SPANISH FUNDAMENTALS ^g^

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Basic Grammar & Vocabulary • Essential Verbs • Common Idioms

by Christopher Kendris, Ph.D., Formerly Assistant Professor, State University of New York at Albany, and Theodore Kendris, M.A., Formerly Senior Teaching Fellow, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. I. PRONUNCIATION GUIDE 1. Pure vowel sounds Pronounced as in the Spanish English Spanish English word word word word father lo open la tu le let, they too ti see 2. Diphthongs (2 vowels together) lodo baile eye yore yodo hay aula cow viuda you reino yugo they ley olgo toy enviar estoy yard cuando want ya tlene bueno way yes yendo suizo week cuota woke 3. Triphthongs (3 vowels together) yipe guau enviais meow continueis miau yea buey envieis guaina wise Uruguay

4. Consonant sounds bien me may boy va no no this canyon dar nino fan falda papa papa pero per gato goma perro burr, gr-r-r gusto sopa casa culpa cero cap soft que cita zumo quito lard la tu sit mucho much 5. Other sounds justo general help gigante llave yes yo 6. The letter h in a Spanish word is not pronounced: ahora now [a-O-ra] 7. Only basic Spanish sounds are given in this guide English words in this guide

II. ARTICLES A. They are definite or indefinite. Definite: el libro (the book), los libros (the books), la casa (the house), las casas (the houses). Indefinite: un libro (a book), unos libros (some books, a few books); una ptuma (a pen), unas plumas (some pens, a few pens). There is also lo. a neuter: lo dicbo (what has been said). Sometimes the definite article is not translated into English: (Me gusta la leche) (I like milk). B. The definite article is used before a noun agreeing in gender and number, as in A, above. Exceptions: el agua, not la because agua begins with stressed a; el hacha, not la because hacha begins with stressed ha. C. The definite article is used before 1. days of week, sometimes meaning on (el lunes); 2. seasons (en el verano); 3- expressions of time (Es la una}; 4. names of avenues and streets (la Quinta Avenida, Fifth Avenue); 5. articles of clothing and parts of the body (Mepongo la camisa, I'm putting on my shirt), (Me lavo las manos, I'm washing my hands); 6. some titles (el senor Kobles, el doctor Tomds, la senora Perez); 7. names of languages, except after hablar, en or de (Aprendo el ingles; hablo frances; escribo en espanol; tengo un libro de ingles); 8. nouns in general statements (Me gusta el cafe, I like coffee); 9. certain geographical names (el Brasil, el Canada, LaHabana); 10. nouns of measure or weight (veinte pesos la libra); 11. certain expressions, such as a la escuela, en la escuela, la semana que viene. el mes pasado. D. The definite article is not used ordinarily before a noun if the verb ser is used (Hoy es lunes). E. The indefinite article is omitted in front of: cien, cierto, medio, otro, mil Ex.: cien dolares (a hundred dollars), cierto hombre (a certain man), otra cbica (another girl), mil dolares (a thousand dollars). The indefinite article is also omitted before an unmodified predicate noun of rank, religion, occupation, nationality: Mi padre es abogado; soy alumno; soy norteamericano. The verb in such cases is usually ser. But with an adjective, the indefinite article is used: Mi padre es un abogado famoso. F. The definite article is omitted in front of the numerals of titles (Alfonso XIII) and before a noun in apposition (Brasilia, capital del Brasil, es una ciudad bella).

contain sounds that are similar to Spanish sounds. 8. The pronunciation given is that of most Latin American countries and of certain regions in Spain. 9- The accent mark (') over a vowel indicates that you must place stress " on that vowel sound. 10. Tips on correct accentuation of vowels: Accentuation means raising your voice on a vowel (a) If a Spanish word ends in a vowel, the letter n or s, raise your voice on the second-to-last syllable of the word: mu CHA cho ( boy) re SU men i summary) mu.CRA.chas (girls) (b) If a Spanish word ends in a letter other than a vowel, n or s. stress that last syllable: com prenDER (to understand) realiDAD (reality) espaSOL (Spanish) (c) Sometimes a written accent mark ( ')

