¡Buenos días!bway-nohs dee-ahsHello! / Good morning! ¡Buenas tardes!bway-nahs tard-aysGood afternoon! ¡Buenas noches!bway-nahs noh-chaysGood evening! / Good night! ¡Hola!/¡Chao!oh-lah / chowHi! / Bye! Adiós.ah-dee-ohsGood bye. Por favor. por fah-borPlease. Hasta la vista / Hasta luego.ah-stah lah vees-tah / ah- stah loo-ay-goSee you / See you later. Hasta pronto. ah-stah prohn-tohSee you soon. Hasta mañana.ah-stah mahn-yahn-ahSee you tomorrow. (Muchas) Gracias. (moo-chahs) grah-see-ahs Thank you (very much). De nada.day nah-dahYou're welcome. Bienvenidosbyen-veh-nee-dohsWelcome Lo sientoloh see-ehn-tohI'm sorry Con permiso / Perdón / Disculpekohn pehr-mee-soh /pehr-dohn /dees-kool- pehExcuse me / Pardon me ¡Vamos!bah-mohsLet's go! ¿Cómo está usted?koh-moh ay-stah oo-stedHow are you? (formal) ¿Cómo estás?koh-moh ay-stahs How are you? (informal) ¿Qué tal?kay tahlHow's it going? Bien / Muy bienbee-ehn / moy bee-ehn Good / Very good Mal / Muy mal / Más o menosmahl / moy mahl / mahs oh may-nohsBad / Very bad / OKSí / Nosee / nohYes / No ¿Cómo se llama usted?koh-moh say yah-mah oo- stedWhat is your name? (formal) ¿Cómo te llamas?koh-moh tay yah-mahs What is your name? (informal) Me llamo... / Mi nombre es... may yah-moh / mee nohm-breh essMy name is... Mucho gusto. /Encantado.moo-choh goo-stoh / en- Igualmente.ee-guahl-mehn-tay Same here. / Same to Señor / Señora / Señoritasayn-yor / sayn-yor-ah /
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you is used when talking to someone you just met, do not knowwell, or someone for whom you would like to show respect (aprofessor, for example.)
Encantado, cansado, enfermo, and aburrido are the masculine
forms of the words. If the words refer to a woman or are spoken bya woman, then the final o changes to a: encantada, cansada,enferma, and aburrida
In Spain, as well as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru,Uruguay and Venezuela, the Spanish language iscalledcastellano instead of español.
2. PRONUNCIATION
Spanish
Letter English Sound
a ah
e ay
i ee
o oh
u oo
ll y
v b at beginning of word, real soft b between
2 vowels
ñ ny (as in canyon)
r almost like a d when in between 2 vowels
rr r with a roll of the tongue
d almost like a th when in between 2 vowels
j hard h
g g, sometimes a h
qu K
ai / all / ay Eye
z S
z, ce, ci th (in northern Spain only)
The five vowels in Spanish are all pure vowels: [a], [e], [i], [o], [u] Be surethat you do not pronounce a diphthong as we do in English (the extra yuh or wuh sound at the end).
Stress: Just as in English, Spanish stresses a certain syllable in a word. If aword ends in a consonant, except s or n, the stress is on the last syllable. If
a word ends in a vowel, or s or n, the stress is on the second-to-lastsyllable. For words that do no follow these rules, an accent is written over the vowel so that you will know to stress that syllable, as in el pájaro (bird).
Please keep in mind that because Spanish is spoken in many
countries, there are several regional dialects and accents sopronunciation rules may not apply to all countries. This tutorial ismostly concerned with the varieties that are spoken in Mexico andSpain.
3. ALPHABET
a ah j hoh-tah r air-ay
b bay k kah rr airr-ay
c say l ay-lay s ay-say
ch chay ll ay-yay t tay
d day m ay-may u oo
e ay n ay-nay v bay chee-kah
f ay-fay ñ ayn-yay w vay doh-blay
g hey o oh x ah-kees
h ah-chay p pay y ee-gree-ay-gah
i ee q koo z say-tah
The Spanish language academy no longer considers the ch, ll or rr
to be separate letters in dictionaries, but they are still separateletters in the alphabet. In Spain, you can say oo-bay for v, but inLatin America most varieties just use bay and an adjective, such aschica (Mexico and Peru) or corta (Argentina and Chile).
