Grammar Book

By: Tabitha Cruickshank

Table of Contents• Present tense• Stem changers• Irregular ‘yo’• Saber vs. conocer• Reflexives• ‘Se’ impersonal• Verbs like ‘gustar’• -uir/-guir, -cer/-cir, -ger/-gir• Imperfect

– Irregular– Trigger words

• Preterite – Irregular car/gar/zar; spock; cucaracha; snake/snakey– Trigger

• Comparatives/superlatives• Future

– Irregular– Trigger words

PresentAR

Yo o

Tu as

El, ella, ud. a

Nosotros amos

Vosotros aís

Ellos, ellas, uds. an

ER/IR

Yo o

Tu es

El, ella, ud. e

Nosotros emos/imos

Vosotros éis/ís

Ellos, ellas, uds. en

Stem ChangersStem changers are verbs that change in every form EXCEPT the

nosotros and vosotros forms.

E > IRepetirRepitoRepitesRepite

RepetimosRepetísRepiten

O > UEContarCuentoCuentasCuenta

ContamosContáisCuentan

E > IECerrarCierroCierrasCierra

CerramosCerráisCierran

O > UEDormir

DuermoDuermesDuerme

DormimosDormís

Duermen

Irregular “yo”

-go verbsPoner – to put

PongoDecir (e<i) – to say

DigoTener – to have

TengoTraer – to bring

TraigoHacer – to do

HagoOir – to hear

Oigo

Irregular “yo” verbs are verbs that change in the yo form such as go, zco, and other verbs like ser and ir.

-zco verbsConocer - ConozcoProducirProduzcoConducirConduzco

Other verbsSer – to be

SoyEstar – to be

EstoyIr – to go

VoyVer – to see

Saber – to knowSe

Dar - Doy

Saber vs. ConocerTo know

“Saber” is used to express knowledge about a fact or different information.

Juan sabe donde está María.Juan knows where Maria is.

“Conocer” is used to say if a person is acquainted with another.

Yo no conozco a María.I don't know (am not acquainted with) Maria.

ReflexivesIn Spanish, when you talk about an action being performed on yourself,

you show the reflexive nature of the action with a reflexive verb. Reflexive verbs indicate that the subject of the sentence has performed an action on itself. In other words, in a reflexive sentence the subject is

the same as the object.

If a verb is reflexive, it ends in ‘se’.

Lavarse – to wash oneselfRascarse – to scratch oneself

Llamarse – to call oneself

When conjugating, move the ‘se’ to the front of the verb and change it to the corresponding pronoun: me, te, se, nos, or se. Then conjugate

the verb.

Me lavoTe lavas

Se lavaNos lavamos

Os laváis Se lavan

Se impersonalWe use the se impersonal verbs when making a general assumption

about people in general. Se is placed in front of the verb in impersonal and use the singular verb.

How does one say "icecream" in

Italian?

¿Cómo se dice "helado" en italiano?

Plural impersonal does not use se in front of the verb.

They say that vegetarian pizza is

healthy.

Dicen que la pizza vegetariana es

saludosa.

Verbs like gustarThese verbs are taken and congugated into either the ‘el/ella/usted’ form or the ‘ellos/ellas/ustedes’ form along with the correct pronoun.

Pronouns

MeTeSeNosSe

Me gustan los libros.

--The books are pleasing to me

Or--I like the books

Aburrir – to boreFascinar – to be fascinating too

Bastar – to be sufficientImportar – to be important toMolestar – to be a bother toDiscutar – to hate something

Parecer – to appear to beDoler – to be painful

Picar – to itchEncantar – to love something

Quedar – to be left overFaltar – to be lacking something

-uir/-guir, -cer/-cir, -ger/gir-uir/-guirAtribuir ConcluirConstruirContribuirDestruir

Distribuir Excluir Incluir Instruir

-ger/-gir *Change the G>J in the yo form. In the

other forms, use G.Coger – to catch Exigir – to demandCojo ExijoCoges ExigesCoge ExigeCogemos ExigemosCogéis ExigisCogen Exigen

-cer/-cirAtribuir ConcluirConstruirContribuirDestruir

Distribuir Excluir Incluir Instruir

Imperfect

ARabaabasaba

ábamosabaisaban

Imperfect tense is used to represent things that happened in the past that occurred repeatedly or occurred over a period of time. It’s like a

movie in the past.

HABLARhablabahablabashablaba

hablábamoshablabaishablaban

ER/IRíaíasía

íamosíaisían

VIVIRvivíavivíasvivía

vivíamosvivíaisvivían

a menudo, a veces, cada día, cada año, con frecuencia, de vez cuando, en aquella época, frecuentemente, generalmente, muchas veces, mucho, nunca, por un rato, siempre, tantas veces, todas las

semanas, todos los dias, todo el tiempo, and varias veces

IRibaibasiba

íbamosibaisiban

VER veía veíamos veías veíais veía veían

SER era éramos eras erais era eran

PreteriteTrigger Word Translation

Ayer Yesterday

Anteayer The day before yesterday

Anoche Last night

La Semana Pasada Last week

El Mes Pasado Last month

El Año Pasado Last year

El Fin De Semana Pasado Last weekend

The preterite tense allows you to refer to specific past actions performed (1) at a

fixed point in time, (2) a specific number of times, (3) during an enclosed amount of

time.

