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Contents 1 Spanish 2 Main Contents 3 Introduction 3.1 Book definition 3.2 Introduction 4 Lesson one 4.1 Dialogue 4.2 Hello! 4.3 What's your name? 4.4 Simple Vocabulary 4.5 The Spanish alphabet 4.5.1 Consonants 4.5.2 Vowels 4.6 Acute accents 4.7 How do you spell that? 4.8 Summary 5 Lesson two 5.1 Dialogue 5.2 The numbers 5.2.1 Notes 5.2.2 Examples 5.3 How old are you? 5.4 What's the date today? 5.5 When's your birthday? 5.6 Summary 6 Lesson three 6.1 Articles 6.1.1 Definite articles 6.1.2 Indefinite articles 6.2 Regular Verbs 6.3 Questions and Exclamations 6.4 Summary 7 Lesson four 7.1 Dialogue 7.2 Countries of the World 7.2.1 Where do you live? 7.2.2 The compass 7.3 Habitations 7.4 Adjectives 7.5 City and Countryside 7.6 Summary 8 Lesson five 8.1 Dialogue 8.2 Sports and Activities 8.3 Stem-changing Verbs 8.4 Compound Sentences 8.5 ¿Qué opinas sobre los deportes? 8.5.1 Gustar 8.5.2 Love and Hate 8.6 Summary 9 Lesson six 9.1 Dialogue 9.2 Food and Drink 9.2.1 What do you eat? 9.2.2 A bottle of wine 9.3 In the Shop 9.4 Adjectives 9.4.1 "E" and Consonant Adjectives 9.4.2 Colours 9.5 Summary 10 Pronunciation 10.1 Letter-sound correspondences in Spanish 10.2 One letter, one sound 10.3 Local pronunciation differences 10.4 Word stress 10.4.1 Rules for pronouncing the implicit accent 10.5 The diaeresis ( ¨ ) 11 Contributors

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Spanish

This is the print version of Spanish If you print this page, choose "print preview" in your browser, or click printable version, you will see the page without this notice, without navigational elements to the left or top, and without the TOC boxes on each page. Refresh this page to see the latest changes. For more information about the print version, including how to create a truly printable PDF File, see Wikibooks:Print versions.

[edit] Main Contents

• Introduction
• Lesson one
• Lesson two
• Lesson three
• Lesson four
• Lesson five
• Lesson six
• Pronunciation
• Contributors

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[edit] Introduction

[edit] Book definition

• Scope: This Wikibook aims to teach the Spanish language from scratch. It will cover all of the major grammar rules, moving slowly and offering exercises and plenty of examples. It's not all grammar though, as it offers vocabulary and phrases too, appealing to all learners. By the end, you should be able to read and write Spanish skilfully, though you'll need a human to help with listening and speaking.
• Purpose: The purpose of this Wikibook is to teach you the Spanish language in an easy and accessible way. By the end, as mentioned, you should be a proficient reader and writer, though listening and speaking require a human tutor.
• Audience: Anyone who wishes to learn Spanish, though adult and teenage learners are likely to enjoy it more.
• Organisation: This Wikibook requires no prior knowledge of the subject, and all relevant terms are explained as they are encountered. The book runs chronologically from lesson 1 to lesson 2 to lesson 3 and so on until the end.
• Narrative: Generally engaging and thorough, with plenty of examples and exercises to aid learning. Once concepts are introduced, they are repeated, building a base of vocabulary and grammar that will stay in your mind.
• Style: This book is written in British English, and the Spanish taught is generally "Spanish" Spanish, though key regional differences are explained as we go along. The formatting is consistent throughout, with Spanish in italics and all tables using the same formatting. Each lesson begins with a conversation, including the key grammar and vocabulary in the lesson. At the end, there is a summary, explaining what has been achieved. Exercises are linked throughout, and each new concept or set of vocabulary is accompanied by examples, each with a translation underneath.

[edit] Introduction

You are about to embark on a course learning another language, the Spanish Language!

The first lesson begins with simple greetings, and covers important ideas of the Spanish Language. Throughout education, methods of teaching Spanish have changed greatly. Years ago, the Spanish Language was taught simply by memory. Today, however, the Spanish Language is taught by moving slower and covering grammar and spelling rules.

Again, this is an introduction. If this is the first time you are attempting to learn Spanish, do not become discouraged if you cannot understand, pronounce, or memorize some of the things discussed here.

