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