The Everything Spanish Grammar Book: All The Rules You Need To Master Espanol (Everything®) (30 page)

Some interjections are made up of exclamation words that don’t have any other meaning:

Other interjections may incorporate words and phrases that actually do have some meaning. Here are a few common interjections in Spanish:

ESSENTIAL

The Case of Double Negatives

The most important point to remember about the Spanish negatives is that double negatives are a must. This is difficult to understand for speakers of English, because double negatives in our language are a grammatical no-no. Compare the following sentence in Spanish and English:

Nosotros no vemos nada.

We don’t see anything. (We see nothing.)

In Spanish, you need to emphasize
no
with a second negative,
nada
(nothing). In English, you would use either “no” or “nothing,” but you can’t have both in the same phrase. Also note the placement of
no—
it is always placed before the verb and following the subject, if one is present.

In Time

Affirmative and negative words and expressions regarding time are:

No lo hago nunca.

I never do it.

Lo hago algunas veces.

I do it sometimes.

Siempre lo hago.

I always do it.

People and Things

Affirmatives and negatives work similarly with words referring to people or things, but don’t forget to use the personal
a
before
alguien
and
nadie.

Necesito algo. Necesito todo.

I need something. I need everything.

No conozco a nadie aquí.

I don’t know anyone here.

Los conozco a todos aquí.

I know everyone here.

ESSENTIAL

On Location

Whereas in English there are words like “nowhere” and “somewhere,” in Spanish you’ll need to use expressions that mean “at no part” or “in some parts”:

No lo puedo encontrar por ninguna parte.

I can’t find him anywhere.

Debe estar en algún lado.

He must be somewhere.

Other Words and Expressions

There are a few other negatives and affirmatives that are worth reviewing. Let’s start with
tampoco
(either/neither) and
también
(also, too). If you think about it, these two words are a negative and positive equivalent of the same idea. Compare the following:

Tampoco sabe lo que pasó.

He doesn’t know what happened either.

También sabe lo que pasó.

He knows what happened too.

In these examples,
tampoco
and
también
are both used to mean “also” or “as well,” but in the case of
tampoco,
the agreement is in a negative context—no one knows what happened and he doesn’t know what happened either.

Also compare
ni/ni
(neither nor) and
o/o
(either or):

No conozco ni a Silvia ni a Alejandro.

I know neither Silvia nor Alejandro.

(I don’t know either Silvia or Alejandro)

Conozco o a Silvia o a Alejandro.

I know either Silvia or Alejandro.

As you can see, if the statement is negative, in Spanish you would use
ni/ni
even if the English translation is either/or.

Practice Makes Perfect

Translate the following sentences into Spanish:

1. I’d like to either play soccer or swim in the sea.

___________________________________________

2. He doesn’t want either carrots or onions in his salad.

___________________________________________

3. They neither want to stay home or go to the beach.

___________________________________________

4. Neither he nor she wants to come with us.

___________________________________________

5. I don’t have pencils, but (I do have) pens.

___________________________________________

6. Although she feels tired, she’ll get together with the team.

___________________________________________

7. Despite everything that’s happening, we are fine.

___________________________________________

8. Nevertheless, you (plural) are happy to be here.

___________________________________________

Insert
por
and
para
where necessary:

1.
Voy a la playa ________________ nadar en el mar.

2.
Van al mercado ________________ autobús.

3.
Nos gusta pasear ________________ las calles de la ciudad.

4.
La cena fue preparada ________________ mí; yo la preparé.

5.
La carpeta con la información está ________________ dentro.

6.
Hoy es tu cumpleaños. Este regalo es ________________ ti.

7.
He trabajado en la oficina ________________ muchos años.

8.
¿ ________________ qué es así?

To check your answers, refer to the answer key in Appendix D.

C
HAPTER
16
Questions and
Answers

BY NOW YOU SHOULD BE comfortable with the order of words in the Spanish sentence. Generally it goes like this: subject + object pronouns (if any) + verb + object. Now, be prepared for a shift. In Spanish (just as in English), the order of words may change when you form a question.

I Have a Question

Asking questions in Spanish isn’t very different from how we do it in English—but you probably never even thought about how it’s done in English and did it automatically. Now you’ll have to pay attention.

To form a question in Spanish, there are four basic options:

1. Raising your voice at the end of the sentence.

2. Inverting the subject and verb.

3. Adding a question phrase at the end of the statement.

4. Using a question word.

The first option is simplest. As you ask the following question, your voice should rise by the time you get to “ña” in
mañana
:

¿El electricista llega mañana?

The electrician will come tomorrow?

ALERT

To emphasize what you’re asking, you can also invert the subject and verb of the sentence. In the following example, the subject
tú
and the verb
eres
switch places:

¿Eres tú la actriz del teatro Colón en Argentina?

Are you the actress from the Colon theater in Argentina?

It’s also possible to turn a statement into a question by adding a question word or phrase to the end of it:

Están de acuerdo conmigo, ¿verdad?

You agree with me, right?

Hoy es miércoles, ¿no es así?

Today is Wednesday, isn’t it?

Other question words and phrases that may be added to the end of statements include the following: