Spanish

External Resources

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#wiki_spanish_.28general.29

https://www.reddit.com/r/duolingo/wiki/index#wiki_spa
nish

1) Basics 1

Masculine and Feminine Nouns

In Spanish all nouns are masculine or feminine.

Usually, nouns that end with an "o" are masculine, and
nouns that end with an "a" are feminine. For example,
"manzana" (apple) is feminine and "diario"
(newspaper) is masculine.

The articles "el" and "un" are used with masculine

nouns, and the articles "la" and "una" are used with
feminine nouns. "The apple" is "la manzana" and "a
newspaper" is "un diario."

Accent Marks

Vowels in Spanish can have an accent mark, such as

the "u" in "menú" (menu). One use of the accent mark
is to indicate which syllable should be stressed in the
pronunciation. For example, in "teléfono" (telephone),
the second "e" has the most stress.

Accent marks are also used to distinguish

homophones. For example, "él" and "el" are
homophones because they have the same
pronunciation. However, "él" is a masculine pronoun
(meaning "he" or "him") and "el" is a masculine article
(meaning "the").

The Second Person Singular

"Tú," "usted" and "vos" are different ways of referring

to the second person singular (you). "Usted" is the
formal way of saying "you," and "vos" is used in
informal speech in certain countries instead of "tú."

The three pronouns are synonyms, but they change

the way verbs are conjugated. For instance, for the
verb "comer" (to eat), it is "tú comes," "usted come,"
and "vos comés."

The decision of which form of "you" to use is regional

and cultural, but you can typically use "usted" when
referring to strangers.

Verb Conjugation

Verb conjugation in Spanish is more complicated than

in English. In Spanish, the verb endings change in
order to describe who is doing the action and when.
For example, for "comer," "I eat" is "yo como" and "you
eat" is "tú comes."

Because the conjugations indicate who is doing the

action, it is usually possible to omit the pronoun. For
instance instead of saying "yo como arroz" (I eat rice),
you can say "como arroz."

2) Common Phrases

Tardes and Noches

In English, "afternoon" comes before "evening," which

in turn comes before "night." In Spanish there are only
two words that cover these times of the day: "tarde"
which means "afternoon," but overlaps with "evening,"
and "noche," which means "night" but also overlaps
with "evening." Therefore, at 6U30pm it is ok to say
either "buenas tardes" or "buenas noches."

Buenos Días

Even though "buenos días" literally means "good

days," it is used in the mornings to mean "good
morning."

Conjugation of 'Hablar'

Present indicative (presente del indicativo):

yo hablo
tú hablas
usted habla
él habla
ella habla
nosotros/as hablamos
ustedes hablan
ellos/ellas hablan

In Spanish, the most common negative word is

"no". As an adverb negating a sentence, it always
comes immediately before the verb.

I speak - [Yo] hablo.

I do not speak - [Yo] no hablo.

He is - [Él] es / está.

He is not - [Él] no es / está.

3) Basics 2 (No notes)

4) Food (No notes)

5) Animals

Adjectives

As a general rule, in Spanish adjectives come after the

noun they describe, e.g.

An English dog / Un perro inglés

A Spanish horse / Un caballo español

6) Possessives

Possessive Determiners

Possessive determiners are adjectives that are used to

show ownership, such as "my" in "my dog." There are
five possessive determiners in Spanish:

Spanish (sing./pl.) English

mi/mis my

tu/tus your (informal)

su/sus his, her, your (formal), their

The first three of these have only two forms, singular

and plural

For example, "my dog" is "mi perro" and "my dogs" is

"mis perros."

"Mi", "tu" and "su" do not have masculine and feminine

forms, so for example you say "mi gato" and also "mi
gata."

Nuestro and vuestro have four forms depending on

the gender and number of the noun being referred to:

Masc Sing Masc Pl Fem Sing Fem Pl

nuestro nuestros nuestra nuestras

vuestro vuestros vuestra vuestras

For example, it is "nuestro gato," "nuestra gata,"

"nuestros gatos," and "nuestras gatas."

