Grammar
Estar vs. Ser
In Spanish, "ser" and "estar" are both verbs that mean "to be". However, they are used in different contexts.
- Ser = to talk about WHAT something is (permanent state)
- The hour, day, and date.
- Place of origin.
- Occupation.
- Nationality.
- Religious or political affiliation.
- The material something is made of.
- Possession.
- Relationship of one person to another.
- Where an event is taking place.
- Essential qualities (what makes this thing, this thing?).
- Estar = about HOW something is, so we use it for conditions, locations, emotions, and actions
- Geographic or physical location.
- State or condition (like emotions).
- Many idiomatic expressions.
- Progressive tenses (-ing).
| Ser | Estar |
|---|---|
| Date | Position |
| Occupation | Location |
| Characteristic | Action |
| Time | Condition |
| Origin | Emotion |
| Relation |
Saber vs. Conocer
- Saber = know facts and skills
| sé | sabes | sabe | sabemos | saben |
|---|
- Conocer = Be familiar with a place and person
| conozco | conoces | conoce | conocemos | conocen |
|---|
- Knowing who the president of the US is vs knowing Joe Biden in person
Por vs. Para
- Both mean for but depends on the reason
| Por | Para |
|---|---|
| for a period of time (estudiamos POR cinco horas) | For a goal or purpose (¿Necesitas ropa para la fiesta?) |
| exchange/trade (Gracias POR el collar) | destination (Vamos para la biblioteca.) |
| by or through (Pasé por el supermercado ayer.) | A general opinion (Esta clase es muy fácil para mí) |
| to get (Fuimos al supermercado por leche) | Job (Mi amiga trabaja para Google.) |
| per (Ella gana $12.00 por hora en su trabajo) | At all = para nada (No le gusta estudiar para nada.) |
| because of (Fui al hospital por mi accidente) | In order to - para + infinitive (Voy a la universidad para ser arquitecto.) |
| time of day (Voy al cine por la tarde o por la noche) | Comparison (Para ser de Bolivia, Luis habla el chino mandarín muy bien) |
| on behalf of (La madre hizo el proyecto por su hijo irresponsable) | |
| Por + infinitive = same as due to, because of (Yo sacaba malas notas por no estudiar) | |
| Therefore, because of that = POR ESO (No me gusta sudar (sweat) por eso yo no corro) |
Pero vs Sino
- Both mean but but depends on positive and negative
| Pero | Sino | Sino que |
|---|---|---|
| If the first statement is positive you need to use pero. | If the first statement is negative, you need to use either sino or sino que. | If the first statement is negative, you need to use either sino or sino que. |
| If you can replace “but” with “however” (sin embargo), you need to use pero. | If you can replace “but” with “on the contrary,” (por el contrario) you need to use sino. | If the first statement is negative and you have a conjugated verb in both statements you need to use sino que. |
Los pronombres relativos
- a word that connects main clause to dependent clause
- Que’ = what (question)
- Quien(con accento) = who
| Que | that, than, who |
|---|---|
| Lo que | what(in middle of a sentence) |
| el que, la que | the one that, he/she who |
| los que, las que | the ones who/that; (use after prepositions) (Indicate a person or specific thing) |
| Quien(es) | whom |
| cuyo(a)(s) | whose(ending matches what goes after) |
| lo cual | which (previous reference) neutral- Ayer tuvimos ua tormenta de nive enorme, lo cual resulto en la cancelation de las clases |
| el cual, la cual. los cuales. las cuales | the one which, the ones which |
Comparaciones y Superlatives
- Comparisons
- Used when comparing something
| mas + adjetivo + que | more…than (+) |
|---|---|
| menos + adjevtivo + que | less…than (-) |
| tan + adjecticos + como | as…..as ( = ) |
| tanto(a) + sustantivo + como | as much…..as |
| tantos(as) + sustantivo + como | as many…..as |
| mejor que | better than |
| Peor que | worse than |
| mayor | older/greater (in number of importance) |
| menor | younger/lesser (of importance) |
- Superlatives
- Used to “quantify” something
| tan | so → es un lugar tan interesante |
|---|---|
| muy | very → ….muy facil (formal) |
| requete + adjtico | extremely |
| bien | very (coloquial) (informal) |
| el(los)(la)(las) mejor(es) de | the best of…. |
| el(los)(la)(las) peor(es) de | the worst of…. |
| el(la) mas + adj + de | the most + adj + of… |
| el(la)menos + adj + de | the least + adj+ of….. |
| la mayoria de…. | the majority of…most of…. |
| la minoria de | the monority of…a small amount of… |
| antiguo(a) | old, ancient of a place |
| anciano(a) | elderly |
| viejo | old (objects) |
Lo + adjectico = the …(adj) ….thing (The good thing is you didn’t go)
- Lo importante es que estamos vivos duespes de la pandemia
- Lo mejor de esta ciudad es…
- Lo mas interesabte fue que
- Lo mas bomito alli eran
- Lo bueno es…lo malo de…
- Lo curioso es que….
- Lo importante es que…
- Lo mejor es que…
- Lo (mas) carro alli es
Palabras Afirmativas y Negativas
| Affirmativas | Negativas | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| algo | something, anything | nada | nothing, not anything |
| alguien | someone, somebody; anyone | nadie | no one; nobody; not anyone |
| alguno/a/s, algu’n | some, any | ninguno/a, ningu’n | no; none; not any |
| o…o | either…or (choice to make between 2 oprions) | ni…..ni | neither…nor (negate both options) |
| siempre | always | nunca, jamas | never; never ever ever |
| tambien | also; too | tampoco | neither; not either |
| ni siquirea | not even (add emphasis) |
- Once there is a negative, the whole sentence becomes negative
- a is used when you are referring to some
- algun and ningun are used before masculine verbs
Verbs like Gustar
- You conjucate the objects, not the person
- Te gustan los libros → you like the books
| aburrir | to bore |
|---|---|
| encantar | to love(objects) to like very much |
| fascinar | |
| importar | |
| interesar | |
| molestar | |
| quedar | to be left over; to fit(clothes) |