Rocket Spanish Beginners RocketSpanishBeginnersGrammarGrammar

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www.RocketSpanish.com
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Rocket Spanish version 1.01
Copyright 2005 by Libros Media Ltd. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microlm,
xerography, or any other means, or incorporated into any information retrieval
system, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of Libros Media
Ltd; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
Published by
Libros Media Ltd
Level 2 107 Cashel Street, Christchurch, 8001, New Zealand
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information
with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that
the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional
advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a com-
petent professional should be sought.
From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American
Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and associations.
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Table of Contents
1.1 How to Pronounce Spanish Words 12
The Spanish Alphabet 12
Pronuncation Practice 13
Accent Marks 14
Listen! 14
1.2 People, Places, and Things 15
Understanding Nouns 15
Is it a Boy or a Girl? 15
Talking about People and Animals 15
What The?! 16
Same Endings, Different Story 16
Talking about Things and Ideas 17
Hermaphroditic Nouns 18
When Theres More than One 18
1.3 Using The and A 20
Understanding Articles 20
How to Say The in Spanish 20
How to Say A or An in Spanish 21
1.4 Talking about You, He, and We 22
Pronouns in Spanish 22
Which You Should You Use? 22
1.5 To Be Part 1: The Verb SER 24
To Be or Not to Be 24
Drop the Subject 24
Talking about Whose It is and Where Youre From 25
Talking about What You Do for a Living 25
Be Careful with To Be Verbs 25
1.6 Numbers 26
Starting out: 0 to 35 26
Masculine and Feminine Numbers 26
Numbers from 36 to 102 27
Asking How Much or How Many 27
Numbers from 101 29
Dont Forget the Gender 29
Reverse Puncuation: How to Write Big Numbers 30
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1.7 Telling the Time 31
Exception at One OClock 31
Talking about Quarter Hours and Thirty Minutes 32
Asking at What Time Something will Occur 33
1.8 Review 34
2.1 Verbs in the Present Tense 44
Understanding Innitives 44
Isolating Verb Endings 46
How to Conjugate a Verb 47
2.2 The Verb IR (to go) 50
Going To a Place 50
Using IR to Talk about What is Going to Happen 51
2.3 Asking Questions 52
Inection 52
Funky Punctuation Marks 52
Using a Statement as a Question 53
Asking Really? Is That True? 53
2.4 To Be Part 2: The Verb ESTAR 55
Where am I? 55
Forming DEL from DE and EL 58
How Do You Feel? 59
2.5 Review 60
3.1 Adjectives Part 1: Descriptions 70
Getting Nouns and Adjectives in Order 70
Describing Things 72
Adjust the Adjective to Suit the Noun 73
Adjectives that End in o or a 73
Adjectives that End in e 73
Describing How Much in General 76
Short and Simple: Adjectives like BUEN and MAL 76
Big or Great? Using GRAN and GRANDE 77
3.2 Using ESTAR to Express a Feeling or Condition 78
When to Use ESTAR, When to Use SER 81
The Importance of Getting SER and ESTAR Right 81
3.3 Talking about the Weather 82
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3.4 Adjectives Part 2: Who Owns What 84
My Hat, Your Hat: Understanding Possessive Adjectives 84
What is Owned v. Who Owns It 84
This is All Mine 85
3.5 Review 87
4.1 Talking about Me, Her, and Us: Direct Object Pronouns 97
Understanding Direct Object Pronouns 97
When People are Direct Objects 98
4.2 Indirect Object Pronouns 99
To Whom? Adding Clarity to Le and Les 100
4.3 Putting Direct & Indirect Object Pronouns Together 102
Which Object Comes First? 102
Why Does Le Change to Se? 103
To Whom? Clarifying Se 104
4.4 More about Us and Them: Prepositional Pronouns 105
Understanding Prepositions 105
Prepositional Pronouns 105
The Exceptions: Entre T y Yo, Conmigo and Contigo 106
4.5 Talking about This, That, and That One over There 107
Demonstrative Adjectives in Spanish 107
Demonstrative Pronouns 108
A Note of Caution: Accent Marks 109
4.6 Review 110
5.1 Introduction to Irregular Verbs: TENER and VENIR 118
Why Complicate Things? The Role of Irregular Verbs in Spanish 118
Using TENER to Talk about Age, What You Have, Whether Youre Hungry, What You Feel Like Doing 119
5.2 Stem Changing Verbs in the Present 121
What is a Stem Change? 121
A Rare Stem Change: i to ie 121
Another Rare Stem Change: u to ue 122
The Last and Strangest Stem Change: o to hue 123
5.3 Irregular Verbs in the Yo Form 124
Now a G, Now an O, GO! 124
Thinking about VALER 125
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5.4 To Say and To Give: Using DECIR and DAR 126
5.5 When Something is Happening 128
Understanding the Present Progressive 128
The Present Participles of Regular Verbs 128
Irregular Stem Changing Verbs 129
5.6 Review 130
6.1 Talking about What You Know: SABER and CONOCER 138
Strange Shades of Meaning 138
SABER: To Know Information or How to Do Something 139
CONOCER: To Know a Person, Place, or Thing 139
Knowing Places 140
6.2 Talking about What You Like, Love, and Lack 141
Verbs without English Equivalents 141
Using GUSTAR to Talk About What You Like 142
Common Errors with GUSTAR 144
Using FALTAR to Talk about What You Lack or Need 145
Using the Verb QUEDAR 146
6.3 Actions You Perform on Yourself: Reexive Verbs 148
Understanding Reexive Verbs 148
When a Verb is Reexive and When It is Not 149
To Get Emotional with a Reexive Verb 151
6.4 Review 153
7.1 Talking about Whats Good, Better, and Best 163
Understanding Comparatives and Superlatives 163
For Better or for Worse: MEJOR QUE and PEOR QUE 164
The Best of All: LA MEJOR 164
The Most of All: MS DE 165
Super Cool: The Ending -simo 166
Some More Comparisons: MS QUE and MENOS QUE 166
Expressing How Things are Alike: TAN COMO and TANTO COMO 167
7.2 Talking about Ifs, Ands, Buts 169
Understanding Conjuctions 169
7.3 Talking about Something and Nothing 170
Understanding Indenite Words 170
Understanding Negative Words 171
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7.4 Review 173
Appendix 1. Grammatical Concepts in English 183
Appendix 2. Answer Key 187
Appendix 3. Complete Beginners Book Vocabulary (Spanish to English) 193
Appendix 4. Complete Beginners Book Vocabulary (English to Spanish) 206
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Introduction
Hello! Welcome to the rst book of Rocket Spanish! My name is Mauricio, and I want
to congratulate you for taking the rst step on the road to learning a very special lan-
guage. My rst language has a very important place in my heart, because it represents
my family, culture, and traditions. I grew up in one of the most colorful and friendly cities
in Chile, Via del Mar. Speaking Spanish brings back all the memories of my childhood
like the smell of our weekly asados (barbecues), the sounds of the msica folklrica
(Andean music), and the sight of the streets bustling with vendors, musicians, even jug-
glers!
I hope that you are learning Spanish because you want to speak with natives. If some-
one in your life is a native speaker, your ability to share thoughts with them in their rst
language will be a special gift. If you are not yet planning a trip to a Latin American
country, I hope that this book will inspire you to do so. Speaking another peoples lan-
guage is the best way to enter into their culture, their imagination, and their way of life.
What You Get with My Book
You may have tried other Spanish-learning products before and felt as if learning the lan-
guage was an uphill battle. The amount of memorization may have seemed enormous.
Every little bit you learned was just a thimbleful of the vast ocean of words. Let me tell
you now: this book is different!
Its fun.
No other how-to-speak-Spanish product gives you so much!
Youll get a great computer game to teach you the vocabu-
lary you want to know fun and informative illustrations on
every page and a complete audio recording of the entire
book so that you can listen as you follow along! Youll also
get many exercises to practice what you have learned.
Its quick.
Instead of throwing lists and lists of words at you, Im
going to give you the bare minimum you need to un-
derstand how the language works. Does this sound
impossible? Its not!!
Did you know that in most languages half of ALL con-
versation is made up of only 150 or so words? If you
can memorize those words, youll be well on your way
to becoming uentwithout having to spend hours
and hours and HOURS memorizing.
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Thats why I dont bombard you with vocabulary from the start. If youre interested in
expanding your vocabulary, youll nd piles more words in the Beginners Supplemen-
tal Vocab Book. If you want to get exactly what you need, however, youll nd a list of
20 of the 140 most common words in Spanish in the vocabulary review at the end of
each section.
This list includes words like the, a/an, and, or, but, you, and I. You HAVE to know
these words.
With ordinary nouns, verbs, and adjectives, it will be easy to pick up what you need to
know. All youll need to do is point to a watermelon, for example, to ask a Spanish-
speaking person what the word for watermelon is. (By the way, its sanda.) Or, if you
want the verb to eat (comer), you can pretend to shovel food in your mouth.
But you CANT do this with words like this, that, always, or never. If you are
immersed in a Spanish-speaking country and ask a non-English speaker to tell you what
the word is for many in Spanish, youll nd that it will be almost IMPOSSIBLE to com-
municate what you need to know! THATS why you need to focus on memorizing the
essential words, not the ordinary nouns and verbs that other books give you.
Its real.
This is the most important aspect that my book can offer you.
Youll get all the right grammar in this book, but what youll
also get is a focus on how those rules get applied in every-
day sentences. Every concept is extensively illustrated with
examples about what you can and cant say. Youll learn about
the pitfalls and the common mistakes.
If youre not comfortable with English grammar, a handy ap-
pendix is included at the end of the book with a list of necessary
concepts.
Suitable for the Traveler
If youre planning to go to a Spanish-speaking country for a vacation or on business,
you need to know the basics to keep from getting stranded. At the end of this book,
youll be able to engage in simple conversations about topics like how youre feeling, the
weather, what time something is happening, directions to an unfamiliar place, to whom
something belongs, and more.
If you dedicate yourself completely to the material in this book, youll even be able to go
to a party and have fun trying out your language skills on your new Spanish-speaking
friends! Rememberits more important that you try to communicate with whatever
amount of Spanish you know, rather than waste your mental effort on tricky concepts
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that are best mastered once youre out there hearing others speak. The more you speak
Spanish, and the more youre around other Spanish speakers, the faster your language
facility will improve.
Overview of What Youll Learn
Let me tell you a bit about the structure of this book. It is divided into seven parts on
topics ranging from the basics to action words to descriptions. Each section concludes
with a review chapter. Youll nd a list of the concepts you should have mastered fol-
lowed by a vocabulary list that contains all the Spanish words used in the section, as
well as a special list of 20 of the most commonly used words in Spanish. After the
vocabulary list, you will be able to read or listen to a conversation, in order to practice
your comprehension and listening skills. Finally, youll be able to test your knowledge of
Spanish with exercises before moving on to the next section.
If you are well and truly interested in increasing your vocabulary, you have the option of
continuing your learning with the Beginners Vocabulary Supplement. There, youll
nd specialized vocabulary lists on topics ranging from sports to going on vacation, and
youll be able to apply your newfound skills by reading a short story. Youll also be able
to practice your new vocabulary words by playing the Rocket Spanish Mega Vocab
game. Memorization has never been so fun!
Good luck!
Mauricio
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Part I. The Basics
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1.1 How to Pronounce Spanish Words
Spanish is such an easy language to speak. It is phonetic, which means that as long as
you memorize the sounds of each letter in the alphabet, you can read ANY word!
The Spanish Alphabet
You can form almost every sound in Spanish using the English sounds that you already
know. Look at the Spanish alphabet below. See if you cant pick out the letters that do
NOT occur in the English alphabet:
a, b, c, ch, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, ll, m, n, , o, p, q, r, rr, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z
If you said ch, ll, , and rr, youd be right!
The ch sound is pronounced just as it is pronounced in English, like Charles.
The ll sound is often pronounced like a y, as in yo-yo.
Please note that this sound is difcult to pin down, as it is prounced in a variety of
ways around Latin America.
The sound is pronounced like an n followed by a yay.
The rr sound is pronounced by trilling the r sound. Think of a purring cat!
Below is a guide to the pronunciation of the letters of the alphabet. Just remember to
pronounce the letter combination ay as in day and the letter combination ah like
you were opening your mouth for the dentist, and youll be ne!
A ah
B beh
C say
CH chay
D day
E ay
F ef-ay
G hay
H ah-chay
I ee
J hotah
K kah
L el-ay
LL ay-yay
M em-ay
N en-ay
en-yay
O oh
P peh
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Q coo
R air-ay
RR airrr-ay (roll those Rs!)
S es-ay (like S-ay)
T teh
U oo
V beh
W doh-bleh-beh
X eh-keys
Y ee-gree-ay-gah
Z say-tah
Notice that the letters b and v sound alike. Thats because, for most Spanish speakers,
there is no difference between the sounds of the two letters in Spanish: v is pronounced
just like b. This can make it difcult when youre trying to spell an unfamiliar word that
youve only heard before, like grabadora (tape recorder) or vago (lazy). If you ask
someone to spell a word in Spanish for you, that person may differentiate b and v by
talking about beh grande (big b) and beh pequeo (little v).
You may also have difculties with the Spanish sounds g, h, and j. They sound rather
different from their English counterparts! Both g and j can sound like the English h
(as in hey). The Spanish h, on the other hand, is usually silent!
By the way ... Did you know that the letter w is only used in words of foreign origin,
like Washington?
Pronuncation Practice
Now, see if you can pronounce the following words:
A: gata (cat)
B: barra (bar)
C: cabra (goat)
CH: chancho (pig)
D: dar (to give)
E: edad (age)
F: feliz (happy)
G: gafas (glasses)
H: hay (there is), hielo (ice), hora (hour)
I: ida (return)
J: ja-ja (ha-ha), joya (jewel)
K: kilo (kilogram)
L: lado (side)
LL: pollo (chicken), bello (beautiful)
M: madre (mother)
N: no (no)
: nio (child), extrao (strange, foreign)
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O: color (color)
P: prueba (test)
Q: que (what, that)
R: rojo (red)
RR: perro (dog)
S: sbado (Saturday)
T: tener (to have)
U: t (you)
V: vosotros (you)
W: wter (toilet)
X: xito (success)
Y: ya (already)
Z: zapato (shoe)
Accent Marks
The nal thing that you need to remember about pronouncing Spanish words is that
accent marks will completely change the pronunciation AND meaning of a word.
Consider the following stressed vowels:

When you see one of the above vowels, stress that syllable. For example, the three
words below all sound different.
esta
sta
est
Each of these three words has a different meaning, as well as different sound. Youll
learn more about them in Chapter 4.5.
Listen!
Thats enough pronunciation practice for now. Remember: the more you listen, the
more youll be able to recognize words as theyre spoken!
In the next chapter well work on nouns: words for people, places, and things
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1.2 People, Places, and Things
Understanding Nouns
Nouns are words used to name or identify a person, animal, place, thing, or idea. Ex-
amples include: girl, hat, coat, weather, picture, coffee, hotel.
Just as in English, Spanish nouns can either be singular, such as cat or gato, or plural
(i.e., more than one), like cats or gatos.
The rst thing that you must learn about Spanish, however, is that all nouns also have a
gender. In other words, all objects and living things are either masculine or feminine.
Is it a Boy or a Girl?
The concept of gender can feel confusing for new students of Latin languages. Having
a gender does not mean that nouns actually refer to male or female things, although,
in most circumstances, the nouns that refer to males (such as a male doctor or a male
animal) are masculine, while nouns that refer to females are generally feminine.
In many situations, you will be able to distinguish between masculine and feminine nouns
by the distinctive association to a gender. For example, the sun tends to be associated
with masculine imagery, and in Spanish we nd that its gender is also masculine: el sol.
The moon tends to be associated with feminine imagery, and, in Spanish, it is feminine:
la luna.
You may nd it impossible to gure out the gender of other nouns, however. For ex-
ample, how would anyone know whether a table or a cup is masculine or feminine? (La
mesa and la taza are both feminine.)
You wont be able to gure out the gender of most nouns from their English equivalents.
Once you know the word in Spanish, however, youll be able to gure out the gender in
a snap.
Talking about People and Animals
Masculine nouns often end in o or or, while feminine nouns often end in a or ora.
Masculine nouns Feminine nouns
el hombre the man la mujer the woman
Ends with o Ends with -a
el perro the (male) dog la perra the (female) dog
el gato the (male) cat la gata the (female) cat
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Ends with or Ends with -ora
el doctor the doctor la doctora the (female) doctor
el seor the gentleman la seora the lady
Ends with -ista Ends with -ista
el pianista the pianist la pianista the (female) pianist
Examples:
1. Dnde est el gato?
- Where is the cat?
2. Cando fue el doctor a ver a la seora?
- When did the doctor go to see the lady?
3. La mujer est llorando.
- The woman is crying.
4. Cmo est el seor?
- How is the gentleman?
5. El hombre est en Espaa.
- The man is in Spain.
What The?!
One of the most common words in the English language is the. In Spanish, the
is not a single word, however. Rather it has four forms, depending on the gender and
quantity of the noun to which it is matched.
This isnt as confusing as it sounds! For right now, just remember that the word the,
if followed by a masculine noun, is el. If followed by a feminine noun, use la.
the + masculine noun = el
the + feminine noun = la
Same Endings, Different Story
When you nd a noun ending in ista (e.g. pianista) you will notice the ending is the
same for both the masculine and feminine forms. In these cases, the gender of the noun
will be indicated by whether it is preceded by el (masculine) or la (feminine).
Other nouns follow this pattern. Review the following:

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el artista la artista
the male artist the female artist
el atleta la atleta
the male athlete the female athlete
Examples:
1. La atleta sale a correr todos los das.
- The athlete goes for a run every day.
2. Jose es el artista en la familia.
- Jose is the artist in the family.
Talking about Things and Ideas
Who could guess that the word problem would be masculine? Or that the word de-
struction would be feminine? Non-living things can be quite tricky to assign a gender
to.
As mentioned before, guring out the gender of these nouns from the English is im-
possible, but you can gure out gender easily once you know how the noun ends in
Spanish.
Nouns that end in o, ma, and s (in their singular form) are generally
masculine.
Nouns that end in a, cin, and dad are generally feminine.

Review the examples in the following table:
Masculine nouns Feminine nouns
End with o End with -a
el cuchillo the knife la computadora the computer
el zapato the shoe la puerta the door
el pelo the hair la guitarra the guitar
el ajo the garlic la ventana the window
End with ma End with -cin
el problema the problem la conversacin the conversation
el sistema the system la destruccin the destruction
End with -s End with -dad
el pas the country la universidad the university
la sociedad the society
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Hermaphroditic Nouns
Of course, there are always exceptions to the rules. For example, la mano (the hand)
nishes on o, but it is a feminine noun.
Theres no way around it: some memorization will be necessary. Once you get into the
habit of associating a gender with each new noun you learn, however, the el or la will
come naturally.
Examples:
1. Me cort la mano con el cuchillo.
- I cut my hand with the knife.
2. Me gusta tocar la guitarra.
- I like playing the guitar.
3. Dnde est la puerta de salida?
- Where is the exit door?
When Theres More than One
How do you take a singular noun in Spanish and make it plural?
Amazingly enough, its not that different from English. Just as you add an s or es in
English (such as cats or buses), you add the same endings in Spanish. The rules of their
application are just a bit different.
1. For nouns ending in a vowel, add an s to make it plural.
gato becomes gatos.
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2. For nouns that end in a consonant, add es to make it plural.

doctor becomes doctores.
3. For nouns that end in z, replace the z with ces.