Long-form Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns

The determiners above are always used before the

noun. Spanish has an additional "long-form" way to
describe possession, which usually comes after the
noun:

Spanish English

mío, míos, mía,

mine
mías

tuyo, tuyos, tuya,

yours (familiar sing.)
tuyas

suyo, suyos, suya, his, hers, your (formal) yours

suyas (formal), theirs

nuestro(s),
ours
nuestra(s)

vuestro(s), yours (familiar plural, used in

vuestra(s) Spain)

"El gato es mío" means "The cat is mine."

Note that the possessive adjectives vary by number

and gender. The change is with the nouns they
modify, not with the person(s) who possess the
object. For example, for a male cat you say "El gato es
tuyo" (The cat is yours) regardless of whether you are
talking to a man or a woman.

The short form and long forms of nuestro and vuestro

and related pronouns are identical. They differ only as
to whether they are used before or after the noun.

Tu Versus Tú

The two words "tu" and "tú" are pronounced the

same. "Tú" is the personal pronoun meaning "you"
(informal), and "tu" is the possessive adjective
meaning "your" (informal).

7) Clothing (No notes)

8) Questions

The Upside Down Question Mark

In written Spanish, questions should always start with

an upside down question mark (¿). For example, to ask
“What are you eating?” you would write “¿Qué
comes?”

Position of Personal Pronouns

When asking a question, it is possible to place the

personal pronoun in different places without affecting
the meaning. For example “¿Qué comes tú?” and “¿Tú
qué comes?” mean the same thing (and also the same
thing as “¿Qué comes?”).

The position of the personal pronoun is sometimes

used for emphasis. For example “Tú qué comes”
places the emphasis on “you” and would mean
something like “You, what are you eating?”

“Por qué” versus “Porque”

Even native speakers sometimes confuse “por qué”

and “porque,” because they sound exactly the same.
However, “por qué” means “why” and “porque”
means “because.” That is, “por qué” is typically used
when asking a question and “porque” is used when
answering it.

Q: “¿Por qué no eres un niño?” (Why are you not

a boy?)
A: “Porque soy una niña” (Because I am a girl)

9) Verbs: Present 1

Present Tense Verb Endings

In Spanish, the verb endings change in order to

describe who is doing the action and when. Most
verbs are "regular," meaning they change their
endings in predictable ways.

Examples (regular verbs

Person Endings
ending in -ar, -er, -ir)

yo nado (I swim), yo como

I -o
(I eat), yo vivo (I live)

you (familiar) -as, -es tú nadas, tú comes, tú vives

él/ella/usted nada,
he, she, it,
-a, -e él/ella/usted come,
you (formal)
él/ella/usted vive

-amos,
nosotros/nosotras

-emos, nadamos, nosotros(/as)

we
comemos, nosotros(/as)
-imos vivimos

you (formal
pl. &
ustedes/ellos/ellas nadan,
familiar pl.
-an, -en ustedes/ellos/ellas comen,
Latin
ustedes/ellos/ellas viven
America) &
they

-áis,
vosotros/vosotras nadáis,
you (familiar -éis, vosotros/vosotras coméis,
pl. Spain)
-ís vosotros/vosotras vivís

10) Food 2

Sí Versus Si

Although "sí" and "si" sound the same, "sí" (with an

accent mark) means "yes" and "si" means "if."

And (Y, E), Or (O, U)

The word for "and" in Spanish is "y," and the word for
"or" is "o." However, if the word after "and" starts with
an "i" or "hi" (which sounds the same as "i" because
the "h" in Spanish is always silent), then you need to
use "e" instead of "y." For example "sons and
daughters" is "hijos e hijas." Similarly, if the word after
"or" starts with "o" or "ho," then you have to use "u"
instead of "o." For example, "dog or bear" is "perro u
oso."

11) Family (No notes)

12) Sizes (No notes)

13) Household (No notes)

14) Occupation (No notes)

15) Time (No notes)

16) Adjectives 1

Adjectives in Spanish

In Spanish, adjectives have to match the noun they

refer to in terms of gender and number. For example,
since "vestido" is a masculine noun, you say "el
vestido es bonito" (the dress is pretty), but you say
"ella es bonita" (she is pretty). Note, however, that not
all adjectives change with gender.

