Foundations Course Book by msal

FOUNDATIONS

COURSE BOOK

Español explained in English Includes AUDIO

¡Bienvenida/o!

I won’t keep you at the doorway long Let’s just take a moment to talk about what’s in the following pages and what you can expect from this Foundations Course Book.

This Course Book is designed to cover the must-know topics for elementary students specifically interested inRioplatense Spanish (RPS), fromthe basics.

It’s not that you need to study grammar from a Rioplatense point of view there aren’t dramatic differences ingrammar, but where there are it’s good to know.

IfyouarenewtoSpanish, oneessentialthing torememberfromnowonisthat Spanishis oneand is many.WhatImeanby thisis thateverycountrysharesa certain number of assumptions as to how the language is spoken, and what sounds more natural. Also, don’t forget languages are a cornerstone of our culture so, naturally, they become a gateway intoit.

TheworldofSpanishlearningresourcesisdominatedbybookswritteninSpain, filledwithPeninsularSpanishwords,habits,andevennames(Pepes,Lolasand Manolos…). When it’s not Spain, it’s Mexico. Unfortunately, the diversity of Spanishis rarely represented fairly.

I’veputthisFoundationsCourseBooktogetherfor three reasons:first,tooffera morenuancedsourceofSpanishforlearnersfocusedonRPS;secondly,tooffer a bigger picture of the concepts, vocabulary, and information you’ll navigate as a learner of a foreign language; and thirdly, to serve as a backup resource that reinforces what you’re learning in class, tohelp youreview key concepts.

I’ve tried to keep the information concise and actionable. That’s why the book is structured inthree mainsections: Vocabulary, Grammar, and Tenses.

Contrary to what I mentioned about grammar in RPS, vocabulary varies significantly, not only in pronunciation but also in meaning and usage. I’ve made sure I give here the words you’ll most probably hear and use when speaking toArgentinians.

The vocabulary covered provides you with the essential tools to start making your ownpath.

There are tracks for audioreference. Isuggest youcreate your ownflashcards with the vocabulary listed inside to gradually expand your vocabulary. Treat verbs as foundational vocabulary items.

As comprehensive as this course book might seem/be, remember that the information contained here is only valuable as long as you make it a part of you.

With that being said, I must warn you: this is not a magic key! Don’t sleep on this. Youneed tobe using the language and interacting withit.

While this could be your essential guide into the Spanish grammar, it’s just as important to put this information to use. Go out there and see how all these concepts come tolife.

This is a marathon, not a sprint. Consistency is the name of the game Don’t rush through this Foundations Course Book as if you were in some race. It’s muchmoreimportanttolettheinformation sinkinthantoreachthelastpage.

The Foundations Course Book focuses on grammar and reference, while the Foundations Skills Builder (a separate book not yet released) will provide practice activities linked directly tothatcontent, soyoucanapply whatyou've learned.

Teaching and learning are two sides of the same coin. I want to thank Lucija and Kristian for their generous feedback and contributions throughout the process of writing this book

It’s beyond the scope of this book to make you fluent. No book or teacher can holdthatpromise.Yougetyourselffluentbybecomingawareofhowlanguage works.

The intent of this book is to make you feel interested in the system and its component parts.

Be patient withyourself. Youhave allit takes tolearnSpanish.

Come oninand make yourself at home.

I’llbe around if you need anything.

Mati

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KIT DE SUPERVIVENCIA | SURVIVAL KIT

Questions to use in class



¿Cómo se dice … (en español)? How do you say ... (in Spanish)?

 ¿Cómo se escribe … ? How do you spell ... ?



¿Qué significa …? | ¿Qué quiere decir …? What does ... mean?

 ¿Cómo puedo decir [phrase in Eng]? How can I say [phrase in Eng]?



¿Cómo se pronuncia … ? How is ... pronounced?

 Tengo una pregunta | Tengo una duda I have a question | I have a doubt

 ¿Cuál es la diferencia entre “A” y “B”? What is the difference between "A" and "B"?

 No entiendo | No entendí I don’t understand | I didn’t understand

Positions

IZQUIERDA | LEFT

Navigating the class

-¿Vamos bien hasta ahora? So far so good?

-Sí, todo bien Yes, all good

Online life problems

 No te veo I can’t see you

 No puedo ver tu pantalla

I can’t see your screen

 No te escucho (bien) I can’t hear you (well)

-¿Alguna pregunta? Any questions?

-No, nada por ahora No, nothing for now

-¿Alguna pregunta? Any questions?

-Sí, tengo una duda Yes, I’ve got a question

 No veo tu pantalla I can’t see your screen

 Se congeló la imagen The image froze

 Te perdí I lost you

SALUDOS Y DESPEDIDAS | Greetings and Goodbyes

Saludos | Greetings

 Hola [name], ¿cómo estás?

¿qué tal?

¿cómo (te) va?

¿cómo andás?

¿qué contás?

¿todo bien?

All the phrases above are informal but appropriate ways of greeting someone you’ve met before. They can all be translated as ‘how are you’.

 Todo bien

All good

 Todo tranqui(lo) ¿y vos?

All quiet

 Todo en orden

All in order

 Acá andamos, todo bien.

The different answers above are natural, informal interchangeable answers to the question.

 Hola | Buenas

 Buen día | until 12 PM

 Buenas tardes | between 1 PM and 7 PM

 Buenas noches | after 7PM

You can use these phrases for hello or for goodbye:

 Hola, buen día/buenas tardes/buenas noches

 Chau, buen día/buenas tardes/buenas noches

Formality

With older people or in places like airports, hotels and public offices, you may hear or use:

 ¿Cómo está?

 ¿Cómo le va?

Despedidas | Goodbyes

 Chau Bye

 Chau chau Bye bye

 Nos vemos mañana

See you tomorrow

 Nos vemos la semana que viene

See you next week

 Nos vemos más tarde

See you later

 Nos vemos pronto

See you soon

 Hasta mañana

See you tomorrow

 Hasta luego

See you later



Hasta pronto

See you soon

Que tengas una buena semana

Have a good week ahead

Buen fin de semana (finde)

Have a good weekend

In remote communication a typical informal goodbye is to say “un abrazo” (mostly men) or “un beso”.

If you’re writing on Whatsapp or an email (some people still do that, you know?), it’s common to use “Saludos”.

GENERAL REFERENCE

Standard HELLO that will always be right Hola, ¿qué tal?

Standard I’M GOOD that fits every context Todo bien, gracias.

Standard GOODBYE after an interaction in a shop or restaurant Gracias, hasta luego

Standard GOODBYE with people you know Chau, nos vemos

Standard GOODBYE with people you don’t know well Chau, hasta luego

Introduce yourself

 Me llamo… My name is…

 Soy de… I’m from…

 Vivo en… I live in…

 Tengo… I’m…

 Mi cumpleaños es el … de… My birthday is on…

 Quiero aprender español porque… I want to learn Spanish because…

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VOCABULARY

Abecedario | Alphabet

Unlike some other languages, Spanish is a highly phonetic language, which means that the spelling of words is usually closely related to their pronunciation.

�� Track 1

A a

B be larga

C ce

D de

E e

F efe

G ge

H hache

I i

J jota

K ka

L ele

M eme

N ene

Ñ eñe

O o

A few things worth remembering, though:

P pe

Q cú

R erre

S ese

T te

U u

V ve corta

W doble ve

X equis

Y i griega

Z zeta

DÍGRAFOS

CH ce-hache

LL doble ele

RR doble erre

 B and V sound the same. It’s only a spelling change. That’s why you always need to clarify with be larga or ve corta.

 Same goes for QUE / QUI and KE / KI. (quinientos = kilo)

 C (in combination with “I” and “e”), S and Z all sound the same, like /s/. However in the combination of s + consonant, many learners perceive more like an “h”sound. Don’t worry too much about imitating it.

 GI and GE are different from GUI and GUE. (girar/guiño | generar/guerra)

 JE and JI sound exactly the same as GE and GI. It’s only a matter of spelling.

 R has different sounds depending on its position and surrounding letters:

o It always has a STRONG SOUND:

 when it’s at the beginning of a word (ratón, Raúl, rubio)

 when it comes doubled (tierra, cigarrillo, perro).

 when it comes after L, N and S, (alrededor, Israel, sonrisa)

o It has a WEAK SOUND:

 when it’s at the end of the word (comer, viajar, calor)

 when it’s between vowels (ahora, panadería, cara)

 CH has a strong sound, not the English /sh/ heard in words like chef.

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Yeismo

In Argentinian Spanish, Y and LL have the same /sh/ sound. This is a distinctive feature of RPS. The only exception are words ending in “y”, like rey (king) or ley (law), where “y” is “i”.

�� Track 2

 Nueva York

 Calle

 Yogur

 Yate  Yema  Yegua  Ayudar

Word stress

Another thing worth considering is word stress.

 Allá  Sello  Rayo  Toyota  Mayonesa

 Lluvia  Playa

In Spanish, when a word has two syllables or more, one syllable is always stressed. That’s the sílaba tónica, or stressed syllable.

These are the rules:

 In words ending in a vowel, an “n” or an “s”, the next-to-last syllable is stressed.

 In words ending in a consonant other than “n” or “s” the final syllable is stressed.

The accent mark or tilde always appears over a vowel when there’s an exception to these rules.

According to its stressed syllable a word can be

AGUDA (last syllable is stressed): mundial, amor, internet, colchón, caimán

GRAVE (second to last is stressed): hechizo, camisa, árbol

ESDRÚJULA (third to last is stressed): automático, cámara, monólogo or SOBREESDRÚJULA: rápidamente, básicamente, dinámicamente

Days of the week, Months and more

Days of the week

�� Track 3

 Lunes

Monday

 Martes

Tuesday

 Miércoles

Wednesday

 Jueves

Thursday

 Viernes

Friday

 Sábado

Saturday

 Domingo

Sunday

Seasons �� Track 6

 Primavera Spring

 Verano Summer

 Otoño Fall

 Invierno Winter

Months

�� Track 4

 Enero

January

 Febrero

February

 Marzo

March

 Abril

April

 Mayo

May

 Junio

June

 Julio

July

 Agosto

August

 Septiembre

September

 Octubre

October

 Noviembre

November

 Diciembre

December

Parts of the month

�� Track 7

 Principios de Beginning of

 Mediados de Middle of

 Fines de End of

Cardinal points �� Track 5

Norte

North Sur

South Este

East

Oeste

West

Noreste

North-east

Noroeste

North-west

Sudeste

South-east

Sudoeste

South-west

Centro

Center

Parts of the day �� Track 8

 Mañana Morning

 Mediodía Midday

 Tarde Afternoon

 Noche Night

Cardinal points, days of the week, parts of the day, months of the year and the name of seasons are not capitalized in Spanish.

La familia | The family

�� Track 9

HOMBRE MUJER

PAPÁ dad MAMÁ mom

MARIDO husband ESPOSA wife -

AMBOS

PAPÁS | VIEJOS (inf) parents

NOVIO BF NOVIA GF NOVIOS

PAREJA partner PAREJA partner -

HIJO son HIJA daughter

HIJOS children

HERMANO brother HERMANA sister HERMANOS siblings

ABUELO grandfather ABUELA grandmother ABUELOS grandparents

BISABUELO greatgrandfather BISABUELA greatgrandmother BISABUELOS greatgrandparents

NIETO grandson NIETA granddaughter NIETOS grandchildren TÍO uncle TÍA aunt TÍOS uncles

