\u00bfTenemos que limpiar<\/u>?<\/em> (the intonation of questions rises and peaks at the end of limpiar.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n* In more formal literature or social settings\u2014and probably more in Spain than Latin America\u2014you will hear people flip the subject and the verb for questions. Example: Usted canta bien.<\/em> (You sing well) becomes \u00bfCanta usted bien<\/em>? (Do you sing well?).<\/p>\n\n\n\nHere\u2019s another one of those easy Spanish grammar tricks to turn something into a question: add \u201c\u2026no?<\/em>\u201d at the end! This is the Spanish equivalent for question tags in English, or adding the word \u201c\u2026, right?\u201d used at the end of a question to elicit the approval of the listener.<\/p>\n\n\n\nExample:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- La casa es bonita. <\/em>(The house is pretty)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- La casa es bonita, \u00bfno?<\/em> (The house is pretty, isn\u2019t it?)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The intonation for the word no<\/em> is also higher than the rest of the sentence, just like in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>How to form negative sentences<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nMore good grammar news from us: forming negative sentences is also a piece of cake! Just place the word no<\/em> in between the subject and the verb and you\u2019re done!<\/p>\n\n\n\nExample:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- La ni\u00f1a juega con los juguetes. <\/em>(The girl plays with the toys.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- La ni\u00f1a no<\/strong> juega con los juguetes.<\/em> (The girl doesn\u2019t play with the toys.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re omitting the pronoun, the placement of the word no<\/em> is not affected, it will still be place in front of the verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\nExample:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Vivimos en Chile. <\/em>(We live in Chile.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- No<\/em><\/strong> vivimos en Chile.<\/em> (We don\u2019t live in Chile.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Something very particular about Spanish is that double negatives are not incorrect! So you can put no<\/em> and ning\u00fan<\/em> in the same sentence without it effectively becoming positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\nExamples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- No<\/em><\/strong> tienen ning\u00fan<\/strong> problema con la m\u00fasica fuerte. <\/em>(They\/you have no problem with the loud music.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Ya no<\/strong> queda ninguna<\/strong> planta en mi jard\u00edn.<\/em> (There are no plants left in my garden.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Gender<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nNow that you\u2019re feeling really confident, let\u2019s knuckle down and get into a grammar point that requires a bit more work and concentration: grammatical gender of nouns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All nouns are classed as either feminine or masculine, and it\u2019s very important to learn the gender of all nouns in Spanish in order to be able to use the right article (la\/las<\/em> for feminine and el<\/em>\/los<\/em> for masculine) and adjective endings. But don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s really not an insurmountable task, we\u2019ll start with a list of noun endings that help you a great deal in identifying or remember the gender of a noun.<\/p>\n\n\n\nUsually masculine:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nWords ending in -o, -ma, -z <\/em>or -l<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nExamples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- El carro, el plato, el problema, el fantasma<\/em> (the car, the plate, the problema, the ghost)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- El ma\u00edz, el l\u00e1piz, el nivel, el final<\/em> (the corn, the pencil, the level, the end)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Usually feminine:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nWords ending in -a, -i\u00f3n, <\/em>or \u2013ad<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nExamples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- La taza, la pregunta, la organizaci\u00f3n, la informaci\u00f3n<\/em> (the cup, the question, the organization, the information)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- La comunidad, la enfermedad<\/em> (the community, the illness)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Some common exceptions to the rules above are: el d\u00eda, la radio, el planeta, la moto, la foto.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nSome nouns actually have a feminine and masculine version, which are often animals, family members, professions and demonyms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Oso\/osa<\/em> (male bear, female bear)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Nieto\/nieta<\/em> (grandson, granddaughter)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mexicano\/mexicana<\/em> (male Mexican, female Mexican)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Profesor\/profesora<\/em> (male teacher, female teacher)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Adjectives<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nOne last grammar concept that\u2019s not too complicated but is easy to forget: placement and gender agreement of adjectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since all nouns have a gender, most adjectives have to \u201cagree\u201d with this gender, meaning they end in -o\/os<\/em> for masculine nouns, and in -a\/as<\/em> for feminine nouns. In addition, the adjective is usually placed after the verb, not before.<\/p>\n\n\n\nExamples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Los cocineros preparan una<\/strong> cena deliciosa<\/strong>. <\/em>(The cooks prepare a<\/strong> delicious dinner<\/strong>.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \u00a1Necesitas