Reference Section

Appendix A 354
Verb Conjugations

Appendix B 367
Uses of ser, estar, and haber

Appendix C 368
Gender of Nouns and Formation of Adjectives

Appendix D 370
Position of Object Pronouns

Appendix E 373
Uses of a

Appendix F 374
Accentuation and Syllabication

Appendix G 377
Thematic Vocabulary

Spanish-English Vocabulary 379

Index 393

Credits 396

Maps 398

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 Appendix A Verb Conjugations

Appendix A contains rules for verb conjugations in all 䉴 To review accentuation rules, see page 374.
tenses and moods. Since you may already be familiar with 䉴 When conjugating verbs in Spanish, remember the fol-
much of the information in this appendix, you should read lowing spelling conventions:
through the explanations and focus on what is new to you
or what you feel you may need to review in more detail. verbs ending ca que qui co cu
Highlighting portions of the explanations might help you in -car
study more efficiently. Inexpensive reference books that verbs ending ga gue gui go gu
may help you find specific verb conjugations are 201 in -gar
Spanish Verbs and 501 Spanish Verbs, published by verbs ending ja ge gi jo ju
Barron’s Educational Series. There are also verb conjuga- in -ger or -gir
tion sites on the Internet. verbs ending ga gue gui go gu
䉴 While studying these rules, remember that most com- in -guir
pound verbs are conjugated like the base verb they con- verbs ending za ce ci zo zu
tain: conseguir, obtener, revolver, etc. in -zar
䉴 Reflexive verbs can be used in all tenses and moods. To
review placement of reflexive pronouns and other object
pronouns, see pages 370–372.

The Present Indicative Tense—El presente del indicativo

A. Regular Forms
1. To form the present indicative of regular verbs, drop the -ar, -er, or -ir ending of
the infinitive and add the appropriate endings to the stem.

dibujar correr vivir

dibujo dibujamos corro corremos vivo vivimos
dibujas dibujáis corres corréis vives vivís
dibuja dibujan corre corren vive viven

2. Certain verbs are regular but need spelling changes in the yo form. Remember
these spelling conventions to help you.

Verbs ending in -guir: ga gue gui go gu

extinguir: extingo extingues extingue etc.

Verbs ending in -ger and -gir: ja ge gi jo ju

dirigir: dirijo, diriges, dirige, etc.
escoger: escojo, escoges, escoge, etc.

Other common verbs of this type are: exigir, recoger.

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B. Irregular Forms
1. The following verbs have irregular yo forms. All other forms are regular.

caber quepo hacer hago salir salgo valer valgo

៬
caer caigo ៬
poner pongo ៬
traer traigo ver veo៬
៬
dar doy ៬
saber sé ៬ ៬
៬ ៬
Most verbs that end in -cer and -ucir have irregular yo forms.

conocer: conozco, conoces, conoce, etc.

traducir: traduzco, traduces, traduce, etc.

Other common verbs of this type are: establecer, producir.

2. Verbs that end in -uir have the following irregular conjugation.

construir: construyo construyes construye construimos construís construyen
Other common verbs of this type are: distribuir, contribuir, reconstruir.

3. Verbs ending in -uar (but not -guar) and some verbs ending in -iar require an
accent to break the diphthong.
confiar: confío confías confía confiamos confiáis confían
continuar: continúo continúas continúa continuamos continuáis continúan
Other common verbs of this type are: criar, enviar.
But:
averiguar: averiguo averiguas etc.

4. The following verbs require an accent on certain verb forms to break the diph-
thong.
reunir: reúno reúnes reúne reunimos reunís reúnen
prohibir: prohíbo prohíbes prohíbe prohibimos prohibís prohíben

5. The following verbs have irregular forms in the present.

estar: estoy estás está estamos estáis están

haber: he has ha hemos hais han
ir: voy vas va vamos vais van
oír: oigo oyes oye oímos oís oyen
oler: huelo hueles huele olemos oléis huelen
ser: soy eres es somos sois son

Note: There is/are ⫽ hay.

