" "   sliced graphic of title English Spanish Grammar Learning Clues   " "

 
This page will list resources for you to use as you learn Spanish. You will find web sites, textbooks, and a few more rules of grammar that tie in to the lessons in the modules in this web site.

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link to Introduction module
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Link to Possessive module
link to Objects module Link to Idioms Module

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Miscellaneous Textbooks:

Gahala, E., Carlin, P. H., Heining-Boynton, A. L., Otheguy, R., Rupert, B. J. (2000). En español! Teacher's Edition. Boston: McDougal Littel. This is a textbook for the elementary Spanish college class.

Samaniego, F. A., Blommers, T. J., Lagunas-Carvacho, M., Viviane Sardán, Rodriguez, F. (1998). Dímelo Tú,.Third Edition. N.Y.: Harcourt-Brace Publishers. This is a textbook for the elementary Spanish college class.

Williams, E. B. (1991). The Bantam New College Spanish & English Dictionary. N. Y.: Bantam Books. This is a basic dictionary.
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Web sites of interest
Practice the verb "tener" idioms at this quia.com practice page that the author has created on the quia.com web site: http://www.quia.com/

The following URLs direct you to activities on the quia.com web site that were created by the author of this web site.

The verb "tener": http://www.quia.com/jg/68703.html
Miscellaneous vocabulary: http://www.quia.com/jg/59988.html
Adjectives: http://www.quia.com/jg/59995.html

Other sites of interest
http://www.spanishteacher.com/index.cfm This site has a variety of resources for the Spanish learner. (Some of the links may be inaccessible.)

http://www.june29.com//Spanish/lesson1.html Links from this site will provide students with audio files for listening to Spanish.
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Parts of Speech
Nouns
(person, place, thing) - madre (mother), ciudad (city), casa (house)

Pronoun
(takes the place of a noun - can be subject or object) -yo (I), ellos (they), Ud. (you)

Verb
(the action word) - expressed as infinitive, the "to" form: tener (to have), comer (to eat), hablar (to speak)

Adjective
(describes nouns) - nuevo (new), rojo (red), alto (tall)

Adverb
(describes verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs) - muy (very), rapidamente (quickly)
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Preposition
( words that expand the action0 - con (with), para (for), de (from), encima de (above), etc.)

Conjunction
(joining words) - y (and), pero (but), o (or)

Interjection
( words that express emphasis): ¡Ay! (Oh!), ¡Caramba! (Gosh!)

Functions of words in sentences
Subject
the word that performs the function of the verb. Subjects can be nouns or pronouns.
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Object
the word that receives action from another word: Objects can be nouns or pronouns, and can be direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of prepositions

Link to Powerpoint for direct object
Link toPowerpoint for indirect object

Verb
the action word

Punctuation
Decimals, commas, exclamation and question marks
In Spanish numbers, the thousands are expressed in periods, while in English they are expressed by commas. In Spanish, decimals are expressed with commas, while in English they are expressed with periods:
English - $1,000,000.25 would be
Spanish - $1.000.000, 25

Note that in Spanish, question marks and exclamation points appear before and after the statement, with the mark written upside-down at the beginning:
¡Ay! ¡Qué sabroso! - (Oh! How delicious!)

¿Como se llama? (What is your name?)
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The letter ñ
The letter ñ is a separate letter in Spanish and is pronounced as the English "nya":
Español = English "ehspanyol"

The accented vowels, á é í ó ú and rules of pronounciation
If a word ends in a vowel, or the consonants "n" or "s," the spoken accent (stress) naturally goes on the next to the last syllable. Otherwise, the spoken accent goes on the last syllable. If the pronounciation (as determined by usage) does not follow the rule, remember to use the accent that goes over the vowel in the stressed syllable.

Examples - the stressed syllables are capitalized:
Pronounciation of nouns that follow the rule and end in a vowel, or "n" or "s"- CAsa, LLAmo, PAdre, ameriCAno, LLAman, LLAmas
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Pronounciation of nouns that follow the rule and end in a consonant other than "n" or "s"- haBLAR, PopuLAR, realiDAD, vendeDOR

Pronounciation of nouns that do not follow the rule and need the accent: Lápiz, proNóStico, teLéfono

See Objects when adding two object pronouns to an infinitive or command - the stress will often shift to the second-from-the-last syllable, requiring an accent mark.

Dipthongs occur when the weak vowels "i" and "u" are combined with the stronger vowels and treated as one syllable. If the syllable with the weak vowel is in a word that does not follow the rule above, the accent is used:

suéter (SUEter); canción (canCION); but ciudad (no accent mark - ciuDAD)
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The accent is used to distinguish the meaning of certain single-syllable words:

se - object pronoun
sé - first person singular of verb "saber" - "to know" = "I know"

mí - first person singular object of preposition pronoun= "to me"
mi - first person singular possessive adjective = "my"

el - the masculine article "the"
él - the subject pronoun "he"

Subject Pronouns:
yo (I)
tú (you, familiar, singualr)
él, ella, usted (Ud.) (he, she, you [formal, singular])
nosotros, nosotras (we, masculine , feminine)
vosotros, vosotras (you, familiar plural)
ellos, ellas, ustedes -Uds. (they, masculine, feminine, and you, formal, plural)
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The verb "to be"
estar - use with location, temporary condition and present participles
estoy (I am)
estás (you are)
está (he, she, it is, you are)
estamos (we are)
estáis (you are)
están (they are, you are)
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When to use estar:
Estoy en clase. (I am in class. - location)
Está cansado. (He is tired. - temporary condition)
Estamos estudiando. (We are studying. - present participle)

ser - use for telling time, permanent condition (description), identity
soy
eres
es
somos
sois
son

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When to use ser:
Son las tres de la tarde. (It is 3 p.m. - telling time)
Soy americana. (I am American. - permanent condition)
Soy la amiga de Juan. (I am Juan's friend. - identity)
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revised April 28, 2003