Pitmans Commercial Spanish Grammar | Page 3

or _U_ not belonging to the same syllable, viz., not forming diphthong
with A, E_ or _O, as Filosofia (philosophy), El continua (he continues).
(6) On I_ following _U_ when the _I does not form a diphthong, but
stands as a separate syllable, as Concluido (concluded), Imbuido
(imbued).
(7) On Este (this), Ese and Aquel (that) when these words are stressed.
[Footnote 4: According to the last edition of the Grammar of the
Spanish Academy, these words may now be written without the
accent.]
Crema (Diaeresis).
The diaeresis is placed over u_ in "guee" and "guei" when the _u is to

be sounded.[5]
[Footnote 5: In poetry also to divide an ordinary diphthong into two
syllables for the sake of rhythm.]
Tilde.
The tilde (~) is used on the letter N_ to turn it into _N, as Manana
(morning) (in old Spanish spelt Mannana).
Notes of Interrogation and Exclamation.
These are used in Spanish both at the beginning and at the end of the
question or exclamation, as ?Que quiere V.? (what do you want?),
iCuantos sufrimientos! (how much suffering!). Note that at the
beginning they are reversed.
The other signs of punctuation are used as in English.
Capital letters are used as in English with the following exceptions--
(1) Adjectives of nationality are written with small letters, as Un libro
ingles (an English book).
(2) Days of the week generally (and sometimes the months of the year)
are written with small letters.
DIVISION OF WORDS INTO SYLLABLES.
After the first syllable each succeeding one _commences with a
consonant_, as a-for-tu-na-da-men-te (fortunately), except when a
prefix occurs before a primitive word,[6] as Organizar (to organise).
[Footnote 6: A few minor exceptions will be learnt by practice.]
Des-or-ga-ni-zar (to disorganise).
When two consonants occur together one letter belongs to one syllable
and the other to the next, as--

Ac-ci-den-te (accident) Pe-ren-ne (perennial) Tem-po-ral-men-te
(temporarily) In-me-dia-to (immediate)
EXCEPTION--bl, br, pl, pr, cl, cr, dr, fl, fr, gl, gr_ and _tr are not
divided, as--
A-blan-dar (to soften)
Li-bro (book)
A-pla-zar (to postpone)

A-pre-ciar (to appreciate)
De-cla-mar (to declaim)
De-cre-tar (to
decree)
A-me-dren-tar (to frighten)
Con-fla-gra-cion (conflagration)

Re-fren-dar (to countersign)
A-glo-me-rar (to agglomerate)

A-gran-dar (to enlarge)
En-con-trar (to meet)
If any of these combinations occur together with a third consonant, this
of course will belong to the previous syllable, as
Em-bro-llar (to entangle).
If four consonants come together, two belong to the first syllable and
two to the next, as Obs-tru-ir (to obstruct).
Ll_ and _Rr, being treated as single letters, must not be divided, as--
Ba-lle-na (whale)
Una ca-lle (a street)
A-lla-nar (to level)
Tie-rra
(earth)
LESSON I.
THE ARTICLE.
The =Definite Article= in Spanish is
=El= before a masculine[7] noun singular
=La= " feminine[7] " "
[Footnote 7: Spanish nouns are all masculine or feminine. There are no
neuter nouns.]
as--

El hombre (the man)--La mujer (the woman)
El libro (the book)--La
pluma (the pen)
El recibo (the receipt)--La cuenta (the account)
=Los= before a masculine noun plural
=Las= " feminine " "
as--
Los muchachos (the boys)--Las senoras (the ladies)
Los generos (the
goods)--Las facturas (the invoices)
Los lapices (the pencils)--Las
cartas (the letters).
The =Indefinite Article= is--
=Un= before a masculine noun singular
=Una= " feminine " "
as--
Un amigo (a friend)--Una amiga (a lady-friend)
Un padre (a
father)--Una madre (a mother)
The Indefinite Article has no plural, but the Spanish plural forms
"unos" (masc.) and "unas" (fem.) translate the English words "some" or
"any," as Unos hermanos (some brothers), Unas hermanas (some
sisters), Unos tinteros (some inkstands), Unas mesas (some tables).
(The Spanish words "Algunos," "Algunas," are also used for the same
purpose.)
NOTE 1.--Before a feminine noun singular_ commencing with _a_ or
_ha use =El= and =Un= instead of La_ and _Una_ if such nouns are
stressed on the first syllable_, as El aguila (the eagle), El agua (the
water), El alma (the soul). (The plural is regular, as Las aguilas (the
eagles).)
NOTE 2.--The Definite Article has a "neuter form" which is =Lo=. _It
cannot be used before a noun_ but before other parts of speech used to
represent an abstract idea, as Yo amo lo bello (I love the beautiful, viz.,

all that which is beautiful), Lo sublime (the sublime, viz., all that which
is sublime).
REGULAR VERBS.
1st Conjugation. Hablar (to speak). Pres. Part. Hablando (speaking).
Past Part. Hablado (spoken).
Present Tense, Indicative Mood.
Yo hablo (I speak) Nosotros (m.)
hablamos (we speak)
Nosotras (f.)
hablamos (we speak)

Tu hablas[8] (thou speakest) Vosotros (m.) hablais (you speak)
Vosotras (f.) hablais (you speak)
El or Ella habla (he or