Glossary
a
Abbreviation
abreviatura; removing letters from a word to make it shorter; usually followed by a full stop
Compare: Acronym
Don → D.
artículo → art.
Absolute Superlative
Accent
acento; emphasis placed on a specific letter or syllable in a word
See also: Tilde
Andalucía
Iraní
Acronym
acrónimo; an abbreviation of a noun phrase that is read as a single word; the new word is formed by taking the first letters of each word or by combining the first and last syllables of two words
Compare: Abbreviation
ovni → objeto volador no identificado
ofimática → oficina informática
Active Voice
voz activa; standard voice for most sentences; the subject performs the verb
Compare: Passive
Marta escribe una carta.
Adjective
adjetivo; describing word; modifies a noun and agrees in terms of gender and number
joven, viejo, alta, grande
Adverb
adverbio; describes a verb, adjective or another adverb; gives information about place, time, quantity and manner and is invariable
aquí, ahora, deprisa, fácilmente
Adverbial Phrase
locución adverbial; an adverb made up of more than one word
a causa de, en absoluto, a lo mejor, tal vez
Short Adverb
adverbio adjetival; an adverb ending in -mente that has been shortened so that it has the same form as a masculine singular adjective
Las niñas corren rápidamente. → Las niñas corren rápido.
Adverbial Clause
oración adverbial; name given to a subordinate clause that acts like an adverb
Hicimos el trabajo como nos dijo el profesor.
Adversative Clause
oración adversativa; clause that expresses opposition or contrast; typically introduced by: pero, aunque, contrariamente, en cambio, no obstante, ahora bien, por el contrario, sin embargo, mientras que
Lorena habla japonés, aunque no muy bien.
Affix
afijo; letter or letters that can be added to the beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) of a word or inserted in the middle (infix) to create a new word
juicio → prejuicio
azúcar → azuquitar
niño → niñez
Afijo
Antecedent
antecedente; a noun or pronoun in the main clause that is referred back to in the following relative clause
See also: Relative Clause
Lucas, a quien conozco desde el colegio, es mi mejor amigo.
Article
artículo; small word used before a noun; agrees in gender and number and can be definite (el, la, los, las) or indefinite (un, una, unas, unos)
la mesa, el armario
una mesa, un armario
Definite Article
artículo determinado; refers to a noun which is already known, identifiable or specific and agrees with the noun in terms of gender and number: el, la, los and las
la mesa, las mesas
el armario, los armarios
Indefinite Article
artículo indeterminado; used with a noun that is unspecific, not yet determined or general; agrees in gender and number with the noun it refers to: un, una, unos and unas
una mesa, unas mesas
un armario, unos armarios
Artículo determinado
Artículo indeterminado
Attribute
atributo; word that ascribes a quality to a noun, usually an adjective introduced by the verbs ser, estar or parecer
Pablo es guapísimo.
Augmentative Suffix
Aumentativo
Auxiliary Verb
verbo auxiliar; help verb; used to form compound tenses, the passive and other verbal structures
Hoy he visitado a mis abuelos.
El herido es conducido al hospital.
Voy a ir de vacaciones a Marsella.
c
Causal Clause
oración causal; subordinate clause that expresses a reason or cause; typically introduced by: porque, ya que, puesto que
No te lo conté porque temía que te enfadaras.
Clause
oración, proposición; part of a sentence, usually containing a subject and a verb
See also: Main Clause, Subordinate Clause
Marcos cultiva tulipanes y los vende a toda Europa.
Closed Question
Comillas
Spanish quotation marks: «…»; used for direct speech and introduced by a colon (:); punctuation marks like full stops stand outside of the comillas
See also: Direct Speech
Pedro dijo: «No tengo hambre».
Comparative
comparativo; adjective or adverb that compares two elements
Comparativo de igualdad
comparison with tan … como or igual de … que; shows that two things are equal or the same in some way
Raquel es igual de divertida que Cristina.
Cristina es tan alta como Raquel.
Comparativo de inferioridad
comparison with menos … que; shows that two elements are unequal in some way or that one has less of a certain quality than the other
Roberto es menos alto que Jorge.
Comparativo de superioridad
comparison with más … que; shows that one element has more of a certain quality than the other
Jorge es más listo que Raúl.
Complemento directo
Complemento indirecto
Concessive Clause
oración concesiva; subordinate clause that introduces a concession, objection or difficulty; typically introduced by: así, a pesar de que, aun cuando, si bien, por más que, por mucho que
Aunque estoy enfermo, hoy iré a trabajar.
