simon weiner

Learning grammar rules in Spanish can be an exciting goal. Rules get your mind working in the new language and provide structure for the experience of speaking, writing, listening, and reading. As you encounter new words and ways of arranging and pronouncing them in the process of foreign language learning, both sides of your brain come into play. In other words, Spanish grammar rules can help your brain learn Spanish more easily.

1. Nouns must agree with adjectives in gender and number

Spanish is a gendered language, meaning nouns are categorized as either masculine or feminine and Spanish grammatical gender rules should be followed. Except for nouns referring to a person as a man / boy or a woman / girl, gendered language does not have much to do with things that are traditionally related to men or women. 

Most masculine nouns in Spanish end in “o,” and most feminine nouns end in “a.” However, there are exceptions. Concordancia, or “agreement,” requires articles and adjectives to match the nouns they modify in gender and number. 

• el caballo negro = the black horse
• la manzana roja = the red apple

You’ll probably notice that the adjectives, in this case the colors describing the horse and apple, come after the nouns and end in the same vowels the nouns do. The articles el and la are the masculine and feminine forms of the word for “the.”

When these nouns are pluralized, all the parts of speech related to them also agree in number and gender:

• los caballos negros = the black horses
• las manzanas rojas = the red apples

Most nouns are pluralized by adding the “s,” but nouns ending in consonants get the “es.” “Z” must be changed to “c” when pluralizing.

2. Ser and estar both mean “to be” but are used differently

While both of these verbs can be translated as “to be,” broadly speaking, ser is for more permanent situations, and estar is for more temporary ones. The ser vs. estar differences may seem subtle to English speakers, but they’ll start making sense with some practice. We list the basic differences below, but f you need some extra help, consider some a Rosetta Stone Tutoring session to bolster your understanding.

3. Gustar gets conjugated according to object not subject

The verb gustar (to like) works differently than most other verbs in Spanish in the sense that the verb conjugation doesn’t match the person doing the liking. The conjugation must instead match the thing that is liked:

• Me gusta la piña. = I like pineapple.
• Me gustan los tacos. = I like tacos.

When talking about people, it’s important to note that gustar means “to be attractive to,” and it has some sexual overtones. If you want to say you like a person in a non-sexual way, you can use caerse bien (to like a person, to get along with someone).

Gustar has some associated verbs that work the same way. When used with a pronoun, they have the sense listed below in parentheses:

• encantar = to love, to please (I am pleased by…)
• interesar = to interest (I am interested in…)
• fascinar = to fascinate (I am fascinated by…)
• molestar = to bother (I am bothered by…)
• preocupar = to worry (I am worried about…)

4. When talking about the past, use preterite for defined actions and imperfect for undefined or repeated ones

Spanish includes several ways to talk about the past, with the two most important ones being the pretérito (preterite tense) and the imperfecto (Spanish imperfect tense). In a nutshell, the preterite is for actions that have a clear beginning and end in the past, and the imperfect is for ones that do not, for instance, habitual actions. The imperfect is often translated as “used to” or “would.” 

• Caminé seis kilómetros ayer. = I walked six kilometers yesterday.
• Cuando vivía en Barcelona, caminaba todas las mañanas. = When I lived in Barcelona, I would walk (used to walk) every morning.

The preterite is also used to talk about an action in the past that interrupts another action in process in the past expressed with the imperfect progressive tense:

• Julio estaba preparando un jugo cuando sonó el teléfono. = Julio was making some orange juice when the telephone rang. 

Some Spanish-speaking countries favor the present perfect tense to talk about the past:

• He caminado seis kilómetros hoy. = I walked six kilometers today.

5. It’s okay to have a sentence without a subject

Spanish verb conjugations are really important. Unlike English, there’s a distinct conjugation for each singular and plural point of view in Spanish: first person (I), second person (you), third persons (he/she/it). 

Use this chart to help you with the corresponding Spanish pronouns used for learning the verb conjugations:

*Vosotros is only used in certain parts of the Spanish-speaking world.
**This is really the second person, so it means “you,” but it’s conjugated like the third person.

One of the reasons the conjugations are so important is that Spanish tends to drop the pronouns because most of the time the pronoun is obvious from the conjugation. 

