The Animated Book
of SpanishGrammar Reference

Spanish Grammar Reference

A complete, free reference for Spanish grammar.

Commonly confused

Sounds and spelling

How Spanish sounds, and how it’s written.

  1. 1.1The alphabet and pronunciationThe 27 letters and their names, plus the sounds that differ from English: j, h, ñ, rr, ll, and b and v.
  2. 1.2Stress and accent marksThe two stress rules, when a word needs an accent, and accents that tell words apart.
  3. 1.3Distinción, seseo, ceceoThe Spain "th": where z and ce/ci sound like th, where they sound like s, and why it isn't a lisp.
  4. 1.4Punctuation¿ and ¡, dialogue dashes, «quotes», commas in lists, and decimal commas.
  5. 1.5CapitalizationLowercase days, months, and nationalities, titles, and accents on capitals.

Nouns and adjectives

Gender, plurals, el and la, adjectives, and numbers.

  1. 2.1Noun genderMasculine and feminine endings, LONERS and DIONZA, the exceptions, and el agua.
  2. 2.2Plural nounsAdd ‑s or ‑es, ‑z to ‑ces, accents that come and go, and words that don’t change.
  3. 2.3ArticlesEl, la, un, una: al and del, when Spanish uses “the” and drops “a,” and lo.
  4. 2.4AdjectivesMatching gender and number, where they go, buen and gran, and meaning changes.
  5. 2.5NumbersCounting from 0 to a million, cien vs ciento, un vs uno, and ordinals, with audio.
  6. 2.6Time and datesTelling time, the days of the week, months, seasons, and saying the date.

First sentences

Who’s who, your first tense, and how to say no and ask questions.

  1. 3.1Subject pronounsYo, tú, usted, and the rest: when to leave them out, tú vs. usted, and vos.
  2. 3.2Tú vs. ustedInformal and formal "you": when to use each, everything that changes with usted, and tutear.
  3. 3.3VosThe informal “you” of Argentina and Central America: hablás, sos, vení.
  4. 3.4The present tenseRegular endings, boot verbs, yo-go verbs, and the other irregulars.
  5. 3.5Ser vs. estarThe two verbs for "to be": DOCTOR and PLACE, the permanent vs. temporary myth, and adjectives that change meaning.
  6. 3.6Hay: there is, there areHay for "there is" and "there are," hay vs. está, había and hubo, and hay que.
  7. 3.7NegativesNo, nada, nadie, nunca, double negatives, tampoco, ni, and ningún.
  8. 3.8Asking questionsYes/no questions, the question words, qué vs. cuál, por qué vs. porque, and tags like ¿no?

Everyday verbs

Ir a for plans, tener and hacer phrases, and verb combos.

  1. 4.1The near future (ir a + infinitive)The easiest way to talk about the future.
  2. 4.2Tener and hacer expressionsTengo hambre, tengo 30 años, hace frío, hace dos años: where Spanish says "have" and "make" instead of "be."
  3. 4.3Verb + infinitive combinationsAcabar de (just), volver a (again), soler (usually), dejar de, empezar a, and which preposition each takes.
  4. 4.4Need and obligationTener que, hay que, deber and debería, necesitar, hacer falta, and "don't have to" vs. "must not."

Describing things

This and that, my and your, adverbs, and comparing.

  1. 5.1DemonstrativesEste, ese, and aquel: the three distances, esto and eso, and aquí, ahí, allí.
  2. 5.2PossessivesMi, tu, su, nuestro, the long forms mío and tuyo, possession with de, and clearing up su.
  3. 5.3AdverbsMaking -mente adverbs, the most common adverbs, bien vs. bueno, muy vs. mucho, and where they go.
  4. 5.4Comparisons and superlativesMás … que, menos … que, tan … como, mejor and peor, and the most and the least.
  5. 5.5The suffix -ísimoBuenísimo, carísimo, muchísimo: how to add -ísimo, matching the noun, and spelling changes.
  6. 5.6DiminutivesCasita, cafecito, poquito: -ito, -cito, and -ecito, spelling changes, and what diminutives really mean.

Object pronouns

Me, te, lo, le, se: the words for who or what an action is done to, and where they go.

  1. 6.1Direct object pronounsMe, te, lo, la, nos, los, las: what a direct object is, where the pronoun goes, and the personal a.
  2. 6.2The personal aVeo a María: when to put a before a person, pets, alguien and nadie, and when not to.
  3. 6.3Indirect object pronounsMe, te, le, nos, les: who something is given to or done for, le … a María, and le vs. lo.
  4. 6.4Double object pronounsMe lo, te lo, se lo: two pronouns together, which comes first, and why le becomes se.
  5. 6.5Gustar and verbs like itMe gusta vs. me gustan, a + person, a mí también, liking people, and verbs like encantar and doler.
  6. 6.6Reflexive verbsMe lavo, te levantas: the reflexive pronouns, daily routine verbs, ir vs. irse, and "each other."
  7. 6.7Uses of seSaying things without saying who: impersonal se, se venden casas, se me olvidó, and the passive.

The past

The two past tenses, and the perfect tenses.

  1. 7.1The preteriteFinished actions: regular endings, irregular stems, and spelling changes.
  2. 7.2The imperfectHabits, descriptions, and what was going on.
  3. 7.3Preterite vs. imperfectHow to choose between the two past tenses.
  4. 7.4The past participleThe ‑ado / ‑ido form: irregulars, the perfect tenses, and adjectives.
  5. 7.5The perfect tensesHaber + participle: the present perfect, plus the past, future, and conditional perfect.

Connecting words

Prepositions, por and para, time phrases, and words like que and quien.

  1. 8.1PrepositionsA, de, en, con, sin and more: a vs. en, where things are, pronouns after prepositions, and verbs that take them.
  2. 8.2Por vs. paraThe two words for "for": the reason behind vs. the goal ahead, every use, and sentences that change meaning.
  3. 8.3Time expressions: hace, desdeHace for "ago," desde vs. desde hace for "since" and "for," llevar + time, and dentro de.
  4. 8.4Relative pronounsQue, quien, el que, lo que, cuyo, and donde, and the difference between que and lo que.

More tenses

What’s happening right now, what will happen, and what would.

  1. 9.1The gerundThe ‑ando / ‑iendo form: irregulars, uses, and when not to use it.
  2. 9.2The progressiveEstar + gerund for what’s happening right now.
  3. 9.3The future tensePredictions, promises, guesses, and the 12 irregular stems.
  4. 9.4The conditional“Would”: polite requests, advice, “if” sentences, and guesses about the past.

The subjunctive and commands

Wishes, doubts, feelings, telling people what to do, and “if” sentences.

  1. 10.1The subjunctiveThe “swapped” endings, the yo-form rule, the six irregulars, and the most common triggers.
  2. 10.2Subjunctive triggersThe full list: WEIRDO verbs, para que and other conjunctions, cuando, aunque, and more.
  3. 10.3The past subjunctiveBuilt from the preterite: past triggers, “if” sentences, ojalá, and como si.
  4. 10.4Commands (the imperative)Tú, usted, and negative commands, the 8 irregulars, and where pronouns and accents go.
  5. 10.5Nosotros commands (let’s)“Let’s”: the forms, vamos vs. vayamos, and why sentémonos drops the s.
  6. 10.6Si clauses (“if” sentences)The first, second, and third conditionals: which tense goes after si.

Word choice

Pairs of words English speakers mix up.

  1. 11.1Saber vs. conocerTwo verbs for "to know": facts and skills vs. people and places, and what supe and conocí mean.
  2. 11.2Qué vs. cuálTwo ways to say "what": before a noun, with ser, with other verbs, and in exclamations.
  3. 11.3Por qué vs. porquePor qué (why), porque (because), porqué (the reason), and por que (for which).
  4. 11.4Pedir vs. preguntarTwo ways to say "ask": asking a question vs. asking for something, and pedir que.
  5. 11.5Pero vs. sinoTwo ways to say "but": adding with pero vs. correcting with sino, sino que, and no solo… sino también.
  6. 11.6How to say “become”Ponerse, volverse, hacerse, convertirse en, llegar a ser, and quedarse: which one for which change.