European Spanish grammar

Every grammar guide of Lingora’s European Spanish A1 course, with examples you can listen to.

01Verbs: Present TenseThe present tense (Presente de Indicativo) is used to express current actions, habits, general truths, and even near-future events. In Spanish, the verb…
02Personal Particle 'a'In Spanish, when the direct object of a sentence is a specific person or a group of people, the preposition a must be placed before the noun. This is…
03Pronouns: This & ThatSpanish distinguishes between three degrees of distance when pointing out objects or people. While English generally relies on "this" and "that," Spanish…
04Adjectives: DeclensionAdjectives are words that describe or modify nouns. In Spanish, adjectives are not static; they must change their form to match the gender (masculine or…
05Reflexive Pronoun 'se'The pronoun se is a versatile third-person pronoun used for singular and plural subjects. It refers to himself, herself, itself, yourself (formal), or…
06Near Future with 'ir a'The construction ir a + infinitive is the most common way to express future actions in spoken Spanish. It corresponds directly to the English structure…
07Pronouns: Indirect ObjectsAn indirect object represents the person or entity that receives the action of the verb indirectly. It answers the question "to whom?" or "for whom?" the…
08Verbs: Subjunctive MoodThe subjunctive is a grammatical mood, not a tense. While tenses (past, present, future) tell you when an action takes place, the mood tells you how the…
09Pronouns: Direct ObjectsA direct object is the person or thing that directly receives the action of the verb. It answers the question "what?" or "whom?" regarding the verb. For…
10Indefinite ArticlesIndefinite articles introduce a noun that is not specific or has not been mentioned before. They correspond to the English "a" or "an". In Spanish, these…
11Definite ArticlesDefinite articles correspond to the English word "the". While English has only one form, Spanish articles change to match the gender (masculine or…
12Verbs: Present ProgressiveThe present progressive tense describes actions that are currently in progress at the exact moment of speaking. It is formed by combining the verb estar…
13Personal PronounsSubject pronouns indicate who or what is performing the action of the verb. While English requires these pronouns in almost every sentence (e.g., "I…
14Expressing 'to be' (ser vs. estar)Spanish utilizes two distinct verbs to translate the English concept of to be: ser and estar. These verbs are not interchangeable; the choice depends on…
15Possessive PronounsPossessive adjectives are words placed before a noun to indicate ownership or a relationship. In Spanish, these words must agree in number (singular or…
16The many meanings of 'de'The preposition de is one of the most frequent and versatile words in Spanish. While it is most commonly translated as of or from, it serves many other…
17Expressing 'have to'The primary structure used to express obligation or necessity is the phrase tener que followed by an infinitive verb. This equates to the English to have…
18Pronouns: Following a VerbObject pronouns usually appear before the conjugated verb in Spanish. However, there are three specific instances where pronouns must or can be attached…
19Verbs: Imperative MoodThe imperative mood is used to give direct orders, make requests, offer advice, or give instructions. In European Spanish, the conjugation changes…
20The many meanings of 'que'The word que is one of the most frequent and versatile words in the Spanish language. It functions primarily as a connector, linking words, phrases, or…
21Verbs: Conditional MoodThe conditional mood is primarily used to express actions that are hypothetical, dependent on a condition, or to indicate what "would" happen. It is also…
22Past ParticiplesPast participles are non-finite verb forms used to form compound tenses or to function as adjectives. In English, these usually end in "-ed" (like…
23Verbs: Preterite TenseThe Preterite tense (often called the Preterite Indefinite) is used to describe actions that were completed at a specific point in the past. It views the…
24Nouns: DeclensionEvery noun in Spanish is assigned a grammatical gender (masculine or feminine) and a number (singular or plural). This classification dictates the form…
25Verbs: Imperfect TenseThe imperfect tense (el pretérito imperfecto) describes past actions that have no definite beginning or end. It is used to talk about habits, set the…
26Verbs: Future TenseThe future simple tense is formed by adding a set of endings directly to the infinitive form of the verb. The same endings are used for all verb groups…
27Pronouns: DisjunctiveDisjunctive pronouns, also known as prepositional pronouns, are used after prepositions or for emphasis. While most are identical to subject pronouns, a…
28Expressing 'Let's'To express a suggestion or invitation to do something together, equivalent to "Let's..." in English, you use the first-person plural (`nosotros`) form of…
29Usage of 'usted' vs. 'vosotros/as'In European Spanish, the choice between formal and informal pronouns is a key aspect of showing respect and indicating social distance. The pronoun usted…