Usually, masculine adjectives that end in -o or -os (in

the plural) can become feminine by changing the
ending to -a or -as. For example, "viejo" (old)
becomes "vieja."

Spanish doesn't use suffixes such as "-er" or "-est" to

indicate superlatives. Instead, the adverb "más"
(more) is used. For example, "she is prettier" would be
"ella es más bonita," and "she is the prettiest" would
be "ella es la más bonita."

Usually, though not always, adjectives are placed after

the noun they refer to. For example, "the red car" is "el
coche rojo."

A few adjectives are shortened when they appear

before singular nouns. One of the most common is
"grande," which is shortened to "gran." For example,
you can say "el hombre grande" (the big man) or "el
gran hombre."

17) Verbs: Present 2 (No notes)

18) Determiners

Demonstrative Determiners

Demonstrative determiners are used to point at

something. In English, they are "this", "that", "these"
and "those."

Spanish has three sets of demonstrative determiners,

which vary by number and gender, so there are 12 in
total:

Masc
Masc Pl Fem Sing Fem Pl
Sing

estos estas
este (this) esta (this)
(these) (these)

ese (that) esos (those) esa (that) esas (those)

aquel aquellos aquella aquellas

(that over (those over (that over (those over
there) there) there) there)

Ese/Este versus Eso/Esto

It is important to note that the masculine singular

forms in the table above don't end in "-o." The words
"esto" (this) and "eso" (that) are also demonstrative
pronouns, but they are gender neutral and used when
the gender of the noun they refer to is unkown. For
example, you would say "qué es eso?" (what is that?)
when you don't know if the object you're asking about
is masculine or feminine.

Ese versus Aquel

Both "ese" and "aquel" and their related forms are

translated to English as "that" or "those." However,
they have slightly different meanings. "Ese" is more
common, and usually refers to things that are closer in
terms of distance or time. For example, "esos perros"
would be "those dogs," whereas "aquellos perros" is
closer in meaning to "those dogs over there."

19) Adverbs (No notes)

20) Objects (No notes)

21) To Be: Ser/Estar

Ser versus Estar

One of the hardest things to learn about Spanish is the

distinction between the verbs "ser" and "estar," since
in English they both mean "to be."

By now you should be familiar with the conjugations of

"ser," such as in "él es un niño" (he is a boy), "yo soy
un hombre" (I am a man), and "ustedes son mujeres"
(you are women). "Estar" is also an irregular verb, and
its different conjugations in the present tense are
below:

Person Ser Estar

yo soy estoy

tú eres estás

él/ella/usted es está

nosotros/nosotras somos estamos

ustedes/ellos/ellas son están

vosotros/vosotras sois estáis

"Ser" refers to what something is, while estar refers

more to what something does. For example, "estoy
enfermo" would mean "I am being sick" or "I am
currently sick." On the other hand "soy enfermo"
translates to something closer to "I am a sick person"
or "I am sickly." Below are more examples:

Ser Estar

Soy feliz = I am happy by Estoy feliz = I am currently

nature happy

Soy cansada = I am a Estoy cansada = I am

tired person currently tired

Él es callado = He is Él está callado = He is

introverted being quiet

You can think of "ser" as being equivalent to "equals."

Alternatively, you can think of "estar" as referring to a
temporary condition, while "ser" frequently refers to a
permanent condition. However there are some
exceptions. For example, "ser" is used in expressions
of time, such as "son las cuatro de la tarde" (it's 4 in
the afternoon). Also, "estar" is used to indicate
someone has died, so "he is dead" would be "está
muerto."

22) Places (No notes)

23) People (No notes)

24) Object Pronouns

Object Pronouns

In English, the words "he" and "I" can be used as

subjects (the ones doing the action in a sentence),
and they change to "him" and "me" when they are
objects (the ones the action is applied to). For
example, we say "He likes me" and "I like him." "Me,"
"him", "her," etc. are called object pronouns.

Objects pronouns can either be direct or indirect. The

direct object is the thing or person that is directly
receiving the action. For example, "him" is the direct
object in "she likes him." The indirect object is the
receiver of the direct object. For example, "him" is the
indirect object in "she writes him a book."

In English, object pronouns are the same for both

direct and indirect objects, but in Spanish they can
change.

