You too can learn Spanish!

Disclaimer This page is being provided by me, Tyler Jones, to hopefully be of value to people using the Web.

Introduction
My name is Tyler Jones, and I will be your instructor of basic Spanish for this Web-course. I do not purport to know everything about Spanish, or its dialects, but I do know enough to be giving these basic lessons. I will introduce the new words, along with definitions and also audio clips of what the words should sound like. Click on the word in the "This Week's New Words" section to hear the word spoken.

Lesson 1
This Week's New Words: adis - goodbye bien - good, well l - he, him ella - she, her ellas - they (female) ellos - they (male) hola - hello gracias - thank you lo siento - I'm sorry nosotros - us, we (plural) seor - sir, mister seora - madame seorita - miss t - you (informal) usted - you (formal) ustedes - you (plural, formal) yo - I

Numbers 1-10

0 cero 1 uno 2 dos

3 tres 4 cuatro 5 cinco 6 seis 7 siete 8 ocho 9 nueve 10 diez

Pronunciation The Spanish alphabet is fairly similar to our own (English, or depending on where you're from, American). Each lesson will explain a few more letters. This week, I'll explain the interesting letters (or combinations thereof) from this week's words (above). ll The ll in Spanish is always pronounced like the English y in yes. Thus, the Spanish word ella (she, her) is pronounced like eh-ya. The is the same sound as the ny pair in the word canyon. Thus, seor is pronounced like sen-yor. h The Spanish h is always silent. Thus, hola is pronounced ola (as in cola without the c). a, e, i, o, u The Spanish vowels each have only one sound, regardless of what letters they precede or follow, or accent marks on the vowel. The a is always pronounced as in the English word car. The e has the sound of the e in bed. The Spanish i is the same as the English long e or ee as in see. The o is always pronounced as the o in the word cold. The Spanish u has the sound of the English oo as in too or the English ue as in blue. r As opposed to the English r, which is formed in the back of the mouth with the back of the tongue, the Spanish r is formed using the tip of the tongue on the upper palatte, behind the front teeth, more like the English d. Being the first lesson, this week you're just learning some of the basics. The main emphasis is on pronouns (yo, usted) and numbers (cero through diez). Also, you're being introduced to some of the most common greeting and short phrases, such as hola ("hello") and lo siento ("I'm sorry"). Without knowing any verbs, there aren't many sentences to be made with the words we have, but here are some (short) examples with what we know: Hola, seorita. - Hello, miss. Lo siento, seor. - I'm sorry, sir. And yes, that's about all we can do right now, but these are still good examples of Spanish grammatical structure. Notice how similar the above sentences are to English - hola comes first, and then the subject, seorita. You can form the same kinds of sentences using adis and

gracias, and seora, in addition to the example sentences above. However, you can't make a sentence like this: Hola, usted. What the above sentence literally says is "hello, you", and while it may be possible to think of times in English when you might say that, in Spanish the sentence is meaningless, and people will look at you funny if you say Hola ustedes! in the middle of a group of Spanish-speaking people. Numbers. Numbers, as you should all know, are important. That's why I've included some in the first lesson. For the moment, you only know the numbers between 0 (cero) and 10 (diez), but that will change. What can you do with the numbers cero through diez? Count your toes! Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez.. Recite your phone number! cinco, cinco, cinco, ocho, seis, cero, dos (555-8602). Tell someone how many sisters you have (dos). What you can't do with the numbers cero through diez is make numbers bigger than diez by stringing them together. Dos cero is not the same as 20, although if you were in a pinch, you might be able to make someone understand that 20 was what you meant. Don't worry, we'll get to the rest of the numbers (1-1000) in the next few lessons. Pronouns. Pronouns (yo, t, usted, l, ella, nosotros, ustedes, ellos, and ellas) aren't anything that you can actually use yet, because I haven't given you any verbs. But as we progress, pronouns will be very important, so I'm introducing them now. The Spanish pronouns are used almost always exactly the same way they are in English. In English, you would say I went to the store. In Spanish, you would just substitute yo for I in the sentence above (we'll pretend that the rest of the sentence is really in Spanish) and end up with Yo went to the store. Trust me, how one uses these pronouns will make much more sense when we learn some verbs. Learning any foreign language requires a lot of memorization, and unfortunately this course is no different. One thing that I find helpful is to mix in Spanish words in my everyday English, so long as the situation can handle it (i.e. don't start calling the businesspeople in your board meeting ustedes next time you get together). So try and memorize the new words for this lesson, and how to pronounce them. Now, you can return to the Spanish Lessons Homepage. Tyler Jones, 4-15-94 Copyright Tyler Jones 1994.

Spanish Lesson 2
Welcome to the second installment of my Web-course in Spanish. If this is your first time visiting the Spanish Lessons, be sure to check out the first Lesson for an introduction to the course and to Spanish. Aiding me with Lesson 2 is Jennifer Chambers, also of Willamette University.

Lesson 2 now has audio! It's a different form than lesson 1 - instead of getting a pronunciation of a particular word, you select the audio clip that accompanies a particular

section (such as the Nouns or the Colors). It's a much larger audio clip to download, but should be simpler to use once it has been transferred.

Lesson 2 - La Casa (the house)

This week's new words:
Click here to hear these words spoken NOUNS la casa - house la cocina - kitchen el cuarto - room el cuarto de bao - bathroom la mesa - table la pared - wall la puerta - door la silla - chair el telfono - telephone la televisin - television la ventana - window VERBS estar - to be ser - to be PREPOSITIONS de - from (or belonging to) en - in (something) ADJECTIVES antiptico(-a) - unpleasant

 bonito(-a) - pretty bueno(-a) - good/well cmodo(-a) - comfortable contento(-a) - happy/glad enfermo(-a) - sick, ill feo(-a) - ugly grande - big limpio(-a) - clean malo(-a) - bad nervioso(-a) - nervous simptico(-a) - pleasant, nice sucio(-a) - dirty tranquilo(-a) - calm viejo(-a) - old

Numbers 11-99
Click here to hear these numbers spoken 11 once 12 doce 13 trece 14 catorce 15 quince 16 diecisis 17 diecisiete 18 dieciocho 19 diecinueve

 20 veinte 21 veintiuno 22 veintids 23 veintitrs 24 veinticuatro 25 veinticinco 26 veintisis 27 veintisiete 28 veintiocho 29 veintinueve 30 treinta 40 cuarenta 50 cincuenta 60 sesenta 70 setenta 80 ochenta 90 noventa

Colors
Click here to hear these colors spoken blanco(-a) - white amarillo(-a) - yellow anaranjado(-a) - orange rosado(-a) - pink rojo(-a) - red

azul - blue verde - green caf, marrn - brown gris - grey negro(-a) - black

Pronunciation
Most of the Spanish alphabet is exactly like the English alphabet. Here are some exceptions from words in this lesson. c The Spanish c has 2 possible sounds, just like English. It can sound like the s in some, or like the k in kite. Unlike English, there are very strict rules about when the Spanish c sounds like an s or a k. If the c precedes (comes before) an e or an i, the c will have an s sound. For example, once. If the c precedes any other letter (a, o, u, or a consonant), then it will have a k sound, as in cuarto. The word cocina has both types of c in it - the first c makes the k sound, and the second c makes the s sound. j The Spanish j has no exact English equivalent. It is like a strong English h as in happy, made further back in the throat and with more sound, much like one were clearing their throat. Listen to the pronunciations for rojo, anaranjada, and viejo above. rr In Lesson 1 you learned how to pronounce the Spanish r. The Spanish rr is pronounced differently than the single r - it is made by rolling the r on the upper palate, to produce a quick series of the Spanish r sounds. If a single r occurs at the beginning of a word (as in rojo), it is pronounced as a double-r (rr). Otherwise, only the rr is pronounced this way, as in marrn. If you are old enough, you might remember the "R-r-r-r-ruffles have r-r-r-r-r-ridges" commercials this is the sound you are trying to make. It takes practice to do it well. v The Spanish v is very short and quick, and almost sounds like the English b in bed. It is never drawn out like the English word very. z

The Spanish z is pronounced as an s, or an s-sounding c. Thus, azul is pronounced like "assule"(one word). In Spain, the z is pronounced like the English th in this. Azul would be pronounced "ath-ule". Use whichever pronunciation you prefer.