pez becomes peces
4. When you refer to a group of mixed gender items or people, always use the
masculine plural form.
1 gato + 2 gatas = 3 gatos
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1.3 Using The and A
Understanding Articles
You may not have learned this in grammar school, but in English the word the is a
denite article. That is because it points to a very specic thing.
For example, you may tell someone, I want the mug, assuming that they will bring
you the mug you have in mind. However, if you tell them, I want a mug, you will get
whatever mug they choose to hand you!
That is because the words a or an are indenite articles.
How to Say The in Spanish
Spanish has denite and indenite articles as well. However, as mentioned before,
Spanish speakers must suit the form of the article to the gender of the noun it precedes.
Remember el hombre and la mujer?
What you didnt know then was that the article must also reect the quantity of the
nounwhether or not it is singular or plural.
For example, if there is one man, we speak of el hombre. If there are two or more men,
we speak of los hombres.
If there is one woman, we speak of la mujer. If there are two or more women, we
speak of las mujeres.
You can see how the Spanish forms of the are used in the following table:
Masculine Feminine
Singular Plural Singular Plural
el chico los chicos la chica las chicas
the boy the boys the girl the girls
Por ejemplo:
1. El libro est en mi maleta.
- The book is in my bag.
2. Compr los libros en la librera.
- I bought the books from the bookstore.
3. Las manzanas estn podridas.
- The apples are rotten.
4. Las chicas salieron a correr.
- The girls went running.
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How to Say A or An in Spanish
In Spanish, there are four forms of the indenite articles a, an, or some.
Masculine Feminine
Singular Plural Singular Plural
un lpiz unos lpices una or unas ores
a pencil some pencils a ower some owers
Por ejemplo:
1. Hay una or en el orero.
- There is a ower in the vase.
2. Tengo unas ores para mi novia.
- I have some owers for my girlfriend.
3. Necesito un lpiz.
- I need a pencil.
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1.4 Talking about You, He, and We
Pronouns in Spanish
In English, when talking to people or about people, you often use pronouns like I, you,
we, they, and them.
Spanish is the same with a few twists.
Singular form
yo I
t you (familiar)
usted (Ud.) you (polite)
l he
ella she
Be careful! Notice that l is spelled exactly the same as el except for the accent mark
over the e. Make sure that whenever you write he you dont end up inadvertenly
writing the.
Plural form
nosotros/as we
vosotros/as you (familiar)
ustedes (Uds.) you (polite)
ellos they (masculine)
ellas they (feminine)
Which You Should You Use?
Ustedes and vosotros are used when you are addressing or talking about other people,
not including yourself. It has the same sense in which you would say, Hey, you guys!
Por ejemplo:
1. Ustedes son el futuro del pas.
- You are the future of the country.
2. Muchas gracias a todos vosotros por su contribucin.
- Thank you very much for your contribution.
3. Ellas no tienen sus boletos de avin.
- They (the girls) dont have their plane tickets.
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Helpful Hint:
Spain is one of the only countries where youll hear the pronoun vosotros commonly
used. In most of Central and South America, the pronoun ustedes is used for both plural
forms of you.
A Bit of History: Thou and Thee
Back in the days of Shakespeare, people used the words thou and thee to address
their friends or loved ones (royals were addressed with the more formal you and ye).
These familiar forms of you have fallen out of use in modern-day English, but Spanish
has maintained a distinction between familiar and polite forms of you.
The familiar t
Use the t form of you to speak to children, friends, family members, or
loved ones in a casual, relaxed way.
The polite usted
Use the usted form of you when you wish to be polite or show respect. You
might use it with strangers, the elderly, teachers, or authority gures.
Por ejemplo:
1. Addressing a stranger:
De que pas es usted?
- What country are you from?
2. Addressing a child:
T eres muy joven.
- You are very young.
3. Addressing a coworker:
Usted tiene el dinero.
- You have the money.
4. Addressing a friend:
T no puedes levantar esa pesa.
- You cant lift that weight.
5. Addressing an elderly person:
Adnde va usted?
- Where are you going?
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1.5 To Be Part 1: The Verb SER
To Be or Not to Be
In English we know the forms of the verb to be without thinking. I am. You are. We
are. They are.
In Spanish, each verb changes to reect the subject of the verb, as well as the tense
(such as present, past, or future). These changes are called conjugations.
The following table shows the conjugations of the verb ser in the present tense.
Singular Subject Plural Subject
Yo (I) soy Nosotros/as (we) somos
T (familiar you) eres Vosotros/as (familiar you) sois
Ud., l, ella (polite you, he, she) es Uds, ellos, ellas (you, them) son
Por ejemplo:
1. Yo soy de Espaa.
- I am from Spain.
2. T eres joven.
- You are young.
3. Ella es profesora.
- She is a teacher.
4. Nosotros somos de Nueva Zelanda.
- We are from New Zealand.
5. Vosotros sois de Espaa.
- You are all from Spain.
6. Ustedes son muy inteligentes.
- You are all very intelligent.
Drop the Subject
Each conjugation is so precise that you usually dont need to include a subject at all! In
Spanish you can simply say the verb:
Soy de Espaa.
Eres joven.
Somos de Nueva Zelanda.
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Talking about Whose It is and Where Youre From
The word de is widely used with the verb ser. It means of when used to indicate
possession and from when used to indicate origin.
Por ejemplo:
1. De quin es el zapato?
- Whose shoe is this? Literally: Of whom is this shoe?
2. El zapato es de Mateo.
- It is Matthews shoe. Literally: The shoe is of Matthew.
3. Esos son los pasaportes de mis padres.
- Those are my parents passports.
Literally: Those are the passports of my parents.
4. De dnde es Eduardo?
- Where does Edward come from? Literally: From where is Edward?
5. Eduardo es de Espaa.
- Edward is from Spain.
Talking about What You Do for a Living
The verb ser is used to describe occupation. Note that in Spanish you will say, She is
professor (Ella es profesora), NOT She is a professor (Ella es una profesora). When
talking about occupation, you should not include either un or una.
Por ejemplo:
1. Jos es piloto de aviones.
- Jos is an airplane pilot.
2. Yo soy actor.
- I am an actor.
3. Ellos son estudiantes.
- They are students.
Be Careful with To Be Verbs
Unlike English, there are TWO verbs for to be in Spanish! Youll learn about
the second to be verb (estar, which describes location, health, or temporary
characteristics) in Chapter 2.4.
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1.6 Numbers
In the last lesson you learned about some ways Spanish uses the verb to be. Well
learn more about that in Chapter 2.4. Now, its time to learn Spanish numbers.
Starting out: 0 to 35
0 cero 12 doce 24 veinticuatro
1 uno 13 trece 25 veinticinco
2 dos 14 catorce 26 veintisis
3 tres 15 quince 27 veintisiete
4 cuatro 16 diecisis 28 veintiocho
5 cinco 17 diecisiete 29 veintinueve
6 seis 18 dieciocho 30 treinta
7 siete 19 diecinueve 31 treinta y uno
8 ocho 20 veinte 32 treinta y dos
9 nueve 21 veintiuno 33 treinta y tres
10 diez 22 veintids 34 treinta y cuatro
11 once 23 veintitrs 35 treinta y cinco
Por ejemplo:
1. Tengo veintin aos de edad.
- I am twenty-one years old.
2. Tengo dos lpices en mi mano.
- I have two pencils in my hand.
3. El pasaje de tren cuesta treinta y cuatro pesos.
- The train fare costs thirty-four pesos.
Masculine and Feminine Numbers
You dont have to worry about gender with numbers 90% of the time. However, if you
are talking about one thing, or are using a number that ends in 1, you need to change
the ending to reect the gender of the noun that the number is describing.
If a number ends in 1, change the ending according to whether or not the number is
referring to a masculine or feminine noun. (The ending will only change according to
gender, not by whether the noun is singular or plural.)
un for masculine, e.g. un perro, un ao, un lpiz
una for feminine, e.g. una vaca, una or, una chica
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Por ejemplo:
1. Eduardo tiene treinta y un aos de edad.
- Edward is thirty-one years old.
2. Necesito veintiuna invitaciones ms.
- I need twenty-one more invitations.
However if you want to talk about the number 1 (or 21 or 31) on its own (i.e., as a
numerical term rather than a quantity), you will not have to worry about gender. You will
simply use uno. For example, if you want to say that 20 + 1 = 21, you will say:
Veinte ms uno son veintiuno.
Numbers from 36 to 102
36 treinta y seis 60 sesenta
37 treinta y siete 70 setenta
38 treinta y ocho 80 ochenta
39 treinta y nueve 90 noventa
40 cuarenta 100 cien
41 cuarenta y uno 101 ciento uno
50 cincuenta 102 ciento dos
Once you master the basic pattern, you can construct any number. For example, how
would you say 135? Simply remember: 135 = 100 + 30 + and + 5.
Ciento + treinta + y + cinco = ciento treinta y cinco
Although the number 100 is cien, any number between 101 and 199 starts with
ciento.
199 = ciento + noventa + y + nueve = ciento noventa y nueve
Asking How Much or How Many
In Spanish, the question How many? is asked
with one simple word:
Cuntos?
If you are asking how many oranges (las naranjas)
there are, however, you must ask, Cuntas? as
oranges are feminine.
- 28 -
If you want to know how much something costs (el costo), ask: Cunto
cuesta? Can you guess why you use cunto instead of cuntos Heres a hint:
is el costo singular or plural?
A response to How many? will often begin There are. For example,
How many (orange are there)? Cuntas (naranjas hay)?
There are 10 oranges. Hay diez naranjas.
Fortunately, in Spanish there is no difference between there is and there are. You
can say both of them with a single word:
hay
You can also use hay to ask the questions: Is there? or Are there?
Por ejemplo:
1. Cuntas cosas hay en la maleta?
No hay nada.
- How many things are in the bag?
There isnt
anything.
2. Hay ores en tu jardn?
No hay ores en mi jardn.
- Are there owers in your garden?
There are no owers in my garden.
3. Cuntas manzanas hay en el refrigerador?
Hay una manzana en el refrigerador.
- How many apples are there in the refrigerator?
There is one apple in the fridge.
You may also be interested to know that the words unos and unas can also mean
some. For example:
Tengo unas ores. I have some owers.
Quiero unos pantalones. I want some pants.
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Numbers from 101
Be careful some of these numbers can be tricky.
101 ciento uno 1100 mil cien
102 ciento dos 2000 dos mil
110 ciento diez 3000 tres mil
150 ciento cincuenta 5000 cinco mil
200 dos cientos 100,000 cien mil
500 quinientos 500,000 quinientos mil
700 setecientos 1,000,000 un milln (de)
900 novecientos 2,000,000 dos millones (de)
1000 mil 100,000,000 cien millones (de)
Unlike English, you do not say one thousand for the number 1000 in Spanish (un mil
is incorrect), but simply use the word mil.
Also note that when you get to the thousands, the word for thousand in Spanish, mil,
does not have a separate plural form. Two thousand is dos mil, NOT dos miles.
The only time mil is used in its plural form (miles) is when you talk about thousands of
something in general, using it in the sense of many rather than any particular number.
For example,
Hay miles de peces en el mar.
- There are thousands of sh in the sea.
Tengo un milln doscientos mil quinientos pesos en el banco.
- I have 1,200,500 pesos in the bank.
Hay cincuenta mil automviles en la carretera.
- There are 50,000 automobiles on the highway.
En Chile hay ms o menos trece millones de habitantes.
- In Chile, there are more or less 13,000,000 inhabitants.
Dont Forget the Gender
Not only will you continue to change the gender of numbers ending in 1 when used as a
quantity, you will also change the gender of numbers ending in tos (i.e., the hundreds)
to reect the noun they describe.
- 30 -
Por ejemplo:
1. El rancho tiene cuatrocientas vacas.
- The ranch has four hundred cows.
2. Hay dos cientas nias en la escuela.
- There are two hundred girls in the school.
3. Manejamos seiscientos clientes en mi compaa.
- We manage six hundred clients in my company.
Reverse Puncuation: How to Write Big Numbers
If you are in Spain and about to write down a number for some Spanish friends, you need
to be careful with your punctuation! Periods and commas are reversed in Spanish
numbers. For example, if you want to tell them that something costs $12,870.65, you
need to write it down as $12.870,65.
Although some parts of the Spanish-speaking world do follow the American
convention, it helps to know that 99,95 is not a typo in Spain, so dont go looking for
a missing nal digit!
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1.7 Telling the Time
Do you want to know what time it is? Asking the time is simple in
Spanish. All you need to ask is:
Qu hora es?
Literally, this question means: What hour is it? But we translate it as: What time is it?
If you wish to ask a stranger for the time in a more polite way, you could say
Me puede decir la hora, por favor?
This question means, Can you please tell me the time?
You already have all the vocabulary you need to understand the answer. All you need are
the verb ser and the numbers.
The sentence structure for telling the time is similar to English.
What time is it? It is twelve thirty.
Qu hora es? Son las doce y media.
In most cases, you will start the answer with Son las.
Por ejemplo:
1. Qu hora es? (9:25) Son las nueve y veinticinco.
2. Me puede decir la hora, por favor? (3:32) Son las tres y treinta y dos.
Exception at One OClock
Nevertheless, there is an exception. If it is only one oclock, you will start the answer with
Es la.
Qu hora es? (1:00) Es la una.
That is because the verb ser must agree with the quantity of the subject, hours.
Do you know why the feminine la and las are used?
Hint: what gender is hora?
- 32 -
International Variations
In some parts of the Spanish-speaking world, you hear the question, Qu hora es?
asked as Qu hora son? Your answer will always begin Son las, regardless of
whether the hour that follows is singular or multiple. Por ejemplo Qu hora son?
Son las una.
Talking about Quarter Hours and Thirty Minutes
As in English, you can also tell the time in 15- or 30-minute chunks.
15 min/quarter = cuarto
30 min/half = media
Por ejemplo:
1. Qu hora es? (2:15) Son las dos y cuarto. Its a quarter past two.
2. Qu hora es? (1:30) Es la una y media. Its half past one.
You can also tell how much time remains until striking the hour. For example,
a quarter to = cuarto para las
Por ejemplo:
1. Qu hora es? (3:45) Es cuarto para las cuatro.
2. Qu hora es? (2:55) Son cinco para las tres.
Is it Morning or Night?
You can indicate morning or afternoon by using am and pm just as you would in
English.
Alternatively, you may say
de la maana for in the morning
de la tarde for in the afternoon, or
de la noche for in the evening.
Por ejemplo:
1. Qu hora es? (10:23am) Son las diez y veintitrs de la maana
2. Qu hora es? (6:05pm) Son las seis y cinco de la tarde
3. Qu hora es? (11:45pm) Es cuarto para las doce de la noche
- 33 -
Asking at What Time Something will Occur
When you need to ask the time that a meeting or certain activity is going to take place,
you can use the phrase:
A qu hora?
This means, At what time?
Por ejemplo:
1. A qu hora te levantaste hoy?
- At what time did you get up today?
2. A qu hora nos juntamos esta noche?
- At what time should we meet tonight?
- 34 -
1.8 Review
I. Section Summary
After completing this section, you should know the following:
How to use nouns in Spanish
o The difference between masculine and feminine nouns
o The difference between singular and plural nouns
How to choose the correct the or a
How to talk about people: I, you, he, she, we, and they
o The differences between the four forms of you: t, usted, vosotros, and ust-
edes
The basic use of the verb SER
o How to say who something belongs to
o How to say what you do
The numbers in Spanish
o How to ask how much or how many
o How to answer with, There are
o How to write down numbers correctly
How to tell the time
o How to ask at what time something will occur
- 35 -
II. Vocabulary Review
Now its time to review the vocabulary youve seen in this chapter! The vocabulary lists
at the end of each section are handy resources to decipher the examples given in each
chapter. You will nd that each section is completely independent: if a vocabulary word
appears in several sections, it will appear in the vocabulary list for each section in case
youve forgotten it from before.
Each vocabulary list is divided into ve sections: nouns, verbs, adjectives, other parts of
speech, and 20 of the 140 MOST commonly used words in Spanish. Even if you dont
use any other part of the vocabulary, study those 20 words! Youll be able to use them
frequently in conversation.
Remember: the more time you invest in familiarizing yourself with these words, the more
easily your speech will ow. If you make Spanish practice a habit, the right words will
come to mind without effort, and youll have made the rst step towards becoming
uent!
Vocabulary List #1
Spanish English
SUSTANTIVOS NOUNS
actor (el) actor
ajo (el) garlic
artista (el, la) artist
atleta (el, la) athlete
automvil (el) automobile
avin (el) airplane
banco (el) bank, bench
boleto de avin (el) plane ticket
carretera (la) highway
chica (la) girl
chico (el) boy
cliente (el, la) client
compaa (la) company
computadora (la) computer
contribucin (la) contribution
conversacin (la) conversation
cosa (la) thing
costo (el) cost
cuchillo (el) knife
destruccin (la) destruction
da (el) day
dinero (el) money
doctor (el) doctor
doctora (la) doctor (female)
edad (la) age
escuela (la) school
Espaa Spain
- 36 -
estudiante (el, la) student
familia (la) family
or (la) ower
orero (el) vase
futuro (el) future
gata (la) cat (female)
gato (el) cat (male)
gracias (las) thanks
guitarra (la) guitar
habitante (el, la) inhabitant
hombre (el) man
hora (la) hour
invitacin (la) invitation
jardn (el) garden
mano (la) hand
lpiz (el) pencil
librera (la) bookstore
libro (el) book
maleta (la) bag, suitcase
manzana (la) apple
maana (la) tomorrow
mar (el) sea
mujer (la) woman
naranja (la) orange
nia (la) girl
noche (la) night
novia (la) girlfriend
Nueva Zelanda New Zealand
padres (los) parents
pas (el) country
pantalones (los) pants
pasaje de tren (el) train fare
pasaporte (el) passport
pelo (el) hair
perra (la) dog (female)
perro (el) dog (male)
pesa (la) weight
pez (el) sh
pianista (el, la) pianist
piloto (el) pilot
problema (el) problem
profesora (la) professor (female)
puerta de salida (la) exit door
puerta (la) door
rancho (el) ranch
refrigerador (el) refrigerator
seor (el) gentleman, Mr.
seora (la) lady, Mrs.
sistema (el) system
sociedad (la) society
tarde (la) afternoon
universidad (la) university
vaca (la) cow
ventana (la) window
- 37 -
zapato (el) shoe
VERBOS VERBS
comprar to buy
correr to run
cortar to cut
costar to cost
decir to say, to tell
estar to be (temporary state e.g, health, emotion)
gustar to be pleasing to (to like)
juntarse to get together, to join
levantar to lift
levantarse to get up
llorar to cry
manejar to manage, to drive
necesitar to need
poder to be able to, can, may
salir to leave
ser to be (permanent condition)
tener to have
tocar to touch
ver to see
ADJECTIVOS ADJECTIVES
inteligente intelligent
joven young
podrido rotten
EXPRESIONES COMUNES OTHER PARTS OF SPEECH
cmo? how?
cuarto quarter
dnde? where?
hay there is, there are
hoy today
ms o menos more or less
media half
mi my
nada nothing
por favor please
que that
quin? who?
todos los das every day
tu your
TWENTY OF THE 140 MOST COMMON WORDS IN SPANISH
cundo? when?
cunto? cuntos? how much? how many?
de of, from
l he
el, la, los, las the
ella she
ellas they (female)
ellos they (all male or mixed gender)
en in
- 38 -
nmero (el) number
dos two
nosotros/as we
todos/todas all
t you (familiar singular)
un, uno, una a, an, one
unos, unas some, few
usted (Ud.) you (polite singular)
ustedes (Uds.) you (polite plural)
vosotros you (familiar plural, used in Spain)
yo I
Find a Conversation Partner!
The best way to learn how to use these wordsas well as learn new onesis to nd
yourself a conversation partner. Many cities have informal Spanish conversation groups
that meet regularly in members homes or cafs and are open to anyone who wants to
speak or listen. Discover one near you at http://spanish.meetup.com/.
- 39 -
III. Read the Conversation
The best way to remember what you have just learned is to see it in the context of a
conversation. Read the following dialogue, in which Linda is trying to get to her class
reunion. Try to understand what is being said without worrying about understanding
every word. When you are learning a language, 90% of the words will y right past
your ear! Thats okay. Bear with it, and in time the words will resolve themselves in your
head without your making any effort at all.
Linda: Perdn, me puede decir la hora?
Pablo: Claro. Son ... las doce y media.
Linda: Doce y media Estoy atrasada para una reunin importante.
Pablo: Te puedo ayudar? Tengo un carro.
Linda: Gracias. La reunin est en una ciudad al norte de aqu. Tengo la
invitacin.
Linda pulls out the invitation and reads it aloud.
Linda: Bienvenidos a la reunin anual de la clase de mil novecientos sesenta
y cuatro. Sea uno de los treinta y dos ex-alumnos en la ciudad de
Coquimbo a las doce de la tarde.
Pablo: Eres de Coquimbo?
Linda: S.
Pablo: Mi hermano es de Coquimbo. Es artista. Se gradu de la universidad
en mil novecientos sesenta y tres.
Linda: Se llama Ricardo?
Pablo: S.
Linda: Yo lo conozco!
Pablo: Qu mundo pequeo....
PALABRAS NUEVAS
estoy atrasada Im late ex alumnos former students
te puedo ayudar? can I help you? hermano brother
al norte de aqu to the north of here se gradu he graduated
bienvenidos welcome se llama? is his name?
anual annual lo conozco I know him
sea uno de be one of que mundo
pequeo
what a small world
- 40 -
IV. Exercises
Answers to the exercises can be found in Appendix 2 at the back of the book.
Exercise 1. Insert the correct denite article (el, la, los, or las) before the noun. The
rst one is done for you.
Ex. Los libros son interesantes.
1. ______ manzana es deliciosa.
2. ______ zapato es negro.
3. ______ cuchillo est alado.
4. ______ conversacin es aburrida.
5. ______ seores son importantes.
6. ______ gatas son de Anita.
7. ______ lpices son amarillos.
8. ______ ores son bonitas.
Exercise 2. Insert the correct indenite article (un, una, unos, or unas) before the
noun. Some may have MORE THAN ONE correct answer.
Ex. Un piloto vuela.
1. ________ doctora cura.
2. ________ clientes compran.
3. ________ familia vive juntos.
4. ________ computadora calcula.
5. ________ automvil anda.
6. ________ pianista hace msica.
7. ________ actora acta.
9. _____ pantalones son viejos.
10. _____ noche es fra.
11. _____ atleta es rpido.
12. _____ pas es grande.
13. _____ problema es difcil.
14. _____ pianista es buena.
15. _____ profesores son inteligentes.
16. _____ refrigerador est lleno.
17. _____ jardn es hermoso.
8. _____ banco presta dinero.
9. _____ perros ladran.
10. _____ peces nadan.
11. _____ estudiante estudia.
12. _____ habitantes viven aqu.
13. _____ atletas compiten.
14. _____ compaa hace negocios.
15. _____ novia ama a su querido.
- 41 -
Exercise 3. Draw lines to connect the correct form of ser with the sentence in
which it belongs. Two words will be left unused.
Ex. Ud. una persona amable.
1. Nosotros _________de Argentina.
2. Ellas _________ muy chistosas.
3. Yo _________ artista.
4. Vosotros _________ estudiantes.
5. T _________ de los Estados Unido.
Exercise 4. Write out the cost of the products below in full words in Spanish,
including the dlares (dollars) and centavos (cents).
Ex. El jabn cuesta 85 centavos.
1. El orero cuesta $21.
2. Los pantalones cuestan $100.
3. El costo del boleto es $46.
4. El costo de los zapatos es $65,50.
5. El refrigerador cuesta $399,99.
6. El costo de la computadora es $1.750,00.
7. El costo del automvil es $6.199,00.
soy
sois
eres
ser
somos
es
est
son
ochenta y cinco centavos
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
- 42 -
Exercise 5. What time is it? Look at the picture of the watch and answer the question,
Qu hora es?
Ex. Qu hora es?
Son las doce.
Me puede decir la hora?
Son las ___________________________ (1)
Qu hora es?
(2) Son las ___________________________
Qu hora tienes?
Es _______________________________ (3)
Me puede decir la hora, por favor?
(4) Son las ___________________________
Qu hora es?
Es ______________________________ (5)
Qu hora tienes?
(6) Son las ___________________________
Me puede decir la hora?
Es _______________________________ (7)
- 43 -
Part II. Using Verbs
- 44 -
2.1 Verbs in the Present Tense
Understanding Innitives
The innitive of a verb is, as the name suggests, timeless. It is the unconjugated form of
the verb and therefore has no tense (such as past, present, or future).
In English, the innitive of a verb is formed by adding the word to. Examples include:
to learn, to act, and to be.
In Spanish, the innitive of a verb is indicated by one of the following endings:
AR, -ER, and -IR.
Here are some common verbs.
-AR verbs

caminar to walk dibujar to draw
preguntar to ask
estudiar to study
trabajar to work
- 45 -
-IR verbs
escribir to write sentir to feel
decir to say, tell compartir to share
describir to describe
- 46 -
-ER verbs
comer to eat leer to read
entretener to entertain
beber to drink
tener to have
Isolating Verb Endings
Just as you saw with ser, every verb has a different conjugation according to the subject
and tense of the sentence. Fortunately, the conjugations follow some very simple rules.
All you have to do is change the ending of the verb according to the appropriate rule.
Lets start with the present tense and see how the verb endings change with each subject
pronoun.
- 47 -
Each type of verbAR, ER, and IRhas a different set of endings. Study the verb endings
in the table below. How is each type of verb different? Can you detect any patterns?

-AR verbs
caminar (to walk)
-ER verbs
comer (to eat)
-IR verbs
escribir (to write)
Yo camin-o com-o escrib-o
T camin-as com-es escrib-es
Ud., l, ella camin-a com-e escrib-e
Nosotros camin-amos com-emos escrib-imos
Vosotros camin-is com-is escrib-s
Uds., ellos, ellas camin-an com-en escrib-en
How to Conjugate a Verb
In order to conjugate a verb, you rst need to identify the verb stem. The stem is the
part of the verb that, in most cases, remains constant.
Find the stem by taking the innitive of the verb and removing the ar, -er, or ir ending.
Por ejemplo:
Verb Stem
dibujar dibuj
preguntar pregunt
leer le
compartir compart
Now that you have the stem by itself, consult the table of verb endings and add the
appropriate one, according to who is performing the action.
Por ejemplo:
(T)
You run.
corr + es
Corres.
(Yo)
I draw.
dibuj + o
Dibujo.
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Using Two Verbs in a Row
When two verbs are used consecutively without changing the subject, the second verb is
usually written in the innitive form.
Por ejemplo:
1. T necesitas estudiar para la prueba.
- You need to study for the exam.
2. Espero terminar pronto.
- I hope to nish soon.
3. Los nios necesitan descansar esta semana.
- The children need to rest this week.
(Nosotros)
We read.
le + emos
Leemos.
(Ud, l, ella)
She asks.
pregunt + a
Pregunta.
(Vosotros)
You share.
compart + s
Comparts.
(Uds, ellos,
ellas)
They share.
compart +
en
Comparten.
- 49 -
When Something Isnt Happening: Negative Sentences
To convert a sentence into a negative form in Spanish, all you need to do is add the word
no immediately before the conjugated verb.
Por ejemplo:
1. No vamos a terminar pronto.
- We are not going to nish soon.
2. Ella no necesita estudiar para la prueba.
- She does not need to study for the test.
3. Yo no soy piloto de aviones.
- I am not an airplane pilot.

