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SPANISH GRAMMAR GUIDE: BEGINNER-INTERMEDIATE
Introduction to the Guide:
If the goal is to be able to communicate in Spanish, then it is important to know the
general rules for the main parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc.). The general rules
and all of the exceptions to these general rules are explained in this guide, although an
imperfect use of the rule and making mistakes, especially with the exceptions, will not likely
impede your ability to function in Spanish. Mistakes can, and will likely occur, such as in the
following examples:




using a feminine article for a masculine noun
using adjectives before nouns
mixing up direct and indirect object pronouns
speaking in the present tense when another tense is more appropriate
This guide is meant to be simple and easy, yet thorough and inclusive. Inclusive means
that there is no information left out that you would have to search for elsewhere. You will find
all the grammar necessary (and more!) to be prepared for a level 3 high school Spanish class.
The concepts are briefly explained and there are always examples. The guide is in a suggested
order in which the grammar should be taught in a beginner/intermediate class that has the
goal to start communicating in the first days of class. Although, the order of the topics can
certainly be changed. Actually, this manual includes ALL Spanish grammar topics, except for
por vs. para and the subjunctive mood. These are generally treated as advanced concepts,
usually only taught in 3rd level or higher Spanish classes, and even then it takes a lot of
practice to master. The subjunctive is usually learned last, because it will not have much effect
on your ability to communicate and function in Spanish.
The guide is color coded to make it easier to find what you are looking for:
New Concept
Key Words and Mnemonic Devices
Category
Example
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Table of Contents
Pronunciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Punctuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Typing Spanish Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Subject Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Present Tense Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Future Tense: Ir + a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Noun/Article Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Use of the Definite Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Use of the Indefinite Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Noun/Adjective Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Comparisons of Equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Comparatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Superlatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Number: Singular -> Plural . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Reflexive Object Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The Personal “a” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Question Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
The Progressive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Present Participles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Conditional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Short Form of Possessive Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Prepositional Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Long Form of Posessive Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Possessive Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Demonstratives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Negative Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Simple Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Direct Object Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Indirect Object Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Reflexive, Indirect, and Direct Object (RID) Pronoun Placement . . . . . . . .24
Gustar and Similar Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Prepositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
To Be: Ser vs. Estar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
The Perfect Tenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Past Participles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
The Past: Formation of the Preterite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
The Past: Formation of the Imperfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
The Past: Preterite vs. Imperfect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
APPENDIX A. High Frequency Little Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
APPENDIX B. Present Tense Verb Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
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Pronunciation
In English, there are no visual cues (accents) to show how to pronounce words. English
pronunciation must be learned through practice and repetition. In Spanish, there are accents
and 2 rules that reveal how to correctly pronounce words.
Stress the part of the word with the accent.
Example: inglés
Many words do not have accents. Only vowels can be accented. Words can only contain one
accent. To know how to pronounce words without accents, follow the rules:
1. Every Spanish word (if there isn’t a written accent mark) that ends in a vowel, “n,” or “s” has
the stress on the second-to-last syllable.
Remember the saying: "Vowel, n, or s, the second-to-last is stressed."
Example: manzana, hablan, problemas
2. All other Spanish words without a written accent, those that end in consonants other than
“n” or “s,” stress the last syllable.
Example: hablar, azul
In Spanish, the vowels “i” and “u” are considered weak vowels. When there are 2 vowels in a
row and 1 or both are weak vowels, then it is pronounced as a single syllable, known as a
diphthong.
Example:
2 weak vowels: ciudad -> pronounced “zyoo-dad”
1 weak, 1 strong vowel: bien -> pronounced as 1-syllable “byen”
2 strong vowels: caer -> pronounced “caw-air”
When there is an accent on one of the vowels in what would otherwise be a diphthong (1syllable), then the word breaks into 2 syllables.
Example: país -> pronounced “paw-eese”
Many singular words with accents lose the accent when they are plural, because the “s” moves
the stress to the second-to-last syllable, which required an accent in order to stress the
syllable in the singular.
Example: canción -> canciones, violín -> violines
In other cases, the plural gains an accent in order to preserve the accent that is NOT on the
last syllable.
Example: examen -> exámenes, joven -> jóvenes, orden -> órdenes
Sometimes an accent changes the meaning of a word that is spelled the same way. This is true
of question and answer words. (See section on Question Words).
Example:
si vs. sí
=
if vs. yes
el vs. él
=
the vs. he
hablo vs. habló
=
I talk vs. he/she/you/it talked
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Punctuation
Questions and Exclamations = inverted (upside-down) marks are placed at the beginning and
end of the question or exclamation. The first inverted mark can be in the middle of the
sentence if the first part of the sentence is not part of the question or exclamation. The word
after the inverted question or exclamation mark is NOT usually capitalized if it is in the middle
of the sentence.
Example:
Marta, ¿quieres comer?
=
Marta, do you want to eat?
Quieres comer, ¿verdad?
=
You want to eat, right?
Sin embargo, ¡tengo hambre!
=
However, I am hungry!
Quotation Marks = use angular brackets (Spain), dashes (Latin America) or double quotation
marks as used in English. Commas and periods are placed outside of the quotation marks.
Example:
«Quiero comer», dijo Olga.
=
“I want to eat,” Olga said.
–Quiero comer–dijo Olga.
“Quiero comer”, dijo Olga.
Numbers = commas and periods are used in the opposite way from English usage. In other
words, decimal points are commas in Spanish. Publications in Mexico and Puerto Rico often
use the same style as the United States.
Example:
3.000
=
3,000
$2,50
=
$2.50
1.300,25
=
1,300.25
Capital letters = do NOT capitalize days, months, religions, nationalities, languages, “I,” or
personal titles.
Example:
lunes, enero, cristiano, hondureño, español, yo, doctor Ochoa.
= Monday, January, Christian, Honduran, Spanish, I, Doctor Ochoa
Typing Spanish Symbols
1. Change to Spanish keyboard.
a. Go to System Preferences (Mac) or Control Panel (Windows).
b. Select "Keyboard" and click "Input Sources" (Mac) or select “Regional and Langauge
Options” and click “Languages” (Windows).
c. Check the box that says "Spanish" (Mac) or click “Add” and select “Spanish” (Windows).
d. Make sure the box is checked that says “Show Input menu in menu bar” (Mac) or that says
“Enable Indicator on Taskbar.” In the menu bar/taskbar at the top of your desktop screen you
now have the option to change to a Spanish keyboard.
Mac
“[” then vowel = á, é, í, ó, ú
;=ñ
Shift(hold down) + 1 = ¡
Shift(hold down) + 2 = !
Shift(hold down) + < = ¿
Shift(hold down) + > = ?
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Windows
“[” then vowel = á, é, í, ó, ú
;=ñ
+=¡
Shift(hold down) + 1 = !
equals key= = ¿
underline key_ = ?
2. Use U.S. keyboard
Mac
Option(hold down) + e, then vowel = á, é, í, ó, ú
Option(hold down) + n, then “n” = ñ
Option(hold down) + 1 = ¡
Option(hold down) + Shift(hold down) + ? = ¿
Windows
Ctrl(hold down) + ‘ then vowel = á, é, í, ó, ú
Ctrl(hold down) + Shift(hold down) + ~ then n = ñ
Ctrl(hold down) + Alt(hold down) + Shift + ! = ¡
Ctrl (hold down) + Alt(hold down) + Shift + ? = ¿
Subject Pronouns
Pronouns = words that take the place of a noun
Subject Pronouns = pronouns that are the subject of the sentence
singular
person I
2nd person you
3rd person he, she
1st
plural
we
you all
they
singular
1ra persona yo
2da persona tú
3ra persona él, ella, usted
plural
nosotros/nosotras
vosotros/vosotras
ellos, ellas, ustedes
1. In Spanish there are 3 ways to say “you.”
-Tú is familiar/informal and used with friends
-Usted is formal and used to show respect
-Vos is used instead of tú in many Latin American countries
2. Vosotros is only used in Spain and is the plural form of the familiar/informal “tú.”
3. In Spanish, subject pronouns are not as important as in English. In Spanish, the verb ending
gives away the doer of the action, thus the subject pronoun is not necessary, except for in the
3rd person.
4. When referring to a group of mixed gender, than use the masculine plural
Example: ellos y ellas -> ellos
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Verbs
Verbs = words that show action or state of being
Infinitive = the verb before conjugation
Conjugation = changing the verb to agree with the subject pronoun
(subject/verb agreement)
Example:
Infinitive: hablar = to talk
Conjugation: hablo, hablas, etc. = I talk, you talk, etc.
Verbs have 2 parts:
Stem = the first part of the word that does not change
Ending = all verbs end in “ar”, “er”, “ir.” When conjugated the ending is replaced
with an ending that agrees with the subject pronoun
Example:
habl ar
ending
stem
Like in English, when there are 2 consecutive verbs (not including progressive and perfect
tenses), the second verb is stated in the infinitive.
