Spanish 101: Subject Pronouns, Ser, -ar Verbs, Question Formation, and Classroom Vocabulary

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Spanish subject pronouns, the present tense of ser, regular -ar verb conjugation, question formation techniques, interrogatives, and essential classroom and academic terms.

Subject pronoun

A word that replaces the name or title of a person or thing and acts as the subject of a verb.

Tú

The singular, informal subject pronoun for 'you', used when addressing a friend, a family member, or a child.

Usted (Ud.)

The singular, formal subject pronoun for 'you', used to address a person with whom you have a formal or more distant relationship, such as a superior at work, a professor, or an older person.

Vosotros / Vosotras

The familiar plural 'you' forms used in Spain as the plural of tú (vosotros for all-male or mixed groups; vosotras for exclusively female groups).

Ustedes (Uds.)

The plural form of 'you'; used in Latin America as the plural for both tú and usted, but used in Spain only as the formal plural of usted.

English 'it' in Spanish

There is no Spanish subject pronoun equivalent for the English 'it'; it is generally not expressed in Spanish sentences.

Ser

An irregular verb meaning 'to be' (conjugated as yo soy, tú eres, Ud./él/ella es, nosotros/as somos, vosotros/as sois, Uds./ellos/ellas son), used to identify people and things and to express origin or possession.

Possession with ser

A construction using [noun] + de + [owner] used to show ownership, since Spanish has no equivalent of the English construction [noun] + 's.

del

The contraction formed when the preposition de is followed by the masculine singular definite article el (de + el = del).

Infinitive

The simple or basic form of a verb with the -ar, -er, or -ir ending still attached, generally meaning 'to do something'.

Stem

The base form of a verb remaining after removing the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir), such as habl- from hablar.

Conjugate

The process of changing a verb's form to match the subject performing the action.

Present tense -ar verb endings

The set of suffixes added to an -ar stem: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella/Ud.), -amos (nosotros/as), -áis (vosotros/as), and -an (ellos/ellas/Uds.).

Calzar

A regular -ar verb meaning 'to wear (shoes)'.

Pagar

A regular -ar verb meaning 'to pay'.

El borrador

A classroom vocabulary noun meaning 'eraser'.

El escritorio

A classroom vocabulary noun meaning 'desk'.

El horario

A course-related noun meaning 'schedule'.

La pizarra

A classroom vocabulary noun meaning 'blackboard'.

Al lado de

A prepositional phrase meaning 'next to'.

Cerca de vs. Lejos de

Opposing prepositional phrases meaning 'near' (cerca de) and 'far from' (lejos de).

Intonation method (question formation)

A method of forming a question in Spanish by raising the pitch of your voice at the end of a declarative sentence, punctuated with an upside-down question mark (¿) and an ending question mark (?).

Inversion method (question formation)

A method of forming a question by switching the normal sentence order of the subject and the verb, sometimes placing the subject at the very end.

Tag question

A question created by attaching ¿no? (meaning 'don't you?') or ¿verdad? (meaning 'right?') to the end of a declarative statement.

¿Por qué? vs. porque

¿Por qué? is written as two words with an accent mark and means 'Why?'; porque is written as a single word without an accent mark and means 'because'.

Negative answer structure

The requirement in Spanish to use the word no twice when answering a yes/no question negatively, because no functions as both 'no' and 'not'.

¿Adónde?

An interrogative word meaning 'Where (to)?'.

¿Cuál? / ¿Cuáles?

Interrogative words meaning 'Which?' or 'Which one(s)?'.

¿Cuánto/a? vs. ¿Cuántos/as?

¿Cuánto/a? is the singular interrogative meaning 'How much?'; ¿Cuántos/as? is the plural interrogative meaning 'How many?'.

¿Quién? vs. ¿Quiénes?

¿Quién? is the singular interrogative pronoun meaning 'Who?'; ¿Quiénes? is the plural interrogative pronoun meaning 'Who (plural)?'.