SPANISH GCSE

COMPLETE
GRAMMAR +
WRITING REVISION

Includes:
- notes on all key grammar points
- full notes for each verb tense with guidance
on how to form and use each one
- list of key irregular verbs to learn for each
spanish tense
- practice grammar exercises
- list of complicated lexical terms to boost
your writing marks
 SPANISH GRAMMAR POINTS

Ser/Estar
• “Ser" is used for permanent characteristics, occupations and for
events
• “Estar" is used for temporary states and for locations
• e.g. estoy feliz, soy inglesa, el concierto es en mi casa

Prepositions
• Enfrente de = opposite
• Detrás de = behind
• Sobre = on or around e.g. They are coming at around
2pm = vienen sobre las dos
• Hacia = towards
Soy debajo de la casa = I’m
NOTICE: some are
below the house
followed by “de” whilst
others are not

Más/Menos
• Always followed by “que”
• Example: Londres es más grande que Oxford
• When a number follows “más”, it must be followed by “de”
• Example: Hay más de treinta alumnos en la clase

Tan
• “Tan” means “so” or “such as”
• It is only used before adjectives or adverb
• “Como” follows it somewhere in the sentance
• Example: Rita es tan alta como Maria (Rita is as tall as Maria)

Tanto Como
• “Tanto” means “so much”, an when used with “como” it means “ as many/as much”
• Therefore, it is used for quantities and nouns a lot of the time (e.g. money)
• Example: tengo tanto dinero como Juan (I have as much money as Juan)

Using “Gustar”
• Gustar is the same for all six verb forms (e.g. me,
she, we, you) Present tense: gusta/gustan
• An infinitive always follows the relevant form of Preterite tense: me/te/nos etc + gustó
“gustar” Imperfect tense: gustaba
• E.g. me gusta hacer pilates Future tense: gustará
• E.g. nos gustaban los deportes Conditional: gustaría
Comparison With Adjectives
• Use the following key words comparisons using adjectives:
- mejor (better)
- peor (worse)
- más (more)
- menos (fewer/less)
- mayor (bigger, however not used for size)
- menor (smaller, however not used for size)
• Alternatively use “más/menos + adjective + que” as previously seen

Superlatives
• Used to say something is really/extremely/very
• It is formed by removing the ending and adding “ísimo”

Saying “This”
• Masculine = este
• Feminine = esta
Example:
Saying “That” - riquísimo
• Masculine = ese - carísimo
• Feminine = esa - dificilísimo

Opinion Phrases
• Pienso que - I think that
• Desde mi punto de vista - from my point of view
• Creo que - I believe that
• Imagino que - I imagine that
• Opinio que - my opinion is that
• En mi opinión - in my opinion

Lo + Adjective
• Used to express a quality or an abstract expression
• Example: lo más interesante = the most interesting
• Lo fácil era = the easiest part/the easiest thing was…

Masculine Article With Feminine Nouns

• Feminine nouns which start with “ha” or a stressed “a”
much start with a masculine article to avoid a clash of
sounds
• In the plural, since there is an “s” to interrupt the
clashing sounds, the article stays feminine

Adverbs
• Take the feminine form (if there is one) of a verb and add “mente”
• E.g. lentamente, alegremente, rápidamente
Por
• Used for causes and origins, and to say by/through/because of
• e.g. I arrived late because of the traffic = llegué trade for el tráfico
• e.g. He will do it by Monday = lo hará for el lunes
• e.g. The bulls run through the street = por las calles
• e.g. For that reason, he was late = “due to thus reason” = cause = use for = por eso,
volvió tarde

Para
• Used for destinations and purposes, and to say “for/in order to”
• e.g. Fide spoke for hours = Fidel habló para horas
• e.g. I paid $20 for this shirt = para la camisa
• e.g. We go to the beach to swim = purpose = para
nadar

Conmigo/Contigo
• Mí and tí combine with “con” to form
- conmigo [with me]
- contigo [with you]

EXAMPLE = saldré contigo

Consigo
• Used to say “with him/her”
• For example, we could say: ella lleva un paraguas consigo
• However, it has to be used to talk about the subject of the sentence
• If not, use the normal preposition (i.e. él/ella/etc.)