Two confusing verbs - ser and estar

If you have already read the New Words section, you probably noticed that the two verbs introduced this week both mean the same thing - to be, or to exist. These are two of the most confusing verbs for people learning Spanish, because there is a difference between when you use ser, and when you use estar. Hopefully, introducing them now and practicing them throughout the rest of the lessons will make them a little bit easier to comprehend.

Verb Conjugation
As in English, verbs are conjugated, or take various forms, in Spanish. In the present tense, there are 6 verb forms, depending on who the subject of the verb is. Here are the conjugations for ser and estar:

ser - to be
yo soy ("I am") t eres ("you are") usted/l/ella es ("you (formal)/he/she is") nosotros somos ("we are") *vosotros sois ("you (familiar plural) are") ustedes/ellos/ellas son ("you (formal plural)/they (male)/they (female) are")

estar - to be
yo estoy ("I am") t ests ("you are") usted/l/ella est ("you (formal)/he/she is") nosotros estamos ("we are") *vosotros estis ("you (familiar plural) are") ustedes/ellos/ellas estn ("you (formal plural)/they (male)/they (female) are") Audio of conjugations of ser and estar.

Note that the conjugations for usted (you), l (he), and ella (she) use the same form of the verb. The same goes for their plurals (though the singular and the plural use different forms). * - the vosotros form is shown only to describe all 6 conjugations for ser and estar. Vosotros is the familiar plural form of t, and is not used in Latin America. Because my own instructors have ignored the vosotros forms of verbs, I do not use that verb form myself, and will not use it in examples. I will include it with all verb conjugations for those who are interested, however. Now that you have this pretty little conjugation, what does one do with it? Make sentences, of course. The conjugation of a verb tells you which form of the verb to use depending on who is the subject of the verb. In English we conjugate without thinking about it - I am, you are, he is, etc. You don't (normally) say "I are" or "you is", because it's gramatically incorrect. Likewise in Spanish, you don't say "yo eres", because it's just plain wrong. Here are some examples of using ser and estar:
Yo soy viejo. ("I am old.") T eres bonita. ("You are pretty.") Nosotros estamos nerviosos. ("We are nervous.") Ella est en la silla. ("She is in the chair.") Ellos estn sucios. ("They (the males) are dirty.") Now it's time to explain the differences between ser and estar, before we go any further. While both verbs mean "to be" or "to exist", there are very distinct rules as to when you use one or the other. The rules are summarized here:

ser is used to indicate more permanent aspects of people or things, such as 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Identity - Yo soy Carla. ("I am Carla") Profession - l es un profesor. ("He is a teacher.") Origin - Nosotros somos de Costa Rica. ("We are from Costa Rica.") Religious or political affiliation - T eres catlico? ("You are Catholic?") Time of day or date - Son las ocho. ("It is 8 o'clock.") Posession - La casa es de Juana. ("It is Juana's house.") Nationality - Soy de Mxico. ("I am from Mexico.") Physical aspects or characteristics of something - Las sillas son verdes. ("The chairs are green.") Essential qualities of something or someone - Soy viejo. Eres antiptico. ("I am old. You are unpleasant.")

estar is used to indicate more temporary aspects of people or things, such as 1. Location - La silla est en la cocina. ("The chair is in the kitchen.") 2. Condition or emotion that is subject to change - Estoy enfermo. ("I am sick.")

3. Personal observations or reactions, how something "seems" or "feels" - La cocina est limpia. ("The kitchen is (seems) clean.") Notes: Notice that the verb form used for things like la silla is the l/ella/usted form. A chair is an "it" (below, you'll see that it's actually a "she"), which uses the el/ella/usted form of the verb. Also notice that you can make sentences like Soy de Mxico, without including the pronoun. To English speakers this may seem like saying "Am from Mexico", which we would never do, but in Spanish, because the subject can be figured out by the form of the verb used (since the sentence used soy, the subject must be yo, or I), there is no confusion about who the subject of the sentence is and the pronoun can be left out. If it would be unclear what the subject of the sentence is, then the pronoun has to be included.

The above lists of when to use ser and estar have to be memorized - using them incorrectly means you will be less likely to be understood, and people will definitely know you are not a native speaker. The same goes for the conjugations of ser and estar. Every Spanish verb has a conjugation, and memorizing them just goes along with learning the language.

El, la, un and una (definite and indefinite articles)

In Spanish, as well as all the other Romance languages (French, Italian, etc), all nouns have a gender associated with them. "Chair" is feminine, "telephone" is masculine. The way to tell whether a noun is masculine or feminine is to look at the el or la that precedes the noun in the New Words section of these lessons. El (differing than l, which means "he", by the accent mark over the "e") is the definite article that corresponds to masculine nouns - el cuarto, el telfono. La is the definite article that corresponds to feminine nouns - la casa, la mesa, la ventana. Whether a noun is considered feminine or masculine is generally based on the last letter of the noun. If the noun ends with an "a", as in silla or cocina, or with "-sin" (televisin), "-cin", "-tad", "-dad", or "-umbre", then it is probably a feminine noun. If it ends with an "o" or a consonant, such as cuarto or reloj (wristwatch), then it is probably a masculine noun. Exceptions do exist to this rule - mapa (map) is masculine, and pared (wall) is feminine but the majority of Spanish nouns behave normally. The exceptions just have to be memorized as you come across them.

When using nouns, you must make sure that you use the correct gender and number when using an identifier. The identifiers are el, la, los, las, un, una, unos, and unas. El and la are singular definite articles, which means you are talking about a specific thing. La silla means "the chair" you are talking about a specific chair. Un and una are singular indefinite articles, which means you are taking about any member of a group of things. Una silla means "a chair" - you are talking about any chair in general. The use of these identifiers is identical to the way you would say it in English - if you want to say "a table", use una, and if you want to say "the table", use la. Los is the plural of el, and las is the plural of la. You use these plural definite articles when you are talking about several specific members of a group - las mesas means "the tables". Unos and unas are plural forms of un and una, respectively, and translate to "some" when used in sentences - unas mesas means "some tables". These are plural indefinite articles, which means they don't refer to any specific objects but to a class of them, such as tables or chairs.

Here are some examples using these 8 articles:

Los cuartos son grandes. ("The rooms are big.") Unas sillas estn en la cocina. ("Some chairs are in the kitchen.") El telfono es verde. ("The telephone is green.") La pared es fea. ("The wall is ugly.")

De and en
De is Spanish for of or from. La casa de Theresa means "Theresa's house" (literally, "the house of Theresa"). Soy de Mexico means "I am from Mexico". De is used most often to show possession or origin, as per the preceding examples. When de is followed by an el, as in la casa de el profesor, the de and el are combined into del. So the correct way to say "The (male) teacher's house" would be la casa del profesor.

En is Spanish for in, as in inside something (not necessarily inside a physical object). It can be used to mean that something is inside something else, as in la silla est en la cocina ("the chair is in the kitchen"), or that someone is somewhere, Marcos est en Espaa ("Mark is in Spain").

Adjectives
Agreement
Adjectives are words that describe things, words like "red", "fast", and "pretty". In English, there isn't much to using adjectives because they never change - "the fast car" or "the cars are fast". In Spanish, the adjective has to agree, in both gender and number, with whatever it is describing. If the adjective modifies a feminine noun, then the adjective uses a feminine ending. If the adjective modifies a masculine plural noun, then the adjective uses a masculine plural ending. Here are some adjectives with their various endings: bonito - pretty singular masculine - bonito singular feminine - bonita plural masculine - bonitos plural feminine - bonitas cmodo - comfortable

singular masculine - cmodo

singular feminine - cmoda plural masculine - cmodos plural feminine - cmodas

feo - ugly

singular masculine - feo singular feminine - fea plural masculine - feos plural feminine - feas

sucio - dirty

singular masculine - sucio singular feminine - sucia plural masculine - sucios plural feminine - sucias

blanco - white

singular masculine - blanco singular feminine - blanca plural masculine - blancos plural feminine - blancas

negro - black

singular masculine - negro singular feminine - negra plural masculine - negros plural feminine - negras

The above rules are good for any adjective that ends in an -o or -a. Adjectives like azul and verde, that end in a consonant or an -e, do not have separate masculine and feminine forms. So, you would say el cuarto es azul ("the room is blue"), and la casa es azul ("the house is blue"), as well as las sillas son azules ("the chairs are blue"). There are exceptions to this rule, but that will be addressed in another lesson.

