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Collins Easy Learning Spanish Grammar PDF
Collins Easy Learning Spanish Grammar PDF
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Collins
Collins
Spanish
Crammar
Harpercollins Publishers When you buy a Collins dictionary
westerhill Road or thesaunrs and register on
Bishopbriggs www.collinslanguage.com for the free
clasgow online and digital services, you will not CONTENTS
c64 2qT be charged by HarperCollins for access to
Creat Britain Collins free online Dictionary content or
Collins free Online Thesaurus content on
Foreword for language teachers
First Edition 2004 that website. However, your operator's lntroduction for students vi
charges for using the intemet on your
Reprint u 11 l.o 9 8 computer will apply. Costs vary from Glossary of grammar terms VIII
operator to operator. Harpercollins is not
Nouns 1
o HarperCollins Publishers zoo4 responsible for any charges levied by online
service providers for accessing Collins free Using nouns 1
rsBN 978-o-oo -7 L96 4s-6 Online Dictionary or Collins free Oniine Cender 2
Ttresaurus on www.collinslanguage.com Forming plurals 7
Collins@ and Bank ofEnglish@ are using these seryices.
registered trademarks of Articles 10
HarperCollins Publishers Limited HarperCollins does not warrant that Different types of article 10
the functions contained in
www.collinslanguage.com www.collinslanguage.com content The definite article: el, la, los and las 11
will be uninterrupted or error free, The indefinite article: un, una, unos and unas 15
A catalogue record for this book is available that defects will be corrected, or that The article lo 17
from the British library www.collinslanguage.com or the server
that makes it avaiiable are free ofviruses Adjectives 19
Typeset by Davidson Pre-Press, Clasgow or bugs. HarperCollins is not responsible Using adjectives 19
for any access difficulties that may be
Printed in Italy by experienced due to problems with network,
Making adjectives agree 20
Rotolito Lombarda SpA web, online or mobile phone connections. Word order with adjectives 24
Comparatives and superlatives of adjectives 26
PUBLISHINC DIRECTOR
Acknowledgements Demonstrative adjectives 30
LomaKnight
we would Iike to thank those authors and Interrogative adjectives 32
publishers who kindly gave permission for EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Adlectives used in exclamations 34
copyright material to be used in the CoIIins Michela clari
WordWeb. We would also like to thank Possessive adjectives (1 ) 35
Times Newspapers Ltd for providing MANAGING EDITOR Possessive adjectives (2) 37
valuable data. Maree Airlie Indefinite adlectives 39
All rights reserved. No part of this CONTRIBUTORS Pronouns 41
publication may be reproduced, stored in Cordelia Lilly Personal pronouns: subject 42
a retrieval system or transmitted, in any Maria Ruiz Vaca
Jos6 Personal pronouns: direct object 46
form or by any means, electronic, Femando Le6n Solis
mechanical, photocopying, recording or WendyLee Personal pronouns: indirect object 49
otherwise, without the pdor permission Di Larkin Order of object pronouns 52
of the publisher. This book is sold subject Jeremy Butterfield Further information on object pronouns 53
to the conditions that it shall not, by way
of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired Prohouns after prepositions 54
We would like to give special thanks to
out or otherwise circulated without the Di Larkin, Foreign Languages Consultant, Possessive pronouns 56
publisher's prior consent in any form of and Irene Muir, Faculty Head, Belmont Indefinite pronouns 58
binding or cover other than that in which House School, for all their advice on
it is published and without a similar Relative pronouns 61
teaching practice in today's classroom.
condition including this condition being Their contributions have been invaluable Interrogative pronouns 65
imposed on the subsequent purchaser. in the writing of this book. Demonstrative pronouns 67
Entered words that we have reason to Verbs 69
believe constitute trademarks have been Overview of verbs 69
designated as such. However, neither the
presence nor absence of such designation The oresent tenses 71
should be regarded as affecting the legal The present simple tense 72
status of anv trademark. ser and estar 80
The present continuous tense 84
The imperative 85
Reflexive verbs 91
FOREWORD FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS
The future tense 97
The conditional 100
The preterite 104 The Eosy Leorning Spanish Grammqris designed to be used with both young
The imoerfect tense 110 and adult learners, as a group reference book to complement your course
The perfect tense 11s book during classes, or as a recommended text for self-study and
The pluperfect or past perfect tense 119 homework/coursework.
The passive 122 The text specifically targets learners from sb initio to intermediate or CCSE
The gerund 125 level, and therefore its structural content and vocabulary have been matched
lmpersonal verbs 129
to the relevant specifications up to and including Higher GCSE.
The subjunctive 134
The infinitive 144 The approach aims to develop knowledge and understanding of grammar and
Prepositions after verbs 150 your learners' ability to apply it by:
Verbal ldioms 154 o defining parts of speech at the start of each major section with
Negatives 157 examples in English to clarify concepts
Questions 160 r minimizing the use of grammar terminology and providing clear
Asking questions in Spanish 160 explanations of terms both within the text and in the Glossary
Adverbs 166 o illustrating points with examples (and their translations) based on
How adverbs are used 166 topics and contexts which are relevant to beginner and intermediate
How adverbs are formed 166 course content
Comparatives and superlatives of adverbs 169
171 The text helps you develop positive attitudes to grammar learning in your
Common adverbs
177 classes by:
Position of adverbs
Prepositions 178 o giving clear, easy-to-follow explanations
Using prepositions 178 r prioritizing content according to relevant specifications for the levels
a, de, en, para and por 180
. sequencing points to reflect course content, e.g. verb tenses
Some other common prepositions 188
o highlighting useful Tips to deal with common difficulties
Conjunctions 192
Y, O, pero, porque and si 192 . summarizing Key points at the end of sections to consolidate
Some other common conjunctions 194 learning
Split conjunctions 195
In addition to fostering success and building a thorough foundation in Spanish
Spelling 196 grammar, the optional Grammar Extra sections will encourage and challenge
Stress 200 your learners to further their studies to higher and advanced levels.
Numbers 206
Time and date 209
Main index 2"t2
Verb tables t-84
Verb index 85-91
The alphabet 92
Note on trademarks
Entered words which we have reason to believe constitute trademarks have been
designated as such. However, neither the presence nor the absence of such designation
should be regarded as affecting the legal status of any trademark.
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INTRODUCTION FOR STUDENTS
Ttp
Don't forget to use personal a before indefinite pronouns
Whether you are starting to learn Spanish for the very first time, brushing up referring to people when they are the object of a verb.
on topics you have studied in class, or revising for your CCSE exams, the Eosy
aViste a alguien? Did you see anybody?
Leorning Spanish Crqmmar is here to help. This easy-to-use guide takes you
No vi a nadie. I didn't see anybody.
through all the basics you will need to speak and understand modern,
everyday Spanish.
Newcomers can sometimes struggle with the technical terms they come across Key points sum up all the important facts about a particular area of grammar,
when they start to explore the grammar of a new language. fhe Easy Learning to save you time when you are revising and help you focus on the main
Spanish Crommqr explains how to get to grips with all the parts of speech you
grammatical points.
will need to know, using simple language and cutting out iargon.
The text is divided into sections, each dealing with a particular area of Key points
grammar. Each section can be studied individually, as numerous cross- y' tike other adjectives, Spanish indefinite adjectives (such as
references in the text guide you to relevant points in other sections of the otro and todo), must agree with what they describe.
book for further information. ( _
They go before the noun to which they relate.
Every major section begins with an explanation of the area of grammar
covered on the following pages. For quick reference, these definitions are also
collected together on pages viii-xii in a glossary of essential grammar terms. lf you think you would like to continue with your Spanish studies to a higher
level, check out the Grammar Extra sections. These are intended for advanced
students who are interested in knowing a little more about the structures they
What is a verb? will come across beyond CCSE.
A verb is a 'doing' word which describes what someone or something
does, what someone or something is, or what happens to them, for
example, be, sing, live. Grammar Extra!
por is often combined with other Spanish prepositions and words, usually to
Each grammar point in the text is followed by simple examples of real Spanish, show movement.
complete with English translations, helping you understand the rules. Salt6 por encima de la mesa. She jumped over the table.
Underlining has been used in examples throughout the text to highlight the Nadamos por debaio del puente. We swam under the bridge.
grammatical point being explained. Pasaron por delante de Coneos. They went past the post office.
Gender
tr Nouns referring to people Note that a noun ending in -o is usually masculine, and a noun
L Most nouns referring to men and boys are masculine. ending in -a is usually feminine.
el hombre the man
el rey the king
t) For more information on Mqsculine ond feminine forms of words. see
poge 5.
) Most nouns referring to women and girls are feminine.
la mujer the woman e Nouns referring to animals
la reina the queen
} ln English we can choose between words like bull or cow, depending on the
) When the same word is used to refer to either men/boys or women/girls, sex of the animal. In Spanish too there are sometimes separate words for
gender usually changes depending on the sex of the person it refers to. male and female animals.
el toro the bull
el estudiante the (male) student
la estudiante la vaca the cow
the (female) student
elbelga the Belgian (man) D Sometimes, the same word with different endings is used for male and
female animals.
la belga the Belgian (woman)
el perrq the (male) dog
la perra the (female) dog, bitch
Orammar Extra! el gatq the (male) cat
Some words for people have only one possible gender, whether they refer to a male or la gata the (female) cat
a female.
Ttp
Remember that you have to use los (for masculine nouns) or las
lf the last vowel of the masculine word has an accenf this is
(for feminine nouns) with plural nouns in Spanish. Any adjective that
dropped in the feminine form.
goes with the noun also has to agree with it, as does any pronoun
un ingl6s an Englishman
that replaces it.
una inglesa an Englishwoman
un franc6s a Frenchman
* for more informotion on Articles, Adjectives and Pronouns,
see poges 1 0, | 9 ond 41 .
una franccga a Frenchwoman
Q for more informqtion qbout Spetting and Stress, see pages 196
To form the plural in Spanish, add -s to most nouns ending in a vowel
ond 200.
(o, e, i, o or u) which doesn't have an accent.
el libro the book
Key points los libros the books
y' The ending of a Spanish word often helps you work out its el hombre the man
gender: for instance, if a word ends in -o, it is probably
los hombreg the men
masculine; if it ends in -a, it is probably feminine.
y' These endings generally mean that the noun is feminine: la profesora the (female) teacher
-citln, -si6n, -dad, -tad, -tud las profesoras the (female) teachers
( Days of the week and months of the year are masculine. So are
languages, mountains and seas. Add -es to singular nouns ending in a consonant (any letter other than
y' a vowel).
You can change the ending of some nouns from -o to -a to make
a masculine noun feminine. el profesor the (male) teacher
los profesorcs the (male/male and female) teachers
la ciudad the town/city
las ciudades the towns/cities
@ Note that some foreign words (that is, words which have come from
another language, such as English) ending in a consonant just add -s.
el jersey the jersey
los jerseyg the jerseys
) Some singular nouns ending in an accented vowel add -es in the plural O For further information on Spetting and Stress, see pages 196 qnd 200.
while other very common ones add -s.
el jabali the boar tr Plural versus singular
los iabalies the boars ) A few words relating to clothing that are plural in English can be singular
in Spanish.
el caf€ the caf6
una braga (a pair of) knickers
los caf6s the caf6s
un slip (a pair of) underpants
elsofii the sofa un pantal6n (a pair of) trousers
los sof6s the sofas
D A few common words behave differently in Spanish from the way they
behave in English.
Grammar Ertra! un mueble a piece of furniture
When nouns are made up of two separate words, they are called compound nouns, for unos muebles some furniture
exampfe, ef abrelatas (meaning the tin-opener) and el hombre rana (meaning the una noticia a piece of news
frogman). Some of these nouns don't change in the plural, for example, los abrelatas,
while others do, for example, los hombrc! rana. lt is always best to check in a
unas noticias some news
dictionary to see what the plural is. un consejo a piece of advice
unos consejos some advice
los autobuses the buses prurar -es to words or more than one
) Singular nouns of more than one syllable which end in -en and don't " i,l,ff:::::l;f:J':ddins
g. Cnung"-z to Ic when forming
already have an accent, add one in the plural.
the plural of words like luz.
el examen the exam
y' nftw common words are plural in English but not in Spanish.
los exdmenes the exams
los and las are used before plural nouns. los is used with masculine plural
words, and las is used with feminine plural words.
los niftos the boys
las niftas the girls
los peri6dicos the newspapers
las revistas the magazines
al cine to the cinema o when talking about parts of the body - you do not use myt your, hrs and
al empleado to the employee so on as you would in English
al hospital to the hospital Tiene los ojos verdes. He,s got green eyes.
Vio al camarero. He saw the waiter. No puedo mover las piernas. I can,t move my legs.
) lf de is followed by el, the two words become del. @ Note that possession is often shown by a personal pronoun in Spanish.
del departamento offfrom the department La cabeza me da vueltas. My head is spinning.
del autor oflfrom the author Ldvate las manos. Wash youl hands.
del presidente oflfrom the president
+ For more informotion on personol pronounst see page 42.
tr Using the definite article
o when using someone's title - for example , .Doctor, Mr
) el, la, los and las are often used in Spanish in the same way as fhe is used - but talking
ABOUT someone rather than to them.
in English. However, there are some cases where the article is used in
El doctorVidal no est6. Dr Vidal isn't here.
Spanish but not in English.
El seftor Pelayo vive aqui. Mr Pelayo lives here.
) The definite article 15 used in Spanish:
o when talking about people, animals and things in a general way
o when talking about institutions, such as school or church
+ For more informotion on Prepositions, see page 178. o when talking about the time
Es la una. It's one o'clock.
Son las tres. It's three o'clock.
Son las cuatro y media. It's half past four.
For further explanation of grammatical tems, please see pages viii-xii.
14 Amcus ARrcles 15
) In English, the only time an adjective changes its form is when you are
making a comparison.
She's qleverer than her brother.
That's the silliest idea l've ever heard!
L In Spanish, however, most adjectives agree with what they are describing.
This means that their endings change depending on whether the person or
thing you are referring to is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.
un chico rubio a fair boy
una chica rubia a fair girl
unos chicos rubios some fair boys
unas chicas rubias some fair girls
In English adjectives come BEFORE the noun they describe, but in Spanish
you usually put them AFTER it.
r) For more informotion on Word order with adjectives, see poge 24.
Grammar bctra!
Adjectives ending in an accented vowel in the singular add -es in the plural. Grammar Extra!
un m6dico irani an lranian doctor F cualquiera drops the final a before any noun.
unos m6dicos iranies some lranian doctors cualquier dia any day
a cualqlrier hora any time
tr Invariable adiectives
) A small number of adjectives do not change in the feminine or plural. They y' Most spanish adjectives .f:lfJillisr form according to whether
are called invariable because their form NEVER changes, no matter what
the person or thing they are describing is masculine or feminine,
they are describing. These adjectives are often made up of more than one
singular or plural.
word - for example azul marino (meaning navy blue) - or come from the y' In Spanish, adjectives usually go after the noun they describe.
names of things - for example naranja (meaning orange).
y' Don'tforget to make adjectives agree with the person or thing
las chaquetas azul marino navy-blue jackets
they describe - they change for the feminine and plural forms:
los vestidos narania orange dresses
un chico espafiol
una chica espafrola
tr Short forms for adiectives unos chicos espafioles
) The following adjectives drop the final -o before a masculine singular noun. unas chicas espafiolas
Word order with adjectives Some adjectives can go both BEFORE and AFTER the noun, but their
) When adjectives are used right beside the noun they are describing, they meaning changes depending on where they go.
go BEFORE it in English. Spanish adjectives usually go AFTER the noun. Before After
una corbata azul a blue tie Adjective Noun Examples Noun Examples
una palabra espafiola a Spanish word antiguo former un antiguo colega old, la historia antigua
la p6gina siguiente the following page a former colleaoue ancient ancient history
la hora exacta the pree.bc time diferente various diferentes idiomar different personas diferentes
various languages different people
F When you have two or more adjectives after the noun, you use y (meaning grande grear un gran pintor big una casa grande
ond) between the last two. a great painter a bio house
un hombre alto y delgado a tall, slim man medio half medio mel6n average la nota media
half a melon the average mark
) A number of types of Spanish adjectives go BEFORE the noun:
mtsmo same la misma self, very, yo mismo
o demonstrative adjectives respuesta precisely myself
este sombrero this hat the same answer eso mismo
o possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su and so on) precisely that
mi padre my father nuevo new mi nuevo coche brand new unos zapatos nuevos
o my new car some (brand) new
numbers
(= new to me) shoes
tres dias three days
pobre Poor (= esa pobre mujer poor un pais pobre
o interrogative adjectives wretched) that poor woman (= not rich) a poor country
2qu6 hombr6? which man?
viejo old (= lsnt- un vreJo amrgo old esas toallas viejas
o adiectives used in exclamations standing) an old friend G oget those old towels
;Ou6l6stima! What a pity!
indefinite adjectives
cada dia every day Key points
shortened adjectives
y' Most Spanish adjectives go after the noun.
mal tiempo bad weather y' Certain types of adjectives in Spanish go before the noun.
y' Some adiectives can go before or after the noun - the meaning
changes according to the position in the sentence.
ln Spanish, to say something is fhe cheopest, the most expensive and so on,
Comparatives and superlatives of adiectives you use el/la/los/las (+ noun) + m6s + adjective.
el caballo m6s vieio the oldest horse
tr Making comparisons using comparative adiectives la casa m6s peouefra the smallest house
los hoteles m6s baratos the cheapest hotels
What is a comparative adjective?
las manzanas m5s caras the most expensive apples
A comparative adjective in English is one with -er on the end of it or
more or /ess in front of it, that is used to compare people or things, for 2oui6n es el m6s alto? Who's the tallest?
example, cleverer, less importont, more beautiful. To say something is the least expensive, the leost intelligent and so on, you
use elllallos/las (+ noun) + menos + adjective.
} ln Spanish, to say something is cheoper, more expensive and so on, you use el hombre menos simp5tico the least likeable man
miis (meaning more) before the adjective. la nifia menos habladora the least talkative girl
Esta bicicleta es m6s barata. This bicycle is cheaper. los cuadros menos bonitos the least attractive paintings
La verde es m6s cara. The green one is more expensive. las empleadas menos the least hardworking (female)
trabajadoras employees
} To say something is less expensive, less bequtiful and so on, you use menos
2oui6n es el menos trabaiador? Who's the least hardworking?
(meaning /ess) before the adjective.
La verde es menos cara. The green one is less expensive.
) To introduce the person or thing you are making the comparison with,
Ttp
use que (meaning fhon).
ln phrases like fhe cleverest girl in the school and the tallest mqn in
the world, you use de to translate ln.
Es m6s alto que mi hermano. He's taller than my brother.
La otra bicicleta es mAs cara The other bicycle is more expensive
el hombre m6s alto del mundo the tallest man in the world
que 6sta. than this one.
Esta bicicleta es menos cara
que la otra.
;[his bicycle is less expensive than
the other one.
l4 lrregular comparatives and superlatives
'.[J" Note that mejor, peor, mayor and menor don't change their endings Grammar Extra!
in the feminine. In the plural, they become meiores, peores, mayores
and menores. Don't forget to use el, la, los or las as appropriate, For even more emphasis, you can add -isimo (meaning reolly, extremely) to the end of
depending on whether the person or thing described is masculine or an adjective. Take off the final vowel if the adjective already ends in one. For example,
defgado (meaning thln) becomes delgadisimo (meaning reolly thin).
feminine, singular or plural.
Se ha cornprado un coche He's bought himself a really
carisimo. expensive car.
rtp Est6 delgadisima. She's looking really thin.
mds grande and m6s pequefio are used mainly to talk about the lf you add -isimo, you need to take off any other accent. For example, f6cil (meaning
actual size of something. eosy) becomes facilisimo (meaning extremely easy) and riipido (meaning fost) becomes
rapidisimo (meaning extremely fost).
Este plato es m6s grande que This plate is bigger than
Es facilisimo de hacer. It's really easy to make.
aqu6l. that one.
un coche raoidisimo an extremely fast car
Mi casa es m6s pequefra que My house is smaller than yours.
la tuya. When the adjective ends in -co, -goor -2, spelling changes are required to keep the
same sound. For example, rico (meaning rlch) becomes riquisimo (meaning extremely
mayor and menor are used mainly to talk about age. rich) and feroz (meaning fierce) becomes ferocisimo (meaning extremely fierce).
mis hermanos mayores my older brothers Se hizo riouisimo. He became extremely rich.
la hija menor the youngest daughter un tigre ferocisimo an extremely fierce tiger
r) For more informotion on Spelling and Stress, see poges 196 and 200
Grammar Extra!
" H;rn:"
You use tanto with a noun rather than tan with an adjective in some expressions. This is
i ;ilTl :T il,l;;"1 f,lil"'J" li ;,fi
because in Spanish you would use a noun where in English we would use an adiective.
D Use ese/esa/esos/esas:
Demonstrative adiectives
o to talk about things and people that are nearer to the person you are
What is a demonstrative adiective? talking to than to you
A demonstrative adjective is one of the words this, that, these and those ese papel en el que escribes that paper you're writing on
used with a noun in English to point out a particular thing or person, for 2Por qu6 te has puesto esas Why are you wearing those tights?
example, this womon, thqt dog. medias?
r to talk about things and people that aren't very far away
No me gustan esos cuadros. I don't like those pictures.
tr Using demonstrative adiectives
> Use aquel/aquella/aquellos/aquellas to talk about things that are further
>' Just as in English, spanish demonstrative adiectives
go
BEFORE the noun. away.
Like other adjectives in spanish, they have to change for the feminine and Me gusta m5s aquella mesa. I prefer that table (over there).
plural forms.
) ln English we use that and thoseto talk about anything that is not close by,
but in Spanish you need to be a bit more precise.
Like other adjectives in Spanish, possessive adjectives have to change for the
Don't forget to add the opening upside-down exclamation
feminine and plural forms.
in Spanish exclamations.
Singular Plural Meaning
masculine fuminine masculine fuminine
ml ml mts mls my
Grammar Extra!
tu tu tus tus your (belonging to someone
to mean Whot (a)"'! you address os trt)
1qu6...! combines with tan or m6s and an adiective in Spanish
in English. su su sus sus his; her; its; your (belonging
i0u6 dia tan or m6s bonito! What a lovely day! to someone you address os
Possessive adjectives agree with what they describe NOT with the
person who owns that thing.
