USE OF YO, ME, MI
YO - USE WHEN YOU ARE THE SUBJECT: YO TRABAJO CADA DIA ESTA SEMANA. “I WORK EVERY DAY THIS WEEK.”
ME - USE WHEN YOU ARE THE OBJECT (RECEIVING THE ACTION): ME GUSTA.. “IT PLEASES ME”.
MI - USE WHEN SHOWING OWNERSHIP/POSSESSION: MI CARRO. “MY CAR”.
SUYO VS TUYO
BOTH MEAN YOURS
SUYO is a formal possessive pronoun. Used when referring to someone you don’t know, or when showing respect to someone. It can also be used for a group of people you don’t know or show respect to.
TUYO is an informal possessive pronoun. Used when referring to someone you know, such as a friend or colleague.
ESE & ESO
Both mean THAT but are used differently.
ESE: (masculine ) An adjective that modifies a masculine noun: Example: Ese carro means “that car”.
ESO: (neuter) A pronoun that refers to something abstract or indefinite, or when there is no noun in the sentence:
The plural forms of ESE are ESOS and ESAS.
*ademas de eso = beyond that.
* a eso = thereto.
* con ese fin = to that end.
* con eso = thereto ; by this.
* de ese modo = in this ; thereby.
* de eso = thereof.
* desde ese momento = from that point ; from that moment on.
* después de eso = thereafter.
* en ese ámbito = on that front.
*ademas de eso = beyond that.
* a eso = thereto.
* con ese fin = to that end.
* con eso = thereto ; by this.
* de ese modo = in this ; thereby.
* de eso = thereof.
* desde ese momento = from that point ; from that moment on.
* después de eso = thereafter.
* en ese ámbito = on that front.
* en ese asunto = on that front.
* en ese caso = in that case.
* en ese mismo instante = at that very moment.
* en ese mismo momento = at that very moment.
* en ese momento = at that point ; just then ; at that point in time.
* en ese sentido = to that effect.
* en ese tema = on that front.
* en esos casos = in those cases.
* en lo que a eso se refiere = on that score.
* esa época ya pasó hace tiempo = that time is long past.
* esa es la cuestión = herein lies the rub ; there’s the rub.
* esa es la dificultad = herein lies the rub ; there’s the rub.
* esa es la razón por la que = that is why.
* ese es el asunto = herein lies the rub ; there’s the rub.
* ese es el problema = herein lies the rub ; there’s the rub.
* ese tipo de cosas = that sort of thing.
* eso = that sort of thing.
* eso demuestra que = it (just) goes to show that.
* eso es = that’s the ticket!.
* eso es casi todo = that’s about it.
* eso es lo que toca = that’s + Posesivo + lot (in life).
* esos = those.
* ¡eso se dice pronto! = easier said than done.
* hasta ese momento = up to that point.
* justamente eso = just that.
* justo en ese momento = just then.
* más allá de eso = beyond that.
* ¡nada de eso! = no dice!.
* o eso parece = or so it seems.
* para eso = therefor.
* por encima de eso = beyond that.
* por esa razón = thereby ; for that reason.
* por eso = on that score ; therefore.
* por eso que = hence.
* si eso cuenta para algo = if that counts in any way ; if that counts for anything.
* si eso no es posible = failing that/these.
* si eso sirve de algo = if that counts in any way ; if that counts for anything.
* simplemente eso = just that.
* si vamos a eso = for that matter.
REFLECTIVE PRONOUNS
Spanish reflexive pronouns are small words that work with verbs and subject pronouns to indicate that a subject is performing an action on itself. Here are some Spanish reflexive pronouns:
ME: Used with the first person singular subject pronoun YO
TE: Used with the second person singular subject pronoun TÚ
SE: Used with the third person singular subject pronouns ÉL. ELLA, AND USTED,
NOS: Used with the first person plural subject pronoun NOSOTROS
WHAT DOES ‘MIS’ MEAN?
