Masculine singular reference
What you will learn
Module 28 — Reference, Determiners & Quantifiers
I can refer to people and things more precisely, express ownership and indefinite/negative quantity, order basic items, and react with common exclamative patterns.
Seven connected lessons · A2 · Contemporary Mexican Spanish
Lesson 1 — Learn & Recall
Reference, ownership, people and things
Lesson 1 · Full Demonstrative Distance Map
| Near/current focus | Less near/context-linked | Clearly distant |
|---|---|---|
| este / esta / estos / estas | ese / esa / esos / esas | aquel / aquella / aquellos / aquellas |
| esto | eso | aquello |
The gender/number forms agree with the named thing. The neuter formsesto, eso, aquelloare used when no noun gender is named.
Lesson 2 · Tonic Possessives & Whose
mío/mía/míos/mías · tuyo/tuya/tuyos/tuyas · suyo/suya/suyos/suyas · nuestro/nuestra/nuestros/nuestras
¿De quién es?— Whose is it?Es mío/a.— It is mine.Es de él/ella.— It belongs to him/her.un amigo mío— a friend of mine.
The possessive agrees with the thing possessed, not with the owner.
Lesson 3 · Indefinite People & Things
algo— somethingalguien— someone
alguno/alguna/algunos/algunas;algún+ masculine singular noun
otro/otra/otros/otrastodo/toda/todos/todas
algorefers to a thing/amount;alguiento a person; the agreement forms change with the referenced noun.
Lesson 2 — Build & Connect
Negative reference and article choices
Lesson 4 · NADA, NADIE, NINGUNO & Negative Concord
nada · nadie · ninguno/ningunaningún+ masculine singular noun
No veo nada. · Nada funciona. · No conozco a nadie. · Nadie viene. · No tengo ninguno. · Nunca voy. · No voy nunca.
A negative word before the verb can stand withoutno. After the verb, the pattern you learneds normally use preverbalno.
Lesson 5 · When Spanish Omits an Article
Soy profesor/profesora. · Es estudiante. · Es médico/médica. · Es ingeniero/ingeniera.
Contrast:Es un amigo.
Also learned:Bebe agua. · Escribe mensajes/cartas.
In the learned profession/class frames afterser, ordinary unmodified profession labels use no article.
Lesson 3 — Compare Spanish and English
Order and exclamation
Lesson 6 · Practical Ordinals & Order
primero/primera; primer + masculine singular noun
segundo/segunda
tercero/tercera; tercer + masculine singular noun
primero → luego → después
primerandtercerare the forms used before a masculine singular noun.
Lesson 7 · Basic Exclamatives
¡Qué + adjective!¡Qué bonito! · ¡Qué difícil!
¡Qué + noun!
¡Cuánto/cuánta/cuántos/cuántas + noun!— recognize it and try a little practice.
Spanish uses opening and closing exclamation marks, and thecuántoform agrees with the noun.
What you are learning
Practice It Five Ways recall
Feminine singular reference
Point to one known feminine thing clearly far away: “that house over there.”
Masculine plural reference
Point to several known masculine things clearly far away: “those books over there.”
Feminine plural reference
Point to several known feminine things clearly far away: “those houses over there.”
Reverse meaning check
What does “aquellos libros” mean in English?
Near unnamed reference
You point to an unnamed thing near you. Say only “this.”
Meaning check
What does “esto” mean in the learned neuter demonstrative pattern?
Mini-question completion
Complete the familiar question with the near neuter form: “¿Qué es ___?”
Distance contrast
Choose the neuter form for the item closest to the speaker: esto / eso / aquello. Write only the answer.
Fix the Error
you writes “este” when no noun gender is named. Fix it for neutral “this.”
Context-linked unnamed reference
You point to an unnamed thing that is less near or linked to the listener/context. Say only “that.”
Meaning check
What does “eso” mean in the learned neuter demonstrative pattern?
Mini-question completion
Complete the familiar question with the middle/context neuter form: “¿Qué es ___?”
Distance contrast
Choose the middle/context-linked neuter form: esto / eso / aquello. Write only the answer.
