Grammar
Question words (All have accents when in a question): ¿Cómo? - How?
¿Cuál/Cuáles? – Which one/ones ¿Cuándo? – When? ¿Dónde? – Where?
¿Cuánto/a/os/as? – How much/many? ¿Dónde? – Where? ¿Qué? – What?
¿De dónde/Adónde? – From where/ Where to? ¿A qué? – (At) what?
¿Quién/Quiénes? - Who? ¿Por qué? – Why?
N.B. Agreement of ¿Cuánto?. It must match the noun it refers to in both number and
gender. o/a is in the singular form and os/as is in the plural form. When asking about prices,
however, ¿cuánto? never changes e.g. ¿cuánto cuesta?
Turning statements into questions
Change the order of the words in the statements. Juan tiene dos hermanos -> ¿Tiene
dos hermanos, Juan?
Change the intonation (your voice tone) and, when writing, add the question marks.
E.g. Vive en una casa -> ¿Vive en una casa? -> Does he/she live in a house?
Note: when only part of the statement is a question, place the question marks around the
section that is the question only e.g. Tengo 16 años, ¿y tú?
Nouns: designate people, places, actions, things, events
Words ending in –o are often masculine. Words ending in –a are often feminine
These endings tend to be masculine: -ema, -ama, oma -or, -ín, -el, -al, -aje, ía, -
ambre, án
These endings tend to be feminine: -tud, -dad, -ción, -sión, -tad, ie, eza, sis, itis,
umbre
A few nouns ending in –o are feminine. Most of these are examples of abbreviations
of compound feminine nouns. E.g. la foto
Words ending in –ísta or -e can be masculine or feminine depending on the
person/word
Some words look masculine but often refer to a woman, so have become feminine
For words ending in –n or –s with an accent on the last vowel, the accent is removed
in the plural form
Nouns of nationality do not have a capital letter
Some words which have come into Spanish via another language do not follow the
Spanish rules
Some nouns are spelled the same for the masculine and feminine, and only the
article changes e.g. el/la joven; el/la modelo; el/la testigo; el/la turista
Some nouns are invariable; that is, they designate both male and female individuals.
Some of these end in –a, -ente, and –ista. The article does not change with invariable
nouns e.g. el ángel – angel; el personaje – the character; el ser – being; la Estrella –
the star; la víctima – the victim
Feminine nouns that begin with a stressed a- or ha- are feminine but, for purposes of
pronunciation, take a masculine definite article in the singular form. E.g. el agua
Days of the week, colours, months, names of rivers, seas and oceans are masculine
, Compound nouns are masculine. These compounds usually consist of a verb + a
noun. They end with an –s but are singular nouns e.g. el lavaplatos – a dishwasher
The names of islands are feminine
Plurals are formed by adding an –s to words ending in a vowel, or –es to a consonant
Singular nouns ending in –z change to –ces in the plural.
Nouns with accent marks on the last syllable lose the accent mark in the plural e.g. el
león, los leones
Nouns that end in –s do not change their spelling in the plural
Adjectives
Adjectives agree with the noun they are describing.
Most adjectives end in –o for masculine nouns and –a for feminine nouns. Add an –s
for the plural forms.
If an adjective does not end in –o, the ending for the feminine and masculine form
are the same. If an adjective ends in a consonant, add –es to make it plural.
Some adjectiives of nationality end in a stressed vowel in the masculine form, but in
the feminine form lose the stressed vowel and add an a. francés – francesa. They are
not capitalised in Spanish.
Words ending in –z change to c and add es in the plural form. Eficaz – eficaces
Some words that have come into Spanish from English do not change
To form the feminine of adjectives ending in –án, -dor, and ón, add –a to the
masculine form. Note that the accent mark is not used in the feminine endings –ana
and –ona. The plural of these adjectives is formed by adding –es to the masculine
forms and –s to the feminine ending.
Use the masculine plural for an adjective that modifies a group of two or more nouns
where at least one noun is masculine and one more is feminine e.g. ?Adónde vas con
el vestido y la chaqueta viejos? – Where are you going with the old dress and jacket.
Word Order:
Adjectives that add information or describe qualities generally follow the noun.
However there are exceptions:
Descriptive adjectives that emphasise intrinsic characteristics are placed before the
noun e.g. El fiero león – the ferocious lion
Limiting adjectives, adjectives that indicate numbers and amounts, and possessive
and demonstrative adjectives are placed before the noun e.g. este edificio tiene
cuatro ascensores – this building has four elevators.
Note: adjectives that indicate numbers and amounts are called indeinidos when they
do not designate specific numbers or amounts of things, people or ideas e.g. algún.
Bastante, mucho, poco, suficiente, varios, ningún. These go before noun
Some adjectives can move in front of the noun and change their meaning. Compré
un nuevo coche – I bought a new car (new to me but not necessarily brand new).
Tengo un coche nuevo – I have a brand new car. Placing these adjectives beore the
noun usually underscores an opinion, whether or not it is shared by others.
