Gramática (gr. 6)

Los verbos de AR (presente indicativo)

First, we need to learn the personal pronouns in Spanish.

Yo = I                                     nosotros = we (boys or boys and girls)
Tú = you (informal)                  nosotras = we (girls)
Él = he                                     vosotros/vosotras = you (plural, informal)
Ella = she                                ustedes = you (plural, formal and informal)
Usted = you (formal)               ellos = they (boys or boys and girls)
                                               ellas = they (girls)

In Spanish, the last letter or letters of a verb tell you who does the action.  To change an infinitive (verb form ending in "r") to a form that tells what someone is doing, remove the AR and add the appropriate ending.  The endings are in bold italicized text.

Example:  Nadar = to swim

Yo nado (I swim)                                nosotros nadamos (we swim (boys, boys & girls)
Tú nadas (you swim)                           nosotras nadamos (we swim (girls)
Usted nada (you (formal) swim)           vosotros / vosotras nadáis (you (plural) swim)
Él nada (he swims)                              ustedes nadan (you (plural) swim  )                
Ella nada (she swims)                          ellos nadan (they swim (boys, boys & girls)
                                                           ellas nadan (they swim (girls)

¿Nadas en la piscina?  Do you swim in the pool?  
Nado en la piscina.  I swim in the pool.

María nada en la piscina.  Mary swims in the pool.
Marco nada en la piscina.  Mark swims in the pool.

Nadamos en la piscina.  We swim in the pool.

Juan y tú nadáis en la piscina.  Juan and you swim in the pool. 
Juan y tú nadan en la pisicna.  Juan and you swim in the pool.

Roberto y Sara nadan en la piscina.  Roberto and Sara swim in the pool. 
Nadan en la piscina.  They swim in the pool.

El verbo "Ir"

ir - to go

yo - voy                     nosotros / as - vamos
tú - vas                       vosotros / as - vais
usted - va                   ustedes - van
él - va                         ellos - van
ella - va                      ellas - van

¿Va Ricardo al supermercado?  Does Richard go to the supermarket?
Sí, Ricardo va al supermercado.  Yes, Richard goes to the supermarket.

¿Van María y tú a la escuela?  Do you and Mary (plural you)  go to school?  OR
¿Vais María y tú a la escuela?  Do you and Mary (plural informal you) go to school?
Sí, María y yo vamos a la escuela.  Yes, Mary and I go to school.

Ir + a + infinitive



A, a la, al

"a" mean "to".  It is usually used with nouns, as in English.  ex.  I'm going to the store.  Voy a la tienda.
However, in Spanish, nouns carry gender, so some nouns will utilize "el" instead of "la"  ( i.e. el supermercado).  You cannot put "a" and "el" next to each other.  "Voy a el supermercado" is incorrect.  Instead, "a" and "el" are combined to form the contraction "al", the masculine singular form of "to the".  Voy al supermercado.

If the noun is plural, the definite article must also be pluralized.  Voy a las tiendas. 
If it is masculine, the contraction is not used, as the definite article must be pluralized.  Voy a los supermercados.

 

ER Verbs

comer--to eat

Yo como (I eat)                                nosotros comemos (we eat (boys, boys & girls)
Tú comes (you eat)                           nosotras comemos (we eat (girls)
Usted come (you (formal) eat)           vosotros / vosotras comeis (you (plural informal) eat)
Él come (he eats)                              ustedes comen (you (plural) eat  )                
Ella come (she eats)                          ellos comen (they eat (boys, boys & girls)
                                                         ellas comen (they eat (girls)

ex.  Roberto come la manzana.  Robert eats the apple.
Como los huevos.  I eat the eggs.

Irregular Verbs (you will need to know these as well)

Ir--to go

yo--voy                 nosotros/as--vamos
tú--vas                  vosotros/as--vais
Usted--va             Ustedes--van
él--va                    ellos/as-van
ella--va
 

Estar--to be

yo--estoy                 nosotros/as--estamos
tú--estás                  vosotros/as--estáis
Usted--está             Ustedes--están
él--está                    ellos/as-están
ella--está

Uses of 'estar'

Ser--to be

yo--soy                 nosotros/as--somos
tú--eres                 vosotros/as--sois
Usted--es             Ustedes--son
él--es                    ellos/as-son
ella--es

Uses of "ser"

Other Important Grammar Rules:

Los sustantivos (nouns)

Nouns refer to people, animals, places or things.  Unlike English, Spanish nouns have gender--they are either masculine or feminine.

     Most nouns that end in "o" are masculine
     Most nouns that end in "a" are feminine
     Other nouns may end in "e" or a consonant.  These can be either masculine or feminine.
     a few nouns can be both  masculine and feminine (el estudiante, la estudiante)
     "el" and "la" are definite articles, and are the equivalent of "the" in English.  "el" is masculine and
         "la" is feminine.
     Un and Una are indefinite articles, like "a" and "an" in English.  "un" is masculine and "una" is
         feminine.
     To pluralize a noun, first pluralize the definite article, then the noun.  i.e. "la silla" would be "las
         sillas".  The only difference is that the plural of "el" is "los", so, "el pupitre" would be "los pupitres". 
     Most nouns (that end in a vowel) are pluralized by adding an "s".  (la silla--las sillas)
     Nouns that end in a consonant are pluralized by adding "es".  (el papel--los papeles)
     Nouns that end in a "z" are  pluralized by changing the z to a c and adding "es". ( el pez, los peces)
 

It is a good idea to memorize the definite article along with the noun.

Los adjetivos

In Spanish, adjectives, just like nouns, have both masculine and feminine forms (and plural and singular).

ex.  La leche es sabrosa.  El jamón es sabroso. 

If the noun is plural, the adjective describing it must ALSO be plural (and masculine or feminine to match with the noun).  To make and adjective plural, add an "s" to the end if it ends in a vowel.  Add an "es to the end if it ends in a consonant. 

Las leches son sabrosas.  Los padres son trabajadores.

When an adjective describes both masculine AND feminine nouns, use the masculine plural ending.

lLas manzanas y los guisantes son deliciosos.

Time

1:00-- Es la una.             2:00--  Son las dos.         3:00--  Son las tres.      4:00--  Son las cuatro

1:10--  Es la una y diez   2:15--Son las dos y quince    3:30--  Son las tres y treinta
                                      or       Son las dos y cuarto        or    Son las tres y media

Time past the half hour.

3:45--Son las tres y cuarenta y cinco.   OR  Son las cuatro menos quince.  (or Son las cuatro menos cuarto)

4:55--  Son las cuatro y cincuenta y cinco.  OR  Son las cinco menos cinco.