Rojas, Jorge Nelson : University of Nevada

Curry, Richard A. : University and Community College System of Nevada

Designed for courses that focus primarily on intermediate-level grammar study or that require formal or informal review of grammar, Gramática esencial is an ideal complement in courses that use a reader or conversation or composition texts. The program reviews and expands upon first-year grammar to solidify students' knowledge and prepare them for more advanced study. This edition is available in print and multimedia formats.

Capítulo 1

Lectura: El ser digital y la sociedad de la información
I. The present indicative. A. Regular verbs; B. Spelling changes; C. Stem-changing verbs; D. Verbs with irregular forms; E. Uses
II. Nouns. A. Gender; B. Plural of nouns
III. Articles. A. Definite articles; B. Indefinite articles
IV. Foco en el léxico: Tomar, Ilevar (se), and other equivalents of to take. A. Tomar, Ilevar (se); B. Other verbs that express to take

Capítulo 2

Lectura: El conejo que comía melones
I. Tenses of the past: preterit and imperfect. A. Forms of the preterit; B. Forms of the imperfect; C. Uses of the preterit and the imperfect; D. The preterit and the imperfect contrasted
II. Hacer in time expressions. A. Past event ongoing in the present; B. Past event continued in the past; C. Time elapsed between a past event and the present
III. Questions. A. Questions that can be answered with sí or no; B. Questions with interrogative words and phrases; C. Qué versus cuál (es)
IV. Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns. A. Forms; B. Uses
V. Foco en el léxico: Saber versus conocer

Capítulo 3

Lectura: El deporte, ¿competitividad comprometida?
I. Ser and estar. A. Uses of ser; B. Uses of estar; C. Ser and estar + adjective; D. Ser and estar + past participle
II. Descriptive adjectives. A. Forms of descriptive adjectives; B. Agreement; C. Position
III. Comparitives and superlatives. A. Comparisons of inequality; B. Comparisons of equality; C. Superlatives; D. Irregular comparatives and superlatives
IV. Possessive adjectives and pronouns. A. Forms; B. Uses; C. Possessive pronouns; D. Clarification of third person possessive forms
V. Indefinite expressions and their negatives. A. Forms; B. Indefinite pronouns and their negatives; C. Indefinite adverbs
VI. Foco en el léxico: Spanish equivalents of to become. A. Change of state: hacerse; B. Change in physical or emotional state: ponerse; C. Change through gradual process: Ilegar a ser; D. Radical change: volverse; E. To assume a new condition: convertirse, transformarse; F. To be left in a state or condition: quedarse

Capítulo 4

Lectura: ¿Un planeta contaminado?
I. The future tense. Regular verbs; Irregular verbs; Uses; Other ways of expressing future time
II. The Conditional tense. A. Regular verbs; B. Irregular verbs; C. Uses
III. Object pronouns. A. Direct-object pronoun forms; B. Indirect-object pronoun forms; C. Position of object pronouns; Prepositional pronouns
IV. The personal a. A. Before a direct object referring to people; B. Before indefinite expressions
V. Constructions with gustar and verbs like gustar. A. Constructions with gustar; B. Verbs similar to gustar
VI. Foco en el léxico: Spanish equivalents of to realize

Capítulo 5

Lectura: La cocina mexicana
I. The present participle. A. Forms; B. Uses
II. The progressive tenses. A. Forms; B. Uses; C. Alternatives to estar in the progressive construction; D. Position of object and reflexive pronouns
III. The infinitive. A. Forms; B. Uses
IV. Prepositions. A. Simple prepositions; B. Compound prepositions; C. The preposition a; D. The preposition de; E. The preposition en; F. The preposition para; G. The preposition por; H. The structure verb + (preposition) + noun object
V. Foco en el léxico: Preguntar versus pedir

Capítulo 6

Lectura: La globalización
I. The past participle. A. Forms; B. Uses
II. The perfect tenses. A. Forms; B. Uses
III. Reflexive, reciprocal, and impersonal constructions. A. Reflexives; B. Reciprocals; C. Impersonal se
IV. Passive constructions. A. Active versus passive constructions; B. Alternatives to the passive voice
V. Foco en el léxico: Spanish equivalents of to miss

Capítulo 7

Lectura: La isla de los gigantes
I. The forms of the present subjunctive. A. Endings; B. Normally derived stems; C. Irregularities
II. The subjunctive in noun clauses. A. Attempting to influence behavior; B. Emotional response and subjective viewpoint; C. Doubt, disbelief, and denial
III. The subjunctive in independent clauses.
IV. Direct and indirect commands. A. Direct commands; B. Indirect commands
V. Foco en el léxico: Trabajar, funcionar, and similar verbs

Capítulo 8

Lectura: El teletrabajo, ¿un nuevo modo de vida?
I. The imperfect subjunctives. A. Forms; B. Uses of the imperfect subjunctive; C. Sequence of tenses
II. Relative pronouns. A. Relative pronouns and restrictive and nonrestrictive relative clauses; B. The relative pronoun que; C. The relative pronoun quien(es); D. The relative pronouns el cual and el que; F. The relative pronoun cuyo
III. The subjunctive in adjective clauses.
IV. Foco en el léxico: Spanish equivalents of to save

Capítulo 9
Lectura: Ecoturismo: ¿independencia económica o desastre para el medio ambiente?

I. The perfect tenses of the subjunctive. A. Forms; B. Uses
II. Sequence of tenses. A. Main verb and dependent verb in the indicative; B. Main verb in the indicative, dependent verb in the subjunctive
III. The subjunctive in adverbial clauses. A. Conjunctions always followed by the indicative; B. Conjunctions always followed by the subjunctive; C. Conjunctions followed by either the indicative or the subjunctive
IV. The conjunctions pero, mas, and sino (que). A. Pero and mas; B. Sino and sino que
V. Foco en el léxico: Spanish equivalents of to move

Capítulo 10

Lectura: La explosión de lo latino en Estados Unidos.
I. Si clauses A. Si clauses in the indicative; B. Si clauses in the imperfect or past perfect subjunctive; C. Como si clauses
II. Adverbs of manner. A. Adverbs ending in -mente; B. Adverbial phrases; C. Adjectives functioning as adverbs
III. Review of the uses of the preterit and the imperfect. A. Uses of the preterit; B. Uses of the imperfect
IV. Nominalization of adjectives and neuter lo. A. Nominalization of adjectives; B. The neuter article to; C. The neuter pronoun to
V. Question words used in exclamations. A. Cómo and cuánto in exclamations; B. Quién in exclamations; C. Qué in exclamations
VI. Foco en el léxico: Spanish equivalents of to leave
Reference Section

Appendix A. Glossary of grammatical terms
Appendix B. Written accent marks
Appendix C. Personal pronouns
Appendix D. Verbs
Spanish-English