A language becomes easier when one has some knowledge of the nuances of its grammar. Basic Spanish grammar rules can become easy and simple to learn if they are practiced in the appropriate context.
Verbs – All verbs end in either ar, er, or ir. Verbs can be either regular or irregular. Regular verbs are very easy to conjugate once the rules for the ending of these verbs are adhered to. Irregular verbs on the other hand have several different ways of being conjugated. A person can become familiar with them after using certain verbs over a period of time.
Verb tenses – Spanish tenses are not as simple as they are used in English. In addition to the present, past, and future tenses there are others such as the imperfect and the subjunctive. One has to know when to use the preterit and imperfect although both relate to past events. In translating, ‘the children were playing when I entered the room’, one has to take into account the difference in tense of the two verbs.
Adjectives – adjectives are usually positioned after the noun they describe. They also reflect the gender of the nouns and ‘s’ is added when they modify plural nouns.
Nouns – Each noun is preceded by an article. An article is ‘el’ or ‘la’. They denote the gender of the noun. Generally words that end in ‘a’ are feminine nouns and those that in ‘o’ are masculine but there are exceptions to the rule.
Tildes and accents – These are very important especially in written Spanish as this can change the meaning of a word completely. For example, the word ‘mamá’ means mother while ‘mama’ signifies breast.
Exclamation points and question marks – These are used at the beginning and end of a question or exclamation - íHola! ¿Cómo se llama?