The object pronouns in Spanish are:

Subject Direct Object Indirect Object

Pronoun Pronoun Pronoun

yo me (me) me (to me)

tú te (you familiar) te (to you familiar)

él &
lo (him/it & you le (to him/it & to you
usted
formal) formal)
(masc)

ella
la (her/it & you le (to her/it & to you
usted
formal) formal)
(fem)

nosotros/
nos (us) nos (to us)
nosotras

vosotros/
os (you familiar - os (to you familiar -
vosotras Spain) Spain)

ellos &
los (them & you les (to them & to you
ustedes
formal) formal)
(masc)

ellas &
las (them & you les (to them & to you
ustedes
formal) formal)
(fem)

Unlike in English where object pronouns go after the

verb ("I see him"), Spanish object pronouns are
generally placed directly before the verb. Below are
some examples:

English Spanish

You write me a book Me escribes un libro

I see you from my

Te veo desde mi casa
house

I see him/her Yo lo/la veo

She writes a book to

Ella le escribe un libro a él
him

He sees us Él nos ve

Yo los veo a ellos

I see them
Yo las veo a ellas

Yo les escribo un libro a

I write them a book
ellos/ellas

Further clarification about who the sentence is talking

about can always be added. For example, "I see him"
can be translated as "Yo lo veo" and "Yo lo veo a él."
Sometimes this clarification is necessary in order to
remove ambiguity, while other times it is simply
redundant. For example, "Yo los veo" is ambiguous
because it could mean "I see them" or "I see you
guys," so unless it is clear from context you would say
"Yo los veo a ellos" or "Yo los veo a ustedes."
However, "él nos ve" and "él nos ve a nosotros" mean
exactly the same thing, since there is no ambiguity
with "nos."

25) Numbers (No notes)

26) Verbs: Past

Past Tense Verb Endings

The past tense is used to refer to actions that

occurred in the past. The past tense in Spanish has
two predictable verb endings: one for –ar verbs, such
as hablar (to speak), and another for –er and –ir verbs,
such as comer (to eat) and escribir (to write). It is
important to point out that many verbs in Spanish
have an irregular past tense conjugation. For those
irregular cases, the best way to learn their conjugation
is with memorization and practice.

Regular –ar verbs are conjugated as follows:

Person Endings Examples

I -é yo hablé

you (familiar sing.) -aste tú hablaste

he, she, it, you él habló, ella habló,

-ó
(formal sing.) usted habló

we -amos nosotros hablamos

you (pl. formal)

ustedes/ellos
-aron
& they hablaron

you (pl. familiar -

-asteis vosotros hablasteis
Spain)

Regular –er and –ir verbs are conjugated as follows:

Person Endings Examples

I -í yo comí, yo escribí

you (familiar tú comiste, tú

-iste
sing.) escribiste

he, she, it, you él/Ud. comió, ella

-ió
(formal sing.) escribió

nosotros comimos,
we -imos
nosotras escribimos

you (formal pl.)

ustedes comieron,
-ieron
& they ellas escribieron

you (familiar pl. - vosotras comisteis,

-isteis
Spain) vosotros escribisteis

27) Verbs: Present 3 (No notes)

28) Verbs: Infinitive 1 (No notes)

29) Verbs: Phrasal Future Tense (AKA Ir

Future)

Phrasal Future

There are two future tenses in Spanish. The easier one

to learn is the so called "phrasal future," in which the
verb "ir" (to go) is used an auxiliary. Much like in
English, where you can express future by saying "I am
going to run tomorrow," in Spanish you can say "Voy a
correr mañana." Thus, the future is formed by
conjugating the irregular verb "ir" to the appropriate
person, then adding the word "a," and then the
infinitive of the main verb. Below are the conjugations
of the verb "ir," followed by examples of phrasal
future.

Present
Conjugation
Spanish English
Person
of Irregular Example Translation
Verb Ir

Yo voy a I am going
yo voy
pensar to think

Tú vas a You are

tú vas
comer going to eat

She is
Ella va a
él/ella/usted va going to
trabajar
work

Nosotros
We are
nosotros/nosotras vamos vamos a
going to eat
comer

Ellas van They are