The present study examines how second language learners (L2) assign the thematic roles of agent/patient in Spanish passive sentences with "ser" (often referred to as the true passive) when it is their initial exposure to this structure. The target sentences were preceded by a contextual sentence. After hearing the two sentences,…

In this article, we examine whether the effectiveness of processing instruction (PI) is limited to forms targeted in the instructional treatment (primary effects) or whether it also extends to other forms (transfer-of-training effects). L2 Spanish learners (N = 123) received either PI or traditional instruction (TI) targeting third-person…

Discusses when an infinitive may appear directly after a noun in Spanish and which word is used and why if a preposition or other such word is required. Examples used are where the infinitive phrase is the predicate nominative with the verb "ser," where the infinitive acts as the grammatical subject, and where the infinitive phrase is a…

Presents study which shows that although these causatives have same surface structure as productive causative constructions they differ in several ways, e.g., unlike other productive causatives their meaning changes when "que" subjunctive is substituted for the infinitive, and they function like lexical causatives which involve agent-patient, not…

Ways to overcome difficulties in mastering the subjunctive in Spanish are described, using a travel analogy and a passport as memory aids. The passport reminds students of grammar rules, including trigger verbs and "que" clauses. (LB)

Discusses the issue of the use of the Spanish subjunctive in clauses that express neither doubt nor emotion, but appear to deal with strictly factual material. Such uses of the subjunctive are accommodated within the generally accepted one- or two-subjunctive models. (EJS)

Presents a preliminary study of the use of the Spanish preposition "a" with inanimate direct object nouns (DOs). The properties of such constructions at the lexical, sentence, and discourse levels are described, and the general principles that condition the preposition's appearance are discussed. (21 references) (GLR)

Discusses an easily-learned pair of mnemonic devices that have universal applicability for the position of object pronouns in Spanish sentences. (Author/VWL)

Analysis of the syntactic properties of Spanish prepositions, postpositions, and substantives supports the argument that a three-way categorical distinction exists among the three elements. (CB)

Expands and develops the theory of "ser" and "estar" with predicate adjectives which was first presented in "Hispania" in May 1983. This theory holds that the selection of "ser" or "estar" in constructions with predicate adjectives expresses different types of implied comparisons. (SED)

Argues that the explanation of the use of "ser" and "estar" with locatives presented in the March 1984 issue of "Hispania" derives so directly from a theory of universal grammar because it is indicative of the explanatory adequacy of Case Grammar or of other, comparable theories of the deeper levels of linguistic structure. (SED)

Elaborates on and updates the article "Derived Noun Phrases in Spanish Containing Locatives" by John P. Wonder and Alberto Eraso Guerrero (1976). Gives a detailed description of the uses of "ser" and "haber" in the locative expression. (NCR)

Although Spanish mood has been taught through a framework of categorical rules, recently attempts have been made to clarify the exact nature of certain rules and to better understand the patterns of rule variability that exist outside the classroom. This article examines the intersection of mood with notions such as habituality, general truths,…

Discusses the subtle changes of meaning evoked by different sentence positions of "hace"-clauses. Analyzes the semantics of "hace" + TIME sentences which are the equivalent of English "ago." A presentation suitable for the beginning learner, using "since" + TIME as the English translation of the "hace"-clause followed by "que" is suggested.…

Examines a computer-based corpus that provides the data for a comprehensive investigation of clitic climbing in written and spoken modern Spanish. The results are based on nearly 15,000 tokens with 32 different main verbs from a computer corpus of 3.5 million words from ten countries. Clitic climbing is more common in spoken than in written…