LANGUAGE 101 - SPANISH

 Parts of speech

Noun (el sustantivo): The name of a person, place, thing, or concept. Some examples are: María (Mary, a proper name as opposed to a common noun), hombre (man), parque (park), libro (book), religión (religion). Nouns in Spanish have gender and number; that is, they are either masculine or feminine, singular or plural. Libro is masculine, religión is feminine; libro is singular (one book), libros is plural (two or more books).

Pronoun (el pronombre): A word which is used in place of a noun and from which it takes its gender and number. An example is él (he) to replace the expression mi hijo (my son, masculine singular). Pronouns are divided into: personal pronouns [e.g., yo (I), ella (she)], demonstratives [e.g., éste (this one), ésa (that one)], possessives [e.g, el mío/la mía (mine)], relatives [e.g., que, quien, la que, el cual (that, who, which)], and indefinites [e.g., alguien (someone), algo (something)]. Personal pronouns may serve as the subject of a verb [yo, tú, usted, etc.], the direct object of a verb [me, te, lo, la, etc.], the indirect object of a verb [me, te, le, etc.], reflexive [me, te, se, etc.], or the object of a preposition [mí, ti, usted, etc.].

Verb (el verbo): The part of speech which expresses an action or state in a variable form, according to the characteristics of the subject. There are several classes of verbs such as: active or transitive o [e.g., mover (to move) and bañar (to bathe) in Spanish require a direct object], intransitive [e.g., luchar (to fight) in Spanish normally does not have a direct object], copulative or linking [e.g., ser (to be)], impersonal [e.g., hay (there is/are)], and helping or auxiliary [e.g., he {hablado} (I have {spoken}), habríamos {spoken} (we would have {studied})].  There are three conjugations of verbs: -ar [e.g., hablar, to speak], -er [e.g., comer, to eat], and -ir [e.g., vivir, to live], each with typical sets of endings.  The endings in Spanish indicate mood, for example indicative or subjunctive, and the tense [or time, such as present, past, or future] within that mood, and the person [first (i.e., I or we), second (i.e., you), or third  (i.e., he/she or they)] and number [singular or plural]. 

Adverb (el adverbio): The part of speech which modifies or changes the meaning of a verb, adjective, or another adverb. There are adverbs of place [e.g., aquí (here), allí (there)], time [e.g., después (afterwards), pronto (soon)], manner [e.g., bien (well), rápidamente (quickly)], affirmation [e.g., sí (yes )], and negation [e.g., no (no), nunca (never)]. Adverbs may appear in comparative, superlative [e.g., más (more/most), peor (worse/worst)], y diminutive [e.g., ahorita (now)] forms. 

Adjective (el adjetivo): A word which is used with reference to a noun to indicate a quality or to determine or limit the noun. Accordingly, adjectives are divided into descriptive and limiting. Examples of descriptive adjectives are inteligente (intelligent ), pequeño/-a (small).  Limiting adjectives include the demonstratives [e.g., este (this), esa (that), numerals [dos (two), cien (one hundred)], possessives [mi (my), tu (your)] and *articles [el/la/los/las (the), un/una (a/an), unos/unas (some)]. Since they modify nouns, adjectives may have various endings to agree with the noun in question according to whether it is masculine or feminine, singular or plural. Descriptive adjectives may also have comparative/superlative forms [bueno = good, mejor = better/best], absolute superlative forms [fácil = easy, facilísimo = extremely easy], and diminutive forms [pequeño = small,  pequeñito = very small, tiny]. 

Preposition (la preposición): An invariable part of speech which unites words, denoting a relationship which exists between them. Examples include: a (to), ante (before) bajo (below), con (with), contra (against), de (of ), desde (from), en (in, at), entre (between, among), hacia (toward), hasta (until), para (for), por (for, by), según (according to), sin (without), and sobre (over, upon) and compound forms such as antes de (before), después de (after), encima de (on top of), and debajo de (underneath). 

Interjection (la interjección): A part of speech which includes exclamations which express reactions and changes in mental states such as ¡ah! (oh!), ¡ay! (ow!, ouch!), ¡bravo! (well done!), and ¡uf! (ugh!). 