Fix the Error
you uses “ese” even though no noun gender is named. fix neutral “that.”
Remote unnamed reference
You point to an unnamed thing clearly far away. Say only “that over there.”
Meaning check
What does “aquello” mean in English?
Mini-question completion
Complete the familiar question for a remote unnamed thing: “¿Qué es ___?”
Distance contrast
Choose the remote neuter form: esto / eso / aquello. Write only the answer.
Fix the Error
you writes “aquel” with no noun named. Fix the neuter remote form.
Masculine distance map
Give the three known masculine-singular references in order: this book / that book / that book over there.
Feminine distance map
Give the three feminine-singular references in order: this house / that house / that house over there.
Neuter distance map
Give the three neuter references in order: this / that / that over there.
Remote selection
A book is clearly remote. Choose the full phrase from the learned map.
pattern explanation
In plain English, what is the course heuristic for este / ese / aquel?
Masculine singular possession
Say: “The book is mine.”
Feminine singular possession
Say: “The house is mine.”
Masculine plural possession
Say: “The books are mine.”
Feminine plural possession
Say: “The houses are mine.”
Agreement meaning check
What does “Las casas son mías.” mean in English?
Masculine singular possession
Say: “The book is yours.”
Feminine singular possession
Say: “The house is yours.”
Masculine plural possession
Say: “The books are yours.”
Feminine plural possession
Say: “The houses are yours.”
Agreement meaning check
What does “Las casas son tuyas.” mean in English?
Masculine singular possession
Say: “The book is his/hers/yours(formal)/theirs.”
Feminine singular possession
Say: “The house is his/hers/yours(formal)/theirs.”
Masculine plural possession
Say: “The books are his/hers/yours(formal)/theirs.”
Feminine plural possession
Say: “The houses are his/hers/yours(formal)/theirs.”
Agreement meaning check
What does “Las casas son suyas.” mean in English?
Masculine singular possession
Say: “The book is ours.”
Feminine singular possession
Say: “The house is ours.”
Masculine plural possession
Say: “The books are ours.”
Feminine plural possession
Say: “The houses are ours.”
Agreement meaning check
What does “Las casas son nuestras.” mean in English?
Direct ownership question
Ask: “Whose is it?”
Meaning check
What does “¿De quién es?” mean in English?
Dialogue launch
You see a book but do not know the owner. Ask the learned ownership question.
Punctuation precision
Write the ownership question with both Spanish question marks and the written accent.
Fix the Error
Fix the missing accent in “¿De quien es?”
Masculine possession response
A known masculine thing belongs to you. Say: “It is mine.”
Feminine possession response
A known feminine thing belongs to you. Say: “It is mine.”
Meaning check
What does “Es mío.” mean in English?
Fix the agreement
The thing is feminine. fix “Es mío.”
Mini-exchange answer
Someone asks “¿De quién es?” The masculine thing is yours. Answer with the phrase pattern you learned.
His ownership
Say: “It is his.”
Her ownership
Say: “It is hers.”
Meaning check
What does “Es de él.” mean in English?
Accent precision
Write the phrase pattern you learned for “It is his,” preserving the accent on the pronoun.
Ownership contrast
The owner is a woman. Choose the learned clarification phrase pattern.
Direct phrase practice
Say: “a friend of mine.”
Meaning check
What does “un amigo mío” mean in English?
Postnominal possession
Complete with the learned tonic possessive: “un amigo ___” meaning “a friend of mine.”
Fix the word order
Fix the phrase “un mío amigo” to the learned postnominal pattern.
Mini-description
Give only the phrase for “one friend of mine.”
Direct indefinite thing
Say only: “something.”
Meaning check
What does “algo” mean in an affirmative/nonnegative context?
Known-verb combination
Say: “I want something.”
Need combination
Say: “I need something.”
Person-v-thing contrast
Choose the word for an unspecified thing, not a person.
Direct indefinite person
Say only: “someone.”
Meaning check
What does “alguien” refer to?
Existence combination
Say: “There is someone.”