Placement of adjectives
In Spanish, adjectives generally go after the noun they are describing. For example, el telfono rojo ("the red telephone"), and las profesoras viejas ("the old (female) professors"). If you want to say that "something is something", then the sentence structure is the same as in English, using the correct forms of ser or estar: el telfono es rojo ("the telephone is red"); las profesoras son viejas ("the (female) professors are old").

Numbers 11-99
The numbers 11-15, like the numbers 1-10 in Lesson 1, have irregular forms - memorize them. From 16 on, however, numbers start following some patterns, much like they do in English. Sixteen is diecisis, which is actually a contraction (shortening) of diez y seis, or "10 and 6". Seventeen is diecisiete, or "10 and 7", and so on. Much like the "teens" in English - fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, etc.

Twenty in Spanish is veinte. Twenty-one is veintiuno (a contraction of veinte y uno or "twenty and one"), 22 is veintids ("twenty and two"), and so on. Twenty (veinte) is the only number that allows this contraction. Starting at thirty (treinta), all numbers are made by combining the 10's and the 1's words via y, like this: 31 is treinta y uno, 38 is treinta y ocho (literally "thirty and 8"). This pattern holds for all of the numbers 31 through 99. Here are some examples:

33 - treinta y tres 45 - cuarenta y cinco 51 - cincuenta y uno 66 - sesenta y seis 72 - setenta y dos 89 - ochenta y nueve 94 - noventa y cuatro

Examples
Here are some examples of sentences you can now make, using the words and grammar from these 2 lessons:

Soy de Mxico. Tim est en la cocina. La seorita es bonita. T eres antiptico. La silla es cmoda. San Juan est en Puerto Rico. El profesor viejo est enfermo. El telfono verde es sucio. El cuarto de bao est en la casa. La casa de Mara es anaranjada.

Here are the translations for these sentences.

That's the end of Lesson 2. As always, feel free to mail me questions, comments, or corrections on this or any of the Lessons. Believe me, I'm starting to get a new appreciation for teachers through my work with this.

Return to the Spanish Lessons Homepage.

(FORM)Send a note to Tyler. Tyler Chambers, 6-27-94 Copyright Tyler Chambers 1994.

Introduction
The emphasis for this lesson is school, either gradeschool, secondary school, or at a university, and what you do or find there. The numbers from 100 to 999999 are covered, regular -ar verb conjugation is introduced, you'll learn some question-and-answer words, and you'll find out how to tell time in Spanish. If you're new to the Spanish lessons, you might want to check out the first 2 lessons at the Spanish Lessons Homepage.

Spanish Lesson 3 - en la escuela (at school)

This week's new words:
NOUNS Click here to hear these words spoken la biblioteca (bib-lee-o-tek-a) - library la biologa (bee-o-lo-ghee-a)1 - biology el amigo/la amiga (ah-mee-go, ah-mee-ga) - friend el borrador (bor-ra-dor) - chalkboard eraser el cuaderno (kwa-der-no) - notebook la clase (klah-say) - class el diccionario (dik-see-o-nar-eeo) - dictionary el dinero (dee-ner-oh) - money la economa (eeko-nom-eeka)- economics el espaol (es-panyohl) - Spanish el/la estudiante (estoo-dee-ahn-tay) - student el escritorio (eskree-tor-eeo) - desk la escuela (esk-way-la) - school la geografa (geeo-gra-fee-a) - geography la hora (or-a) - hour el ingls (eeng-layss) - English el lpiz (la-peess)- pencil el libro (lee-bro) - book las matemticas (mat-ay-mat-ee-kass) - math la pgina (pa-ghee-na)1 - page el papel (pah-pel) - paper la pizarra (pee-ssara) - chalkboard la pluma (ploo-ma) - pen el reloj (ray-lojh)2 - clock/watch la sala de clase (sah-la-day-kla-say) - classroom

 la tarea (ta-ray-a) - homework el tiempo (tee-empo)- time la tiza (tee-ssa)- chalk la universidad (oo-nee-ber-see-dahd)- university VERBS Click here to hear these words spoken amar - to love escuchar (es-koo-char) - to listen estudiar (es-too-dee-ar) - to study hablar (ah-blar) - to speak/talk llamar (yah-mar) - to call necesitar (neh-seh-see-tar) - to need regresar (reh-greh-sar) - to return trabajar (trah-bah-jhar)2 - to work INTERROGATIVES Click here to hear these words spoken cul (kwahl)- which cundo (kwahndo) - when cunto(-a) (kwahnto) - how much cuntos(-as) (kwahntos)- how many dnde (dohn-day) - where por qu (poor-kaay)3 - why qu (kay) - what quin (kee-en) - who CONJUNCTIONS Click here to hear these words spoken porque (poor-kay)3 - because y (ee) - and PREPOSITIONS a (ah) - at, to, the personal a ADJECTIVES Click here to hear these words spoken corto(-a, -os, -as) (korto) - short cuarto(-a, -os, -as) (kwar-toh) - quarter (one-fourth) difcil(-es) (dee-fee-sil) - difficult fcil(-es) (fa-sil) - easy largo(-a, -os, -as) - long medio(-a, -os, -as) (meh-dee-o) - half

Numbers 100-999.999
Click here to hear these numbers spoken 100 cien (see-en) 101 ciento uno (see-en-toh oo-no)

102 ciento dos 103 ciento tres 110 ciento diez 120 ciento veinte 199 ciento noventa y nueve 200 doscientos (dohs-see-en-tohs) 201 doscientos uno 255 doscientos cincuenta y cinco 282 doscientos ochenta y dos 300 trescientos (tray-see-en-tohs) 400 cuatrocientos (kwa-troh-see-en-tohs) 500 quinientos (keen-ee-en-tohs) 600 seiscientos (say-see-en-tohs) 700 setecientos (set-ay-see-en-tohs) 800 ochocientos (oh-cho-see-en-tohs) 900 novecientos (no-bay-see-en-tohs) 1.000 mil (mill) 1.001 mil uno 1.010 mil diez 1.100 mil cien 1.538 mil quinientos treinta y ocho 1.999 mil novecientos noventa y nueve 2.000 dos mil 3.000 tres mil 9.000 nueve mil 10.000 diez mil 15.000 quince mil 27.000 veintisiete mil 76.000 setenta y seis mil 99.999 noventa y nueve mil novecientos noventa y nueve 100.000 cien mil 210.005 doscientos diez mil cinco 305.111 trescientos cinco mil ciento once 500.000 quinientos mil 860.789 ochocientos sesenta mil setecientos ochenta y nueve 911.222 novecientos once mil doscientos veintids

Pronunciation Notes 1. The g in biologa and pgina is a soft, throatal g sound. It does not have an English equivalent, but it is very much like the English h in "help", except made further back in the throat, like one was softly clearing their throat. 2. The j in reloj and trabajar is pronounced in a similar manner as the g in Note 1.

3. There are two very similar-sounding words in this lesson - por qu, and porque. The accent on por qu tells you that the stress is on that syllable (qu). In porque, the stress is on the second-to-last syllable, which is por-; when speaking, you must make sure you pronounce these words correctly becuase your pronunciation and the context of the word are the only clues others will have about what you are saying.

