Observations on Spanish

• -ar verbs appear to use thematic vowels a in the present indicative and e in the subjunctive; they use the Latin infix -ab in the imperfect.
• -er and -ir verbs appear to use thematic vowels e in the present indicative and a in the subjunctive; they use -i in the imperfect.
• -ar verbs are like French -er verbs.
• -er verbs are like French -re verbs.
• -ir verbs are like French -ir verbs.

El uso de mayúsculas...

1. Just as for French, only the first letter of any sentence is capitalized plus appropriate capitalization for those words, especially nouns, that warrant it.

   Me gusta el desierto de Mojave.
   Veronica es de la Ciudad de México.
   

2. Name titles, unlike in English, are not capitalized.

   El señor Don Diego de la Vega nunca pasa tiempo en San Diego.
   El malvado doctor Mabuse en las películas alemanas fue despiadado.
   

3. However, abbreviated titles are capitalized.

   ¡ El Sr. de la Vega lucha bien usando la espada !
   

4. Nationality adjectives, just as in French, are not capitalized.

   El malvado doctor Mabuse en las películas alemanas fue despiadado.
   Los tacos americanos no tienen sabor.
   

5. Book titles, just as in French, are not capitalized except for a) the first letter and b) those words that require it in a usual sentence.

   Robert cambió completo cuando leyó El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha de Cervantes.
   

6. However, one does capitalize each word of a magazine's or newspaper's title.

   Margarita lee habitualmente el New York Times.
   

7. Just as in French, the following are not capitalized:
   • names of the days of the week (Hoy es viernes.),
   • months (Hace calor en agosto.),
   • languages (Yo hablaba francés cuando era joven.),
   • nationalities (El hombre que vi era chino.).
8. Festivals and holidays are capitalized:

   Tocamos la guitarra y cantamos a todo pulmón el Día de los Muertos.
   Les encantan los tacos el Cinco de Mayo.
   

9. First words in geographical names and of religions are not capitalized:

   Vivo cerca del río Grande.
   Mauricio es católico ; su esposa es mormona.