Sentences with the Spanish Article  

Theory
In Spanish, nouns are grouped into two categories, "O" and "A". The words we use for "the" or "a" ("an") will depend on which category the noun belongs to. Words like "the", etc. must MATCH the noun that they are used with.
    el libro
    la casa

    el muchacho
    la muchacha

Nouns that refer to males (animals or people) are "O" category. Nouns that refer to females are "A" category.

The words for "a" are:

    span class="highlight">>un
    una

The words for "the" are:

    el
    la
    los
    las

Verbs are in two categories in Spanish also. They can be analyzed by dividing them into three parts. The first is the meaning. Some books call this the "stem" or "root" of the verb. The second part is the "A" or "E" which indicates the category. The third part is the ending which must MATCH the subject (who does the action). You should notice that there are two places in the pattern where the "slots" are blank. We drop the "A" or "E" from the center slot when it comes in front of the "O" in the form "I do something". Also, in the third form which means, "he" or "she" does something, the end slot which matches the subject is blank. Nothing comes after the "A" or "E" of the middle slot which indicates the category. Keep in mind that all verbs belong to either the "A" or the "E" category. When we learn a new verb you must memorize which category it belongs to since that will estáblish the pattern that the verb will follow in other forms that we will study in the future.

    yo habl – o

    tú habl a s

    él, ella, usted habl a –

    nosotros habl a mos

    ellos, ellas, ustedes habl a n

    yo le – o

    tú le e s

    él, ella, usted le e –

    nosotros le e mos

    ellos, ellas, ustedes le e n

There is one other possibility for the third "slot" of the verb. If we put the letter "R" in it, we have the equivalent of putting the word "to" in front of the verb in English.

    to speak habl a r

Notice that we don't use a separate word for "am", "is", or "are" when we say, "I am speaking". We just say, "I speak". We don't have a separate word for "is" when we say "He is reading". We just say, "He reads". There is a word which we use for "is" when we tell where something is located. If we tell where something "is", we say, "está".

Words to learn:

dice - says
que - that
necesitar - to need
hablar - to speak
estudiar - to study
el libro - the book
la página - the page
el capítulo - the chapter
el lapicero - the ballpoint pen
una hoja de papel - a sheet (leaf) of paper
el alumno - the student (male)
la alumna - the student (female)
el muchacho - the boy
la muchacha - the girl
el profesor - the teacher (male)
la profesora - the teacher (female)
creer - to believe
está - is (where)
la biblioteca - the library
el periódico - the newspaper
buscar - to seek (hunt something)
el artículo - the article
en - in
para - for
porque - because
trabajar - to work
el abogado - the lawyer
hoy - today
mañana - tomorrow
La clase de historia - The history class