Conjunction (la conjunción): An invariable word which serves to link words or phrases. Examples include y (and), o (or), pero (but), cuando (when), and porque (because). Conjunctions are often divided into two groups: coordinating conjunctions may be used to combine independent clauses (e.g., y, o, and pero); subordinating conjunctions (e.g. cuando and porque) introduce a subordinate or dependent clause. 

Examples of parts of speech within the context of a sentence:

(possessive) adjective	noun	Verb	conjunction	verb	adverb	preposition	(demonstrative) adjective	noun
Mi	hijo	Vive	y	trabaja	aquí	en	esta	ciudad.
My	son	Lives	and	works	here	in	this	city.

interjection	verb	adjective	conjunction	pronoun	Verb	adjective (article)	noun
¡Oh!	Es	maravilloso	cuando	ella	Toca	el	violín.
Oh!	(It) is	marvelous	when	she	plays	the	violin.

Use of written accent marks in Spanish

Accent marks are in Spanish for two different purposes: to indicate where the stress or emphasis falls on a word when it is pronounced, and to help differentiate between identically spelled words. They are only used over vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú), and are written as a short diagonal line, from upper right to lower left.

1. The following rules regarding written accents assume you know on which syllable of a word the stress occurs. An accent mark is normally NOT required if:
1. The word ends in a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or n or s and the stress falls on the next-to-the-last (or penultimate) syllable. Examples:

camino		[ca-MI-no, road, ends in a vowel, and the stress falls on the next-to-the last syllable]
hablan		[HA-blan, they speak, ends in an n and the stress falls on the next-to-the-last syllable]
muchachas		[mu-CHA-chas, girls, ends in an s and the stress falls on the next-to-the-last syllable]

2. The word ends in a consonant other than n or s and the stress falls on the last syllable. Examples:

querer		[que-RER, to want, ends in an r and the stress falls on the last syllable]
ciudad		[ciu-DAD, city, ends in a d and the stress falls on the last syllable]

2. A written accent mark IS required if the situation is not as given in the above two rules, that is, when:
1. The word ends in a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or n or s and the stress falls on the last syllable. Examples:

caminó		[ca-mi-NÓ, he/she walked ends in a vowel, and the stress falls on the last syllable]
canción		[can-CIÓN, song, ends in an n and the stress falls on the last syllable]
verás		[ve-RÁS, you will see, ends in an s and the stress falls on the last syllable]

2. The word ends in a consonant other than n or s and the stress falls on the next-to-last syllable.  Examles:

mártir		[MÁR-tir, martyr, ends in an r and the stress falls on the next-to-the-last syllable]
cárcel		[CÁR-cel, jail, ends in an l and the stress falls on the next-to-the-last syllable]

3. The stress falls on any vowel more than two syllables from the end of the word.  Examples:

propósito		[pro-PÓ-si-to, purpose, is stressed on the third-from-the-last syllable]
dándomelo		[DÁN-do-me-lo, giving it to me, is stressed on the fourth-from-the last syllable]

4. The stress falls on a weak vowel (i or u) which comes immediately before or after a strong vowel (a, e, o).  Examples:

día		[DÍ-a, day; the stress falls on an i which is immediately followed by an a]
actúo		[ac-TÚ-o, I act; the stress falls on a u which is immediately followed by an o]

5.      Note: Unless accented, the letters i and u become semi-consonants when the come in contact with other vowels. Thus, without written accents, the above words would be pronounced DYA (one syllable) and AC-tuo (two syllables).

    To sum up the above rules:
    Does the word end in a, e, i, o, u, n, or s?

• If the answer is “yes” and it is not stressed on the next-to-the-last syllable, a written accent is required.

·         If the answer is “no” and it is not stressed on the last syllable, a written accent is required.

3. Accent marks are required on some words to differentiate them from otherwise identically spelled ones. There are three groups of these word pairs; in all cases the more emphatic word of the pair carries the written accent mark

0. Exclamation and question words are written with a written accent mark; the corresponding relative pronouns or connecting words are not:
1. 
   

¿adónde?	(to) where?		adonde	(to) where
¿cómo?	how?		como	as, like, because
¿cuál?	which?		cual	which, as
¿cuándo?	when?		cuando	when
¿cuánto(s)?	how much, how many?		cuanto(s)	as much, as many
¿dónde?	where?		donde	where
¿qué?	what, how?		que	which, that
¿quién(es)?	who, whom?		quien	who, whom

1.      Examples:

¿Adónde vas?		Where are you going?
¿Cuánto cuesta?		How much does it cost?
¡Qué interesante!		How interesting!
No sé cómo se llama.		I don't know what his/her name is. (indirect  question)
Cuando vengan, iremos al parque.		When they come, we'll go to the park.
Digo que no es verdad.		I say that it isn't true.
La mujer de quien hablas es la jefa.		The woman you're talking about is the boss.

2. Several pairs of monosyllabic (one-syllable) words are similarly distinguished by the presence or absence of accent marks. The word that is more emphatic receives the written accent.

dé		give (subjunctive of dar)		de		of, from
él		He, him		el		the
más		more, most		mas		but
mí		me		mi		my
sé		I know (saber), be (ser)		se		himself, herself, etc.
sí		yes, indeed		si		if, whether
té		tea		te		you, yourself
tú		you		tu		your

3. The demonstrative pronouns (éste, ése, and aquél, this one, that one) generally carry a written accent mark, while the demonstrative adjectives (este, ese, and aquel, this, that) never do. Note also that the neuter pronouns esto, eso, and aquello (this thing, this matter, this business) never take an accent mark since there is no corresponding adjective form.

éste		ésta		éstos		Éstas		this one, these
ése		ésa		ésos		Ésas		that one, those
aquél		aquélla		aquéllos		aquéllas		that one, those

este		esta		estos		Estas		this, these
ese		esa		esos		esas		that, those
aquel		aquella		aquellos		aquellas		that, those

4        Examples:

No me gusta esta blusa; prefiero ésa.		I don't like this blouse; I prefer that one.
Eso es estraño.		That's strange.

4. Special cases.
0. When an adverb is formed by adding -mente to the feminine form of an adjective, the accent mark is retained, if the adjective form has one.   Examples:

fácil		easy		fácilmente		easily
rápido		quick		rápidamente		quickly

1. Sólo vs. solo:

Sólo (with an accent)	=	solamente, only (an adverb)
solo (without an accent mark)	=	alone (an adjective).

2. Por qué vs. porque:

Por qué (two words, with an accent mark)	=	why (question word)
porque (one word, no accent mark)	=	because.

Pronouns

1. Subject pronouns (pronombres usados como sujetos)

Singular				plural
yo		I		nosotros, nosotras
tú		you (familiar)		vosotros, vosotras
usted		you (formal)		ustedes
él		he		ellos
ella		she		ellas

2.      Note the accent marks over tú [to distinguish it from tu meaning “your”] and él [to distinguish it from el meaning “the”].

3.      Subject pronouns are used as the subject of a verb (the verb may be implied); they are also used as the predicate complement after the verb ser.

Yo prefiero coca-cola.		I prefer Coca-cola.
¿Es ella?		Is it her? [Is it she?]
—¿Quién lo hizo? —Yo.		Who did it? I did. [implied verb]

4.      The vosotros form is used as the plural of tú in Spain; in Latin America ustedes is used as the second person plural, both familiar and plural.

¿Cómo estáis   vosotros?		How are you all doing? (Spain, familiar)
¿Cómo están ustedes?		How are you all doing? (Spain, formal plural;   Latin America, both formal and familiar plural)

5.      The masculine forms nosotros, vosotros, and ellos are used when referring to a group of males and females; the feminine forms nosotras, vosotras, and ellas are used only when the group consists entirely of females.

Nosotras estamos cansadas.

