Grammar book

Grammar BookMarcela Ray

Table of Contents

1. Present Tense2. Stem Changers3. Irregular “yo” verbs4. Saber vs. Conocer5. Reflexives6. ‘Se’ Impersonal7. Present tense with dipthongs 8. Verbs Similar to Gustar9. Irregular Verbs ending in –uir/-guir, -cer/-cir, -ger/-gir10. Hacer Expressions11. Imperfect12. Preterite13. Comparitives/Superlatives14. Future tense

1. Present Tense

-ar-o -

amos-as -áis-a -an

-er-o -

emos-es -éis-e -en

-ir-o -imos-es -ís-e -en

Yo Nosotros

Tú Vosotros

Él/Ella/ Ellos/Ellas/

Usted Ustedes

For present tense verbs, you replace the ar/er/ir ending with the related conjugation.

(1.) Present Tense Irregular Verbs

Ir•Voy•Vas•Va•Vamos •Van

Estar•Estoy•Estás•Está•Estamos•Están

Ser•Soy •Eres•Es•Somos•Son

Dar•Doy•Das•Da•Damos•Dan

2. Stem Changers

e → ie (Perder)e → i (Pedir)o → ue (Dormir)u → ue (Jugar)Example:

Cerrar (e-ie): cierro cerramoscierras cerráiscierra cierran

There is no stem change for nosotros or vosotros.

These are also called boot verbs.

3. Irregulars (-car,-gar,-zar)

-car: -co → -qué-gar: -go → -gué-zar: -zo → -céExample:

Empacar: empaqué empacamosempacasteempacó empacaron

It only changes in the first person singular tense.

4. Saber vs. Conocer

Saber and Conocer both mean “to know,” but they are not interchangable.

Saber: to express knowledge or ignorance of information, skills, or facts.

ex: Él sabe matemáticas.Conocer: to say that one is or is not

acquainted with a person, place, or an object.

ex: Yo no conozco a Juan.

5. Reflexives

Reflexive verbs show action being done to oneself.

They use the pronouns:me noste osse se

-The pronouns can go in front of the conjugated verb (Se baña) or hook on to the end of the infinitive form of the verb (bañarse).

Reflexive verbs include: lavarse, llamarse, and vestirse

6. ‘Se’ Impersonal

In english, people frequently say things like, “You shouldn’t smoke” or “One shouldn’t text and drive,” but “you” and “one” aren’t really referring to anyone specific. These are called impersonal expressions.

In Spanish, you add the pronoun ‘se’ in front of the verb you are using.

Example:How does one say “ice cream” in Italian? =¿Cómo se dice “helado” en italiano?

7. Present Tense with dipthongs

Some verbs need an accent to break up the dipthong in order to place stress on the proper syllable.

A dipthing is a weak vowel (‘i/y’ or ‘u’) with a strong vowel (‘a’, ‘e’, ‘o’), or two weak vowels coming together to form one syllable.

Example:Esquiar (to ski): esquíoesquíamos

esquíasesquía esquían

8. Verbs like Gustar

Gustar and verbs similar to gustar do not conjugate like normal verbs. Gustar only conjugates to “gusta” or “gustan.” You use “gusta” if the object that you like is singular, and you use “gustan” if the object you like is plural.

Ex: Me gusta la clasa. Te gustan las comidas.

Verbs similar to gustar include: Aburrir (to bore), fascinar (to facinate), bastar (to be sufficient), importar (to be important to), interesar (to interest), molestar (to bother), etc.

9. Verbs like -ger/-gir,-cer/-cir, -uir/-guir

Coger

• Cojo• Coges• Coge• Cogemos• Cogen

Conocer• Conozco• Conoces• Conoce• Conocemos• Conocen

Atribuir

• Atribuyo• Atribuyes• Atribuye• Atribuimos• Atribuyen

Exigir

• Exijo• Exiges• Exige• Exigimos• Exigen

Decir• Digo• Dices• Dice• Dicimos• Dicen

Conseguir

• Consigo• Consigues• Consigue• Consigimos• Consiguen

10. Hace + time + que + present tense

The verb "hacer" can be used to indicate the length of time an action has been taking place.