Be careful that you add the no before the conjugated verbnot the innitive or
subject.
Por ejemplo:
No ella necesita! ( incorrecto) Ella no necesita! ( correcto)
In this section youve begun to learn about verbs, their endings, and use in the present
tense. Youll learn more about verbs in the next chapter..
- 50 -
2.2 The Verb IR (to go)
The verb ir (to go) is one of the most commonly used verbs in Spanish. It can be used
for everything from announcing where you are going to what you are going to do.
Ir happens to be a highly irregular verb. Like ser, it doesnt follow the normal patterns
for verb conjugations. Can you imagine why? For example, try to conjugate ir by taking
the innitive ir ending away and youll nd theres nothing left!
Therefore, youll have to memorize the following pattern for ir in the present tense:
Yo voy
T vas
Ud., l, ella va
Nosotros/as vamos
Vosotros/as vais
Uds., ellos, ellas van
Going To a Place
If you want to say, I am going to the beach, in English, you know that youll have to
add the word to after the verb to go. Similarly, in Spanish, the verb ir is almost
always followed by a. For example, the preceding sentence would be translated as
Voy a la playa.
If the noun that follows the a is masculine singular, as in el mercado, you must
combine the two sounds of a and el into a single sound: al.
a + el = al
For example, if you wanted to say that you were going to the market, you would say,
Voy al mercado NOT Voy a el mercado.
Por ejemplo:
1. Voy al cine con Felipe.
- I am going to the cinema with Phillip.
2. Nosotros vamos a las carreras de caballos.
- We are going to the horse races.
3. Van Ustedes con nosotros?
- Are you going with us?
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Using IR to Talk about What is Going to Happen
The simplest way to express that something is going to happen in the future is to use the
verb to gojust as it was used in this sentence.
Im going to walk to the beach. Voy a caminar a la playa.
In order to express what is going to happen, add the appropriate conjugated form of ir
plus a before the innitive form of the verb.
He is going to read. We are going to eat.
l va a leer. Vamos a comer.
Por ejemplo:
1. Vamos a salir a caminar el sbado.
- We are going to go for a walk Saturday.
2. Maana los estudiantes van a estudiar en la biblioteca.
- Tomorrow the students are going to study in
the library.
3. Voy a escribirlo en la maana.
- I am going to write it in the morning.
4. Vamos a nadar en la piscina.
- We are going to swim in the pool.
5. El hombre va a caminar alrededor de la ciudad.
- The man is going to walk around the city.
6. Vas a estudiar esta noche?
- Are you going to study tonight?
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2.3 Asking Questions
There are many helpful words to enable you to ask
questions in Spanish. The most common are:
Interrogative word Por ejemplo
Cundo? When? Cundo terminas? When do you nish?
Dnde? Where? Dnde est el
bao?
Where is the bathroom?
Adnde? Where to? Adonde vamos? Where are we going?
De dnde? From where? De dnde eres t? Where are you from?
Cunto/a? How much? Cunto cuesta? How much is it?
Cuntos/as? How many? Cuntos son? How many are they?
Qu? What? Qu te gusta
tomar?
What do you like to
drink?
Por qu? Why? Por qu preguntas? Why do you ask?
Cmo? How? Cmo estas? How are you?
Cul? Which Cul es mo? Which is mine?
Cules? Which ones? Cules son tuyos? Which ones are yours?
Quin? /
Quines?
Who? Quin es l? Who is he?
Inection
Unlike English, however, you dont raise the pitch of your voice at the end of a question in
Spanish. Rather, you ask the interrogative word in a higher-pitched voice and drop your
pitch for the rest of the question.
Funky Punctuation Marks
Punctuation marks in Spanish are almost exactly the same as Englishexcept for two.
If you wish to add a question mark (?) at the end of a sentence, you must also add an
upside-down question () mark at the beginning.
Cmo te va? Hows it going?
Additionally, if you wish to use an exclamation point (!), you must add an upside-down
exclamation point () at the beginning of the exclamation.
Bien hecho! Well done!
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Using a Statement as a Question
As in English, you may use a statement to ask a question as long as you raise the pitch of
your voice at the end of the question.
Por ejemplo:
1. Tienes calor. You are hot.
Tienes calor? Are you hot?
2. Estamos contentos. We are happy.
Estamos contentos? Are we happy?
Note that in English the order of the subject and verb are switched when converting a
statement to a question. The same is true in Spanish. When asking a question, the order
is as follows:
Complete verb(s) + subject + object?
Por ejemplo:
1. Maria y Juan terminan primero. Mary and John nish rst.
Terminan Maria y Juan primero? Do Mary and John nish rst?
2. Ustedes tienen mucha comida. You guys have a lot of food.
Tienen Uds. mucha comida? Do you have a lot of food?
Asking Really? Is That True?
Often, in English, when we want to know whether or not something is true, we make a
statement then add, Right? or Really? or No? For example:
Youre going to take the garbage out, right?
The museum is on the left, no?
You can do the same thing in Spanish:
El museo est a la izquierda, no?
However, instead of saying right or really, youll ask, True?
Vas a sacar la basura, verdad?
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Simply remember to raise the pitch of your voice when you say no? or verdad?
Por ejemplo:
1. El carro tiene gasolina. The car has gas.
El carro tiene gasolina, verdad? The car has gas, right?
2. El vestido es muy bonito. The dress is very pretty.
El vestido es muy bonito, no? The dress is very pretty, no?
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2.4 To Be Part 2: The Verb ESTAR
A couple of chapters ago, we worked on the basic use of the verb to be. In this lesson
we take a further look.
If you wanted to say, I am sick, or, I am lost, in Spanish, youd be mistaken to use
the to be verb that you learned in Chapter 1.5, ser. Ser only describes permanent
or nearly permanent states, such as being married (casado) or being tall (alto) or skinny
(aco).
The second to be verb in Spanish, estar, is used to describe location, health, or any
condition that is only temporary. In the above example, you certainly dont expect to be
sick or lost forever.
The verb estar has a straight-forward conjugation in the present tense:
Present tense of ESTAR
Yo estoy
T ests
Ud., l, ella est
Nosotros/as estamos
Vosotros/as estis
Uds., ellos, ellas estn
Note the placement of the accent marks as well. While est can mean he or she is or you
are, esta means this, as in esta cosa or this thing. The accent marks, in addition to
indicating the correct pronunciation, distinguish completely separate words.
Where am I?
The most common way of asking the location of an object, person or place is:
Dnde est?
This means, Where is? For example:
Dnde est el bao? Where is the bathroom?
Dnde est mi carro? Where is my car?
Dnde est el hotel? Where is the hotel?
If you want to understand the answer, you need to learn some basic direction and location
words.
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Important Direction Words
a la derecha to the right a la izquierda to the left
adelante in front
delante de in front of
en in, on encima de on top of
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cerca near lejos far away
debajo underneath sobre above
entre between al lado beside
detrs behind
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For example:
Dnde est el bao?
- Where is the bathroom?
Est adelante.
- Its in front.
Dnde est mi carro?
- Where is my car?
Est lejos.
- Its far away.
Dnde est el hotel?
- Where is the hotel?
Est a la derecha.
- Its to the right.
Forming DEL from DE and EL
Remember that the word de means of? Except for adelante, entre, and en, all the
above direction words require de if they are followed by an object. For example:
a la izquierda de la calle principal to the left of the principal street
delante de la tienda in front of the shop
cerca del parque near the park
al lado del museo nacional beside the national museum
Hint: The words de + el form the contraction del.
More examples:
1. Dnde est el gato? Where is the cat?
El gato est al lado del perro. The cat is beside the dog.
2. Dnde est el lpiz? Where is the pencil?
El lpiz est a la derecha de Maria. The pencil is to Marias right.
3. Dnde est el bao? Where is the bathroom?
El bao est cerca de la ocina. The bathroom is near the ofce.
Youll get more practice with the verb estar in Chapter 3.2. Coming up next is a review
of what youve learned in this part of the program.
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How Do You Feel?
When you talk about how you feelwhether you be tired, sad, or sick--you are usually
talking about a temporary state. Therefore, you should use the to be verb estar.
How do you ask others how they feel?
Yo Cmo estoy? How am I?
T Cmo ests? How are you? (e.g., to a friend)
Ud. Cmo est Ud? How are you? (e.g., to your boss)
Nosotros/as Cmo estamos? How are we?
Vosotros/as Cmo estis? How are you? (e.g. to a group of
friends)
Uds. Cmo estn Uds.? How are you? (e.g., to a group of
co-workers)
Por ejemplo:
1. Cmo ests esta maana? How are you this morning?
Estoy muy bien, gracias. I am very well, thank you.
2. Cmo est tu madre? How is your mother?
Ella est muy cansada por el viaje. She is very tired because of the trip.
3. Cmo est Juanita? How is Juanita?
Juanita est muy feliz. Juanita is very happy.
4. Cmo estn los pajaros de tu to? How are your uncles birds?
Los pajaros de mi to estn enfermos. My uncles birds are sick.
5. Cmo estoy, Doctor?
How am I, Doctor?

Usted est muy saludable.
You are very healthy.
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2.5 Review
I. Section Summary
How to use verbs in Spanish
o What it means to talk about the innitive of a verb
o The steps of a verb conjugation
How to talk about where youre going
How to talk about what youre going to do
How to ask a question
How to ask for and give directions
How to ask how someone is feeling and express how you feel
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Vocabulary List #2
Spanish English
SUSTANTIVOS NOUNS
bao (el) bathroom
basura (la) garbage, trash
biblioteca (la) library
calle principal (la) principal street
calor (el) heat
carreras de caballo (las) horse races
carro (el) car
cine (el) theater, cinema
ciudad (la) city
gasolina (la) gas
gato (el) cat
hombre (el) man
hotel (el) hotel
lpiz (el) pencil
madre (la) mother
maana (la) morning
mercado (el) market
museo nacional (el) national museum
nios (los) children
pjaro (el) bird
parque (el) park
perro (el) dog
piloto de aviones (el) airplane pilot
piscina (la) swimming pool
playa (la) beach
prueba (la) test
sbado (el) Saturday
semana (la) week
tienda (la) shop, store
to (el) uncle
verdad (la) truth
vestido (el) dress
viaje (el) trip
VERBOS VERBS
beber to drink
caminar to walk
comer to eat
compartir to share
descansar to rest
dibujar to draw
esperar to hope, to wait
estar to be (health, feelings, location)
estudiar to study
leer to read
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necesitar to need (to)
preguntar to ask
sacar to take out
sentir to feel
terminar to nish
tomar to drink, to take
trabajar to work
bonito pretty
cansado tired
contento content, happy
enfermo sick
feliz happy
saludable healthy
adelante in front
adnde? where to?
al lado beside
alrededor de around
cerca near
cundo? when?
cunto/a? how much?
cuntos/as? how many?
de dnde? from where?
debajo underneath
derecha right
detrs behind
en in, on
encima on top
esta this
hecho done
izquierda left
lejos far
maana tomorrow
mo mine
pronto soon
sobre above
tuyo yours
a, al to, to the (masculine singular)
bien well
cada
each
como
as, like, how
cmo? how?
cul? which
cules? which ones?
decir to say, tell
dnde? where?
entre between
ir to go
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mucho much, a lot
muy very
por qu? why?
primero rst
qu? what?
quin? quines? who?
solo, solamente
only
todava
still, yet
vez (una)
once
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Margarita is asking Esteban for directions. See if you can follow their conversation.
Margarita: Estoy buscando el museo nacional. Me puedes ayudar?
Esteban: Claro. Est cerca de aqu. Ves el edicio alto?
Margarita: S.
Esteban: Desde ese edifcio, vas a ir a la izquierda.
Margarita: Cmo se llama la calle?
Esteban: Se llama la Calle San Isidro. De all, vas a seguir tres cuadras. Vas a
ver un hotel grande. El museo est detrs del hotel.
Margarita: Cmo se llama el hotel?
Esteban: Creo que se llama el Windsor, pero no estoy seguro.
Margarita: Entonces, voy al edicio alto, sigo la calle a la derecha
Esteban: a la izquierda.
Margarita: A la izquierda. De all, camino cuatro cuadras
Esteban: tres cuadras.
Margarita: Tres cuadras hasta la Calle San Isidro.
Esteban: No, hasta el Hotel Windsor.
Margarita: El Hotel Windsor. El museo est delante del hotel.
Esteban: No, el museo est detrs del hotel.
Margarita: Listo. Gracias, seor!
Esteban: De nada. Buena suerte. La necesitas!
PALABRAS NUEVAS
estoy buscando Im looking for Creo que I think that,
I believe that
Me puedes ayudar? Can you help me? estar seguro to be sure
Ves? Do you see? listo ready, set
edicio alto tall building de nada youre welcome
seguir to continue buena suerte good luck
una cuadra a block la necesitas you need it
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IV. Exercises
Exercise 1. Using the AR verb endings that you have just learned, write in the
correctly conjugated verb to the right of the sentence.
Ex. Yo caminar al parque. camino
1. Nosotros le preguntar a la profesora. _________________________________
2. Los estudiantes estudiar todos los das. _________________________________
3. Juan trabajar los das mircoles. _________________________________
4. El artista dibujar el paisaje. _________________________________
5. Vosotros descansar ahora. _________________________________
6. Casuela y yo nadar los nes de semana. _________________________________
7. Lupita y su hermano sacar la basura. _________________________________
8. T esperar el autobs. _________________________________
9. Necesitar ustedes algo? _________________________________
10. Carlos y Pepe tomar jugo. _________________________________
11. A ella le gustar el chocolate. _________________________________
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Exercise 2. Using the ER and IR verb endings that you have just learned, write in the
correctly conjugated verb to the right of the sentence.
Ex. Ustedes leer los libros. leen
1. Nadia y yo escribir cartas. _________________________________
2. T beber una cola. _________________________________
3. Mi to compartir su sndwich conmigo. _________________________________
4. El doctor describir el problema. _________________________________
5. Cristbal y Emilio comer hamburguesas. _________________________________
6. La atleta correr rpidamente. _________________________________
7. Vosotros salir temprano. _________________________________
8. La nia ver el jardn. _________________________________
9. T me escribir un mensaje electrnico. _________________________________
10. German, Luis, y yo leer todas las noches. _________________________________
11. Yo correr alrededor de la escuela. _________________________________
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Exercise 3. Take each sentence and rewrite it as a future happening by using the verb
ir.
Ex. Nadamos en el mar. Vamos a nadar en el mar.
1. Estudio por una hora. _____________________________________________
2. Caminis al parque. _____________________________________________
3. Tenemos una esta. _____________________________________________
4. Gloria y Juana comen pescado. _____________________________________________
5. La mujer corta el pan. _____________________________________________
6. Manejas el carro. _____________________________________________
7. Los nios preguntan por su amigo.__________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
8. Termino los ejercicios. _____________________________________________
Exercise 4. Answer each question with the answer supplied. Write out the numbers.
Ex. Cunto cuestan los zapatos? Los zapatos cutan veintin dlar y
($21,25) veinticinco centavos.
1. Cul maleta es de Pablo? _____________________________________________
(la maleta negra)
2. Cundo llega Elena a la estacin? __________________________________________
(3:30 p.m.)
________________________________________________________________________
3. De dnde es Ud.? _____________________________________________
(Brasilhint: answer as I)
4. Quin est en la casa? _____________________________________________
(Manuel)
5. Cuntas naranjas tenemos? _____________________________________________
(12)
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Exercise 5. Look at the picture below. Explain where each item is by lling in the blanks
below with one of the following direction wordsal lado de, alrededor de, debajo
de, detrs de, en, encima de, and sobreplus the correct form of the. Use each
word once.
Dnde est el gato? Ex. El gato est debajo del pjaro.
1. El gato est __________________________ perro.
Dnde est la manzana? 2. La manzana est ______________________ nio.
Dnde est la guitarra? 3. La guitarra est _______________________ nio.
Dnde est la calle? 4. La calle est ________________________ parque.
Dnde est el automvil? 5. El automvil est ______________________ nio.
Dnde est el nio? 6. El nio est _______________________ manzana.
Dnde juegan los nios? 7. Los nios juegan ____________________ parque.
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Part III. Describing Things
- 70 -
3.1 Adjectives Part 1: Descriptions
Getting Nouns and Adjectives in Order
One of the biggest differences between English and Spanish is the order of the adjectives
and nouns.
In English, you say white horse. In Spanish, you say horse white (caballo blanco).
Descriptive words always come after the noun they describe (such as gato gordo, fat
cat).
Here are some common descriptive words.
alto tall bueno good
bajo short caliente hot
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brillante bright chico small
claro clear fuerte strong

dbil weak grande big
fro cold hermoso beautiful
- 72 -
lento slow oscuro dark
malo bad rpido fast
mojado wet sucio dirty
Describing Things
The two most common words used to link nouns and descriptive words are ser (to
bea permanent condition) and estar (to bea temporary state).
Por ejemplo:
1. Los caballos son grandes. Use ser because the horses
- The horses are big. will always be big.
2. La seora es rubia. Use ser because the womans
- The woman is blond. hair color is a stable characteristic.
3. El nio est sucio. Use estar because the boy is
- The boy is dirty. just dirty right now.
4. La noche est oscura. Use estar because it is especially
- The night is dark. dark this night in particular.
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Adjust the Adjective to Suit the Noun
Adjectives in Spanish reect the characteristics of the noun. For example, if the noun is
feminine, the adjective will have a feminine ending. If the noun is plural, the adjective
will have a plural form.
Examine the examples above. In the rst example, the noun caballos is masculine and
plural. Therefore, the adjective grandes is in a masculine plural form. In the second
example, the noun seora is feminine and singular. Therefore, the adjective rubia
is also feminine and singular.
Adjectives that End in o or a
Adjectives ending in o are already in masculine form. To change to the feminine form
of the adjective, you need to change the o to a. To make an adjective plural, simply
add s.
Por ejemplo lento (slow)
Masculine Masculine plural Feminine Feminine plural
lent-o lent-os lent-a lent-as
1. El autobs est muy lento hoy.
- The bus is very slow today.
2. Maria es lenta para leer. Literally, this means:
- Maria is a slow reader. Maria is slow to read.
Adjectives that End in e
Adjectives ending in e or any consonant will not change their form no matter what the
gender of the noun. In other words, their masculine and feminine forms are the same.
Nevertheless, they do change according to whether the noun is singular or plural. To
convert the singular form to the plural, simply add an s to the ending.
Por ejemplo: fuerte (strong)
Masculine Masculine plural Feminine Feminine plural
fuert-e fuert-es fuert-e fuert-es
1. El viento est muy fuerte.
- The wind is very strong.
2. Los luchadores son fuertes.
- The ghters are strong.
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What Country are You From?
Descriptive adjectives are also used to describe the nationality of people. Review the
examples below:
estadounidense American (US) canadiense Canadian
espaol/a Spanish francs/a French
ingls/a English indio/a Indian
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alemn/a German peruano/a Peruvian
australiano/a Australian chileno/a Chilean
Note that in Spanish, unlike English, adjectives of nationality are not capitalized.
Por ejemplo:
1. Mi padre es alemn y mi madre espaola.
- My father is German and my mother Spanish.
2. Yo soy chileno.
- I am Chilean.
3. Mis abuelos son peruanos.
- My grandparents are Peruvians.
You can also express your nationality using the phrase Soy de (Im from) that you
learned in Chapter 1.5.
Por ejemplo:
1. Soy de Alemania. or Soy alemn.
- Im from Germany. - I am German.
2. Ella es de Francia. or Ella es francsa.
- She is from France. - She is French.
3. Mis padres son de Inglaterra. or Mis padres son ingleses.
- My parents are from England. - My parents are English.
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Describing How Much in General
You also use adjectives to describe quantity. Unlike descriptions of qualities, these
adjectives are usually placed before the noun. Some examples are:
muchos/as many
pocos/pocas few
demasiado too much
suciente sufcient, enough
Por ejemplo:
1. Hay poca gente en el cine.
- There are few people in the cinema.
2. Compramos suciente papel para todos?
- Did we buy enough paper for everyone?
3. Tengo muchas manzanas en mi bolso.
- I have many apples in my bag.
Short and Simple: Adjectives like BUEN and MAL
Adjectives that are very common, simple, and short may go before the noun in some
instances.
For example, you may place the following adjective either before or after the noun:
grande/gran (big, great)
malo/mal (bad)
bueno/buen (good)
The above adjectives will change their structure if placed before a noun by dropping off
their nal syllable (i.e., -de or o).
Por ejemplo:
1. Matas es un mal pescador.
or Matas es un pescador malo.
- Matthew is a bad sherman.
2. Hay un buen concierto esta noche.
or Hay un concierto bueno esta noche.
- There is a good concert tonight.
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Big or Great? Using GRAN and GRANDE
The meaning of the adjective grande may change from big to great depending on
whether it is placed in front of or after the noun.
Por ejemplo:
1. l es un cantante grande. He is a big singer.
l es un gran cantante. He is a great singer.
2. Es una carrera grande. It is a long race.
Es una gran carrera. It is a great race.
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3.2 Using ESTAR to Express a Feeling or Condition
The verb estar is one of the most useful verbs in Spanish, as it not only describes location
but also physical, mental, and emotional states or feelings.
Lets practice more with this important verb. Express a condition or feeling by adding a
descriptive adjective after estar.
Por ejemplo:
1. Estoy muy enojado.
- I am very angry.
2. Mi padre y yo estamos ocupados.
- My father and I are busy.
3. Ests cansado?
- Are you tired?
You can also use estar in this way to describe the condition of various places or things.
Por ejemplo:
1. La casa est limpia.
- The house is clean.
2. Mi habitacin est ordenada.
- My room is tidy.
3. La tienda est cerrada.
- The shop is closed.
Remember that these conditions or states must be temporary. In other words, a clean
house will eventually become messy, a tidy room will soon become disorganized, and a
closed shop will eventually open. If you are describing a permanent condition of something
(for example, El pared es blanco, or The wall is white), you must use ser.
On the following page is a list of common adjectives used with estar:
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Physical conditions or states

caliente hot ordenado tidy

helado icy oscuro dark
limpio clean sucio dirty
lleno full vaco empty
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Mental or emotional feelings
triste sad nervioso nervous
feliz happy cansado tired
ocupado busy enojado angry