Conversation
Yo necesito una hoja de papel.
I need a sheet of paper.
El muchacho necesita una hoja de papel.
The boy needs a sheet of paper.
El profesor dice que nosotros necesitamos una hoja de papel.
The teacher says that we need a sheet of paper.
Yo creo que la muchacha necesita una hoja de papel.
I believe that the girl needs a sheet of paper.
La muchacha dice que ella necesita una hoja de papel.
The girl says that she needs a sheet of paper.
Yo necesito un libro.
I need a book.
El muchacho necesita un libro.
The boy needs a book.
Yo leo un libro.
I am reading a book.
Yo necesito leer un libro.
I need to read a book.
El libro está en la biblioteca.
The book is in the library.
El libro que yo necesito está en la biblioteca.
The book that I need is in the library.
El profesor dice que el libro que yo necesito está en la biblioteca.
The teacher says that the book that I need is in the library.
Yo creo que el libro está en la biblioteca.
I believe that the book is in the library.
Yo creo que la muchacha necesita el libro.
I believe that the girl needs the book.
Yo creo que el libro que la muchacha necesita está en la biblioteca.
I believe that the book that the girl needs is in the library.
Nosotros necesitamos leer el libro.
We need to read the book.
El libro que nosotros necesitamos leer está en la biblioteca.
The book that we need to read is in the library.
Los alumnos necesitan leer la página.
The students need to read the page.
Los alumnos estudian el capítulo.
The students are studying the chapter.
Los alumnos necesitan estudiar el capítulo.
The students need to study the chapter.
María está en la biblioteca.
Mary is in the library.
María necesita estudiar.
Mary needs to study.
María está en la biblioteca porque ella necesita estudiar.
Mary is in the library because she needs to study.
El libro está en la biblioteca.
The book is in the library.
María necesita leer el libro.
Mary needs to read the book.
El libro que María necesita leer está en la biblioteca.
The book that Mary needs to read is in the library.
Yo leo un periódico.
I am reading a newspaper.
Yo estudio para la clase de historia.
I am studying for the history class.
Yo necesito estudiar para la clase de historia.
I need to study for the history class.
Yo leo un periódico para la clase de historia.
I am reading a newspaper for the history class.
Yo necesito leer un artículo para la clase de historia.
I need to read an article in the newspaper for the history class.
Nosotros necesitamos estudiar en la biblioteca.
We need to study in the library.
Nosotros necesitamos leer un artículo en el periódico para la clase de historia.
We need to read an article in the newspaper for the history class.
Los alumnos necesitan estudiar en la biblioteca.
The students need to study in the library.
Yo creo que los alumnos necesitan leer un artículo en el periódico.
I believe that the students need to read an article in the newspaper.
El profesor dice que los alumnos necesitan estudiar en la biblioteca.
The teacher says that the students need to study in the library.
El profesor dice que los alumnos necesitan leer un artículo en el periódico para la clase de historia.
The teacher says that the students need to read an article in the newspaper for the history class.
Yo trabajo en la oficina.
I am working in the office.
Yo necesito trabajar en la oficina hoy.
I need to work in the office today.
Juan trabaja en la oficina.
John is working in the office.
Juan necesita trabajar en la oficina hoy.
John needs to work in the office today.
María está en la oficina.
Mary is in the office.
Juan dice que María necesita trabajar en la oficina hoy.
John says that Mary needs to work in the office today.
Nosotros trabajamos en la oficina hoy.
We are working in the office today.
Nosotros necesitamos trabajar en la oficina mañana.
We need to work in the office tomorrow.
El profesor está en la oficina.
The teacher is in the office.
Juan dice que él necesita hablar con el profesor.
John says that he needs to speak with the teacher.
Nosotros necesitamos hablar con el profesor mañana.
We need to speak with the teacher tomorrow.
La secretaria dice que el abogado está en la oficina hoy.
The secretary says that the lawyer is in the office today.
Nosotros necesitamos hablar con el abogado hoy.
We need to speak with the lawyer today.
Yo creo que el abogado está en la oficina.
I believe that the lawyer is in the office.
Juan está en la biblioteca porque él necesita estudiar.
John is in the library because he needs to study.
Los muchachos están en la biblioteca porque ellos necesitan estudiar.
The boys are in the library because they need to study.
Juan está en la biblioteca porque él necesita leer un artículo en el periódico para la clase de historia.
John is in the library because he needs to read an article in the newspaper for the history class.
El profesor dice que él cree que los alumnos necesitan estudiar en la biblioteca.
The teacher says that he believes that the students need to study in the library.
El profesor dice que nosotros necesitamos leer un artículo en el periódico para la clase de historia.
The teacher says that we need to read an article in the newspaper for the history class.
El periódico que yo necesito leer está en la biblioteca.
The newspaper that I need to read is in the library.
El profesor dice que el periódico que yo necesito leer para la clase de historia está en la biblioteca.
The teacher says that the newspaper that I need to read for the history class is in the library.
Yo creo que el periódico está en la biblioteca.
I believe that the newspaper is in the library.
El profesor dice que él cree que el periódico está en la biblioteca.
The teacher says that he believes that the newspaper is in the library.
Pronunciation guide to the Spanish alphabet






Popular Phrase: levantarse preterite | Spanish Alphabet | Conjugated Verb: cobrar - to charge [a price]; to cash [a check]; to collect, receive [an amount] [ click for full conjugation ]