We are tired. (all female)

6.      In English the subject pronoun “it” is used very frequently. If “it” is indefinite —that is, if it doesn't refer back to anything at all— it is NOT expressed in Spanish. YOU CANNOT USE LO AS THE SUBJECT OF A VERB since it is not a subject pronoun but rather a direct object pronoun (or the neuter article used with adjectives). If “it” or its plural form “they” is used as a subject pronoun referring to something definite, it is normally omitted in Spanish; however, if for some reason it is essential to include such a subject pronoun, it is sometimes expressed using: 1) the regular masculine/feminine, singular/plural subject pronouns depending on the gender and number of the thing(s) referred to [this is done primarily where the thing can be personified], or 2) the neuter form ello if “it” refers to an abstract idea or a general situation instead of something physical.

Es obvio que está nevando.		It's obvious that it is snowing. [“It” in both cases is indefinite, and not expressed in Spanish.]
¿Los libros? Están allá.		The books? They're over there. [“They” is usually omitted in Spanish in this case.]
Mis hijos dicen que las flores son un regalo de Dios. Ellas nos traen color y alegría.		My children say that flowers are a gift from God. They bring us color and happiness. [Ellas can be used here—- but it could and often would be omitted.]
Jorge perdió el billete que Juana le dio. Ello causó toda una serie de infortunios para la familia.		Jorge lost the ticket Juana give him. It [his having lost it] caused a whole series of disasters for the family. [Ello can be used here, but esto, eso or aquello would more be employed more frequently.]

7. Prepositional object pronouns

Singular				plural
mí		me		nosotros, nosotras		us
ti		you		vosotros, vosotras		you (familiar, Spain)
usted		you (fam.)		ustedes		you
él		him (formal)		ellos		them
ella		her		ellas		them (all female)
sí                  himself/herself / yourself / themselves / yourselves

8.      These pronouns are used as objects of prepositions. They are identical to the subject pronouns except for mí, ti and sí. Note that mí has a written accent mark to distinguish it from mi meaning “my”; the same applies to sí, as opposed to si meaning “if”. The tú form, ti, does NOT have an accent mark.

9.      Examples:

¿Es para él o para ella?		Is it for him or for her?
No saldrán sin nosotros.		They won't leave without us.
A mí me gusta el chocolate.		I like chocolate.

10.  Special cases:

11. Special forms are found for mí, ti, and sí after the preposition con:

conmigo		with me		¿Vas conmigo?		Are you going with me?
contigo		with you; fam. sing.		Me gustaría salir contigo.		I'd like to go out with you.
consigo		with himself/ herself/ yourself		No traen dinero consigo.		You/they don't bring money with yourselves/ themselves.

12.  A very few prepositions are followed by subject pronouns. These include entre (between), según (according to), salvo (except), excepto (except), and hasta (until, up to).

Entre tú y yo, no es verdad.		Between to you and me, it's not true.
Según tú, todo el mundo sabe lo que pasó anoche.		According to you, everyone knows what happened last night.

13. Direct object pronouns (pronombres de complemento directo)

singular				plural
me		me		nos		us
te		you		os		you (fam. Spain)
lo		him, you, it		los		them, you
la		her, you, it		las		them, you
se       himself / herself / yourself / themselves / yourselves

14.  These forms are used as the direct objects of verbs. Lo and la are used as the direct object forms of usted, los and las for ustedes. THESE FORMS MUST BE USED IF THE A PRONOUN IS REQUIRED FOR THE DIRECT OBJECT AND THE VERB IS EXPRESSED. A prepositional phrase (e.g., a él, a ella, a usted) is sometimes be added for clarity or for emphasis, primarily in spoken Spanish.

¿Me oyes?		Do you hear me?
Te necesito.		I need you.
Lo conozco.		I know him. Or: I know you (masculine formal usted). Or: I am   familiar with it.
Lo conozco a él.		I know him.
Lo conozco a usted.		I know you.
Yo me miro en el espejo.		I look at myself in the mirror.
El se quiere mucho.		He loves himself a lot.
Ustedes se matan.		You are killing yourselves.

15.  Note that these are with-verb forms, and cannot be used if the verb is only implied; in that case, the prepositional phrase forms are required: a él, a ella, etc.

A quién vio Ud.? ¿A ella?		Who(m) did you see? Her? (verb implied)
No, a él?		No, him.

