Verbo

Overview

The infinitive refers to the unconjugated form of a verb. For example, to be is an infinitive in English. In Spanish, every infinitive ends in one of -ar, -er, or -ir. For example:

• cantar = cant + ar
• comer = com + er
• vivir = viv + ir

The conjugations are the forms of the verb that belong to a particular pronouns or noun subject. The portion of a verb preceding the infinitive ending is called a verb stem. A verb is said to be regular if it's verb stem does not change when conjugated. Otherwise it is irregular.

A sentence can be negated by placing no directly before the verb.

Copula

The Spanish copulas are ser and estar, both equivalent to English to be.

Estar

Estar is used in the following situations:

• Location.
• Health.
• Changing mood/condition.
• Personal opinion in terms of taste or appearance.

Ser

Ser is used in the following situations:

• Description
• Profession
• Point of origin
• Identification
• Material
• Possession or ownership
  • There is no apostrophe in Spanish. A translation of e.g. Joshua's car is structured as el carro de Pedro.
• Where an event takes place.

Impersonal

Hay

The Spanish word hay means there is, there are, is there?, and are there? In English. When hay is followed by a plural noun, the indefinite article is omitted.

To make a sentence negative, place no before hay.

Auxiliary

An auxiliary verb is a conjugated verb that precedes a main verb and determines the main verb's tense, mood, or aspect.