Archive for 'Spanish Grammar'
Plural of Nouns – Review Posted by Adir on Dec 14, 2009
Let’s review some rules to form the plural of nouns in Spanish. 1. Add an ‘-s’ to words ending in vowel or stressed vowels á, é, and ó. La casa – las casas El peine – los peines La tribu – las tribus La mamá – las mamás El café – los cafés 2. Add…
Irregular Verbs in the Present Tense Part 02 Posted by Adir on Dec 7, 2009
The second kind of irregularity in the present happens by changing the ‘o’ to ‘ue’. Check out the conjugation of the verb contar (to count, to tell). Yo cuento Tú cuentas Él/ella/usted cuenta Nosotros contamos Vosotros contáis Ellos/ellas/ustedes cuentan The same happens with the following verbs: Acordar (to remember) Acostar (to lie down) Almorzar (to…
El género Posted by Adir on Dec 3, 2009
Knowing the gender of a word in Spanish is not so easy sometimes, so here are two very good tips to help you choose between EL or LA. The following are typically masculine endings: -O – cariño, libro -OR – horror, emperador, color, valor -AJE – blindaje, linaje, homenaje, abordaje -MA – poema, sistema, teorema…
Irregular Verbs in the Present Tense Part 01 Posted by Adir on Nov 30, 2009
Yeah, I know Spanish verbs are hard to learn but sometimes you just need to follow a pattern and bingo! you get it right. Our first irregular verb pattern is when the root vowel ‘e’ becomes ‘ie’. Check out the verb apretar (to tighten). Yo aprieto Tú aprietas Él / ella / usted aprieta Nosotros…
Perífrasis Verbales Posted by Adir on Nov 25, 2009
Perífrasis verbales are combinations of two verbs that convey a meaning that’s different from that of the separate verbs. Let’s take a look at some of them: 1. estar + gerund – ongoing action -> Estoy buscando mi libro. (I am looking for my book.) 2. seguir + gerund – continuity -> Sigo dando clases…
G or J? Posted by Adir on Nov 12, 2009
Choosing between G or J in Spanish is not an easy task. So here’s a small test for you: fill in the blanks with G or J. ___enaro ___erardo ___erona ___erónima ___imnasia (gymnastics) A___enda (diary) Án___el (angel) Beren___ena (eggplant) Ciru___ano (surgeon) Ciru___ía (surgery) Co____er (to take) Co____o (I take) Co___ín (cushion) Cónyu___e (husband or wife)…
Study tip: learning irregular verbs in the past Posted by Adir on Oct 26, 2009
Irregular verbs are named that way because they are conjugated in unexpected ways. As a result, they are more difficult to learn and remember. They come in several present, past, and future tenses and there’s no magic way to learn them, but I devised a scheme here that might help you learn some verbs in…