Example:
Me gusta comer.
= I like to eat.
NOT Me gusta como.
Quiero tener un gato. = I want to have a cat.
NOT Quiero tengo un gato.
Present Tense Verbs
There are 4 categories of present tense verbs: regular, irregular in the first person singular
(yo), stem-changing verbs (aka shoe verbs), and the completely irregular verbs.
Category 1: Regular Verbs
Most verbs fall in the first category.
1. Verbs that end in “ar” = first conjugation verbs.
2. Verbs that end in “er” = second conjugation verbs.
3. Verbs that end in “ir” = third conjugation verbs.
Most verbs are regular first conjugation verbs (end in –ar). These verbs follow the following
pattern:
Example:
o amos
yo
hablo nosotros
hablamos
as áis
tú
hablas vosotros
habláis
a an
él, ella, usted habla ellos, ellas, ustedes hablan
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Regular second conjugation verbs (ending in –er) follow the following pattern:
Example:
o emos
yo
como nosotros
comemos
es éis
tú
comes vosotros
coméis
e en
él, ella, usted come ellos, ellas, ustedes comen
Regular third conjugation verbs (ending in –ir) are the same as second conjugation verbs,
except for in the nosotros and vosotros forms:
Example:
o imos
yo
vivo nosotros
vivimos
es ís
tú
vives vosotros
vivís
e en
él, ella, usted vive ellos, ellas, ustedes viven
Category 2: Irregular in Yo
These verbs are regular in all but the first person singular (Yo).
There are 5 subcategories:
1. “Go in the yo”
Example: poner -> pongo
2. “Jo in the yo”
Example: escoger -> escojo
3. “Zco in the yo”
Example: conocer -> conozco
4. “Zo in the yo”
Example: convencer -> convenzo
5. The Completely Irregular Example: dar -> doy, ser -> soy, saber -> sé, caber -> quepo,
ver -> veo
There is also a hybrid subcategory, verbs that are a mix of Category 2 and Category 3. Verbs
from this hybrid subcategory are “Go in the yo” + shoe verbs.
Example:
yo
tengo nosotros
tenemos
tú
tienes vosotros
tenéis
él, ella, usted tiene ellos, ellas, ustedes tienen
yo
digo nosotros
decimos
tú
dices vosotros
decís
él, ella, usted dice ellos, ellas, ustedes dicen
Category 3: Shoe Verbs
These verbs have changes in the singular and the third person plural, thus the conjugation
chart looks like a shoe/boot.
quiero queremos
quieres queréis
quiere quieren
There are 5 subcategories:
1. e -> ie
Example: querer: quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren
2. o -> ue
Example: poder: puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden
3. e -> i
Example: pedir: pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden
4 “y” shoe
Example: incluir: incluyo, incluyes, incluye, incluimos, incluís, incluyen
5. Accent shoe
Example: actuar: actúo, actúas, actúa, actuamos, actuáis, actúan
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Category 4: Irregular
These verbs must be memorized, since they do not follow the pattern of any of the above
categories. The most common in this category are: haber, ir, and ser
yo
he nosotros
hemos
tú
has vosotros
habéis
él, ella, usted ha ellos, ellas, ustedes han
yo
soy nosotros
somos
tú
eres vosotros
sois
él, ella, usted es
ellos, ellas, ustedes son
yo
voy nosotros
vamos
tú
vas vosotros
vais
él, ella, usted va ellos, ellas, ustedes van
For a complete list of the most common verbs from each category, see Appendix B. Present Tense
Verb Categories.
Future Tense: Ir + a + infinitive
The future can be easily expressed in Spanish by conjugating “ir” and adding an infinitive, like
the English “to be going to.” This expression is very common in Spanish.
Example:
Voy a comer. = I am going to eat.
Vamos a estudiar. = We are going to study.
Noun/Article Agreement
The definite article (the) and the indefinite article (a, an), like adjectives, must agree with the
noun in both number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine or feminine). Unos/unas is
translated as “some.”
Definite article
masculine feminine
singular el
la
plural
los
las
Indefinite article
masculine feminine
un
una
unos
unas
When referring to a group of mixed gender, then use the masculine plural.
Example: los chicas y las chicas -> los chicos
The only contractions in Spanish are in the masculine singular “from the” = del (de el) and “to
the” = al (a el). There are no such contractions in the feminine or in the plural.
Example:
but
Voy al mercado.
Es el libro del amigo.
Voy a los centros comerciales.
Voy a la escuela.
Es el libro de la amiga.
Es el libro de los amigos.
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Use of the Definite Articles
In Spanish, the definite article is required in many cases in which no article is used in English.
1. Before nouns that refer to abstract or general concepts.
Example:
El amor es un misterio.
Love is a mystery.
Los deportes son importantes.
Sports are important.
2. With nouns that refer to a general group.
Example: Los mexicanos son alegres.
Mexicans are happy.
3. With dates, days, seasons, meals, and hours.
Example: El lunes, como el desayuno a las 8am. On Monday, I eat breakfast at 8am.
4. With the reflexive pronoun, in place of the possessive adjective for parts of the body and
clothing.
Example:
Me cepillo los dientes.
I brush my teeth.
Me pongo la camisa.
I put on my shirt.
5. Before titles when talking about someone. “Los” is used with last names to refer to a family
and to refer to decades.
Example:
La Señora Ochoa visita a la Doctora Mendez. = Mrs. Ochoa visits Dr. Mendez.
Los Herman comen mucho. = The Hermans eat a lot.
En los cuarenta había una guerra. = In the forties there was a war.
6. Before names of sciences, skills, school subjects, and languages when they are the subjects
of the sentence or the object of a preposition other than “de” or “en.” When languages are
objects of a verb, the article is not used.
Example:
El inglés es mi clase favorita.
but
La clase de inglés es mi clase favorita.
Hablo inglés.
7. Before a preposition with cama, cárcel, colegio, escuela, guerra, iglesia, and trabajo.
Example:
Voy a la escuela y mi mamá está en la iglesia. = I go to school and my mom is in church.
8. With weights and measures.
Example:
Cuesta $1 la libra.
La tela está a 20 pesos el metro.
= It costs $1 each/per pound.
= The cloth is 20 pesos a/per meter.
9. The masculine definite articles and the feminine subject pronouns can be used to replace a
noun when it is clear from the context what is being referred to.
Example:
El carro es rojo. -> El es rojo.
= The car is red. -> It is red.
La camisa es barata. -> Ella es barata.
= The shirt is cheap. -> It is cheap.
Los carros son rojos. -> Ellos son rojos.
= The cars are red. -> They are red.
Las camisas son baratas. -> Ellas son baratas.
= The shirts are cheap. -> They are cheap.
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Use of the Indefinite Articles
In Spanish, the indefinite article is not used as often as in English. It is NOT used after the verb
“ser” when an unmodified noun follows the verb.
Example: Señor González es maestro.
Señor González es un maestro inteligente.
Mr. Gonzalez is a teacher.
Mr. González is an intelligent teacher.
Nouns
Noun = a person, place, thing, or idea
1. Regulars
a. Nouns in Spanish have a gender, masculine or feminine. Almost all nouns ending in –o are
masculine and –a are feminine. All other nouns can be categorized according to their endings.
Example: el chico
vs.
la chica
b. When referring to a group of mixed gender, than use the masculine plural
Example: el maestro y la maestra -> los maestros
c. Nouns that refer to a man are masculine and nouns that refer to a woman are feminine.
There are slightly different words for people (like English) and for jobs (unlike English) of
different genders (o -> a). Jobs ending in –ero change to –era.
Example:
el hermano
el tío
el cocinero
el mesero
el jefe
la hermana
la tía
la cocinera
la mesera
la jefa
Some nouns are completely different depending on the gender (like English).
Example:
el actor
la actriz
el hombre
la mujer
el rey
la reina
el padre
la madre
el varón
la hembra
el toro
la vaca
2. Nouns not ending in “o” or “a”
a. Sicknesses, islands and provinces, and letters are feminine.
Example:
la fiebre, la Isla de Pinos, las Baleares, la eñe
b. Days of the week, months, numbers, cardinal directions, musical notes, names of rivers,
lakes, oceans, and mountains are masculine.
Example:
el lunes, el abril, el treinta, el norte, el mi, el Hudson, el Amazonas
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c. Nouns ending in –dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre, -ción, -sión, -z, -ie are feminine.
Example: la ciudad, la realidad, la actitud, la costumbre, la nación, la pensión, la voz, la serie
d. Most nouns ending in –sis are feminine.
Example: la crisis
A few nouns ending in –sis are masculine.
Example: el análisis
e. The gender of nouns ending in –e must be memorized. Many are masculine.
Example: el parque, el coche, el viaje, el postre, el aire, el baile, el bosque, el cacahuate, el
nombre, el cine, el accidente, el aceite, el café, el pie, el deporte, el puente, el restaurante
Some common nouns that end in –e are feminine.
