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Spanish (Spain)

### Critiquing books and movies

When discussing literature and film, you'll need words like **la trama** (the plot), **el protagonista** (the main character), and **el desenlace** (the ending).

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### Reacting to facts: el hecho de que

In Spanish, whenever you express an emotional reaction, a judgment, or an opinion about a situation, you use the **subjunctive**.

This rule applies even to established facts. When you use the phrase **el hecho de que** ("the fact that") to evaluate something, the verb that follows must be in the subjunctive because you are filtering the fact through your own subjective reaction.

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Notice that the verb *sea* is in the subjunctive because the speaker is expressing how the fact makes them feel (*me aburre*).

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### Expressing likes and dislikes

You can use **el hecho de que** to explain exactly what you love, hate, or find annoying about a story. Whether the phrase acts as the subject of the sentence or the object of a verb like **odiar** (to hate), the rule stays the same: use the subjunctive.

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The fact that (el hecho de que)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
the plot (narrative thread, storyline)	la trama
predictable	predecible
The fact that the plot is predictable bores me.	El hecho de que la trama sea predecible me aburre.
masterful	magistral
They say that the plot of this movie is masterful.	Dicen que la trama de esta película es magistral.
The actor hates the fact that the script is so predictable.	El actor odia el hecho de que el guion sea tan predecible.
I hope that the mystery isn't predictable.	Ojalá que el misterio no sea predecible.
the main character	el protagonista
The fact that the main character dies is surprising.	El hecho de que el protagonista muera es sorprendente.
the antagonist	el antagonista
The main character and the antagonist hate each other deeply.	El protagonista y el antagonista se odian profundamente.
The director doesn't like the fact that the antagonist wins.	A la directora no le gusta el hecho de que el antagonista gane.
We always support the antagonist because he is fascinating.	Siempre apoyamos al antagonista porque es fascinante.
to evolve	evolucionar
The fact that the characters evolve improves the story.	El hecho de que los personajes evolucionen mejora la historia.
It is necessary that the main character evolves until the novel ends.	Es necesario que el protagonista evolucione hasta que termine la novela.
the ending	el desenlace
The fact that the ending is sad makes me sad.	El hecho de que el desenlace sea triste me da pena.
I hope you like the ending of this tale.	Ojalá te guste el desenlace de este cuento.
implausible	inverosímil
The fact that the rescue is implausible bothers the girls.	A las chicas les molesta el hecho de que el rescate sea inverosímil.
They say that that excuse is implausible.	Dicen que esa excusa es inverosímil.
superficial	superficial
The actress hates the fact that the dialogue is superficial.	La actriz odia el hecho de que el diálogo sea superficial.
Superficial characters do not understand each other well.	Los personajes superficiales no se entienden bien.
the narrator	el narrador
The fact that the narrator lies confuses the audience.	El hecho de que el narrador mienta confunde al público.
I hope that the writer explains the hidden motive to the narrator.	Ojalá que la escritora explique el motivo oculto al narrador.
The fact that the acting is masterful prevents the disaster.	El hecho de que la actuación sea magistral evita el desastre.
The authors admire each other because their style is masterful.	Las autoras se admiran porque su estilo es magistral.
the cast (of a film or play); the delivery (of parcels, meals)	el reparto
The cast of this movie is masterful.	El reparto de esta película es magistral.
The fact that the cast is so famous doesn't save the plot.	El hecho de que el reparto sea tan famoso no salva la trama.
the premiere, the release (of a film, a show)	el estreno
The movie's premiere is on Friday.	El estreno de la película es el viernes.
We went to the premiere and met the actress.	Fuimos al estreno y conocimos a la actriz.

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