Function and Structure Notes
Mi Espacio
A Proficiency Planning Document
Function:
Getting to Know Someone
Structure: Question words
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Use question word vocab at the beginning of the
sentence to ask ?.
¿Quién es la maestra?
They do not say DO in questions; just use the
correct form of the verb.
To ask a question without a question word,
simply place the verb before the subject: ¿Vas tú
a la clase?
Question Words
¿Cómo?=How?/What?
¿De dónde?=From where?
¿Qué ?=What?
¿Quién / quiénes?=Who?
¿Cuál / cuáles? = Which?¿Cuándo?=When?
¿Dónde?=Where?
¿Por qué?=Why?
¿Cuánto(s)?=How much/many?
Structure: Personalized Question and
Answer
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5.
6.
7.
PQ+A is used to get to know someone in a Spanish-
speaking country.
These questions and answers must be memorized; by doing
so, you will look much smarter in Spanish than you really
are.
Questions and Answers (Preguntas y respuestas)
¿Cómo te llamas?
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Me llamo Scott.
¿De dónde eres?
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Soy de Newport.
¿Cuántos años tienes?
Tengo quince (15) años.
¿Dónde vives?
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Vivo en Newport.
¿Cómo estás?
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Estoy bien / mal / regular.
¿Cómo eres?
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Soy alto, flaco, y popular.
¿Qué es ésto?

Es un libro.
Function:
Exchanging Numbers with
someone who is hot
Structure: Using cardinal numbers
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Counting in Spanish is as easy as counting in English; you
just use different words to express each number.
Use “Mi número es…” or “Mi teléfono es…”
1. Uno
2. Dos
3. Tres
4. Cuatro
5. Cinco
6. Seis
7. Siete
8. Ocho
9. Nueve
10. Diez
11. Once
12. Doce
13. Trece
14. Catorce
15. Quince
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
diez y seis
diez y siete
diez y ocho
diez y nueve
veinte
veintiuno
veintidós
veintitrés
veinticuatro
veinticinco
veintiséis
veintisiete
veintiocho
veintinueve
treinta
31. treinta y uno 900. Novecientos
40. cuarenta
1,000. un mil
50. cincuenta 1,000,000. un millón
60. sesenta
70. setenta
80. ochenta
90. noventa
100. ciento / cien
200. doscientos
300. trescientos
400. cuatrocientos
500. quinientos
600. seiscientos
700. setecientos
800. ochocientos
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Examples:
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57 = cincuenta y siete
11 = once
125 = ciento veinticinco
Practice:
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2.
3.
4.
5.
65
32
99
26
My number is 867-5309
Function:
Talking about your stuff
Structure: Nouns (singular and plural)
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1.
2.
3.
A noun is a word that represents a person, place,
thing or concept.
To make most nouns plural in Spanish, add an “s”
if the word ends in a vowel (a, e, i, o, u).
If a word ends in a consonant (any letter other
than a,e,i,o,u), add an “es.”
If a noun (or adjective) ends with the letter “z,”
the “z” becomes a “c” when plural and you add
an “es”. Lápiz = lápices.
Examples:
El coche = los coches
El árbol = los árboles
La actriz = las actrices
Structure: Adjectives and Noun/Adj.
Agreement
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An adjective is a word that describes a noun.
Good = bueno
Spanish adjectives generally follow the nouns
that they modify. El coche rojo.
Nouns that end in “O” are masculine and most
nouns that end in “A” are feminine. THIS IS
IMPORTANT for AGREEMENT
Spanish adjectives must agree in GENDER and in
NUMBER with the nouns they modify.
Most adjectives can be spelled 4 different ways in
Spanish:
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Bueno  Bueno, buena, buenos, buenas. They all mean
the SAME thing.
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Some adjectives that end in “E” can only be made plural by
adding an “S”
Structure: Possessive Adjectives
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Possessive adjectives are words that let people
know to whom or to what something belongs.
Unlike most adjectives, these are ALWAYS found
BEFORE the nouns that they modify.
These words are adjectives; they must match the
nouns that they modify.
Possessive Adjectives
Mi /mis = my
Tu / tus = your
Su / sus = his /her
Nuestro/nuestros/nuestra/nuestras = our
Su / sus = their
Structure: The verb SER
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SER means “to be” and is used to describe
people, places, and things.
Remember to change the verb SER to match
which subject you are using.
For IT or THEY, when referring to objects, use the
forms ES or SON.
The forms of the verb SER are:
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Yo soy  I am.
Tú eres  You are.
Él/ella/Usted es  He/she/You(form) is /
are.
Nosotros somos  We are.
Ellos/ellas/Ustedes son  They/You all are.
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Examples:
Mi ipod es negro.
 Su cama es alta.
 Nuestras escuelas son divertidas.
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Practice:
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4.
5.
Their friends are nice.
Your girlfriend is ugly.
My poster is tall.
Our desks are fat.
His chair is short.
Function:
Setting your mood or
posting your status
Structure: The verb ESTAR
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ESTAR means “to be” and is used to describe
feelings and location.
Remember to change the verb ESTAR to match
which subject you are using.
The forms of the verb ESTAR are:
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Yo estoy  I am.
Tú estás  You are.
Él/ella/Usted está  He/she/You(form) is
/ are.
