Questions often start with a question word like dónde (where), cuándo (when), qué (what), cómo (how). For example, ¿Dónde está la estación? (Where's the Station?) ¿Cuánto cuesta? (How much is it?) ¿Qué escribió Jason? (What did Jason write?) In Spanish questions, the subject almost always comes after the verb, for example, ¿Escribió Jason esta novela? (Did Jason write this novel?) ¿Habla María español? (Does María speak Spanish?) Or you can ask a question simply by altering the tone of your voice, without changing the order of the words, for example, ¿Jason escribió esta novela? (Jason wrote this novel?) ¿Llega con retraso? (Is it delayed?) ¿Hablas inglés? (Do you speak English?) ¿no? or ¿verdad? at the end of a sentencecorrespond to English question endings, such as isn't it? aren't we? don't they? For example, Éste es el andén 2, ¿verdad? (This is platform 2, isn't it?) Este tren va para Paris, ¿no? (This train goes to Paris, doesn't it?) Note: In writing, questions are always introduced by the upside-down question mark (¿), which is characteristic of Spanish punctuation. Here are other common words used to introduce questions: ¿Adónde...? (To where...?), ¿De dónde (From where), ¿Cuál and ¿Cuáles (What / Which), ¿Cuánto(-a) (How much), ¿Cuántos(-as) (How many), ¿De qué (About what / Of what), ¿Quién(-es) (Who), ¿A quién(-es) (Whom), ¿Con quién(-es) (With whom), ¿De quién(-es) (Whose), ¿Por qué (Why- for what reason), ¿Para qué (Why- for what purpose) |
Quieres comes from the verb querer (to want): "¿Quieres + verb infinitive ...? (Would you like to...? / Do you want...?)" is used to invite someone to do something, for example, ¿Quieres ir al cine? (Would you like to go to the cinema?) Puedo comes from the verb poder (to be able to, I can), so "no puedo" can be used to decline an invitation, for example, Lo siento, hoy no puedo. (I'm sorry, but I can't today.) "¿Puedo + verb infinitive ...?" is also used to ask for permission to do something, for example, ¿Puedo llamar por teléfono? (Can I make a phone call?) ¿Puedo? (May I?) Podría/Podrías are the conditional forms of the verb poder (can, be able to), and sound more formal or polite, for example, ¿Podría sentarme aquí? (Could I sit down here?) ¿Podrías pasarme el pan? (Could you pass me the bread?) |
First Person | Second Person | Third Person | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |||||
m. | f. | m. | f. | |||||||
Nomi-native (主格) | yo | nosotros nosotras | tú (usted) | vosotros vosotras (ustedes) | él | ella | ellos | ellas | ||
Accu-sative (宾格) | me | nos | te (usted) | os (ustedes) | lo | la | los | las | ||
Indirect-Object (间接宾格) | me | nos | te | os | le | le | les | les | ||
Note: "lo/la, los/las" and "le, les" also mean "you" (formal). | ||||||||||
Genitive case (possessive) - Adjectival forms (my, your ...), unstressed: ↓↓ | ||||||||||
- | mi / mis | nuestro, nuestra / nuestros, nuestras | tu / tus | vuestro, vuestra / vuestros, vuestras | su / sus | su / sus | ||||
- | mío,mía / míos,mías | tuyo,tuya / tuyos,tuyas | suyo / suyos | suya / suyas | suyo / suyos | suya / suyas | ||||
Genitive case - Pronominal forms (mine, yours ...), stressed (see above). ↑↑ | ||||||||||
Note: Direct-Object Pronouns (accusative forms) "lo, la, los and las" can refer to either people or things. If they are referring to things, use the same gender as the object being referred to. The location of a direct-object pronoun can vary. In most cases, it can be placed before the verb. Alternatively, it can be attached to an infinitive (ending in -ar, -er or -ir) or a present participle (ending in -ndo, as in English "-ing"). For example, No lo puedo ver. = No puedo verlo. (I can't see him/it.) Te estoy ayudando. = Estoy ayudándote. (I am helping you.) An indirect-object pronoun is required whenever a sentence includes an indirect object, even seems redundant when a prepositional phrase is added for clarity or emphasis. For example, le escribí (I wrote to him/her/you), le escribí a ella (I wrote to her) Indirect-object pronouns can also be attached to infinitives and present participles: Te voy a escribir una carta. = Voy a escribirte una carta. (I am going to write you a letter.) | ||||||||||
Major usages of Spanish pronoun "Se":
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Indefinite Pronouns - refer to nonspecific people or things: algo (something), nadie (nobody), alguien (anybody), todo (all), todas (all), uno (one), unos (some), ninguno (none), for example, Nadie puede decir que su vida es perfecta. (Nobody can say his life is perfect.) |