Are you learning Spanish and need to know how to use possessives adjectives in your conversations? You've come to the right page! In this donQuijote article you will learn what are the possessive adjectives and pronouns in Spanish, how to use them and several examples to make it easier for you to understand them.

If you prefer to read in Spanish what are the possessives adjectives in Spanish, you can do it from here.

What are possessives in Spanish?

Spanish possessives are words that indicate possession or belonging to an animal, object, or thing. They are divided into two categories: possessive adjectives, also called possessive determiners, and possessive pronouns.

These Spanish words are essential for expressing relationships between people and objects, as well as for describing possession in a conversation or in a text. Here you will find a list of possessives adjectives in Spanish and some examples of how to use them.

Possessives adjectives in Spanish

Spanish possessive determiners or adjectives accompany a noun and are used to indicate to whom something belongs. The possessives adjectives in Spanish agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun they accompany.

This is the list of possessive adjectives in Spanish: mi, mis, tu, tus, su, sus, nuestro/a, nuestros/as, vuestro/a, vuestras/os. In English, these possessive adjectives correspond to: my, your, his, her, its, our, your and their.

In Spanish, each one corresponds to a personal pronoun, depending on who is speaking, for example, “mi” belongs to the person speaking, while “su” can refer to the third person singular or plural.

Here are some examples:

• Mi casa es grande (My house is big)
• Mi gato es naranja (My cat is orange)
• ¿Dónde están tus llaves? (Where are your keys?)
• Juan lava su coche (Juan washes his car)
• Es su responsabilidad, no la mía (It's his responsibility, not mine)
• Luis recoge su moto del taller (Luis picks up his bike from the garage)
• Nuestros amigos nos visitarán pronto (Our friends will visit us soon)
• ¿Dónde están sus mochilas? (Where are their backpacks?)
• Ellos han dejado sus abrigos tirados en el suelo (They have left their coats lying on the floor)
• Vuestro perro es muy juguetón (Your dog is very playful)

Possessive pronouns in Spanish

On the other hand, you can find the possessive pronouns in Spanish, which replace the noun and accompany it to indicate possession. These words also agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

The list of possessive pronouns in Spanish is: mío/a, mías/os, tuyo/a, tuyas/os, suyo/a, suyos/as, nuestras/os, nuestro/a, vuestra/o, vuestras/os. In English correspond to: mine, ours, yours, his, her, theirs and whose.

Here are some examples:

• Ese libro es mío (That book is mine)
• Esta bufanda es tuya (This scarf is yours)
• ¿Ese coche es suyo? (That car is yours?)
• Esta es nuestra casa (This is our house)
• Estas son vuestras llaves (These are your keys)
• Es su plato de comida (This is your dinner plate)
• Las galletas que hay en la mesa no son nuestras (The cookies on the table are not ours)
• No se llevaron sus maletas, sino las nuestras (They didn't take your suitcases, they took ours)

In addition, it is important to remember that possessives vary according to the context and the relationship between people. Therefore, it is important that you practice the use of possessive adjectives and pronouns in Spanish to know how to use them in different situations and how to indicate that something is yours or someone else's. Improve your understanding and skills by practicing with exchange groups or by signing up for a Spanish course in Spain.

During your Spanish learning journey, comparatives and superlatives are crucial to express differences and similarities between elements. These linguistic constructions allow you to calibrate magnitudes and qualities, giving precision to expressions and phrases.

Therefore, in this post you will learn everything you need to know and use comparatives and superlatives in Spanish. If you prefer to read this article in Spanish, you can do it in this link.

Comparatives in Spanish

Comparatives are grammatical structures that allow you to establish relationships of greater or lesser degree between two elements. These elements can be nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Comparisons in Spanish are made by using specific words and structures.

In Spanish, comparatives are constructed in different ways depending on the type of words being compared. There are three main types of comparatives: equality, superiority, and inferiority.

Comparatives of equality

Comparatives of equality in Spanish are used to express two elements that have the same quantity or quality. The basic structure is composed of “tan” + adjective/adverb + “como”.  Although other formulas such as “igual de” + adjective/adverb + “que” or “lo mismo que” can also be used.

