Spanish 3 Grammar Concepts

Sancho Flynn

Table of Contents1. El Pretérito2. Preterite Triggers3. Car, Gar, Zars4. Spock Verbs5. Snake Verbs6. Snakey Verbs7. Cucharacha Irregulars and Triggers8. El Imperfecto9. Imperfect Triggers10. Imperfect Irregulars11. Preterite vs. Imperfect12. Ser vs. Estar

13. Verbs Like Gustar14. Comparatives/Superlatives15. Transition Words16. El Futuro17. Future Irregulars18. Future Trigger Words19. Por20. Para

El Pretérito

• Has a fixed point and time• Has a beginning and end• Events that happen a specific number of times• Events that were part of a chain of events• Used for sudden changes in mood, feelings, or

emotions

-é

-ar verbs

-aste

-ó

-amos

-asteis

-aron

-í

-iste

-ió

-imos

-isteis

-ieron

-er /-ir verbs

Preterite Trigger Words

• There are many triggers words that make it a little easier to distinguish when the preterite is being used including:– Ayer, después, el mes pasado, entonces, anoche,

and el otro día

Car, Gar, Zars

-qué

-caste

-có

-camos

-casteis

-caron

-car verbs

-gué

-gaste

-gó

-gamos

-gasteis

-garon

-gar verbs

-cé

-zaste

-zó

-zamos

-zasteis

-zaron

-zar verbs

Spock Verbs

ser

ir dar

ver

hacer

fui

fuiste

fue

fuimos

fuisteis

fueron

ser and ir -í

-ió

-imos

-iste -isteis

-ieron

dar and ver

hice

hiciste

hizo

hicimos

hicisteis

hicieron

hacer

Snake Verbs

• Irregular preterites that change only in 3rd person (he, she, it)

• Verbs change from e-i or o-u– An example for e-i would be decir which changes

to dij-– An example for o-u would be dormir which

changes durm-

Snakey Verbs

• Like Snake Verbs, Snakey Verbs also change only in 3rd person

• Verbs change from i-y or e-y– An example for i-y would be oír which changes to

oy-– An example for e-y would be leer which changes

to ley-

Cucaracha Irregulars

• Examples of these would be: Andar- anduv Estar- estuv Poder- pud Poner- pus Querer- quis Saber- sup Tener- tuv Venir- vin

-e

-iste

-o

-imos

-isteis

-ieronAll end in:

El Imperfecto

• Actions that were repeated habitually• For telling time• For stating one’s age• For mental states (usually)• For physical sensations (usually)• To describe the characteristics of people, things or conditions• For actions that “set the stage” for another past action

-aba

-abas

-aba

-ábamos

-abais

-aban

-ar verbs-ía-ías

-ía

-íamos

-íais

-ían

-er/-ir verbs

Imperfect Trigger Words

• There are a variety of imperfect trigger words including:– a veces, a menudo, mientras, muchas veces, todos

los días, and cada día

Imperfect Irregulars

• As shown below, ser, ir, and ver are all examples of irregular imperfect verbs

era

eras

era

éramos

erais

eran

ser

iba

ibas

iba

íbamos

ibais

iban

ir

veía

veías

veía

veíamos

veíais

veían

ver

Preterite vs. Imperfect

Preterite• The recent past• Indicates a

continuous action

• Has beginning or end

Imperfect• The distant

past• Indicates an

interrupting action

• Has no definite beginning or end

Ser vs. Estar

• Ser is associated with the acronym DOCTOR PED which stands for:– D: description– O: origin– C: characteristics– T: time– O: occupation– R: relationship– P: possession– E: events– D: dates

• Estar is associated with the acronym HELPING which stands for:– H: health– E: emotions– L: location– P: present condition– I– N– G

Verbs Like Gustar

• Some verbs like gustar are:– Encantar: to love– Molestar: to bother– Faltar: to lack– Fascinar: to fascinate– Apetecer: to wish for– Disgustar: to disgust– Interesar: to interest

Comparatives/Superlatives

• The formula for comparatives and superlatives are:– más + adjective + que (más meaning more and que

meaning than)• Same thing for less than which is menos + adjective + que

– Other words for comparatives/superlatives are:• Tan como (as…as), tanto como (as much as), and el más

• There are four irregulars in bueno, viejo, malo, and joven– bueno mejor viejo mayor– malo peor joven menor

Transition Words

Aunque Even though

También Also

Mientras While

A pesar de In spite of

Pero But

Por lo tanto Therefore

Sin embargo/no obstante

Nevertheless

El Futuro

• Infinitive + ending• I, You, He/She, We, You All, They WILL• The endings are the same for -ar, -ir, and –er• Ser, ir, and estar are actually regular

-é-ás-á

-emos-éis-án

Future Irregulars

Decir dirHacer harSalir saldrTener tendrValer valdrVenir vendr

• The future of “Hay es habrá” = There will be

Poder podrQuerer querrSaber sabrCaber cabrHaber habr

Future Trigger Words

• En ___días, horas, semanas, años• El proximo día, hora, semana, año• Mañana, or any day of the to come

Por

Passing through… PORtalGeneral rather than specific location… PORtugalHow long something lasts… POReverThe cause of somethingAn exchange… imPORt/exPORtDoing something in place of or instead of

someone else… I’m POR, pay for meA means of transportation… transPORtation

Para

For whom something is done… surprise PARAtyDestination… PARAguayThe purpose for which something is done…

PARAsitesTo express an opinion… PARAdon me, butTo contrast or comPARATo express idea of deadline… PARAmedic