Pablo ha perdido su boligrafo. Pablo has lost his pen.
Pablo ha perdido sus boligrafos. Pablo has lost his pens.
@ Note that possessive adjectives aren't normally used with parts of the Possessive adjectives (2)
body. You usually use the definite article instead.
verdes.
Tiene los oios He's got green eyes.
) In Spanish, there is a second set of possessive adjectives, which mean (of)
mine, (of) yours and so on. Like other adlectives in Spanish, they change in
No puedo mover las piernas. I can't move my legs. the feminine and plural forms.
+ For more informqtion on Articles, see poge 10.
Singular Plural Meaning
masculine feminine masculine feminine
mto mla mtos mtas mine/of mine
rrp tuyo tuya tuyos tuyas yours/of yours (belonging
As su and sus can mean his, her, its, youror their,it can sometimes to tt)
be a bit confusing. When you need to avoid confusion, you can say suyo suya suyos suyas his/of his; hers/of hers; of its;
the Spanish equivalent of of him and so on. yours/of yours (belonging to
usted)
su casa - la casa de 6l his house
nuestro nuestra nuestros nuestras ours/of ours
(literally: the house of him)
vuestro vuestra vuestlos vuestras yours/of yours (belonging
sus amigos + los amigos de usted your friends to vosotros/as)
(literally: the friends of you) suyo suya suyos suyas theirs/of theirs; yours/of your:
sus coches + los coches de ellos their cars (belonging fo ustedes)
(literally: the cqrs of them)
su abrigo * el abrigo de ella her coat + For more information on Woys of soying 'you' in Spanish, see poge 44.
(literolly: the coot of her)
un amrgo mro a (male) friend of mine, one of my
* for more information on Personol pronouns, see page 42. (male) friends
una revista tuya a magazine of yours, one of your
magazines
Key points una tia suva an aunt of his/hers/theirs/yours,
( The Spanish possessive adjectives are: one of his/her/their/your aunts
. mi/tu/su/nuestro/vuestro/su with a masculine singular noun una amiga nuestra a (female) friend of ours, one of
. mi/tu/su/nuestra/vuestra/su with a feminine singular noun our friends
r mis/tus/sus/nuestros/vuestros/sus with a masculine plural
aDe qui6n es esta bufanda? Whose scarf is this? - lt's mine.
noun
. mis/tus/sus/nuestras/vuestras/sus with a feminine plural noun - Es mia.
r' Possessive adjectives come before the noun they refer to. They
@ Note that unlike the other possessive adjectives, these adjectives go
agree with what they describe, rather than with the person who
AFTER the noun they describe.
owns that thing.
r' Possessive adjectives are not usually used with parts of the body. un amigo vuestro a (male) friend of yours, one of your
Use elllallos or las as appropriate instead. friends
r' To avoid confusion, it is sometimes clearer to use el coche de
6l/ella/ellas/ellos/usted and so on rather than su coche.
rw Indefinite adjectives
Possessive adjectives agree with what they describe NOT with the What is an indefinite adjective?
person who owns that thing. An indefinite adjective is one of a small group of adjectives used to talk
Estos apuntes son mios. about people or things in a general way without saying exactly who or
what they are, for example, several, all, every.
Ttp
Some and ony arc usually not translated before nouns that you
can't count like bread, butter, water.
mesa.
Hay pan en la There's some bread on the table.
2ouieres caf6? Would you like some coffee?
aHay leche? ls there any milk?
No hay mantequilla. There isn't any butter.
For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii,
40 Ao.lrcrves
> todo/toda/todos/todas (meaning oll or every) can be followed by:
PRONOUNS
o a definite article (el, la, los, las)
Han estudiado durante toda They've been studying all night.
la noche. What is a pronoun?
Vienen todos los dias. They come every day. A pronoun is a word you use instead of a noun, when you do not need
o a demonstrative adjective (este, ese, aquel and so on) or want to name someone or something directly, for example, it, you,
none.
Ha llovido toda esta semana. lt has rained all this week.
o a possessive adjective(mi, tu, su and so on)
Pondr6 en orden todos mis l'll sort out all my books. L There are several different types of pronoun:
libros. o Personal oronouns such as L vou. he. her and thev. which are used
. a place name, to refer to you, the person you are talking to, or other people and
Lo sabe todo Madrid. The whole of Madrid knows it. things. They can be either subiect pronouns (1, you, he and so on) or
object pronouns (him, her, them, and so on).
+ For more information on Articles, Demonstrotive adjectives and Possessive o Possessive pronouns like mine and yours, which show who someone or
odjectives, see poges 1 0, 30 and 35. something belongs to.
o lndefinite pronouns like someone or nothing, which refer to people or
D As in English, Spanish indefinite adjectives come BEFORE the noun they
things in a general way without saying exactly who or what they are.
describe.
o Refative pronouns like who, which or thot, which link two parts of a
las mismas peliculas the same films
sentence together.
o lnterrogative pronouns like who, whot or which, which are used in
questions.
y' Likeother adjectiv"r, ,o"ffll l""otll'in" adjectives (such as otro . Demonstrative pronouns like thls or those, which point things or people
and todo) must agree with what.they describe. out.
y' They go before the noun to which they relate. o Reflexive pronouns, a type of object pronoun that forms part of Spanish
reflexive verbs like lavarse (meaning to wash) or llamarse (meaning fo be
colled).
/ Personal pronouns: subject @ Note that usted/Vd. and ustedes/Vds. are often used for politeness,
even if they are not really needed.
What is a subject pronoun?
A subject pronoun is a word such as I, he, she and they, that carries out 4Gonoce usted al sefror Martin? Do you know Mr Martin?
the action expressed by the verb. Pronouns stand in for nouns when it is Pasen ustedes por aqui. Please come this way.
clear who or what is being talked abouf for example, My brother isn't here O For more informqtion on Ways of soying 'you' in Spanish, see poge 44,
at the moment. He'll be back in on hour.
> Spanish subject pronouns are normally only used:
Simifarly, hablamos franc€s can only mean we speak French since the -amos
ending is only used with we. So the subject pronouns are not needed in
E Note that if used as the subject and they referring to things, are
NEVER translated into Spanish.
these examples.
Tengo un hermano. !'ve got a brother. 1Ou6 es? - Es una sorpresa. What is it? - lt's a surprise.
Tenemos dos coches. We've got two cars. 4Ou6 son? - Son abrelatas. What are they? - They are tin
openers.
Personal pronouns: direct object 2l Word order with direct obiect pronouns
> The direct object pronoun usually comes BEFORE the verb.
What is a direct object pronoun?
2Las ve usted? Can you see them?
A direct object pronoun is a word such as me, him, us and them, which is
used instead of the noun to stand in for the person or thing most directly 2No mi ois? Can't you hear me?
affected by the action expressed by the verb. Tu hija no nos conoce. Your daughter doesn't know us.
2Lo has visto? Have you seen it?
E_l Using direct obiect pronouns ln orders and instructions telling someone TO DO something, the pronoun
ioins onto the end of the verb to form one word.
l Direct object pronouns stand in for nouns when it is clear who or what is Ayfdame. Help me.
being talked about, and save having to repeat the noun. Acomp66anos. Come with us.
l've lost my glasses. Have you seen them?
'Have you met lo?'- 'Yes, I really like her!' [J Note that you will often need to add a written accent to preserve the
spoken stress when adding pronouns to the end of verbs.
) Here are the Spanish direct object pronouns: r ) For more information on Stress, see poge 200.
Singular Meaning Plural Meaning
me me nos us In orders and instructions telling someone NOT TO DO something, the
pronoun does NOT join onto the end of the verb.
te you (relating toti) os you (relati n g fo vosotros/vosotras)
lo him los them (masculine) No los toques. Don't touch them.
it (masculine) you (reloting fo ustedes > lf the pronoun is the object of an infinitive (the to form of the verb) or a
you (relating to usted - mosculine)
gerund (the -ing form of the verb), you always add the pronoun to the end
- masculine)
of the verb to form one word, unless the infinitive or gerund follows
la her las them (feminine) another verb. Again, you may have to add a written accent to preserve the
it (feminine) you (relating to ustedes
stress.
you (relating to usted - feminine)
- feminine) Se fue despu6s de arreglarlq. He left after fixing it.
Practicdndolo, aprender6s. You'll learn by practising it.
Te quiero. I love you.
No los toques. Don't touch them.
r) For more informqtion on Verbs ond Gerunds, see pages 69 qnd 125.
a their
Note that you cannot use the Spanish direct object pronouns on
own without verb or after a preposition such a or de.
a as
) Where an infinitive or gerund follows another verb, you can put the
pronoun either at the end of the infinitive or gerund, or before the
other verb.
+ For more information on Pronouns ofter prepositions, see page 54. Vienen a vernos or
Nos vienen a ver. They are coming to see us.
EstS comi6ndolo or
Lo est6 comiendo. He's eating it.
+ For further information on the Order of object pronounst see poge 52.
[J Note that a verb won't necessarily have both a direct and an indirect obiect.
@ Note that you will often need to add a written accent to preserve the
spoken stress.
E Note that in Spain, you will often hear le and les used instead of lo
and los as direct object pronouns when referring to men and boys'
It is probably better not to copy this practice since it is considered
incorrect in some varieties of Spanish, particularly Latin American
one5.
Possessive pronouns
Ttp
What is a possessive pronoun? In Spanish, possessive pronouns agree with what they describe,
A possessive pronoun is one of the words mine, yours, hers, his, ours or NOT with the person who owns that thing. For example, el suyo
theirs, which are used instead of a noun to show that one person or thing can mean his, hers, yoursor theirs,but can only be used to replace
belongs to another, for example, Ask Cqrole if this pen is hers.; Mine's the a masculine singular noun.
blue one.
* for more information on Personol,a, see poge 182. otro/otra/otros/otras another one; others
No me gusta este modelo. I don't like this model. Have you got
e alguno/alguna/algunos/algunas some, a few 2Tienes otro? another?
Algunos de los nifros ya saben Some of the children can already E Note that you can never put un or una before otro or otra.
leer. read.
a poco/poca/pocos/pocas little; few
. cada uno/una each (one), everybody
s6lo unos peees only a few
Le dio una manzana a cada uno. She gave each one an apple.
tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas so much; so many
;Gada uno a su casa! Everybody home!
. 2Se oia mucho ruido? Was there a lot of noise? - Not so
cualquiera anybody; any tanto.
- No much.
Cualquiera puede hacerlo. Anybody can do it.
todo/toda/todos/tod as all; everything
Cualquiera de las explicaciones Any of the explanations is valid.
vale. Lo ha estropeado todo. He has spoiled everything.
Todo va bien. It's all going well.
r mucho/mucha/muchos/muchas much; many
uno ... el otro/una ... la otra (the) one ... the other
Muchas de las casas no tenian Many of the houses didn't have a
jardin. garden. Uno dijo que si y el otro que One said yes while the other said
no. no.'
For further explanation of grammatical tems, please see pages viii-xii.
60 Pnoruourus PROrrroutrts 61
unos ... los otros/unas ... las otras some ... the others Relative pronouns
Unos cuestan 30 euros, Some cost 30 euros, the others
los otros 40 euros. 40 euros. What is a relative pronoun?
lrr English, a relative pronoun is one of the words who, which and thqt
varios/varias several (,rrrd the more formal whom) which can be used to introduce information
Varios de ellos me gustan I like several of them very much. tlrat makes it clear which person or thing is being talked about, for
mucho. r.xampl€, The mon who hos just come in is Ann's boyfriend.; The vsse that
y,,tu broke wos quite voluqble.
rtp Itt'lative pronouns can also introduce further information about someone
Don't forget to make those pronouns that have feminine and ,rr something, for example, Peter, who is o brilliont painter, wonts to study
plural forms agree with the noun they refer to. ,trt.; Jone's house, which wos built in 1890, needs a lot of repoirs.
He perdido mi goma pero l've lost my rubber but l've got
tengo otra. another one.
j Relative pronouns referring to people
@ Note that algo, alguien and alguno can NEVER be used after a
negative such as no. lnstead you must use the appropriate negative In English, we use the relative pronouns who, whom and that to talk about
pronouns/ nada, nadie, ninguno. people. In Spanish, que is used.
No veo a nadie. I can't see anybody. el hombre que vino ayer the man who came yesterday
No tengo nada que hacer. I haven't got anything to do. Mi hermano, que tiene veinte My brother, who is twenty, is a
affos, es mec6nico. mechanic.
) You use nada, nadie and ninguno on their own without no to answer
_n
el hombre que vi en la calle the man (that) I saw in the street
questions.
ao,u6 pasa? - Nada. What's happening? - Nothing.
l0ui6n habl6? - Nadie. Who spoke? - Nobody.
2CuSntos quedan? - Ninguno. How rnany are there left? - None. ln English we often miss out the relative pronouns who, whom and ' r
that. For example, we can say both the friends that I see most, ot the
) You also use nada, nadie and ninguno on their own without no when they
friends I see most.
come before a verb.
In Spanish, you can NEVER miss out que in this way.
Nada lo asusta. Nothing frightens him.
Nadie habl6. Nobody spoke.
When the relative pronoun is used with a preposition, use elllallos/las que
Ninguno de mis amigos quiso None of my friends wanted to
or quien/quienes which must agree with the noun it replaces; el que
venir. come.
changes for the feminine and plural forms, quien changes only in the
+ For more informotion on Negatives, see poge 157. olural.
Key points Here are the Spanish relative pronouns referring to people that are used
y' Where indefinite pronouns have alternative endings, they must after a preposition:
agree with the noun they refer to.
y' Anything is usually translated by algo in questions and by nada in Masculine Feminine Meaning
sentences containing no. Singular el que la que who, that whom
y' Anybody is usually translated by alguien in questions and by quien quien
nadie in sentences containing no. Plural los que las que who, that whom
y' When nada, nadie or ninguno come after the verb, remember to quienes quienes
put no before it. When they come before the verb, don't use no.
For further explanation of grammatical tems, please see pages viii-xii.
62 PRotrtoutrts Pnoruourus 63
las mujeres con las que or the women (that) she was talking to When the relative pronoun is used with a preposition, use elllallos/las que,
con quienes estaba hablando which must agree with the noun it replaces. Here are the Spanish relative
La chica de la que or de quien The girl (that) | told you about is pronouns referring to things that are used after a preposition:
te habl6 llega mafiana. coming tomorrow.
Masculine Feminine Meaning
los nifios de los que or de the children (that) you look after Singular el que la que which, that
quienes se ocupa usted
Plural los que las que which, that
rrp
fn English, we often miss out the relative pronouns which and thot. '
For exampfe, we can say both the house which we wont to buy, or the
house we want to buy.
In Spanish, you can NEVER miss out que in this way.
Interrogative pronouns
Grammar Extra!
fn Engf ish we can use whose Io show possession, for example, the woman whose son is ill. What is an interrogative pronoun?
fn Spanish you use cuyo/cuya/cuyos/cuyas; cuyo is actually an adjective and must ln English, an interrogative pronoun is one of the words who, which, whose,
agree with the noun it describes NOT with the person who owns that thing.
whom, and whotwhen they are used without a noun to ask questions.
La mujer, cuvo nombre era Antonia, The woman, whose name was Antonia,
estaba jubilada. was retired.
el sefior en cuya casa me aloj6 the gentleman whose house I stayed in > These are the interrogative pronouns in Spanish:
In your reading, you may come across the forms el cual/la cual/los cuales/las cuales Singular Plural Meaning
which are a more formal alternative to el que/la que/los que/las que after a
2qu6? 2qu6? what?
preposition.
icu6l? which? which one(s)?; what?
las muieres con las cuales estaba the women (that or who) she was 4cu6les?
hablando talking to aqui6n? 4qui6nes? who? (os subject or after o
preposition)
la ventana desde la cual nos the window from which they were
observaban watching us 2cu6nto?/2cu5nta? 4cu6ntos?/icu6ntas? how much? how manv?
el cual/la cual/los cuales/las cuales are also useful to make it clear who you are talking
about in other cases where the pronoun does not immediately follow the person or [J Note that question words have an accent on them in Spanish.
thing it refers to.
El padre de Elena, el cual
mucho dinero, es ...
tiene Elena's father,
is ...
who has a lot of money, I I 2que?
iqu6? is the equivalent ot whot? in English.
2Ou6 estiin haciendo? What are they doing?
E_l Other uses of el sue. la que. los que. las que 4Ou6 dices? What are you saying?
} You can use el que, la que, los que, las que to mean the one(s) 4Para qu6 lo quieres? What do you want it for?
(who/which) ot those who. D You can use epor qu6? in the same way as why? in English.
Esa pelicula es la que quiero veL That film the one I want to see.
is
2Por qu6 no vienes? Why don't you come?
los que quieren irse those who want to leave
t 2cu5l?. Zcu6les?
Key points
> 1cu6l? and icu6les? are usually the equivalent of which? in English and are
r/ que can refer to both people and things in Spanish.
used when there is a choice between two or more things.
( ln English we often miss out the relative pronouns who, which and
that, but in Spanish you can never miss out que. 4Cu5l de estos vestidos te Which of these dresses do you like
gusta m5s? best?
1/ After a preposition you use el que/la que/los que/las que or
quien/quienes if you are referring to people; you use el que/la lGuiiles quieres? Which (ones) do you want?
que/los que,/las que if you are referring to things. el que and
quien agree with the nouns they replace.
fl t',tote that you don't use cu6l before a noun; use qu6 instead.
4Con qui6nes los viste? Who did you see them with?
The demonstrative pronouns in Spanish have to agree with the noun that
aA qui6n se lo diste? Who did you give it to?
they are replacing.
) 2a qui6n? and 2a qui6nes? are the equivalent of who(m)? when it is the 1Ou6 abrigo te gusta m6s? - Which coat do you like best? -
object of the verb. Este de aqui. This one here.
aA qui6n viste? Who did you see? or Aquella casa era m6s grande That house was bigger than this
. Whom did you see? que 6sta. one.
iA qui6nes ayudaste? Who did you help? or estos libros y aqu6llos these books and those (over there)
Whom did you help?
Ouiero estas sandalias y 6sas. l'd like these sandals and those
} ide qui6n? and ide qui6nes? are the equivalent of whose? in English. ones.
2De qui6n es este libro? Whose is this book? or Whose
books are these? tl 26se or aqu6l?
2De qui6nes son estos coches? Whose are these cars? or Whose > ln English we use thot and fhose to talk about anything that is not close by.
cars are these? In Spanish, you need to be a bit more precise.
tr acu6nto?,4cudntos? D Use 6se/6sa and so on to indicate things and people that are nearer to the
person you're talking to than to you.
D icuiinto? (mosculine) and icu6nta? (feminine) are the equivalent of how
much in English. 2cu6ntos? (masculine plural) and lcu6ntas? (feminine Me gusta mis 6se que tienes I prefer the one you've got in your
pluraf) are the equivalent of how manyl en la mano. hand.
aGu6nto es? How much is it? > Use 6se/6sa and so on to indicate things and people that aren't very far
2Gu6ntos tienes? How many have you got? away.
Si quieres ver una pelicula, lf you want to see a film, we can go
podemos ir a 6sa que dijiste. and see that one you mentioned.
For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii.
68 Pnoruourus
) Use aqu6l/aqu6lla and so on to talk about things that are further away.
VERBS
Aqutilla al fondo de la calle es My house is that one at the end of
mi casa. the street.
What is a verb?
@ trtote that the masculine and feminine forms of demonstrative pronouns
A verb is a 'doing' word which describes what someone or something
usually have an accent, to distinguish them from demonstrative
<loes, what someone or something is, or what happens to them, for
adjectives. Compare:
cxample, be, sing, live.
este boligrafo this pen 6ste this one
esa mesa that table 6sa that one
Overview of verbs
+ For more informotion on Demonstrotive odjectives, see page 30.
> Verbs are frequently used with a noun, with somebody's name or,
) The neuter forms (esto, eso, aquello) are used to talk about an object you particularly in English, with a pronoun such as l, you or she. They can
don't recognize or about an idea or statement. relate to the present, the past and the future; this is called their tense.
a0u6 es eso que llevas en What's that you've got in your r:, For more information on Nouns ond Pronouns, see poges 1 and 41 .
la mano? hand?
No puedo creer que esto me I can't believe this is really > Verbs are either:
est6 pasando a mi. happening to me., o regular; their forms follow the normal rules
Aquello si que me gust6. I really did like that. o irregular; their forms do not follow normal rules
@ Note that the neuter forms of demonstrative pronouns do NOT have > Almost all verbs have a form called the infinitive. This is a base form of the
an accent. verb (for example, walk, see, hear) that hasn't had any endings added to it
and doesn't relate to any particular tense. In English, the infinitive is usually
Key points
shown with fq as in to speak, to eot, to live.
y' Spanis.h demonstrative pronouns agree with the noun they are
replacing. > In Spanish, the infinitive is always made up of just one word (never two as
y' Masculine and feminine demonstrative pronouns usually have an in to speok in English) and ends in -ar, -er or -ir: for example, hablar
accent on them in both the singular and the plural. (meaning to speak), comer (meaning to eot) and viv!1 (meanin g to live).
y' In Spanish you have to choose the correct pronoun to emphasize All Spanish verbs belong to one of these three types, which are called
the difference between something that is close to you and coniugations. We will look at each of these three conjugations in turn on
something that is further away: the next few pages.
. 6ste/6sta/6stos and 6stas (meaning this/these) are used to > Regular English verbs have other forms apart from the infinitive: a form
indicate things and people that are very close. ending in -s (wolks), a form ending in -ing (walking), and a form ending
.6se/6sal6sos and 6sas (meaning that/those) are used to in -ed (wolked).
indicate things and people that are near the person you are
talking to or that aren't too far away. > Spanish verbs have many more forms than this, which are made up of
. aqu6l/aqu6lla/aqu6llos/aqu6llas (meaning thqt/those) are used endings added to a stem. The stem of a verb can usually be worked out
to indicate things and people that are further away. from the infinitive.
y' The neuter pronouns (esto, eso and aquello) are used to talk
about things you don't recognize or to refer to statements or
ideas. They don't have an accent.
) Spanish verb endings change depending on who or what is doing the The present tenses
action and on when the action takes place. In fact the ending is very often
the only thing that shows you who is doing the action, as the Spanish What are the present tenses?
equivalents of l, you, he and so on (yo, tri, 6l and so on) are not used very llre present tenses are the verb forms that are used to talk about what is
much. So, both hablo on its own and yo hablo mean I speak. Sometimes true at the moment, what happens regularly and what is happening now;
there is a name or a noun in the sentence to make it clear who is doing the Irrr example, l'm a student; I trovel to college by troin; I'm:ludyingl
action. ltnguages.