MIS MEANS MY AND IS USED WITH PLURAL NOUNS
EX: MIS MANOS ESTÀN LIMPIAS (MY HANDS ARE CLEAN)
ME MANO IZQUIERDA ESTÀN LIMPIA (MY LEFT HAND IS CLEAN)
WHAT ARE THE 5 TIPS FOR PRONOUNCING DIPTHONGS (a sound that occurs when two vowel sounds are combined to create a single vowel sound in the same syllable.)
- Always pronounce them exactly the same. Languages like English and French change the pronunciation of vowels depending on their placement within a word and the surrounding letters. That’s not the case with Spanish. Save for a few very specific situations, all vowels in Spanish are pronounced exactly the same every time. This is great news for learners, as you only have to worry about learning one pronunciation for each vowel!
- Don’t extend them. English is a repeat offender of extending the sounds of vowels and other letters. For example, take the word “no” in English. Its phonetic pronunciation (ˈnoʊ) shows that there is a “ʊ” sound after the “o,” making it sound almost like you’re saying “no-uh” instead of a dry “noh.” Compare that to the Spanish pronunciation of “no” (ˈno) and you’ll see that Spanish vowels are completely dry and don’t carry any additional sounds beyond the vowel itself.
- Pay attention to the accent mark. While accent marks don’t change the sound of a vowel per se, they do change the emphasized syllable of the word. This can be crucial and making sure you pronounce the stressed syllable correctly can save you from plenty of confusion. A good example of this is the case of “papá” (dad) and “papa” (potato). Although people will probably be able to figure out whether you’re talking about your dad or your potato from the context, this is a potentially embarrassing mistake that you can easily avoid!
- Don’t mix up your E’s and I’s. Mixing up the E and I sounds in Spanish is one of the most common mistakes native English speakers make. That’s because the Spanish I sounds like the English E, making it easy to get the two sounds mixed up.
A good tip to keep the two of them separate is to remember that Spanish vowels always make the same sound in Spanish no matter what, so pick one word with E and one word with I in Spanish and use them as references. For example, you can pick “España” and use the “E” in there any time you forget how to pronounce any word with an E in Spanish.
- Start with individual vowels and then move on to diphthongs. As you now know, diphthongs aren’t much more difficult to pronounce than individual vowels. However, you do have to say two vowels one after another very quickly, which might make it difficult if you’re still getting comfortable with individual vowels. Try not to stress too much about getting the diphthongs just right at the beginning. Take your time working through them, and you’ll naturally start saying them faster!
When one verb follows another without a change of subject , the first verb is conjugated and the second verb stays in the infinitive.
Ex: QUIERO COMER
SPANISH INFINITIVES
Infinitive is the basic, unconjugated form of a verb.
CLASSIFIED INTO THREE CONJUGATIONS : ends in -AR, -ER, or -IR.
For example, hablar means “to speak” and comer means “to eat” and vivid means “to live”
Used in many ways:
* Expressing likes and dislikes
* Expressing future plans
* Expressing wants
* Working as commands
* Forming the future simple tenses
LE, LES
WHEN TALKING ABOUT WHAT SOMEONE LIKES:
LE - THIRD PERSON SINGULAR. Indirect object pronoun meaning to her or to Him. Indicates who is interested in something
LES - PLURAL AS IN THEY, THEM
TYPES OF PRONOUNS
subject pronouns, direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns, possessive pronouns, reflexive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and relative pronouns, each serving a specific function within a sentence depending on the context and meaning they convey.
Key points about Spanish pronouns:
SUBJECT PRONOUNS
Identify the person or thing performing the action in a sentence, like “yo” (I), “tú” (you), “él” (he).
DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS
Replace the noun that directly receives the action of a verb, like “me” (me), “te” (you), “lo” (him).
INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS
Indicate the person or thing benefiting from the action of a verb, like “me” (to me), “te” (to you), “le” (to him).
