I 2 A SPANISH REFERENCE GRAMMAR

verdad, it is true; el asno es de Juan, the donkey is john's. 43.

23. s before r becomes silent and causes the r to be strongly trilled like rr: los reyes y las reinas, the kings and the queens; nos regalO dos reales, he gave us two reales; esos ricos ven mis rosas, those rich people see my roses. 44.

24. t; the tip of the tongue is placed against the lower back of the upper front teeth and touches also slightly the edge of the lower teeth: el do Tomba tiene tantas patatas, uncle Tomba has many potatoes, el teniente toma te, the lieutenant takes tea. 45.

25. v; see b.

26. w occurs only in foreign words; usually then pronounced as in the language from which the word is taken. 46.

27. x between vowels (sound of ks, as x in fox): eso exige un examen, that demands an examination; no exagere usted su exit°, do not exaggerate your success. But x between vowels has, in a few cases, the sound of

voiceless s, as in exacto, auxilio and auxiliar

(verb) and its derived forms. 47.

28. x before a consonant is sounded as voice

less s : los extranjeros exportan cosas excelentes, the foreigners export excellent things,

me extraria la explicaciOn de usted, your explanation astonishes me; se expresa y se

DIVISION OF SYLLABLES   13

explica bien, he expresses himself and explains things well; experimenta una expansion extraordinaria, he experiences an extraordinary feeling of elation. See 42. 48.

29. y as a vowel equals Spanish i; see also y in diphthongs: el y nosotros, he and we; Ia paz y Ia guerra, peace and war. 49.

3o. y, or hi followed by vowel, has the value of a consonant; found at the beginning of a word or syllable and sounded like y of yes: ya no yerra por la ciudad, he no longer wanders through the city; ayer ley6 un libro suyo, yesterday he read a book of his; un yacimiento de hierro, a deposit (bed) of iron. 50.

31. y is a semi-consonant when it is preceded by a consonant and followed by a vowel: diez y ocho, eighteen. 51.

32. z; see c before e or i; See 21. 52.

33. Special case of z: when at the end of a word or syllable and followed by b, v, d, g, 1, m, or n, it has the sound of the voiced th in English that: lo juzgo, I judge it; la luz verde, the green light; la Cruz grande, the large cross; hazlo, do it; diez mil, ten thousand. 53.

E. DIVISION OF SYLLABLES (division de las silabas, o silabeo)

1. The vowel (or diphthong) is the basis of the syllable. Every syllable should, as far