is a word used to denote a person, place, thing, concept or idea.

PERSON: Juan (Juan), PLACE: España (Spain) THING: libro (book) IDEA or CONCEPT: vacaciones

(vacation).

In Spanish, all nouns have gender and number. That is, they are masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

Living Creatures The idea of gender seems perfectly natural when the noun refers to a living creature. Example: (el) chico (boy), (la chica) (girl).

Non-Living Creatures (Objects) One cannot predict the gender of a noun that stands for a non-living thing.

Generally:

Nouns that end in -o are usually masculine. Nouns that end in -a are usually feminine. ► Notice the word “usually!” There are exceptions. Nouns that have the singular definite article "el" and the plural definite article "los" are masculine. Nouns that have the singular definite article "la" and the plural definite article "las" are feminine. How are all of these masculine nouns alike? (Underline or highlight) el gato, el tigre, el chico, el tío, el primo, el niño How are all of these feminine nouns alike? (Underline or highlight) la gata, la tigresa, la chica, la tía, la prima, la niña

A Guess Game Try to predict whether the Spanish words for the following things are masculine or feminine: Dress and necktie Take a guess. Do you think the Spanish word for “dress” is masculine or feminine? You might expect it to be feminine, since a dress is an article of clothing worn by females. Actually, the word for “dress” is a masculine word: (el) vestido. Take another guess. Do you think the Spanish word for “necktie” is masculine or feminine? You might expect it to be masculine, since a necktie is an article of clothing worn by males. Actually, the word for “necktie” is a feminine word: (la) corbata.



Is There a Secret? When you learn a new noun, you should also learn its definite article (el, la, los, las). That is the secret! There are several reasons for this: • Because you cannot predict the gender of most nouns. • Because not every noun that ends in -o is masculine, and not every noun that ends in -a is feminine. • Because many nouns end in letters other than o or a. • Because the definite article (el, la) is your most definite clue as to whether a noun is masculine or feminine.

Aplicación Based on the -a and -o endings, decide whether the following nouns are masculine or feminine, provide the corresponding article before the noun, and a translation below: el bolígrafo la carpeta el cuaderno el libro pen folder notebook book la sala el año la semana la fecha room year week date el invierno el otoño la primavera el verano winter fall/autumn spring summer la pizarra la cabeza el ojo la boca chalkboard head eye mouth el brazo el dedo el estómago la pierna arm finger stomach leg el viento la lluvia la computadora la guitarra wind rain computer guitar la escuela la bicicleta el teléfono el armario school bicycle telephone locker



5. Number of Nouns #

Rules for Making Nouns Plural

The table below summarizes the rules that need to be followed regardless of the gender of the noun. Note that these rules can be applied on adjectives as well.

Rules Singular Plural

When a noun ends in a vowel, add -s. (There are some exceptions to this rule when the vowel is stressed)

libro pupitre mochila

libros pupitres mochilas

When a noun ends in any consonant except –z, add -es. director estación

mes

directores estaciones

meses

When a noun ends in a -z, change the -z to a -c and add -es.

lápiz nuez pez

lápices nueces peces

If a noun ends in ión, drop the written accent before adding -es.

canción televisión

avión

canciones televisiones

aviones

If the plural refers to a mixed gender group, use the masculine

estudiante profesor

estudiantes profesores

For compound nouns (those formed by the combination of two nouns), the plural and singular are identical

abrelatas paraguas

abrelatas paraguas

Making the Article Plural Definite and indefinite articles need to agree in both gender and number with the noun accompanying them.

Singular Plural

Definite Article + Noun

el chico

la chica

los chicos las chicas

Indefinite Article + Noun

un chico

una chica

unos chicos

unas chicas



6. Adjectives An adjective in Spanish needs to agree in both gender and number with the noun it describes. Masculine adjectives are used to describe masculine nouns. Example: Marcos es ordenado y simpático

Marcos is organized and nice. Feminine adjectives are used to describe feminine nouns. Example: Marta es ordenada y simpática

Marta is organized and nice.

