Nombre: Fecha:

Infinitives- verbs (action words) are the most basic form of a verb. You can spot an infinitive in English because it usually has the word “to” in front of it. For example: to read, to write, to swim. In Spanish infinitive verbs end in –ar, -er, and ir. For example: leer, escribir, nadar.

Cognates are words that look alike and have similar meanings in English. For example: popular, usar, guitarra, computadora.

Subject pronouns- The subject of a sentence tells who is doing the action. You often use people’s names as the subject. You also use the subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, they) to tell who is doing an action. The subject pronouns replace people’s names.

For example: Greg escucha música. Greg listens to music. Ana canta y baila Ana sings and dancesÉl escucha música. He listens to music. Ella canta y baila she sings and dances

Here are all of the subject pronouns in Spanish.

Singular PluralYo I Nosotros

NosotrasWe masculine, mas/femWe feminine

TúUsted (Ud.)

You (familiar, informal)You (formal)

VosotrosVosotrasUstedes (Uds.)

You masculine, mas/femYou feminine You formal

ÉlElla

HeShe

EllosEllas

They masculine, mas/femThey feminine

Tú, usted, ustedes, and vosotros (as) all mean “you.”Tú- family and friends, people your age or younger and anyone you call by his/her first name.Usted- adults you address with a title, such as señor, señora, professor(a), etc. Usted is usually written Ud.

Negatives- to make a sentence negative in Spanish, you usually put no in front of the verb or expression. For example: No me gusta cantar. ( I do not like to sing).

To answer a sentence negatively you often use no twice. The first no answers the question, the second no says “I do not or don’t”

For example: ¿Te gusta escribir cuentos? No, no me gusta.

In Spanish, you might use one or more negatives after answering “no.” For example: ¿Te gusta cantar? – No, no me gusta nada (No, I don’t like it at all)

If you want to say that you do not like either of two choices, use ni… ni: For example: No me gusta ni nadar ni dibujar.

Expressing agreement or disagreement- To agree with what a person likes, you use “a mí también” (me too)If someone tells you that he or she dislikes something, you can agree by saying “a mí tampoco” (me neither)

Adjectives- wors that describe people and things. In Spanish, most adjectives have a masculine and feminine forms. The masculine form usually ends in the letter –o and the feminine usually ends in the letter –a.

Masculine FeminineOrdenado OrdenadaTrabajador TrabajadoraPaciente PacienteDeportista Deportista

Masculine adjectives describe masculine nouns. For example: Marcos es ordenado y simpático.

Feminine nouns usually describe feminine nouns. For example: Marta es ordenana y simpático.

Adjectives that end in –e describe both masculine and feminine nouns. For example: Anita es inteligente. Pedro es inteligente también.

Adjectives whose masculine form ends in –dor have a feminine form that ends in –dora. For example: Juan es trabajador. Luz is trabajadora.

Some adjectives that end in –a, such as deportista, describe both masculine and feminine nouns. For example: Tomás es deportista. Marta es deportista también.

Just as adjectives agree with a noun depending on whether it’s masculine or feminine, they also agree according to whether the noun is singular or plural. To make adjectives plural, just add an –s after the vowel at the end of the adjective. If the adjective ends in a consonant, add –es.

For example: La hamburguesa es sabrosa. Las hamburguesas son sabrosas.El pastel es muy popular. Los pasteles son populares.

or Marta es simpática. Anita es simpática. Marta y Anita son simpáticas.Marcos es ordenado. Tomás es ordenado. Marcos y Tomás son ordenados.

When an adjective describes a group including both masculine and feminine nouns, use the masculine plural form.

For example: La lechuga, las zanahorias y los tomates son buenos para la salud.or

Marta es simpática. Marcos es simpático. Marta y Marcos son simpáticos.

∙ Don’t forget that the singular form of mucho means “much” or “a lot of,” but that the plural form, muchos (as) means “many.”

For example: No como mucha carne, pero como muchas verduras.

Definite articles in Spanish are el, la, los, and las and are the equivalent of “the” in English. El and los are used with masculine nouns; la and las are used with feminine nouns.

