Learn Basic Spanish Terms

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I cannot teach you the entirety of the Spanish language on this page. I am only learning Spanish myself and the language is not that simple. It takes time to get started in the process, and to allow the language to become a part of your subconscious. However, it is easier to work up the motivation to give learning to Spanish if you have already had a taste of it. Underneath are a few phrases that will come in handy when you are interacting with native Spanish speakers and will help to launch you on your path to success.

Spanish Greetings

Hola-Hello

Adios-Goodbye

Hasta Luego-See you later

Bienvenidos-Welcome

Buenos Diaz-Good morning/Good day

Buenos Tardes-Good Afternoon

Buenos Noches-Good night

Bueno Suerte-Good luck

Mucho Gusto-Nice to meet you

Quantos anos tiene?-How old are you/how old is he/she? (this is especially important when admiring other people’s children!)

Yo tengo…anos-I am…years old

Manners

Gracias-Thank you

De Nada-You’re welcome

At the Table…

Tengo Hambre-I’m hungry

Tengo Sed-I’m thirsty

Who/What/When/Where/Why/How in Spanish

Cuando-When

Cuánto-How much

Quién-Who

Qué-What

Dónde-Where

Dónde Está…-Where is…?

Porqué -Why/Because

Basic Spanish Words

A major dissimilarity between Spanish and English is the way that verbs are conjugated. English speakers conjugate their verbs, though they are often ignorant of it at the time. For instance, although we say, “I run”, English grammar would dictate that we say, “She runs” and “They run”. If you were to say that “She run” and “They runs” you would instantly find the wrath of many who choose to take issue to this butchering of the grammatical structure of their language coming down upon your head.

This same rule applies when you are talking about talking in Spanish; however, due to the fact that the Spanish language often allows for the informality of the subject to be dropped when you are discussing a particular topic it is enormously vital that you use the proper form of the verb. If you say, “We runs” in English, your listeners would be able to hear the subject we and recognize that you were simply using the improper form of the verb to run. Had you only said, “Runs” (for example, “runs in the grass”) people would have understood that you were talking about a he, a she or an it. They would have had no idea that you were in fact referring to yourself and another party, and the point that your sentence was trying to make would be lost.

It is also so with Spanish. Within the Spanish language are six primary subjects which state the form of the verb to be used.

Subjects in Spanish

Yo-I

Tu-You (familiar, informal-for use with a friend or a child)

El/Ella/Usted-He/She/You (formal)

Nosotros-We

Vosotros-You, plural (formal, used primarily in Spain)

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes-They. Ellos refers to a multiple number of males or a group of mixed company, Ellas to a multiple number of females. Ustedes is the plural form of You used by the people of Latin America or as an informal address when speaking in Castilian Spanish.

As you may have noticed from the subjects above not all Spanish is the identical. The people in Spain speak what is known as Castilian Spanish, the more formal form of the language. The people in Latin America have their own distinctive language, and within this language are numerous dialects. It is vitally important that you be conscious of this because as you are learning to speak Spanish you will often find words labeled as specific to Latin America, to Spain or pertaining exclusively to a country. This can become very bewildering if you do not know what it is that you are looking at.

Spanish Verbs

Now that you are familiar with the subjects used in the Spanish language you can begin to understand the conjugation of Spanish verbs. There are many, so for illustration’s sake we will use the most basic from the three main groups of regular verbs. Regular verbs refer to verbs which are conjugated the same way regardless of which verb they are, and they are divided into -er, -ir and –ar verbs.

Since the paragraph you just read probably made absolutely no sense to you, let use take a specific example. The verb hablar means “to speak”, and it is conjugated thusly:

Yo hablo

Tu hablas

El/Ella/Ud. habla

Nosotros hablamos

Vosotros hablais (there is an accent over the second (a) in hablais when viewed properly)

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. hablan

As you can see, the verb used changes according to the subject. Therefore, if you were trying to say “I speak Spanish” or “I can speak Spanish” (the two are said in the same fashion) you would say, “Yo hablo espanol”. However, since it is customary when speaking Spanish to drop the subject you would say, “Hablo espanol”. Your listeners will know that you are talking about yourself because you would use the verb form hablo.

How to learn Spanish Terms Fast

If, on the other hand, you were to use the incorrect form of the verb by mistake and said, “Hablas espanol” your listener would believe that you were talking about them. You will have said “You speak Spanish” rather than “I speak Spanish”.

As you can see, using the correct form of the verb is much more important when speaking Spanish than when speaking English. Fortunately, when dealing with regular verbs all verbs of the same form will be conjugated in the same manner. Therefore, any other –ar verb will be conjugated in the same fashion as hablar. The same is true using verbs that end in –er and verbs that end in –ir. Underneath are the conjugations for the verbs comer, meaning “to eat”, and vivir, meaning “to live”. You will find yourself using these verbs often in conversation.

Comer

Yo como

Tu comes

El/Ella/Ud. come

Nosotros comemos

Vosotros comeis

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. comen

Ellos comen las bananas en la manana (they eat bananas in the morning).

Vivir

Yo vivo

Tu vives

El/Ella/Ud. vive

Nosotros vivimos

Vosotros vivis

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. viven

Yo vivo con mi hermana (I live with my sister).

As you can see, the conjugations of the –ir and –er verbs are very similar. There are a number of resources on the internet that will give you a listing of other commonly used –ar, -ir and –er verbs. Take the time to look these over and memorize them to the best of your ability, taking advantage of audio resources to help you with their pronunciation. Unfortunately, until you are using your Spanish on a daily basis in conversation these conjugations are not going to come easily for you. Practice makes perfect.

Unfortunately, not all verbs are regular. There are some that have their very own conjugation that is in no way, shape or form related to their regular counterparts, and these can be extremely confusing if you do not take the time to memorize them. There is no other way to learn these than through rote memorization, although many of these you will use so often that their conjugation will become second nature to you. Underneath are a few of the most commonly used irregular verbs and their proper conjugation.

Querer (to want)

Yo quiero

Tu quieres

El/Ella/Ud. quiere

Nosotros queremos

Vosotros queries

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. quieren

Tener (to have)

Yo tengo

Tu tienes

El/Ella/Ud. tiene

Nosotros tenemos

Vosotros teneis

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. tienen

Estar (to be, temporarily, as in to be in a place)

Yo estoy

Tu estas

El/Ella/Ud. esta

Nosotros estamos

Vosotros estais

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. estan

Ser (to be, permanently)

Yo soy

Tu eres

El/Ella/Ud. es

Nostros somos

Vosotros sois

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. son

Poder (to be able)

Yo puedo

Tu puedes

El/Ella/Ud. puede

Nostros podemos

Vosotros podeis

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. Pueden

Spanish Programs

Rocket Spanish
Rocket Spanish is the program I bought. I love it! It is extremely comprehensive and I highly recommend it.

How to learn Spanish Terms Fast

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