A Student Grammar of: Spanish

354 Pages·2005·2.31 MB·English

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AStudentGrammarofSpanish
AStudentGrammarofSpanishisaconciseintroductiontoSpanishgrammar,designedfor
English-speakingundergraduates.Assumingnopriorknowledgeofgrammaticaltermi-
nology,itexplainseachaspectofSpanishgrammarinclearandsimpleterms,provides
awealthofglossedexamplestoillustratethem,andhelpsstudentstoputtheirlearning
intopracticethrougharangeoffunandengagingexercises.
Clearlyorganizedintothirtyunits,eachcoveringadifferentaspectofthegrammar,the
bookfunctionsbothasanessentialreferenceguideandasacomprehensiveworkbook.
Individual topics can be looked up via a user-friendly cross-referencing system, and
concisedefinitionsareprovidedinausefulglossaryofgrammaticalterms.Theexercises,
whichincludepairedandgroupactivities,aresuitableforbothclassroomuseandself-
study.Eachunitissplitintotwolevels,basicandintermediate,makingthisgrammarthe
perfectaccompanimenttoanyfirst-orsecond-yearundergraduatecourse.
RonaldE.BatchelorhasnowretiredfromtheUniversityofNottingham,wherehetaught
French and Spanish for forty years. He has also held teaching posts at the universities
ofBesanc¸on,France,andValencia,Spain.Hehaspublishedtenbooks,includingUsing
Spanish:AGuidetoContemporaryUsage(withChrisPountain),UsingSpanishSynonyms,Using
Spanish Vocabulary, Using French and Using French Synonyms (all published by Cambridge
UniversityPress).

A Student Grammar of
Spanish
RONALD E. BATCHELOR
camʙʀɪdɢe uɴɪveʀsɪtʏ pʀess
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cʙ2 2ʀu, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521670777
© Ronald E. Batchelor 2006
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2006
ɪsʙɴ-13 978-0-511-13964-2 eBook (EBL)
ɪsʙɴ-10 0-511-13964-0 eBook (EBL)
ɪsʙɴ-13 978-0-521-67077-7 paperback
ɪsʙɴ-10 0-521-67077-2 paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of uʀʟs
for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
´
Contents (Indice de materias)
Preface page vii
Acknowledgments x
Glossaryofgrammaticalterms xi
Noteonthetext xix
Shortbibliography xx
1 Alphabet,spellingandpronunciation
(Alfabeto,ortografı´aypronunciacio´n) 1
2 Definite and indefinite articles and gender
ofnouns(Artı´culosdefinidoseindefinidosyge´nerode
sustantivos) 10
3 Number(Elplural) 32
4 Verbs(Losverbos) 40
5 Perfecttenseandpluperfecttense(El[prete´rito]
perfecto y el pluscuamperfecto / antecoprete´rito [M]) 46
6 Futuretenseandfutureperfecttense(Eltiempofuturoyel
futuroperfecto) 53
7 Imperfecttense(Eltiempoimperfecto/coprete´rito[M]) 58
8 Preterittenseorpastdefinite(Elprete´rito
indefinido/prete´ritoperfectosimple) 63
9 Conditionaltense(Eltiempocondicional) 71
10 Progressivetenseorgerund(Eltiempoprogresivo
oelgerundio) 75
11 Theimperativemood(Elmodoimperativo) 81
12 Irregularverbs(Losverbosirregulares) 89
13 Serandestar(Seryestar) 97
v
Contents
14 Transitiveandintransitiveverbs,and
reflexiveverbs(Losverbostransitivoseintransitivos,ylosverbos
reflexivos) 107
15 Impersonalverbs(Losverbosimpersonales) 119
16 Subjunctive(Elsubjuntivo) 129
17 Personalpronouns(Lospronombrespersonales) 154
18 Possessiveadjectivesandpronouns,relative
andinterrogativepronouns(Losadjetivosypronombres
posesivos,lospronombresrelativoseinterrogativos) 166
19 Indefinitepronouns(Lospronombresindefinidos) 176
20 Demonstrativeadjectivesandpronouns(Los
adjetivosypronombresdemostrativos) 183