preocupado worried adolorido sore
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DO NOT use estar to describe feeling hungry, thirsty, hot, or cold, however. Instead, you
will use the verb tener (to have), as in, I have hunger, I have thirst, I have heat, et
cetera. You will learn how to use the verb tener in Chapter 5.1.
Using the proper verb to express feelings is very important. If you try to say, Estoy cali-
ente, to mean I am hot (rather than Tengo calor) people will look at you strangely!
That is not because the sentence is grammatically incorrect. Rather, it is because the
statement Estoy caliente meansto be bluntIm horny.
When to Use ESTAR, When to Use SER
One of the most difcult things for new Spanish speakers to learn is the difference
between ser and estar. Here is a summary to help you clarify their use.
Use SER for... Por ejemplo Use ESTAR for Por ejemplo
Possession La casa es ma. Location Estamos en Per.
Nationality Yo soy de Espaa. Weather Est nublado.
Occupation l es profesor. Physical Health Estoy enfermo.
Permanent
Characteristics
La puerta es vieja. Mental Health and
Well Being
Estamos cansados.
Time Son las ocho y media. Emotions Ests triste.
Continuous actions
in the present
Ests estudiando.
The Importance of Getting SER and ESTAR Right
You may wonder why all the fuss. If you confuse ser and estar while youre in a Span-
ish-speaking country, theyll still understand you right?
I hate to disappoint you, but no. The meaning of many sentences can completely change
according to whether you use ser or estar and sometimes in very embarrassing
ways.
Por ejemplo:
1. El nio est aburrido. The boy is bored.
El nio es aburrido. The boy is boring.
2. La manzana est verde. The apple is unripe.
La manzana es verde. The apple is green.
3. El perro est malo. The dog is sick.
El perro es malo. The dog is bad.
4. El hombre est borracho. The man is drunk.
El hombre es borracho. The man is a drunk.
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3.3 Talking about the Weather
If you nd yourself with nothing left to say to your new Spanish-speaking friends, you
can always talk about the weather.
Imagine that you are on the phone to a friend in Spain and want to ask what the weather
is like over there. There are two ways that you can do so. You can ask:
Qu tiempo hace?
Or, you can ask:
Cmo est el tiempo?
In fact, there are a variety of phrases you can use, including, Cmo est el clima?
(Hows the weather/climate?) and Cmo est por afuera? (Whats it like outside?).
The rst two phrases are the most common, however. Both are interchangeable, but
when you respond, you will have to decide whether to use one of two verbs: hacer and
estar.
Por ejemplo:
1. Qu tiempo hace? Whats the weather like?
Hace mucho fro. Its very cold.
2. Cmo est el tiempo? Hows the weather?
Est lloviendo. Its raining.
You are going to have to memorize the conditions in which you use hace as opposed
to est. Here are some common weather conditions to help you:
Use hace (+ mucho if desired) Use est (+ muy if desired)
Hace calor. Its hot. Est despejado. Its clear.
Hace frio. Its cold. Est nublado. Its cloudy.
Hace viento. Its windy. Est fresco. Its fresh.
Hace sol. Its sunny. Est malo. Its bad.
Hace buen tiempo. Its good weather. Est bueno. Its nice.
Hace mal tiempo. Its bad weather. Est lloviendo. Its raining.
Est nevando. Its snowing.
To emphasize a weather condition (in other words, add a very in front), you will use
mucho for hace and muy for est. For example:
Hace mucho calor. Its very hot.
Est muy bueno. Its very nice.
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However, if the word following est is a verb (such as lloviendo or nevando), you
cannot use muy. You will have to add a mucho after the verb.
Est lloviendo mucho. Its raining a lot.
Por ejemplo:
1. Cmo est el clima? Hows the weather?
Hace mucho frio. Its very cold.
2. Qu tiempo hace? Whats the weather like?
Est nevando mucho. Its snowing a lot.
3. Cmo est por afuera? Whats it like outside?
Hace mucho viento. Its very windy.
4. Cmo est el tiempo? Hows the weather?
Est muy despejado. Its very clear.
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3.4 Adjectives Part 2: Who Owns What
My Hat, Your Hat: Understanding Possessive Adjectives
Singular Noun Plural Noun Translation
mi mis my
tu tus your (familiar)
su sus their, your, his, her , its
nuestro/a nuestros/as our
vuestro/a vuestros/as your (formal)
These types of adjectives are used to express possession or ownership. When the pro-
noun is singular, these adjectives do not change according to gender. However, when the
pronoun is plural (nosotros or vosotros), the possessive adjectives do reect the gender
of the subject noun.
As you can see from the table above, all possessive adjectives reect the quantity of the
noun to which they refer.
What is Owned v. Who Owns It
It may seem confusing to distinguish between the pronoun (e.g., I, you, we, them) implied
by the possessive adjective, and the noun that is the subject of the sentence. Possessive
adjectives will not reect the gender or quantity of the person or persons owning a thing;
rather, theyll reect the gender and quantity of the thing being owned.
For example, take the sentence, My hands are sore.
What is the subject? hands (in Spanish, manos)
What is the possessive adjective? my (in Spanish, mis)
What is the descriptive adjective? sore (in Spanish, doloridas)
Both the possessive and descriptive adjectives will reect the gender and quantity of the
subject noun, hands.
Por ejemplo:
1. El color de mi vestido es negro.
- The color of my dress is black.
2. Sus padres estn enfermos.
- Their parents are sick.
3. Nuestras carteras son iguales.
- Our handbags are the same.
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This is All Mine
There is another way of referring to what you own. You may wish to say, That car is
mine, or, The purse is hers. Use one of the following words.
Singular Plural Translation
mo/a mos/as mine, my
tuyo/a tuyos/as your, yours
suyo/a suyos/as his, her, hers, its, your, yours
nuestro/a nuestros/as our, ours
vuestro/a vuestros/as your, yours
Por ejemplo:
1. El carro es mo.
- The car is mine.
2. La cartera es suya.
- The handbag is hers.
3. Las manzanas son nuestras.
- The apples are ours.
Just like an ordinary adjective, you must match the gender (masculine or feminine) and
quantity (singular or plural) of the stressed possessive adjective to the noun.
You can also use one of these words to replace the noun. Look at the difference
between the following sentences:
Is this seat yours? Es este asiento suyo?
I dont want to use yours. No quiero usar el tuyo.
In the rst sentence, yours is acting as an adjective. In the second sentence, yours
is acting as a pronoun.
To use mo, tuyo, suyo, etc. as pronouns, all you have to do is add an el, la, los, or las
in front.
For example, if you want to use mine as a noun (as in, Mine is the best, or, You
want mine), you will use el mo, la ma, los mos, or las mas.
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Por ejemplo:
1. Tienes t los libros de la biblioteca? S, y tambin tengo los mos.
- Do you have the books from the library? Yes, and mine too.
2. Mi casa est muy desordenada, y la tuya? La ma est muy limpia.
- My house is very messy, and yours? - Mine is very clean.
3. Las ores en mi jardn estn todas secas! Las tuyas tambin, no?
- The owers in my garden are all dry! Yours are too, arent they?
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3.5 Review
I. Section Summary
How to describe a person, place, or thing
How to express your nationality
How to talk about physical conditions or emotional states
When to use SER, when to use ESTAR
How to ask about the weather
How to say my, your, his, her, our, and their.
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Vocabulary List #3
Spanish English
SUSTANTIVOS NOUNS
asiento (el) seat
autobs (el) bus
bolso (el) bag
caballo (el) horse
calor (el) heat
cantante (el, la) singer
carrera (la) race
cartera (la) handbag
casa (la) house
clima (el) climate, weather
color (el) color
concierto (el) concert
gato (el) cat
habitacin (la) room
hombre (el) man
libro (el) book
luchador (el) ghter
manzana (la) apple
nio (el) boy
noche (la) night
padre (el) father
papel (el) paper
pared (la) wall
perro (el) dog
pescador (el) sherman
tiempo (el) time, also weather
vestido (el) dress
viento (el) wind
VERBOS VERBS
comprar to buy
estudiar to study
llover to rain
nevar to snow
tener to have
aburrido boring
adolorido sore
alemn/a German
alto tall
australiano Australian
bajo short
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blanco white
borracho drunk
brillante bright
caliente hot
canadiense Canadian
cansado tired
cerrado closed
chico small
chileno/a Chilean
claro clear
dbil weak
demasiado too much
desordenado disorganized
despejado clear
enfermo sick
enojado angry
espaol/a Spanish
estadounidense American (US)
feliz happy
francs/a French
fresco fresh
fro cold
fuerte strong
gordo fat
helado icy
hermoso beautiful
igual same
indio/a Indian
ingls English
lento slow
limpio clean
lleno full
mojado wet
mucho many
negro black
nervioso nervous
nublado cloudy
ocupado busy
ordenado tidy
oscuro dark
peruano Peruvian
preocupado worried
rpido fast
rubia blond
seco dry
sucio dirty
suciente sufcient; enough
triste sad
vaco empty
verde green
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bajo under, below
bueno good
corto short
diferente different
gran great
grande big
largo long
leer to read
mal badly, wrongly
malo bad
mi, mis my
nuestro, nuestros our
pequeo small
poco few
sin without
sobre about, above, on top of
su, sus his, her, your (Ud), their, your (Uds)
tu, tus your (t)
viejo old
vuestro, vuestros your (vosotros)
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Read the following conversation, in which Sierra and Hernando take a break from their
party to swap stories.
Hernando: Qu esta, no?
Sierra: S! No est aburrida.
Hernando: Pero hace mucho calor.
Sierra: Qu tiempo hace afuera? Si no est lloviendo, podemos abrir las
ventanas.
Hernando looks outside.
Hernando: No, no est lloviendo.
He opens a window.
Hernando: Sabes, estoy muy preocupado por Juan.
Sierra: Por qu?
Hernando: Porque est borracho, y la cara est media verde.
Sierra: Est enfermo?
Hernando: No, no est enfermo, pero va a estar enfermo si sigue tomando.
Sierra: No te preocupes. Yo le voy a hablar.
Hernando: Y qu ms?
Sierra: Estoy muy feliz. Habl con un chico muy guapo. Se llama John y
es australiano. Tiene el pelo rubio.
Hernando: Chvere!
PALABRAS NUEVAS
qu esta what a party cara face
pero but media a little bit
afuera outside seguir tomando to continue drinking
si if y qu ms? what else?
sabes you know habl con I talked with
por qu? why? guapo handsome
porque because chvere cool
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IV. Exercises
Exercise 1. Using the pictures below, write two adjectives that describe the picture.
Choose from the following list: bajo, brillante, caliente, enojado, feliz, fro, fuerte,
grande, hermosa, mojado, rpido, and sucio.
(1) _________________________________
_________________________________
(3) _________________________________
__________________________________
(5) _________________________________
_________________________________
Ex. brilliante, caliente
(2) _________________________________
_________________________________
(4) _________________________________
_________________________________
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Exercise 2. Pick the correct form of ser or estar to ll in the blanks in the story, then
answer the questions below.
Es lunes dos de mayo. Pilar se levanta tarde,
porque no suena su despertador. Mira el reloj.
Ya son las ocho! Corre para el autobs.
Pasaje, por favordice el chofer.
Pilar busca en su maleta. No encuentra su cart-
era.
Qu voy a hacer?piensa ella. El chofer
(1) ________ una persona importante y
(2) ________ muy ocupado. No me va a espe-
rar.
Pilar (3) _________ nerviosa ahora.
Perdn, seordice Pilar. (4) ________ muy
tonta y me olvid la cartera. Lo siento mucho.
No sea malito, djame pasar.
Seorita, tienes suerte que (5) _________ un
hombre muy amable y que el bus (6) _________
casi vaco. Puedes pasar esta vez!
Pilar sube al bus. Ella (7) ________ muy cansada.
La prxima vez va a levantarse ms temprano!
levantarseto wake up
sonarto make a sound
despertadoralarm
pasajefare
choferdriver
buscarto search
encontrarto nd
esperarto wait
ahoranow
perdnexcuse me
tontafoolish
olvidarseto forget
lo sientoIm sorry
no sea malitodont be mean
djamelet me
tener suerteto be lucky
casialmost
esta vezthis time
la prxima veznext time
Ex. A qu hora se levanta Pilar? Pilar se levanta a las ocho de la maana.
7. Cal cosa no tiene? _____________________________________________
8. Cmo se siente Pilar cuando _____________________________________________
descubre que no tiene dinero?
(sentirsefeel, descubrirto discover)
9. Cmo es el chofer? _____________________________________________
10. Cmo se siente Pilar cuando _____________________________________________
sube al bus?
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Exercise 3. Answer the question, Qu tiempo hace? by writing in the appropri-
ate weather phrase next to the picture. Chooose from the following descriptions: est
nevando, hace fro, est nublado, est despejado, hace calor, hace viento, est
lloviendo, hace sol.
____________________ (1)
(2) ____________________
____________________ (3)
(4) ____________________
____________________ (5)
(6) ____________________
____________________ (7)
Ex. Est lloviendo
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Exercise 4. Answer each question by inserting the correct possessive adjective.
Ex. De quin son los papeles? (ella) Son sus papeles.
1. De quin es el perro? (Pepe) Es ___________________ perro.
2. De quines son los libros? (ustedes) Son _________________ libros.
3. De quin son los pantalones? (t) Son _____________ pantalones.
4. De quin es la guitarra? (yo) Es _________________ guitarra.
5. De quin es el automvil? (Juana y Diego) Es _______________ automvil.
6. De quin es la invitacin? (mi madre y mi padre) Es _______________ invitacin.
7. De quin es el problema? (nosotros) Es _______________ problema.
8. De quin es el rancho? (la familia Correa) Es _________________ rancho.
9. De quin es el pasaporte? (yo) Es _______________ pasaporte.
10. De quin es la piscina? (vosotros) Es __________________ piscina.
11. De quin es la cartera? (t) Es _________________ cartera.
12. De quin es el dinero? (usted) Es __________________ dinero.
13. De quin son los zapatos? (Carlita y yo) Son _______________ zapatos.
14. De quin son las cosas? (los nios) Son _________________ cosas.
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Part IV. More Pronouns
- 97 -
4.1 Talking about Me, Her, and Us: Direct Object Pronouns
Understanding Direct Object Pronouns
In English, pronouns replace nouns previously mentioned to avoid unnecessarily repeating
them. For example, in the sentence, John did not come to work, because he was sick,
the pronoun he is used to replace the proper noun John.
We have seen that pronouns can be used in the same way in Spanish. For example,
the above sentence in Spanish would be: Juan no vino a trabajar, porque l estaba
enfermo. The pronoun l replaces the proper noun Juan.
There is another way in which pronouns are used: to avoid unnecessarily repeating the
direct object of a sentence. The direct object is the object that the action in the sentence
is happening to.
For example, in the sentence, The cat ate the mouse, the cat is the subject, ate
is the verb, and mouse is the direct object. If you wanted to replace the direct object
noun with a pronoun, you could say, The cat ate it. The pronoun it would refer to
the mouse.
In Spanish, the construction of direct object pronouns is a bit different from English. The
direct object comes before the verb, not afterwards. Lets look at some direct object
pronouns now.
Spanish English
me me
te you (informal)
lo you (formal, masculine), him, it
la you (formal, feminine), her
nos us
os you (familiar, plural)
los you (formal, plural), them (masculine)
las you (formal, plural), them (feminine)
Por ejemplo:
1. Estela tiene el libro. becomes Estela lo tiene.
- Estela has the book. becomes Estela has it.
2. Estoy comprando unos zapatos. becomes Los estoy comprando.
- I am buying some shoes. becomes I am buying them.
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When People are Direct Objects
The nice thing about direct object pronouns is that theyre quick and simple, once you
get the hang of them.
On the other hand, if you need to spell out the direct object and use a proper noun, you
need to be careful about one thing. When human beings are direct objects, you need to
add an a in front of the direct object noun.
Por ejemplo:
1. Vamos a ver a mi abuela.
- We are going to see my grandmother.
2. Voy a traer a Maria.
- Im going to bring Mary.
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4.2 Indirect Object Pronouns
Now that you understand the concept of the direct object (i.e., the object to which the
action is being done in a sentence), you are ready to look at the concept of the indirect
object.
An indirect object is the person or thing for whom an action is being or has been per-
formed, usually indicated in English by the words to or for.
For instance, take a look at the following sentence:
Jenny is writing a letter to her father.
The subject in this sentence is Jenny, and the verb is is writing. The direct object
is letter. The indirect objectthe person or thing for whom the action is being per-
formedis father.
You could also say the sentence in the following way:
Jenny is writing a letter to him.
Him refers to Jennys father. In this sentence, the indirect object noun has been replaced
by a pronoun.
You can do the same thing in Spanish, if you know the indirect object pronouns.
Singular Plural
me me nos us
te you os you
le you, him, her, it les you, them
Unlike in English, the indirect object pronouns go directly before the verb. If the sentence
is negative (has a no in it), the indirect object pronoun still goes directly before the verb
(see example 2).
Por ejemplo:
1. Quiero comprar un regalo para Teresa.
- I want to buy a gift for Teresa.
Le quiero comprar un regalo.
- I want to buy her a gift.
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2. No voy a invitar a Pedro y Ernesto a la esta.
- Im not going to invite Peter and Ernest to the party.
No les voy a invitar a la esta.
- Im not going to invite them to the party.
3. Lupe est hablando con nosotros
- Lupe is talking with us.
Lupe nos est hablando.
- Lupe is talking with us.
There is one case, however, in which the indirect object pronoun can be placed somewhere
else. It can be attached to the end of an innitive. For example, in example 1 above, the
second sentence could be written, Quiero comprarle un regalo. In example 2 above,
the second sentence could be written, No voy a invitarles a la esta.
To Whom? Adding Clarity to Le and Les
As you can see in the table above, when you use the indirect pronouns le or les, you
could be referring to anyone: you, him, her, them! English is much more specic than
Spanish in that sense. For that reason, if it is unknown or unclear to whom the indirect
object pronoun is referring, its a good idea to use proper nouns in addition to the indirect
object pronoun.
Por ejemplo:
1. Jenny le est escribiendo una carta a su padre.
- Jenny is writing a letter to her father.
2. Carlos quiere darles algo a ustedes.
- Carlos wants to give you something.
3. Le voy a llamar a Juan maana.
- Im going to call John tomorrow.
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You can also use the indirect object noun in
addition to the pronoun if you want to emphasize
to whom or for whom the action is occurring.
Por ejemplo:
Te invito a ti y nadie ms.
- Im inviting you and no one else.
A Note of Caution
Indirect object pronouns in the yo, t, nosotros, and
vosotros forms are identical to reexive pronouns! (Youll
study reexive pronouns further in Chapter 6.3.) Their uses are
quite different, however, so the only way youll be able to tell
the difference is by the context of the sentence.
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4.3 Putting Direct & Indirect Object Pronouns Together
Now that youve learned about direct and indirect object pronouns, what happens if you
want to use them together?
The sentences that follow are examples of both object pronouns being used together.
The direct object is in bold, while the indirect object is underlined.
Does Hector give them to you? Te los da Hctor?
They ask us for it. Ellos nos lo piden.
I need to give it to him tomorrow. Necesito drselo maana.
To refresh your memory, the direct and indirect object pronouns that you will use in
combination are as follows:
Indirect object pronouns Direct object pronouns
me
te
se (this is le normally) lo, la
nos
os
se (this is les normally) los, las
When you combine the direct and indirect object pronouns in a sentence, you have two
options.
You can put the indirect object pronoun, followed by the direct object pronoun,
as two separate words before the verb.
o such as, Te lo voy a dar. Im going to give it to you.
You can attach the indirect object pronoun and the direct object pronoun onto
the end of an innitive.
o such as, Voy a drtelo. Im going to give it to you.
(Note that you must add an accent on the innitive ending to preserve the
correct pronunciation.)
Which Object Comes First?
In English, you can switch the order of the direct and indirect objects. For example:
I will give it to him. or I will give him it.
Hector gave them to you. or Hector gave you them.
In Spanish, on the other hand, the indirect object pronoun will ALWAYS come before the
direct object pronoun.
- 103 -
Por ejemplo:
1. Mi profesor me ensea hablar espaol. My professor teaches me to speak
Spanish.
Mi profesor me lo ensea. My professor teaches me it.
2. Nos arreglan los boletos de avin. They arrange our plane tickets for
us.
Nos los arreglan. They arrange them for us.
3. Paula te repara la computadora. Paula repairs the computer for you.
Paula te la repara. Paula repairs it for you.
4. Jorge le pide los libros a Carla. George asks Carla for the books.
Jorge se los pide. George asks her for them.
Why Does Le Change to Se?
As with so many irregularities in the Spanish language, the change of the indirect object
pronoun in the third person makes pronunciation easier.
Try saying, Le loy voy a dar.
Now, try saying, Se lo voy a dar. Im going to give it to him.
Can you hear why le changes to se?
Por ejemplo:
1. Les servimos la comida. We serve them the food.
Se la servimos. We serve them it.
2. Les muestra la casa. He shows them the house.
Se la muestra. He shows them it.
3. Les explican los chistes a Uds. They explain the jokes to you.
Se los explican. They explain them to you.
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To Whom? Clarifying Se
The word se can refer to any number of indirect pronouns: him, her, it, them, you.
Just as it is recommended to add a clarication after le, if your audience does not
know to whom you are referring, it is also recommended to add a clarication after the
use of se if the indirect object is not clear.
To do so, use se as you normally would, then append one of the following to the end
of your sentence:
a Ud.
a l
a ella
a Uds.
a ellos
a ellas
Por ejemplo:
1. A quin le servimos la comida? To whom do we serve the food?
Se la servimos a l. We serve it to him.
2. A quin le muestra l la casa? To whom does he show the house?
Se la muestra a ellos. He shows it to them.
3. A quin les explicamos los chistes? To whom do we explain the jokes?
Se los explicamos a Uds. We explain them to you.
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4.4 More about Us and Them: Prepositional Pronouns
Understanding Prepositions
Do you know what prepositions are? They indicate location as well as placement in
time (such as before and after). They include words like about, above, across, after,
against, along, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond...
and so on.
Examples of prepositional phrases in use (with the prepositions in bold) include:
The cat was on the mat.
The trapeze artist hung above the crowd.
There were many stars in the sky.
Prepositional Pronouns
Sometimes, the object of a proposition (in the above examples, mat, crowd, and
sky) is a pronoun like you, me, or it.
For example, look at the following sentences. The prepositional pronoun is in bold.
He sat in front of me.
They left before us.
Everyone but them got to go.
In Spanish, the prepositional pronouns are exactly the same as the subject pronouns with
the exceptions of m and ti. Look at the chart below.
m me nosotros/as us
ti you vosotros/as you (plural)
Ud. you Uds. you (plural)
l him ellos them
ella her ellas them
Note that the word m has an accent mark over the i, whereas ti has no accent
mark.
Por ejemplo:
1. Me siento entre l y ella.
- I sit between him and her.
2. Marco sale antes de Uds.
- Marco leaves before you.
3. Quieren ir con nosotros.
- They want to go with us.
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The Exceptions: Entre T y Yo, Conmigo and Contigo
Some combinations can sound a bit strange, though. Try saying, entre ti y m (between
you and me). The sequence of ee sounds can be hard to say!
For that reason, if you need to combine you and me in a phrase, use the subject
pronouns instead:
entre t y yo
Por ejemplo:
1. Vamos a compartirlo entre t y yo.
- We are going to share it between you and me.
2. Entre t y yo, pienso que l es un poco raro.
- Between you and me, I think that he is a little strange.
Another strange sound occurs when you want to say with me or with you. Try
saying con m or con ti. Its hard to keep the words separated, isnt it?
For that reason, if you need to say, with me, or, with you, use the following words:
conmigo
or
contigo
Por ejemplo:
1. Vas a venir conmigo?
- Are you going to come with me?
2. Mauricio quiere ir contigo.
- Mauricio wants to go with you.
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4.5 Talking about This, That, and That One over There
Understanding This and That
When you want to point to something, you often use demonstrative adjectives or pro-
nouns. For example, imagine that you are in a caf in Spain. You are selecting un pan,
or a bread roll, from a glass case. The waiter is waiting with his tongs to select the roll
you want. He points to one, which isnt the roll you want. No, you say, pointing to
the one nearest you. Not that roll, this one.
While English only has two optionsthis for something close to you, and that for
something farther awaySpanish has three: this, that, and that over there. The third
option implies an even greater distance.
To get a better understanding of the difference between that and that over there,
imagine yourself standing with a friend at a harbor. Your friend tells you, Id like to own
that boat. You point to one at the other end of the dock, asking, That one? No,
he tells you. He indicates a boat on the horizon. That boat, way over there.
Demonstrative Adjectives in Spanish
Study the table of demonstrative adjectives below. Notice that they change according to
the gender and quantity of the noun they describe.
Close Masculine Feminine
this este esta
these estos estas
Farther Away
that ese esa
those esos esas
At a Distance
that (over there) aquel aquella
those (over there) aquellos aquellas
Por ejemplo:
1. Puedes ver aquel barco?
Can you see that boat over there?
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2. Aquellas montaas me parecen muy altas.
Those mountains over there seem to me very tall.
3. Esos lpices son de Pamela.
- Those pencils are Pamelas.
4. Esta revista es interesante.
- This magazine is interesting.
Demonstrative Pronouns
The main difference between a demonstrative adjective and a demonstrative pronoun
is that the adjective comes before a noun (Quiero este pan) while the pronoun can
stand on its own (Quiero ste).
In English, the difference can be characterized in this way:
I want that roll. demonstrative adjective
I want that. demonstrative pronoun
You can review demonstrative pronouns in the following table.
Close Masculine Feminine
this (one) ste sta
these (ones) stos stas
Farther Away
that (one) se sa
those (ones) sos sas
At a Distance
that (one over there) aqul aqulla
those (ones over there) aqullos aqullas
Notice that the demonstrative adjectives and pronouns are exactly the same except for
one small difference: the accent mark.
You may also be interested to know that if you dont know whether something is masculine
or feminine, there is a neuter form for each of the above demonstrative pronouns.
esto
eso
aquello
Use these forms only if youre referring to an abstract idea or an unknown object. For
example...
Qu es eso? What is that?
- 109 -
Por ejemplo:
1. Cules zapatos quieres comprar?
-Which shoes do you want to buy?
Quiero comprar sos.
- I want to buy those.

