Grammar: Number, Quantity, Dates

Nouns and Quantity in Spanish

In Spanish, both singular and plural nouns are differentiated, similar to English. Plural nouns usually end with “-s” if the singular noun ends with a vowel, or “-es” if the noun ends with a consonant. For example, “perro” (dog) becomes “perros” (dogs), and “motor” (motor) becomes “motores” (motors).
Direct object pronouns in Spanish vary based on quantity and gender. “Lo” and “la” are used for singular objects (masculine and feminine respectively), while “los” and “las” are used for plural objects (masculine and feminine respectively).
For expressing quantities larger than one, Spanish uses “mucho” (a lot) and “poco” (a little). If the noun is plural or singular, “mucho” and “poco” modify accordingly.
For nouns with non-obvious plural forms, such as those ending in an accent or “-z”, revise their specific plurals. For example, “lápiz” (pencil) becomes “lápices” (pencils), and “régimen” (regimen) becomes “regímenes” (regimes).

In Spanish, numbers have gender affiliations. “Uno” (one - masculine) and “una” (one - feminine) change according to its corresponding noun. Numbers like “dos”, “tres” etc. are same for both masculine and feminine nouns.
Spanish uses a different structure to English for expressing fractions. “Un medio” (one half), “un tercio” (one third), “dos tercios” (two thirds) are the common examples.

When telling the time in Spanish, “son las” is used before the hour for times after 1 o’clock, while “es la” is used for 1 o’clock. For example, “son las dos” (it’s two o’clock), yet “es la una” (it’s one o’clock).
To express dates in Spanish, the day comes before the month. Unlike in English, the definite article “el” is used before the day.
The Spanish calendar week begins with “lunes” (Monday) and ends with “domingo” (Sunday). Revising the names of the days and the months is helpful.