Here are some examples:

• Juan es tan perspicaz como María (Juan is as sharp as María)
• El coche es tan rápido como la moto (The car is as fast as the motorcycle)
• La hormiga es tan lenta como la tortuga (The ant is as slow as the tortoise)
• La entrada de cine cuesta lo mismo que la del teatro (The movie ticket costs the same as a theater ticket)
• La tarta es igual de dulce que el flan (The cake is as sweet as the custard)

Comparatives of superiority

When you want to indicate that one element is superior in magnitude or quality to another, you can use the comparative of superiority. These are formed by using the word “más” with adjectives and adverbs of two or more syllables. Some examples are:

• Este libro es más interesante que el anterior (This book is more interesting than the previous one)
• María es más alta que Juan (Maria is taller than Juan)
• El gato es más ágil que el perro (The cat is more agile than the dog)
• Mi hermana es más organizada que yo (My sister is more organized than I am)
• El clima en la costa es más agradable que en el interior del país (The weather on the coast is nicer than in the interior of the country)

Comparatives of inferiority

Finally, comparatives of inferiority indicate that one element is inferior in magnitude or quality to the other. They are constructed using the word “menos” with adjectives and adverbs of two or more syllables. Examples include:

• Este ejercicio es menos complicado que el anterior (This exercise is less complicated than the previous one)
• Juan es menos hábil que María (Juan is less skilled than Maria)
• El invierno es menos cálido que el verano (Winter is less warm than summer)
• Este coche es menos costoso que el que vimos ayer (This car is less expensive than the one we saw yesterday)
• El examen de hoy fue menos difícil que el de la semana pasada (Today's test was less difficult than last week's test)

Special forms

Some adjectives and adverbs in Spanish have different forms to express degree or difference. These are the most common ones:

• Mejor – bueno / bien
• Peor - malo / mal
• Mayor - grande / más viejo
• Menor – pequeño / más joven

Superlatives in Spanish

Superlatives offer the possibility of expressing the highest, greatest, smallest, or most notable of a category, providing precision and emphasis to conversations. They are grammatical structures used to indicate the maximum magnitude or quality of a noun, adjective or adverb.

In Spanish, there are different ways of expressing the superlative, each adapted to the characteristics of the word being modified.

Absolute superlatives

These superlatives emphasize the quality in its highest degree without making comparisons. They are formed by adding the suffixes “-ísísimo”, “-ísima”, “-ísimos” or “-ísimas” to the adjective. For example:

• Hermoso – Hermosísimo (Beautiful)
• Rápido → Rápidísimo (Fast)

Some examples in sentences are:

• El paisaje desde la montaña es bellísimo (The scenery from the mountain is beautiful)
• Este postre está riquísimo (This dessert is delicious)
• La tormenta fue intensísima anoche (The storm was very intense last night)

Relative superlatives

Relative superlatives compare an element with others of the same category, highlighting the most prominent or the least prominent. The words “más” and “menos” + “de” are used before the noun. Here are some example sentences:

• Pablo es el más talentoso de todos los músicos (Pablo is the most talented of all the musicians)
• Marta es la menos extrovertida de las amigas (Marta is the least extroverted of her friends)
• Luis es el más alto de la clase (Luis is the tallest in the class)

Superlatives of inferiority

These superlatives indicate the maximum magnitude in the negative degree, highlighting the lesser quality or quantity. The words "más" and "menos" are used together with the noun. Some examples are:

• Este libro es el más aburrido que he leído (This book is the most boring book I have ever read)
• Luis es el menos comprometido con el proyecto (Luis is the least committed to the project)
• Juan es el menos hábil en la cocina (John is the least skilled in the kitchen)
• Esta clase es la menos interesante de toda la carrera (This class is the least interesting of the whole career)

Comparatives in Spanish not only enrich your expressive ability, but also reveal the subtleties and particularities of the language. From comparisons of equality to comparisons of superiority and superlatives, each grammatical construction brings nuances that contribute to more precise and enriching communication.

Although the differences between Spanish and your native language may be different, mastering these structures in Spanish brings you closer to an advanced command of the language. Learning Spanish in Spain with don Quijote's intensive Spanish courses will allow you to discover extraordinary cities and improve your command of the language in a short period of time.

Do you want to expand your knowledge of Spanish? Dive into food vocabulary in Spanish to help you communicate with Spanish speakers. If you are taking your first steps in learning Spanish, or if you are planning a visit to a country like Spain or Mexico, in this post you will learn the key to Spanish vocabulary about food.

If you prefer to read this article in Spanish, you can click here. Let's get started!

Basic meals

The first step is to know how to distinguish the types of food in Spanish, i.e., the basic meals of a day. In addition, in Spain you will also hear about the “aperitivo” or “merienda”.

The first meal of the day: breakfast. After waking up, starting the day with energy is possible thanks to breakfast. You can say: “Me gusta empezar el día con un buen desayuno. Un café con leche y unas tostadas con jamón serrano” (“I like to start the day with a good breakfast. A coffee with milk and toast with serrano ham”).

The “aperitivo” (aperitif) is a typical meal in Mediterranean countries such as Spain or France. It is a light meal designed to whet the appetite before the main meal.