G. The neuter lo is used in certain idiomatic expressions: a lo lejos (in the distance). en lofuturo (in the future). lo bueno \ lo malo (the good and the bad). H. L'no becomes un in front of a masculine singular noun: un hombre. I. Contraction of definite article: a + el becomes al; de + el becomes del. There is no contraction if the article is part of a proper name (a El Escorial). }. The form al + infinitive is used to mean on or upon plus present participle (al llegar, upon arriving).

III. NOUNS A noun is a word naming a person, place, thing, action, quality. A. GENDER

Some nouns are obviously feminine (la mujer, la madre); obviously masculine (el hombre, el rey). 1. Nouns are usually masculine when they a) end in -o (el libro), but la mano. b) end in -1 (elpapel), but la catedral c) end in -r (el favor), but laflor 2. Days, months, rivers are masculine (el lunes, el abril, el Ebro). 3. Mountains, oceans, seas and names of ships are usually masculine (los Andes, elPacifico, etc. ). 4. Nouns are usually feminine when they a) end in -a (la casa), but el dia, el mapa, el drama, el clima b) end in -ad, -ud, -ion, -timbre, -ie (la ciudad, la juventud, la cancion, la legumbre) but el pie. 5. Letters of alphabet are feminine 6. La persona, la victima are feminine even when referring to a male. 7. Some nouns are masculine or feminine depending on meaning: el cura (priest), la euro (cure). Others depend on person referred to: el or la artista B. NUMBER

1. To form the plural, a) add -s to all nouns ending in a vowel (los perns, las mesas), b) add -es to nouns ending in a consonant or y (las mujeres. los reyes). c) Nouns ending in -z change z to c. then add -es (la luz las luces). 2. Nouns ending in -s vary; when final syllable is stressed they change: (el mes, los meses). when unstressed, do not change (el lunes, los lunes). 3. Nouns ending in -n or -s with last syllable having an accent mark drop the mark in the plural (la leccion, las lecciones; el frances, los franceses) but el pats, los paises. 4. Nouns ending in -n with last syllable unaccented add an accent mark in the plural to preserve stress (el joven, losjovenes). 5. Family names do not change in plural (Kobles, los Robles).

is placed over the vowel that must be stressed, indicating an exception to the rule. The accent mark tells the reader which vowel to stress: LA/pte (lapiz) (pencil) LA/pi/ces (lapices) (pencils) pre/TE/ri/to (preterite) (preterit) DE/bil (debil) (weak) DE/bi/les (debiles) (weak) CRI/ti/ca (critica) (criticism) (d) Most Spanish words, including verb forms, end in a vowel, n or s. Therefore, apply the first rule above by keeping in mind the following mnemonic tip: El muCHAcho y las muCHAchas CANtan en espaNOL. (e) There are many Spanish words that require an accent mark on a vowel because their pronunciation does not follow the general rules stated above with examples. At other times, an accent mark is used to distinguish the meaning between two words spelled exactly the same: si (yes), si (if); esta silla (this chair), esta (this one).

