Spanish Sentences / How to Form a Spanish Sentence

Spanish sentences are the same as English sentences. Hold on! That’s only true sometimes. Do you know how to form a sentence in Spanish correctly? Don’t worry! We’ll go over them right now.

What are sentences?

Definition of a sentence in Spanish:

A sentence is a group of words with a subject and verb that expresses a complete thought.

What is the definition of a sentence in Spanish?

In Spanish a sentence is la oración. 

Una oración es un grupo de palabras con sujeto y verbo que forma un pensamiento complete. 

 Let’s start with an example of a basic Spanish sentence.

Celia dice. Celia says.

An easy way to understand grammar is with a sentence diagram. Take a look at this diagram:

But not all sentences are this simple. There are many different kinds of sentences and we can categorize them based on different criteria.

We might be getting ahead of ourselves today. Once you understand how to form a Spanish sentence, come back to these links to keep on discovering more about sentences.

How do I form a sentence in Spanish?

We’ve already discovered a sentence has both a subject and a verb. In Spanish, you only need a verb to make a complete sentence. This is not possible in English.

Easy Spanish Sentences

Here are some basic Spanish sentences for beginners to get started with.  

Entiendo. I understand. 

Viajamos. We travel. 

Hablaban. They were talking.

Did you notice these sentences are only one verb?

But wait! Aren’t sentences supposed to have a subject too? The answer is yes. We need to know where the subject is hiding.

The subject is hidden inside the verb. This is an implied subject. Meaning, the verb ending tells us the subject indirectly, with a personal pronoun.

This causes confusion often if you don’t catch the implied subject.

Sad (but true story) with a happy ending

In my first marriage, I thought my husband was expressing his love for me. I found out later he was talking about someone else. At least I found a solution to the problem. (See the tip below).

Back to the subject…

The subject is implied. Spanish grammar rules drop subjects freely. The verb ending shows the subject. That’s one reason why conjugation is so important. 

Take another look at the same sentences from above.

(Yo) entiendo. The implied subject is yo or I.

(Nosotros) viajamos. The implied subject is nosotros or we. 

(Ellos) hablaban. The implied subject is ellos or they.

Challenge: Pick a conjugated verb and name the subject.