In addition, learning a second language requires a basic understanding of your own language. You may find, as you study Spanish, that you learn a lot about English as well. At their core, all languages share some simple components like verbs, nouns, adjectives, and plurals. Your first language comes naturally to you and you don't think about things like subject-verb agreement, verb conjugation, or usage of the various tenses; yet, you use these concepts on a daily basis.

While English is described as a very complicated language to learn, many of the distinguishing grammar structures have been simplified over the years. This is not true for many other languages. Following the grammatical conventions of Spanish will be very important, and can actually change the meaning of phrases. You'll see what is meant by this as you learn your first verbs ser and estar.

Do not become discouraged! You can do it.

¡Aprovéchalo! Learn the Spanish language Contents • Introduction Lesson one • Lesson two • Lesson three Lesson four • Lesson five • Lesson six Lesson seven • Lesson eight • Lesson nine Pronunciation • Contributors

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[edit] Lesson one

[edit] Dialogue

Raúl: ¡Hola! Me llamo Raúl. ¿Cómo te llamas?

Sofía: Hola, Raúl. Me llamo Sofía. ¿Cómo se escribe Raúl?

Raúl: Se escribe R-A-Ú-L. ¿Qué tal?

Sofía: Bien. ¿Y tú?

Raúl: Fenomenal, gracias.

Sofía: ¡Qué fantástico! Adiós, Raúl.

Raúl: ¡Hasta luego!

Translation (wait until the end of the lesson).

[edit] Hello!

Spanish Vocabulary • Print version ¡Hola! Hello!
Inglés	Español (help)
Hello	Hola (listen)
Good morning!	¡Buenos días! (listen)
Good day!
Good evening!	¡Buenas tardes! (listen)
Good night!	¡Buenas noches! (listen)
See you later!	¡Hasta luego! (listen)
See you tomorrow!	¡Hasta mañana! (listen)
Goodbye	Adiós (listen)

Notes

• Hasta means "until"; luego means "then"; you can translate it as "see you later" or "see you soon". In the same vein, hasta mañana means "see you tomorrow".
• Note the upside-down exclamation (¡) and question marks (¿); you will learn more about them in lesson three.

Examples

• ¡Buenos días, clase!

  Good morning, class!

• Hola, ¿Qué tal hoy?

  Hello, how are you today?

• Adiós, ¡hasta luego!

  Bye, see you soon!

Go to the exercise.

[edit] What's your name?

To ask someone else's name in Spanish, use Cómo, then one of the phrases in the table below (¿Cómo te llamas? is "What's your name?").

In Spanish, to say your name, you use the reflexive verb llamarse, which means literally to call oneself (Me llamo Robert is "My name is Robert").

Spanish Verb • Print version Llamarse To call oneself
Inglés	Español
I am called	Me llamo
You (familiar, singular) are called	Te llamas
He/She/You (formal, singular) is/are called	Se llama
We are called	Nos llamamos
You (familiar, plural) are called	Os llamáis
They/You (formal, plural) are called	Se llaman

Notes

• "Os llamáis" is only used in Spain. In most other Spanish-speaking countries, "Se llaman" is used in both familiar and formal situations.

Examples

• Me llamo Chris

  My name is Chris

• Se llaman Peter y Robert

  They're called Peter and Robert.

• ¿Cómo te llamas?

  What's your name?

• ¿Cómo se llama?

  What's his/her name?

Go to the exercise.

[edit] Simple Vocabulary

Spanish Vocabulary • Print version ¿Qué tal? How are you?
Inglés	Español
How are you?	¿Qué tal? (listen)
	¿Cómo estás?
Great!	Fantástico
	Fantástica
Very well	Muy bien
Well	Bien
Bad	Mal
Really bad	Fatal
And you?	¿Y tú?
Thank you	Gracias (listen)
Thank you very much	Muchas gracias
You're Welcome	De nada
Yes	Sí
No	No

Note

For some of the words above, there are two options. The one ending in "o" is for males, and the one ending in "a" is for females. It's all to do with agreement, which is covered in future chapters.

Examples

• Roberto: Hola, Rosa. ¿Qué tal?

  Hello, Rose. How are you?

• Rosa: Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú, Roberto?

  Very well, thanks. And you, Robert?

• Roberto: Bien también. ¡Hasta luego!

  I'm good too. See you later!

Go to the exercise.