For example: el libro, los libros, la carpeta, las carpetas.

Singular PluralMasculine el losFeminine la las

Indefinite articles

Indefinite articles in Spanish are un, una, unos and unas. Un and una are the equivalent of “a” and “an” in English. Unos and unas are the equivalent of “some” or “a few” in English. Un and unos are used with masculine nouns; una and unas are used with feminine nouns.

For example: un libro, unos libros, una carpeta, unas carpetas.

Singular PluralMasculine un unosFeminine una unas

For example: El libro The bookLos libros The booksUn libro A bookUnos libros Some books or a few books.

To make nouns plural you usually add –s to words ending in a vowel and –es to words ending in a consonant.

For example: silla- sillas teclado- teclados cartel- carteles

Singular nouns that end in z change the z to c and add es.

For example: el lápiz- los lápices

Singular PluralEl reloj Los relojesLa ventana Las ventanasUn disquete Unos disquetesUna mesa Unas mesas

Word order: Placement of adjectives- In English the adjective usually comes before the noun.

For example: Sara is an artistic girl.

In Spanish adjectives usually come after the noun they describe. For example: Sarah es una chica artística (notice how artística follows chica in the Spanish sentence)

Here is a simple pattern you can follow when writing a sentence in Spanish.Subject Verb Indefinite article + noun Adjective

Margarita es una chicha muy artística.Pablo es un estudiante inteligente.La Sra. Ortiz es una profesora muy buena

Present tense of –ar verbs

To conjugate verbs ending in –ar in the present tense you simply drop the –ar from the infinitive and add the endings –o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an.

Hablar- to speakYo Hablo I speak

I am speakingNosotros, -as Hablamos We speak

We are speakingTú Hablas You speak (s, informal)

You are speaking (s, i)Vosotros, -as Habláis You speaking (p,i)

You are speaking (p,i)Ud.,

él, ella

Habla You speak (singular, formal)You are speaking (s,f)He/she speaksHe/she is speaking

Uds.,

ellos, ellas

hablan You speak (p,f)You are speaking (p,f)They speakThey are speaking

The verb endings always indicate who is doing the action. In this case, they tell who is speaking. Because of this, you can often use the verb without a subject:

For example: Hablo ingles. (I speak English) or ¿Hablas español? (Do you speak Spanish?)

Subject pronouns are often used for emphasis or clarification.

For example: Ella habla ingles pero él habla español.

Present tense of –er and –ir verbs

To create the present tense forms of –er and –ir verbs, drop the endings from the infinitives, then add the verb endings –o, -es, -e, -emos/-imos, -éis/-ís, or –en to the stem.

Comer- to eatYo como I eat

I am eatingNosotros, -as comemos we eat

we are eatingTú comes you eat (singular, informal)

you are eating (s,i)Vosotros, -as coméis you eat (plural, informal)

you area eatingUd.,

él, ella

come you eat (singular, formal)you are eating (s,f)he/she eatshe/she is eating

Uds.,

ellos, ellas

comen you eat (plural, formal)you are eating (p,f)they eatthey are eating

∙ regular –er verbs that you know are beber (to drink), comer (to eat), comprender (to understand) , correr (to run) and leer (to read).

∙ You also know the verb ver (to see). It is regular except in the yo form, which is veo.

Compartir- to shareYo comparto I share

I am sharingNosotros, -as compartimos we share

we are sharingTú compartes you share (s,i)

you are sharingVosotros, -as compartís you share (p,i)

you are sharing (p,i)Ud.,

él, ella

comparte you share (s,f)you are sharing (s,f)he/she shareshe/she is sharing

Uds.,

ellos, ellas

comparten you share (p,f)you are sharing (p,f)they sharethey are sharing

∙ Regular –ir verbs that you know are compartir (to share), and esciribir (to write).

Me gusta, me encanta

The verb gustar literally means “to be pleasing to” but people usually translate it to mean “to like” in English. “I like this hotel” becomes Me gusta este hotel (literally, This hotel is pleasing to me”). To talk about what other people like or dislike, use the appropriate indirect object pronoun form in front of the verb. To whom is something pleasing?

