1. Grammar Book
Marcela Ray

2. 1. Present Tense
2. Stem Changers
3. Irregular “yo” verbs
4. Saber vs. Conocer
5. Reflexives
6. „Se‟ Impersonal
7. Present tense with dipthongs
8. Verbs Similar to Gustar
9. Irregular Verbs ending in –uir/-guir, -cer/-cir, -ger/-gir
10. Hacer Expressions
11. Imperfect
12. Preterite
13. Comparitives/Superlatives
14. Future tense
Table of Contents

3. For present tense Yo Nosotros
verbs, you
replace the Tú Vosotros
ar/er/ir ending
with the related Él/Ella/ Ellos/Ellas/
conjugation.
Usted Ustedes
-ar -er -ir
-o -amos -o -emos -o -imos
-as -áis -es -éis -es -ís
-a -an -e -en -e -en
1. Present Tense

4. Ir Estar Ser Dar
• Voy • Estoy • Soy • Doy
• Vas • Estás • Eres • Das
• Va • Está • Es • Da
• Vamos • Estamos • Somos • Damos
• Van • Están • Son • Dan
(1.) Present Tense Irregular Verbs

5. e → ie (Perder)
e→i (Pedir)
o → ue (Dormir)
u → ue (Jugar)
Example:
Cerrar (e-ie): cierro cerramos
cierras cerráis
cierra cierran
 There is no stem change for nosotros or vosotros.
 These are also called boot verbs.
2. Stem Changers

6. -car: -co → -qué
-gar: -go → -gué
-zar: -zo → -cé
Example:
Empacar: empaqué empacamos
empacaste
empacó empacaron
 It only changes in the first person singular tense.
3. Irregulars (-car,-gar,-zar)

7. Saber and Conocer both mean “to know,” but
they are not interchangable.
 Saber: to express knowledge or ignorance of
information, skills, or facts.
ex: Él sabe matemáticas.
 Conocer: to say that one is or is not acquainted
with a person, place, or an object.
ex: Yo no conozco a Juan.
4. Saber vs. Conocer

8.  Reflexive verbs show action being done to oneself.
 They use the pronouns:
me nos
te os
se se
-The pronouns can go in front of the conjugated verb
(Se baña) or hook on to the end of the infinitive
form of the verb (bañarse).
Reflexive verbs include: lavarse, llamarse, and
vestirse
5. Reflexives

9.  In english, people frequently say things like,
“You shouldn‟t smoke” or “One shouldn‟t text
and drive,” but “you” and “one” aren‟t really
referring to anyone specific. These are called
impersonal expressions.
 In Spanish, you add the pronoun „se‟ in front of
the verb you are using.
 Example:
How does one say “ice cream” in Italian?
=¿Cómo se dice “helado” en italiano?
6. ‘Se’ Impersonal

10.  Some verbs need an accent to break up the
dipthong in order to place stress on the proper
syllable.
 A dipthing is a weak vowel („i/y‟ or „u‟) with a
strong vowel („a‟, „e‟, „o‟), or two weak vowels
coming together to form one syllable.
 Example:
Esquiar (to ski): esquío esquíamos
esquías
esquía esquían
7. Present Tense with dipthongs

11. Gustar and verbs similar to gustar do not
conjugate like normal verbs. Gustar only
conjugates to “gusta” or “gustan.” You use
“gusta” if the object that you like is singular,
and you use “gustan” if the object you like is
plural.
Ex: Me gusta la clasa.
Te gustan las comidas.
Verbs similar to gustar include: Aburrir (to
bore), fascinar (to facinate), bastar (to be
sufficient), importar (to be important to),
interesar (to interest), molestar (to bother), etc.
8. Verbs like Gustar

12. Coger Exigir
9. Verbs like • Cojo • Exijo
-ger/-gir,
• Coges • Exiges
• Coge • Exige
-cer/-cir, • Cogemos
• Cogen
• Exigimos
• Exigen
-uir/-guir Conocer Decir
• Conozco • Digo
• Conoces • Dices
• Conoce • Dice
• Conocemos • Dicimos
• Conocen • Dicen
Atribuir Conseguir
• Atribuyo • Consigo
• Atribuyes • Consigues
• Atribuye • Consigue
• Atribuimos • Consigimos
• Atribuyen • Consiguen