Person-v-thing contrast
Choose the word for an unspecified person, not a thing.
Quick response
A speaker asks whether an unspecified person is present. Give the single word meaning “someone.”
Apocopated masculine noun
Say: “some book / a certain book.”
Feminine singular agreement
Say: “some house.”
Masculine plural agreement
Say: “some books.”
Feminine plural agreement
Say: “some houses.”
Pronoun form contrast
No noun follows. Write the masculine singular pronoun/determiner form meaning “some/one.”
Masculine singular
Say: “another book.”
Feminine singular
Say: “another house.”
Masculine plural
Say: “other books.”
Feminine plural
Say: “other houses.”
Meaning check
What does “otra casa” mean in English?
Masculine singular quantity
Say: “all the coffee.”
Feminine singular whole
Say: “the whole house.”
Masculine plural totality
Say: “all the books.”
Feminine plural totality
Say: “all the houses.”
Meaning check
What does “todos los libros” mean in English?
Direct negative thing
Say only: “nothing.”
Meaning check
In the negative pattern you learned, what can “nada” mean?
Postverbal completion
Complete “No veo ___.”
Preverbal identification
In “Nada funciona.” write the negative word that comes before the verb.
Thing-v-person contrast
Choose the negative word for a thing, not a person.
Direct negative person
Say only: “nobody / no one.”
Meaning check
In the negative pattern you learned, what can “nadie” mean?
Complete the phrase after the verb
Complete “No conozco a ___.”
Preverbal identification
In “Nadie viene.” write the negative person word.
Person-v-thing contrast
Choose the negative word for a person, not a thing.
Masculine pronoun
Say only: “none” for a masculine reference with no following noun.
Feminine pronoun
Say only: “none” for a feminine reference.
Apocopated masculine noun
Say: “no book / not any book.”
phrase pattern recall
Say: “I have none.”
Fix the accent
fix “ningun libro.”
Direct sentence practice
Say in Spanish: “Nothing works.”
Meaning check
What does “Nada funciona.” mean in English?
Negative-position analysis
Reproduce the sentence you learned whose negative word is before the verb without no: Nothing works.
Fix the word order
Write the exact word you have learned order for: Nothing works.
Conversation response
A speaker needs this exact negative message: Nothing works. Give the complete Spanish sentence.
Direct sentence practice
Say in Spanish: “Nobody is coming.”
Meaning check
What does “Nadie viene.” mean in English?
Negative-position analysis
Reproduce the sentence you learned whose negative word is before the verb without no: Nobody is coming.
Fix the word order
Write the exact word you have learned order for: Nobody is coming.
Conversation response
A speaker needs this exact negative message: Nobody is coming. Give the complete Spanish sentence.
Direct sentence practice
Say in Spanish: “I don't know anyone.”
Meaning check
What does “No conozco a nadie.” mean in English?
Negative-position analysis
Reproduce the sentence you learned whose negative word is after the verb with the learned preverbal no pattern: I don't know anyone.
Fix the word order
Write the exact word you have learned order for: I don't know anyone.
Conversation response
A speaker needs this exact negative message: I don't know anyone. Give the complete Spanish sentence.
Direct sentence practice
Say in Spanish: “I don't have any / I have none.”
Meaning check
What does “No tengo ninguno.” mean in English?
Negative-position analysis
Reproduce the sentence you learned whose negative word is after the verb with the learned preverbal no pattern: I don't have any / I have none.
Fix the word order
Write the exact word you have learned order for: I don't have any / I have none.
Conversation response
A speaker needs this exact negative message: I don't have any / I have none. Give the complete Spanish sentence.
Direct sentence practice
Say in Spanish: “I don't see anything / I see nothing.”
Meaning check
What does “No veo nada.” mean in English?
Negative-position analysis
Reproduce the sentence you learned whose negative word is after the verb with the learned preverbal no pattern: I don't see anything / I see nothing.
Fix the word order
Write the exact word you have learned order for: I don't see anything / I see nothing.
Conversation response
A speaker needs this exact negative message: I don't see anything / I see nothing. Give the complete Spanish sentence.
