The document provides an overview of Spanish grammar topics including: - Present tense - Stem changers - Irregular yo verbs - Saber vs. conocer - Reflexive verbs - Impersonal "se" - Gustar verbs - Irregular verbs ending in cer/cir, guir/uir, ger/gir - Hacer expressions - Imperfect tense - Preterite tense - Comparatives and superlatives - Future and conditional tenses - Por vs. para - Commands - Present perfect - Subjunctive - Progressive

2. Table of Contents
• Present tense
• Stem changers
• Irregular yo verbs
• Saber vs. conocer
• Reflexive verbs
• “se” impersonal
• Verbs like gustar
• Irregular verbs ending in cer/cir, guir/uir, ger/gir.
• Hacer expressions
• Imperfect

3. •Irregulars
-Trigger
•Preterite tense
- irregulars: car/gar/zar
-spock
-cucaracha
-snake
-snakey
Trigger words
•Comparatives
•Superlatives
•Future
-irregulars
Trigger words

4. • Future VS conditional
• Por
• Para
• Por VS para
• Preterite VS imperfect
• Commands
• DOP
• Present Perfect
• Adverbs
• Subjunctive
• Progressive

5. O amos
a ais
as an

6. o Emos
es
E en

7. o imos
es
e en

8. In some cases the stem of a word also changes when conjugating as well as the ending.
(Nosotros and Vosotros do not change)
almorzar
to eat lunch
contar Examples: morir
cuento to die
aprobar
cuentas to approve
cuenta mostrar
contamos to show
colgar
contáis to hang
cuentan mover
to move (an
object)

9. In some cases the stem of a word also changes when conjugating as well as the ending.
(Nosotros and Vosotros do not change)
acertar
cerrar Examples: to guess, get
cierro right
encender
cierras
to light, kindle
cierra advertir
cerramos to advise, warn
cerráis entender
cierran to understand
cerrar
to close, shut

10. In some cases the stem of a word also changes when conjugating as well as the ending.
(Nosotros and Vosotros do not change)
bendecir
repetir to bless
repito Examples: impedir
repites to impede
repite colegir
repetimos to deduce
repetís maldecir (*)
repiten to curse
competir
to compete
medir
to measure

11. Another specific type of “ yo
In irregular yo verbs only the “yo” form
irregular” includes verbs whose
changes when conjugated but the rest
yo form ends in -go even though
remain the same.
there is not a single g in the
infinitive. The simplest and most
common -go verbs are regular in
all forms except yo, so only the
irregular yo form is listed below.
hacer (to make, to do)
yo form: hago
poner (to put)
yo form: pongo
valer (to be worth)
yo form: valgo
salir (to leave)
yoform: salgo
caer (to fall)
yo form: caigo
raer(to scrape, rub off)
yo form: raigo
traer (to bring)
yo form: traigo

12. •To express
knowledge or
ignorance of a skill, •Use when talking about knowing a
or how to do person
something, use saber
+ infinitive
•To say that you
know something by
heart, use saber
Examples:
Examples Yo no conozco a María.
María sabe conducir. I don't know (am not acquainted
Maria knows how to with) Maria.
drive. Alberto y Alfredo conocen Madrid.
No sé nadar muy Alberto and Alfredo know (are
bien. acquainted with) Madrid.
I don't know how to
swim very well.

13. A verb is reflexive when the subject
and the object are the same.
Example:
I wash myself.
subject: I
verb: wash
object: myself
Since the subject and object are the
same, the verb is reflexive. The purpose of the reflexive object
pronouns is to show that the action of
When a verb is reflexive, the the verb remains with the subject.
infinitive ends in "se.“ Example:
Example: Juan se lava la cara.
lavar Juan washes his face. (reflexive)
to wash (non-reflexive) Juan lava su carro. (non-reflexive)
lavarse Juan washes his car.
to wash oneself (reflexive) Note: When referring to body parts, use
rascar the definite article, thus "la cara" not "su
to scratch (non-reflexive) cara."
rascarse
to scratch oneself (reflexive)

14. se is used in an
Se maneja rápidamente en
impersonal Lima.
sense with People drive fast in Lima.
singular verbs
to indicate that Se puede encontrar cocos en
people in el mercado.
You can find coconuts in the
general, or no
market.
person in
particular, Muchas veces se tiene que
performs the estudiar para aprender.
action. Often you have to study to
learn.

