Adjective Agreement Forms Adjectives agree in number and gender with the noun they modify. FEMININE/SINGULAR FEMININE PLURAL la herencia latina las culturas hispanas MASCULINE/SINGULAR MASCULINE/PLURAL el español moderno los pueblos unidos Functions That adjectives agree with nouns is a purely grammatical function of the Spanish language. The fact that the forms are called masculine and feminine carries no meaning.

Word Order While both Spanish and English tend to use subject + verb + object word order in declarative sentences, Spanish allows more options than English does. Mi compañero limpia el apartamento. Limpia mi compañero el apartamento. With interrogatives, the subject often follows the verb. ¿Limpia tu compañero el apartamento? ¿Dónde puso Juana el libro? Because Spanish has a whole set of verb endings that indicate the subject, often no overt subject pronoun is written or spoken. Limpia el apartamento los lunes Limpiamos el apartamento el sábado. You’ll learn about object pronouns in later chapters.

Present Tense of Regular Verbs Forms The following endings are attached to verb stems based on the infinitive forms. These endings indicate not only present time but also the person who is performing the action. -ar -er -ir tomar: tom- beber: beb- vivir: viv- tomo bebo vivo tomas bebes vives toma bebe vive tomamos bebemos vivimos tomáis bebéis vivís toman beben viven Functions To express that an action, event, or state happens or is happening at the time of speaking. vivo = I live, I do live, I am living

Present Tense of Stem-Changing Verbs Forms Vocalic changes in stressed syllables. e  ie o  ue e  i cerrar  cierra almorzar  almuerza pedir  pide empezar  empieza dormir  duerme servir  sirve pensar  piensa mover  mueve perder  pierde recordar  recuerda preferir  prefiere volver  vuelve tener  tiene These vocalic changes occur only in stressed syllables in the yo, tú, él, ella, usted, and ustedes forms. Therefore, in the nosotros and vosotros forms the stem vowel does not change: pensamos, dormimos, pedimos. Functions All verbs in the present tense, no matter their forms, perform the same functions: to express that an action, event, or state happens or is happening at the time of speaking.