CAPITALIZATION - USO DE LAS MAYÚSCULAS
Generally speaking, more words are capitalized in English than in Spanish. This causes many Spanish learners to overcapitalize in Spanish.
Let's have a look at some common words that are capitalized in English but not in Spanish.
These words are NOT capitalized in Spanish
1)
First person Singular (I)
Natalia y Yo vamos a ir al supermercado.
Natalia y yo vamos a ir al supermercado.
Natalia and I are going to go to the supermarket.
Wrong!
Right!
2)
The days of the week and the months of the year
Lunes, Martes, Miércoles...
lunes, martes, miércoles...
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Wrong!
Right!
3)
Languages and nationalities
Italiano, Español, Japonés, Inglés
italiano, español, japonés, inglés
Italian, Spanish, Japanese, English
Wrong!
Right!
4)
Religions
El Cristianismo, el Judaísmo, el Hinduismo, el Islamismo
El cristianismo, el judaísmo, el hinduismo, el islamismo
Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam
Wrong!
Right!
Except for these.
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COMPARATIVES - COMPARATIVOS
We use comparatives to compare people or things.
Examples:
MIguel es más alto que Ana.
Miguel is taller than Ana.
Éstos juguetes son más caros que los nuestros.
These toys are more expensive than ours.
We use superlatives to show that one person or thing is� the best, the worst, the most intelligent, etc.
Examples:
Marcelo es el más alto de su clase.
Marcelo is the tallest in his class.
Ese carro es el más caro de España.
That car is the most expensive in Spain.
There are three types of comparatives:
SUPERIORITY
más..... (que) = -er....than or more...than
Lucía es más amable que su hermana.
Lucía is kinder than her sister.
Jana y Alejandra son más bonitas que su madre.
Jana and Alejandra are prettier than their mother.
INFERIORITY
menos... (que) less/fewer... than
María es menos amable que su hermana Lucía.
Lucía is less kind than her sister Lucía.
Andrea es menos bonita que Karina.
Andrea is less beautiful than Karina.
EQUALITY
tan + adjective / adverb + como as... as
tanto + noun +como as much/many as
Jana es tan bonita como Alejandra.
Jana is as beautiful.
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CONNECTORS - CONECTORES
What are connectors?
Connectors are words that link similar words, groups of words or sentences. Here are the most common connectors that you may use both orally and in writing.
y
and
Nahuel y Vanesa hablan inglés
Nahuel and Vanesa speak English.
o
or
Esto es de Vanesa o de Nahuel.
This is Vanesa's or Nahuel's.
pero
but
Puedo hablar bien en italiano pero no puedo escribir.
I can speak Italian well but I cannot write.
luego
then
Me levanto a las 8. Luego desayuno, me ducho y me visto. Después (de esto) voy a trabajar....
I get up at 8. Then I have breakfast, I have a shower and I get dressed. After that I go to work...
Después
(de esto/eso)
after that
así que,
por lo tanto
so
Hacía mucho calor así que fuimos a la playa.
It was very hot so we went to the beach
ni...ni
no...ni
neither...nor
Ni trabaja ni estudia or No trabaja ni estudia.
He neither works nor studies.
O...O
either...or
O te lo comes todo, o no sales a jugar.
Either you eat it all.
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DIMINUTIVES - DIMINUTIVOS
What are DIMINUTIVES?
Diminutives are suffixes (i.e. little particles that are attached to the root of a word).
By adding a diminutive suffix to a noun, adjective, adverb or even a name, we can convey ideas of smallness, affection, irony, ridicule, humor or pity.
Common Spanish diminutives:
-ito
-cito
-ecito
-illo
-cillo
-ecillo
RULES
The two main diminutives are -ito and -illo,
A In most cases, we just drop the final vowel and add -ito or -illo.
Sara
Sarah
Sarita
Little Sarah
hijo
son
hijito
little son
pollo
chicken
pollito
little chicken
B One-syllable words that end in a consonant take -ecito or -ecillo:
pan
bread
panecillo
bread roll
pez
fish
pececillo
little fish
C Those words that have more than one syllable and end in E, N, R or a stress vowel add -cito or -cillo:
pobre
poor
probrecito
poor thing
mujer
woman
mujercita
little woman
mamá
mother
mamacita
cute little mommy
(sexual connotation, usually said as a complement to a.
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THERE IS/ THERE ARE - HAY HAY is the Spanish equivalent for THERE IS / THERE ARE
Hay un hombre detrás del árbol.
There is a man behind the tree.
Hay tres niñas en su clase.
There are three girls in his class.
Hay un problema en la oficina.
There is a problem at the office.
When HAY is followed by QUE, it means IT IS NECESSARY TO, or ONE HAS TO.
Hay que trabajar.
You have to work - It is necessary to work
Hay que comprar una nueva computadora.
It is necessary to buy a new computer.
Hay que vender esta propiedad.
It is necessary to sell this property.
Back to the Grammar.