Me (to me) nos (to us)Te (to you, [informal]) os (to you [informal])Le (to you [formal], to him, to her) les (to you [formal], to them)

Gustar is used in two ways: gusta (for one thing that is pleasing or liked) and gustan (for more than one thing that is pleasing).For example: Me gusta el restaurante I like the restaurant.

Me gustan los tacos I like the tacos.

To say that you don’t like something, place a no in front of the indirect object pronoun.For example: No me gusta el restaurante I don’t like the restaurant.

No me gustan las enchiladas I don’t like the enchiladas.

Avoid using gustar when talking about liking people, as it has sexual connotations in some regions.

What is pleasing? ¿El restaurante? Me gusta el restaurante, te gusta el restaurante, le gusta el restaurante, nos gusta el restaurante, os gusta el restaurante, les gusta el restaurante. ¿Las enchiladas? Me gustan las enchiladas, te gustan las enchiladas, le gustan las enchiladas, nos gustan las enchiladas, os gustan las enchiladas, les gustan las enchiladas. Notice that the verb form, gusta or gustan, agrees in singular or plural with its grammatical subject, the thing or things that are pleasing (liked), not with the person that is pleased (or likes).

When a verb follows gustar, it will be in the infinitive.For example: Me gusta comer tacos. I like to eat tacos.

Gustar- to like, to be pleasedSingular Plural

I like me gusta we like nos gusta

you like te gusta you like os gustahe/she/you(f.) likes le gusta they like you like (f) les gusta

*Use me encanta or me encantan when you want to say you really like or love something.

The verb ir

To say where someone is going, use the verb ir. Here are the present tense forms:

Yo voy I go I am going

Nosotros, -as vamos we gowe are going

Tú vas you go (singular, informal)you are going (s,i)

Vosotros, -as vais you go (plural, informal)you are going (p,i)

Ud.,

él, ella

va you go (singular, formal)you are going (s,f)he/she goeshe/she is going

Uds.,

ellos, ellas

van you go (plural, formal)you are going (p,f)they gothey are going

The verb ir is almost always fallowed by a or de. To ask where someone is going, use ¿Adónde?

For example: ¿Adónde vas? Where are you going (to)?

Ir + a + infinitive

Just as you use “going” + an infinitive in English to say what you are going to do, in Spanish you use a form of the verb ir + a + infinitive to express the same thing.

For example: Voy a jugar al tenis hoy. I am going to play tennis today.¿Tú vas a jugar al golf esta tarde? Are you going to play golf this afternoon?Mis amigas van a ir de camping mañana. My friends are going camping tomorrow.

Asking questions

You use interrogative words (who, what, where, and so on) to ask a question.

¿Qué? What? ¿Adónde? (to) Where?¿Cómo? How?, What? ¿De dónde? From where?¿Quién? Who? ¿Cuál? Which?, What?¿Con quién? With whom? ¿Por qué? Why?¿Dónde? Where? ¿Cuándo? When?¿Cuántos, -as? How many?

*Notice that all interrogative words have a written accent mark.

In Spanish, when you ask a question with an interrogative word you put the verb before the subject. For example:¿Qué come Elena en el restaurante? What does Elena eat at the restaurant?¿Adónde van Uds. Después de las clases? Where do you go after classes?¿Por qué va Ignacio a la playa todos los días? Why does Ignacio go to the beach every day?

For simple questions that can be answered by sí or no, you can indicate with your voice that you’re asking a question by having the pitch of your voice raise toward the end of the question. By doing this, you can ask questions the following way: ¿Ana va a la biblioteca?

or ¿Va Ana a la biblioteca?or Ana va a la biblioteca, ¿verdad?

The verb jugar

Use the verb jugar to talk about playing a sport or a game. Even though jugar uses the same endings as the other –ar verbs, it has a different stem in some forms. For those forms, the –u- becomes –ue-. This kind of verb is called a “stem-changing verb.” Here are the present tense forms.

