Apocope is the suppression of a phoneme or a syllable at the end of a given word.
Thus, we can say that an apocalypse occurs when one or more letters are lost at the end of a word.
Rules of use
As a general rule, we can say that adjectives or adverbs used before masculine nouns in the singular suffer apocope.
Examples:
- The floor of Fabián is the first. (Fabián's floor is the first.)
- Fabián lives in it primer floor. (Fabián lives on the first floor.)
Note that in the sentences above, both first how much primer has the same meaning: first.
However, primer is apocalypse word, that is, it is a apocalypse, as it is used before a singular masculine noun: floor (walk).
Check the explanations below to know some of the main words where apocalypse occurs and the cases that constitute an exception.
some and some
The words some and some has the same meaning: some.
some is the short form of some and is used before of masculine nouns in the singular.
See below for examples of using both ways.
Examples:
- There is no reason some to hablar there. (There's no reason to say that.)
- ¿Hay some reason to hablar like that? (Is there any reason to say that?)
- ¿Tienes some diccionario de español to prestame? (Do you have any Spanish dictionary to borrow?)
- In my house in the dictionary some. (In my house there is no dictionary.)
good and good
The words good and good has the same meaning: well.
good is the short form of good and is used before of masculine nouns in the singular.
See below for examples of using both ways.
Examples:
- Juan is a teacher good. (Juan is a good teacher.)
- Juan is a good professeda. (Juan is a good teacher.)
- Has had a good performance. (You performed well.)
- you were performing good. (Your performance was good.)
whichever and whatever
The words whatever and whatever has the same meaning: any.
We can classify these two words as a case of exception with regard to the apocalypse.
whichever is the short form of whatever and is used before masculine or feminine nouns in the singular.
already the word whatever is used after masculine or feminine nouns in the singular.
See below for examples of using both ways.
Examples:
- choose a book whatever. (Choose any book.)
- you can choose whatever book. (You can choose any book.)
- he bought a shirt whatever. (I bought any shirt.)
- You can wear these pants with whatever shirt. (You can wear these pants with any shirt.)
As you can see in the examples above, whatever and whatever can be used with masculine noun (book) and with feminine noun (shirt).
great and great
The words big and great has the same meaning: great.
We can classify these two words as a case of exception with regard to the apocalypse.
great is the short form of great and is used before in masculine or feminine nouns in the singular.
already the word great is used after masculine or feminine nouns in the singular.
See below for examples of using both ways.
Examples:
- I received a large amount of money. (Received a large amount of money.)
- I received a large amount of money. (Received a large amount of money.)
- Spain is a great country. (Spain is a great country.)
- Spain is a big country. (Spain is a big country.)
Bad and malo
The words bad and malo has the same meaning: bad/bad.
Bad is the short form of malo and is used before of masculine nouns in the singular.
See below for examples of using both ways.
Examples:
- Alberto is a director malo. (Alberto is a bad director.)
- Alberto is a bad director. (Alberto is a bad director.)
- Él es un vecino malo. (He is a bad neighbor.)
- Él es un mal vecino. (He is a bad neighbor.)
no one and nobody
The words nobody and nobody has the same meaning: none.
no one is the short form of nobody and is used before of masculine nouns in the singular.
See below for examples of using both ways.
Examples:
- I don't have any problem. (I have no problem.)
- I have no problem. (I have no problem.)
- live without a friend. (He lives without any friend.)
- He lives without a friend. (Lives without any friends.)
Primer and first
The words primer and first has the same meaning: first.
Primer is the short form of first and is used before of masculine nouns in the singular.
See below for examples of using both ways.
Examples:
- He was the athlete who got there first. (It was the athlete who arrived first.)
- He was the first athlete en llegar. (He was the first athlete to arrive.)
- Today is the first day of May. (Today is the first of May.)
- Mayo primer is a festive day. (First of May is a holiday.)
Possessives
Before singular masculine nouns, the apocopated form of possessives must be used.
| full form | Apocope |
|---|---|
| Mio (mine); Mia (my) | Mi (mine/mine) |
| Tuyo (yours); Tuya (yours) | You (yours/yours) |
| Suyo (yours); suya (yours) | Su (his/hers) |
Note that the apocope of pronouns does not vary by gender. The same shape is used for male and female.
However, there is variation in number.
| Singular | Plural form |
|---|---|
| Mi (mine/mine) | mis |
| You (yours/yours) | you |
| Su (his/hers) | sus |
Examples:
- This watches mio. (This watch is mine.)
- This is my watch. (This is my watch.)