The midday lunch is the main time to savour delicious Spanish dishes. You can choose from a wide variety of food to try typical dishes from Galicia, Valencia or Madrid.

Also typical of Spanish-speaking countries, the “merienda” (snack) is a type of meal eaten mid-afternoon, before dinner. It is very common at this time to have some fruit or sweets.

Finally, dinner is the perfect occasion to enjoy lighter or more substantial dishes. It is even the ideal time to go out with friends to enjoy a delicious dinner and spend a quiet evening in good company.

Types of food

Now that you know the different times of the day to eat, it is time to start dividing foods into various types. To make it easier for you, we are going to divide them into: fruit; vegetables; meat, fish and eggs; milk and dairy products; legumes and nuts; and drinks.

This Spanish food vocabulary will be very useful in supermarkets, restaurants or conversations with friends.

Fruits

• Manzana (Apple)
• Plátano (Banana)
• Naranja (Orange)
• Pera (Pear)
• Piña (Pineapple)
• Fresa (Strawberry)
• Sandía (Watermelon)
• Uva (Grape)
• Limón (Lemon)
• Melón (Melon)
• Cereza (Cherry)
• Arándano (Blueberry)
• Coco (Coconut)
• Kiwi (Kiwi)
• Melocotón (Peach)
• Tomate (Tomato)

Vegetables:

• Lechuga (Lettuce)
• Brócoli (Broccoli)
• Zanahoria (Carrot)
• Aguacate (Avocado)
• Pepino (Cucumber)
• Cebolla (Onion)
• Pimiento (Pepper)
• Patata (Potato)
• Espinacas (Spinach)
• Ajo (Garlic)
• Apio (Celery)
• Espárrago (Asparagus)
• Guisantes (Peas)
• Maíz (Corn)
• Coliflor (Cauliflower)
• Calabacín (Courgette)
• Berenjena (Aubergine or Eggplant)
• Champiñón (Mushroom)

Meat, fish and eggs:

• Huevo (Egg)
• Pollo (Chicken)
• Jamón (Ham)
• Carne de vaca (Beef)
• Chorizo (Chorizo or Spicy pork sausage)
• Ternera (Veal)
• Cerdo (Pork)
• Cordero (Lamb)
• Pato (Duck)
• Beicon (Bacon)
• Pavo (Turkey)
• Salchichas (Sausages)
• Pescado (Fish)
• Marisco (Seafood)
• Salmón (Salmon)
• Atún (Tuna)
• Camarón (Shrimp)
• Gamba (Prawn)

Milk and dairy products:

• Leche (Milk)
• Mantequilla (Butter)
• Queso (Cheese)
• Yogur (Yoghurt)
• Nata (Cream)
• Helado (Ice cream)

Legumes and nuts:

• Arroz (Rice)
• Garbanzos (Chickpeas)
• Lentejas (Lentils)
• Judías (Beans)
• Fideos (Noodles)
• Nueces (Nuts)
• Anacardos (Cashew nuts)
• Pistachos (Pistachios)
• Almendras (Almonds)

Drinks:

• Agua (Water)
• Café (Coffee)
• Refresco (Soda)
• Vino (Wine)
• Cerveza (Beer)
• Batido (Milkshake)
• Té (Tea)
• Zumo (Juice)

Others:

• Pan (Bread)
• Pasta (Pasta)
• Avena (Oats)
• Mermelada (Jam)
• Mayonesa (Mayonnaise)
• Tortilla (Omelette)
• Azúcar (Sugar)
• Chocolate (Chocolate)
• Galletas (Cookies)
• Chuches (Candy)
• Tarta (Cake or pie)
• Palomitas (Popcorn)
• Cereales (Cereals)
• Miel (Honey)

Did you know all these foods in Spanish? Remember that the best way to learn Spanish food vocabulary is to practice. So, you can do the exercise of trying to incorporate these words into your daily life.

But if you prefer to learn Spanish in Spain surrounded by culture, history and life, you can sign up for don Quijote Spanish courses. Choose from 11 destinations throughout Spain or visit Mexico at our school in Playa del Carmen. Dive into Spanish culture and discover unique and delicious cuisine, while improving your Spanish food vocabulary.

Do you want to expand your Spanish grammar? Today you are going to learn an important aspect of Spanish grammar: demonstratives. These little words help you point out and focus on specific objects, people or places.

If you are a student looking to improve your Spanish grammar, you are in the right place! In this article you will learn the demonstratives in Spanish with practical and easy examples.

If you prefer practicing your skills, you can click here to read this article in Spanish.

What are demonstratives?