Common Adjective Endings

"-o" "-a" Most masculine adjectives end in -o. And most feminine adjectives end in -a. Therefore, most adjectives have four forms. Example: alto = tall

Masculine Feminine

Singular alto alta

Plural altos altas

Match the following four nouns with the adjectives above: chico (boy), chica (girl), chicos (boys), chicas (girls)

"-e" Adjectives that end in -e describe both genders. Thus, they change form for number by simply adding -s. Example: la chica inteligente, el chico inteligente, las chicas inteligentes, los chicos inteligentes

"-consonants" Similarly, most adjectives that end in a consonant change form for number, but do not change for gender. To form the plural, add-es. Example: la chica popular, el chico popular, las chicas populares, los chicos populares

"-consonants [Exceptions]" Adjectives ending in -or, -án, -ón, or -ín have four forms. Example: trabajador, trabajadora, trabajadores, trabajadoras (hardworking)

[Exceptions]" Some adjectives that end in -a, such as deportista, describe both genders.

Example: Tomás es deportista Tomás is sports-minded.

Marta es deportista también Marta is also sports-minded.



7. Regular Verbs

Infinitives The most basic form of a verb is called the infinitive. In English, you can spot infinitives because they usually have the word “to” in front of them: Example: to swim, to read, to write

"-ar," "-er," "-ir"

Infinitives in Spanish, though, don’t have a separate word like “to” in front of them. Spanish infinitives are only one word, and always end in -ar, -er, or -ir: Example: nadar, leer, escribir

Present Tense Conjugations of -ar Enging Verbs The largest group of verbs end in -ar. Hablar (to speak) is one of them. To create the forms of most -ar verbs, you first drop the -ar from the infinitive, leaving the stem: Example: hablar habl- Then you add the verb endings -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, or -an to the stem. Here are the conjugations of hablar:

(yo) hablo (nosotros) (nosotras) hablamos

(tú) hablas (vosotros) (vosotras) habláis

(usted) (él) (ella) habla

(ustedes) (ellos) (ellas) hablan

The verb endings always indicate who is doing the action. In this case, they tell who is speaking. Because of this, you can often use the verb without a subject:

Hablo inglés I speak English ¿Hablas español? Do you speak Spanish?

Subject pronouns are often used for emphasis or clarification.

Ella habla inglés pero él habla español She speaks English, but he speaks Spanish

Present Tense of -er & -ir Verbs To create the present-tense forms of -er and -ir verbs, drop the endings (er or ir) from the infinitives, then add the verb endings to the stem. -er endings: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, & –en



-ir endings: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, & -en Here are the present-tense forms of -er and -ir verbs using comer (to eat) and compartir (to share):

(yo) como

(nosotros) (nosotras)

comemos

(tú) comes

(vosotros) (vosotras)

coméis

(usted) (él) (ella)

come

(ustedes) (ellos) (ellas)

comen

(yo) comparto (nosotros) (nosotras)

compartimos

(tú) compartes (vosotros) (vosotras)

compartís

(usted) (él) (ella)

comparte (ustedes) (ellos) (ellas)

comparten

Aplicación: Practice conjugating the following verbs:

tocar beber vivir

yo toco bebo vivo

tú tocas bebes vives

usted él

ella

toca

bebe

vive

nosotros nosotras

tocamos bebemos vivimos

vosotros vosotras

tocáis bebéis vivís

ustedes ellos ellas

tocan

beben

viven



8. Interrogative Pronouns ¿? An interrogative pronoun is a question word. In English interrogative pronouns are words like: what, when, how many, and why. In Spanish, like in English, the interrogative pronoun is placed at the beginning of a question. Here is a list of Spanish interrogative pronouns that you will use in Spanish 1 & 2:

Spanish English

¿Qué? What?

¿Cuál? Which one? What?

¿Cuáles? Which ones? What? (in front of a plural noun)

¿Cómo? How?

¿Quién? Who?

¿Quiénes? Who? plural (used when you assume the answer is more than one person)

¿Con quién? With whom?

¿Con quiénes? With whom? plural (used when you assume the answer is more than one person)

¿Dónde? Where?

¿Adónde? To where?

¿De dónde? From where?

¿Cuándo? When?

¿Cuántos? How many? (used in front of a plural, masculine noun)

¿Cuántas? How many? (used in front of a plural, feminine noun)

¿Cuánto? How much? (used in front of a singular, masculine noun)

¿Cuánta? How much? (used in front of a singular, feminine noun)

¿Por qué? Why? (for what reason)

¿Para qué? Why? (for what purpose)

*Notice that ALL question words have accent marks.