Jugar- to playYo juego I play

I am playingNosotros, -as jugamos we play

we are playingTú juegas you play (singular, informal)

you are playing (s,i)Vosotros, -as jugáis you play (p,i)

you are playing (p,i)Ud.,

él, ella

juega you play (singular, formal)you are playing (s,f)he/she playshe/she is playing

Uds.,

ellos, ellas

juegan you play (p,f)you are playing (p,f)they playthey are playing

*Many Spanish speakers always use jugar a and the name of the sport or game:For example: ¿Juegas al vóleibol?Others do not use the a. For example: ¿Juegas vóleibol?

To say you know how to do something (for example to play a sport or game) use saber next to the verb.

For example: Sé jugar al vóleibol. ¡Sabes jugar muy bien al fútbol!No sé bailar bien.

The verb tener

The verb tener is used to show relationship or possession.

Tengo un hermano mayor. I have an older brotherTenemos un regalo para tere. We have a gift for Tere.

Some expressions in Spanish use tener where English uses “to be.”

For example: Mi primo tiene dieciséis años. My cousin is sixteen years old.Tengo hambre y sed. I am hungry and thirsty.Tengo frio. I am cold.

Here are all the present-tense forms of tener.

Yo tengo I have Nosotros, -as tenemos we haveTú tienes you have (s,i) Vosotros, -as tenéis you have (p,i)Ud., él, ella

tiene you have (s,f)he/she has

Uds., ellos, ellas

tienen you have (p,f)they have

To say that you have to do something, use the correct conjugation of tener + que + an infinitive of a verb. For example: Tengo que hacer ejercicio. I have to exercise.

Tienes que estudiar. You have to study.

Possessive adjectives

You use possessive adjectives to tell what belongs to someone or to show relationships. In English, the possessive adjectives are my, you’re his, her, its, our, and their.

Here are the possessive adjectives in Spanish.

mi(s) my nuestro(s)nuestra(s)

our

tu(s) your (s,i) vuestro(s)vuestra(s)

your (p,i)

su(s) your (s,f)his/her, its

su(s) Your (p,f)their

Like other adjectives, possessive adjectives agree in number with the nouns that follow them. Only nuestro and vuestro have different masculine and feminine endings.

For example: mi cámara mis cámarasnuestro abuelo nuestros abuelosnuestra hija nuestras hijas

Su and sus can have many different meanings: his, her, its, your, or their. To be more specific, you can use de + noun or pronoun.

For example: sus flores = las flores de ellaSus regalos = los regalos de Javier y Carlos

*remember that de shows possession or relationship and is the equivalent of -’s and –s’.

For example: el regalo de Ana Ana’s giftLos primos de mis amigos My friends’ cousins

The verb venir

You use venir to say that someone is coming to a place or an event.

For example: ¿A qué hora vienes al restaurante? When are you coming to the restaurant?Vengo a las cuatro de la tarde. I’m coming at 4:00 in the afternoon.

Here are all the present-tense forms:

Venir- to come to a place or an eventYo vengo Nosotros, -as venimosTú vienes Vosotros, -as venísUd., él, ella

viene Uds., ellos, ellas

vienen

Making comparisons

Just as you can use más… que to express two things, you can also use menos…que (less… than).

For example: El disco compact de Los Toros es menos popular que el disco compacto de Los Lobos. The CD by Los Toros is less popular than the CD by Los Lobos.

The adjectives bueno(a), malo(a), viejo(a), and joven and the adverbs bien and mal have their own comparative forms. Más and menos are not used with these comparative adjectives and adverbs. Adjective Adverb Comparative bueno, -a bien mejor (que) better thanmalo, -a mal peor (que) worse thanviejo, -a mayor (que) older thanjoven menor (que) younger than

*mejor, peor, mayor, and menor have plural forms that end in –es. For example: Los discos compactos son mejores que los casetes.

The superlative

To say that someone or something is the “most” or “least,” use:

definite article (el, la, los, las) + nount + más/menos + adjective

For example: La foto de mi familia es la possession más importante para mí.

To say that someone or something is the “best” or the “worst,” use:

definite article + mejor(es) / peor(es) + noun

For example: Rojo y azul son los mejores colores para mi dormitorio.

