Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide

GlossarySmall capitals indicate that the word is described elsewhere in the Glossary.Active see VoiceAdjectives (see 2, 3 and 5)Adjectives are words which describe nouns, and they agree in number (singular orplural) and gender (masculine or feminine) with the noun they describe:Es un lugar muy bonito.It is a very nice place.Las habitaciones son muy cómodas.The rooms are very comfortable.Adjectives in Spanish also function as nouns (see 5.3) and as adverbs (see 14).AdverbsAdverbs are words which tell you something about a verb, an adjective or anotheradverb:Me Ilaman muy a menudo.They call me very often.Ana María era increíblemente bella.Ana María was incredibly beautiful.Hablaba tremendamente rápido.He/she was speaking tremendously fast.AgentThe performer of a verbal action: in an active sentence, the agent is typically thesubject of the sentence; in a passive sentence, the agent (the subject of thecorresponding active sentence) is usually introduced by ‘by’ in English and by por inSpanish.Antecedent (see especially 18.2.5)This is the noun to which a relative clause pertains, and which usually standsimmediately before the relative pronoun:El muchacho que está con Pedro es amigo mío.The boy who is with Pedro is a friend of mine.xix