Example: la calle, la clase, la fe, la leche, la llave, la noche, la tarde, la nube, la suerte, la fuente,
la gente, la parte, la mente
f. Most nouns that end in –l, -n, -r, -s, and -aje are masculine
Example: el papel, el fin, el amor, el mes, el viaje
3. Imposters
a. Many nouns that end in –ma, -pa, -ta are masculine.
Example: el problema, el idioma, el tema, el sistema, el clima, el programa, el poema, el mapa,
el planeta
b. Shortened feminine nouns that end in –o are still feminine.
Example: la fotografía -> la foto, la motocicleta -> la moto, la discoteca -> la disco
c. When the first syllable is stressed, feminine nouns beginning in a- would be hard to
pronounce and thus are masculine in the singular. The words are still feminine and in the
plural the article “las” is used. These nouns always use feminine adjectives. The same rule
applies to feminine words that begin with “ha” since the h- is silent.
Example:
el agua mediana
las aguas medianas
el hada pequeña
las hadas pequeñas
Note that when the stress is not on the first syllable, the feminine article is used.
Example:
la atmósfera, la agricultura
d. Many compound nouns are formed by using a verb and a noun to form one word and are
always masculine.
Example: el lavaplatos, el paraguas, el abrelatas, el rascacielos, el sacapuntas, el salvavidas
4. Gender Benders
a. Nouns ending in –ista refer to jobs or politics and can be either masculine or feminine,
depending upon the gender of the person to whom they refer.
Example: el/la artista, el/la comunista
b. Nouns ending in –nte usually refer to people and can be used for both genders. Many
Spanish speakers will change –nte to –nta when referring to a female.
Example: el presidente - la presidente OR la presidenta
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Some words ending in –nte CANNOT change.
Example: el/la cantante, el/la adolescente, el/la comediante
There are some jobs, not ending in –ista/-nte, which do not change, but can be either feminine
or masculine depending on the gender of the person.
Example:
el/la juez, el/la modelo, el/la astronauta
c. Nouns that refer to equipment (aparato) or machinery (máquina) end in either –or or –ora
Example: el computador – la computadora, el refrigerador – la refrigeradora
5. Irregulars
a. Irregular nouns that require the gender to be memorized.
Example: el día, la mano, la cárcel, la miel, la sal, el sofá, el corazón, la flor, la labor
b. Some words are the same, but change meaning depending on gender.
Example:
el cura = priest
la cura = cure
el orden = order (arrangement)
la orden (command or religious order)
el corte = cut
la corte = court
el frente = front
la frente = forehead
el papa = pope
la papa = potato
el policía = cop
la policía = police department
c. Persona and víctima are always feminine regardless of who they refer to.
Example:
Mi padre es una persona lista.
Noun/Adjective Agreement
Adjective = a descriptive word that modifies a noun.
Adjectives most often come after the noun. Adjectives agree in number (singular or plural)
and gender (masculine or feminine) with the nouns they modify.
1. Many adjectives end in –o and have 4 forms.
Example:
el carro rojo los carros rojos
la casa roja las casas rojas
2. Adjectives that end in –e and most adjectives that end in –consonant have only 2 forms.
Example:
el niño/la niña pobre
los niños/las niñas pobres
el chico/la chica popular
los chicos/las chicas populares
3. Adjectives ending in –án, -ón, -or, -ín have 4 forms.
Example:
un hombre trabajador
los hombres trabajadores
una mujer trabajadora
las mujeres trabajadores
4. A few adjectives in the masculine singular have a shortened form and can come before the
noun. Alguno and ninguno have accents in the shortened form.
Example:
bueno -> buen chico
primero -> primer libro
alguno -> algún dinero
malo -> mal chico
tercero -> tercer libro
ninguno -> ningún libro
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The adjective can also come after the noun in which case the longer form is used.
Example: un chico bueno
Grande has a shortened form in both the masculine and feminine singular and means great or
famous.
Example:
un gran libro = a great book
una gran revista = a great/famous magazine
un libro grande = a big book
una revista grande = a big magazine
5. Colors that are words taken from fruits, flowers, etc. are invariable, meaning they have only
1 form.
Example: zapato naranja, zapatos naranja, camisa naranja, camisas naranja
All colors, if modified (such as the adjectives light or dark), are invariable.
Example: zapato rojo claro, zapatos rojo claro, camisa rojo claro, camisas rojo claro
6. Adjectives can be turned into nouns by using the definite article with the adjective.
Example:
Los grandes se hablan mientras el pequeño juega. =
The big ones (adults) talk to each other while the little one (kid) plays.
7. A masculine singular adjective is combined with the gender neutral article “lo” (also known
as neuter = not masculine or feminine) to express an abstract noun. It gets translated in
English as either “part” or “thing.”
Example: Lo bueno es que no hay mucha tarea. = The good thing/What’s good is that there is
not much homework.
El inicio fue lo peor.
= The beginning was the worst part.
Lo más importante es ser honesto.
= The most important thing is to be honest.
Comparisons of Equality
When you compare people, places, and things that are equal, use the following formulas:
1. tan + adjective + como
Example:
Eric es tan inteligente como Mateo.
Los amigos son tan locos como Tómas.
(as . . . as)
2. tan + adverb + como
Example: Juan canta tan maravillosamente como José.
(as . . . as)
3. tanto/a/os/as + noun + como
Example: María tiene tantos niños como Rosa.
(as many . . . as)
4. verb + tanto como
Example: Paulo duerme tanto como Paco.
(as much . . . as)
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Comparatives
When you compare people, places, or things that are not equal, use the following formulas:
1. más/menos + adjective, adverb, or noun + que
Example:
El examen es más fácil que la tarea.
La ciudad es más sucia que el campo.
Tengo menos tarea que mi amigo.
(more/-er, less than)
2. verb + más/menos que
Example: Los perros comen más que los gatos.
3. más de/menos de + number
Example: El pollo cuesta más de 5 dólares.
But when the sentence is in the negative, más que is used.
Example: El pollo no cuesta más que 5 dólares.
Superlatives
When you rank one member of a group as the highest or lowest use the following formulas:
definite article + noun + más/menos + adjective + de
(most/-est, least)
Example: Ricardo es el estudiante más inteligente de la clase.
Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives
bueno/a -> mejor
malo/a -> peor
viejo/a -> mayor
joven -> menor
(better)
(worse)
(older)
(younger)
Irregular superlatives come before the noun and más/menos is not used.
Example: Mateo es el mejor médico en el mundo.
Number: Singular -> Plural
The plural is formed by
1. adding “s” to nouns and adjectives that end in a vowel
rosa -> rosas
2. adding “es” if ending in a consonant or y
flor -> flores, ley -> leyes, el gas -> los gases
3. adding “es” and changing z -> c if ending in a z
lápiz -> lápices
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4. no change to the noun if ending in unaccented vowel + “s” (i.e. ends in “es” or “is”), but
adjust the definite article.
el lunes -> los lunes, la crisis -> las crisis
5. adding “es” and losing the accent if ending in accented vowel + s
inglés -> ingleses, autobús -> autobuses, BUT el país -> los países (because of diphthong)
6. no change to compound nouns formed of a verb and a noun, but adjust the definite article.
el lavaplatos -> los lavaplatos
7. adding “es” to words if ending in an accented i or u, but “s” to words ending in the accented
vowels a, e, or o.
tabú -> tabúes, rubí -> rubíes
but this rule isn’t always followed: el menú -> los menús
mamá -> mamás, papá -> papás, café -> cafés, sofá -> sofás
Reflexive Object Pronouns
Reflexive verb = a verb in which the action is completed and received by the subject.
In Spanish, when an action is done “to oneself” or “for oneself,” a reflexive verb is used. The
infinitive will end in “se” and that indicates the use of a reflexive pronoun that must be
conjugated to agree with the subject.
me
te
se
nos
os
se
myself
yourself (informal)
himself, herself, itself, yourself (formal)
us (ourselves)
yourselves (informal)
themselves, yourselves
Example: bañarse
yo
me baño nosotros
nos bañamos
tú
te bañas vosotros
os bañáis
él, ella, usted se baña ellos, ellas, ustedes se bañan
Reflexive pronouns can also be used to express “each other.”
Example:
Nos amamos. = We love each other.
Se ayudan. = They help each other.
Take away the reflexive pronoun and the verb is no longer reflexive and is used to express an
action done to “someone else.”
Example:
Me levanto. = I stand myself up.
Levanto a mi silla. = I pick up my seat.
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The Personal “a”
The preposition “a” comes before the direct object if the direct object is a specific person or a
personalized object, such as a pet or geographical location.
Example:
Miro a José.
Alimento a mi perro.
Conozco a Honduras.
The “a” is also used with indefinite pronouns when they are direct objects and refer to people,
like alguien, nadie, and quien. The “a” has no English translation.
