ELEMENTARY SPANISH

SPANISH

ENGLISH

yo

You (informal)

Usted

You (formal)

He

ella

She

nosotros/nosotras

We

vosotros/vosotras

You-All (informal)

ustedes

You-All (formal)

Ellos/ellas

They

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
certain impersonal expressions
where an event is taking place
essential qualities

USES OF ESTAR
-

geographic or physical location

state or condition
many idiomatic expressions
progressive tenses

CONTRASTING USES OF SER and ESTAR

Ser and estar can both be translated as to be.
TO ADDRESS ESSENTIAL QUANTITY and
TO TELL WHAT SOMETHING IS, use SER
soy
eres
es

somos
sois
son
TO ADDRESS CONDITION and TO TELL
HOW SOMETHING IS, use ESTAR
estoy
ests

When a noun follows the verb, use ser

When an adjective follows the verb,
decide between "essence" and
"condition"
To tell where something is from, use ser
To tell where something is located right
now, use estar
To tell where an event is taking place,
use ser

TENER and VENIR

-

They are both irregular verbs.

TENER (to have)

VENIR (to come)

Tengo

Vengo

Tienes

Vienes

Tiene

Viene

Tenemos

Venimos

est

Tenis

Venis

estamos

Tienen

Vienen

estis
estn

USES OF SER

GENDER OF NOUNS

Many nouns that denote living things

have both a masculine and a feminine
form.
Most nouns that end in -o are masculine.
Most nouns that end in -a are feminine.
Masculine nouns that end in a consonant
often have a corresponding feminine
form that ends in -a.
Some nouns that refer to people use the
same form for both masculine and
feminine. These nouns indicate gender
by the article (el or la).
Nouns that end in -sin, -cin, -dad,
-tad, -tud, -umbre are feminine.
Many nouns that end in -ma are
masculine.
A few nouns that end in -o are feminine

NUMBERS 1-10
- The number "one" changes from "uno" to
"un" before a masculine noun.

DEFINITE ARTICLES
-

El: masculine singular

La: feminine singular
Los: masculine plural
Las: feminine plural

INDEFINITE ARTICLES
-

Un: masculine singular

Una: feminine singular
Unos: masculine plural
Unas: feminine plural

REGULAR VERBS
Three categories of verb:
-ar verbs (like hablar)

- The number "one" changes from "uno" to

"una" before a feminine noun.

-er verbs (like comer)

- When counting generically (one, two, three

...) use "uno" but when counting specifically
(one cat, one dog), use "un" or "una."

1. If the subject is I (yo), conjugate by dropping

the ending and add -o.

PLURAL FORM OF NOUNS

-

If a noun ends in a vowel, simply add -s.

If a noun ends in a consonant, simply
add -es.
If a noun ends in a -z, change the z to c
before adding -es.
If a noun ends in in, drop the written
accent before adding -es.
If the plural refers to a mixed group, use
the masculine.
For compound nouns, change "el" to
"los".

-ir verbs (like vivir)

2. If the subject is you formal (usted) drop the

ending and add either -a or -e. If the verb is an
-ar verb, add -a. If it is an -er or -ir verb, add -e.
3. If the subject is we (nosotros/as), conjugate by
dropping the ending and add -amos, -emos, or
-imos.
4. If the subject is you-all (ustedes), conjugate
by dropping the ending and add -an or -en. If the
verb is an -ar verb, add -an. If it is an -er or an
-ir verb, add -en.