PRIMO cousin PRIMA cousin PRIMOS cousins

SOBRINO nephew SOBRINA niece SOBRINOS nephews

SUEGRO father in-law

YERNO son in-law

CUÑADO brother in-law

Profesiones | Jobs

�� Track 10

 Abogado/a lawyer

 Actor/Actriz actor/actress

 Agente inmobiliario/a real estate agent

 Albañil builder

 Arquitecto/a architect

SUEGRA mother in-law

NUERA daughter in-law

CUÑADA sister in-law

SUEGROS in-laws

CUÑADOS

 Biólogo/a biologist

 Bombero firefighter

 Cajero/a cashier

 Camarero/a waiter/waitress

 Cantante singer

 Carnicero butcher

 Contador/a accountant

 Decorador/a decorator

 Dentista dentist

 Diseñador/a de…

… designer

 Economista economist

 Electricista electrician

 Empresario/a businessman/woman

 Enfermero/a nurse

 Escritor/a writer

 Fotógrafo/a photographer

 Historiador/a historian

 Ingeniero/a engineer

 Jardinero/a gardener

La ciudad | The city

Track 11

 Aeropuerto airport

 Panadería bakery

 Banco bank

 Cajero ATM

 Terminal de ómnibus bus station

 Carnicería butcher shop

 Café café

 Cine movie theater

 Estación de servicio gas station

 Verdulería produce market

 Gimnasio gym

 Estadio stadium

 Mecánico mechanic

 Médico/a doctor

 Militar military

 Músico/a musician

 Nutricionista nutritionist

 Panadero/a baker

 Periodista journalist

 Policía police officer  Político/a politician

 Profesor/a professor/teacher

 Programador/a developer

 Recepcionista receptionist

 Taxista taxi driver

 Trabajador social social Worker

 Vendedor/a de…

…. seller

 Veterinario/a vet

 Verdulero/a greengrocer

 Peluquería hair salon

 Hospital hospital

 Biblioteca library

 Parque park

 Restaurante restaurant

 Escuela school

 Supermercado supermarket

 Mercado market

 Plaza square

 Museo museum

 Teatro theater

 Farmacia pharmacy

 Estación de tren train station

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 Senda peatonal crosswalk

 Pozo pothole

 Comisaría police station

 Librería bookstore

 Vereda sidewalk

 Universidad university

 Parada de colectivo bus stop

 Shopping shopping mall

 Pizzería pizzeria

 Laverrap laundromat

 Hotel hotel

 Embajada embassy

 Negocio/Local de…

store

Bar bar

La Casa | The house �� Track 13

 Cocina kitchen

 Living living room

 Heladería ice cream shop  Boliche night club

 Tanguería tango night club

 Dormitorio/Habitación/Cuarto bedroom

 Lavadero laundry

 Terraza terrace

 Sótano basement

 El pasillo hall

 La entrada the driveway

 Reja fence

 Jardín garden

 Parque garden

 Balcón balcony

 Pared wall

 Techo roof

 Ventana window

 Puerta door

 Escaleras stairs

 Garage/Cochera garage

 Cama bed

 Óptica optician  Inmobiliaria real estate agency

 Mesa de luz nightstand

 Sillón sofa

 Altillo attic

 Ducha shower

 Pileta de la cocina kitchen sink

 Pileta del baño sink

 Pileta swimming pool

 Placard/Ropero closet

 Inodoro toilet

 Heladera refrigerator

 Horno oven

 Lavavajillas dishwasher

 Lavarropa washing machine

 Cortinas curtains

 Estudio/Escritorio studio

 Playground/Sala de juegos playground

 Piso floor

 Microondas microwave

 Canilla tap

 Tacho de basura bin

 Alacena cupboard

 Mesada kitchen counter

 Mesa table

 Enchufe socket

 Estantes shelves

 Mesa ratona coffee table

 Patio backyard

Note that “y” is used only between the tens and unit digits and that numbers 21-29 are spelled as one word.

Números pares 2, 4, 6, 8, 10…

Track 21

Números impares 1, 3, 5, 7…

La

hora | The time

Menos cinco

Menos diez

Menos veinte

Menos veinticinco

Menos cuarto 12 6

cinco Y diez Y veinte Y veinticinco

In Spanish, the 24-hour time format is only used to confirm the correct time and avoid confusion, especially in schedules or formal settings. It’s not usually used in casual conversation, where people tend to use the 12-hour format with 'de la mañana/tarde/noche' instead.

MAÑANA

¿Qué hora es?

 Es la una.

 Son las dos/tres/cuatro de la tarde/mañana/noche.

¿A qué hora…?

 A la una

 A las dos/tres/cuatro 3 9

El tiempo | The weather

¿Cómo está el día/tiempo? | What’s the weather like?

 Hace

(un poco de/bastante/mucho) frío | calor

 Está

 Hay

viento | una tormenta

Países y nacionalidades | Countries and nationalities

País

Gentilicio

Alemania alemán, -na

Arabia Saudita saudí o saudita

Argentina argentino, -na

Australia australiano, -na

Austria austríaco, -ca

Bélgica belga

Bulgaria búlgaro, -ra

Canadá canadiense China chino, -na

Corea del Norte norcoreano, -na

Corea del Sur surcoreano, -na

Cuba cubano, -na

Dinamarca danés, -sa

Egipto egipcio, -cia

Eslovaquia eslovaco, -ca

Eslovenia esloveno, -na

España español, -la

Estados Unidos estadounidense

Finlandia finlandés, -sa

Francia francés, -sa

Grecia griego, -ga

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Guatemala guatemalteco, -ca

Honduras hondureño, -ña

Hungría húngaro, -ra

India indio, -dia

Israel israelí

Italia italiano, -na

Japón japonés, -sa

México mexicano, -na

Nigeria nigeriano, -na

Noruega noruego, -ga

Nueva Zelanda neozelandés, -sa

Países Bajos (Holanda) neerlandés, -sa

Polonia polaco, -ca

Portugal portugués, -sa

Rusia ruso, -sa

Sudáfrica sudafricano, -na

Suecia sueco, -ca

Suiza suizo, -za

Tailandia tailandés, -sa

Turquía turco, -ca

Ucrania ucraniano, -na

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GRAMMAR REFERENCE

Parts of the speech

We may experience some turbulence ahead, but recognizing and understanding parts of speech is essential because it helps you comprehend how words function within a sentence, enabling you to construct sentences and express your ideas more clearly and precisely.