Condicional compuesto
Condicional simple
Conditional
condicional simple; tense that expresses hypothetical situations, guesses, wishes and polite requests; similar to would/could in English
Compare: Conditional Perfect
Creí que aún estarías en el trabajo.
¿Podrías venir una hora antes?
Conditional Clause
oración condicional; subordinate clause that expresses a condition; often introduced by si (= if) or another conditional conjunction: como, cuando, a condición de que, en el caso de que, a menos que, con tal de que, en el supuesto de que
Si cenamos fuera, yo pago la cuenta.
Conditional Perfect
condicional compuesto; tense that expresses actions that could have or would have taken place; formed with the conditional of haber followed by the past participle of the main verb
Compare: Conditional
Yo habría venido antes si me lo hubieras pedido.
Me habría gustado acompañarte al médico.
Conjugation
conjugación; when we change the form of a verb to reflect the mood (indicative, subjunctive, imperative), tense (past, present, future, conditional), number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, third); Spanish verbs are conjugated according to their endings (-ar, -er or -ir)
hablar: yo hablo, tú hablas, él habla...
comer: yo como, tú comes, él come...
vivir: yo vivo, tú vives, él vive...
Conjunction
conjunción; linking word that connects a main clause to a subordinate clause
Me gusta pasear y mirar las estrellas.
Te llamaré si llego a tiempo.
Coordinating Conjunction
conjunción coordinante; type of conjunction that links two words or clauses that have equal status (i.e. each one can stand independently)
See also: Main Clause
El profesor de historia está de baja, pero han mandado a un sustituto.
Subordinating Conjunction
conjunción subordinante; type of conjunction that links two words or clauses where one is dependent on the other
See also: Subordinate Clause
Hemos pedido una pizza porque nuestra nevera está vacía.
Consecutive Clause
oración consecutiva; subordinate clause that expresses a consequence or result; typically introduced by: así que, conque, luego, por consiguiente, por lo tanto
Se ha roto el congelador, así que se han derretido los helados.
Consonant
consonante; a letter that is not a vowel
Compare: Vowel
b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z
Copular Verb
d
Defining Relative Clause
Definite Article
Demonstrative Determiner
determinante demostrativo; comes before a noun and identifies it more specifically in relation to the distance from the speaker(s); the demonstrative determiners are: este, ese and aquel (and their feminine and plural forms)
Compare: Demonstrative Pronoun
¿Me pasas aquella camiseta?
Demonstrative Pronoun
pronombre demostrativo; replaces a previously-mentioned noun and identifies it more specifically in relation to the distance from the speaker(s)
Compare: Demonstrative Determiner
este, ese, aquel
- ¿Me pasas aquel tornillo? (demonstrative determiner)
- ¿Cuál? ¿Este? (demonstrative pronoun)
Dependent Clause
Derivation
derivación; the process of making a new word by adding a prefix, suffix or infix to another word
mar → marino
Derogatory Suffix
Determinante demostrativo
Determinante indefinido
Determinante interrogativo
Determiner
determinante; word used before a noun to identify it more specifically or assign it a quality
See also: Demonstrative Determiner, Indefinite Determiner, Possessive Determiner
Compare: Pronoun
Este bolso es muy caro.
Mi bolso es nuevo.
Dieresis
diéresis; the letter ü (u with umlaut); only appears in the syllables -gue- o -gui- to preserve the pronunciation of -gu before a vowel
cigüeña, pingüino
Diminutive
Dipthong
diptongo; when two consecutive vowels are pronounced together as one sound
puerta, aire
Direct Object
complemento directo; person or thing that is directly affected by the main verb
Compare: Indirect Object
Yo canto una canción.
Voy a comprar un coche.
Direct Speech
estilo directo; exact reproduction of the words a speaker has said, written between quotation marks (in Spanish: comillas, «...») and introduced by a colon (:)
Compare: Indirect Speech
Marcos exclamó: «Estoy verdaderamente asombrado con vosotros».
e
Enclitic Pronoun
pronombre enclítico; an unstressed personal pronoun that is added to the end of a verb, e.g. Cuéntalo; the Spanish enclitic pronouns are: me, te, se, lo, los, la, las, le, les, os
See also: Unstressed Pronoun, Stressed Pronoun
Quiero comprar un regalo a María. → Quiero comprárselo.
