Gail Stein

Article / Updated 05-09-2023

Dropping demonstrative adjectives into your Spanish vocabulary will help you express exactly what or whom you’re seeking. But first, you need to understand what demonstrative adjectives stand for and how they translate in Spanish. Then you’ll be ready to absorb the basics of their usage. Demonstrative adjectives indicate or point out the person, place, or thing to which a speaker is referring. For instance, “this shirt” or “that pair of pants.” They precede and agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. In Spanish, you select the demonstrative adjective according to the distance of the noun from the speaker. The following table presents demonstrative adjectives and addresses this distance issue. Spanish Demonstrative Adjectives Number Masculine Feminine Meaning Distance Singular/Plural este/estos esta/estas this/these Near to or directly concerned with speaker Singular/Plural ese/esos esa/esas that/those Not particularly near to or directly concerned with speaker Singular/Plural aquel/aquellos aquella/aquellas that/those Far from and not directly concerned with speaker The following list shows these demonstrative adjectives in action: Estos pantalones son cortos y esta camisa es larga. (These pants are short and this shirt is large.) Tengo que hablar con esa muchacha y esos muchachos ahí. (I have to speak to that girl and those boys there.) Aquellos países son grandes y aquellas ciudades son pequeñas. (Those countries are large and those cities are small.) Here’s what you need to know about demonstrative adjectives in Spanish: You use them before each noun: este abogado y ese cliente (this lawyer and that client) You can use adverbs to reinforce location: esta casa aquí (this house here) esas casas ahí (those houses there) aquella casa allá (that house over there)

Article / Updated 05-09-2023

Demonstrative pronouns can make your Spanish flow more naturally in both writing and conversation. So how exactly can you go about forming sentences with demonstrative pronouns? First, you need to understand what they stand for and how they translate in Spanish. Then you’ll be ready to absorb the basics of their usage. Demonstrative pronouns, which replace demonstrative adjectives and their nouns, express this (one), that (one), these (ones), or those (ones). The only difference between a demonstrative adjective and a demonstrative pronoun in terms of writing is the addition of an accent to the pronoun, as you can see in the following table. Spanish Demonstrative Pronouns Number Masculine Feminine Meaning Distance Singular/Plural éste/éstos ésta/éstas this (one)/these (ones) Near to or directly concerned with speaker Singular/Plural ése/ésos ésa/ésas that (one)/those (ones) Not particularly near to or directly concerned with speaker Singular/Plural aquél/aquéllos aquélla/aquéllas that (one)/those (ones) Far from and not directly concerned with speaker The following list shows some examples of these demonstrative pronouns in action: Mire éstos y ésta también. (Look at these and this one, too.) Quiero ése y ésas. (I want that and those.) Aquél es viejo y aquélla es moderno. (That one is old and that one is modern.) Here’s what you need to know about demonstrative pronouns in Spanish: They agree in number and gender with the nouns they replace: Me gusta este coche y ésos. (I like this car and those.) You use a form of aquél to express the former and a form of éste to express the latter: Patricia es la hermana de Francisco; éste es rubio y aquélla es morena. (Patricia is the sister of Francisco; Francisco [the latter] is blond and Patricia [the former] is brunette.)

Article / Updated 03-16-2023

The gender of nouns is always a stumbling point for people learning Spanish. In Spanish, nouns always take on a specific gender. This gender role is in addition to the traditional role nouns take on as the subject of a sentence or the direct object of a verb. Spanish nouns are either masculine or feminine. Nouns that refer to males are always masculine, and nouns that refer to females are feminine, no matter their endings. You can’t always be sure when it comes to places or things, though. In Spanish, certain endings are good indications as to the gender (masculine or feminine designation) of nouns. For instance, nouns that end in -o (except la mano [lah mah-noh; the hand] and la radio [lah rah-deeoh; the radio]) are most often masculine. Nouns that end in -a, -ad (la ciudad [lah seeoo-dahd; city]), -ie (la serie [lah seh-reeeh; the series]), -ción (la canción [lah kahn-seeohn; the song]), -sión (la discusión [lah dees-koo-seeohn; discussion]), -ud (la salud [lah sah-lood; health]), and -umbre (la costumbre [lah kohs-toom-bvreh; custom]) generally are feminine. Certain nouns belonging to a theme are masculine, including Numbers (el cuatro [ehl kooah-troh; four]) Days of the week (el jueves [ehl Hooeh-bvehs; Thursday]) Compass points (el norte [ehl nohr-teh; north]) Names of trees (el manzano [ehl mahn-sah-noh; apple tree]) Compound nouns (el mediodía [ehl meh-deeoh-dee-ah; noon]) Names of rivers, lakes, mountains, straits, and seas (el Mediterráneo [ehl meh-dee-teh-rrah-neh-oh; the Mediterranean]) Certain nouns belonging to a theme are feminine, such as Many illnesses (la gripe [lah gree-peh; the flu], la apendicitis [lah ah-pehn-dee-see-tees; appendicitis]) Islands and provinces (la Córsega [lah kohr-seh-gah; Corsica]) If you’re not sure about a particular word’s gender, take a look at the article that precedes it for a hint. El and los are masculine forms of the, whereas la and las are feminine.