Stem-changing verbs: poder and dormer

Like jugar, poder and dormer are stem-changing verbs. They have a change from o → ue in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. Here are the present-tense forms:

Poder- to to able to (can)Yo puedo I can Nosotros, -as podemos we canTú puedes you can (singular, informal) Vosotros, -as podéis you can(plural, informal)Ud., él, ella

puede you can (singular, formal)he/she can

Uds., ellos, ellas

pueden you can (plural, formal)they can

Dormir- to sleepYo duermo I sleep

I am sleepingNosotros, -as dormimos we sleep

we are sleepingTú duermes you sleep(s,i)

you are sleepingVosotros, -as dormís you sleep (p,i)

you are sleeping (p,i)Ud., él, ella

duerme you sleep (s,f)you are sleeping (s,f)he/she sleepshe/she is sleeping

Uds., ellos, ellas

duermen you sleep (p,f)you are sleeping (p,f)they sleepthey are sleeping

Other verbs like pensar and querer are e → ie stem-changing verbs. The –e- of the stem changes to –ie- in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. Here are the present-tense forms:

Pensar- to think, to planYo pienso Nosotros, -as pensamos Use the infinitive for any verb that follows pensar, Tú piensas Vosotros, -as pensáis querer, or preferir.Ud., él, ella

piensa Uds., ellos, ellas

piensan For example: ¿Piensas comprar esa blusa? Do you plan to buy that blouse?

Querer- to wantYo quiero Nosotros, -as queremosTú quieres Vosotros, -as queréisUd., él, ella

quiere Uds., ellos, ellas

quieren

Preferir- to preferYo prefiero Nosotros, -as preferimosTú prefieres Vosotros, -as preferísUd., él, ella

prefiere Uds., ellos, ellas

prefieren

Affirmative tú commands

When you tell friends, family members, or young people to do something, you use an affirmative tú command. To give these commands, use the same present-tense forms that you use for Ud., él, ella

Infinitive Ud./él/ella Affirmative tú commandhablar habla ¡habla!leer lee ¡lee¡escribir escribe ¡escribe!

For example: Habla con otra persona. Speak with another person. Lee las frases. Read the sentencesEscribe la palabra apropiada. Write the appropriate word.

The following verbs have irregular command forms.

Infinitive Ud./él/ella Affirmative tú commanddecir dice dihacer hace hazir va veponer pone ponsalir sale salser es sétener tiene tenvenire viene ven

For example: Jorgito, ¡ Pon la mesa! Jorgito, set the table. Jorgito, ¡haz la cama! Jorgito, make the bed.

The present progressive tense

When you want to emphasize that an action is happening right now, you use the present progressive tense.

To form the present progressive tense, use the present-tense forms of estar + the present participle. The present participle is formed by dropping the ending of the infinitive and adding –ando for –ar verbs or –iendo for –er and –ir verbs.

Yo estoy lavandocomiendoescribiendo

Nosotros, -as estamos lavandocomiendoescribiendo

Tú estás lavandocomiendoescribiendo

Vosotros, -as estáis lavandocomiendoescribiendo

Ud., él, ella

está lavandocomiendoescribiendo

Uds., ellos, ellas

están lavandocomiendoescribiendo

*Leer and dormir have an irregular spelling in the present participle: leyendo and durmiendo.

For example: Paco está lavando los platos. Paco is washing dishes (now).Estoy hacienda la cama. I’m making the bed (right now).

Demonstrative adjectives

You use demonstrative adjectives to point out nouns: this cap, these socks, that shirt, those shoes. Notice that “this” and “these” refer to things that are close to you, while “that” and “those” refer to things that are at some distance from you.

Here are the corresponding demonstrative adjectives in Spanish. Like other adjectives, demonstrative adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns that follow them.

“this,” “these” “that,” “those”Singular este suéter

esta faldaese vestidoesa chaqueta

Plural estos suéteresestas faldas

esos vestidosesas chaquetas

*Remember: “This” and “these” both have t’s, “that” and “those” don’t.