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C. Stem-Changing Verbs
Stem-changing verbs have a change in spelling and pronunciation in the stem in all
forms except the nosotros and vosotros forms, which retain the vowel of the infini-
tive. The change occurs in the stressed syllable of the conjugated verb, which is also the
last syllable of the stem. There are four categories: e → ie, o → ue, e → i, and u → ue.
All stem-changing verbs are noted in vocabulary lists and in dictionaries by indicating
the change in parentheses: volver (ue).
entender (e → ie) probar (o → ue)
entiendo entendemos pruebo probamos
entiendes entendéis pruebas probáis
entiende entienden prueba prueban

pedir (e →i) jugar (u → ue)

pido pedimos juego jugamos
pides pedís juegas jugáis
pide piden juega juegan

Note that reírse has an accent on the i of all forms to break the diphthong: me río, te
ríes, se ríe, nos reímos, os reís, se ríen.
Some common stem-changing verbs are:

e → ie o → ue e→i
cerrar almorzar decir*
comenzar (a ⫹ infinitive) costar elegir** (a ⫹ person)
empezar (a ⫹ infinitive) devolver pedir
entender dormir repetir
mentir encontrar (a ⫹ person) seguir** (a ⫹ person)
pensar en morir(se) servir
pensar ⫹ infinitive poder
perder (a ⫹ person) probar
preferir soler ⫹ infinitive
querer (⫹ infinitive); volver u → ue
(a ⫹ person) volver a ⫹ infinitive jugar (al ⫹ ...)
tener*
venir*
*Verbs that have irregular yo forms:
decir (e → i) → digo tener (e → ie) → tengo venir (e → ie) → vengo
**Verbs that have a spelling change in the yo forms:
elegir (e → i) → elijo seguir (e → i) → sigo

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The Present Participle—El gerundio
1. The present participle is formed by dropping the -ar of regular and stem-changing
verbs and adding -ando and by dropping the -er and -ir of regular verbs and the
-er of stem changers and adding -iendo. (For -ir stem changers, see point 2 below.)

cerrar → cerr ⫹ ando → cerrando

correr → corr ⫹ iendo → corriendo
vivir → viv ⫹ iendo → viviendo

2. The -ir stem changers have a change in the stem of the present participle. In dic-
tionary listings, stem changers are followed by vowels in parentheses. The first
vowel or vowels in parentheses indicate the change that occurs in the present indic-
ative tense: dormir (ue, u), vestirse (i, i), sentirse (ie, i). The second vowel indi-
cates the change that occurs in the present participle: dormir (ue, u), vestirse (i, i),
sentirse (ie, i). (Also see the discussions of the preterit and present subjunctive.)
dormir → durmiendo vestirse → vistiéndose* sentirse → sintiendo

3. Verbs with stems ending in a vowel ⫹ -er or -ir (except a silent u, as in seguir) take
a y instead of the i in the ending.
construir → construyendo
Common verbs that fit this pattern include the following.
leer → leyendo creer → creyendo oír → oyendo
destruir → destruyendo caer → cayendo

The Preterit—El pretérito

A. Regular Forms
1. To form the preterit of regular -ar, -er, and -ir verbs and -ar and -er stem changers
(but not -ir stem changers), drop the -ar, -er, or -ir ending of the infinitive and add
the appropriate endings to the stem.

cerrar vender vivir

cerré cerramos vendí vendimos viví vivimos
cerraste cerrasteis vendiste vendisteis viviste vivisteis
cerró cerraron vendió vendieron vivió vivieron
Notice that the -ar and -ir endings for nosotros are identical in the present and the preterit.

*To review placement of object pronouns with present participles, see page 371. To review accents, see page 374.

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 2. Certain verbs are regular but need spelling changes in the yo form to preserve the
pronunciation. Remember these spelling conventions to help you.

Verbs ending in -gar: ga gue gui go gu

pagar: pagué, pagaste, pagó, etc.

Other common verbs of this type are: jugar, negar, regar, llegar, rogar.

Verbs ending in -car: ca que qui co cu

buscar: busqué, buscaste, buscó, etc.

Other common verbs of this type are: tocar, practicar, criticar, explicar.

Verbs ending in -zar: za ce ci zo zu

empezar: empecé, empezaste, empezó, etc.

Other common verbs of this type are: almorzar, comenzar, cazar, rezar, aplazar, organizar.

B. Irregular Forms
1. The following verbs have irregular forms in the preterit.

dar: di diste dio dimos disteis dieron

ir: fui fuiste fue fuimos fuisteis fueron
ser: fui fuiste fue fuimos fuisteis fueron
estar: estuve estuviste estuvo estuvimos estuvisteis estuvieron
tener: tuve tuviste tuvo tuvimos tuvisteis tuvieron
poder: pude pudiste pudo pudimos pudisteis pudieron
poner: puse pusiste puso pusimos pusisteis pusieron
saber: supe supiste supo supimos supisteis supieron
hacer: hice hiciste hizo hicimos hicisteis hicieron
venir: vine viniste vino vinimos vinisteis vinieron

2. The verbs decir, traer, and verbs ending in -ducir take a j in the preterit. Notice
that they drop the i in the third person plural and are followed by -eron.

decir: dije dijiste dijo dijimos dijisteis dijeron

traer: traje trajiste trajo trajimos trajisteis trajeron
producir: produje produjiste produjo produjimos produjisteis produjeron

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 3. Verbs with stems ending in a vowel ⫹ -er or -ir (except the silent u, as in seguir)
take a y instead of the i in the third person singular and plural.

construir: construí construiste construyó construimos construisteis construyeron

leer: leí leíste leyó leímos leísteis leyeron
oír: oí oíste oyó oímos oísteis oyeron
Note: There was/were ⫽ hubo.

