This grammar book covers essential topics of Spanish grammar including: the present tense, stem changers, irregular verbs, saber vs conocer, reflexives, impersonal se, diphthongs, ger/gir and cer/cir verbs, hace + que constructions, the imperfect and preterite tenses, regular and irregular conjugations, comparatives, superlatives, and the future tense. It provides examples and explanations of key grammatical structures in Spanish.
3. Present Tense ( -ar, -er, -ir)
-ar verbs change to
O amos
As ais
A an
-er and -ir verbs change to
O emos/imos
Es eis
E en
4. Stem Changers
When you conjugate Some verbs the undergo
stem changes
There are three kinds of stem changes
o:ue
e:ie
e:I
Example:
cerrar (The e changes to ie inside the boot)
cierro cerramos
cierras cerráis
cierra cierran
5. Irregular “yo”
When some verbs are conjugated only the yo
form is irregular.
Example:
Tener Tengo
Venir Vengo
Hacer Hago
6. Saber vs. Conocer
To talk about whether someone knows a fact or
information use the verb saber.
To talk about whether somone knows a person or
place use the verb conocer.
Example: Eduardo sabe mucha información de
México.
Example: Yo conozco a Juan.
7. Reflexives
A reflexive verb reflects the action of the verb
back to the subject of the sentence.
Example: lavarse
Example in a sentence: Jose se lava. “Jose
washed himself”
8. “Se” Impersonal
Se is a pronoun that refers to an undefined group
of people.
Example: Se habla ingles. (They speak english)
9. Dipthongs with accents
Dipthongs are when two vowels are next to each
other in a word so the second vowel is changed.
Example: oi oy ui uy
The stress is placed on the strong vowel.
If the diphthong has two weak vowels, the second
one receives the stress
10. ger/gir, uir/guir, and cer/cir
ger/gir, uir/guir, and cer/cir verbs change in the yo
from when conjugated into the present.
-ger/-gir verbs change the g to j
-uir/-giur verbs change the gu to g
-cer/-cer verbs with a vowel in front of it change c to
zc
-cer/-cer verbs with a consonant in front of it change
c to z
11. Hace___+Que+___
Hace + time + que + present tense form of the
verb.
Example: Hace seis días que corro un maratón.
12. Imperfecto
To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the imperfect
tensed drop the –ar and add the appropriate
ending.
aba ábamos
abas abais
aba aban
To conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the
imperfect tense drop the –er or –ir ending and
add the apropriate ending.
ía íamos
ías, íais
ía ían
13. Preterite
Past tense
Known beginning/ and or ending
“ Snapshot “ of time.
Trigger words
Ayer
Anoche
Anteayer
La semana pasada…
14. Regular Conj.
A majority of spanish verbs use a regular
conjugation in the preterite.
-ir -ar
o imos a amos
es en as an
e en- a an
-er
o emos
es en
e en-
15. Car, Gar, Czar (Irregular
Conjugations)
Car – que
Gar – gue
Zar - ce
17. Cucaracha Verbs (Irregular Conjugations)
The base of the verb changes and you add the appropriate
ending
Andar-Anduv
Estar-Estuv
Poder-Pud
Poner-Pus
Quere-Quis
Saber-Sup
Tener-Tuv
Vener-Vin
Conducir-Conduj
Producir-Produj
Traducir-Traduj
Decir-Dij
Traer-Traj
18. Snake/Snakey (Irregular
Conjugations)
Snake Snakey
Stem changers Y changers
Change in third person Change in third person
Dormir Leer
Creer
Contruir
19. Comparatives
Comparatives compare to things.
Mas que Morethan
Menos que Less than or fewerthan
Tan the same
Tanto como As much or as many as
20. Superlatives
Superlatives say that something is the best/most
or worst/least at something
Example : Juan es mas alto. (Juan is the tallest.)
Juanita es la menos juegador de
beisbol.
(Juanita is the worst baseball player)
21. Future Tense
Verb Endings
é emos
ás án
á án
Irregular future verbs.
Examples-
Decir-dir sabedr –sabr
haber – habr salir –saldr
poder- podr tener-tendr
poner- pondr valer-valdr
querer-querr venir-vendr
Future tense expresses something that hasn’t
occurred yet..
Ex.