15. The vowels a, e, and o are strong in Spanish. They always form their own syllable wherever they appear. The
vowels u and i are weak, and only form their own syllable when they are separate from other vowels. When a
weak vowel is next to a strong vowel or another weak vowel, they AUTOMATICALLY form a
diphthong, that is, just one syllable.
Strong vowels (a, e, o) always form their own syllables:
o - tor - gar (3)
Weak vowels (i, u) form a their own syllable if they are "surrounded" by
consonants:
tri - bu (2)
Otherwise, weak vowels form a diphthong with the strong vowel that is
next to them:
lue - go (2

16. Verbs that end
• Verbs that end in -ger and -gir in a consonant
change the g to j in the yo + -cer or -cir
form change the c to
• coger z in the yo
cojo form.
Verbs like ger/ gir Cer/cir uir/ guir
coges coercer
coge convenzo
cogemos convences
cogéis convence
cogen convencemos
• Verbs that end in -guir change convencéis
the gu to g in the yo form convencen
Verbs that end
• conseguir (e:i)
in -uir (not guir)
consigo
add y before o,
consigues
e, and a.
consigue
atribuir
conseguimos
atribuyo
conseguís
atribuyes
consiguen
atribuye
atribuimos
atribuís
atribuyen

17. Hacer expressions
• Hace + time + que + present tense form of the verb
• Hace un año que estudio español.
I have been studying Spanish for one year.
• Hace dos años que ellas estudian inglés.
They have been studying English for two years.
•
Another way to use the verb "hacer" to express how long something
has been taking place is to use the following formula:
• Present tense form of the verb + desde hace + time
• Estudio español desde hace un año.
I have been studying Spanish for one year.
So, when it comes to using the verb "hacer" to express the length of
time an action has been taking place, there are two ways to say the
same thing:
• Estudio español desde hace un año.
Hace un año que estudio español.
I have been studying Spanish for one year.

18. Imperfect
• Imperfect: regular ir/er
• -ía
-ías
-ía
The imperfect is
• -íamos used for past
-íais
• -ían actions that are
• Imperfect ar not seen as
• aba
abas completed
aba
ábamos
abais
aban

19. The three irregular imperfects
• Table 1. Imperfect Tense Forms of Sentir Singular
• Plural
• yo era (I was)
• nosotros/nosotras éramos (we were) yo veía (I was seeing, used to see)
• tú eras (you [informal] were)
nosotros/nosotras veíamos (we were
• vosotros/vosotras erais (you [informal] were)
• usted era (you [formal] were) seeing, used to see)
• ustedes eran (you [formal] were) tú veías (you [informal] were seeing,
• él era (he was) used to see)
• ellos eran (they were) vosotros/vosotras veíais (you
• ella era (she was) [informal] were seeing, used to see)
• ellas eran (they were) usted veía (you [formal] were seeing,
• Table 2. Imperfect Tense Forms of the Verb Ir Singular used to see)
• Plural
ustedes veían (you [formal] were
• yo iba (I was going, used to go)
• nosotros/nosotras íbamos (we were going, used to go) seeing, used to see)
• tú ibas (you [informal] were going, used to go) él veía (he was seeing, used to see)
• vosotros/vosotras ibais (you [informal] were going, used ellos veían (they were seeing, used
to go) to see)
• usted iba (you [formal] were going, used to go)
• ustedes iban (you [formal] were going, used to go)
• él iba (he was going, used to go)
• ellos iban (they were going, used to go)
• ella iba (she was going, used to go)
• ellas iban (they were going, used to go)

20. • a menudo
often
frecuentemente
a veces frequently
sometimes
cada día generalmente
every day usually
cada año
every year muchas veces
many times
con frecuencia
frequently mucho
de vez en cuando a lot
from time to time
• todos los días por un rato
every day for awhile
todo el tiempo
all the time siempre
always
varias veces
several times todas las semanas
every week

21. PRETERITE
• To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one
of the following:
• é
aste
ó
amos
asteis
aron
•
To conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-er or -ir)
and add one of the following:
• í
iste
ió
imos
isteis
ieron
• The preterite is used for actions that can be viewed as single events.
• Ella caminó por el parque.
She walked through the park.
• The preterite is used for past actions that are
seen as completed.