Estilo directo
Estilo indirecto
f
Femenine
género femenino; grammatical gender of a word, often indicated by the article (la, una) or word ending; nouns, pronouns, articles and adjectives can be feminine
Compare: Masculine
la casa bonita
Femenino
Final Clause
oración final; subordinate clause that expresses a purpose or intention; typically introduced by: para, a fin de, con el fin de, con el objeto de, con la intención de
Hemos vendido el coche con el fin de pagar la hipoteca.
Finite Verb
verbo finito; conjugated verb
Compare: Infinite Verb
hablo, hablé, hablaba, hablaré, hablaría
Flection
flexión; changing the ending or stem of a word to give it a new grammatical meaning (e.g. singular to plural, past tense to present tense, noun to adjective, etc.)
Compare: Derivation
chico → chicos
cantar → canté
malo → maligno
Verbal Flection
flexión verbal; also known as conjugation; changing the ending of a verb to reflect mood, tense and person
yo canto
yo canté
yo cantaría
Flexión verbal
Future
futuro; tense that refers to actions that will take place in the future; Spanish has three future forms
Voy a estudiar la carrera de veterinaria.
Mañana estudiaré durante todo el día.
Future Perfect
futuro compuesto; tense that expresses an action that will have taken place by a certain point in the future; formed with the future simple of haber followed by the past participle
A las seis de la tarde ya habré llegado a casa.
Future Simple
futuro simple; future tense that expresses future actions and events as well as assumptions about the present
Mañana comeré en la universidad.
Si te vas a dormir, tendrás que lavarte los dientes.
Serán las once.
Future with ir + a
futuro próximo; expresses an intention for the near future; formed with the conjugated form of ir + a + the infinitive of the main verb
Voy a comprar al supermercado.
Futuro compuesto
Futuro imperfecto
g
Gender
género; the gender of a noun refers to whether it is grammatically masculine (el, un) or femenine (la, una)
el niño guapo, la chica lista
Género
Gerund
gerundio; impersonal form of the verb that ends in -ndo; similar to the English -ing form
Compare: Infinitive, Past Participle
hablando, comiendo, viviendo, concluyendo
h
Help Verb
Hiatus
hiato; when two vowels together are pronounced as two distinct syllables
caer, país
i
Imperative
imperativo; mood used to give orders and commands as well as make requests
Compare: Indicative, Subjunctive
Ven aquí.
Volved pronto, por favor.
Imperfect
pretérito imperfecto; the imperfect tense expresses past states, repeated or simultaneous past actions and situations that were already in progress when another past action occurred
Compare: Preterite, Perfect Past Perfect
Cuando era pequeño, me encantaba acampar en el jardín.
Impersonal Verb
verbo impersonal; impersonal verbs only appear in the third person singular
Está lloviendo a mares.
Hace mucho calor.
Indefinite Article
Indefinite Determiner
determinante indefinido; comes before a noun to express an unspecific or unknown quantity; the indefinite determiners are: un, alguno, ninguno, mucho, etc.
algún chico, ciertos lugares, bastante agua, poca comida
Indicative
indicativo; the default grammatical mood in Spanish; states facts and events in the past, present and future tenses
Compare: Subjunctive, Imperative
Yo como
Yo comí
Yo comeré
Indirect Object
complemento indirecto; the indirect object receives the direct object in the sentence; in our example, los libros are given and la profesora receives them; the indirect object is introduced by the preposition a
Compare: Direct Object
Yo traigo los libros a la profesora. → Yo le traigo los libros.
Indirect Question
Indirect Speech
estilo indirecto; reporting what another person has said (usually in the third person); introduced by a reporting verb but without quotation marks; the tense, pronouns and time and place references must be adapted
Compare: Direct Speech
Marcos exclamó que estaba verdaderamente asombrado con ellos.
Infinite Verb
verbo no finito; an infinite verb appears in one of the impersonal forms: infinitive, past participle or gerund
Compare: Finite Verb
hablar, correr, vivir
Infinitive
infinitivo; base form of the verb ending in -ar, -er or -ir
Compare: Past Participle, Gerund
hablar, leer, vivir
Infinitive Clause
oración de infinitivo; subordinate clause that starts with a verb in the infinitive
Me encanta desayunar en el balcón.
Infix
infijo; letter or letters that we insert into the middle of a word to create a new word
humo → hum-ar-eda
pueblo → puebl-ec-ito
Interrogative
Interrogative Determiner
determinante interrogativo/exclamativo; question words used before nouns in questions and exclamations; qué, cuál, cuánto/-a/-os/-as
Compare: Interrogative Pronoun
¿Qué libro estás buscando?
