Grammatical Foundations
The building blocks of every Spanish sentence
From words to sentences
Now that you know the sounds and basic expressions, it is time for the grammatical foundations. You will encounter these elements in EVERY Spanish text.
Focus mainly on recognising patterns. You do not need to produce everything perfectly yet — understanding is the most important thing for reading your first story.
Chapter
4
Articles & Gender
The key to Spanish sentence structure
In Spanish, every noun has a gender (masculine or feminine). Articles adapt accordingly.
Definite articles (the)
Use these when you are talking about something specific:
el
(masculine singular)
→
el libro
= the book
Standard masculine
la
(feminine singular)
→
la casa
= the house
Standard feminine
los
(masculine plural)
→
los libros
= the books
Plural of el
las
(feminine plural)
→
las casas
= the houses
Plural of la
Indefinite articles (a/an, some)
Use these when you are talking about something in general:
un
(masculine)
→
un chico
= a boy
Masculine singular
una
(feminine)
→
una chica
= a girl
Feminine singular
unos
(masculine plural)
→
unos libros
= some books
Means "some"
unas
(feminine plural)
→
unas casas
= some houses
Means "some"
Recognising gender — Useful patterns
-o
Usually masculine
Examples
libro, chico, perro
Exceptions / Tips
la mano (hand), la foto, la moto
-a
Usually feminine
Examples
casa, chica, mesa
Exceptions / Tips
el día, el problema, el sistema
-e
Can be either
Examples
el coche (m), la noche (f)
Exceptions / Tips
You have to learn it!
-ción/-sión
Always feminine
Examples
estación, televisión, canción
Exceptions / Tips
Like -tion in English
-dad/-tad
Always feminine
Examples
ciudad, libertad, universidad
Exceptions / Tips
Like -ness in English
-ista
Both possible
Examples
el/la turista, el/la artista
Exceptions / Tips
Gender determines the article
Examples in context
El chico come la pizza
→
The boy eats the pizza
La mujer lee un libro
→
The woman reads a book
Los niños juegan en el parque
→
The children play in the park
Las chicas estudian español
→
The girls study Spanish
El hombre tiene una idea
→
The man has an idea
Los estudiantes están en clase
→
The students are in class
Chapter
5
Tener (To Have) & Haber
Possession and existence
TENER expresses possession and is used in many expressions where English uses "to be". HABER is used for "there is/are".
The conjugation of tener
yo
tengo
(I have)
Yo tengo un gato
I have a cat
tú
tienes
(you have)
Tú tienes razón
You are right
él/ella
tiene
(he/she has)
Ella tiene hambre
She is hungry
nosotros
tenemos
(we have)
Tenemos tiempo
We have time
vosotros
tenéis
(you (plural) have)
Tenéis una casa
You have a house
ellos/ellas
tienen
(they have)
Tienen dos hijos
They have two children
Important expressions with tener
In Spanish, you use tener where English uses "to be":
tener hambre
→
to be hungry
¡Tengo hambre!
-
I am hungry!
tener sed
→
to be thirsty
¿Tienes sed?
-
Are you thirsty?
tener frío
→
to be cold
Tenemos frío
-
We are cold
tener calor
→
to be hot
Tiene mucho calor
-
He/she is very hot
tener sueño
→
to be sleepy
Los niños tienen sueño
-
The children are sleepy
tener miedo
→
to be afraid
Tengo miedo de la oscuridad
-
I am afraid of the dark
tener razón
→
to be right
Tú tienes razón
-
You are right
tener prisa
→
to be in a hurry
Tengo prisa
-
I am in a hurry
tener ganas de
→
to feel like
Tengo ganas de bailar
-
I feel like dancing
tener ... años
→
to be ... years old
Tengo veinte años
-
I am twenty years old
Possessive determiners
These always come BEFORE the noun:
mi/mis
→
my
mi libro, mis libros
= my book, my books
tu/tus
→
your
tu casa, tus casas
= your house, your houses
su/sus
→
his/her/their/your (formal)
su perro, sus perros
= his/her dog, his/her dogs
nuestro/nuestra
→
our
nuestro amigo, nuestra familia
= our friend, our family
vuestro/vuestra
→
your (plural)
vuestro coche, vuestra casa
= your car, your house
su/sus
→
their
su madre, sus padres
= their mother, their parents
Possession with de (of)
el libro de Juan
→
Juan's book / the book of Juan
la casa de María
→
María's house / the house of María
el amigo de mi hermano
→
my brother's friend
el coche del profesor
→
the teacher's car
de + el = del
la bolsa de la señora
→
the lady's bag
los juguetes de los niños
→
the children's toys
Chapter
6
Numbers, Time & Days
Practical elements for every story
You will encounter these words constantly. They provide context for when and how often things happen.
