There are 30 letters in Ihe Spanish alphabet: a b c ch d e f g h a be cc che de c efe ge hache j jota k ka I elc II e lle m cme n ene n ene 0 p q r rr pc cu ere erre ese te u ve doble ve equi s u v w x y z i griega zeta I un(o) 10 dos tres cuatro elllco scis siete oeho nueve diez 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 trece eatorce quince dieciseis dieeisiete dieciocho diecinueve Uno, or any number ending in uno , drops the final when followed by a masculine noun: un libro, veintiun profesores, 21 ve intiun( 0) 22 ve intid6s 30 treinta 500 31 treinta y un(0) 600 seiscientos, as 32 treinta y dos 700 setcei entos , as 40 cuarenta 800 ochocientos , as 50 cincuenta 900 novecientos , as 60 sesenta 1000 mil dos mil trescientos, as 400 70 setenta 2000 ochenta 1,000,000 un miI16n(de) 90 noventa 2,000,000 dos millones(de) accent: (,C uando vas a esludia r'! (,Quienes vienen '! A A vowel or a vowe l combinati on can constitute a syllable I Diphth o ngs and triphth o ngs a re cons ide red s ingl e vowel s a nd cann o t b e di v id e d: es-tu-dian- t e ( s tu de nt) ; a-bue-Ia ( g randm o th e r) B Three strong vowe ls (a , e , ) no t fo rm a diphtho ng a nd a re separated into two sy ll a bl es : cm-ph~-o (j o b) ; re-a -li-dad (rea lity ) C A writte n acce nt o n a weak vowe l (i, u) break s the diphth o ng : I Thlls, the vowcl s are separated into two sy llabl es : re-u­ ne (reunite ); d,-a (day) D A s in g le co nso nant fo rm s a sy llabic with the vowe l· tha t lo ll ow s it : mu-fie-ca (do ll) ; za-pa-tos (shoe s) I Note: rr is co nsidered a s ing le consonant : pe-rro (dog ); ma-rro n (brown) E When two consona nts appear between two vowe ls, they a rc se parated into syllabl es: mar-tes (Tuesday); car-ta (lette r) I Excepti on: If b, c, d, f, g, P or t arc fo ll owed by I o r r: cla-se (c lass); a-pren-der (to learn) F When three consonants appear between two vowel s, o nly th e last one is included in the fo ll owing syllabl e : ins-ti-Iu-to (in stitute) ; trans-fc-rir (to trans fer) Excepti o n: Ifb, c, d, f, g, p, or I are fo ll owed by I or r : hom- bre (man) : In-g la-tc-rra (Eng land) r ~~ A O n ly the first word in a sen te nce an d p roper nou ns are cap ital ized I EI senor G a rcia via.jo a los Estados Unidos el dos de mayo de 1993 ( Mr Garc ia trave led to the United St ates 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 20th tereero cuarto quinto sex to septimo octavo nove no dec imo undcc imo viges imo 100 cien (to) on May 2, 1993 ) and donde, when used as interrogatives, have a written quinientos, as 80 B No uns a nd adjectives A When a word ends in a vowel , n or s, the stress fa lls 011 the next to the last sy llabl e : ca ba 110 (horse ), c xa men (exam ), ~ lIos (th ey) B When a wo rd ends in a c o nsonant, exce pt n or s, the stress fa lls in the last syllable: es pa fiol (Spanish), ciu dad (city ) C When the pronunciation of a word does not co n­ form to any of t he above rule s, a writte n ac cent is required to indicate whi ch s yllable to stre s s : ca N (coffee), ir bol (trce) - - D So metimes , writtcn accents are used to distin­ guish the function or the mcaning between two words with the same spelling: I tu (you, famili ar, subj ect pronoun) and tu (yo ur, possessive adject ive ) de (verb to give) and de (preposition) SI (yes), si (if) Certain pronouns such as que, quien(es), cual(es), cua n­ to(a), cuantos(as), and certain adverbs such as cuando cuatrocientos, as I Denoting nati onality, re ligious affiliation , names of lan­ guages, months of the year, and days of the week are generally not capital ized C Na mes I C oun tries, persons, contin ents, and the fi rst wo rd of a ti tle arc norma lly capitalized . ­ Nouns are either feminine or masculine, whether they refer to a person , place, thing or quality, and are usu­ ally accompanied by an article A Most nouns ending in -0 are masculine : el libro (the book), but there arc exceptions such as la mano (the hand), la molo (the motorcycle) I Some nouns ending in -rna which refer to non-concrete things arc masculine: el clima (the climate), eI drama (the drama), el idioma (the language ), el poela (the poet), el problema (the problem), el programa (the pro­ gram), el sistema (the system), el tema (the thern~) B Most nouns ending in -a are feminine: la mesa (the ta ble), with exceptions such as el mapa (the map), el d,a (the day) I Nouns ending ion, -dad, -tad, -Iud, -umbre are femi­ nine : la estacion (the season), la opresion (the oppres­ sion), la ciudad (the city), la libertad (the freedom), la juventud (the yo uth), la muchedumbre (the crowd ) PLURAL A If