The preterite of –ar verbs

To talk about actions that were completed in the past, you use the preterite tense. To form the preterite tense of a regular –ar verb, add the preterite endings to the stem of the verb. Here are the preterite forms of comprar.

Comprar- to buyYo compré Nosotros, -as compramos * notice the accent marks on the endings –é and -óTú compraste Vosotros, -as comprasteis * the nosotros form is the same in the present and Ud., él, ella

compró Uds., ellos, ellas

compraron Preterite tenses. You will need to look for other context clues to tell which tense is intended.

The preterite of verbs ending in –car and –gar

Verbs that end in –car and –gar (buscar, jugar, pagar, practicar, sacar, tocar) have a spelling change in the yo form of the preterite.

For example: buscar: c → qu yo busqué Silvia y Rosa buscaron aretes pero yo busqué un collar. Pagar: g → gu yo pagué ¿Cuánto pagaste port u cadena? Pagé 13 dólares.

Verbs such as jugar that have a stem change in the present tense do not have a stem-change in the preterite.

For example: El sábado pasado jugué al tennis. Mis hermanos jugaron al básquetbol.

The preterite of –er and –ir verbs

Regular –er and –ir verbs are similar to one another in the preterite. Here are the preterite forms of aprender and salir. Notice the accet marks on the endings -í and –ió:

Aprender- to understandYo aprendí Nosotros, -as aprendimosTú aprendiste Vosotros, -as aprendisteisUd., él, ella

aprendió Uds., ellos, ellas

aprendieron

Salir- to leaveYo salí Nosotros, -as salimosTú saliste Vosotros, -as salisteisUd., él, ella

salió Uds., ellos, ellas

salieron

The verb ver is regular in the preterite but does not have accent marks on any of its forms:vi viste vio vimos visteis vieron

The preterite of ir

Ir is irregular in the preterite. Notice that the preterite forms of ir do not have accent marks.

Yo fui Nosotros, -as fuimos * The preterite of ir is the same as the preterite of ser. Tú fuiste Vosotros, -as fuisteis The context clues makes the meaning clear. Ud., él, ella

fue Uds., ellos, ellas

fueron For example: José fue a Barcelona. José went to Barcelona

Remember the “I” form ends in –i (fui) The “he” and “she” form ends in –e (fue)

El viaje fue un esastre. The trip was a disaster.

Direct object pronouns

A direct object tells who or what receives the action of the verb. For example: Busco una cadena. Compré unos guantes.

To avoid repeating a direct object noun, you can replace it with a direct object pronoun. For example: ¿Dónde compraste tus arêtes? Where did you buy your earrings?

Los compré en la joyería Sánchez. I bought them at Sánchez Jewelry.

Singular Plural *Direct object pronouns agree in gender and number with the Masculine lo it los them nouns they replace. Feminine la it las them For example: ¿Tienes mi pulsera? No, no la tengo

¿Tienes mis anillos? No, no los tengo

A direct object noun follows the conjugated verb. A direct object pronoun comes before the conjugated verb.

When an infinitive follows a conjugated verb, the direct object pronoun can either be placed before the conjugated verb or be attached to the infinitive.

For example: ¿Quieres comprar el llavero?Sí, lo quiero comprar. or Sí, quiero comprarlo.

The personal a

You know that the direct object is the person or thing that receives the action of a verb. When the direct object is a person or group of people you usually use the word a before the object. This is called the personal “a.”

For example: Visité a mi abuela. I visited my grandmother.Vimos a Juan y Gloria. We saw Juan and Gloria.

You can also use the personal a when the direct object is a pet. For example: Busco a mi perro, Capitán.

To ask who receives the action of a verb, use ¿A quién? For example: ¿A quién visitaron Uds.?

The present tense of decir

The verb decir means “to say” or “to tell.” Here are all its present- tense forms:Yo digo Nosotros, -as decimos * The yo form is irregular: digoTú dices Vosotros, -as decís * Notice that the e of decir changes to i in all forms exceptUd., él, ella

dice Uds., ellos, ellas

dicen nosotros and vosotros

Indirect object pronouns

An indirect object tells to whom or for whom an action is performed. Indirect object pronouns are used to replace an indirect object noun.

