A Comprehensive Guide to Spanish Grammar: Clauses, Verbs, and More

Posted on Sep 23, 2024 in Teaching & Education

Subordinate Clauses

Substantive Clauses

That: Used to introduce substantive clauses that express a fact or idea. For example, “I want you to tell me soon” or “I loved that you included that detail.”
If: Used in sentences expressing hesitation or doubt. For example, “I do not know if I will come tomorrow” or “Tell me if you will come tomorrow.”
Relative Pronouns and Interrogative Adverbs: Words like what, where, when, how, who are used when the substantive clause is an indirect question. For example, “I do not know what time it is / when they will arrive / how you did it / who that is,” etc.

Substantive Clauses with No Link

Infinitive Verb: When the subject of the main verb is the same as the subject of the subordinate verb, the subordinate verb is in the infinitive form and does not require a link. For example, “I want you to do it” becomes “I want to do it.”
Indirect Speech: In cases of indirect speech, the subordinate clause does not require a link. For example, “Manuel said: ‘Tomorrow I will be here at eight.'”

Adjectival Subordinate Clauses

Adjectival subordinate clauses are introduced by a relative pronoun (who, whom, which), determining relative (whose), or relative adverb (where, how, when). These elements act as the link and play a role within the subordinate clause. To determine their role, substitute the element with its antecedent.

Adjectival subordinate clauses can also be constructed with a participle, in which case there is no relative link. For example, “I left the roads built for fast travel and disinterested and went by the other, the local news.”

The main function of the adjectival subordinate clause is to act as an adjective within a noun phrase. For example, “The houses that receive much sun are bright” can be rewritten as “The houses are bright from sunshine.”

Adverbial Subordinate Clauses

Adverbial subordinate clauses modify the verb in the main clause and are introduced by subordinating conjunctions. Here are some common types:

Time: when, before, after, while, as soon as (e.g., “I came out [before you called me].”)
Manner: as, like, as if, as though, according to, depending on (e.g., “He did [as directed].”)
Place: where, wherever, whence, from where, as far as (e.g., “The book is [where you left it].”)
Reason: since, because, as, of course (e.g., “I came [because I needed to talk to you].”)
Consequence: so that, so, such that, to the point that (e.g., “He speaks [so that everyone can hear him].”)
Condition: if, unless, provided that, as long as (e.g., “[If I knew], I would tell you.”)
Purpose: so that, in order that, with a view to (e.g., “Call me [so that we can talk].”)
Comparison: as, than, as…as, more than, less than (e.g., “He is as good [as Rockefeller (was)].”)
Concession: although, even though, though (e.g., “[Although he is sad], he doesn’t show it.”)

Other Subordinate Constructions

Gerund Constructions: Diego came to the tenth floor [with his heart in his mouth].
Comparative Constructions: They know [more than you think]. He works [as much as he sleeps].
Participle Constructions: Finished with the exams, they went to party.
Infinitive Constructions: While looking for the keys, I discovered the theft.

Impersonal Forms of the Verb

The infinitive, gerund, and participle are non-personal verb forms because they lack person and number morphemes. They also lack tense and mood and only differ in aspect: the participle indicates a completed action (perfect aspect), the gerund indicates an ongoing action (imperfect aspect), and the infinitive is indifferent to aspect.

These forms have three main uses:

Nominal Use: The infinitive functions as a noun, the gerund as an adverb, and the participle as an adjective.
Verbal Use: They form the core of the predicate in subordinate clauses.
Periphrastic Use: They appear as auxiliaries in verbal periphrases.

Infinitive

The infinitive expresses an action without a specific time frame. It can function as the core of a noun phrase or a verb phrase.

Core of a noun phrase: a good drink
Core of a verb phrase: drinking water from a glass

Functions of the Infinitive

Subject: To err is human.
Attribute: The best thing is to be honest.
Predicative complement: I saw you come in.
Direct object: I want to buy a car.
Indirect object: He dedicated his life to helping others.
Complement of a noun: I like the way you speak.
Complement of an adjective: It is difficult to understand.
Complement of an adverb: He left after greeting everyone.

Gerund

The gerund expresses an action in progress and indicates simultaneity with the main verb. The compound form (having + past participle) indicates a prior action.

Functions of the Gerund

Adverbial: Can express manner, cause, condition, concession (e.g., “He ran quickly,” “Understanding the difficulty, she gave up.”)
Predicative complement: I saw you jumping the wall.
Complement of a noun (usually in degrees): Children eating fruit.