Direct sentence practice
Say in Spanish: “I never go — postverbal nunca.”
Meaning check
What does “No voy nunca.” mean in English?
Negative-position analysis
Reproduce the sentence you learned whose negative word is after the verb with the learned preverbal no pattern: I never go — postverbal nunca.
Fix the word order
Write the exact word you have learned order for: I never go — postverbal nunca.
Conversation response
A speaker needs this exact negative message: I never go — postverbal nunca. Give the complete Spanish sentence.
Direct sentence practice
Say in Spanish: “I never go — preverbal nunca.”
Meaning check
What does “Nunca voy.” mean in English?
Negative-position analysis
Reproduce the sentence you learned whose negative word is before the verb without no: I never go — preverbal nunca.
Fix the word order
Write the exact word you have learned order for: I never go — preverbal nunca.
Conversation response
A speaker needs this exact negative message: I never go — preverbal nunca. Give the complete Spanish sentence.
Direct practice
Say in Spanish: “He/She/You(formal) drinks water.”
Meaning check
What does “Bebe agua.” mean in English?
Article-pattern recall
Reproduce the article pattern you learned for: He/She/You(formal) drinks water.
Fix the Error
Write the sentence you learned, preserving its article choice: He/She/You(formal) drinks water.
Changed-direction recall
From the English meaning, Recall the full Spanish you learned phrase pattern: He/She/You(formal) drinks water.
Direct practice
Say in Spanish: “He/She/You(formal) is a student.”
Meaning check
What does “Es estudiante.” mean in English?
Article-pattern recall
Reproduce the article pattern you learned for: He/She/You(formal) is a student.
Fix the Error
Write the sentence you learned, preserving its article choice: He/She/You(formal) is a student.
Changed-direction recall
From the English meaning, Recall the full Spanish you learned phrase pattern: He/She/You(formal) is a student.
Masculine profession
Say: “He is an engineer.”
Feminine profession
Say: “She is an engineer.”
Meaning check
What does “Es ingeniera.” mean?
Article choice
Write the learned ordinary profession/class phrase pattern for “He is an engineer,” with no article.
Fix the Error
Fix the over-inserted article in “Es un ingeniero” for the ordinary unmodified profession phrase pattern.
Masculine profession
Say: “He is a doctor.”
Feminine profession
Say: “She is a doctor.”
Meaning check
What does “Es médica.” mean?
Article choice
Write the learned ordinary profession/class phrase pattern for “He is a doctor,” with no article.
Fix the accent
fix “Es medico.”
Direct practice
Say in Spanish: “He is a friend / It is a male friend.”
Meaning check
What does “Es un amigo.” mean in English?
Article-pattern recall
Reproduce the article pattern you learned for: He is a friend / It is a male friend.
Fix the Error
Write the sentence you learned, preserving its article choice: He is a friend / It is a male friend.
Changed-direction recall
From the English meaning, Recall the full Spanish you learned phrase pattern: He is a friend / It is a male friend.
Messages phrase pattern
Say: “He/She writes messages.”
Letters phrase pattern
Say: “He/She writes letters.”
Meaning check
What does “Escribe mensajes.” mean?
Bare plural choice
Give the learned no-article plural object phrase pattern for messages.
Changed noun
Give the learned no-article plural object phrase pattern for letters.
Masculine profession
Say: “I am a professor/teacher.” — masculine speaker.
Feminine profession
Say: “I am a professor/teacher.” — feminine speaker.
Meaning check
What does “Soy profesora.” mean?
Article choice
Write the ordinary profession phrase pattern without un/una for a masculine speaker.
Fix the Error
fix “Soy un profesor” to the learned ordinary unmodified profession phrase pattern.
Professor pattern
Give the ordinary no-article profession sentence: “I am a professor/teacher.”
Student pattern
Give the ordinary no-article class sentence: “He/She is a student.”
Doctor pattern
Give the ordinary no-article profession sentence: “He is a doctor.”
Contrast with category
Which introduced sentence keeps un: “He is a friend.”
English comparison
In plain English, what is the learned rule for ordinary unmodified professions/classes after ser?