C. -Ir Stem-Changing Verbs

-Ir stem-changing verbs only have a stem change in the third person singular and plu-
ral. In dictionary listings, these changes are the second change listed: morir (ue, u).

dormir (ue, u): dormí dormiste durmió dormimos dormisteis durmieron

mentir (ie, i): mentí mentiste mintió mentimos mentisteis mintieron
vestirse (i, i): me vestí te vestiste se vistió nos vestimos os vestisteis se vistieron

The Imperfect—El imperfecto

A. Regular Forms
To form the imperfect of regular verbs, drop the -ar, -er, or -ir ending of the infini-
tive and add the appropriate endings to the stem. Notice that all -ar verbs end in -aba
and -er and -ir verbs end in -ía.
cerrar* conocer servir*
cerraba cerrábamos conocía conocíamos servía servíamos
cerrabas cerrabais conocías conocíais servías servíais
cerraba cerraban conocía conocían servía servían
*Note: Stem-changing verbs do not change in the imperfect.

B. Irregular Forms
Common irregular verbs are:
ir: iba ibas iba íbamos ibais iban
ser: era eras era éramos erais eran
ver: veía veías veía veíamos veíais veían
Note: There was/were ⫽ había.

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The Future—El futuro
A. Regular Verbs
To form the future of regular verbs, add -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the entire
infinitive.
hablar comer ir
hablaré hablaremos comeré comeremos iré iremos
hablarás hablaréis comerás comeréis irás iréis
hablará hablarán comerá comerán irá irán
Note: There is no accent in the nosotros form.

B. Irregular Verbs
Some verbs have irregular stems in the future, but all add to the stem the same end-
ings used above.

Infinitive Future stem Infinitive Future stem

caber cabr- querer querr-
decir dir- saber sabr-
haber habr- salir saldr-
hacer har- tener tendr-
poder podr- valer valdr-
poner pondr- venir vendr-
Note: There will be ⫽ habrá.

The Conditional—El condicional

A. Regular Verbs
To form the conditional of regular verbs, add -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the
entire infinitive.
hablar comer ir
hablaría hablaríamos comería comeríamos iría iríamos
hablarías hablaríais comerías comeríais irías iríais
hablaría hablarían comería comerían iría irían

B. Irregular Verbs
Irregular conditional forms use the same irregular stems as for the future (see the
explanation for the future tense) and add the same conditional endings used above.
Note: There would be ⫽ habría.

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The Present Subjunctive—El presente del subjuntivo
A. Regular Forms
1. The present subjunctive of most verbs is formed by following these steps.
䉴 Take the present indicative yo form: hablo, leo, salgo.
䉴 Drop the -o: habl-, le-, salg-.
䉴 Add endings starting with e for -ar verbs and with a for -er and -ir verbs.

hablar leer salir

que hable hablemos que lea leamos que salga salgamos
hables habléis leas leáis salgas salgáis
hable hablen lea lean salga salgan

2. Certain verbs are regular but need spelling changes to preserve the pronunciation.
Remember these spelling conventions to help you.

Verbs ending in -gar: ga gue gui go gu

pagar: que pague, que pagues, que pague, etc.

Other common verbs of this type are: llegar, jugar, negar, regar, rogar.

Verbs ending in -gir: ja ge gi jo ju

elegir: que elija, que elijas, que elija, etc.

Other common verbs of this type are: escoger, exigir, recoger, dirigir.

Verbs ending in -car: ca que qui co cu

sacar: que saque, que saques, que saque, etc.

Other common verbs of this type are: buscar, tocar, criticar, explicar, practicar.

Verbs ending in -zar: za ce ci zo zu

empezar: que empiece, que empieces, que empiece, etc.

Other common verbs of this type are: almorzar, comenzar, organizar, cazar, rezar.

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B. Irregular Forms
Common irregular imperfect forms include the following.

dar: que dé des dé demos deis den

estar: que esté estés esté estemos estéis estén
haber: que haya hayas haya hayamos hayáis hayan
ir: que vaya vayas vaya vayamos vayáis vayan
saber: que sepa sepas sepa sepamos sepáis sepan
ser: que sea seas sea seamos seáis sean
Note: There is/are ⫽ que haya. There will be ⫽ que haya.

