Basic Sentence Structure

The most common Spanish sentence structure is:

Subject + Verb + Object

Just like English.

English: I eat apples.
Spanish: Yo como manzanas.

• Yo = I (subject)

• como = eat (verb)

• manzanas = apples (object)

The subject is often omitted

Spanish verbs change depending on who performs the action, so you often don’t need to say the subject.

(Yo) hablo español. = I speak Spanish.
(Tú) comes pizza. = You eat pizza.
(Él) vive aquí. = He lives here.

The verb usually tells you who is doing the action.

Subject + Verb

Ella estudia. = She studies.
Nosotros trabajamos. = We work.
Ellos corren. = They run.

Subject + Verb + Adjective/Description

With ser or estar:

Yo soy estudiante. = I am a student.
Ella es inteligente. = She is intelligent.
Nosotros estamos cansados. = We are tired.

Noun + Adjective

Spanish adjectives usually come after nouns

English: a red car
Spanish: un coche rojo

English: a big house
Spanish: una casa grande

Formula:

Noun + Adjective

Question word + Verb + Subject

You can often use the same word order and simply change your tone or add question words.

¿Hablas español? = Do you speak Spanish?
¿Dónde vives? = Where do you live?
¿Qué comes? = What do you eat?

Question word + Verb + Subject

¿Dónde vive Juan? = Where does Juan live?