Spanish II – Grammar Notes

SUBJECT PRONOUNS

All verbs must have a subject. In Spanish these are:

VERB CONJUGATIONS

To form the present tense “ar” verbs:

-o -amos

-as x

-a -an

AR VERBS - to conjugate regular -ar verbs, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one of the following: o as a amos an

Ex. hablar (Yo hablo, tú hablas, él habla, nosotros hablamos, ellos hablan)

To form the present tense “er” verbs:

-o -emos -es x

-e -en

ER VERBS – to conjugate regular -er verbs, simply drop the ending (-er) and add one of the following: o es e emos en

Ex. comer (Yo como, tú comes, él come, nosotros comemos, ellos comen)

To form the present tense “ir” verbs:

IR VERBS - to conjugate regular -ir verbs, simply drop the ending (-ir) and add one of the following: o es e imos en

 Note the similarity with “er” verbs!  Ex. vivir (Yo vivo, tú vives, él vive, nosotros vivimos, ellos viven)  Most “ir” verbs in Spanish in the present tense are irregular!!!! We will look at these later.

SER, ESTAR AND TENER (IRREGULAR VERBS) people and things: ser

 Remember that ser correspond to English verb to be

(yo) Soy (tú) Eres (el/ella/usted) Es (nosotros) Somos (ellos/ellas/ustedes) Son

Ser is used:  To tell who the subject is or what the subject is like.  To describe origin, profession and basic characteristic  Can be followed by “de” and will never be follwed by “en” – yo soy de Guatemala - Origin.  To describe PERMANENT state or basic characteristics  When describing origin “ser” will be followed by “de”

Date/Day/Description Material Origin Origin Characteristics Personality Time Physical Traits Occupation Profession Relationship Identification Time

Example: Ella es alta. Es de Texas./ She is tall. She is from Texas.

people and things: estar  Remember that estar correspond to English verb to be. Estoy Estás Está Estamos Están

Estar is used:  To tell where the subject is or how the subject feels.  To describe location and feelings that may change.  Can be followed by “en” and will never be followed by “de”– Yo estoy en la clase – Physical Location  To describe TEMPORARY state or basic characteristics  When describing location, remember that “Estar” will be followed by “en”

 How you feel and where you are always use the verb estar.

Health Position/Posture Emotion Location (real or imaginary) Location Action (Present Progressive) Present Progressive Condition (Physical of mental) Emotion (Temporary) Estoy enferma; Como estás?

Example: El chico está bien. Está en Texas. /The boy is ok. He is in Texas. descriptions with “tener”  Remember that tener correspond to English verb to have.  (yo) Tengo (tú) Tienes (el, ella, usted) Tiene (nosotros) Tenemos (ellos/ellas/ustedes) Tienen  tener ojos [color] tener pelo [X]: to have [X} hair: to have [color] eyes liso/rizado/ondulado straight / curly / wavy corto/largo/hasta el hombro short / long / shoulder-length tener [X] años: to be [X] years old

STEM CHANGING IRREGULAR VERBS

Some verbs in Spanish do not conjugate like all regular verbs, but they are also not irregular verbs, like “ser”, “estar” and “tener”. Verbs that only have a change in their stem are called STEM CHANGING VERBS.

How will you know if a verb is a stem-changing verb? I WILL TELL YOU! I will note next to the verb that it is is either e-ie, o-ue or e-i.

How do we conjugate stem-changing verbs?

1- Conjugate the verb as if it were a regular verb. 2- Then, make the change, per the annotation that I provide for you. Soon enough, you will have learned these verbs and will not need to be told they are stem-changing.

For example: jugar (u – ue)

If it were regular you would conjugate it like this:

Yo jugo Tú jugas El/Ella/Usted juga Nosotros jugamos* (NEVER STEM CHANGES) ellos/ellas/ustedes jugan

BUT…since it is a stem-changing verb, I must change the “u” to a “ue”

Yo juego Tú juegas El/Ella/Usted juega Nosotros jugamos* (NEVER STEM CHANGES) ellos/ellas/ustedes juegan

Verbs you have learned that are stem-changing verbs: jugar (u-ue), dormir (o-ue), almorzar (o-ue), merendar (e-ie). MORE ARE COMMING SOON…

YO-GO VERBS

Some verbs in Spanish do not conjugate like all regular verbs, but they are also not irregular verbs, like “ser”, “estar” and “tener” or stem-changing verbs like jugar, dormir or almorzar. Verbs that only have a “yo – go” change in their “yo form” are called YO-GO VERBS.

How will you know if a verb is a yo-go verb? I WILL TELL YOU! I will note next to the verb that it is a “yo go verb”

How do we conjugate yo-go verbs?

3- Conjugate the verb as if it were a regular verb. 4- Then, make the change, IN THE YO FORM ONLY, per the annotation that I provide for you. Soon enough, you will have learned these verbs and will not need to be told they yo-go verbs.

For example: hacer (yo go)

If it were regular you would conjugate it like this:

Yo hago Tú haces El/Ella/Usted hace Nosotros hacemos ellos/ellas/ustedes hacen COMMANDS

Commands are used when ordering, or telling someone to do something. Spanish has both formal and an informal commands.

The singular, informal (tú) commands use the present form of “él, ella and usted”:

Habla - Speak Canta- Sing Corre - Run Come - Eat Escribe - Write

The following eight verbs have irregular commands in the affirmative (You have to memorize these): decir - di salir - sal hacer - haz ser - sé ir - ve tener - ten poner - pon venir - ven

COMPARISONS

You have learned various ways to make comparisons in Spanish:

1- “mas que” – Yo soy más inteligente que Maria (I am more inteligent tan Maria) Tú eres más alto que Juan (You are taller than Juan)

2- “menos que” - Yo soy menos inteligente que Maria (I am less inteligent tan Maria) Tú eres menos alto que Juan (You are shorter than Juan)

3- “ni…ni” = neither…nor - Yo no tengo ni manzanas ni peras = I don’t have neither apples nor pears.

4- “tanta/tanto and tantas/tantos” - AS MUCH/AS MANY AS – Notice there are four forms for this word! For example: I eat as many fruits at you. I have as much money as you

*NOTICE – these are all things, not adjectives or descriptions. THEY MUST BE OBJECTS!

*NOTICE: That the “as many”/”as much” goes in front of the item/thing that you have as many/much as.

*NOTE: Tanto – for “thing: that are masculine and singular

Tantos – for “things” that are masculine and plural.

Tanta – for “things” that are feminine and singular

Tantas – for “things” that are feminine and plural. EX: I eat as many fruits as you = Yo como tantas frutas como tú. *we use tantas because “frutas” is feminine and plural and “tantas” is feminine and plural.

“ TENER QUE” AND “DEBER”

Conjugation of “Tener” que + unconjugated verb = To have to + verb For example: I have to eat apples and pears – Yo tengo que comer manzanas y peras. You have to eat healthy – Tú tienes que comer saludable  REMEMBER – NEVER CONJUGATE THE VERB AFTER “TENER QUE”  REMEMBER – “TENER QUE” MUST BE CONJUGATED TO REFELCT THE PERSON WHO “SHOULD” DO SOMETHING. 

Conjugation of “Deber” + unconjugated verb = Should + verb For example: I should eat apples and pears – Yodebo comer manzanas y peras. You should eat healthy – Tú debes comer saludable  REMEMBER – NEVER CONJUGATE THE VERB AFTER “TENER QUE”  REMEMBER – “DEBER” MUST BE CONJUGATED TO REFELCT THE PERSON WHO “SHOULD” DO SOMETHING.

REFLEXIVE VERBS

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