C. Stem-Changing Verbs
1. -Ar and -er stem-changing verbs in the present subjunctive ending have the same
stem changes as in the present indicative tense.

almorzar: que almuerce almuerces almuerce almorcemos almorcéis almuercen

querer: que quiera quieras quiera queramos queráis quieran

2. -Ir stem-changing verbs in the present subjunctive have the same stem changes as
in the present indicative except for the nosotros and vosotros forms, which require
a separate stem change. In dictionary listings, this is the second change indicated
and is the same change as in the preterit and the present participle: dormir (ue, u).

mentir (ie, i): que mienta mientas mienta mintamos mintáis mientan
morir (ue, u): que muera mueras muera muramos muráis mueran
pedir (i, i): que pida pidas pida pidamos pidáis pidan

Commands—El imperativo
A. Negative Commands
All negative commands use the corresponding present subjunctive forms.

XXX ¡No comamos eso!

¡No comas eso! ¡No comáis eso!
¡No coma (Ud.) eso! ¡No coman (Uds.) eso!

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B. Affirmative Commands
1. Use the third person forms of the present subjunctive to construct affirmative Ud.
and Uds. commands.

hable (Ud.) salga (Ud.) vaya (Ud.)

hablen (Uds.) salgan (Uds.) vayan (Uds.)
Note: Subject pronouns are rarely used with commands, but if they are, they follow the verb.

2. To form regular affirmative tú commands, use the present indicative tú form of the
verb omitting the -s at the end.

habla (tú) come (tú) duerme (tú)

Note: Subject pronouns are rarely used with commands, but if they are, they follow the verb.
Irregular affirmative tú commands include the following.

Infinitive Tú Command Infinitive Tú Command

decir di salir sal
hacer haz ser sé
ir ve tener ten
poner pon venir ven

3. Affirmative nosotros commands (let’s ⫹ verb) use the corresponding present sub-
junctive forms.

hablemos comamos salgamos

Exception: The affirmative nosotros command for ir is vamos (not vayamos).

4. The affirmative vosotros commands are formed by replacing the final r of the
infinitive with a d. If a reflexive pronoun is added, the d is deleted.

hablad comed salid levantaos*

The only exception is irse: idos.

Note: It is common simply to use the infinitive form as an affirmative vosotros
command in colloquial speech (Hablad en voz baja. ⫽ Hablar en voz baja.).

*To review placement of object pronouns with commands, see pages 371–372.

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 The following chart summarizes the forms used for commands:
Ud./Uds. Tú
Affirmative: Negative: Affirmative: Negative:
subjunctive subjunctive present indicative subjunctive
tú form without -s
suba/n no suba/n sube* no subas
*NOTE: All forms are identical to the subjunctive except the affirmative command form of tú.

The Imperfect Subjunctive—El imperfecto del subjuntivo

1. The imperfect subjunctive is formed by following these steps.
䉴 Take the third person plural of the preterit: venir = vinieron.
䉴 Drop -ron to create an imperfect subjunctive stem: vinie-.
䉴 Add either of the following sets of endings.

-ra endings -se endings

-ra -ramos -se -semos
-ras -rais -ses -seis
-ra -ran -se -sen
Note: The -ra endings are used by more speakers of Spanish. The -se endings are
common in Spain and in some areas of Hispanic America.

Infinitive 3rd person pl. pret. Imp. sub. stem Imp. sub.
venir vinieron vinie- viniera/viniese

-ra forms -se forms

que viniera viniéramos que viniese viniésemos
vinieras vinierais vinieses vinieseis
viniera vinieran viniese viniesen
Note: The nosotros form always takes an accent.

2. All imperfect subjunctive verbs follow this pattern. There are no irregular verbs in
the imperfect subjunctive; they are all are based on the third person plural of the
preterit. Review the preterit, especially the third person plural, to ensure proper
formation of the imperfect subjunctive.
Note: There was/were ⫽ hubiera/hubiese.

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The Past Participle—El participio pasivo
The past participle is a verbal form that can be used either as part of a verb phrase or as
an adjective modifying a noun. When used as part of a verb phrase, the past participle has
only one form, which ends in -o. When used as an adjective modifying a noun, the past
participle agrees with the noun in gender and number.

A. Regular Forms
The past participle of -ar verbs is formed by adding -ado to the stem. The past parti-
ciple of -er and -ir verbs is formed by adding -ido to the stem.

comprar → comprado vender → vendido decidir→ decidido

The past participle of ser is sido and of ir is ido.