Jos6 habla espafiol. los6 speak Spanish.
El profesor habla espafrol. The teacher speaks Spanish. In English, there are two tenses you can use to talk about the present:
r the present simple tense
+ For more information on Subject pronouns, see page 42.
I live here.
) Spanish verb forms also change depending on whether you are talking Thev oet uo earlv.
about the present, past or future, so (yo) hablar6 means / will speokwhile . the present continuous tense
(yo) habl6 means / spoke.
He is eating an apple.
) Some verbs in Spanish do not follow the usual patterns. These irregular You aren't working very hard.
verbs include some very common and important verbs like ir (meaning to
ln Spanish, there is also a present simple and a present continuous tense.
go), ser and estar (meaning to be) and hacer (meaning to do or ,to make).
As in English, the present simple in Spanish is used to talk about:
Other verbs are only slightly irregular, changing their stems in certain
tenses. . things that are generally true
En invierno hace frio. Itb cold in winter.
O For Verb Tables, see supplement. o things that are true at the moment
Carlos no come carne. Carlos doesn't eat meat.
Key points
y' Spanish verbs have different forms depending on who or what is
o things that happen at intervals
doing the action and on the tense. A menudo vamos al cine. We often p to the cinema.
y' Spanish verb forms are made up of a stem and an ending. The > The plesenllanttnueus tense in Spanish is used to talk about things that
stem is usually based on the infinitive of the verb. The ending are happening right now or at the time of writing:
depends on who or what is doing the action and on when the Marta est6 viendo la televisi6n. Marta is watching television.
action takes place.
D However, there are times where the use of the present tenses in the two
y' Regular verbs follow the standard patterns for -ar, -er and -ir
languages is not exactly the same.
verbs. lrregular verbs do not.
t i For more information on the use of the Present tenses, see pages 79 ond 84.
) Now you know how to find the stem of a verb you can add the correct r i' For more information on Ways of soying 'you' in Sponish, see page 44.
ending. The one you choose will depend on who or what is doing the
action. Key points
y' Verbs ending in -ar belong to the first conjugation. Regular -ar
@ Note that as the ending generally makes it clear who is doing the action, verbs form their present tense stem by losing the -ar.
you usually don't need to add a subject pronoun such as yo (meaning I), y' The present tense endings for regular -ar verbs are: -o, -as, -a,
tri (meaning you) as well. -amos, -iis, -an.
y' You usually don't need to give a pronoun in Spanish as the
+ For more information on Subject pronouns, see poge 42. ending of the verb makes it clear who or what is doing the action.
) Here are the present simple endings for regular -ar verbs:
Present simple endings Present simple of hablar Meaning: to speal ., Forming the present simple tense of regular -er verbs
-o (yo) hablo I speak > lf the infinitive of the Spanish verb ends in -er, it means that the verb
-as (tri) hablas you speaK belongs to the second conjugation, for example, comer, depender.
-a (61/ella) habla he/she/it speaks > The stem of regular -er verbs in the present simple tense is formed by
(usted) habla you speak taking the infinitive and chopping off -er.
-amos (nosotros/nosotras) hablamos we speaK
-als (vosotros/vosotras) hablSis you speak
-an (ellos/ellas) hablan they speak
(ustedes) hablan you speaK
> Now add the correct ending, depending on who or what is doing the
) You use the 6llella (third person singular) form of the verb with nouns and action.
with people's names, when you are just talking about one person, animal or
thing. Il ruote that as the ending generally makes it clear who is doing the
Lydia estudia medicina. Lydia studies or is studying action, you usually don't need to add a subject pronoun such as yo
medicine. (meaning I) or tf (meaning you) as well.
Mi profesor me ayuda mucho. My teacher helps me a lot. t I For more informotion on Subject pronouns, see poge 42.
For further explanation of grammatical tems, please see pages viii-xii,
74 Venes Venes 75
) Here are the present simple endings for regular -er verbs: r Forming the present simple tense of regular -ir verbs
Present simple endings Present simple of comer Meaning: fo eat > lf the infinitive of the Spanish verb ends in -ir, it means that the verb
-o (yo) como I eat belongs to the third coniugation, for example, vivir, recibir.
-es (tri) comes you eal > The stem of regular -ir verbs in the present simple tense is formed by taking
-e (61/ella) come he/she/it eats the infinitive and chopping off -ir.
(usted) come you eat
-emos (nosotros/nosotras) comemos we eat
-ers (vosotros/vosotras) com6is you eat
-en (ellos/ellas) comen they eat
> Now add the correct ending depending on who or what is doing the
(ustedes) comen you eat action.
You use the 6llella (third person singular) form of the verb with nouns and
with people's names, when you are just talking about one person, animal or [l Note that as the ending generally makes it clear who is doing the
action, you usually don't need to add a subject pronoun such as yo
thing.
(meaning I) or tri (meaning you) as well.
Juan come demasiado. luan eats too much.
Mi padre me debe 15 euros. My father owes me 15 euros. r i' For more information on Subject pronouns, see poge 42.
} You use the ellos/ellas (third person plural) form of the verb with nouns and
>
with people's names, when you talking about more than one person, Here are the present simple endings for regular -ir verbs:
animal or thing. Present simple endings Present simple of vivir Meaning: fo live
Juan y Pedro comen Juan and Pedro eat too much. -o (yo) vivo I live
demasiado. (tti) vives you live
-es
Mis padres me deben 15 euros. My parents owe me 15 euros.
(61/ella) vive he/she/it lives
-e
@ Note that even though you use the'61/ella and ellos/ellas forms of the (usted) vive you live
verb to talk about things in Spanish, you should never include the
-rmos (nosotros/nosotras) vivlnq! we live
pronouns 61, ella, ellos or ellas themselves in the sentence when
referring to things. -ts (vosotros/vosotras) vivil you live
O For more information on Ways of soying 'you' in Sponish, see poge 44. {tri) clcrras piensas entlcndes pierdes prefigres
(61/ella/usted) clgrra prensa entiende pierde preflgre
(nosotros/as! cgrrarnos pgnsamos entgndemos perdemos prefgrimos
y' Verbs ending in -ir betong f;lnlttTH conjugation. Regutar -ir (vosotros/as) cerrats pensars entend6is perd6is preferis
verbs form their present tense stem by losing the -ir. (ellos/ellas/ustedes) cterran piensan entienden pierden prefigren
y' T.he present tense endings for regular -ir verbs are: - o, -es, -e,
A few -ir verbs containing -e in the stem change this to -i in the present
/ tl';:;:lirll;- need to sive a pronoun in spanish as the simple for all forms APART FROM the nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/
vosotras forms.
ending of the verb makes it clear who or what is doing the action.
pedir servir
Forming the present simple tense of less regular verbs to ask (for) to serve
A (yo) Pido 5!rvo
F Many Spanish verbs do not follow the regular patterns shown previously.
{tri) Pides srryes
There are lots of verbs that change their stem in the present tense when the
stress is on the stem. This means that all forms are affected in the present {61/ella/usted} Pide slrve
simple APART FROM the nosotros and vosotros forms. Such verbs are often (nosotros/as! pedimos sgrvrmos
called radical-changing verbs. meaning root-changing verbs. (vosotros/as) Pcdis serus
L For example, some verbs containing an -o in the stem change it to -ue in (ellos/ellas/ustedes) Piden slrven
the present simple for all forms APART FROM the nosotros/nosotras and
vosotros/vosotras forms. > lf you are not sure whether a Spanish verb belongs to this group of radical-
changing verbs, you can look up the Verb Tables in the supplement.
encontrar recordar poder dormir
to find to remember to be oble to sleep t I For more informqtion on Spelling, see page 1 96,
{yo) encucntro recuerdo ouedo duermo
(tti) encugntras recuerdas ouedes duermes ', ] Forming the present simple tense of common irregular verbs
(61/ella/usted) encuentra recuerda puede duerme > There are many other verbs that do not follow the usual patterns in
(nosotros/asl encontramos recordamos psdemos dormimos Spanish. These include some very common and important verbs such as
(vosotros/as) encont16is recsrdiis pod6is dormis tener (meaning to hove), hacer (meaning to do or to moke) and ir
(ellos/ellas/ustedes) encuentran recuerdan pueden duermen
(meaning fo go). These verbs are shown in full on the next page.
aCu6ntos sellos tienes? How many stamps have you got? > As in English, you use the Spanish present simple to talk about:
Tiene el pelo rubio. He has blond hair. . things that are generally true
En verano hace calor. It's hot in summer.
) Here are the present simple tense endings for hacer:
o things that are true now
hacer Meaning: to do, to make Viven en Francia. They live in France.
{yo} hago ldo, I make o things that happen all the time or at certain intervals or that you do as
(ttil haces you do, you make a habit
(61lella/usted) hace he/she/it does, he/she/it makes, you do, Marta lleva gafas. Marta wears glasses.
you make
Mi tio vende mariscos. My uncle sells shellfish.
(nosotros/nosotras) hacemos we do. we make
. things that you are planning to do
(vosotros/vosotras) hac6is you do, you make
El domingo iugamos en Le6n. We're playing irt Le6n on Sunday.
(ellos/ellas/ustedes) hacen they do, they make, you do, you make
Mafrana voy a Madrid. I am going to Madrid tomorrow.
Hago una tortilla. l'm making an omelette. There are some instances when you would use the present simple in
No hago mucho deporte. I don't do a lot of sport. Spanish, but you wouldn't use it in English:
2Ou6 haces? What are you doing? r to talk about current projects and activities that may not actually be
Hace calor. It's hot. going on right at this very rninute
Construye una casa. He's building a house.
) Here are the present simple tense endings for ir: o when you use certain time expressions in Spanish, especially desde
lr Meaning: fo go (meaning srnce) and desde hace (meaning for), to talk about activities
and states that started in the past and are still going on now
(yo) voy l9o
(tri)
Jaime vive aqui desde hace Jaime has been living here for two
vas you go
dos aftos. years.
(61/ella/ustedl va he/she/it goes, you go
(nosotros/nosotrasl
Daniel vive aqui desde 1999. Daniel has lived here since 1999.
vamos we go
(vosotros/vosotrasl vals you go
Llevo horas esperando aqui. l've been waiting here for hours.
(ellos/ellas/ustedesl van they 90, you go t i For more informqtion on the use of tenses with desde, see poge 189.
) In Spanish there are two irregular verbs, ser and estar, that both mean fo Son las tres y media. It's half past three.
be, although they are used very differently. In the present simple tense, they Maffana es s6bado. Tomorrow is Saturday.
follow the patterns shown below. in calculations
Ties y dos son cinco. Three and two are five.
Pronoun ser e6tal Meaning: fo be
4Cu6nto es? - Son dos euros. How much is it? lt's two euros.
{yol soy estoy lam
(tril when followed by an infinitive
eres est6s you are
(61/ella/usted) es est5 he/she/it is, you are Lo importante es decir la The important thing is to tell
(nosotros/nosotras) verdad. the truth.
somos estamos we are
(vosotros/vosotras) sors est6is you are r:) For more informotion on the Infinitive, see page 144.
(elllos/ellas/ustedes) son estSn they/you are
. to describe actions using the passive (for example they are made,
l ser is used: it is sold)
o with an adjective when talking about a characteristic or fairly permanent Son fabricados en Espafta. They are made in Spain.
quality, for example, shape, size, heighf colour, material, nationality.
Mi hermano es alto. My brother is tall.
f :) For more informqtion on the Passive, see page 122.
Miguel es camarero.
1Ou6 guapa est6s con este How pretty you look in that dress!
Miguel is a waiter. vestido!
Soy yo, Enrique. It's me, Enrique. Hoy estoy de mal humor. l'm in a bad mood today.
Madrid es la capital de Espafra. Madrid is the capital of Spain.
. to say that something belongs to someone t i For more informotion on Adjectives, see poge 19.
La casa es de Javier. The house belongs to Javier. r with a past participle used as an adjective, to describe the state that
Es mio. It's mine. something is in
. to talk about where someone or something comes from Las tiendas est6n cerradas. The shops are closed.
Yo sov de Escocia. l'm from Scotland. No est6 terminado. lt isn't finished.
Mi mujer es de Granada. My wife is from Cranada. El lavabo est6 ocupado. The toilet is engaged.
Est6 roto. lt's broken.
Infinitive Meaning Stem (without -erl-ir) Gerund Meaning zl Forming the imperative: instructions not to do something
comer to eat com- comiendo eating D In orders that tell you NQT to do something and that have no in front of
escribir to write escrib- escribiendo writing them in Spanish, the imperative forms for ti, usted, nosotros/nosotras,
vosotros/vosotras and ustedes are all taken from a verb form called the
rq present subjunctive. lt's easy to remember because the endings for -ar and
-er verbs are the opposite of what they are in the ordinary present tense.
Only use the present continuous to talk about things that are in
the middle of happening right now. Use the present simple tense t ) For more informotion on the Present tense ond the Subiunctive, see pages
instead to talk about activities which are current but which may not 69 ond 134.
be happening at this minute.
Lydia estudia medicina. Lydiat studying medicine. > In regular -ar verbs, you take off the -as, -a, -amos, -iiis and -an endings of
the present tense and replace them with: -es/ -e, -emos, -6is and -en.
Q for more information on the Present simple tense, see poge 72.
-ar verb trabajar to work
tri form 1no trabajes! Don't workl
y' ontyuse the present ."",,I"?rlrtll*!unirn for actions that are
usted form
nosotros/as form
1no trabaje!
trabajemos!
Don't work!
Let's not work!
1no
happening right now. Don't work!
vosotros/as form 1no trabaj6is!
y' Toform the present continuous tense in Spanish, take the present ustedes form 1no trabajen! Don't work!
tense of estar and add the gerund of the main verb.
tf form ;no des! 1no digas! ;no est6sl ;no hagas! lno vayas!
There are special forms of the imperative for td and vosotros/vosotras in
don't give! don't say! don't bel don't do/makel don't gol positive instructions (instructions telling you to do something).
usted form ;no d6! ;no diga! ;no est6! ino haga! lno vaya! The tri form of the imperative is the same as the tri form of the ordinary
don't give! don't say! don't bel don't do/makel don't gol
present simple tense, but without the final -s.
nosotros form ino demos! ino digamos! 1no estemos! ;no hagamos! lno vayamos!
let's not give! let's not say! let's not be! let's not do/make! let's not gol trabajar --) ;Trabaja!
vosotros form lno deis! ;no digiis! ino est6is! 1no hag6is! ;no vayiiis! to work Work!
don't give! don't say! don't be! don't do/make! don't go! comer -+ iCome!
ustedes fom lno den! ;no digan! ino est6n! lno hagan! ino vayan! to eat Eat!
don't givel don't say! don't be! don't do/make! don't go! decidir --' ;Decide!
poner to put salir to leave ser to be tener to have venir to come to decide Decide!
tri form 1no pongas! lno salgas! lno seas! ino tengas! lno vengas!
don't put! don't leavel don't be! dont don't comel
have!
t ) For more informotion on the Present simple tense, see page 72.
usted fonn ;no ponga! ;no salga! ;no sea! ino tenga! ino venga!
don't put! don't leave! don't be! don't have! don't come!
D The vosotros/vosotras form of the imperative is the same as the infinitive,
nosotros form 1no pongamos! 1no salgamos! lno seamos! ino tengamos! ino vengamos except that you take off the final -r and add -d instead.
let's not put! let's not leave! let's not bel let's not have! let's not come!
vosotros fonn
trabajar Trabajad!
1no pong6is! ;no salg6isl 1no se6is! ;no tengiiis! lno veng6is!
don't put! don't leave! don't be! don't have! don't come! to work Work!
ustedes form ino pongan! lno salgan! gno sean! ino tengan! ;no vengan!
comer Comed!
don't putl don't leave! don't be! don't have! don't come! to eat Eat!
decidir Decidid!
to decide Decide!
lleflexive verbs
y' In Spanish, in instructio"rHfrH"romething, the endings are
What is a reflexive verb?
taken from the present subjunctive. They are the same as the ,\ reflexive verb is one where the subject and object are the same, and
corresponding endings for -ar and -er verbs in the ordinary ,,vlrere the action 'reflects back' on the subiect. lt is used with a reflexive
present tense, except that the -e endings go on the -ar verbs and
the -a endings go on the -er and -ir verbs. t)fonoun such as myself, yourself and herself in English, for example,
I washed myself.; He shaved himself.
y' Yor -ar verbs the forms are: no hables (tri form); no hable (usted
form); no hablemos (nosotroslas form); no habl6is (vosotros/as
form); no hablen (ustedes form) I Using reflexive verbs
y' For -er verbs the forms are: no comas (tri form); no coma (usted
In Spanish, reflexive verbs are much more common than in English, and
form); no €omamos (nosotros/as form); no com6is (vosotros/as rnany are used in everyday language. The infinitive form of a reflexive verb
form); no coman (ustedes form) has se attached to the end of it, for example, secarse (meaning fo dry
y' for -ir verbs the forms are: no decidas (tf form); no decida oneself. This is the way reflexive verbs are shown in dictionaries. se means
(usted form); no decidamos (nosotros/as form); no decid6is himself, herself, itself, yourself, themselves, yourselves and oneself . se is called
(vosotros/as form); no decidan (ustedes form) a reflexive pronoun.
y' ln instructions to do something, the forms for usted, nosotros/as In Spanish, reflexive verbs are often used to describe things you do to
and ustedes are the same as they are in instructions not to do yourself every day or that involve a change of some sort for example,
something. going to bed, sitting down, getting angry, and so on. Some of the most
y' The forms for tri and vosotros/as are different: common reflexive verbs in Spanish are listed here.
o the tf form is the same as the corresponding form in the acostarse to go to bed
ordinary present tense, but without the final -s: trabaja; come; afeitarse to shave
decide bafrarse to have a bath, to have a swim
o the vosotros/as form is the same as the infinitive but with a dormirse to go to sleep
final -d instead of the -r: trabajad; comed; decidid to have a shower
ducharse
y' A number of verbs have irregular imperative forms. enfadarse to get angry
y' The object pronouns in imperatives go before the verb when lavarse to wash
telling someone not to do something; they join onto the end of levantarse to get up
the verb when telling someone to do something. llamarse to be called
secarse to get dried
sentarse to sit down
vestirse to get dressed
Me bafto a las siete y media. I have a bath at half past seven.
lDu6rmete! Co to sleep!
Mi hermana se ducha. My sister has a shower.
Mi madre se enfada mucho. My mother often gets angry.
Mi hermano no se lava. My brother doesn't wash.
Me levanto a las siete. I get up at seven o'clock.
2C6mo te llamas? What's Your name?
4A qu6 hora os acost6is? What time do you go to bed?
iSentaos! Sit down!
Nos vestimos. We're getting dressed.
Note that se, me and so on are very rarely translated as himself, myself Subject pronoun Reflexive pronoun Meaning
@ (yo) myself
and so on in English. Instead of he dresses himself or they both me
themselves, in English, we are more likely to say he gets dressed or they (tri) te yourself
have a bath. (6D 5e himself
(ella) herself
) Some Spanish verbs can be used both as reflexive verbs and as ordinary (uno) oneself
verbs (without the reflexive pronoun). When they are used as ordinary itself
verbs, the person or thing doing the action is not the same as the person (usted) yourself
or thing receiving the action, so the meaning is different. (n05otros/nosotras) nos ourselves
Grammar Extra! ordinary verb, except that the reflexive pronoun is used as well.
Some verbs mean ALMOST the same in the reflexive as when they are used on their r) For more information on the Present tense, see page 69.
own.
Duermo. I sleep. >The following table shows the reflexive verb lavarse in full.
Me duermo. I go to sleep. Reflexive forms of lavarse Meaning
2Ouieres ir al cine? Do you want to go to the cinema?
(yo) me lavo I wash (myself)
Acaba de irse. ' He has just left.
(tf) te lavas you wash (yourself)
(61) se lava he washes (himself)
(ella) se lava she washes (herselD
A Forming the present tense of reflexive verbs (uno) se lava one washes (oneself)
it washes (itself)
L To use a reflexive verb in Spanish, you need to decide which reflexive se lava
(usted) se lava you wash (yourself)
pronoun to use. See how the reflexive pronouns in the table on the next
page correspond to the subject pronouns. (nosotros/nosotras) nos lavamos we wash (ourselves)
(vosotros/vosotras) os laviiis you wash (yourselves)
(ellos) se lavan they wash (themselves)
(ellas) se lavan they wash (themselves)
(ustedes) se lavan you wash (yourselves)
Position of reflexive pronouns Tienes que vestite orTe tienes You must get dressed.
El que vestir.
l In ordinary tenses such as the present simple, the reflexive pronoun goes Estii visti6ndose orSe est6 She's getting dressed.
BEFORE the verb. vistiendo.
Me acuesto temprano. I go to bed early. lEsttis duch5ndote? or 2Te estSs Are you having a shower?
2c6mo se llama usted? What's your name? duchando?
+ For more informotion on the Present simple tense, see page 72. t ) For more informotion on Gerunds, see poge 125.
F When telling someone NOT TO DO something, you also put the reflexive [J Note tha! when adding pronouns to the ends of verb forms, you will
pronoun BEFORE the verb. often have to add a written accent to preserve the stress.
No te levantes. Don't get up.
Don't go away!
t ) For more informotion on Stress, see poge 200.
lNo os vayiiis!
) When telling someone TO DO something, you join the reflexive pronoun 4l Using reflexive verbs with parts of the body and clothes
onto the end of the verb.
D In Spanish, you often talk about actions to do with your body or your
lSi6ntense! Sit down!
clothing using a reflexive verb.
iCiillate! Be quietl
Se est6 secando el pelo. She's drying her hair.
+ For more informotion on the lmperative, see page 85. Nos lavamos los dientes. We clean our teeth.
Se est6 poniendo el abrigo. He's putting on his coat.
) You always join the reflexive pronoun onto the end of infinitives and
s I Other uses of reflexive verbs
gerunds (the -ando or -iendo forms of the verb) unless the infinitive or > ln English we often use a passive construction, for example, goods ore
gerund follows another verb. transported all over the world, most of our teo is imported from lndia ond
en You have to relax from time Chino, ln Spanish, this construction is not used so much. Instead, very often
Hay que relajarsg de vez
a reflexive verb with se is used.
cuando. to time.
