CRIMINAL JUSTICE SPANISH
[Grammar, Pronunciation, Phrases]

SPANISH GRAMMAR

VERBS
    The basic order of a sentence is the same as English (subject--verb--object), and just like in English, the verb can have different tenses (past, present, or future) or "moods" depending upon whether the action is happening right now (indicative), will probably happen in the future (conditional), or might hypothetically happen in the future (subjunctive).

Spanish verbs have different endings depending upon whether the subject is singular or plural, you, me, he, we, or they. Since verbs indicate who or what the subject is, the speaker does NOT always have to use the subject in a sentence. The verb implies who the subject is, as in:

NOUNS
    The most common word in Spanish is "que" which can mean who, which, or what, and sometimes that. Who is also expressed as "quien". Although gender and noun are mostly unrelated in Spanish, there are obvious masculine and feminine words that require special pronouns or adjectives that agree with the gender. It also matters whether the object is singular or plural, as in:

BASIC RULES OF GRAMMAR:
Masculine nouns end in -o, -e, -r, -n, -ma, -pa, or -ta, and for things in nature or about time.
Feminine nouns end in -a, -d, -dad, -tad, -tud, -cion, -sion, -ez, -umbre, or -ie, and for names of towns.
To pluralize any word, add -es if the word ends in a consonant, add -s if the word ends in a vowel.

ADVERBS
    It's easy to form adverbs in Spanish. Simply add "-mente" to any word as people who speak English add "-ly" to any word, as in:

ADJECTIVES
    It's easy to form adjectives that compare things in terms of more or less. Simply say "mas" to mean more and "menos" to mean less. For example, Juan es mas grande que Pepe (Juan is much taller than Pepe). Use de instead of que when dealing with numbers, however. To say that two things are equal, use the expression "tan...como". For example, Juan es tan grande como Pepe (Juan is as big as Pepe). To form a superlative, say Juan es el mas grande (Juan is the biggest), and don't forget that Spanish has an absolute superlative form which is obtained by adding "isimo" to the end, as in hermosisimo (the most beautiful), and by freceuntisimanmente (most frequently).

NEGATION
    It's easy to form negative sentences. Simply add "no" before any pronoun or verb that implies a subject, as in:

    There are other words in Spanish that express the negative, and these can go before or after a verb. It also doesn't matter if a double negative appears in a sentence. The phrase "I never drink tequila" (Yo nunca bebo tequila) is equivalent to the phrase (Yo no bebo tequila nunca).

ASKING QUESTIONS
    To ask questions in Spanish, reverse the order of verb and subject in simple sentences. For more complex questions, it's easier to just raise your voice in an interrogatory tone at the end of a sentence and you shall have asked a question. In writing, use question marks at the beginning and end of sentences.

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
[The Spanish Alphabet]

COMMON PHRASES

Last update: 01/22/04
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