Example:
¿A quién habla?
Escribo a alguien.
If it is not a specific person, then no “a” is used.
Example:
Busco un amigo.
Question Words
¿Quién/es?
¿De quién/es?
¿A quién/es?
¿Qué?
¿Cuál/es?
¿Cuándo?
¿Dónde?
¿Adónde?
¿Por qué?
¿Cómo?
¿Cuánto/a
¿Cuántos/as?
Who?
Whose?
Whom?
What?
Which?
When?
Where?
To where?
Why?
How?
How much?
How many?
All question words (also known as interrogatives) have an accent, which does not change the
pronunciation, but is used to distinguish them from the answering words.
Example: ¿Cuándo miras televisión?
Cuando tengo tiempo.
In Spanish the subject and verb are reversed in questions.
Example:
Qué juega Juan?
What does Juan play?
Juan juega fútbol.
Juan plays soccer.
Qué vs. Cuál
Although cuál is defined as “which,” in Spanish cuál is often used when in English “what”
would be used. When there are options, cuál is used. Cuál is usually used with the verb ser.
Example:
¿Cuál es su nombre?
What is your name?
¿Cuál es su color favorite? What is your favorite color?
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The Progressive
The present progressive is used to describe actions in the process of taking place. Use the
following formula:
present tense conjugation of estar + present participle (also known as the gerund)
Example: Yo estoy hablando con mis amigos.
=
I am talking with my friends.
Present tense conjugation of estar (irregular in the yo and note the accents):
yo
estoy nosotros
estamos
tú
estás vosotros
estáis
él, ella, usted está ellos, ellas, ustedes están
The same formula is used for the past progressive, only the verb “estar” is in the imperfect
tense. The past is used to express an action that was happening.
Example:
Yo estaba trabajando cuando me llamaste por teléfono
= I was working when you called me on the phone.
Additionally, the future, conditional, and subjunctive conjugations of estar + present participle
are used to express other progressives.
Example:
Estaré hablando.
=
I will be talking.
Estaría hablando.
=
I would be talking.
Ojalá que estés hablando. =
Let’s hope that you are talking.
Pronouns (reflexive, indirect object, direct object) can come before or be attached to the end
of the present and past progressive. The rules of the order of the pronouns are the same as in
other instances (RID: reflexive, indirect, direct). If attached to the end, then an accent is
required.
Example: Me estoy cepillando. = Estoy cepillándome.
Present Participles
To form the present participle in English add –ing to the verb and in Spanish:
1. –ar verb = verb stem + ando
2. –er/-ir verb = verb stem + iendo
3. Underground gIRlz* = 3rd person preterite stem + iendo
4. Basement boYz**= verb stem + yendo
5. –ñir/ullir = present tense verb stem*** + endo
6. Irregulars: ir = yendo, poder = pudiendo
Example: hablando
Example: comiendo
Example: muriendo
Example: incluyendo
Example: gruñendo, tiñendo
*–ir shoe verbs (remember the hybrid –ir verbs as well)
** Y Shoe verbs (end in uir, except for verbs ending in –guir) + caer, leer, oír, creer
Example: distinguiendo
***These verbs are rare. There are some that end in –ñir like gruñir and bruñir that have a
regular stem in the present tense, while there are others like constreñir, teñir, and reñir that
are –ir stem changers (e->i).
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Conditional
To express “would” in Spanish use the following formula:
verb infinitive + imperfect of second and third conjugation verbs (ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían).
The endings are the same for all –ar,-er,-ir verbs.
Example:
hablaría, hablarías, etc. = I would talk, you would talk, etc.
The following verbs have regular verb endings, but the same irregularities in the stem in both
the conditional and future. These verbs can be remembered by the cheer: “HHPPSSVV
Quarterbacks Count Touch Downs.”
1. shortened stems (belong to the present tense category of “go in the yo”):
decir: dir -> diría
hacer: har -> haría
2. -e removed from the Infinitive
caber: cabr ->cabría
haber: habr -> habría
poder: podr -> podría
querer: querr -> querría
saber: sabr -> sabría
3. -dr added to the stem (belong to the present tense category of “go in the yo”):
poner: pondr -> pondría
salir: saldr -> saldría
tener: tendr -> tendría
valer: valdr ->valdría
venir: vendr -> vendría
All similar verbs share these irregular stem changes in the future and conditional tenses.
Example:
poner -> componer, disponer, exponer, imponer, proponer, reponerse, suponer
tener -> contener, detener, mantener, obtener, retener
decir -> bendecir, predecir
venir -> prevenir, convenir
Short Form of Possessive Adjectives
Reveal ownership or possession. Come before the noun.
mi / mis
(de mí)
my
our
his, her
nuestro / nuestra / nuestros /
nuestras
(de nosotros)
vuestro / vuestra / vuestros /
vuestras
(de vosotros)
su / sus (de ellos/ellas)
tu / tus
(de ti)
your
(informal)
su / sus
(de
él/ella)
su / sus
(de usted)
your (formal)
su / sus (de ustedes)
your (2 or more
people)
your (2 or more
friends)
their
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1. mi, tu, and su have 2 forms: singular or plural.
Example: mi libro, mis libros
2. nuestro and vuestro have 4 forms: masculine or feminine and singular or plural
Example: nuestro libro, nuestra casa, nuestros libros, nuestras casas
3. Since su can mean more than one thing, either the context or a prepositional phrase clarifies
the meaning.
Example: María tiene su libro. = María tiene el libro de él.
Prepositional Pronouns
The corresponding prepositional pronoun of each possessive adjective is listed above in
parentheses.
1.
All are the same as the subject pronouns except for yo and tú, which change to mí and
ti. Mí has an accent and ti does not.
2.
con + mí = conmigo
con + ti = contigo
Long Form of Possessive Adjectives
There are 4 forms of each possessive adjective. They come after the noun.
Usually means: “of mine, of yours, etc.”
mío / mía / míos /
mías
mine
tuyo / tuya / tuyos /
tuyas
yours
(informal)
suyo / suya / suyos /
suyas
(de él/ella)
suyo / suya / suyos /
suyas
(de usted)
his, hers
Example:
nuestro / nuestra / nuestros /
nuestras
(de nosotros)
vuestro / vuestra / vuestros /
vuestras
(de vosotros)
suyo / suya / suyos / suyas
(de ellos/ellas)
yours (formal) suyo / suya / suyos / suyas
(de ustedes)
ours
yours (2 or more
friends)
theirs
yours (2 or more
people)
el libro mía, la casa mía, los libros míos, las casas mías =
the book of mine, the house of mine, the books of mine, the houses of mine
Possessive Pronouns
The long form of possessive adjectives can replace the noun. It includes a definite article. The
possessive pronoun and definite article must agree with the noun it replaces.
Example: Tengo mi libro, no tu libro -> Tengo el mío, no el tuyo.
After the verb ser the definite article is not used.
Example: El libro es tuyo.
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Demonstratives
Used to show where an object is in relation to the person that is speaking.
Demonstrative Adjectives
Remember the rhyme: “This and these have t's, that and those don't.” They come before the
noun and agree in gender and number with the noun.
este, esta / estos, estas
ese, esa / esos, esas
aquel, aquella / aquellos,
aquellas
Example:
this /
these
that /
those
that /
those
(here) object is close to speaker
(there) object is far from the speaker, but close to the
person spoken to
(over there) object is far from the person spoken to
and from the speaker
Quiero este pan que tengo.
Quiero esta camisa.
Quiero ese pollo que tiene usted.
Aquel confite cuesta mucho.
I want this bread that I have.
I want that shirt.
I want that chicken that you have.
That candy (over there) costs a lot.
Demonstrative Pronouns
The same as the demonstrative adjectives. The Real Academia Española states that the
demonstrative pronouns do not need accents, but they should be recognized, as you will still
see them spelled that way.
éste, ésta, éstos, éstas
ése, ésa, ésos, ésas
aquél, aquélla, aquéllos, aquéllas
Example:
Quiero comer este/éste.
Quiero comprar ése/ese.
Quiero tomar aquella/aquélla.
this one
that one
that one over there
=
=
=
I want to eat this one.
I want to buy that one (that you have there).
I want to drink that one (over there).
Gender neutral (not masculine or feminine) demonstrative pronouns are used when referring
to a general concept.
eso = that, esto = this, aquello = that (over there)
Example:
No digas eso. = Do not say that.
Esto es lo más difícil.
Adverbs
Adverbs are words that describe and modify verbs. Adverbs can also modify adjectives or
other adverbs. In Spanish, many adverbs are formed by adding –mente to the feminine form of
the adjective, just like –ly in English.
Example: fácil -> fácilmente, maravillosa -> maravillosamente, lenta -> lentamente
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Commands
When learning to communicate in Spanish it is only necessary to be able to express the
affirmative and negative of the usted and ustedes commands. Since these 4 forms are the
same as the present subjunctive, communication with these 4 forms of commands is
simplified to learning one method of conjugation.
