Relación entre categorías, frases y cláusulas en la construcción de oraciones
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Descripción
In this section, I want to provide an understanding of the differences between categories, phrases, and clauses in Spanish grammar. The key grammatical categories to consider include nouns, adjectives and adverbs. These are the building blocks of sentences and play distinct roles when using indicative and subjunctive moods (specifically in subordinate clauses).
The idea is to show that each category fits into particular slots in a sentence structure. And that, these categories can be a simple part of speech (like a noun or adjective) or can be expanded into phrases (like noun phrases or adjective phrases) or even clauses (independent or subordinate). Understanding these distinctions is crucial for mastering sentence construction and effectively using moods in Spanish. It helps to clarify the continuity from simple words to complex sentence structures.
All nouns answer the question “who” or “what”.
In each of the following examples, the bracketed portion represents the “what” in the notion of “what I want”.
Quiero [una empanada]. (noun) Quiero [comer una empanada]. (noun phrase) Quiero [que comas una empanada]. (noun clause)
All adjectives answer the question “which” or “what kind”.
Veo la casa [grande]. (adjective) Veo la casa [con muchas ventanas]. (adjective phrase) Veo la casa [que tiene muchas ventanas]. (adjective clause)
Adverbs answer questions such as “how”, “when”, “where”, “why”, “for what purpose”, etc.
Llega [tarde]. (adverb) Llega [con mucho retraso]. (adverb phrase) Llega [cuando ya ha oscurecido]. (adverb clause)