Acost6ndose temprano, se You feel more rested by going to Aqui se vende caf6. Coffee is sold here.
descansa mejor. bed early Aqui se venden muchos libros. Lots of books are sold here.
Se habla ingl6s. Enqlish is sooken here.
) Where the infinitive or gerund follows another verb, you can put the
reflexive pronoun either at the end of the infinitive or gerund or before the En Suiza se hablan tres Three languages are spoken in
other verb. idiomas. Switzerland.
Ouiero bafiarmc or Me quiero I want to have a bath. fl Note that the verb has to be singular or plural depending on whether
bafiar.
the noun is singular or plural.
| :, For more informotion on the Possive, see page 122.
For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii'
96 Venes Venes 97
) A reflexive verb with se is also used in some very common expressions. The future tense
aG6mo se dice "siesta" en How do you say "siesta" in English?
inglt6s? What is the future tense?
aG6mo se escribe "Tarragona"? How do you spell "Taragona"? lhe future tense is a verb tense used to talk about something that will
l lrappen or will be true in the future, for example, He'll be here soon; l'll
se is also used in impersonal expressions. In this case, it often corresponds
qive you a call; What will you do?; It will be sunny tomorrow.
to one (or you) in English.
No se puede entrar. You can't go in.
No se permite. You aren't or lt isn't allowed.
r I Wavs of talking about the future
l> In Spanish, just as in English, you can often use the present tense to refer to
O For more information on lmpersonol verbs, see poge 129. something that is going to happen in the future.
} nos, os and se are all also used to mean eoch other and one another. Cogemos el tren de las once' We're getting the eleven o'clock
train.
Nos escribimos. We write to one another.
Nos queremos. Mafiana vov a Madrid. I am going to Madrid tomorrow.
We love each other.
Rachel y Julie se odian. Rachel and Julie hate each other. ln English we often use going to with an infinitive to talk about the
No se conocen, They don't know each other. immediate future or our future plans. In spanish, you can use the present
tense of ir followed by a and an infinitive.
Va a perder el tren. He's going to miss the train.
Va a llevar una media hora' lt's going to take about half an hour'
y' A renexive verb is .n"0. J[eJr:tt:]l;ive pronoun and a verb. Vov a hacerlo mafrana. l'm going to do it tomorrow.
y' The reflexive pronouns are: me, te, se, nos, os, se.
( tn9 reflexive pronoun goes before the verb, except when you are zl Forming the future tense
to do somethins and with infinitives and
> In English we can form the future tense by putting wil/ or its shortened form
;liTff:t*ne ? before the verb. In Spanish you have to change the verb endings' So, just
as hablo means I speak, hablar6 means t will speak or I sholl speok'
l> To form the future tense of regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs, add the following
endings to the infinitive of the verb: -6, -6s, -6, -emos, -6is, -6n'
> The following table shows the future tense of three regular verbs: hablar
(meaning to-speak), comer (meaning to eof) and vivir (meaning to live)'
Hablar6 con ella. l'll speak to her. Vrrbb Stem (yo) (t'i) (6t) (nosotros) (vosotros) {ellos}
(ella) (nosotras) (ellas)
Comeremos en casa de Jos6. We'll eat at Jos6's. {vosotras)
(ustedl (ustedes)
No volver5. He won't come back.
saldr€ saldriis saldrii saldrexoo! saldrcis saldriin
2Lo entender6s? Will vou understand it? r,rlir saldr-
lrr leave
le
@ Note that in the future tense only the nosotros/nosotras form doesn't tendras tendrii tendrcn[s! tendrdjs tendriin
t rnef tendr- tend16
have an accent. to have
hat
Remember that Spanish has no direct equivalent of the word will in l'll do it tomorrow.
Lo har6 maiana.
verb forms like will roin or will look and so on. You change the We won't be able to do it.
No pqdrcmas hacerlo'
Spanish verb ending instead to form the future tense.
Lo pendr(i aqui. l'll put it here.
Saldr6n por la mafiana' They'll leave in the morning.
Grammar Extra! eA qu6 hora vendr6s? What time will You come?
In English, we sometimes use wr// with the meaning of be willing fo rather than simply
express the future, for example, Will you wait for me a moment? In Spanish you don't (/J Note that the verb haber only used when forming other tenses, such
is
the future tense to say this; you use the verb querer (meaning to want) instead.
"- as the perfect tense, and in the expression hay (meaning there is or
4Me quieres esperar un momento, Will you wait for me a moment, there ore).
por favor? please?
more informotion on the Perfect tense and on hay, see poges 15 ond
r i For
1
1 30.
E_l Verbs with irregular stems in the future tense
) There are a few verbs that DO NOT use their infinitives as the stem for the a Reflexive verbs in the future tense
future tense. Here are some of the most common.
> The future tense of reflexive verbs is formed in just the same way as for
Verb Stem (yo) {tri} (,-6t) {nosotros) (vosotrosl (ellos) ordinary verbs, except that you have to remember to give the reflexive
(ella) {nosotras) (vosotras) {ellas} pronoun (me, te, se, not of se).
(usted) {ustedes) Me leventar6 temprano' l'll get up early'
decir dir- di16 dii6s di16 diremat dir€js dinin
to say
haber habr- habrd hab16 habremss habr6is habriin
to have
hab16s
y' Youcan use a present,""l;t',"0soj:frh to talk about something
that will happen or be true, lust as in English'
hacer 1ar- ha16 hariir hard haremos har6is 1arlul
to do/make ( you can use ir a with an infinitive to talk about things that will
The conditional r,,. lollowing table shows the conditional tense of three regular verbs:
t,rlrlar (meaning to speak), comer (meaning to eot) and vivir (meaning
What is the conditional? r.' lvr').
The conditional is a verb form used to talk about things that would comerla viviria lwould
r) hablaria
happen or that would be true under certain conditions, for example, I speak/eat/live
would help you if I could. vivirlat you would
) hablariac comerEll
lt is also used to say what you would like or need, for example, Could you speak/eati live
Deberias hacer m6s ejercicio. You should take more exercise. l'd like to go to China.
Me gustaria ir a China.
. saying what you would do Diie que hablaria con ella. I said that I would sPeak to her'
Le dije que le avudaria. Deberia llamar a mis Padres. I should ring mY Parents.
lsaid lwould help him.
rtp Ttp
There is no direct Spanish translation of would in verb forms like Don't forget to put an accent on the i in the conditional'
would be, would like, would help and so on. You change the Spanish
to those of
verb ending instead.
m Note that the endings in the conditional tense are identical
ior -e. and -ir verbs' The only difference is that they
the imperfect tense
are added to a different stem'
A Forming the conditionat
more information on the tmpertect tense, see poge
110'
} To form the conditional of regular -ar, -er, and -ir verbs, add the following I ..) For
endings to the infinitive of the verb: -(a, -ias, -ia, -iamos, -iais, -ian.
EJ Verbs with irregular stems in the conditional 4] Reflexive verbs in the conditional
) To form the conditional of irregular verbs, use the same stem as for the > The conditional of reflexive verbs is formed in just the same way as for
future tense, then add the usual endings for the conditional. The same ordinary verbs, except that you have to remember to give the reflexive
verbs that are irregular in the future tense are irregular in the conditional. pronoun (me, te, 5e, nos, os, se).
Verb Stem (yol (tril (6D (nosotros) (vosotros) (ellos) Le dije que me levantaria I said I would get up early.
{ellal (nosotrasl (vosotrasl (ellas) temprano.
{ustedl (ustedesl
decir dir- diria diriar dirla diriames diriais dirlan
to say Key points
haber habr- habria habr[e: habria habriamos habriais habrian y' ln Spanish, there is no direct equivalent of the word would in verb
to have forms like would go and would look and so on. You change the
hacer har- haria harias haria hariam-qr hartail harlaD verb ending instead.
to do/ y' To form the conditional tense, add the endings -ia, ias, 'ia,
maKe -iamos, -iais, -ian to the infinitive. The conditional uses the same
poder podr- podria podri45 podrla podriamos podriais podr[an stem as for the future.
to be y' Some verbs have irregular stems which are used for both the
able to
conditional and the future. lt is worth learning these.
poner pondr" pondr[4 pondr[a5 pondr[4 pondrlamot pondriaiE pondrlan
to put
querer querr- querrla querr!45 querrla ouernamoS querrlaE truernan
to want
saber sabr- sabrla sabrias sabria sabriamss sabriair ;abrtan
to know
salir saldr- saldria saldrias saldria saldriames saldrialt ialdrien
to leave
tener tendr- tendria tendr[a: tendria tendrlamos tendriais tendrian
to have
venlr vendr- vendria vendria! vendria vendrlamg! vendriail rendr[an
to come
+ For more information on the Pertect tense and on hqy, see poges 115 ond
1 30.
The preterite > To form the preterite of any regular -er or -ir verb, you also take off the -er
or -ir ending to form the stem and add the endings: -i, -iste, -i6, -imos,
What is the preterite? -isteig -ieron.
The preterite is a form of the verb that is used to talk about actions that > The following table shows the preterite of three regular verbs: hablar
were completed in the past in Spanish. lt often corresponds to the simple (meaning to speok), comer (meaning to eot) and vivir (meanin g to live).
past in English, as in I bought a new bike; Mary went to the shops on Fridoy;
(yo) habl6 com! vlv! I spoke/ate/lived
I typed two reports yesterdoy.
(t'i) hablaste comiste vivtgle you spoke/ate/lived
He went to Madrid.
E_l Inegular verbs in the preterite Fue a Madrid.
Te vi en el parque. I saw you in the park.
) A number of verbs have very irregular forms in the preterite. The table
They didn't come.
shows some of the most common. No vinieron.
1Ou6 hus? What did she do?
Verb (yol (t0) (61) (nosotrosl (vosotros) (ellos)
(ellal (nosotras) (vosotrasl (ellas) Se lo di aTeresa. I gave it to Teresa.
(ustedl (ustedesl Fue en 1999. It was in 1999.
andar anduve anduviste anduvo anduvimos anduvisteis anduvieron
to walk
conducir conduie condujiste condujo condujimos condujisteis condujeron Ttp
to drive The preterite forms of ser (meaning to be) are the same as the
dar di diste dio dimos disteis dieron preterite forms of ir (meaning fo go).
to qive
decir dije dijiste diio dijimos dijisteis dijeron
to sav Some other verbs are regular EXCEPT FOR the 6llella/usted and
estar estuve estuviste estuvo estuvimos estuvisteis estuvieron effos/ellas/ustedes forms (third persons singulor and plurol).In these forms
to be the stem vowel changes.
hacer hice hiciste hizo hicimos hicisteis hicieron Verb {yol (rril (6t) (nosotrosl (vosotrosl {ellos)
to do, (ella) {nosotras) (vosotras) (ellasl
to make (usted) (ustedesl
ir fui fuiste fue fuimos fuisteis fueron
dormir dormi dormiste durmi6 dormimos dormisteis durmieron
to qo
to sleep
poder pude pudiste pudo pudimos pudisteis pudieron
to be morir morl moriste muno moflmo5 moristeis mgneron
able to to die
poner puse pusiste PUsO pusrmos pusisteis pusieron pedir pedi pediste pidi6 pedimos pedisteis pldieron
to DUt to ask for
querer quise quisiste quiso quisimos quisisteis quisieron reiste r!o relmos reisteis rieron
retr rel
to want
to laugh
saber supe supiste supo suprmos supisteis supieron
seguir segui seguiste sigui6 segurmos seguisteis slguieron
to know
to follow
ser fui fuiste fue fuimos fuisteis fueron
to be sentir senti sentiste slnti6 sentimos sentisteis 5intieron
tener tuve tuviste tuvo tuvimos tuvisteis tuvieron to feel
to have
traer traie trajiste trajo traiimos trajisteis traieron n Note that reir also has an accent in all persons apart from the
ellos/ellas/ustedes forms.
to brinq
venrr vrne viniste uno vrnlmos vinisteis vrnreron Antonio durmi6 diez horas. Antonio slept for ten hours.
to come He died in 1066.
Muri6 en 1066.
veI VI viste vto umos visteis vteron
Pidi6 paella. He asked for paella.
to see
4Los sigui6T Did she follow them?
Note that hizo (the 6llella/usted form of hacer) is spelt with a z. Sinti6 un dolor en la pierna. He felt a pain in his leg.
@
Nos reimos mucho. We laughed a lot.
+ For more information on Spelling, see page 196. Juan no se ri6. Juan didn't laugh.
rio.
Cruc6 el I crossed the river.
Empec6 a hacer mis deberes. I began doing my homework.
No pagu6 la cuenta. I didn't pay the bill.
Me saqu6 las llaves del bolsillo. I took my keys out of my pocket.
For further explanation of grammatical tems, please see pages viii-xii.
110 Venes Venes 111
The imperfect tense The following table shows the imperfect tense of one regular -ar verb:
hablar (meaning to sPeak).
What is the imperfect tense?
The imperfect tense is one of the verb tenses used to talk about the pas! (yo) hablaba I spoke
especially in descriptions, and to say what was happening or used to I was speaking
happen, for example, lt wos sunny at the weekend; We were living in Spain I used to speak
ot the time; I used to walk to school. (t6) hablabas you spoke
you were speaking
tr Using the imperfect tense you used to speak
he/she/it/you spoke
! In Spanish, the imperfect tense is used: (61/ella/usted) hablaba
he/she/it was speaking, you were speaking
. to describe what things were like and how people felt in the past he/she/it/you used to sPeak
Hacia calor. It was hot. we spoke
(nosotros/nosotras) habliibamos
No teniamos mucho dinero. We didn't have much monev. we were speaking
Tenia hambre. I was hungry. we used to speak
. to what used to happen or what you used to do regularly in the
say (vosotros/vosotras) hablabais you spoke
Cada dia llamaba a su madre. He used to ring his mother every you were speaking
day. you used to speak
o to describe what was happening or what the situation was when (ellos/ellas/ustedes) hablaban they/you spoke
something else took place they/you were sPeaking
they/you used to sPeak
Tom6bamos caf6. We were having coffee.
Me cai cuando cruzaba la I fell over when I was crossing the Note that in the imperfect tense of -ar verbs, the only accent is on
catretera. road.
[J
the nosotros/nosotras form
Hablaba franc6s e italiano' He spoke French and ltalian'
Grammar Extra! Guando era mi
ioven' tio My uncle worked hard when he
Sometimes, instead of the ordinary imperfect tense being used to describe what was trabaiaba mucho. was Young.
happening at a given moment in the past when something else occurred interrupting it, Estudi6bamos matem6ticas, We were studying maths and
the continuous form is used. This is made up of the imperfect tense of estar (estaba, e ingl6s. English'
ertabas and so on), followed by the -ando/-iendo form of the main verb. The other
To form the imperfect of any regular -er or -ir verb, you take off the -er
> or
verb - the one that relates the event that occurred * is in the preterite.
Montse miraba la televisi6n or
-ir ending of the infinitive to form the stem and add the endings: 'ia, -ias,
Montse was watching television
Montse estaba mirando la when the telephone rang. -ia, -iamos, -iais, -ian.
televisi6n cuando son6 el tel6fono.
O For further informotion on the Preterite, see poge 104.
L The following table shows the imperfect of two regular verbs: comer 3I lrregular verbs in the imperfect tense
(meaning to eot) and vivir (meaning to live).
D ser, ir and ver are irregular in the imperfect tense.
(yo) comla vrvla I ate/lived
ser Meaning: to be
I was eating/living
(yo) era I was
I used to eat/live
(t() eras you were
(t6) comtas vrv!a! you ate/lived
(61/ella/ustedl era he/she/it was, you were
you were eating/living
you used to eat/live (nosotros/nosotras) eramos we were
@ Note that in the imperfect tense of -er and -ir verbs, there's an Every day he would go to the office.
lba a la oficina cada dia.
accent on all the endings.
2Ad6nde iban? Where were they going?
A veces, comiamos en casa de We sometimes used to eat at
Pepe. ver Meaning: to see/to watch
Vivia en un piso en la Avenida She lived in a flat in Avenida de (yol vela I saw/used to see
de Barcelona. Barcelona. I watched/used to watch/was watching
Guando lleg6 el m6dico, ya se They were already feeling better (t'i) vetas you saw/used to see
sentian mejor. when the doctor arrived. you watched/used to watch/were watching
(61/ella/ustedl veta he/she/it saw/used to see
he/she/it watched/used to watch/was watching
rrp you saw/used to see
The imperfect endings for -er and -ir verbs are the same as the you watched/used to watch/were watching
endings used to form the conditional for all verbs. The only difference {nosotros/nosotrasl velamos we saw/used to see
is that, in the conditional, the endings are added to the future stem. we watched/used to watch/were watching
you saw/used to see
fl for more informqtion on the Conditional, see poge 100. {vosotros/vosotras} velats
you watched/used to watch/were watching
(ellos/ellas/ustedesl veran theyiyou saw/used to see
theyiyou watched/used to watch/were watching
Los s6bados, siempre lo We always used to see him on The perfect tense
veiamos. Saturdays.
Veia la televisi6n cuando lleg6 | was watching television when my What is the perfect tense?
mi tio. uncle arrived. Ihe perfect iense is a verb form used to talk about what has or hasn't
happened; for example, I've broken my glasses; We hoven't spoken about it'
tr Reflexive verbs in the imperfect tense
) The imperfect of reflexive verbs is formed in just the same way as for 1] Using the perfect tense
ordinary verbs, except that you have to remember to give the reflexive > In English, we use the perfect tense (hove, hos or their shortened forms 've
pronoun (me, td, se, nos, os, se). and ifollowed by a past participle such as spoken, eoten, lived, been) to talk
Antes se levantaba temprano. He used to get up early. about what has or hasn't happened today, this week, this year or in our
lives up to now.
> The Spanish perfect tense is used in a similar way.
Grammar Extra! l've finished the book.
He terminado el libro.
In Spanish, you also use the imperfect tense with certain time expressions, in particular Have you washed the floor?
with desde (meaning slnce), desde hacia (meaning for) and hacia ... que (meaning for) 4Has fregado el suelo?
to talk about activities and states that had started previously and were still going on at a Nunca ha estado en Bolivia. He's never been to Bolivia'
particular point in the past: Ha vendido su caballo. She has sold her horse.
Estaba enfermo desde 2000. He had been ill since 2000. Todavia no hemos comorado We still haven't bought a computer'
Gonducia ese coche desde He had been driving that car for un ordenador.
hacia tres meses, three months. Ya se han ido. They've already left.
Hacia mucho tiempo que sa.lia!! They had been going out together
juntos. for a long time.
Hacia dos affos que viviamos We had been living in Madrid for
Grammar Extra!
en Madrid. rwo years. You may also come across uses of the perfect tense in spanish to talk_about actions
Compare the use of desde, desde hacia and hacia ... que with the imperfect with that in the very recent past. ln English, we'd use the past simple tense in such
of desde, desde hace, and hace ... que with the present. ::[:'"i.0
1Lo has visto? Did you see that?
+ For more information on the use of tenses with desde, see page 189.
tr The perfect tense of some regular verbs romper (to breok) -+ roto (broken)
ver (to see) I visto (seen)
) The following table shows how you can combine the present tense of
vofver (to return) -+ vuelto (returned)
haber with the past participle of any verb to form the perfect tense.
In this case, the past participles are taken from the following regular verbs: He abierto una cuenta en el l've opened a bank account.
hablar (meaning to speak); trabajar (meaning to work); comer (meaning banco.
to eot); vender (meaning to selt); vivir (meaning to live); decidir (meaning No ha dicho nada. He hasn't said anything.
to decide). Hoy he hecho muchas cosas. l've done a lot today.
Present of haber Past participle Meaning Todavia no he hecho los I haven't done my homework yet.
deberes.
(yo) he hablado I have spoken
Han muerto tres personas. Three people have died.
(tf) has trabajado you have worked
1D6nde has puesto mis Where have you put my shoes?
(61/ella/usted) ha comido he/she/it has eaten, zapatos?
you have eaten Carlos has broken the mirror.
Carlos ha roto el espejo.
(nosotros/nosotras) hemos vendido we have sold Jam5s he visto una cosa l've never seen anything like it.
(vosotros/vosotras) hab6is vivido you have lived parecida.
(ellos/ellas/ustedes) han decidido they/you have 2Ha vuelto Ana? Has Ana come back?
decided
tr Verbs with irregular past participles lql Reflexive verbs in the perfect tense
) Some past participles are irregular. There aren't too many, so try to learn > The perfect tense of reflexive verbs is formed in the same way as for
them. ordinary,verbs. The reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, os, se) come
before he, has, ha, and so on. The table on the next page shows the
abrir (to open) -' abierto (opened) perfect tense of lavarse in full.
cubrir (fo cover) --+ cubierto (covered)
decir (to soY) + dicho (sota)
escribir (to write) + escrito (written)
treir (to frY) -+ frito (fried)
hacer (fo do, to moke) + hecho (done, made)
morir (to dte) + muerto (dted)
oir (to hear) + oido (hearA
poner (fo puf) -) puesto (puf)
For further explanation of grammatical tefins, please see pages viii-xii.
118 Venes Venss 119
(Subject Reflexive Present tense Past The pluperfect or past perfect tense
pronoun! pronoun of haber Participle Meaning
(yo)
What is the pluperfect tense?
me he lavado I have washed
The pluperfect is a verb tense that is used to talk about what had
{tri) te has lavado you have washed happened or had been true at a point in the past for example, /'d
(61) se ha lavado he has washed forgotten to finish my homework.
(ella! she has washed
{unol one has washed
it has washed t Using the pluperfect tense
(ustedl you have washed > When talking about the past, we sometimes refer to things that had
{nosotrosl nos hemos lavado we have washed happened previously. ln English, we often use hqd followed by a past
(nosotrasf we have washed participle such as spoken, eaten, lived or been to do this. This tense is known
(vosotros) os hab6is lavado you have washed as the pluperfect or past perfect tense.
(vosotras) you have washed
> The Spanish pluperfect tense is used and formed in a similar way.
(ellos) se han lavado they have washed
(ellas) they have washed
Ya habiamos comido cuando We',d already eaten when he arrived.
abierto, cubierto, dicho, escrito, frito, hecho, muerto, puesto, (ellos/ellas/ustedes) habian decidido they/you had decided
roto, visto, vuelto. No habia trabaiado antes. He hadn't worked before.