El is also used with feminine nouns beginning with a or ha when theaccent is on the first syllable. Words that end in -o and -or aregenerally masculine, with a few exceptions: la mano (hand), lafoto (photo). Words that end in -a are generally feminine, with a fewexceptions: el mapa (map), el problema (problem). Other femininewords end in -ción, -tad, -dad, or -tud.
Use the ese forms to mean that when what you are talking about isnear the person you are addressing. Use the aquelforms when
what you are talking about is far from both you and the person youare addressing. Esto and eso are the neuter forms of this and that.They can be used in general and abstract ways. Demonstrativeadjectives (listed above) are used before a noun; if you want to usethe demonstrative pronouns, which are used before a verb, add anaccent on all of the first e's: éste, ésta, éstos, éstas, ése, ésa,ésos, ésas, aquél, aquélla, aquéllos, aquéllas.
5. SUBJECT PRONOUNS
yo yoh I nosotros / nosotras
noh-soh-
trohs /
noh-soh-
trahs
We
tú too you
(informal)vosotros / vosotras
boh-soh-
trohs /
boh-soh-
trahs
you
(informalplural)
él / ella /usted
ail / ay-
yah / oo- sted
he / she /
it / you(formal)
ellos / ellas /ustedes
ay-
yohs / ay-
yahs / oo-
sted-ays
they / they /
you (plural)
Vosotros is used only in Spain when speaking to more than oneperson with whom you know well. Use Ustedes for plural you inother Spanish-speaking countries, regardless of formality. Usted can be abbreviated to Ud. or Vd.Ustedes can alsobe abbreviated to Uds. or Vds. Another singular informal you in
Spanish (vos instead of tú) is used in several Latin Americacountries (especially Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), but not in
tenéis you have tuvisteis you had tendréis you willhave
tienen they / youhave
tuvieron they / youhad
tendrán they / youwill have
Highlighted forms are only used in Spain. Past refers to thepreterite tense (also called simple past.) There is another pasttense called the imperfect, which will be covered in Spanish II.
Ser is used to identify or describe. It tells whatsomething is, its basic characteristics, or its origin. Estar is used totell the location of something or how someone feels.
Uses of Ser
Identify person/objectInherentcharacteristics
or qualitiesNationality/OccupationTelling timeExpress ownershipImpersonalexpressionsPassive voice
El edificio es untemplo.La casa es grande.Carlos es pobre.Es carpintero.Son las tres.Los libros son deJuan.Es necesario.El teléfono fueinventado por Bell.
The building is atemple.The house is large.Charles is poor.He is a carpenter.It's three o'clock.The books areJohn's.It is necessary.The telephone wasinvented by Bell.
Uses of Estar
Location/positionTemporarycondition/stateState of healthFormprogressivetense
El libro está en lamesa.La ventana estáabierta.Juan está enfermo.Miguel estáestudiando.
The book is on thetable.The window is open.John is sick.Michael is studying.
Sometimes changing the verb can completely change the
meaning: ser aburrido means to be boring , while estar aburrido means to be bored . Others include: ser bueno - to be
nice, estar bueno - to be in good health; ser callado - to bediscrete, estar callado - to be silent; ser moreno - to have brownhair, estar moreno - to be tan.
Many common expressions using the verb "be" in English use theverb "tener" in Spanish (but not all):
to beafraid
tener miedo to be in a hurrytener prisa, estar de prisa
to beagainst
estar encontra
to be jealous tener celos
to be at
fault
tener la culpa to be lucky tener suerte
to becareful
tener cuidado to be patient tener paciencia
to be cold tener frío to be sleepy tener sueño
to becurious
ser curioso/a to besuccessful
tener éxito
to be fedup
estar harto/a
to behappy
estar contento/a
to be thirsty tener sed
to be hot tener calor to be tired estar cansado/a
to behungry
tener hambre to be ___ years old
tener ___ años
Tener is also used with the following expressions that use "have" in
If you are just saying 100, you use cien. If it's over 100, youuse ciento. So 101 is ciento uno and 156 would be cientocincuenta y seis. Also you can
use dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, and diecinueve for 16, 17,18, and 19, respectively. They are pronounced the same but arecombined into one word. Additionally, 21-29 can be written as oneword (veintiuno, veintidós, veintitrés, etc.), but you need touse y for the rest of the numbers.
