Spanish: Start Here
My tours around the world have from time to time landed me in Spanish-speaking lands. The natives there are quite interesting and speak a very beautiful language called español.
Quiero hablar mucho con ellos, pero no es fácil ;-)
Some years back I wrote a book about learning Spanish (or at least about a method I thought would work for someone trying to learn Spanish). I wanted to publish it as a book but never took the idea to its conclusion. The scripts linked below are the highlights of that work. Many explanatory texts and diagrams are missing and some planned scripts were never written, but it may still be of use, so I publish whatever. All I ask is an acknowledgment if you find it useful. Please read my Caveat Emptor for details.
El malvado cree en la verdad, de verdad. The villain believes in the truth, truly.
1. Alphabet and pronunciation
Spanish is spelled almost exactly as it sounds. Five vowels, always the same: a (father), e (bed), i (machine), o (more), u (food).
| Letter | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ñ | ny in “canyon” | año year |
| ll, y | y in “yes” (in much of Latin America) | llamar to call, yo I |
| j, g before e/i | a throaty h | jamón ham, gente people |
| h | always silent | hola hello |
| c before e/i, z | th in Spain, s in Latin America | cinco, zapato |
| r / rr | single tap / rolled | pero but, perro dog |
| v, b | the same soft b | vino, bien |
| qu | k | queso cheese |
Stress: words ending in a vowel, n or s stress the second-to-last syllable (ha-BLA-mos); others stress the last (ha-BLAR). A written accent marks an exception (inglés, teléfono) or distinguishes words: tú (you) / tu (your), él (he) / el (the), sí (yes) / si (if), qué (what?) / que (that). Questions and exclamations open with ¿ and ¡.
2. Core grammar
Gender and articles
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| the (sing. / pl.) | el / los | la / las |
| a, some | un / unos | una / unas |
Most nouns in -o are masculine (el libro), most in -a feminine (la mesa), with famous exceptions: el día, el mapa, el problema, la mano. Adjectives agree: un coche bonito, una casa bonita. de + el → del, a + el → al.
Two verbs “to be”: ser and estar
| ser (what something is) | estar (where / how it is) | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | soy | estoy |
| tú | eres | estás |
| él / ella / usted | es | está |
| nosotros | somos | estamos |
| vosotros | sois | estáis |
| ellos / ustedes | son | están |
- Soy ingeniero. Soy de Dubái. I’m an engineer. I’m from Dubai.
- Estoy cansado. Estoy en casa. I’m tired. I’m at home.
Regular present tense
| hablar (speak) | comer (eat) | vivir (live) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | como | vivo |
| tú | hablas | comes | vives |
| él / ella | habla | come | vive |
| nosotros | hablamos | comemos | vivimos |
| vosotros | habláis | coméis | vivís |
| ellos | hablan | comen | viven |
Subject pronouns are usually dropped: Hablo un poco de español. I speak a little Spanish. Tener (to have) is irregular: tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen, and gives age and needs: Tengo cuarenta años. Tengo hambre.
Negation and questions
No goes before the verb: No hablo alemán. Questions: ¿Hablas inglés? Question words always carry an accent: ¿qué? what, ¿quién? who, ¿dónde? where, ¿cuándo? when, ¿cómo? how, ¿cuánto? how much, ¿por qué? why (answer: porque, because).
3. Essential phrases
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal? | Hi! How’s it going? |
| Buenos días / buenas tardes / buenas noches | Good morning / afternoon / evening |
| ¿Cómo te llamas? – Me llamo VikiD. | What’s your name? – My name is VikiD. |
| Mucho gusto. | Pleased to meet you. |
| ¿Cómo estás? – Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú? | How are you? – Fine, thanks. And you? |
| Por favor. / Gracias. / De nada. | Please. / Thank you. / You’re welcome. |
| Perdón. / Lo siento. | Excuse me. / I’m sorry. |
| No entiendo. ¿Puedes hablar más despacio? | I don’t understand. Can you speak more slowly? |
| ¿Cómo se dice … en español? | How do you say … in Spanish? |
| ¿Dónde está el baño? | Where is the bathroom? |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta? | How much is it? |
| ¡Hasta luego! / ¡Adiós! | See you later! / Goodbye! |
4. Vocabulary
- Spanish: Vocabulary: the words from my reading cards, plus my study-skills word list.
- Spanish: Numbers
The learning path: the viKid scripts
The scripts are meant to be read aloud with the recording, Spanish and English side by side. Start with the warning and the basic sentences, then work through the scripts in order.
- Spanish: Start Here (you are here)
- Spanish: Advertencia (A Warning)
- Spanish: Numerales (Numbers)
- Spanish: Frases (Basic Sentences)
- Spanish: Synergy Spanish Notes
- Spanish: Preguntas y Respuestas (Questions and Answers)
- Spanish: Esencias (Knowing Yourself and Other Things)
- Spanish: Manipulación de Objetos (Handling Objects)
- Spanish: Teniendo (Having and Possession)
- Spanish: Apéndice Maestro (Master Script)
- Spanish: Vocabulary
- Spanish: Frases en Español (Phrases)
- Spanish: La Familia de María
- Spanish: No Cash Flow
- Spanish: Artículos en Español
- Spanish: En Brasil 2009
- Spanish: El Festival Wesak 2019
- Spanish: Afirmaciones Científicas para la Curación
- Spanish: Songs
- Spanish: La Negra Tiene Tumbao
- Spanish: Videos
Scripts I planned but never wrote: Introductions, Counting, Transport, Selectors, Actions, Instructions, Time and Your World.