GENDER
Every Spanish noun is masculine or feminine.Nouns are generally masculine
when they end in o:el libro (the book), and feminine
when they end in a: la pluma (the feather).There are also
many exceptions to the rule such as el día (the day);la
mano (the hand).This is why, nouns like these and those ending in other
letters than o or a,must be learned individually.
Nouns denoting persons,employments,or nationality may often be made feminine
by changing final o to a ,or by adding a :hermano
(brother) ; hermana (sister);español (Spaniard);española
(Spanish woman).
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ARTICLES
In Spanish there are two articles:Indefinite and Definite.Each must agree with the noun which it modifies.
| INDEFINITE ARTICLE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| | |
||
| DEFINITE ARTICLE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MASCULINE | FEMININE | NEUTRAL | ||
| Singular | ||||
| Plural | ||||
The feminine el is an old form of the article which is still in used before nouns
beginning with a stressed syllable in a or a ha : el agua=water; el hacha=ax;but not in la América=America.
In addition,the form el combines with de=of,from to form del=of the,from the; and with a=to,to form al=to the.
The neuter article is used only with adjectives not modifying a noun: lo mismo=the same.
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ARTICLE USE
Articles are not always along side a noun.As usual, there are exceptions to this rule or they are requiered to make a sentence,phrase or title make any sense.
- Before a predicate noun:Es alemán=He is a German.
- Before a title use the definite article:el señor Gonzales,el generál Benites,etc.
- Before the name of a lenguage,except after hablar and en, use the definite article:Aprendemos el español=we are learning Spanish,el generál Gómez habla español=General Gómez speaks Spanish
- Hay dos puertas aquí=there are two doors here
- No hay papel=there is no paper
- ¿Por qué aprende usted español?=Because I am going to Spain.Another answer could be :Para escribir cartas en español=In order to write Spanish letters.
-
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SER Y ESTAR
SER TO BE ESTAR soy I am estoy eres you are estás es he is estás es she is estás es usted you are está usted somos we are estamos son they are están son ustedes you are está ustedes Ser and estar both correspond to the English verb to be, but each hasnits distinctive meaning.Estar denotes position:Está en Méjico= He is in Mexico.Ser denotes character;hence must be used before all nouns standing in the predicate:Es español=He is a Spaniard.
With adjectives estar indicates a condition temporary in duration: Está enfermo=he is sick;while ser implies an essential quality of a person or thing;Elpapel es blanco=the paper is white.
When an adjective is used in the predicate with the meaning of a noun,the proper verb is ser: es rico=He is rich(meaning he is a rich man);Ella es joven=She is a young woman.
With bueno=good,and malo=bad,estar refers to health,while ser refers to character:Es bueno,pero está malo=He is a good man,but he is sick.
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ADJECTIVES
Spanish adjectives take the gender and number of the nouns which they modify.This rule is true also when the adjective is used after ser and estar.
- El libro blanco=The white book.
- La casa blanca=The white house.
- Los libro son blancos=The books are white.
- Las casas son blancas=The houses are white.
- El libro está cerrado=The book is shut.
- La puerta está abierta=The door is open.
The attributive adjective is usually placed after the noun;el hombre cortés=the polite man;la mujer hermosa=the beautiful woman.
If a masculine adjective ends in o,the feminine substitutesa for o: blanco blanca=white;negro,negra=black.
Adjectives ending in e or a consonant have the same form in both genders:
- el papel verde=the green paper
- la casa verde=the green house
- el color azul=the blue color
- la luz azul=the blue light
There is always an exception to the rule.In this case,Adjectives of nationality add a to words ending in a consonant:ingles,inglesa=English;alemán,alemana=German
Like the plural of nouns,the plural of adjectives is formed by adding s to the words ending in a vowel and esto words ending in a consonant:los papeles verdes=the gren papers;las luces azules=the blue lights.
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PLURAL OF NOUNS
To form the plural of nouns,add s to words ending in a vowel,es to words ending in a consonant:
| PLURAL | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MASCULINE | FEMININE | |||
| Singular | el hombre | la mujer |
||
| Plural | los hombres | las mujeres |
||
You have to pay attention to changes in the spelling of words like el lápiz=the pencil; los lápices=the pencils.The letter z must be change to c before es.
The final y is treated as a consonant:el rey=the king;los reyes=the kings;la ley=the law;las leyes=the laws.
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IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS
No two lenguages correspond precisly in their methods of expressing ideas.Expressions which do not appear to follow a rule of grammar,or which vary from our own method,we term idiomatic;thus,a Spanish letter = una carta en español;a Spanish lesson=una lección de español.
ESTAR:Está bien=Allright;¡Está bueno!=Good!Excellent!
HAY:there is or there are
A question introduced by ¿por qué?=why may be answered by porque=because,with a clause,or by para=for or in order to,followed by an indefinitive.