Regular -ar verbs

All Spanish verbs fall into one of three categories - they either end in ar, er, or ir. Within each category, there are regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs all conjugate with a similar pattern - all the new verbs in this lesson are regular (as you'll see soon). Irregular verbs don't follow a pattern, and each verb's conjugation has to be memorized separately - the two verbs you learned in Lesson 2, ser and estar are irregular. Here are the new verbs for this lesson: amar, escuchar, estudiar, hablar, necesitar, regresar, trabajar. These are all regular -ar verbs. Here are the present-tense (present indicative) conjugations of them all: yo hablo ("I speak") t hablas ("you speak") usted, l, ella habla ("you (formal), he, she speaks") nosotros hablamos ("we speak") vosotros hablis ("you (familiar plural) speak") ustedes, ellos, ellas hablan ("you (formal plural), they (male), they (female) speak") Regular verbs are made up of a body (habl), and a suffix (ar). To conjugate regular verbs, replace the infinitive suffix (ar, er, ir) with the correct conjugation suffix from the example conjugation for hablar above. For example, take amar, and conjugate it: yo amo ("I love") t amas ("you love") usted, l, ella ama ("you (formal), he, she loves") nosotros amamos ("we love") vosotros amis ("you (familiar plural) love") ustedes, ellos, ellas aman ("you (formal plural), they (male), they (female) love") Click here to hear the spoken conjugations of hablar and amar All verbs can be split into a body/suffix pair, but only regular verbs follow these patterns. There are 3 different regular-verb patterns - one for -ar verbs, one for -ir verbs, and one for -er verbs. (In the next lesson, we'll learn the rules for regular -er and -ir verbs.) In summary, to conjugate any regular -ar verb in the present (present indicative) tense, remove the -ar suffix, and add one of the following (depending on who is the subject of the verb): yo, -o t, -as usted, l, ella, -a nosotros, -amos

 vosotros, -is ustedes, ellos, ellas, -an Here are complete conjugations of 2 more verbs from this lesson: trabajar yo trabajo, t trabajas, usted, l, ella trabaja, nosotros trabajamos, vosotros trabajis, ustedes, ellos, ellas trabajan regresar yo regreso, t regresas, usted, l, ella regresa, nosotros regresamos, vosotros regresis, ustedes, ellos, ellas regresan Now that we have the conjugation for these regular -ar verbs, we can make sentences with them, like this:

Amo a Tanya. ("I love Tanya") l trabaja en la universidad. ("He works at (in) the university") Nosotros escuchamos a la profesora. ("We listen to the teacher") Ellos estudian a las ocho. ("The men study at 8") Ellas hablan espaol. ("The women speak Spanish") Yo regreso a la universidad a las tres. ("I return to the university at 3 o'clock") Estudias matemticas? ("Do you study math?") Necesita dinero ella? ("Does she need money?")

A - At or To, and the Personal A

In a few of the sentences above, the preposition a is used, as in Ellos estudian a las ocho. The preposition a translates to the English "at" or "to", depending on the sentence. The preceeding sentence ("ellos estudian...") is an example of a meaning "at". The sentence nosotros ecuchamos a la profesora is an example of a meaning "to". When the a comes before an el, as in nosotros escuchamos "a el" profesor, the a and the el combine to form al. So the correct way to write the preceeding sentence is: Nosotros escuchamos al profesor. Note that the English "at" may translate to either a or en in Spanish, depending on the sentence. En is usually used to refer to something being at something else, such as estoy en la universidad - "I'm at the university". A usually refers to a state or condition (sort of) of something, such as "at great speed", or when referring to time, such as a la una ("at one o'clock"). In one sentence above, amo a Tanya, the a isn't either of the above two meanings. When a person or name of a place is the direct object of a verb (with the exception of the verb tener, "to have"), an a is placed before the object, as in amo a Tanya. This is known as the "personal a", and it is required. Some more examples of the personal a:

La profesora llama a los estudiantes. ("The teacher calls the students") Ella ama a l. ("She loves him")

Numbers 100 to 999.999

If you've looked at the numbers in the New Words section, you may already have seen some patterns developing in Spanish numbers. First, the numbers 100, 200, 300, etc., all have a similar form - ciento, doscientos, trescientos... If you look carefully, and remember the numbers 2 through 9, you'll see that each hundred above 100 is just "two hundreds" (doscientos), "three hundreds" (trescientos), and so on. There are three exceptions, for pronunciations' sake quinientos (500), setecientos (700), and novecientos. To form numbers in between the hundreds, you use the numbers 1-99 you learned in the last 2 lessons, but add the hundreds on to the front. Eleven is once, 111 is ciento once. Three-hundred and twenty is trescientos veinte, and so on. Mil is Spanish for 1.000. No, this isn't "one point zero zero zero zero", this is one-thousand. English uses a comma to separate thousands, millions, etc., in a number. Spanish uses the period (".") instead. In English, we would expect to see this number: 12,399,100. In Spanish, the same number is written: 12.399.100. In much the same way, where English uses the period to denote numbers between whole numbers (as in "12.99"), Spanish uses a comma ("12,99"), but this will be discussed in another lesson. Multiples of 1000 are treated as such - 2000 is dos mil, literally "two thousand". Three thousand is tres mil, and so on. This pattern is the same for thousands up to 999.000 (that's nine-hundred ninety-nine thousand), so that 50.000 is cincuenta mil, and 231.000 is doscientos treinta y uno mil. Combining these two rules for numbers, we can read numbers like 123.456 (ciento veintitres mil cuatrocientos cincuenta y seis) and 784.675 ( setecientos ochenta y cuatro mil seiscientos setenta y cinco). So now, practice saying things like: The current year. (mil novecientos noventa y tres) How many miles are on your car. (cien mil cuatroscientos treinta y dos) The number of pages in the book you're reading. (trescientos ochenta) The number of CDs and tapes you own. (doscientos cinco) Your yearly salary. (diez mil)

Telling Time
Yo regreso a la universidad a las tres. Telling time in Spanish uses only 2 forms of the verb ser: es and son. Spanish for "it is one o'clock" is es la una. Times are always given in the feminine form because la hora ("hour", or "the time") is feminine. Es la is only used if you are talking about one o'clock, since "one" is singular. For all other hours, you use son las, as in son las seis ("It's 6 o'clock"). Minutes are expressed as numbers after the hour, using either y or menos to represent after or before the hour, respectively. At 15 minutes before or after the hour, cuarto ("a fourth") is used instead of quince ("fifteen"). Likewise, at 30 minutes after an hour, media ("half") is used instead of treinta ("thirty"). Media is never used with menos Here are some exapmles:

Es la una y veinte. ("It's twenty after one", literally "it's one and twenty") Son las dos menos diez. ("It's ten before two", literally "it's two minus ten") Son las cuatro y cuarto. ("It's a quarter after four.") Son las cuatro menos cuarto. ("It's a quarter before four.") Son las diez y media. ("It's half past ten.")

Es la una menos cinco. ("It's five (minutes) to one.")

To say that something is "at" a certain time, use a la or a las:

A qu hora es la clase? ("At what time is the class?") La clase es a las nueve. ("The class is at 9 o'clock.") La clase es a la una. ("The class is at one o'clock.")

To ask for the time in Spanish, use Qu hora es? ("What time is it?"). To ask what time something happens at, use A qu hora...? ("At what time...?") as in A qu hora es la clase?, or A qu hora regresas a la universidad? ("What time do you return to the university?"). To differentiate between AM and PM when telling time, Spanish uses de la maana ("in the morning"), de la tarde ("in the afternoon"), and de la noche ("in the night") to describe what time of day being referred to. So 9 o'clock PM becomes son las nueve de la noche, while 9AM is son las nueve de la maana, and 5PM is son las cinco de la tarde.

Questions and Question Words

Asking a yes or no question There are many ways to ask questions in Spanish. The simplest form of a question is to use a regular sentence but either add question marks (when written) or change the inflection (when spoken). Look at these 2 sentences:

Marisa estudia. ("Marisa studies.") Marisa estudia? ("Does Marisa study?")

