Pitman's Commercial Spanish Grammar (2nd ed.)

Project Gutenberg, C. A. Toledano

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• Langue: Español

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of Pitman's Commercial Spanish Grammar (2nd ed.), by C. A. Toledano This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: Pitman's Commercial Spanish Grammar (2nd ed.) Author: C. A. Toledano Release Date: February 21, 2005 [EBook #15127] Language: English and Spanish Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPANISH GRAMMAR *** Produced by Curtis Weyant, Chuck Greif and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team. =============================================================== Transcriber's note: The details on the edition of the book that was used to produce this eText, have been moved to the end of this document for the benefit of those who might be interested. PITMAN'S COMMERCIAL SPANISH GRAMMAR BY C. A. TOLEDANO 1917 PREFACE With the best intention of justifying Messrs. PITMAN'S confidence in entrusting me with the compilation of a Spanish Grammar to form part of the series of "Commercial Grammars," I set to work to produce a book which, while avoiding pedantry and the agglomeration of superfluous and intricate rules which puzzle the student, should equally avoid falling into the extreme of coarseness which debases the subject under study, or the scrappiness resulting in gaps that perplex and discourage him. I have tried to be brief and clear in the rules given. The vocabulary has been chosen carefully, avoiding the artificiality of too much commercial technology, but keeping constantly in view theobject of the Series, viz., to produce grammars specially suitable for students preparing for a commercial career. Whether I have succeeded in my efforts it is for the public to judge. I can only say that, after more than twenty-five years' teaching of Spanish in all its stages, privately, at the Manchester University and in the large classes of our public Institutions, I have tried my best to give the fruits of my experience to any interested young people who may be eager to learn a language beautiful, noble, and most useful. I do not claim to have reached perfection. I only trust the book, such as it presents itself, will be of real help to the student. C.A. TOLEDANO. MANCHESTER, 1911. COMMERCIAL SPANISH GRAMMAR ALPHABET. A (_a_) G (_ge_) M (_eme_) Rr (_erre_) B (_be_) H (_hache_) N (_ene_) S (_ese_) C (_ce_) I (_i_) (_e e_)� T (_te_) � Ch (_che_) J (_jota_) O (_o_) U (_u_) D (_de_) K (_ka_) P (_pe_) V (_ve_) E (_e_) L (_ele_) Q (_cu_) X (_equis_) F (_efe_) Ll (_elle_) R (_ere_) Y (_y griega_ or _ye_) Z (_zeta_) K (_ka_) and W (_doble ve_) are only found in foreign words used in Spanish. PRONUNCIATION OF VOWELS. _a_ as English a in f_a_ther _e_[1] " a " f_a_te[2] _i_ " i " magaz_i_ne _o_[1] " o " n_o_te[2] _u_ " u " r_u_le These five sounds _never_ vary, except that they are a little longer when they are stressed and shorter when they are not, as Yo amo (I love),[3] Amigo (friend), El cielo (heaven), Celeste (heavenly), Un recibo (a receipt), Inter s (interest), Yo como (I eat), Contar (to� count), Un buque (a ship), Una butaca (an armchair). _Y_ is considered a vowel in the conjunction _y_ (and), and at the end of a word, as Rey (king), Hoy (to-day). [Footnote 1: _E_ and _o_ are sounded a little more open when they form a diphthong with _i_ and when they precede _r_ followed by a consonant or _r_ or _l_ final, as Fernando (Ferdinand), Un tercio (a third), El tercer a o (the third year), Porfiar (to insist), Amor (love), Espa� ol � (Spanish).][Footnote 2: The _a_ and _o_ of "fate" and "note" are not _pure vowel sounds_. In English the a is distinctly pronounced a-ee and o is pronounced o-oo. In Spanish the first part _only_ of the two sounds is permissible.] [Footnote 3: The examples given with their English equivalents should be learnt. DIPHTHONGS AND TRIPHTHONGS. There are no Diphthongs or Triphthongs in the English sense of two or three vowels meeting in one syllable and blending into a different sound, as "pause," "plough." Every vowel is pronounced separately and each with its alphabetical sound, only the two or three vowels occurring in one syllable are pronounced rapidly, as Pausa (pause), Reino (kingdom), Cuenta (account), Buey (ox). _A, E_ and _O_ never form diphthongs together. They may form diphthongs and triphthongs only in combination with _I_ and _U_. CONSONANTS. The Consonants are pronounced as in English with the following exceptions: B is pronounced much more lightly than in English, with no pressure of the lips, as Libro (book), Brevedad (brevity). C before _E_ and _I_--_th_ in "theatre," as La Cena (the supper), La Cerveza (the beer). Otherwise