Habia vendido su caballo' She had sold her horse.
For further explanation of grammatical tems, please see pages viii-xii.
120 Venes Venes 121
) Remember that some very common verbs have irregular past participtes. 1
(Subiect Reflexive lmperfect tense Past
abrir (to open) abierto (opened) pronounf pronoun of haber Participle Meaning
cubrir (to cover) cubierto (covered) (yo) me habia lavado I had washed
decir (to soy) + dicho (sard) (t"i) te habias lavado you had washed
escribir (to write) escrito (written) (61) se habia lavado he had washed
treir (to fry) + frito (fried) {ella) she had washed
hacer (fo do, to make) (uno) one had washed
hecho (done, made)
it had washed
morir (fo dre) muerto (dred) you had washed
(ustedl
oft (to heor) oido (heord) we had washed
(nosotros) nos habiamos lavado
poner (fo puf) + puesto (puf) we had washed
(nosotras)
romper (to break) roto (broken) (vosotros) habiais lavado you had washed
os
ver (to see) + visto (seen) (vosotras) you had washed
volver (to return) vuefto (returned) {ellosf se habian lavado they had washed
(ellas) they had washed
No habia dicho nada. He hadn't said anything. (ustedesl you had washed
Tres personas habian muerto. Three people had died.
how long something had been going on for. Use the imperfect instead'
the past participle. Any object pronouns go before the form of haber
Estaba enfermo desde 2000. He had been ill since 2000.
being used, and NOT between the form of haber and the past
participle. Conducia ese coche desde hacia
He had been driving that car for
tres meses. three months
No lo habia visto. . I hadn't seen it. Hacia mucho tiempo que salian They had been going out together
juntos. for a long time.
tr Reflexive verbs in the pluperfect tense | :) For more informotion on the Impertect tense, see page 1 10.
) The pluperfect tense of reflexive verbs is formed in the same way as for tfr European spanish you cAN use the pluperfect tense in the negative with desde
ordinary verbs. The reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, os, se) come arrd desde hacia.
before habia, habias, habia, and so on. The table on the next page shows No lo habia visto desde hacia I hadn't seen him for a long time.
the pluperfect tense of lavarse in full. mucho tiempo.
.) For more information on the Post porticiple, see page 1..5. r) For more information on lrregulor past participles, see page
116.
) pasar(se) with a time expression followed by the gerund is used to talk To form the gerund of regular -er and -ir verbs, take off the -er and -ir
about how long you've spent doing something. ending of the infinitive to form the stem, and add -iendo.
Pas6 or Me pas6 el fin de I spent the weekend studying. lnfinitive Stem Gerund
semana estudiando. comer com- comiendo
Pasamos or Nos pasamos el We spent the day reading.
vlvtr vlv- viviendo
dia leyendo.
} Verbs of movement, such as salir (meaning to come out or to go out), entrar
3 | The gerund of irregular verbs
(meaning to come in or to go in), and irse (meaning to leave) are sometimes
followed by a gerund such as corriendo (meaning running) or cojeando ) Some verbs have an irregular gerund form. You have to learn these.
(meaning limping). The English equivalent of salir corriendo, entrar
lnfinitives Meaning Gerund Meaning
corriendo or irse cojeando, would be to run out, to run in or to limp off in
such cases. decir to say diciendo sayrng
Use a past participle not a gerund to talk about physical position. poder to be able to pudiendo being able to
Estaba tumbado en el sof6. He was lying on the sofa. terr to laugh riendo laughing
Estaba sentada. She was sitting down. segurr to follow siguiendo following
Lo encontr6 tendido en el suelo. I found him lying on the floor. sentir to feel sintiendo feeling
La escalera estaba apoyada The ladder was leaning against ventr to come viniendo comrng
contra la pared. the wall.
vestir to dress vistiendo dressing
Q for more informotion on the Psst participles, see page 115.
> In the next group of verbs there is a y rather than the normal i.
! You will also come across the gerund used in other ways. For example: Infinitives Meaning Gerund Meaning
Los vimos jugando al fritbol. We saw them playing football. Gaer to fall cayendo falling
Estudiando, aprobar6s. By studying, or lf you study, you'll creer to believe creyendo believing
pass.
leer to read leyendo reading
otl to hear oyendo hearing
traer to bring trayendo bringing
!t to go yendo going
For further explanation of grammatical telms, please see pages viii-xii.
128 Venes Venes 129
lmpersonal verbs
rrp
fn English, we often use -ing forms as adjectives, for example, What is an impersonal verb?
running woter, shining eyes, the following day. ln Spanish, you cannot An impersonal verb is a verb whose subject is it, but this 'il' does not
use the -ando and -iendo forms like this. refer to any specific thing; for example, It's going to rain; lt's nine o'clock.
lnstead, there are sometimes corresponding forms ending in -ante
and -iente that can be used as adjectives. 1] Verbs that are always used impersonally
agua corriente running water
ojos brillantes shining eyes
> There are some verbs such as llover (meaning to roin) and nevar (meaning
to snow), that are only used in the ',t'form, the infinitive, and as a gerund
Al dia siquiente, visitamos The following day we visited
(the -ing form of the verb). These are called impersonal verbs because there
Toledo. Toledo.
is no person, animal or thing performing the action.
Similarly, in English, we often use the -ingforms as nouns. In Spanish
Llueve. It's raining.
you have to use the infinitive instead.
Esti lloviendo. It's raining.
Fumar es malo para la salud. Smoking is bad for you.
Va a llover. It's going to rain.
Nieva. It's snowing.
E Position of pronouns with the gerund Est6 nevando. It's snowing.
) Object pronouns and reflexive pronouns are usually attached to the end of Nevaba. It was snowing.
the gerund, although you can also often put them before estar in Estaba nevando. It was snowing.
continuous tenses. Maffana neva16. It will snow tomorrow.
Estoy habliindote or l'm talking to you.
Te estoy hablando. 2l Verbs that are sometimes used impersonally
EstS visti6ndose or He's getting dressed. D There are also some other very common verbs that are sometimes used
Se est6 vistiendo. as impersonal verbs, for example hacer, haber and ser.
Estaban mostr6ndoselo or Th"y *"r" showing it to
D hacer is used in a number of impersonal expressions relating to the
Se lo estaban mostrando. him/her/them/you.
weather:
a the
Note that you will always to add an accent to
have
same place when adding pronouns to the end of
keep the stress in
a gerund.
Hace friolcalor. It's cold/hot.
Ayer hacia mucho friolcalor. It was very cold/hot yesterday.
t) For more informotion on Stress, see poge 200. Hace sol/viento. It's sunny/windy.
Va a hacer sol/viento. It's going to be sunny/windy.
Hace un tiempo estupendo/ It's a lovely/horrible day.
y' usethe gerund in continulresyt3""rtJr'i",,n estar as wett as after horrible.
seguir and continuar. D hacer is also used in combination with que and desde in impersonal time
y' Ce;unds for -ar verbs add -ando to the stem of the verb. expressions, to talk about how long something has been going on for or
/ -er and -ir verbs usually add -iendo to the stem of how long it is since something happened.
ffirilf.tor Hace seis meses que vivo aqui. l've been living here for six months.
y' -ando and -iendo gerunds cannot be used as adjectives or nouns. or Vivo aqui desde hace seis
y' You can attach pronouns to the end of the gerund, or sometimes mese5.
put them before the previous verb.
Hace tres afios que estudio l've been studying Spanish for lraber is used in the construction hay que with an infinitive to talk about
espafiol or Estudio espafiol years. ,rctions that need to be taken.
desde hace tres affos. We/You need to work harder.
Hay que trabaiar m5s.
Hace mucho tiempo que no la I haven't seen her for ages or lt is
Hay que ser respetuoso. YouAffe/One must be resPectful
veo or No la veo desde hace ages since I saw her.
Habrii que decirselo. We'll/You'll have to tell him.
mucho tiempo.
Hace varias semanas que no > ser can be used in certain impersonal constructions with adiectives, for
I haven't been there for several
voy por alli or No voy por alli weeks or lt is several weeks since example:
desde hace varias semanas. I went there. o es/eralfue + adlective + infinitive
@ Note the use of the present simple in Spanish in the above examples Es importante ahorrar dinero. lt's important to save money'
where in English we'd use the perfect tense or the past tense. Fue torpe hacer eso' lt was silly to do that'
F hacer is also used impersonally in the expression (me/te/le) hace falta, Seria meior esperar. lt would be better to wait'
which means it is necessary (for melyoulhim). o es/eraffue + adjective + que + verb
Si hace falta, voy. l'll go if necessary. Es cierto que tengo problemas. lt's true that l've got problems'
No hace falta llamar. We/You/l needn't call. Es verdad que trabaia mucho. lt's true that he works hard'
Me hace falta otro vaso m6s. I need another glass.
{f Note that when they are used in the negative (no es cierto que"';
No hace falta ser un experto. You don't need to be an expert. no es verdad 9ue...), these expressions have to be followed by the
No hacla falta. It wasn't necessary. subjunctive.
@ Note that not all impersonal expressions in Spanish are translated into t:) For more informotion on the Subjunctive, see poge 134.
English using impersonal expressions.
haber too can be used impersonally with the meaning there is/there are,
there was/there were, there will be, and so on. lt has the special form hay in Grammar Extra!
the present. For the other tenses, you tpke the third person singular (the ,lf,
when impersonal expressions that don't state facts are followed by que (meaning that)
form) of haber in the appropriate tense. ,rnd a verb, this verb must be in the subiunctive.
Hay un cine cerca de aqui. There's a cinema near here. Ior this reason, the following non-factual impersonal expressions are all followed by the
Hay dos supermercados. There are two supermarkets. rtrbiunctive:
No hav bares. There are no bars. o Es posible que... It's possible that ... / ...might...
Es posible que ganen. They might win.
Habia mucho ruido. There was a lot of noise,
Habia muchos coches. There were a lot of cars
r Es imposible que... It's impossible that... / ...can't possibly...
Es imposible que lo sePan. They can't possibly know.
Hubo un accidente. There was an accident.
r Es necesario que... Itt necessary that.../ ...need to..'
Hubo varios problemas. There were several problems. You don't need to come.
No es necesario que vengas.
2Habrd tiempo? Will there be time? o Es meior que... ... be better to ...
2Habrii suficientes sillas? Will there be enough chairs? Es mejor que lo pongas aqui. You'd be better to put it here'
@ Note that you should ALWAYS use the singular form (never the r ) For more information on the Subiunctive, see page 134.
plural), no matter how many things there are.
L ser is also used impersonally with de dia and de noche to say whether it's
Grammar Extra!
day or night.
re is often used in impersonal expressions, especially with the verbs creer, decir, poder,
Era de noche cuando llegamos. lt was night when we arrived. nnd tratar. ln such. cases it often corresponds to it, one or you in English.
Todavia es de dia alli: lt's still day there. o Se cree que,,, It is thought or People think
that...
+ For other time expressions with ser, see page 80. Se cree que es un mito. It is thought to be a myth.
) basta con is used impersonally: o Se dice que,.. It is said or People say that...
Se dice que es rico. He is said to be rich.
o with a following infinitive to mean it's enough to/oll you need do is . Se puede... One can.../People can.../You can...
Basta con telefonear para All you need do is to phone to
Aqui se puede aparcar. One can park here.
reservar un asiento. reserve a seat.
o Se trata de,.. It's a question of .../lt's about ...
Basta con dar una vuelta por la You only need to take a walk round No se trata de dinero. It isn't a question of money.
ciudad para... the city to ... Se trata de resolverlo. We must solve it.
o with a noun or pronoun to mean all you need is or oll it takes is
Basta con un enor para que All it takes is one mistake to ruin
t ) For more information on Reflexive verbs, see poge 91.
The subjunctive tor more informotion on Tenses with the subiunctive, see page 139.
What is the subjunctive? In sentences containing two verbs with different subiects, you will find
The subjunctive is a verb form that is used in certain circumstances that the second verb is in the subiunctive when the first verb:
especially when expressing some sort of feeling or when there is doubt
about whether something will happen or whether something is true. lt is r expresses a wish
only used occasionally in modern English, for example, If I were you, ...; Ouiero que _engar. I want them to come.
So be it.; I wish you were here. Ouiero que se vaya. Iwant him/her to go away.
Deseamos que tengan 6xito. We want them to be successful.
tr Using the subiunctive . expresses an emotion
) Although you may not know it, you will already be familiar with many of Siento mucho que no puedas l'm very sorry that you can't come.
the forms of the present subjunctive, as it is used when giving orders and venir.
instructions not to do something as well as in the usted, ustedes and Espero que venga. I hope he comes.
nosotros forms of instructions to do something. For example, if you phone Me sorprende que no est6 aqui. l'm surprised that he isn't here.
someone in Spain, they will probably answer with ldiga! or idigame!, an Me alegro de que te gusten. l'm pleased that you like them.
imperative form taken from the present subjunctive of decir.
lf the subject of both verbs is the same, an infinitive is used as the second
+ For more information on lmperotives, see page 85. verb instead of a subjunctive.
Compare the following examples. In the examples on the left, both the
) ln Spanish the subjunctive is used after certain verbs and conjunctions when verb expressing the wish or emotion and the second verb have the same
two parts of a sentence have different subjects.
subjecf so the second verb is an infinitive. In the examples on the right,
Tengo miedo de que le ocurra l'm afraid something may each verb has a different subjecf so the second verb is in the subiunctive.
algo. (subjunctive) happen to him.
(Ihe subfect of the first part of the sentence is /; the subject of the second lnfinitive construction Subiunctive construction
part of the sentence is something.). . Ouiero estudiar. Quiero que Jos6 estudie.
I want to study. I want los6 to study.
} fn English, in a sentence like We want himllosd to be happy, we use an
infinitive (to be) for the second verb even though want and be happy have Maite quiere irse, Maite quiere que me vava,
Maite wants to leave. Maite wants me to leave.
different subjects (we and nim/los€).
Siento no pgdel venir. Siento que no puedas venir.
L In Spanish you cannot do this. You have to use the subjunctive for the
l'm sorry | can't come. l'm sorry that you can't come.
second verb.
Me alegro de ooder ayudar, Me alegro de que puedas ayudar.
Oueremos que 6l sea feliz. We want that he (subjunctive) be happy. l'm pleased you can help.
l'm pleased to be able to help.
Oueremos que Jos6 sea feliz.We want that los6 (subjunctlve) be happy.
) You CAN use an infinitive for the second verb in Spanish when the sublect You will also come across the verb + que + subiunctive construction (often
of both verbs is the same. with a personal object such as me, te and so on) when the first verb is one
0ueremos ser felices. We want to be happy. you use to ask or advise somebody to do something.
56lo te pido que tengas l'm only asking you to be careful.
A Coming across the subiunctive cuidado.
L The subjunctive has several tenses, the main ones being the present
Te aconsejo que no llegues l'd advise you not to be late.
tarde.
subjunctive and the imperfect subiunctive. The tense used for the
subjunctive verb depends on the tense of the previous verb.
D You will also come across the subjunctive in the following cases:
o after verbs expressing doubt or uncertainty, and verbs saying what
rw
you think about something that are used with no Use para, sin and antes de with the infinitive when the subject of
Dudo que tenga tiempo. I doubt l'll have time. both verbs is the same.
No creo que vg!!ga. I don't think she'll come. Fue en taxi para no llegar tarde.
He went by taxi so that he
pienso que wouldn't be late.
No est6 bien. I don't think it's right.
Pedro se ha ido sin esperarnos. Pedro's gone without waiting
o in impersonal constructions that show a need to do something for us.
lHace falta que vava Jaime? Does Jaime need to go? Genamos antes de ir al teatro. We had dinner before we
No es necesario que vengas, You don't need to come. went to the theatre.
. in impersonal constructions that do not express facts
Es posible que le1g311! raz6n. They may be right. lg_J Forming the present subiunctive
D To form the present subjunctive of most verbs, take off the -o ending of
+ For more informotion on Impersonol verbs, see poge 129.
the yo form of the presen!:imple, and add a fixed set of endings.
D For -ar verbs, the endings are: -e, -es, -e, -emos, -6is, -en.
Grammar Extra! ) For both -er and -ir verbs, the endings are: -a, -as, -a, -amos, -6is, -an.
Use the indicative (that is, any verb form that isn't subjunctive) after impersonal > The following table shows the present subjunctive of three regular verbs:
expressions that state facts provided they are NOT in the negative. hablar (meaning to speok), €omer (meaning to eat) and vivir (meaning
Es verdad que es interesante. lt's true that it's interesting. to live).
Es cierto que mi'gusta el caf6. lt's true I like coffee.
Parece que se va a ir, It seems that he's going to go. lnfinitive {yo) {t() (6t) (nosotrosl (vosotros) (ellos)
(ella) (nosotras) (vosotras) (ellasl
(usted) (ustedes)
l The subjunctive is used after que to express wishes. hablar hable hables hable hablemos habl6is hablen
loue lo pases bien! Have a good time! to speak
lOue te diviertas! Have funl comer coma comas coma comamos comars coman
to eat
l The subjunctive is also used after certain conjunctions linking two parts of
vivir vrva vlvas vrva vrvan085 v|va!! vivan
a sentence which each have different subjects.
to live
. antes de que before
louieres decirle algo antes de Do you want to say anything to him Ouiero que comas algo. I want you to eat something.
que se vaya? before he goes? Me sorprende que no hable l'm surprised he doesn't speak
. para que so that ingl6s. English.
Es para que te acuerdes de mi. lt's so that you'll remember me. No es verdad que trabajen aqui. lt isn't true that they work here.
o sin que without Some verbs have very irregular yo forms in the ordinary present tense and
Salimos sin que nos vieran. We left without them seeing us. these irregular forms are reflected in the stem for the present subjunctive.
lnfinitive (yo) (tri) (L6l) (nosotros) (vosotros) (ellos) > Verbs that change their stems (radical-changing verbs) in the ordinary
(ella) {nosotras) (vosotrasl (ellas) present usually change them in the same way in the present subiunctive.
(ustedl (ustedesl t ) For more informotion on rodical-chonging verbs, see poge 75.
decir diga dlgas diga dioamos digiiis digLan
to say lnfinitive (yo) (t,'i) (6D (nosotros) (vosotros) (ellos)
hacer haoa hagLas haga haqamos hao6is hagan (ella) (nosotras) (vosotras) (ellas)
to do/make (usted) (ustedes)
poner DOnqa DOnOaS DOnOa DOnqamos ponoatS DOnOan pensar to think Dtense pensemos pens6is Dtensen
orense otenses
to put
entender to entienda entiendas entienda entendamos entend6is entiendan
salir salsa salgas salga salgamos salg6is salgan
understand
to leave
poder to be able pueda puedas Pucda podamos podiiis Puedan
tener tenoa tenoas tenoa tenoamos tengiiis tenqan
to have querer to want qurera outeras qurera queramos querars outeran
ventr venqa venqas venoa venoamoS venqats venqan volver to return vuelva vuelvas vsclva volvamos volv6is vuelvan
to come
No hace falta que vuelvas. There's no need for you to come
Voy a limpiar la casa antes de l'm going to clean the house before back.
que vengan. they come. Es para que lo entiendas. lt's so that you understand.
@ Note that only the vosotros form has an accent. Me alegro de que puedas venir. l'm pleased you can come.
Sometimes the stem of the nosotros and vosotros forms isn't the same
rw asit is in the ordinary present tense.
The present subjunctive endings are the opposite of what you'd lnfinitive (yo) (tr1) (6D (nosotros) (vosotros) (ellos)
expect, as -ar verbs have endings starting with -e, and -er and -ir (ella) (nosotras) (vosotras) (ellas)
verbs have endings starting with -a. (usted) (ustedes)
dormir to sleep duerma duermas duerma durmamos durm6is duerman
tr Forming the present subiunctirie of irregular verbs morir to die muera mueras muera muramos murats mueran
pedir to for pida pidas pida pidamos pidiiis pidan
) The following verbs have irregular subjunctive forms:
ask
hasta que vuelva Antonio? Antonio comes back? (but Antonio vivir to live vivicri! vtvteras |/rvrera viv!€ramos viv!erais vivieran
hosn't come back yet) vtvtese vvteses |/rvtese vivttisemes viv1g5g6 vivis5g4
Lo har6 en cuanto pueda or f'lf do it as soon as I can. (but l'm
tan pronto como pueda. not oble to yet)
Orammar Extra!
aunque is used with the indicative (the ordinary verb forms) when it means olthough or
even though. ln this case, the second part of the sentence is stating a fact.
Me gusta el franc6s aunque I like French although I prefer
orefiero el alem6n, German.
Segui andando aunque me dolia I went on walking even though my
la piema. leg hurt.
aunque is used with the subiunctive when it means even ff Here, the second part
of the sentence is not yet a fact.
Te llamar6 cuando vuelva l'll ring you when I get back, even.if
aunque sea tarde. it's late.
ir to go
diiese
fuera
dijeses
fueras
Jijese
'uera
dij6semos
fu6ramos
diieseis
fuerais
dijesen
fueran / il"; .ilft ;:;,l':irl;""l; ri u ncrive n
-arais' -aran or -ase' ",1|
! _,:s _-1,
verbs
-ases' -ase'
a re :
tr Using the infinitive @ Note that, when it comes after another verb, the Spanish infinitive
often corresponds to the -ing form in English.
L In English, the infinitive is usually thought of as being made up of two
words, for example, to speok. In Spanish, the infinitive consists of one word o in instructions that are aimed at the general public - for example in
and is the verb form that ends in -ar, -er or -ir, for example, hablar, cookery books or on signs
comer, vivir. Gocer a fuego lento. Cook on a low heat.
} When you look up a verb in the dictionaty, you will find that information
Prohibido pisar el c6sped. Don't walk on the grass.
is usually listed under the infinitive form. . as anoun, where in English we would use the -ingform of the verb
Lo importante es intentarlo. Trying is the important thing.
) In Spanish, the infinitive is often used in the following ways:
o after a preposition such as antes de (meaning before), [J Note thaf when the infinitive is the subject of another verb, it may
despu6s de
(meaning ofter) it particularly if it starts the sentence.
have the article el before
El viajar tanto me resulta I find so much travelling tiring.
Despu6s de comer. fuimos a After eating, we went round to cansado.
casa de Pepe. Pepe's.
