Sentence Structure

(Spanish)
 Sentence Structure
English and Spanish differ entirely in their structure of

sentences. Therefore, it is important that you disregard your

typical grammatical procedures until now and learn to

recognize the rules and patterns of the Spanish language.

Remember: They are DIFFERENT so avoid attempting to write

sentences in English and translating literally. It almost always

fails!
 Sentence Structure
The basic composition of Spanish Sentences is
generally described in the following way:

Subject + Verb + Object

 Sentence Structure

What does that look like in a practical example?

Example: Yo manejo un carro rojo

(I drive a red car)

 Sentence Structure

What do you notice in that example as you translate

the sentence?

Yo manejo un carro rojo

(I drive a car red)

?
 Sentence Structure
Another basic and essential rule for structuring
sentences in Spanish deals with the order of the
adjective.

In the Spanish Language the adjective

generally goes after the noun!
For example: La casa fea La: The
Casa: House
Fea: Ugly
 Sentence Structure
This simple yet unfamiliar way of speaking tends
to cause much confusion amongst new Spanish
speakers.

Remember to properly identify the structure of

your sentence and place the components in the
adequate order.
 Sentence Structure
Consider more of the following examples:

La nia de rizos dorados

Mi hermanito fastidioso

Su restaurante favorito

*Remember that in English the adjective goes before the noun!

 N ow , h ow to w rite a p arag rap h

What do we use to connect two

sentences?
We use connectors (las conjunciones)
AND, BUT, OR, SO, BECAUSE
 A n d es la conjuncin copulativa y en espaol.
Puede unir varias palabras o frases:
you can add words or sentences:
- I have a book, a pen and a pencil in my bag.

yo tengo un libro, una pluma y un lpiz en mi mochila.

- Paul and Sarah are at home.

Paul y Sarah estn en la casa.

- I work in a school And I also work in a hospital.

Yo trabajo en la escuela y yo tambin trabajo en un hospital.

- She comes here every day and we re friends.

Ella viene aqu diario y somos amigos.

B u t es la conjuncin adversativa p ero en espaoly va
precedida de com a:

I m hungry, but the fridge is empty.

Yo tengo hambre, pero el refrigerador est vacio.
It s raining a lot, but it s warm.
Est lloviendo mucho, pero est caluroso.
I want to go on holidays, but I don t have any money.
Yo quiero ir de vacaciones, pero yo no tengo dinero.
She lives in Italy, but she does not speak a word of
Italian.
O r es la conjuncin disyuntiva o, que puede unir
palabras o frases:

Do you like tea or coffee?

te gusta el t o el caf?
I don t like bananas, oranges or apples.
A m no me gustan los platanos, las naranjas o las manzanas.
We can go to the cinema or we can stay at home.
Nosotros podemos ir al cine o nosotros podemos quedarnos en
casa.
They don t work or do anything.
Ellos no trabajan o hacen nada.
S o es una conjuncin resultativa que une oraciones (en
espaol, p or tan to, p or eso....):

It was raining, so we didn t go out.

Estaba lloviendo, por eso nosotros no salimos.
I don t have money, so I can t go shopping.
Yo no tengo dinero, por tanto no puedo ir de compras.
Mary insulted him, so he was very angry.
Mara lo insult, por eso l estaba muy enojado.
We use lots of paper every day. So, we must recycle.
Nosotros usamos mucho papel diario, por tanto
necesitamos reciclar.
So that tiene un uso diferente (para
que...):
I m buying food for him so that he eats
healthy.
Yo estoy comprando comida para l para
que l coma.
She tells jokes so that we laugh.
B ecau se es una conjuncin causal, p orq u e en
espaol:

He s cleaning the house because it s

very dirty.
l est limpiando la casa porque est muy sucia.
I m
taking my umbrella because it s raining.
Yo estoy tamando la sombrilla porque est
lloviendo.
They r e tired because they work many hours.
Ellos estn cansados porque ellos trabajan muchas
horas.
 Som e usefulconnectors to m ake your
sentences fl
ow better

Secuence: Secuencia:
First (primero), then (entonces), at the same time
(al mismo instante), finally (finalmente), in the end (
para terminar).

First, watching TV every day is bad for your eyes.

Second, watching TV is really a waste of time.

Primero, ver television diario es malo para tus ojos.

Segundo, ver television es realmente una perdida
 To add information or arguments to a previous
sentence:
And (y), also/too (tambin), besides (adems),
moreover (adems), what is more (es ms) etc
I dont have a mobile phone. What is more, I totally
dislike modern technology.
Yo no tengo un telefno. Es ms, yo totalmente odio
tecnologia moderna.
 C on ectores p ara in trod u cir ejem p los o
esp ecif i
cacion es:

To provide examples or specifications:

Such as ( tales como), like (como), for example, for
instance (por ejemplo), in other words ( en otras
palabras).
We cannot continue losing money. In other words,
unless we start making profit soon, we will be out of
business by the end of the year.
Nosotros no podemos continuar perdiendo dinero. En
otras palabras, sino nosotros no empezamos a
 .

C on ectores p ara con clu ir:

To conclude.

in conclusion, in summary ( en conclusin), to sum up (para resumir), in

short (en breve), briefly (brevemente).

In conclusion, todays economic crisis is mostly due to financial

speculation.
En conclusin, la crisis econmica se debe mayormente a la
especulacin financiera.

To sum up, we need to take urgent measures against corruption in our

party.
Para resumir, nosotros necesitamos tomar medidas contra la corrupcion
en nuestro partido politico.
Por ejem plo.

!Hola a todos!
Primero, me quiero presentarme con
ustedes. Yo soy su profesor y tambin soy
su amigo. Ahora (now), quiero contarles un
poco de mi persona. Yo soy de estatura
promedio, con cabello negro y ojos cafs.
Tambin, yo soy delgado, dbil, y feo, pero
yo soy feliz, extrovertido y soy muy
inteligente. A m me gusta jugar ftbol y
nadar porque son actividades muy