¡Qué vestido más bonito!
Interrogative Pronoun
pronombre interrogativo/exclamativo; question words used without a noun in questions and exclamations; quién, qué, cuál
Compare: Interrogative Determiner
¿Qué haces?
¡Qué ilusión!
¿Quién es ese?
Intransitive Verb
verbo intransitivo; a verb that does not take a direct object
Compare: Transitive Verb
El niño sonríe.
Irregular Verb
verbo irregular; verb that does not follow regular conjugation patterns
Compare: Regular Verb
contar, caer, oír…
l
Letra volada
Linking Verb
verbo copulativo; linking verbs (also: copular verbs) link a subject to a complement; the Spanish linking verbs are: ser, estar and parecer
Marcos y yo somos hermanos.
Tú estás enfermo.
Él parece triste.
Locución adverbial
m
Main Clause
oración principal; clause that can stand alone without relying on another clause to complete its meaning
Comparare: Subordinate Clause
Si me buscas, estaré en mi despacho.
Masculine
género masculino; grammatical gender of a word; often indicated by the article (el, un) or word ending; nouns, pronouns, articles and adjectives can be masculine
Compare: Femenine
el puente viejo
Masculino
Mood
modo; the mood of the verb reflects the speaker’s intention or attitude towards the information being presented; Spanish has three moods; the indicative (standard mood), the subjunctive (for doubt, hypotheticals, impossibility …) and the imperative (orders)
See also: Indicative, Subjunctive, Imperative
Carla no viene al cine. (indicative)
Dudo que Carla venga al cine. (subjunctive)
¡Carla, ven al cine! (imperative)
Morfema
Morpheme
morfema; smallest individual elements of a word that carry grammatical meaning; usually endings that reflect gender, number, person, tense, mood, conjugation, etc.
Compare: Stem
Yo cant-o
L-a-s camiset-a-s
n
Nombre
Non-defining Relative Clause
Noun
nombre/sustantivo; naming word; Spanish nouns change their endings to reflect their gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural)
coche, mochila, Raúl, Latinoamérica…
Número
o
Objeto directo
Objeto indirecto
Open Question
Oración
Oración adverbial
Oración adversativa
Oración concesiva
Oración condicional
Oración de participio
Oración de relativo
Oración de relativo especificativa
Oración de relativo explicativa
Oración final
Oración subordinada
p
Participio
Participle Clause
oración de participio; subordinate clause that starts with a verb in the past participle
Los vecinos, cansados del ruido de las obras, se quejaron al alcalde.
Pasado
Pasiva refleja
Passive
voz pasiva; sentences in the passive voice focus on the recipient of the action (the object); the person or thing performing the action (the subject) is unknown, unimportant or obvious
Compare: Active Voice
El hombre está herido.
El hombre es conducido al hospital.
Passive with “se”
pasiva refleja; the passive with “se” has the same meaning as the passive, but is more common in spoken language
Aquí se habla español.
Se venden casas.
Past
pretérito; Spanish has four past tenses
See: Preterite, Imperfect, Perfect, Past Perfect
Ayer escuché un trueno mientras dormía.
Past Participle
participio; impersonal form of the verb that usually ends in -ado or -ido; used to form compound tenses
Compare: Infinitive, Gerund
Hoy no he jugado al fútbol.
El partido quedó suspendido.
Past Perfect
pretérito pluscuamperfecto; the past perfect (also: pluperfect) expresses a past action that had already been completed prior to a second past action; formed with the imperfect of haber + past participle
Cuando llegaste, ya me había marchado.
Perfect
pretérito perfecto compuesto; the perfect tense expresses a (recently) completed action that occurred in a time period that is still unfinished at the time of speaking; formed with haber + past participle
Compare: Preterite, Imperfect, Past Perfect
¿Has comido ya?
Este año no nos hemos ido de vacaciones.
Perífrasis verbal
Personal Pronoun
pronombre personal; personal pronouns refer to people, animals and things; they match the noun they are replacing in terms of number (singular/plural) and gender (masculine/feminine) and can be the subject, direct or indirect object of the sentence
Yo no me río de ti.
Pluperfect
Plural
word that refers to more than one person or thing
Compare: Singular
Esos pantalones tan bonitos son míos.
Possessive Determiner
determinante posesivo; comes before a noun and indicates belonging; the possessive determiners are mi, tu, su, nuestro, vuestro (and their feminine and plural forms)
Compare: Possessive Pronoun
Mi teléfono está estropeado.