When writing a question in Spanish, question marks occur at both the beginning and the end of the question. The beginning question mark is always inverted, i.e. upside-down (), to specify the beginning of a question. Question marks do not need to surround the entire sentence if the entire sentence is not a question - see the example below. When speaking, you can't draw little question marks to let the other person know you're asking a question, so you must change the inflection of the sentence. A normal Spanish sentence ends on a low inflection, as in "maRIsa esTUdia", with capital letters denoting syllable emphasis. When asking a question, the sentence ends with a high inflection, as in "maRIsa estudIA", much the same as English questions. It is also possible to change the word order when asking a question. Look at these sentences:

Marisa estudia espaol? Estudia Marisa espaol? Estudia espaol Marisa?

All three of these sentences say the same thing, "Is Marisa studying Spanish?" The subject of the sentence, namely Marisa, can be placed at the beginning of the sentence, after the verb, or at the end of the sentence, for questions only. The same rules of inflection apply as above. It is

important to note that, the second form above (Estudia Marisa espaol?), with the subject after the verb, is the most "question-like", and is the preferred form for asking questions of this kind. In the section above, the proper way to ask "does Marisa study" would be Estudia Marisa? One other common way of asking a question is to add no? or verdad? ("right?") to the end of a sentence. So the question above could also be written: Marisa estudia espaol, verdad? ("Marisa is studying Spanish, isn't she?" or "Marisa is studying Spanish, right?"). Question words All of these questions have implied either a yes or no answer - "Is Marisa studying?", "Is she studying Spanish?" To ask questions that require more than a yes or no answer, you generally have to use a question word. Here is a list of some English question words and their Spanish equivalents: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. What - qu Who - quin When - cundo Why - por qu, Which - cul How much - cunto(-a) How many - cuntos(-as) Where - dnde

Each question word, or interrogatve, works similarly to its English counterpart. Perhaps the easiest way to explain how to use them is through example sentences. Take a look at these: 1. Quin es Roberto? ("Who is Roberto?") 2. Cundo regresa? ("When is s/he returning?") 3. Dnde estudia? ("Where does s/he study?") 4. Qu hora es? ("What time is it?") 5. A qu hora es la clase? ("At what time is the class?") 6. Cul es la tarea? ("What is the homework (assignment)?") 7. Quin est en la casa? ("Who is in the house?") 8. Dnde est el lpiz? ("Where is the pencil?") 9. Por qu regresa a la escuela? ("Why do you return to school?") 10. En cul universidad estudias? ("At which university do you study?") 11. Cuntos estudiantes estan en la clase? ("How many students are in class?") Notice the similarity between English and Spanish? Try making your own questions by translating the following English sentences (note that not all of them need a question word). Type in your answer in the text box after each sentence, then press the Translations button to compare what you typed to what the right answers are. (Answers for users without forms support.) 1. What is in the book?

2. Where does s/he work? 3. Who is it? 4. Is it 2 o'clock? 5. What do you(informal) need? 6. Why do you love him?

Test yourself
Here's your chance to see how much you know. All of these sentences you should be able to translate either from or to Spanish, if you've gone through all three lessons. Type in your answer in the text box after each sentence, then press the Translations button to compare what you typed to what the right answers are. (Answers for users without forms support.) English to Spanish 1. Hello, miss, are you in school? 2. You're the teacher, aren't you? 3. The class is long and difficult. 4. Is the television in the kitchen? 5. The green chair is big. 6. I listen to the teacher in (the) class. 7. Are the students unpleasant? 8. The chalkboard is dirty. 9. I'm sorry, I don't speak English. 10. They're Tim's papers. Spanish to English 1. Es la tarea difcil? 2. Cundo est la clase? 3. Hablo ingls y espaol bueno. 4. Est ella bonita? 5. La sala de clase es grande y limpia. 6. Dnde estudias geografa? 7. Quin llamas en la cocina? 8. Cundo trabaja en la escuela?

9. Es un libro de matemticas. 10. Necesito una pluma azul.

Spanish Lesson 3 copyright Tyler Jones, 1994. Written by Tyler Jones, with help from Fernando Garca-Loygorri. Proofreading by Fanny Fierro and Fernando Garca-Loygorri. October 21, 1994. (FORM) Send a note to Tyler

Subject Pronouns
Notes:
1. The written lesson is below. 2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.

A verb is an action word. run sit eat sink swim study

The main form of a verb is called the infinitive. In English, infinitives include the word "to." to run to sit to eat to sink to swim to study

The infinitive is the pure form of a verb. The infinitive is like a lump of clay that can be molded to match the subject of the sentence it is used in: I speak you speak he/she speaks we speak you-all* speak they speak Note: The above forms are called conjugations of the infinitive "to speak."

Regarding the form "you-all" -- this usage is not considered to be standard English. In standard English, the same word is used for both the singular you and the plural you. That is, each of the following is correct: You have a tail light out, ma'am. You (kids) have soccer practice at four.

In the first sentence, "you" refers to the singular "ma'am." In the second sentence, "you" refers to the plural "kids." To avoid confusion between you (singular) and you (plural), we will employ the non-standard English usage "you-all" to indicate you (plural). This will be very beneficial to y'all, particularly at the beginning of your studies.

The words "I" "you" "he" "she" "we" "you-all" and "they" are called subject pronouns. Spanish has corresponding subject pronouns. Here's a list of the English subject pronouns and their Spanish equivalents:
yo I usted you l he

ella she nosotros we ustedes you-all ellos they

Spanish subject pronouns are both similar to and different from their English counterparts. Let's examine some of the differences. Look more closely at the English word "you." You have just seen that this can be translated into Spanish as "usted." But there is also a second way it can be translated. There are two ways the English word "you" can be expressed in Spanish:
usted you t you

Spanish has a formal and an informal form of the word "you." "Usted" is more formal and is generally used to express respect. "T" is more familiar and is used among friends, coworkers, relatives, or when addressing a child. Speaking to your boss: usted Speaking to your daughter: t Speaking to your teacher: usted Speaking to your friend: t usted = you formal t = you informal (familiar)

This same distinction with regard to degree of formality occurs in the plural form as well. When referring to "you-all," there are two choices in Spanish: ustedes you-all formal vosotros you-all familiar

Once again, the difference lies in the degree of formality conveyed by the speaker. However, the vosotros form is used primarily in Spain. Throughout Latin America, "ustedes" is generally used in both formal and informal situations to refer to "you-all." Speaking to a group of children (in Spain): vosotros Speaking to a group of children (in Latin America): ustedes Speaking to a group of strangers (in Spain): ustedes Speaking to a group of strangers (in Latin America): ustedes Note: usted can be abbreviated Ud. or Vd. ; ustedes can be abbreviated Uds. or Vds.

In many ways, Spanish is more gender-specific than English. We find evidence of this in the subject pronouns. First, look at the word "nosotros." This means "we" in the sense of a group containing at least one male. If the group contains only females, the word "nosotras" is used. So, in Spanish, there are two ways to say "we": nosotros we (masculine or mixed group) nosotras we (feminine)

This same idea applies to the English word "they": ellos they (masculine or mixed group) ellas they (feminine)

This same idea also applies to the "vosotros" form: vosotros you-all familiar (masculine or mixed group) vosotras you-all familiar (feminine) Note: These forms are used primarily in Spain, not Latin America.

Finally, don't get confused over the difference between talking to a group or talking about a group. Consider the following statement, which could have been made by your Spanish teacher, while standing before the class: "You-all need to study your Spanish. Those students in the other class don't need to study Spanish. They are studying French. You-all can practice Spanish in Spain. They can practice French in France."

The teacher is talking to the Spanish students and about the French students. Talking to a group, use "you-all": ustedes vosotros vosotras Talking about a group, use "they": ellos ellas

Here's the complete list of Spanish subject pronouns: Singular yo - I t - you (familiar) l - he ella - she usted - you (formal) Plural
nosotros we (masculine or mixed gender) nosotras we (feminine) vosotros you-all (familiar, Spain, masculine or mixed gender) vosotras you-all (familiar, Spain, feminine) ellos they (masculine or mixed gender) ellas they (feminine) ustedes you-all (formal in Spain, formal and familiar in Latin America)

Regular Verbs: Part I

Notes:
1. The written lesson is below. 2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.

