Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Glossary of grammatical terms
- Note on the text
- Short bibliography
- 1 Alphabet, spelling and pronunciation (Alfabeto, ortografía y pronunciación)
- 2 Definite and indefinite articles and gender of nouns (Artículos definidos e indefinidos y género de sustantivos)
- 3 Number (El plural)
- 4 Verbs (Los verbos)
- 5 Perfect tense and pluperfect tense (El [pretérito] perfecto y el pluscuamperfecto / antecopretérito [M])
- 6 Future tense and future perfect tense (El tiempo futuro y el futuro perfecto)
- 7 Imperfect tense (El tiempo imperfecto/copretérito [M])
- 8 Preterit tense or past definite (El pretérito indefinido / pretérito perfecto simple)
- 9 Conditional tense (El tiempo condicional)
- 10 Progressive tense or gerund (El tiempo progresivo o el gerundio)
- 11 The imperative mood (El modo imperativo)
- 12 Irregular verbs (Los verbos irregulares)
- 13 Ser and estar (Ser y estar)
- 14 Transitive and intransitive verbs, and reflexive verbs (Los verbos transitivos e intransitivos, y los verbos reflexivos)
- 15 Impersonal verbs (Los verbos impersonales)
- 16 Subjunctive (El subjuntivo)
- 17 Personal pronouns (Los pronombres personales)
- 18 Possessive adjectives and pronouns, relative and interrogative pronouns (Los adjetivos y pronombres posesivos, los pronombres relativos e interrogativos)
- 19 Indefinite pronouns (Los pronombres indefinidos)
- 20 Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns (Los adjetivos y pronombres demostrativos)
- 21 Adjectives (Los adjetivos)
- 22 Personal or distinctive a (La preposiciónacon el complemento directo)
- 23 Prepositions (Las preposiciones)
- 24 Prepositions por and para (Las preposiciones por y para)
- 25 Adverbs (Los adverbios)
- 26 Interrogative and negative sentences (Las frases interrogativas y negativas)
- 27 Numbers and measurements. Time and dimensions (Los números y las medidas. El tiempo [duración = la hora] y las dimensiones)
- 28 Comparatives and superlatives (Los comparativos y superlativos)
- 29 Word order (El orden de las palabras)
- 30 Augmentatives and diminutives (Los aumentativos y diminutivos)
- Model answers / Soluciones y modelos
- Index of grammar and vocabulary
- Subjunctive index
1 - Alphabet, spelling and pronunciation (Alfabeto, ortografía y pronunciación)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Glossary of grammatical terms
- Note on the text
- Short bibliography
- 1 Alphabet, spelling and pronunciation (Alfabeto, ortografía y pronunciación)
- 2 Definite and indefinite articles and gender of nouns (Artículos definidos e indefinidos y género de sustantivos)
- 3 Number (El plural)
- 4 Verbs (Los verbos)
- 5 Perfect tense and pluperfect tense (El [pretérito] perfecto y el pluscuamperfecto / antecopretérito [M])
- 6 Future tense and future perfect tense (El tiempo futuro y el futuro perfecto)
- 7 Imperfect tense (El tiempo imperfecto/copretérito [M])
- 8 Preterit tense or past definite (El pretérito indefinido / pretérito perfecto simple)
- 9 Conditional tense (El tiempo condicional)
- 10 Progressive tense or gerund (El tiempo progresivo o el gerundio)
- 11 The imperative mood (El modo imperativo)
- 12 Irregular verbs (Los verbos irregulares)
- 13 Ser and estar (Ser y estar)
- 14 Transitive and intransitive verbs, and reflexive verbs (Los verbos transitivos e intransitivos, y los verbos reflexivos)
- 15 Impersonal verbs (Los verbos impersonales)
- 16 Subjunctive (El subjuntivo)
- 17 Personal pronouns (Los pronombres personales)
- 18 Possessive adjectives and pronouns, relative and interrogative pronouns (Los adjetivos y pronombres posesivos, los pronombres relativos e interrogativos)
- 19 Indefinite pronouns (Los pronombres indefinidos)
- 20 Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns (Los adjetivos y pronombres demostrativos)
- 21 Adjectives (Los adjetivos)
- 22 Personal or distinctive a (La preposiciónacon el complemento directo)
- 23 Prepositions (Las preposiciones)
- 24 Prepositions por and para (Las preposiciones por y para)
- 25 Adverbs (Los adverbios)
- 26 Interrogative and negative sentences (Las frases interrogativas y negativas)
- 27 Numbers and measurements. Time and dimensions (Los números y las medidas. El tiempo [duración = la hora] y las dimensiones)
- 28 Comparatives and superlatives (Los comparativos y superlativos)
- 29 Word order (El orden de las palabras)
- 30 Augmentatives and diminutives (Los aumentativos y diminutivos)
- Model answers / Soluciones y modelos
- Index of grammar and vocabulary
- Subjunctive index
Summary
The Royal Spanish Academy, founded in 1713, by the Duque d'Escalona, aims to preserve and improve the Spanish language. The Grammar (see bibliography) and Dictionary (Diccionario de la Lengua Española, 2 vols., 22nd edn., Madrid: Espasa Calpe) published by it are the standards of the language, but this only applies to Spain. It can no longer legislate for the Spanish of the Americas which has a lexical richness and diversity which can be initially confusing and certainly challenging. But fear not, for compensation is at hand, the grammar of the various countries concerned is comfortingly uniform and we must be grateful for this – and this includes the author. We must also be grateful to the Real Academia for helping to keep the language relatively stable.
Level 1
1.1 Alphabet, spelling and pronunciation (Alfabeto, ortografía y pronunciación)
1.2 Stress (El acento tónico)
Alphabet, spelling and pronunciation
As with the grammar, Spanish pronunciation is happily uniform, with the consequence that once you have conquered the sounds, you are not enmeshed in the mire associated with, for example, the innumerable and irreducible irregularities of English pronunciation. Furthermore, the spelling system of the Spanish language is really quite easy compared to English. Aim for a perfect accent and real fluency. This will not only help you immeasurably in your communication with Spanish speakers but also allow you to appreciate more the written word, especially literature which is its highest expression.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A Student Grammar of Spanish , pp. 1 - 9Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006