Spanish Tutorial Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar

Note: Before heading to the tutorial I would recommend to download any online
dictionary which could easily translate the words coming in your mind in Spanish which will help learning the new words which are not provided in this tutorial, if you have one so thats good if not then Ill personally prefer BabelFish dictionary which is free so you dont need to buy it. The download link is provided below:

Download BabelFish Translator

1. Basic Phrases Buenos das! bway-nohs dee-ahs Hello! / Good morning! Hola! / Chao! oh-lah / chow Hi! / Bye! Hasta la vista / Hasta luego. ah-stah lah vees-tah / ahstah loo-ay-go See you / See you later. (Muchas) Gracias. (moo-chahs) grah-see-ahs Thank you (very much). Lo siento loh see-ehn-toh I'm sorry Cmo est usted? koh-moh ay-stah oo-sted How are you? (formal) Buenas tardes! bway-nahs tard-ays Good afternoon! Adis. ah-dee-ohs Good bye. Hasta pronto. ah-stah prohn-toh See you soon. De nada. day nah-dah You're welcome. Con permiso / Perdn / Disculpe kohn pehr-mee-soh / pehrdohn / dees-kool-peh Excuse me / Pardon me Cmo ests? koh-moh ay-stahs How are you? (informal) Buenas noches! bway-nahs noh-chays Good evening! / Good night! Por favor. por fah-bor Please. Hasta maana. ah-stah mahn-yahn-ah See you tomorrow. Bienvenidos byen-veh-nee-dohs Welcome Vamos! bah-mohs Let's go! Qu tal? kay tahl How's it going?

Bien / Muy bien bee-ehn / moy bee-ehn Good / Very good

Mal / Muy mal / Ms o menos mahl / moy mahl / mahs oh may-nohs Bad / Very bad / OK Cmo te llamas? koh-moh tay yah-mahs What is your name? (informal) Igualmente. ee-guahl-mehn-tay Same here. / Same to you. De dnde eres? day dohn-day eh-rehs Where are you from? (informal) Cuntos aos tienes? quahn-tohs ahn-yohs teeayn-ays How old are you? (informal) Hablas ingls? ah-blahs een-glehs Do you speak English? (informal)

S / No see / noh Yes / No Me llamo... / Mi nombre es... may yah-moh / mee nohmbreh ess My name is... Seor / Seora / Seorita sayn-yor / sayn-yor-ah / sayn-yor-ee-tah Mister / Mrs. / Miss Yo soy de... yoh soy day I'm from... Yo tengo _____ aos. yoh tayn-goh _____ ahnyohs I am _____ years old.

Cmo se llama usted? koh-moh say yah-mah oosted What is your name? (formal) Mucho gusto. / Encantado. moo-choh goo-stoh / encahn-tah-doh Nice to meet you. De dnde es usted? day dohn-day ehs oo-sted Where are you from? (formal) Cuntos aos tiene usted? quahn-tohs ahn-yohs tee-aynay oo-sted How old are you? (formal) Habla usted espaol? ah-blah oo-sted eh-spahnyol Do you speak Spanish? (formal) Entiende usted? / Entiendes? ehn-tyen-deh oo-sted / ehntyen-dehs Do you understand? (formal / informal) Puede ayudarme? pweh-deh ah-yoo-dar-meh Can you help me? (formal) Dnde est / Dnde estn... ?

(No) Hablo... noh ah-bloh I (don't) speak...

(No) Entiendo. noh ehn-tyen-doh I (don't) understand.

Yo (no lo) se. yoh noh loh seh I (don't) know.

Claro / Claro que s klah-roh / klah-roh keh see Sure / Of course Aqu / Ah ah-kee / ah-ee

Cmo? koh-moh What? Pardon me? Hay / Haba... eye / ah-bee-ah

dohn-deh eh-stah / dohn-deh eh-stahn Where is ... / Where are ... ? Cmo se dice ____ en espaol? koh-moh seh dee-seh ___ en eh-spahn-yol How do you say ____ in Spanish? No importa. noh eem-por-tah It doesn't matter. No tengo ninguna idea. noh tehn-goh neen-goo-nah ee-deh-ah I have no idea. Estoy cansado / enfermo. eh-stoy kahn-sah-doh / ehnfehr-moh I'm tired / sick. Estoy aburrido. eh-stoy ah-boo-ree-doh I'm bored. Est bien. ehs-tah bee-ehn That's alright. / It's ok. Listo? lees-toh Ready? Qu chistoso! keh chees-toh-soh How funny! Salud! sah-lood Bless you! Te toca a ti. teh toh-kah ah tee

Here / There

There is / are... / There was / were...