All Spanish verbs are either "regular" or "irregular." In this lesson we will look at three completely regular verbs: hablar (to speak) comer (to eat) vivir (to live)

Notice the last two letters of each verb. hablar (to speak) comer (to eat) vivir (to live)

There are three categories of verbs: -ar verbs (like hablar) -er verbs (like comer) -ir verbs (like vivir)

All three categories are infinitives. You will recall from a previous lesson that infinitives are the base form of the verb, equivalent in English to: to speak, to eat, to live, etc. In Spanish, all infinitives end in -ar, -er, or -ir. -ar verb hablar (to speak) -er verb comer (to eat) -ir verb vivir (to live)

Remember what it means to conjugate a verb: to speak

I speak you speak he speaks she speaks we speak you-all speak they speak

In this lesson, you will learn to conjugate our model verbs for I, you (formal), we, and you-all (formal).

hablar - to speak
yo hablo I speak usted habla you speak nosotros/as hablamos we speak ustedes hablan you-all speak

comer - to eat
yo como I eat usted come you eat nosotros/as comemos we eat

ustedes comen you-all eat

vivir - to live
yo vivo I live usted vive you live nosotros/as vivimos we live ustedes viven you-all live

Look for a pattern in the yo form. yo hablo yo como yo vivo

If the subject is I (yo), conjugate by dropping the ending and add -o. yo hablo (hablar - ar + o = hablo) yo como (comer - er + o = como) yo vivo (vivir - ir + o = vivo)

Look for a pattern in the usted form. usted habla usted come usted vive

If the subject is you formal (usted) drop the ending and add either -a or -e. If the verb is an -ar verb, add -a. If it is an -er or -ir verb, add -e. usted habla (hablar - ar + a = habla) usted come (comer - er + e = come) usted vive (vivir - ir + e = vive)

Look for a pattern in the nosotros/as form. nosotros/as hablamos nosotros/as comemos nosotros/as vivimos

If the subject is we (nosotros/as), conjugate by dropping the ending and add -amos, -emos, or imos. Notice that the ending of the infinitive determines which is used: -ar verbs add -amos, -er verbs add -emos, -ir verbs add -imos. nosotros/as hablamos (hablar - ar + amos = hablamos) nosotros/as comemos (comer - er + emos = comemos) nosotros/as vivimos (vivir - ir + imos = vivimos)

Look for a pattern in the ustedes form. ustedes hablan ustedes comen ustedes viven

If the subject is you-all (ustedes), conjugate by dropping the ending and add -an or -en. If the verb is an -ar verb, add -an. If it is an -er or an -ir verb, add -en.

ustedes hablan (hablar - ar + an = hablan) ustedes comen (comer - er + en = comen) ustedes viven (vivir - ir + en = viven)

Present tense (indicative) in Spanish means three things.

1. Yo hablo ingls: I speak English. I do speak English. I am speaking English. 2. Yo como pan: I eat bread. I do eat bread. I am eating bread. 3. Yo vivo en Buenos Aires: I live in Buenos Aires. I do live in Buenos Aires. I am living in Buenos Aires.

It is vital that you continue with your collection of verb flashcards. This will be your key to success in mastering the Spanish verbs. Continue by creating 4 additional cards, writing the words in bold on one side and the conjugations on the other side:

Verb Flashcards
Complete List
Present Indicative I speak I do speak I am speaking

hablar (to speak) hablo habla hablamos hablan comer (to eat) como come comemos comen vivir (to live) vivo vive vivimos viven

Spanish Demonstrative Pronouns ~ Pronombres demostrativos

Demonstrative pronouns (this one, that one, the one[s], these, those) refer to a previouslymentioned noun in a sentence. Spanish demonstrative pronouns are more complicated than their English counterparts, because there are different sets and because they must agree in gender and number with the noun they replace. The three sets of Spanish demonstrative pronouns are ste (this one - something near the speaker), se (that one - something near the listener), and aqul (those - something far from both the speaker and listener). Note that Spanish demonstrative pronouns are the same as demonstrative adjectives with the addition of an accent over the stressed vowel. There is also a neuter demonstrative pronoun in each set, which does not have an accent. this masculin singular ste feminine singular sta masculin plural feminine plural neuter that that se sa aqul aqulla

stos sos aqullos stas sas aqullas esto eso aquello

Demonstrative pronouns are used to replace a demonstrative adjective + noun, or simply refer back to a previously-mentioned/implied noun without repeating its name. For example... Qu chica lo hizo, sta o sa? Estoy leyendo so. Quiero mirar esta pelcula, no me gusta aqulla. Todos los perros son lindos, pero prefiero ste. stos son ms caros que sos. Which girl did it, this one or that one? I'm reading this (one). I want to see this movie; I don't like that one. All the dogs are cute, but I prefer this one. These are more expensive than those.

ste can mean "latter," while aqul can mean "former." Lus y Ana van a ayudarnos. Aqul ya Lus and Ana are going to help up. The former (Lus) is est aqu, y sta llegar a las dos. already here, and the latter (Ana) will arrive at 2 o'clock.

Neuter pronouns / Indefinite demonstrative pronouns Neuter pronouns, also known as indefinite demonstrative pronouns, refer to unspecified or unknown nouns, situations, and ideas. Note that these never have an accent. Qu es esto? Eso es imposible. Por eso, no puedo hacerlo. Aquello no es necesario. What is this? That is impossible. Therefore (because of that), I can't do it. That's not necessary.

Each set of Spanish demonstrative pronouns corresponds with a different place word: ste se aqu - here ah - there

aqul all - over there

panish Indefinite Pronouns ~ Pronombres indefinidos

Spanish indefinite pronouns, sometimes called affirmative indefinite pronouns, are unspecific and are used in place of nouns. They can be the subject of a sentence, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition. Todo el mundo est aqu. Compr algo. Everyone is here. He bought something.

Tengo un regalo para alguien. I have a gift for someone. The Spanish indefinite pronouns are Notes algo alguien alguno, alguna algunos, algunas cada uno cualquiera mucho(a)(s) something someone a certain one some, a few each one anyone, whoever a lot, much, many 1 1 1, 2 2, 3 1, 2, 3 1 3 1, 2 2 4 1 1 1, 3, 5 2, 3

un otro, una otra another one otros, otras others

s (mismo, misma) one(self) todo todo el mundo uno varios, varias Notes: 1 everything everyone one some, several

These pronouns take the third person singular form of the verb. Todo est bien? Alguien debe saber. Is everything ok? Someone must know.

These pronouns must always have an antecedent (something they refer to in the same or a preceding sentence). Perd mi pluma, entonces tengo que comprar una I lost my pen, so I have to buy another

otra. Tiene 50 libros y quiero leer cada uno.

one. He has 50 books and I want to read each one.

These pronouns can be modified with de + ellos, ellas, nosotros, vosotros, Uds., or a noun. Uno de vosotros tiene que ayudarme. Algunos de los estudiantes estn aqu. One of you has to help me. Some of the students are here.

4 5

S is the indefinite reflexive prepositional pronoun. Uno is the indefinite subject pronoun.

Spanish Interrogative Pronouns ~ Pronombres interrogativos ~ Quin Qu Cul Cunto Dnde

Quin, qu, cul, cunto, and dnde are Spanish interrogative pronouns. A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun, and interrogative means questioning, so interrogative pronouns are pronouns used to ask the questions who, what, which, how much/many, and where. Note that all of these words have accents.

Quin means who or whom; it is used when asking about people. It has the plural form quines. Quin est aqu? Quin viene conmigo? Quines han ganado? Quin can also follow a preposition. A quin hablis? De quin es este libro? To whom are you speaking? Whose book is this? Who is here? Who's coming with me? Who won?

Qu means what and is used to refer to ideas or things. Qu quiere? What does he want?

Qu piensas del libro? Qu es eso?

What do you think of the book? What is this?

Cul means what or which - it is used when distinguishing between two or more things. It has the plural form cules. Cul quieres - la pluma o el lpiz? Hay muchas ideas. Cules prefieres? Which do you want - the pen or the pencil? There are a lot of ideas. Which ones do you prefer?