[edit] The Spanish alphabet

Here is the normal Spanish alphabet. However, words aren't alphabetized by it. Please read the notes and sections below. (Blue letters are a part of the normal English alphabet).

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29
a	b	c	ch	d	e	f	g	h	i	j	k	l	ll	m	n	ñ	o	p	q	r	s	t	u	v	w	x	y	z
Notes about Ñ
N and Ñ are considered two different letters. They are alphabetized as separate letters, so Ñ always comes after N, regardless of where it appears in the word. Ex: muñeca comes after municipal.
Notes about CH and LL
CH and LL are distinct letters of the alphabet, but in 1994, the Real Academia Española (Spanish Royal Academy) declared that they should be treated as digraphs for collation purposes. Accordingly, words beginning with CH and LL are now alphabetized under C and L, respectively.
Notes about K and W
K and W are part of the alphabet but are mostly seen in foreign derived words and names, such as karate and whiskey. For instance, kilo is commonly used to refer to a kilogram.

[edit] Consonants

Although the above will help you understand, proper pronunciation of Spanish consonants is a bit more complicated:

Most of the consonants are pronounced as they are in American English with these exceptions:

• b like the English b at the start of a word and after m or n, (IPA: /b/). Elsewhere, especially between vowels, it is softer, often like a blend between English v and b.
• c before i and e like English th in “think” (in Latin America is like English s) (European IPA: /θ/; Latin American IPA: /s/)
• c before a, o, u and other consonants, like English k (IPA: /k/)

• The same sound for e and i is written like que and qui, where the u is silent (IPA: /ke/ and /ki/).

• ch like ch in “cheese” (IPA: /tʃ/)
• d between vowels (even if it starts a word following a word ending in a vowel) or at the end of a word, like English d in dental (IPA: /d/)
• g before e or i like the Scottish pronunciation of ch in “loch” (IPA: /x/)
• g before a, o, u, like g in “get” (IPA: /g/)

• The same sound for e and i is written like gue and gui, where the u is silent (IPA: /ge/ and /gi/).

• h is always silent (except in the digraph ch)
• j like the h in hotel, or like the Scottish pronunciation of ch in "loch" (IPA: /h/ or /x/)
• ll is pronounced like gli in Italian "famiglia," or as English y in “yes” (IPA: /ʎ/)
• ñ like nio in “onion” (or gn in French cognac) (IPA: /ɲ/)
• q like the English k; occurs only before ue or ui (IPA: /k/)
• r at the beginning of a word; after l, n, or s; or when doubled (rr), it is pronounced as a full trill (IPA: /r/), elsewhere it is a single-tap trill (IPA: /ɾ/)
• v is pronounced like b, there is no distinction whatsoever between B and V. (IPA: /b/)
• x pronounced like an English sh (IPA: /ʃ/)
• z like the English th (in Latin America, like English s) (European IPA: /θ/; Latin American IPA: /s/)

[edit] Vowels

The pronunciation of vowels is as follows:

• a [a] "La Mano" as in "Kahn" (ah)
• e [e] "Mente" as the ay in "day" (e)
• i [i] "Sin" as the ea in "lean" (i)
• o [o] "Como" as in "no". (short o)
• u [u] "Lunes" as in "toon" or "loom" (oo)

The "u" is always silent after "q" (as in "qué" pronounced keh).

Spanish also uses the ¨ (diaeresis) diacritic mark over the vowel u to indicate that it is pronounced separately in places where it would normally be silent. For example, in words such as vergüenza ("shame") or pingüino ("penguin"), the u is pronounced as in the English "w" and so forms a diphthong with the following vowel: [we] and [wi] respectively. It is also used to preserve sound in stem changes and in commands. y [ʝ] "Reyes" similar to the y of "yet", but more voiced (in some parts of Latin America it is pronounced as s in "vision" [ʒ] or sh in "flash" [ʃ]) At the end of a word or when it means "and" ("y") it is pronounced like i.

[edit] Acute accents

Spanish uses the ´ (Acute) diacritic mark over vowels to indicate a vocal stress on a word that would normally be stressed on another syllable; Stress is contrastive. For example, the word ánimo is normally stressed on a, meaning "mood, spirit." While animo is stressed on ni meaning "I cheer." And animó is stressed on mó meaning "he cheered."

Additionally the acute mark is used to disambiguate certain words which would otherwise be homographs. It's used in various question word or relative pronoun pairs such as cómo (how?)& como (as), dónde(where?) & donde (where), and some other words such as tú (you) & tu (your), él (he/him) & el (the).