2. Cul es tu carro?
- Which is your car?
Aqul es mo.
- That one over there is mine.
3. De quin son estos guantes?
- Whose are these gloves?
stos son mos.
- These are mine.
A Note of Caution: Accent Marks
As mentioned before, accent marks are very important in Spanish, because a misplaced or
missing accent mark can completely change the meaning of a word. For example, think
of the words:
esta sta est
The rst (esta) is an adjective that means this ____
The second (sta) is a pronoun that means this.
The third (est) is a verb that means is.
- 110 -
4.6 Review
I. Section Summary
The difference between direct and indirect objects
How to form direct and indirect object pronouns in Spanish
How to identify a prepositional pronoun
How to form a prepositional pronoun in Spanish
How to point out this one, that one, or that one over there.
- 111 -
Vocabulary List #4
Spanish English
SUSTANTIVOS NOUNS
abuela (la) grandmother
barco (el) boat
boleto de avin (el) airplane ticket
carro (el) car
casa (la) house
chiste (el) joke
comida (la) food
esta (la) party
guantes (los) gloves
libro (el) book
maana (la) tomorrow, morning
montaa (la) mountain
padre (el) father
pan (el) bread
partido (el) game
profesor (el) professor
regalo (el) gift
revista (la) magazine
zapato (el) shoe
VERBOS VERBS
arreglar to arrange
compartir to share
comprar to buy
ensear to teach
escribir to write
explicar to explain
hablar to talk
invitar to invite
ir to go
mostrar to show
pedir to ask for, to request
pensar to think
reparar to repair
salir to leave, to go out
sentarse to sit down, to seat oneself
servir to serve
tener to have
traer to bring
raro strange
algo something
antes de before
aquel / aquellos / aquella that over there (adjective)
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aqul / aqullos / aqulla that over there (noun)
conmigo with me
contigo with you
entre between
la direct object: you (Ud), her
las direct object: you (Uds.), them (feminine)
le indirect object: you (Ud), him, her, it
les indirect object: you (Uds), them
lo direct object: you (Ud), him, it
los direct object: you (Uds), them (masculine)
ms more, else
me me
nadie no one
poco little
ti prepositional pronoun: you (t)
unos / unas some
con with
dar to give
ese / esos / esa / esas that (adjective)
se / sos / sa / sas that (noun)
estar to be
este / estos / esta / estas this (adjective)
ste / stos / sta / stas this (noun)
me myself (reexive)
m prepositional pronoun: me
mo mine
nos ourselves
os yourselves (vosotros)
querer to want
se himself, herself, yourselves (Ud)
se themselves, yourselves (Uds)
ser to be (permanent characteristic)
suyo his, hers, yours (Ud), theirs, yours (Uds)
te yourself (t)
todo all
tuyo yours (t)
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Read the following conversation, in which Toms and Lucena have an argument about a
book.
Toms: Me trajiste el libro?
Lucena: No, lo siento. Te traje este libro.
Lucena hands a book to him.
Toms: No es el libro que necesito. Ese libro es viejo. Necesito el libro nuevo.
Lucena: Son iguales.
Toms: Por qu siempre me haces sto?
Lucena: Qu cosa?
Toms: Siempre me prometes que vas a hacer algo, pero nunca lo haces.
Lucena: Te traje el libro! Qu ms quieres?
Toms: Dme tu libro.
Lucena: Mi libro? No! Lo necesito para estudiar.
Toms: Es mejor que el libro viejo que me trajiste.
Lucena: Vale.
Lucena takes the book she gave Toms and gives him hers.
Lucena: Voy a pensar dos veces antes de prometerte otra cosa.
PALABRAS NUEVAS
trajiste (traer) you brought nunca never
lo siento Im sorry ms more
traje (traer) I brought querer to want
siempre always dme give me
hacer to do para for, in order that
prometer to promise es mejor que its better than
algo something dos veces twice
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IV. Exercises
Exercise 1. Rewrite each sentence using a direct object pronoun.
Ex. Ins tiene una manzana. In la tiene.
1. Javier tiene los guantes. _______________________________________
2. El profesor quiere una computadora. _______________________________________
3. Mi padre compra tres caballos. _______________________________________
4. Los estudiantes estudian los libros. _______________________________________
5. Nosotros ganamos la carrera. _______________________________________
6. Yo s la verdad. _______________________________________
Exercise 2. Rewrite each sentence using an indirect object pronoun.
Ex. Ins da las manzanas a Carlos y ngel. In l da las manzanas.
1. Describo el concierto a mis amigas. _______________________________________
2. Compras pan para el nio. _______________________________________
3. Escribo una carta a mis abuelos. _______________________________________
4. Sara invita a m a la esta. _______________________________________
5. Felipe da unos regalos a nosotros. _______________________________________
6. Espero por t. _______________________________________
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Exercise 3. Now, rewrite the sentence using both direct and indirect object pronouns.
Ex. Ins les da las manzanas a Carlos y ngel. In se las da.
1. Compro doce lpices para mis amigos. _________________________________
2. Esperanza pide dinero de su mam y pap. _________________________________
3. El hotel tiene una habitacin para nosotros. _________________________________
4. Ustedes muestran el trabajo al profesor. _________________________________
5. Ellos comparten la comida con nosotros. _________________________________
6. T le enseas la informacin a la clase. _________________________________
Exercise 4. Read the following paragraph. Find the answer to each question in the
paragraph and underline it. Then, in the blank, rewrite the phrase using one of the
following prepositional pronouns: ellos, ellas, nosotros, nosotras.
Ex. Dnde est mi asiento? entre los asientos de ellas
1. Dnde est el escritorio de la profesora? _________________________________
2. Con quin habla la maestra? _________________________________
(hint: from the narrators point of view)
3. Con quin comparte su conocimiento? _________________________________
En la escuela, mi asiento est entre los asientos de
mis mejores amigas, Mercedes y Lola. La profesora
tiene un escritorio en frente de los estudiantes. Ella
se llama Maestra Hernndez, y siempre habla con
Mercedes, Lola y yo despus de la clase. Quiere com-
partir su conocimiento con las mujeres del futuro.
Tenemos mucha suerte tener una profesora como
ella.
asientoseat
escritoriodesk
maestrateacher
siemprealways
conocimientoknowledge
tener suerteto be lucky
comolike, such as
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Exercise 5. Read the dialogue below. Insert the appropriate demonstrative adjective or
pronoun (esta, sta, esa, sa, aquella, or aqulla).
Alejandro: Hola, Sandra!
Sandra: Hola, Alejandro. Cmo te va?
Alejandro: Bien, bien. Sabes, Sandra, estoy buscando la maleta que dej por aqu.
Sandra holds up a bag and shows it to Alejandro.
Sandra: Esta maleta?
Alejandro: No, no _________ maleta. La ma es una maleta negra y grande. (1)
Sandra: Entonces
Sandra searches below the table and behind the chairs. She nds another bag and picks
it up.
Sandra: _________ maleta? (2)
Alejandro: No, no _________ maleta. Dnde est la maleta ma? (3)
Sandra spots another bag on top of the coffee table by the window.
Sandra: Ja! All est. Es _________ tu maleta? (4)
Alejandro: Es negra, pero no es mi maleta. Que bonita, la maleta. Si no encuentro
mi maleta, voy a llevar _________! (5)
Sandra: Vamos a encontrar tu maleta. Mira all hay una maleta.
Sandra points to a bag on the far side of the room, hidden among the books on a shelf.
Sandra: Es _________ tu maleta? (6)
Alejandro: S, s! _________ maleta es ma. Gracias, Sandra!
PALABRAS NUEVAS
cmo te va? hows it going? no se I dont know
bien well que bonita how pretty
estoy buscando Im looking for mira look (informal command)
que that all there
dej I left all over there
por aqu around here
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Part V. Irregular Verbs
in the Present
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5.1 Introduction to Irregular Verbs: TENER and VENIR
Unlike most er and ir verbs weve learned, tener and venir are both irregular verbs.
In other words, their verb endings do not follow the ordinary pattern for verbs with their
innitive endings.
Why Complicate Things? The Role of Irregular Verbs in Spanish
Why do irregular verbs exist in Spanish? Just as in English, irregular verbs have evolved as
a result of spoken usage and ease of pronunciation. For example, compare the sounds
of the word teno with the word tengo. The second word sounds cleaner and clearer,
doesnt it?
If tener was a regular verb, its yo form would be teno. But its not. Look at the verb
endings for venir and tener in the following table:
Subject TENER VENIR
Yo ten-go ven-go
T tien-es vien-es
Ud., l, ella tien-e vien-e
Nosotros/as ten-emos ven-imos
Vosotros/as ten-is ven-s
Uds., ellos, ellas tien-en vien-en
The irregularity of the verbs occurs in two areas.
1. The yo form is completely irregular, with a g added before the o ending.
2. The stem of the verbs changes in the t, Ud., and Uds. forms. The e is replaced
by ie.
Try saying the word tene. Now say tiene. Can you hear why the stem changes?
Por ejemplo:
1. T vienes de Brasil, verdad? You come from Brazil, right?
No, yo vengo de Argentina. No, I come from Argentina.
2. Tienen Ustedes familia en Espaa? Do you have family in Spain?
S, nosotros tenemos familia en Espaa. Yes, we have family in Spain.
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Using TENER to Talk about Age, What You Have, Whether Youre Hun-
gry, and What You Feel Like Doing
The verb tener is extremely common in Spanish. A mastery of it will enable you to say
everything from how old you are to whether youre cold or thirsty.
In its most basic meaning, tener means to have. For example, Tengo un trabajo,
means I have a job. If you want to say that you have to do something, you will use tener
que. For example, Tengo que ir al mercado, means I have to go to the market.
Tener is also used in the colloquial phrase, I feel like. If you want to say you feel like
doing something, start your sentence with, Tengo ganas de
Por ejemplo:
1. Tengo ganas de salir. T tienes que venir conmigo.
- I feel like going out. You have to come with me.
2. Tengo que ir hacer compras. Tienes ganas de ir
conmigo?
- I have to go shopping. Do you feel like going with
me?
Tener can also mean the same thing as the English to be in many situations.
o For example, if you feel hot, cold, hungry, or thirsty, you will use tener to express
your state. Tengo calor, means I am [feeling] hot.
o When you want to express how many years old someone is, you can say, Ella
tiene 17 aos. In other words, She is 17 years old.
o You will also use tener in some expressions, like tener cuidado, or to be
careful.
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Por ejemplo:
1. Tengo mucha hambre.
- I am very hungry.
Tenemos que comer algo.
- We have to eat something.
2. Hay que tener cuidado cruzando la calle.
- One must be careful crossing the street.
3. Cuantos aos tienes?
- How old are you?
Tengo veintisis aos.
- I am 26 years old.
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5.2 Stem Changing Verbs in the Present
What is a Stem Change?
Remember the two ways in which the verbs venir and tener were irregular? First, their
yo form had a g before the o, and second, they had a stem change in the t, Ud.,
and Uds. forms.
This notion of a stem change will become quite familiar to you over time, as many Spanish
verbs are stem changing in every form exept nosotros/as and vosotros/as.
Lets go back and review what a stem is. The stem of a verb is the part of the verb that
is left once you take away the ar, -er, or ir ending. In regular verbs, the stem does not
change no matter what ending you add on to it.
However, in stem changing verbs, the stem will change in every form but two. There are
three common types of stem changing verbs: e to ie, e to i, and o to ue.
Review the following examples:
e to ie e to i o to ue
COMENZAR
to begin
MEDIR
to measure
DORMIR
to sleep
Yo comienzo mido duermo
T comienzas mides duermes
Ud., l, ella comienza mide duerme
Nosotros/as comenzamos medimos dormimos
Vosotros/as comenzis medis dorms
Uds., ellos, ellas comienzan miden duermen
Por ejemplo:
1. Mis primos duermen mucho.
- My cousins sleep a lot.
2. Mido mi altura todas las semanas.
- I measure my height every week.
3. Nosotros comenzamos el juego.
- We start the game.
A Rare Stem Change: i to ie
The stem change patterns above are the most common, but you will nd a few verbs that
make a different stem change: from i to ie.
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ADQUIRIR
to acquire
INQUIRIR
to inquire
Yo adquiero inquiero
T adquieres inquieres
Ud., l, ella adquiere inquiere
Nosotros/as adquirimos inquirimos
Vosotros/as adquirs inquirs
Uds., ellos, ellas adquieren inquieren
Por ejemplo:
1. Hoy tus padres adquieren una casa nueva.
- Today your parents acquire a new house.
2. Mi hermano inquiere sobre su equipo de ftbol.
- My brother inquires about his football team.
Another Rare Stem Change: u to ue
A verb that you will use often in Spanish is jugar (to play). Jugar is a stem-changing verb
with a u to ue stem change.
Yo juego
T juegas
Ud., l, ella juega
Nosotros/as jugamos
Vosotros/as jugis
Uds., ellos, ellas juegan
Por ejemplo:
1. Los nios juegan en el parque.
- The kids play in the park.
2. Jugamos con ellos.
- We play with them.
Please note that jugar does not include the sense of playing music or an instrument.
If you want to say that you play the guitar, you will use the verb tocar, as in, Toco la
guitarra.
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The Last and Strangest Stem Change: o to hue
Last of all, you should note that the verb oler (to smell) is also irregular. Youll need to
memorize this stem change if you want to talk of smelling the roses.
Yo huelo
T hueles
Ud., l, ella huele
Nosotros/as olemos
Vosotros/as olis
Uds., ellos, ellas huelen
Por ejemplo:
Huelo el aire del mar.
- I smell the air from the sea.
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5.3 Irregular Verbs in the Yo Form
Now a G, Now an O, GO!
In the last chapter, I said there were two different irregularities in the verbs venir and
tener: a stem change and a change in the yo form.
Well, venir and tener arent the only verbs that add an extra g before the o in the yo
form. Many commonly used vebs in Spanish are irregular in the yo form, even if that is
the only irregularity they have.
For example, look at the table below.
PONER TRAER VALER SALIR HACER
to put to bring to value to leave, go out to do, to make
yo pongo traigo valgo salgo hago
t pones traes vales sales haces
Ud., l, ella ponen trae vale sale hace
nosotros/as ponemos traemos valemos salimos hacemos
vosotros/as ponis trais valis sals hacis
Uds., ellos, ellas ponen traen valen salen hacen
Note that traer has an additional irregularity in the yo form, with an i in addition to
the extra g.
Por ejemplo:
1. Dnde pongo tus maletas?
- Where do I put your bags?
2. Te traigo un vaso de agua.
- I bring you a glass of water.
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3. Salgo inmediatamente para Paris.
- I leave immediately for Paris.
4. Qu hago con eso?
- What do I do with that?
5. Qu no valgo yo nada para ti?
- Am I not worth anything to you?
Thinking about VALER
You may be interested to know that the word vale is quite frequently used in Spain.
For example, the phrase no vale is often used to mean, It wont work, or Its no
good. The phrase vale, on the other hand, is a catch-all phrase meaning, Okay,
or Its ne. Youll hear it a lot!
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5.4 To Say and To Give: Using DECIR and DAR
As in English, the verbs decir (to say or to tell) and dar (to give) are widely used in the
Spanish language.
Like tener and venir, the verb decir is both stem-changing (-e to i) and irregular in the
yo form. The verb dar, on the other hand, is irregular in the yo form only (aside
from an unstressede.g., unaccentedvosotros form).
It is a good idea to memorize each individual form of these verbs, as you will use them
frequently.
DECIR
to say, to tell
DAR
to give
yo digo doy
t dices das
Ud., l, ella dice da
nosotros/as decimos damos
vosotros/as decs dais
Uds., ellos, ellas dicen dan
Remember those indirect and direct object pronouns from the previous section? These
verbs will give you the perfect chance to practice. Both are often used with indirect
object pronouns. In other words, the action is performed for you or me, or he or she.
Por ejemplo:
1. Manuel te dice que no!
- Manuel tells you no!
2. Tus amigos me dicen que la esta es el sbado.
- Your friends tell me the party is on Saturday.
3. Yo te doy el dinero.
- I give you the money.
4. l me da el libro.
- He gives me the book.
5. Ellos nos dan la comida.
- They give us the food.
You can also use decir and dar to practice combining direct and indirect object pro-
nouns.
- 127 -
Por ejemplo:
1. l me lo dice.
- He tells me it.
2. Ellos se los dicen.
- They tell it to them.
3. Te lo doy.
-I give it to you.
4. Vosotros me la decs.
- You tell me it.
5. Nosotros se los damos.
- We give it to them.
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that in Spanish, you dont capitalize the
days of the week unless they start a sentence? The same
goes for the months. For example
Nos reunimos el primer viernes en marzo.
(We meet on the rst Friday in March.)
- 128 -
5.5 When Something is Happening
Understanding the Present Progressive
The term present progressive is a fancy way of describing the verb tense that emphasizes
that an action is currently taking place as we speak. It is characterized by the verb
to be, followed by a second verb that ends with ing (the present participle). For
example:
I am studying.
You are running.
In Spanish, the present progressive is constructed in a similar way. Use the to be verb
estar. Instead of ending the present participle with ing, however, youll end it with
ando or iendo.
Por ejemplo:
1. Estoy caminando.
- I am walking.
2. Sara est viajando.
- Sarah is travelling.
3. Nosotros estamos corriendo.
- We are running.
Be careful, though! In English you can also use the present participle in this way:
We are going shing.
In this case, the verb to be indicates a future occurrence, that of shing. You cannot
use the present participle in this case in Spanish. Rather, you must use an innitive. In
other words:
DO NOT say Vamos pescando. DO say, Vamos a pescar.
The Present Participles of Regular Verbs
-ar verbs p. participle -er verbs p.participle -ir verbs p.participle
comprar comprando correr corriendo vivir viviendo
esperar esperando tener teniendo pedir pidiendo
ensear enseando beber bebiendo abrir abriendo
estudiar estudiando comer comiendo salir saliendo
- 129 -
The general rules for creating the present participle of regular verbs are:
1. ar verbs will end in ando.
2. er verbs and ir verbs will both end in iendo.
The present participles never change no matter which subject pronoun is used.
Por ejemplo:
1. Estoy comprando unos calcetnes.
- I am buying some socks.
2. Estamos bebiendo la cerveza.
- We are drinking the beer.
3. T ests viviendo en Argentina.
- You are living in Argentina.
Irregular Stem Changing Verbs
Note the following irregular verbs, which make a stem change in the present participle
form:
From e to i From o to u
venir viniendo dormir durmiendo
sentir sintiendo morir muriendo
decir diciendo
Por ejemplo:
1. Me estoy sintiendo triste.
- I am feeling sad.
2. Nosotros estamos viniendo pronto.
- We are coming soon.
3. T ests durmiendo en la cama.
- You are sleeping on the bed.
4. Ellos estn durmiendo ahora.
- They are sleeping now.
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5.6 Review
I. Section Summary
What it means to call a verb irregular
How to use TENER to talk about:
o what you have
o what you feel like
o whether youre hungry or thirsty, hot or cold
o how old you are
The different kinds of stem-changing verbs
That some verbs are only irregular in their yo form
How to talk about something that is happening at this moment
- 131 -
Vocabulary List #5
Spanish English
SUSTANTIVOS NOUNS
agua (el) water
aire (el) air
altura (la) height, altitude
calcetnes (los) socks
calle (la) street
calor (el) heat
cama (la) bed
cerveza (la) beer
compras (las) shopping
edad (la) age
equipo (el) team
familia (la) family
ftbol (el) soccer
hambre (el) hunger
hermano (el) brother
juego (el) game
maleta (la) suitcase
mar (el) sea
nio (el) child, boy
parque (el) park
primo (el) cousin
semana (la) week
vaso (el) glass
VERBOS VERBS
abrir to open
adquirir to acquire
beber to drink
caminar to walk
comenzar to start
comer to eat
comprar to buy
correr to run
cruzar to cross
dar to give
dormir to dream
ensear to teach
esperar to wait, to hope
estudiar to study
inquirir to inquire
ir to go
jugar to play
medir to measure
oler to smell
pedir to ask, to request
- 132 -
pescar to sh
poner to put
tener to have
tener calor to be hot
tener cuidado to be careful
tener ganas de to feel like
tener hambre to be hungry
tener X aos de edad to be X years old
tocar to touch, to play (an instrument)
traer to bring
valer to be worth
viajar to travel
mucho a lot, much
triste sad
algo something
hay que one must
hoy now, today
inmediatamente immediately
mi / mis my
nada nothing
pronto soon
sobre about, over
todos every, everyone, all
tu / tus your (t)
vale colloquial phrase (Spain) meaning okay
ahora now
algn, alguno/a some, any
ao (el) year
ayudar to help
da (el) day
haber to have (only as a helping verb)
hacer to make, to do
llamar to call
antes before, earlier
mirar to look, to watch
tomar to take, to drink
nuevo new
para for, in order to
parecer to seem
signicar to mean, to signify
tierra earth, land or soil
venir to come
ver to see
vivir to live
- 133 -
Read the following conversation, in which Alfonso and Denisa discuss what they want to
do this evening.
Denisa: Qu quieres hacer esta noche?
Alfonso: Tengo ganas de salir.
Denisa: Tengo hambre. Tengo que comer.
Alfonso: Tienes ganas de comer en un restaurante en la ciudad?
Denisa: S. Me parece bien.
Alfonso: Tambin tengo ganas de tomar una cerveza.
Denisa: Si tienes sed, debes tomar agua. Yo estoy comenzando un rgimen.
Alfonso: Por qu? Eres bonita.
Denisa: Puede ser, pero no soy aca. Soy gorda.
Alfonso: Pero la cerveza no te engorda.
Denisa: S, me engorda. Tengo que tener cuidado con mi dieta.
Alfonso: Bueno, yo estoy tomando una cerveza. T puedes tomar agua.
Denisa: Ya no quiero comer.
Alfonso: Pero tienes hambre.
Denisa: Ya no. Mejor nos quedamos en casa y vemos una pelcula.
PALABRAS NUEVAS
me parece bien it seems good to me solo only, just
rgimen diet (for losing weight) bueno well
puede ser it could be ya no now I dont
engordar to make fat /to fatten nos quedamos we stay
entonces then una pelcula a movie
- 134 -
IV. Exercises
Exercise 1. Fill in the appropriate form of tener or venir to complete the sentences.
Ex. Soy millonario. Tengo tres casas, diez carros, y mucho dinero en el banco.
1. Lupe es muy joven. Solo _______________ ocho aos de edad.
2. Juan Carlos y Marcos son argentinos. _______________ de Argentina.
3. Nosotros queremos comer ahorita. _______________ hambre.
4. Mi mam me est llamando para ir a comer. _______________, Mam!
5. Necesitas hacer el trabajo antes de m. _______________ que ayudarme despus.
6. Est nevando afuera. _______________ ustedes fro?
Exercise 2. Fill in the blanks in the story with the appropriate form of the verb indicated
in parentheses.
Mis amigos Guillermo, Marta, Ral y yo jugamos (jugar) ftbol todos los das. Nuestro
equipo de ftbol se llama los Dragones Rojos. Todos nosotros ___________ (venir) del
barrio San Pablo en el sur de la ciudad.
Yo soy German. A m me encanta el ftbol. Cada noche cuando ___________ (dormir)
tengo sueos de ser un futbolista profesional. ___________ (medir) mi altura todos los
viernes para ver si estoy creciendo rpidamente. Tengo que ser ms grande para jugar
con el equipo de San Rafael, el cual es mejor que el nuestro.
Yo ___________ (comenzar) la escuela en septiembre. No voy a tener suciente tiempo
para practicar. Mis amigos me ___________ (inquirir) sobre mi horario de clases. Ellos
terminan de estudiar a las tres. Ellos ___________ (jugar) en el parque mientras me
esperan. No anticipo el comienzo del ao escolar mucho.
Dragones Rojos Red Dragons futbolista soccer player
barrio neighborhood estoy creciendo I am growing
el sur the south sobre about
me encanta I love horario de clases class schedule
cada noche every night terminar de to nish
tener sueos to have dreams ao escolar school year
- 135 -
Ex. Qu hace Sara maana?
Sara viaja a Francia maana.
1 Qu est haciendo Sara hoy?
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Qu pone Sara en la maleta?
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Para qu tiene un vestido?
___________________________________________________________________________
4. A qu hora sale a Paris?
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Dnde va a dormir en Paris?
___________________________________________________________________________
6. Qu espera Sara?
___________________________________________________________________________
hacer una maletato pack
un ladoone side
el otro ladothe other side
tambinalso
bailarto dance
hospedajeaccommodations
sea un buen viajebe a good trip
Yo me llamo Sara. Voy a viajar a Francia maana.
Esta noche estoy haciendo mi maleta.
Pongo todos mis pantalones y camisas en un lado
de la maleta. Pongo todos mis zapatos en el otro
lado. Tambin tengo un vestido para bailar.
Salgo a Paris a las ocho de la maana. Tengo
hospedaje en un hotel muy caro. Espero que
sea un buen viaje!
Exercise 3. Read the following story and answer the questions below.
- 136 -
Exercise 4. Place the parts of the scrambled sentence back into the correct order.
Ex. viniendo el sbado estoy a tu esta
Esto viniendo a tu ta el sbado.
1. los durmiendo nios estn
___________________________________________________________________________
2. ? ests qu diciendo me
___________________________________________________________________________
3. caf bebiendo t ests
___________________________________________________________________________
4. esperando Estela el autobs est
___________________________________________________________________________
5. comiendo estamos Ramiro y yo hamburguesas
___________________________________________________________________________
6. estn en Quito ustedes viviendo
___________________________________________________________________________
7. la puerta est Pepe abriendo para m
___________________________________________________________________________
8. est rpidamente Carla corriendo
___________________________________________________________________________
9. regalos est nuestra para nosotros madre comprando
___________________________________________________________________________
10. en estis vosotros la universidad estudiando
___________________________________________________________________________
- 137 -
Part VI. Special Verbs
- 138 -
6.1 Talking about What You Know:

