Spanish: An Essential Grammar

Conditional sentences without si Conditional sentences in Spanish can be constructed without the use of si. For the use of de + ...

A reflexive verb is one that is used with an object pronoun which refers back to the verb’s subject. In English, the object pron ...

Reflexive verbs with a reflexive meaning In some cases, though by no means always, the action of a reflexive verb reflects back ...

congratulated themselves’ or ‘They congratulated one another’. To avoid confusion, any of the following phrases or words may be ...

Seas an indefinite subject The reflexive pronoun secan be used as an indefinite or impersonal subject equivalent to English ‘one ...

Transitive verbs used reflexively with intransitive meaning Verbs commonly used transitively (i.e. with a direct object) are als ...

Reflexive verbs of movement Some common transitive verbs, most expressing movement or motion, have reflexive forms which are use ...

Reflexive verbs for daily routines The reflexive forms of a number of otherwise transitive verbs are used for key daily routines ...

ponerse enfadado/gordo/ to get angry/fat/cloudy nublado quedarse ciego/sordo/dormido to go blind/deaf, to fall asleep Andrés se ...

Despedir‘to see off’, ‘dismiss’ Despedirse (de)‘to say goodbye (to)’ Despidió a su hija en la She saw her daughter off at estaci ...

Morir‘to die’ (often accidental) Morirse‘to die’ (figurative or more emphatic) Murieron debido a una serie They died due to a se ...

El avión se salió de la pista. The plane came off the runway. Si abres el grifo, ¿sale agua? If you turn on the tap/faucet, does ...

In general, a passive construction is created when the object of an active construction becomes the subject of the passive verb. ...

Estar with a past participle Estarwith a past participle indicates a stateor a condition, often the end result or consequence of ...

1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 1 12111 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40 41111 15 Passive construction ...

Passive sentences whose subject is not a person Particularly when the subject is not a person, the Spanish verb is used reflexiv ...

Se vio a las chicas en la calle. The girls were seen in the street. Se consultó a los autores del artículo. The authors of the a ...

Using an indeterminate 3rd person plural active verb Where no agent or ‘doer’ is expressed it may be possible, if the context pe ...

Modal verbs are auxiliaries used to express attitudes or feelings generally in relation to an infinitive. They correspond in Eng ...

The conditional may be safely used to translate ‘ought’: Deberías vestirte de etiqueta. You ought to dress formally. In formal S ...