Here is a list of the most common indefinite and negative words in Spanish.
algo – something, anything
alguien – someone, anyone
algún (alguno/a/os/as) – some, any
siempre – always
también – also
nada – nothing, not anything
nadie – no one, nobody, not anybody
nunca, jamás – never
ningún (ninguno/a) – no, none, not any
tampoco – neither, not either
Pay particular … [ Read more ]
Two Spanish verbs express to know: saber and conocer.
- Saber means to know facts or pieces of information. When followed by an infinitive, saber means to know how to do something (or to be able to do something).
No sabemos el telefono de Alejandro. ¿Saben Uds. dónde vive Alejandro? ¿Saben llegar alli? – We don’t know Alejandros phone number Do
… [ Read more ]
In English and in Spanish, the direct object (el complemento directo) of a sentence is the first recipient of the action of the verb.
I see the car; but I don’t see the dog.
George is preparing dinner for the family
In Spanish, the word a immediately precedes the direct object of a sentence when the direct object refers to a specific person … [ Read more ]
me – to/for me
te – to/for you (fam. sing.)
le – to/for you (form. sing.), him, her it
nos – to/for us
os – to/for you (fam. pl.)
les – to/for you (form. pl.), them
- Indirect object nouns and pronouns are the second recipient of the action of the verb. They usually answer the questions to whom? or for whom? in relation
… [ Read more ]
–¿Que les parece este restaurante? ¿Les gusta?
— ¡A mí me gusta mucho!
–Y a mí me gustan los postres que sirven.
–Bueno, ¿quién va a pagar hoy?
–¿Nadie contesta?
–Bueno, nos gusta mucho el restaurante… no nos gustan nada las cuentas,
You have been using the verb gustar to express likes and dislikes. However, gustar does not literally mean to like, but to … [ Read more ]
Just as there are two Spanish verbs that mean to be (ser and estar), there are two Spanish words that often express English for: por and para. These prepositions (words that express the relationship between other words) have other English equivalents as well.
In the following questions, you will use por in one of its most important meanings: in, during.
… [ Read more ]
- tener miedo (de) – to be afraid of
- tener prisa – to be in a hurry
- tener razon – to be right
- tener ganas de – to feel like
- tener que – to have to
- tener (mucho) calor – to be (very) warm
tener (mucho) frio – to be (very) cold
These expressions are used to describe people or animals only.
… [ Read more ]
- afuera – outside
- almacén – department store
- alrededor de – around (physical proximity only?)
- añada – add
- antiguo – old
- a propósito – by the way
- a su vez – at the same time
- a ver – let’s see
… [ Read more ]
There is no Spanish equivalent to English do or does in questions. (e.g., Ud. trabaja acquí todos los dias. – You work here every day; ¿Ud. trabaja acquí todos los dias? – Do you work here every day?)
Another way to form yes/no questions is to invert the order of the subject and verb, in addition to making your voice rise at the end … [ Read more ]
In Spanish, the letter g followed by e or i has the same sound as the letter j followed by any vowel: [x]. It is similar to the English h, although in some dialects is pronounced with a harder sound.
jamón, jota, jugo
general
jersey
gigante
jirafa
As you know, the letter g has another … [ Read more ]
Here are some basic language functions of set.
- To identify people and things
Yo soy estudiante.
La doctora Ramos es profesora.
Alicia y yo somos amigas.
Esto es un libro.
- To describe people and things*
Soy sentimental. – I’m sentimental (a sentimental person).
El coche es muy viejo. – The car is very
… [ Read more ]
cerca de – close to
lejos de – far from
delante de – in front of
detrás de – behind
debajo de – below
encima de – on top of
al lado de – alongside of
entre – between, among
al este/oestenorte/sur de – to the east/west/north/south of
In Spanish, the pronouns that serve as object of prepositions are identical to the subject pronouns, … [ Read more ]
Note that telephone numbers in many Hispanic countries are written and said slightly differently than in the United States. Here is one model for asking for and giving phone numbers.
MODELO
El: ¿Cual es tu (número de) telefono?
E2: Es el cuatro, treinta y tres, veintiocho, veintiuno.
Many English verbs that describe parts of one’s daily routine–to get up, to take a bath, and so on–are expressed in Spanish with a reflexive construction: I take a bath — me baño (literally, I bathe myself). In this section you will learn to use reflexive pronouns, as well as other verbs that are used reflexively, to talk about your daily routine.
In Spanish, … [ Read more ]
As you have probably noticed, adjectives do not always precede the noun in Spanish as they do in English. Note the following rules for adjective placement.
- Adjectives of quantity like numbers, precede the noun, as do the interrogatives
¿cuanto/a? and ¿cuantos/as?.
Hay muchas sillas y dos escritorios. – There are many chairs and two desks.
Busco otro[1]
… [ Read more ]
Unequal Comparisons
Equal Comparisons
with adjectives or adverbs
más/menos ____ que
tan ____ como
with nouns
más/menos ____ que
tanto/a/os/as ____ como
with verbs
____ más/menos que
____ tanto como
Regular Comparisons of Adjectives
The comparative (el comparativo) of most English adjectives is formed by using the adverbs more or less (more intelligent, … [ Read more ]
The demonstrative adjective this/these has four forms in Spanish. Learn to recognize them when you see them.
este coche – this car
estos coches – these cars
esta casa – this house
estas casas – these houses
You have already seen the neuter demonstrative esto. It refers to something that is as yet unidentified: ¿Que es esto?
this – este libro
that – ese libro, aquel libro alli
these – estos libros
those – esos libros, aquellos libros alli
Demonstrative adjectives (los adjetivos demostrativos) are used to point out or indicate a specific noun or nouns. In Spanish, demonstrative adjectives precede the nouns they modify. They also agree in number and gender with the nouns.
… [ Read more ]
You already know that cognates are words that are similar in form and meaning from one language to another: for example, English poet and Spanish poeta. The endings of many Spanish words correspond to English word endings according to fixed patterns. Learning to recognize these patterns will increase the number of close and not-so-close cognates that you can recognize.
-dad ⇒ -ly
-mente ⇒ … [ Read more ]
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