Cunto means how much and its plural cuntos means how many. Tienes dinero? Cunto? Cuntos estn en el coche? Dnde means where. Dnde vives? Dnde ests? Where do you live? Where are you? Do you have any money? How much? How many are in the car?

Spanish Negative Pronouns ~ Pronombres negativos

Spanish negative pronouns, sometimes called indefinite negative pronouns, negate, refuse, or cast doubt on the existence of the noun that they replace. Nadie lo quiere. No vi nada. No one wants it. I didn't see anything.

Ninguno de los libros me interesa. None of the books interests me. The Spanish negative pronouns are: (no...) ninguno (de) none (of), not any (of) (no...) nadie (no...) nada no one nothing, not... anything

Negative pronouns have one or two parts, depending on their placement in the sentence: before the verb (as the subject), Spanish negative pronouns are one part, while after the verb (as the direct or indirect object), they have two parts. Nadie lo quiere. No one wants it.

No vi a nadie.

I didn't see anyone.

Nada va a pasar. No hay nada en el coche.

Nothing is going to happen. There's nothing in the car.

Ninguno de los libros me interesa. None of the books interests me. No tengo ninguna de la ropa. I don't have any of the clothes.

Note that ninguno changes to agree with the noun that it modifies: singular plural masculine ninguno ningunos feminine ninguna ningunas

Pronombres posesivos ~ Spanish Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are the words which replace nouns modified by possessive adjectives. In Spanish there are different forms of possessive pronouns depending on whether the noun is masculine or feminine, singular or plural. Masculine mine yours (t) el mo los mos el tuyo los tuyos Feminine la ma las mas la tuya las tuyas la suya las suyas

his/hers/its/yours (Ud.) el suyo los suyos ours yours (vosotros) theirs/yours (Uds.)

el nuestro la nuestra los nuestros las nuestras el vuestro la vuestra los vuestros las vuestras el suyo los suyos la suya las suyas

Note that the Spanish possessive pronouns for third person singular (l, ella, Ud.) and plural (ellos, Uds.) are identical.

There are two important things to know about Spanish possessive pronouns: 1. The possessive pronoun must match the noun being replaced in gender and number. 2. The appropriate definite article must be used. Otherwise, Spanish and English possessive pronouns are very similar. Mi hermano est aqu; dnde est el tuyo? Me gustan mis libros y ella prefiere los suyos. Tus ideas son buenas, pero las mas son mejores. Estas plumas, son las vuestras o las nuestras? My brother is here; where's yours? I like my books and she prefers hers. Your ideas are good, but mine are better. These pens, are they yours or ours?

When the masculine singular possessive pronoun is preceded by the preposition a or de, the preposition contracts with the definite article (el): Habla a tu padre; yo hablar al mo. l disfruta de su curso, pero yo no disfruto del mo. Talk to your dad; I'll talk to mine. He's enjoying his class, but I'm not enjoying mine.

Note that Spanish possessive pronouns are identical to stressed form possessive adjectives, but their usage is different: possessive pronouns replace nouns, while possessive adjectives modify nouns. There is also a neuter possessive pronoun which is used when the possessed thing is abstract or unspecific, in the sense of one's part, share, things, task, etc. The Spanish neuter possessive pronoun is formed with the neuter article lo plus the masculine singular possessive pronoun (mo, to, suyo, nuestro, vuestro). No quieren lo mo? Perdi lo suyo. Cunto es lo nuestro? Don't you want mine (my work, my share...)? He lost his (his stuff, his things). How much is ours (our share)?

Pronombres sujetos - Spanish Subject Pronouns

The subject of a sentence is the person or thing which performs the action. Subject pronouns replace this person or thing. You must understand subject pronouns before you begin conjugating Spanish verbs, as the form of verbs changes for each one. Spanish is what linguists call a "pro-drop" language, which simply means that the pronoun can be dropped. It's not necessary for comprehension, the way it is in English, because the subject of

the verb is evident from the conjugated verb. "I go" can be translated by "yo voy" or simply "voy" (from the verb ir - to go).
Pronombres de sujeto Singular 1st person 2nd person 3rd person yo t
1

Plural nosotros we nosotras5 vosotros you2 vosotras5 ellos ellas5 Uds.4 they you2

I you2

l he, it3 ella she, it3 Ud.4 you2

Notes 1. Yo is only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence, unlike its English counterpart I. It is pronounced differently in Argentina. 2. There are four words for you in Spanish.
singular plural familiar t formal Ud. vosotros Uds.

3. Vosotros is used only in Spain. In Latin America, Uds. is the only plural "you," used to refer to both familiar and formal groups. The formal "yous" are used to show respect or to indicate the the person is unknown to the speaker. In Argentina and some other Spanishspeaking countries, there is an additional pronoun: vos. 4. In Latin America, since all Spanish nouns are either masculine or feminine, the 3rd person subject pronouns which correspond to the gender may sometimes be used. Thus l can refer to a male (he) or a masculine noun (it) and ella can refer to a female (she) or a feminine noun (it).* 5. Ud. and Uds. are short for usted and ustedes, respectively, and may also be written Vd. and Vds. Note that they use the third person conjugations. 6. Nosotras, vosotras, and ellas means we, you, and they respectively when all of the nouns (both people and things) referred to are feminine. If there are any masculine nouns, the subject pronoun defaults to the masculine nosotros, vosotros, or ellos. *Spanish also has a neuter subject pronoun (ello).

Spanish Prepositional Pronouns ~ Pronombres en funcin de complemento con preposicin

Spanish prepositional pronouns are used after prepositions, logically enough, often in order to emphasize the noun they replace, and are thus a sort of subcategory of the disjunctive or stressed pronouns found in other languages. There are 12 forms of prepositional pronouns in Spanish: Singular me you m ti us you Plural nosotros vosotros

him, it l her, it you it ella Ud. ello

them ellos them ellas you Uds.

oneself s Most of the above probably look familiar, since the third person singular and all of the plurals are identical to Spanish subject pronouns. The new pronouns are m, ti, and ello. M and ti are pretty easy - they are simply the prepositional form of the first and second singular pronoun. Take a look at these examples. Tengo un regalo para ti. Vienes con nosotros? I have a present for you. Are you coming with us?

A m, no me gusta el pescado. (Me,) I don't like fish. Estoy al lado de ellas. Quiero ir con l. I'm next to them. I want to go with him.

As you can see, it's pretty simple - you just use the prepositional pronoun to replace a noun after a preposition. Now let's learn about the tricky ones - ello and s. Ello is the neuter prepositional pronoun, used when talking about something non-specific or abstract (it). Remember that when talking about something specific, even if it means "it" in English, the pronoun you use in Spanish depends on the noun's gender - learn more. No estoy listo para ello. I'm not ready for this.

Tengo fro, y por ello no puedo ayudarte. I'm cold, and that's why I can't help you.

Lesson on ello

Notes: 1. Con + m, ti, and s contract into the new words conmigo, contigo, and consigo: Voy contigo - I'm going with you. 2. In certain situations, subject pronouns are used instead of prepositional pronouns:

After the prepositions como (like), entre (between), excepto (except), incluso (including), menos (except), salvo (except), and segn (according to). When paired with another pronoun: - para t y yo - por ella o yo

Pronombres reflexivos - Spanish Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used with pronominal verbs. They always agree with the subject of the sentence and are usually placed directly in front of the verb. However, for infinitives, present participles, and affirmative commands, pronouns can get attached to the end - learn more. The Spanish reflexive pronouns are as follows:
yo t l ella Ud. me te se

nosotros nos vosotros os ellos ellas Uds. se

Spanish Reflexive Prepositional Pronouns

Spanish reflexive prepositional pronouns are pronouns which refer back to the subject and occur after prepositions, often in order to emphasize the noun they replace. There are 5 forms of reflexive prepositional pronouns in Spanish:

Singular myself m

Plural ourselves nosotros

yourself ti himself s herself itself yourself

yourselves vosotros yourselves s themselves

The first and second person singular and plural reflexive prepositional pronouns are the same as the non-reflexive prepositional pronouns. However, the reflexive pronoun for all of the third person singular and plural forms is s. I bought a present for myself. You never talk about yourself.