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
Show ownership of something, like “mío” (mine), “tuyo” (yours), “suyo” (his/hers).
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
Used when the subject of a verb is also the object, like “me” (myself), “te” (yourself), “se” (himself/herself).
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS
Point to specific people or things, like “esto” (this), “eso” (that), “aquello” (that over there).
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
Refer to nonspecific people or things, like “alguien” (someone), “nada” (nothing), “todos” (everyone).
Spanish pronouns:
can stand in for subjects, objects, and indirect objects
need to be changed according to the gender and plurality of the noun (most of the time)
can express formality/demonstrate respect
are usually left out when in subject position
can express who something belongs to (possessive)
are placed before the verb when referring to a direct or indirect object
can express an unspecified person or entity (indefinite)
can be used to point something out (demonstrative)
Spanish pronouns include:
subject pronouns (replace the subject of the sentence i.e. “[subject] smiles”)
possessive pronouns (replace an item that’s owned by someone, i.e., “This is mine”)
direct object pronouns (replace the direct object of the sentence, i.e., “[subject] throws [direct object]”)
indirect object pronouns (replace the indirect object of the sentence, i.e., “[subject] gives [direct object] to [indirect object]”)
prepositional object pronouns (used after a preposition, i.e., “Dance with me!”)
reflexive pronouns (used when an action is being done to oneself, i.e., “She loves herself”)
relative pronouns (used to relate a noun to another, i.e., “…the people who I met”)
indefinite pronouns (replace a non-specific entity, i.e., “…anything that you want”)
demonstrative pronouns (make reference to something, i.e., “this and that”)
Luckily, pronoun forms are very closely related, so it’s usually easy to figure out what they mean when reading or listening to Spanish. On the flip side, one letter or accent mark can completely change the meaning, meaning their relatedness can lead to some difficulty when speaking or writing Spanish.
Some Spanish pronouns are used differently than English ones, so reading and listening to Spanish is crucial to noticing how they are used by native speakers. Exposing yourself to as much Spanish as possible is the best way to get the hang of pronouns (especially indirect pronouns which get moved before the verb!).
Try going on a pronoun scavenger hunt by listening to podcasts or watching Spanish films and identifying the different types. The best way to learn Spanish online is with Lingvist, which offers grammar hints on pronouns, and much more!
TI, TE, TU, TÚ, TUS, SUS
“TI” and “TE” are both used to refer to “YOU” (singular, informal)
TI is a prepositional pronoun (a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in a sentence, usually indicating location, time, or direction; examples include “in,” “on,” “at,” “to,” “of,” and “with.”)
TE is used as the direct or indirect object pronoun before a verb (direct object pronouns replace the noun that the verb is acting on in a sentence while indirect object pronouns replace to whom or for whom an action is done.)
SUS is the possessive pronoun meaning “their” (plural)
TUS is the possessive pronoun meaning “your” (singular, informal)
Tú
A second-person singular pronoun that is equivalent to the English word “you”.
Ti
A prepositional pronoun that can also mean “you”. For example, No puedo vivir sin tú ti means “I can’t live without you”.
When to use ti?
When a personal pronoun is after a preposition, tú changes to ti.
For emphasis or when there is a risk of ambiguity.
Why does ‘A’ sometimes come before a name
SHOWS WHO THE SENTENCE IS ABOUT
YO VS ME
In Spanish, “yo” translates to “I” and is used as the SUBJECT of a sentence, while “ME” translates to “ME” and is used as the OBJECT of a verb, meaning it receives the action in a sentence; essentially, “YO” is used when you are performing the action, and “ME” is used when the action is being done to you.
Example sentences:
“Yo hablo español” - “I speak Spanish” (Here, “yo” is the subject doing the speaking).
“Juan me ayudó” - “Juan helped me” (Here, “me” is the object being helped by Juan).
Key points to remember:
“Yo” is the subject pronoun: Always used when you are the one performing the action in a sentence.
“Me” is the object pronoun: Used when you are receiving the action of a verb.