SABER and CONOCER
Strange Shades of Meaning
You cannot expect to have a language thats a literal one-on-one translation of another
language. As a result, you nd some Spanish words that seem to convey a million and
one English meanings (such as the word llave, which can mean a key, a tap, or a wrench).
Conversely, you are going to nd many verbs in Spanish that have shades of meaning
that dont exist in English, such as ser and estar.
The verbs saber and conocer fall into the latter category. Both verbs mean to know.
They are very, very useful in everyday life, but they are used in different contexts. If you
understand which verb to use, you can also ask someone if he or she knows someone
else, or even tell people, I dont know!
Which verb you use will depend on what is being known in
your sentence.
Saber is used in the context of knowing information or
ideas.
e.g., Yo s como cocinar. I know how to cook.
Conocer is used in the context of knowing a person or a
place.
e.g., Conoces bien la ciudad? Do you know the city
well?
The present tense conjugations of the verbs can be seen in
the following table. You will notice that both yo forms are irregular in the present.
Present Tense SABER CONOCER
Yo s conozco
T sabes conoces
Ud., l, ella sabe conoce
Nosotros/as sabemos conocemos
Vosotros/as sabis conocis
Uds., ellos, ellas saben conocen
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SABER: To Know Information or How to Do Something
Saber is used when the subject knows a piece of information or how to do a specic
task. It can be translated as to know as well as to know how.
Por ejemplo:
1. Sabes t leer msica?
- Do you know how to read music?
2. Yo s escribir en espaol.
- I know how to write in Spanish.
3. Ellos saben jugar a las cartas.
- They know how to play cards.
4. No s!
- I dont know!
CONOCER: To Know a Person, Place, or Thing
Conocer is used when the subject knows a particular person or place, as in, Do you
know where to go? or Do you know Jamie?
It can also be used in the context of knowing a particular thing, such as, I know this
computer. I used to work on it before I switched desks, or I know that outt! I almost
bought it last week.
Por ejemplo:
1. Ellos conocen el sitio donde van a tener el concierto.
They know the site where theyre going to have the concert.
2. Conozco este modelo, como casi lo compr anteriormente.
- I know this model, as I almost bought it previously.
3. No conozco al abuelo de Estefana.
- I dont know Stephanies grandfather.
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Notice that in the third example, the direct object is a person, which means that you
should add the word a before el abuelo. Remember that a + el = al.
Knowing Places
The word conocer can be difcult to translate when youre talking about places. For
example, if someone asks you
Conoces Espaa?
they usually want to know if youve been to Spain. If, on the other hand, they ask:
Conoces Espaa bien?
they want to know whether you are familiar with the country, i.e., whether you know
it well.
Por ejemplo:
1. Conoces mi casa?
- Do you know my house? (Have you been to it before?)
2. Conoces Nueva York? Que chvere!
- Do you know New York? How cool!
- 141 -
6.2 Talking about What You Like, Love, and Lack
Verbs without English Equivalents
Not only are there Spanish words that convey shades of meaning that dont exist in Eng-
lish, there are also Spanish words that cant be translated literally into their equivalent
English meaning. Although they may be quite common in the Latin world, their usage
will seem strange to an English speaker.
The verbs in the list below might seem quite complicated at rst! However, you will
encounter them often enough that you should invest some time in understanding them.
You may feel less confused if you do not try to translate them literally. Rather, get used
to how theyre used and the contexts in which you hear them.
Many of these verbs follow a similar pattern. In English, the meaning conveyed by these
verbs would usually have a person or people as the subject. For example:
I like X.
Im missing Y.
Im fascinated by Z.
In Spanish, however, what would have been the direct object in the English sentence (X,
Y, and Z) becomes the subject, while the person (I) becomes the direct object.
X is pleasing to me.
Y is missed by me.
Z fascinates me.
Sound confusing? Perhaps the table below will help clarify things.
Verb Meaning Por ejemplo Everyday meaning /
Literal translation
encantar to delight or
enchant
Me encanta la msica
latina.
I love Latin music. /
Latin music delights me.
faltar to be missed, to
be lacked, to be
needed
Me falta dinero para
comer.
I dont have enough
money to eat. /
Money is lacking for me
to eat.
fascinar to fascinate Me fascin la pe lcula. I was fascinated by the
movie. /
The movie fascinated me.
gustar to be pleasing to,
to be liked
Me gusta or tu voz. I like to hear your voice. /
Your voice is pleasing to
me.
- 142 -
importar to be important to;
to be cared about
No me importa nada I dont care about
anything. / Nothing is
important to me.
interesar to interest, to be
interesting
Me interesa la poltica. Im interested in politics.
/ Politics is interesting to
me.
molestar to annoy, to
bother
Me molestan los
mosquitos.
The mosquitoes annoy
me.
quedar to t, to suit Me qued el vestido. The dress suited me.
You will nd the verbs above in the third person singular and plural forms almost exclu-
sively, and they always be accompanied by an indirect object pronoun.
Por ejemplo:
1. Nos falta un escritorio para la ocina.
- We lack a desk for the ofce.
2. No te interesa ver la televisin conmigo?
- Arent you interested in watching television with
me?
3. Nos faltan dos jugadores en el equipo de ftbol.
- Were missing two players on the soccer team.
4. Juanita siempre me molesta cuando estoy intentando
trabajar.
- Juanita always bothers me when Im trying to work.
5. A ella le encanta pasar por las huertas botnicas.
- She loves to walk through the botanical gardens.
Using GUSTAR to Talk About What You Like
As an example of these verbs, lets take the verb gustar. This is one of the most common
verbs in Spanish, because it enables you to express what you like and dont like.
- 143 -
Por ejemplo:
1. Me gusta la comida espaola.
- I like Spanish food.
2. No me gusta mojarme.
- I dont like to get wet.
Literally, the rst example translates as, The Spanish food pleases me. The second
example literally translates as, To get wet does not please me.
Obviously, it can be quite unhelpful if you feel as if you have to understand every expres-
sion in terms of its direct English translation. When you are learning a new language
for the rst time, you may feel as if you need to know exactly what each word means
in English so that you can do the translation in your head. Languages dont work like
that! If you are going to learn to speak a new language, you have to allow your mind to
connect words and ideas in Spanish ways ways that may be untranslatable in English.
If you want to say that you like more than one thingfor example, that you like the
cats, or the colors blue and green, you will use the third person plural form of gustar.
For example,
Me gustan las gatas.
Me gustan los colores azul y verde.
Notice that, in the above examples, las gatas and los colores azul y verde are actually
the subjects of the sentences. However, rather than coming rst, they will nearly always
come after the verb. If you are constructing a sentence using gustar or one of the verbs
in the above table, put the elements of the sentence in the following order:
indirect pronoun + conjugated verb + subject
You may wish to use the handy table below. Choose one pronoun from the rst column
and the correct form of gustar from one of the other two columns, depending on the
tense and the quantity of what is being liked. (If what you like is a verb, like running
or cooking, then use the singular form of gustar followed by the innitive form of the
verb.) Remember that the correct form of the verb does NOT follow from the pronoun,
but rather from what is being liked.
- 144 -
Pronoun Present Past (preterite)
Me, te, le gusta gust
Nos, os, les gustan gustaron
Por ejemplo:
1. Me gust la esta.
- I liked the party.
2. Nos gusta estudiar la geografa.
- We like studying geography.
3. Les gustaron las dos pelculas.
- They liked the two movies.
4. A Cecilia le gusta el ftbol.
- Cecilia likes soccer.
Example #4 is a bit trickier than the other examples. If you use le or les (for he, she,
formal you, or them), youll need to clarify who the pronoun is referring to. For example,
if you heard the following sentence:
Le gustan los chocolates.
How would you know who liked the chocolates? You would be able to guess that it is a
male, a female, or you (formal singular), but the sentence would be much clearer if you
heard it like this:
A Lorena le gustan los chocolates.
or
A Ud. le gustan los chocolates.
Common Errors with GUSTAR
Mistake #1
DO NOT say Me gusta corriendo. DO SAY Me gusta correr.
In other words, do not say in Spanish, I like running. Do say I like to run.
Rule: If you are talking about an activity you like, follow gustar with the innitive
form of the verb (to run) rather than the present participle (running).
- 145 -
Mistake #2
DO NOT say A ellos les gustan acampar. DO SAY A ellos les gusta
acampar.
Rule: Make sure that the verb gustar reects the quantity of what is being liked
(to camp is a single thing), not the quantity of the people doing the liking.
Mistake #3
DO NOT say A m me gustan pias. DO SAY A m me gustan las pias.
In other words, do not say in Spanish, I like pineapples. Do say, I like the
pineapples, even when you are talking about pineapples in general.
Rule: If what you like is a noun, always include the correct form of the.
Mistake #4
DO NOT say Me gusta Jorge. DO SAY Jorge me cae bien.
Rule: Avoid using gustar to talk about liking people. If you say Me gusta Jorge,
people will assume that you nd Jorge attractive and would like to date him! If
you just like Jorge as a friend, nd some other way to express your affection
towards him. Me cae bien is a much more neutral phrase to express positive
feelings towards an acquaintance or friend. Similarly, if you dont like someone,
you can use the phrase, Me cae mal, as in, Jorge me cae mal.
Think about the following what would someones intentions be if they came up
to you and said, Me gustas t?
(Answer: It would usually mean that they liked youand I dont mean as
friends!)
Using FALTAR to Talk about What You Lack or Need
You will nd the verb faltar to be a very useful tool as you talk about what youre lacking,
missing, or dont have enough of. It can be difcult to translate directly. For examp le, if
you want to say that youre lacking three assignments to nish the course, youd say...
Me faltan tres tareas para terminar el curso.
The verb faltan must be plural to reect the plural tareas. In another example, Me
falta dinero para comprar la leche (I dont have enough money to buy the milk), the
verb falta will reect the singular la leche.
You will also notice that the verb hacer is often used with faltar. This gives emphasis
to the need or lack. For example,
Me hace falta un auto.
I need (or am lacking) a car.
In another common usage, this phrase can be used to talking about what you miss
(extraar).
- 146 -
Por ejemplo:
1. Me haces falta.
- I miss you.
2. Me falta un lpiz para
dibujar.
- I need a pencil for drawing.
3. Me hace falta estar con mi familia.
- I miss being with my family.
4. Me falta un vestido para el baile.
- Im lacking a dress for the dance.
5. Me faltan los ltimos dos certicados.
- Im lacking the last two certicates.
6. Me hace falta tomar caf contigo.
- I miss drinking coffee with you.
Using the Verb QUEDAR
The verb quedar is also quite commonly used in Spanish. It can mean a variety of things
and be used in a variety of contexts. For example, you can use it to express:
Agreement
Nos quedamos en salir a las siete.
- We agreed to leave at seven.
- 147 -
Location
La tienda queda dos metros de la
estacin del tren.
- The store is two meters from the train
station.
What is left or remaining
No queda ms.
- Theres nothing left.
How much is left to go
Quedan dos das para el n de semana.
- There are two days to go until the weekend.
How something ts or looks
Esa camisa te queda muy
bien.
- That shirt suits you very well.
Dont stress about memorizing all of these! For now, just be familiar with the concepts
behind each of these important words. As you hear more Spanish being spoken, youll
start to pick up the nuances of meaning that are impossible to convey in a book. Language
is an organic, living thing. Seek out conversation practice wherever you can!
- 148 -
6.3 Actions You Perform on Yourself: Reexive Verbs
Understanding Reexive Verbs
At last, youve come to the nal section on pronouns. This is one of the more complicated
sections (but no more complicated than the last section!). In Spanish, when you talk
about an action being performed on yourself, you show the reexive nature of the
action with a reexive verb.
Reexive verbs indicate that the subject of the sentence has performed an action on
itself. In other words, in a reexive sentence the subject is the same as the object.
Examples of reexive actions are the following:
Jos got up.
He put his shoes on.
Eva got sick.
I asked myself a question.
The girl brushed her teeth.
You may look at the last example and say, But the object is teeth! Why should that verb
be reexive?

In Spanish, parts of the body are never preceded by personal pronouns. In other words,
you never talk about my teethyou talk about the teeth, with a reexive verb
preceding it.
For example, in English you would say:
I comb my hair.
I wash my face.
I scratch my arm.
In Spanish, you would say:
o Me peino el pelo.
o Me lavo la cara.
o Me rasco el brazo.
- 149 -
All reexive verbs are preceded by reexive pronouns.
Reexive
pronoun
Example using
peinarse, to comb
Translation
Yo me Me peino el pelo. I comb my hair.
T te Te peinas el pelo. You comb your hair.
Ud., l, ella se Ella se peina el pelo. She combs her hair.
Nosotros/as nos Nos peinamos el pelo. We comb our hair.
Vosotros/as os Os peinais el pelo. You comb your hair.
Uds., ellos, ellas se Ellos se peinan el pelo. They comb their hair.

When a Verb is Reexive and When It is Not
If you are reading Spanish, you will know that a verb is reexive by the ending se
tacked onto its innitive form. Below is a list of some common reexive verbs. Note the
common se ending.
alegrarse to be happy enojarse to get angry
cepillarse to brush (yourself) lavarse to wash (yourself)
- 150 -
cortarse to cut yourself levantarse to get up
despertarse to wake up quemarse to burn yourself
enfermarse to get sick meterse to put (yourself)
A verb is not reexive if it does not have this ending. For example, compare:
Me despierto. with Te despierto.
The rst example is reexive, but the second one is not! In the rst example, the subject is
performing the action on his/herself (e.g., I wake myself up), and the verb is despertarse.
In the second example, the subject is performing the action on someone else (e.g., I wake
you up), and the verb is despertar.
Now compare:
Te enojaron. with Nos enojamos.
- 151 -
Can you guess which example uses a reexive verb and which does not?
The rst example is not reexive (They made you angry) and uses the verb
enojar.
The second example is reexive (We got angry) and uses the verb enojarse.
Some verbs are ALWAYS reexive, like enfermarse.
Por ejemplo:
1. Maria se peina el pelo todas las noches.

- Mary combs her hair every night.
2. Me lavo la cara todas las maanas.
- I wash my face every morning.
3. Mis padres se enojan cuando no los llamo.
- My parents get angry when I dont call them.
4. Francisco se cort la mano.
- Francis cut his hand.
5. Los nios se quemaron con los juegos pirotcnicos.
- The children burned themselves with the reworks.
6. Nos metimos en una mala situacin.
- We got ourselves into a bad situation.
7. Te enfermaste ayer?
- Did you get sick yesterday?
8. Me alegro por ti.
- Im happy for you.
To Get Emotional with a Reexive Verb
When a person becomes emotional, the verb used will often be reexive. For example, if
you get angry, become sad, or feel happy for someone, you will need to express yourself
using a reexive verb.
This can seem a bit confusing at rst. Back in Chapter 3.2, you learned how to use estar
with descriptive adjectives to express emotions.
Estoy enojado I am angry. Estoy feliz I am happy.
Estoy triste I am sad.
When you say how you feel in this way, youre expressing your emotional state at that
moment.
- 152 -
However, when you want to describe how your emotional state has changed over time or
as a result of something, estar simply wont do. Youll need a reexive verb.
I quickly got angry. Me enoj rpidamente.
It made me sad. Me puso triste.
It makes me happy to hear your voice. Me alegro or tu voz.
Dont worry too much about this nuance of reexive verbs! The more you hear verbs in
action, the more youll naturally pick up which verbs are used reexively and which are
not.
- 153 -
6.4 Review
I. Section Summary
How to talk about what or whom you know
o the difference between SABER and CONOCER
How to talk about what fascinates or interests you
How to talk about what you like
How to talk about what you need or lack
How to talk about whether your clothes t or look good on you
How to talk about what is left or remaining
How to talk about your personal daily routine (waking up, showering,
brushing your hair, etc.)
How to recognize a reexive verb by its -se ending
How to talk about becoming angry or being happy for someone
- 154 -
II. Vocabulary Building
Vocabulary List #6
Spanish English
SUSTANTIVOS NOUNS
abuelo (el) grandfather
baile (el) dance
caf (el) coffee
camisa (la) shirt
cara (la) face
carta (la) card, letter
cepillo de dientes (el) toothbrush
certicado (el) certicate
chocolate (el) chocolate
ciudad (la) city
color (el) color
comida espaola (la) Spanish food
cuarto (el) room (also habitacin)
equipo (el) team
escritorio (el) desk
estacin del tren (la) train station
esta (la) party
n (el) end, ending
n de semana (el) weekend
ftbol (el) soccer
gato (el) cat
geografa (la) geography
huerta botnica (la) botanic garden
juegos pirotcnicos (los) reworks
jugador (el) player
lpiz (el) pencil
mano (la) hand
metro (el) meter
modelo (el) model
mosquito (el) mosquito
msica (la) music
msica latina (la) Latin music
ocina (la) ofce
pelcula (la) movie, lm
pelo (el) hair
pia (la) pineapple
poltica (la) politics
sitio (el) site
situacin (la) situation
televisin (la) television
vestido (el) dress
voz (la) voice
VERBOS VERBS
acampar to camp
- 155 -
alegrarse to be happy
cepillarse to brush (yourself)
cocinar to cook
correr to run
cortarse to cut yourself
despertarse to wake up
dibujar to draw
encantar to enchant (love)
enfermarse to get sick
enojarse to get angry
escribir to write
faltar to be lacking, to be missing, to be needed
fascinar to fascinate
hacer falta to miss something (emotionally)
importar to be important
intentar to try
interesar to be interesting
ir to go
jugar to play
lavarse to wash (yourself)
leer to read
llamar to call
meterse to put (yourself)
mojarse to get wet
molestar to annoy, to bother
or to hear
pasar to pass, to stroll
peinarse to comb (yourself)
ponerse triste to become sad
quedar to t, to suit, to be remaining, to be left
quemarse to burn yourself
tener to have
trabajar to work
azul blue
enojado angry
triste sad
verde green
algunos / algunas some
anteriormente previously
ayer yesterday
bien well
casi almost
chvere cool, great, amazing
como how
conmigo with me
este (esta, estos, estas) this (adj)
ms more
me cae bien. I like (in the context of liking someone)
- 156 -
me cae mal. I dont like
nada nothing
para for
por ti for you
propio own
rpidamente rapidly
ac over here
all over there
all there
amigo friend
aqu here
conocer to know (a person, place, or thing)
cual (el, la) which
cuando when
despus after, later
donde where
encontrar to nd
feliz happy
gustar to be pleasing to (like)
por through, for, along, by
que that, which, who, than
quien, quienes who, whom
saber to know (knowledge, an idea)
siempre always
ltimo last
vez once
- 157 -
Read the following conversation between Marta and Mateo, as they meet on the street
unexpectedly, very early in the morning.
Mateo: Hola, Marta. Qu sorpresa! Cmo ests?
Marta: Estoy bien, y t?
Mateo: Bien. Bueno, un poco cansado.
Marta: Te levantaste temprano. Son las seis de la maana. Adnde vas?
Mateo: Me gusta levantarme temprano, y adems voy a mi nuevo trabajo.
Marta: Me alegro que tienes un trabajo nuevo! Dnde trabajas?
Mateo: Trabajo en una compaa de msica. Ayudo a los artistas con sus
necesidades. Tuve que comprar ropa nueva para parecer ms profesional.
Te gusta?
Marta: Tus pantalones negros te quedan bien. S, me gustan!
Mateo: Adnde vas t?
Marta : Voy a la panadera. Estaba cocinando el desayuno, pero me faltan pan
y leche.
Mateo: Bueno, creo que tus hijos te estn esperando. No te quito ms tiempo.
Marta: Hasta luego, Mateo.
Mateo: Chao!
PALABRAS NUEVAS
qu sorpresa what a surprise panadera bakery
un poco cansado a little tired estaba cocinando I was cooking
temprano early desayuno breakfast
adems furthermore pan bread
necesidades necessities leche milk
ropa clothing, clothes quitar to take away
profesional professional hasta luego until later
- 158 -
IV. Exercises
Exercise 1. Answer the following questions according to your own personal
preference.
Ex. A Maria le gusta bailar. Te gusta bailar?
S, me gusta bailar. or No, no me gusta bailar.
1. A Eduardo y Ramn les gusta comer las hamburguesas. Te gustan las
hamburguesas?
___________________________________________________________________________
2. A nosotros nos gusta nadar en el mar. Te gusta nadar en el mar?
___________________________________________________________________________
3. A mi profesor le gusta hablar. A ti te gusta hablar?
___________________________________________________________________________
4. Me gusta la msica latina muchsimo. A ti te gusta la msica latina?
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Al Seor Salazar le gustan los carros japoneses. Te gustan los carros japoneses?
___________________________________________________________________________
6. A Rosario le gusta jugar ftbol. Te gusta jugar ftbol?
___________________________________________________________________________
7. A Javier, Ramiro, Jorge y yo nos gusta manejar los carros rpidamente. Te gusta
manejar rpidamente?
___________________________________________________________________________
8. A m me gustan las clases de espaol. Te gustan las clases de espaol?
___________________________________________________________________________
- 159 -
Exercise 2. Answer the following questions according to your own personal preference.
Use the verb faltar.
Ex. A Maria le falta dinero. Te falta dinero?
S, me falta dinero. or No, no me falta dinero.
1. A Rodrigo y Miguel les faltan sombreros para el sol.Te falta un sombrero?
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Me falta dinero para comprar almuerzo. Te falta dinero para comprar almuerzo?
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Nos falta una computadora para trabajar. Te falta una computadora para trabajar?
___________________________________________________________________________
4. A Ramona le falta un lpiz para escribir. Te falta un lpiz para escribir?
___________________________________________________________________________
5. No me gusta el primer ao de universidad. Me hace falta mi familia. Te hace falta
tu familia?
___________________________________________________________________________
6. A Wilfredo le falta un carro para ir a la universidad. Te falta un carro?
___________________________________________________________________________
7. A Marcela le hace falta un esposo con mucho dinero. Te hace falta un esposo/a?
___________________________________________________________________________
8. Jaime siempre llega tarde. Le hace falta un reloj. Te hace falta un reloj?
___________________________________________________________________________
- 160 -
Exercise 3. Describe Tias morning routine, using the pictures below.
Ex. A las sie de la maana
Tia se levanta
1. A las ____________________________________________
Tia ________________________________________________
2. A las _____________________________________________
Tia _________________________________________________
3. A las ____________________________________________
Tia ________________________________________________
4. A ________________________________________________
Tia __________________________________________________
5. A las ____________________________________________
Tia ________________________________________________
- 161 -
Exercise 4. Decide whether the underlined verb is reexive or not and check in the
appropriate box.
Reexive NOT
Reexive
Ex. Estaba tan enferma ayer. Me enferm rpidamente.
1. Necesito una alarma para despertarme en la maana.
2. Mi mam siempre me cepilla el pelo.
3. Es importante lavarse las manos antes de comer.
4. Hay tener cuidado con los cuchillos, como una persona
puede cortarse.
5. Los profesores aburridos me enojan, mientras los
profesores interesantes me alegran.
6. El padre de Enrique se enoja cuando sus hijos ven
demasiado televisin.
7. Mi hermana siempre me despierta todas las maanas.
8. Me lav el pelo antes de salir del bao.
9. La nia se pone los zapatos.
10. Las amigas se ayudan a cepillar el pelo.
11. El gato se meti en un rbol y no quera salir.
12. Me llamo Carmen.
13. Nos llamaron desde la estacin de tren.
- 162 -
Part VII. Special Words
- 163 -
7.1 Talking about Whats Good, Better, and Best
Understanding Comparatives and Superlatives
Now lets take a breather and go to something easier and more fun! Lets talk about
the best band of all time, who is the oldest person in your class, and how your friends
car compares with yours. You can compare things just as easily in Spanish as you can in
English.
You should already be familiar with the concept of good, better, and best. When youre
talking about one thing, its good. When youre comparing it to something else, its
better. When you say that it is better than anything else, its the best.
If you understand this, you already know what a comparative and a superlative are.
Words that compare one thing to another (e.g., better, older) are called
comparatives.
Words that put something at the top or bottom of the class, so to speak, (e.g.,
best, oldest) are called superlatives.
Below are some common comparatives and superlatives in Spanish. Look at the table and
follow each word from left to right.
Adjective Translation Comparative Translation Superlative Translation
bueno good mejor que better el / la mejor the best
malo bad peor que worse el / la peor the worst
viejo old mayor que older el / la mayor the oldest
joven young menor que younger el / la menor the youngest
(You should also know that bien and mal share the same construction as bueno and
malo.)
Lets say that you want to talk about your favorite soccer
team.
Mi equipo de fbol favorito es muy bueno.
My favorite soccer team is very good.
Say that you want to claim that your favorite soccer team is
better than your friends.
Mi equipo de ftbol favorito es mejor que el
tuyo.
My favorite soccer team is better than yours.
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Now, say that you want to boast that your soccer team is the best of all!
Mi equipo de ftbol es el mejor!
My soccer team is the best!
For Better or for Worse: MEJOR QUE and PEOR QUE
When you want to compare the age (older, younger) or quality (better, best) of two
things, you will use the comparative form of the adjective plus than. For example:
o better than = mejor que
o worse than = peor que
o older than = mayor que
o younger than = menor que
If you want to say, for example, that your sister is older than you are, you will say, Mi
hermana es mayor que m.
Por ejemplo:
1. El hermano de Juan es mayor que l.
- Juans brother is older than him.
2. El sombrero negro es mejor que el sombrero blanco.
- The black hat is better than the white hat.
3. La primera banda fue mejor que la segunda.
- The rst band was better than the second.
The Best of All: LA MEJOR
If you want to say that your sister is the oldest in your family, you will simply add the
article the to the comparative form of the adjective. The sentence becomes: Mi
hermana es la mayor.
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Por ejemplo:
1. l es el mejor cantante del mundo.
- He is the best singer in the world.
2. Ella es la peor estudiante de la clase.
- She is the worst student in the class.
3. La seora es la mayor del barrio.
- The lady is the oldest in the neighborhood.
4. Margarita es la hija menor.
- Margaret is the youngest daughter.
You will notice that the word de is often used with superlatives. When used after a
superlative, de can mean in or of.
Por ejemplo:
1. El jugador es el mejor de todos.
- The player is the best of all.
2. Lupe es la mejor trabajadora del grupo.
- Lupe is the best worker in the group.
Notice that in the second example, de has combined with el to form del. This is identical
to the formation of al from a and el. Anytime you see de and el together, remember:
de + el = del
The Most of All: MS DE
You can also form superlatives by talking about the strongest, coolest, fastest thing of
all. Whereas you form these superlatives in English by adding an est to the end of the
adjective or adverb, you form them in Spanish by using the word ms instead.
Ms means most. If you wish to talk about the hottest day of the summer in Spanish,
youll have to say the day most hot of the summer. Sound strange?
Remember that in English, not all adjectives can be transformed with an est ending. You
cant say beautifulest or expensivest! In those cases, you form the superlative just as
it is done in Spanish: you talk about the most beautiful or the most expensive.
Thats exactly how its done in Spanish. All other superlatives will be formed using the
sentence construction below.
noun + ms + adjective or adverb + de + noun
In Spanish, then, the phrase the hottest day of the summer will become:
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el da + ms + caluroso + del + verano
Por ejemplo:
1. Hoy es el da ms caluroso del verano.
- Today is the hottest day of the summer.
2. La primavera es la estacin ms lluviosa en mi regin.
- The spring is the wettest season in my region.
3. Los matadores profesionales solo usan los toros ms
fuertes de Espaa.
- Professional bullghters only use the strongest
bulls in Spain.
4. Estas son las ores ms hermosas de mi jardn.
- These are the most beautiful owers of my
garden.
5. Juan tiene la guitarra ms cara del grupo.
- John has the most expensive guitar in the group.
Super Cool: The Ending -simo
In Spanish, theres another way of expressing how something is just the most-est. You
can intensify the meaning of any adjective by adding the ending -simo.
This is the English equivalent adding a very or super before the adjective.
Por ejemplo:
1. La comida est riqusima.
- The food is super delicious.
2. Ests bellsima, mi hija.
- Youre gorgeous, my daughter.
3. El atleta corri rapidsimo en la competencia.
- The athlete ran super fast in the competition.
4. La noche estuvo heladsima.
- The night was super cold.
Some More Comparisons: MS QUE and MENOS QUE
Other comparisons you will make will be of the greater and lesser sort. In other words,
you will say that something has more or less of a quality than the other thing. For
example,
- 167 -
Julie has more pens than Matt.
San Francisco has fewer people than Los Angeles.
When it comes to shoes, Annette has more than her sister.
Notice that the words more and less are followed by a than. In Spanish, its just
the same, but instead of talking about more than you will talk about ms que.
ms que = more (or greater) than
menos que = less (or fewer) than
Por ejemplo:
1. Ricardo es ms inteligente que Jos.
- Richard is more intelligent than Joe.
2. Elena tiene menos dinero que Nadia.
- Ellen has less money than Nadia.
3. Javier es ms fuerte que su hermano.
- Javier is stronger than his brother.
4. Pedro come menos que Miguel.
- Peter eats less than Michael.
5. El pasaje de tren cuesta menos que el de avion.
- The train ticket costs less than the airplane ticket.
Expressing How Things are Alike: TAN COMO and TANTO COMO
You can also use comparatives to describe how similar two things are. For example, you
might wish to say:
Youre as nice as your sister.
I have as many toys as you.
Expressions like tan como and tanto como help you do that.
When you compare two things that are similar in English, you often use as as, whether
or not the word that the two things have in common is a noun, adjective, or adverb. In
Spanish, however, there is a distinction.
Use tan como for as as when the characteristic in common is an adjective
or adverb.
Use tanto como for as many as or as much as, when the characteristic
in common is a noun.
Go back and look at the sample sentences in English above. Can you guess which would
- 168 -
use tan como and which would use tanto como?
Eres tan amable como tu hermana. (nice is an adjective)
Tengo tantos juguetes como t. (toys is a noun)
Remember that the word tanto must reect the gender and quantity of the noun it
describes.
Tengo tanto dinero como l.
Ella tiene tantos zapatos como su amiga.
Nosotros tenemos tanta comida como los otros.
Ustedes tienen tantas cosas como nosotros.
Por ejemplo:
1. Tu auto es tan lento como un caracol.
- Your car is as slow as a snail. (slow is an adjective)
2. Tenemos tantas vacas como ovejas.
- We have as many cows as sheep. (cows is a noun)
3. Carlos es tan guapo como su hermano.
- Charles is as handsome as his brother. (handsome is an adjective)
4. T tienes tantas ideas como yo.
- You have as many ideas as I do. (ideas is a noun)
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7.2 Talking about Ifs, Ands, Buts
Understanding Conjuctions
Up until now, youve only been able to speak in simple sentences. But what if you want
to say, I want the red one and the blue one? Or, I like this one, but I prefer that
one?
To create complex sentences, you need to be able to use conjunctions. These are
words that join two parts of a sentence together. The most common are:
o or
pero but
si if
y and
porque because
You will use these conjunctions in the exact same way you do in English.
Por ejemplo:
1. Quiero la camisa roja y la camisa azul.
- I want the red shirt and the blue shirt.
2. Me gusta ste, pero preero se.
- I like this one, but I prefer that one.
3. Si quieres ir con nosotros, te puedo llevar.
- If you want to go with us, I can take you.
4. Podemos elegir entre esta opcin o la otra.
- We can choose between this option or the other.
Watch those accent marks! Make sure that you dont confuse si with s.
Si means if.
S means yes.
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7.3 Talking about Something and Nothing
Understanding Indenite Words
Sometimes you dont exactly know what you want to refer to. It could be something,
or someone, or anyone, for that matter.
These sorts of words are indenite words. Spanish has them just as English does.
algo something, anything
alguien someone, somebody
alguna vez once, sometime
alguno/a some, any
cualquier/a whichever, whatever
Note that algo and alguien never change formsthere is NO such thing as algos
or alguienes. However, alguno and cualquier do change forms according to
gender. Alguno also changes form according to quantity (in which case it translates as
several).
Por ejemplo:
1. Algo pas en el banco.
- Something happened in the bank.
2. Alguna vez en mi vida, quiero volar en un avin pequeo.
- Sometime in my life, Id like to y in a small plane.
3. Alguien est en mi cuarto.
- Someone is in my room.
4. Cul bebida te gusta? No me importa; cualquiera est bien para m.
- Which drink do you like? I dont care; whichever is ne for me.
5. Vamos a llevar algunos en caso de emergencia.
- Were going to take several in case of emergency.
Some other useful words along this vein are:
siempre always
tambin also, too
- 171 -
Por ejemplo:
1. Hctor siempre va al colegio en bus.
- Hector always goes to the high school by bus.
2. Quiero ir con usted tambin.
- I want to go with you, too.
Understanding Negative Words
Perhaps, though, you dont want to talk about somebody
or something. Perhaps you prefer to talk about nobody
and nothing. These are negative indenite words. In
Spanish, there is a word with exactly the opposite meaning for each of the positive
words you learned above.
Positive Indenite Negative Indenite Translation
algo nada nothing
alguien nadie no one / nobody
alguno ningn not any
cualquier ninguno/a neither one
o ni neither / nor
siempre nunca, jams never
tambin tampoco neither / not either
Forming negatives in Spanish can be tricky. Sometimes you can form a negative
sentence in Spanish just as you would in English.
Por ejemplo:
1. Jams he jugado ftbol.
- I have never played soccer.
2. Nadie tiene ganas de salir.
- No one wants to go out.
3. Cul bebida quieres? Ninguna. No me gustan
estas bebidas.
- Which drink do you want? Neither one. I
dont like these drinks.
4. Quieren ustedes ir conmigo? No. Yo tampoco.
- Do you want to go with me? No. Me neither.
- 172 -
Theres another way of forming negative sentences, however. This involves placing the
word no before the verb. (Make sure that you do NOT place it before the subject.)
Por ejemplo:
1. No quiero ir.
- I dont want to go.
2. Ellos no van maana.
- They arent going tomorrow.
3. Sarita y Toms no estn en la clase hoy.
- Sarah and Thomas are not in class today.
If you want to add a negative indenite word like
nobody or nothing to a negative sentence, youre
going to have to unlearn some English grammar!
Remember how you learned in school that you should never say things like
I aint never done it.
He dont know nothing.
There isnt no one here.
These are called double negatives and theyre perfectly ne in Spanish!
No lo he hecho nunca.
l no sabe nada.
No hay nadie aqu.
In fact, you have to form double negatives in Spanish, because thats the proper way to
form those sentences grammatically.
Por ejemplo:
1. No tengo nada.
- I have nothing.
(Literally, I dont have nothing.)
2. No quiero ni ste ni el otro.
- I dont want either this one or the other.
(Literally, I dont want neither this one nor the other.)
- 173 -
7.4 Review
I. Section Summary
How to say when something is good, something else is better, and
something else is the best
How to talk about the oldest and youngest people in your family
How to talk about the hottest, wettest, strongest, prettiest, etc.
How to talk about who has more or less than others
How to compare two things
How to interject an if, and, or but
How to talk about something, anything, no one, nothing, etc.
Why you should use double negatives in Spanish.
- 174 -
II. Vocabulary Building
Vocabulary List #7
Spanish English
SUSTANTIVOS NOUNS
auto (el) car
avin (el) airplane
banco (el) bank
banda (la) band
barrio (el) neighborhood
bebida (la) drink
bus (el) bus
camisa (la) shirt, blouse
caracol (el) snail
clase (la) class
colegio (el) high school
comida (la) food
competencia (la) competition
cuarto (el) room
da (el) day
dinero (el) money
estacin (la) season, station
or (la) ower
ftbol (el)
soccer
grupo (el) group
hermana (la) sister
hija (la) daughter
idea (la) idea
jardn (el) garden
jugador (el) player
juguete (el) toy
matador (el) bullghter
mundo (el) world
noche (la) night
opcin (la) option
oveja (la) sheep
pasaje (el) fare
primavera (la) spring
regin (la) region
sombrero (el) hat
toro (el) bull
trabajadora (la) female worker
tren (el) train
vaca (la) cow
verano (el) summer
vida (la) life
- 175 -
VERBOS
VERBS
comer to eat
correr to run
costar to cost
elegir to select, to elect
estar to be (health, location, feeling)
ir to go
jugar to play
llevar to take, to carry
pasar to happen, to stroll, to pass
preferir to prefer
querer to want
saber to know (information)
tener to have
volar to y
amable nice
azul blue
bella (bellsima) beautiful (extremely beautiful)
blanco white
bueno good
caluroso hot
caro expensive
fuerte strong
helado (heladsimo) icy cold (extremely icy cold)
hermoso beautiful, handsome
joven young
lento slow
lluvioso rainy
malo bad
negro black
pequeo small
profesional professional
rpido (rapidsimo) fast (extremely fast)
rica (riqusima) delicious (extremely delicious)
rojo red
viejo old
alguno/a some, any
aqu here
conmigo with me
- 176 -
de in, of
el / la mayor the oldest
el / la mejor the best
el / la menor the youngest
el / la peor the worst
en caso de emergencia in case of emergency
entre between
se that one (masculine singular)
esta this (adj., singular feminine)
ste this one (masculine singular)
hoy today
jams never
mayor older
mejor better
menor younger
nada nothing
nadie no one, nobody
ni neither, nor
nunca never
para for
peor que worse
primera rst
segunda second
siempre always
tampoco neither / not either
todos all
del in the, of the (masculine singular)
entonces then
hola hello
ms more
menos less, fewer
mismo same
ningn not any
ninguno/a neither one
no no, not
o or
otro (el) other
pero but
porque because
si if
s yes
tambin also, too
tan como as as
tanto como as many as, as much as
usar to use
y and
- 177 -
Read the following conversation, in which Carlota and Tonio argue over who is older.
Tonio: Yo soy mayor que t!
Carlota: No, yo soy mayor que t!
Tonio: Yo tuve una esta de cumpleaos. Tena ocho velas en la torta.
Carlota: Eso no es nada. Yo tuve mi esta de cumpleaos, y tena ocho y media
velas.
Tonio: No puedes tener una media vela.
Carlota: Por qu?
Tonio: Porque porque
Carlota: Tengo ms velas que t, entonces soy la mayor.
Tonio: T no eres tan alta como yo.
Carlota: S soy!
Tonio: No eres!
Carlota: T eres tan lento como un caracol.
Tonio: T eres tan lenta como una piedra.
Carlota: Pero todava soy la mayor.
Tonio: Est alguien hablando conmigo?
Carlota: No sabes nada, Tonio.
PALABRAS NUEVAS
tuve / tena I had torta cake
esta de cumpleaos birthday party media half
vela candle piedra rock
- 178 -
IV. Exercises
Exercise 1. Rank the following three things in order of how much you like them.
Ex. caf, agua, cerveza
El agua es buen o .
El caf es mejor que el agua .