Before masculine noun
Say: “first day.”
Feminine ordinal
Say: “first house.”
Standalone masculine
Say only the masculine standalone/order form “first.”
Fix the shortened form
fix “primero día.”
Meaning check
What does “primera casa” mean?
Masculine ordinal
Say: “second day.”
Feminine ordinal
Say: “second house.”
Meaning check
What does “segundo día” mean?
Agreement choice
The noun is feminine: choose the correct form for “second house.”
Fix the agreement
fix “segundo casa.”
Before masculine noun
Say: “third day.”
Feminine ordinal
Say: “third house.”
Standalone masculine
Say only the masculine standalone/order form “third.”
Fix the shortened form
fix “tercero día.”
Meaning check
What does “tercera casa” mean?
Direct sequence
Give the learned three-step sequence: first → then → afterward.
Meaning check
What does “primero → luego → después” mean in English?
Order reconstruction
The sequence is scrambled: después / primero / luego. Put it in the learned order.
Connector recall
Write the middle connector in primero → ___ → después.
Final connector recall
Write the final connector in primero → luego → ___.
Known adjective exclamation
React: “How beautiful / nice!”
Different known adjective
React: “How difficult!”
Pattern check
What does the pattern “¡Qué + adjective!” do in English?
Punctuation precision
Write “How difficult!” with the Spanish you learned opening and closing exclamation marks.
Fix the Error
Fix the missing accent/punctuation in “Que bonito!”
Known noun exclamation
React: “What a day!”
Feminine noun exclamation
React: “What a house!”
Known noun variation
React to coffee with the guided noun-exclamation pattern: “What coffee!”
Pattern check
What does “¡Qué + noun!” express in English?
Fix the punctuation
fix “Que día!” to the learned exclamation.
Masculine singular quantity
React: “How much coffee!”
Feminine singular quantity
React: “How much water!”
Masculine plural quantity
React: “How many books!”
Feminine plural quantity
React: “How many houses!”
Agreement check
What does “¡Cuántas casas!” mean?
What you learned
Review & Reuse
Review 1
Module 28 review 1: Say: “that book over there.”
Review 2
Module 28 review 2: Give the neuter map: this / that / that over there.
Review 3
Module 28 review 3: Say: “The house is mine.”
Review 4
Module 28 review 4: Ask: “Whose is it?”
Review 5
Module 28 review 5: Say: “It is his.”
Review 6
Module 28 review 6: Give “something / someone.”
Review 7
Module 28 review 7: Say: “some books.”
Review 8
Module 28 review 8: Say: “another house.”
Review 9
Module 28 review 9: Say: “all the books.”
Review 10
Module 28 review 10: Say: “Nothing works.”
Review 11
Module 28 review 11: Say: “Nobody is coming.”
Review 12
Module 28 review 12: Say: “I see nothing.”
Review 13
Module 28 review 13: Say: “I have none.”
Review 14
Module 28 review 14: Say: “I never go.” with postverbal nunca.
Review 15
Module 28 review 15: Say: “I am a professor/teacher.”
Review 16
Module 28 review 16: Say: “He/She is a student.”
Review 17
Module 28 review 17: Say: “She is a doctor.”
Review 18
Module 28 review 18: Say: “He is a friend.”
Review 19
Module 28 review 19: Say: “first day.”
Review 20
Module 28 review 20: Say: “third house.”
Review 21
Module 28 review 21: Give first → then → afterward.
Review 22
Module 28 review 22: React: “How beautiful!”
Review 23
Module 28 review 23: React: “How many books!”
Review 24
Module 28 review 24: Say: “that book over there.”
Review 25
Module 28 review 25: Give the neuter map: this / that / that over there.
Review 26
Module 28 review 26: Say: “The house is mine.”
Review 27
Module 28 review 27: Ask: “Whose is it?”
Review 28
Module 28 review 28: Say: “It is his.”
Review 29
Module 28 review 29: Give “something / someone.”
Review 30
Module 28 review 30: Say: “some books.”
Review 31
Module 28 review 31: Say: “another house.”