Use the formula: Hace + time + que + present tense

(Hacer + the amount of time needed for the action to be completed + que + the present tense form of the verb being used.)

11. Imperfect

Imperfect verbs describe an ongoing or repeated action taking place in the past. (“I used to…”)

Examples: Los pajaros cantaban. → The birds were singing.Mi mamá tenía una cara bonita. → My mom had a pretty face.

-ar: -aba -ábamos-abas-aba -aban

-er/-ir: -ía - íamos-ías-ía -ían

(11.) Irregular Imperfects and Trigger Words

Ir:•iba•ibas•iba•íbamos•iban

Ser:

•era•eras•era•éramos•eran

Ver:

•veía•veías•veía•veíamos•veían

Trigger Words:•Todos los dias•Siempre•A menudo•Con frecuencia•De vez en cuando•Habitualmente•Normalmente•A veces•Todas las noches•Cada dia•Por/en la tarde•Por/en la noche•Por lo general•Por lo regular •Frecuentemente•Etc.

12. Preterite

The preterite is a past tense perfected action or a snapshot of time, and it has a beginning and/or an ending.

Conjugations:

Trigger Words:Anteayer, el dia anterior, ayer, el jueves pasado,

la semana pasada, el fin de semana pasado, el mes pasado, el otra dia, una vez, esta tarde, etc.

-ar-é -amos-aste-ó -aron

-er/-ir-í -imos-iste-ió -ieron

(12.) Spock Verbs

Ir/Ser

fui

fuiste

Fue

fuimos

fueron

Dar/Ver

d/vi

d/viste

d/vio

d/vimos

d/vieron

Hacer

hice

hiciste

hizo

hicimos

hicieron

(12.) Cucaracha Verbs

Andar: anduv-

Estar: estuv-

Poder: pud-

Poner: pus-

Querer: quis-

Saber: sup-

Tener: tuv-

Venir: vin-

Conducir: conduj-

Producir: produj-

Traducir: traduj-

Decir (e-i): dij-

Traer: traj-

-e-iste-o-imos-isteis-ieron

If there is a ‘j’- drop the ‘i’ on ‘ieron’

(12.) Snake and Snakey Verbs

Snake and Snakey verbs are verbs that change in the third person only.

Example of snake verbs:Pedir: pedí pedimos

pedistepidieron pidieron

Example of snakey verbs:Leer:leí leímos

leísteleyó leyeron

Snakey verbs change the ‘i’ to ‘y’ in the third person.

13. Superlatives and Comparatives

Superlatives describe what is the most or least of something.

Subject + Noun + Mas/Menos + Adjective/Adverb + de +

Ex: Esta es la playa más bonita de todas.This beach is the prettiest of all.

Comparatives compare one thing to another. (better, older, etc.)>Mas/menos + adj/adv/noun + que>tan (or tanto) + adj/adv (or noun) + como

Ex: Mi equipo de fútbol favorito es mejor que el tuyo. My favorite soccer team is better than yours.

14. Future Tense

1) Ir + a + infinitive is the future tense for the immediate future. (“Going to”)

2) The more formal way to use the future tense is by conjugating the verb (“I will”). Verbs in the future tense all use the same endings, no matter if they are –ar, -er, or –ir.

You do not take the –ar, -er, or –ir off the verb when you are conjugating it. (Nadaré)

Endings: -é-ás-á-emos-án

(14.) Irregular Future and Triggers

Decir: dir-Haber: habr-Hacer: har-Poder: podr-Poner: pondr-Querer: querr-Saber: sabr-Salir: saldr-Tener: tendr-Valer: valdr-Venir: vendr-

-é-ás-á-emos-án

Trigger Words:•La próxima semana•En ocho años•Luego •Mañana•Planifico•Espero•Etc.