B. Irregular Forms
1. Common irregular past participles include the following.

Infinitive Past Participle Infinitive Past Participle

abrir abierto morir muerto
cubrir cubierto poner puesto
decir dicho resolver resuelto
describir descrito romper roto
escribir escrito ver visto
hacer hecho volver vuelto
Note: Compound verbs are usually conjugated like the verb they contain.
devolver → devuelto deshacer → deshecho reponer → repuesto

2. Some past participle forms differ whether they are used as part of a verb phrase
(e.g., he bendecido) or used as an adjective (está bendito). The following is a list
of common verbs that have two different forms.
Infinitive Past Participle in a Verb Phrase Past Participle as an Adjective
bendecir bendecido bendito/a
confundir confundido confuso/a
despertar despertado despierto/a
freír freído frito/a
imprimir imprimido impreso/a
soltar soltado suelto/a

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The Perfect Tenses—Los tiempos perfectos
The perfect tenses are formed by using a form of the verb haber ⫹ past participle. See the
explanation of the formation of past participles if needed.
The Present Perfect—El pretérito perfecto

}
he hemos
has habéis ⫹ past participle
ha han

The Present Perfect Subjunctive—El pretérito perfecto del subjuntivo

}
haya hayamos
hayas hayáis ⫹ past participle
haya hayan

The Pluperfect—El pluscuamperfecto

}
había habíamos
habías habíais ⫹ past participle
había habían

The Pluperfect Subjunctive—El pluscuamperfecto del subjuntivo

}
hubiera hubiéramos
hubieras hubierais ⫹ past participle
hubiera hubieran

Note: There is an optional form, frequently used in Spain and in some areas of Hispanic
America, in which you may substitute -se endings for -ra endings: hubiera ⫽ hubiese.

The Future Perfect—El futuro perfecto

}
habré habremos
habrás habréis ⫹ past participle
habrá habrán

The Conditional Perfect—El condicional perfecto

}
habría habríamos
habrías habríais ⫹ past participle
habría habrían

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Appendix B Uses of ser, estar, and haber

1. Use ser:
a. to describe the being or essence of a person, place, or thing. This includes person-
ality traits, physical characteristics, and place of origin.
Mi amigo Walter es muy divertido. (personality traits)
Es bajo y un poco gordo. (physical characteristics)
Es de Guatemala. (origin)
b. to state an occupation.
Es estudiante universitario.
c. to tell time and dates.
Ahora son las cuatro de la tarde.
Los exámenes finales son entre el 2 y el 10 de mayo.
d. to indicate possession.
Los libros que usa para estudiar son de su primo Carlos.
e. to state when and where an event takes place.
El examen de química es a las once de la mañana y es en el Appleby Center.

2. Use estar:
a. to describe condition or state of being of a person, place, or thing.
Hoy está cansado porque no durmió mucho anoche.
Su habitación está sucia y tiene que limpiarla.
b. to describe the location of a person, place, or thing.
Ahora Walter está en la clase con sus amigos.
Su universidad está en el centro de la ciudad.
El examen de química está en el escritorio del profesor.
c. as a helping verb with the present progressive to describe actions in progress.
Él y sus amigos están haciendo planes para el fin de semana.

3. Use a form of haber to state the following.

there is/are (not) = (no) hay
there was/were (not) = (no) hubo (preterit) / (no) había (imperfect)
there will (not) be = (no) habrá
there would (not) be = (no) habría
Hay 50.000 estudiantes en esa universidad.

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 Appendix C Gender of Nouns and Formation of Adjectives

A. Gender of Nouns
1. Most nouns that end in -l, -o, -n, and -r are masculine.
un cartel el partido el examen el televisor

Common exceptions: la imagen, la mano, la mujer. Remember that la foto

(fotografía) and la moto (motocicleta) are feminine.

2. Most nouns that end in -a, -ad, -ión, -umbre, and -z are feminine.
la lámpara la libertad una canción la costumbre una luz

Common exceptions: el camión, el avión, el día, el lápiz, el pez.

3. Feminine nouns that begin with a stressed a- sound (agua, área, arpa, hambre),
use the articles el/un in the singular, but still use the articles las/unas in the plural.
If adjectives are used with these nouns, they must be in the feminine form.
el alma pura el agua fresca
las almas puras las aguas frescas
Note: There is one exception; the word arte begins with a stressed a- and is normally
masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural: el arte moderno, las bellas artes.

4. Memorize the gender of nouns that end in -e. Common words include:
Masculine: el accidente, el cine, el coche, el diamante, el hombre, el pasaje, el viaje
Feminine: la clase, la fuente, la gente, la noche, la tarde

5. Many nouns that are borrowed from languages other than Latin are usually mas-
culine in Spanish. Here are a few nouns that are borrowed from English: los blue
jeans, el hall, el kleenex.

6. Many nouns that end in -ma, -pa and -ta are masculine and are of Greek origin:
el drama, el idioma, el mapa, el planeta, el poema, el problema, el programa,
el sistema, el tema.