USE OF GUSTAR
Gustar is conjugated to match the thing you like.
You use an indirect object pronoun with gustar.
How to conjugate gustar
Like all Spanish verbs, you’ll change the ending of gustar to match the subject of the sentence. But the grammatical subject of gustar is the thing that is pleasing to you—just like the subject of The movie is pleasing to me is “the movie” and not “me”!
The subject of gustar can be either a noun or a verb. In most cases, you’ll need the third person forms of gustar: gusta and gustan.
Gustar sentences follow their own word order.
To make a gustar sentence negative, add “no” before the word.
To emphasize that someone likes something, you can use the prepositional phrase “A + mí” before “me gusta”.
TU, TE, TI
TÚ
Used when the speaker is the one performing the action. For example, if you are throwing a ball, you would use tú.
TE
Used when the speaker is receiving the action. For example, if you are being thrown a ball, you would use te.
WHEN ASKING IF SOMETHING PLEASES YOU, USE TE NOT TU WITH GUSTA
TI
Used as the subject or object of a verb, or as the object of a preposition. It can also refer to the people you have spoken or written to.
INFINITIVE
is the basic, unconjugated form of a verb that ends in -AR, -ER, or -IR. For example, hablar means “to speak”, comer means “to eat” and venir means “to come”
CONJUGATING VERBS
REMOVE THE ENDING OF THE VERB IN ITS INFINITIVE FORM (AR, ER, IR) TO REACH THE STEM
ADD THE VERB ENDING ACCORDING TO THE PERSON YOU ARE CONJUGATING TO:
YO, TU, (EL, ELLA, USTED), (NOSOTROS, NOSOTRAS)(ELLOS, ELLAS, USTEDES)
-AR ENDING: O, AS, A, AMOS, AN
-ER ENDING: O, ES, E, EMOS, EN
-IR ENDING: O, ES, E, IMOS, EN
IRREGULAR VERBS
DO NOT FOLLOW RULES OF CONJUGATING
EX: SER - TO BE: EXPRESSES TRAITS RELATED TO IDENTITY
YO SOY, TU ERES, ÉL ES, NOSOTROS SOMOS, ELLOS SON
EX: ESTAR - TO BE: EXPRESSES TEMPORARY TRAITS
YO ESTOY, TU ESTAS, EL ESTA, ESTAMOS, ESTAN
CHANGING VERB TO PRESENT ACTION (ING)
AR VERBS - ANDO
ER &IR VERBS - IENDO
ESTUDIAR - ESTUDIANDO (YO ESTOY ESTUDIENDO - I AM STUDYING.)
COMER - COMIENDO (ALEJANDRO ESTA COMIENDO - ALEJANDRO IS EATING)
ABRIR - ABRIENDO (ESTOY ABRIENDO LA PUERTA - I AM OPENING THE DOOR)
IF THERE IS A VERB BEFORE ADDING IENDO CHANGE ENDING TO - YENDO
LEER - LEYENDO (QUÉ ESTÁS LEYENDO - WHAT ARE YOU READING?
You add “-IENDO” to the stem of a Spanish word when you want to form the present participle (the “ING” form) of a verb that ends in “-ER” or “-IR” in the infinitive; essentially, you use “-IENDO” to create the present progressive tense in Spanish with verbs that are NOT “-AR” verbs.
Key points about using “-IENDO”:
Verb type: Only use “-IENDO” with verbs that end in “ER” or “-IR” in the infinitive.
Stem: To form the present participle, remove the “ER” or “-IR” ending from the infinitive and then add “-IENDO” to the remaining stem.
Example:
“hablar” (to speak) is an “-ar” verb, so its present participle would be “hablando”.
“comer” (to eat) is an “-er” verb, so its present participle would be “comiendo”.