IV. PRONOUNS A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. A. PERSONAL PRONOUNS

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1. As Subject. Singular: yo (I), tu (you, fam.), usted (Ud.) (you), el (he), ella (she), ello (it, neut.). Plural: nosotros or nosotras (we), vosotros or vosotras (you, fam.), ustedes (Uds.) (you), ellos or ellas (they). 2. As Indirect Object. Singular: me (to me), te (to you, fam.), le (to you, to him, to her, to it). Plural: nos (to us), os (to you, fam.), les (to them, to you). 3. As Direct Object. Singular: me (me), te (you, fam.), fe(him, you, m.), to (him, it, m.), la (her, you, it, fern.). Plural: nos (us), os (you, fam.), los (them, you, m.), las (them, you, fern.). 4. As object of preposition. Singular: mi (me), ti (you. fam.), usted (you), el (him, it), ella (her, it), si (himself, herself, yourself, itself). Plural: nosotros or nosotras (us), vosotros or vosotras (you, fam.), ustedes (you), ellos or ellas (them), si (yourselves, themselves). Vl"hen object of preposition con, mi, ti and si become conmigo, contigo, cansigo. 5. Subject pronouns are usually omitted, except usted (I'd.), ustedes (Uds.). 6. Position of single object pronoun, a) Generally, a direct or indirect object pronoun precedes the verb: Juan lo ve. (John sees him, it) Pablo les escribe. (Paul is writing to them, you), b) It also precedes in die negative command: jVo me escriba. (Don't write to me). c) But in the positive command, it is attached to the verb and an accent mark is added to keep the stress, if needed: Escribame. (Write to me), d) The object pronoun is also attached to an infinitive: Pablo quiere escribirme. (Paul wants to write to me), e) It is also attached to a present participle: Pablo esta tomdndolo. or. Pablo lo esta tomando. (Paul is taking it). "*. Position of double object pronouns. Generally, double object pronouns follow the same rule as the single object pronoun shown in 6 above, a) The indirect object pronoun precedes the direct object pronoun: Pablo me lo da; Pablo te lo da; Pablo esta ddndomelo; no me lo escriba Ud. b) If the direct and indirect object pronouns are both 3rd person singular or plural, the indirect pronoun changes to se. In other words, se replaces le or les when immediately before lo, la, los, las. Pablo se lo escribe. Therefore, se can mean: to him, to her, to you (sing, or pi.), to them (m. or fern.). Other examples: Se lo escribo; voy a escribirselo, or, se lo voy a escribir, estoy escribiendoselo, or, se lo estoy escribiendo. 8. To clarify the meaning of the indirect object pronoun add a el, a ella, a Ud,, a Uds., etc

SPANISH FUNDAMENTALS B. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS 1. They agree in gender and number with the thing possessed. They are: mine: el mt'o, la mia, los mios, las mias; yours (fam.): el tuyo, la tuya, los tuyos, las tuyas; his, hers, its; yours, theirs: el suyo, la suya, los suyos, las suyas; ours: el nuestro, la nuestra, los nuestros, las nuestras; yours (fam. pi.): el vuestro, la vuestra, los vuestros, las vuestras. 2. Remember that a pronoun takes the place of a noun. Instead of saying mi casa (my house), la mia (mine) replaces the noun mentioned. Mi is a possessive adjective because it is in front of the noun, showing possession; la mia is a possessive pronoun because it is taking the place of the noun possessed. Distinguish between possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives. See POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES. 3. Since el suyo, la suya, los suyos, las suyas have several meanings (his, hers, its, yours, theirs), they can be clarified by using the definite article plus de el, de ella, de Ud, de Uds., de ellos, de ellas. Thus: mi libroy el (libra) de el; mi casa y la de el; mi padre y el de ella; misplumasy las de Ud, etc. C. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS 1. They agree with the nouns to which they refer. They are: MASCULINE

Sing. este(this, this

one)

FEMININE

esta (this, this

NEUTER

esto

one)

PL estos (these) estas (these) Sing. ese(that, that esa (that, that eso one, near you) one, near you) PI esos (those, esas (those, near you ) near you ) Sing. aquel(that, that aquella (that, that aquello one, over there) one, over there) PI aquellos(those, aquellas (those, over there) over there ) 2. The neuter forms (esto, eso, aquello) are used in the singular only. They refer to an idea, a statement mentioned or something vague. Examples: Esto es importante. (This is important.) No comprendo eso. (I don't understand that.) Eso es. (That's right.) Distinguish between demonstrative pronouns and demonstrative adjectives. See DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES. D. RELATIVE PRONOUNS These may sometimes be omitted in English but never in Spanish. They are called relative because they relate to a noun or pronoun (someone or something) previously mentioned (the antecedent) in the main clause. They are: 1. que: who, whom, that, which. El hombre que esta alii es mi padre. El libra que leo es interesante. La casa en que vivo es bianco.

