Table Of ContentAN ESSENTIAL COURSE
IN
MODERN SPANISH
BY
H. RAMSDEN M.A. Dr. en Fil. y Let.
PROFESSOR OF SPANISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
HARRAP LONDON
First published in Great Britain 1959
by Harrap Limited
19-23 Ludgate Hill, London EC4M 7PD
Reprinted: 1961; 1963; 1965; 1966; 1968; 1970;
1972'* 1974; 1975; J977 (twice)-, 1979 (twice)]
1980; 1981; 1982 (twice)
© H. Ramsden 1959
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in any form or by any means without the
prior permission of Harrap Limited
ISBN o 245-52860-1
Printed in Great Britain
by Mackays of Chatham Ltd
PREFACE
This book was written in answer to a very definite need: that
of university students who offer Spanish as one of their Inter
mediate subjects. Honours students have long been able to con
sult their Harmer and Norton or their Ramsey, whilst school
children and more leisured learners of the language can always
choose from a mass of elementary courses. But Intermediate
students, who start with no knowledge of the language and who
are expected, within eight months, to reach a level approximately
equivalent to scholarship standard at G.C.E. Advanced Level, for
these there has been no course available, and teachers have been
obliged in their classes either to use an advanced course selectively
or to use a more elementary course and supplement it with their
own notes. Neither method, I believe, is very satisfactory, either
for students or for teachers. Hence the present book.
But it is hoped that Intermediate students will not be the only
ones to find the work useful. Every attempt has been made to
draw up an essential course, essential in vocabulary, in idioms,
and in grammar. Thus, the choice of vocabulary has been
governed largely by the findings of Victor García Hoz on Spanish
word frequency.1 All the words which he lists in his vocabulario
fundamental (and which he estimates account for two out of every
three words used in a given passage) are included in the present
course, and all but ten per cent, of the words included in the
course are rated by Dr Garcia Hoz among the top quarter of his
vocabulario usual. In similar fashion, Hayward Keniston’s
Spanish Idiom List (New York, 1929) has proved an invaluable
guide to the choice of idioms and special constructions, and over
ninety per cent, of cases listed by Professor Keniston with a range
frequency of more than 20-50 have been included here. Finally,
1 V. García Hoz, Vocabulario usual, común y fundamental (Determina
ción y análisis de sus factores), C.S.I.C., Madrid, 1953.
5
:o i Aiioejin ujrney
AN ESSENTIAL COURSE IN MODERN SPANISH
the grammar selection has been the outcome of my own analysis
of a considerable number of students’ exercises and examination
scripts. Rare or insignificant details of grammar have been
omitted or dealt with in short notes; particularly important and
troublesome aspects have been presented at great length with
abundant examples, in the hope that the student may acquire a
feeling for a given construction and not have to depend solely on
his memory of pure grammar.
The course is divided into twenty-five lessons and eight review
and development sections, each with its grammar, vocabulary and
exercises. In order to help the home student and to give extra
practice to the keen class student a key is provided to the second
exercise of each lesson and review section. The Spanish sen
tences of the last review sections are from modern Spanish writers.
Perhaps, for some students, they will serve as a stepping-stone to
the original works. The effort would be well rewarded.
I should like to express gratitude to my colleagues at the
University of Manchester for their help and encouragement in
the preparation of this course. In particular, I am indebted to
Dr Joaquín González Muela and Dr G. B. Gybbon-Monypenny
for discussing with me points of Spanish usage, and to these,
and to Miss W. M. D. Wilson and D. José Vergés for reading,
criticizing and improving much of the text. D. Mariano
Santiago Luque has kindly undertaken the onerous task of reading
through the whole of the proofs. Finally, and very especially, I
am indebted to my wife, who has made up examples, criticized,
checked, prepared the manuscript and generally been a wonderful
help at all stages of the work.
H.R.