Sustantivos | Nouns

Names or words standing for persons, places, things, or abstract concepts.

e.g. sun, friend, Argentina, hope

Pronombres | Pronouns

Words that substitute for nouns.

e.g. I, me, mine, you, your, yours, etc.

Adjetivos | Adjectives

Words that modify, limit, or qualify a noun or pronoun

e.g. easy, impossible, basic, dangerous

Verbos | Verbs

Words that express action, existence, or state of being e.g. to give, went, painting, stopped

It’s worth noting the infinitive form of verbs in Spanish is -ar/-er/-ir while in English is to + verb.

e.g. aprender → to learn

Adverbios | Adverbs

Words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs by telling how, when, where, or how much.

e.g. immediately, late, tomorrow, usually

Preposiciones | Prepositions

Words that show the relationship between two elements in a sentence. e.g. with, at, for, in

Conectores | Connectors

Words that connect words, phrases, or clauses

e.g. and, but, however, although

Determinantes | Determiners

A group of different types of words that give specific information about a noun (articles [a, an, the], possessives [e.g. my, your, our], demonstratives [this, that, these, those], quantifiers [e.g. some, all, few], cardinal numbers [e.g. three, six, eight])

Género | Gender

All nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine. When you learn a noun, make sure you also learn whether it is masculine or feminine as this will guide how you use other words with it.

As an extremely simple reference, most words ending in -o/-os are masculine and words ending in -a/-as are feminine.

With words ending in -e/-es, pay attention to the article (i.e. el / la) to know the gender (e.g. el detergente, la gente). It seems like the gender of these words was picked randomly.

There are quite a few tricky endings which are not a, o or e, but we’re not going to tap on that.

Número |Number

Number refers to the fact that all nouns have a singular and a plural form.

Spanish nouns that end in a vowel add -s to form the plural; nouns that end in a consonant add -es to form the plural.

Example:

 auto - autos

 problema - problemas

 presidente - presidentes

 papel - papeles

 camion - camiones

Noun – Adjective Agreement

The gender and number of nouns is very important in Spanish, since their determiners and related adjectives must agree with the noun.

If the noun is masculine + singular, they have to be masculine + singular

If the noun is masculine + plural, they have to be masculine + plural

If the noun is feminine + singular, they have to be feminine + singular

If the noun is feminine + plural, they have to be feminine + plural

For example:

 El cisne negro

 Los tres chiflados

 La naranja mecánica

 Las muchas vidas de John Lennon

Adjetivos | Adjectives

Adjectives are very interesting creatures. As you probably know from your years of experience as a native speaker, they are used to describe nouns. With them we can refer to the characteristics of a thing, animal or person.

I like to say that they add color to our sentences.

When we don’t include adjectives in our sentences, it’s like a black and white picture: it’s the same, but not quite.

You must remember the adjective noun-adjective agreement rule: In Spanish, adjectives ending in -o/-a always agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. For the sake of grammar people are nouns!

When the adjective ends in -e they only agree in number, adding an “s” to the plural forms.

And finally, when the adjective ends in a consonant we add “es” (e.g. difícil - difíciles)

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 Alto - Bajo

Tall/High - Short/Low

 Grande - Chico

Big - Small

 Rápido - Lento

Fast - Slow

 Feliz - Triste

Happy - Sad

 Caro - Barato

Expensive - Cheap

 Fuerte - Débil

Strong - Weak

 Nuevo - Viejo

New - Old

 Limpio - Sucio

Clean - Dirty

 Frío - Caliente

Cold - Hot

 Claro - Oscuro

Light (clear) - Dark

 Duro - Blando

Hard - Soft

 Ancho - Estrecho

Wide - Narrow



Largo - Corto

Long - Short

 Pesado - Liviano



Heavy - Light

Rico - Pobre

Rich - Poor

 Rico - Soso

Tasty - Bland

 Fácil - Difícil

Easy - Difficult

 Sano - Enfermo

Healthy - Sick

 Cerca - Lejos

Near - Far

 Fino - Grueso

Thin - Thick

 Abierto - Cerrado

Open - Closed

 Contento - Enojado



Happy - Angry

Seguro - Inseguro

Safe - Unsafe

 Lindo - Feo

Pretty - Ugly

 Divertido - Aburrido

Fun - Boring

 Cerrado - Abierto

Closed - Open

 Seco - Mojado

Dry - Wet

 Joven - Viejo

Young - Old

 Valiente - Cobarde

Brave - Coward

 Dulce - Amargo

Sweet - Bitter

 Ruidoso - Silencioso

Noisy - Silent

 Amable - Grosero

Kind - Rude

 Rígido - Flexible

Rigid - Flexible

 Cálido - Frío

Warm - Cold

Adjetivos de personalidad |Personality adjectives

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Español English

(DES)HONESTO/A (dis)honest

(IM)PACIENTE (im)patient

(IM)PRUDENTE (im)prudent

(IM)PUNTUAL (im)punctual

ABURRIDO/A boring

ALEGRE happy

AMABLE kind

AMBICIOSO/A ambitious

ANTIPÁTICO/A unfriendly

ATOLONDRADO/A clumsy

BRUTO/A rude/rough

BUENA ONDA* nice

CÁLIDO/A warm

CANCHERO* + cool | - arrogant

CARIÑOSO/A affectionate

CELOSO/A jealous

COPADO* cool

CREÍDO/A conceited

DELICADO delicate

DETALLISTA detail-oriented

DISTANTE distant

ENCANTADOR/A charming

EXIGENTE demanding

EXTROVERTIDO/A outgoing

FRÍO/A cold

GENEROSO/A generous

* identifies Argentinian colloquial adjectives.