Example:
él viven con él - do not use consigo as the second “él” is not the subject
• if we used consigo, we would be saying “he lives with himself”

Preposition “Sí”
• Used to say himself/herself
• For example, “él compra el regalo para sí” = he buys himself a present

“Yo/Tú” vs. “Mí/Ti”

• To say you and me, the prepositions “mí” and “ti” are commonly used
• However, with the following prepositions, use “yo” and “tú”

EXAMPE: séguno yo
ENTRE
entre tú y yo EXEPTO
para mí y ti SALVO
INCLUSO
MENOS
SEGÚN
Indirect Object Pronouns
• The indirect pronoun is the noun being affected
by the verb
• e.g. Juan sent it to Carlos
• e.g. You are going to tell me the truth

SPANISH EXAMPLE: voy a dirle lo que pienso

no te puedo recomendar

Direct Object Pronouns

• The direct pronoun is what is being thrown/told/given etc.
• e.g. Juan sent the present to Carlos [“present” is what is being sent = the direct object]
• e.g. Mary threw a ball at Katie [“ball” is what is being thrown = the direct object]

SPANISH EXAMPLE: Mary la tiró a Katie

¡No los comas! [do not eat them]
os las compró [she bought them for you]

Ellos me los dan = They give them to me

Ella te la venue = She sells it to you

indirect pronouns and direct pronouns normally go before the verb, however if
both are present then the indirect pronoun becomes “se” (them) or “os” (you plural)
or the (you) etc.
e.g. the queen showed them the castle
—> la reina les mostró el castillo
—> la reina se lo mostró

Adverbs 2.0
• Other than adverbs ending in “mente”, there can be adverbs of time, place and
manner
• See the tables below for examples

adverbs of time adverbs of place adverbs of manner

ahora - now cerca - near aprisa - in a hurry
anoche - last night lejos - far mal - badly
antes - before atrás - behind de repente - suddenly
pronto - soon fuera - outside así - like this

Conjunctions
• Examples: porque, pero before a masculine singular
• “Y” becomes “e” in front of an i noun, adjective loses ending if
it ends in an “o”
• “O” becomes “u” in front of an “o” or “ho”
e.g. bueno = buen día
e.g. alguno = algún día
HASTA = TOWARDS (e.g. hacia el centro)
Agreement of Adjectives
• Drop the last letter when these letters come before:
- grande = gran
- malo = mal ONLY FOR MASCULINE VERSION OF
- bueno = buen THESE WORDS!
- tercero = tercero (except grande is for both)

Interrogative Adjectives
• Used to find information, e.g. how many? whats your name?
• Remember accents!

Indefinite Adjectives
• When using “otro”, do not use the indefinite adjective e.g. otro problema es que…
• When there is a word beginning with a vowel, use the un aula (NOT una)
masculine form (e.g. “un”) instead of “una”

Gerund
• Used for actions continuous
• Correct form of estar + verb with correct ending
- iendo
- ando
• Can use the imperfect with it too, e.g. estatába comiendo
 Spanish Grammar - Present Tense Irregulars

Ser (To Be) Poner (To Put) Decir (To Say)

• soy • pongo • digo
• eres • pones • dices
• es • pone • dice
• somos • ponemos • decimos
• sois • ponéis • decís
• son • ponen • dicen

Estar (To Be) Dar (To Give) Oír (To Hear)

• estoy • doy • oigo
• estás • das • oyes
• está • da • oye
• estamos • damos • oímos
• estáis • dais • oís
• están • dan • oyen

Ir (To Go) Jugar (To Play) Traer (To Carry)

• voy • juego • traigo
• vas • jueges • traes
• va • juega • trae
• vamos • jugamos • traemos
• vais • jugáis • traéis
• van • juegan • traen

Salir (To Go Out) Hacer (To Be) Venir (To Come)

• salgo • hago • vengo
• sales • haces • vienes
• sale • hace • viene
• salimos • hacemos • venimos
• salís • hacéis • venís
• salen • hacen • vienen

Tener (To Have) Construir (To Build) Saber (To Know)

• tengo • construyo • sé
• tienes • construyes • sabes
• tiene • construye • sabe
• tenemos • construimos • sabemos
• tenéis • construís • sabéis
• tienen • construyen • saben

Coger (To Take) Conocer (To Be) Caer (To Fall)

• cojo • conozco • caigo (rest is
• coges (rest is • conoces (rest is regular)
regular) regular)
Radical Verbs (only 1,2,3,6 change)
• pensar = pienso etc
• preferir = prefiero etc.
• comenzar = comienzo etc. these all follow the same rule, first
• servir = sirvo etc. person is irregular
• pedir = pido etc. conducir: conduzco [rest is regular]
• vestir = visto etc. introducir: introduzco [rest is regular]
• poder = puedo etc. producir: produzco [rest is regular]
• volver = vuelvo etc. traducir: traduzco [rest is regular]
• encontrar = encuentro etc.
• jugar = juego etc.
• querer = quiero etc.
 Spanish Grammar - Preterite Tense Irregulars

Ser (To Be) GRAVE ENDINGS:

• fui - e
• fuiste - iste
• fue - o
• fuimos - imos
• fuisteis - isteis
• fueron - ieron

Ir (To Go) GRAVE VERBS:

• fui • andar = anduv
• fuiste • tener = tuv
• fue • poner = pus
• fuimos • poder = pud
• fuisteis • decir = dij
• fueron • estar = estuv
• venir = vin
Dar (To Give) • querer = quis
• di • saber = sup
• diste • traer = traj
• dio
• dimos
• disteis
• dieron

Dar (To Give)

• hice
• hiciste
• hizo
• hicimos
• hicisteis
• hicieron

Jugar (To Play)

• jugué
• jugaste
• jugó
• jugamos
• jugasteis
• jugaron
 Spanish Grammar - Imperfect Tense Irregulars

Ir (To Go)
• iba
• ibas
• iba Ser (To Be)
• íbamos
• era
• ibais
• eras
• iban
• era
• éramos
Ver (To See)
• erais
• veía
• eran
• veías
• veía
• veíamos
• veías
• veían

Spanish Grammar - Conditional and Future

Stem Changes For The Following Verbs:

decir = dir
hacer = har
haber = habr
querer = querr
saber = sabr
poder = podr
poser = pondr
salir = saldr
tener = tendr
venir = vendr

mini test: (1) I used (2) You got dressed (3) He said (4) We were lucky (5) She plays
usé, te vestiste, dijo, tuvimos mucha suerte/fuimos suertudos, ella juega
 Spanish Subjunctive Summary

When Is It Used?
(1) Value Judgement
e.g. es bueno que/ es malo que/ es necesario que

(2) In Order That

e.g. para que aprendas mucho ONLY TRIGGERED IN CASES
OF UNCERTAINTY
(3) Demands E.G. “NO DUDO QUE”
e.g. quiero que ella haga sus deberes CANNOT BE SUBJUNCTIVE!

(4) Advice
e.g. recomiendo que/ sugiero que/ te aconsejo que

(5) Hypothetically
e.g. no es cierto que/ no es probable que

(6) Negative Opinions

e.g. no creo que/ no pienso que/ no opino que

How Is It Formed?
• Take the first person singular in the present tense of the verb
• Remove ending
• For -er verbs, add a, as, a, amos, áis, an como —> coma/comas/coman
• For -ar verbs, add e, es, e, emos, éis, en hablo —> hable/hables/hable

Irregulars
• DAR = dé, des, dé, demos, deis, den
• ESTOY = esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén
• VOY = vaya, vayas, vaya etc.
• SABER = sepa, sepas etc.
• SER = sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean
• HABER = haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan

Good Phrases To Use

- Ojallá que llueva (I hope it does not rain)
- No creo que sea bueno fumar/comer mucha carne/tomar drogas
- Es importante que vayas de vacaciones para que pases tiempo con tu familia

Cuando + Subjuctive
• If the future is implied, the subjective must always be used in phrases following
“cuando”
e.g. vamos a viajar cuando tengamos dinero
e.g. ella quiere ser bombero cuando sea grande
 INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS
The indirect object indicates the person or thing receiving the action of the verb

me to/for me
te to/for you (familiar)
le to/for you, to him, to her (formal)
nos to/for us
os tofor you guys
les to/for you all, to them

• Yo le di el dinero a Juan ayer = I gave the money to Juan yesterday

• Ellos nos lo dieron = They gave it to us
• Lla niña me corte flores. - That the girl cuts flowers for me.

DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

The Spanish direct object pronouns are used to substitute for direct objects.

me me
te you
lo him, you, it
la her, you, it
nos us
os you all (familiar)
los/las them, you all

• Que mis primas lo conozcan. - That my cousins meet him.

• Que mis hermanos los conozcan. - That my brothers meet them.
• Que nosotros los veamos. - That we watch them.

1. Bebo el café por la mañana ___________________________________________

2. Juego al fútbol los sábados ___________________________________________

3. Veo las películas de acción con mis amigos __________________________________

4. Comí unos chocolates ayer _____________________________________________

5. Tengo las fotos en mi bolso __________________________________________

6. Necesito unas vacaciones porque estoy estresado ____________________________

7. Nunca llevo los zapatos en casa __________________________________________

8. No leo los libros de fantasía porque son aburridísimos _________________________

 Complicated Lexical Terminology - Spanish Writing

• Pienso/creo que… (I think that)

• Dado que (given that)

• Sin (without)
- e.g. sin perder un momento, comencí mis deberes
- sin fumar/leer
- sin comer demasiada comida basura

• Me parece que (it seems to me that…)

- e.g. Me parece que España es un país de interés turístico dado
que tiene playas bonitas

• Tengo miedo de (i’m scared of…)

• Para que pudiéramos (so that we could…)

• Vale la pena (it is worth it)

• Es necesario (it is necessary)

• Que yo sepa (as far as i know)

• me alegra saber que que me gusten las verduras porque puedo vivr una vida
sana

• es una pena que tenga muchos deberes

• no creo que me guste nadar

• es imposible que te gusten los manzanas