B. Use and Formation of Adjectives

1. With few exceptions, adjectives agree in number (singular, plural) with the nouns
they modify. The plural is formed by adding -s to adjectives that end in an unac-
cented vowel (usually -e, -o, or -a) and -es to those that end in a consonant or an
accented vowel (usually -í or -ú). Adjectives ending in -o and -or agree not only
in number but also in gender (masculine, feminine) with the noun they modify.
Adjectives ending in -ista agree in number only. See the following charts.
una clase interesante
-e unas clases interesantes consonant
interesante interesantes liberal liberales

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 -í, -ú -ista
israelí israelíes realista realistas
hindú hindúes

-o, -a -or, -ora

serio serios conservador conservadores
seria serias conservadora conservadoras

una clase interesante unas clases interesantes

una profesora seria unas profesoras serias
un artículo liberal unos artículos liberales
el estudiante conservador los estudiantes conservadores
un profesor realista unos profesores realistas

2. Adjectives of nationality that end in -és or -án drop the accent from the masculine
singular and add the appropriate endings to agree in gender and number with the
nouns they modify.
inglés* ingleses inglesa inglesas
alemán* alemanes alemana alemanas
*To review rules of accentuation, see Appendix F.

3. Adjectives that end in -z change z to c in the plural.

feliz → felices capaz → capaces

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 Appendix D Position of Object Pronouns

Prior to studying the position of object pronouns (direct, indirect, and reflexive), you may
want to familiarize yourself with the following terms.

1. Infinitives—Infinitivos
a. In the following sentence, to work is an infinitive.
I have to work tomorrow.

b. Infinitives in Spanish always end in either -ar, -er, or -ir.

c. The infinitive is the verb form listed in Spanish dictionaries.

d. In the following sentence, trabajar is an infinitive.

Tengo que trabajar mañana.

2. Present Participles—Gerundios
a. In English, present participles end in -ing. In the following sentence, studying is a
present participle.
I am studying.
b. In Spanish, present participles end in -ando, -iendo, or -yendo. In the following
sentence, estudiando is a present participle.
Estoy estudiando.

3. Past Participles—Participios pasivos

a. In English, many past participles end in -ed. In the following sentence, traveled is a
past participle.
Have you ever traveled to Costa Rica?
b. In Spanish, regular past participles end in -ado or -ido.
¿Has viajado alguna vez a Costa Rica?

4. Commands—Órdenes
a. Commands are direct orders given to people to do something. In the following sen-
tence, help is a command.
Help me!
b. In the following sentence, ven is a command.
Niño, ¡ven aquí en seguida!

5. Conjugated Verbs—Verbos conjugados

a. In the following sentence, am and is are conjugated verbs. Their infinitive is the
verb to be.
I am smart and this is easy.

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 b. Conjugated verbs are any verbs that are not infinitives, commands, or present or
past participles.

c. Conjugated verbs can be in the present, past, future, or conditional tense, as well
as part of the perfect tenses, and they can be in both the indicative and subjunctive
moods. In the following sentences, the conjugated verbs are in bold.
Ella trabaja para IBM.
¿Dónde comieron Uds. anoche?
Quería que ellos vinieran a mi casa.

A. Pronoun forms
1. Object pronouns include direct objects (me, te, lo, la, nos, os, los, las), indirect
objects (me, te, le, nos, os, les), and reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, os, se).

2. When an indirect- and a direct-object pronoun are used in succession, le and les
become se when followed by lo, la, los, or las. When two object pronouns are used
in the same phrase, they are not separated and must be used in succession.
B. Placement
The placement of object pronouns is as follows.

1. before a conjugated verb

Lo habré hecho para el lunes. Si lo hiciera ahora, no podría terminar.
Lo haré el lunes. Lo hice el lunes pasado.
Te lo voy a hacer el lunes. Lo hacía los lunes.
Quiero que lo hagas el lunes. Lo había hecho el lunes antes de trabajar.
Lo hago los lunes. Si él lo hubiera hecho, yo no lo habría sabido.
Te lo estoy haciendo.
2. before the verb in a negative command

¡No lo hagas! ¡No se lo compre!

3. after and attached to an affirmative command

¡Hazlo! ¡Cómpreselo!* ¡Dáselo!*

*When another syllable is added to a command consisting of two or more syllables,

or when two pronouns are added to monosyllable commands, place an accent over
the stressed syllable.

a. When the reflexive pronoun os is attached to the vosotros command, the -d is

dropped.
Besaos. Quereos.
The only exception is the verb irse: idos.

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 b. When the reflexive pronoun nos or the indirect-object pronoun se is attached to
the nosotros command, the -s is dropped.
Comprémonos un coche. Comprémosela.