GRACIOSO/A funny

HABLADOR talkative

HUMILDE humble

IDEALISTA idealistic

INSEGURO insecure

INTELIGENTE intelligent

INTROVERTIDO/A introverted

MIEDOSO/A scared

MODESTO/A modest

OPTIMISTA optimist

ORGULLOSO/A proud

PESADO heavy

PERFECCIONISTA perfectionist

PESIMISTA pessimistic

QUEJOSO/A complaining

RATA* greedy

REBELDE rebellious

SIMPÁTICO/A friendly

SIMPLE simple

SINCERO/A sincero

SOBERBIO/A conceited

TÍMIDO/A shy

TRABAJADOR/A hardworking

TRANQUILO/A calm

VAGO/A lazy

VALIENTE brave

Adjetivos para describir lugares | Adjectives to describe places

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Positivo

Acogedor = cozy

Agradable = nice

Apacible = peaceful

Cálido = warm

Encantador = charming

Evocador = evocative

Famoso = famous

Fascinante = fascinating

Fértil = fertile

Grande = large

Luminoso = light filled

Pintoresco = picturesque

Plácido = placid

Seguro = secure

Sereno = serene

Silencioso = silent

Soleado = sunny

Tranquilo = tranquil

Abandonado = abandoned

Aislado = isolated

Árido = arid

Caótico = chaotic

Contaminado = polluted

Despoblado = deserted

Feo = ugly

Frio = cold

Pequeño = small

Hediondo = stinky

Húmedo = humid

Industrial = industrial

Lluvioso = rainy

Oscuro = dark

Peligroso = dangerous

Ruidoso = loud

Sucio = dirty

Turístico = touristy

Sombrío = gloomy

Modificadores | Modifiers

Ancho = wide

Antiguo = old

Bullicioso = bustling

Cosmopolita = cosmopolitan

Costero = coastal

Despejado = clear

Elevado = elevated

Enorme = enormous

Frondoso = leafy

Histórico = historic

Llano = flat

Moderno = modern

Montañoso = mountainous

Poblado = populated

Remoto = remote

Rural = rural

Seco = dry

Transitado = transited

Urbano = urban

Caudaloso = abundant

Un río caudaloso

Escarpado = steep

Estrecho = narrow

In Spanish, we can use different words to modify adjectives and express varying degrees of intensity. These modifiers help us describe how strong or weak a quality is. They come before the adjective.

 Muy

Very

 Bastante

Quite

 Un poco | Medio

A little

 No muy

Not very

A small group of adjectives are shortened before masculine singular nouns.

 alguno → algún

 ninguno → ningún

 bueno → buen

 malo → mal

 grande → gran

 primero → primer

Asking questions

As language learners, it’s common to become comfortable answering questions, but it’s not as common to become comfortable asking them, which is both unnatural and inconvenient.

Asking questions in Spanish can be intimidating, but it’s an essential part of any real conversation, don’t you think? Being passive and letting the other person do all the talking will not only make the conversation unbalanced, but it will also prevent you from getting the information you need!

It’s essential to also learn how to construct questions!

YES / NO QUESTIONS

Yes/No questions are used to confirm or deny a statement or to ask for confirmation of information. They will generate a yes/no answer.

They are formed by using the word order of a statement (S+V+[object]) and adding an intonation that goes up at the end of the sentence.

Remember to:

# always conjugate the verb according to the subject of your questions

# include the subject only when it's not a subject pronoun to eliminate ambiguity and ensure the other person understands who we are referring to. The verb contains all the necessary information to make out the subject if it’s a subject pronoun.

# place inverted question marks before (¿) and after (?) a question

 ¿Hablás inglés?

Do you speak English?

 ¿Tu papá habla inglés?

Does your dad speak English?

 ¿Estás casado/a?

Are you married?

 ¿Tu mejor amigo está casado?

Is your best friend married?

 ¿Trabajaste hoy?

Did you work today?

 ¿Tenés mascotas/hijos/hermanos?

Do you have pets/children/siblings?



¿Fumás?

Do you smoke?

¿Tenés segundo nombre?

Do you have a middle name?

¿Estás mirando alguna serie?

Are you watching any series?

¿Te gusta leer?

Do you like to read?

¿Vivís en una casa o en un departamento?

Do you live in a house or an apartment?

INFORMATION QUESTIONS

When we want specific information, we need interrogatives. The function of an interrogative is to retrieve specific information from the other person.

For information questions you can either begin the sentence with an interrogative word or with a preposition.

Interrogativos | Interrogatives

¿Qué? What?

¿Por qué? Why?

¿Por qué no? Why not?

¿Dónde? Where?

¿Cuántos - Cuántas? How many?

¿Cuánto - Cuánta? How much?

¿Cuándo? When?

¿Cuál? Which?

¿Con qué frecuencia? How frequently?

¿Cada cuánto? How often?

¿Alguna vez? Have you ever?

¿Cómo? How?

¿Quién | Quiénes? Who?

¿Qué tal ? How was ___?

If there is a preposition in the question, it ALWAYS comes at the beginning of the question. It’s also the first word you use in our answer

A quién/A quiénes To whom

Con quién/Con quiénes With whom

Para quién/Para quiénes For whom

De dónde From where

De quién Whose

Desde cuándo Since when

Hasta cuándo Until when

A dónde Where

Para dónde To where

Para qué For what

Por dónde From where

Pronombres subjetivos | Subject pronouns

Chap, chap, chap! Your attention, please. This is a must-know for any learner. In Spanish, there are six personal pronouns. First, second and third, singular and plural:

Singular Plural

1° YO NOSOTROS

2° VOS | TÚ USTEDES

3° ÉL/ELLA/USTED/ESO* ELLOS/ELLAS

*Eso is not a subject pronoun, but we can include it to make sure you have an option for “it”.

Spanish also has two different 2nd person pronouns depending on the region or country: TÚ and VOS. TÚ is more widespread, as it’s the second person pronoun used in Mexico and Spain, for example.

In Argentina, the informal 2° person pronoun is VOS. TÚ is included here for reference, but this book uses VOS forms, which are different to TÚ forms in the present and the affirmative imperative.

This can be a bit confusing at first, but you’ll get used to it sooner than you think!

Usted is universally recognized in the Spanish-speaking world as the polite, or formal, way to say “ you”. Use it especially with older people or relations of authority.

Implied subject

Another thing to keep in mind is that in English, subject pronouns (SP) are much more necessary than in Spanish.

