1. Introduction to Spanish

Introducción a Español

Spanish Alphabet

Spanish Pronunciation and Syllable Division

Spanish is a very phonetic language. The pronunciation of each vowel and consonant remains constant in any combination of letters. Thus, with the help of a few basic rules of pronunciation one can sound out correctly any Spanish word.

Vowel Sounds

a –as in father - Ana, casa, sala

e–as in let - el, papel, pared

i–as in machine - sí, mío, bonita; becomes y as in yet when occurs with an a, u

o–as in fore - donde, los, yo

u–like the double oo sound in school or moon – una, mucho, azul

Consonants

Most Spanish consonant sounds are similar to English.

band v are pronounced like English b when they occur after a pause, m or an n – Belita, verdad, invitación. When each occurs between two vowel sounds, both band v are pronounced with the lips not quite touching, so that breath is allowed to pass through – Habana, iba, la vida, yo voy, yo bebo, de vida, la vía.

c–(before e or i) - like s in the word see - centavo, cinco

c–(in any other combination) - like k - camino, como, cura, clase

d–(between two vowel sounds) - like th in though - nada, madre, ustedes, verdad, adonde

d–(at the beginning of word and after n or l) - like d in den-donde, falda

g–(before e or i) - like ch in Scottish loch or German ach - general, gitana

g – (after a pause - in any other combination) - like g in go - gato, gorra, gusto

(u is silent in gue), guerra

(u is silent in gui), guitarra

(between two vowel sounds) - like French r - agua, agosto

h–is always silent - hora, hablo, hacer

j–like h in hat - baja, junto, hijo, José

ll–like y in yes - silla, llamo, pollo

ñ–like ny in canyon - mañana, año, niño

q–(always followed by u which is silent) - pronounced like k - qué, quién, quiero

r –trilled slightly - like the English t in pot o’tea, gotta go, letter, caterpillar - para, tres, pero

rr –trilled strongly - perro, carreta, carro

s–like the English s in say - salón, mesa, llamas

s–like z before a voiced consonant - buenos días, mismo, desde

x –like English gs as in exist - examen; or like the English x in exercise - éxito. However, in the word México the x is pronounced like the ch sound in the Scottish word loch or the German word ach.

x –(before consonant) - like the English s in list - Taxco, explicar

y –like the consonant y in yes when it ends in a syllable - yo, ya

y –like the vowel i when it ends in a syllable - soy, ley, y

z –like the English s in seek or goose - diez, lápiz, zapato

Linking (Sinalefa)

1. A final consonant is linked with the initial vowel of the following words:Los Estados Unidos (LosEstadosUnidos)
2. Two identical vowels occurring in succession are pronounced as one: de Eduardo (deduardo)
3. Two identical consonants occurring in succession are pronounced as one:el lápiz (elapiz)
4. A final vowel is linked with the initial vowel of the following word to form one syllable:la oficina (loficina)

Syllable Division

1. In Spanish there are as many syllables in a word as there are vowel sounds: fi-lo-so-fí-a, Es-ta-dos U-ni-dos
2. A single consonant between two vowels is pronounced with the following vowel: ma-lo, ma-ña-na, a-mo, ú-til
3. In some cases, two consonants coming together may be separated:

ac-to, don-de, tin-ta, cin-co, car-ne

However, ll, rr, and ch are considered single consonants and are never separated: sil-lla, pe-rro, mu-cha-cho

When the second of two consonants is l or r, the two are not separated: ha-blo, a-bre, le-tra, li-bro

Diphthongs

When any of the vowels a, e or o (known as strong vowels) combines with i, final y, or u (weak vowels), they form one syllable and are sounded as one syllable: bue-no, jai-me, oi-go, puer-ta, hay, seis, cuatro, aire.

Stressing of Syllables

1. All words ending in a consonant other than n or s carry the spoken stress on the last syllable of the word: papel, azul, capaz, pared, mujer
2. All words ending in a vowel, n, or s, stress the next-to-last syllable:niño, muchacho, grande, papeles, Estados Unidos
3. When the spoken stress occurs on syllables other than those mentioned above, an accent mark is placed over the stressed vowel:
   lápiz, difícil, inglés, habló, vendré, reí, nación

