Spanish

Spanish is a Romance language, native to Spain but spoken throughout Central and South America, and the United States. The dialect known as Castilian is from Spain only and has grammatical and phonological differences from southern Spain and all other dialects of Spanish.

Spanish Español
Spoken in:	Spain (among many others) (España)
Conworld:	Real world
Total speakers:	400 million native.
Genealogical classification:	Indo-European Italic Romance      Latin      Ibero Spanish
Basic word order:	SVO,
Morphological type:	Inflecting
Morphosyntactic alignment:	nominative-accusative
Writing system:
Created by:
unknown	15th century C.E.

Phonology and Orthography

Consonants

Consonants
	Bilabial		Labiod.		Inter-dental		Alveolar		Post-alv.		Palatal		Velar		Glottal
Nasal		m						n				ɲ		ŋ
Plosive	p	b			t̪	d̪							k	g
Fricative		β	f		(θ)	(ð)	s		(ʃ)	(ʒ)	ç		x	ɣ	(h)
Affricate									ʧ	(ʤ)
Approximants & glides												j
Trill								r
Flap								ɾ
Lateral Approximant								l/ɫ

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• Many of the orthographic sounds in Spanish are similar to their IPA equivalents: p, k, t, n, m, l and f.
• The three voiced stops often become their fricative equivalents when they are in a inter-vocallic case, or between vowels. This means /d̪/ becomes /ð/, /g/ becomes /ɣ/, and /b/ becomes /β/.
• Most of the time orthographic v becomes /b/ or /β/ according to the rule above.
• The digraph ch is used for ʧ, but in some dialects it is pronounced /ʃ/ instead.
• Spanish distinguishes the full trill /r/ from the flap /ɾ/. The full trill starts a word, is after a d, or is more generally spelt rr. This can be important in phrases and names, for example Costa Rica /costa rika/ is turned into an adjective as costarricense where the spelling has changed to include a rr. The flap is only spelt r inside a word. There are minimal pairs such as pero (but) versus perro (dog).
• The letter ñ is pronounced /ɲ/.
• The letter c is pronounced /k/ when before a back vowel (a, o, u) or any consonant. In Castilian Spanish, when the c is in front of a front vowel (i, e) it becomes /θ/. In most other variations it becomes /s/.
• The letter z is pronounced /s/ in most Spanish dialects but is pronounced /θ/ in Castilian.
• The letter y or the digraph ll represents /j/, but in some dialects it is pronounced /ʤ/ or /ʒ/ instead.
• The letter j is pronounced /x/ after back vowels (a, o, u) and /ç/ after or before front vowels and consonants. Some variations have it as /h/ but not commonly.
• The letter g is pronounced /g/ after back vowels and consonants, but when before i or e it becomes /ç/. Some variations have it is /h/ but not commonly. When the g has a u after it, and then a i or e, the /u/ is not pronounced and the combination gui is pronounced /gi/ and gue is pronounced /ge/. If it spelt güe or güi then it is pronounced /gwe/ or /gwi/ respectively.

Vowels

Vowels
	Front	Central	Back
	Unround	Unrounded	Rounded
High	i		u
Mid	e		o
Low		a

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• All vowels are equivalent to the IPA forms. So i /i/, e /e/, a /a/, o /o/, u /u/.
• All vowels are either stressed or not stressed. Spanish, like most Romance Languages, has penultimate stress (stress on the last syllable). When the stress falls on a syllable other than the last, an accent is used. This leads to í, é, á, ó, and ú. The ü is used in Spanish to indicate when a /u/ would be pronounced after a g.
• Accents on vowels are also used to show a difference in meaning. This is important in question words, which have an accent when they are used as a question, and no accent when they are used in other ways, dónde vs. donde. It's also used to show more specific meaning differences, such as el (the) vs. él (he), or tu (your) vs. tú (you).

Diphthongs

This is the list of diphthongs:

• ei, ey, ell /ej/
• ai, all, ay /aj/
• oi, oy, oll /oj/
• eu /ew/
• au /aw/
• ou /ow/
• ie, lle /je/
• ia, lla /ja/
• io, llo /jo/
• iu /ju/
• ui /wi/
• ue /we/
• ua /wa/
• uo /wo/.

Grammar

Nouns

Gender

There are two genders in Spanish, Masculine and Feminine. One sources uses the mnemonic L-O-N-E-R-S, to show which noun endings are masculine, and D-IÓN-Z-A for feminine nouns.

• This would mean that words which ending in the first set of letters are almost always masculine, such as el baúl (trunk), el vino (wine), el pan (bread), el padre (father), el licor (liquor), and el dios (god). The major exception in this group is the use of -e which is common for both genders.
• This would also mean that words ending in the second set of letters would be feminine, such as la verdad (truth), la mansión (mansion), la vejez (old age), and la pierna (leg).