Primero and tercero drop the final -o when used directly before anoun.
day before yesterday anteayer ahn-teh-eye-yair day after tomorrow pasado mañana pah-sah-doh mahn-yahn-ah
the following day el día siguiente dee-ah see-gwee-ehn-teh
the day before la víspera vees-peh-rah
Days of the week are all masculine in gender and they are not capitalized inwriting. The definite article is not used after the verb ser , but at all other times it is required and there is slight change in meaning if it is singular or plural: el lunes = on Monday but los lunes = on Mondays
10. MONTHS OF THE YEAR
January enero ay-nair-oh
February febrero fay-bray-roh
March marzo mar-soh
April abril ah-breel
May mayo mi-oh
June junio hoo-nee-oh
July julio hoo-lee-oh
August agosto ah-gohs-toh
September septiembre sayp-tee-aim-bray
October octubre ohk-too-bray
November noviembre noh-bee-aim-bray
December diciembre dee-see-aim-bray
month el mes mais
first of [a month] el primero de [month] pree-mair-oh day _____
year el año ahn-yoh
decade la década deh-kah-dah
century el siglo see-gloh
millennium el milenio mee-leh-nee-oh
The preposition en is used with months: en abril = in April. Alsonotice that primero is used for the first of the month, but the rest of
the days are referred to using the regular cardinal numbers: elprimero de junio but el dos de julio. Months of the year are alsoall masculine and not capitalized in writing.
¿Cual es la fecha de hoy? What is today's date?
Hoy es el primero de agosto. Today is August 1st.
11. SEASONS
spring la primavera in spring en primavera
summer el verano in summer en verano
winter el invierno in winter en invierno
autumn el otoño in autumn en otoño
12. DIRECTIONS
to the right a la derecha
to the left a la izquierda
straightahead
todo derecho
north el norte northeast el noreste
south el sur northwest el noroeste
east el este southeast el sureste
west el oeste southwest el suroeste
13. COLORS & SHAPES
red rojo / roja circle el círculo
pink rosado / rosada square el cuadrado
orange anaranjado / anaranjada rectangle el rectángulo
All adjectives in Spanish are placed after the noun that they describe andthey agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the noun. Notice that some colors do not change for gender (marrón) or number (gris). To change an adjective to the feminine form, youusually just change the final -o to -a. To make an adjective plural, simplyadd an -s.
a red house = una casa roja
14. TIME
¿Qué hora es? What time is it?
Es la una. It's one.
Son las dos/tres/cuatro... It's two/three/four...
Es mediodía. It's noon.
Es medianoche. It's midnight.
Son las cinco y cinco. It's 5:05
Son las ocho y cuarto. It's 8:15
Son las diez menos cuarto. It's 9:45
Son cuarto para las diez. It's 9:45 (common in Mexico)
Son las nueve menos diez. It's 8:50
Son diez para las nueve. It's 8:50 (common in Mexico)
Remember that vuestro forms are only used in Spain (just as thevosotros subject pronoun & verb conjugations are only used in
Spain).Because su and sus can have so many meanings, de + a pronounmay be used following the noun: de Ud., de él, de ella, de Uds., deellos and de ellas.
los libros de ellos their books
The terminal forms are placed after the noun, and the noun must bepreceded by the definite article, except in direct address. Whenused with the indefinite article, it corresponds to the English "of mine, of yours," etc.
el libro mío my bookQué haces, hijo mío? What are you doing, my son?un amigo mío a friend of mine
Verbs in Spanish end in -ar, -er or -ir. Before a verb is conjugated,it is called the infinitive. Removing the last two letters gives you thestem of the verb (cantar is the infinitive to sing , while cant- is thestem.) To conjugate regular verbs in the present tense, add theseendings to the stems:
Some verbs have vowel changes in the present tense for all formsexcept first and second person plural. After dropping the endings (-ar, -er, or -ir), the e of the last syllable changes to ie, and o of thelast syllable changes to ue. Some -ir verbs change the e to i, while
verbs ending in -uir change the i to y for all forms except first andsecond plural.
