{"id":135719,"date":"2024-01-21T16:01:32","date_gmt":"2024-01-21T21:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/spanish-grammar-rules\/"},"modified":"2025-05-26T07:27:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T11:27:05","slug":"spanish-grammar-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-grammar-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Spanish Grammar All Learners Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learning Spanish as a beginner involves mastering some fundamental grammar concepts. They may feel tricky at first, but these concepts form the foundation of your understanding and will help you piece together sentences as you progress, so they’re important to learn.<\/p>\n

Here we\u2019ll cover core topics such as gendered nouns, verb conjugation and word order, as well as nuances like the differences between ser<\/em> and estar<\/em> or por<\/em> and para.\u00a0<\/em>We’ll also give you tools to practice and grow.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Feminine and Masculine Nouns<\/h2>\n

Nouns in Spanish are either feminine or masculine. We use the article el\u00a0<\/em>for masculine nouns<\/strong> and la<\/em>\u00a0for feminine nouns<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This is easy when it comes to people and living creatures. You’d call a male professor el profesor, <\/em>and a female one, la profesora, <\/em>for example. You call a male cat el gato,<\/em> and a female one, la gata.<\/em><\/p>\n

But what about cars, books, tables and chairs?\u00a0How do we know if they\u2019re masculine or feminine?<\/p>\n

Answer: Look at the last letter of the word.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In most cases (but definitely not all!) feminine and masculine words have specific endings. Let’s take a look at them:<\/p>\n

Feminine word endings:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Word ending<\/strong><\/th>Example<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
-a<\/strong><\/em><\/td> la manzana <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em> (the apple)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
-d<\/strong><\/em><\/td> la ciudad <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em> (the city)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
-ez<\/strong><\/em><\/td> la vejez <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em> (the old age)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
-i\u00f3n<\/strong><\/em><\/td> la estaci\u00f3n <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em> (the station)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Masculine word endings:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Word ending<\/strong><\/th>Example<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
-e<\/strong><\/em><\/td> el viaje <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em> (the trip)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
-o<\/strong><\/em><\/td> el dormitorio <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em> (the bedroom)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
-\u00e1<\/em>, -\u00e9<\/em>, -\u00ed<\/em>, -\u00f3<\/em>, -\u00fa<\/em><\/strong><\/td> el sof\u00e1 <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(the sofa)
\n el champ\u00fa <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em> (the shampoo)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
consonants<\/strong> (except\u00a0-d<\/em>, -z<\/em>,\u00a0and\u00a0-i\u00f3n<\/em>)<\/td> el pa\u00eds <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(the country)\u00a0
\n el amor <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em> (the love)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

As you probably guessed, though, there are (quite a few) exceptions to these rules, but they’re still accurate enough to make the right guess around 70% of the time. You can explore this concept further with these guides on Spanish gender rules<\/a> and indefinite and definite articles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Noun Pluralization<\/h2>\n

Like English, making nouns plural in Spanish is straightforward\u2014you simply need to change two things: change el<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0to los<\/strong><\/em> or la<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0to las<\/strong><\/em>, then change the noun to its plural form according to these rules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Rules<\/strong><\/th>Examples<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1. If the noun ends in a vowel, simply add s<\/strong><\/em><\/td> El libro <\/a>\n <\/em> (the book) \u2192 los libros<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em> (the books)
\n
\n La casa <\/a>\n <\/em> (the house) \u2192 las casas <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em> (the houses)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2. If the noun ends in a consonant, add\u00a0es<\/strong><\/em><\/td> El papel <\/a>\n <\/em> (the paper) \u2192 los papeles<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em> (the papers)
\n
\n La estaci\u00f3n <\/a>\n <\/em> (the station) \u2192 las estaciones<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em> (the stations)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3. If the noun ends in a z<\/em>, change z<\/em> \u2192 c<\/em> and add es<\/em><\/strong><\/td> La actriz <\/a>\n <\/em> (the actress) \u2192 las actrices<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em> (the actresses)
\n
\n La luz <\/a>\n <\/em> (the light) \u2192 las luces<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em> (the lights)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4. If the noun ends in -i\u00f3n<\/em>,\u00a0add\u00a0es<\/em> and drop the written accent on the \u00f3<\/em><\/strong><\/td> La secci\u00f3n <\/a>\n <\/em> (the section) \u2192 las secciones<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em>\u00a0(the sections)
\n
\n La televisi\u00f3n <\/a>\n <\/em> (the television) \u2192 las televisiones<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em>\u00a0(the televisions)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5. If the noun ends in -n<\/em> and the vowel doesn't have a written accent,\u00a0add\u00a0es<\/em> and a written accent on the third-to-last vowel sound<\/strong><\/td> El joven <\/a>\n <\/em> (the youngster) \u2192 los j\u00f3<\/strong>venes<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em>\u00a0(the youngsters)
\n
\n La imagen <\/a>\n <\/em> (the image) \u2192 las im\u00e1<\/strong>genes<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em>\u00a0(the images)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

