A Spanish Learning Grammar

Mike Thacker, Pilar Munoz

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781134654505
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

A Spanish Learning Grammar, Third Edition, is an innovative reference grammar and workbook suitable for you, whether you are studying Spanish at intermediate or advanced level.

Its straightforward explanations of grammar are supported by examples with contemporary vocabulary, humorous cartoon drawings, and plentiful, varied exercises, helping you to grasp often complex points of grammar in an enjoyable way.

Its carefully devised two-part structure mirrors the learning process, allowing you to focus on core knowledge first and enabling you to progress confidently to more advanced knowledge at your own pace.

Key features for this third edition include:

• New drawings which illustrate grammar through real-life scenarios
• New vocabulary bringing you up-to-date with Spanish in the digital age
• Re-ordering of the section on verbs, making the tenses easier for you to find
• Online interactive exercises with audio answers, providing you with invaluable listening and pronunciation practice.

To aid your understanding, this third edition also contains a glossary of grammatical terms, useful verb tables and a key to the exercises.

Written in the belief that grammar is the key to real communication, this is an essential textbook for any student of Spanish.

Part I

Core Knowledge

1

Pronunciation, accents, spelling and punctuation

1.1 The Spanish alphabet

Symbol		Symbol		Symbol
a	a	j	jota	r	erre
b	be	k	ka	s	ese
c	ce	l	ele	t	te
d	de	m	eme	u	u
e	e	n	ene	v	uve
f	efe	ñ	eñe	w	uve doble
g	ge	o	o	x	equis
h	hache	p	pe	y	i griega/ye
i	i	q	cu	z	zeta

Note: Letters of the alphabet (las letras del abecedario) are feminine:

ñ

In Spanish ñ is a separate letter of the alphabet. In dictionaries niñez comes after ninguno.

k and w

Very few words contain k and w. Most of them are imported from other languages, e.g. karate, whisky.

1.2 Pronunciation

Consonants

Some consonants are pronounced in a markedly different way from their equivalent in English. The most important of these differences are as follows:

b and v have the same sound:

buenobarbavinovarios

c

aBefore a, o and u: c is a hard sound (as in ‘come’):

campoarrancacostebancoCubacuando

bBefore e and i: c is a soft sound

In Castilian Spanish (spoken mainly in the north and the centre of Spain) this sound is like English ‘th’ in ‘thin’. In much of Spain and Spanish America the sound is ‘s’:

cenaacentocineincidente

g

aBefore a, o and u: g is a hard sound (as in ‘go’):

garajeganargordogolgustogusano

bBefore e or i: g is a sound made in the throat, like ch in Scottish ‘loch’:

gentegerentegirogitanodirige

cgu followed by a is pronounced ‘gw’ (as in ‘Gwen’):

guapoaguaguardar

dgu followed by e or i is a hard sound (as in ‘go’); u is silent:

guerralleguéguitarraMiguel

eIn the combinations güe and güi a diaeresis is placed over the u. This indicates that the sound is ‘gw’ (as in ‘Gwen’):

averigüévergüenzaargüir

h

h is always silent: hombre is pronounced ‘ombre’, hotel ‘otel’, etc.:

j

j is a sound made in the throat, like ch in Scottish ‘loch’:

hijojardínJorgepajaMéjico

ll

ll is pronounced like lli in ‘pillion’:

llavecallellegarhallar

r

aA single r at the beginning of a word is normally ‘trilled’ or ‘rolled’, e.g. the r in el río. Otherwise it is a single trill or ‘flap’, as in cara.

br r, as in burro, sierra, is not considered to be a separate letter. It cannot be split to form part of two different syllables. It is always a rolled sound, like a ‘Scottish’ r. The difference between these two sounds can be heard clearly when comparing pero (but) and perro (dog).

x

x is pronounced

abetween vowels: can be either ‘ks’ (as in ‘expect’) or ‘gs’ (as in ‘example’):

elixirexistiréxito

or

bbefore a consonant: ‘ks’ or, more usually, ‘s’:

exceptoexclamarexperiencia

z

In Castilian Spanish (spoken mainly in the north and centre of Spain) this sound is pronounced like ‘th’ in ‘thin’. In much of Spain and Spanish America the sound is ‘s’:

zona zigzag zozobra

Vowels

The five vowels are a, e, i, o and u. Wherever a vowel appears in a word it has the same sound value, unlike in English, where the sa...