Qu es esto? keh ehs ehs-toh What is that?

Qu te pasa? keh teh pah-sah What's the matter (with you)? Sin novedad. seen noh-veh-dahd Nothing much. Pase! pah-seh Go ahead! Tengo calor / fro. tehn-goh kah-lohr / free-oh I'm hot / cold. No se preocupe. noh seh preh-oh-koo-peh Don't worry Tengo que ir ahora. tehn-goh keh eer ah-oh-rah I must go now. Todava no. toh-dah-vee-ah noh Not yet. Nos vemos! nohs veh-mos We'll see you! Buena suerte! bweh-nah swehr-teh Good luck! Te amo. tay ah-moh

Qu pasa? keh pah-sah What's happening? Buena idea! bweh-nah ee-deh-ah Good idea! Tengo hambre / sed. tehn-goh ahm-breh / sed I'm hungry / thirsty. No me importa. noh meh eem-por-tah I don't care. Me olvid. meh ohl-vee-deh I forgot. Quizs / Depende. kee-sahs / deh-pehn-deh Maybe / It depends. Que le vaya bien! keh leh vah-yah bee-ehn Have a nice day! Felicitaciones! feh-lee-see-tah-see-oh-nehs Congratulations! Callate! kah-yah-teh

It's your turn. (informal)

Shut up!

I love you. (informal and singular)

Notice that Spanish has informal and formal ways of speaking. This is because there is more than one meaning to "you" in Spanish (as well as in many other languages.) The informal you is used when talking to close friends, relatives, animals or children. The formal you is used when talking to someone you just met, do not know well, or someone for whom you would like to show respect (a professor, for example.) Encantado, cansado, enfermo, and aburrido are the masculine forms of the words. If the words refer to a woman or are spoken by a woman, then the final o changes to a: encantada, cansada, enferma, and aburrida In Spain, as well as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, the Spanish language is called castellano instead of espaol.

2. Pronunciation Spanish Letter English Sound a ah e ay i ee o oh u oo ll y v b at beginning of word, real soft b between 2 vowels ny (as in canyon) r almost like a d when in between 2 vowels rr r with a roll of the tongue d almost like a th when in between 2 vowels j hard h g g, sometimes a h qu k ai / all / ay eye z s z, ce, ci th (in northern Spain only) The five vowels in Spanish are all pure vowels: [a], [e], [i], [o], [u] Be sure that you do not pronounce a diphthong as we do in English (the extra yuh or wuh sound at the end).

Stress: Just as in English, Spanish stresses a certain syllable in a word. If a word ends in a consonant, except s or n, the stress is on the last syllable. If a word ends in a vowel, or s or n, the stress is on the second-to-last syllable. For words that do no follow these rules, an accent is written over the vowel so that you will know to stress that syllable, as in el pjaro (bird). Please keep in mind that because Spanish is spoken in many countries, there are several regional dialects and accents so pronunciation rules may not apply to all countries. This tutorial is mostly concerned with thelanguage that is spoken in Mexico and Spain.

3. Alphabet

a b c d e f g h i

ah bay say

j k l ll n o q

hoh-tah kah ay-lay ay-yay

r s t u v x y z

air-ay

rr airr-ay
ay-say tay oo bay chee-kah vay doh-blay ah-kees ee-gree-ay-gah say-tah

ch chay
day ay ay-fay hey

m ay-may
ay-nay

ayn-yay w oh pay koo

ah-chay p ee

The Spanish language academy no longer considers the ch, ll or rr to be separate letters in dictionaries, but they are still separate letters in the alphabet. In Spain, you can say oobay for v, but in Latin America most dialects just use bay and an adjective, such as chica (Mexico and Peru) or corta (Argentina and Chile).

4. Articles & Demonstratives Masc. Singular the el (ail) Fem. Singular la (lah) una (oonah) the some Masc. Plural Fem. Plural los (lohs) las (lahs)

a, an un (oon)

unos (oon- unas (oonohs) ahs)

this este that ese that aquel

esta esa aquella

these estos those esos those aquellos

estas esas aquellas

El is also used with feminine nouns beginning with a or ha when the accent is on the first syllable. Words that end in -o and -or are generally masculine, with a few exceptions: la mano (hand), la foto (photo). Words that end in -a are generally feminine, with a few exceptions: el mapa (map), el problema (problem). Other feminine words end in -cin, -tad, -dad, or -tud. Use the ese forms to mean that when what you are talking about is near the person you are addressing. Use the aquel forms when what you are talking about is far from both you and the person you are addressing. Esto and eso are the neuter forms of this and that. They can be used in general and abstract ways. Demonstrative adjectives (listed above) are used before a noun; if you want to use the demonstrative pronouns, which are used before a verb, add an accent on all of the first e's: ste, sta, stos, stas, se, sa, sos, sas, aqul, aqulla, aqullos, aqullas.