A	E	I	O	U
á	é	í	ó	ú

[edit] How do you spell that?

Spanish Vocabulary • Print version ¿Qué tal? How are you?
Inglés	Español
How is it spelt?	¿Cómo se escribe?
It is spelt	Se escribe
B as in Barcelona	B de Barcelona

Examples

• Roberto: Buenos días. Me llamo Roberto. ¿Cómo te llamas?

  Good day. My name is Robert. What's your name?

• Benjamín: Hola. Me llamo Benjamín. ¿Cómo se escribe Roberto?

  Hello. I'm Benjamin. How do you spell Robert?

• Roberto: Se escribe R (de Rioja); O (de Orangután); B (de Barcelona); E (de España); R (de Rioja); T (de Tigre); O (de Orangután).

  It's spelt R (as in Rioja); O (as in Orangutan); B (as in Barcelona); E (as in Spain); R (as in Rioja); T (as in Tiger); O (as in Orangutan).

• Benjamín: Muchas gracias. ¡Adiós, Roberto!

  Many thanks. Goodbye, Robert.

Go to the exercise.

[edit] Summary

In this lesson, you have learned

• How to greet people (Hola; buenos días; adiós).
• How to introduce yourself (Me llamo Rosa).
• How to introduce others (Se llama Roberto).
• How to say how you are (Fenomenal; fatal; bien).
• How to spell your name (Se escribe P-E-T-E-R).
• How to ask others about any of the above (¿Cómo te llamas?; ¿Cómo estás?; ¿Cómo se escribe?).
• The Spanish Alphabet and how letters are pronounced.

You should now do the exercise related to each section (found here), and translate the dialogue at the top before moving on to lesson 2...

Drill the words covered in this lesson with this Anki Flash Card Deck

¡Aprovéchalo! Learn the Spanish language Contents • Introduction Lesson one • Lesson two • Lesson three Lesson four • Lesson five • Lesson six Lesson seven • Lesson eight • Lesson nine Pronunciation • Contributors

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[edit] Lesson two

[edit] Dialogue

Raúl: ¡Hola, Sofía! Me llamo Raúl. ¿Qué fecha es hoy?

Sofía: Hola, Raúl. Hoy es el diecisiete de octubre.

Raúl: Muchas gracias. Mi cumpleaños es el viernes.

Sofía: ¡Feliz cumpleaños!

Raúl: Gracias. ¿Cuántos años tienes?

Sofía: Tengo veinte años.

Raúl: Vale. Adiós, Sofía.

Sofía: ¡Hasta luego!

Translation (wait until the end of the lesson).

[edit] The numbers

1.	Uno	11.	Once	21.	Veintiuno	31.	Treinta y uno	50.	Cincuenta
2.	Dos	12.	Doce	22.	Veintidós	32.	Treinta y dos	60.	Sesenta
3.	Tres	13.	Trece	23.	Veintitrés	33.	Treinta y tres	70.	Setenta
4.	Cuatro	14.	Catorce	24.	Veinticuatro	34.	Treinta y cuatro	80.	Ochenta
5.	Cinco	15.	Quince	25.	Veinticinco	35.	Treinta y cinco	90.	Noventa
6.	Seis	16.	Dieciséis	26.	Veintiséis	36.	Treinta y seis	100.	Cien
7.	Siete	17.	Diecisiete	27.	Veintisiete	37.	Treinta y siete
8.	Ocho	18.	Dieciocho	28.	Veintiocho	38.	Treinta y ocho
9.	Nueve	19.	Diecinueve	29.	Veintinueve	39.	Treinta y nueve
10.	Diez	20.	Veinte	30.	Treinta	40.	Cuarenta

[edit] Notes

• To form the numbers from thirty to one hundred, you take the multiple of ten below it, then y, then its units value:

"54"	Cincuenta y cuatro	Like, fifty and four
"72"	Setenta y dos	Like, seventy and two
"87"	Ochenta y siete	Like, eighty and seven

• When used before a masculine noun, "uno" becomes "un", before a feminine noun, "una".

[edit] Examples

• Tengo diecisiete gatos

  I have 17 cats.

• Hay treinta y cinco aulas

  There are 35 classrooms.

• Tengo noventa y seis primos.

  I have 96 cousins.

• Hay veintidós alumnos en esta clase.