Spanish demonstratives are used to indicate the location or identity of something in relation to the person speaking (me), the person being spoken to (you), or the person or thing being talked about. Demonstratives can be adjectives or pronouns and vary in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural).

Adjective demonstratives in Spanish

Adjective demonstratives are used to accompany a noun and agree with it in gender and number. The demonstratives in Spanish are: “este”, “ese”, “aquel”, and their feminine and plural variants.

• Este (masculine singular) and esta (feminine singular) (This).

They are used to refer to objects or people that are close in space or time in relation to the person speaking. For example: “Este libro es interesante” (“This book is interesting”) or “Esta película es emocionante” (“This movie is exciting”).

• Estos (masculine plural) and estas (feminine plural) (These).

Indicates close objects in the plural. Examples: “Estos coches son rápidos” (“These cars are fast”) or “Estas flores son bonitas” (“These flowers are beautiful”).

• Ese (masculine singular) and esa (feminine singular) (That).

They are used to refer to objects or people that are at a certain distance in space or time in relation to the person speaking. For example: “Ese edificio es alto” (“That building is tall”) or “Esa película fue muy divertida” (“That movie was a lot of fun”).

• Esos (masculine plural) and esas (feminine plural) (Those).

Indicates objects or people at a certain distance in the plural. Example: “Esos perros están jugetones” (“Those dogs are playful”) or “Esas montañas están nevadas” (“Those mountains are snowy”).

• Aquel (masculine singular) and aquella (feminine singular) (That).

They are used to refer to objects or persons that are far away in space or time in relation to the person speaking. For example: “Aquel castillo es viejo” (“That castle is old”) or “Aquella canción era popular en los años 80” (“That song was popular in the 80's”).

• Aquellos (masculine plural) and aquellas (feminine plural) (Those).

Neutral demonstratives and adverbs of place

In addition to these demonstratives, in Spanish you can also find the neutral demonstratives: esto, eso and aquello. These demonstratives are used to refer to something in an abstract way, without specifying gender or number. For example:

• “Eso que me contó me sorprendió” (“What he told me surprised me a lot”)
• “Esto que me cuentas es interesante” (“What you are telling me is interesting”)

On the other hand, we find demonstratives in Spanish that are associated with adverbs of place and indicate three degrees of distance: aquí, ahí and allí. Here are some examples:

• “Aquí está mi coche” (“Here is my car”). It is used to indicate that it is close to the speaker.
• “Ahí me encontré con mi amigo” (“There I met my friend”). It is used to indicate that it is a little far from the speaker.
• “Allí se produjo el accidente” (“There the incident took place”). It is used to indicate that it is far away from the speaker.

Demonstrative pronouns in Spanish

Demonstratives pronouns stand in for a noun and agree in gender and number. When the noun to which they refer has already been mentioned, it can be deleted. The demonstrative pronouns in Spanish are: éste, ése, aquél and their feminine and plural variants.

For example, in a conversation you can hear: "Me gustan estos zapatos" ("I like these shoes") and "Yo prefiero éstos otros en marron" ("I prefer those others in brown"). The demonstrative agrees in gender and number referring to the noun “zapatos”.

Practical examples with demonstratives in Spanish

Here are some more examples with demonstratives in Spanish:

Imagine you are in a clothes shop, and you want to say that you like a particular garment. You can say: “Me gusta esta camiseta” (“I like this T-shirt”) or “Me gusta esta blusa” (“I like this blouse”). The demonstrative in Spanish distinguishes between masculine, the T-shirt, and feminine, the blouse.

On the other hand, suppose you are talking about something that is far away from you, like a mountain. You would say, “Esa montaña es imponente” (“That mountain is imposing”). On the other hand, if you are pointing to something that is really far away, such as a building on the other side of town, you might say, “Aquel edificio es muy alto” (“That building is very tall”).

For the plural, the dynamic is the same. Imagine you are in a market, and you want to comment with another person on the condition of the fruit. You can use phrases like: “Esas manzanas parecen deliciosas” (“Those apples look delicious”) or “Estos platanos están maduros” (“These bananas are ripe”).

In summary, Spanish demonstratives are very flexible and can be used in many different situations. The key to mastering them is to practice and observe how they are used in real contexts. Don't be afraid to make mistakes; practice is the key to improving your Spanish skills.

Also, if you want to learn Spanish in Spain, don't hesitate to take a look at our Spanish courses in 11 different destinations. The courses start every Monday of the year and are suitable for all ages and levels.

Are you learning Spanish and want to expand your vocabulary? You've come to the right place; in this article you will learn all the vocabulary you need to know to ask for directions in Spanish or an address when you're lost. But if you want to practice and read this text in Spanish click here. Enjoy the reading!