La cerveza es la mejor.
1. caballos, gatos, perros
__________________ son buen___.
__________________ son mejores que__________________.
__________________ son _______ mejores.
2. autobs, avin, automvil
__________________ es buen___.
__________________ es mejor que__________________.
__________________ es _______ mejor.
3. museo, parque, piscina
__________________ es buen___.
__________________ es mejor que__________________.
__________________ es _______ mejor.
4. manzanas, naranjas, pias
__________________ son buen___.
__________________ son mejores que__________________.
__________________ son _______ mejores.
- 179 -
Ex. Quin es la persona ms mayor de la familia Jimnez?
Carlos el mayor de la familia.
1. Quin es el menor?
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Es Maricruz mayor que Diego?
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Es Carlos menor que Lorena?
___________________________________________________________________________
4 Quin es menor: Dolores o Ricardo?
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Quin es el hijo mayor?
___________________________________________________________________________
respectivamente
respectively
mientraswhile
abogadolawyer
cientcascientist
bomberoreman
Hola! Yo soy Ricardo, y soy de la familia Jimnez.
Es una familia grande. Tengo cuatro hermanos.
Mis hermanas se llaman Dolores y Maricruz, y
tienen doce aos y quince aos respectivamente.
Mis hermanos se llaman Diego y Francisco. Diego
tiene catorce aos de edad, mientras Francisco
tiene diecisis aos.
Mi pap se llama Carlos. l es abogado. Tiene
dos aos ms de edad que mi mam, Lorena. Ella
es cientca y tiene cuarenta aos de edad. Yo
tengo ocho aos de edad. Algn da, quiero ser
bombero!
Exercise 2. Who is youngest in the family? Who is oldest? Read the paragraph about
the Jimnez family and answer the following questions.
- 180 -
Exercise 3. Complete the sentence by making a superlative from the fragments
below.
Ex. Hoy es el da ms fio del invierno.
(da fro invierno)
1. Jos es _________________________________________________________________
(hijo alto familia)
2. Emilia es ________________________________________________________________
(chica bonita ciudad)
3. Nosotros somos __________________________________________________________
(estudiantes inteligentes universidad)
4. T eres _________________________________________________________________
(persona amable que conozco)
5. Tenemos ________________________________________________________________
(auto rpido barrio)
Exercise 4. Answer the question according to the hint below. Use one of the
following words: cualquier/a, ningun/a, nada, nadie, or siempre.
Ex. Cul camisa preeres? Cualquiera.
(Todas las camisas son buenas.
1. Quin est en el bao? _____________________________________________
(El bao est vacio.)
2. Ves mucha televisin? _____________________________________________
(todo el tiempo)
3. Qu tienes en la maleta? _____________________________________________
(La maleta est vacia.)
4. Cul pasaporte es tuyo? _____________________________________________
(Mi pasaporte no est en el grupo.)
- 181 -
Exercise 5. Look at the picture and express whether Pepe y Felipa have more, less, or
the same as one another.
Ex. Felipa tiene ms lpic que Pepe.
1. _____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
- 182 -
Conclusion
Youve done it! Youve just mastered nearly 200 pages of material. What can you say
now in Spanish that you couldnt before?
This book has given you an insight into a completely different world. There is so, so
much more to learn like how to discuss what will happen in the future, how to talk
about what you want or desire, how to tell someone to do something, and how to talk
about what youre certain about or what you doubt. All those topics and more are
coming up in the Rocket Spanish Advanced Book.
Now, dont forget to keep practicing what you have learned. You can use the topics
and exercises in the Beginners Vocabulary Supplement to learn the vocabulary that
you need to know for whatever situation you nd yourself in. Now, get out there and
start speaking some Spanish!
Sincerely yours
Mauricio
- 183 -
Appendix 1. Grammatical Concepts in English
Because you may not be familiar with many of the grammatical concepts Ive used in
this book, I am including a handy glossary of grammatical terms.
accent mark A slanted line above a letter, such as . Means that you
should stress that sound.
adjective A word that modies or describes a noun. In Spanish,
adjectives come before the nouns they described, as in cat
black or sh cold. See also possessive adjectives and
demonstrative adjectives.
adverb A word that modies or describes an action. Comes after
the verb is describes, as in, We did it quickly.
article see denite article or indenite article
comparative When one thing is compared to another thing, such as
better, worse, and older.
conjugation When you take a Spanish verb from its innitive form and
combine it with a subject.
conjunctions Joining words that combine two sentences or clauses, such
as and, or, but, if, and because.
contraction When two words are combined to create one for ease of
pronunciation, such as del (de + el) and al (a + el).
denite article the el, la, los, las
demonstrative
adjectives
Such as this thing, that thing, that thing over there.
demonstrative
pronouns
Such as this (one), that (one), that (one) over there.
direct object The person or thing that an action is being done to. See
also direct object pronouns.
direct object
pronouns
Pronouns used when a person (like me, you, him, her, us,
or them) is the direct object of a sentence. For example, I
called you.
- 184 -
double negative When two negatives are used in a row, such as, I aint got
nothing, or, We dont never do it.
gender A characteristic of nouns in Spanish. May be masculine or
feminine.
indenite article a or an un, una, unos, unas
indenite words Words such as something, anything, someone, sometime,
some, any, whichever, and whatever.
indirect object The person or thing that an action is being done for. See
also indirect object pronouns.
indirect object
pronouns
Pronouns used when a person is the indirect object of a
sentence. For example, I gave her the money.
innitive The timeless form of a verb that begins with to, such
as to be, to want, ser, or querer.
interrogative word A word that is used to ask a question, like Where? or
When?
irregular verb A verb that does not follow the normal pattern of verb
endings for a specic tense. Verbs can be regular in one
tense but irregular in another.
negative words Words such as nothing, no one, nobody, not any, never, and
neither.
noun A person, place, thing, or idea
plural Referring to more than one thing.
possessive adjective An adjective used to describe whose something is, like my,
your, their, his, her, its, and our.
preposition Words like above, by, for, with, on, in, between.
prepositional
pronouns
Pronouns used when a person is the object of a preposition.
Examples include between you and me and written by
him. In Spanish, two unique prepositional pronouns are
conmigo and contigo.
- 185 -
present participle A verb form used to create the present progressive tense. In
English, present participles are distinguished by their ing
ending (like doing, running, eating). In Spanish, present
participles are distinguished by their ando or iendo
endings.
present progressive A tense used to describe action in process, such as I
am doing it. Characterized by a form of verb to be
followed by a present participle. For example, Lo estoy
haciendo.
present tense An action that is occurring right now.
pronouns Words that refer to people, such as I, me, you, he, him,
them, us. See also subject pronouns, direct/indirect object
pronouns, reexive pronouns, prepositional pronouns, and
demonstrative pronouns.
reexive pronoun These are similar to the English myself, himself, herself,
yourself, ourselves. These pronouns indicate when an
action is being performed by the subject on him/herself. In
Spanish, they include me, te, se, nos, and os.
reexive verbs A type of verb in which the subject of the sentence
performs the action on him/herself. Distinguished in
Spanish by the se tacked onto its innitive form, like
peinarse or cortarse.
regular verb A verb that follows the normal pattern of verb endings for a
specic tense.
singular Referring to one thing.
stem The part of the verb that is left when you take away the
verb ending.
stem change When the stem of a verb changes when it is conjugated.
Some common stem changes in Spanish include -e to -ie, -e
to -i, and -o to ue.
subject The person or thing that performs the action in a sentence.
subject pronouns Pronouns that function as the subject of a sentence, such as
I, you, he, she, it, we, and they.
- 186 -
superlative When one thing is compared to two or more things, such as
best, worst, or the most of all.
verb An action word, like ran or lived. See also irregular verbs,
regular verbs, verb endings, conjugations, stem, stem
changing, and reexive verbs.
verb ending The ending of a verb, grouped into three main categories:
-AR (hablar), -ER (comer), and IR (vivir).
- 187 -
Appendix 2. Answer Key
PART 1
Exercise 1
1. La
2. El
3. El
4. La
5. Los
6. Las
7. Los
8. Las
Exercise 2
1. Una
2. Unos / unas
3. Una
4. Una
5. Un
6. Un / una
7. Una
8. Un
Exercise 3
1. somos
2. son
3. soy
Exercise 4
1. veintin dlares
2. cien dlares
3. cuarenta y seis dlares
4. sesenta y cinco dlares y cincuenta centavos
5. tres cientos noventa y nueve dlares y noventa y nueve centavos
6. mil setecientos cincuenta dlares
7. seis mil ciento noventa y nueve dlares
Exercise 5
1. tres y media
2. dos y veinte
3. cuarto para las nueve
4. cinco para las cuatro
9. Los
10. La
11. El
12. El
13. El
14. La
15. Los
16. El
17. El
9. Unos
10. Unos
11. Un / una
12. Unos / unas
13. Unos / unas
14. Una
15. Una
4. sois
5. eres
5. la una y cuarto
6. siete y cinco
7. cuarto para las once
- 188 -
PART 2
Exercise 1
1. preguntamos
2. estudian
3. trabaja
4. dibuja
5. descansis
6. nadamos
Exercise 2
1. escribimos
2. bebes
3. comparte
4. describe
5. comen
6. corre
Exercise 3
1. Voy a estudiar por una hora.
2. Vais a caminar al parque.
3. Vamos a tener una esta.
4. Gloria y Juana van a comer pescado.
5. La mujer va a cortar el pan.
6. Vas a manejar el carro.
7. Los nios van a preguntar por su amigo.
8. Voy a terminar los ejercicios.
Exercise 4
1. La maleta negra es de Pablo.
2. Elena llega a la estacin a las tres y media de la tarde.
3. Soy de Brasil.
4. Manuel est en la casa.
5. Tenemos doce naranjas.
Exercise 5
1. sobre
2. encima del
3. al lado del
4. alrededor del
5. detrs del
6. debajo de la
7. en el
7. sacan
8. esperas
9. necesitan
10. toman
11. gusta
7. sals
8. ve
9. escribes
10. leemos
11. corro
- 189 -
PART 3
Exercise 1
1. fuerte, grande
2. fro, mojado
3. enojado, sucio
4. bajo, rpido
5. feliz, hermosa
Exercise 2
1. es
2. est
3. est
4. estoy
5. soy
6. est
Exercise 3
1. Est despejado.
2. Est nevando.
3. Hace sol.
4. Est nublado.
Exercise 4
1. su
2. sus
3. tus
4. mi
5. su
6. su
7. nuestro
PART 4
Exercise 1
1. Javier los tiene.
2. El profesor la quiere.
3. Mi padres los compra.
4. Los estudiantes los estudian.
5. Nosotros la ganamos.
6. Yo la s.
Exercise 2
1. Les describo el concierto.
2. Le compras pan.
3. Les escribo una carta.
7. est
8. No tiene su cartera.
9. Pilar se siente nerviosa.
10. El chofer es un hombre muy amable.
11. Se siente muy cansada.
5. Hace viento.
6. Hace fro.
7. Hace calor.
8. su
9. mi
10. vuestra
11. tu
12. su
13. nuestros
14. sus
4. Sara me invita a la esta.
5. Felipe nos da unos regalos.
6. Te espero.
- 190 -
Exercise 3
1. Se los compro.
2. Esperanza se lo pide.
3. El hotel nos la tiene.
Exercise 4
1. en frente de ellos (los estudiantes)
2. con nosotras (Mercedes, Lola y yo)
3. con ellas (las mujeres del futuro)
Exercise 5
1. esa
2. Esta
3. esa
4. sa
PART 5
Exercise 1
1. tiene
2. Vienen
3. Tenemos
Exercise 2
1. Venimos
2. duermo
3. Mido
Exercise 3
1. Sara est haciendo su maleta.
2. Sara pone sus pantalones, camisas, zapatos, y un vestido en la maleta.
3. Tiene un vestido para bailar.
4. Sale a Paris a las ocho de la maana.
5. Va a dormir en un hotel muy caro.
6. Sara espera que sea un buen viaje.
Exercise 4
1. Los nios estn durmiendo.
2. Qu me ests diciendo?
3. T ests bebiendo caf.
4. Estela est esperando el autobs.
5. Ramiro y yo estamos comiendo hamburguesas.
6. Ustedes estn viviendo en Quito.
7. Pepe est abriendo la puerta para m.
8. Carla est corriendo rpidamente.
9. Nuestra madre est comprando regalos para nosotros.
10. Vosotros estis estudiando en la universidad.
5. sa
6. aqulla
7. Aquella
4. Vengo
5. Tienes
6. Tienen
4. Comienzo
5. inquieren
6. juegan
4. Ustedes se lo muestran.
5. Ellos nos la comparten.
6. T se la enseas a la clase.
- 191 -
PART 6
Exercise 1
1. S, me gustan las hamburguesas. / No, no me gustan las hamburguesas.
2. S, me gusta nadar en el mar. / No, no me gusta nadar en el mar.
3. S, a m me gusta hablar. / No, a m no me gusta hablar.
4. S, a m me gusta la msica latina. / No, a m no me gusta la msica latina.
5. S, me gustan los carros japoneses. / No, no me gustan los carros japoneses.
6. S, me gusta jugar ftbol. / No, no me gusta jugar ftbol.
7. S, me gusta manejar rpidamente. / No, no me gusta manejar rpidamente.
8. S, me gustan las clases de espaol. / No, no me gustan las clases de espaol.
Exercise 2
1. S, me falta un sombrero. / No, no me falta un sombrero.
2. S, me falta dinero para comprar almuerzo. / No, no me falta dinero para
comprar almuerzo.
3. S, me falta una computadora para trabajar. / No, no me falta una computadora
para trabajar.
4. S, me falta un lpiz para escribir. / No, no me falta un lpiz para escribir.
5. S, me hace falta mi familia. / No, no me hace falta mi familia.
6. S, me falta un carro. / No, no me falta un carro.
7. S, me hace falta un esposo/a. / No, no me hace falta un esposo/a.
8. S, me hace falta un reloj. / No, no me hace falta un reloj.
Exercise 3
1. A las siete y cuarto, Tia se ducha.
2. A las siete y media, Tia se cepilla los dientes.
3. A las siete y treinta y cinco, Tia se cepilla el pelo.
4. A cuarto para las ocho, Tia come (el desayuno).
5. A las ocho, Tia espera el bus.
Exercise 4
1. reexive
2. not reexive
3. reexive
4. reexive
5. not reexive
6. reexive
7. not reexive
8. reexive
9. reexive
10. reexive
11. reexive
12. reexive
13. not reexive
- 192 -
PART 7
Exercise 1
Your answers need not follow this format. The following is an example only.
1. Los caballos son buenos.
Los gatos son mejores que los caballos.
Los perros son los mejores.
2. El autobs es bueno.
El avin es mejor que el autobs.
El automvil es el mejor.
3. El museo es bueno.
El parque es mejor que el museo.
La piscina es la mejor.
4. Las manzanas son buenas.
Las naranjas son mejores que las manzanas.
Las pias son las mejores.
Exercise 2
1. Ricardo es el menor.
2. S, Maricruz es mayor que Diego.
3. No, Carlos no es menor que Lorena.
4. Ricardo es menor que Dolores.
5. Francisco es el hijo mayor.
Exercise 3
1. Jos es el hijo ms alto de la familia.
2. Emilia es la chica ms bonita de la ciudad.
3. Nosotros somos los estudiantes ms inteligentes de la universidad.
4. T eres la persona ms amable que conozco.
5. Tenemos el auto ms rpido del barrio.
Exercise 4
1. nadie / Nadie est en el bao.
2. siempre / Siempre veo la televisin.
3. nada / Nada est en la maleta.
4. ningno / Ningn pasaporte es mo.
Exercise 5
1. Pepe tiene ms manzanas que Felipa. / Felipa tiene menos manzanas que Pepe.
2. Felipa tiene ms ores que Pepe. / Pepe tiene menos ores que Felipa.
3. Pepe tiene tantos libros como Felipa. / Felipa tiene tantos libros como Pepe.
4. Pepe tiene tantos peces como Felipa. / Felipa tiene tantas peces como Pepe.
- 193 -
Appendix 3. Complete Beginners Book Vocabulary
(Spanish to English)
VOCABULARY
Spanish English
SUSTANTIVOS NOUNS
abuela (la) grandmother
abuelo (el) grandfather
actor (el) actor
agua (el) water
aire (el) air
ajo (el) garlic
altura (la) height, altitude
artista (el, la) artist
asiento (el) seat
auto (el) car
autobs (el) bus
automvil (el) automobile
avin (el) airplane
baile (el) dance
banco (el) bank
banda (la) band
bao (el) bathroom
barco (el) boat
barrio (el) neighborhood
basura (la) garbage, trash
bebida (la) drink
boleto de avin (el) airplane ticket
bolso (el) bag
bus (el) bus
caballo (el) horse
caf (el) coffee
calcetnes (los) socks
calle (la) street
calle principal (la) principal street
calor (el) heat
cama (la) bed
camisa (la) shirt
cara (la) face
caracol (el) snail
carrera (la) race
carreras de caballo (las) horse races
carretera (la) highway
carro (el) car
carta (la) card, letter
cartera (la) handbag
casa (la) house
cepillo de dientes (el) toothbrush
- 194 -
certicado (el) certicate
cerveza (la) beer
chica (la) girl
chico (el) boy
chiste (el) joke
chocolate (el) chocolate
ciudad (la) city
clase (la) class
cliente (el, la) client
clima (el) climate, weather
colegio (el) high school
color (el) color
comida (la) food
comida espaola (la) Spanish food
compaa (la) company
competencia (la) competition
compras (las) shopping
contribucin (la) contribution
conversacin (la) conversation
cosa (la) thing
costo (el) cost
cuarto (el) room
cuchillo (el) knife
destruccin (la) destruction
da (el) day
dinero (el) money
doctor (el) doctor
doctora (la) doctor (female)
edad (la) age
equipo (el) team
escritorio (el) desk
escuela (la) school
Espaa Spain
estacin (la) season, station
estacin del tren (la) train station
familia (la) family
esta (la) party
n (el) end, ending
n de semana (el) weekend
or (la) ower
orero (el) vase
ftbol (el) soccer
futuro (el) future
gasolina (la) gas
gata (la) cat (female)
gato (el) cat (male)
geografa (la) geography
gracias (las) thanks
grupo (el) group
guantes (los) gloves
- 195 -
habitacin (la) room
habitante (el, la) inhabitant
hambre (el) hunger
hermana (la) sister
hija (la) daughter
hombre (el) man
hora (la) hour
hotel (el) hotel
huerta botnica (la) botanic garden
idea (la) idea
invitacin (la) invitation
jardn (el) garden
juego (el) game
juegos pirotcnicos (los) reworks
jugador (el) player
juguete (el) toy
lpiz (el) pencil
librera (la) bookstore
libro (el) book
luchador (el) ghter
madre (la) mother
maleta (la) bag, suitcase
maana (la) tomorrow, morning
mano (la) hand
manzana (la) apple
mar (el) sea
matador (el) bullghter
mercado (el) market
metro (el) meter
modelo (el) model
montaa (la) mountain
mosquito (el) mosquito
mujer (la) woman
mundo (el) world
museo nacional (el) national museum
msica (la) music
msica latina (la) Latin music
naranja (la) orange
nia (la) girl
nio (el) child, boy
nios (los) children
noche (la) night
novia (la) girlfriend
Nueva Zelanda New Zealand
ocina (la) ofce
opcin (la) option
oveja (la) sheep
padre (el) father
pas (el) country
pjaro (el) bird
pan (el) bread
- 196 -
pantalones (los) pants
papel (el) paper
pared (la) wall
parque (el) park
partido (el) game
pasaje (el) fare
pasaje de tren (el) train fare
pasaporte (el) passport
pelcula (la) movie, lm
pelo (el) hair
perra (la) dog (female)
perro (el) dog (male)
pesa (la) weight
pescador (el) sherman
pez (el) sh
pianista (el, la) pianist
piloto (el) pilot
piloto de aviones (el) airplane pilot
pia (la) pineapple
piscina (la) swimming pool
playa (la) beach
poltica (la) politics
primavera (la) spring
primo (el) cousin
problema (el) problem
profesor (el) professor
profesora (la) professor (female)
prueba (la) test
puerta (la) door
puerta de salida (la) exit door
rancho (el) ranch
refrigerador (el) refrigerator
regalo (el) gift
regin (la) region
revista (la) magazine
sbado (el) Saturday
semana (la) week
seor (el) gentleman, Mr.
sistema (el) system
sitio (el) site
situacin (la) situation
sociedad (la) society
sombrero (el) hat
tarde (la) afternoon
televisin (la) television
tiempo (el) time, also weather
to (el) uncle
toro (el) bull
trabajadora (la) female worker
tren (el) train
universidad (la) university
vaca (la) cow
- 197 -
vaso (el) glass
ventana (la) window
verano (el) summer
verdad (la) truth
vestido (el) dress
viaje (el) trip
vida (la) life
viento (el) wind
voz (la) voice
zapato (el) shoe
VERBOS
VERBS
abrir to open
acampar to camp
adquirir to acquire
alegrarse to be happy
arreglar to arrange
beber to drink
caminar to walk
cepillarse to brush (yourself)
cocinar to cook
comenzar to start
comer to eat
compartir to share
comprar to buy
correr to run
cortar to cut
cortarse to cut yourself
costar to cost
cruzar to cross
dar to give
descansar to rest
despertarse to wake up
dibujar to draw
dormir to dream
elegir to select, to elect
encantar to enchant (love)
enfermarse to get sick