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NEGATION - LA NEGACIÓN
Whenever we want to make a negative statement in Spanish, we just add the word NO in front of theverb:
Example:
¿No tienes cambio?
Si, tengo cambio.
Don't you have change?
Yes, I have change.
No quiero trabajar.
I do not want to work.
Mis amigos no fueron a la fiesta.
My friends did not go to the party.
No estoy loco.
I am not crazy.
There are also many negative words and expressions:
nunca / jamás
never
Enrique nunca / jamás estudia.
nunca más
never/ever again
/ no more
No voy a pelear contigo nunca más. (*)
I will not fight with you ever again.
tampoco
neither
Susana no estudia tampoco.
Susana does not study either.
Ni.... ni /No.... ni
neither.... nor
Ni Juan ni Pedro trabajan... or...
No trabajan Juan ni Pedro.
Neither Juan nor Pedro work.
nadie
no one
No hay nadie aquí. (*)
There is no one here.
en ninguna parte /
en ningún lado
nowhere / anywhere
No puedo encontrarlo en ningúnlado(*)
I cannot find it anywhere.
nada
nothing / anything
No se nada.(*)
I do not know anything.
I know.
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Definition:
A noun is a word that represents a thing, either concrete (e.g., a computer, a sofa) or abstract (a desire, success). In Spanish, all nouns have a gender, in other words they are either masculine or feminine. Usually, the ending gives us information about the gender:
ENDINGS...
GENDER
EXAMPLES
-o
masculine
perro (male dog)
-a
feminine
perra (female dog)
-ión
feminine
meditación (meditation)
-tad
feminine
amistad (friendship)
There are some exceptions, but in over 95% of the cases these rules apply. For that reason, if you are starting to study Spanish, do not worry much about those exceptions. You will learn them as you go! Pluralizing Nouns In most cases, in Spanish we pluralize nouns by attacing "S" to the noun.
Examples:
casa (house) casas
perro perros
If the noun ends in...
...add...
Examples
...a vowel...
...S
hombre hombres
niña niñas
...any consonant except Z...
...ES
mujer ... mujeres
mes ... meses
...Z, we change the Z to a C and...
...ES
pez ... peces
lápiz ... lápices
If the noun ends in...
...add...
Examples
...a vowel...
...S
hombre hombres
niña niñas
...any.
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In Spanish, all nouns have a gender; they are either masculine or feminine. Usually, the ending gives us information about the gender:
ENDINGS...
GENDER
EXAMPLES
-o
masculine
perro (male dog)
-a
feminine
perra (female dog)
-ión
feminine
meditación (meditation)
-tad
feminine
amistad (friendship)
However, there are some exceptions to these rulse, but in over 95% of the cases these rules apply. Let's have a quick look at them!
Note:
If you are a beginning student, skip this. Focus more on the generalities of the language, rather than on the exceptions, which, in the best of cases, account for a mere 5% of the total use of the language.
Masculine nouns that end in A
Feminine nouns that end in O
el clima
el cometa
el cura
el drama
el día
el enigma
el fantasma
el idioma
el artista
el mapa
el planeta
el poema
el problema
el programa
climate
comet
priest
drama
day
enigma
ghost
language
artist
map
planet
poem
problem
program
la dínamo
la foto
la mano
la moto
dynamo
photograph
.
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As we have seen, In Spanish, all nouns have a gender (masculine or feminine) and a number (singular or plural) Today we will learn how to make Spanish plural nouns:
RULE # 1 If the noun ends in a vowel, add S.
Examples:
perro~ perros
niño ~ niños
computadora ~ computadoras
RULE #2
If the noun ends in a Z, change theZ to a C and add ES.
Examples:
matiz ~ matices
vez ~ veces
voz ~ voces
RULE #3 If the noun ends in any consonant but Z, add ES.
Examples:
valor ~ valores
compás ~ compases
mes ~ meses
ordenador ~ ordenadores
Back to the Grammar.
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Just like in English, there are two main types of questions: YES / NO QUESTIONS and INFORMATION QUESTIONS.
YES/ NO QUESTIONS
As the name suggests, these types of questions will get either a YES or a NO for an answer.
Example:
¿Tienes cambio? ~ Si.
Do you have change? ~ Yes.
How to form YES/NO QUESTIONS
To form a YES/ NO QUESTION, in writing, we put an opening question mark at the beginning of the sentence (¿) and a closing question mark at the end of it (?)
When we speak the intonation at the end of the sentence goes up.
Listen to these examples:
STATEMENT
YES/NO
QUESTION
Estás cansado.
¿Estás cansado?
La niña está enferma.
¿La niña está enferma?
When we want to confirm if the listener is following us and agrees with us, we use question tags in the same way as we do in English.
Examples:
Andrea es bonita, ¿no?
Andrea is beautiful, isn't she?
Tienes hambre, ¿no es así?
You are hungry, aren't you?
El exámen es difícil, ¿verdad?
The exam is difficult, isn't it?
El niño es agresivo, ¿no es verdad?
The boy is agressive, isn't.
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