Beginner Galician grammar

Galician Grammar Basics: A Simple Beginner Guide

Learn the essential building blocks of Galician grammar: pronouns, articles, gender, plurals, ser and estar, word order, negatives, questions, possession, contractions and basic verbs.

? How to use this guide

Use this page as a quick introduction to how Galician works. Each section gives you the rule, a simple table and beginner-friendly examples.

GL What this guide includes

This page covers Galician pronouns, articles, gender, plurals, ser and estar, word order, negatives, question words, possession, contractions and one simple verb pattern.

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◎ Galician grammar snapshot

Galician is a Romance language closely related to Portuguese and also very familiar to Spanish speakers. This page uses standard Galician forms and keeps the explanations beginner-friendly.

Feature	Galician	Beginner note
Basic word order	Subject + verb + object	For example: Eu falo galego = I speak Galician.
Subject pronouns	Often optional	The verb ending usually shows the person.
Gender	Masculine and feminine	Nouns, articles and adjectives normally agree.
Articles	o, a, os, as	These correspond roughly to “the”.
Two verbs for “to be”	ser and estar	Similar to Spanish and Portuguese in broad terms.
Negatives	non before the verb	Non falo galego = I do not speak Galician.
Contractions	do, da, no, na	Prepositions often combine with articles.

☷ Personal pronouns in Galician

Galician has subject pronouns, but they are often left out because the verb ending usually shows who is doing the action.

English	Galician	Grammar note
I	eu	Often omitted before the verb.
you singular	ti	Informal singular “you”.
he	el	Masculine singular.
she	ela	Feminine singular.
we	nós	Used for “we”.
you plural	vós	Informal plural “you”.
they masculine / mixed	eles	Used for masculine or mixed groups.
they feminine	elas	Used for feminine groups.
you formal singular	vostede	Formal “you”; takes third-person verb forms.
you formal plural	vostedes	Formal plural “you”; takes third-person plural verb forms.

Useful point: You can say eu falo galego, but simply falo galego is also natural because falo already means “I speak”.

BE The verb “to be”: ser and estar

Galician uses two common verbs where English normally uses “to be”: ser and estar. For beginners, think of ser for identity, origin and essential descriptions, and estar for location, temporary states and conditions.

English	ser	estar
I am	son	estou
you are	es	estás
he/she is	é	está
we are	somos	estamos
you plural are	sodes	estades
they are	son	están

Examples: Son de Galicia = I am from Galicia. Estou ben = I am well. A escola é grande = The school is big. O libro está sobre a mesa = The book is on the table.

O Articles in Galician

Galician articles change according to gender and number. These small words are essential because they appear constantly.

English	Galician	Grammar note
the book	o libro	Masculine singular.
the house	a casa	Feminine singular.
the books	os libros	Masculine plural.
the houses	as casas	Feminine plural.
a book	un libro	Masculine singular indefinite article.
a house	unha casa	Feminine singular indefinite article.
some books	uns libros	Masculine plural indefinite article.
some houses	unhas casas	Feminine plural indefinite article.

Extra note: Galician articles are especially important because they often combine with prepositions, creating forms such as do, da, no and na.

MF Gender and plurals in Galician

Galician nouns are usually masculine or feminine. Articles and adjectives normally agree with the noun.

English	Galician	Grammar note
a good book	un libro bo	Masculine singular.
a good house	unha casa boa	Feminine singular.
good books	libros bos	Masculine plural.
good houses	casas boas	Feminine plural.
the student	o estudante / a estudante	Some nouns can use the article to show gender.
the teacher	o profesor / a profesora	Many people words have masculine and feminine forms.
house / houses	casa / casas	Many nouns form the plural by adding -s.
animal / animals	animal / animais	Many nouns ending in -l form plurals in -is.

SVO Basic Galician word order

Galician often uses Subject + Verb + Object word order, like English. Subject pronouns can be omitted, and word order can change for emphasis.

