04. Spanish Grammar Online author Enrique Yepes

SPANISHGRAMMAR
LibrodigitalHerramientasdeespañol
OnlineAdvancedSpanishBook
Aconciseoutlineofessentialgrammarstructuresbasedon
JohnTurner'sAlltheSpanishGrammarYouReallyNeedtoKnow
Introducción
Lospaíseshispánicosysuscapitales
1.Consonants/Consonantes
2.Vowels/Vocales
3.Stressandwrittenaccent/Acentos
4.Useofcapitalletters/Mayúsculas
5.SubjectPronounsandPresentTense
6.GenderofNouns/Género
7.PluralForms/Plural
8.TheIndefiniteArticle/Artículoindeterminado
9.TheDefiniteArticle/Artículodeterminado
10.Negation/Negación
Repasonúmerouno
11.Adjectives/Adjetivos
Expressing"thegreenone",and"Cofeecup"
12.Questions/Preguntas
Quévs.Cuál
13.Números:0100
14.TimeofDay/Lahora
15.CommonExpressionswithtener
Repasonúmerodos
16.Adverbs/Adverbios
FormationfromAdjectives
17.NegativeandIndefiniteWords
(nunca,nada,nadie,ningún,algún,cualquier,ni)
18.StemchangingVerbs
19.Demonstratives/Demostrativos
Repasonúmerotres
20.Futurewithira
21.Personal'a'/La'a'personal
22.Conocervs.Saber(Toknow)
23.RelativePronouns
(que,cuyo,locual,loque)
24.Possessives/Posesivos
Repasonúmerocuatro
25.Usesofserandestar
26.PastParticiple/Elparticipio
27.GerundandInfinitive/Gerundioeinfinitivo
Repasonúmerocinco
28.ThePreteriteTense/Elpretérito
29.Númerosde100enadelante
30.Dates,Seasons,Weather
31.Both,All,Every
Repasonúmeroseis
32.TheImperfect/Elimperfecto
33.ImperfectandPreteriteContrasted
34.Hacewithtimeexpressions
35.Ordinalnumbers/Númerosordinales
Repasonúmerosiete
36.Comparison/Comparaciones
Expressionssuchasthemore...themore,most
37.PronounsAfteraPreposition
38.ObjectPronouns
39.GustarandSimilarVerbs
Repasonúmeroocho
40.ReflexivePronounsandverbs
Become:hacerse,ponerse,volverse...
Theuseofreflexiveforpossession
41.PassiveVoice/Vozpasiva
(withserandwithse)
42.Obligation:Sedebe,hayque...
43.Porvs.Para
Repasonúmeronueve
44.FormsofthePresentSubjunctive
45.Commands/Mandatos
Otherexhortations
46.PresentSubjunctiveinNounClauses
(influence,emotion,doubt,denial)
Repasonúmerodiez
47.SubjunctiveinAdjectiveClauses
(unknownpersonorthing)
48.ThePastSubjunctive
49.Perovs.Sino
Repasonúmeroonce
50.SubjunctiveinAdverbClauses
(conjunctionssuchascuando,aunque,
antesdeque,sinque)
Repasonúmerodoce
51.FutureandConditional
52.IfClauses/Frasescon'si'
Repasonúmerotrece
53.CompoundTenseswithhaber
54.ExpressingPresentAttitudesaboutthePast
55.ReportedSpeech(Pluperfect)
56.Todavía,aún,ya(no)
Repasonúmerocatorce
AppendixA:StemChangingVerbsendinginir
AppendixB:SummaryoftheSubjunctive
AppendixC:VerbsUsedReflexively
AppendixD:Prepositionsfollowingverbs
AppendixE:DefinitionofGrammarTerms
AppendixF:TransitionalPhrases
Spanish Grammar Online. Writtten by Enrique Yepes, Bowdoin ([email protected])
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[email protected]1/1
Spanish Tools Grammar Online Book / Libro digital "Herramientas de español" is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
May, 2008. Limitations apply. See Copyright and Terms of Use.
Bowdoin College · Brunswick, Maine · 04011 · 207-725-3000

