Spanish Grammar

Every Spanish noun is either masculine or feminine. Gender controls the articles and adjectives around the noun, so it must be learned with each word.

Definite (the) and indefinite (a/an/some) articles change for both gender and number, and two of them contract with a and de.

Add -s after a vowel and -es after a consonant. Watch the spelling changes (-z to -ces) and remember to make the article and adjective plural too.

The words for I, you, he, she, we and they — usually dropped, because the verb ending already shows who is acting. Knowing them is still essential for emphasis and for choosing the right verb form.

Pronouns that replace the person or thing receiving the action. Spanish splits them into direct (lo, la, los, las) and indirect (le, les), and they usually go BEFORE the verb.

Spanish verbs belong to three families (-ar, -er, -ir). Drop the ending to get the stem, then add a new ending for each subject. One present tense covers both 'I speak' and 'I am speaking'.

Spanish splits English 'to be' into two verbs. Ser describes essence and identity; estar describes states, location and feelings. The same adjective can change meaning depending on which one you pick.

Tener means 'to have'. It is irregular, and many feelings that English builds with 'to be' (hungry, cold, afraid, … years old) are built with tener in Spanish.

Gustar doesn't translate as 'to like' — it means 'to be pleasing to'. So the grammar is reversed: the thing you like is the subject, and you become an indirect object (me, te, le…).

Adjectives change their ending to match the noun's gender and number, and most of them come AFTER the noun. A few short ones change form when they go before it.