For example: Les doy dinero. I give money to them.Te llevo el vidrio y las latas. I’ll bring you the glass and the cans.Nos reciclas estas botellas, por favor? Will you please recycle these bottles for us?

The indirect object pronoun comes right before the conjugated verb. Here are the different indirect object pronouns:

Singular Pluralme (to/for) me nos (to/for) uste (to/for) you os (to/for) youle (to/for) you formal

(to/for) him, herles (to/for) you formal

(to/for) them

When an infinitive follows a conjugated verb, the indirect object pronoun can be attached to the infinitive or be placed before the conjugated verb.

For example: Quiero darle un juguete al niño. or Le quiero dar un juguete al niño.

Because le and les have more than one meaning, you can make the meaning clear or show emphasis, by adding a + the corresponding name, noun, or pronoun.

For example: Les damos lecciones a Miguel y a Felipe.Les damos lecciones a los niños.Les damos lecciones a ellos.

The preterite of hacer and dar

Hacer and dar are irregular verbs in the preterite. Notice that these verbs do not have any accent marks in the preterite.

The preterite stem for hacer is hic-. In the Ud./él/ella form, the –c- changes to a –z- so that it keeps the “s” sound: hizo. The preterite stem for dar is di-. The same stem is used for all the preterite forms.

Hacer- to do, to makeYo hice Nosotros, -as hicimosTú hiciste Vosotros, -as hicisteisUd., él, ella

hizo Uds., ellos, ellas

hicieron

Dar- to giveYo di Nosotros, -as dimosTú diste Vosotros, -as disteisUd., él, ella

dio Uds., ellos, ellas

dieron

Acabar de + infinitive

When you want to say that something just happened, use the present tense of acabar de + infinitive.

For example: Acabo de ver un programa musical. I just saw a music program.Mis padres acaban de ir al cine. My parents just went to the movies.Acabamos de hablar de esa película. We just talked about that movie.

Although the action took place in the past, the present-tense forms of acabar are used.

Gustar and similar verbs

Even though we usually translate the verb gustar as “to like,” it literally means “to please.” So when you say, Me gustan los programs deportivos, you’re actually saying, “Sports programs are pleasing to me.” Programas deportivos is the subject of the sentence, and me is the indirect object. Here’s the pattern:

indirect object + form of gustar + subject

The subject in a sentence with gustar usually follows the verb. You need to know if the subject is singular or plural to know which form of gustar to use. If the subject is singular, use gusta. If it’s plural, use gustan. If it’s an infinitive, use gusta.

For example: Me gusta el actor en la telenovela pero no me gustan las actrices.A mis amigos les gust aver películas.

To emphasize or clarify who is pleased, you can use an additional a + pronoun: For example: A mí me gustan los dibujos animados, pero a él no le gustan.

Here are other verbs you know that are similar to gustar:

aburrir A mí me aburren las películas románticas.doler (o→ue) A Fernando le duelen los pies.encantar A mis padres les encanta el teatro.Faltar Me faltan un cuchillo y un tenedor.interesar Nos interesan mucho los programas musicales.quedar ¿No te queda bien el vestido?

The present tense of pedir and server

Pedir and server are stem-changing verbs in which the e in the stem of the infinitive changes to i in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.

Pedir- to ask forYo pido Nosotros, -as pedimos For example: Tú pides Vosotros, -as pedís Juan pide la dirección electrónica.Ud., él, ella

pide Uds., ellos, ellas

piden Pedimos más información sobre la Red.

Server- to serve, to be useful forYo sirvo Nosotros, -as servimos For example:Tú sirves Vosotros, -as servís Servimos refrescos después de la clase.Ud., él, ella

sirve Uds., ellos, ellas

sirven Las computadoras sirven para mucho.

Saber and conocer

Sé and sabes come from the verb saber, “to know.” There is another verb in Spanish that also means “to know”: conocer. Use conocer to talk about people, places and things that you are familiar with.

Here are the present-tense forms of saber and conocer. Except for the yo forms, they are regular in the present tense.