Look:

I’m Matías translates as “Yo soy Matías” or “Soy Matías”

Both alternatives (with or without SP) are grammatically correct, but we tend to skip the SP because, like I mentioned when discussing questions, the verb shows who the subject of the sentence is. The other person/s in the conversation will understand who we are talking about just by the form of the verb

Due to the agreement rule in person and number in Spanish, looking at the verb we can always “retrieve” the subject

Let me remind you this also applies to questions, as we discussed above.

Conjugación | Verb Conjugation

Verbs in Spanish need to be conjugated. This means that the form of the verb changes depending on the subject and the tense of the sentence.

The act of conjugating is very simple: What we do with regular verbs is to replace the -ar/er/-ir ending with other endings according to the tense and subject.

This is the type of chart we are going to study verb conjugations in all tenses

YO

VOS TÚ

NOSOTROS

USTEDES ELLOS/ELLAS ÉL/ELLA/USTED (ESO)

Regardless of it being an irregular or regular verb, in total, you’ll have 5 forms for every verb in each tense. 2° and 3° plural ALWAYS match.

You can include the TÚ forms (like in the sample chart) in the present indicative and the affirmative imperative, where they differ, to keep track of the differences.

Regular and Irregular verbs

There are regular verbs and irregular verbs in Spanish. Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern of conjugation.

Irregular verbs, on the other hand, do not follow a predictable pattern and require different endings or stem changes to indicate tense and subject.

SER/ESTAR/TENER/IR are 4 essential verbs which happen to be irregular, so memorizing their irregular forms in the 3 most important tenses is key:

Verbo SER (to be) Presente

Verbo ESTAR (to be)

Presente

Verbo TENER (to have)

Presente

TENGO TENEMOS

TENÉS

TIENE

Verbo IR (to go)

TIENEN

Indefinido

TUVE TUVIMOS

TUVISTE

TUVIERON TUVO

Imperfecto

TENÍA TENÍAMOS

TENÍAS

TENÍA

TENÍAN

IR is the most irregular verb in Spanish. Sometimes it looks this was made on purpose. You’ll see it mutating through the tenses.

Presente

VOY VAMOS

Verbo Hay

Indefinido FUI FUIMOS

FUISTE

FUERON FUE

Imperfecto

IBA ÍBAMOS

IBAS IBAN IBA

Hay is an interesting verb. It’s an impersonal verb, and the equivalent of there’s/there’re.

 HAY

 NO HAY

In the past, we normally use HABÍA for descriptions and HUBO for specific events

 HABÍA

 NO HABÍA

SER VS ESTAR

 HUBO  NO HUBO

Spanish learners, especially when they are not used to BE being two verbs, typically struggle with ser/estar, hoping to reach the moment when they know with absolute certainty which one is right to use.

Here’s a primer: The verb ser is derived from the Latin verb esse, from which is also derived the English word essence. The verb ser is therefore used to express an inherent quality or characteristic.

The verb estar, on the other hand, is derived from the Latin verb stare, from which is also derived the English word state. The verb estar is therefore used to express a temporary state or condition.

However, don’t take this rule to heart. You’ll soon find some weird exceptions to this seemingly neat permanent/temporary orientation.

As always, take it with a grain of salt.

If this is not helping, sleep on this:

SER

Name

Nationality

Climate

Colors

Descriptions

Events

Religion

Jobs and professions

Materials

Possessions

Gender

Sex  Sexual orientation

ESTAR



Moods and states

 Locations

 Positions

 Temporary situations

 Weather

Verbos no pronominales vs verbos pronominales

There are several ways to categorize verbs, and each classification is useful depending on what aspect you are focusing on.

Let’s start with pronominal and nonpronominal. There are two groups of verbs: nonpronominal (-ar, -er, -ir) and pronominal (-arse, -erse, -irse)

Non-pronominal verbs are the standard infinitives you may have encountered before.

Pronominal verbs are quite confusing, to be honest. Many resources mistakenly identify all pronominal verbs as reflexive verbs, but that’s not accurate, so it’s better to start off on the right foot on this thorny path.

In the pronominal verbs group, we have:

 REFLEXIVE VERBS

When the subject acts on himself or herself, the verb is considered reflexive. However, not every reflexive verb will have a direct translation in English.

 RECIPROCAL VERBS

Reciprocal pronominal verbs imply mutual or reciprocal action. In English, each other or one another is used.

 IDIOMATIC PRONOMINAL VERBS

Idiomatic pronominal verbs have a different meaning in their pronominal forms.

All pronominal verbs take me/te/se/nos/se (reflexive pronouns) in their conjugated forms. Reflexive pronouns match direct and indirect object pronouns, except for the third person. It’s important that you keep your eyes open to see the subtle differences between different types of pronouns.

Verbos transitivos e intransitivos | Transitive and intransitive verbs

One very useful way to categorize verbs is by grouping them into TRANSITIVE or INTRANSITIVE. It works in the same way as it does for verbs in English: TRANSITIVE verbs need an object to complete their meaning

INTRANSITIVE verbs don’t.

However, some verbs work in both ways. For example, HABLAR or COMER:

Hablar used as a transitive verb: Hablo español.

I speak Spanish.

Hablar used as an intransitive verb:

Los bebés no hablan.

Babies don’t speak

However, most verbs are either T or I. Here are some:

Transitivos

Comer used as a transitive verb: No como carne. I don’t eat meat.

Comer used as an intransitive verb: Como demasiado rápido. I eat too fast.

Intransitivos

TENER to have DORMIR to sleep

VER to see LLEGAR to arrive COMPRAR to buy SALIR to go out ESCUCHAR to listen CAER to fall TOMAR to take/drink CRECER to grow

COCINAR to cook NADAR to swim

ESCRIBIR to write BAILAR to dance INVITAR to invite VIVIR to live HACER to do/make CORRER to run PEDIR to ask/order ENTRAR to enter

Transitivos o Intransitivos

LEER to read

EMPEZAR to start COMER to eat CAMBIAR to change BUSCAR to look for ESPERAR to wait LLAMAR to call TERMINAR to finish

HABLAR to speak/talk

MIRAR to look

Pronombres de objeto directo (PODs) | Direct object pronouns

In Spanish, there are two categories of object pronouns: direct object pronouns (PODs) and indirect object pronouns (POIs). This differs significantly from English, where the distinction is not as clearly defined.