There are certain endings which are usually one or the other. An example would be that most nouns ending with -ma are masculine, such as el problema, el programma, el diploma, el drama, and more.

Number

Number in Spanish is fairly simple and straight forward. The plural is usually formed by adding -s to a noun ending in a vowel, and -es to a noun ending in a consonant. There are a few exceptions, but that's the basic system.

Articles

There are 2 kinds of articles in Spanish, definite and indefinite. They also change by number and gender. For the definite article (the in English), we have the following chart:

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	el	los
Feminine	la	las

The masculine article can also contract with the preposition á and de to make al and del.

The indefinite article in Spanish is derived from the word for one, uno (this also occurs in High German and English amongst many others). There is a plural form, which is similar to the word some in English. The chart is as follows:

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	un	unos
Feminine	una	unas

Pronouns

Subject Pronouns

Subject pronouns in Spanish are as follows:

	Singular	Plural
First	yo	nosotros/nosotras
Second informal	tú	vosotros/vosotras
Second Formal	Usted	Ustedes
Third Masculine	él	ellos
'Third Feminine	ella	ellas

Because of the extensive verb endings, in most cases the subject pronoun may be dropped. When it is included in speech it is usually an indicator of stress or emphasis, or otherwise it would differentiate endings, such as that between the verb endings which are the same, such as between the Usted form form the él/ella forms and likewise in the plural. Notes: tú is used on in cases of familiarity, so that includes friends, children, family, and others. The plural form, vosotros is being used less and less in places other than Spain. A new pronoun vos has been forming in Central and South America and has been replacing tú. Usted is used in formal cases, or cases where Sir/Ma'am/Miss would be used in English. nosotras or vosotras are only when the group mentioned (either we or you) is entirely female. Otherwise, the masculine forms are used.

Adjectives

Adjectives have 4 forms, masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine (and feminine combined) plural, and feminine plural. With adjectives ending with masc. sing. -o, the fem. sing. -a, masc. pl. -os, and fem. pl. -as. With adjectives ending in an consonant or ending with -e, the form is the same for both singular cases, and the plural is -es for endings of consonants and -s in the case of ending with -e. There are other rules which have endings of -a after a consonant (such as masc. español vs fem. española)

Adverbs

The most common way for an adverb to end is -mente, which is added to the feminine singular form of the Adjective.

Verbs

There are three major types of verbs, also called the three conjugations. These depend on the ending of the infinitive, leaving with the three categories being called -ar verbs, -er verbs, and -ir verbs.

Present

The present tense in Spanish is equivalent to the Present, Present Progressive, and Emphatic tenses in English. Remember that the Third person also includes "Usted/Ustedes" which are technically the Second Person. The -ar verb amar (to love), the -er verb comer, and the -ir verb vivir are conjugated in the Present tense as follows:

Present tense
Infinitive	Amar To love		Comer to eat		Vivir to live
	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.
1st person	amo	amamos	como	comemos	vivo	vivimos
2nd person	amas	amáis	comes	coméis	vives	vivís
3rd person	ama	aman	come	comen	vive	viven

Progressive

The progressive in Spanish, which is similar to the English progressive, is formed with a form of the verb estar and an ending of -ndo (-ando for -ar, and -iendo for -er and -ir). The present tense is usually used where the progressive might be used in English. In Spanish, the progressive is often used as an adjective, although the verbal form is used as well.

Preterite

Preterite tense
Infinitive	Amar To love		Comer to eat		Vivir to live
	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.
1st person	amé	amamos	comí	comimos	viví	vivimos
2nd person	amaste	amastéis	comiste	comisteis	viviste	vivisteis
3rd person	amó	amaron	comió	comieron	vivió	vivieron

Imperfect

The imperfect past tense is used for things that happened habitually in the past. Sometimes these things are continuing to the present, most this refers to the past really.

Imperfect tense
Infinitive	Amar To love		Comer to eat		Vivir to live
	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.
1st person	amaba	amábamos	comía	comíamos	vivía	vivíamos
2nd person	amabas	amabais	comías	comíais	vivías	vivíais
3rd person	amaba	amaban	comía	comían	vivía	vivían

Future

There are two ways of forming the future tense in Spanish. The first is the standard form, which is mentioned below. It is used for describing things that will happen.

Future tense
Infinitive	Amar To love		Comer to eat		Vivir to live
	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.
1st person	amaré	amaremos	comeré	comeremos	viviré	viviremos
2nd person	amarás	amaréis	comeréis	comeréis	vivirás	viviréis
3rd person	amará	amarán	comerá	comerán	vivirá	vivirán

The second form involves a version of the verb ir (to go) + a. This is equivalent to English to be going to.