The importance of directions in Spanish

Knowing the directions is essential for getting around with confidence in a Spanish-speaking country. Asking for directions to an address, a place, or a restaurant, as well as telling someone how to get to the nearest metro station is essential for getting around in a place where Spanish is spoken.

Whether you are learning the language and want to expand your vocabulary or travelling to a new city and looking for a specific address, knowing how to ask for or understand directions in Spanish is essential. Here we will provide you some key Spanish phrases along with their English translations and practical examples of usage.

Asking for directions:

• ¿Dónde está...? (Where is...?)
• ¿Cómo llego a...? (How do I get to...?)

If you want to ask for the nearest metro or train station, the Spanish question would be: ¿Dónde está la estación de tren? (Where is the train station?) or ¿Cómo llego a la estación de metro? (How do I get to the metro station?).

On the other hand, if you are looking for a restaurant or a specific building, such as a museum, you could ask: ¿Dónde está el Museo del Prado (Where is the Prado Museum?) or ¿Cómo llego al restaurante de sushi? (How do I get to the sushi restaurant?).

Receiving directions:

• Gira a la derecha (Turn right)
• Gira a la izquierda (Turn left)
• Seguir recto (Go straight ahead)

Example: If a person tells you how to get to a place that is close by, it could say: Gira a la derecha en la próxima esquina (Turn right at the next corner) or Sigue recto y gira a la izquierda, encontrarás tu destino (Go straight ahead and turn left, you'll find your destination).

Distances, locations and landmarks

• Cerca de aquí (Nearby)
• Lejos de aquí (Far from here)
• Al lado de (Next to)
• En frente de (In front of)

For example, if you must ask for directions to a shop or a bar, these are some typical phrases people can use: The sushi restaurant is nearby, just turn right to that street (El restaurante de sushi está cerca de aquí, solo gira a la derecha por esa calle) or La tienda está en frente del parque (The grocery store is in front of the park).

Confirmation and expressing gratitude:

• ¿Es por aquí? (Is it this way?)
• ¿Entendido? (Understood?)
• Gracias por tu ayuda (Thank you for your help)
• Estoy perdido/a (I am lost)

You may have understood the directions, but you want to make sure you do. These phrases will be useful to confirm it: ¿Por aquí se va a la calle principal? (Is it this way to the main street?) or El restaurante está por esa calle, ¿verdad (The restaurant is down that street, isn't it?).

And if you want to thank your interlocutor for his or her directions in Spanish, you can use this sentence: Gracias por tu ayuda, ahora sé cómo llegar (Thank you for your help, now I know how to get there).

Essential vocabulary to directions in Spanish

Remember that when you travel and ask for directions in Spanish, it is very useful to have a map or a mobile phone at hand. People are usually friendly and helpful, so don't hesitate to ask if you feel lost in an unknown city.

Because learning Spanish is an adventure and, if you are in a Spanish-speaking country like Spain, what better opportunity than to talk to the people of Madrid, Barcelona or Salamanca to ask for directions in Spanish and get to your destination. You will practice the language while discovering cities full of culture, art and good food.

Welcome to the definitive article for learning how to use accent marks in Spanish. Starting today, the use of accent marks in Spanish will no longer be a problem and you will be able to create mistake-free pieces of writing, just like a native speaker of the Spanish language—and, sometimes, even better.

Do you recognize this graphic symbol: (´)? You’ve probably seen many Spanish words that have accent marks but, perhaps, you still do not know very well why. Today, we are going to deal with the general rules for using accent marks in Spanish. We will also refer to those words that escape these rules so don’t make any mistakes. Click here to continue reading in Spanish if you want to practice your reading skills. Shall we start?

Groups of words according to stressed syllables

To understand the use of accent marks in Spanish, you must first know that all words are made of syllables, or units of pronunciation. In Spanish, there are:

1. One-syllable words(called monosyllables): pan (bread), sol (sun), flor (flower).

2.Two-syllable words:libro(li-bro) (English: book), casa (ca-sa) (house), mamá (ma-má) (mother).

3.Three (or more) syllable words: profesor (pro-fe-sor) (English: teacher), libreta (li-bre-ta) (“notebook”), importante (im-por-tan-te) (“important”), teléfono (te-lé-fo-no) (“telephone”), sábado (sá-ba-do) (“Saturday”).

