The Ultimate Spanish Grammar Rules Cheat Sheet (+PDF)

Have you ever wished you could have a cheat sheet that explained all the Spanish grammar rules quickly and simply? Well, today’s your lucky day!

In this blog post, we’re going to briefly review everything from stress rules to verb conjugations in the Spanish language. ¿Listo para aprender todo la gramática del español?

Spanish Grammar Rules: Stress

Spanish grammar rules include much more than just verbs and conjugation. Grammar includes sentence formation, punctuation, and word stress. The stress of a word refers to which syllable takes the emphasis. These rules are extremely important because a misplaced emphasis can change the meaning of the word, just like in English. For example, saying ob-ject refers to a thing, but ob-ject is a verb used to express disagreement. 

The same thing applies to words in Spanish. However, while we learn the English stress rules intuitively, the Spanish rules may take some getting used to. Here are three basic rules to get you started.

• If a word ends in an S, N, or a vowel, the emphasis goes on the next to last syllable.
  • Li-bro
  • Des-or-den
  • Lla-ma-das
• If a word ends in any other consonant, the emphasis goes on the last syllable.
  • Es-cri-bir
  • Az-ul
  • Pa-pel
• Many words don’t follow these rules. If the stress falls on an abnormal syllable, there will be an accent mark.
  • Mú-si-ca
  • Tel-lé-fon-o
  • Pro-mo-ción

Spanish Grammar Rules: Accent Marks

Accent marks, or tildes, are extremely important to correct Spanish spelling and comprehension. Not only do they help us know where the stress of the word is, they also help differentiate between two similar words.

• Showing emphasis of a word
• Differentiating between two similar words
  • Sí and si (“yes” and “if”)
  • Tú and tu (“you” and “your”)
  • Mí and mi (“me” and “my”)
  • Aún and aun (“still” and “even”)
  • Dé and de (conjugation of dar and “of”)
  • Esté and este (conjugation of estar and “this”)
  • Question words and non-question words
    • Qué and que (“what” and “that”)
    • Cuánto and cuanto (“how much” and “as much as”)

Spanish Grammar Rules: Capitalization

The English language has numerous rules about when to capitalize a word. Thankfully, Spanish has fewer capitalization rules. 

• DO capitalize:
  • Names of people
    • Sus nombres son María y Jessica. (Their names are María and Jessica.)
  • Names of countries
    • Hemos viajado a Paraguay, Brasil y Argentina. (We have traveled to Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina.)
  • The first word only in a title
    • El libro se llama Cien años de soledad. (The book is called One Hundred Years of Solitude.)
  • The first word in a sentence
    • Quiero comprar una mascota. (I want to buy a pet.)
• DO NOT capitalize:
  • Days of the week
    • La fiesta es el viernes. (The party is on Friday.)
  • Months of the year
    • Nos vamos a Europa en octubre. (We’re going to Europe in October.)
  • Titles like señor or doctor
    • El señor Ramírez va a pasar más tarde. (Mr. Ramírez is coming by later.)
  • Nationalities
    • Yo soy rusa. (I am Russian.)
  • Languages
    • ¿Hablas alemán? (Do you speak German?)
  • Religion
    • Ellos son católicos. (They are Catholic.)

Spanish Grammar Rules: Punctuation

English and Spanish are comparable on many levels, but slight differences in punctuation can make or break an email or letter. Here are some of the major differences in punctuation.

• When making a list, never put a comma before the words “and” or “or.”
  • Necesitamos naranjas, bananos y manzanas. (We need oranges, bananas, and apples.)
• When ending a sentence in a question mark or exclamation point, start the phrase with an upside down punctuation mark. They don’t always go at the beginning of a sentence, just at the start of the question or exclamatory phrase.
  • No sé yo, pero ¿qué crees tú? (I don’t know, but what do you think?)
  • ¡Qué emoción! (How exciting!)
• When writing what people have said, always put the punctuation AFTER the quotation marks.
  • “Quiero salir a comer”, me dijo Carlos. (“I want to go out to eat,” Carlos told me.)
• In Spanish literature, the quotation marks are often replaced by «». 
  • «Quiero salir a comer», me dijo Carlos. (““I want to go out to eat,” Carlos told me.)
• In some books, lines of dialogue can also be marked by a hyphen.
  • – Quiero salir a comer. (I want to go out to eat.)
    – ¿Adónde quieres ir? (Where do you want to go?)
    – No sé. (I don’t know.)
• When addressing an email, put a colon after the introduction.
  • Querida Adriana: (Dear Adriana,)

Spanish Grammar Rules: Articles

The Spanish language has multiple articles. Since the nouns change based on gender and plurality, the articles that go before them must change as well.