  There are 22 students in this class.

• ¡Quiero un caramelo!

  I want a candy!

• ¡Quiero uno!

  I want one!

Go to the exercises.

[edit] How old are you?

To ask someone else's age in Spanish, use Cuántos años, then one of the entries in the table below (¿Cuántos años tienes? means "How old are you?")

To say someone's age in Spanish, you use the irregular verb tener (which means "to have"), then your age, then años (which means "years"). For example, Tengo trece años means "I have 13 years" or "I am 13 years old".

Spanish Verb • Print version Tener To have
Inglés	Español
I have	(Yo) Tengo
You (familiar, singular) have	(Tú) Tienes
He/She/You (formal, singular)/It has	(Él/Ella/Usted) Tiene
We have	(Nosotros) Tenemos
You (familar, plural) have	(Vosotros) Tenéis
They/You (formal, plural) have	(Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes) Tienen

Note

• "Tenéis" would only be used in Spain. In all other countries one would use "Tienen" in both familiar and formal situations.

Examples

• Tengo veinte años

  I am 20 years old.

• ¿Cuántos años tienes?

  How old are you?

• Tiene ochenta y siete años.

  He is 87 years old.

• ¿Cuántos años tienen?

  How old are they?

Go to the exercises.

[edit] What's the date today?

To ask for the date in Spanish, you use ¿Cuál es la fecha? or ¿Qué día es hoy? (meaning "What is the date?"). In reply, you would say Hoy es [day of the week], [date of the month] de [month of the year] (For example, Hoy es martes, el veinticinco de mayo is "Today is Tuesday, the 25th of May").

Spanish Vocabulary • Print version Los meses del año The months of the year Inglés Español January enero February febrero March marzo April abril May mayo June junio July julio August agosto September septiembre October octubre November noviembre December diciembre

Spanish Vocabulary • Print version Los días de la semana The days of the week Inglés Español Monday lunes Tuesday martes Wednesday miércoles Thursday jueves Friday viernes Saturday sábado Sunday domingo

Notes

• Neither days of the week nor months of the year are capitalised, unless at the beginning of sentences.
• On the first of the month, some Spanish speakers say primero (Hoy es domingo, primero de enero).

Examples

• ¿Qué fecha es hoy? (¿A qué estamos? is used too.)

  What is the date?

• Hoy es miércoles, veintinueve de septiembre.

  Today is Wednesday, the 29th of September

• Hoy es jueves, quince de agosto.

  Today is Thursday, the 15th of August.

• Hoy es sábado, dos de enero.

  Today is Saturday, the 2nd of January.

Go to the exercises.

[edit] When's your birthday?

Spanish Vocabulary • Print version Cumpleaños Birthday
Inglés	Español
When is your birthday?	¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?
My birthday is	Mi cumpleaños es
On the first of May	El uno de mayo
On Wednesday	El miércoles
Happy birthday!	¡Feliz cumpleaños!

Examples

• Mi cumpleaños es el once de julio.

  My birthday is on the 11th of July.

• Mi cumpleaños es el ocho de diciembre.

  My birthday is on the 8th of December.

• ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?

  When is your birthday?

• Mi cumpleaños es el sábado.

  My birthday is on Saturday.

Go to the exercises.

[edit] Summary

In this lesson, you have learned:

• The numbers from one to one hundred (uno; veintiocho; noventa; cien)
• The days of the week (lunes; miércoles; viernes)
• The months of the year (enero; abril; octubre; diciembre)
• How to say your age (Tengo cuarenta años)
• How to ask the age of others (¿Cuántos años tienes?)
• How to say today's date (Hoy es jueves, el veintinueve de noviembre)
• How to say your birthday (Mi cumpleaños es el uno de agosto; mi cumpleaños es el martes)
• How to ask the birthday of others (¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?)

You should now do the exercise related to each section (found here), and translate the dialogue at the top before moving on to lesson 3...

¡Aprovéchalo! Learn the Spanish language Contents • Introduction Lesson one • Lesson two • Lesson three Lesson four • Lesson five • Lesson six Lesson seven • Lesson eight • Lesson nine Pronunciation • Contributors

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[edit] Lesson three

[edit] Articles

As in many languages, Spanish gives each noun a gender: masculine or feminine, both for singular things and plural ones.

Spanish, like English, has two articles: the definite article ("the") and the indefinite article ("a" or "an"). However, there are 4 forms, depending on the number and gender of the noun. The plural indefinite article is "some" in English.