22. irregulars: CAR GAR ZAR
• Verbs that end in -gar change g to gu
Verbs that end in -car change c to qu
Verbs that end in -zar change z to c
• Here are three examples:
• yo jugué (jugar)
yo busqué (buscar)
yo almorcé (almorzar)
•

23. DAR- to give VER- to see
IR- to go SER- to
I Imos
be
Fui Fuimos Iste Isteís
Fuiste Fuisteís Io Ieron
Fue Fueron
HACER…. TO MAKE
OR DO
Hice Hicimos
Hiciste Hicisteís
Hito Hicieron

24. • Endings for all are the same:
-e -imos
-iste -isteis
-o -ieron

25. Andar- aduv
Conducir-
Estar- estuv
conduj
Poder- pud
Producir-
Poner- pus
produj
Querer- quis
Traducir- traduj
Saber- sup
Decir- dij
Tener- tuv
Traer- traj
Venir- vin

26. 9. Snake
• In the 3rd person, the stem change occurs.
• The stem change is to opposite vowel with the
first vowel.
Dormi Dormimos
Dormiste Dormisteis
Durmio Durmierion

27. 10. Snakeys
• Follows same concept as SNAKE, but is more
specific.
• In the 3rd person the stem change is the vowel
“I” to the vowel “y”.
Lei Leimos
Leiste Leisteis
Leyo Leyeron

28. TRIGGERS
ayer preterito
pasado(a) preterito
esta preterito
entonces preterito
ayer preterito
anoche preterito

29. Comparatives
• If two things are not equal, they are unequal.
• We are not the same height.
You are taller than I.
• The two items do not cost the same.
The camera is more expensive than the television.
•
In Spanish, inequality is expressed by using one of the following formulae:
• más (menos) + adjective + que
más (menos) + adverb + que
más (menos) + noun + que
• Here are some examples:
• Tú eres más alto que yo. You are taller than I. Mónica habla más lentamente que
Carmen. Monica speaks more slowly than Carmen. Tengo menos libros que
Arsenio. I have fewer books than Arsenio
•

30. SUPERLATIVES
• There are two types of superlative: relative and absolute.
• Relative: John is the smartest boy in the class.
Absolute: John is very smart.
The relative superlative describes a noun within the context of some larger group.
• John is the smartest boy in the class.
Mary is the youngest person in the room.
Of the three, Moe is the meanest.
•
The absolute superlative does not describe the noun in the context of a larger group.
• John is very smart.
The book is extremely expensive.
The food is indescribably tasty.
The absolute superlative for adjectives has three possible forms.
• muy + adjective
sumamente + adjective
adjective + ísimo (-a, -os, -as)

31. conditional
• To conjugate regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs in the
conditional, simply add one of the following to the
infintive:
• ía
ías
ía
íamos
íais
ían
•
COULD, WOULD, SHOULD

32. FUTURE
The future tense is used to tell what "will" happen, or what "shall" happen.
• I will go to the beach next month.
I shall write the letter next week.
• But, the future tense is not used to express a willingness to do something. For this,
use the verb "querer."
• ¿Quieres ir a la tienda?
Will you go to the store?
• Regular verbs in the future tense are conjugated by adding the following endings
to the infinitive form of the verb: -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án.
• hablaré
hablarás
hablará
hablaremos
hablaréis
hablarán