- I don't like this coach. El tuyo is better. (I don't like this car. Yours is better.)
- Where are you hermano? (Where is your brother?)
- Is this boligrapher es mío tuyo? (Is this pen mine or yours?)
- Your books are with me. (Your books are with me.)
third and third
The words third and third has the same meaning: third.
third is the short form of third and is used before of masculine nouns in the singular.
See below for examples of using both ways.
Examples:
- Luis Miguel was the third to be present. (Luis Miguel was the third to perform.)
- The third singing party to be presented was Luis Miguel. (The third singer to perform was Luis Miguel.)
- Llegó in third place. (It came in third place.)
- He was the third en llegar. (It was the third to arrive.)
Un and one
The words un and one has the same meaning: a.
Un is the short form of one and is used before of masculine nouns in the singular.
See below for examples of using both ways.
This rule is also valid for words that end with the numeral one, as in the case of the word, fannedone(twenty-one).
Examples:
- Of all my cousins, I only get bien con uno. (Of all my cousins, I only get along with one.)
- I have a Colombian cousin. (I have a Colombian cousin.)
- The total number of students in this school es de ventiuno. (The total number of students at this school is twenty-one.)
- I have ventiún años. (I'm twenty one years old.)
Apocope video
Watch the video below and learn more about Apocope and the uses of some/some, good/good, bad/malo, nobody/nobody, primer/first, third/third, un/one, among others.
apocalypse summary
Below is a mental map that will help you to internalize the use of the apocope in Spanish.
Exercises on Apocope
O All Matter has separated exercises from exams and public competitions to help you train your knowledge about the apocalypse in Spanish.
1. (UECE/2013)
In “grand mound” (line 45) the “grand” form is apocoped. Apunta the other case of apocope correctly employed.
a) We see each other very often.
b) Go to San Domingo.
c) Here hace muy cold.
d) I have only given science.
Correct alternative: a) We see each other muy a menudo.
very is the apocope of a lot. Both words mean much.
Muy is an adverb of intensity used before adjectives, adverbs and adverbial phrases.
every now and then is an adverbial phrase that means oftentimes, often.
2. (UECE/2011)
Discover an extra species of animal with "sable teeth"
“Uno lo ve y no lo cree, it seems like an impossible animal, like hecho parts of different creatures. It's like discovering a unicorn”. Juan Carlos Cisneros, paleontologist at the Federal University of Piauí, in Ininga, Brazil, recognizes that he fell for piedra when he helped him. Colleagues, I discovered in a hacienda of the Brazilian state of Río Grande del Sur part of the skull and other remains of an animal that the science has not described ever. It is, according to the researchers, a new species of therapsid herbivore, parent of mammals moderns, which lived in Pérmico from 260 to 265 million years ago, even before they appeared dinosaurs. Its aspect is most unusual. Tiene the size of a big dog, something robust, but what more calls attention to their customers. In addition to having a kind of mules on the palate, which is rare, it boasted a pair of 12 cm canines that permanently protrude from its mouth, as occurs with tigers with sable The investigation appears published in the journal Science. The Cisneros equipment baptized an extraneous creature like Tiarajudens eccentricus. “’Tiarajud’ corresponds to the name of the place where it was found, ‘dens’ means dientes and ‘eccentricus’, Extraño”, explains ABC el paleontologist, an expert in vertebrates. The equipment meets the unhealthy side of the skull and different things, all also on the unhealthy side of the body. The researchers don't know how the murine and the animal, but how the animals appeared articulated, very around some of others, they believe that some event I buried it quickly and I could get there until ours days. What else calls the attention of Tiarajudens to their curious customers. “They had mules in the mouth of the mouth, something that has not been seen in any other animal”, says Cisneros. The two anchos, with large coronas, arrows to chew fibrous plants, indicate that it is a herbivore. By itself this little thing, the creature has huge canines, the size of a skull or a pencil wax, which originates in the skull and always falls on the outside, only the animal can be seen in the mouth closed. “They are very strange in a being that feeds on vegetables. Possibly they could serve to defend themselves from their predators, as it happens with the wild boar or the hippopotamus, to fight between males in competition for a female or to defend the territory”, indicates his discoverer. El Tiarajudens coexisted with other herbivores that did not chew, the pareiasaurios, some dinocephalic predators and with giant amphibians of the size of a cocodrilo. They completed a curious zoo. Its habitat was desert, with dunes and small lakes, very different from today's Brazil and more similar, for example, to Namibia. Juan Carlos Cisneros is sure that this is a new species, and not an animal known to be an anomaly. "There are too many nuevas characteristics", he insists. The only person with whom he has found some semjanza is with a creature called a “rare head”, discovered ten years ago in South Africa.