2. quien, quienes: who. he who. anyone who. Quien escucha aprende. Este hombre, quien no tiene hijos, es profesor de espanol. Quien means whom when object of a preposition. El chico a quien hablo es mi bermano. Do not use que to mean whom as object of a preposition. 3. el cual, la cual, los cuales, las cuales: which, who, whom. These are used to clarify which of two antecedents one is referring to, where ordinarily que, quien, quienes would be used. El padre de Maria, que (quien) esta enferma, trabaja mucho {Maria is sick). But notice: El padre de Maria, el cual (el que) esta enfermo, trabaja mucho {Elpadre is sick). 4. el que, la que, los que, las que: he who, she who, the one(s) who, the one(s) that, the one(s) which. Ex.: Pablo es el que no tiene dinero. Paul is the one who hasn't any money Los que estudian aprenden mucho. 5. to que: what, which, that which. Maria no comprende lo que lee. Lo que dice es interesante. What (that which) he is saying is interesting. 6. lo cual, lo que: what, that which. Either of these is used if the antecedent is an idea or a clause. Ex.-.Maria no vino a verme, lo cual no me gusto. 1. donde: where, in which, as object of a preposition, usually replacing que, el que, el cual. Ex.: Aqui esta la casa en donde vivo. E. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS 1. They are: (Cudl? (Cuales? (what? which? which one? which ones?), gcudnto? (Cudntos? (how many? how much?), (que? (what?), (quien? (quienes? (who?), (quien? or ^quienes? mean whom when object of a preposition. (Cual de estos quiere Ud? (Cual es su nombre? (Cuales son interesantes? (Cudnto cuesta? (Cudntos estdn aqui? (Que tiene Ud.' (Que es esto? (Que quiere Ud.' (Quien es? (Quienes son? (Con quien habla Ud. ? 2. Notice that these pronouns have an accent mark because they are used in questions. They bear an accent mark even when not used in a direct question but are indirectly interrogative: No se quien es. (I don't know who he is). 3. Do not confuse the forms of CUYO and (De quien . . . Cuyo, cuya, cuyos, cuyas mean whose and refer to a person or thing; they agree in gender and number with the object possessed. Ex.: El padre cuyos hijos son profesores muria El padre cuyas hi/as son bonitas esta enfermo. If whose begins an interrogative sentence, it is never a form of cuyo; it is (De quien . . . Ex.: (De quien es este libra? Whose is this book? E REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS As object of a verb: me (myself), te (yourself, fam.). nos (ourselves), os (yourselves, fam.), se (himself, herself, itself, yourself, themselves, yourselves). Ex.: Me acuesto temprano. I go to bed early. See VERBS

PREPOSITIONS A. Some verbs require a preposition before a following infinitive. The preposition may be a, con, de, en, por. The required preposition must be learned when the verb is learned. B. Verbs followed by a are usually verbs of action, of helping, teaching or learning, and inviting. Some common ones: 1. aprender a, ayudar a, comenzar a, ensenar a, invitara, venira; 2. others with a are: apresurarse a (to hurry), llegar a (to succeed in), negarse a (to refuse), obligor a (to force), volvera(to do again); 3. with con: bastar con (to be enough to ), contar con (to count on), sonar con (to dream of); 4. with de: acabar de (to have just), alegrarse de (to be glad), cansarse de (to become tired), dejar de (to cease, to stop), tratar de (to try to); 5. with en: consentir en (to consent to), insistir en (to insist on), tardar en (to be long in); 6. with por: empezarpor (to begin by). C. PARA AND POR 1. Para means for to express purpose, use, destination, a time in the future, or considering. Examples: Tengo dinero para pan; compre algunas tazas para cafe; partimos para Espana; esta tarea es para el lunes; habla bien para un extranjero. 2. Por means for to express in exchange for (Pague dos pesos por el libro); for the sake of (Lo hago por mi madre); for a period of time (Estamos aqui por dos semanas). 3- Por can also mean by, through or along; por avion (by plane),por las calles (through the streets).

