spanish exam 4 grammar

to tell a story or relate past events, the preterite forms provide the

action for the story and are the most frequently used: fui, comí, salí, bailé, me divertí, dormí

Ángela siempre ha sacado buenas notas en sus clases de español

angela has always gotten good grades in her spanish classes

tienes hambre o ya has comido?

are you hungry or have you already eaten?

de niña, hablaba mucho en clase

as a child, I talked a lot in class

de niña, siempre jugaba con mis muñecas en el patio

as a little girl, I always used to play with my dolls on the patio

a las cinco en punto empezó a llover

at five on the dot it started to rain

pero dijiste eso la semana pasada; hoy es martes... y todavía no lo has hecho!

but you said that last week; today is Tuesday and you still haven't done it/ haven't done it yet!

comer usted(es)

coma(n)

affirmative comer

come

comer vosotros

comed; no comáis

the preterite (simple past tense) is used to describe

completed events that are isolated or sequential in the past

decir vosotros

decid; no digáis

the imperfect tense is used to

describe states of being in the past

an adjective with estar

describes the condition of someone or something at a particular moment

decir

di; no digas

decir usted(es)

diga(n)

ser location of event

el baile es aquí

estar location of people, things

el muchacho está aquí

ser description of norm

es bonita

ser identification

es hombre

escribir usted(es)

escriba(n)

affirmative escribir

escribe

escribir vosotros

escribid; no escribiáis

Affirmative estudiar

estudia

estar present progressive

está comiendo

estar description of state

está enferma

the present perfect describes something that has happened recently

example: my son has sent me three text messages today it can also be used to express something a person has done regularly over a period of time, usually requiring the word siempre

to express let's (do some activity) in spanish use the

first person plural of the present subjunctive

estar is used to

give the location of people or things form the progressive tenses

affirmative hablar

habla

hablas vosotros

hablad; no habléis

hablar usted(es)

hable(n)

que manejen con cuidado

have them drive carefully

has escalado una montaña alguna vez en tu vida?

have you ever in your life climbed a mountain?

hacer

haz; no hagas

no he limpiado el baño, pero lo voy a hacer mañana

i haven't cleaned the bathroom, but I am going to do it tomorrow

ojalá que no llueva

i hope that it doesn't rain

ojalá que ella me quiera

i hope that she loves me

ojalá que

i hope that; it used with the present subjunctive

quiero que manejen con cuidado

i want them to drive carefully

ir vosotros

id; no vayáis

ser is used to

identify someone or something tell the location of an event tell the date, the month, the day, and the hour impersonal expressions

en la guardería, yo era una niñita muy curiosa y nunca tenía miedo de nada

in kindergarten, I was a very curious little girl and was never afraid of anything

by using estar usually associated with ser, we can emphasize how something

is or looks right now, rather than how it is normally

anoche fui al cine con mis amigos vimos una película divertida después comimos pizza en un restaurante italiano

last night i went to the movies with my friends we saw a fun move afterward we are pizza at an Italian restaurant

preparemos la cena ahora

let's fix dinner now

mejor vamos al parque

let's go (better to go) to the park instead

with the verb ir, the present indicative (vamos) is used to express

let's go and the present subjunctive is used to express the negative (no vayamos)

no vayamos a la confrencia

let's not go to the conference today

no pongamos música clásica

let's not put on classical music

mi hija se ha enamorado de un chico muy agradable

my daughter has fallen in love with a very nice young man

the preterite is often used to

narrate the outcome of a story

negative comer

no comas

negative escribir

no escribas

negative estudiar

no estudies

negative hablar

no hables

negative pedir

no pidas

negative pensar

no pienses

negative servir

no sirvas

negative venir

no vengas

present perfect expresses the relationship between a

nonspecific past moment and the present moment to (in which you are speaking) the words "ya" and "todavía no" help to express this idea

to form the indirect command let/have someone else do it

omit the initial verb of the softened command and start the sentence with que

imperfect forms usually describe the background

or set the stage fr the story: vivía, jugaba, llovía, hacía calor

affirmative pedir

pide

affirmative pensar

piensa

poner

pon; no pongas

poner usted(es)

ponga(n)

negative tú commands =

present subjunctive tú form

salir

sal; no salgas

if the familiar command is negative, it is identical to the present subjunctive

tú form

singular informal commands are given to people you address with

tú rather than usted, such as your classmates or close friends

to set the scene or describe the background for a story

use the imperfect: hacía sol, eran las dos y media, todos dormían

to tell the action of a story

use the preterite: fui, salió, comieron, bailaste, nos divertimos

ir

ve; no vayas

venir

ven; no vengas

affirmative venir

vengas

venir vosotros

venid; no vengáis

the imperfect tense also describes

what someone was doing or what was happening when something else (preterite) interrupted the action

the preterite is also used to refer to the moments

when actions begin or end

sí, tengo hambre; todavía no he comido

yes, i'm hungry; I haven't eaten yet

sí, he escaldo muchas montañas/ no, nunca he escaldo una montaña

yes, i've climbed many mountains/ no, i've never climbed a mountain

ayer hablé con mi vecino

yesterday I talked with my neighbor

present perfect is used to express something

you have already done or something you have not done yet

the imperfect tense describes things that

you used to do or would always do

entré en la sala y dejaron de hablar

I walked into the living room, and they stopped talking

caminaba tranquilamente por la calle cuando oí los gritos

I was walking peacefully down the street when I head the screams

nunca he hablado con el president

I've never spoken with the president

affirmative servir

sirvas

ser

sé; no seas

an adjective with ser

tells what someone of something is like, emphasizing identification or inherent characteristics

tener

ten; no tengas

if the singular familiar command is affirmative, it is identical to

the él/ella (third person) form of the present indicative

había

there was/were

you can also use the present perfecto to ask and answer the question "have you (ever) ?

this type of question has no reference to the specific time in the past when an event occurred