English	Galician	Grammar note
I speak Galician.	Eu falo galego.	Subject + verb + object.
I speak Galician.	Falo galego.	The subject pronoun can be omitted.
She reads a book.	Ela le un libro.	A clear beginner sentence pattern.
We live in Vigo.	Vivimos en Vigo.	The verb ending shows “we”.
the red house	a casa vermella	Adjectives often come after the noun.
a good friend	un bo amigo	Some common adjectives can come before the noun.

NON Negatives in Galician

The basic way to make a sentence negative in Galician is to place non before the verb.

English	Galician	Grammar note
I speak Galician.	Falo galego.	Positive sentence.
I do not speak Galician.	Non falo galego.	Non goes before the verb.
He is not here.	Non está aquí.	Negative with estar.
I am not well.	Non estou ben.	Negative with estar.
I never go.	Non vou nunca.	nunca means “never”.
I do not understand anything.	Non entendo nada.	nada means “anything/nothing” depending on the structure.

? Question words in Galician

These question words are among the most useful words for beginners because they help you build practical sentences quickly.

English	Galician	Example
who?	quen?	Quen é? = Who is it?
what?	que?	Que é isto? = What is this?
where?	onde?	Onde está a estación? = Where is the station?
when?	cando?	Cando chegas? = When do you arrive?
why?	por que?	Por que estudas galego? = Why are you studying Galician?
how?	como?	Como estás? = How are you?
how much?	canto?	Canto custa? = How much does it cost?
how many?	cantos / cantas?	Cantos libros tes? = How many books do you have?

MY Possession in Galician

Galician possessives usually agree with the thing possessed. They are also commonly used with the definite article: o meu, a miña, os meus, as miñas.

English	Galician	Grammar note
my book	o meu libro	Masculine singular.
my house	a miña casa	Feminine singular.
your name	o teu nome	Informal singular “your”.
his/her book	o seu libro	Can mean his, her, its or formal your depending on context.
our family	a nosa familia	Feminine singular.
your plural house	a vosa casa	Informal plural “your”.
their friends	os seus amigos	Masculine plural.

↘ Common contractions in Galician

Galician often combines prepositions with articles. These contractions are very common and are one of the most useful early grammar patterns to learn.

Meaning	Galician	Grammar note
of/from the book	do libro	de + o = do.
of/from the house	da casa	de + a = da.
of/from the books	dos libros	de + os = dos.
of/from the houses	das casas	de + as = das.
in/on the book	no libro	en + o = no.
in/on the house	na casa	en + a = na.
in/on the books	nos libros	en + os = nos.
in/on the houses	nas casas	en + as = nas.
to the town	ao pobo	a + o = ao.
to the city	á cidade	a + a = á.

V A simple Galician verb pattern: falar

The verb falar means “to speak”. It is a useful first verb because it shows a common regular pattern in the present tense.

English	Galician	Grammar note
I speak	falo	Eu falo is possible, but eu is often omitted.
you speak	falas	Informal singular.
he/she speaks	fala	Also used with vostede.
we speak	falamos	First person plural.
you plural speak	falades	Informal plural.
they speak	falan	Third person plural.

Example: Falo galego, castelán e inglés = I speak Galician, Spanish and English.

◎ Quick facts

Ibero-Romance grammarGalician shares many patterns with Portuguese and Spanish.

Articles matterBeginners should learn o, a, os and as early.

↘

Contractions are commonForms like do, da, no and na appear very often.

? Galician grammar FAQ

Is Galician grammar difficult for beginners?

Galician grammar is manageable for beginners, especially if they already know Spanish or Portuguese. The most important early points are articles, gender, plurals, verb endings, contractions and the difference between ser and estar.

Does Galician have masculine and feminine nouns?

Yes. Galician nouns are usually masculine or feminine, and articles and adjectives normally agree with the noun.

Does Galician use ser and estar?

Yes. Galician uses both ser and estar. As a beginner rule, ser is often used for identity, origin and essential description, while estar is often used for location, temporary states and conditions.

Can Galician subject pronouns be omitted?

Yes. Galician often omits subject pronouns because verb endings usually show the subject. For example, falo galego means “I speak Galician”.

What are common contractions in Galician?

Common Galician contractions include do, da, dos, das, no, na, nos, nas, ao and á. These are formed when prepositions combine with articles.