Important Grammar Points
1. Subject Pronouns
- Yo (I)
- Tú (you, informal)
- Él (he), Ella (she), Usted (you, formal)
- Nosotros (we, masculine), Nosotras (we, feminine)
- Vosotros (you all, informal, masculine), Vosotras (you all, feminine)
- Ellos (they, masculine), Ellas (they, feminine)
2. Present Tense Conjugation
- For regular verbs, here's how to change them:
- -ar endings: hablar → hablo (I speak), hablas (you speak), habla (he/she speaks)
- -er endings: comer → como (I eat), comes (you eat), come (he/she eats)
- -ir endings: vivir → vivo (I live), vives (you live), vive (he/she lives)
3. Ser vs. Estar
- Ser: Use this word for things that don’t change, where someone is from, and jobs.
- For example: Ella es doctora (She is a doctor).
- Estar: Use this word for things that can change or to talk about where someone is.
- For example: Él está cansado (He is tired).
4. Definite and Indefinite Articles
- Definite articles: el (the, masculine), la (the, feminine)
- Indefinite articles: un (a, masculine), una (a, feminine)
5. Adjective-Noun Agreement
- Adjectives (describing words) need to match nouns in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).
- For example: El coche rojo (The red car), Las casas grandes (The big houses).
6. Basic Sentence Structure
- The simple order of words is: Subject-Verb-Object.
- For example: Yo como una manzana (I eat an apple).
7. Interrogative Words
- These words help us ask questions:
- ¿Qué? (What?)
- ¿Quién? (Who?)
- ¿Dónde? (Where?)
- ¿Cuándo? (When?)
- ¿Por qué? (Why?)
- ¿Cómo? (How?)
8. Negation
- To say something is not happening, use "no" + verb:
- For example: No como (I do not eat).
9. Possessive Adjectives
- These words show who owns something:
- Mi (my)
- Tu (your)
- Su (his/her/its/their)
- Nuestro (our)
- Vuestro (your plural)
10. Simple Prepositions
- These small words help explain the relationships between things:
- en (in)
- a (to)
- con (with)
- de (of/from)
- por (for)
- para (for)