4. after and attached to an infinitive

Voy a hacerlo el lunes. Voy a hacértelo* el lunes.

*When two object pronouns are added to an infinitive, place an accent over the
stressed syllable.

5. after and attached to a present participle

Estoy haciéndolo.* Estoy haciéndotelo.*

*When an object pronoun or pronouns are added to a present participle, place an

accent over the stressed syllable.

6. Object pronouns can come before the conjugated verb or after and attached to an in-
finitive or a present participle. Therefore, the following sentences are synonymous.

Lo voy a hacer. Voy a hacerlo.

Te lo estoy haciendo. Estoy haciéndotelo.

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Appendix E Uses of a

Use the word a:

1. to indicate destination: ir a + article + place.

Van a la playa.
Vamos al cine. (remember: a + el = al)

2. to discuss the future: ir a + infinitive.

Ellos van a estudiar esta tarde.

3. after certain verbs when followed by infinitives. These verbs include aprender,
comenzar, empezar, and enseñar.
En esa escuela enseñan a pintar.

4. in prepositional phrases to clarify or emphasize the indirect-object pronoun.

¿Le diste el dinero a Carlos?
Note: A prepositional phrase can also be used to clarify the indirect object with
verbs like gustar, encantar, and fascinar.
A mí me encanta la música de Celia Cruz.

5. when the direct object is a person.

Vas a ver a Felipe Pérez y al hermano de Alicia si vas a la fiesta.
¿Conociste a la profesora Vargas?

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 Appendix F Accentuation and Syllabication

A. Stress—Acentuación
1. If a word ends in -n, -s, or a vowel, the stress falls on the next-to-last syllable.

lavaplatos examen hola apartamento

2. If a word ends in any consonant other than -n or -s, the stress falls on the last
syllable.

español usted regular prohibir

3. Any exception to rules number 1 and 2 has a written accent mark on the stressed
vowel.

televisión teléfono álbum centímetro

Note: Words ending in -ión lose their written accent in the plural because of rule #1:
nación, but naciones.

4. Question and exclamation words, e.g., cómo, dónde, cuál, qué, always have ac-
cents.

5. Certain words change their meaning when written with an accent although the
pronunciation remains the same.

cómo how como like, I eat

dé give (command) de of, from
él he/him el the
más more mas but
mí me mi my
sé I know se 3rd person pronoun
sí yes si if
sólo* only (adv.) solo* alone
té tea te you (object pronoun)
tú you tu your

*Note: Due to recent rule changes in the Spanish language, solo can mean alone (el
niño comió solo) or only (solo = solamente; El niño comió solo/solamente papas
fritas). When ambiguity exists, an accent is needed on sólo when it means only. Com-
pare these sentences: Fue solo al cine. (He went alone to the movies) vs. Fue sólo al
cine. (He only went to the movies.)

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 6. You may see demonstrative pronouns with a written accent to distinguish them from
demonstrative adjectives (except for esto, eso, and aquello, which are neuter pro-
nouns and never have an accent). According to recent rule changes in the Spanish
language, you must add an accent to a demonstrative pronoun if ambiguity exists.

este niño éste estas blusas éstas

Nos vendieron aquellos caramelos. They sold us those candies over there.
(Aquellos modifies candies and is
a demonstrative adjective and
therefore has no accent.)
Nos vendieron aquéllos caramelos. They sold us candies. (Aquéllos is a
demonstrative pronoun and refers to
those people way over there and can
take an accent.)

7. One-syllable words (other than those listed in #5 on page 374) are not accented.
Some examples include: guion, rio (he/she laughed), vio, fe, etc. Note: This is a
recent change to the Spanish rules of orthography, so some texts printed before the
change was made official may show these words with accents: guión, rió, vió, fé.

B. Diphthongs—Diptongos
1. A diphthong is the combination of a weak vowel (i, u) and a strong vowel (a, e,
o) or the combination of two weak vowels in the same syllable. When two vowels
are combined, the strong vowel or the second of the weak vowels takes a slightly
greater stress in the syllable.

vuelvo automático tiene conciencia ciudad

2. When the stress of the word falls on the weak vowel of a strong–weak combination,
the weak vowel takes a written accent mark to break the diphthong. No diphthong
occurs because the vowels belong to different syllables.

pa-ís dí-a tí-o en-ví-o Ra-úl

Note: Ma-rio, but Ma-rí-a.

C. Syllabication—Silabeo
1. A single consonant between vowels always goes with the second vowel. Remember
that ch, ll, and rr are considered single consonants in Spanish.