In addition, the nosotros affirmative and the negative of all 5 types of commands (also known
as imperatives) are exactly the same as the conjugations for the present subjunctive.
1. usted 2. ustedes 3. nosotros 4. tú 5. vosotros
Formation of usted, ustedes, nosotros affirmative and all negative commands:
Put the verb in yo, drop the –o, and flip the endings.
Add –er endings to –ar verbs
(e, es, e, emos, éis, en)
Add –ar endings to –er/-ir verbs (a, as, a, amos, áis, an)
Example:
hablar -> hablo -> habl -> hable usted, hablen ustedes, hablemos nosotros
comer -> como -> com -> coma usted, coman ustedes, comamos nosotros
vivir -> vivo -> viv -> viva usted, vivan ustedes, vivamos nosotros
Verbs with spelling changes in the yo form will retain this irregularity.
Example:
tener -> tengo -> teng -> tenga usted, tengan ustedes, tengamos nosotros
traducir -> traduzco -> traduzc -> traduzca usted, traduzcan ustedes, traduzcamos nosotros
-ar/-er shoe verbs do not have a stem change in the nosotros of the subjunctive and command
forms. –ir shoe verbs do retain the stem change in the nosotros.
Example:
cerrar -> cierro -> cierr -> cierre usted, cierren ustedes, cerremos nosotros
pedir -> pido -> pid -> pida usted, pidan ustedes, pidamos nosotros
There are only 6 irregular verbs in the present subjunctive. The first letter of these infinitives
spell the word DISHES. Take note of the accents.
D ar: dé, des, dé, demos, deis, den
I r: vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan
S aber: sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis, sepan
H aber: haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan
E star: esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén
S er: sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean
The nosotros commands express suggestions or collective commands like “Let´s speak.” The
one exception is the affirmative of ir.
Example: vamos
but
no vayamos
The –s is dropped from the affirmative of reflexive verbs before you attach the pronoun nos.
Example: levantarse -> levantémosnos -> levantémonos
irse -> vámosnos -> vámonos
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To form affirmative tú commands, use the third-person singular of the present tense.
Example: habla tú.
There are 8 irregular affirmative tú commands, remembered by the mnemonic
“Pontensalvensévedihaz.”
poner -> pon
tener -> ten
salir -> sal
venir -> ven
saber -> sé
ir -> ve
decir -> di
hacer -> haz
To form all affirmative vosotros commands, replace the final –r of the infinitive with –d.
Example: hablad vosotros
Negative Commands
As stated before, all negative commands use the present subjunctive.
usted
ustedes
tú
nosotros
vosotros
no hable no hablen no hables no hablemos no habléis
Pronouns (reflexive, indirect, and direct object) attach to the end of affirmative commands
and before the conjugated verb in negative commands. The rules of the order of the pronouns
are the same as in other instances (RID: reflexive, indirect, direct).
Example:
hábleme, no me hables
= talk to me, do not talk to me
démelo, no me lo dé
= give it to me, do not give it to me
Rule of Accent Omission:
With 1 pronoun: There is NO accent added to tú and vosotros affirmative commands that end
in consonants (pontensalven. . .haz) and no accent added to the irregulars dar and estar.
Example: haz -> hazlo
hablad -> habladme
dé -> deme
In all other pronoun-command combinations, an accent is required. There is always an accent
with 2 or more attached pronouns. Command words which have 2 or more syllables before
pronouns are added, place the accent on the second-to-last syllable of the command word.
Example:
cómalo
levántelo
represénteme
Explanation: Accents are added to affirmative commands if the attached pronouns shift the
stressed syllable. All reflexive, indirect, and direct object pronouns end in either a vowel or “s”
and thus would indicate stressing the second-to-last syllable. If the command stresses a
different part of the word before the pronoun is added, then an accent is needed.
Example:
hable ends in a vowel and thus stresses the second-to-last syllable. If you add the
pronoun“me,” the stress would also be on the second-to-last syllable, which would now
be hableme. To preserve the stress on the “a” an accent is needed -> hábleme.
diga -> dígame -> dígamelo
haz -> hazlo -> házmelo
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Simple Future
To express “will” in Spanish use the following formula:
verb infinitive + present tense ending of haber (é, ás, á, emos, éis, án). All conjugations are
accented except for nosotros. The endings are the same for all –ar,-er,-ir verbs.
Example:
hablaré, hablarás, etc. = I will talk, you will talk, etc.
Direct Object Pronouns
A direct object pronoun replaces a direct object noun so as to avoid repetition.
me
te
lo
la
lo / la
me
you (informal)
him, it
her, it
you (formal)
nos
os
los
las
los / las
us
you all (informal in Spain)
them (masculine)
them (feminine)
you all
A direct object receives the action of the verb and answers the questions “who?” or “what?”
To identify the direct object (DO) it helps to find the subject (S) and the verb (V) of the
sentence.
Example:
S
V
DO
S V
DO
Ana compra flores.
Él ve a Ramón.
Ana buys flowers.
I see Ramón.
What does Ana buy? Flowers.
Who does he see? Ramón.
The direct object noun of the above example sentences can be replaced by a direct object
pronoun.
Example:
Ana las compra.
Yo lo veo.
Ana buys them.
I see him.
*The following verbs use direct object pronouns because they include the words “to” or “for.”
buscar = to look for
esperar = to wait for
escuchar = to listen to
“Lo que” is a gender neutral relative pronoun used to replace a concept or idea. It is used to
say “what” when you are not asking a question. It is often used to begin a sentence, but can
also be used in the middle.
lo + que = what
Example:
Lo que quiero es una camisa.
No quiero decirte lo que me dijeron.
=
=
What I want is a shirt.
I do not want to tell you what they told me.
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Indirect Object Pronouns
Indirect object pronouns also receive the action of the verb, but answer the questions: “to
whom?” or “for whom?”
me
te
le
le
le
me
you (informal)
him, it
her, it
you (formal)
nos
os
les
les
les
us
you all (informal in Spain)
them (masculine)
them (feminine)
you all
Example:
S
IO V
El profesor me habla.
The teacher talks to me.
S IO V
DO
Sofia te manda un regalo.
Sofia sends you a present.
To whom does the teacher talk? Me.
To whom did Sofia send the present? You.
Since “le” and “les” have more than one meaning, it is common to include clarification by
stating the preposition “a” and the noun or pronoun.
Example:
Le escribo (a Bessy). I write (to Bessy).
The following verbs commonly use indirect object pronouns:
dar
decir
escribir
explicar
mandar
ofrecer
pedir
preguntar
prometer
recomendar
regalar
server
hablar
prestart
traer
Reflexive, Indirect, and Direct Object (RID) Pronoun Placement
1. Immediately before conjugated verbs and before perfect tense verbs.
Example:
Yo los quiero.
NOT Yo quiero los.
I want them.
Yo lo he dicho.
I have said it.
NOT
Yo he lo dicho.
2. Before or after the infinitive or progressive forms, but it cannot break up (be located in the
middle) of the verbal phrase or progressive.
Example:
Yo quiero comprarlas. OR Yo las quiero comprar. NOT Yo quiero las comprar.
I want to buy them.
Yo estoy viéndote. OR Yo te estoy viendo. NOT Yo estoy te viendo.
3. Attached to the end of an affirmative command.
Example:
Cómprelo.
NOT Lo compre.
Buy it.
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4. Before negative commands.
Example:
No lo compres.
Do not buy it.
NOT
No compres lo.
5. Remember the acronym RID to remember the order: 1st reflexive pronoun, 2nd indirect
object pronoun, 3rd direct object pronoun when there is more than one pronoun.
Example:
S
V IO
DO
Maritza me da a mí una galleta.
->
Maritza me la da.
= Maritza gives me a cookie.
Maritza gives it to me.
6. To express an unexpected or unwanted action, the reflexive and indirect object pronouns
are used together.
Example:
Se me cayó el plato.
= I dropped the plate. = The plate fell itself from me.
A él se le olvidó la tarea.
= He forgot the homework. = The homework forgot itself to him.
7. When both the indirect and direct object begin with the letter “l,” then le/les is replaced
with “se.” The “se” often needs a prepositional phrase for clarification, since it can refer to so
many different things.
Example:
Elvis escribe un libro para ella.
->
Elvis se lo escribe (a ella). NOT Elvis le lo escribe.
= Elvis writes a book for her.
Elvis writes it for her.
Gustar and Similar Verbs
Gustar is the closest to the English verb “to like,” but in Spanish gustar technically means “to
be pleasing.” These and similar verbs always use the indirect object to express to whom it is
pleasing. The subject of the sentence is the person or thing that is pleasing, NOT the person to
whom it is pleasing. In English the subject of the sentence comes first, but in Spanish it is at
the end.