6
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction. The Spanish Alphabet, Pronunciation^
Word Stress, the Written Accent, Syllabification,
Punctuation, Capital Letters u
Lesson I. Pronunciation, the Noun, the Definite and In
definite Articles, the Three Verb Conjugations
(Present Indicative) 21
II. A and de with the Definite Article, Negation,
Interrogation, Interrogatives, Relatives and Con
junctions, dar and ir, Pronunciation 26
III. Adjectives (Forms, Agreement and Position), ser,
Pronunciation 33
IV. Apocopation of Adjectives, Demonstrative
Adjectives and Pronouns, tener and hacer,
Pronunciation 39
V. Ser and estar, Possessive Adjectives, Cardinal
Numbers 1-20, Pronunciation 46
Review and Development Section (I). Nouns and their
Gender, Agreement, the Three Verb Conjuga
tions (Present Indicative), Pronunciation 53
VI. The Imperfect Indicative, Subject Pronouns,
Uses of tener and hacer 59
VII. The Gerund, the Progressive Tenses, the Per
sonal a, Negation, Four Irregular Verbs: saber,
conocer, salir, valer 66
VIII. Numbers, the Time, the Date 75
IX. The Preterite Tense, Uses of ser, estar, ir and
dar 82
X. Weak Object Pronouns 89
7
AN ESSENTIAL COURSE IN MODERN SPANISH
Page
Review and Development Section (II). The Imperfect
and the Preterite 97
XI. The Compound Tenses, Uses of haber, Conjunc
tions (e, u, sino), Idiomatic Uses (gustar,
parecer, quedar, sobrar, faltar, hacer falta) 105
XII. The Feminine Articles el and un, the Neuter
Article lo, Ellipsis of a Noun, the Use and Omis
sion of the Definite and Indefinite Articles 115
XIII. Radical-Changing Verbs, Four Irregular Verbs:
querer, poder, venir, decir 128
XIV. Weak Reflexive Object Pronouns and their Uses,
Three Irregular Verbs: traer, caer, oír 135
XV. Prepositions, Strong Personal Pronouns 144
Review and Development Section (III). Ser and estar 154
XVI. Verbs, Adjectives and Nouns with a Dependent
Infinitive 162
XVII. The Future and Conditional Tenses, todo, Two
Irregular Verbs: caber and poner 176
XVIII. The Present and Perfect Subjunctives, the Use of
the Subjunctive in Subordinate Clauses 186
XIX. The Imperative, Commands and Exhortations,
Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns 198
XX. The Imperfect and Pluperfect Subjunctives,
Conditional Sentences, the Use of the Subjunc
tive in Main Clauses 206
Review and Development Section (IV). Personal Pro
nouns 215
XXI. Adverbs, Comparison, now and then, an Irregular
Verb: andar 223
XXII. Orthography-Changing and Related Verbs 234
XXIII. Ser and estar with the Past Participle, Avoidance
of the Passive Voice, por and para, Verbs in
-ducir 243
8
CONTENTS
Page
XXIV. The Verb and its Objects (Direct, Indirect and
Prepositional) 256
XXV. Relatives, Interrogatives, Exclamatives, the In
finitive, Diminutives and Augmentatives 267
Review and Development Section (V). Regular Verbs 283
Review and Development Section (VI). Word Order,
the Personal a, temer(se) and esperar, mucho,
Feminine and Plural Endings 291
Review and Development Section (VII). Radical-
Changing Verbs 303
Review and Development Section (VIII). Prepositions
(a and de) 313
Verb Tables 326
Key to Exercises 347
Vocabulary
Spanish-English 371
English-Spanish 393
Index 414
9
Auo0J!a ujniey
:o i
The Spanish Alphabet, Pronuncia
tion, Word Stress, the Written Accent,
Syllabification, Punctuation, Capital
Letters
INTRODUCTION
The contents of this introductory chapter are presented
together here as a means of reference, and will be referred to as
required within the body of the book. It is suggested that the
student might omit this chapter for the time being and begin
straight away with Lesson I.
i. The Spanish Alphabet. This comprises the following
twenty-eight letters:
Symbol Name Symbol Name Symbol Name
a a jota r, rr ere, erre
j
b be (alta) k ka s ese
c ce 1 ele t te
ch che 11 elle u u
d de m eme V ve (baja) or uve
e e n ene X equis
f efe ñ eñe ye or i griega
y
g ge 0 0 z zeta or zeda
h hache P pe
i i cu
q
Notes : i. The letter w (ve doble or uve doble) is not found in
native Spanish words and is therefore not considered by the
Spanish Academy to be part of the Spanish alphabet.
2. The letters r and rr are classed together as one by the
Academy, though rr constitutes, in writing, an indivisible letter.
3. All letters are feminine in gender.
una d mayúscula a capital ‘ d ’
La rr como la 11 debe estar The 'rr,’ like the ‘11,’ must be
indivisa en la escritura. undivided in writing.
11