the noun ends in: I a vowel, add -s: libro/libros, puerla/puerlas, a consonant, add -es: paredlparedes,profesor/profesores -z, change it to a -c and add -es: hlpizlhipices, luz/luces Agree in gender and number with the noun that they accompany A De finite articles lei, la, los, las (the)1 use s: I With infinitives used as nouns, particularly at the beginning of a sentence: EI esludiar es bueno (Studying is good.) With nouns li sted in a series: Pongo ellibro, el cuader­ no y la pluma sohre la mesa, (I put the book , the note­ book and the pen on the table ) With certain no un s such as escuela, corte, carcel where Engli sh omits the arti cle : Los ladrones van a la carcel (Thieves go to jail); Los chicos aprenden mucho en la escuela (C hildren learn a lot in schoo l ) To identify an intangible concept: La bondad es una virtud (Kindness is a virtue ) To identify somcthing spec ifi c that precedes a demo n­ strative adj ective : EI muchaeho este no tiene dinero, (Thi s young man does not ve [any J money.) With noun of weight or measure: Las naranjas cuestan un dolar la libra (The oranges cost one dollar per pound.) With titles ranks, and professions when used with a prop­ er name: La doctora Garcia lIam;• (Dr Garcia called.) With name ofa subject: Esludk.la historia (I study histoly ) With days of the week to indicate when something occurs where we usc "on" in Engli sh: A veces "amos al cine el sabado, (Sometimes we go to the mO\ ies on Saturday.) 10 With parts of the body or articles o f cl othing, especially if the possessor is cl early indicated as in the case of refl exive verbs: Me pongo el abrigo (I put on my coat ) II With the seasons of the year: En la primavera lIueve mucho, (In spring it rains a lot.) 12 To show possession: EI abrigo de mi hermano esta en eI armario, (My brother's coat is in the closet.) I With 1' 'U11L' ' of certain cities, COlulhies, and L'ontinents: Ia Argentina, los Est-.lllo!; Unidos,]a HalYdna, IaAmerica del Sur: 14 With a proper nuun modi fieel by an adject i\ e: el pequeno Jose (Little J oseph) 15 With a noun in appos ition with a pronoun: Nosotros los norteamericanos (We North Americans ) 16 Prececies hour when telling time: Es la una, (It is one o·clock.) Note: The ma sculine s ingul ar form o f the de finit e art i­ cle, e l, is used be fo re certain fe minine nouns that begin with stressed a: el aguila (cagle ), cI agua (water) B Inde finite articl es I un, un a, unos, unas (a, some) normally precede a nOlln In spec ific cases, an artic le is not lI sed a Afh:r a form of the verb S('r (to be ) v.'hen the noun t()lkm ing it is not modifieci: Yo soy protesofa vs )h soy una buena pmfl'SOfa A Modify a verb, a n adj ective o r a nother ad\ erb I To form an adverb, add -mente to feminine s in t!u lar fb rm of adjective: correctu - correctamentc (co rrectl y) An adverb precedes the adj ectivc it mod ifies but nor­ ma lly fo ll ows the verb it modi fie,; La profesora es muy inteligente, (T he pro fe ssor is ve ry int elli gent ); Ellos pronuncian bien, (They pro nounce we ll ) COMPARATIVES • SUPERLATIVES A Inequa lity I Formed by plac ing m as or men os before and q ue after the adjecti ve adverb o r no un : Nelida es m as baj a q ue Elena, (N eli da is sho rter than II c ien ): Rosa can ta menos frecuentemcnte que su he r ma na (R osa sings less fi'eq uc ntl y than her s ister): EI ch ico t iene menos dinero que yo, (T he boy has less money than I ) Irregular fo rms: bueno, mcj o r (good, better); ma lo, peo r (baLl worse); grande, mayor (big, bigger or o lder) B Equa lity I Form ed by usi ng ta n, fo ll owed by an adjective or adve rb plus como : Isabel cs tan intcligente co mo Lucia, (I sabe l is as inte lli ge nt as Lucia ) a Tan to(os.a.as) is used wit h n noun: Tengo tan lo dinero como t it (I ve as much money as YOll ) · USAGE A Describe a noun or pronoun I Must ab'CeC in gender and number with the noun they mociify a Most masculine adjectives end in b Most feminine adjectives end in -0 -3 c Adjectives that not end in -0 or -a usc this form for both thc feminine and the masculine d.Adjcctivcs ending in -an and -{m arc made feminine by adding -a and dropping thc accent e Adjectives ending in -dor arc ITItJdc feminine by adding -3: encantador - encantadora f Adjectives of nationality ending in a consonant afC madc feminine by adding -3 and dropring the accent (if there is one): aleman - alcmana Adjectives arc made plural the same way as nouns a Adjectives that modity two or morc 110lIIlS ofdiftcrcnt gender are A Personal "A" I Spanish requires an a before a direct object that refers to a definite person or persons: Tli