Spanish: An Essential Grammar

Notes:

1 The irregular forms in the singular are also adopted by verbs which are

compounds of the above, such as detener (detén), deshacer(deshaz), proponer

(propón). Note the accent required on those forms ending in -nin order to

preserve the correct stress, see 1.3.2.

2 The accent on sédistinguishes it from the pronoun se(though not from sé, 1st

person singular of the present tense of saber).

3 The singular form of estaris frequently rendered by reflexive estate, e.g. ¡estate

tranquilo!‘Be quiet’.

4 Occasionally the singular form of valer‘to be worth’ is shortened to val.

Juan, cierra la puerta. Juan, close the door.

Tenme preparada la cena. Have dinner ready for me.

Colecciónalos. Collect them.

Tomad lo que queráis.[SP] Take whatever you want.

Limpiaos los zapatos.[SP] Wipe your shoes.

Obtén tu email. Get your email.

Satisfazlos pronto. Satisfy them at once.

Imperative forms with vos [LA]

In regions of Latin America where the use of vosis common, especially in

Argentina, foreign users of Spanish will note a singular, familiar impera-

tive that is usually obtained by dropping the final -dfrom the vosotros

form. This includes the verbs listed above which adopt the shortened form

in the singular in Peninsular Spanish.

When forming the imperative withvos, a written accentis placed over the

final vowel, except in the case of the monosyllables ¡da!‘give’ and ¡ve!‘see’.

This is frequently retained even when a pronoun is added.

Verb Vos[LA] Corresponding tú form

buscar buscá busca

probar probá prueba

vender vendé vende

volver volvé vuelve

19.1.2

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

19

Commands

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