5. Subject Pronouns noh-sohyo yoh I trohs / nohsoh-trahs boh-sohvosotros / t too you (informal) trohs / bohvosotras soh-trahs ail / ayay-yohs / ayl / ella / he / she / it / ellos / ellas / yah / ooyahs / oousted you (formal) ustedes sted sted-ays nosotros / nosotras we

you all they / they / you (plural)

Vosotros is used only in Spain when speaking to more than one person with whom you know well. Nosotras and vosotras refer to a group of all females, as well as ellas. Ustedes is almost always used for saying "you all" in all Spanish speaking countries. Usted can be abbreviated to Ud. Ustedes can also be abbreviated to Uds. Please note that the subject pronouns are rarely used before verbs.

6. To Be & to Have ser - to be past I was you were

soy eres

present I am you are

fu fuiste

ser sers

future I will be you will be

es somos sois son

he/she/it was we were you were they were estar - to be present past estoy I am estuve I was ests you are estuviste you were est he/she/it is estuvo he/she/it was estamos we are estuvimos we were estis you are estuvisteis you were estn they are estuvieron they were tener - to have present past tengo I have tuve I had tienes you have tuviste you had tiene he/she/it has tuvo he/she/it had tenemos we have tuvimos we had tenis you have tuvisteis you had tienen they have tuvieron they had

he/she/it is we are you are they are

fu fuimos fuisteis fueron

ser seremos seris sern

he/she/it will be we will be you will be they will be

future estar I will be estars you will be estar he/she/it will be estaremos we will be estaris you will be estarn they will be future tendr I will have tendrs you will have tendr he/she/it will have tendremos we will have tendris you will have tendrn they will have

Highlighted forms are only used in Spain. Ser is used to identify or describe. It tells what something is, its basic characteristics, or its origin. Estar is used to tell the location of something or how someone feels. Uses of Ser Identify person/object Inherent characteristics or qualities Nationality/Occupation Telling time Express ownership Impersonal expressions Passive voice El edificio es un templo. La casa es grande. Carlos es pobre. Es carpintero. Son las tres. Los libros son de Juan. Es necesario. El telfono fue inventado por Bell. Uses of Estar Location/position El libro est en la mesa. The book is on the table. Temporary condition/state La ventana est abierta. The window is open. The building is a temple. The house is large. Charles is poor. He is a carpenter. It's three o'clock. The books are John's. It is necessary. The telephone was invented by Bell.

State of health Form progressive tense

Juan est enfermo. John is sick. Miguel est estudiando. Michael is studying.

Sometimes changing the verb can completely change the meaning: ser aburrido means to be boring, while estar aburrido means to be bored. Others include: ser bueno - to be nice, estar bueno - to be in good health; ser callado - to be discrete, estar callado - to be silent; ser moreno - to have brown hair, estar moreno - to be tan. Many common expressions using the verb "be" in English use the verb "tener" in Spanish (but not all): to be afraid to be against to be at fault to be careful to be cold to be happy to be hot to be hungry tener miedo estar en contra tener la culpa tener cuidado tener fro to be in a hurry to be jealous to be lucky to be patient to be sleepy to be successful to be tired tener prisa, estar de prisa tener celos tener suerte tener paciencia tener sueo tener xito tener sed estar cansado/a

to be curious ser curioso/a tener calor tener hambre

estar contento/a to be thirsty

to be ___ years old tener ___ aos

7. Question Words what who how when why qu quin(es) cmo cundo por qu which cul(es)

how much cunto (-a) how many cuntos (-as) whom whose a quin(es) de quin(es)

where dnde

8. cardinal & ordinal Numbers 0 1 2 3 4 cero uno dos tres cuatro say-roh oo-noh dohs trays kuah-troh

first second third fourth

primero segundo tercero cuarto

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1000

cinco seis siete ocho nueve diez once doce trece catorce quince diez y seis diez y siete diez y ocho diez y nueve veinte veinte y uno veinte y dos treinta cuarenta cincuenta sesenta setenta ochenta noventa cien(to) mil