ves a esc joven todos los dias (You see that young man every day.) B De used to form possession I Ellibro de Juan es rojo (John 's book is red.) C Para I Purpose, direction, destination or intention: EI e studia p a a bogado (He is studying to be a lawyer.) A time limit by which something is to be done: Terminare el proyedo para ellunes, (I will rini sh the project by Monday.) In idiomatic expressions: para siempre (for ever) D Por I Along or through, for, during a period of time, in exchange lor, lor the sake of, per by means of: Caminan por el par­ que (They walk through the park.) Fueron a Mexico por dos semanas (They went to Mexico for two weeks.) Por in idiomatic expressions: por favor (please), por ejemplo (for example), por eso (therefore) n0n11ally masculine plural B Descriptive adjectives I Genemlly fc,lIow the nouns they modify: ellibro interesante (the interesting book); la casa blanca (the white house) Ie however, the adjective does not add a distinguishing characteristic or emphasis, but rather readily associates with the noun descriptive adjectives will fi'cqucntly pre­ cede the noun: la blanca nievc (the white snow) Limiting adjectives I Demonstratives, possessives, and indefinite articles, car­ dinal numbers, and ordinal numbers usually precede the noun: estas camisas (thcse shirts); mis amigos (my friends); muchos dolares (many dollars); siete coches (seven cars); and el quinto capitulo (the fifth chapter) Certain adjectives normally precede the nouns they modify and lose their rinal -0 before a masculine singu­ lar noun: un buen muchacho (a good boy); el primer ano (the first year); alglin dia (some day) D Demonstrative adjectives MASCULINE FEMININE este libro this book esta pluma this pen estos libros these books estas plumas these pcns ese libro that book ncar you esa pluma that pen ncar you esos tibros OlOSC books ncar ylXl csas plumas those pcns ncar you aqud tibru that book over there aquella p1uma Ow pen over OleiC [indicate farther distance from speaker] ~lbus nucinlqr~0Nl'i we\tr(J;cociles ylXnm(liunil'.·) )(l.Irh')lre;(familw) Connect a noun or pronoun to another word hacia hasta para por se gun s in sobre tras toward until , up to for, in OHler to by for according to without on behind M a ny verb s re quire a p reposition b e fo re an infinitive (It is best to lea rn the verb along with the pre position.) A "a" (to) I Verbs of commencement motion, tea chin g , and learnin g must be followed by a b e rore a n infinitive: aprender 3, comenzar 3, ir 3, etc (with) I Verbs that require arc: contar con, SOnar co n C de (from) Ve rbs that require de arc: acabar de, dejar de, olvidarsc de, trata r d e D en (in) I With en: insistir cn, tardar en te Ie a Exception to thi s rule is atl'innativc illlp~rath c in \\hich case the object pronoun follow s (and b attached to) thl : verb: Digamc.(Tdl m e); C{,malo (I.at it.) B After (attached to) the wrb if it is: I An infinitive: Quiero eomerlo (I want to cat iL) A preselll participle: Estoy estudiandolo (I am studying iL) Note: Both infinitive and present participl es are ,cry often preceded by a conjugated verb or afier the inrini­ tive/present participle: Lo quiero comer/Quiero com­ erlo; Estoy estudhindolo/Lo estov estudillndo C Direct and indirect object pro~ouns together: I When two object pronouns appear in a sentence the indirect object pronoun precedes the direct object pro­ noun: David te 10 dio (David gave it to you.) Ifboth pronouns arc in the third pcrson, Ie.les arc replaced by se: Se 10 escribo or Vov a l'SCribirselo (I wlite it to him, her you, singular or plura!, io them Icmininc or masculine plural.) Since se may mean to hil11, to her to them, to you, etc une can add a plus the prepositional pronoun 11' rrpn"ltlH',1 ' 'f.'(l'm'" I,1l ,' nI ("qn.'1f h~ 0111\ mUI" C l r~I!l'nk Of tnc.:hanK.d II\,:IIt'' l l~ ' () 21M1! Harrh~rlS illt· 117011 I SBN- 13: 978- 15 72 254 -2 ISBN - 10 15722254 - 911~111,Ilili~IIIIIIIJI!I!1!llllflllllllllllll free wn~adS & nundiIre 01 tItles at qUlc s uuy.com ,lJJlUU!L ... as nouns a Adjectives that modity two or morc 110lIIlS ofdiftcrcnt gender are A Personal "A" I Spanish requires an a before a direct object that refers to a definite person or persons: Tli ves... subordinate clause with an antecedent in the main clause Relative pronouns arc never omitted in Spanish Que is the 1110st cOl11l11on relative pronoun and is invari­ able in form a It may refer... rd-person singular of the present tense : hahl~ , co me and escribe U.S $4.95 NOTe TO STUOENT: ThiS QuickStudy ! ()uloe ,s In tendoo as an outlIne only, and as svch canna! Include every aspect o!