Spanish grammar
Every rule of the courses, short and clear, with tables, examples and common mistakes.
Level A0
Alphabet and pronunciationSpanish is read almost exactly as it is written: learn the sounds of the letters once.año · llamar · perro · holaStress and accent marksTwo simple rules tell you where the stress falls; the accent mark shows the exceptions.casa · ciudad · café · túPunctuation and capital lettersQuestions and exclamations open with ¿ and ¡, and days, months and languages are written in lowercase.¿Qué tal? · ¡Hola! · lunes · español
Level A1
Articles and noun genderEvery noun is masculine or feminine, and its article agrees: el libro, la casa.el libro · la casa · un día · una manoPlural and adjective agreementAdd -s or -es for the plural; articles and adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number.los libros · las casas blancas · ciudadesSubject pronounsWho does the action: yo, tú, usted… and why Spanish often leaves them out.yo · tú · usted · nosotrosThe verb serWho or what something is: identity, origin, profession, character.soy · eres · esEstar and hayWhere something is and how it is right now (estar), and what there is somewhere (hay).estoy · está · hayPresent tense: regular -ar verbsRegular -ar verbs in the present: drop -ar and add -o, -as, -a, -amos, -an.hablo · hablas · hablaPresent tense: regular -er and -ir verbsRegular -er and -ir verbs share their endings, except nosotros: comemos but vivimos.como · vives · comemos · vivimosVosotros formsIn Spain, vosotros is the informal “you” for a group of people: vosotros habláis.habláis · coméis · vivís · soisSpainPresent tense: stem-changing verbsIn some verbs the stressed stem vowel changes (quiero, puedo, pido), but not in nosotros.quiero · puedo · pido · juegoPresent tense: irregular verbsThe most common verbs are irregular in the present: tengo, voy, hago, sé.tengo · voy · hago · séPossessive determinersmi, tu, su, nuestro agree with the thing owned, not with the owner.mi casa · tus libros · nuestraGustar and similar verbsTo say what you like: the thing liked is the subject, the person is an indirect object.me gusta · me gustan · le encantaNear future: ir a + infinitiveIr a + infinitive talks about plans, intentions and what is about to happen.voy a estudiar · vas a comerReflexive verbsVerbs with -se (llamarse, levantarse) take a pronoun that matches the subject: me levanto.me llamo · te levantas · se duchaQuestions and negationAsk with a question word that carries a written accent (qué, dónde, cuántos…), put a preposition before it (¿de dónde?), and put no before the verb.¿de dónde? · ¿cuál? · no soySer or estar with adjectivesser + adjective says what someone or something is like; estar + adjective says how they are now or what state they are in.es tímido · está nervioso · está listoThis and thatPoint to things at three distances — este (near me), ese (near you), aquel (over there) — in the gender and number of the noun; esto, eso, aquello stand alone.este · ese · aquel · ¿qué es esto?Prepositions of place and al / delWhere things are (en, cerca de, enfrente de…) and where you go (a); a + el = al, de + el = del.en casa · voy al cine · cerca del bancoTelling the timeSay what time it is and when something happens: es la una, son las tres y media, a las ocho.son las tres · y media · a las ochoObligation: tener que, hay queSay what someone has to do (tener que), what has to be done in general (hay que) and what is not necessary (no tener que).tengo que · hay que · no tengo queMuy, mucho and pocoMuy goes before adjectives and adverbs; mucho goes after a verb or before a noun, where it agrees with the noun; poco works like mucho.muy alto · trabajo mucho · muchos amigosHow often and double negationSay how often with siempre, a menudo, a veces or nunca; keep no before the verb when nunca or nada comes after it; agree with también or tampoco.a menudo · no… nunca · tampoco
Level A2
Preterite: regular verbsCompleted actions in the past with regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs.hablé · comiste · vivióPreterite: irregular verbsFrequent verbs with their own preterite stems: fui, tuve, hice, dijo.fui · tuve · hice · dijoImperfect tenseHabits, descriptions and background in the past: hablaba, comía, era.hablaba · comía · era · ibaPreterite versus imperfectPreterite for completed events, imperfect for background, habits and descriptions.leía · sonó · era · fuePresent perfectHaber + past participle for experiences and the recent past: he hablado, has comido.he hablado · has comido · hemos vistoObject pronounsLo, la, los, las replace the direct object, le and les the indirect one; le becomes se before lo.lo veo · le doy · se lo doyComparatives and superlativesCompare with más / menos … que and tan … como; say “the most” with el / la más … de.más alto que · tan bueno como · el mejorPresent progressiveEstar + gerund for what is happening right now: estoy hablando.estoy hablando · está comiendo · leyendoAffirmative imperative (tú)Telling a friend what to do: habla, come, ven, haz.habla · come · ven · hazPor and paraPara points to a goal or destination; por gives a cause, a means, an exchange or a route.para ti · gracias por · por teléfonoStressed possessives: mío, tuyoMío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro stand without a noun or after it and agree with the thing owned: es mío, la tuya, un amigo mío.es mío · la tuya · ¿de quién es?Pronouns after prepositions: para mí, conmigoAfter a preposition, yo and tú become mí and ti (para mí, sin ti), with con they become conmigo and contigo, and the other persons don't change.para mí · sin ti · conmigo · contigoSomething and nothing: algo, nadie, ningúnSay algo / nada for things, alguien / nadie for people and algún / ningún before a masculine singular noun; with a negative word after the verb, keep no before it.alguien · nadie · ningún problemaAdverbs in -menteAdd -mente to the feminine form of an adjective (rápida → rápidamente, fácil → fácilmente), keep its written accent, and put -mente only on the last of two adverbs.rápidamente · fácilmente · clara y lentamenteRelative clauses: que, dondeQue joins a description to a person or a thing, donde to a place, and lo que means “what, the thing that”; as relatives they have no accent mark.la chica que vive al lado · la calle donde vivo · lo que necesitoEstar + participle: está rotoEstar + participle describes the state an action has left: la puerta está cerrada; the participle agrees like an adjective.la puerta está cerrada · los platos están lavados · está rotoVerb phrases: acabar de, soler, dejar deA conjugated verb plus an infinitive (or a gerund) adds a time nuance: acabar de (have just), volver a (again), empezar a (start), dejar de (stop), soler (usually) and seguir + gerund (still, keep).acabo de llegar · dejé de fumar · suelo cenar tardeHace, desde hace, ya, todavíaHace + a length of time says how long ago something happened; desde, desde hace and hace… que with the present say how long something has been going on; ya, todavía, todavía no and ya no say whether something has happened, goes on or has stopped.hace dos años · desde hace un mes · ya · todavía no
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