seen-koh says see-ay-tay oh-choh new-ay-vay dee-ays ohn-say doh-say tray-say kah-tor-say keen-say dee-ays ee says dee-ays ee see-ay-tay dee-ays ee oh-choh dee-ays ee new-ay-vay bayn-tay bayn-tay ee oo-noh bayn-tay ee dohs trayn-tah kuar-ain-tah seen-kuain-tah say-sain-tah say-tain-tah oh-chain-tah noh-bain-tah see-ain-(toh) meel

fifth sixth seventh eighth ninth tenth eleventh twelfth thirteenth fourteenth fifteenth sixteenth seventeenth eighteenth nineteenth twentieth twenty-first twenty-second thirtieth fortieth fiftieth sixtieth seventieth eightieth ninetieth hundredth thousandth

quinto sexto sptimo octavo noveno dcimo undcimo duodcimo dcimo tercero dcimo cuarto dcimo quinto dcimo sexto dcimo sptimo dcimo octavo dcimo noveno vigsimo vigsimo primero vigsimo segundo trigsimo cuadragsimo quincuagsimo sexagsimo septuagsimo octogsimo nonagsimo centsimo milsimo

If you are just saying 100, you use cien. If it's over 100, you use ciento. So 101 is ciento uno and 156 would be ciento cincuenta y seis. Also you can use diecisis, diecisiete, dieciocho, and diecinueve for 16, 17, 18, and 19, respectively. They are pronounced the same but are combined into one word. Additionally, 21-29 can be written as one word (veintiuno, veintids, veintitrs, etc.), but you need to use y for the rest of the numbers. Primero and tercero drop the final -o when used directly before a noun.

9. Days of the Week Monday lunes loo-nays

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday day week weekend today tonight last night yesterday tomorrow my birthday next last day after tomorrow the following day the day before

martes mircoles jueves viernes sbado domingo el da la semana el fin de semana hoy esta noche anoche ayer maana mi cumpleaos pasado / pasada pasado maana el da siguiente la vspera

mar-tays mee-air-coh-lays hway-bays bee-air-nays sah-bah-doh doh-ming-oh dee-ah say-mahn-ah feen day say-mahn-ah oy es-tah noh-chay ah-noh-chay eye-yair mahn-yahn-ah mee coom-play-ahn-yohs pah-sah-doh / dah ahn-teh-eye-yair pah-sah-doh mahn-yahn-ah dee-ah see-gwee-ehn-teh vees-peh-rah

prximo / prxima prok-see-moh / mah

day before yesterday anteayer

Days of the week are all masculine in gender and they are not capitalized in writing. The definite article is not used after the verb ser, but at all other times it is required and there is slight change in meaning if it is singular or plural: el lunes = on Monday but los lunes = on Mondays

10. Months of the Year January February March April May June July enero febrero marzo abril mayo junio julio ay-nair-oh fay-bray-roh mar-soh ah-breel mi-oh hoo-nee-oh hoo-lee-oh

August September October November December month year decade century millennium

agosto septiembre octubre noviembre diciembre el mes el ao la dcada el siglo el milenio

ah-gohs-toh sayp-tee-aim-bray ohk-too-bray noh-bee-aim-bray dee-see-aim-bray mais ahn-yoh deh-kah-dah see-gloh mee-leh-nee-oh

first of [a month] el primero de [month] pree-mair-oh day _____

The preposition en is used with months: en abril = in April. Also notice that primero is used for the first of the month, but the rest of the days are referred to using the regular cardinal numbers: el primero de junio but el dos de julio. Months of the year are also all masculine and not capitalized in writing. Cual es la fecha de hoy? What is today's date? Hoy es el primero de agosto. Today is August 1st.