José Manuel Nieves Journal: ABC – España 13/05/2010 (Adapted)
The apocopatic form “muy” correctly completes the following sentence
a) Pepe works more than el hermano y gana __________ less.
b) I trust that I want you to __________.
c) __________ I am happy with your visit.
d) Read he dicho all __________ in serious.
Correct alternative: d) Le he dicho todo __________ en serio.
very is the apocope of a lot. Both words mean much.
Muy is an adverb of intensity used before adjectives, adverbs and adverbial phrases.
seriously is an adverbial phrase that means seriously.
3. (URCA/2012)
Complete the following sentences with the corresponding possessives:
a) Lorena, ______ joyas son muy Precious.
b) ____ Brazilian compañeros son muy amables.
c) Pablo, María, ¿son _________ are you blue suitcases?
d) The book of the catalan writer Juan Marsé es ______ .
e) ______ mother is the best person of the world.
The correct alternative with the possessives is:
a) suyas, míos, vuestros, nuestro, mi
b) sus, mis, vuestras, mio, mi
c) sus, míos, your, mi, mia
d) las suyas, tuyos, vuestras, tuyo, tuya
e) tuyas, tuyos, nuestras, mío, la mia
Correct alternative: b) sus, mis, vuestras, mío, mi.
To fill in the sentences above, it is important to recapitulate that possessives in Spanish can be used in their full or apocopada form.
Apocoped forms are used when they precede a noun.
Let's analyze the completion of each sentence:
In sentence a), the word immediately following the blank is a noun. With that, we already know that we must use an apocope.
The only apocope available as a first option is the word “sus” (yours/suas). Thus, the only alternatives that remain valid are the letters b) and c).
Note that the apocopes of possessives in Spanish are common to both genders, that is, the same form is used for the masculine and the feminine. (Mis friends; my friends).
In sentence b), as in sentence a), the gap to be filled precedes a noun (compañeros). This is an indication that we must use an apocalypse.
Remember that only alternatives b) and c) remained valid. Of the two, only b) presents an apocalypse (mis).
At this point in the exercise we already know that alternative b) is the correct answer. However, let's continue the analysis of the following sentences.
In sentence c), the speech is directed to two people (Pablo and María) and refers to the word “maletas” (female noun).
The gap to be filled is not followed by a noun and thus the word to complete the sentence cannot be an apocope.
In sentence d), note that the gap corresponds to the last word of the sentence. Thus, the word to be used cannot be an apocope as there is no noun to follow.
Finally, note that the gap in the letter e) precedes the noun “madre”. The word to complete the sentence must be an apocope.
4. (UNIFAE-PR/2000)
Complete the following prayer with the correct indefinites:
A: ¿Hay _________ here that you can help me?
B: Lo siento, now no hay ________. If you want to wait until you get ________ employed.
a) someone – no one – someone
b) someone – someone – someone
c) nadie – someone – someone
d) someone – nadie – someone
e) someone – nadie – someone
Correct alternative: e) alguien – nadie – algún
Note that in the first gap, the question is general and not specific.
Therefore, alternatives b) and d) are discarded, after all, the words “algún” (some) and “alguno” (some) are obligatorily accompanied by a noun.
Alternative c) is also not suitable mainly with regard to the meaning of the sentence. The word “nadie” means “nobody”. If the question were “Is there anyone here who can help me?” it would be meaningless.
Thus, only alternatives a) and e) remain valid (alguien = someone).
Now let's look at filling the second gap.
Bearing in mind that we can only proceed with alternatives a) and e), we have two options: “nún” (none) and “nadie” (nobody).
Remember that “ningún” must be accompanied by a noun (Ex.: ningún amigo = no friend).
In addition to the phrase not having any noun, the meaning itself would be compromised with the use of “nún” to fill the gap.
That said, the most appropriate word is "nadie": "Lo siento, ahora no hay nadie." (I'm sorry, now there's no one.)
Here, we have already learned that the correct answer to the exercise is alternative e). However, let's look at filling the last gap.
The alternatives available as an option are the words “algún” and “alguno”.
“Algún” is apocope of “alguno”. Both words mean "some" and what differentiates the use of each is that "algún" is used before a singular masculine noun.
Note that the gap precedes a singular masculine noun (employee = employee).
For this reason, the correct word to fill the last gap is “algún”:
"If you want to wait until someone finds an employee." (If you like, wait until an employee arrives.)