• The definite articles include el, la, los, and las.
  • El is for singular, masculine nouns.
    • El perro (the dog)
  • La is for singular, feminine nouns.
    • La mariposa (the butterfly)
  • Los is for plural, masculine nouns.
    • Los perros (the dogs)
  • Las is for plural, feminine nouns.
    • Las mariposas (the butterflies)
• The indefinite articles include un, una, unos, and unas.
  • Un is for singular, masculine nouns.
    • Un perro (a dog)
  • Una is for singular, feminine nouns.
    • Una mariposa (a butterfly)
  • Unos is for plural, masculine nouns.
    • Unos perros (some dogs)
  • Unas is for plural, feminine nouns.
    • Unas mariposas (some butterflies)

A quick tip: the word uno is only ever used as a number. As an article, the word is always un.

Spanish Grammar Rules: Nouns and Gender

Every noun has a gender: either masculine or feminine. While some of the words are easy to tell the gender, others are not so straightforward. Make sure any article or adjective that goes with the noun also agrees in gender if it ends in -o or -a. 

• In general, words that end with -o are masculine, and words that end with -a are feminine. 
  • El caballo (the horse)
  • La rosa (the rose)
• There are many exceptions to this rule. Some of the most common words include:
  • El agua (the water)
  • La radio (the radio)
  • La mano (the hand)
  • El idioma (the language)
• For words that end in other vowels and consonants, you must memorize the gender. However, many words that end in -ión are feminine. 
  • La región (the region)
  • La educación (the education)
  • El tigre (the tiger)
  • El lápiz (the pencil)

Spanish Grammar Rules: Plurality

Forming plural words in Spanish is similar to English. You either add -s or -es to any given noun. However, if you make a noun plural, you must make the adjective and article plural as well. 

• If a word ends in a vowel, add -s
  • Caballos (horses)
  • Cámaras (cameras)
  • Estudiantes (students)
• If a word ends in a consonant, add -es
  • Buses (buses)
  • Leyes (laws)
  • Ciudades (cities)
• If a word has an accent mark on the final syllable, it disappears in the plural form
  • Lección – lecciones (lessons)
  • Religión – religiones (religions)
• If a word ends in -z, the letter changes to -c in the plural form
  • Lápiz – lápices (pencils)
  • Lombriz – lombrices (worms)

Spanish Grammar Rules: Adverbs, Adjectives, and Nouns

No set rule exists for what an adverb, adjective, or noun looks like. However, there are several common forms to look out for.

• Many Spanish adjectives end in -ivo
  • Obsesivo – obsessive
  • Festivo – festive
  • Efectivo – effective
• Many Spanish adjectives end in -oso
  • Delicioso – delicious
  • Cuidadoso – careful
  • Poderoso – powerful
• Many Spanish adverbs end in -mente
  • Cuidadosamente – carefully
  • Lentamente – slowly
  • Suavemente – softly
• Many nouns end in -ión
  • Vacación – vacation
  • Educación – education
  • Región – region

Spanish Grammar Rules: Prepositions

Spanish contains numerous prepositions i, so let’s look at the most common ones.

• A – at, to
  • Vamos a la tienda. (Let’s go to the store.)
  • Duermo a las 8. (I go to sleep at 8.)
• De – of, from
  • Esa es la computadora de Daniel. (That is Daniel’s computer.)
  • Él es de España. (He is from Spain.)
• En – in, on
  • Dejé mi billetera en la mesa. (I left my wallet on the table.)
  • Dejé mi billetera en la caja. (I left my wallet in the box.)
• Con – with
  • Me gusta el pollo con mayonesa. (I like chicken with mayonnaise.)
• Sin – without
  • No puedo ver una película sin comer poporopos. (I can’t watch a movie without eating popcorn.)
• Por – for, by
  • Pasé por mi dinero. (I came by for my money.)
  • El libro fue escrito por mi amiga. (The book was written by my friend.)
• Para – for, in order to
  • Eso es para la cena. (That is for dinner.)
  • Estudié en la universidad para ser un profesional. (I studied in college in order to be a professional.)
• Sobre – on, about
  • Hablamos sobre nuestros gustos. (We talked about our interests.)
  • La hoja está sobre la mesa. (The paper is on the table.)

Some verbs are always followed by a preposition.

• These verbs are followed by a before another verb.
  • Aprender (to learn)
    • Quiero aprender a pescar. (I want to learn to fish.)
  • Comenzar (to start)
    • Comenzamos a preparar. (We started to prepare.)
  • Ir (to go)
    • Vamos a compartir. (We’re going to share.)
• These verbs are followed by con.
  • Contar (to count)
    • Tú puedes contar conmigo. (You can count on me.)
  • Soñar (to dream)
    • Soñé con Alicia anoche. (I dreamed of Alicia last night.)
• These verbs are followed by de.
  • Dejar (to quit, leave)
    • Ya dejé de fumar. (I already quit smoking.)
  • Olvidarse (to forget)
    • Nunca me voy a olvidar de lo que pasó. (I’m never going to forget what happened.)
  • Acabar (to finish/just)
    • Acabo de terminar. (I just finished.)
  • Tratar (to try)
    • Trata de enfocarte más. (Try to focus more.)
• These verbs are followed by en.
  • Insistir (to insist)
    • Ella inista en eso. (She insists on that.)
  • Tardar (to take time)
    • No tardes en venir. (Don’t take too long.)