• If the noun ends in a vowel, to make it plural, add s (gato - "cat"; gatos - "cats").
• If the noun ends in a consonant, to make it plural, add es (papel - "paper"; papeles - "papers").

Happily, the gender of Spanish nouns is usually pretty easy to work out. Some very simple rules-of-thumb:

• If it ends in a, d, z or ión: it's likely to be feminine.
• If it ends in o, a consonant: it's likely to be masculine.

[edit] Definite articles

Spanish Grammar • Print version The definite article El artículo definido
masculine	singular	el	el hombre	the man
	plural	los	los niños	the boys
feminine	singular	la	la mujer	the woman
	plural	las	las niñas	the girls

[edit] Indefinite articles

Spanish Grammar • Print version The indefinite article El artículo indefinido
masculine	singular	un	un hombre	a man
	plural	unos	unos niños	some boys
feminine	singular	una	una mujer	a woman
	plural	unas	unas niñas	some girls

Go to the exercises.

[edit] Regular Verbs

We have already seen the present tense conjugations of two Spanish verbs, llamarse and tener. However, both of these verbs are irregular verbs. Luckily, most verbs follow an easy to understand conjugation scheme.

In Spanish, the conjugation depends on what the last two letters of the infinitive are. The infinitive form is the form that is given in the dictionary. An example of an English verb in the infinitive might be to run or to speak. Spanish verbs in the infinitive end with "-ar", "-er" or "-ir" (first, second and third conjugation respectively). To conjugate them, remove the ending ("-ir", "-er" or "-ar") and add the desired suffix.

Unlike English, Spanish verbs conjugate depending on the person; That is, they change depending on who is being talked about. This occurs in English in the third person singular (highlighted below) but in Spanish this occurs for every person. As a result, pronouns are usually omitted because they can be inferred from the conjugation.

The pronouns

	Person in English		Person in Spanish
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
First	I	We	Yo	Nosotros
Second	You	You all	Tú	Vosotros
Third	He / She / It	They	Él / Ella Usted	Ellos / Ellas Ustedes

The Present Tense in English

	Present Tense (en)
	Singular	Plural
First	I play	We play
Second	You play	You all play
Third	He / She / It plays	They play

The Present Tense in Spanish

Regular -ar Verbs Singular Plural First -o -amos Second -as -áis Third -a -an

Example: Cant-ar (To sing) Singular Plural First Cant-o Cant-amos Second Cant-as Cant-áis Third Cant-a Cant-an

Regular -er Verbs Singular Plural First -o -emos Second -es -éis Third -e -en

Example: Beb-er (To drink) Singular Plural First Beb-o Beb-emos Second Beb-es Beb-éis Third Beb-e Beb-en

Regular -ir Verbs Singular Plural First -o -imos Second -es -ís Third -e -en

Example: Part-ir (To split) Singular Plural First Part-o Part-imos Second Part-es Part-ís Third Part-e Part-en

More examples

• Llorar ("to cry"): lloro, lloras, llora, lloramos, lloráis, lloran
• Cocinar ("to cook"): cocino, cocinas, cocina, cocinamos, cocináis, cocinan

• Comer ("to eat"): como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen
• Leer ("to read"): leo, lees, lee, leemos, leéis, leen

• Vivir ("to live"): vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven
• Cubrir ("to cover"): cubro, cubres, cubre, cubrimos, cubrís, cubren

Notes

• There are many more "-ar" verbs than "-er" or "-ir". Make sure you are most familiar with these endings.
• The second person plural is highlighted because that tense is only used in the variety of Spanish used in Spain. In other Spanish dialects the third person plural form is used instead.
• When reading texts, you will need to know the person of the verb at a glance. Notice the pattern:
  1. "O" denotes I
  2. "S" denotes You
  3. A vowel that is not "O" denotes He/She/It
  4. "MOS" denotes We
  5. "IS" denotes You All
  6. "N" denotes They

Go to the exercises.

[edit] Questions and Exclamations

In previous lessons, you will have noticed that we use the funny upside-down question mark "¿". In Spanish, questions always start with that, and finish with the regular question mark. It is the same for exclamations; the funny upside-down exclamation mark "¡" precedes exclamations.

Questions in Spanish are mainly done by intonation (raising the voice at the end of the question), since questions are often identical to statements. Te llamas Richard means "Your name is Richard", and ¿Te llamas Richard? means "Is your name Richard?".