Future progressive tense
Infinitive	Amar To love		Comer to eat		Vivir to live
	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.
1st person	voy a amar	vamos a amar	voy a comer	vamos a comer	voy a vivir	vamos a vivir
2nd person	vas a amar	vais a amar	vas a comer	vais a comer	vas a vivir	vais a vivir
3rd person	va a amar	van a amar	va a comer	van a comer	va a vivir	van a vivir

Conditional

Conditional tense
Infinitive	Amar To love		Comer to eat		Vivir to live
	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.
1st person	amaría	amaríamos	comería	comeríamos	viviría	viviríamos
2nd person	amaríais	amáis	comerías	comeríais	vivirías	viviríais
3rd person	amaría	amarían	comería	comerían	viviría	vivirían

Subjunctive

Present

Subjunctive present tense
Infinitive	Amar To love		Comer to eat		Vivir to live
	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.
1st person	ame	amemos	coma	comamos	viva	vivamos
2nd person	ames	améis	comas	comáis	vivas	viváis
3rd person	ame	amen	coma	coman	viva	vivan

Past

Subjunctive past tense
Infinitive	Amar To love		Comer to eat		Vivir to live
	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.
1st person	amara/amase	amáramos/amásemos	comiera/comiese	comiéramos/comiésemos	viviera/viviese	viviéramos/viviésemos
2nd person	amaras/amases	amarais/amaseis	comieras/comieses	comierais/comieseis	viviera/vivieses	vivierais/vivieseis
3rd person	amara/amase	amaran/amasen	comiera/comiese	comieran/comiesen	viviera/viviese	vivieran/viviesen

Imperative

The imperative has two different forms, the affirmative and negative. The forms used for the Imperative are often similar to the Subjunctive forms.

Affirmative

Imperative
Infinitive	Amar To love		Comer to eat		Vivir to live
	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.
1st person	-	amemos	-	comamos	-	vivamos
2nd person	ama	amad	come	comed	vive	vivid
3rd person	ame	amen	coma	coman	viva	vivan

Negative

Negative Imperative
Infinitive	Amar To love		Comer to eat		Vivir to live
	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.
1st person	-	no amemos	-	no comamos	-	no vivamos
2nd person	no ames	no améis	no comas	no comáis	no vivas	no viváis
3rd person	no ame	no amen	no coma	no coman	no viva	no vivan

Compound tenses

Present perfect tense
Infinitive	Amar To love		Comer to eat		Vivir to live
	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.
1st person	he amado	hemos amado	he comido	hemos comido	he vivido	hemos vivido
2nd person	has amado	habéis amado	has comido	habéis comido	has vivido	habéis vivido
3rd person	ha amado	han amado	ha comido	han comido	ha vivido	han vivido

The Verbs ser, estar and ir

Spanish has two standard verbs to be. That with the verb to go are conjugated as follows:

Present tense
Infinitive	ser To be		estar to be, to stay		ir to go
	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.	sing.	pl.
1st person	soy	somos	estoy	estamos	voy	vamos
2nd person	eres	sois	estás	estáis	vas	vais
3rd person	es	son	está	estan	va	van

The Verb Haber

The auxiliary verb haber is used mostly for compounding for the perfect tenses. It is used for that meaning more constrictively, and other verbs are used for other forms of English to have, such as tener, used for possessing something.

Present tense
Infinitive	haber To have
	sing.	pl.
1st person	he	hemos
2nd person	has	habéis
3rd person	ha	han

Languages based on Spanish

Creoles and natural descendants

Ladino. Spoken by descendants of Sephardi Jews expelled from Spain in the 15th century. It's spoken in certain areas around the world, mainly in Israel.

Portuñol. A mix of Spanish and Portuguese spoken in some southern Brazil areas.

Constructed languages

Montreiano

External links

SAMPA for Spanish
Comment about Spanish vowels.
A good source for Beginners of Spanish, Study Spanish

Sources

The page is by Timothy Patrick Snyder

This article is one of quite a few pages about Natlangs. Indo-european natlangs: Balto-Slavic Natlangs: Czech * Russian Celtic Natlangs: Revived Middle Cornish * Pictish Germanic Natlangs: North Germanic Natlangs: Norwegian West Germanic Natlangs: Anglo-Saxon * Dutch * English (Old English * Middle English * Modern English * Scots) * German (High German * Low German) Indo-Iranian Natlangs: Pahlavi Italic Natlangs: French * Italian * Latin * Spanish Debated: Cimmerian Uralic Natlangs: Finnish * Khanty * Mansi * Mordvinic * Proto-Uralic Altaic (controversial): Japanese Sino-Tibetan Natlangs: Uto-Aztecan Natlangs: Nahuatl - Isolate Natlangs: Basque * * Hypothetical/debated Natlangs and Natlang families: Danubian * Europic (obsolete)