4. Para in idiomatic expressions: para siempre (forever), estar para +inf. (Estoy para salir, I am about to go out). 5. Por in idiomatic expressions: por la manana (in the morning), por fin (finally, at last), por eso (therefore), por ejemplo (for example), estar por + inf. (Estoy por aprobarlo, I am in favor of approving it). D. PERSONAL A 1. The preposition a is required before a direct object of a verb if the object is a noun or pronoun referring to a definite person, intelligent animal, geographical name (unless the name contains a definite article). It is not translated into English and it is not used with tener. Examples: Veo a Juan. Veo a alguien. Veo al perro. Voy a visitor a Mexico, BUT: Quisiera visitor la Habana. 2. Personal a after querer means to like, to be fond of, to love (Quiero a mi gato). E. The preposition de is also used for possession: el libro de Juan (John's book), (los libros de los estudiantes, the students' books). ESIN If a verb follows the preposition sin, it is in the infinitive form. Sin decir nada (without saying anything), sin despedirse (without saying good-bye). G. FREQUENTLY USED PREPOSITIONS a at, to con with ante before, in the contra against presence of de of, from bajo under desde after, from, since

por by. for en in. on salvo except, save entre among, between segiin according to hacia toward sin without hasta until, up to, sobre on, upon. over. as far as above menos except tras after, behind para for, in order to H. COMMON PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES en contra de against acerca de about, en cuanto a as far as concerning en lugar de in place of. ademas de in addition instead of to, besides en medio de in the alrededor de around antes de before middle of en vez de instead of cercade near encima de on top of, con rumbo a in the direction of upon enfrente de opposite debajo de underneath frente a in front of delante de in front of fuera de outside of dentro de within, inside of junto a next to lejos de far from despues de after detras de behind

VI. ADJECTIVES An adjective is a word that limits or describes (two girls, a good book, a big house). An adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. A. NUMBER The plural of adjectives is formed in the same way as the plural of nouns (see NOUNS, NUMBER}, bueno, buenos; inteligente, inteligentes; facil, fdciles; feliz, felices. B. GENDER 1. Adjectives that end in -o change the -o to -a to form the feminine. Ex.: bueno, buena, alto, alto; varios, varias. 2. Adjectives that do not end in -o ordinarily keep the same form in the feminine: un hombre inteligente; una mujer inteligente; un hombre feliz, una mujer feliz; una pregunta dificiL 3- Adjectives that end in -or add -a to form the feminine: trabajador, trabajadora C. DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES

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MASCULINE

FEMININE

Sing, este libro (this book) esta casa (this house) PI. estos libros (these estas casas (these books) houses) Sing, ese libro (that book, esa casa (that house, near you) near you) PI esos libros (those esas casas (those books, near you) houses, near you) Sing, aquel libro (that aquella casa (that book, farther away) house, farther away) PL aquellos libros (those aquellas casas (those books, farther away) houses, farther away) These forms are called adjectives because they modify nouns. They are called demonstrative because they point out. They agree with the nouns they modify Notice that they do not have an accent mark, whereas the demonstrative pronouns do have an accent mark. No accent mark is needed on a demonstrative adjective because a noun follows it. See PRONOUNS, DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS D. POSITION OF ADJECTIVES 1. An adjective that describes ordinarily follows the noun, una chica bonita; una casa bianco; un alumno inteligente. 2. An adjective that precedes the noun is usually a limiting adjective, a possessive or demonstrative adjective, an adjective of quantity: mi casa, este libro. dos cosas. 3. Some common adjectives of quantity are: coda, mucho (-a, -os, -as), poco (-a, -os, -as), algunos (-as). Examples: Coda alumno; mucho trabajo; poco dinero; algunos libros. 4. Some adjectives change their meaning depending on whether they are before or after a noun: un hombre pobre (a poor man, has little or no money); unpobre hombre (an unfortunate man, to be pitied); un hombre grande (a big man); un gran hombre (a great, famous man). E. POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES 1. They agree with the nouns they modify, not with the possessor. 2. They are: mi libro (my book), mis libros (my books); tu libro (your book, fam.), tus libros (your books, fam.); su libro (your book, his book, her book, their book), sus libros (your books, his books, her books, their books); nuestro libro (our book), nuestros libros (our books); nuestra casa (our house),

