|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spanish Parts of Speech (Part 2)See also: In Spanish Parts of Speech (Part 1) we did a quick overview of the main parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, etc.). While that information was accurate, we made it look easier than it actually was by glossing over a number of more complicated situations. Now that you're a little older and wiser, it's time to take a closer look at at some of these issues. Spanish NounsSee also: Gender of NounsIn Part 1, we determined that nouns ending in "-o" were masculine and nouns ending in "-a" were feminine. There's a couple of problems with this simple rule: it's not always true and there are numerous nouns which don't end with "-o" or "-a." ImpostersFirst of all, some words are imposters. For instance, moto and foto ("motorcycle" and "photograph") both end in "-o" but they are feminine: la moto, la foto. There's a good reason for it. Moto and foto are actually abbreviations of motocicleta and fotografía. Another example is la disco, short for la discoteca. Rule BreakersThere are also numberous words which break the "-o" and "-a" rules. The following is a list of common trouble makers: Note: Most of the rule breakers are masculine words ending in "-a".
A substantial number of the words that break the gender rules end in "-ma." Some examples: Note: Many masculine "-ma" words are of Greek origin.
Words Not Ending in "-o" or "-a"What about words that don't end in "-o" or "-a"? Here are some general guidelines to help you determine the gender. Most nouns that end with "-d," "-ión," "-ie," and "-umbre" are feminineFor example:
But this isn't always true. Some notable exceptions:
Most nouns that end with "-aje," "-l," or "-r" are masculineFor example:
Some notable exceptions:
Islands, regions, letters, and sicknesses are femininela Isla de Vieques (Vieques Island), la Patagonia (Patagonia), Months, days of the week, compound names, numbers, oceans, seas, rivers, and mountains are masculineel noviembre (November), el lunes (Monday), el sacapuntas (pencil sharpener), Gender BendersIf you thought all that was confusing, some words can actually be both genders. A change in gender will change the meaning of the following words:
Many jobs and occupations can be used with people of either gender. The noun itself does not change, the article indicates gender. This is especially true of "-ante" and "-ista" words. For example:
There are also other descriptors that are not politically correct. Even though it looks like maybe it should, the noun doesn't change.
Other jobs and occupations have slightly different forms for different genders. This is especially true of "-ero" and "-era" words. For example: Note: Remember that one male member in a group makes the entire group male: Un banquero + una banquera = dos banqueros.
Don't forget, some nouns have completely different words for each gender (just like in English). Note: While some animals have different words for the male and the female (el oso / la osa, el lobo / la loba), most animals use the same word for both genders.
Persona and VíctimaIt sounds strange, but persona and víctima are always feminine regardless of who they refer to. Adjectives describing these nouns will always be feminine too. Su tío fue víctima de un ataque. Nuestro padre es una persona comprensiva. Changing Nouns from Singular to PluralIn Part 1, we said to make nouns plural, add "-s" to words ending in vowels, and add "-es" to words ending in consonants. So teléfono becomes teléfonos, bicicleta becomes bicicletas, papel becomes papeles, etc., etc. But it's not quite that simple. Nouns Ending in VowelsWe do add an "-s" to nouns ending in an unstressed vowel:
And we also add an "-s" to nouns ending in the stressed vowels -á, -é, and -ó:
Note: The plural names of vowels look like this: las aes, las ees, las íes, las oes, las úes. But we usually add "-es" to nouns that end in the stressed vowels -í or -ú:
There are several exceptions to this rule including: Nouns Ending in ConsonantsNote: Many foreign words adopted into Spanish follow their own plural rules: robot → robots. We're supposed to add "-es" to words ending in consonants. But what if the words already ends in "-s"? To nouns that end in a stressed vowel and "-s" we add "-es."
Note: The same rules apply to words ending in "-x": el tórax → los tórax. But nouns that end in an unstressed vowel and "-s" have the same singular and plural forms. Only the article changes:
Plural Nouns and Accent MarksSome words will actually gain an accent mark when they becomes plural. Keep an eye out for nouns where the stress falls somewhere other than the last syllable. When we add a syllable by adding "-es," we'll need to add an accent mark to preserve the original stress:
And some words lose accent marks when they become plural:
Spelling ChangesNouns that end in "-z" follow the same rules as nouns ending in "-s," but there is also a z → c spelling change.
