Grammar Book

Memo Strickland

Table Of Contents

1. Preterit2. Preterit Trigger Words3. Car- Gar- Zar-4. Spock5. Cucaracha6. Snake7. Snakey8. Imperfect9. Imperfect Trigger Words10. Imperfect Irregular11. Preterit vs. Imperfect

12. Ser vs. Estar13. Verbs Like Gustar14. Comparatives and Superlatives15. Transition Words16. Future17. Future Trigger Words18. Future Irregular19. Por20. Para21. Demonstrative Adjectives22. Demonstrative Pronouns

Preterit

• Used to express actions of the speakers that are completed

• Beginning or end of a past action

• Narrate a sense of past actions or events

• All of the events that occurred

• To conjugate -ar verbs, drop the (-ar) and substitute it with:

aba abamosabasaba aban

• To conjugate –er/ir verbs, drop the (-er/ir) and substitute it with:

ía íamosÍas

ía ían

Preterit Trigger Words

• A Veces• Mientras• Cada Dia• Frecuentemente• Siempre• Todos los Dias• Muchas Veces

• A Menudo• De Vez en• Cuando• Los lunes

Car- Gar- Zar-

• Car -> qué • Gar -> gué • Zar -> cé

• Only works in first person.

Spock

HacerVe

rDarIr

Ser

Cucaracha• Andar- Anduv• Estar- Estuv• Poder- Pud• Querer- Quis• Saber- Sup• Tener- Tuv• Venir- Vin• Conducir- Conduj• Producir- Produj• Traducir- Traduj• Decir- Dij• Traer- Traj

-e-iste-o-imos-isteis-ieron• “J” verbs i (eron)

Snake

• e>IPediPreferirCompetirRepetirServirVenir

o>uDormirMorir

PedíPedistePatio

Pedimos

Pidiron

Snakey

LeiLeísteLeyo

Leimos

Leyeron

• e>IPediPreferirCompetirRepetirServirVenir

o>uDormirMorir

Imperfect• To conjugate -ar verbs, drop the

(-ar) and substitute it with:aba ábamosabasaba aban

*There are no stem changes in Imperfect.

• To conjugate –er/-ir verbs, drop the (-er/-ir) and substitute it with:

ía ábamos ía

ía ía

Imperfect Trigger Words

• Un dia• Una vez• Ayer• Hace un año• Ya• El martes• El mes pasado

• Anteayer• Por una• Hora• Por fin• A las ocho• Anoche• El cinco de febrero

Imperfect Irregularser ir ver

era iba veía

eras ibas veías

era iba veía

éramos íbamos veíamos

erais ibais veíais

eran iban veían

*Only three irregulars in the imperfect tense.

Pretérit

Used to express actions of the speaker that are

already completed.

Used at the beginning or end of a past action.

Used to narrate a series of past actions or

events.

Used to describe all events that occur.

Imperfecto

Describes an on going past action with no beginning or end.

Used to express habitual past actions or

events.

Describes physical or emotional states or

characteristics.

Used to describe background information.

(weather, time, and location)

-AR -ER/IRé í

aste isteó ió

amos imos

aron ieron

-AR -ER/IR

aba í a

abas í as

aba í a

abamos í amos

aban í an

Imperfecto

Preterito

Preterit vs. Imperfect

Ser v. EstarD • Descriptions

O • Origin

C

T

O

R

P

E

D • Dates

ESTAR

• Events

• Characteristics

• Occupation

• Relationship

• Possession

• Time

H • Health

E

L

P

I

N

G

• Emotions

• Location

• Present Condition

ar - andoer/ir - endo - yendo

SER

Verbs Like Gustar

• Hacer• Faltar• Soprender• Disgustar• Doler• Aburrir• Quedar• Molestar• Importar

• Caer Bien• Caer Mal• Apetecer• Preocupar• Interesar• Encantar• Fascinar

Comparatives and Superlatives• When you want to compare the age or quality of two things, you

will use the comparative form of the adjective plus than. For example:• better than = mejor que• worse than = peor que• older than = mayor que• younger than = menor que

• Ex 1: “Mi hermana es mayor que mí.” (My sister is older than me.)• Ex 2: “Mi hermana es la mayor.” (My sister is the oldest in my

family.)

Comparatives and Superlatives

• Use tan … como for “as … as” when the characteristic in common is an adjective or adverb.• Ex: You’re as old as my sister.

• - Use tanto … como for “as many … as” or “as much … as,” when the characteristic in common is a noun.• Ex: I have as many toys as you.

Transition Words(Connecting Words)

• Aunque- Even Though• También- Also• Mientras- While• A Pesar de- In Spite of• Pero- but• Por lo Tanto- Therefore• Sin Embargo/No obstante- Nevertheless

Future

infinitive + é Infinitive + emos

Infinitive + á Infinitive + éis

Infinitive + án Infinitive + án

*Note that all endings have accents except for nosotros.

• The future tense is used to tell what will happen or what shall happen.• Actions that will happen in the near future

• Ex. I will go to the beach next week.

Future Trigger Words

• Manaña• Pasado manaña• Proximo año• Año pasado• Es un una/dos/tres horas

Future Irregulars• Decir Dir +__• Hacer Har +__• Poner Pondre +__• Salir Saldre +__• Tener Tendre +__• Valer Valdre +__• Venir Vendre +__• Poder Podre +__• Querer Querr +__• Saber Sabr +__• Caber Cabr +__• Haber Habr +__

é emosás éisá á

•Decir- to say/tell•Hacer- to make/do•Poner- to put into place•Salir- to exit•Tener- to have•Valer- to be worth•Venir- to come•Poder- to be able to•Querer- to want•Saber- to know info.•Caber- to fit into(car)•Haber- to have(only used with other verbs)

Por• Passing through…PORtal• Este tren pasa POR tejas• General rather than specific…PORtugal• No sé si hay una piscina POR aquí• How long something lasts…PORever• Vivimos en ATL POR muchos años• The cause of something…PORpuse• The exchange of something…imPORt or exPORt• Doing something in place of or instead of something else…I’m POR, pay

for me• Cecilia pagó• A means of transportation…transPORtation• No podemos acampar POR la tormenta

Para

• For whom something is done…surprise PARAty• Compraremos un regalo PARA sarah• Destination…PARAguay• Fransico tomó el avión PARA San Juan• Compré anteojos PARA ver mejor• To express an opinion…PARAdon me, but• Para me los ejercicios son fantastico• To contrast or compare• Para maestra, no sabe muco de la matematicas• To express an idea of deadline…PARAmedic• Hay que terminar la tarea PARAmañana

Demonstrative Adjectives

Demonstrative Pronouns