SPANISH FUNDAMENTALS nuestras casas (our houses); vuestro libro (your book, fam. pi.), vuestros libros (your books, fam. pi.); vuestra casa (your house, fam. pi.), vuestras casas (your houses, fam. pi.). 3- In order to clarify the meaning of su or sus, do the following: replace su or sus with the definite article and add de el, de ella, de Ud., etc. El libro de el, etc. 4. Distinguish between a possessive adjective and a possessive pronoun. A possessive adjective is always placed in front of a noun: mi casa. See POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS. 5. The possessive adjective is ordinarily not used when referring to an article of clothing being worn or to parts of the body, particularly when a reflexive verb is used. Example: Me lavo la cara (I'm washing my face), NOT me lavo mi cara. E SHORTENING OF ADJECTIVES 1. The following adjectives drop the final -o before masculine singular nouns: bueno (un buen alumno), malo (un mal nino), uno (un libro), primero (el primer dia), tercero (el tercer mes), alguno, ninguno. When these last two are shortened, an accent mark is written over the u: algun libro, ningun dinero. 2. grande becomes gran when it precedes a noun in the singular, masc. or fern., un gran hombre, una gran idea. 3- ciento becomes cien before the word mil or before a noun, cien mil dolares, cien hombres, cien ventanas. 4. Santo drops final -to in front of all names of saints (masc.), except names beginning with To or Do. San Jose, San Pedro, San Francisco, BUT Santo Tomds, Santo Domingo. 5. Cualquiera and cualesquiera lose the final -a in front of a noun: cualquier hombre, cualquier dia. but if after the noun, it remains: un libro cualquiera. G. INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVES 1- t'Que? + noun: which? what? jQue libro tiene Ud ? iA. que bora sale Ud. ? 2. fCuanto? ^cudnta? ^cuantos? jcuantas? + noun: how many? how much? jCuanto dinero tiene Ud? iCudntasplumas quiere Ud.?

VII. ADVERBS 1. Many adverbs are formed by adding mente to the feminine singular of adjectives: lento-a, lentamente. These are adverbs of manner. 2. There are, of course, adverbs that do not end in mente: bien, mal, mejor, peor. 3- Instead of the long -mente form, adverbs are also formed by using the preposition con or sin + a noun: con cuidado (cuidadamente), sin cuidado (descu idadamen te). 4. The adverb recientemente (recently) becomes recien before a past participle: los recien llegados. 5- Never use muy in front of mucho. Say muchisimo: Elena trabaja muchisimo (Helen works very much). 6. Common interrogative adverbs: c6mo? how? tcudndo? when? ^cudnto? jcudnta? jcuantos? jcudntas? how much? how many? jpor que? why? ipara que? why? what for? jdonde? where? jadonde? where to? to where? 7. Note meanings of ahi, alii, alia-, ahi means there, not too far away from the person who says it: El libro que Ud. quiere esta ahi sobre esa mesa (The book that you want is there on that table); alii means there, farther away from the person who says it, or even at a remote distance: ^Quiere Ud. ir a Espaha? (Do you want to go to Spain?) Si, porque mis amigos estdn alii (Yes, because my friends are there); alia means there, used with a verb of motion: Me gustaria m uchisimo ir alia (I would like very much to go there). Bueno, jvaya alia! (Good, go there!) 8. Note meanings of aqui and acd: aqui means here, a place close to the person who says it: Aqui se habla espanol (Spanish is spoken here); acd means here, a place close to the person who says it, but it is used with a verb of motion: Senor Santiago, /venga acd, por favor! (Mr. Santiago, come here, please!).