Example:
IO
V
S
S
V
IO
(A mí) Me gusta el chocolate.
= Chocolate is pleasing to me.
(A ellos) les gusta la clase.
= The class is pleasing to them.
The prepositional phrase in parentheses is optional. With the indirect object pronouns “me, te,
nos, os” it is clear who is being referred to and so stating the prepositional phrase “a mí, a ti, a
nosotros, a vosotros” is done so for extra emphasis. Clarification is often needed with “le, les”
since they could mean more than one thing (him, her, you formal, them, you all) and thus it
becomes necessary to use a prepositional phrase (a él, a ella, a usted, a ellos, a ellas, a
ustedes).
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You may have noticed that the verb gustar is usually used only in the third person. If it is one
thing (it) that is pleasing use “gusta” and if it is more than one thing (they) that is pleasing use
“gustan.”
Example:
Te gusta el libro.
Te gustan los libros.
=
=
The book (it) is pleasing to you.
The books (they) are pleasing to you.
Similar verbs that also use indirect object pronouns:
aburrir
Me aburre.
It is boring to me.
asustar
Me asusta.
It is scary to me.
caer bien/mal
Me cae bien.
He is pleasing to me. (like/dislike someone)
dar asco
Me da asco.
It is disgusting to me.
dar ganas de
Me da ganas de comer.
It gives to me the urge to eat.
dar igual
Me da igual.
It is the same/doesn’t matter to me.
doler
Me duele.
It is painful to me.
encantar
Me encanta.
It is delighting to me.
fascinar
Me fascina.
It is fascinating to me.
fastidiar
Me fastidia.
It is bothersome to me.
importar
Me importa.
It matters to me.
interesar
Me interesa.
It is interesting to me.
molestar
Me molesta.
It is annoying to me.
parecer
Me parece.
It seems to me.
preocupar
Me preocupa.
It is worrisome to me.
sorprender
Me sorprende .
It is surprising to me.
Prepositions
Prepositions tell us the relation between two parts of a sentence. Prepositions are used just
like in English, except that the same preposition can mean various different things in English
and vice versa.
Example:
A las 6pm
=
At 6pm
Voy a la casa
=
I go to the house
para usted
por usted
=
=
for you
on your behalf or because of you
1. There are prepositions of location . . .
Example:
El niño está cerca de la escuela y lejos de la casa.
The child is near the school and far from the house.
2. . . . and of time.
Example:
En la mañana de las 6 a 7 leo.
In the morning from 6 to 7 I read.
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Also, prepositions should not end a sentence in Spanish.
Example:
Quiero una mujer con quien bailar. NOT Quiero una mujer para bailar con.
I want a woman with whom to dance.
I want a woman to dance with.
If a verb comes after a preposition it must be in the infinitive.
Example:
Me baño antes de dormir.
I bathe myself before sleeping.
Many prepositions attach to certain verbs when coming before infinitives or nouns. Be careful,
because sometimes the English-to-Spanish translation would lead you to use an incorrect
preposition.
1. Verbs with A
acostumbrarse a
adaptarse a
animarse a
aprender a
ayudar a
comenzar a
to get accustomed to
to adapt to
to be encouraged to
to learn to
to help to
to begin to
dedicarse a
empezar a
enseñar a
invitar a
parecerse a
volver a
to dedicate oneself to
to start to
to teach to
to invite to
to look like
to do again
2. Verbs with Con
casarse con
chocar con
contar con
to get married to
to collide with
to count on
cumplir con
soñar con
to carry out with
to dream about
3. Verbs with De
acabar de
acordarse de
aprovecharse de
depender de
despedirse de
divorciarse de
to finish
to remember
to take advantage of
to depend on
to say goodbye to
to divorce
enamorarse de
encargarse de
enterarse de
olvidarse de
tratar de
to fall in love with
to take charge of
to find something out
to forget something
to try to
4. Verbs with En
basarse en
confiar en
consistir en
to be based on
to trust in
to consist in
fijarse en
insistir en
to notice, to look at
to insist in
5. Verbs with Por
disculparse por
preocuparse por
to apologize for
to worry about
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To Be: Ser vs. Estar
In Spanish, there are 2 ways to say the verb “to be.”
yo
he nosotros
hemos 1. Ser is used to describe permanence
(remember the acronym COMET). The only exception is in describing events.
C – characteristics
¿Cómo es? Es serio y inteligente. Es un profesor.
O – origin and ownership
¿De dónde es? Es de México. ¿De quién es el papel? El papel es de Manuel.
M – material
¿De qué material es? Es de madera.
E – event
¿Dónde es la boda? Es en la playa.
T – time and date
¿Qué hora es? Son las 2pm.
2. Estar is for the temporary (remember the acronym PLACE). The only exception is for
describing location. "To say how you feel and where you are, you should use the verb estar.”
P – position of a physical object
¿Está sentado? Sí, está sentado.
L – location
¿Dónde está México? México está en Norteamérica.
A – action
¿Qué está haciendo? Estoy estudiando.
C – condition and change
¿Está cansada? Sí, estoy cansada.
E – emotion
¿Cómo está? Estoy feliz.
Some words will change meaning depending on the use of ser or estar.
Estoy aburrido. – I am bored (right now).
Estoy feliz. – I am happy (right now).
Ella está lista. – She is ready.
Isa está guapa. – Isa looks pretty (today).
Él está vivo. – He is alive.
La fruta está verde. – The fruit is not ripe.
¿Cómo estás tú? – How are you (right now)?
Soy aburrido. – I am a boring person.
Soy feliz. – I am a happy person.
Ella es lista. – She is smart.
Isa es guapo. – Isa is a pretty person.
Él es vivo. – He is lively.
La fruta es verde. – The fruit is green.
¿Cómo eres tú? – What are you like?
The Perfect Tenses
The perfect tenses are formed by the following formula:
haber + past participle
Example: Yo he hablado.
=
I have talked.
When haber is used with a past participle it is like the English “to have.”
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Present tense conjugation of haber
(irregular) is the same as the endings
for the simple future (except for
vosotros) and there is an “h” in front and different accents.
tú
has vosotros
habéis
él, ella, usted ha ellos, ellas, ustedes han
The pluperfect (pluscuamperfecto in Spanish) is formed with haber in the imperfect tense. The
future, conditional, and subjunctive perfect are also options.
Example:
Yo había comido.
=
I had eaten.
Yo habré aprendido.
=
I will have learned.
Ojalá que él haya estudiado.
=
Let’s hope that he has studied.
Past Participles
Past participles in English usually end in –ed. Most all Spanish verbs have a regular past
participle:
1. Add the ending –ado to –AR verbs.
mirado, bailado, tocado, etc.
2. Add the ending –ido to –ER/-IR verbs
bebido, corridor, vivido, etc.
Remember the pronoun placement rule: reflexive, indirect, and direct pronouns must come
before the perfect tense.
Example:
Yo me he cepillado los dientes. = I have brushed my teeth.
NOT Yo he me cepillado.
The word “ya” is often used with the perfect tense and means “already.” Unlike in English, in
Spanish, nothing ever comes between haber and the past participle.
Example: Ya he comido.
=
I have already eaten.
There are more irregulars in English than in Spanish. The Spanish irregulars can be remembered
by the acronym: “REVV MAC has his PHD.” All verbs based on these irregular verbs (in
parentheses) will also have these irregular changes.
R – romper -> roto
E – escribir -> escrito
V – volver -> vuelto
V – ver -> visto
M – morir -> muerto
A – abrir -> abierto
C – cubrir -> cubierto
P – poner -> puesto
H – hacer -> hecho
D – decir -> dicho
(describir)
(devolver, envolver, revolver)
(prever)
(descubrir)
(componer, disponer, exponer, imponer, proponer, reponerse, suponer)
(satisfacer)
(predecir, NOT bendecir -> bendecido/bendito)
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Verbs that end in –aer and the verbs leer, oír, and creer add an accent to the past participle.
Example:
traer -> traído
caer -> caído
leer -> leído
oír -> oído
creer -> creído
When past participles are used in perfect tenses, they always end in –o. Past participles can also
be used as adjectives in which case they need to agree in both number and gender with the
nouns they modify.
Example:
Él está sorprendido.
Ella está sorprendida.
Ellos están sorprendidos.
The Past: Formation of the Preterite
The preterite tense is perhaps the hardest tense to learn. There are 6 categories of preterite
verbs: regular, car-gar-zar, underground gIRlz, basement boYz, fish verbs, and the completely
irregular.
