Capítulo 2: Gramática 1 Ser with adjectives, gender and adjective agreement, question formation

Nosotros / Nosotroas (“We”) ¡Recuerden! Ser means “to be” These are the subject pronouns in Spanish: Yo (“I”) Nosotros / Nosotroas (“We”) Tú (“You”) Vosotros (“You all”) Él (“He”) Ella (“She”) Usted (“You”) Ellos (“Them”) Ellas (“Them”) Ustedes (“You all”)

Ser with adjectives Adjectives are words that describe people or things. You can use the verb ser with adjectives to describe what someone is like in Spanish. Carlos es simpático. Mi amigo y yo somos pelirrojos. Ana es simpática. Rosa y Julio son inteligentes. In Spanish, you don’t usually need the subject pronoun if it’s clear what the subject is. ¿Cómo es el profesor? Es bajo y gracioso. To say what someone is not like, put no in front of the verb. No soy baja. Soy alta.

Gender and adjective agreement Nouns and pronouns in Spanish are divided into masculine (male) and feminine (female) genders. Adjectives describe nouns. They have different forms that match, or agree with, the noun or pronoun in gender. The masculine form of most adjectives ends in “–o” The feminine form of most adjectives ends in “–a” Raul es gracioso. Mari es graciosa. Adjectives that end in “–e” have the same masculine and feminine form. Rafael es inteligente. Carmen es inteligente. Adjectives that end in consonants do not add an “–a” UNLESS they end in “–or” or are adjectives of nationality. Lorenzo es trabajador. Gloria es trabajadora. Sergio es español. Sara es española.

Gender and adjective agreement Adjectives also agree with nouns in number. An adjective that describes one person or thing is in singular form. When it describes more that one person or thing, it is in plural form. If a singular form ends in a vowel, add “-s” to make it plural. If it ends in a consonant, add “-es”. Paco es alto. Paco y Luis son altos. Rosa es intelectual. Rosa y Julia son intelectuales. To describe a mixed group of males and females, use the masculine plural form of the adjective. Carlos y Ana son bajos.

Question formation To ask a question that may be answered with Sí or No, just raise your voice at the end of the question or add questions marks. If the subject is included it can go before or after the verb. Eres extrovertido. You are outgoing. ¿Eres extrovertido? Are you outgoing? La profesora es simpática. The teacher is nice. ¿Es simpática la profesora? Is the teacher nice?

Question formation You can answer a question like those on the previous slide with Sí or No. You say the word No twice in your answer: once to mean no and another time to mean not. ¿Eres atlético? Are you athletic? Sí, soy atlético. Yes, I am athletic. No, no soy atlético. No, I am not athletic.

Question formation ¿Cómo? – How? / What? ¿Cuándo? – When? You can ask for more information by using interrogative words (“question words”). Notice that all question words are written with an accent mark. ¿Cómo? – How? / What? ¿Cuándo? – When? ¿Quién? – Who? ¿Qué? – What? ¿Dónde? – Where? ¿Cuál? – Which / What? Question game