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BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE SPANISH LANGUAGE

Spanish is the fourth most-spoken language in the world. Originating in Spain, and spoken by most residents there, it is also spoken in Mexico and all of Central and South America except Brazil, Guyana and Surinam. Spanish is also spoken in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean islands. Spanish is a first language for many people in the United States, especially in California, Texas, South Florida, and the Southwest. A romance language, Spanish is closely related to particularly Portuguese, to Italian, and to some extent to French. English and Spanish share approximately one third of the same words, although the pronunciation tends to be very different. A BIT ABOUT GRAMMAR BEFORE YOU BEGIN Spanish nouns have genders . Most words applied to persons have natural gender: masculine like hombre ("male person") or feminine, like mujer ("female person"). The gender of some animals, things, and some words applied to persons doe...

PRONUNCIATION

Spanish spelling has the pleasant characteristic of being more or less phonetic. This means that if you know how to pronounce the letters of a word, it's relatively easy to sound out the word itself. Besides having a very small number of vowel sounds and a high predictablity of exactly what sound is represented by each letter, Spanish has a very clear set of rules about where a stress normally falls, and exceptions are noted with an "acute accent mark" ("´") over the vowel of the stressed syllable. Normally, words that end in a vowel or in "n" or "s" have the stress on the next-to-last syllable; all other words without an explicit accent mark are stressed on the final syllable. There are no "secondary stresses" within words. VOWELS a like 'a' in "art": casa e like the first component of the diphthong 'ay' in "day" ( este ). Since Spanish also has a diphthong 'ay', ...

ACCENTS AND STRESS WHEN SPEAKING

Word stress can affect the meaning of the word and generally follows these rules: If a word is marked with an accent, then that syllable receives the stress. Additionally, if the accent marks a dipthong a syllable break occurs between the two vowels of the dipthong. If a word is NOT marked with an accent, then if the word ends in a consonant other than N or S , the stress occurs on the last syllable. if the word ends in a vowel, N or S , the stress occurs on the next to last syllable. Examples: círculo ( SEER-koo-loh ) → circle circulo ( seer-KOO-loh ) → I circulate circuló ( seer-koo-LOH ) → (s)he/it circulated estás ( ehss-TAHSS ) → you are estas ( EHSS-tahss ) → these origen ( oh-REE-hehn ) → origin orígenes ( oh-REE-hehn-ehss ) → origins ciudad ( syew-DAHD ) → city ciudades ( syew-DAH-dehss ) → cities An accent can also be used to differentiate between words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings: si → if   tu → yo...

COMMON EVERYDAY PHRASES

Hello (informal).  Hola. ( OH-lah ). For the formal equivalent of hola see good morning, good afternoon, good evening, below. How are you?  ¿Cómo estás? ( KOH-moh ehss-TAHSS? ) (informal); ¿Cómo está usted? ( KOH-mo ehss-TAH oo-stehd? ) (formal) Fine, thank you.  Muy bien, gracias. ( mooey BYEHN, GRAH-syahss ) What is your name?  ¿Cómo te llamas? ( KOH-moh tay YAH-mahss? ) (informal); ¿Cómo se llama usted? ( KOH-mo say YAH-mah ooss-TAID? ) (formal) My name is ______ .  Me llamo ______ . ( may YAH-moh _____ . ) Nice to meet you.  Encantado/a. ( EHN-kahn-TAH-doh ) Please.  Por favor. ( POHR fah-BOHR ) Thank you.  Gracias. ( GRAH-SYAHSS ) You're welcome.  De nada. ( day NAH-dah ) Yes.  Sí. ( SEE ) No.  No. ( NOH ) Excuse me. ( getting attention )  Disculpe. ( dees-KOOL-pay ) Excuse me. ( begging pardon )  Perdón. ( pair-DOHN ) I'm sorry.  Lo siento. (...

ENCOUNTERING PROBLEMS PHRASES

Leave me alone.  Déjame en paz. ( DAY-hah-may en PASS ) Don't touch me!  ¡No me toques! ( noh may TOH-kayss! ) I'll call the police.  Llamaré a la policía. ( yah-mah-RAY ah lah po-lee-SEE-ah ) Police!  Policía! ( poh-lee-SEE-ah! ) Stop! Thief!  ¡Alto, al ladrón! ( AHL-toh ahl lah-DROAN! ) I need help.  Necesito ayuda. ( ne-say-SEE-toh ah-YOU-dah ) It's an emergency.  Es una emergencia. ( ayss oo-nah AY-mayr-HEN-syah ) I'm lost.  Estoy perdido/a ( ay-STOY payr-DEE-doh/dah ) I lost my purse/handbag.  Perdí mi bolsa/bolso/cartera. ( payr-DEE mee BOHL-sa / BOHL-so / cahr-TAY-rah ) I lost my wallet.  Perdí mi cartera/billetera. ( payr-DEE mee BOHLcahr-TAY-rah / bee-yay-TAY-rah ; the last may also be said as beel-yay-TAY-rah ) I'm sick.  Estoy enfermo/a. ( ay-STOY ayn-FAYR-moh/mah ) I've been injured.  Estoy herido/a. ( ay-STOY ay-REE-doh/dah ) I need a doctor.  Nece...