“vivir” (to live) is an “-ir” verb, so its present participle would be “viendo”
Masculine and feminine endings
LONERS (masculine)
DIONZA (feminine)
L-O-N-E-R-S: (masculine)
el sol
el oso
el falcón
el chocolate
el comedor
el paraguas
D-ION-Z-A (feminine)
la verdad
la traducción
la estupidez
la cara
There are exceptions. A few are:
If a word ends with an accented vowel (e.g. “í”) or a consonant other than “d” or “z”, it is probably masculine.
Words ending in ‘ie” are feminine
Words ending in “dumbre” or “tumbre” are feminine
PREPOSITIONAL PRONOUNS
prepositional pronouns are “mí” (me), “ti” (you), “él” (him), “ella” (her), “nosotros/nosotras” (us), “vosotros/vosotras/ustedes” (you all), and “ellos/ellas” (them); essentially the same as the subject pronouns, except for the change in “yo” to “mí” and “tú” to “ti” when used after a preposition.
Key points about Spanish prepositional pronouns:
Used after prepositions:
These pronouns are always used following a preposition like “a” (to), “de” (of), “en” (in), “para” (for), and “por” (by).
“Mí” and “ti” distinction:
The main difference from subject pronouns is that “yo” becomes “mí” and “tú” becomes “ti” when used as prepositional pronouns.
Example sentences:
“Hablaron conmigo.” (They spoke with me)
“Este regalo es para ti.” (This gift is for you)
“Ella está entre él y ella.” (She is between him and her)
ADJECTIVES AND NOUNS THAT END IN E….
HAVE THE SAME MASCULINE AND FEMININE FORMS
PRETERITE
In Spanish, the preterite tense (also called pretérito indefinido or pretérito perfecto simple) is USED to describe COMPLETED actions or events that happened at a SPECIFIC TIME in the PAST, often with a clear beginning and end.
Key USES:
Completed Actions: focuses on actions that are finished and over, emphasizing the fact that they occurred and are now in the past.
SPECIFIC TIME: It’s often used when referring to actions that happened at a precise time or during a specific period in the past.
Beginning and End:
USED to describe the start or end of an action or event.
Narrating Events: It’s a common tense for telling stories and describing a sequence of events.
Single, Isolated Events: USED for actions that are viewed as one-time occurrences.
FORMED by removing the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and adding the appropriate preterite endings.
-AR verbs:
yo -é
tú -aste
él/ella/usted -ó
nosotros -amos
vosotros -asteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes -aron
-ER and -IR verbs:
yo -í
tú -iste
él/ella/usted -ió
nosotros -imos
vosotros -isteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes -ieron
IRREGULAR VERBS:
Many verbs have irregular preterite forms that don’t follow the regular patterns.
Examples:
SER/IR/: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron
HACER: hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron
DAR: di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron
VENIR: vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron
TENER: tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron
ESTAR: estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron
PODER: pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron
QUERER: quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron
SABER: supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron
CONOCER: conocí, conociste, conoció, conocimos, conocisteis, conocieron
Future tense Irregular Verbs:
Some verbs have irregular stems in the future tense.
DECIR (to say) DIR- : HACER (to do/make) HAR- :
PODER (to be able to)PODR- : PONER (to put) PONDR- : QUERER (to want) QUERR-
SABER (to know) SABR- :SALIE (to leave/go out) SALDR- :TENER (to have) TENDR-:VENIR (to come) VENDR-
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Spanish Words464
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Use Of TILDES, SPANISH RULES OF ACCENTUATION8
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SPANISH RULES OF ACCENTUATION1
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MONTHS & DAYS19
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CONJUGATED WORDS126
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INDICATIVE, PRETERITE, SUBJECTIVE, IMPERATIVE22
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NOTES28
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TYPES OF CONJUGATIONS8
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ADDING ‘ING’ TO SPANISH WORDS2
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Class With Amy2
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NUMBERS0
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SPANISH TENSES1
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Two Words For "and"1
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PROGRESSIVE ASPECT1
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Moods Of Verbs3
