[...]... to Spanish nouns to form what is called the diminutive form of the noun The meaning of the diminutive may refer to the actual physical size, or it may show some favorable emotional quality on the part of the speaker casa vaso casita vasito little house little glass perro chica perrito chiquita cute little dog cute little girl Diminutive endings (or affixes) vary greatly in different parts of the Spanish- speaking... rota 4 Es _ área enorme 12 CHAPTER 1 Nouns and Articles Uses of the Definite Article With General or Abstract Nouns Unlike English, the definite article must be used in Spanish with all general or abstract nouns Compare the Spanish and English in the following examples La leche es buena para la salud Los perros son animales domésticos El amor es una cosa divina Milk is good for the health Dogs... when there is more than one subject In Spanish, the noun is in the singular Study the following examples Ellos se quitan la chaqueta antes de comer Y se lavan la cara y las manos They take off their jackets before eating And they wash their faces and hands Since each person has only one jacket and one face, the singular rather than the plural form is used in Spanish 33 Complete the following sentences... -o Many of the most common Spanish adjectives end in -o Each adjective must agree with the noun it modifies Adjectives that end in -o have four forms Study the following el mercado moderno la casa moderna el puente bonito la fuente bonita los mercados modernos las casas modernas los puentes bonitos las fuentes bonitas Note that descriptive adjectives often follow the noun in Spanish Below is a list of... (ninguno) talento Adjectives of Color The words used to express colors in Spanish can be divided into two groups The meaning of certain words such as blanco, gris, verde, rojo, amarillo, azul is the color itself Since these words are adjectives, they agree with the noun they modify—the same as any other adjective However, many words used in Spanish to express colors refer to something else such as a flower,... Saber, conocer Servir para, servir de, servirse de Tener Volver, devolver, envolver Answers to Exercises 157 Verb Charts 188 CHAPTER 1 Nouns and Articles Nouns Nouns Ending in -o and -a Singular forms The Spanish noun, unlike its English counterpart, has a gender Each noun is either masculine or feminine Those nouns that refer specifically to a man, such as father, brother, etc., are masculine Those nouns... CHAPTER 1 Nouns and Articles Augmentative forms are less commonly used than diminutive forms Common augmentative affixes are -ón and -ote It is better not to use these forms until one is quite fluent in Spanish; these forms can refer to physical size but they can also have a derogative or pejorative meaning Nouns Ending in -ón The -ón augmentative ending (el ratón, el colchón) is not to be confused with... rincón Nos gusta dar un paseo por _ malecón No sé _ razón de su comportamiento _ hinchazón se está empeorando Foreign Words The following is a list of some frequently used foreign words that Spanish has adopted along with their gender la chance (sometimes el chance, used in Latin America only) la élite la hi-fi la pizza la Web la suite la sauna (sometimes el sauna) el Internet el módem el... _ fax _ módem, _ software, _ Web y _ Internet son palabras nuevas _ élite en muchos países tiene todo el poder The Indefinite Article The indefinite articles (a, an) in Spanish are un for masculine nouns and una for feminine nouns un libro un coche un señor una novela una nave una señora 25 Rewrite the following sentences replacing the definite article with an indefinite... woman, such as mother, sister, etc., are feminine The same is true for animals For all other nouns it is necessary to learn the proper gender The problem is not quite so complex as it may at first appear Spanish nouns can be classified into gender groups according to their endings Almost all nouns that end in -o are masculine and almost all nouns that end in -a are feminine Masculine el chico el muchacho . Glencoe, McGraw-Hill. SCHAUM Schaum’s Outlines Series German Grammar German Vocabulary Italian Grammar Italian Vocabulary Spanish Grammar Schaum’s Communicating Series Communicating in French. Communicating in German (Advanced Level) Communicating in Spanish (Novice/Elementary Level) Communicating in Spanish (Intermediate Level) Communicating in Spanish (Advanced Level) Schaum’s Special Purpose.