Step by Step / Updated 12-14-2022

Comparisons of equality show that two things or people are the same. In Spanish, whether you’re using an adjective or an adverb, you make the comparison the same way.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 11-16-2022

Speaking Spanish requires you to keep tabs on all sorts of topics: verb conjugation, irregular verbs, and parts of speech, to name a few. Plus, if you intend to travel, being able to ask for information is a must.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-25-2022

As someone who has surpassed the beginning level of Spanish, you consider yourself rather proficient in the language and want to discover more. So, here you are, eager to jump up to a higher level and perfect your skills. That’s fantastic! You can use the following set of articles as a reference to help you practice and become a more proficient Spanish speaker.

Article / Updated 01-13-2020

Adding adverbs to your Spanish vocabulary can help your audience better understand how or to what degree or intensity an action is being performed. Spanish has a few different ways to express adverbs: by adding -mente to the end of feminine singular adjectives, by combining a noun with the Spanish preposition con, or by using simple phrases. Add -mente to the feminine singular form of an adjective -Mente is the Spanish equivalent of the common English adverb ending -ly. Unlike adjectives, which require agreement in gender and number with the noun they describe, adverbs require no agreement because they modify a verb and not a noun or pronoun. Following are examples of how to form adverbs with -mente. Forming Various Types of Spanish Adverbs Masc. Adj. Fem. Adj. Adverb Meaning completo completa completamente completely lento lenta lentamente slowly rápido rápida rápidamente quickly alegre alegre alegremente happily breve breve brevemente briefly frecuente frecuente frecuentemente frequently especial especial especialmente especially final final finalmente finally feroz feroz ferozmente ferociously Use con with the adjective Sometimes, forming an adverb in Spanish by using the feminine singular form of the adjective is just plain awkward. When writing, you may find the spelling tricky. And at other times, you may not recall the feminine form of the adjective. Luckily, you have an easy way out. You can use the preposition con (with) + the noun to form an adverbial phrase, which functions in the same way as an adverb. The following table highlights some examples of how this works. Adverbial Phrases in Spanish Con + Noun Adverb Meaning con alegría alegremente happily con claridad claramente clearly con cortesía cortésmente courteously con energía enérgicamente energetically con habilidad hábilmente skillfully con paciencia pacientemente patiently con rapidez rápidamente quickly con respeto respetuosamente respectfully Memorize simple adverb phrases Some adverbs and adverbial expressions aren’t formed from adjectives; they’re words or phrases in and of themselves. Following are some of the most frequently used expressions that fit this description. Frequently Used Spanish Adverb Phrases Adverb Meaning Adverb Meaning a menudo often menos less a veces sometimes mientras meanwhile Ahora now más tarde later ahora mismo right now mejor better al fin finally muy very Allá there peor worse Aquí here poco little Bastante quite, rather, enough por consiguiente consequently Casi almost por supuesto of course Cerca near pronto soon de buena gana willingly pues then de Nuevo again siempre always de repente suddenly sin embargo however, nevertheless de vez en cuando from time to time también also, too Demasiado too tan as, so Despacio slowly tarde late después afterward temprano soon, early en seguida immediately todavía still, yet hoy día nowadays todos los días everyday lejos far ya already más more ya no no longer

Article / Updated 02-14-2017

There’s no escaping the importance of gender in Spanish nouns. Or is there? A select few Spanish nouns aren’t really affected by gender. These nouns keep the same spelling, regardless of gender — a fact that cuts down the number of words you have to memorize to speak and write Spanish like a native. For these nouns, all you have to do is change the definite article to reflect whether the person in question is male or female. Not bad, huh? Check out the following table to see the most common of these nouns that don’t let gender push them around. Spanish Nouns That Aren’t Affected By Gender Masculine Feminine Translation el artista la artista the artist el dentista la dentista the dentist el periodista la periodista the journalist el telefonista la telefonista the operator el modelo la modelo the model el joven la joven the youth el estudiante la estudiante the student The following nouns, however, always remain feminine, regardless of the gender of the person being described: la persona (the person) la víctima (the victim)

Step by Step / Updated 02-14-2017

Comparisons of inequality show that two things or people are not the same. It doesn’t matter whether you’re using an adjective or an adverb in Spanish; you make the comparison the same way. You create the comparison of inequality with más (more) or menos (less):

Step by Step / Updated 02-14-2017

The Spanish preposition de (deh) has several meanings: of, from, or about, depending on your context. De’s multiple personalities make using the word correctly a bit tough — unless you know the specific roles it can play in a sentence. Use the following list to help you remember what you can use de to show.