The syllable that is stressed, and therefore more intensively pronounced, is called tonic syllable. This syllable can be placed:

• At the end of the word. In Spanish, we call them agudas. (Words stressed on the last syllable). E.g.: Ma-má, pro-fe-sor.
• On the penultimate syllable. In Spanish, we call them llanas. (Words stressed on the second-to-last syllable. E.g.: Li-bro, ca-sa, li-bre-ta, im-por-tan-te.
• On the antepenultimate syllable. In Spanish, we call them esdrújulas. (Words stressed on the third-to-last syllable ). E.g.: Te-lé-fo-no, sá-ba-do.
• On those syllables before the antepenultimate in Spanish, we call them "sobresdrújulas” E.g.: Prac-ti-ca-men-te, có-me-te-lo.

Welcome to a new academic article! This time let us begin with a bit of etymology. The Spanish word mayúscula (uppercase) comes from the latin word maiusculus, which means ‘bigger’. On the other hand, minúscula (lowercase) comes from the term minusculus, which means the opposite: ‘smaller’. That said, get ready to read about words that are written with ‘bigger’, uppercase letters (A, B, C, D…) and ‘smaller’ or lowercase letters (a, b, c, d…).

As a rule, Spanish is mainly written in lower case. In fact, the use of upper case is much more restricted than in other languages, such as English. Keep on reading to learn about capitalization rules in Spanish or click here to switch to the Spanish version of this post.

Uppercase Spanish Alphabet

To use Spanish uppercase letters properly, you need to know first how they look. If you can speak any other Latin-based language, the Spanish alphabet will look familiar. Except for the letter Ñ, it is pretty similar to the English one. These are the uppercase letters in Spanish:

A             B             C             D             E             F             G            H             I              J              K             L

M           N            Ñ             O            P             Q            R             S              T             U            V             W

X             Y             Z

How to Use Upper and Lowercase in Spanish

But let’s get down to the topic: when are Spanish words written with capital letters? RAE has published a complete guide on the use of uppercase and lowercase letters in Spanish. We have summarized that information a few points that will answer most of your questions.

Uppercase Words in Spanish

These are the types of words that are always written with capital letters.

1. First Word in Any Text or Sentence

Just as in many other languages, Spanish written texts begin with an uppercase letter. Want to know something interesting? You’ve probably seen sometimes a big, beautiful, hand-drawn letter at the beginning of ancient manuscripts. It is called an initial or drop cap, and it is an uppercase letter decorated in a special way that guides the reader through the text. Nowadays, we still use uppercase letters to start writing a text or to begin a sentence.

2. First Word after a Full Stop

As defined in the previous point, every word after a full stop is considered to be the beginning o a new sentence. For this reason, its first letter must be an uppercase letter. For example:

Hoy no iré. Mañana puede que sí.

(I won’t go today. Maybe tomorrow.)

3. Proper Nouns

For example, people’s names and surnames (José Martín); countries, cities, and other place names (España, Buenos Aires, río Nilo); brands (Zara); institutions (Real Academia de la Lengua); galaxies, constellations, stars, planets, and satellites (la Vía Láctea, la Osa Mayor, el Sol, Mercurio); and zodiac signs (Aries).

4. Cardinal Points

The four cardinal points are written with uppercase letters in Spanish: Norte, Sur, Este, and Oeste, as well as their combinations (Noreste, Sudeste…) However, when we use this points merely as a reference, they are written in small caps. For example:

La brújula señala el Norte (The compass points North)

El norte de Europa es bastante frío (The North of Europe is pretty cold)

5. Abbreviations

Acronyms and abbreviations are always written in uppercase letters: UGT (Unión General de Trabajadore – a trade union), ONCE (Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles – a Spanish Foundation for blind people), EE.UU. (short for Estados Unidos).

Lowercase Words in Spanish

Due to English influence, many times we feel tempted to use uppercase letters when we are not supposed to, as the Spanish language doesn’t capitalize words that much. Here are some basic rules to avoid mistakes. What’s supposed to be written with lowercase letters?

1. Common Nouns

That’s an easy one to remember: coche (car), perro (dog), ordenador (computer)…

2. Generic Landmark Nouns

Streets (calle), promenades (paseo), avenues (avenida) as well as cathedrals (catedral) and other landmark-types. For example:

Vamos a dar un paseo por la calle Mayor (Let’s go for a walk around calle Mayor)

La catedral de Burgos es muy bonita (Burgos catedral is very beautiful)

3. Job Titles

Job titles such as rey (king), president (president), director, etc. are usually written in lowercase letters. However, it is pretty usual to see them capitalized when referred to a specific person, without mentioning his or her name. For example:

El presidente del Gobierno es Pedro Sánchez (The Prime Minister is Pedro Sánchez)

El Presidente anunció el otro día el cierre de las fronteras (The Prime Minister announced the border closure)

4. Geographic Features

Although the proper noun of certain geographical features is written in uppercase letters, the feature’s type (island, sea…) goes always in small caps. Let’s see a couple of examples:

El volcán Teide  (The volcano Teide)        El río Nilo (The Nile river)

5. Nationality

This is one of the most common errors using uppercase letters. All nationality adjectives, such as mexicano (Mexican), inglesa (English-female), española (Spaniard-female) or tibetano (Tibetan) are always written with lowercase initials.