After familiarizing yourself with these examples, bookmark our guide on Spanish pluralization<\/a> to boost your confidence on this simple subject even more.<\/p>\n

3. Adjective Gender and Pluralization<\/h2>\n

Adjectives describe nouns, and in Spanish, they must match their nouns in both number and gender.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If the noun is feminine and singular, then the adjective should be feminine and singular. If the noun is masculine and plural, then the adjective should be masculine and plural. Catch the drift?<\/p>\n

Take the adjective rojo<\/em> (red) as an example. Notice how the adjective changes as it follows the gender and number of its target noun:<\/p>\n

El libro<\/strong> rojo<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 The red book (masculine, singular)<\/p>\n

Las manzanas<\/strong> rojas<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 The red apples (feminine, plural)<\/p>\n

Gender and pluralization agreement is the first step, but to master adjectives completely (such as knowing where they come in a sentence), check out this complete guide on Spanish adjectives<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4. Using T\u00fa\u00a0<\/em>vs. Usted<\/em><\/h2>\n

Unlike English, Spanish conjugates verbs according to level of formality. There are two second-person pronouns: t\u00fa<\/em> and usted<\/em>. They both mean “you,” but t\u00fa<\/em>\u00a0is informal<\/strong> and usted<\/em>\u00a0is formal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You’d use\u00a0t\u00fa <\/em>in casual situations, <\/strong>like talking to friends, family, people younger than you, people with the same social status as you (such as coworkers) and the like.<\/p>\n

Usted<\/em> is used in formal situations<\/strong> such as business meetings, job interviews, meeting someone for the first time and people of authority.<\/p>\n

Because there are two different pronouns, verbs are conjugated differently depending on which is used.<\/p>\n

Usted<\/em> follows the same conjugation rules as\u00a0ella<\/em> and\u00a0\u00e9l<\/em>, whereas\u00a0t\u00fa<\/em> has its own.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Verb<\/strong><\/th>T\u00fa<\/em> conjugation<\/strong><\/th>Usted<\/em> conjugation<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Estar <\/a>\n <\/em> (to be)<\/td> T\u00fa est\u00e1s <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em><\/td> Usted est\u00e1 <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Entender <\/a>\n <\/em> (to understand)<\/td> T\u00fa entiendes <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em><\/td> Usted entiende <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tener <\/a>\n <\/em> (to have)<\/td> T\u00fa tienes <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em><\/td> Usted tiene <\/a>\n <\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

If you’re still not 100% confident in your ability to determine which pronoun to use, you’ll find this guide on\u00a0t\u00fa\u00a0<\/em>and usted<\/em><\/a> helpful.<\/p>\n

In the end, knowing which pronoun to use is extremely context-dependent. Which means the more you immerse yourself in Spanish, the easier it’ll get. It can be nerve-wracking in real-life scenarios, but this is why I always recommend consuming a hefty amount of native Spanish media from home.<\/p>\n

You can do this with a language learning program like FluentU<\/a>.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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