Form -AR -ER, -IR

Yo -é -í

Tú -aste -iste

Ella/Él/Ud. -ó -ió

Nosotros -amos -imos

Vosotros -asteis -isteis

Ellos/Ellas/Uds.

-aron -ieron

Ella trabajó por dos horas.

She worked for two hours.

Ellos vendieron el coche.

They sold the car.

-car, -gar, -zar

There are three spelling changes in Spanish which

affect verbs in the preterite as well as in other tenses. In the

preterite , these changes occur only in the first person

singular yo form.Verbs ending in –car: the c changes to qu before the

letter eEx: Yo practiqué. (I

practiced.)Verbs ending in –gar: Insert a

u before the eEx: Yo llegué. (I arrived.)

Verbs ending in –zar: the z changes to c before the letter

eEx: Yo empecé. (I began.)

Verb Translation Preterite Yo FormPagar To pay (for) Yo pagué

Regar To water (a plant) Yo reguéJugar To play (a game) Yo jugué

Buscar To look for; search

Yo busqué

Aparcar To park Yo aparquéTocar To touch; play

(an instrument)Yo toqué

Organizar To organize Yo organicé

Simbolizar To symbolize Yo simbolicéAutorizar To authorize Yo autoricé

Spock

IrSe

r

Dar

Ver

Hacer

Ir: To goSer: To be

Dar: To giveVer: To seeHacer: To do; make

Ir Ser Dar Ver HacerYo Fui Fui Di Vi Hice

Tú Fuiste Fuiste Diste Viste Hiciste

Ella/Él/Ud. Fue Fue Dio Vio Hizo

Nosotros Fuimos Fuimos Dimos Vimos Hicimos

Ellos/Ellas/Uds.

Fueron Fueron Dieron Vieron Hicieron

Ex:Fui al cine.

I went to the movies.Ella dio un regalo a su

abuela.She gave a gift to her

grandmother.

CucarachaVerbs Stem Change

Andar Anduv-

Estar Estuv-

Poder Pud-

Poner Pus-

Querer Quis-

Saber Sup-

Tener Tuv-

Venir Vin-

Form EndingYo -e

Tú -iste

Ella/Él/Ud. -o

Nosotros -imos

Vosotros -isteis

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. -ieron

Form Ending

Yo -e

Tú -iste

Ella/Él/Ud. -o

Nosotros -imos

Vosotros -isteis

Ellos/Ellas/Uds.

-eron

Verbs Stem Change

Decir Dij-

Traer Traj-

Conducir Conduj-

Producir Produj-

Traducir Traduj-

Snake/snakeySnakey verbs are verbs that are irregular in the preterite tense that

change –yendo and –yeron.

Form EndingYo Oí

Tú Oíste

Ella/Él/Ud. Oyó

Nosotros Oímos

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. Oyeron

Form EndingYo Leí

Tú Leíste

Ella/Él/Ud. Leyó

Nosotros LeímosEllos/Ellas/Uds. Leyeron

Form EndingYo Cayí

Tú Caíste

Ella/Él/Ud. Cayó

Nosotros Caímos

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. Cayeron

Comparatives/superlativesComparatives are

used to compare two things. You can use the word “than” or

sometimes the word “but”.

Superlatives are used when you want to

compare two or more things. There is only

one superlative, so the word used is “the”.

You are taller than she.

Tu eres más alto que ella.

You are taller than everyone in your class.Tu eres el más alto en

tus clase.

¡Parte dos!

Table of Contents

1. Preterite vs. Imperfect2. Future3. Conditional4. Por5. Para6. Por vs. Para7. Commands8. Present perfect

Preterite vs. ImperfectThe preterite tense allows you to refer to specific past actions performed (1) at a fixed point in time,

(2) a specific number of times, (3) during an enclosed amount of time.

Imperfect tense is used to represent things that happened in the past that occurred repeatedly or occurred over a period of time. It’s like a movie in

the past.

Form -AR -ER, -IR

Yo -é -í

Tú -aste -iste

Ella/Él/Ud. -ó -ió

Nosotros -amos -imos

Vosotros -asteis -isteis

Ellos/Ellas/Uds.

-aron -ieron

Trigger Word Translation

Ayer Yesterday

Anteayer The day before yesterday

Anoche Last night

La Semana Pasada Last week

El Mes Pasado Last month

El Año Pasado Last year

El Fin De Semana Pasado Last weekend

Form AR ER/IR

Yo -aba -ía

Tu -abas -ías

El/Ella/Usted -aba -ía

Nosotras/Nosotros -ábamos -íamos

Vosotros/Vosotras -abais -íais

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes -aban -ían

IRibaibasiba

íbamosibaisiban

VERveía veíamos veías veíais veía veían

SERera éramos eras erais era eran

IRREGULAR

Future tense with irregularsThe future tense is

used to tell what "will" happen, or what "shall"

happen. However, the future

tense is NOT used to express a willingness to

do something.

