Spanish Grammar

Grammar is usually the most unpleasant part of learning a language – we have to obey rules that are often so different from those of our native tongue …

With our explanations, we want to make Spanish grammar less intimidating. The rules are kept straight-forward and everything is explained as simply as possible. And with our exercises, you can practise and deepen your knowledge of Spanish grammar.

Tenses

In most cases, the use of Spanish tenses is not that different from the use of English tenses. One of the most difficult things about Spanish tenses is that the verb conjugation changes for each person – there is a different ending for I, you, he, etc.

Tenses Comparison Indicative

The indicative tenses can get confusing, so to make it easier, we compare and contrast the tenses and explain when to use which one. Here you will also find an overview of all the tenses, including tips on construction and usage.

Subjunctive Tenses

The subjunctive is a grammatical mood that we use to express doubt, subjectivity, wishes or hypotheses. The tenses change their conjugation when we use them in the subjunctive.

Verbs

Here you will find information on the use of ser and estar as well as on the Spanish gerund, participles, modal verbs, reflexive verbs, passive voice, imperative and subjunctive. The different tenses are explained in the section called "Tenses".

Nouns

In Spanish, nouns are usually used with their articles and can be masculine or feminine (e.g. el gato, la mesa). For the plural forms, we normally just add “s” or “es”.

Articles

Articles are the small words that come before a noun. They agree with the noun they describe in terms of gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural). There are two types of article in Spanish, definite (el/la/los/las) and indefinite (un/una/unos/unas).

Pronouns

Pronouns are substitutes for nouns (la mujer → ella). There are various types of pronouns: personal, possessive, reflexive, relative, interrogative, demonstrative and indefinite pronouns.

Adjectives

Adjectives tell us about the character or attributes of a person or thing (e.g. bueno, rápido). Spanish adjectives also have comparative forms, and depending on the noun, they have either a male or female ending.

Adverbs

Adverbs are words that tell us something about place, time, reason or manner (e.g. aqui, ayer, lementablemente, mucho). Some adverbs also have comparative forms.

Prepositions

Prepositions are short words (e.g. en, sobre) that we use with a noun or pronoun. As prepositions cannot be translated 1:1, even advanced learners of Spanish sometimes have problems using them correctly.

Sentence Structure

In this section, we explain the word order in Spanish sentences. In particular, we will deal with relative clauses, conditional clauses and reported speech.