SP1A

How to write a sentence in Spanish

1. You need a subject: I, we, they, Kevin, my mom, my friends and I, etc…
In Spanish, some examples are yo, tú, él ella, José, Marta y su mamá, etc…
Subject pronouns in Spanish can be found in your textbook on page 37.

2. You need an INFINITIVE (the raw or base form of the verb before a subject is added).
Infinitives in Spanish end in –ar, -er, and –ir.
Some examples are hablar (to speak), comer (to eat), and escribir (to write).
***The verb gives meaning to your sentence. Without it, the message will not be clear.

3. Now, you have to add the two items above together.

Subject + Infinitive = a conjugated verb. I'm expressing an idea!
Eduardo comer = Eduardo come. Eduardo eats.

4. If I get tired of using Eduardo as my subject and I still need to write my sentence about him, I
can use a subject pronoun in Spanish: él (he)
Él + comer = Él come.

5. In either case, I have to change the infinitive to meet the needs of the subject.
1. Drop the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir). TOMAR
The part I'm left with is called the "stem."
2. Figure out which verb ending matches up with my subject.
For –ar verbs, here are the charts:
yo nosotros(as) o amos
tú vosotros(as) as áis
él ellos a an
ella ellas a an
Ud. Uds. a an
3. My subject was "Eduardo" or "He (él)." Él has the –a ending.
4. I add my stem (tom-) and my ending (-a). The result is my conjugated verb.
Él toma. (He takes.) Now, I'm expressing an idea!
5. But wait! There's more! Once you have your subject and verb figured out, you need
to "finish off" your sentence. Ask yourself the question words: what, where, when, how, or why,
etc… to add more content to your sentence base. Just watch out for nouns and adjectives. They
can be tricky! Make sure everything "agrees" with the masculine or feminine and singular or plural
nature of the noun. One more thing: adjectives usually go AFTER the noun in Spanish.

Here's what I'm talking about… In English we say, " A tall girl…" the adjective "tall" (the
describing word) comes before the noun (person, place or thing). In Spanish we say, "Una chica
alta…". Alta = tall. We're talking about a girl (chica) so any adjective I use has to match up with
the FEMININE (la) and SINGULAR nature of the word. If we had "chicas," here's how the
sentence would read: "Unas chicas altas."
¡A practicar! Complete the chart with the appropriate form of the adjective. Each space needs to
be filled even if the adjective has two forms (singular or plural—no masculine or feminine needed).
ADJECTIVE masc., singular fem., singular masc., plural fem., plural
uno un una unos unas
artículo definido el la los las
guapo
perezoso
alegre
inteligente
trabajador
contento
difícil
español
estadounidense
joven
viejo
feliz
triste
rojo
simpático
interesante
inglés
fácil

¡ Vamos a escribir ! Choose a sentence part from each box to create a complete sentence in Spanish
on your own paper. The last sentence you must create from scratch. Do not repeat any words. You
may use any combinations that make sense. ¡Sé creativo! Be creative!
Subject Verb Rest of sentence idea
Yo estudiar en el examen final de inglés.
Marisol trabajar en la clase porque hay un examen el viernes.
El estudiante tomar apuntes con la familia todos los sábados por la noche.
Nosotros estar la historia de los Estados Unidos desde la Rervolución.
Mis amigos ser los apuntes de la clase de biología.
Mis amigos y yo enseñar básquetbol en el equipo de McCutcheon por la primera vez.
Tú mirar la tele la estudiante nueva de la República Dominicana.
Usted jugar al mucho los fines de semana.
Las profesoras sacar buenas notas están muy enfermas porque es el invierno y hace mucho frío.
¿? ¿? ¿?