21 Adjectives(Losadjetivos) 189
22 Personalordistinctivea(Lapreposicio´nacon
elcomplementodirecto) 198
23 Prepositions(Laspreposiciones) 205
24 Prepositionsporandpara(Laspreposicionespory
para) 220
25 Adverbs(Losadverbios) 227
26 Interrogativeandnegativesentences(Lasfrases
interrogativasynegativas) 238
27 Numbersandmeasurements.Timeand
dimensions(Losnu´merosylasmedidas.Eltiempo[duracio´n=la
hora]ylasdimensiones) 246
28 Comparativesandsuperlatives(Loscomparativosy
superlativos) 261
29 Wordorder(Elordendelaspalabras) 269
30 Augmentativesanddiminutives(Losaumentativos
ydiminutivos) 278
Modelanswers/Solucionesymodelos 285
Indexofgrammarandvocabulary 319
Subjunctiveindex 329
vi
Preface
Accordingtotheverylatestestimates(2004),Spanishisthenativetongueofwellover
350millionpeople,100millionofwhomliveinMexicoand24millionintheUSA.It
is therefore a major world language, the fourth largest in terms of speakers. Its study
thusoffersallstudentsameaningfulandattractiveprospectofestablishingcontactwith
a very wide range of Spanish speakers coming from numerous countries. Any student
ofSpanishwillbenefit,bothpersonallyandculturally,fromcommunicationwithsucha
vastarrayofpeopleboundtogetherbyacommonlanguage.Spanishasamothertongue
unitescountriesasfarapartasNewYorkorLondonarefromPekin,butdistancedoesnot
necessarilyentailintractabledifference.Surprisingasitmayseem,itisoftenaseasyfor
anEnglish-speakingstudentofSpanishtounderstandtheSpanishofMexico,Argentina,
Colombia,PeruorEcuadorasitisforanEnglishorAmericanpersontounderstandthe
languageofsomepartsofScotland,forinstance,orforaSpanishspeakertounderstand
thelanguageofsomeregionsofAndaluc´ıa.
AnylearnerofSpanishwillneed,certainlyintheearlystagesofcontactwiththelan-
guage,agrammarbookwhichassistsher/himthroughtheinitialmaze.Suchavolume
needs to appeal both to the beginner and to the student who has acquired some basic
knowledge. The present book is designed precisely to cater for these differing needs,
whilebearinginmindtheNorthAmericanreaderandhis/herBritishcounterpart.Fur-
thermore,itmustaimtoincludebothIberianSpanishandtheSpanishoftheAmericas.
Thisbalancingactisnotasdelicateasitmayfirstappear.Longexperiencehastaught
thepresentauthorthatthereismuchmoreinthefieldofSpanishgrammarthatbrings
Spanishspeakerstogetherthanseparatesthem,whilethedifferencesbetweentheEnglish
oftheUnitedKingdomandoftheUnitedStatesneednotbeexaggerated.
This book on Spanish grammar has therefore a general appeal which deals with
mostaspectsofthegrammarinastraightforwardanduncomplicatedway.Ittreatsthe
grammaticalstructuresofSpanishasexpressedinSpainandMexico.Mexicoistakenas
amodelforthewholeofSpanishAmerica,sincetoattemptacomprehensivecoverage
ofallSpanishAmericawouldservelittlepurpose,especiallysincethegrammar,asapart
fromvocabulary,ofSpanishdifferslittlefromonecountrytoanother.MexicanSpanish
isoneofthestandardvariants,partlyduetotheexportationofmoviesandtelenovelas(soap
operas),whileitisunquestionablythemostprevalentvarietyfoundintheSouthWestof
theUnitedStates.MindicatesthatthewordorstructureisspecificallyMexicanwhileit
maybeconfidentlyassumedthat,whereMdoesnotappear,usageisIberianbutwillbe
understoodandevenusedinMexico,aswellasinmostoftheotherSpanish-speaking
countriesintheAmericas.AsimpleillustrationofaMexicanalternativemaybeseenin
vii
Preface
someoftheheadingstoexerciseswheretofillinblankspacesistranslatedasrellenarlos
blancosforIberianSpanishandllenarlosespaciosforMexicanSpanish.
