spanish

1. Days, Months, and Seasons (El Calendario y las Estaciones)

In Spanish, days of the week and months of the year are not capitalized unless they start a sentence.

• Days of the Week (Los días de la semana):

  • Lunes (Monday)

  • Martes (Tuesday)

  • Miércoles (Wednesday)

  • Jueves (Thursday)

  • Viernes (Friday)

  • Sábado (Saturday)

  • Domingo (Sunday)

• Months of the Year (Los meses del año):

  • Enero (January), Febrero (February), Marzo (March), Abril (April), Mayo (May), Junio (June)

  • Julio (July), Agosto (August), Septiembre (September), Octubre (October), Noviembre (November), Diciembre (December)

• Seasons (Las estaciones):

  • La primavera (Spring)

  • El verano (Summer)

  • El otoño (Autumn/Fall)

  • El invierno (Winter)

2. Colors (Los Colores)

Colors in Spanish act as adjectives and must agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun they describe.

• Base Colors:

  • Rojo / Roja (Red)

  • Azul (Blue)

  • Amarillo / Amarilla (Yellow)

  • Verde (Green)

  • Blanco / Blanca (White)

  • Negro / Negra (Black)

  • Gris (Gray)

  • Anaranjado / Anaranjada (Orange)

  • Morado / Morada (Purple)

  • Rosado / Rosada (Pink)

  • Marrón / Café (Brown)

• Agreement Rules:

  • If a color ends in -o, it changes to -a for feminine nouns (e.g., la camiseta roja).

  • Colors ending in consonants or -e stay the same for gender (e.g., el libro verde, la mesa verde).

  • Add -s for plural ending in a vowel (verdes), or -es for ending in a consonant (azules).

3. Nouns and Adverbs (Los Sustantivos y Adverbios)

Nouns (Sustantivos)

• Gender:

  • Nouns ending in -o, -or, or -ma are usually masculine (el libro, el doctor, el problema).

  • Nouns ending in -a, -ción, -sión, or -dad are usually feminine (la casa, la canción, la ciudad).

• Pluralization:

  • If a noun ends in a vowel, add -s (libro $\rightarrow$ libros).

  • If a noun ends in a consonant, add -es (papel $\rightarrow$ papeles).

  • If a noun ends in -z, change the z to c and add -es (lápiz $\rightarrow$ lápices).

Adverbs (Adverbios)

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They remain unchanged regardless of gender or number.

• Common Adverbs: bien (well), mal (badly), muy (very), siempre (always), nunca (never), también (also), despacio (slowly).

• Forming Adverbs with -mente: Take the feminine singular form of an adjective and add -mente (equivalent to '-ly' in English).

  • Rápido $\rightarrow$ Rápida + -mente = Rápidamente (Quickly)

  • Fácil $\rightarrow$ Fácilmente (Easily)

4. Present Tense Regular Verbs (Verbos Regulares)

Spanish infinitives end in -ar, -er, or -ir.

• -AR Verbs (e.g., Hablar - to speak):

  • Yo hablo

  • Tú hablas

  • Él/Ella/Usted habla

  • Nosotros/as hablamos

  • Vosotros/as habláis

  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes hablan

• -ER Verbs (e.g., Comer - to eat):

  • Yo como

  • Tú comes

  • Él/Ella/Usted come

  • Nosotros/as comemos

  • Vosotros/as coméis

  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes comen

• -IR Verbs (e.g., Vivir - to live):

  • Yo vivo

  • Tú vives

  • Él/Ella/Usted vive

  • Nosotros/as vivimos

  • Vosotros/as vivís

  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes viven

5. Ser vs. Estar

Both verbs mean "to be," but they are used in different contexts.

Conjugations

Uses of SER (Acronym: DOCTOR)

1. Description: Él es alto. (He is tall.)

2. Occupation: Ella es profesora. (She is a teacher.)

3. Characteristic: El agua es fría por naturaleza. (Water is naturally cold.)

4. Time / Date: Son las tres de la tarde. (It is three o'clock.)

5. Origin: Somos de México. (We are from Mexico.)

6. Relationship / Possession: Es mi hermano. (He is my brother.)

Uses of ESTAR (Acronym: PLACE)

1. Position: El libro está en la mesa. (The book is on the table.)

2. Location: Estamos en la escuela. (We are at school.)

3. Action (-ing / Present Progressive): Estoy estudiando. (I am studying.)

4. Condition: El agua está fría. (The water is cold [right now].)

5. Emotion: Ella está feliz. (She is happy.)

ser is permanent

estar is tempory