PODs replace the direct object in a sentence. Remember not all verbs need a direct object (only transitive verbs do)

1° ME

2° TE

3° LO/LA

1° NOS

2°/3° LOS/LAS

Unlike in English, in Spanish, object pronouns are placed before the verb. For example:

 ¿Eliana? No, no la conozco.

Eliana? No, I don’t know her.

 ¿Tus llaves? Las vi en la mesa. Your keys? I saw them on the table.

There’s usually confusion on this point as three of the pronouns (la, los, and las) are the same as the definite articles. However, you shouldn’t confuse the two. A pronoun replaces a noun, while an article identifies a noun.

Pronombres de objeto indirecto (POIs) | Indirect object pronouns

POIs replace the indirect object of a sentence, i.e. the recipient of the action expressed by the verb.

1° ME

2° TE

3° LE

1° NOS

2°/3° LES

Some common verbs with POI

This is a list of verbs which are typically used with a POI. The fact that they can take a POI doesn’t necessarily mean they will always take it.

 Abrir

 Comprar

 Vender

 Avisar

 Cocinar

 Contar

 Creer

 Dar

 Decir

 Enseñar

 Escribir

 Leer

 Mandar

 Mostrar

 Pagar

 Pedir

 Preguntar

 Recomendar

 Regalar

 Romper

 Traer

TENSES

This is the scary part, when I throw you to the wolves. I’m sorry, my friend.

We're stepping into another important area of your learning: tenses. In Spanish, there are two key grammatical moods we'll focus on indicativo and subjuntivo.

While we'll get into the details later, it's important to understand that these two moods coexist and are used in different contexts to convey different nuances in meaning.

It can be confusing because we start talking about PRESENTE and all out of a sudden you find out there’s a PRESENTE DEL SUBJUNTIVO. And soon enough you discover there’s a PRETÉRITO IMPERFECTO and a PRETÉRITO IMPERFECTO DEL SUBJUNTIVO! And the list goes on.

It all makes sense, I promise.

Also, make sure you become acquainted with the time phrases typically associated to each tense. (see the time phrases after the charts)

Even when we’ll work together in class with conjugations, you’ll need to invest some time going over them on your own regularly until they become more natural

INDICATIVO

For most of this course, we'll be focusing on tenses from the indicative mood, but we also need to get familiar with the subjunctive, specifically the present and imperfect subjunctive.

You already know there are regular and irregular verbs, so we’ll deal with them separately.

THE PRESENT

Presente del indicativo

Verbos regulares

www.ventureoutspanish.com

For vos forms, you don’t include an accent mark if the verb is monosyllabic (vas, das, ves, etc.)

Totally irregular verbs

There are only a few totally irregular verbs, the most important being SER, IR and ESTAR

Stem changing verbs

Stem-changing verbs are conjugated following the rules for regular verbs we’ve just learned, but they also go through a vowel change at their stem (what is left when you remove-AR, -ER, -IR).

This happens because the vowels in the stem of some verbs change under stress to preserve the phonetic flow.

All verbs in the same group follow the same pattern. It does not matter whether the verb ends in -AR, -ER, or -IR.

Bad news, there is no definitive rule to instantly know which verbs are stem-changing.

Stem changing verbs are not irregular in the VOS and NOSOTROS forms

There are 4 groups of stem changing verbs:

 Verbs that change e into ie (e.g. QUERER | to want)

 Verbs that change e into i (e.g. PEDIR | to ask/order)

 Verbs that change o into ue (e.g. ALMORZAR | to have lunch)

 1 Verb that changes u into ue (JUGAR | to play)

E > IE

QUIERO QUEREMOS

QUERÉS QUIEREN

QUIERE

E > I (only -IR verbs)

PIDO PEDIMOS

PEDÍS

PIDE

PIDEN

O > UE

ALMUERZO ALMORZAMOS

ALMORZÁS

ALMUERZA

ALMUERZAN

U > UE

JUEGO JUGAMOS

JUGÁS JUEGAN

JUEGO

Other verbs in these stem changing groups:

E - IE

 preferir prefer

 sentarse sit down

 pensar think

 empezar start

 sentir feel

 perder lose

 tener have

 retener retain

 sentirse to feel

 cerrar close

 entender understand

E - I O - UE

 decir say  medir measure

 elegir choose

 seguir follow continue

 pedir ask order

 servir serve

 vestirse get dressed

 conseguir get

 repetir repeat

 competir compete

 recordar remember

 acordarse remember

 dormir sleep  encontrar find  morir die  mover move

 moverse move

 poder to can

 volver return

 contar count tell

 mostrar show

When you find verbs which have an irregular verb as part of them (tener/retener) they will follow that verb.

-EIR, -UIR and -UAR verbs

Verbs ending in -eir, -uir and -uar are irregular in ALL forms except 2° person singular (VOS)

-eir (reir) -ÍO -ÍMOS

-uir (construir)

-uar (actuar)

-AMOS

Irregular first person

Lastly, to round up this mystery tour, there’s a group which is irregular in the first person and may also be stem changing for the remaining forms (tener, for example)

These forms are later used as the basis for verb forms in the present subjunctive

I. A “G” appears in the root of the verb.

They are frequently used verbs. Some of these verbs (tener, venir, decir) are also stem changing (e > ie/ e > i) in other subject pronouns.

HACER (to do/make): hago

PONER (to put): pongo

PROPONER (to propose): propongo

SUPONER (to suppose): supongo

SALIR (to go out): salgo

II. A “Y” appears at the end of the verb:

SER* (to be): soy

IR* (to go): voy

ESTAR* (to be): estoy

DAR* (to give): doy

* completely irregular

III. The form of the first person singular is -zco:

TENER (to have): tengo

TRAER (to bring): traigo

VENIR (to come): vengo

DECIR (to say): digo

CAER (to fall): caigo

PARECER (to seem): parezco | PARECERSE (to look like): me parezco

CONOCER (to know): conozco | RECONOCER (to acknowledge/recognize): reconozco

MERECER (to deserve): merezco

TRADUCIR (to translate): traduzco

IV. The form of the first person singular is simply different

SABER (to know): sé

PAST TENSES

Spanish has two main past tenses: pretérito indefinido (PIn) and pretérito imperfect (PIm).

