Kind: FEATURE. What information Spanish encodes, and where. Exhaustive: every feature with its complete value set.
Feature = a dimension of meaning a language forces into the shape of its words. "Number" is a feature; "singular" and "plural" are its values*. A *value set* is the complete list of options a feature offers.*
Every technical term is defined inline at first use. Recap at the end.
1THE FEATURE TREE frequency 3 of 3, daily§
- FEATURE
- is a subtype of its parentNOMINAL — live on nouns and the words around them
- is a subtype of its parentGENDER(2 values)masculinefeminine
- is a subtype of its parentNUMBER(2)singularplural
- is a subtype of its parentDEFINITENESS(3 definiteness = whether we both already know which one)definiteindefinitebare
- is a subtype of its parentCASE(case = a different word-shape for each sentence role)nominativeaccusative· dativeoblique [4, clitics only]
- is a subtype of its parentPERSON(3)1st2nd3rd
- is a subtype of its parentVERBAL — live on the verb
- is a subtype of its parentPERSON(3)123
- is a subtype of its parentNUMBER(2)sgpl
- is a subtype of its parentTENSE(3 tense = WHEN it happened)presentpastfuture
- is a subtype of its parentASPECT(aspect = the SHAPE of the event in time — finished and bounded, or ongoing and open-ended])perfectiveimperfective· perfectprogressive [4]
- is a subtype of its parentMOOD(· imperative [3] mood = whether you're asserting this as fact, merely entertaining it, or commanding it])indicativesubjunctive
- is a subtype of its parentVOICE(3 voice = which participant gets to be the subject)activepassivemiddle
- is a subtype of its parentADJECTIVAL
- is a subtype of its parentDEGREEpositivecomparative· superlativeabsolute [4]
- is a subtype of its parentPRAGMATIC / CLAUSAL(pragmatic = to do with the social situation and the speaker's intent, not the literal content])
- is a subtype of its parentPOLARITY(2)affirmativenegative
- is a subtype of its parentREGISTERT-V(2 in RP T-V = the familiar/formal "you" choice, named after Latin "tu" and "vos"])vosusted
- is a subtype of its parentSPECIFICITY(2 specificity = whether you have one particular individual in mind, or just any that fits])specificnon-specific
- is a subtype of its parentANIMACY(2)animateinanimate
- is a subtype of its parentILLOCUTION(illocution = what you're DOING with the sentence)statementquestion· commandexclamation [4]
- is a subtype of its parentNOMINAL — live on nouns and the words around them
Fifteen features. That is the complete set Spanish grammatically marks.
2Obligatory vs available frequency 3 of 3, daily§
The load-bearing distinction of the whole framework: grammar is not what a language can express — it's what it forces you to express, in every sentence, whether or not you care.
| Feature | Status | You cannot avoid disclosing… |
|---|---|---|
| gender | ● obligatory | every noun's class, on every article and adjective |
| number | ● obligatory | singular or plural, always |
| definiteness | ● obligatory | known or new, on every noun phrase |
| person | ● obligatory | who, fused into every finite verb |
| tense | ● obligatory | when, on every finite verb |
| aspect (past) | ● obligatory | bounded or not — no neutral past exists |
| mood | ● obligatory | asserted or entertained |
| register (T-V) | ● obligatory | your social relation to the listener |
| polarity | ● obligatory | yes or no |
| specificity | ◐ partial | only via DOM and relative-clause mood |
| animacy | ◐ partial | only via DOM |
| case | ◐ pronouns only | nouns lost it |
| voice | ◐ available | the se-passive is preferred, and agentless |
| degree | ○ optional | |
| illocution | ○ intonational |
3The class–feature matrix frequency 3 of 3, daily§
Which classes carry which features. The table that makes agreement comprehensible.
| Feature | noun | adj | det | pron | verb | adv | prep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gender | ◆ inherent | ✓ agreed | ✓ agreed | ✓ | participle only | ✗ | ✗ |
| number | ✓ inflected | ✓ agreed | ✓ agreed | ✓ | ✓ agreed w/ subject | ✗ | ✗ |
| person | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ◆ inherent | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| case | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ◆ clitics | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| definiteness | ✗ | ✗ | ◆ inherent | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| tense | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ◆ | ✗ | ✗ |
| aspect | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ◆ | ✗ | ✗ |
| mood | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ◆ | ✗ | ✗ |
| voice | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ◆ | ✗ | ✗ |
| degree | ✗ | ◆ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ◆ | ✗ |
◆ = originates here · ✓ = arrives by copying · ✗ = never
Three readings:
- Gender and number originate in the noun and spread outward. Every ✓ in those rows is a copy — which is why one gender error propagates through a whole phrase.
- Tense, aspect, mood and voice live only in the verb and never spread. No copying — which is why they're choices rather than consequences.
- Prepositions and adverbs carry nothing. They're invariable by definition, which is also their membership test (01 §2.1).
4Value sets in full§
4.1The verbal features§
TENSE ─── present · past · future
⚠ Spanish's future is retreating; "voy a" is taking over
ASPECT ── perfective ....... bounded, seen as a whole ......... comí
imperfective ..... unbounded, seen from inside ...... comía
perfect .......... prior and still relevant ......... he/había comido
progressive ...... unfolding right now .............. estoy comiendo
⚠ perfective/imperfective is the OBLIGATORY pair, and only in the past
MOOD ──── indicative ....... asserted as holding .............. viene
subjunctive ...... not asserted .................... venga
imperative ....... commanded ....................... vení
⚠ the conditional (vendría) is formally indicative but functionally
modal; grammarians disagree. Treat it as its own thing.