LibrodigitalHerramientasdeespañol
SpanishToolsOnlineGrammarBook
Aconciseoutlineofessentialgrammarstructuresbasedon
JohnTurner'sAlltheSpanishGrammarYouReallyNeedtoKnow
INTRODUCTION
USINGTHESESPANISHGRAMMARTOOLS
INTRODUCCIÓN
ELUSODEESTASHERRAMIENTASDEESPAÑOL
Thistextisintendedforstudentswhoarefamiliar
withmostofthebasicSpanishgrammar,andwho
arereadytotaketheirknowledgeandcomfort
levelonestepfurther.Itsaimistomeetyour
basicneedsforadvancedworkasconciselyand
thoroughlyaspossible.Eachsectionpresentsa
specificaspectoftheuseofthelanguage,and
thenoffersabriefpracticesothatyoucanverify
yourunderstandingofthematerialandfeelmore
confidenttouseit.TheReviews,ontheother
hand,challengeyoutoputtogetherthecontents
ofprevioussections,allowingyoutogetthe
detailsundercontrolandpromotingamore
preciseawarenessofthewaySpanishworks.
Asecondgoalforthesetoolsistoserveasa
referenceworkasyouwrite.Thetableofcontents
providesyouwithachecklisttoedityourwriting,
andthediagramscanbeusedforaquickreview.
Thelistsandsummariesintheappendicescan
proveuseful,too.
Manyoftheexplanationsandmostofthe
organizationofmaterialsinthistextcomefrom
JohnTurner'sAlltheSpanishGrammarYouReally
NeedtoKnowcoursepackage.Aspecialwordof
gratitudetoProfessorTurnerforhisclear,
effectivestyle.
Estetextoestádestinadoaestudiantesqueya
conocenlamayorpartedelagramáticabásicadel
español,yquesepreparanparadarunpaso
adelanteensucomodidadconelidioma.Lametaes
responderasusnecesidadesbásicashaciaelnivel
avanzadolomásconcisayexhaustivamenteposible.
Cadasecciónpresentaunaspectoespecíficoenel
usodelidioma,yluegoofreceunaprácticabreve
paraqueustedpuedaverificarsucomprensióndel
materialyaumentarsuconfianzaalusarlo.Los
Repasos,porsuparte,leexigiránintegrarel
contenidodeseccionesprevias,parapermitirle
controlarlosdetallesypromovermayorprecisióny
lucidezsobreelfuncionamientodelespañol.
Unsegundoobjetivoesqueestasherramientas
sirvandereferenciaalescribir.Latablade
contenidofuncionacomolistadeverificaciónylos
esquemassirvenparaunrepasorápido.Laslistasy
resúmenesdelosapéndicespuedentambiénserde
utilidad.
Muchasexplicacionesyelgruesodelaorganización
deestematerialprovienendelmóduloAllthe
SpanishGrammarYouReallyNeedtoKnow,del
profesorJohnTurner,cuyoestiloclaroyefectivo
mereceespecialreconocimiento.
WrittenbyEnriqueYepes