Last Names and Decades
Los Simpson To refer to an entire family in Spanish, we don't add an "-s" to the last name; we simply change the article. Los Ortega son una familia muy simpática. Nuestros vecinos son los García. 
El Show de los 70 And we do the same thing to refer to decades (sometimes including the word años). En los ochenta la economía empezó a fallar. La gente llevaba ropa cómica en los años sesenta. Spanish ArticlesIn Part 1, we briefly discussed definite and indefinite articles. Here's a quick review:
Remember that each article needs to agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. What we didn't discuss was contractions, a weird exception, and when to use articles in Spanish. ContractionsThere are two article contractions to be aware of. To avoid pronunciation difficulties, whenever a is followed by el, they combine to become al. Whenever de is followed by el, they become del.
This is only true of el, not la (or los or las). Voy a ir al mercado. Quiero saber más del león. This contraction does not take place with proper nouns, or the subject pronoun él. Voy a ir a El Salvador. El Agua / Las AguasIt's strange and it doesn't happen often, but whenever we have a feminine noun that begins with a stressed a sound, we switch its article to the masculine form in order to avoid having to pronounce two a sounds in a row. This is true of both definite and indefinite articles. Note: Since the letter "h" isn't pronounced in Spanish, ha = a.
Note: This is the equivalent of using "an" instead of "a" in English: "an army" (not "a army"). However, when these nouns are plural, the double a situation doesn't exist so we revert back to the feminine article.
Remember, in spite of the article used, the words are still feminine and therefore take feminine adjectives.
This rule does not apply to nouns that begin with an unstressed a because they're easier to pronounce. la artillería, la agricultura, una avenida When to Use Definite and Indefinite ArticlesFiguring out when to use articles in Spanish can be a bewildering task for an English speaker. Sometimes the two languages correspond beautifully; sometimes they are complete opposites. One general rule of thumb: definite articles are used much more often in Spanish, indefinite articles are used less often. Using Definite ArticlesUse a definite article when using nouns in general or abstract sense (this is basically the opposite of what we do in English): El amor y la fe son muy importantes. Las matemáticas son interesantes. Use a definite article (instead of a possessive adjective) with body parts or clothes, especially when using reflexive verbs: Me duele el brazo. Voy a ponerme el abrigo. Use a definite article with names of languages: El español es un idioma muy bonito. El inglés es muy difícil aprender. Note: Definite articles are also often omitted after aprender, enseñar, entender, escribir, estudiar, saber, and leer. But don't use a definite article with languages following de or en or hablar: Yo sé hablar español muy bien. ¿Cómo se dice en inglés? Use a definite article with titles when speaking about someone: Me gustar hablar con el Señor Montes. Necesita ver el doctor Lopez. Note: Definite articles are also usually omitted before the titles San, Santa, Don, and Doña. But don't use a definite article when talking to someone: ¡Hola, Señor Montes! Note: Don't use an article with days following ser: Hoy es lunes. Use a definite article with days, times, and dates: Me voy el martes a la una el dos de Abril. Use a definite article with proper nouns if they are modified by an adjective: Quiero estudiar el Canadá colonial. Es un informe sobre el México precolombino. But don't use a definite article with proper nouns when they are not modified: Quiero estudiar Canadá. Es un informe sobre México. Use a definite article with units of weights and measurements: La gasolina cuesta $4.00 el galón. Using Indefinite ArticlesUse an indefinite article to introduce a noun that has not been previously identified (once the noun is introduced, a definite article is used): Hay un artículo en el periódico sobre mi escuela. ¿De veras? ¿Y que dice el artículo? Use an indefinite article with nouns following ser or hacerse modified by an adjective or descriptive phrase: Mi amigo es un hondureño viejo. Su hermana es una abogada maravillosa. But don't use an indefinite article with nouns following ser or hacerse that refer to profession, nationality, religion, or political affiliation: Mi amigo es hondureño y quiere ser abogado. Use an indefinite article with numbers to indicate approximate amounts: Tengo unos libros que se trata de arte. Unos cinco mil van a venir. Don't use indefinite articles with cien, cierto, medio, mil, otro, semejante, and tal: Necesito mil dólares y otro coche. Indefinite articles are not required after sin or con: ¡No salgan sin paraguas! Vive en una casa con piscina. Indefinite articles are not necessary in negative sentences and after verbs like tener, haber, and buscar when the concept of un or una is not important: No tengo lápiz y por eso busco lápiz. No hay mesa. The Neuter Article LoDefinite articles don't end with el, la, los, and las. There's also a neuter (non-gender) article, lo. How is it used? Lo can be combined with a masculine singular adjective to create an abstract noun. English translations usually involve the words, "thing" or "part": Lo más importante es ser sincero. Lo mejor fue el final. Lo bueno es que no hay tarea. Spanish AdjectivesAdjectives FormsIn part 1 we learned that adjectives have four forms based on the gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of the nouns they modify. For example:
Note: The rules for making adjectives plural are the same as the rules for nouns: atriz → actrices, feliz → felices. But once again, this isn't always the case. Not every adjective has four forms. Adjectives that end in "-e" or a consonant have only two forms, a singular form and a plural. These adjectives are known as "invariable" adjectives because they don't change with gender. A few examples:
Notice how the masculine and feminine forms are the same? Another example: Quiero un traje azul con una corbata azul. The adjective azul modifies both the masculine traje and the feminine corbata. There are also many adjectives that end in "-a" (like azteca, indígena, marina, maya, and violeta) which do not have different masculine forms. And "-ista" adjectives (like comunista, deportista, optimista, pesimista, realista, etc.) are invariable too. For example: El imperio azteca era impresionante. El chico deportista se llama Ricardo. Of course there are exceptions to the rules above. Some nationality adjectives have distinct feminine forms even if they end in consonants. Some examples:
Also, adjectives that end in "-án," "-ín" "-ón," or "-or," (don't worry, they're rare) have different feminine forms also. For example:
Adjective PlacementIn Part 1 we learned that adjectives come after nouns in Spanish, but of course this isn't always true. Forms of the following adjectives come in front of the nouns they're modifying.
And numbers used as adjectives also precede nouns. Some examples:
Sometimes an adjective can be placed in front of a noun that it is normally associated with (this is especially true in poetry) or for stylistic reasons. Examples:
And sometimes an adjective can be placed in front of a noun for emphasis. Notice the difference in the following sentences:
Some adjectives can come before or after nouns. The position of the adjective actually changes its meaning:
For example:
Shortened FormsSome adjectives have different (shortened) forms when they are used before masculine singular nouns. In these cases the meaning of the adjective doesn't change. Note: Santo does not change before words starting with "Do-" or "To": Santo Domingo.
And some adjectives have different (shortened) forms when they are used before either masculine or feminine nouns. Note: Adjectives based on these adjectives have different forms too: vientiuno → vientiún coches.
Using Multiple AdjectivesEverything we've studied to this point is based on the notion that we're only going to use one adjective per noun, but like English we're not actually limited to the number of adjectives we use: Jugaron con un balón rojo, blanco, y azul. Furthermore, when using multiple adjectives, we have several options for where to put them. Place adjectives before then noun for emphasis, or to stress inherent characteristics: Vieron un imponente y antiguo castillo. Place adjectives after the noun that narrow, restrict, or clarify the noun: Escogí un libro pequeño y negro. And you can split your adjectives too. When doing so, place the more subjective (opinion) adjectives in front, and the more objective (factual) adjectives behind: Gloria Estefan es una maravillosa cantante cubanoamericana. Spanish ConjunctionsIn Part 1 we learned that "and" and "or" are y and o in Spanish, but that's not always the case. If y is followed by an "i" sound, then we use an e instead so that we can avoid having to say two "i" sounds in a row. The meaning does not change: Tomo clases de francés e inglés. Prometemos campañas de salud e higiene. Note: Since the letter "h" isn't pronounced in Spanish, hi = i and ho = o. If o is followed by an "o" sound, then we use a u instead so that we can avoid having to say two "o" sounds in a row. The meaning does not change: Estudian matemáticas u ortografía. Prefiero beber café u horchata. If we change the order of the words in the examples above, we'll return to the more familiar y and o: Tomo clases de inglés y francés. Prometemos campañas de higiene y salud. Estudian ortografía o matemáticas. Prefiero beber horchata o café. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Corrections? Suggestions? |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 This work by Spanish411.net is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
