Spanish Parts of Speech
The parts of speech are the word categories that build every Spanish sentence: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and the prepositions that connect them.
Spanish handles several of these differently from English, from the grammatical gender attached to every noun to the two separate verbs for "to be".
| Topic | What it covers | Why English speakers find it tricky | Example |
| Nouns and gender | Every noun is masculine or feminine, and articles agree with it | English has no grammatical gender at all - it must be learned with each word | el libro / la mesa |
| Subject pronouns | The words for "I", "you", "he" and the rest | Spanish usually drops them, because the verb ending already says who | (Yo) hablo español |
| Ser vs estar | Two separate verbs where English has only "to be" | The choice changes meaning, not just style | Es aburrido (he's boring) / Está aburrido (he's bored) |
| Reflexive verbs | Verbs where the subject acts on itself, marked by -se | Many are reflexive in Spanish but not in English | levantarse (to get up) |
| Modal verbs | Poder, deber, querer, saber and soler for ability, obligation and desire | Soler has no English equivalent verb at all | Suelo desayunar a las ocho |
| Adjectives, comparatives and superlatives | Agreement, position and how to compare | Adjectives follow the noun and must match it in gender and number | una casa blanca |
| Por vs para | Two prepositions that both translate as "for" | One English word splits into two Spanish ones with different logic | Gracias por todo / Es para ti |
Explore all Parts of Speech
- Nouns and gender: why every Spanish noun is masculine or feminine, and how articles agree with it.
- Subject pronouns : the words for "I", "you", "he" and the rest, and why Spanish often drops them.
- Ser vs estar: the two Spanish verbs for "to be" and when to use each.
- Reflexive verbs: verbs where the subject acts on itself, marked by -se.
- Modal verbs: poder, deber, querer, saber and soler, for ability, obligation and desire.
- Adjectives, comparatives and superlatives: agreement, position, and how to compare.
- Por vs para: the two prepositions that both translate as "for".