pronounced _K_ as in English, as Caja (case, box), Color (colour), C bico (cubic). � Ch _always_ as _ch_ in "church" (never hard as in "monarch"), as Chocolate (chocolate), Charla (prattle). D at the end of a word or after a vowel is pronounced very softly and lightly, with a tinge of _th_ in "they," as Madrid, Amado (loved), Encarnado (red). G before _E_ and _I_ is pronounced guttural, as El general (the general), El giro (the draft, bill). This sound is equal to _ch_ in the Scotch word "loch." In all other cases G is pronounced hard, as in the English word "gay"; as Gato (cat), Gobierno (government), Gusto (pleasure, taste). H is a mute letter. (Although in Andalusia it is aspirated in certain words.) J is always guttural, as Juan (John), Jornalero (day labourer), Junio (June), Reloj (watch, clock). Ll--_ly_, stronger than _li_ in "pavilion," as Belleza (beauty), Folleto (leaflet). �--ny, stronger than _ni_ in "pinion," as Ni o (child), Ca a (cane), El � � oto�o (autumn). Q is only used before _ue_ and _ui_ (and the _u_ is then _mute_), as Querido (dear, beloved), Yo quiero (I want).R as in English, but it is always rolled, as Caro (dear, expensive), P�rdida (loss). At the beginning of a word or when preceded by a consonant it is rolled more strongly, as La rosa (the rose), Deshonra (dishonour). Rr always rolled strongly, as Carro (cart), El ferrocarril (the railway). S always pronounced as _s_ in "soap," and never as in "as" or "sure." T as in "tea," but never as _t_ in "nation." It must be pronounced softly, not explosive, as Fortuna (fortune), Cuatro (four). V is pronounced much more lightly than in English, as Vino (wine), Vivir (to live). By the common people _V_ is often confounded with _B_, but educated Spaniards will always make the proper distinction. Y--Spanish _I_. Z--_th_ in "theatre," as Zarazas (cotton prints), Zorra (fox). NOTE.--In modern Spanish Z is not used before _E_ or _I_, its place being supplied by _C_. RULES ON PRONUNCIATION. RULE I.--Every letter is pronounced. There are no mute letters as _b_ in "lamb" or _n_ in "autumn." EXCEPTIONS--_H_ is not sounded as already explained in the alphabet. _U_ is not sounded in the following syllables: _que, qui, gue_ and _gui_, as Quedar (to remain), Quinta (villa), Guerra (war), guila (eagle), unless � the _u_ in _gue_ and _gui_ has the diaeresis, as Arg ir (to argue), � Verg enz�a (shame). RULE II.--No consonant is doubled except C and N. _C_ is found doubled in words like Acceder (to accede) when one _C_ is hard--_k_ and the other soft--_th_. _N_ is found doubled in words having the prefix _in_, as Innoble (ignoble), Innavegable (unnavigable). Also in Perenne (perennial) and a very few more words. _Ll_ and _Rr_ are treated as single letters. RULE III.--The _stress of the voice_ falls on the last syllable but one in all words ending in a vowel or _S_ or _N_; otherwise it falls on the last syllable, as Una factura (an invoice), Facturas (invoices), Hermano (brother), Cartas (letters), Ellos tienen (they have), Azul (blue), Abril (April), Labor (labour), Feliz (happy). In diphthongs and triphthongs the stress is not on _i_ or _u_, but falls on _a_, _e_ or _o_, as Reina (queen), Gracia (grace), Igual (equal), Cielo (heaven). When the diphthong is formed by _i_ and _u_ the last one bears the stress, as Un viudo (a widower), La ciudad (the city), Luisa (Louise). The numerous exceptions to the above rule are all marked by the written accent ( ), as Factur� (he invoiced), Escribir (he will write), H� blame � � (speak to me), Ingl s (English), Alem n� (German), til (useful), J v�enes � � (young men).The stress of the voice should fall _distinctly_ on the proper syllable according to the above rule, and the attention of the student must be earnestly called to this very important point. A word in the plural maintains the stress on the same syllable as in its singular, as El oc ano (the ocean), Oc �anos (oceans), C lculo � � (calculation), C lculos (calculations), Ingl � s (Englishman), Ingleses � (Englishmen); except Car cter (character), Caracteres (characters), � R�gimen (regime or rule), Reg menes (regimes or rules)--the latter� hardly ever used in the plural. SIGNS. The Written Accent. The only accent in Spanish is ( ). It is used-- � (1) To mark the exceptions to the _Rule of Stress_. (2) To distinguish between two meanings of the same word, as El (the), �l (he); De (of), Que l d (that he may give); Se (3rd person reflexive� � pronoun, "himself," etc.), Yo s (I know); M s (more), Mas (but). � � (3) In the following words established by use, as " " or " " (or), � � "�" (and), " " (to).[4]� (4) In some words when used interrogatively, as Qui n? (who?), Qu ? � � (what?), Cu l? (which?), C� yo? (whose?), D � nde? (where?). �