You can also use questions words, as indicated below.

Spanish Vocabulary • Print version Questions Preguntas
Español	Inglés
¿Dónde?	Where?
¿Quién?	Who?
¿Qué?	What?
¿Cómo?	How?
¿Por qué?	Why?
¿Cuándo?	When?
¿Cuánto?	How many?

Examples

• ¿Con quién?

  With whom?

• ¿Dónde está el banco?

  Where is the bank?

• ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?

  When's your birthday?

• ¿Qué fecha es hoy?

  What is the date today?

Go to the exercises.

[edit] Summary

In this lesson, you have learnt:

• The Spanish articles (el; la; los; las; un; una; unos; unas).
• How to conjugate regular verbs in the present tense (lloro; comes; vive; cocinamos; bebéis; cubren).
• How to question people and exclaim in Spanish (¿Cuántos años tienes?; ¡Qué fantástico!)

You should now do the exercise related to each section (found here) before moving on. This is a very important topic for future lessons; it's important that you know it well.

You have now completed this chapter! Return to the Contents...

¡Aprovéchalo! Learn the Spanish language Contents • Introduction Lesson one • Lesson two • Lesson three Lesson four • Lesson five • Lesson six Lesson seven • Lesson eight • Lesson nine Pronunciation • Contributors

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[edit] Lesson four

Lesson 4 — ¿Dónde vives?

[edit] Dialogue

Vocabulary
Londres	London
Pero	But
Pues	Well

Raúl: ¡Hola! ¿Dónde vives?

Sofía: Hola, Raúl. Vivo en un piso en Londres, Inglaterra. ¿Y tú?

Raúl: Vale. Vivo en el sur de España.

Sofía: ¿En el campo o en la ciudad?

Raúl: En el campo. Las ciudades son ruidosas.

Sofía: Sí, pero no hay nada que hacer en el campo.

Raúl: Pues, ¡adiós, Sofía!

Sofía: ¡Hasta luego!

Translation (wait until the end of the lesson).

[edit] Countries of the World

El Reino Unido	Inglaterra	Escocia	Gales	Irlanda
España	Francia	Alemania	Italia	Rusia
Los Estados Unidos	Canadá	Nueva Zelanda	Australia	México

[edit] Where do you live?

To say you are from a country, you use ser (meaning "to be [a permanent characteristic]"), then de (meaning "of" or "from"), then the country or place. To say you are currently living in a place or country, you use vivir (meaning "to live"), then en (meaning "in"), then the country or place.

To ask where someone else lives, you use Dónde then vivir (¿Dónde vives? means "Where do you live?"). To ask where someone is from, you use De dónde, then ser (¿De dónde eres? means "Where are you from?").

While vivir is totally regular (vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven), ser is about as irregular as they come. It is conjugated below.

Spanish Verb • Print version Ser To be
Inglés	Español
I	Soy
You	Eres
He/She/It	Es
We	Somos
You all	Sois
They	Son

Examples

• Vivo en Inglaterra

  I live in England.

• Son de España, pero viven en Alemania.

  They are from Spain, but they live in Germany.

[edit] The compass

El noroeste	El norte	El noreste
El oeste	X	El este
El sudoeste	El sur	El sudeste

Examples

• Vivo en el sudoeste de México.

  I live in the Southwest of Mexico.

• Soy del norte de Australia.

  I'm from the north of Australia.

Go to the exercises.

[edit] Habitations

Spanish Vocabulary • Print version Casas Houses
Inglés	Español
A house	Una casa
A detached house	Una casa individual
A semi-detached house	Una casa adosada
A terraced house
A flat	Un piso
A bungalow	Un bungalow
A room	Una habitación

Note

It's una habitación, but the plural is unas habitaciones (without the accent).

Examples

• Vivo en un piso.

  I live in a flat.

• Vivo en una casa adosada en Canadá.

  I live in a semi-detatched house in Canada.

• Vive en un bungalow que tiene diez habitaciones.

  He lives in a bungalow that has ten rooms.

Go to the exercises.

[edit] Adjectives

As we already learnt, Spanish nouns each have a gender. This doesn't just affect the article, but the adjective; it has to agree. Also, adjectives go after the noun, not before it.

If the adjective (in its natural form - the form found in the dictionary), ends in an "O" or an "A", then you remove that vowel and add...