Spanish Grammar Rules: Verbs

The Spanish grammar rules of verbs are quite complex. There are three moods of Spanish verbs: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive. The indicative mood includes the majority of the verb tenses, from the present simple to the imperfect. The imperative mood includes both positive and negative commands. The subjunctive mood talks about hypothetical situations and includes many of the same verb tenses as the indicative mood, just with different conjugations.

When you look at the conjugations of each tense, they are separated into three groups based on the ending of the infinitive verbs. All Spanish verbs end in an -AR, -ER, or -IR. The -ER and -IR verbs often have the same conjugations, but in some tenses, there are slight differences. 

Regular Verbs: Indicative Mood

When a verb follows the general conjugation rules, it is called a regular verb. A verb can be regular in one tense, but irregular in another. Let’s look at the regular conjugations for the indicative mood.

Present Simple

Past Simple

Imperfect

Conditional

For the conditional form, the -AR, -ER, and -IR endings are not removed. The following endings are added directly to the infinitive form.

Future

For the future form, the -AR, -ER, and -IR endings are not removed. The following endings are added directly to the infinitive form.

Regular Verbs: Imperative Mood

The imperative mood has only two tenses: affirmative and negative commands. These conjugations are only for a few pronouns since you cannot give commands to yourself or to third parties. Technically, the nosotros form below is a subjunctive conjugation, but it is used as a command so it is included in this section. 

Affirmative

Negative

Regular Verbs: Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive mood is used to talk about hypothetical or potential situations.

Present

Imperfect

Future

Irregular Verbs

There is a wide range of irregular verbs in each tense. An irregularity can be as small as an accent mark in one conjugation or as big as complete changes in every conjugation. Here are some common irregularities.

Stem-changing Verbs 

These verbs exist in the present indicative tense. One of the vowels in the main verb changes to another vowel or another two vowels. This change happens in every conjugation except the nosotros form. 

• Jugar – juegas (to play)
• Poder – puedes (to be able to)
• Cerrar – cierras (to close)

Verbs that Only Change in the Yo Form

Several verbs only have a unique yo form. Other stem-changing verbs also have a unique yo conjugation.

• Saber – sé (to know)
• Estar – estoy (to be)
• Conocer – conozco (to know)

Spelling Changes for the Sake of Pronunciation

To make sure the pronunciation of a conjugated verb is similar to the infinitive pronunciation, slight changes are often required, usually in the indicative preterite. Or, to make the verb easier to pronoun, the spelling is modified slightly.

• Llegar – llegué (to arrive)
• Comenzar – comencé (to start)
• Sacar – saqué (to take out)

Completely Irregular Verbs

These verbs aren’t irregular in every tense, but they are irregular in several tenses.

• Ir (to go)
• Haber (to have, there is, there are)
• Ser (to be)
• Decir (to say)

Compound Tenses

There are two main compound tenses: progressive and perfect. 

Progressive Tenses

These tenses are made up of the verb estar and the gerund of the main verb. The gerunds never change, but estar changes based on the pronouns and the tense. Let’s first look at how to form the gerunds.

There are a few irregular forms where a y is added, like with the verb leer – leyendo. 

These gerunds can be combined with multiple different tenses of estar to form various progressive tenses.

Perfect Tenses

These tenses are made up of the verb haber and the past participle of the main verb. The participles never change, but haber changes based on the pronouns and the tense. Let’s look at how to form the past participles

Of course, many irregular past participles exist. For example:

• Escribir – escrito
• Morir – muerto
• Poner – puesto

When combined with a conjugation of haber, you can form multiple perfect tenses. Let’s look at the indicative perfect tenses, then the subjunctive perfect tenses.

Your Turn!

Now that you have the full guide to Spanish grammar rules, it’s time to use it in your Spanish conversations. If you want more tips and tricks, join our Facebook group to receive daily Spanish grammar rule posts!

Want to learn more Spanish grammar rules? Check out our latest posts!

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• Learn to Use Voseo: Vos in Spanish
• How to Write and Pronounce Spanish Accent Marks
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Ashley Reid

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

I have a B.A. in Linguistics and a passion for Spanish. I've lived in Latin America for almost a decade. I'm a freelance writer and ESL teacher, as well as a loving mom and wife. In my free time, I dabble in art and music.

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