Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Grammar Advanced

210 Pages·2008·1.57 MB·English

by  Rogelio Vallecillos

PRACTICE
MAKES
PERFECT
Advanced
Spanish
Grammar
Rogelio Alonso Vallecillos
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DOI: 10.1036/0071472681
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Contents
Introduction v
1 Object pronouns and omission of subject pronouns 1
2 Some/any and other determiners 17
3 Adjectives 32
4 Adverbs 50
5 Commands and requests 76
6 Modal constructions 88
7 Impersonal sentences and the passive 101
8 Relative pronouns and conjunctions 113
9 Reported speech 130
10 Problematic prepositions I 149
11 Problematic prepositions II 162
12 Idiomatic constructions 176
Answer key 193
iii
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Introduction
Th is book provides the necessary tools to make your speech and writing in Spanish much
more Spanish. It deals with topics that oft en cause trouble to foreign students, especially to
English-speaking ones: topics like the correct use of object pronouns, when to leave out
subject pronouns, how to generate sentences that indicate proposal, suggestion, reproach,
and so on. Th e book also deals with the creation of impersonal sentences, passive con-
structions, and reported speech. Its units on adjectives and adverbs, as well as other items
covered, will help English-speaking students avoid common mistakes. Th e thorough
explanations on relative pronouns and conjunctions will enable you to create longer and
much more interesting sentences. Finally, the book off ers a varied selection of idioms that
will make your speech sound absolutely Spanish.
In each unit you will fi nd thorough explanations of the grammar at hand, including
numerous examples that illustrate and clarify each point. Along the way, boxed inserts
provide further information and off er tips or guidance on usage. At the end of each unit
are several, varied practice exercises that will give you a comprehensive grasp of every-
thing that has been covered in the unit. Th e answer key even includes extra explanations
for the trickier questions. You can either work through the book from beginning to end or
dip in and out of particular chapters of interest. By the time you have gone through the
book, your Spanish will be much closer to a native speaker’s.
¡Suerte!
v
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Object pronouns and
·1·
omission of subject
pronouns
Most students of Spanish know that Spanish subject pronouns (yo, tú, ella,
and so on) can oft en be omitted, because they are usually not necessary for
comprehension—that is, it is clear from the verb form which grammatical
person is meant. But there are cases in which their use is compulsory and
cases in which their use or omission hides important nuances. Another
important aspect of Spanish grammar is the correct use of object pro-
nouns, which can be troublesome even to Spanish speakers. Why a sen-
tence like A ella la dieron el dinero (very common in central Spain) is
incorrect is one of the problems that this unit will address.
Object pronouns
Object pronouns can cause diffi culties to learners of Spanish, especially
third-person forms, because their use depends on their grammatical func-
tion. Th is section will deal with general aspects of object pronouns and
with third-person forms in their diff erent functions.
General information
Th ere are two diff erent groups of object pronouns, those that are preceded
by prepositions and those that are not. When no prepositions are used, the
Spanish object pronouns are:
me me lo/la/le it
te you (informal singular) nos us
le/lo him os you (formal plural)
le/la her les/las/los them
1
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With usted and ustedes, third-person forms (le/la/lo/les/las/los) must be used.
Th ese pronouns are placed before a conjugated verb. If there is an infi nitive or a ger-
und in the verb sequence, they can be put aft er the infi nitive or aft er the gerund as well
(without a space):
Yo le veo. I see him.
Lo necesito. I need it.
Les quiero ver. (O: Quiero verles.) I want to see them.
Lo estoy estudiando. I am studying it.
(O: Estoy estudiándolo.)
Th e accent appears because words with stress that is not on the next-to-the-last syllable
must always take an accent (estudiándolo).
With prepositions, the following pronouns must be used:
mí (with an accent) me
ti (without an accent) you (singular and informal)
usted you (singular and formal)
él him/it
ella her/it
ello it
nosotros/nosotras us
vosotros/vosotras you (plural and informal)
ustedes you (plural and formal)
ellos/ellas them
Th e preposition con (with) combines with mí to form conmigo and with ti to form
contigo:
No puedo hacer esto sin ti. I can’t do this without you.
Ella quiere hablar contigo. She wants to talk with you.
Esa carta es para mí. Th at letter is for me.
Ellos van a trabajar conmigo. Th ey are going to work with me.
Ella no puede vivir con él. She can’t live with him.
Este regalo es para ella. Th is present is for her.
Th e use of the neuter object pronoun ello is confi ned to formal language. It can never
refer to animals or things (including abstract entities) because nouns in Spanish are
either masculine or feminine, never neuter. Ello can only be used to refer to a context
or to an action mentioned before:
Ana: ¿Tienes el informe fi nal? Do you have the fi nal report?
Carlos: No, estoy trabajando en ello. No, I’m working on it.
2 practice makes perfect Advanced Spanish Grammar