Non-Standard Use of Uppercase Letters

Uppercase letters are often used to emphasize concepts. The netiquette (the way things are done on the Internet) marks that, when using all caps in the social media or in a chat, we are actually shouting.

Hope you found this blog post useful to decide whether you need to write uppercase or lowercase letters in Spanish. Thank you very much to Ramón, our Head of Studies at don Quijote Malaga, for putting his knowledge down to words. If you still have further questions, please leave a comment so we can work it out.

Do you know which are the 5 most common words in Spanish?

De (‘of’)                                              Que (‘that’, ‘which’, ‘who’)

La (‘the’, fem.)                                   En (‘in’)

El (‘the’, masc.)

And do you know what? Two of them are articles. To master Spanish language like a native, you need to really understand how this grammatical category works. Today’s blog post features Lucas, our Head of Studies in don Quijote Seville, talking about tips and tricks to use Spanish articles like an expert.

Keep on reading to discover some particular uses of Spanish articles or click here to switch to the Spanish translation and practice your reading skills. Let’s get started!

Masculine or feminine?

In your Spanish lessons, you’ve probably always learned that words ending in -a are usually feminine. Well, although that’s true, feminine words are not always preceded by the feminine article la. In fact, feminine names starting with a stressed letter a are introduced by masculine articles. For example:

El ala izquierda del edificio

(The left wing of the building)

El área afectada por el incendio es de 3 hectáreas

(The area affected by the fire is 7.4 acres)

Un águila

(An eagle)

With or without article?

Not all names are preceded by an article. Proper nouns are a clear example of that, both in English and in Spanish. Despite of that, in some Spanish regions and due to Catalan’s influence, it is customary to introduce people’s names with the articles el or la. Bear in mind though that in Spanish proper nouns aren’t usually introduced by articles. Here are some exceptions to the rule:

1. Very informal use of people’s names. For example:

Dile al [a + el] Antonio que baje a por pan al supermercado.

(Tell Antonio to get bread from the supermarket)

La Mari es la hija de la Antonia, la del quinto piso.

(Mari is the daughter of Antonia, the neighbor on the 5^th floor)

2. People differentiation. For example:

- ¿Ha venido Paco?

- ¿Qué Paco? ¿El de la oficina?

- No, no. El Paco amigo de Juana.

( - Has Paco come?
- Which Paco? The one from the office?

- No, no. The one (Paco) who is friends with Juana.)

3. When the proper noun becomes an adjective. For example:

Tu hijo juega increíble al fútbol, está hecho un Messi con el balón.

(Your son is great at soccer, he’s such a Messi with the ball)

Omission of the article

When we link a profession to a specific person in Spanish, we usually elide the article. Here are some examples:

- Mi padre es médico, ¿y el tuyo?

- El mío es profesor de secundaria.

                (- Mi father is a doctor. What about yours?

                 - Mine is a high school teacher.)

In newspaper headlines, dropping the articles is common technique journalists use to achieve a more expressive effect. For example:

Paro, pobreza e inestabilidad, consecuencias de la crisis económica.

(Unemployment, poverty and volatility, the consequences of the economic crisis)

Generalizations

Sometimes, the article is also used to generalize a category. In these cases, it occupies the subject position. For example:

El café y la patata son productos originarios de América Latina.

(Coffee and potatoes are original from Latin America)

El petróleo es un bien preciado porque es finito.

(Oil is a prized asset because it is finite)

Hope you found this article about articles useful ? If you want to keep learning Spanish with regular grammar pills, follow @don_Quijote on Twitter. Learning can be fun!

What date is this?

03/04/05

It could be April 3, 2005; maybe April 5, 2003; even May 4, 2003.

Whatever your answer is, you’re right! It all depends the language you are writing or reading in.

So, for you to write your birthdate correctly, and also to date historical moments or clear any doubt, today we’re talking about how to write the date in Spanish.

Continue reading this post in English or switch to the Spanish version.

The correct way to write the date in Spanish speaking countries like Mexico, Spain or Costa Rica is in ascending order: day, month, year. An example of this might be: 10 de agosto de 1992 (English: 10 of August of 1992).

This is the system to write dates in Spanish, putting always the preposition of (de in Spanish) between day and month, and between month and year. In this way, the date is so much clear and will be no doubts about the day.