e to ie o to ue e to i ui to uy
pensar - to think
querer - to want, like,
love
cerrar - to close
comenzar - to begin
despertar - to awaken
empezar - to begin
entender - tounderstand
perder - to lose
preferir - to prefer
sentar - to seat
sentir - to regret, feel
contar - to count
poder - to be able
costar - to cost
dormir - to sleep
encontrar - to find,
meet
jugar - to play
morir - to diemostrar - to show
volar - to fly
volver - to return
pedir - to ask
(for)
repetir - to
repeat
seguir - to
follow
servir - to serve
vestir - to dress
construir - to
build
pensar contar pedir construir
pienso cuento pido construyo
piensas cuentas pides construyes
piensa cuenta pide construye
pensamos contamos pedimos construimos
pensáis contáis pedís construís
piensan cuentan piden construyen
A few other verbs are irregular only in the first person singular form. Therest of the forms tend to follow the regular pattern:
traer to carry traigo I carrysalir to go out salgo I go out
hacer to do hago I do
saber to know sé I know
dar to give doy I give
ver to see veo I see
tener to have tengo I have
poner to put pongo I put
decir to say digo I sayvaler to be worth valgo I am worth
desvestirse - toget undressed vestirse - to getdressed
The reflexive pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os and se and they areplaced before the conjugated verb:
me acuerdo I remember
te acuerdas you remember
se acuerda he/she/you
remember
nos acordamos we remember
os acordáis you remember
se acuerdan they/you
remember
However, when the reflexive verb is in the infinitive and used withanother verb, the reflexive pronoun must still agree with the subjectof the conjugated verb. It is either attached to the end of the
reflexive verb or placed before the conjugated verb:Vamos a casarnos. / Nos vamos a casar. We're going to getmarried.Tengo que irme. / Me tengo que ir. I have to go.Puede quedarse contigo? / Se puede quedar contigo? Can hestay with you?
The verb contarse is used colloquially to ask how's it going (withyou)? ¿Qué te cuentas ?
When the direct object of a verb (except tener) is a person, it ispreceded by a. It isn't used if a number precedes the objectthough. Thepronouns alguien (somebody), alguno (someone), nadie (nobody), and ninguno (no one) requirea as well, when used as the directobject.
Veo a Juan. I see John.Conozco a tu amiga. I know your friend.
Veo a alguien. I see somebody.
31. PRETERITE TENSE
The preterite tense expresses an action in the past and is alsocalled the simple past in English. It is used to describe events thathave completely finished and are not still happening or that do notindicate repeated actions. It is formed by adding these endings tothe verb stem:
Notice that the nosotros forms of -ar and -ir verbs are the same inthe present and preterite tenses.
Viví en España dos años. I lived in Spain for two years.Ellos hablaron con los niños. They spoke with the children.Quién comió la fruta? Who ate the fruit?
Ir and ser have the same forms in the preterite tense. Context will make themeaning clear.
33. IMPERFECT TENSE The imperfect is another past tense that is used to express anaction as going on in the past, as repeated or habitual, or totranslate the English "used to + infinitive." It is also used withmental and physical conditions and for descriptions. The imperfecttends to be used more often than the preterite with these verbs:querer, creer, poder, esperar, tener, and saber.
The imperfect is formed by adding these endings to the infinitivestem:
El zumo is used in Spain to refer to fruit juice, while el jugo onlyrefers to juice from meat. In Latin America, el jugorefers to fruit
juice.
35. GUSTAR
Gustar plus a noun means to like something. Literally, it means toplease and takes an indirect object, so the construction of thesentence will be different than that of English. The verb will only beconjugated in the third person singular or plural because it is
agreeing with the noun or infinitive that follows it, not the subject.
Me gusta(n) I like Nos gusta(n) we like
Te gusta(n) you like Os gusta(n) you like
Le gusta(n) you/he/she likes Les gusta(n) you/they like
Gusta is used with singular nouns or an infinitive, while gustan isused with plural nouns. It is also possible to add a + pronoun toemphasize the subject, but this is not necessary. These pronounsare the same as the suject pronouns except a mí and a ti.
Me gustan las flores. I like the flowers. (Literally: To me arepleasing the flowers or the flowers are pleasing to me.)A nosotros nos gusta la casa. We like the house.No me gusta. I don't like it.Le gusta a Ud.? Do you like it?A ellos les gustan los caballos. They like the horses.
strawberry la fresa sweet potato el camote / la batata
walnut la nuez tomato el tomate
watermelon la sandía turnip el nabo
artichoke la alcachofa wheat el trigo
asparagus el espárrago zucchini el calabacín
Los frijoles, la papa, and el hongo are used in Latin America,whereas las judías, la patata, and la seta are used in Spain. Elchampiñón is also used everywhere for a round, whitemushroom. La callampa is only used in Chile for mushroom.
El cambur is used in Venezuela, where el plátano means plantaininstead of banana.
El camote is mostly used in Mexico and the Andes.
37. TO TAKE OR DRINK
tomar - to take / drink
present preterite future
tomo tomé tomaré
tomas tomaste tomarás
toma tomó tomará
tomamos tomamos tomaremos
tomáis tomasteis tomaréis
toman tomaron tomarán
When tomar means to drink, it usually refers to alcohol. In Mexico,tomar can be intransitive, as beber is almost never used. In Spain,tomar is always transitive, such as tomar una copa - to have a
drink and tomar un café - to have a coffee.