NUMBERS-TIME-DATES-DAYS-MONTHS-COLORS

SAYING NUMBERS 1 uno/a ( OO-noh ) 2 dos ( doss ) 3 tres ( tress ) 4 cuatro ( KWA-tro ) 5 cinco ( SEEN-ko ) 6 seis ( SAISS ) 7 siete ( SYE-te ) 8 ocho ( O-cho ) 9 nueve ( NWAI-be ) 10 diez ( DYESS ) 11 once ( OHN-say ) 12 doce ( DOH-say ) 13 trece ( TRAY-say ) 14 catorce ( kah-TOHR-say ) 15 quince ( KEEN-say ) 16 dieciseis ( DYEESS-ee-SAYSS ) 17 diecisiete ( DYEESS-ee-SYAY-tay ) 18 dieciocho ( DYEESS-ee-OH-choh ) 19 diecinueve ( DYEESS-ee-NWAY-bay ) 20 veinte ( BAYN-tay ) 21 veintiuno ( BAYN-TYOO-noh ) 22 veintidos ( BAYN-tee-DOHSS ) 23 veintitres ( BAYN-tee-TRAYSS ) 30 treinta ( TRAYN-tah ) 40 cuarenta ( kwah-RAYN-tah ) 50 cincuenta ( seen-KWAYN-tah ) 60 sesenta ( say-SAYN-tah ) 70 setenta ( say-TAYN-tah ) 80 ochenta ( oh-CHAYN-tah ) 90 noventa ( noh-BAYN-tah ) 100 cien ( syehn ) 200 doscientos ( dos-SYEHN-tos ) 300 trescientos ( tres-SYEHN-tos ) 500 ...

TRANSPORTATION PHRASES

BUS AND TRAIN How much is a ticket to _____?  ¿Cuánto cuesta un billete/pasaje a _____? ( KwAHno kwEHSta oon beYEHta a ___ ) One ticket to _____, please.  Un billete/pasaje a _____, por favor. ( Oon beYEHta a _______, pour FAHvor. ) Where does this train/bus go?  ¿A donde va este tren/bus? Where is the train/bus to _____?  ¿Donde está el tren/autobús hacia _____? Does this train/bus stop in _____?  ¿Para este tren/autobús en _____? When does the train/bus for _____ leave?  ¿Cuando marcha/parte/sale el tren/autobús hacia _____ ? When will this train/bus arrive in _____?  ¿Cuando llegará este tren/autobús a _____? ASKING DIRECTIONS How do I get to _____ ? ¿Cómo puedo llegar a _____ ? ...the train station?  ...la estación de tren? ...the bus station?  ...la estación de autobuses? ...the airport?  ...al aeropuerto? ...downtown?  ...al centro? ...the youth hostel?...

USEFUL LODGING - ACCOMODATION PHRASES

Do you have any rooms available?  ¿Hay habitaciones libres? How much is a room for one person/two people?  ¿Cuanto cuesta una habitación para una persona/para dos personas? Does the room come with...  ¿Tiene la habitación... ...bedsheets?  ...sábanas? ...a bathroom?  ...baño? ...a telephone?  ...teléfono? ...a TV?  ...televisión? May I see the room first?  ¿Puedo ver la habitación primero? Do you have anything quieter?  ¿Tiene algo un poco más tranquilo? ...bigger?  ...más grande? ...cleaner?  ...más limpio? ...cheaper?  ...más barato? OK, I'll take it.  Muy bien, la tomaré. I will stay for _____ night(s).  Me quedaré ______ noches(s). Can you suggest other hotels?  ¿Puede proponerme otros hoteles? Do you have a safe?  ¿Hay caja fuerte? ...lockers?  ...taquillas? ; casilleros Is breakfast/supper included?  ¿El ...

USEFUL MONEY PHRASES

Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars?  ¿Aceptan dólares americanos/australianos/candienses? Do you accept British pounds?  ¿Aceptan libras británicas? Do you accept euros?  ¿Aceptan euros? You don't need this sentence in Spain :-) Do you accept credit cards?  ¿Aceptan tarjeta de crédito? Can you change money for me?  ¿Me puede cambiar dinero? Where can I get money changed?  ¿Dónde puedo cambiar dinero? Can you change a traveler's check for me?  ¿Me puede cambiar cheques de viaje? Where can I get a traveler's check changed?  ¿Dónde me pueden cambiar cheques de viaje? What is the exchange rate?  ¿A cuánto está el cambio? Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)?  ¿Dónde hay un cajero automático?

