Grammar/ Gramática
Alphabet / Alfabeto
Vowels / Vocales
Diphthong / Diptongo
Triphthong / Triptongo
Pronunciation Tips/ Consejos para la pronunciación
Greetings and Farewells/ Saludos y Despedidas Cultural Notes.
Courtesy Forms/ Palabras de Cortesía
To Be/ Ser y estar
Interrogatives/ Interrogativos
Accentuation / Acentuación
Gender and Number/ Género y Número
Plural / Plural
Pronouns / Pronombre
Definite Articles / Artículos Definidos
Demostrative / Demostrativo
Possessive / Posesivo
Indefinite Articles / Artículos Indefinidos
Neuter Article/ Artículo Neutro
Adjective / Adjetivo
Agreement of Articles, Adjectives and Nouns / Concordancia de Artículos, Adjetivos y Sustantivos
Regular Verb / Verbo Regular
Present / Presente
Comparative Forms / Comparaciones
Conditional Tense / Condicional
Future tense / Futuro
Contractions / Contracciones
Command forms/ Imperativo
Negation/ Negación
Past / Pasado
Prefixes des-, in-, and re-/ Prefijos des-, in- y re-
Diminutive/ Disminutivo
To Know/ Conocer y saber
Gerund/ Gerundio
Progressive / Progresivo
Reflexive / Reflexivo
Prepositions / Preposiciones
Difference between Pedir and Preguntar (ask)
There is (are) expressions/ Hay
Just have done something.../ Acabar de
Imperfect Tense/ Imperfecto
Irregular verb / Verbo Irregular
Subjunctive I / Subjuntivo
Passive Voice/ Voz Pasiva
Weather Expressions/ Expresiones de clima
To Make, do/ Hacer
To Have, possess/ Tener
To Like/ Gustar
The Alphabet
The gender of letters is feminine, for example, la "a"/ the "a", la "eme"/ the "m".
Letter/letra |
Name/nombre |
Example/ejemplo |
A |
a |
Andrés |
B |
be larga o be alta |
Beatriz |
C |
ce |
Carlos |
CH |
che |
Pancho |
D |
de |
Darío |
E |
e |
Elena |
F |
efe |
Francisco |
G |
ge |
Gustavo |
H (always silent) |
ache |
Hugo |
I |
i |
Irma |
J |
jota |
Juan |
K |
ka |
Karina |
L |
ele |
Luis |
LL |
elle |
Guillermo |
M |
eme |
Marta |
N |
ene |
Nora |
Ñ |
eñe |
Ñoño |
O |
o |
Oscar |
P |
pe |
Pablo |
Q |
cu |
Quito |
R |
ere |
Rosa |
S |
ese |
Susana |
T |
te |
Tito |
U |
u |
Úrsula |
V |
ve corta |
Vicente |
W |
doble ve o doble u |
Walter |
X |
equis |
Xavier |
Y |
i griega o ye |
Yolanda |
Z |
zeta |
Zulema |
Ser & estar/ to be
Both verbs, ser and estar, are equivalent to the English verb to be; however, they have very specific meanings and are NOT interchangeable. NOTE in the following examples how the meaning of a sentence changes:
La Miss Universo es linda./Miss Universe is pretty.
La Miss Universo está linda./ Miss Universe looks pretty (at this specific moment).
El niño es listo./ The child is smart.
El niño está listo./ The child is ready.
Mi madre es aburrida./ My mother is boring (she is a boring person).
Mi madre está aburrida./ My mother is bored.
Mi hijito es vivo./ My little son is smart.
Mi hijito está vivo./ My little son is alive.
SER / TO BE
Pronoun |
Present |
Past |
Future |
Conditional |
yo/ I |
soy |
fui |
seré |
sería |
tú/ you |
eres |
fuiste |
serás |
serías |
él, ella, Ud./ he, she, you |
es |
fue |
será |
sería |
nos./ we |
somos |
fuimos |
seremos |
seríamos |
vos./you |
sois |
fuisteis |
seréis |
seríais |
ellos, Uds./ they, you |
son |
fueron |
serán |
serían |
1. Ser/ to be is used to describe essential or inherent characteristics or qualities:
Basic aspects: color, shape, material of which something is made out of, size, physical characteristics, and personality.
EXAMPLES
La nieve es blanca./ The snow is white.
La tierra es redonda./ The earth is round.
El saco es de lana./ The jacket is wool.
Yo soy alta./ I am tall.
Mi socio es extrovertido./ My partner is outgoing.
2. Possession.
EXAMPLE
El auto es mío./ The car is mine.
3. Relationship.
EXAMPLE
Ella es mi prima./ She is my cousin.
4. Profession.
EXAMPLE
Son cirujanos plásticos./ They are plastic surgeons.
5. Nationality.
EXAMPLE
Soy argentina./ I am Argentine.
6. Origin.
EXAMPLE
El interventor es de La Paz./ The auditor is from La Paz.
7. Ser/ to be is used to indicate marital status.
EXAMPLE
Ella es divorciada./ She is divorced.
8. Expressions of time and dates.
EXAMPLES
Es la una./ It's one o'clock.
Hoy es jueves./ Today is Thursday.
9. Events taking place.
EXAMPLE
La fiesta es esta noche./ The party is tonight.
10. Passive voice.
EXAMPLE
La casa fue incendiada./ The house (was) burned down.
11. Impersonal expressions.
EXAMPLE
Es imposible hablar con ellos./ It's impossible talking to them.
12. Noun and adjective complement (A complement completes the sentence by describing or defining the subject).
EXAMPLES
Mi suegra es una abuela maravillosa./ My mother-in-law is a wonderful grandma.
Ella es Ana./ She is Ana.
El compasivo es él./ The compassionate one is he. (Remember that the verb to be is transitory; therefore, he is used instead of him.)
ESTAR / TO BE
Estar is used to express location, transitory aspects, and characteristics that are NOT inherant property of a noun, such as how something/someone looks, feels or tastes at a given moment.
Pronoun |
Present |
Past |
Future |
Conditional |
yo/ I |
estoy |
estuve |
estaré |
estaría |
tú/ you |
estás |
estuviste |
estarás |
estarías |
él, ella, Ud./ he, she, you |
está |
estuvo |
estará |
estaría |
nos./ we |
estamos |
estuvimos |
estaremos |
estaríamos |
vos./you |
estáis |
estuvisteis |
estaréis |
estaríais |
ellos, Uds./ they, you |
están |
estuvieron |
estarán |
estarían |
1. Location or position of people and things.
EXAMPLES
El restaurante está en la esquina./ The restaurant is at the corner.
Los inversores estarán en Venezuela./ The investors will be in Venezuela.
2. Transitory, unusual, recently changed or constantly changing state or condition.
EXAMPLES
Pablo estuvo enfermo./ Pablo was sick.
El café está frío./ The coffee is cold.
3. Results of an action.
EXAMPLE
Nuestros problemas estarán resueltos pronto./ Our problems will be solved soon.
4. State or condition of a subject.
EXAMPLE
El rehén está vivo./ The hostage is alive.
5. Progressive tenses.
EXAMPLE
El lunes estaremos celebrando nuestro triunfo./ On Monday we'll be celebrating our triumph.
6. Weather expressions.
EXAMPLE
Está lloviendo./ It's raining.