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Spanish Sentences - How to Make a
Sentence (Grammatical Terms)
The grammar
rules in Spanish are different to
English so before we move on to sentence
structure, please familiarize yourself
with the following grammatical
definitions and terms which explain the
following sentence 'the lady slowly
paints a beautiful picture in the
garden':
|
Sentence |
Grammatical Term
|
Grammatical
Definition
|
|
The |
definite article |
The definite article
- the term given to the word 'the' |
|
lady |
noun (subject) |
A noun can be a
person, animal, object, thing or place |
|
slowly |
adverb |
An adverb describes a
verb (how an action is done e.g. slowly) |
|
paints |
verb |
A verb describes an
action (e.g. paints, makes, eats, sleeps) |
|
a |
indefinite article |
The indefinite
article - the term given to the words 'a', 'an' or
'some' |
|
beautiful |
adjective |
An adjective is the
word which describes the noun (e.g. beautiful) |
|
picture |
noun (direct object) |
A noun can be a
person, animal, object, thing or place |
|
in |
preposition |
Word placed before a
noun or pronoun to indicate time, place or condition |
|
the |
definite article |
The definite article
- the term given to the word 'the' |
|
garden |
noun |
A noun can be a
person, animal, object, thing or place |
Spanish Sentences - How to Write a
Sentence (Definite and Indefinite
Articles)
As per the example
used in the chart above, the definite
article refers to the word 'the' and the
indefinite article refers to the words
'a', 'an' or 'some'. In Spanish, these
words change within sentences depending
on gender (e.g. masculine or femine),
singular or plural as per the following
guide:
| |
Masculine |
Feminine |
Article - Definite or
Indefinite |
|
Singular |
el |
la |
Definite article
'the' |
|
Plural |
los |
las |
Definite article
'the' |
|
Singular |
un |
una |
Indefinite article
'a' or 'an' |
|
Plural |
unos |
unas |
Indefinite article
'some' |
Spanish Sentences - How to Make a
Sentence (de + el)
The word 'de' means 'of' and 'a' means
'to', however, these words can change within Spanish Sentences
as they follow these rules of grammar:
| |
Example - Spanish
Sentences |
English Translation |
|
de + el changes to
del |
el perro del ni�o |
the dog of the boy
(the boy's dog) |
|
a + el changes to al |
Voy al lago |
I am going to the
lake |
Spanish Sentences - How to Construct
a Sentence (el + un)
There are some additional rules to
remember when creating, writing and
saying Spanish Sentences. Sometimes el
and un are placed before a feminine
noun. This only happens if the feminine
noun starts with a stressed a- or ha-
and this grammar rule does not apply
when separated by an adjective. It's
important to remember that the gender of
the noun does not change, therefore, any
other changes remain the same as they
would with a feminine noun and the
plural will always be las or unas. The
following Spanish Sentences give example
and clarification to this important
grammar rule:
|
Spanish Sentences |
English Translation |
Grammatical
Explanation |
|
arma |
weapon |
feminine noun |
|
el arma |
the weapon |
the is masculine as
the noun begins with a stressed a- |
|
la vieja arma |
the old weapon |
the is feminine as
it's placed before an adjective |
|
el arma est� vieja |
the weapon is old |
el is masculine as
the noun begins with a stressed a- |
|
las armas |
the weapons |
the is feminine as
the noun is plural |
|
unas armas |
some weapons |
some is feminine as
the noun is plural |
Spanish Sentences - How to Write a
Sentence (Spanish and English Grammar
Differences)
There
are times when the definite article (the
word 'the') is used in Spanish Sentences
where it wouldn't be used in the English
language. Such examples would
include reference to nouns in a general
sense, before titles (unless when
speaking directly to a person), when
referring to a language (except when the
language is placed after hablar, saber
or aprender), when referring to a
specific day e.g. on Sunday, when using
other certain expressions. The following
table can be used a guide to clarify the
grammar rules for the use of 'the' in
Spanish Sentences:
|
Spanish Sentences |
English Translation
and Grammar Explained |
|
el dinero es importante
en Inglaterra |
(the) money is important
in England |
|
la reina Victoria |
(the) Queen Victoria |
|
el se�or Santana |
Mr Santana (the is not
used when talking directly with people) |
|
aprendo espa�ol
|
(the) Spanish is
difficult (note espa�ol is not capitalized as in English) |
|
aprendo espa�ol
|
I learn Spanish (the is
not used after aprender, saber or hablar) |
|
el domingo |
on Sunday (note that days
of the week are not capitalized in Spanish) |
|
en la inglesia |
in (the) church - the
Spanish use 'the' in certain expressions / sentences |
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