Before you jump to the conclusion that you’ll never understand when to use each, read this:

The PIn is used to describe completed actions in the past that have a specific beginning and end (this matches Past Simple tense in English), while the PIm is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past (much like used to + inf or would + inf, or sometimes past continuous).

Then there’s also pretérito pluscuamperfecto which matches past perfect (had + participle), and is used for actions that happened before another action in the past.

Pretérito indefinido

PIn brings good news. -ER/-IR verbs share the same conjugations. This is going to be a common theme throughout other tenses.

Verbos regulares

USTEDES

ELLOS/ELLAS

Verbos irregulares

Ir / Ser

In the PIn, IR and SER merge into one shared form.

FUI FUIMOS

FUISTE FUERON FUE

Stem Changing Irregularities

There’s a limited number of verbs that share the same ending, but change quite drastically at their stem.

Andar Ride ANDUVDecir Say DIJ-* Estar Be ESTUVHacer Do/Make HIC-* Poder Can PUDPoner Put PUSSuponer Suppose SUPUSQuerer Want QUISSaber Know SUPTener Have TUVTraer Bring TRAJVenir Come VIN-

When you find verbs which have an irregular verb as part of them (poner/suponer) will follow that verb (puse/supuse).

Let’s see some examples using TENER:

 Tuve un problema con mi vuelo. I had a problem with my flight

 ¿Tuviste algún problema con tu vuelo?

Did you have any problem with your flight?

 Tuvo un problema con su vuelo He/She had a problema with his/her flight.

 Tuvimos un problema con nuestro vuelo We had a problema with our flight.

 ¿Tuvieron algún problema con su vuelo? Did you/they have any problem with their flight?

You can see that TUV- remains consistent across all variations in the subjects.

Pretérito imperfect (PIm)

In the PIm, once again, -er and -ir verbs blend in one form, as in the Pin.

We already know that it’s used very similarly to used to in English. You need to know it’s also used for i) descriptions and ii) states of mind in the past.

 Mi primer trabajo era muy aburrido. My first job was very boring.

 No sabía que hablabas portugués. I didn’t know you spoke Portuguese. Naturally, this is disorienting if you are coming from one single option for the past. You might be asking yourself “why not fue?”. Well, this is a description.

Similarly, “why not hablaste?”. Well, it’s a state of mind. Other verbs besides saber in this group are esperar (to wait/hope), querer (to want), pensar (to think) y creer (to believe).

Verbos regulares

1° YO -ABA -ÍA

2° VOS -ABAS -ÍAS

3° ÉL/ELLA -ABA -ÍA

1° NOSOTROS -ÁBAMOS -ÍAMOS

2° USTEDES -ABAN -ÍAN 3° ELLOS/ELLAS

Verbos irregulares

There are only three irregular verbs. SER and IR again, and VER, which retains the “e” instead of losing it like any other -er verb

PERÍFRASIS

Don’t let the fancy word PERÍFRASIS scare you. The mechanics for using them are more simple than the name.

I told you before that the present continuous is not a tense in Spanish because it belongs to the periphrasis group.

What is a verb periphrasis, then? A verb periphrasis is a verb phrase formed by the combination of two or more verbs.

There is always one auxiliary verb + one main verb:

The AUXILIARY VERB is always conjugated. It can be used in any tense.

The MAIN VERB takes the form of INFINITIVO – GERUNDIO – PARTICIPIO

Sometimes these structures have a preposition between the auxiliary and the main verb

There are 3 categories of perífrasis:

• PERÍFRASIS DE INFINITIVO -ar / -er / -ir

• PERÍFRASIS DE GERUNDIO -ando / -iendo

• PERÍFRASIS DE PARTICIPIO -ado / -ido (+ participios irregulares)

The most common periphrasis are:

 Ir a + inf to be going to + inf

 Estar + gerundio to be (present) +-ing

 Estaba + gerundio to be (past) + -ing

 Querer + inf to want to + inf

 Tratar de + inf to try to + inf

 Tener que + inf to have to + inf

 Poder + inf to be able to + inf

 Dejar de + inf to stop/give up + -ing

Once again, we need to make a comment on pronominal verbs. If you use a pronominal verb in a periphrasis, you need to change the “se” part accordingly.

Mañana tengo que levantarme (levantarse is the infinitive form) temprano.

Tomorrow I have to get up early.

No puedo concentrarme (concentrarse is the infinitive form).

I can’t concentrate.

REGULAR AR VERBS

Presente Indicativo Pretérito Indefinido Pretérito Imperfecto Condicional Presente Subjuntivo Imperfecto Subjuntivo Imperativo

Yo -o -é -aba -aría -e -ara x

Vos |Tú -ás | -as -aste -abas -arías -es -aras -á | -a

Él/Ella/Usted -a -ó -aba -aría -e -ara -e (USTED)

Nosotros -amos -amos -ábamos -aríamos -emos -áramos -emos

Ustedes -an -aron -aban -arían -en -aran -en

Ellos/Ellas -an -aron -aban -arían -en -aran x

REGULAR ER VERBS

Yo -o -í -ía -ería -a -iera x

Vos | Tú -és |-es -iste -ías -erías -as -ieras -é | -e

Él/Ella/Usted -e -ió -ía -ería -a -iera -a (USTED)

Nosotros -emos -imos -íamos -eríamos -amos -iéramos -amos

Ustedes -en -ieron -ían -erían -an -ieran -an

Ellos/Ellas -en -ieron -ían -erían -an -ieran x

REGULAR IR VERBS

Nosotros -imos -imos -íamos -iríamos -amos -iéramos -amos

Ustedes -en -ieron -ían -irían -an -iera -an

Ellos/Ellas -en -ieron -ían -irían -an iera x