Adjective Before After Adjective Before After
Antiguo Former Ancient Cierto Certain sure
Cualquier Any Any (old) Grande Great Large
Mismo Same Himself, Nuevo Different New
herself
, Puro Nothing but Pure Simple Simple, easy Unsophisticated
Único Only Unique Viejo An old -time Old
The masculine forms of several adjectives drop the –o ending when they are
immediately followed by a masculine noun. This is called apocopation. Primero →
primer. Alguno → algún, Bueno → buen, malo → mal, ninguno → ningún, tercero →
tercer, uno (a, an, one) → un e.g. un poema
The word grande can shorten in front of feminine and masculine singular nouns: un
gran amigo/una gran amiga (a great friend).
Two or more adjective may follow the noun and are usually linked by a conjuction or
separated by a comma.
More about adjectives: Watch out for unusual nouns like la gente – people (singular in
Spanish) or el agua – water (feminine despite taking a masculine article).
Some adjectives do not change at all e.g. rosa and naranja.
Unlike in English, an adjective is not used when describing what something is made of. Use
de + a noun instead e.g. un bolso de plástico (a plastic bag), una falda de seda (a silk shirt)
Definite and Indefinite Articles: The definite article ‘the’ has four forms in Spanish: el (masc.
singular), la (feminine singular), los (masc. plural), las (fem. Plural).
Feminine words which begin with a and where the stress falls on the initial a, take el
instead of la, but are still feminine, e.g. El agua está fria (The water is cold)
Spanish often uses a definite article where English would not:
Me gusta el chocolate, Me gustan las matemáticas y el inglés
When el comes after a (at/to) or de (of/from), it changes to al and del.
In Spanish, the indefinite article ‘a/an’ has two forms: un (masculine) and una
(feminine).
There is also a plural form for ‘some’: unos (masculine) and unas (feminine)
Feminine words which begin with a stressed a take un instead of una but are still
feminine, e.g. un aula vacía
Use definite articles with nouns used in a general sense, with days of the week, with
names of languages, except after hablar, with parts of the body, items of personal
hygiene and clothing. In English, the possessive adjective is used in these situations
e.g. me duele la muela – my tooth hurts. It is also used with names and titles, with
nouns designating specific people and things, with nouns that refer to geographic
places
You don’t use a definite article when referring to nouns that refer to academic
subjects e.g. Estudio matemáticas, when a job or profession is preceded by the verb
ser, the indefinite article is not required, unless an adjective modifies the occupation
e.g. es un buen estudiante
Indefinite articles are used to refer to one individual in a general group, to indicate
an approx. amount with numbers and quantities.
Question words (All have accents when in a question): ¿Cómo? - How?
¿Cuál/Cuáles? – Which one/ones ¿Cuándo? – When? ¿Dónde? – Where?
¿Cuánto/a/os/as? – How much/many? ¿Dónde? – Where? ¿Qué? – What?
¿De dónde/Adónde? – From where/ Where to? ¿A qué? – (At) what?
¿Quién/Quiénes? - Who? ¿Por qué? – Why?
N.B. Agreement of ¿Cuánto?. It must match the noun it refers to in both number and
gender. o/a is in the singular form and os/as is in the plural form. When asking about prices,
however, ¿cuánto? never changes e.g. ¿cuánto cuesta?
Turning statements into questions
Change the order of the words in the statements. Juan tiene dos hermanos -> ¿Tiene
dos hermanos, Juan?
Change the intonation (your voice tone) and, when writing, add the question marks.
E.g. Vive en una casa -> ¿Vive en una casa? -> Does he/she live in a house?
Note: when only part of the statement is a question, place the question marks around the
section that is the question only e.g. Tengo 16 años, ¿y tú?
Nouns: designate people, places, actions, things, events
Words ending in –o are often masculine. Words ending in –a are often feminine
These endings tend to be masculine: -ema, -ama, oma -or, -ín, -el, -al, -aje, ía, -
ambre, án
These endings tend to be feminine: -tud, -dad, -ción, -sión, -tad, ie, eza, sis, itis,
umbre
A few nouns ending in –o are feminine. Most of these are examples of abbreviations
of compound feminine nouns. E.g. la foto
Words ending in –ísta or -e can be masculine or feminine depending on the
person/word
Some words look masculine but often refer to a woman, so have become feminine
For words ending in –n or –s with an accent on the last vowel, the accent is removed
in the plural form
Nouns of nationality do not have a capital letter
Some words which have come into Spanish via another language do not follow the
Spanish rules
Some nouns are spelled the same for the masculine and feminine, and only the
article changes e.g. el/la joven; el/la modelo; el/la testigo; el/la turista
Some nouns are invariable; that is, they designate both male and female individuals.
Some of these end in –a, -ente, and –ista. The article does not change with invariable
nouns e.g. el ángel – angel; el personaje – the character; el ser – being; la Estrella –
the star; la víctima – the victim
Feminine nouns that begin with a stressed a- or ha- are feminine but, for purposes of
pronunciation, take a masculine definite article in the singular form. E.g. el agua
Days of the week, colours, months, names of rivers, seas and oceans are masculine
, Compound nouns are masculine. These compounds usually consist of a verb + a
noun. They end with an –s but are singular nouns e.g. el lavaplatos – a dishwasher
The names of islands are feminine
Plurals are formed by adding an –s to words ending in a vowel, or –es to a consonant
Singular nouns ending in –z change to –ces in the plural.