Participle

The participle expresses an action after its completion. It does not have a compound form and is often considered an adjective. It usually has a passive sense.

Functions of the Participle

Complement of a noun: The man in gray is my father.
Attribute: The boat was anchored on the shore.
Predicative complement: I saw you sitting in the square.
Adverbial (in absolute constructions): After the feast, they all left.

Personal and Impersonal Verbs

Impersonal verbs are verbs that cannot have a lexical subject. They are divided into two categories: proper impersonal verbs and improper impersonal verbs.

Proper Impersonal Verbs

Proper impersonal verbs, also known as “weather verbs,” are inherently impersonal and only occur in the third person singular. Examples include rain, snow, hail, etc. These verbs are intransitive.

Improper Impersonal Verbs

Improper impersonal verbs are verbs that can be conjugated normally in some contexts but can also be used impersonally. For example, the verb “hacer” (to do/make) can be used in both personal and impersonal constructions:

Personal: “Spartacus hace su tarea” (Spartacus does his homework)
Impersonal: “Hace mucho calor” (It’s very hot)

Other examples of improper impersonal verbs include:

Haber (to be/have): “Hay cosas que hacer” (There are things to do)
Hacer (to do/make): “Hace mucho calor” (It’s very hot)
Bastar (to be enough): “Basta de hablar” (Enough talking)
Ser (to be): “Es de noche” (It’s nighttime)
Ir (to go): “Me fue bien en el examen” (I did well on the exam)

Verbal Periphrasis

Verbal periphrasis is a grammatical construction where two or more verbs act together to express a single verbal idea. The first verb is typically an auxiliary verb, while the second verb is in a non-finite form (infinitive, gerund, or participle).

Types of Verbal Periphrasis

Verbal periphrases can be classified based on their meaning:

Obligation: tener que + infinitive, haber de + infinitive, haber que + infinitive
Ability: poder + infinitive, deber de + infinitive, haber de + infinitive
Perfective: acabar de + infinitive, dejar de + infinitive, haber + past participle, llegar a + infinitive
Inchoative: ir a + infinitive, estar por + infinitive, empezar a + infinitive, echar a + infinitive, ponerse a + infinitive
Iterative: soler + infinitive, volver a + infinitive
Progressive/Durative: estar + gerund, ir + gerund, seguir + gerund, continuar + gerund, venir + gerund

Verbal Phrase vs. Verbal Periphrasis

A verbal phrase is a group of words that includes a verb and functions as the predicate of a sentence. A verbal periphrasis is a specific type of verbal phrase where two verbs work together to express a single verbal idea.

Reasons Not to Confuse Verbal Phrases with Verbal Periphrases

Single Idea: Verbal phrases typically express a single idea that can be conveyed by a single verb.
No Main or Auxiliary Verbs: In a verbal phrase, all verbs function together as a unit, and there is no clear distinction between a main verb and an auxiliary verb.

Types of “Se”

Impersonal “Se”: Used in impersonal constructions where the subject is not specified (e.g., “Se vive bien en España” – Life is good in Spain).
Passive “Se”: Used to form passive constructions where the subject is acted upon (e.g., “Se oyen pasos” – Footsteps are heard).
Variant of “Le” – “Se”: Used as an indirect object pronoun, often replacing “le” when it precedes a direct object pronoun (e.g., “Se lo dije” – I told him/her).
Reflexive “Se”: Used with reflexive verbs to indicate that the subject performs the action on themselves (e.g., “Juan se lava” – Juan washes himself).
Reciprocal “Se”: Used to indicate that two or more subjects perform an action on each other (e.g., “Se saludan” – They greet each other).
“Se” with Pronominal Verbs: Used with pronominal verbs, which are verbs that always take a reflexive pronoun, even if the action is not reflexive (e.g., “Se casó” – He/She got married).
Reflexive Pronoun “Se”: Can be omitted in some cases without changing the meaning (e.g., “Se comió el pastel” or “Comió el pastel” – She ate the cake).
Semantic Value – “Se” with Possession: Used to indicate possession in some cases (e.g., “Se dejó el paraguas” – She left her umbrella).
False Reflexive “Se”: Used with certain verbs where the action is not truly reflexive (e.g., “Se comió la manzana” – He/She ate the apple).