Spanish Grammar: An Information-Dense Overview

For English-speaking learners, with glosses (translations in parentheses).

1. Nouns & Gender

Gendered Nouns: All nouns are masculine or feminine, typically signaled by endings:
- -o (masculine): el libro (the book), el perro (the dog).
- -a (feminine): la casa (the house), la mesa (the table).
- Exceptions: la mano (the hand, feminine), el problema (the problem, masculine).
Plurals: Add -s (vowel-ending) or -es (consonant-ending): libros (books), ciudades (cities).
Definite Articles: el/la (the), los/las (the, plural).
Indefinite Articles: un/una (a/an), unos/unas (some).

2. Adjectives

Agreement: Match noun gender/number:
- un gato negro (a black cat, masculine) → una gata negra (a black cat, feminine).
- niños felices (happy children, plural).
Placement: Usually follow nouns: una flor hermosa (a beautiful flower). Exceptions (e.g., bueno, malo) precede: un buen día (a good day).

3. Pronouns

Subject Pronouns:
- yo (I), tú (you, informal), él/ella/usted (he/she/you formal), nosotros (we), vosotros (you plural, Spain), ellos/ellas/ustedes (they/you plural).
Object Pronouns:
- Direct: me, te, lo/la, nos, os, los/las (e.g., Te veo – I see you).
- Indirect: me, te, le, nos, os, les (e.g., Le doy el libro – I give him/her the book).
Reflexive: me, te, se, nos, os, se (e.g., Él se lava – He washes himself).

4. Verbs

Conjugation Basics

Infinitive Endings: -ar (hablar – to speak), -er (comer – to eat), -ir (vivir – to live).
Regular Present Tense:
- -ar: hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis, hablan (I speak, you speak, etc.).
- -er: como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen.
- -ir: vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven.

Key Tenses

Preterite: Completed actions (hablé – I spoke).
Imperfect: Ongoing/descriptive past (hablaba – I was speaking).
Future: hablaré (I will speak).
Conditional: hablaría (I would speak).

Moods

Subjunctive: Used for doubt, emotion, or hypotheticals (Espero que hables – I hope you speak).
Imperative: Commands (¡Habla! – Speak!).

Key Irregular Verbs

Ser (to be, identity): soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son.
Estar (to be, state): estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están.
Tener (to have): tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen.

Ser vs. Estar

Ser: Identity, origin, time (Soy médico – I am a doctor; Es lunes – It’s Monday).
Estar: Temporary states, location (Estoy cansado – I’m tired; Está en Madrid – It’s in Madrid).

5. Prepositions

a (to, personal "a" for direct objects): Veo a María (I see María).
de (of/from): el libro de Juan (Juan’s book).
en (in/on): en la mesa (on the table).
por vs. para:
- Por: Duration, cause, exchange (Por dos horas – For two hours).
- Para: Purpose, destination (Para ti – For you; Para Madrid – To Madrid).

6. Syntax

Word Order: Typically Subject-Verb-Object (María come manzanas – María eats apples). Flexible for emphasis.
Questions: Inversion or intonation, with ¿? markers (¿Qué quieres? – What do you want?).
Negation: No precedes verb (No hablo – I don’t speak). Double negatives standard (No veo nada – I see nothing).

7. Regional Variations

Voseo: In Argentina/Uruguay, vos replaces tú (Vos tenés vs. Tú tienes – You have).
Ustedes vs. Vosotros: Latin America uses ustedes for all plural "you"; Spain uses vosotros informally.

8. Other Features

Contractions: a + el = al; de + el = del (Voy al cine – I go to the cinema).
Gerund: -ando/-iendo for progressive tenses (Estoy comiendo – I am eating).
Passive Voice: Ser + past participle (El libro fue escrito – The book was written).
Impersonal Se: Se habla español (Spanish is spoken).

This overview prioritizes structural clarity and high-frequency patterns, omitting exhaustive exceptions. Mastery requires practice, but these fundamentals enable decoding and constructing meaningful Spanish.