Spanish - Grammar

By taking the time to understand how the Spanish language works, you'll be able to speak Spanish naturally, and read and write in Spanish. We know this can be one of the more challenging parts of your course, and we’re here to help! You can browse the topics, do a search in the top right corner of this page, or start a new conversation. Don’t be shy!

Cual or que?

When do you use cual versus que when saying "what?"

1 reply - Last post by ricardo-rich - March 10, 2019

looking for encouragement!

Hi I am currently studying preterite  verbs in the past tense and am feeling a little discouraged. Can anyone tell me if it gets any easier? Approximately how long does it take to begin talking Spanish fluently? Thanks

7 replies - Last post by ricardo-rich - March 1, 2019

esa and ésa

I have listened to this over and over again and I cannot hear a difference between esa and ésa ( and esta and ésta). Therefore I am not able to say the accented version and get it correct. Is there a trick to it?

4 replies - Last post by Joe-C4 - February 10, 2019

¿Le gustaría papas fritas? o ¿Le gustarían papas fritas?

In Rocket Spanish Conversation Lesson 4.4, El Restaurante, Amy asks "¿Le gustaría papas fritas o papas al horno? Why should that not read "¿Le gustarían papas fritas o papas al horno?".  Is not the grammatical subject of the verb gustar plural ("papas fr...

8 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - December 28, 2018

¡Ya estás planeando nuestra vida juntos!

- You’re already planning our life together! The phrase in Spanish is absolutely correct but really surprises me (i.e., to see a plural adjective after a singular noun). I would have expected to see something on the order of "nuestras vidas juntos".  The...

2 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - November 28, 2018

Making commands

Hello amigos I need to review the lesson on how to make commands. Do you know where it is? I tried "search" but it didn't work. Cheers Vinh

1 reply - Last post by jim--148 - November 12, 2018

Combining Direct & Indirect Objects

Is the Spanish statement in the lesson below incorrect? Lesson 4.10 Spanish statement: “Ellos nos los piden.” Lesson 4.10 English interpretation: “They ask us for them.” My interpretation: They ask them to us. In order to reflect the Lesson’s English inte...

1 reply - Last post by the-hefay - October 25, 2018

Combining Direct & Indirect Objects

Is the Spanish statement in the lesson below incorrect? Lesson 4.10 Spanish statement: “Jorge se los pide.” Lesson 4.10 English interpretation: “Jorge asks her for them.” My interpretation: Jorge asks them to her, In order to reflect the Lesson’s English ...

3 replies - Last post by Matthew-H68 - October 22, 2018

Indirect Pronouns

Is this a good example of an indirect pronoun: No les voy a invitar a la fiesta? (See Language & Colture 4.9.)

11 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - October 11, 2018

Using 'llama' vs 'llamen' in an emergency

In the bonus lesson on Spanish Survival Phrases, asking someone to call the fire department is translated as "Llama a los bomberos," while asking someone to call an abulance is translated as "Llamen una ambulancia." Is there a grammatic reason to use "ll...

7 replies - Last post by Dan-H24 - October 3, 2018

Subjunctive vs. Indicative Exercise

Kind of fun.  I like stuff like this.  =)  https://www.spanishdict.com/quizzes/68/subjunctive-vs-indicative-in-spanish

1 reply - Last post by Steven-W15 - October 3, 2018

el verbo asegurar y el subjuntivo

Después de tantas veces a hacer el curso “Travelogue”, me acuerdo de como los verbos son utilizados en contextos diferentes.  Aquí están dos frases parecidos (para mí por lo menos) – uno usa el subjuntivo, la otra no: - Me aseguré que tuviéramos todo el e...

3 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - September 9, 2018

Es tan genial que hemos sido capaces de experimentar este tipo de cosas

- It’s so great that we’ve been able to experience these kinds of things. He visto varios ejemplos en internet que indican que la frase es justo pero no entiendo porque: - Creo que es genial que se ha eliminado completamente la congestión en el comedor p...

4 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - September 9, 2018

Me alegra que se te ocurriera la idea.

Hey...smart people... Would one of you please explain the "se" in this sentence?

23 replies - Last post by the-hefay - September 7, 2018

¡Ya de por sí estoy agotado!

- I’m exhausted as it is! No entiendo la primera parte de esa frase para nada...

2 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - August 24, 2018

App download link?

where do I download the app from? I can't see it in my App store (iMAC)?

0 replies - Last post by michaeljalmond - August 15, 2018

La proxima vez vs La Proxima

Sometimes, at the end of the lessons, it says Hasta la proxima!  Sometimes "vez" is added for Hasta la proxima vez. What is the difference between using the vez and not using it? Thank you, Roe

2 replies - Last post by Dan-H24 - August 6, 2018

Sería genial si hacemos el curso juntos

Creo que esta frase debería ser: - Sería genial si hiciéramos el curso juntos. ¿Estoy en lo correcto?