Category 1: Regular Verbs
1. –AR verb endings
Example:
é
amos
aste asteis
ó
aron
2. –ER/IR verb endings
Example:
í
imos
iste isteis
ió
ieron
yo
hablé
nosotros
hablamos
tú
hablaste vosotros
hablasteis
él, ella, usted habló
ellos, ellas, ustedes hablaron
yo
comí, viví
nosotros
comimos, vivimos
tú
comiste, viviste vosotros
comisteis, vivisteis
él, ella, usted comió, vivió
ellos, ellas, ustedes comieron, vivieron
Category 2: Car-Gar-Zar
Verbs that end in car, gar, or zar have a spelling change in the yo. All other forms are regular.
car -> qué
gar -> gué
zar -> cé
tocar -> toqué, tocaste, tocó, etc.
jugar -> jugué, jugaste, jugó, etc.
almorzar -> almorcé, almorzaste, almorzó
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Category 3: underground gIRlz
Shoe verbs that end in –IR use the regular –IR endings, but have irregular stem changes in the
preterite, but only in the third person. That is why they are “underground,” because the changes
are only in the bottom of the conjugation chart. The word “gIRlz” reminds us that these are –IR
shoe verbs. Example:
1. e -> i
2. o -> u*
*dormir and morir are
main verbs in this category.
yo
pedí
nosotros
pedimos
tú
pediste vosotros
pedisteis
él, ella, usted pidió
ellos, ellas, ustedes pidieron
yo
dormí
nosotros
dormimos
tú
dormiste vosotros
dormisteis
él, ella, usted durmió
ellos, ellas, ustedes dormieron
the
Category 4: basement BoYz
Verbs that end in uir, except for verbs ending in –guir, have a change in the third person,
“basement” of the conjugation chart. The “Y” in “boYz” reminds us that the “i” in the ending
changes to “y.” Also, note that -ió becomes just -ó and -ieron is just -eron. In the present tense
these are the Y Shoes and the verbs caer, leer, oír, creer. These last 4 verbs will have an accented
“i” in the tú, nosotros, and vosotros forms.
Example:
yo
incluí, caí
nosotros
incluimos, caímos
tú
incluiste, caíste vosotros
incluisteis, caísteis
él, ella, usted incluyó, cayó
ellos, ellas, ustedes incluyeron, cayeron
BUT
distinguir -> . . . distinguió . . . distinguieron
*Verbs ending in –ñir (gruñir, teñir, etc.) and –ullir (zambullirse) will use -ó and –eron endings in
the third person “basement,” since they already have a “y” sound in their stems.
Category 5: Fish Verbs
Fish verbs do not have accents in any of the forms. All verbs based on these verbs will have the
same irregularities.
The U-Fish Verbs (fish with an open mouth) and I-Fish Verbs (fish with a bubble from mouth)
use these endings:
e
imos
iste isteis
o
ieron
The J-Fish Verbs (fish hooked in the mouth) use the same endings as the other fish verbs, except
for in the third person plural. (ieron -> eron)
e
imos
iste isteis
o
eron
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U-Fish Verbs = These verbs will have a stem change to a “u” along with other changes. Remember
the acronym PEPSCAT.
P – poder – pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron
E – estar – estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron
P – poner – puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron
S – saber – supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron
C – caber – cupe, cupiste, cupo, cupimos, cupisteis, cupieron
A – andar – anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvisteis, anduvieron
T – tener – tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron
I-Fish Verbs = These verbs will have a stem change that includes an “i.” Remember the
mnemonic: Que Have.
Que –querer – quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron
Ha – hacer – hice, hiciste, hizo*, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron
*hizo is also irregular
Ve – venir – vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron
J-Fish Verbs = These verbs will have a stem change that includes a “j.” Remember the acronym
DCPTT (the capitals DC and Pittsburgh). The missing “I” in PTT reminds us that these verbs do
not have an “i” in the third person plural (-eron). All verbs based on these verbs will have the
same irregularities (verbs that end in “ucir” and “raer”).
D – decir – dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron
C – conducir – conduje, condujiste, conduje, condujimos, condujisteis, condujeron
P – producir – produje, produjiste, produjo, produjimos, produjisteis, produjeron
T – traer – traje, trajiste, trajo, trajimos, trajisteis, trajeron
T – traducer – traduje, tradujiste, tradujo, tradujimos, tradujisteis, tradujeron
Category 6: Irregular
These verbs must be memorized. Dar is the “pretender verb,” because it acts as if it were an –er/ir verb, but without the accents. Ser and Ir are exactly the same in the preterite and only context
will tell which is being used.
Dar
yo
di
nosotros
dimos
tú
diste vosotros
disteis
él, ella, usted dio
ellos, ellas, ustedes dieron
*Ver
vio, vimos, visteis, vieron
Ser/Ir
yo
fui
nosotros
fuimos
tú
fuiste vosotros
fuisteis
él, ella, usted fue
ellos, ellas, ustedes fueron
is conjugated like dar -> vi, viste,
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The Past: Formation of the Imperfect
Finally a tense with only 3 irregular verbs!
1. –AR verbs use these endings:
aba ábamos
abas abais
aba aban
Note the accented “a” only in the nosotros form.
2. –ER/-IR verbs use these endings:
ía íamos
ías íais
ías ían
Note the accented “i” in all forms.
3. Irregulars:
Ir
yo
iba nosotros
íbamos
tú
ibas vosotros
ibais
él, ella, usted iba ellos, ellas, ustedes iban
Ser
yo
era nosotros
eramos
tú
eras vosotros
erais
él, ella, usted era ellos, ellas, ustedes eran
Ver
yo
veía nosotros
veíamos
tú
veías vosotros
veíais
él, ella, usted veía ellos, ellas, ustedes veían
The Past: Preterite vs. Imperfect
In Spanish, there are 2 ways to talk in the past, using the preterite and using the imperfect. Think
of the preterite tense as the “backbone” of the story, the actions that move the story forward.
Example:
Henry se levantó. Tomó café. Desayunó. Salió para la escuela.
= Henry got up. He drank coffee. He ate breakfast. He left for school.
The imperfect tense is the description used to “flesh” out the story and these details do not move
the story line forward.
Example:
Eran las 6am. Estaba cansado. Tenía hambre. Hacía calor.
= It was 6am. He was tired. He was hungry. It was hot.
Together you have:
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Eran las 6am. Henry se levantó. Estaba cansado. Tomó café. Tenía hambre. Desayunó. Salió para
la escuela. Hacía calor.
A sentence written in the preterite would be a report of what happened.
Example:
El cliente pidió comida y el mesero lo trajo.
= The customer ordered food and the waiter brought it.
The same sentence in the imperfect would be a description of what was happening.
Example:
El cliente pedía comida y el mesero lo traía.
= The customer was ordering food and the waiter was bringing it.
Specific Uses of the Preterite:
1. Single, completed actions, often in succession
Example: Empezó su tarea. Escribió su nombre. Leyó las instrucciones. Completó las
oraciones. Terminó de escribir.
= He started his homework. He wrote his name. He read the instructions. He
completed the sentences. He finished writing.
2. Completed actions within a specific time period
Example: Viví 6 semanas en México. Estudié por 2 horas.
= I lived 6 weeks in Mexico. I studied for 2 hours.
3. Summary or reaction statements
Example: Fue un buen día. Me gustó.
= It was a good day. I liked it.
There are “trigger/buzz words,” words that tell us whether to use the preterite or imperfect.
Preterite buzz words:
ayer- yesterday
anoche – last night
hace dos días – 2 days ago
una vez – one time/once
la semana pasada – last week
el año pasado – last year
Specific Uses of the Imperfect:
1. Progression or continuing action with no focus on the start and end. Essentially, a description
of what was going on – “was/were . . . ing.”
Example: Mi mamá lavaba los platos mientras mis hermanas miraban televisión.
= My mom was washing the dishes while my sisters were watching television.
2. Habitual, usual, repeated actions – used to express “used to”
Example: Comía mucho. Siempre miraba el programa “Rugrats.”
= I used to eat a lot. I always used to watch the program “Rugrats.”
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3. Describing physical and emotional states – “head/heart verbs” that express mental processes
are often in the imperfect (querer, temer, esperar, preferir, sentir, desear, poder, saber, pensar,
creer, considerar)
Example: El chico era flaco. Tenía muchos nervios. Quería calmarse.
= The boy was skinny. He was very nervous. He wanted to calm himself down.
4. Background information, like time, weather, and age
Example: Eran las 10pm y hacía frío. Ella tenía 12 años.
= It was 10pm and it was cold. She was 12 years old.
5. To refer to the future in a past tense – to express “was going to”
Example: Me dice que va a correr. -> Me dijo que iba a correr.
= He tells me that he is going to run. -> He told me that he was going to run.