Nosotros estamos  We are.
Ellos/ellas/Ustedes están  They/You all
are.
For IT or THEY, when referring to objects, use the
forms ESTÁ or ESTÁN.
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Examples:
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Estoy triste.
Ella está deprimida.
Ustedes están enojados.
Practice:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
My friends are worried.
We are surprised.
I am embarrassed.
You are happy.
She is mad.
Function:
Saying what you and your
friends are doing
Structure: Subject Pronouns
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The subject is the person, place, thing or idea
that DOES the verb.
Subject pronouns are words used to represent
the subject in a sentence.
Subject pronouns include: I, you, he, she, it, we,
they.
In Spanish, these pronouns are:
I = Yo
You = Tú
He = Él
She = Ella
You (formal) = Usted
We = Nosotros / Nosotras
They = Ellos / Ellas
You all = Ustedes
Structure: Present tense AR verbs
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Verbs are the action or power words in a
sentence; they describe what someone is
doing.
In Spanish, verbs must be changed
(conjugated) to match the person (subject)
using the verb.
There is nice, easy pattern to these changes
(conjugations) of the verb.
Simply memorize the pattern in order to
conjugate verbs.
Remember: YOU MUST CHANGE THE VERBS
TO MATCH THE SUBJECT!
Pattern:
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To conjugate AR verbs, you must first take the
STEM of the verb.
The stem of any AR verb is the INFINITIVE
minus AR (the infinitive is the stem + AR).
 HABLAR = infinitive meaning “to speak”
 The STEM of HABLAR  HABL
Once you have the stem of the verb, simply add
the ending that match each subject.
Yo = O
Tú = AS
Él / Ella / Usted = A
Nosotros (as)= AMOS
Ellos / ellas / Uds. = AN
I speak= Yo hablo.
You speak= Tú hablas.
He/She speaks= Habla.
We speak= Nosotros hablamos.
They/You all speak = Hablan.
Structure: Present tense ER/IR verbs
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Verbs are the action or power words in a
sentence; they describe what someone is
doing.
In Spanish, verbs must be changed
(conjugated) to match the person
(subject) using the verb.
There is nice, easy pattern to these
changes (conjugations) of the verb.
Simply memorize the pattern in order to
conjugate verbs.
Remember: YOU MUST CHANGE THE
VERBS TO MATCH THE SUBJECT!
 Pattern:
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To conjugate ER/IR verbs, you must first take
the stem of the verb. The STEM of any ER/IR
verb is the INFINITIVE minus ER/IR (the
infinitive is the stem + ER/IR).
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VIVIR = infinitive meaning “to live”
The STEM of VIVIR  VIV
Once you have the stem of the verb, simply add
the ending that match each subject.
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Yo = O
I live = Yo vivo.
Tú = ES
You live = Tú vives.
Él / Ella / Usted = E
He/She lives = Vive.
Nosotros(as)=EMOS/IMOS We live= Vivimos.
Ellos / ellas / Uds. = EN They/You all live = Viven.
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Examples:
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Yo dibujo en la clase.
Ellos comen mucho.
Nosotros dormimos en la cama.
Practice:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
My friends write in school.
Your girlfriend runs through the park.
He works in the store.
They dream in the bed.
We read in the library.
Function:
Talking about your habits
Structure: Adverbs
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Use these adverbs to express frequency of
actions.
Adverbs do not change like adjectives do!
Siempre = always
nunca
= never
rara vez = rarely
a veces = sometimes
todos los días = everyday
poco
= a little
Mucho
= a lot / often
de vez en cuando = once in a while
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Examples:
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Mis amigos siempre leen en la biblioteca.
Nuestra silla nunca anda.
El mundo trabaja todos los días.
Practice:
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3.
4.
5.
We rarely go for walks.
I always watch movies.
She never goes on dates.
You dance often.
They play instruments everyday.
Function:
Discussing what you like or
don’t like to do
Structure: The verb GUSTAR
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You will essentially use GUSTAR like this:
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I like the car = Me gusta el coche.
You like the girls = Te gustan las chicas.
She likes the drugs = Le gustan las drogas.
We like the school = Nos gusta la escuela.
They like the movie = Les gusta la película.
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You will change the GUSTA to GUSTAN when
something plural follows it.
In front of He / She , you will need to add the
letter ‘a’.
All you have to do is add a verb when you want to
talk about verbs:
Me gusta dibujar. A ella le gusta nadar. Easy!
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Examples:
Me gustan los pantalones.
 A ella le gusta leer.
 Nos gustan los teatros
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Practice:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
I like my shirt.
They like the skirts.
We like the shoes.
You like to eat.
She likes to hang out with friends.
Function:
Understanding how to
describe qualities versus
conditions
Structure: The verbs SER and ESTAR
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The verbs SER and ESTAR both mean “to be” in
English.
SER = Soy/Eres/Es/Somos/Son
ESTAR = Estoy/Estás/Está/Estamos/Están
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I am = Soy/Estoy
You are = Eres/Estás
He/she/it is = Es/Está
We are = Somos/Estamos
They are = Son/Están
The tricky part is to know when you should use
one and not the other.
The general rule of use is:
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Use SER for more permanent or lasting qualities and
ESTAR for more temporary conditions.
How you feel and where you are, always use
the verb ESTAR.