Form EndingYo -é

Tú -ás

Ella/Él/Ud. -áNosotros -emos

Ellos/Ellas/Uds.

-án

Ex: Using the verb hablar, to speak.

Yo HabléTu HablásElla Hablá

Nosotros HablemosEllos Hablán

Verb Stem Change

Verb Stem Change

Decir Dir- Venir Vendr-

Hacer Har- Poder Podr-

Poner Pondr- Querer Querr-

Salir Saldr- Saber Sabr-

Tener Tendr- Valer Valdr-

Conditional with irregularsThe conditional is used to express probability, possibility, and is translated as would, could,

must have or probably.

íaíasía

íamosíaisían

Conjugation HablarHablaría

Hablarías Hablaría

Hablaríamos Hablaríais Hablarían

Irregularscaberyo cabría

poneryo pondría

deciryo diría

haberyo habría

saliryo saldría

haceryo haría

poderyo podría

teneryo tendría

quereryo querría

valeryo valdría

saberyo sabría

veniryo vendría

Por

Por eso

Motion or general

location

Around, through, along, by

Duration of an action

For, during, in

Reason or motive for an

actionBecause of, on account of, on behalf of

Object of

search

For, in search of

Means by which something is doneBy, by way of, by means of

Exchange or substitutionFor, in exchange for

Units of measure

Per, by

Por aquí

Por ejemplo

Por fin

ParaDestination

Toward, in the direction of

Deadline or a specific time in the futureBy, for

Purpose or goal + infinitiveIn order to

Describes the purpose + nounFor, used for

Recipient of somethingFor

Comparison with others or an opinionFor, considering

In the employ ofFor

CommandsCommands are used when telling someone what to do. Informal commands are used when

talking to a friend or a child. Formal commands are used when you want to be polite or show respect.

• Start with the ‘yo’ form of present indicative

• Drop the ‘-o’ ending• Add on the following

endings:- AR verbs: -e (Ud.) –en

(Uds.)- ER and IR verbs: -a (Ud.) –

an (Uds.)

FORMAL

If the ‘yo’ form is irregular in present tense, it carries over to

the command form as well.

Tener – TenganTraer – TraigaVenir -- Venga

Present PerfectThe present perfect is created by taking the verbs ‘has’ or ‘have’ and combining them with

the past participle. Two verbs are required: the main verb and the ‘have’ or ‘has’.

HeHasHa

HemosHabéis

Han

HABER The past participial is created by dropping the infinitive ending and adding –ado or –ido.

--(yo) He comido.I have eaten.--(tú) Has comido.You have eaten.--(él) Ha comido.He has eaten.--(nosotros) Hemos comido.We have eaten.--(vosotros) Habéis comido.You-all have eaten.--(ellos) Han comido.They have eaten.

Double Object PronounsDO Pronouns English

me me

te you (familiar)

lo, la him, her, it, you (formal)

nos us

os you-all (familiar)

los, las them, you-all (formal) le lo = se lole la = se la

le los = se losle las = se lasles lo = se loles la = se la

les los = se losles las = se las

AdverbsMost Spanish adverbs are formed by adding -mente to the feminine singular

form of the adjective. This ending corresponds to -ly in English.

Adjective Fem. Form Adverb

claro clara claramente

constante constante constantemente

difícil difícil difícilmente

Bastante quiteDemasiado too

Mal badlyMucho a lot

Siempre always

Muy veryNunca neverPeor worsePoco little

SubjunctiveThe subjunctive case expresses attitudes as uncertain or hypothetical.

HablarMain + connector + subordinate

HableHablesHable

HablemosHabléisHablen

Put it in the yo form, drop the o and then add the opposite vowel.

ComerComaComasComa

ComamosComáisComan

EscribirEscribaEscribasEscriba

EscribamosEscribáisEscribanIRREGULAR

1. Dar2. Estar

3. Ir4. Haber5. Saber6. Ser

dédesdédemosdeisden

estéestésestéestemosestéisestén

vayavayasvayavayamosvayáisvayan

hayahayashayahayamoshayáishayan

sepasepassepasepamossepáissepan

seaseasseaseamosseáissean

Se impersonalTo form the impersonal se, verbs are always 3rd person singular and

are commonly followed by a direct object.

Impersonal Se Formulase + 3rd person singular

Se necesita que la gente proteja la Tierra. (It's necessary that people protect the Earth.)

Se habla español aquí. (Spanish is spoken here.)

Se dice que va a llover mañana. (It's said it is going to rain tomorrow.)

Se prohibe fumar.

(Smoking is prohibited.)

No se permite hacer fotos aquí. (Photographs are not permitted.)

Progressive w/ ir, andar and seguirSeguir/Andar/Ir + present participle = to still do something or to go on

doing it

ella anda buscando trabajo = she's going around looking for work

ella va adaptándose a su puesto = She is slowly but surly adjusting to her job

Él sigue buscando trabajo = He is still looking for work