13. The verb "hacer" can be used to indicate the
length of time an action has been taking
place.
 Use the formula: Hace + time + que +
present tense
 (Hacer + the amount of time needed for the
action to be completed + que + the present
tense form of the verb being used.)
10. Hace + time + que + present tense

14.  Imperfect verbs describe an ongoing or repeated
action taking place in the past. (“I used to…”)
 Examples:
Los pajaros cantaban. → The birds were singing.
Mi mamá tenía una cara bonita. → My mom
had a pretty face.
-ar: -aba -ábamos -er/-ir: -ía - íamos
-abas -ías
-aba -aban -ía -ían
11. Imperfect

15. • iba
• ibas Trigger Words:
• iba •Todos los dias
Ir: • íbamos
• iban
•Siempre
•A menudo
•Con frecuencia
•De vez en cuando
• era •Habitualmente
• eras
• era
•Normalmente
Ser: • éramos
• eran
•A veces
•Todas las noches
•Cada dia
•Por/en la tarde
• veía •Por/en la noche
• veías •Por lo general
• veía •Por lo regular
Ver: • veíamos
• veían
•Frecuentemente
•Etc.
(11.) Irregular Imperfects and Trigger Words

16.  The preterite is a past tense perfected action or
a snapshot of time, and it has a beginning
and/or an ending.
 Conjugations: -ar -er/-ir
-é -amos -í -imos
-aste -iste
-ó -aron -ió -ieron
Trigger Words:
Anteayer, el dia anterior, ayer, el jueves pasado,
la semana pasada, el fin de semana pasado, el
mes pasado, el otra dia, una vez, esta tarde,
etc.
12. Preterite

17. Ir/Ser Dar/Ver Hacer
fui d/vi hice
fuiste d/viste hiciste
Fue d/vio hizo
fuimos d/vimos hicimos
fueron d/vieron hicieron
(12.) Spock Verbs

18. Andar: anduv-
Estar: estuv-
Poder: pud-
Poner: pus- -e
Querer: quis- -iste
Saber: sup- -o
Tener: tuv- -imos
Venir: vin- -isteis
Conducir: conduj-
-ieron
If there is a „j‟-
Producir: produj-
drop the „i‟ on Traducir: traduj-
„ieron‟ Decir (e-i): dij-
Traer: traj-
(12.) Cucaracha Verbs

19.  Snake and Snakey verbs are verbs that change in the
third person only.
 Example of snake verbs:
Pedir: pedí pedimos
pediste
pidieron pidieron
 Example of snakey verbs:
Leer: leí leímos
leíste
leyó leyeron
 Snakey verbs change the „i‟ to „y‟ in the third person.
(12.) Snake and Snakey Verbs

20. Superlatives describe what is the most or least of
something.
Subject + Noun + Mas/Menos + Adjective/Adverb + de +
 Ex: Esta es la playa más bonita de todas.
This beach is the prettiest of all.
Comparatives compare one thing to another. (better,
older, etc.)
>Mas/menos + adj/adv/noun + que
>tan (or tanto) + adj/adv (or noun) + como
 Ex: Mi equipo de fútbol favorito es mejor que el tuyo.
My favorite soccer team is better than yours.
13. Superlatives and Comparatives

21. 1) Ir + a + infinitive is the future tense for the
immediate future. (“Going to”)
2) The more formal way to use the future tense
is by conjugating the verb (“I will”). Verbs in
the future tense all use the same endings, no
matter if they are –ar, -er, or –ir.
 You do not take the –ar, -er, or –ir off the verb
when you are conjugating it. (Nadaré)
 Endings: -é
-ás
-á
-emos
-án
14. Future Tense

22.  Decir: dir- Trigger Words:
 Haber: habr- •La próxima semana
 Hacer: har- •En ocho años
 Poder: podr- •Luego
-é •Mañana
 Poner: pondr-
-ás •Planifico
 Querer: querr-
-á •Espero
 Saber: sabr-
-emos •Etc.
 Salir: saldr-
-án
 Tener: tendr-
 Valer: valdr-
 Venir: vendr-
(14.) Irregular Future and Triggers