Language/Galician/Grammar/Basic-Sentence-Structure

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Galician → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Introduction to Galician → Basic Sentence Structure

Galician is a Romance language spoken in Galicia, a region located in the northwest of Spain. If you want to learn Galician, it is important to start with the basics of sentence structure. In this lesson, you will learn how to construct basic sentences in Galician, from the subject to the object.

Basic Sentence Structure

In Galician, a sentence typically follows the Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order. The subject is the person, animal, or thing that performs the action, the verb is the action that is being performed, and the object is the person, animal, or thing that receives the action.

Here are some basic examples:

Galician Pronunciation English
O gato o gato The cat come ˈkome eats o rato o ˈɾatu the mouse
Eu ew I falo ˈfalo speak galego ɡaˈleɣo Galician

Translation: The cat eats the mouse. I speak Galician.

As you can see, the verb always follows the subject, and the object follows the verb.

However, it's important to note that Galician is a flexible language and can use other word orders to express different shades of meaning.

For example, you can use an object-subject-verb (OSV) word order to emphasize the object of a sentence:

Galician Pronunciation English
Os libros oʃ liˈbɾos The books gústanme ˈɡustanme I like moito ˈmoito a lot

Translation: I like the books a lot.

You can also use a subject-verb-adverb (SVA) word order to describe how or when a certain action is performed:

Galician Pronunciation English
Nós noʃ We estudamos estuˈðamos study moito ˈmoito a lot pronto ˈpɾonto soon

Translation: We study a lot soon.

Another example of using adverbs in a sentence:

Galician Pronunciation English
Eles eˈles They comen koˈmen eat ben ˈben well

Translation: They eat well.

As you can see, the position of the adverb can change depending on the emphasis you want to give.

Pronouns

Pronouns are words that replace nouns in a sentence. In Galician, like in English, the most common pronouns are the subject pronouns:

Galician Pronunciation English
Eu ew I Ti ti You (singular) El/Ela el/ela He/She Nós noʃ We Vós vos You (plural) Eles/Elas eles/elas They (masculine/feminine)

Subject pronouns are typically used to avoid repetition and make a sentence less verbose:

Galician Pronunciation English
O meu amigo o ˈmeu amiɡo My friend (male) é e is intelixente. inteliˈʃente intelligent.
Él eˈl He tamén tamˈbɛn also é intelixente. e inteliˈʃente intelligent.

Translation: My friend is intelligent. He is also intelligent.

Object pronouns, on the other hand, replace the direct or indirect object of a sentence:

Galician Pronunciation English
Me me Me (direct object) Ti ti You (singular, direct object) Lle ʎə Him/Her (indirect object) Nos nos Us (direct object) Vos vos You (plural, direct object) Lles ʎəs Them (masculine/feminine, direct object)

Here is an example of object pronouns in a sentence:

Galician Pronunciation English
O meu amigo o ˈmeu amiɡo My friend (male) axudoume aʃuˈdome helped me coas miñas compras. koas ˈmiɲas ˈkompras with my groceries.

Translation: My friend helped me with my groceries.

It's important to note that in Galician, the pronoun is typically placed before the verb, unlike in English where it follows it.

Questions

To ask questions in Galician, you can invert the order of the subject and verb, or use question words such as “que”, “cando”, “onde”, “quen”, etc.

Here are some examples:

Galician Pronunciation English
Onde ˈonde Where estás? esˈtas are you?
Cando ˈkando When xogamos? ʃoˈɣamos will we play?
Que ke What estás esˈtas are you a facer? a ˈfatser doing?

Translation:

Where are you? When will we play? What are you doing?

Negative Sentences

In Galician, negating a sentence is as simple as adding the word "non" before the verb.

Here’s an example:

Galician Pronunciation English
Eu ew I non ˈnon not falo ˈfalo speak galego ɡaˈleɣo Galician

Translation: I don't speak Galician.

Conclusion

In this lesson, you have learned the basics of sentence structure in Galician, including the SVO word order, pronouns, questions, and negative sentences. You can use these concepts to start building simple sentences in Galician. In the next lessons, you will learn more about vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation to improve your proficiency in the language.

Table of Contents - Galician Course - 0 to A1


Introduction to Galician


Basic Vocabulary


Nouns and Articles


Family and Relationships


Pronouns


Food and Drinks


Adjectives


Clothing and Accessories


Verbs


Travel and Transportation


Prepositions


Weather and Seasons


Galician Culture


Other Lessons


Sources


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