LibrodigitalHerramientasdeespañol
SpanishToolsOnlineGrammarBook
1.Consonants/Lasconsonantes
Spanishspellingisprettyconsistent:mostlettersrepresentasinglesoundregardlessoftheir
positioninaword.Notethefollowingpeculiarities:
Hlahacheisneverpronounced.Thus,wordslikeHonduras,ahoraandalcoholhaveno
aspirationbeforethe/o/sound.
CHlacheisalwayspronouncedasin"cheers":coche,ocho.
Lahacheisnotcombinedwithanyotherconsonants:thereisnoth,sh,ph,gh,etc.
(English"ph"maytranslateto"f":filosofía,Filadelfia,fantasma).
Claceispronounced/k/(asin"case")inmostpositions:caso,cosa,cuota,frecuente,crisis.
Beforee,i,itispronounced/s/(asin"sin")inAmericaor/th/(asin"thin")inSpain:cielo,
acento.
The/k/sound(asin"kiss"),isspelled"qu"(mute"u")beforee,i:queso,quince.
Glageispronounced/g/(asin"go")inmostpositions:gala,gota,guante,globo.
Beforee,i,itispronouncedalmostlike/h/(asin"hen"):general,gitano.
The/g/sound(asin"get"),isspelled"gu"(mute"u")beforee,i:guerra,guitarra.
Iftheletter"u"istobepronouncedina"gue/gui"combination,itismarkedwithadiaeresis(la
diéresis):pingüino,bilingüe,nicaragüense.
Qlakuisusedonlyintheque/quicombinations,andthe"u"isalwaysmuteinthisposition.
Therefore,thewordquintetohasno/u/sound,andEnglish"quota"and"frequent"translateto
cuotaandfrecuente.
Zlazetaispronounced/s/inAmericaand/th/inSpain.
Spanishavoidstheze/zicombinationandprefersce,ci:lápiz→lápices;cebra,cenit.
Onlyfourconsonantscanbeduplicatedtorepresentspecificsounds:
•ccisusedbefore"e"or"i"onlyandsounds/ks/(/kth/inSpain):acciónandaccesobut
acento,ocurrir.
•llsounds/y/:calle,llamabutilegal,aludir,inteligente.
•rrrepresentsthefamous"rollingr"betweenvowelsonly:perro,carrovs.pero,caro.
•nnisusedonlywhenaprefixendingin"n"isaddedtoawordbeginningwith"n":
innecesario,connotación,butanual,anotación,conexión.
NootherconsonantsareduplicatedinSpanish:efectivo,común,oportunidad,imposible.
Summary/Resumen
NeverpronouncetheletterH(hache):alcohol,ahora,humano,Honduras,holocausto.
HardCsound:/k/asinkiss
S/Zsound:/s/or/th/asinsink/think
HardGsound:/g/asinget
SoftGsound:/h/asinhen
caquequicocu
zacecizozu
gagueguigogu
jajejijojugegi
buscar,busqué
realizar,realicé
pagar,pagué
hija,gitano
Asyousee,vowelseandiareexceptionalintheircombinationwithgandc.
Thewordsque,quien,guerraandguitarramayhelpyourememberthesespellingchanges.
Nodoubleconsonantsexceptrr,ll,ccandnn ph→f:filosofía

http://www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/ats/01a02.htm 2/2
2.Vowels/Lasvocales
Spanishhasfivevowelsoundsa,e,i,o,u,pronouncedthesamewayregardlessoftheirposition
inaword:
a.liketheasoundin"father":casa,alma
e.liketheesoundin"let":lee,cena
i.liketheeesoundin"leek":mil,millaje
o.liketheawsoundin"lawn":son,hoja
u.liketheoosoundin"loom":tú,Honduras(uismuteinque,qui,gue,gui)
•ianduarecalled"weak"(débilesocerradas)because,incombinationwithanothervowel,are
generallypronouncedasonesyllable:Ruiz,fue,dio,haveonlyonesyllable.Theseare
consideredtruediphthongsinSpanish—twovowelsinonesyllable—,asina·guaorvien·to.
•a,o,andearecalled"strong"(fuertesoabiertas).Twostrongvowelsarepronouncedastwo
syllables:po·e·mahasthreesyllables,ca·oshastwo.Thesearenottruediphthongs,sincethe
vowelsbelongindifferentsyllables.

LibrodigitalHerramientasdeespañol
SpanishToolsOnlineGrammarBook
3.Stressandwrittenaccent/Losacentos
Everywordhasastressedsyllable(sílabatónica).Forexample,thewordespañolstressesthe
lastsyllable.
Wordendingsandwrittenaccents(tildes)provideapredictableguidetostresssyllablesinSpanish,
allowingyoutoreadanywordcorrectly.
A.BASICRULESFORTHEUSAGEOFACCENTS/REGLASBÁSICASDEACENTUACIÓN
1.Wordsthatendinavowel,n,orsstressthenexttolastsyllable:clase,examen,mesas.
2.Wordsthatdonotendinavowel,n,ors,stressthelastsyllable:bondad,papel,cantar.
Wordsthatdonotfollowtheaboverulescarryawrittenaccenttoshowwhichsyllableisstressed:
café(doesnotfollowrule1:itendsinavowelbutstressesthelastsyllable)
exámenes(neitherthelastnorthenexttolastsyllableisstressed)
árbol(doesnotfollowrule2:itdoesnotendinavowel,nors,butstillstressesthenexttolastsyllable)
Accordingtothebasicrules,thus,youneedtwocriteriatodecidewhetherawordneedsatildeor
not:
a)itsending,
b)whichsyllableisstressed.
Thewordregiónneedsatildebecause
a)itendswith"n"but
b)thepenultimatesyllableisnotstressed.
Thewordregionesdoesnotneedatildebecause
a)itendswith"s"and
b)thepenultimatesyllableisstressed.