5 replies - Last post by the-hefay - July 17, 2018

Yo Soy Anal Retentivo ( lol )

In the very last audio lesson of Level 3 ( I'm a little sad that was the end, I'll have to get the Travelogue eventually ), You have this sentence:   Ya, ¡No tienes por qué ponerte tan político! "Alright, (you) don't have to get so political. (sing/...

6 replies - Last post by the-hefay - July 16, 2018

More on direct and indirect object pronouns?

After working my way through lessons 4.8 - 4.10 I feel I've got the gist of direct & indirect object pronouns, as in I understand the basics of them. But these lessons felt like a really quick overview and I'll need more practice to really master them. Ca...

1 reply - Last post by Karen-B1 - July 4, 2018

Parsing this sentence from an audio lesson

Hello everyone, my first post, I"m not sure if this is grammer or vocab, but had a question on this sentence from 17.4 Bachelor Party:   se le va la locura de su vida. the craziness in his life goes away I get it, that        "la locura de su vida...

8 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - July 1, 2018

Frases condicionales o How to use "if" frases.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0q3yvd1yilr1s64/frases%20condicionales.pdf?dl=0 Esta es una hoja de mis clases gramáticas.  Explica bien, creo, como hacer frases de si y cuando usar la forma subjuntiva.

0 replies - Last post by the-hefay - June 30, 2018

Desde Puno, podemos tomar el tren a Cusco, la cual se supone es Hermosa,

From Puno we can take the train to Cusco, which is supposed to be beautiful, The phrase is correct as I found all kinds of examples on the web. It just seems strange to me to see "se supone" and then a conjugated verb (es) directly afterwards. Ah, maybe ...

9 replies - Last post by the-hefay - June 25, 2018

ellos nos los piden (they ask us for them)

Hello, This is my first time to post here and I am not sure if my post is in the right forum. I am doing the Level 1 Language and Culture Lesson Module 4.10 and I came across this ellos nos los piden (they ask us for them) and I am trying to understand ...

15 replies - Last post by the-hefay - June 23, 2018

conjugation chart for frequently used verbs

Where might I find a chart which provides the conjugation of frequently used verbs?

1 reply - Last post by the-hefay - June 19, 2018

Fin vs. Final

Please:  Can someone explain the difference between fin y final.   Sentence examples:      No, una cuadra, de allí, al fin de la calle están.      Al final de la calle, allí están.      Al final de la calle. Why use fin at all in the first example, especi...

1 reply - Last post by Alan-L1 - June 6, 2018

Creo que tenemos que esperar a que alguien pase y me den a mí o a ti...

Aquí está la frase completa: - Creo que tenemos que esperar a que alguien pase y me den a mí o a ti un aventón a la vulcanizadora más cercana. Creo que debería ser ...y nos de a mí o a ti..., ¿no?

3 replies - Last post by the-hefay - May 30, 2018

From the Travelogue 6.5

"No le pregunté qué va hacer para protegernos..." Why isn't this "va a hacer"?  Just curious if this is acceptable without the "a", or just a typo.

15 replies - Last post by the-hefay - May 12, 2018

Chat room and some resources

Hi. Yesterday I stumbled on this website http://www.babbel.com/ . It's a free language resource and there's also a chat room. There was actually a lot of activity in the chat room with both native speakers and learners participating. Well, I didn't dare ...

5 replies - Last post by Ramsey-P - May 9, 2018

When to use tú vs. tu

In lesson 1.1 two statements vary in their use of "tu". I assume I'm going to learn more about this as I go, but I want to know now! ;)  The grammatical comment suggests they are the same form. Is it merely for emphasis in the first? Thanks!   ¿Cómo est...

4 replies - Last post by PaulB59 - May 4, 2018

Bájale un poquito, María

- Bring it down a bit, María… [Me gusta esa expresión.] Veo los dos casos: Bájale y Bájalo.  Este último me parece normal pero encuentro el "le" del primero un poco extraño (notar que la persona que habla aquí y María utilizan la forma "tú"). ¿Alguien p...

5 replies - Last post by the-hefay - April 22, 2018

Word order questions

My dad and I are practicing Spanish together, I'm a complete beginner but he has much more experience.  We were talking about word order, I know the adjectives come after the nouns but the order of other words is giving me trouble. Like "page 3" is it "pá...

2 replies - Last post by RebeccaA18 - April 21, 2018

Y yo realmente quiero ver una ciudad colonial, lo cual es algo que no hemos visto todavía.