33. Future irregulars
• There are twelve common verbs that are irregular in the future tense. Their endings are regular, but their stems
change. Since the endings are the same as all other future tense verbs, we show only the "yo" form, and have
underlined the irregular stem. We have also grouped them according to their patterns of change.
• caber
yo cabré
• poner
yo pondré
• decir
yo diré
• haber
yo habré
• salir
yo saldré
• hacer
yo haré
• poder
yo podré
• tener
yo tendré
• querer
yo querré
• valer
yo valdré
• saber
yo sabré
• venir
yo vendré

34. Trigger words
• Manana sera
• La proxima semana
• En marzo, en febrero, en agosta.. etc,.

35. FUTURE VS CONDITIONAL
• Future is I will do this, you will do that
• Conditional is I should do this, you could do
that.

36. Por
• Portal
• Portugal
• Porever
• Porpose
• Import/export
• I’m por
• Transportation

37. Para
• Surprise paratay
• Parangari
• Paragotive
• Comparason
• paramedic

38. POR VS PARA
• Used to indicate motion or a
general location. Around through
along or by. Pasamos por el Destination, deadline or specific
parque por el rio.
• Used to indicate duration of an time in the future, when para is
action: for during in followed by an infinitive is in order
• Reason or motive for an action to. Describes the purpose of a noun
because of on account of on
behalf of. “it’s a tire for the car”, is a recipient
• Lo hizo por su familia. of something. Comparison with
• Object of a search: for or in others or an opinion for. In the
search of
• Vengo porti a las ocho. employ of.
• Means by which something is
done by.
• ellos viajan por la autopiste.
• Exchange or subtitution
• Units of measure.
• Used in expresions (aound here,
for example, finally)

39. • Preterite is used for past actions
that are seen as completed,
• imperfect is used to past actions
that are NOT seen as completed.

40. Commands
Tu+ Tu- Ud Uds nosotros
Put in tu form, Put in YO form Yo form , Opposite No stem
drop S opposite Opposite vowel, change change
vowel, add s Vowel stem, add N

41. DOP
• The direct object answers the question "what?" or "whom?" with regard to
what the subject of the sentence is doing.
• Bill hit the ball.
Bill hit what?
Bill hit the ball.
• Sherry hit Bill.
Sherry hit whom?
Sherry hit Bill.
• me (me)
te (you-familiar)
lo, la (him, her, it, you-formal)
• nos (us)
os (you-all-familiar)
los, las (them, you-all-formal)
• Tengo = I have
Tengo la pluma. = I have the pen.
La tengo. = I have it

42. Present Perfect
• he
has
ha
hemos
habéis
han
•
i have studied, i have eaten

43. Adverbs
• Most Spanish adverbs are formed by adding -
mente to the feminine singular form of the
adjective. This ending corresponds to -ly in
English.
• Ex. Clara
• Claramente

44. Subjunctive
• Mainly a mood, opposite of indicative
• I want John to go to the store.
(The clause "I want" tells us that the speaker feels that there is
uncertainty as to whether John goes to the store.)
• I hope that John goes to the store.
(The clause "I hope" tells us that the speaker feels that there is
uncertainty as to whether John goes to the store.)
• creer que ...
to believe that ...
• no dudar que ...
to not doubt that ...
• es cierto que ...
it is certain that ...
• es claro que ...
it is clear that ...
• es evidente que ...
it is certain that ...
• es obvio que ...
it is obvious that ...

45. progressive
• In Spanish, the present progressive is only
used to describe an action that is in the comer: comiendo
process of taking place. It is not used for (comer - er + iendo)
future actions. hacer: haciendo
• I am studying now. (hacer - er + iendo)
(use present progressive)
vivir: viviendo
• I am studying with María tonight.
(do not use present progressive) (vivir - ir + iendo)
escribir: escribiendo
estar (escribir - ir + iendo)
• estoy
estás
está Juan está comiendo pan.
estamos
estáis John is eating bread
están
•
hablar: hablando
(hablar - ar + ando)
• trabajar: trabajando
(trabajar - ar + ando)
• estudiar: estudiando
(estudiar - ar + ando)