Numbers 1–20
0
=
cero
(THEH-roh / SEH-roh)
1
=
uno
(una for feminine)
2
=
dos
3
=
tres
4
=
cuatro
(KWAH-troh)
5
=
cinco
(THEEN-koh / SEEN-koh)
6
=
seis
(says)
7
=
siete
(see-EH-teh)
8
=
ocho
(OH-choh)
9
=
nueve
(noo-EH-beh)
10
=
diez
(dee-EHTH / dee-EHS)
11
=
once
(OHN-theh / OHN-seh)
12
=
doce
(DOH-theh / DOH-seh)
13
=
trece
(TREH-theh / TREH-seh)
14
=
catorce
(kah-TOHR-theh)
15
=
quince
(KEEN-theh / KEEN-seh)
16
=
dieciséis
17
=
diecisiete
18
=
dieciocho
19
=
diecinueve
20
=
veinte
(BAYN-teh)
Tens & higher numbers
30
=
treinta
(bv. treinta y uno = 31)
40
=
cuarenta
(bv. cuarenta y dos = 42)
50
=
cincuenta
(bv. cincuenta y tres = 53)
60
=
sesenta
(bv. sesenta y ocho = 68)
70
=
setenta
(bv. setenta y siete = 77)
80
=
ochenta
(bv. ochenta y uno = 81)
90
=
noventa
(bv. noventa y nueve = 99)
100
=
cien/ciento
(bv. ciento diez = 110)
1000
=
mil
(bv. dos mil = 2000)
first
=
primero
(bv. primera vez = first time)
Days of the week
Note: no capital letters in Spanish!
lunes
→
Monday
(LOO-nehs)
martes
→
Tuesday
(MAHR-tehs)
miércoles
→
Wednesday
(mee-EHR-koh-lehs)
jueves
→
Thursday
(HWEH-behs)
viernes
→
Friday
(bee-EHR-nehs)
sábado
→
Saturday
(SAH-bah-doh)
domingo
→
Sunday
(doh-MEEN-goh)
el lunes
→
on Monday
(A specific Monday)
los lunes
→
on Mondays
(Every Monday)
Months & seasons
enero
English
January
Season
invierno
febrero
English
February
Season
invierno
marzo
English
March
Season
primavera
abril
English
April
Season
primavera
mayo
English
May
Season
primavera
junio
English
June
Season
verano
julio
English
July
Season
verano
agosto
English
August
Season
verano
septiembre
English
September
Season
otoño
octubre
English
October
Season
otoño
noviembre
English
November
Season
otoño
diciembre
English
December
Season
invierno
Telling the time
¿Qué hora es?
→
What time is it?
Son las dos
=
It is two o'clock
Es la una
→
It is one o'clock
(Singular for 1 o'clock!)
Son las tres
→
It is three o'clock
(Plural for the rest)
y media
→
half past
las dos y media
=
half past two
y cuarto
→
quarter past
las tres y cuarto
=
quarter past three
menos cuarto
→
quarter to
las cuatro menos cuarto
=
quarter to four
de la mañana
→
in the morning
las ocho de la mañana
=
eight o'clock in the morning
de la tarde
→
in the afternoon
las dos de la tarde
=
two o'clock in the afternoon
de la noche
→
in the evening
las ocho de la noche
=
eight o'clock in the evening
Time expressions in stories
hoy
→
today
Hoy hace buen tiempo
-
Today the weather is nice
ayer
→
yesterday
Ayer fui al cine
-
Yesterday I went to the cinema
mañana
→
tomorrow
Mañana es domingo
-
Tomorrow is Sunday
ahora
→
now
Ahora comemos
-
Now we eat
luego/después
→
later/afterwards
Nos vemos luego
-
See you later
antes
→
before/earlier
Antes de comer
-
Before eating
siempre
→
always
Siempre llega tarde
-
He always arrives late
nunca
→
never
Nunca bebo café
-
I never drink coffee
a menudo
→
often
Voy a menudo al mar
-
I often go to the sea
a veces
→
sometimes
A veces llueve
-
Sometimes it rains
ya
→
already
Ya he comido
-
I have already eaten
todavía
→
still/yet
Todavía no
-
Not yet