And I really want to see a colonial city, which is something that we haven’t seen yet. This comes from the Travelogue. Shouldn't this be "la cual" since it's referring to the colonial city?

6 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - April 19, 2018

¿Los puedo ayudar en algo?

Del "Travelogue 7.2". La pregunta viene de un agente de viajes que tiene delante de él dos personas. Creo que la frase debería ser: ¿Les puedo ayudar en algo? ¿No?

2 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - April 19, 2018

Commas separating items in a series.

In Rocket Spanish module 2.1, there is the phrase, "Yo, mi esposa, y mis dos hijos."  There is also the phrase, "nadar, tomar el sol, y pesar." I have a grammar reference by Azoulay and Vicente that states specifically that, although English may use a com...

0 replies - Last post by Tomás71 - March 24, 2018

grammar

In Miguel and Maria travelogue - Si, pareces mexicana pero no le di mucha importancia. Why use the indirect object pronoun le? Does it mean he doesn't give much importance to how she looks? I thought it should be a direct object pronoun "lo"? Also does an...

2 replies - Last post by the-hefay - March 21, 2018

Me gustaría or Me gustarían?

Grateful if someone can explain which is correct and why?    o Me gustaría unas camisetas nuevas.    o Me gustarían unas camisetas nuevas.

13 replies - Last post by the-hefay - March 3, 2018

reflexive verbs and certain pronoun usage

in lesson 6.3 1. Me gusta trabajar.  2. Me levanto a las seis de la mañana. why isn't 1. 'me gusto trabajar' and/or why is 2. not 'me levanta a las seis de la manana' what did i not understand correctly? ayuda, por favor

4 replies - Last post by the-hefay - February 13, 2018

haber o tener

level 1, 6.6,  very nicely explains the contexts to use conocer and saber; could someone explain the contexts to use haber and tener, por favor!

4 replies - Last post by the-hefay - February 12, 2018

grammar

In travelogue the translation for "luego se queda de pie ahi" is "then stands there". Should it not be "then he remains standing there"? or is "se quada" somehow irrelevant?

4 replies - Last post by the-hefay - February 12, 2018

Symbols above words

How do I get the keyboard provided with the lesson to let me use the symbols when writing the words?

2 replies - Last post by Dan-H24 - February 6, 2018

Jamás he jugado fútbol. leccion 7.6. i have seen this 'he' before, once maybe and ignored it, but now I need to know

It's one those you haven't been told about but appear to make a sentence. SpansihDict for once failed me so now I need help. What the hell is is this 'he'?

2 replies - Last post by Dan-H24 - February 2, 2018

The common way to speak to "you"

Assuming that I refer to the form that all people speak and not grammatically. When I talk to you (tu '+ ustedes) I use the same verb or other practice? I know the grammatical answer, for example tu '= comes ustedes = comen But can it be as I described a...

2 replies - Last post by Dan-H24 - January 28, 2018

solo y sólo

In lesson 4.2 Bargaining, the text is solo para usted. Here solo means only, shouldn't it be sólo?

3 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - January 15, 2018

Amo a mi familia, pero tendrán que vérselas sin mí este año.

I love my family, but they're going to have to do without me this year. I don't seem to be able to get my head around "vérselas". I am guessing that "verse" refers to seeing each other but I have no idea what the "las" refers to (and I see nothing in the...

5 replies - Last post by yademas - January 11, 2018

Seremos muy cuidadosos con ambos.

- We’ll be very careful with you both.  [From the Spanish Travelogue course] The context is two people who will shortly be helping two others. Why isn't it "Estaremos..."? I wonder if I'm ever going to get this ser-estar thing straight. Frustrating as it...

4 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - December 22, 2017

tu or tú

Why is tú accented in ¿Cómo estás tú? but not accented in Gracias por tu participación ?

1 reply - Last post by Steven-W15 - December 10, 2017

accents, etc.

Does anyone know an easy & effective way to have/make the Spanish accent marks available on a traditional English (American) keyboard? I do not have the right side number keys (like on a calculator) just the ones accross the top. Please help! Melissa

6 replies - Last post by Steven-W15 - December 9, 2017

Siempre que llovió, paró

I know this is an idiomatic expression but the bit that I'd like to focus on is the conjugation of the verb llover in the preterite. My understanding is that when you see the word siempre, it usually signals that the verb used should be conjugated in the...

6 replies - Last post by ricardo-rich - October 19, 2017

beginner book location

Where is the beginner's book? Someone suggeted it is in section 10.0, my course starts with 10.1, someone said click on your account, but my account options are profile and logout. Help please :-)

6 replies - Last post by Rodney-J - August 13, 2017

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