This volume covers all major grammatical points of Spanish in a user-friendly and
directway,andrecognizesthathumorispartofthelearningprocess.You’lllearnmuch
moreifyoustudywithasmile,whileMexicansleadthewayinthefieldofhumor.The
presentauthorlearntalotfromCantinflas,theMexicancomedian.
All the points are presented in an easily accessible way, and are reinforced, at every
phaseandaftereachlevel,byexercises,whilesuggestedsolutionstotheseexercisescan
befoundattheendofthebook.Someexercisesareshort,somemuchlonger,andsome
involvethestudentinroleplay,awell-triedmethodfordevelopinglinguisticskills,andin
gamessuchaspuzzles.Afunelementiscentraltotheconceptandgenesisofthebook.
Therearepairedorgroupexercisesinbothlevelsofnearlyeveryunit.Theyencourage
you to use and speak Spanish. You’ll be surprised how much progress you make by
insistingonspeakingthelanguage.Itisdifficulttosuggesttheamountoftimeneededfor
theseparticularexercisessincetheauthordoesnotwanttobeprescriptive.Often,atime
offiveminutesissuggestedforpreparingyourselffortheexercisebutteachers/instructors
havetheirconstraints.
Alltheexercisesinlevel1haveinstructionsinEnglish.Toreflectthemoreadvanced
workinlevel2,theinstructionsareinSpanish.
Naturallyenough,theexercisesaremoredemandingandchallenginginthesecond
levelthaninthefirst.Butthekeyistheretohelpyouout.Ofcourse,usethekeywisely.
Don’ttakeapeekattheanswersuntilyouhavereallytriedtodealwiththeexercisein
question.
Examples are often presented in the feminine form. The text avoids sexist bias and
reachesouttofemalesandmalesalike.Thetreatmentofeachgrammaticalareafollowsa
veryclearpattern.Basicpointsarecovered,logically,atthebeginning,andareseparated
offfromthemoreadvancedgrammaticalfeatures.Thebookisthusdividedintotwolevels
byanimagewheretheclimbingofstairsrepresentingletterssuggestsmoreprogressive
work.
It should be emphasized that the present work is a self-help book, and does not
requiretheconstantpresenceof,orreferenceto,ateacher.Furthermore,constantcross-
referencingshouldhelpthestudenttogainaclearandmoreroundedpictureofallthe
grammaticalpoints.
AmericanEnglishtakesprecedenceoverBritishEnglish.Americanspellingispreferred
to its English counterpart but this should present no problem whatever to the non-
Americanlearner.Wheretherecouldbelexicalmisinterpretation,bothAmericanand
Britishtermsappearsidebyside.
Thebookcontainsa“Glossaryofgrammaticalterms”whichwillhelpyouunderstand
anysemi-technicalgrammaticalexpressionsyoumayhavedifficultywith.Usethisglos-
saryregularlytofamiliarizeyourselfwiththetermsusedinthetext.Itissomucheasier
tocometogripswiththegrammarofaforeignlanguageifyougainsomeinsightinto
thewaythateventheEnglishlanguagefunctions.
Thetextalsohasacomprehensiveindexdesignedtodirectyoutoanyparticularpoint
ofgrammarorvocabularyyouwishtoconsult.
Thebookisup-to-date.Forinstance,youwillcomeacrossasectionontheproblems
ofgendernowthatfemalesareworkinginfieldsonceinaccessibletothem.Compound
nouns,onceunusualinSpanish,exceptforjustafew,arespringinguplikemushrooms,
andthetextpaysseriousattentiontothem.
viii