The lack of a subject can cause some confusion for beginners, but Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method works differently than many other language learning programs because it emphasizes a natural learning process rather than heavy memorization. You won’t feel unmoored without subject pronouns because the learning will flow as it did when you were learning your mother tongue.

6. Know when to use tú and usted depending on the social situation

We’ve already mentioned the importance of conjugations. Another reason they are so significant in Spanish is because of tú and usted as well as ustedes, which is the plural of both. They all mean “you,” but Spanish grammar rules dictate that they be used in different ways.

You’ll need to use tú or usted depending on the situation, including the country or city you’re in. In general, use tú in the following situations:

The French language is rich with rules, patterns, and exceptions. As you master basic French words and phrases and develop a deeper understanding of the structure of the language, you’ll be able to comprehend French in greater detail and communicate with clarity. French grammar rules, as with any language, are like blueprints. They set a standard for how the word categories work (parts of speech) together. 

We’ve put together this helpful guide to help you navigate grammar rules in the French language so you can speak French with confidence. Learning French grammar rules is a good support alongside Rosetta Stone’s immersive lessons. Our engaging activities help you practice what you’ve learned and prepare you for real-life conversations.

Are French grammar rules different from English? 

The short answer is that, yes, there are significant differences in both the vocabulary and grammatical structure of the two languages, but you’ll also notice patterns and rules that are similar to English. 

Sometimes the structure is similar to a word-by-word translation of English:

• Le chat a mangé le poisson. = The cat ate the fish. (The cat has eaten the fish). 

And other times it really isn’t! 

• Le chat ne l’a-t-il pas mangé ? = Didn’t the cat eat it?  (The cat not it had “t” he not eaten?) 

A good rule to follow is to think of a sentence in French and learn patterns or “recipes” for your French idea, rather than trying to translate word-by-word to or from English. Following the most common structures and patterns in French becomes increasingly easier as you uncover some of the rules and begin to acquire these patterns naturally. 

Parts of speech in French

Les parties du discours (parts of speech in French) are categories of words based on how they function in a sentence. Knowing which category to use and how they connect together can help you build a sentence that expresses your idea clearly and also sounds correct. 

Use this handy chart as we will refer to the parts of speech in the sections below. 

Grammar rules for nouns in French

A noun refers to a person, place, thing, or idea. Common nouns in French share these features: 

• They have grammatical gender (masculine or feminine) which does not change.
• They can be singular or plural.
• They are usually preceded by a determiner, such as an article or a demonstrative or possessive adjective (some, this, my), which can give you important information about the noun.

Gender of nouns

Since French descended from Latin, all nouns in French have grammatical gender. They are either masculine or feminine and non-variable. This means that adjectives and articles will change to match or agree with the gender of the noun, not the other way around. 

Whether a noun is assigned to the category of masculine or feminine does not correspond to the gender of the human that uses, owns, or is associated with the noun. The gender comes from the noun itself. Sometimes you will see a noun has a different meaning based on the masculine or feminine article assigned to it.

• le livre (the book) vs la livre (the pound)
• le voile (the veil) vs la voile (the sail) 
• le mode (the way/the manner) vs la mode (fashion/the style)

French gender rules apply not only to nouns but also articles, adjectives, and some verb agreements. 

Singular and plural nouns

There are some rules to pluralization, but of course, there are always exceptions! In order to make most nouns plural, it is sufficient to add “s” to the singular form, but here are a few other helpful patterns just as we have in English.

>> Using French pronouns can make your conversations more natural!

How to use articles in French

Articles are used with nouns to give important information about the noun such as the gender, number, and whether the noun is specifically identified or general. 

• Definite articles are equivalent to the English word “the.”  
• Indefinite articles are equivalent to “a” or “some” when the noun is countable, like strawberries or carrots.  
• Partitive articles are equivalent to “some” or “any” when the noun is uncountable, like sugar or water.

When are French articles different from English? 

The definite article is used more often than in English. You’ll see it used with

• abstract nouns: 
  • L’amitié est plus importante que l’argent. = Friendship is more important than money. 
• academic subjects:
  • J’étudie l’algèbre. = I study algebra.
• countries:
  • Un jour, je vais visiter la France. = One day, I am going to visit France. 
• date:
  • Aujourd’hui est le 5 septembre.= Today is September 5th. 
• days (to mean “every” or “on”):
  • Je joue au tennis le lundi. = I play tennis on Mondays.   
• ge