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Spanish grammar

By Anthony Pemberton

Spanish GrammarApart from those who actually like it, it can definitely be said that there are those of us who hate it: grammar. It is the foundation of the learning and teaching of a foreign language and the one thing that second language learners find the most difficult. Being instructed in grammar is somewhat different to acquiring the grammar of our native language. It compromises rules which we have to follow to be able to form sentences and thus express and actually speak in a second language; with the added help of vocabulary.

Spanish was the first of the Romance languages to have a grammar, written in 1492 by the Andalusian linguist Antonio de Nebrija. Like all the other romance languages its roots are found in Latin and more precisely a mixture of classical and vulgar Latin. Today, the maintaining of pure and educated forms of Castillian is carried out by the Real Academia Española (RAE), which is based in Madrid and publishes dictionaries and grammars which dictate the rules of Spanish grammar.

In general, Spanish grammar at its most basic level is something which is relatively easy to understand; therefore you can know very basic grammar and still be able to communicate.

Indicative tenses in Spanish in many cases have direct equivalents in English and follow the same rules, thus making it possible to start and progress quickly when learning Spanish. That is to say, in the present tense, for example ´ Yo como´ in English would be I eat, and ´Ella baila´ she dances. However, one tricky thing is the different forms of the indicative tenses in Spanish. English only has two forms in the present tense for example walk and walks, have and has, and in the simple past just one jumped, believed, wanted. Spanish has six. Nevertheless, these verb conjugations follow logical patterns making them, as said above, relatively easy to understand. 

Native speakers of English will notice that there are many common errors when they attempt to learn Spanish.  What proves difficult for native English speakers learning Spanish grammar are many of the things we could call peculiar or that seem strange.  For example, expression of liking something in English is done with the verb ´to like´; however if you like something in Spanish it is pleasing to you and is expressed with the verb ´gustar´. With English an indirect object is not used with the verb ´to like’ and is conjugated as any other verb. However with ´gustar´ in Spanish, to say that you like something it would be ´me gusta el francés´ ´I like French´ or literally ´French pleases/ is pleasing to me´. Gusta is referring to el francés, the thing that is pleasing, and the me is the indirect object referring to the speaker who is saying it.

In a similar way the subjunctive mood in Spanish is a large part of grammar which native English speakers find hard to comprehend. English itself does have a subjunctive and though hardly used, when it is, it occurs because of the same motives as the subjunctive in Spanish. When it occurs in English it is principally to express something hypothetical. However, in Spanish it happens for a variety of reasons, hope, demands, desires, negations, doubt, or hypothesis. Considering all these options and possibilities the subjunctive is a hard concept to grasp.  

Spanish grammar differences between the Peninsular and American varieties exist, but someone who has learned the dialect of one area will have no difficulties using reasonably formal speech in the other, however, pronunciation does vary.

Learning grammar and learning how to use it properly and in the right context are fundamental if you ever want to become fluent in a foreign language. Avoiding tense confusion will also spare you some embarrassing moments when talking Spanish to a native speaker.

 

Spanish phrases

Pase lo que pase – Whatever happens
Dudamos que tengáis bastante dinero- We doubt you´ll have enough money
Ponlo donde quieras – Put it wherever you like
No creo que venga – I don´t think she´s coming
Si yo fuera tu estaría contento – If I were you I´d be happy
Pensaba que no ibas a hacerlo– I thought you weren´t going do it



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