38. COMMANDS / IMPERATIVE
To form commands, drop the final -s on the present tenseconjugation for the tú form and change the final -r of the infinitive to-d for the vosotros form. The other imperative conjugations (for Usted, Ustedes, and nosotros) use the present subjunctive forms.(More about the Subjunctive at #70.) You use the nosotros formwhen you mean Let's + infinitive. Negative commands use no + the
present subjunctive conjugations for all forms. So the only forms
that differ between affirmative and negative commands are tú andvosotros. Verbs that end in -car, -gar and -zar have the followingchanges in commands as well: c becomes qu, g becomes gu, andz becomes c.
To make sentences negative, you place no before the verb. Other negatives may precede or follow the verb, but if they follow, theymust follow a negative verb (a double negative). The word order iseither no + verb + negative or negative + verb. Nunca meansever when it follows a comparative; jamás means ever when itfollows an affirmative verb. Ya no + verb means the same thingas no + verb + más (no more, no longer).
más no more, no longer
nada nothing, (not) anything
nadie nobody, (not) anybody
ninguno (a) no, none
tampoco neither, either
ni nor
ni...ni neither... nor
ni siquiera not even
nunca, jamás never, ever
No bailas nunca. = Nunca bailas. You never dance.No juego más. = Ya no juego. I no longer play.
There are no words to the Spanish national anthem; it is completelyinstrumental.
Mexican National Anthem: Mexicanos, al Gritode Guerra
by Francisco González Bocanegra
Mexicanos, al grito de guerra
El acero aprestad y el bridón;y retiemble en sus centros latierra Al sonoro rugir del cañón.
Ciña ¡oh patria! tus sienes deolivaDe la Paz el arcángel divino,Que en el cielo tu eternodestinoPor el dedo de Dios se
escribió.Mas si osare un extrañoenemigoProfanar con su planta tusuelo,Piensa ¡oh patria querida!que el cieloUn soldado en cada hijo tedio.
¡Guerra, guerra sin tregua alque intenteDe la patria manchar losblasones!¡Guerra, guerra! Los patriospendonesEn las olas de sangreempapad.¡Guerra, guerra! En elmonte, en el valleLos cañones horrísonostruenen
Y los ecos sonoros resuenenCon las voces de ¡Unión!
Mexicans, at the cry of battlelend your swords and bridle;and let the earth tremble at its center upon the roar of the cannon.
Your forehead shall be girded, ohfatherland, with olive garlandsby the divine archangel of peace,For in heaven your eternal destinyhas been written by the hand of God.But should a foreign enemyProfane your land with his sole,
Think, beloved fatherland, that heavengave you a soldier in each son.
War, war without truce against who wouldattemptto blemish the honor of the fatherland!War, war! The patriotic bannerssaturate in waves of blood.War, war! On the mount, in the valeThe terrifying cannon thunder and the echoes nobly resound
to the cries of union! liberty!Fatherland, before your children becomeunarmedBeneath the yoke their necks in sway,May your countryside be watered withblood,On blood their feet trample. And may your temples, palaces and towerscrumble in horrid crash,and their ruins exist saying:The fatherland was made of one thousand
Antes, patria, que inermestus hijosBajo el yugo su cuello
dobleguen,Tus campiñas con sangre serieguen,Sobre sangre se estampe supie.Y tus templos, palacios ytorresSe derrumben con hórridoestruendo,Y sus ruinas existandiciendo:
De mil héroes la patria aquífue.
¡Patria! ¡patria! Tus hijos te juranExhalar en tus aras sualiento,Si el clarín con su bélicoacentoLos convoca a lidiar convalor.¡Para ti las guirnaldas deoliva!¡Un recuerdo para ellos degloria!¡Un laurel para ti de victoria!¡Un sepulcro para ellos dehonor!
Mexicanos, al grito de guerraEl acero aprestad y el bridón,y retiemble en sus centros latierra
Al sonoro rugir del cañón.
Fatherland, fatherland, your children swear to exhale their breath in your cause,If the bugle in its belligerent toneshould call upon them to struggle withbravery.
For you the olive garlands!For them a memory of glory!For you a laurel of victory!For them a tomb of honor!
Mexicans, at the cry of battlelend your swords and bridle;and let the earth tremble at its center upon the roar of the cannon.