If you find any date wrote like this: agosto 10, de 1992 (English: August 10, of 1992), that means that it is written in Spanish but with English order. In most English-speaking countries, you must write the dates in a descending order: month, day, year.

But so that there is no room for error in official or international documents, the ISO 8601 (acronym for International Organization for Standardization) says that it is better to point out first the longer periods of time and end with the shortest. That is year, month, day: 1992-08-10.

In Spanish, you can write the date only in letters and it would look like this: diez de agosto de mil novecientos noventa y dos (English: ten of August, nineteen ninety-two). But this is used exclusively in legal or very solemn documents.

The most common is to see the date written in the shortened format, that is, only with numbers, so you have to separate each figure with dashes, bars or dots, and the year written with the four figures or only with the last two. It would be as follows:

• With dashes: 10-08-1992 or 10-08-92

• With bars: 08/10/1992 or 08/10/92

• With points: 10.08.1992 or 10.08.92

In Spanish, the years do not have points or spaces separating the digits, that is, 1992 is correct, but 1,992 or 1,992 is not.

When writing dates in Spanish or English, you have to take into account a small difference that not everyone has in mind. Both the names of the days of the week and those of the months of the year are always written in initial lowercase letters, but in English they are capitalized. And while in Spanish the week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday, in English it starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday.

So after all this, if you want to continue learning Spanish, come to don Quijote whenever you want!

Spanish language is full of challenges for those who give it a try. For example, many English speakers have a tough time trying to conjugate verbs. Another instance: French people find the sounds of letter j /x/ and double r /r̄/ very hard to pronounce. This is one of the most difficult things to achieve for them.

However, all our students agree on one thing: Spanish vowels are relatively simple to use. There are only five vowel sounds, one for each letter, and they are always pronounced in exactly the same way, no matter their position in the word. Even so, Spanish vowels can be a bit tricky when combined in a certain way.

In today’s blog post we are going to discover a little bit more about Spanish diphthongs and hiatus. In addition to that, we will learn how to identify those who use accents. Click here to switch to the Spanish version of this post. Let’s do it!

What is a diphthong?

First things first: do you know what a diphthong is? A diphthong or glinding vowel is the combination of two vowel sounds within the same syllable. There are several case scenarios given two open vowel sounds (a, e, o) or close ones (i, u):

• Close vowel sound (toneless, without accent) + open vowel: fue-go (fire), tie-rra (land), or pio-jo (louse).
• Open vowel sound + close vowel: pau-sa (pause), pai-sa-je (landscape), or pei-ne (comb).
• Close vowel sound + close vowel: gra-tui-to (free), cons-truir (to build), or je-sui-ta (Jesuit).

When do Spanish diphthongs use accents?

Spanish diphthongs follow the general rules for accents. In addition to that, please consider the following:

• If a close vowel + open vowel combination occurs, the accent mark should be on the open vowel: a-diós (farewell), des-pués (later), or náu-ti-co (nautical).
• If the diphthong is formed by two close vowel sounds, they won’t use any accent. Why? Because for it to become a diphthong, both vowel sounds must be toneless, i.e. lack voice stress: rui-do (noise), triun-fo (victory), or Sui-za (Switzerland).

What is a hiatus?

A hiatus or diaeresis is a combination of two vowel sounds occurring in different adjacent syllables. There are three kinds of hiatus in Spanish, depending on the open-close vowel sound combination:

• Open vowel sound + close vowel (and vice versa): frí-o (cold), etí-ope (Ethiopian), or geología (Geology).
• Open vowel sound + open vowel: ca-er (to fall), lí-ne-a (line), or te-a-tro (theater).
• Identic vowel sounds: chi-ita (Shiite), zoo-ló-gi-co (zoo), or cre-er (believe).

When do Spanish hiatus use accents?

Depending on the open-close vowel combination, hiatus behave just like any other sound regarding accent rules or not:

Combinations that DO follow the rule

• Open vowel sound + open vowel:

a-é-reo (air) uses accent, just like any other word stressed on the third-to-last syllable in Spanish.

Ja-én (a region in Spain) and re-hén (hostage) must use an accent because they are both words stressed in the last syllable and have a -n ending.

• The close vowel sound is stressed:

Ra-úl (male Spanish name), pa-ís (country), or dí-a (day).

Combinatinos that DO NOT follow the rule

The rest of vowel combinations.

We would like to thank Lucas, Head of Studies at our Spanish School in Seville, for contributing to don Quijote’s blog with this post. Our academic team works hard to provide us with educational materials that may be helpful to everyone who is interested in Spanish. Follow us and don’t miss a word!