The Numbers 1 to 21

1. uno (oo-noh) Spanish u like oo in booth.Symbol, oo.
   Spanish o is like o in bone. Symbol oh.
2. dos (dohs) Spanish s is like s in see.
3. tres (trays) Spanish e is like ay in day. Symbol ay.
   Remember: s is like s in see.
4. cuatro (kwah-troh) In the combination ua, the uis pronounced like w.
   ua = wah. There is no letter w in Spanish.
   Spanish r is like r in three. It has a slight trill.
5. cinco (seen-koh) Spanish i is like ee in seen. Symbol ee.
   c is pronounced as in English; like s, before e or i (ceiling, cinder);
   like k, before any other letter.There is no letter k in Spanish.
6. seis (sayees) The combination ei is pronounced ayee. Pronounce the first part (ay) stronger than the second part (ee).
7. siete (syay-tay) In the combination ie, the i is pronounced like y in yes. Thus ie = yay.
8. ocho (oh-choh) ch is like the English ch in choke. In Spanish, ch is considered a single letter and follows c in the alphabet and dictionary.
9. nueve (nway-vay) The combination ue is pronounced way.
10. diez (dyays) Spanish z equals s as in see. It is not like English z.
11. once (ohn-say)
12. doce (doh-say)
13. trece (tray-say)
14. catorce (kah-tor-say) The letter o is something pronounced as in the English word for. In such cases o is used as a symbol instead of oh.
15. quince (keen-say) qu always equals k.qu is found only before e and i.
16. diez y seis (dyays ee sayees)
17. diez y siete (dyays ee syay-tay)
18. diez y ocho (dyays ee oh-choh)
19. diez y nueve (dyays ee nway-vay)
20. veinte (vayeen-tay)
21. veinteiuno (vayeen-tay ee oo-noh)

Note: The letter y as a vowel is pronounced ee. As a consonant it is like yin you. The word y means and.

The Numbers 20 to 100

Note: cien is used instead of ciento before a noun.

Ordinal Numbers

Days of the Week

Months of the Year

Seasons of the Year

The Family (La Familia)

Adjectives

Grammar Notes

1. The Definite Article. Note the four forms of the definite article.



Masculine

Feminine

Singular:	el padre	the father	la madre	the mother
Plural:	los padres	the fathers	las madres	the mothers


The definite article has four forms. These agree with their nouns in number and gender.
2. The Gender of Nouns

a. Nouns are either masculine or feminine in gender. This is true for thing-nouns as well as person-nouns. Thus:

el señor	el hijo	el cuarto	el piso	el comedor
la señora	la hija	la sala	la calle	la casa

b. Nouns ending in -o are usually masculine. Nouns ending in -a are usually feminine.

c. The definite article must be repeated before each noun to which it refers.Thus: el padre y la madre the father and mother.

d. Many nouns for persons have a masculine form in -o and a feminine form in-a. Thus: el hermano the brother, la hermana the sister; el muchachothe boy,la muchacha the girl; el tío the uncle, la tía the aunt; el esposo the husband, laesposa the wife.

3. The Plural of Nouns. Note the singular and plural of the following nouns.

   el padre	el hermano	la casa
   los padres	los hermanos	las casas
   la mujer	el señor	la ciudad
   las mujeres	los señores	las ciudades

To form the plural of nouns add -s if the nouns end in a vowel. Add -es if the nouns end in a consonant.

Note: 1. los padres means either the fathers, or the parents; los hermanos the brothers, or the brother(s) and sister(s);los hijos the sons, son(s) and daughter(s), or children. In such words the plural masculine may include both genders.

4. The Indefinite Article. Note the four forms of the indefinite article.

un cuarto	a room	una casa	a house
unos cuartos	some rooms	unas casas	some houses

un, a or one, is used before a masculine noun; una, a or one, before a feminine noun; unos, some, before a masculine plural; unas, some, before a feminine plural.

5. Some Common Verbs

es	(he, she, it)	is vive	(he, she, it) lives
está	(he, she, it) is (located)	tiene	(he, she, it) has
están	(they) are (located)	se llaman they are	named, or
hay	there is, there are	their names are	(lit. they call them-selves)

Note: The subject pronouns corresponding to he, she, it and they, are usually omitted in Spanish, since the ending of the verb indicates the subject pronoun quite clearly.

6. All question words in Spanish have an accent mark.

quién (sing.)	who	cuándo	when	cuánto	how much
quiénes(plur.)	who	qué	what	cuántos	how many
dónde	where	cómo	how	por qué	why

Important Expressions (Expresiones Importantes)

1. buenos dias Good morning (day)
2. buenas tardes Good afternoon
3. buenas noches Good evening (night)
4. adiós goodbye
5. hasta la vista until we meet again
6. hasta luego so long
7. hasta mañana until tomorrow
8. de memoria by heart, by memory
9. por eso therefore
10. tal vez perhaps
11. basta enough
12. por hoy for today
13. ¿Cómo está Ud.? How are you?
14. con mucho gusto with pleasure
15. muy bien very well
16. gracias thank you
17. en casa at home
18. es necesario it is necessary
19. por favor please
20. ¿Qué es esto? What is this?
21. todo el día all day

Greetings

Expression of Time

Hygiene Supplies

Antonyms

Body Parts – Partes Del Cuerpo