Sali6 sin hacer ruido. She went out without making a
mostrar algo a alguien to show something to someone depender de algo/alguien to depend on something/somebody
despedirse de alguien to say goodbye to somebody
+ For more information on lndirect objects, see poge 49. preocuparse de algo/alguien to.worry about
something/somebody
quejarse de algo to complain about something
T'P reirse de algo/alguien to laugh at something/somebody
There is an important difference between Spanish and English with
salir de (un cuarto/un edificio) to leave (a room/a building)
this type of verb. In English, you can say either to give something to
someone or to give someone something. tener ganas de algo to want something
You can NEVER miss out a in Spanish in the way that you can tener miedo de algo to be afraid of something
sometimes miss out to in English. trabajar de (camarero/secretario) to work as (a waiter/secretary)
tratarse de algo/alguien to be a question of something/to be
) Here are some verbs taking a in Spanish that have a different construction about somebody
in English. Nos acordamos muy bien de We remember that holiday very
asistir a algo to attend something, to be at aquellas vacaciones. well.
something Se baj6 del coche. He got out of the car.
dirigirse a (un lugar) to head for (a place) No depende de mi. It doesn't depend on me.
dirigirse a alguien to address somebody Se preocupa mucho de su He worries a lot about his
jugar a algo to pfay something (sports/gomes) apariencia. appearance.
llegar a (un lugarl to arrive at (a place)
For further explanation of grammatical tems, please see pages viii-xii.
152 Venas Venes 153
Verbs followed bv con Me interesaba mucho por la I was very interested in archaeology.
E_l arqueologia.
) Here are some verbs taking con in Spanish that have a different Se preocupa mucho por su He worries a lot about his
construction in English: apariencia. appearance.
comparar algola alguien con to compare something/somebody
algo/alguien with something/somebody 6l Verbs taking a direct obiect in Spanish but not in English
contar con alguien/algo to rely on somebody/something > ln English there are a few verbs that are followed by ot, for or to which, in
encontrarse con alguien to meet somebody (by chonce) Spanish, are not followed by any preposition other than the personal a.
enfadarse con alguien to get annoyed with somebody
estar de acuerdo con to agree with somebody/something
I ) For more informqtion on Personql a, see page 182.
alguien/algo mirar algo/a alguien to look at something/somebody
hablar con alguien to talk to somebody escuchar algo/a alguien to listen to something/somebody
sofrar con alguien/algo to dream about buscar algola alguien to look for something/somebody
somebody/something
pedir algo to ask for something
Cuento eontigo. l'm relying on you. esperar algo/a alguien to wait for something/somebody
Me encontr6 con ella al entrar I met her as I was going into the pagar algo to pay for something
en el banco. bank.
Mira esta foto. Look at this photo.
aPuedo hablar con usted un May I talk to you for a moment?
momento? Me gusta escuchar mfsica. I like listening to music.
Estoy buscando las gafas. l'm looking for my glasses.
tr Verbs followed bv en Pidi6 una taza de t6.
Estamos esperando el tren.
He asked for a cup of tea.
We're waiting for the train.
) Here are some verbs taking en in Spanish that have a different construction
Ya he pagado el billete. l've already paid for my ticket.
in English:
to enter, go into (a building/a room) Estoy buscando a mi hermano. l'm looking for my brother.
entrar en (un edificio/un
cuartol
Key points
pensar en algo/alguien to think about something/somebody y' Theprepositions ,r.o *i*'t'pvu['lii'ilror are often very different
trabajar en (una oficina/ to work in (an office/a factory) from those used in English, so make sure you learn common
una fiibrical expressions involving prepositions in Spanish.
No quiero pensar en eso. I don't want to think about that. used with verbs in spanish are a,
tr Verbs followed by por "y' il:#:,"TlT";;:*o"sitions
followed by a preposition, but are
Some Spanish verbs are not
L Here are some verbs taking por in Spanish that have a different
used with a preposition in English.
construction in English:
interesarse por algo/alguien to ask about something/somebody
preguntar por alguien to ask forlabout somebody
preocuparse por algo/alguien to worry about something/
somebody
Verbal ldioms D You can also use m6s with gustar to say what you prefer.
A mi me gusta m5s el rojo. I prefer the red one. (literally: the red
one pleg$t me mor4
tr Present tense of gustar
A m[ me gustan m5s los rojos. I prefer the red ones. (literally: the
) You will probably already have come across the phrase me gusta... red ones pkgsc me more)
meaning I like... . Actually, gustar means literally to pleose, and if you
remember this, you will be able to use gustar much more easily. l{ Other verbs like gustar
Me gusta el chocolate. I fike chocolate. (literolly: chocolote D There are several other verbs which behave in the same way as gustar:
pksses me) a encantar
Me gustan los animales. I fike animals. (literally: animols
pleox me) Me encanta el flamenco. I love flamenco.
Me encantan los animales. I love animals.
Nos gusta el espafiol. We like Spanish. (literally: Sponish
plesses us) o faltar
Nos gustan los espafroles. We like Spanish people. (literolly: Le faltaba un bot6n. He had a button missing.
Spanish people plegse us) Le faltaban tres dientes. He had three teeth missing.
l Even though chocolate, animales, and so on, come after gustar, they are o quedar
the subject of the verb (the person or thing performing the action) and No les queda nada. They have nothing left.
therefore the endings of gustar change to agree with them. 56lo nos quedan dos We've only got two kilometres left.
When the thing that you like is singular, you use gusta (third person kil6metros.
singular), and when the thing that you like is plural, you use gustan (fhird o doler
person plural). Le dolia la cabeza. His head hurt.
Le gusta Francia. He/She likes France. (literally: France Le dolian las muelas. His teeth hurt.
pleoses him/her)
. interesar
Le gustan los caramelos. He/She likes sweets. (literally: Sweets
'please him/her) Te interesar5 el libro. The book will interest you.
Te interesar6n sus noticias. His news will interest you.
@ Note that me, te, le, nos, os and les, which are used with gustar, are o importar
indirect object pronouns.
No me importa la lluvia. The rain doesn't matter to me. or
+ For more information on lndirect object pronouns, see poge 49. .
I don't mind the rain.
Me importan mucho mis My studies matter to me a lot.
A Other tenses of gustar estudios.
+ For more informotion on the tnfinitive, see poge 144. didn'tbefore the verb. In Spanish you simply add no (meaning nof) before
the main verb.
Positive Negative
Trabaja. He works. + No trabaja. He doesn't work.
Comen. They eat. + No comen. They don't eat.
Sali6. She went out. + No sali6. She didn't go out.
Lo he visto. l've seen it. + No lo he visto. I haven't seen it.
Sabe nadar. He can swim. + No sabe nadar. He can't swim.
rrp
NEVER translate don't, doesn't, didn't using hacer.
rlh
L Where there is a subject (the person doing the action) in the sentence, put
no between the subject and the verb.
Juan no vive aqui. Juan doesn't live here.
Mi hermana no lee mucho. My sister doesn't read much.
Mis padres no han llamado. My parents haven't called.
El no lo comprender6. He won't understand.
@ Note that the Spanish word no also means no in answer to a question.
L Where the subject is only shown by the verb ending, no goes before the
verb.
No tenemos tiempo. We haven't got time.
Todavia no ha llegado. He hasn't arrived yet.
No hemos comido. We haven't eaten.
No llevarS mucho tiempo. It won't take long.
> lf there are any object pronouns (for example, me, te, lo, los, le ond so on)
before the verb, no goes BEFORE them.
No lo he visto. I didn't see it.
No me gusta el fiitbol. I don't like football.
For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii.
158 Necmves Necnrvrs 159
} ln phrases consisting only of not and another word, such as not now or not > Most of these negative words can also be used without no provided they
me, the Spanish no usually goes AFTER the other word. come before any verb.
Ahora no. Not now. Nunca or Jam5s la veo. I never see her.
Yo no. Not me. Nadie vino. No one came.
Todavia no. Not yet. Ni Pedro ni Pablo fuman. Neither Pedro nor Pablo smokes.
2oui5n te ha dicho eso? - Who told you that? - No one.
) Some phrases have a special construction in Spanish. Nadie.
Espero que si. I hope so. + Espero que no. I hope not. aou6 has hecho? - Nada. What have you done? - Nothing.
Creo que si. I think so. + Creo que no. I don't think so.
F Sometimes negative expressions combine with each other.
tr Other negative words Nunca hacen nada.
Nunca viene nadie.
They never do anything.
No one ever comes.
In Spanish, you can form negatives using pairs and groups of words, as you
can in English.
No lo har6 nunca m5s. l'll never do it again.
No veo nunca a nadie. I never see anyone.
a no .., nunca never or not ... ever
No la veo nunca. I never see her or lq Word order with negatives
I don't ever see her.
> f n English you can put words like never and ever between hove/has/hqd and
o no ... jamds never or not ... ever the past participle, for example, We have never been to Argentina. You
No la veo iamiis. I never see her or should NEVER separate he, has, ha habia and so on from the past
I don't ever see her. participle of the verb in Spanish.
o no ... nada nothing or not ... anything Nunca hemos estado en We have never been to Argentina.
No ha dicho nada. He has said nothing or Argentina.
He hasn't said anything. Nunca habia visto nada asi. I had never seen anything like this.
Ninguno de nosotros habia None of us had ever skied.
o no ... nadie nobody or not ... anyQody esquiado nunca.
No hablaron con nadie. They spoke to nobody or
They didn't speak to anybody. + For more informotion on Psst participles, see poge 115.
o no ... tampoco not ... either
Yo no la vi. -Yo tampoco. I didn't see her. - Neither did l. Key points
or I didn't either. or Nor did l. y' The Spanish word no is equivalent to both no and not in English.
A 6l no le gusta el caf6 y a mi He doesn't like coffee and neither ( You can make sentences negative by putting no before the verb
tampoco. do l. (and before any object pronouns that are in front of the verb).
y' Other negative words also exis! such as nunc4 nadie and nada.
o no ... ni ... ni neither ... nor Use them in combination with no, with the verb sandwiched in
No vinieron ni Carlos ni Ana. Neither Carlos nor Ana came. between. Most of them also work on their own provided they go
o no ... m5s no longer ornot.. any more before any verb.
No te ver6 m6s. I won't see you any more. y' Never insert negative words, or anything else, between he, has,
ha, habia and so on and the past participle.
. no ... ningrin/ninguna + noun no or not ... any
No tiene ningfn inter6s en ir. She has no interest in going.
@ Note that you need to put the personal a before qui6n and qui6nes
Ttp when it acts as an oblect.
Be careful not to mix up por qu6 (meaning why) with porque
2A qui6n viste? Who did you see?
(meaning becouse).
+ For more information on Personal a, see page 182.
2Curindo se fue? When did he go? ) de qui6n or de qui6nes can be used to mean whose:
2Ou6 te pasa? What's the matter? o use de qui6n when there is likely to be one owner
2Ou6 chaqueta te vas a poner? Which iacket are you going to wear?
4De oui6n es este abrigo? Whose coat is this?
lCu6l de los dos quieres? Which do you want?
2cu6nto aztcar quieres? How much sugar do you want? o use de qui6nes when there is likely to be more than one owner
;Guiinto tiempo llevas How long have you been waiting? 1De qui6nes son estos abrigos? Whose coats are these?
esperando? Note that the structure in Spanish is the equival entof Whose is this
@
+ For more informotion on question words, see lnterrogative odiectives on coat?/Whose ore these coots2 Don't try putting 2de qui6n? or 2de
poge 32 and lnterrogotive pronouns on poge 65. qui6nes? immediately before a noun.
D When the question starts with a question word that isn't the subiect of the
D qu6, c6mo, cu6l and cu6les can all be used to mean whot although qu6 is
verb, the noun or pronoun (if given) that is the subiect of the verb goes the most common translation:
AFTER it. o use c6mo not qu6 when asking someone to repeat something that you
didn't hear properly
2De qu6 color es la moqueta? What colour's the carpet?
1A qu6 hora comienza el What time does the concert start? 2G6mo (has dicho)? What (did vou sav)?
concierto? o use ecu6les... ? and 2cuiiles son ... ? to mean whqt is... Tand whot/ore
lD6nde estdn tus pantalones? Where are your trousers? ...when you aren't asking for a definition
7
lAd6nde iba tu padre? Where was your father going? acu6l es la capital de Francia? What's the capital of France?
aG6mo est5n tus padres? How are your parents? gGu6l es su nfmero de What's his telephone number?
4Guiindo volverdn ustedes? fi/hen will you come back? tel6fono?
. use equ6 es ... ? and iqu€ son ... ? to mean whqt is ... 7 and whqt are
tr Which question word to use? .,. / when you are asking for a definition
} qu6 or cuiil or cu6les can be used to mean which: 2Ou6 son los genes? What are genes?
o always use qu6 before a noun o always use qu6 to mean whatbefore another noun
1O,u6 chaqueta te vas a poner? Which jacket are you going to 2Ou6 hora es? What time is it?
wear? estudias? What subjects are you studying?
4Ou6 asignaturas
o otherwise use cu6l (singular) or cu6les (plurol)
2cu6l quieres?
2Guiiles quieres?
Which (one) do you want?
Which (ones) do you want? rtp
You can finish an English question (or sentence) with a preposition
L qui6n or qui6nes can be used to mean who: such as obout, for example, Who did you write to?; What ore you
o use qui6n when asking about one person tolking obout? You can NEVER end a Spanish question or sentence
a0ui6n gan6? Who won? with a preposition.
o use qui6nes when asking about more than one person lCon qui6n hablaste? Who did you speak to?
2Oui6nes estaban? Who was there?
Ej Short questions
) In English we sometimes check whether our facts and beliefs are correct by
putting isn't it?, don't they?, are they? and so on at the end of a comment.
In Spanish, you can add iverdad? in the same way.
Hace calor, 4verdad? It's hot, isn't it?
Te gusta,2verdad? You like it don't you?
lHazlo inmediatamente! Do it immediatelyl El avi6n volaba muy baio. The plane was flying very low.
Normalmente llego a las nueve. I normally arrive at nine o'clock. lHabla baiol Speak quietly.
@ Note that adverbs NEVER change their endings in Spanish to agree barato (adjective: cheap; adverb: cheoply)
with anything. Aqui se come muy barato. You can eat really cheaply here.
o riipido (adjective: fast, quick; adverb: fast, quickly) What is a comparative adverb?
A comparative adverb is one which, in English, has -er on the end of it or
Gonduces demasiado rSpido. You drive too fast. more or /ess in front of it for example, eorlier, later, more/less often.
Lo hice tan riipido como pude' I did it as quickly as I could.
@ Note that, when used as adverbs, these words do NOT agree with ) Adverbs can be used to make comparisons in Spanish, just as they can in
anything. English. The comparative of adverbs (more often, more efficiently, foster) is
formed using the same phrases as for adjectives:
+ For more informotion on words which con be both odiectives and odverbs, o m6s... (que) more ... (than)
see poge 1 75. m6s r5pido (que) faster (than), more quickly (than)
Corre mis r5pido que tf. He runs faster than you do.
Grammar Extra! menos... (que) less ... (than)
Sometimes an adiective is used in Spanish where in English we would use an adverb. menos rripido (que) less fast (than), less quickly (than)
Esperaban impacientes, They were waiting impatiently. Conduce menos riipido tri. He drives less fast than you do.
Vivieron muy fulices. They lived very happily.
@ Note that these Spanish adiectives describe the person or thing being talked
tr Superlative adverbs
about and therefore MUST agree with them. What is a superlative adverb?
Often you could equally well use an adverb or an adverbial expression in Spanish. A superlative adverb is one which, in English, has -est on the end of it or
Esperaban imoacientemente or most or leostin front of if for example, soonest, mostlleqst often.
con imoaciencia. They were waiting impatiently.
D The superlative of adverbs (the most often, the most efficiently, the fastest) is
formed in the same way in Spanish as the comparative, using m5s and
KeY Points menos. n this case they mean the most and the least.
f
y' foform adverbs that tell you how something happens, you can Maria es la que corre m6s Maria is the one who runs (the)
usually add -mente to the feminine singular adjective in Spanish. riipido. fastest.
y' Adverbs don't agree with anything. la chica que sabe m6s the girl who knows (the) most
y' Some Spanish adverbs are irregular, as in English. la chica que sabe menos the girl who knows (the) least
y' El que lleg6 menos tarde fue Miguel was the one who arrived
Some Spanish adverbs are identical in form to their corresponding
adjectives; when used as adverbs, they never agree with anything.
Miguel. least late.
mucho a lot mas more mas (the) most ) There are some common adverbs that do not end in -mente, most of
poco menos menos (the) least which give more information about when or where something happens or
little tess
to what degree something is true.
La conozco mejor que tf. I know her better than you do. o ahi there
2oui6n lo hace mcigl? Who does it (the) best?
lAhi est6n! There they are!
Ahora salgo m6s/menos. I go out more/less these days.
o ahora now
rtp
When saying more thon, less than or fewer fhon followed by a
/ 2D6nde vamos ahora? Where are we going now?
allii there
number, use m6s and menos de rather than miis and menos que.
allS arriba up there
m6s/menos de veinte cajas more/fewer than twenty boxes
alli there
Note that in phrases like it3 the leqst one can expect or it's the least I
Alli est6. There it is.
@
con do, where the adverb is qualified by further information, in anoche last night
Spanish you have to put lo before the adverb.
Anoche llovi6. lt rained last night.
Es lo menos que se puede lt's the least one can expect.
esperar.
anteanoche the night before last
Anteanoche nev6. lt snowed the night before last.
tr Other ways of making comparisons
anteayer the day before yesterday
D There are other ways of making comparisons in Spanish:
Anteayer hubo tormenta. There was a storm the day before
yesterday.
. tanto como as much as
No lee tanto como tri. He doesn't read as much as you. antes before
Esta pelicula ya la he visto l've seen this film before.
o tan ... como as ... as
antes.
Vine tan pronto como pude. I came as fast as I could.
apenas hardly
Apenas podia levantarse. He could hardly stand up.
Key points
y' m6s + adverb (+ que) = more + adverb + (than) aqui here
y' menos + adverb (+ que) = /ess + adverb + (than) Aoui est6 el informe. Here's the report.
y' mds + adverb = (the) most + adverb
y' menos + adverb = (the) /eost + adverb arriba above, upstairs
y' There are a few irregular comparative and superlative adverbs. Visto desde aniba parece m6s Seen from above it looks smaller.
y' There are other ways of making comparisons in Spanish: tanto pequefio.
como, tan ... como. Aniba est6n los dormitorios. The bedrooms are upstairs.
@ Note that you use the present subjunctive after quiztis if referring tr] Words which are used both as adiectives and adverbs
to the future.
Ouiz6s venga maftana. Perhaps he'll come tomorrow. D bastante, demasiado, tanto, mucho and poco can be used both as
adlectives and as adverbs. When they are adjectives, their endings change
+ For more information on the Subjunctive, see poge 134. in the feminine and plural to agree with what they describe. When they are
sl yes adverbs, the endings don't change.
4Te apetece un caf6? - Do you fancy a coffee? - Yes, Adjective use Adverb use
$i gracias. please. bastante Hav bastantes libros, Ya has comido bastante.
enough; quite There are enough book. You've had enough to eat.
siempre always
a lo! quite Son bastante ricos.
Siempre dicen lo mismo. They always say the same thing. They are quite rich.
demasiado demasiada mantequilla He comido demasiado.
s6lo only
too much (p/urol too much butter l've eaten too much.
56lo cuesta tres euros. lt only costs three euros. too many); too demasiados libros Lleoamos demasiado tarde.
too many books We arrived too late.
tambi6n also, too
tanto Ahora no bebo tanta leche. 5e preocupa tanto que no
A mi tambi6n me gusta. I like it too. as much (p/urol: I don't drink as much milk puede dormir.
as many); these days. He worries so much that he
tampoco either,neither as often can't sleep.
Yo tampoco lo compr6. I didn't buy it either. Tengo tantas cosas que hacer. Ahora no la veo tanto.
Yo no la vi. -Yo tampoco. I didn't see her. - Neither did l. l've so many things to do. I don't see her so often now.
mucho Habia mucha gente. ;Lees mucho?
a tan as, so a lot (of), much There were a lot of people. Do you read a lot?
Vine tan pronto como pude. I came as fast as I could. Qtlural: many) muchas cosas iEst6 mucho m5s lejos?
Habla tan deprisa oue no She speaks so fast that I can't a lot of things ls it much further?
la entiendo. understand her. poco Hav poca leche. Habla muy poco.
little, not much, There isn't much milk. He speaks very little.
D tarde late (plural: tew, not Tiene pocos amigos. Es poco sociable.
Se est6 haciendo tarde. It's getting late. many); not very He hasn't got many friends. He's not verv sociable.
. temprano early
Tengo que levantarme l've got to get up early. rrp
temprano. Don't confuse poco, which means little, not much or not very with
o todavia un poco, which means o little or a bit.
still, yet even
He eats little.
Todavia tengo dos. l've still got two.
Canlhaveabit?
Todavia no han llegado. They haven't arrived yg!.
mejor todavia even better
. ya already
Ya lo he hecho. l've already done it.
PREPOSITIONS
) f n Engfish we can end a sentence with a preposition such as for, with or
lnfq even though some people think this is not good grammar. You can
NEVER end a Spanish sentence with a preposition.
) Prepositions are also used after certain adjectives and verbs and link them to
the rest of the sentence.
Estoy muy contento con tu l'm very happy with your work.
trabajo.
Estamos hartos de repetirlo. We're fed up with repeating it.
aTe gusta jugar al fftbol? Do you like playing football?
[} Note that personal a is NOT used after the verb tener. D de is used in comparisons when a number is mentioned.
Habia m6s/menos de 100 There were more/fewer than 100
Tienen dos hijos. They have two children.
personas, people.
+ For more information on Direct objects, see poge 46.
Note that you do NOT use que with m6s or menos when there is
@ a
number involved.
trde D de can mean in after superlatives (the most..., the biggest, the leost...).
la ciudad m5s/menos the most/least polluted city in
rw contaminada del mundo the world
When de is followed by el, the two words merge to become del.
+ For more informqtion on Superlotive adiectives, see page 26,
de can mean from. l de is used after certain adiectives and verbs.
Soy de Londres. l'm from London. contento de ver pleased to see
un m6dico de Valencia a doctor from Valencia Es f6cil/dificil de entender. lt's easy/difficult to understand.
Es capaz de olvidarlo. He's quite capable of forgetting it.
Ttp + For more informotion on Prepositions after verbs, see poge | 50.
