Volumen 2 · Capítulo 01
How Spanish Sentences Work
Learn the sentence engine: subject, verb, object, question, negative.
Volume 1 gave you scripts. Volume 2 gives you the machinery behind the scripts so you can build new sentences under pressure.
Spanish usually follows the same basic order as English:
- I need help.
- You have my passport.
- The bank opens at nine.
But Spanish is more flexible because the verb ending often tells you who is doing the action.
Drop the subject when it is obvious
In English you must say “I need.” In Spanish, already means “I need.” The subject is optional.
- Correct, but emphatic: I need help.
- More normal: I need help.
- I have an appointment.
- We are going to the bank.
Use the pronoun when you want contrast:
- I have a passport, but she does not.
- You decide.
Make a negative with no
Put directly before the verb. That is the whole trick.
- I do not understand.
- I do not have cash.
- I do not know.
- I cannot enter.
Make a question with voice
Many Spanish questions use the same word order as statements. Your rising voice, the question marks, and context do the work.
- You live here.
- Do you live here?
- You have change.
- Do you have change?
For information questions, put the question word first:
- Where do you live?
- When does it arrive?
- How much does it cost?
- Why do you need this?
The fast sentence frame
Use this frame whenever you freeze:
Person + verb + thing + detail
- I need a copy for the procedure.
- My wife wants coffee without sugar.
- The taxi arrives in ten minutes.
Drill: turn each statement into a negative and a question
- No tengo una reservación. ¿Tengo una reservación?
- Usted no habla inglés. ¿Usted habla inglés?
- La oficina no está abierta. ¿La oficina está abierta?
Next: the present tense. This is where Spanish starts becoming reusable instead of memorized.