Pitmans Commercial Spanish Grammar | Page 3

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 she speaks) Ellos (m.) hablan (they speak)
Ellas (f.) hablan (they speak) Usted habla (you speak)[9]. Ustedes hablan (you speak).[9]
[Footnote 8: The second person is only used in the familiar style, practically when in English the 2nd person would be addressed as "John" or "Frank" and not as "Mr. Smith" or "Mr. Brown."]
[Footnote 9: This is called the polite way of addressing and is the form in use. Note that the verb after it is in the 3rd person, because "Usted," "Ustedes" (which can be abbreviated as V. Vs.) are contractions of Vuestra merced (your grace), Vuestras mercedes (your graces). V. ama = your grace loves.]
2nd Conjugation. Temer (to fear).?Pres. Part._ Temiendo. _Past Part. Temido.
Pres. Tense, Indic. Mood.
Yo temo Nosotros (m.) temenos
Nosotras (f.) temenos
Tu temes Vosotros (m.) temeis
Vosotras