A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish is a comprehensive, cohesive and clear guide to the forms and structures of Spanish as it is written and spoken today in Spain and Latin-America. It includes clear descriptions of all the main grammatical phenomena of Spanish, and their use, illustrated by numerous examples of contemporary Spanish, both Peninsular and Latin-American, formal and informal. Fully revised and updated, the sixth edition is even more relevant to students and teachers of Spanish.

The sixth edition includes:

• new chapters, providing more detail and examples of key areas of Spanish grammar;

• an increased number of Mexican examples to reflect the growing interest in this country’s variety of Spanish;

• new information for readers studying Spanish and French together;

• a glossary of grammatical terms including English translations of Spanish terms.

The combination of reference grammar and manual of current usage is invaluable for learners at level B2–C2 of the Common European Framework for Languages, and Intermediate High–Advanced High on the ACTFL proficiency scales.

Table of Contents

1 Gender of nouns

2 Plural of nouns

3 The definite article

4 The indefinite article

5 Adjectives

6 Comparison of adjectives and adverbs

7 Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns

8 Neuter article and neuter pronouns

9 Possessive adjectives and pronouns

10 Miscellaneous adjectives and pronouns

11 Numerals

12 Personal pronouns, subject

13 Personal pronouns used with prepositions

14 Personal pronouns, object

15 Le/les and lo/la/los/las

16 Forms of Spanish verbs

17 Use of indicative (non-continuous) verb tenses

18 Use of indicative (non-continuous) compound tenses

19 Continuous forms of verbs

20 The subjunctive

21 The imperative

22 The infinitive

23 Participles

24 The gerund

25 Auxiliary verbs

26 Personal a

27 Negation

28 Questions and exclamations

29 Conditional sentences

30 Pronominal verbs

31 Verbs of becoming

32 Passive and impersonal sentences

33 Ser and estar

34 'There is', 'there are', 'there was', 'there were', etc.

35 Adverbs

36 Expressions of time

37 Conjunctions and discourse markers

38 Prepositions

39 Relative clauses and relative pronouns

40 Nominalizers

41 Cleft sentences

42 Word order

43 Diminutive, augmentative and pejorative suffixes

44 Spelling, accent rules, punctuation and word division

Review

"The sixth edition of A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish equips the multilingual 21st-century learner with the essential tools to master the Spanish language. This new edition amplifies its contrastive approach by incorporating new references to other languages (French, Italian, Portuguese, German...) as well as a wealth of new language samples from the Spanish-speaking world. It also incorporates important references to areas of special difficulty for the anglophone speaker, providing a clear, accessible and comprehensive account of Spanish grammar to the independent learner and maintaining its role as an indispensable companion to language professionals and students of Spanish at all levels." - Javier Muñoz-Basols, University of Oxford, UK

About the Authors

John Butt is Emeritus Professor of Hispanic Studies of King’s College London, UK. He studied Spanish, French and Portuguese at the University of Cambridge and went on to lecture in Spanish literature and language at King’s College London for 37 years.

Carmen Benjamin, a native speaker of Spanish, taught Spanish at King’s College London, UK.

Antonia Moreira Rodríguez, also a native speaker of Spanish, teaches Spanish language and linguistics in the Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin-American Studies of King’s College London, UK.