Hablaban entre si. They were talking among Se fue sin decir nada. He left without saying anything.
themselves.
hacia towards, around
o sobre on, about
sobre la cama on the bed
Van hacia ese edificio. They're going towards that building.
Ponlo sobre la mesa. Put it on the table.
hacia las tres at around three (o'clock)
hacia finales de enero around the end of January
un libro sobre Shakespeare a book on or about Shakespeare
Madrid tiene sobre 4 millones Madrid has about 4 million
de habitantes. inhabitants.
Grammar Extn! Vendr6 sobre las cuatro. l'll come about four o'clock.
hacia can also combine with some adverbs to show movement in a particular direction.
) Spanish prepositions can be made up of more than one word, for example,
hacia arriba upwards antes de, detris de. Here are some more common prepositions made up
hacia abajo downwards of two or more words:
hacia adelante forwards
hacia atr6s backwards
o a causa de because of
No salimos a causa de la lluvia. We didn't go out because of the
rain.
. hasta until, as far as, to, up to
hasta la noche until night o al lado de beside, next to
Fueron en coche hasta Sevilla. They drove as far as Seville. al lado de la tele beside the TV
desde la una hasta las tres from one o'clock to three o cerca de near, close to
Hasta ahora no ha llamado No one has called up to now. Est6 cerca de la iglesia. Itt near the church.
nadie.
o encima de on, on top of
@ Note that there are some very common ways of saying goodbye using Ponlo encima de la mesa. Put it on the table.
hasta.
iHasta luego! See youl . por encima de above, over
Salt6 por encima de la mesa. He jumped over the table.
lHasta mafrana! See you tomorrow!
trtote that you use u instead of o before words beginning with o or ho. thqt he loves me, or She knows you're here and She knows that you're
@ here. You can NEVER leave out que in Spanish in the way that you
diez u once ten or eleven can leave out thqf in English.
minutos u horas minutes or hours
@ t tote that you use 6 instead of o between numerals to avoid confusion . si if, whether
with zero. Si no estudias, no aprobar6s. lf you don't study, you won't pass.
37 638 37 or 38 aSabes si nos han pagado ya? Do you know if or whether we've
been paid yet?
+ For more information on Numbers, see poge 206. Avisadme si no pod6is venir. Let me know if you can't come.
o pero but + For information on si followed by the subiunctive, see poge 143.
Me gustaria ir, perq estoy muy l'd like to go, but I am very tired.
cansado. rrp
There is no accent on si when it means rf. Be careful not to confuse
[J Note that you use sino in direct contrasts after a negative. si (meaning if) with si (meaning yes or himself/hersetf/yourietf/
No es escocesa, sino irlandesa. She's not Scottish but lrish. th e m s e lv e s /yo u rse lves).
Orammar Extra!
aunque is also used to mean even if . ln this case, it is followed by the subjunctive.
F This affects nouns and adjectives ending in -2. When adding the -es ending
of the plural, you have to change the z to c.
una vez once, one time + dos veces twice, two times
una luz a light + unas luces some lights
capaz capable(singulor) + capaces capable (plural)
For further explanation of grammatieal terms, please see pages viii-xii.
Srness 201
rtp L The same syllable is stressed in the plural form of adiectives and nouns as in
the singular. To show this, you'need to:
The accent that shows stress is always an acute accent in Spanish
('). To remember which way an acute accents slopes try thinking of
o add an accent in the plural in the case of unaccented nouns and
adjectives of more than one syllable ending in -n
this saying:
It's low on the left, with the height on the right. orlden order 6rldelnes orders
elxalmen exam elxSlmelnes exams
BUT: tren train tre I nes trains
tr Words ending in a vowel or -n or -s
@ Note that in the case of one-syllable words ending in -n or -s, such as
) Words ending in a vowel (o, e, i, o or u) or -n or -s are normally stressed on tren above, no accent is needed in the plural, since the stress falls
the last syllable but one. lf this is the case, they do NOT have any written naturally on the last syllable but one thanks to the plural -s ending.
accents. . drop the accent in the plural form of nouns and adjectives ending in -n
ca lsa house calsas houses or -s which have an accent on the last syllable in the singular
pa lla lbra word pallalbras words aultolbtis bus aultolbulses buses
tarlde afternoon tarldes afternoons relvollulci6n revolution relvollulciolnes revolutions
ha lbla he/she speaks halblan they speak
eolrre he/she runs colnen they run
L The feminine forms of nouns or adiectives whose masculine form ends in an
accented vowel followed by -n or -s do NOT have an accent.
l Whenever words ending in a vowel or -n or -s are NOT stressed on the last un franc6s a Frenchman
syllable but one, they have a written accent on the vowel that is stressed. una francgsa a French woman
rilltilmo last
j6lvelnes young people
crilmelnes crimes
necessarily mean it has one in the plural, and vice versa. accent is often required to show that the syllable stressed in the verb form
does not change. These verb forms are:
Ends in n, so rule ls fo sfress /ost
Ends in s, so rule is to stress lost
o the gerund whenever one or more pronouns are added
sylloble but one; follows rule,
sylloble but one; breaks rule, so occent comprando Duyrn9
so no occent needed in singulor is needed in plural to keep stress on io- comp16ndo(se)lo buying it (for him/her/them)
o the infinitive. when followed by two pronouns
Ends in n, so rule ls to stress /ast Ends in s, so rule is to sfress lost sylloble vender to sell
sylloble but one; breoks rule, so but one; follows rule, so no qccent vend6rselas to sell them to him/her/them
accent is needed in singular needed in plurol to keep stress on -cio;
o imperative forms
compra puy
L4-l Which vowelto stress in vowel combinations c6mpralo buy it
hagan do
l The vowels i and u are considered to be weak. The vowels a, e and o are h6ganselo do it for him/her/them
considered to be strong.
BUT
D When a weak vowel (i or u) combines with a strong one (a, e or o), they comprad buy
form ONE sound that is part of the SAME syllable. Technically speaking, this compradlo buy it
is called a diphthong. The strong vowel is emphasized more.
baille dance + For more information on Gerunds, lnfinitives qnd the lmperative, see pages
E aquello
Note that no accent is given on the neuter pronouns esto, eso and
since there is no adjective form with which they might be
confused.
rrp
Use son las for all times not involving una (meaning one).
} Apart from primero (meaning frrsf) up to d6cimo (meaning tenth), as well LA FECHA THE DATE
as cent6simo (meaning one hundredth) and mil6simo (meaning one
Los dias de la semana The days of the week
thousandth), the ordinal numbers tend not to be used very much in
Spanish. Cardinal numbers (ordinary numbers) are used instead. lunes Monday
martes Tuesday
Carlos tercero Carlos the third
mi6rcoles Wednesday
Alfonso trece Alfonso the thirteenth jueves Thursday
+ For numbers used in dotes, see page 21 1.
viernes Friday
Saturday
sdbado
domingo Sunday
2Ou6 dia es hoy? What day is it today? 2Cuiindo va a pasar? When is it going to happen?
. Es... It's... mafiana tomorrow
lunes 26 de febrero Monday, 26th February mafiana por la mafiana tomorrow morning
domingo 1 de octubre Sunday, 'l st October mafiana por la tarde tomorrow afternoon/evening
lunes veintis6is de febrero Monday, the twenty-sixth of maffana por la noche tomorrow evening/night
February pasado mafiana the day after tomorrow
domingo uno de octubre Sunday, the first of October dentro de dos dias in two days'time
dentro de una semana in a week's time
@ Note that months of the year are DON'T have a capital letter in Spanish. dentro de quince dias in two weeks'time
el mes que viene next month
For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii. el afio que viene next year
fruoex 213
decir 147 -er verbs: imperative 86, 87 grande 23,25, 27,28
MAIN INDEX definite article -er verbs: imperfect 112 gustar
gustar mis
1s4,155,156
10,11-14,36, s3 -er verDs: 155
definite article: imperfectsubjunctive 141 haber 99, 115,116, 12O, 121,
a 15, 145,147,148,149, al lado de 191 bastar 132 with parts of the body 36 -er verbs: past participle 11 5 129, 130, 131 , 1 59,177
1 50, 1 80-1 82 al que 62,63 be 80 dejar '146,148 -erverbs: perfect 115, 116 habia 116.130
a 10,15,16 algo 58, 60 bien 167,170 dejar caer 147 -er verbs: pluperfect 'l'19 hace ... que 1 8, 1 30, 89
1 1
a+ ef 12, 57,180 alguien 58, 60 buen 22 del 12, 57,182 -er verDs: hacer '129.146
a causa de 19'l algrin 22,23, 39 bueno 22,27 del que 62,63 present continuous 84 hacer faftal 30, 136, "144, 155
a lo mejor "17 alguna 39, 58 buscar )U demasiado 175 -er verDs: hacia 90
1
a: personal 50,182 algunas 39, 58 but 192 demonstrative present simple 73,74 hacia abajo 190
abstract nouns 12 alguno 22,23, 58, 60 by 't22, 186 adjectives 24,30,31, 204 -er veros: hacia adelante 190
acabar de 148,149 algunos 39. s8 cada 39 demonstrative present subjunctive 137 hacia arriba 190
accents 200-205 olthough 't94 cada uno 58 pronouns 4"1,67,68,204 -er verbs: preterite 104,105 hacia atr6s 190
active 122,124 alto 167 cardinal numbers 206-207 derecho 1 68 esa 30, 31,68 hacia ... que 114, 12'l
acute accent 200 among '190 cien 16,23 describing 6sa 67,68 hasta 55,189,190
adjectives 19-40,168 an '10, 15 ciento 23 words see adjectives esas 30, 31 hasta que "140
adjectives: ond 192 cierto 16 desde 79, 114, 118, 121, 129, 6sas 67 hay 116,130
agreement 19,20, 21, 22, 23 anoche 171 claro 168,172 130,189 ese 30, 3'1, 68 hay que 131
adjectives: answers 165 como 193,194 desde hace 118,189 6se 67,68 he 42
comparative and antes 171 c6mo 16'1,163 desde hacia 114,121 eso 67,68 ner 46,49,54
superlative '19,26,27 antes de 137,144, 188 comparative desde...hasta 189 esos 30,31, 68 ners 37
adjectives: demonstrative antes de que 136 adjectives "19,26,27,28 despu6s de 144,189 6sos 67,68 herself 54,91
24, 30, 31, 204 ony 15,39 comparative adverbs "l 69, 1 7O did 105 esperar 50 him 46,49, 54
adjectives: anybody 58,59,60 comparisons didn't 105 esta 30, 68 himself 54,91
endings 19, 20,21,22,23 onything 58,59,60 26, 27, 169, 170,174,183 diferente 25 6sta 67,68 his 37
adjectives: apenas 171 compound nouns 8 dificil 183 estar 80-83,84,125 how 161,162
feminine 19, 20, 21, 22, 2l aquel 30, 3't, 68 con 54,149,152,167,188 diphthongs 202 estas 30, 68 how muchlmony 32
adjectives:indefinite 24,39 aqu6l 67,68 con + mi 54 direct object 49,153 6stas 67,68 t42
adjectives: aquella 30, 31, 67, 68 con + si 54 direct obiect este 30, 68 if 54,143,193,204
inexclamations 24, 34, 205 aqu6fla 67,68 con + ti 54 pronouns 46,47, 52 6ste 67,68 imperative 85-90,94,145
adjectives: aquellas 30, 31, 68 conditional 100-103 direct questions 164 esto 67,68 imperative:
participles used as 8l aqu6flas 67,68 conditional: irregular verbs 1 02 doing words see verbs estos 68 accents added to 2O3
adjectives: plural "19, 21,22 aquello 67,68 conditional: reflexive verbs i 03 doler 155
't61, 162
6stos 67,68 imperative: irregular verbs 86
adiectives: position'19, 24, 25 aquelfos 30,31,68 coniugations 69,72,73,75 d6nde even if, even though 194 imperative: used with
adjectives: aqu6flos 67,68 coniunctions e 192 every 39,40 direct object
possessive 24,35-38,53 aqui 171 192-195,"t34,"t67 eoch 39 everybody 58 pronouns 47, 50, 88, 89 203
adjectives: -ar verDs conmigo 54 eoch other 96 everything 58 imperative: word order 88, 89
shortened forms 22,23 -ar verbs: conditional 1 00. 1 01 consigo 54 either ... or 195 exclamations: adjectives imperfect continuous '125
adjectives: singular 19, 20, 21 -ar verbs: future 97 consonants 201 el 1,5,11,42,54,204 used in 24,34,205 imperfect subjunctive
adjectives: -ar verbs: gerund 127 contigo 54 ef cual 64 exterior 21 '134, 141,142, '143
spellingchanges 29,198 -ar verbs: imperative 85, 87 continuous tenses 82, 84, 125 el de 57 f6cil 183 imperfect
adjectives: used with -ar verbs: imperfect 'l 10, 1 'l 1 contra 188 el instead of la 11 faltar 1 55 tense 110-114,'104,121
estar
ser or 81, 82 -ar verbs: cual 64 el mio 56, s7 feminine imperfect tense:
adjectives: word order 19, 24 imperfectsub.junctive 141 cuiil | 61 , 162, "t 63 el nuestro s6, 57 adfectives 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 irregular verbs 113
ad6nde 161,162 -ar verbs: past participle 1'l 5 cu6les 161,162,163 el que 61, 62, 63, 64 feminine imperfect tense:
adverbs '166-177 -ar perfect 115,116
verbs: cualquier 23 el suyo 56, 57 nouns 1,2,3, 4, 5, 6,1-l reflexive verbs 't14
adverbs: comparative -ar pluperfect 119
verbs: cualquiera 23, 58 el tuyo 56, 57 few: a few 59 impersonal se 96, 124,'133
andsuperlative 169,170 -arverDs: cuando 140,194 el vuestro 56, 57 for 185,186,189 impersonalverbs 129-133
adverbs: word order 177 present continuous 84 cu6ndo 't61, 162 6l 42, 54,70,204 from 181,182,189 importar 155
after '189 -ar verbs: present simple 72 cuinto 32,34,161,"162 ella 42,54 from ... to 182,189 in 183."184
ogainst 188 -ar verbs: cu6ntos 161 ellas 42,44, 54 fuerte 68 1 in order to 185
agreement: of adjectives present subjunctive 137 cuyo 64 ellos 42,44, 54 future tense 97-99 indefiniteadiectives 24,39
19, 20, 2t, 22,23 -ar verbs: preterite 104,105 dates 13,209-210 en 149,152,184-185 future tense: indefinite article 15-16, 190
agreement: articles 10-18,190 days of the week 4, 13,2O9, encuanto 140 irregular verbs 98,99 indefinitepronouns 41.58
of articles 1, I 1, 5 1 os 193,194 210 encantar 155 future tense: reflexive verbs 99 indicative 136,140,'143
agreemenr: os ... os 2a de 27,145,148,149,151, endings: gender 1, 2, l't , 15 indirect object 49
of past participle 123 at I80,181,184 182,'t83,204 adjectives 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 gerund 84,12s-124 indirect obiect pronouns
agreement: of aun 172 de + el 12,182 endings: adverbs 167 gerund: accents added to 203 49, 50, 52, 53,'154
possessiveadjectives 35-38 arin 172 demanera "167 endings: nouns 2-7 gerund: irregular verbs "127 indirect questions 33, 164, 205
agreement: of aunque 140,194 dequi6n "163 entre 55,190 gerund: used with object inferior 2'l
possessivepronouns 56-57 balo 168, r88 dequi6nes 163 -er verbs: conditional 1 00, 1 0 l pronouns 47, 50, 51, 52, 203 infinitives 69, 144-153, 128
al 12, 57, "l8O barato 168 d6 204 -er verbs: future 97 going to 97,180 infinitives:
af + infinitive 182 bastante 175 deber 146 -er verbs: gerund 127 9ran I5 accents added to 203
214 lruoex lruoex 215
infinitives: after al 182 itself 91 mia 37,56 nuestro 3s,37, 56 pluperfect tense: pronouns:
infinitives: after another jobs 16 mfas 3/,56 nuestros 35,37, 56 reflexiveverbs 120,'121 possessive 41,56,57
verb 1 34, 1 35, 145-153, 156 la 1, 5,11, 46, 47, 52 mientras 140, 194 nuevo 25 pluperfect tense: pronouns: reflexive
infinitives: after prepositions la de 57 mientras que 194 numbers 24,206-204 word order 177 41, 91 -94, 99, 103,'t09,'t 1 7,
144-153, 178,185, 188, la mia 56, 57 mif 16,23 nunca 1s9 pfural 7,8,9, 21, 22 114, 1"t7, 1"t8, "t20,'t21
189,191 la nuestra 56, 57 millones 23 o 192 pobre 25 pronouns:
infinitives: la que 61, 62, 63, 64 mine 37, 56 o.,.o i95 poco 59,170,'175 refative 41,61, 62, 63, 64
used in instructions 89 las de 57 mio 37, 56 6 192 poder 146 pronouns:
infinitives: used with direct la suya 56, 57 mfos 5/,56 obiect 122 por 122,152,186,187 subject 41-45,70-76
obiect pronouns la tuya 56, 57 mirar 50 obiect por debaio de 187 pronouns: word
47, 50, 51, 52, 203 la vuestra 56, 57 mis 35 pronouns 41,46- 53,88, por delante de 187 order 47,50,51,52,53
-ing 82,84,125,126,127, languages 4,186 mismo 25 89,"t"t7, 120, 128, 157,203 por encima de 187, 19"1 pronunciation 197-200
128,1s6 fas 11, 46, 47, 52 months 4,210-211 of 182 por lo general 17 pues '194
instructions seeimperative las de 57 more 26,169,170 on 1 3, 185 por lo menos 't7 que 26,27,28,29, 61, 62, 63,
interesar 55 1 las mias 56, 57 most 26,27, 169,"170 one 93,118,121,208,209 por qu6 65, "t 61 , 193 64, 135,'136, 169, 170, 19]
interrogative las nuestras 56, 57 mucho 39, 58,-170,"175 one onother 96 porque 192,193 qu6 '16,32,65,66,161,
adjectives 24,32 fas que 61,62,63,64 muy 28,"173 oneself 91 possession 36, 1 83 162,163
interrogative las suyas 56, 57 my 35 or 192 possessive qu6 ... mas + adjective 34
pronouns 41,65 las tuyas 56, 57 myselt 91-95 orders and adiectives 24,35-38,53 qu6 ... tan + adjective 34
invariable adjectives 22 las vuestras 56, 57 nada 59,60,159 instructions seeimperative possessive adjectives: quedar 155
inversion 161-163 fe 49, 50, 51,52,"154, 155 nadie "l59
ordinal numbers 208 agreement 35,36,37,38 querer 146
-ir verbs: conditional 100, 101 least 26,27,169,170 naming words see nouns os 46, 47, 49, 50, 52,93,96, possessive querer decir 147
-ir verbs: future 97 les 49, 50, 51, 52,154,155 nationalities: adiectives 20 103, 109,114, 118, 't54 pronouns 41,56-57 question words 32, 33, 65, 66,
-ir verbs: gerund 127 /ess 26,169,170 negatives 157-"159 39, 59 prepositions 178-191 160, "t6"t, 162, 163, 164, 205
other
-ir verbs: imperative 86,87 let's 85, 89 negative questions 164 otra 39, 59 prepositipns: after questions 65,66,160-165
-ir verbs: imperfect 112 ffevar (puesto) 16 neither... nor 't95
otras ?o (o adjectives 1 81, 1 83, 1 85, 1 88 questions:indirect 33,164
-ir verbs: llevar: nevar 129 prepositions: after verbs 145, quien
otro 16,39, 59 6"1, 62
imperfectsubjunctive "141 with time expression 126 never r58,159 otros ?o {o 147,148, 149, 150-1s3 qui6n 65, 66, 16"1,162,163
-ir verbs: past participle 1 1 5 llover 129 ni... ni 159,195 quienes
our 35 prepositions: followed by 61
-ir verbs: perfect 11 5, 116 lo 17,18, 46,47, 52 ningrin 22, 1 59
ours 56 infinitive 144-153, 178, 185, qui€nes 65,66,162,163
-ir verbs: pluperfect 119 lo de 17 ninguna 59, 1 59
ourselves 91-95 188,189,191 quiziis 173, 174
-ir verbs: lo que 17, 63
'l't,
ninguno 22,59,60,"159 para 137, 18s-"186 presentcontinuous 82,84 radical-changing verbs 76, 77,
present continuous 84 los 46, 47 no 105,157,158,164,
para que lJo present participle see gerund 107,108,139
-ir verbs: present simple 75 los de 57 165,173 parece que 132,'t35 present perfect 16pido 168
-ir verbs: los mlos 56, 57 no creer que 136
participles: see perfect tense reci6n 167
present subiunctive 137 los nuestros 56, 57 no ,.. jamas 158
-ir verbs: preterite 1 04. 1 05 past 81, 1'15, 116, 117, 1'19, present simple 71-80 reflexive pronouns
los que 61, 62, 61, 64 no longer 158
120, 122,123, 126, 159 Dresent 41, 91-96, 99, 103, 109,
ir a 97,180 los suyos 56, 57 no ,,. m6s 158,159
participles: present see gerund subjunctive 134-"140,174 114, 117,"t88, "t20, 121
ir with gerund 125 los tuyos 56, 57 no more 158
presenttense 71-84,189 reflexive oronouns:
irregular comparative and los vuestros 56, 57 no... nada parts of
158
superlative adiectives 2Z 28 the body 12,36, 53,95 oresent tense: word order 94
luego 173 no ... nadie 158
irregular comparative and mal 22,167,170 no .., ni ... ni 158 pasar(se) '126 irregular verbs 76 reflexive verbs
superlative adverbs "170 malo 22,27 no ,.. ninguno 158 passive 81,122-124,186 Dresent tense: 53, 91-96, 99, 103, 1 09, 1 1 4,
irregular verbs 69,70 mas 204 no... nunca 158 passive: irregular verbs '123 verbs
reflexive 92 1"t7, "t88, 120, 121, 124
irregular verbs: conditional 1 02 miis 26,27, 169,170, 175, no pensar que 136 past participles 81, 115, 116, preterite lO4-109, 1 10 reflexive verbs: conditional '103
irregular verbs: 176,204 no ... tampoco 158 117, 119, "l
20, 1 22, 1 23, preterite: irregular verbs 1 06 reflexive verbs: future tense 99
future tense 98,99 m6s de 'l
70, 183 nobody 58,158,159 126,159 preterite: reflexive verbs 1 09 reflexive verbs:
irregular verbs: imperative 86 masculineadjectives 19-23 nos 46,47,49, 50, 52,93, past participles: preterite: imDerfect tense "114
irregular yerbs: masculine and feminine forms 96, 103, 109, 1't4, 1 18, 154 irregufar 116, 120 spellingchanges 108, 109 reflexive verbs:
imperfecttense li3 of words 2,3, 5,6,19-23 nosotras 42,44, 54 past perfect see pluperfect rates
prices and I 3, 1 80 orders and instructions 94
irregular verbs: passive 123 masculine nosotros 42,44,54 peor 21,27,28,170 primer 22,208 reflexive verbs:
irregular verbs: nouns 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11 not 157,158,164,165 pequeffo 27,28 primero 22,208 perfect tense 117,"118
perfect tense 1"16,117 mayor 2'l, 27, 28 nothing 41, 59,158,159 perfect tense 15-1 18, 891 1 pronouns 41-68 reflexive verbs:
irregular verbs: me 46,47,49,50, 52,93 , nounS "t-9 perfect tense: pronounS: pluperfecttense 12O,'121
pluperfect tense 120 103,109,1't4,118,1s4 nouns: endings 2,3,4, 5, 6,7 irregular verbs 116 demonstrative 41,67,68 reflexive verbs:
irregular verbs: me 49,54 nouns: perfect tense: pronouns: present tense 92, 93, 95, 96
present tense 76,77 medio 25 feminine 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, "11 reffexiveverbs 117,118 direct obiect 46,47,48, 52 refative pronouns 41, 61-64
irregular verbs: preterite 1 06 mejor 21, 27, 28, 13"t, 170 nouns: perfect tense: word order 1 77 pronouns: indefinite 41, 58 reported
irregular verbs: menor 27,28 masculine 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11 pero 192 oronouns: indirect questions 33,164,2Os
subiunctive 137,138,142 menos 26,27, 55,169, nouns: plural 1,7 personal a s0, 58, 1 82 object 49,50,52,53,154 root-changing verbs
-isimo 29,203 170,176 nouns: personal pronouns 41, 42-55 pronouns: interrogative 41, 65 see radical-changing verbs
it 42, 46, "t29, 130, t 3 r, menos de 170, 183 singular 1, 2, 1, 4, 5, 6, 9 pfuperfecttense 119-^12'l oronouns: saber 146
't32, 133 mi 35,204 nuestra 35,37,56 pluperfect tense: object 41, 46- 53,88, salvo 55
,t5 J5 mi 54,204 nuestras 35,37, 56 irregular verbs 120 89, 11 7, 120, 128, 1 57, 203 some 25
216 lruoex
se 52, 9'1, 92, 93, 95, 96, 99, tenses: sequenceol 139,140 verbs: prepositions after
103, 109, 114, 117, 118, 120, tercer 22,208 1 45, 1 47, 1 48, 1 49, 1 50-1 53
121,133 tercero 22,208 verbs: regular 69
-197
Introduction
se cree 133 thon 26, 27, 28,29,159,170 verbs: spelling changes
se dice 133 thot 30, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67. verdad 131, 136, 160, 164,
'165
se puede 133 68,193
segUn 55 thot one/those ones 67, 68 viejo 25 The Verb Tables in the following section contain 83 tables of Spanish verbs
ser 80-83, 122, 23, 131, 132
1 the 10, 11, 12 vo5otras 42,44, 54
(some regular and some irregular) in alphabetical order. Each table shows you
she 42 their 35 voS0Iros 42,44, 54
si 54, 143, ^t92, 193, 204 lheirs 37 vowetS 200-202 the following forms: Present, Preterite, Future, Present Subjunctive, lmperfect,
si 54,165,174,193,204 them 46,49, 54 vuestra 35,37, 56 Conditional, lmperative and the Past Participle and Gerund. For more
siempre 79, 174 themselves 54,91 vuestras 35,37, 56
sin 16,137,190,191 lhere 76 vuestro 35,37, 56 information on these tenses, how they are formed, when they are used and so
sin que 136 these 30,67 vuestros 35, 37, 56 on, you should look at the section on Verbs in the main text on pages 69-1 56.