Imperfect buzz words:
siempre – always
generalmente - generally
usualmente – usually
con frecuencia – frequently
a menudo – often
a veces – sometimes
de vez en cuando – from time to time
mientras – while/meanwhile
muchas veces – many times
todos los días – every day
los sábados – on Saturdays
cada día – every/each day
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APPENDIX A. High Frequency Little Words
Definite Articles
el / la
the
los / las the
Contractions
a el = al
to the
de el = del from the
Indefinite Articles
un / una
a, an
unos / unas some
Subject Pronouns
yo
tú
él / ella / usted
nosotros, nosotras
vosotros, vosotras
ellos / ellas /
ustedes
I
you (informal)
he, she, you (formal)
we
you all (informal in Spain)
they (males or males &
females),
they (females), you all
Possessive Adjectives
mi / mis
tu / tus
su / sus
nuestro, nuestra / nuestros,
nuestras
my
your
(informal)
his, her,
your
(formal),its,
their, your
(2 or more
people)
our
Possessive Pronouns
mío, mía / míos,
mine
mías
tuyo, tuya / tuyos, yours
tuyas
suyo, suya / suyos, his, hers, yours (formal),
suyas
its, theirs, yours (2 or
more people)
nuestro, nuestra / ours
nuestros, nuestras
Demonstrative Adjectives / Dem. Pronouns
este, esta / estos, estas / (near) this / these /
esto
this
ese, esa / esos, esas /
(far) that / those /
eso
that
aquel, aquella /
(farther) that / those
aquellos, aquellas /
/ that over there
aquello
Direct Object Pronouns
me
me
te
you (informal)
lo / la
him, her, you (formal), it)
nos
us
los / las them, you
lo que
what
Indirect Object Pronouns
me me
te
you (informal)
le
him, her, you (formal), it)
nos us
les them, you all
Indefinite Pronouns & Adjectives
algo
something
alguien
someone, somebody
alguno,a/os,as
some (one)
nada
nothing
nadie
no one, nobody
ninguno,a
no one, none
todo, toda, todos,
all, everybody, everyone,
todas
everything
otro, otra
another
cualquier,
any, anyone
cualquiera
cualquier cosa
anything
ambos, ambas
both
cada
each, every
lo, la, los, las demás the rest, the others
Reflexive Object Pronouns
me myself
te
yourself (informal)
se
himself, herself, itself, yourself (formal)
nos us (ourselves)
os
yourselves (informal)
se
themselves, yourselves
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Conjunctions
o
or
y
and
ni
nor
pero
but
sino
but, rather
que
that, which
aunque
although
así que
so that
para que so that, in order that
porque
because
como
as, like
si
if, whether
como si
as if
mientras while
Prepositions
a
to, at
antes
before
con
with
sin
without
contra
against
de
of, from
desde
since
después after
durante during
en
in, on, at
hasta
until
para
for, in order to
por
for, because of
sobre
about, on, upon, over
Adverbs
ya
aquí, acá
allí
allá
nunca
siempre
ahora
ahorita
luego
hoy
ayer
muy
mucho
poco
bastante
más
menos
tan, tanto
tampoco
quizás
tal vez
por supuesto
sin embargo
already
here
there
over there
never
always
now
right now
later
today
yesterday
very
a lot
little
a lot
more
less
as, as much
either, neither
perhaps
perhaps
of course
however
Questions
¿Quién?
¿Qué?
¿Cuándo?
¿Dónde?
¿Adónde?
¿Por qué?
¿Cómo?
¿Cuál?
¿De quién?
¿Cuánto,a/os,as?
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
To where?
Why?
How?
Which?
Whose?
How many?
38
APPENDIX B. Present Tense Verb Categories
1. Regular–ar
-o
-amos
-as
-áis
-a
-an
abandonar
acampar
aceptar
acompañar
aconsejar
acusar
adaptar
adorar
adoptar
ahorrar
alquilar
amar
analizar
andar
anunciar
apagar
arar
arreglar
asar
asear
asustar
atrapar
aumentar
averiguar
ayudar
bailar
bajar
bañarse
besar
borrar
bruñir
buscar
callarse
cambiar
caminar
cantar
causar
celebrar
cenar
cepillarse
clasificar
cocinar
colocar
comentar
comparar
comprar
conservar
contactar
contestar
cooperar
cortar
cosechar
crear
cruzar
cuidar
cultivar
declarar
dedicarse
dejar
desayunar
descansar
descargar
desear
determinar
dibujar
disfrutar
doblar
ducharse
durar
echar
empacar
empujar
encantar
enseñar
entrar
entregar
escapar
escuchar
esperar
esquiar
estacionar
estudiar
evitar
examinar
experimentar
explicar
fascinar
fastidiar
felicitar
firmar
fumar
funcionar
ganar
gastar
golpear
grabar
gritar
gustar
hablar
hornear
ignorar
ilustrar
imaginarse
importar
interesar
interrumpir
inventar
investigar
invitar
lastimar
lavar
levantarse
limpiar
llamar
llegar
llevar
llorar
mandar
manejar
marcar
marchar
mejorar
mezclar
mirar
molestar
nadar
necesitar
observar
odiar
olvidar
opinar
ordenar
ordeñar
organizar
pagar
parar
participar
pasar
patinar
pelar
peinarse
pescar
pintar
planchar
planear
planificar
platicar
practicar
preguntar
preocupar
premiar
preparar
presentar
publicar
quedar
quemarse
quitar
reclamar
refrescar
regalar
regresar
repasar
representar
reservar
respirar
retirarse
sacar
saltar
saludar
sangrar
sembrar
tardar
terminar
tirar
tocar
tomar
trabajar
transportar
trapear
tratar
trotar
tullir
usar
utilizar
veranear
viajar
visitar
vomitar
votar
zambullirse
39
2. Regular –er
-o
-emos
-es
éis
e
en
3. Regular –ir
-o
-imos
-es
-ís
-e
-en
aprender
asustar
barrer
beber
comer
comprender
correr
coser
creer
deber
leer
meter
prometer
responder
romper
sorprender
temer
vender
abrir
aburrir
admitir
asistir
batir
compartir
cubrir
decidir
definir
describir
descubrir
discutir
escribir
gruñir
permitir
presidir
presumir
prohibir
recibir
subir
sufrir
unir
vivir
4. Go in yo
a. go in yo
componer
disponer
distinguir
exponer
extinguir
*hacer
imponer
poner
proponer
reponerse
salir
*satisfacer
suponer
valer
b. igo
atraer
caer
contraer
distraer
extraer
traer
c. hybrid:
shoe (e-ie)
contener
convenir
detener
mantener
obtener
prevenir
retener
tener
venir
d. hybrid:
–ir shoe (e-i)
bendecir
decir
conseguir
perseguir
predecir
proseguir
seguir
5. Jo in yo
verbs –
ger/gir
6. zco in yo
vowel + cer/cir
7. zo in yo
consonant +
cer/cir
afligir
coger
dirigir
emerger
encoger
escoger
exigir
fingir
mugir
proteger
recoger
rugir
agradecer
amanecer
aparecer
apetecer
conducir
conocer
crecer
desaparecer
desconocer
enternecer
establecer
introducir
lucir
merecer
obedecer
ofrecer
parecer
permanecer
pertenecer
producir
reconocer
reducir
traducir
yacer
convencer
ejercer
mecer
vencer
40
8. Irregular in
yo
*no accents in
dar/ver
*no accents in
yo/nosotros
of
estar/prever
dar
estar
saber
caber
prever
ver
9. -ar/er shoe
e-ie
acertar
apretar
ascender
atravesar
cerrar
comenzar
confesar
defender
despertarse
empezar
encender
encerrar
entender
extender
fregar
gobernar
helar
negar
nevar
pensar
perder
quebrarse
querer
recomendar
sentarse
o-ue
acordarse
acostarse
almorzar
colgar
conmover
contar
costar
demostrar
devolver
doler
encontrar
envolver
*jugar
llover
mostrar
mover
*oler
poder
probarse
recordar
resolver
revolver
sonar
soñar
soler
tronar
volar
volver
10. –ir shoe
e-ie, o-ue
advertir
convertir
divertirse
herirse
hervir
mentir
preferir
referirse
sentir
sugerir
dormir
morir
11. -ir shoe
e-i
*infinitives
with accents,
accent i in all
forms
constreñir
despedir
freír
gemir
impedir
medir
pedir
reírse
reñir
repetir
servir
teñir
sonreírse
vestirse
12. y shoes
-uir (not –
guir/quir)
atribuir
concluir
construir
contribuir
destruir
disminuir
distribuir
fluir
huir
incluir
influir
instruir
sustituir
41
13. co in yo
-quir
delinquir
faquir
14. Accent
shoe
-iar, uar,
reunir
acentuar
actuar
ampliar
confiar
continuar
criar
enviar
espiar
evaluar
fiarse
graduarse
habituar
guiar
resfriarse
reunirse
situar
vaciar
valuar
variar
15. Irregular
adquirir
cocer
corregir
elegir
erguirse
haber
ir
oír
ser
torcer
Be careful
when
conjugating
verbs like
gustar. . .
aburrir
asustar
caer bien
dar asco
dar ganas de
dar igual
doler
encantar
fascinar
fastidiar
importar
interesar
molestar
parecer
preocupar
sorprender