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
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–¿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.
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- 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
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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]
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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 ]
To talk about all aspects of the past in Spanish, you need to know how to use two simple tenses (tenses formed without an auxiliary or “helping” verb): the preterite and the imperfect.
The preterite (el pretérito) has several equivalents in English. For example, hablé can mean I spoke or I did speak. The preterite is used to report finished, completed actions or states … [ Read more ]
Spanish has two r sounds, one of which is called a flap, the other a trill. The rapid pronunciation of tt and dd in the English words Betty and ladder produces a sound similar to the Spanish flap r: the tongue touches the alveolar ridge (behind the upper teeth) once. Although English has no trill, when people imitate a motor, they often produce the Spanish … [ Read more ]
Estar is used with adjectives to express temporary conditions or observations that are true at a given moment but that do not describe inherent qualities of the noun. The following adjectives are generally used with estar. Some of them are cognates.
abierto/a – open
aburrido/a – bored
cansado/a – tired
cerrado/a – closed
contento/a – happy
desordenado/a – messy
enfermo/a – sick, ill
furioso/a … [ Read more ]
- To identify people and things. (Ella es doctora.)
- To express nationality; with de to express origin. (Son cubanos. Son de la Habana.)
- With de to tell of what material something is made. (El suéter es de lana.)
- With para to tell for whom something is intended. (El regalo es para Sara.)
- To tell time. (Son las once. Es Ia una y media.)
- With de
… [ Read more ]
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