Saber- to know (a fact or to say what you know how to do)Yo sé Nosotros, -as sabemos For example: Tú sabes Vosotros, -as sabéis ¿Sabes dónde está la biblioteca?Ud., él, ella

sabe Uds., ellos, ellas

saben Yo sé esquiar bastante bien.

Conocer- to know, to be acquainted with Yo conozco Nosotros, -as conocemos *Conocer is followed by a personal a when the Tú conoces Vosotros, -as conocéis direct object is a person. Direct object pronouns Ud., él, ella

conoce Uds., ellos, ellas

conocen can also be used with conocer. ¿Conocen Uds. A la señora que trabaja en el laboritorio?Sí, la conocemos bien. ¿Quieres conocerla?

Ser & Estar Spanish has two verbs that are equivalent to the English to be: ser and estar. Both verbs are irregular in

the present tense. Both have –oy in the yo form, like ir (voy) and dar (doy).

Ser Estaryo soy nosotros/as somos yo estoy nosotros/as estamostú eres vosotros/as soís tú estás vosotros/as estáisél, ella es ellos, ellas son él, ella está ellos, ellas estánUd. Uds. Ud. Uds.

Ser

1. Ser is used before most phrases beginning with de; for example, in expressing origin.Soy de los Estados Unidos. I am from the United States.Juan es de Cuba. Juan is from Cuba.

2. Ser is used for possession. La cartera es de Felipe. The wallet is Phillip’s.

3. Ser is used for what material something is made of: La blusa es de seda. The blouse is (made of) silk.

4. Ser is used before adjectives to indicate that the condition expressed by the adjectives does not result from a change. Thus, these adjectives express inherent qualities and characteristics such as nationality, age, physical and moral attributes, personality, religion, and color.

Mis amigas son españolas. My friends are Spanish.El presidente es joven. The president is young.Carlos es alto y rubio. Carlos is tall and blond.Nora es inteligente. Nora is intelligent.Mis primos son graciosos. My cousins are funny (witty).Esos señores son protestantes. Thos men and women are Protestant.Nuestro choche es azul. Our car is blue.

5. Ser is used to link two nouns or a noun and a pronoun. Both nouns and pronouns may appear in a

sentence or merely be understood. Unlike English, Spanish omits the indefinite article un/una with a profession.

El señor Lara es arquitecto. Mr. Lara is an architect.Pilar García es médica. Pilar García is a doctor.Somos ingenieros. We’re engineers.

6. Ser is used to express time, dates, days of the week, and where an event takes place:¿Qué hora es? What time is it?Son las ocho. It’s eight o’clock.

¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy? What is today’s date?Es el seis de octubre. It’s October 6th.

¿Qué día es hoy? What day is today?Es miércoles. It’s Wednesday.

¿El baile es en la universidad? Is the dance at the university?No, es en el Hotel Plaza. No, it’s at the Plaza Hotel.

Estar

1. Estar is used to express location or position, whether it is permanent or temporary.Santiago está en Chile. Santiago is in Chile.El perro está al lado del gato. The dog is beside (next to) the cat.La papelería está enfrente de la pastelería. The stationary store is opposite the pastry shop.

2. Estar is used before adjectives to indicate that the condition expressed by the adjective results from a change. The condition may be a phase of health, happiness, etc.; a temporary state of being tired, seated, etc.; or the result of an action such as a window being closed. Estar also may indicate that the adjective is the subjective impression of the speaker. Estar is therefore more common with adjectives that describe mental or physical states. ¿Cómo está Inés? How’s Ines?La pobre está enferma. The poor girl is (has gotten) sick.

¿Están levantados los niños? Are the children up?No, están acostados todavía. No, they’re still in bed.

¿Están abiertas las ventanas? Are the windows open?No, están cerradas. No, they are closed.

¿No reconoces a Luis? Don’t you recognize Luis?Apenas. Está muy gordo. Hardly. He’s so fat. (He’s gotten very fat/ he looks fat to me.)

3. Estar is used in the formation of the progressive tenses: estar + the gerund. The gerund or –ndo form is equivalent to the -ing form in English:Están esperando. They’re waiting.Está viviendo en París. He is living