since 79,114,118,121, they 42 we 42
130,189 this 30, 67 weather 129
singularadjectives 19, 20, 21 lhis one/these ones 67,68 what 17,32, 65,66,"163 In order to help you use the verbs shown in Verb Tables correctly, there are also
singular nouns 1-6,9 those whot (o) ...! 34, 205
30,67 a number of example phrases at the bottom of each page to show the verb as
sino 192 ti 54 when 140, 16"1,-162, 163, 194
sobre 191 l.ime 13,80, 209 where 16"1 , 162, 164 it is used in context.
sofo 204 todavia -174,-177 whether 193
s6fo 174,204 todo 59 which 32, 33, 61, 62, 63, 64,
some 15,39 In Spanish there are both regular verbs (their forms follow the normal rules) and
tratarse de 33 65, 1 63
somebody 58 tu 35,42,204
1
whichone(s) 65 irregular verbs (their forms do not follow the normal rules). The regular verbs
something 58 td 42,44,70,204 while 194
in these tables are:
spelling 196-"t99
tus 35
who 61,62
stress 200-205 tuya 37,56 whom 61,62
su 35
tuyas 37,56 whose 64,66,163 hablar (regular -ar verb, Verb Table 39)
subject 122,154 tuyo why 161,193
subiect pronouns 41-45, 70, 37,56
with 54, 55,152, 188 comer (regular -er verb, Verb Table 'l 6)
72, 73, 74,76
tuyos 37,56
without 16,136,190
u 192 vivir (regular -ir verb, Verb Table 81)
subjunctive "134-143,174
un 1,15,22,206,207 will 97,98,99
subjunctive: word order:
imperfect un poco 175
141, 142, 143
una 1,15,206,207
in imperatives 88, 89 The irregular verbs are shown in full.
subjunctive: word order:
irregular verbs 1 38, 139, 1 42 unas 5 1
in indirect questions 33. 164
subjunctive: under 188
word order: in questions
'l
The Verb Index at the end of this section contains over 200 verbs, each of
present 134-140,174 uno 15
160,161,163,164
superf ative adiectives 26, 27 uno ... (el) otro 59 word order:
which is cross-referred to one of the verbs given in the Verb Tables. The table
superlative adverbs 169-170 unos 5 1
with adiectives 19, 24 shows the patterns that the verb listed in the index follows.
sus 35 unos .. (los) otros 60 word order: with adverbs 1ZZ
suya 37, 56 us 46,49,54 word order: with gerunds i28
suyas 37, 56 usted 42,44,54 word order:
suyo 37, 56 ustedes 42,44,54 with negatives 1 57, 158, 159
suyos 37, 56 vafe la pena 132 word order: with object
syllables 200-202 vafer 132 pronouns 50,52,117,120
tan ... como 28, 174 vamos a 89 word order:
tan ... que 174 varios 39,60 with reflexive pronouns 94
tanto 28, 19, 59,175 vd. 42,54 would 100
tanto... como 28,170 Vds. 42,54 y 192
te 46, 47, 50,93,103,109, venir with gerund 125 ya 175
114,'118,154,204 verbal idioms 154-156 years '184,210
rc 204 verb forms: after yes 79,204
tener 16,116,182 prepositions 178, 188, 189 yo 42,70
tener que 146 verbs 69-156 you 42,46,49,54
tense 69 verbs: active 122,124 you: ways of saying 44
tenses: conditional 1 00-1 03 verbs: followed by a 148 your 35
tenses: future 97-99 verbs: followed by yours 37
tenses:imperfect 110-114 an infinitive 145, 146
-148
yourself \a ql
tenses: perfect r15-118 verbs: followed by de yourselves 54,91
tenses:pluperfect "119-121 verbs: followed by
tenses: present 71-84 directobject 1 53
tenses: present continuous 84 verbs:infinitives 144
tenses:preterite 104-109 verbs: irregular 69
Vene Tneus Vene TneLes
GERUND GERUND
aboliendo abriendo
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish, Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish,
Vene TleLrs VeReTneLes l
GERUND GERUND
actuando adquiriendo
Remember that subioct pronoun$ are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that suhiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish'
Vene TneLes venerAeLes lful,..T$
-
>
""d",
,-" -*,
PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUT{CTIVE
(Yo) almuerzo (yo) almuerce (vo) ando (Yo) ande
(t'i) almuerzas (tti) almuerces (t() andas (tf) andes
(6Uellalusted) almuerza (61/ella/usted) almuerce (61/ella/usted) anda (61/ella/usted) ande
(nosotros/as) almorzamos (nosotros/as) almorcemos (nosotros/as) andamos (nosotros/as) andemos
(vosotros/as) almorz6is (vosotros/as) almorc6is (vosotros/as) andSis (vosotros/as) and6is
(ellos/ellas/ustedes) almuerzan (ellos/ellas/ustedes) almuercen (ellos/ellas/ustedes) andan (ellos/ellas/ustedes) anden
GERUND GERUND
almorzando andando
Remember that subject pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish'
ffi
'{ilifi';i
VeRsTheLEs veneTAeLes
'i,,r,lffi
GERI",'ND GERUND
aunando avergonzando
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
ffi Vene TneLes Vsne Tnelrs
GERUND GERUND
averiguando bendiciendo
Remember that subiect pionouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronoun$ are not used very often in Spanish.
; .,'_ VeRe Tneles Vene TAsLrs :'
GERUND GERUND
cabiendo
cayendo
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
, .-,
;i,,
GERUND GERUND
cociendo cogiendo
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Rernember that $ubiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
.:,
"r:ri
"+ , ,i, Vene TnsLes
l#L$#i,tn*
PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
PRESENT
(Yo) como 0o) coma (Yo) conduzco (Yo) conduzca
(tf) comes (tti) comas (tri) conduces (t'i) conduzcas
(6|/ella/usted) come (61/ella/usted) coma (61/ella/usted) conduce (6Uella/usted) conduzca
(nosotros/as) comemos (nosotros/as) comamos (nosotros/as) conducimos (nosotros/as) conduzcamos
(vosotros/as) com6is (vosotros/as) com6is (vosotros/as) conduzc6is
(vosotros/as) conducfs
(ellos/ellas/ustedes) comen (ellos/ellas/ustedes) coman (ellos/ellas/ustedes) conduzcan
(ellos/ellas/ustedes) conducen
GERUND
GERUND
comiendo conduciendo
EXAMPLE PHRASES
EXAMPLE PHRASES
No come cqrne. He doesn't eat meat.
Conduces muy bien. You are a really good driver.
No comas tan depriso. Don't eat so fast.
Se ha comido todo. He's eaten it all. a,Condujiste ti? Was it you driving?
El los conducird q la mesq. He'll show you to your table.
Remember that $ubiect pronoun$ are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
j, ;i:
'
VeRe Tngles Vene tlelEs ,'; ;:1
GERUND GERUND
construyendo contando
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish'
Vene Teeles VEna Tneles
GERUND GERUND
creciendo cruzando
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used vety often in Spanish.
.- .l-yr*4t,-o
> dar (to give)
PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE PRESENT PRESENT SUtsJUNCTIVE
(Yo) cubro (Yo) cubra (vo) doy (Yo) d6
(t() cubres (tti) cubras (tri) das (t'i) des
(61/ella/usted) cubre (6l/ella/usted) cubra (61/ella/usted) da (61/ella/usted) d6
(nosotros/as) cubrimos (nosotros/as) cubramos (nosotros/as) damos (nosotros/as) demos
(vosotros/as) cubris (vosotros/as) cub16is (vosotros/as) dais (vosotros/as) deis
(el los/ellas/ustedes) cubren (ellos/ellas/ustedes) cubran (ellos/ellas/ustedes) dan (ellos/ellas/ustedes) den
GERUND GERUND
cubriendo dando
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish, Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
' VeneTneles
GERUND GERUND
diciendo dirigiendo
Remember that subi6ct pronouns are not used very often in Spanish, Remember that subiect pronouns ate not used very often in Spanish'
vrn'tneLEs tli'ii
-f{:ry-r^t.rs
> distinguir (to distinsuish) @
PRESENT PRESENT SUBJTJNCTIVE PRESENT PRESENT SI".'BJUNCTIVE
(yo) distingo (yo) distinga (yo) duermo (Yo) duerma
(t() distingues (tti) distingas (tf) duermes (tti) duermas
(61/ella/usted) distingue (6l/ella/usted) distinga (61/ella/usted) duerme (61/ella/usted) duerma
(nosotros/as) distinguimos (nosotros/as) distingamos (nosotros/as) dormimos (nosotros/as) durmamos
(vosotros/as) distinguis (vosotros/as) distingiiis (vosotros/as) dormls (vosotros/as) durmSis
(ellos/ellas/ustedes) distinguen (ellos/ellas/ustedes) distingan (ellos/ellas/ustedes) duermen (ellos/ellas/ustedes) duerman
GERUND GERUND
distinguiendo durmiendo
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish'
PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
(yo) etijo (Yo)
elija (Yo) emPiezo (yo) empiece
(t'j) eliges (tti)
elijas (t0) empiezas (tri) empieces
(61/ella/usted) elige (61/ella/usted) elija (61/ella/usted) empieza (61/ella/usted) empiece
(nosotros/as) elegimos (nosotros/as) elijamos (nosotros/as) empezamos (nosotros/as) empecemos
(vosotros/as) elegis (vosotros/as) elij6is (vosotros/as) empezSis (vosotros/as) empec6is
(ellos/ellas/ustedes) eligen (ellos/ellas/ustedes) elijan (ellos/ellas/ustedes) empiezan (ellos/ellas/ustedes) empiecen
GERUND GERUND
eligiendo empezando
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish, Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spenish'
,:lilir.
i;;;.:{ VeRe Tneles
GERUND GERUND
entendiendo enviando
Remember that subiect pronouns ar6 not used very often in Spanish. Remember that $ubi6ct pronouns are not used very often in Spanish'
*fi':- Vrne ThsLes
GERUND GERUND
irguiendo errando
Remember that subject pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that $ubi€ct pronouns afe not used very often in spanish'
":$i';t.
;i;ii Vene Tasles VrnstorLes ffi
PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
(Yo) escribo (Yo) escriba (Yo) estoy (yo) est6
(tri) escribes (tti) escribas (t() est6s (ti) est6s
(61/ella/usted) escribe (61/ella/usted) escriba (61/ella/usted) estS (61/ella/usted) est6
(nosotros/as) escribimos (nosotros/as) escribamos (nosotros/as) estamos (nosotros/as) estemos
(vosotros/as) escribis (vosotros/as) escrib6is (vosotros/as) est6is (vosotros/as) est6is
(ellos/ellas/ustedes) escriben (ellos/ellas/ustedes) escriban (ellos/el las/ustedes) est6n (ellos/ellas/ustedes) est6n
GERUND GERUND
escribiendo estando
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Femember that subiect pnonouns are not used very often in $panish'
> fre{r (to fry) > grunlr (to grunt)
GERUND GERUND
friendo grufiendo
Femember that subject pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that $ubiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish'
VeRe TneLes VeRe TAsLes
GERUND GERUND
habiendo hablando
Remember thdt subioct pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect plonouns ate not used very often in spanish.
Vene Tneles vrnetneles ffifu
GERUND GERUND
haciendo habiendo
Remember that subioct pronoun$ are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish'
;. -'.t vr*, ror.r,
GERUND GERUND
yendo jugando
Remember that $ubiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
_ vqqlry.rl VrneTneLEs',i:1,i,:::
GERUND GERUND
leyendo luciendo
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subi6ct pronouns are not used very often in Spanish'
Vrng TnsLrs
GERUND GERUND
lloviendo muriendo
Remember that subiect pronoun$ are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronoun$ ate not used very often in Spanish-
r ,''.1 ,
-
.
l',.,.
1{ Vene TeeLes venern'reg t{#-mf,
, *"", fu * ,"*)
PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
(vo) muevo (Yo) mueva (vo) nazca (yo) nazca
(tri) mueves (t'i) muevas (ti) naces (t'i) nazcas
(61/ella/usted) mueve (61/ella/usted) mueva (61/ella/usted) nace (61/ella/usted) nazca
(nosotros/as) movemos (nosotros/as) movamos (nosotros/as) nacemoS (nosotros/as) nazcamos
(vosotros/as) mov6is (vosotros/as) movdis (vosotros/as) nac6is (vosotros/as) nazc6is
(ellos/el las/ustedes) mueven (ellos/ellas/ustedes) muevan (el los/el las/ustedes) nacen (ellos/ellas/ustedes) nazcan
GERUND GERUND
moviendo naciendo
Remember that subiect pronoun$ ale not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subioct pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
Vene TneLes
_ v=ngrnaLrs $#uffi
GEMUfrdM GERUI\D
negando oyendo
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish, Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spani$h.
VEne Tneles
;1 -.;; Vene TneLEs
GERUND GERUND
oliendo pagando
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish, Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
VERS Tnglps ys*rlr'-jififi
(to think)
GERUND GERUND
pidiendo pensando
Remember that subioct pronouns ale not ueed very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
VrRs Tngles VeRs Tneles
GENUf\$M GERUND
pudiendo poniendo
Remember that subject pronouns are not used very often in Spanish, Remember that subiect pronouns ar6 not used very often in Spanish.
titi'.1 *
> prohibir (to forbid) > qUer€r (to want)
PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
(Yo) Prohibo (yo) prohiba (vo) qurero (Yo) quiera
(tti) Prohibes (t'1) prohibas (tti) quieres (t'i) quieras
(61/ella/usted) prohibe (61/ella/usted) prohiba (16llella/usted) quiere (61/ella/usted) quiera
(nosotros/as) prohibimos (nosotros/as) prohibamos (nosotros/as) queremos (nosotros/as) queramos
(vosotros/as) prohibls (vosotros/as) prohibi6is (vosotros/as) que16is (vosotros/as) querSis
(ellos/ellas/ustedes) prohiben (ellos/ellas/ustedes) prohiban (el Ios/ellas/ustedes) quieren (ellos/ellas/ustedes) quieran
GERUND GERUND
prohibiendo queriendo
Remember that subiGct pronouns are not used very often in Spanish, Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
Vrns TaeLes
GHffiLI$\Iffi GERUND
rehusando riendo
Remember that subject pronouns are not used very often in Spanish, Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish,
.**L
i , :t Vene Tneles Vene Teelrs
--ffi
j
GERUND GERUND
rifrendo resolviendo
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subject pronoun$ are not used very often in Spanish.
,,:,i vr*,rorr*
GERUND GERUND
reuniendo rogando
Remember that subiect p?onouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
., ,i VeRe TlsLEs
GERUND GERUND
rompiendo sabiendo
Remember that subiect pronoun$ are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronoun$ are not used very often in Spanish.
.+
ra'
Vene Tneles vene tneles
ffi
> salir (to go out)
PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
(Yo) saco (Yo) saque (Yo) salgo (Yo) salga
(t'i)
sacas (t'i) saques (rrj)
sales (t'i) salgas
(61/ella/usted) saca (61/ella/usted) saque (61/ella/usted) sale (61/ellai usted) salga
(nosotros/as) sacamos (nosotros/as) saquemos (nosotros/as) salimos (nosotros/as) salgamos
(vosotros/as) sac5is (vosotros/as) saqueis (vosotros/as) salis (vosotros/as) salgdis
(ellos/ellas/ustedes) sacan (ellos/ellas/ustedes) saquen (ellos/ellas/ustedes) salen (ellos/ellas/ustedes) salgan
GERUND GERUND
sacando saliendo
Remember that $ubject pronouns are not used very often in Spanish, Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
.ddsa
I; Taalrs
Vene Taeles VeRe
-_ffi
> satisfacer (to satisfy) > seguir (to follow)
GERUND GERUND
satisfaciendo siguiendo
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that sqbiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
.j,ff#
-d .S Vene Teeles vrnetneres
ffi
PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
(vo) siento (Yo) sienta (Yo) soy go) sea
(tri) sientes (tn) sientas (tri) eres (tf) seas
(61/ella/usted) siente (6|/ella/usted) sienta (61/ella/usted) es (61/ella/usted) sea
(nosotros/as) sentimos (nosotros/as) sintamos (nosotros/as) somoS (nosotros/as) seamos
(vosotros/as) sentis (vosotros/as) sintSis (vosotros/as) sois (vosotros/as) se5is
(ellos/el las/ustedes) sienten (ellos/ellas/ustedes) sientan (el los/ellas/ustedes) 50n (ellos/ellas/ustedes) sean
GERUND GERUND
sintiendo siendo
Remember that subiect pronouns ate not us€d very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns ate not used very often in Spanish.
t.fi:$r,"* VEns Taeles
Remember that $ubiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
Vens Tneles
GERUND GERT.'IVE
trayendo valiendo
Remember that subiect pronouns ar6 not used very often in Spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
VeRe Tnelrs Vr*, torrrs i" .:'
'{ii
,
GERUND GERI-'ND
venciendo viniendo
Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish, Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
"@#il
a-'". VeRe Tleles venetneLes
ffi
> Ver (to see) > vlvar (to live)
PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE PRESENT PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
(yo) veo (yo) vea (vo) vivo (yo) viva
(t[) ve5 Ctl) veas (t0) vives (t'i) vivas
(6liellalusted) VE (61/ella/usted) vea (61/ella/usted) vive (61/ella/usted) viva
(nosotros/as) vemos (nosotros/as) veamos (nosotros/as) vivimos (nosotros/as) vivamos
(vosotros/as) veis (vosotros/as) ve6is (vosotros/as) vivis (vosotros/as) viviiis
(ellos/ellas/ustedes) ven (ellos/ellas/ustedes) vean (ellos/ellas/ustedes) viven (ellos/ellas/ustedes) vivan
GERUND GERUND
viendo viviendo
Remember that ssbiect pronouns are not used very often in spanish. Remember that subiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish.
: ..- r. VeRg TneLes Vene Tnslrs
GERUND GERUND
volcando volviendo
Remember that $ubiect pronouns are not used very often in Spanish. Remembet that subi6ct pronouns are not used very often in $panish.
Vene Tneles VeRs lwosx
i-:-T-i i
E tw" ml
that n.
(rnea
frorn
does not hav(
Ykd s{ds'
The indirect obie<
Sofia g6 h€
ISBIf 97?-ffiF71WJ-6
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выложено группой vk.com/translators_page