A-mé-ri-ca to-ma-te ca-je-ro But: pe-rro

2. When there are two or more consonants between vowels, the second vowel takes as
many consonants as can be found at the beginning of a Spanish word (English and

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 Spanish allow the same consonant groups at the beginning of a word, except for s +
consonant which does not exist in Spanish). The other consonants remain with the
first vowel.

Pa-blo (bl starts words, as in blanco)

es-pe-cial (s + consonant does not start words in Spanish, p does)
ex-plo-rar (xpl does not begin words, pl does)
trans-po-lar (nsp does not begin words, sp does not start words in Spanish,
p does)

3. A diphthong is never separated. If the stress falls on the weak vowel of a strong–
weak vowel combination, an accent is used to break the diphthong and two sepa-
rate syllables are created.

a-mue-blar ciu-dad ju-lio But: dí-a

Note: Two strong vowels never form a diphthong: po-e-ta, le-er.

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Appendix G Thematic Vocabulary

The following lists contain basic vocabulary. For more julio July
advanced vocabulary on some of these topics, see the agosto August
vocabulary entries in the glossary. septiembre September
octubre October
La ropa
noviembre November
la blusa blouse diciembre December
la camisa shirt
la chaqueta jacket Las estaciones
la corbata tie el invierno winter
la falda skirt la primavera spring
las medias socks el verano summer
los pantalones pants el otoño fall
el saco sports coat
La comida
el sombrero hat
el traje de baño bathing suit el ajo garlic
el vestido dress la carne de res beef
los zapatos shoes la coliflor cauliflower
los espárragos asparagus
Los colores las habichuelas green beans
amarillo/a yellow los huevos eggs
anaranjado/a orange el jamón ham
azul blue el jugo juice
blanco/a white la mermelada marmalade
gris gray el pan bread
marrón brown la pimienta pepper
morado/a purple el pollo chicken
negro/a black el queso cheese
rojo/a red la sal salt
rosa, rosado/a pink la tostada toast
verde green el vinagre vinegar
el yogur yogurt
Los días de la semana
lunes Monday Los deportes
martes Tuesday el basquetbol basketball
miércoles Wednesday el béisbol baseball
jueves Thursday el fútbol soccer
viernes Friday el fútbol americano football
sábado Saturday el golf golf
domingo Sunday la natación swimming
el squash squash
Los meses del año el tenis tennis
enero January el voleibol volleyball
febrero February
marzo March El medio ambiente
abril April la basura trash
mayo May la ecología ecology
junio June en peligro in danger

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 la energía nuclear nuclear energy 30 treinta millones (de)**
la energía solar solar energy 31 treinta y un, uno/a* 1.000.000.000 mil
la fábrica factory millones (de)**
la lluvia ácida acid rain 32 treinta y dos billón (de)
el reciclaje recycling
reciclar to recycle Notes:
a. Numbers ending in uno drop the -o before a mas-
Los números ordinales
culine noun: veintiún libros, cuarenta y un libros.
primer(o)/a first
But: veintiuna chicas.
segundo/a second
b. The numbers 16 through 29 are more commonly
tercer(o)/a third
written as one word: veintitrés instead of veinte y
cuarto/a fourth
tres.
quinto/a fifth
c. The numbers dieciséis, veintidós, veintitrés, and
sexto/a sixth
veintiséis have an accent.
séptimo/a seventh
d. The word y is only used with numbers 16 through
octavo/a eighth
99: treinta y dos, but tres mil doscientos cuatro.
noveno/a ninth
décimo/a tenth
e. 1,000,000,000 = one billion, but 1.000.000.000
= mil millones.
Los números cardinales
* These numbers agree in gender with the nouns they
0 cero 40 cuarenta
modify. Había trescientas personas en la conferencia.
1 uno, un/a* 50 cincuenta
** De is used before a noun: Había un millón de
2 dos 60 sesenta
personas.
3 tres 70 setenta
4 cuatro 80 ochenta
5 cinco 90 noventa
6 seis 100 cien
7 siete 101 ciento un, uno/a*
8 ocho 110 ciento diez
9 nueve 200 doscientos*
10 diez 300 trescientos*
11 once 400 cuatrocientos*
12 doce 500 quinientos*
13 trece 600 seiscientos*
14 catorce 700 setecientos*
15 quince 800 ochocientos*
16 dieciséis (diez y seis) 900 novecientos*
17 diecisiete 1.000 mil
(diez y siete) 2.000 dos mil
18 dieciocho 100.000 cien mil
(diez y ocho) 200.000 doscientos
19 diecinueve mil*
(diez y nueve) 500.000 quinientos
20 veinte mil*
21 veintiún, veintiuno/a* 1.000.000 un
22 veintidós (veinte millón (de)**
y dos) 2.000.000 dos

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