16. Indirect object pronouns (pronombres de complemento indirecto)

singular				plural
me		to me		nos		to us
te		to you		os		to you (familiar, Spain)
le		to him, her, you, it		les		to them, you
se      to himself/herself / yourself / themselves / yourselves

17.  These pronouns are used as the indirect objects of verbs. As with direct object pronouns, they are required when the indirect object is a pronoun (in contrast to a noun) but a prepositional phrase may be added for clarification or emphasis.

¿Me hablas?		Are you talking to me?
¿Me hablas a mí?		Are you talking to me? [a mí added for emphasis]
Le dije la verdad.		I told him/her/you the truth.
Le dije la verdad a ella.		I told her the truth. [A ella added for clarification since le can    mean “him” or “you”.]

18.  Since these are with-verb pronouns they cannot be used if the verb is only implied. The preposition a plus prepositional object pronouns are used in such cases:

¿A quién hablas? ¿A mí?		Who are talking to? (to) Me?
Sí, a tí.		Yes, (to) you.

19.  In contrast to the situation with direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns are normally used even when a noun is expressed as the indirect object:

Veo a Carlos.		I see Carlos. [Carlos is the direct object; lo is not  added]
Le mando un regalo a Carlos.		I'm sending a present to Carlos.
Les escribo a todos.		I write (to) everyone.

20.  Special situations

21. Demonstrative pronouns (pronombres demostrativos)

singular		plural
éste		this one		éstos		these
ésta		this one		éstas		these
esto		this
ése		that one		ésos		those
ésa		that one		ésas		those
eso		that
aquél		that one		aquéllos		those
aquélla		that one		aquéllas		those
aquello		that

22.  Demonstrative pronouns point out something (this, these, that, those). In English, we usually just make two distinctions: between this thing (close by) and that thing (in the distance, or close to the person spoken to). In Spanish, three distinctions are usually made: éste (this thing close by), ése (that thing close to the person spoken to) and aquél (that thing in the distance). You will recall that the demonstrative adjectives (este libro, esa mesa, etc.) do NOT carry accent marks; the use of accent marks on these pronoun forms is considered optional in some grammar books, but use them for in this class.

23.  Neuter demonstrative pronouns also exist: esto (this thing), eso (that thing, near the person spoken to), aquello (that thing in the distance). These neuter never carry a written accent mark. They are used to refer to something unknown (as in the first sentence below), or to refer to a general situation, or an abstract concept or something said earlier (as in the last example below).

¿Qué es eso?		What's that [in your hand]?
Esto es un reloj.		This is a watch.
Y éste es mi reloj favorito.		And this is my favorite watch.
Se parece mucho a aquél allá en la joyería.		It looks a lot like that one over there in the jewelry store.
Eso es ridículo.		That [what you just said] is ridiculous.

24.  The demonstrative pronoun éste/a can be used for “latter” and ése/a or aquél/la for “former” (Note that in English the order is usually “the former ... the latter”, whereas in Spanish it is usually the other way around: ésta... ésa...).

Juanita y Marta son amigas, pero		Juanita and Martha are friends,
son muy distintas; a ésta le gusta		but they are very different;
leer, mientras que ésa prefiere		the former prefers to watch TV,
ver la tele.		while the latter likes to read.
25. Miscellaneous other pronouns and related expressions

alguien	=	someone, anyone		nadie	=	no one, nobody
algo	=	something, anything		nada	=	nothing

30. 

cada uno(-a)	=	each (one)
todo el mundo	=	everyone
Quienquiera	=	anyone (at all)
Cualquiera	=	anything (whatsoever)

26.  Remember that the pronoun forms referring to people [such as alguien and nadie] require the use of the personal a when occurring as the direct object of a verb. Also keep in mind the rule for forming negative sentences: one negative word must occur in front of the verb (others may follow the verb).

¿Buscas a alguien?		Are you looking for someone?
No. Yo no necesito a nadie.		No. I don't need anyone.
No veo nada aquí de interés.		I don't see anything interesting here.
Puedo mostrarle algo maravilloso.		I can show you something marvelous.
—¿Quién pagaría $30 por esa pluma?		Who would pay $30 for that pen?
—Quienquiera.		Anybody (would).