VIII. COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES A. INEQUALITY 1. Adjectives. Regular formation. Place mas or menos before the proper form of the adjective. Rico, mas rico; rica, mas rica; ricos, mas ricos; ricas, mas ricas. Bello, menos bello; bella, menos bella; bellos, menos bellos; bellas, menos bellas. 2. The superlative in Spanish is the same form as the comparative. The difference is determined by the context of the sentence.

3. Irregulars: good: bueno-a; better, best: mejor or mas bueno-a (moral quality); bad: malo-a; worse, worst: peor or mas malo-a (moral quality); big. great: grande; bigger, biggest or greater, greatest: mas grande, greater, greatest (in importance): mayor (also means older, oldest). Little, small:pequeno-a; smaller, smallest, littlest: mas pequeno-a; littler, littlest, lesser, least (in importance): menor (also means younger, youngest). 4. Que is used to express than. Maria es mas alta que Elena (Mary is taller than Helen). 5. Adverbs. Regular formation Place mas or menos in front of the adverb: slowly: lentamente; more slowly: mas lentamente; less slowly: menos lentamente. 6. Irregulars: bien (well), mejor (better, best): mal (badly), peor (worse, worst), mucho (much), mas (more, most);poco (little); menos (less, least). B. EQUALITY 1. Tan + adjective or adverb + como. a s . . . as Maria es tan alta como Elena. (Mary is as tall as Helen). Maria corre tan rdpidamente como Elena. (Mary runs as fast as Helen). 2. Tanto (-a, -os, -as) + noun + como. as much (as many).. .as. Tengo tanto dinero como Ud (I have as much money as you). Tengo tantos libros como I'd. ( I have as many books as you ). C. ABSOLUTE SUPERLATIVE 1. Place muy before an adjective or adverb: una casa muy grande. Never use muy in front of mucho. Say: muchisimo. 2. Add -isimo (-a, -os, -as) to the adjective Drop the final vowel if there is one before adding -isimo. una casa grandisima. Other examples: alto-a, altisimo. altisima; fdcil, facilisimo-a. 3. For adverbs in the absolute superlative: add mente to the feminine singular of the absolute superlative of the adjective: facilisimamente.

IX. NUMERALS A. CARDINALS 1.0 — cero, 1 — uno-a, 2 — dos, 3 — tres. 4 — cuatro, 5 — cinco, 6 — seis, 7 — siete, 8 — ocho. 9 — nueve, 10 — diez, 11 — once, 12 — doce, 13 — trece. 14 — catorce, 15 — quince, 16 — diez y seis (dieciseis), 17 — diez y siete (diecisiete), 18 — diez y ocho (dieciocho), 19 — diez y nueve (diecinueve). 20 — veinte, 21 — veinte y uno (veintiuno-a), 22 — veinte y dos (veintidos), 23 — veinte y tres (veintitres), etc, 30 — treinta, 31 — treinta y uno-a. etc. 40 — cuarenta, 41 — cuarenta y uno-a. etc. 50 — cincuenta, 60 — sesenta, 70 — setenta. 80 — ochenta. 90 — noventa, 100 — ciento, 101 — ciento uno-a. 200 — doscientos-as, 300 — trescientos-as. 4OO — cuatrocientos-as, 500 — quinientos-as. 600 — seiscientos-as, 700 — setecientos-as, 800 — ochocientosas, 900 — novecientos-as, 1000 — mil. 1001 — mil uno-a, 1100 — mil ciento, 2000 —dos mil. 100,000 — cien mil, 200,000 — doscientos-as mil. 1 million — un millon, 2 million — dos millones. etc. 100 million — cien millones. 2. Cardinal numbers are invariable (do not change i except uno and combinations of ciento. 3. ciento becomes cien in front of a noun (m.. fern i and before mil and millones. 4. In compound numbers from 16-99. Y is used. B. ORDINALS 1. First, second, third, etc. Primero-a (primer), segundo-a, tercero-a (tercer), cuarto-a, quinto-a. sexto-a. septimo-a, octavo-a, noveno-a, decimo-a. 2. Ordinal numbers only go through tenth. Above tenth, the cardinal number is used, following the noun, la leccion once. etc. 3- Note thatprimero and tercero drop final -o before a masc. sing, noun: el primer dia. el tercer libro