Nouns with accent marks on the last syllable lose the accent mark in the plural e.g. el
león, los leones
Nouns that end in –s do not change their spelling in the plural
Adjectives
Adjectives agree with the noun they are describing.
Most adjectives end in –o for masculine nouns and –a for feminine nouns. Add an –s
for the plural forms.
If an adjective does not end in –o, the ending for the feminine and masculine form
are the same. If an adjective ends in a consonant, add –es to make it plural.
Some adjectiives of nationality end in a stressed vowel in the masculine form, but in
the feminine form lose the stressed vowel and add an a. francés – francesa. They are
not capitalised in Spanish.
Words ending in –z change to c and add es in the plural form. Eficaz – eficaces
Some words that have come into Spanish from English do not change
To form the feminine of adjectives ending in –án, -dor, and ón, add –a to the
masculine form. Note that the accent mark is not used in the feminine endings –ana
and –ona. The plural of these adjectives is formed by adding –es to the masculine
forms and –s to the feminine ending.
Use the masculine plural for an adjective that modifies a group of two or more nouns
where at least one noun is masculine and one more is feminine e.g. ?Adónde vas con
el vestido y la chaqueta viejos? – Where are you going with the old dress and jacket.
Word Order:
Adjectives that add information or describe qualities generally follow the noun.
However there are exceptions:
Descriptive adjectives that emphasise intrinsic characteristics are placed before the
noun e.g. El fiero león – the ferocious lion
Limiting adjectives, adjectives that indicate numbers and amounts, and possessive
and demonstrative adjectives are placed before the noun e.g. este edificio tiene
cuatro ascensores – this building has four elevators.
Note: adjectives that indicate numbers and amounts are called indeinidos when they
do not designate specific numbers or amounts of things, people or ideas e.g. algún.
Bastante, mucho, poco, suficiente, varios, ningún. These go before noun
Some adjectives can move in front of the noun and change their meaning. Compré
un nuevo coche – I bought a new car (new to me but not necessarily brand new).
Tengo un coche nuevo – I have a brand new car. Placing these adjectives beore the
noun usually underscores an opinion, whether or not it is shared by others.
Adjective Before After Adjective Before After
Antiguo Former Ancient Cierto Certain sure
Cualquier Any Any (old) Grande Great Large
Mismo Same Himself, Nuevo Different New
herself
, Puro Nothing but Pure Simple Simple, easy Unsophisticated
Único Only Unique Viejo An old -time Old
The masculine forms of several adjectives drop the –o ending when they are
immediately followed by a masculine noun. This is called apocopation. Primero →
primer. Alguno → algún, Bueno → buen, malo → mal, ninguno → ningún, tercero →
tercer, uno (a, an, one) → un e.g. un poema
The word grande can shorten in front of feminine and masculine singular nouns: un
gran amigo/una gran amiga (a great friend).
Two or more adjective may follow the noun and are usually linked by a conjuction or
separated by a comma.
More about adjectives: Watch out for unusual nouns like la gente – people (singular in
Spanish) or el agua – water (feminine despite taking a masculine article).
Some adjectives do not change at all e.g. rosa and naranja.
Unlike in English, an adjective is not used when describing what something is made of. Use
de + a noun instead e.g. un bolso de plástico (a plastic bag), una falda de seda (a silk shirt)
Definite and Indefinite Articles: The definite article ‘the’ has four forms in Spanish: el (masc.
singular), la (feminine singular), los (masc. plural), las (fem. Plural).
Feminine words which begin with a and where the stress falls on the initial a, take el
instead of la, but are still feminine, e.g. El agua está fria (The water is cold)
Spanish often uses a definite article where English would not:
Me gusta el chocolate, Me gustan las matemáticas y el inglés
When el comes after a (at/to) or de (of/from), it changes to al and del.
In Spanish, the indefinite article ‘a/an’ has two forms: un (masculine) and una
(feminine).
There is also a plural form for ‘some’: unos (masculine) and unas (feminine)
Feminine words which begin with a stressed a take un instead of una but are still
feminine, e.g. un aula vacía
Use definite articles with nouns used in a general sense, with days of the week, with
names of languages, except after hablar, with parts of the body, items of personal
hygiene and clothing. In English, the possessive adjective is used in these situations
e.g. me duele la muela – my tooth hurts. It is also used with names and titles, with
nouns designating specific people and things, with nouns that refer to geographic
places
You don’t use a definite article when referring to nouns that refer to academic
subjects e.g. Estudio matemáticas, when a job or profession is preceded by the verb
ser, the indefinite article is not required, unless an adjective modifies the occupation
e.g. es un buen estudiante
Indefinite articles are used to refer to one individual in a general group, to indicate
an approx. amount with numbers and quantities.