Possessive Pronoun
pronombre posesivo; replaces a noun and indicates a relationship of possession (similar to mine, yours, hers, etc. in English)
Compare: Possessive Determiner
Mi teléfono está estropeado. → possessive determiner
¿Puedo telefonear con el tuyo? → possessive pronoun
Predicate
predicato; section of the sentence made up of the verb and, often, whatever else follows it (the complements)
Compare: Subject
Nunca desayuno.
Siempre desayuno un yogur y una naranja.
Prefijo
Prefix
prefijo; letter or letters added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning or form a new word
operatorio → postoperatorio
nacional → multinacional
marino → ultramarino
Preposition
preposición; small words that give information about time, place, etc.: a, ante, bajo, cabe, con, contra, de, desde, durante, en, entre, hacia, hasta, mediante, para, por, según, sin, so, sobre, tras, versus y vía
A Claudia le sonó el móvil durante la película.
Present
presente; tense that refers to things that are currently true and actions that are happening now
Tengo veinticinco años.
Preterite
pretérito indefinido; the preterite is the past tense used for actions that started and finished in the past
Compare: Imperfect, Past Perfect, Perfect
De pequeña fui una vez al parque de atracciones Isla Mágica.
Conocí a Carlos en la facultad.
Pretérito
Pretérito indefinido
Pretérito perfecto compuesto
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
Pronombre
Pronombre demostrativo
Pronombre enclítico
Pronombre interrogativo
Pronombre personal
Pronombre personal átono
Pronombre personal tónico
Pronombre posesivo
Pronombre reflexivo
Pronombre relativo
Pronoun
pronombre; word used in place of a noun to avoid repetition
See: Demonstrative Pronoun, Interrogative Pronoun, Possessive Pronoun, Possessive Pronoun, Reflexive Pronoun, Relative Pronoun
Ella nos dijo que el bolso era suyo.
Proposición
q
Question
oración interrogativa; clause that aims to gather information; appears between question marks (¿ … ?) and requires a response from the speaking partner; can be open or closed; direct or indirect
¿Quieres un café?
¿Cómo te llamas?
Closed Question
oración interrogativa total; question that does not contain a question word and can be answered with «sí» or «no»
—¿Vienes al cine?
—Sí, claro.
Indirect Question
oración interrogativa indirecta; question that is contained within a clause; introduced by a reporting verb and not set off by question marks
Te pregunté hace dos semanas cuándo vendrías a visitarme.
Open Question
oración interrogativa parcial; a question with a question word
¿Cómo te llamas?
¿Cuántos años tienes?
r
Raíz
Reciprocal Verb
verbo recíproco; a verb that takes a reflexive pronoun and a plural subject; has a meaning of each other
Compare: Reflexive Verb
Los niños se pelearon en el patio del colegio.
Reflexive Pronoun
pronombre reflexivo; pronoun used after a reflexive verb; i.e. when the subject and object are the same
me, te, se, nos, os, se
Nos casamos el sábado.
Reflexive Verb
verbo reflexivo; a reflexive verb has the same subject and object; we use it with a reflexive pronoun in all forms (me, te, se, nos, os, se)
Compare: Reciprocal Verb
Me levanto a las 8.
Nos acostamos a las 10.
Regular Verb
verbo regular; regular verbs follow standard conjugation patterns
Compare: Irregular Verb
hablar, comer, vivir
Relative Clause
oración de relativo; type of subordinate clause that gives additional information about a noun from the main clause (the antecedent)
Antonio, cuya madre trabaja con la mía, es muy divertido.
Defining Relative Clause
oración de relativo especificativa; a relative clause that provides information that is essential to identifying the noun in the main clause (the antecedent); not set off by commas and cannot be omitted
La fiesta de cumpleaños que celebramos el año pasado en la bolera fue un éxito.
Non-defining Relative Clause
oración de relativo explicativa; a relative clause that gives additional, non-essential information; can be omitted without altering the meaning of the sentences; always written between commas
Quiero celebrar mi cumpleaños, que este año cae en sábado, en una bolera.
Relative Pronoun
pronombre relativo; pronoun that introduces a relative clause
See also: Relative Clause
Mi hijo escucha un tipo de música que no me gusta.
Relative Superlative
Reporting Verb
verbo de habla; reporting verbs introduce direct or indirect speech; typical examples: decir, exclamar, preguntar, etc.
—Confía en mí —dijo Victoria.
Victoria dijo que confiara en él.
