Understanding Spanish Grammar: Nouns, Adjectives, Pronouns, Verbs, and Adverbs

Nouns

Nouns are words for things, animals, people, feelings, concepts, etc. In nouns, the gender morpheme does not reflect sound but is included in the lexeme of the word. The noun usually appears in concordance with the article or adjectives. In some cases, sex cannot be differentiated by grammatical gender; these are called epicene gendered nouns. In nouns referring to people and many animals, the masculine corresponds to the male and the feminine to the female sex, which employs the terminations -o, -a, -isa, -ina.

Classifying Common Nouns

• Common: Designate classes of things (tomato, country).
• Proper: Designate individuals (including names).
• Concrete: Designate things perceptible by the senses (table, dog).
• Abstract: Refer to things that are not perceived by the senses.
• Countable: Allow numerals.
• Uncountable: Do not allow numerals.
• Individual: The singular can be used to designate one object.
• Collective: When in the singular, it means a group.

Adjectives

The word used to complement the noun agrees with the noun's gender and number morphemes. The morpheme itself has a degree, which can be:

• Positive: The adjective is used in its normal form without quantifying.
• Superlative: Quantified by the adjective or adverb suffixes.
• Comparative: The adjective is quantified and compared with other adjectives or things.

Types of Adjectives

• Qualifying: Used to describe or evaluate things represented by nouns (big, tall, sweet).
• Defining: Used to present the noun or replace the article.
• Relational: Derived from nouns or verbs, equivalent to the expression "of + noun".

Pronouns

Pronouns are independent morphemes that replace the noun.

Classes of Pronouns

• Personal Pronouns: Distinguish three persons; 1st and 2nd refer to the sender and receiver, and 3rd refers to the subject of the speech.
• Demonstrative Pronouns: Replace a noun that can be located at three levels of remoteness from the speaker.
• Possessive Pronouns: Indicate possession or ownership (mine, yours).
• Indefinite Pronouns: Express quantity or identity inaccurately (some, somebody, anybody, everything).
• Numeral Pronouns: Indicate number, order, or part of a whole (one, two, tenth).
• Relative Pronouns: Have an antecedent in the previous sentence (which, who, whom, whose).
• Interrogative and Exclamative Pronouns: Used to ask or emphasize a noun (what, who, how).

The difference between pronouns and adjectives is that pronouns replace the noun, while adjectives accompany it.

Verbs and Adverbs

Verbs designate actions, proceedings, states, etc.

Adverbs are tokens that accompany verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They do not have morphemes, even if they accept the degree morpheme.

Types of Adverbs

• Time, Place, Mode: (so, good, bad, better).
• Quantity, Affirmation, Negation, Doubt: (maybe, probably).

The addition of the suffix -mente is a way to create new adverbs. It always binds to an adjective in the feminine and often has a modal meaning (buenamente, sabiamente, artísticamente).

Relative Adverbs (donde, cuando, como) are adverbs that have an antecedent, as well as relative pronouns. Interrogative and Exclamative Adverbs are the same as relative adverbs when used to ask or exclaim.

Prepositions and Conjunctions

These are morphemes that serve to join words together.

Prepositions: a, ante, bajo, con, contra, de, desde, en, entre, hacia, hasta, para, por, según, sin, sobre, tras, durante, mediante.

Conjunctions join words and sentences. Locutions are the union of two or more words that work together.