enojarse to get angry
ensear to teach
escribir to write
esperar to wait, to hope
estar to be (health, feelings, location)
estudiar to study
explicar to explain
faltar to be lacking, to be missing, to be needed
fascinar to fascinate
hablar to talk
hacer falta to miss something, to lack something
importar to be important
- 198 -
inquirir to inquire
intentar to try
interesar to be interesting
invitar to invite
ir to go
jugar to play
juntarse to get together, to join
lavarse to wash (yourself)
leer to read
levantar to lift
llamar to call
llevar to take, to carry
llorar to cry
llover to rain
manejar to manage, to drive
medir to measure
meterse to put (yourself)
mojarse to get wet
molestar to annoy, to bother
mostrar to show
necesitar to need (to)
nevar to snow
or to hear
oler to smell
pasar to happen, to stroll, to pass
pedir to ask for, to request
peinarse to comb (yourself)
pensar to think
pescar to sh
poner to put
ponerse triste to become sad
preferir to prefer
preguntar to ask
quedar to t, to suit, to be remaining, to be left
quemarse to burn yourself
querer to want
reparar to repair
saber to know (information)
sacar to take out
sentarse to sit down, to seat oneself
sentir to feel
servir to serve
tener to have
tener calor to be hot
tener cuidado to be careful
tener hambre to be hungry
tener X aos de edad to be X years old
terminar to nish
tocar to touch, to play (an instrument)
- 199 -
trabajar to work
traer to bring
valer to be worth
ver to see
viajar to travel
volar to y
ADJECTIVOS
ADJECTIVES
aburrido boring
adolorido sore
alemn/a German
alto tall
amable nice
australiano Australian
azul blue
bajo short
bella (bellsima) beautiful (extremely beautiful)
blanco white
bonito pretty
borracho drunk
brillante bright
bueno good
caliente hot
caluroso hot
canadiense Canadian
cansado tired
caro expensive
cerrado closed
chico small
chileno/a Chilean
claro clear
contento content, happy
dbil weak
demasiado too much
desordenado disorganized
despejado clear
enfermo sick
enojado angry
espaol/a Spanish
estadounidense American (US)
feliz happy
francs/a French
fresco fresh
fro cold
fuerte strong
gordo fat
helado (heladsimo) icy cold (extremely icy cold)
hermoso beautiful, handsome
igual same
indio/a Indian
ingls English
joven young
- 200 -
lento slow
limpio clean
lleno full
lluvioso rainy
malo bad
mojado wet
mucho many, a lot, much
negro black
nervioso nervous
nublado cloudy
ocupado busy
ordenado tidy
oscuro dark
pequeo small
peruano Peruvian
podrido rotten
preocupado worried
profesional professional
rpido (rapidsimo) fast (extremely fast)
raro strange
rica (riqusima) delicious (extremely delicious)
rojo red
rubia blond
saludable healthy
seco dry
sucio dirty
suciente sufcient; enough
triste sad
vaco empty
verde green
viejo old
adelante in front
adnde? where to?
al lado beside
alguno/a some, any
algunos / algunas some
alrededor de around
anteriormente
previously
antes de before
aquel / aquellos / aquella that over there (adjective)
aqul / aqullos / aqulla that over there (noun)
aqu here
ayer yesterday
bien
well
casi
almost
cerca near
chvere
cool, great, amazing
como
how
cmo? how? what?
- 201 -
conmigo with me
contigo with you
cundo? when?
cunto/a? how much?
cuntos/as? how many?
cuarto quarter
de in, of
de dnde? from where?
debajo underneath
derecha right
detrs behind
dnde? where?
en in, on
en caso de emergencia in case of emergency
encima on top
entre between
se that one (masculine singular)
esta this (adj., singular feminine)
ste this one (masculine singular)
este (esta, estos, estas) this (adj)
hay que one must
hecho done
hoy now, today
inmediatamente immediately
izquierda left
jams never
la direct object: you (Ud), her
las direct object: you (Uds.), them (feminine)
le indirect object: you (Ud), him, her, it
lejos far
les indirect object: you (Uds), them
lo direct object: you (Ud), him, it
los direct object: you (Uds), them (masculine)
maana tomorrow
ms more, else
ms o menos more or less
mayor older
mayor (el, la) the oldest
me me
me cae bien. I like (in the context of liking someone)
me cae mal. I dont like(someone)
media half
mejor better
mejor (el, la) the best
menor younger
menor (el, la) the youngest
mi / mis my
mo mine
nada nothing
nadie no one, nobody
ni neither, nor
- 202 -
nunca never
para for
peor (el, la) the worst
peor que worse
poco little
por favor please
por ti for you
primera rst
pronto soon
propio own
que that, which
quin? who?
rpidamente rapidly
segunda second
siempre always
sobre about, over
tampoco neither / not either
ti prepositional pronoun: you (t)
todos every, everyone, all
todos los das every day
t you (familiar)
tu / tus your (t)
tuyo yours
unos / unas some
vale colloquial phrase (Spain) meaning okay
140 MOST COMMON WORDS IN SPANISH
a, al to, to the (masculine singular)
ac over here
ahora now
algn, alguno/a some, any
all over there
all there
amigo friend
antes before, earlier
ao (el) year
aqu here
ayudar to help
bajo under, below
bien well
bueno good
cada
each
como
as, like, how
cmo? how?
con with
conocer to know (a person, place, or thing)
corto short
cual (el, la) which
cul? which?
cules? which ones?
cuando when
cundo? when?
cunto? cuntos? how much? how many?
dar to give
- 203 -
de of, from
decir to say, tell
del in the, of the (masculine singular)
despus after, later
da (el) day
diferente different
donde
where
dnde? where?
dos two
l he
el, la, los, las the
ella she
ellas they (female)
ellos they (all male or mixed gender)
en in
encontrar to nd
entonces then
entre between
ese / esos / esa / esas that (adjective)
se / sos / sa / sas that (noun)
estar to be
este / estos / esta / estas this (adjective)
ste / stos / sta / stas this (noun)
feliz happy
gran great
grande big
gustar to be pleasing to (like)
haber to have (only as a helping verb)
hacer to make, to do
hola hello
ir to go
largo long
leer to read
llamar to call
mal badly, wrongly
malo bad
ms more
me myself (reexive)
menos less, fewer
m prepositional pronoun: me
mi, mis my
mo mine
mirar to look, to watch
mismo same
mucho much, a lot
muy very
ningn not any
ninguno/a neither one
no no, not
nos ourselves
nosotros/as we
nuestro, nuestros our
nuevo new
nmero (el) number
- 204 -
o or
os yourselves (vosotros)
otro (el) other
para for, in order to
parecer to seem
pequeo small
pero but
poco few
por
through, for, along, by
por qu? why?
porque because
primero rst
que
that, which, who, than
qu? what?
querer to want
quien, quienes who, whom
quin? quines? who?
saber to know (knowledge, an idea)
se himself, herself, yourselves (Ud)
se themselves, yourselves (Uds)
ser to be (permanent characteristic)
si if
s yes
siempre always
signicar to mean, to signify
sin
without
sobre
about, above, on top of
solo, solamente
only
su, sus his, her, your (Ud), their, your (Uds)
suyo his, hers, yours (Ud), theirs, yours (Uds)
tambin also, too
tan como as as
tanto como as many as, as much as
te yourself (t)
todava
still, yet
todo all
todos/todas all
tomar to take, to drink
t you (familiar singular)
tu, tus your (t)
tuyo yours (t)
ltimo last
un, uno, una a, an, one
unos, unas some, few
usar to use
usted (Ud.) you (polite singular)
ustedes (Uds.) you (polite plural)
venir to come
ver to see
vez (una)
once
viejo old
vivir to live
vosotros you (familiar plural, used in Spain)
- 205 -
vuestro, vuestros your (vosotros)
y and
yo I
- 206 -
Appendix 4. Complete Beginners Book Vocabulary
(English to Spanish)
VOCABULARY
English Spanish
NOUNS SUSTANTIVOS
actor actor (el)
afternoon tarde (la)
age edad (la)
air aire (el)
airplane avin (el)
airplane pilot piloto de aviones (el)
airplane ticket boleto de avin (el)
apple manzana (la)
artist artista (el, la)
athlete atleta (el, la)
automobile automvil (el)
bag bolso (el), maleta (la)
band banda (la)
bank banco (el)
bathroom bao (el)
beach playa (la)
bed cama (la)
beer cerveza (la)
bird pjaro (el)
boat barco (el)
book libro (el)
bookstore librera (la)
botanic garden huerta botnica (la)
boy chico (el)
bread pan (el)
brother hermano (el)
bull toro (el)
bullghter matador (el)
bus autobs (el), bus (el)
car carro (el), auto (el)
card, letter carta (la)
cat (female) gata (la)
cat (male) gato (el)
certicate certicado (el)
child nio (el)
children nios (los)
chocolate chocolate (el)
city ciudad (la)
class clase (la)
client cliente (el, la)
climate, weather clima (el)
coffee caf (el)
color color (el)
company compaa (la)
competition competencia (la)
computer computadora (la)
- 207 -
concert concierto (el)
contribution contribucin (la)
conversation conversacin (la)
cost costo (el)
country pas (el)
cousin primo (el)
cow vaca (la)
dance baile (el)
daughter hija (la)
day da (el)
desk escritorio (el)
destruction destruccin (la)
doctor (female) doctora (la)
doctor (male) doctor (el)
dog (female) perra (la)
dog (male) perro (el)
door puerta (la)
dress vestido (el)
drink bebida (la)
end, ending n (el)
exit door puerta de salida (la)
face cara (la)
family familia (la)
fare pasaje (el)
father padre (el)
ghter luchador (el)
reworks juegos pirotcnicos (los)
sh pez (el)
sherman pescador (el)
ower or (la)
food comida (la)
future futuro (el)
game partido (el), juego (el)
garbage basura (la)
garden jardn (el)
garlic ajo (el)
gas gasolina (la)
gentleman, Mr. seor (el)
geography geografa (la)
gift regalo (el)
girl nia (la), chica (la)
girlfriend novia (la)
glass vaso (el)
gloves guantes (los)
grandfather abuelo (el)
grandmother abuela (la)
group grupo (el)
guitar guitarra (la)
hair pelo (el)
hand mano (la)
handbag cartera (la)
hat sombrero (el)
heat calor (el)
height altura (la)
- 208 -
high school colegio (el)
highway carretera (la)
horse caballo (el)
horse races carreras de caballo (las)
hotel hotel (el)
hour hora (la)
house casa (la)
hunger hambre (el)
idea idea (la)
inhabitant habitante (el, la)
invitation invitacin (la)
joke chiste (el)
knife cuchillo (el)
lady, Mrs. seora (la)
Latin music msica latina (la)
library biblioteca (la)
life vida (la)
magazine revista (la)
man hombre (el)
market mercado (el)
meter metro (el)
model modelo (el)
money dinero (el)
morning maana (la)
mosquito mosquito (el)
mother madre (la)
mountain montaa (la)
movie pelcula (la)
music msica (la)
national museum museo nacional (el)
neighborhood barrio (el)
New Zealand Nueva Zelanda
night noche (la)
ofce ocina (la)
option opcin (la)
orange (fruit) naranja (la)
pants pantalones (los)
paper papel (el)
parents padres (los)
park parque (el)
party esta (la)
passport pasaporte (el)
pencil lpiz (el)
pianist pianista (el, la)
pilot piloto (el)
pineapple pia (la)
player jugador (el)
politics poltica (la)
principal street calle principal (la)
problem problema (el)
professor (female) profesora (la)
professor (male) profesor (el)
race carrera (la)
ranch rancho (el)
- 209 -
refrigerator refrigerador (el)
region regin (la)
room habitacin (la), cuarto (el)
Saturday sbado (el)
school escuela (la)
sea mar (el)
season estacin (la)
seat asiento (el)
sheep oveja (la)
shirt camisa (la)
shoe zapato (el)
shop, store tienda (la)
shopping compras (las)
singer cantante (el, la)
sister hermana (la)
site sitio (el)
situation situacin (la)
snail caracol (el)
soccer ftbol (el)
society sociedad (la)
socks calcetines (los)
Spain Espaa
Spanish food comida espaola (la)
spring (season) primavera (la)
station estacin (la)
street calle (la)
student estudiante (el, la)
suitcase maleta (la)
summer verano (el)
swimming pool piscina (la)
system sistema (el)
team equipo (el)
television televisin (la)
test prueba (la)
thanks gracias (las)
theater cine (el)
thing cosa (la)
time tiempo (el)
tomorrow maana (la)
toothbrush cepillo de dientes (el)
toy juguete (el)
train tren (el)
train fare pasaje de tren (el)
train station estacin del tren (la)
trip viaje (el)
truth verdad (la)
uncle to (el)
university universidad (la)
vase orero (el)
voice voz (la)
wall pared (la)
water agua (el)
weather tiempo (el), clima (el)
week semana (la)
- 210 -
weekend n de semana (el)
weight pesa (la)
wind viento (el)
window ventana (la)
woman mujer (la)
worker (female) trabajadora (la)
world mundo (el)
VERBS VERBOS
can (to be able to) poder
may (to be able to) poder
to acquire adquirir
to annoy molestar
to arrange arreglar
to ask preguntar
to ask for pedir
to be (health, feelings, location) estar
to be (permanent condition) ser
to be able to poder
to be careful tener cuidado
to be happy alegrarse
to be hot tener calor
to be hungry tener hambre
to be important importar
to be interesting interesar
to be lacking faltar
to be left quedar
to be missing faltar
to be needed faltar
to be pleasing to (to like) gustar
to be remaining quedar
to be worth valer
to be X years old tener X aos de edad
to become sad ponerse triste
to bother molestar
to bring traer
to brush (yourself) cepillarse
to burn (yourself) quemarse
to buy comprar
to call llamar
to camp acampar
to carry llevar
to comb (yourself) peinarse
to cook cocinar
to cost costar
to cross cruzar
to cry llorar
to cut cortar
to cut yourself cortarse
to describe describir
to draw dibujar
to dream dormir
to drink beber
to drink tomar
- 211 -
to drive manejar
to eat comer
to elect elegir
to enchant (to love a thing) encantar
to entertain entretener
to explain explicar
to fascinate fascinar
to feel sentir
to feel like tener ganas de
to nish terminar
to sh pescar
to t quedar
to y volar
to get angry enojarse
to get into meterse
to get sick enfermarse
to get together juntarse
to get up levantarse
to get wet mojarse
to give dar
to go ir
to go out salir
to happen pasar
to have tener
to hear or
to hope esperar
to inquire inquirir
to invite invitar
to join juntarse
to know (information) saber
to lack something hacer falta
to leave salir
to lift levantar
to like (to be pleasing to) gustar
to love (a thing) encantar
to manage manejar
to measure medir
to miss something hacer falta
to need (to) necesitar
to open abrir
to pass pasar
to play jugar
to play (an instrument) tocar
to prefer preferir
to put poner
to rain llover
to read leer
to repair reparar
to request pedir
to rest descansar
to run correr
to say decir
to seat oneself sentarse
to see ver
- 212 -
to select elegir
to serve servir
to share compartir
to show mostrar
to sit down sentarse
to smell oler
to snow nevar
to start comenzar
to stroll pasar
to study estudiar
to suit quedar
to take tomar
to take llevar
to take out sacar
to talk hablar
to teach ensear
to tell decir
to think pensar
to touch tocar
to travel viajar
to try intentar
to wait esperar
to wake up despertarse
to walk caminar
to want querer
to wash (yourself) lavarse
to work trabajar
to write escribir
ADJECTIVES ADJECTIVOS
American (US) estadounidense
angry enojado
Australian australiano
bad malo
beautiful (extremely beautiful) bella (bellsima)
black negro
blond rubia
blue azul
boring aburrido
bright brillante
busy ocupado
Canadian canadiense
Chilean chileno/a
clean limpio
clear claro
clear (without clouds) despejado
closed cerrado
cloudy nublado
cold fro
content contento
dark oscuro
delicious (extremely delicious) rica (riqusima)
dirty sucio
disorganized desordenado
- 213 -
drunk borracho
dry seco
empty vaco
English ingls
expensive caro
fast (extremely fast) rpido (rapidsimo)
fat gordo
French francs/a
fresh fresco
full lleno
German alemn/a
good bueno
green verde
handsome hermoso
happy feliz, contento
healthy saludable
hot caliente, caluroso
icy cold (extremely icy cold) helado (heladsimo)
Indian indio/a
intelligent inteligente
many, a lot, much mucho
nervous nervioso
nice amable
old viejo
Peruvian peruano
pretty bonito
professional profesional
rainy lluvioso
red rojo
rotten podrido
sad triste
same igual
short bajo
sick enfermo
slow lento
small chico, pequeo
sore adolorido
Spanish espaol/a
strange raro
strong fuerte
sufcient, enough suciente
tall alto
tidy ordenado
tired cansado
too much demasiado
weak dbil
wet mojado
white blanco
worried preocupado
young joven
OTHER PARTS OF SPEECH EXPRESIONES COMUNES
about sobre
almost casi
- 214 -
always siempre
any, some alguno/a
around alrededor de
before antes de
behind detrs
beside al lado
best (the) mejor (el, la)
better mejor
between entre
colloquial phrase (Spain) meaning okay vale
cool, great, amazing chvere
direct object: you (Ud), her la
direct object: you (Ud), him, it lo
direct object: you (Uds), them (masculine) los
direct object: you (Uds.), them (feminine) las
done hecho
every day todos los das
every, everyone, all todos
far lejos
rst primera
for para, por
for you por ti
from where? de dnde?
half media
here aqu
how como
how many? cuntos/as?
how much? cunto/a?
how? what? cmo?
I dont like(someone) me cae mal.
I like (someone) me cae bien.
immediately inmediatamente
in en
in case of emergency en caso de emergencia
in front adelante
in front of delante de
indirect object: you (Ud), him, her, it le
indirect object: you (Uds), them les
left izquierda
little poco
me me
mine mo
more or less ms o menos
more, else ms
my mi / mis
near cerca
neither, nor ni
neither, not either tampoco
never nunca, jams
no one, nobody nadie
nothing nada
of de
older mayor
oldest (the) mayor (el, la)
- 215 -
on en
on top encima
once, sometime alguna vez
one must hay que
over sobre
own (as in my own) propio
please por favor
prepositional pronoun: you (t) ti
previously anteriormente
quarter cuarto
rapidly rpidamente
right derecha
second segunda
some algunos / algunas, unos / unas
someone, somebody alguien
something, anything algo
soon pronto
that one (masculine singular) se
that over there (adjective) aquel / aquellos / aquella
that over there (noun) aqul / aqullos / aqulla
that, which que
there is, there are hay
this (adj) este (esta, estos, estas)
this one (masculine singular) ste
today hoy
tomorrow maana
underneath debajo
well bien
when? cundo?
where to? adnde?
where? dnde?
whichever, whatever cualquier/a
who? quin?
with me conmigo
with you contigo
worse peor que
worst (the) peor (el, la)
yesterday ayer
you (familiar) t
younger menor
youngest (the) menor (el, la)
your (t) tu / tus
yours tuyo
140 MOST COMMON WORDS IN SPANISH
a, an, one un, uno, una
about, above, on top of sobre
after, later despus
all todo, todos/todas
also tambin
always siempre
and y
as as tan como
as many as, as much as tanto como
- 216 -
as, like, how como
bad malo
badly, wrongly mal
because porque
before, earlier antes
below bajo
between entre
big grande
but pero
day da (el)
different diferente
each cada
few poco
rst primero
for, in order to para
friend amigo
good bueno
great gran
happy feliz
he l
hello hola
here aqu
himself, herself, yourselves (Ud) se
his, her, your (Ud), their, your (Uds) su, sus
his, hers, yours (Ud), theirs, yours (Uds) suyo
how much? how many? cunto? cuntos?
how? cmo?
I yo
if si
in en
last ltimo
less, fewer menos
long largo
mine mo
more ms
much, a lot mucho
my mi, mis
myself (reexive) me
neither one ninguno/a
new nuevo
no, not no
not any ningn
now ahora
number nmero (el)
of the, in the (masculine singular) del
of, from de
old viejo
once una vez
only solo, solamente
or o
other otro (el)
our nuestro, nuestros
ourselves nos
over here ac
- 217 -
over there all
prepositional pronoun: me m
same mismo, igual
she ella
short (height) bajo
short (length) corto
small pequeo
some, any algn, alguno/a
some, few unos, unas
still, yet todava
that (adjective) ese / esos / esa / esas
that (noun) se / sos / sa / sas
that, which, who, than que
the el, la, los, las
themselves, yourselves (Uds) se
then entonces
there all
they (all male or mixed gender) ellos
they (female) ellas
this (adjective) este / estos / esta / estas
this (noun) ste / stos / sta / stas
through, for, along, by por
to be (health, location, feelings) estar
to be (permanent characteristic) ser
to be able to, can, may poder
to be pleasing to (like) gustar
to call llamar
to come venir
to do hacer
to drink tomar
to nd encontrar
to give dar
to go ir
to have (only as a helping verb) haber
to help ayudar
to know (a person, place, or thing) conocer
to know (knowledge, an idea) saber
to live vivir
to look mirar
to make hacer
to mean (to signify) signicar
to read leer
to say decir
to see ver
to seem parecer
to take tomar
to use usar
to want querer
to watch mirar
to, to the (masculine singular) a, al
too tambin
two dos
under bajo
very muy
- 218 -
we nosotros/as
well bien
what? qu?
when cuando
when? cundo?
where donde
where? dnde?
which cual (el, la)
which ones? cules?
which? cul?
who, whom quien, quienes
who? quin? quines?
why? por qu?
with con
without sin
year ao (el)
yes s
you (familiar plural, used in Spain) vosotros
you (familiar singular) t
you (polite plural) ustedes (Uds.)
you (polite singular) usted (Ud.)
your (t) tu, tus
your (vosotros) vuestro, vuestros
yours (t) tuyo
yourself (t) te
yourselves (vosotros) os

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