A. TELLING TLME 1. cQue bora es? What time is it? Es la una. It is one o'clock. The 3rd person singular of SEX is used only for one o'clock. The plural son is used for more than one. La is used in front of una. Plural las is used in front of others. Son las dos; son las tres. etc It is two o'clock; it is three o'clock. 2. There is no word for it expressed: it is contained in the verb 3. The hour is given first, then the minutes, either after (y) or before (menos) the hour. 4. For after or past, y is used; to express of or to. menos is used: Es la una y diez (It is 1:10 ). Es la una menos diez (It is ten minutes to/of one).

5. A quarter is expressed by cuarto; half past by y media. Es la una y cuarto (It is 1:15; it is a quarter after one). Son las dosy media (It is half past two). 6. After half past the hour, minutes are used with menos and the following hour: Es la una menos veinte (It is 12:40). Son las dos menos diez (It is 1:50, or. It is ten minutes to two). 7. To express AM or PM, use de la manana, de la tarde, or de la noche if the time is stated. If the time is not stated, use por la manana (in the morning), por la tarde (in the afternoon), por la noche (in the evening). Son las tres de la manana (It is 3 AM). Son las tres de la tarde (It is 3 PM). 8. To express at a certain hour, merely say a la una (at one o'clock), a las dos (at 2 o'clock). 9. Es mediodia. (It is noon). Es medianoche. (It is midnight). B. DURATION 1. To express a length of time begun in the past and continuing up to the present, use: hace + length of time + que + present indicative of verb. Hace dos anos que vivo en esta casa I have been living in this house for two years. 2. To ask how long someone has been doing something, use: (Cudnto tiempo hace que + present indicative of verb. iCudnto tiempo hace que Ud. vive en esta casa? How long have you been living in this house? Other examples: iCudnto tiempo hace que Ud. estudia el espanol? Estudio el espanol hace un ana

XI. DATES 1. Cardinal numbers are used in stating the date, except first (primero). ^Cual es la fecha de hoy? VSTiat is the date today? Es el primero de abril. Es el dos. el tres. etc. de abril. 2. Another way of asking the date: jA cuantos estamos boy? Estamos a primero de abril Estamos a dos de abril 3- To express the year, thousands and hundreds are used: mil notvcientos noventa y tres.

DAYS, MONTHS, SEASONS A. The days of the week (los Mas de la semana) are all masculine: domingo Sunday, lunes Monday, martes Tuesday, miercoles Wednesday, jueves Thursday, viemes Friday sdbado Saturday The days of the week whose last letter is s do not change in the plural: el martes los martes. el miercoles/los miercoles. BUT: El sdbado los sdbados, el domingo/los domingos. iQue dia es hoy? What day is it today? Hoy es lunes. Today is Monday The days are usually not capitalized. B. The months of the year (los meses del ano) are all masculine: enem January, febrero February, marzo March, abril April, mayo May, junto June, julio July, agosto August, septiembre September, octubre October, noviembre November, diciembre December. The months are usually not capitalized. C. The seasons of the year (las estaciones del ano) are: la primavera spring, el verano summer, el otono autumn (fall), el inviemo winter. (En que estacion hace frio'' In what season is it cold? Generalmente, bacefrio en el inviemo. Generally, it is cold in winter.

1. Hacer is used Sometimes the form hay is used. ,