What?

Most of the question words have exact equivalents in English. But there are a few issues you must understand to use the correct question word in context. There are three Spanish interrogative pronouns that can be translated to the English word what: ¿qué?, ¿cuál?, and ¿cómo?. •What rule #1: Always use ¿qué? to mean what directly in front of any noun: Example:

Spanish English

¿Qué libro lee usted? What book do you read?

¿Qué comida comen ellos? What food do they eat?

•What rule #2: ¿Qué? is used in front of any form of the verb ser when asking for a definition or an explanation. That is, when you're really asking “What does it mean?” or “What is it?” Example:

Spanish English

¿Qué es un cognado? What is a cognate?



•What rule #3: ¿Cuál? is used to mean what in front of any form of the verb ser when you're really asking for a choice or specific answer. The sample sentence uses the es form, which means is, of the verb ser. Example:

Spanish English

¿Cuál es tu dirección? What is your address?

•What rule 4: ¿Cómo? is often used as a response when one fails to hear a comment and would like it repeated. In English when someone says something you don't hear, you say, “what?” If this happens in Spanish, the one word response, “¿Cómo?” is appropriate. That does not, however, mean that cómo can be used to mean “what?” in any other situation.

What is Your Name?

This type of question in Spanish has more than one version. The first one is an exact equivalent of the English version:

¿Cuál es tu/su nombre?

What is your name?

The other one has a very unique use of the interrogative pronoun ¿Cómo? and is informal: ¿Cómo te llamas? Literally translated it means “How do you call yourself?” but its real meaning is “What is your name?” A formal version of this question using usted is also available: ¿Cómo se llama usted?



9. Ser and Estar (The Verb “To Be”)

The Verb “Ser”

Ser, which means “to be” is an irregular verb. Verbs that do not follow a regular pattern are called irregular. That means that the conjugations of the verb for each subject pronoun can change significantly. The table below shows the conjugations of the verb ser in the present tense:

(yo) soy


somos

(tú) eres


sois

(Usted) (él) (ella)

es (Ustedes) (ellos) (ellas)

son

The Verb “Estar”

Estar, which also means “to be”is an irregular verb as well. Not all irregular verbs change significantly when they are conjugated. For example, estar is not conjugated as a regular -ar ending verb, but the differences in the endings are not that dramatic. The table below shows the conjugations of the verb estar in the present tense:

(yo) estoy


estamos

(tú) estás


estáis

(Usted) (él) (ella)

está (Ustedes) (ellos) (ellas)

están



When to use ‘ser’ and when to use ‘estar’ You know now that both ser and estar mean “to be.” Their uses, however are different.

ser estar

Use ser to talk about characteristics that generally do not change

Use estar to talk about conditions that tend to change

- Who a person is - How a person feels

- What a person is like - Where a person is

- What something is - Where something is

- What something is like - To describe physical conditions

- Where a person is from

- Where something is from

Examples: Teresa es mi prima. Es graciosa

(Teresa is my cousin. She’s funny) Los tacos son mi comida favorita. Son riquísimos.

(Tacos are my favorite meal. They’re yummy) Somos de Colombia. Somos colombianos (We are from Colombia. We’re Colombians)

Examples: ¿Dónde está Mariana? No está aquí. (Where is Mariana. She’s not here)

¿Estás enfermo hoy? (Are you sick today?)

Los lápices están en la mochila (The pencils are in the backpack)

Mi camiseta está sucia (My t-shirt is dirty)

Ser vs. Estar Some adjectives have different meanings depending upon which form of "to be" you use. Generally, if you use ser, the adjective is a characteristic of the person or thing you are describing; whereas if you use estar, it is a description of a mood or appearance. For example:

Ser (Identity) Estar (Condition)

Yo soy aburrido. (I am boring -a boring person)

Yo estoy aburrido. (I am/feel bored)

Soy nerviosa. (I am a nervous -high-strung person)

Estoy nerviosa. (I am/feel nervous)

Ella es bonita. (She is pretty -a pretty girl)

Ella está bonita. (She looks pretty)

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