VOICE ─── active ........... the doer is the subject
passive .......... the undergoer is the subject
middle ........... no doer is even conceivable ...... se rompió
⚠ Spanish's productive passive is the se-passive, which cannot
take an agent at all4.2The nominal features§
GENDER ─ masculine · feminine
⚠ no neuter for NOUNS — but lo/esto/eso are neuter pronouns/determiners
⚠ subtypes in 02 §1③: common · epicene · ambiguous · differentiating
NUMBER ─ singular · plural
⚠ no dual (a separate "exactly two" form — Arabic has one)
⚠ collectives are singular: la gente ES
DEFINITENESS ─ definite (el) · indefinite (un) · bare (∅)
⚠ bare is a real third value:
"compré pan" ≠ "compré el pan" ≠ "compré un pan"
CASE ─── nominative .... yo, vos (subject role)
accusative .... me, te, lo, la (direct object)
dative ........ me, te, le (indirect object)
oblique ....... mí, vos, sí (after a preposition)
⚠ CLITICS ONLY. Spanish nouns have no case at all.
⚠ 1st and 2nd person show SYNCRETISM — one form (me, te) covering
both accusative and dative, roles the 3rd person keeps separate4.3Register — the social feature frequency 3 of 3, daily§
- REGISTER (T-V) in the Río de la Plata
- is a subtype of its parentvos(default for ~90% of interactions)
- is a subtype of its parentusted(real deference: much older strangers, officials, formal writing)
- is a subtype of its parentustedes(ALL plurals (no vosotros exists) Argentina uses "usted" LESS than almost any Spanish-speaking country. Genuinely obligatory: there is no neutral second person to hide behind.)
5Valence — the verb's feature about its participants frequency 2 of 3, secondary§
Valence (how many participants the verb requires — borrowed from chemistry, where it means how many bonds an atom forms).
- VALENCE
- is a subtype of its parent0avalentlloverhaber(hay)hacer(frío)
- is a subtype of its parent1monovalentllegardormirnacer
- is a subtype of its parent2bivalentcomerverdepender(de)ser(+attribute)
- is a subtype of its parent3trivalentdardecirmandar
- is a subtype of its parentINVERTED(gustar-class: the thing is the subject, the person is the indirect object)
Valence-changing operations:
| Operation | Effect | Example |
|---|---|---|
| anticausative se | −1 (removes the doer) | rompí X → se rompió X |
| impersonal se | −all | vive bien → se vive bien |
| passive se | promotes the undergoer | venden casas → se venden casas |
| dative of interest | +1 | se rompió → se *me* rompió |
| causative hacer | +1 | comió → lo *hice* comer |
6Feature propagation frequency 3 of 3, daily§
Propagation (a feature value spreading from where it originates onto other words that must match it).
- GENDER + NUMBER — originate in the NOUN, spread outwardnoun ──┬──► determiner .......... LA casaLAS casas
- is a subtype of its parent► adjective(casa BLANCA)
- is a subtype of its parent► participleadj(puerta CERRADA)
- is a subtype of its parent► pronoun(LA vi)
- is a subtype of its parent► verbnumber only(la casa ES / las casas SON PERSON + NUMBER — originate in the SUBJECT, reach only the VERB TENSE + ASPECT + MOOD — originate in the VERB, spread NOWHERE (though a main verb can SELECT a mood — §7) DEFINITENESS — originates in the DETERMINER, spreads NOWHERE (contrast Hebrew/Arabic, where it spreads through the phrase))subject ──► verb ................ YO hablOVOS hablÁS
7Selection — one word governing another frequency 2 of 3, secondary§
Selection (a word demanding a particular form elsewhere in the sentence — not copying its own value, but requiring one). Distinct from agreement, and constantly confused with it.
| Selector | Demands | Example |
|---|---|---|
| para que, antes de que | subjunctive | para que *rinda*** |
| negated opinion verb | subjunctive | no creo que *venga*** |
| future-time cuando | subjunctive | cuando *llegue*** |
| main-clause tense | matching subordinate tense | quería que *vinieras*** |
| specific antecedent | indicative + DOM | busco *a una que sabe*** |
| non-specific antecedent | subjunctive, no DOM | busco una que *sepa*** |
| si + counterfactual | imperfect subj → conditional | si *tuvieras… gastarías*** |
8What Spanish doesn't mark frequency 2 of 3, secondary§
| Feature | Spanish | Who does mark it |
|---|---|---|
| evidentiality (how you know: witnessed vs hearsay) | ✗ | Turkish (obligatory), German (Konjunktiv I) |
| honorific on the verb | ✗ | Japanese, Korean (obligatory) |
| classifiers (a counting word matched to the object's shape) | ✗ | Mandarin, Japanese, Korean |
| dual number | ✗ | Arabic |
| case on nouns | ✗ | Russian, German, Turkish |
| definiteness on the noun itself | ✗ | Hebrew, Arabic |
| gender on "you" | ✗ | Hebrew, Arabic |
| ergativity (marking the subject of transitive verbs specially) | ✗ | Hindi (split) |
| topic marking | ✗ (word order only) | Japanese, Korean |
Terms defined in this volume§
Terms defined in this volume23
- feature
- value set
- definiteness
- case
- tense
- aspect
- mood
- voice
- pragmatic
- T-V
- specificity
- animacy
- illocution
- obligatory
- available
- syncretism
- dual
- valence
- propagation
- selection
- evidentiality
- classifier
- ergativity
Cross-references§
known defectinternal contradiction — Book 1, 00-FOUNDATIONS Actually: 'Book 1' means the Reference everywhere else; here it points at Series A. The label is unreliable.. Probably: Resolve on filenames, never on a book label..- Which forms carry which features03 §7
- Agreement as an operation06 §2
- Valence-changing constructions07 §2
- The cross-language dial board00-FOUNDATIONS §5