Review 32
Module 28 review 32: Say: “all the books.”
Review 33
Module 28 review 33: Say: “Nothing works.”
Review 34
Module 28 review 34: Say: “Nobody is coming.”
Review 35
Module 28 review 35: Say: “I see nothing.”
Review 36
Module 28 review 36: Say: “I have none.”
Review 37
Module 28 review 37: Say: “I never go.” with postverbal nunca.
later review 1
later review 1: Say: “My name is Ana. I am from Mexico.”
later review 2
later review 2: Say: “I need help. I don't understand.”
later review 3
later review 3: Say: “I am from Mexico. I am in Mexico.”
later review 4
later review 4: Say: “The meeting is at the hotel.”
later review 5
later review 5: Say: “It is windy.”
later review 6
later review 6: Say: “It is cloudy.”
later review 7
later review 7: Say: “I like coffee.”
later review 8
later review 8: Say: “We like the books.”
later review 9
later review 9: Say: “I am working.”
later review 10
later review 10: Say: “I get dressed.”
later review 11
later review 11: Say: “I always work.”
later review 12
later review 12: Say: “I never work.”
later review 13
later review 13: Say: “I study.”
Build & Connect
Combined Practice
Combined a new situation 1
Combined task 1: Point far away, then claim ownership: “that book over there; the book is mine.”
Combined a new situation 2
Combined task 2: Ask whose it is, then say it is his.
Combined a new situation 3
Combined task 3: Give person/thing indefinite and negative contrasts: someone / something / nobody / nothing.
Combined a new situation 4
Combined task 4: Say: “some books; no book; other books; all the books.”
Combined a new situation 5
Combined task 5: Say: “I see nothing. Nobody is coming.”
Combined a new situation 6
Combined task 6: Use the article contrast: “I am a professor. He is a friend.”
Combined a new situation 7
Combined task 7: Give order: “first day; second day; third day.”
Combined a new situation 8
Combined task 8: Give the sequence and react: “first → then → afterward. How difficult!”
Combined a new situation 9
Combined task 9: Give near/context/remote reference to one book.
Combined a new situation 10
Combined task 10: Give four mine forms through known nouns: the book/house/books/houses are mine.
Combined a new situation 11
Combined task 11: Use a negative before and after the verb: “Nothing works. I never go” with postverbal nunca.
Combined a new situation 12
Combined task 12: React with quantity and quality: “How many books! How beautiful!”
Show What You Can Do
Apply & Communicate
Show What You Can Do 1
Apply task 1: Complete this changed reference task: point to a distant book, ask whose it is, say it is yours, then say nobody is coming.
Show What You Can Do 2
Apply task 2: Complete this quantity/reference task: say some books, no book, other books, all the books, then say I see nothing.
Show What You Can Do 3
Apply task 3: Complete this article-and-order task: say I am a professor, he is a friend, then first day / second day / third day.
Show What You Can Do 4
Apply task 4: Complete this distance-and-exclamation task: this / that / that over there (neuter), then react How difficult and How many books.
Show What You Can Do 5
Apply task 5: Complete this Combined ownership task: the house is mine, the books are yours, it is his, then give first→then→afterward.
Try Again After Reveal
extra practice in a new situation
Reveal extra practice 1
extra practice task 1: Changed task: point to a distant house, ask whose it is, say it is hers, then say nothing works.
Reveal extra practice 2
extra practice task 2: Changed task: say some houses, no book, another house, all the houses, then say nobody is coming.
Reveal extra practice 3
extra practice task 3: Changed task: say she is a doctor, he is a friend, then first house / second house / third house.
Reveal extra practice 4
extra practice task 4: Changed task: that / that over there (neuter), then react How beautiful and How much water.
Reveal extra practice 5
extra practice task 5: Changed task: the book is mine, the houses are ours, it is his, then first→then→afterward.
You can now
Ready to continue
You can distinguish distance, ownership, person versus thing, indefinite versus negative reference, selected zero-article contexts, first/second/third order, and basic Spanish exclamations using only the Module 28 learned pattern.