GRAMMATICAL INTRODUCTION
2.If another negative is used after the verb, no must always precede: No oigo nada. "I hear nothing."
3.When another negative word precedes the verb, no is omitted: Nada oigo. "I hear nothing."
1.44When no verb is present, no usually follows pronouns and adverbs: todos no "not all of them"; todavía no "not yet". sí is similarly used.
1.45In a negative sentence all forms are negative (§1.43).
1.5Diminutives and augmentatives:The suffixes -ito, -illo, -cito, -cilio added to nouns, adjectives, or adverbs imply small size or affectionate interest: Pedrito "little Peter", chiquillo "kid", mujercita "little woman, dear little wife", pequeñito "very small, tiny", piececito "tiny little foot".
1.51The more frequent augmentative suffixes are -ón, -ote, -azo, -acho, which give the idea of large size or comic effect: mujerona "large woman, awkward woman", grandote "very large", manaza "huge hand", ricacho "rich person".
1.6The absolute superlative ending is regularly -ísimo, corresponding to English "most, very, highly, exceedingly": Es un hombre rarísimo. "He's a most peculiar man." Una mujer simpatiquísima. "A most charming woman."
1.61There are a number of other ways of expressing a high degree of quality in Spanish (see §§2.21, 2.5). The same idea expressed by the suffix -ísimo may be conveyed by muy "very" or sumamente "exceedingly, a most", with the exception of muchísimo (never muy mucho), regular form for "very much."
1.62When -ísimo is added, adjectives and adverbs ending in -co or -ca, -z, -go, and -able change their ending to -qui, -c, -gui, and -bil respectively: cerca, cerquísimo; feroz, ferocísimo; largo, larguísimo; amable, amabilísimo.
1.7Verbs have ten tenses, or sets of finite forms which show the person and number of the actor; and three non-finite forms, or forms which do not show person and number. The non-finite forms are: infinitive, gerund, and past participle. The ten tenses are formed on three stems, the "present" stem, the "future" stem, and the "preterite" stem, as follows:
| Present Stem | Future Stem | Preterite Stem |
| Present Indicative | Future | Preterite |
| Imperfect | Conditional | Past Subjunctive, -se form |
| Present Subjunctive | Past Subjunctive, -ra form | |
| Imperative | ||
1.71.There are four classes of verbs, according to the ending of the infinitive:
| I. | -ar: cantar "sing" | III. | -ir: vivir "live" |
| II. | -er: aprender "learn" | IV. | -r: ver "see"[1] |
In the following paragraphs, we shall give examples of the normal forms of these four conjugations, as shown in the four model verbs listed above.
1.Present tense. The present tense is generally used to refer to the present but it is often used as a graphic substitute for other tenses, as: a) em-
- ↑ This manual lists as "Class IV verbs" certain verbs usually designated elsewhere as simply "irregular verbs." For irregular verbs of all classes see page 12.
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