Compr un regalo para m. Hablas nunca de ti.

Vamos a construir la casa para nosotros. We're going to build the house for ourselves. Lo quieren todo para s.

They want it all for themselves.

All of the reflexive prepositional pronouns can be followed by the adjective mismo (or misma/mismos/mismas - depending on the gender and number of the subject) in order to emphasize the reflexive aspect. I want to do it for myself.

Quiero hacerlo para m mismo.

Ellas hablan mucho de s mismas. They talk a lot about themselves.

S can mean yourself (with Ud.), yourselves (with Uds.), himself, herself, itself, themselves, or oneself. You have do you it yourselves.

Uds. deben hacerlo por s.

l lo quiere todo para s mismo. He wants it all for himself. Debe que mirar por s.

One has to look out for oneself.

Notes: 1. Con + s combine into consigo: Est contento consigo - He's happy with himself. 2. If the subject and pronoun do not refer to the same person, use non-reflexive prepositional pronouns.

Spanish Reflexive Pronoun Se with Unplanned Occurrences

The reflexive construction, used mainly with pronominal verbs, can also be used to describe accidental and unplanned occurrences. Se me olvid el libro. I forgot the book. Se le cay la pluma. He dropped the pen.

In this type of construction, the reflexive pronoun se precedes an indirect object pronoun that indicates the subject, and the verb, rather than being conjugated to agree with the subject, agrees with whatever noun follows the verb. Se me olvidaron los libros. I forgot the books. Se te perdieron las llaves? Did you lose the keys? S, se me cayeron ayer. Yes, I dropped them yesterday.

The accidental reflexive construction indicates that the action was unintentional. In addition, because the subject is only referred to by an indirect object pronoun, this construction gives the sense that the subject is not to blame - he or she had nothing to do with the accident. Literal meaning Se le cay la pluma. The pen got dropped by him.

Se me olvidaron los libros. The books got forgotten by me. Se te perdieron las llaves? Did the keys get lost on you? S, se me quedaron. Yes, they got left behind on me.

Compare this to the passive voice: Se cay la pluma. The pen fell.

Se perdieron las llaves. The keys got lost. Se quedaron los libros. The books got left behind. The following verbs are commonly used in the accidental reflexive construction. Note that some of them have a somewhat different meaning depending on whether they are used normally or reflexively: Normal meaning Meaning in this construction

acabar to finish, complete acabarse to run out of caer to fall caerse to drop

ocurrir to occur, happen olvidar to forget perder to lose quedar to remain, be left romper to break

ocurrirse to dawn on, occur to, get the idea olvidarse to forget perderse to lose quedarse to leave behind romperse to break

More about Spanish pronominal verbs:

Introduction to pronominal verbs Reflexive pronouns Reflexive se with unplanned occurrences Reflexive prepositional pronouns

Spanish Relative Pronouns ~ Pronombres relativos

Just like in English, a Spanish relative pronoun links a dependent/relative clause (i.e., a clause that cannot stand alone) to a main clause. This lesson is a comparative summary of the Spanish relative pronouns que, quien, el que, el cual, and donde. Depending on context, the English equivalents are who, whom, that, which, whose, or where. Note: In Spanish, relative pronouns are required, whereas in English, they are sometimes optional. Quien can only refer to people, while que can refer to people or things. Other than that, they are interchangeable in the subject and direct object position. Quien and que can replace the subject: El profesor va a ayudarnos. l vive en Barcelona. El profesor, quien / que vive en Barcelona, va a ayudarnos. The teacher, who lives in Barcelona, is going to help us. Las chicas quieren trabajar juntas. Ellas son hermanas. Las chicas, quienes / que son hermanas, quieren trabajar juntas. The girls, who are sisters, want to work together. Voy a comprar el libro. l tiene cien pginas. Voy a comprar el libro que tiene cien pginas. I'm going to buy the book that has 100 pages. A quien or que can replace the direct object: Ana quiere al hombre. Yo lo vi. Ana quiere al hombre que / a quien yo vi. Ana loves the man (that) I saw. Perd la pluma. Mi hermano la compr. Perd la pluma que mi hermano compr. I lost the pen (that) my brother bought. Quien can replace the object of a preposition (que cannot be used here; if the object is not a person, el que/cual may be used).

La mujer es muy inteligente. Vivo con ella. La mujer, con quien vivo, es muy inteligente. The women, with whom I live, is very smart (or The woman I live with is very smart). Los estudiantes estn aqu. Hablaba de ellos. Los estudiantes, de quienes hablaba, estn aqu. The students about whom I was talking are here (or The students I was talking about are here). El cual and el que may refer to people or things. El que and el cual are nearly always* interchangeable and have two uses: 1. In nonrestrictive clauses (where the relative pronoun does not limit the person or thing it replaces), el que/cual can be both the subject and the object: El profesor va a ayudarnos. l vive en Barcelona. El profesor, el que / cual vive en Barcelona, va a ayudarnos. The teacher, who lives in Barcelona, is going to help us. Las chicas quieren trabajar juntas. Ellas son hermanas. Las chicas, las que / cuales son hermanas, quieren trabajar juntas. The girls, who are sisters, want to work together. 2. El que/cual can simultaneously replace a human antecedent and be the object of a preposition: Ana quiere al hombre. Yo lo vi. Ana quiere al hombre al que / cual yo vi. Ana loves the man (that) I saw. Las chicas no han llegado. Mi hermano trabaja con ellas. Las chicas con las que / cuales mi hermano trabaja no han llegado. The girls with whom my brother works haven't arrived. Los estudiantes estn aqu. Hablaba de ellos. Los estudiantes de los que /cuales hablaba estn aqu. The students about whom I was talking are here (or The students (who) I was talking about are here). *There are a few situations where cual must be used - see my lesson on el cual. Donde means where and joins a main clause to a dependent or relative clause. It is usually preceded by a preposition. Es la escuela donde estudi. That's the school where I studied (or That's the school I studied at). Busco la puerta por donde podemos salir. I'm looking for the door through which we can leave. Es a donde vamos. That's where we're going. No s el pas de donde viene. I don't know the country (where) he's from (or I don't know which country he's from).

llo - Pronombre sujeto neutro - Spanish Neuter Subject Pronoun

Ello is the Spanish neuter subject pronoun, used to mean "it" when referring to something non-specific. When referring to someone specific, use "l" or "ella," depending on the gender of the noun. Compare: What's happening? I don't like it.

Qu pasa? Ello no me gusta. vs Quin es esta cantante? Ella no me gusta.

Who is this singer? I don't like it.

Todo ello est terminando. vs

Everything is ending.

Mario habla desde hace 20 minutos - ya (l) est Mario has been talking for 20 minutes - he's terminando. finishing now.

Ello can also be the neuter object of a preposition: Todo fue difcil - no quiero hablar de ello. vs Qu tal fue la escuela? No quiero hablar de ella. How was school? I don't want to talk about it. Everything was difficult - I don't want to talk about it.

Qu vas a hacer? No te preocupes por ello. vs Dnde est tu libro? No te preocupes por l.

What are you going to do? Don't worry about it.

Where is your book? Don't worry about it.

Todo, Toda, Todos, Todas

Todo is a very common and versatile word in Spanish. It can be used as an adjective or as a pronoun. Like other Spanish adjectives and pronouns, todo has to be "conjugated" so that it agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies or replaces: singular plural masculine todo todos

feminine

toda

todas

Todo is usually followed by a definite article or possessive adjective + noun and means things like all, every, or the whole. Todos los libros Todo el mundo Toda la clase All the books / Every book Everyone (lit. "all the world") The whole class

Todas las chicas Every girl / All the girls Todos los das Every day

Todos mis perros All my dogs

When todo is used as a pronoun, it means everyone or everything. Todo es importante. Todos estudian. Everything is important. Everyone is studying.

Quiero comprar todo! I want to buy everything!