Root
s
Short Adverb
Stem
raíz; the root of a word; smallest unit of meaning that is used as a base to create words in the same word family
guapo → guap
teléfono → telefon
Stem-changing Verb
verbo con un cambio vocálico; a verb that changes the final vowel of its stem in certain forms and tenses
pedir → yo pido
Stressed Pronoun
pronombre personal tónico; as the subject of a clause, stressed pronouns come before the verb and are used for emphasis; as the object of a clause they follow a preposition
yo, tú, vos, usted, él, ella, nosotros, nosotras, vosotros, vosotras, ustedes, ellos, ellas
No voy a ver nada si tú te sientas delante de mí.
Subject
sujeto; the person or thing that performs the verb; can be a noun or pronoun
Compare: Predicate
El anciano se sienta en el banco.
Yo monto en bicicleta.
Subjunctive
subjuntivo; mood that indicates subjectivity or unreality; expresses possibilities, hypotheticals, wishes, beliefs, fears, etc.
Compare: Indicative, Gerund
Ojalá fuera más alto.
Si fuera más alto, jugaría al baloncesto.
Subjuntivo
Subordinate Clause
oración subordinada; clause that cannot stand alone; it relies on the main clause to complete its meaning
Compare: Main Clause
Creo que no tienes razón.
Subordinating Conjunction
Suffix
sufijo; letter or letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning or form a new word
pequeño → pequeñ-ito
Augmentative Suffix
aumentativo; a suffix that adds the meaning big, large, or important to a word
rico → ricachón
grande → grandota
Derogatory Suffix
despectivo; suffix that adds a negative connotation or a derogatory meaning to a word
gafas → gafotas
amiga → amigucha
Diminutive
diminutivo; a suffix that adds the meaning of small to a noun; often used as a term of endearment
casa → casita
chico → chiquillo
Sufijo
Superlative
superlativo; expressing the highest degree of a particular quality; there are two types of superlative in Spanish: absolute and relative
Compare: Comparative
Mi perro es el más listo.
Mi perro es listísimo.
Absolute Superlative
superlativo absoluto; when we add -ísimo to an adjective to make it stronger
Mi perro es listísimo.
Relative Superlative
superlativo relativo; using el/la + más/menos + adjective to compare something with all others in the same group/category; similar to the English the most/the least
Mi perro es el más listo.
Superscript
letra volada; abbreviation of a vowel used in titles and cardinal numbers; written in small type to the upper right of the word
señora: Sr.ª
número: n.º
primer: 1.er
Sustantivo
Syllable
sílaba; individual unit of pronunciation; one unbroken sound usually made up of a vowel or vowel sound and surrounding consonants
preparar → pre-pa-rar
Stressed Syllable
sílaba tónica; the syllable in a word where emphasis is placed; sometimes indicated by an accent
camión
bruja
t
Tense
tiempo verbal; form of the verb that indicates whether the action takes place in the past, present or future
Él habla
Él habló
Él hablará.
Tiempo verbal
Tilde
an accent (´) that is placed on a syllable to show that its pronunciation is stressed
Compare: Accent, Stressed Syllable
camión
baúl
lámpara
Transitive Verb
verbo transitivo; transitive verbs require a direct object to complete their meaning
Compare: Intransitive Verb
Mi hermana toca la guitarra.
Tripthong
triptongo; when three consecutive vowels are pronounced together as one syllable
copiáis, estudiéis
u
Umlaut
Unstressed Pronoun
pronombre personal átono; a personal pronoun that replaces a direct or indirect object and is connected to a verb; can come before the verb or be added to the end, e.g. Me encanta. Avísame.
Compare: Stressed Pronoun, Direct Object, Indirect Object
Yo compro un cruasán a María → Yo se lo compro.
v
Verb
verbo; doing word; Spanish verbs end in -ar, -er or -ar
ser, estar, vivir
Verbal Flection
Verbal Periphrasis
perífrasis verbal; grammatical structure made up of two or more verbs
Voy a comprar arroz para la paella.
Tengo entendido que trabajas en un banco.
Verbo auxiliar
Verbo con un cambio vocálico
Verbo copulativo
Verbo de habla
Verbo finito
Verbo impersonal
Verbo intransitivo
Verbo irregular
Verbo no finito
Verbo pronominal
Verbo recíproco
Verbo reflexivo
Verbo regular
Verbo transitivo
Vocal
Vowel
vocal; letter that isn’t a consonant (a, e, i, o, u)
Compare: Consonant
a, e, i, o, u,
á, é, í, ó, ú, ü