DINING - EATING OUT HELPFUL PHRASES - WORDS

A table for one person/two people, please.  Una mesa para una persona/dos personas, por favor. ( OO-nah MAY-sah pah-rah OO-nah pehr-SOH-nah / dohss pehr-SOH-nahs pohr fah- BOHR ) Can I look at the menu, please?  ¿Puedo ver el menú, por favor? ( PWAY-doh behr ehl meh-NOO pohr fah-BOHR? ) Can I look in the kitchen?  ¿Puedo entrar a la cocina? Is there a house specialty?  ¿Hay alguna especialidad de la casa? Is there a local specialty?  ¿Hay alguna especialidad regional/de la zona? I'm a vegetarian.  Soy vegetariano/a. I don't eat pork.  No como cerdo. I only eat kosher food.  Sólo como comida kosher. (In a restaurant they will stare at you, since "kosher" is as Spanish as "empanada" is English.) Can you make it "lite", please? (less oil/butter/lard)  ¿Puede poner poca aceite/poca mantequilla/poca grasa? fixed-price meal  menú del día a la carte  a la carta breakfast  des...

FREQUENTING-VISITING BARS-PUBS PHRASES

Do you serve alcohol?  ¿Hay alcohol? Is there table service?  ¿Hay servicio a la mesa? A beer/two beers, please.  Una cerveza/dos cervezas, por favor. A glass of red/white wine.  Un vaso de vino tinto/blanco. A pint (of beer)  Una jarra de cerveza (normally it will be half a liter, not really a pint, but the size is similar) ; In Chile un schop might be anywhere from 300cc to one liter. A glass of draft beer  Un schop ( oon SHOHP ) (Only in Chile) _____ ( hard liquor ) and _____ ( mixer ).  _____ con _____. In Spain, Cubata is Coke with whiskey A bottle.  Una botella. whiskey  whisky ( WEESS-key ) vodka  vodka rum  ron water  agua tonic water  (agua) tónica orange juice  zumo/jugo de naranja Coke ( soda )  Coca-Cola Do you have any bar snacks?  ¿Tiene algo para picar? (In Spain they will give you tapas , depend...

USEFUL SHOPPING PHRASES

Do you have this in my size?  ¿Tiene esto de mi talla? How much is this?  ¿Cuánto cuesta? That's too expensive.  Es demasiado caro. Would you take Visa/American dollars?  ¿Aceptan Visa/dólares? expensive  caro cheap  barato I can't afford it.  Es muy caro para mí. I don't want it.  No lo quiero. You're cheating me.  Me está engañando. I'm not interested.  No me interesa. OK, I'll take it.  De acuerdo, me lo llevaré. Can I have a bag?  ¿Tiene una bolsa? Can you ship it to my country?  ¿Puede enviarlo a mi país? I need...  Necesito... ...batteries.  ...pilas. ...cold medicine.  ...medicamento para el resfriado. ...condoms.: ...preservativos/condones. ...English-language books.  ...libros en inglés. ...English-language magazines.  ...revistas en inglés. ...an English-language newspaper.  ...un periódico...

DRIVING PHRASES

I want to rent a car.  Quiero alquiler un coche. Can I get insurance?  ¿Puedo contratar un seguro? STOP ( on a street sign )  STOP (Spain), ALTO (México), PARE (Chile, Argentina, Perú) one way  dirección única no parking  no aparcar , no estacionar speed limit  límite de velocidad , velocidad máxima gas/petrol station  gasolinera , estación de bencina (Chile) gas/petrol  gasolina , bencina (Chile), nafta (Argentina) diesel  gasóleo , diesel DEE-sel (Latin America), diésel ( DYEH-sel ) (Spain)

DEALING WITH POLICE - AUTHORITIES PHRASES

I haven't done anything wrong.  No he hecho nada malo. ( NOH ay AY-choh NAH-dah MAH-loh ) It was a misunderstanding.  Es un malentendido. ( AYSS oon MAHL-ayn-tayn-DEE-doh ) Where are you taking me?  ¿Dónde me lleva? ( DOHN-day may YAY-bah? ) Am I under arrest?  ¿Estoy arrestado/a? ( ay-STOY AHRR-ay-STAH-doh/dah? ) I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen.  Soy ciudadano estadounidense/australiano/inglés/canadiense. I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate.  Quiero hablar con la embajada/el consulado estadounidense/australiano/inglés/canadiense. I want to talk to a lawyer.  Quiero hablar con un abogado. ( KYAY-roh ah-BLAHR cohn oon AH-boh-GAH-doh ) Can I just pay a fine now?  ¿Puedo pagar la multa ahora? ( PWAY-doh pah-GAR lah MOOL-tah ah-OH-rah? )

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