O or OS

A or AS

• O for masculine singular nouns
• OS for masculine plural nouns
• A for feminine singular nouns
• AS for feminine plural nouns.

Examples

• Un hombre bueno

  A good man

• Unos hombres buenos

  Some good men

• Una mujer buena

  A good woman

• Unas mujeres buenas

  Some good women

Go to the exercises.

[edit] City and Countryside

¿La ciudad?

¿O el campo?

Spanish Vocabulary • Print version ¿La ciudad o el campo? The city or the countryside?
Inglés	Español
The city	La ciudad
The countryside	El campo
The good thing about ... is that	Lo bueno de ... es que
The bad thing about ... is that	Lo malo de ... es que
There are lots of things to do	Hay mucho que hacer
There isn't anything to do	No hay nada que hacer
You can walk in woodlands	Se puede caminar en los bosques
There isn't any foliage	No queda ningún follaje
Pretty	Bonito
Lively	Animado
Quiet	Tranquilo
Boring	Aburrido
Noisy	Ruidoso

Examples

• La ciudad es ruidosa.

  The city is noisy.

• El campo es aburrido.

  The countryside is boring.

• Lo bueno de la ciudad es que hay mucho que hacer.

  The good thing about the city is that there are lots of the things to do.

• Lo malo de la ciudad es que no quedan plantas.

  The bad thing about the city is that there isn't any foliage.

Go to the exercises.

[edit] Summary

In this lesson, you have learnt

• Various countries of the world (Australia; Italia; Francia; los Estados Unidos).
• How to say where you and others live and come from (Vivo en Inglaterra; Somos de Gales).
• How to ask where someone lives (¿Dónde vives?).
• The points of the compass (el sur; el noroeste; el oeste).
• How to describe your house (una casa; un piso).
• The basics of adjectives ending in "O" or "A" (la mujer mala; el niño bonito).
• How to talk about the city of the countryside (la ciudad; el campo; no hay mucho para hacer).

You should now do the exercise related to each section (found here), and translate the dialogue at the top before moving on to lesson 5...

¡Aprovéchalo! Learn the Spanish language Contents • Introduction Lesson one • Lesson two • Lesson three Lesson four • Lesson five • Lesson six Lesson seven • Lesson eight • Lesson nine Pronunciation • Contributors

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[edit] Lesson five

Lesson 5 — ¿Qué te gusta hacer?

[edit] Dialogue

Vocabulary
Todo el tiempo	All the time
¡Hasta mañana!	See you tomorrow!
Divertido	Fun

Raúl: ¡Hola, Sofía! ¿Te gustan los deportes?

Sofía: Buenos días. Me encanta jugar al fútbol. ¿Y tú?

Raúl: No mucho. Sin embargo, practico natación todo el tiempo.

Sofía: Ah, no puedo nadar. ¿Juegas al ajedrez?

Raúl: Sí, me encanta; es un juego muy divertido.

Sofía: Sí. ¡Adiós, Raúl!

Raúl: ¡Hasta mañana!

Translation (wait until the end of the lesson).

[edit] Sports and Activities

Spanish Vocabulary • Print version Deportes y Actividades Sports and Activities
Inglés	Español
A sport	Un deporte
A game	Un juego
An activity	Una actividad
To play	Jugar
To practice	Practicar
Soccer	El fútbol
American Football	El fútbol americano
Rugby	El rugby
Tennis	El tenis
Cricket	El críquet
Swimming	La natación
Judo	El judo
Chess	El ajedrez
To sing	Cantar
To read	Leer
To swim	Nadar
To watch TV	Ver la tele
A lot	Mucho
Many	Muchos

Notes

• In Spanish, if an activity is a game, then you "play" it (jugar), otherwise you "practice" it (practicar). For example, it's jugar al tenis ("to play tennis") but practicar la natacíon ("to go swimming").
• The verbs are all regular, except:
  • Jugar (this is discussed in detail below)
  • Ver (veo, ves, ve, vemos, veis, ven)

Examples

• Veo mucho la tele.

  I watch TV a lot

• Practico natación.

  I go swimming.

• ¿Practicas judo?

  Do you do judo?

• Practicamos muchas actividades.

  We do many activites

• ¿Por qué cantáis?

  Why do you sing a lot?

• ¿Cuándo lee?

  When does he or she read?

Go to the exercises.

[edit] Stem-changing Verbs