11. Seasons spring winter la primavera el invierno in spring in winter en primavera en invierno

summer el verano autumn el otoo 12. Directions to the right to the left straight ahead north el norte south el sur east el este west el oeste 13. Colors & shapes

in summer en verano in autumn en otoo

a la derecha a la izquierda todo derecho northeast el noreste northwest el noroeste southeast el sureste southwest el suroeste

red pink orange yellow green blue light blue purple violet brown black gray white golden silver

rojo / roja rosado / rosada anaranjado / anaranjada amarillo / amarilla verde azul celeste morado / morada violeta marrn negro / negra gris blanco / blanca dorado / dorada plateado / plateada

circle square rectangle triangle oval cube sphere cylinder cone octagon box pyramid dark light

el crculo el cuadrado el rectngulo el tringulo el valo el cubo la esfera el cilindro el cono el octgono la caja la pirmide oscuro / oscura claro / clara

All adjectives in Spanish are placed after the noun that they describe and they agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the noun. Notice that some colors do not change for gender (marrn) or number (gris). To change an adjective to the feminine form, you usually just change the final -o to -a. To make an adjective plural, simply add an -s. a red house = una casa roja

14. Time Qu hora es? Es la una. Son las dos/tres/cuatro... Es medioda. Es medianoche. Son las cinco y cinco. Son las ocho y cuarto. Son las diez menos cuarto. Son cuarto para las diez What time is it? It's one. It's two/three/four... It's noon. It's midnight. It's 5:05 It's 8:15 It's 9:45 It's 9:45 (common in Mexico)

Son las nueve menos diez. Son diez para las nueve Son las tres y media / treinta. de la maana de la tarde de la noche en punto A qu hora? 15. Weather Qu tiempo hace? Hace buen tiempo. Hace mal tiempo. Hace fro. Hace calor. Hace sol. Hace viento. Hace fresco. Est nublado. Hay niebla. Hay neblina. Hay humedad. Hay granizo. Llueve. Nieva. Truena. Llovizna. 16. Prepositions a con de en at, to with of, from in, on

It's 8:50 It's 8:50 (common in Mexico) It's 3:30 in the morning / AM in the afternoon / PM in the evening / PM exactly / sharp At what time?

What's the weather like? The weather's nice. The weather's bad. It's cold. It's hot. It's sunny. It's windy. It's chilly. It's cloudy. It's foggy. It's misty. It's humid. It's hailing. It's raining. It's snowing. It's thundering. It's sprinkling.

al lado de cerca de lejos de delante de

beside, alongside of near, close to far from in front of

alrededor de around

contra against

entre hacia para por sobre sin

between, among towards, about for, in order, by for, through, along, via on, over without

debajo de detrs de encima de hasta desde

below, under behind above, on top of till, until from, since

en frente de opposite

There are two prepositional contractions with definite articles. A and el combine to form al, and de and el combine to form del.

17. Family & Animals family parents husband wife la familia los padres el marido / el esposo la mujer / la esposa grandfather grandmother grandparents grandson el abuelo la abuela los abuelos el nieto baby teenager boy girl boys & girls man woman adult twins (m) twins (f) dog cat bird fish gold fish horse goat el beb el adolescente el nio la nia los nios el hombre la mujer el adulto los gemelos las gemelas el perro el gato el pjaro el pez la carpa dorada el caballo la cabra

father / dad el padre / pap granddaughter la nieta mother / mom son daughter children brother sister brothers & sisters only child (m) only child (f) kid / boy kid / girl la madre / mam el hijo la hija los hijos el hermano la hermana los hermanos el hijo nico la hija nica el muchacho grandchildren uncle aunt aunts & uncles nephew niece nieces & nephews cousin (m) cousin (f) cousins relatives stepfather los nietos el to la ta los tios el sobrino la sobrina los sobrinos el primo la prima los primos los parientes el padastro

la muchacha el medio half-brother hermano

half-sister

la media hermana

stepmother stepbrother stepsister stepson stepdaughter godfather godmother

la madrastra el hermanastro la hermanastra el hijastro la hijastra el padrino la madrina

pig cow rabbit turtle mouse deer duck

el cerdo la vaca el conejo la tortuga el ratn el ciervo el pato

father-in-law el suegro mother-inlaw brother-inlaw sister-in-law son-in-law daughter-inlaw la suegra el cuado la cuada el yerno la nuera

18. To Know People & Facts conocer - to know people conozco conocemos conoces conocis conoce conocen 19. Formation of Plural Nouns 1. If a singular noun ends in a vowel, just add -s to make it plural: la casa las casas 2. If a singular noun ends in a consonant, a vowel with an accent, or y, add -es to make it plural: el papel los papeles 3. Singular nouns that end in -z change the z to c and add -es to form the plural: la luz las luces 4. A few nouns that have an accent in the singular will lose it in the plural: el lpiz los lpices saber - to know facts s sabemos sabes sabis sabe saben

20. Possessive Adjectives Initial Forms plural mis tus sus Terminal Forms singular plural mo / ma mos / mas tuyo / tuya tuyos / tuyas suyo / suya suyos / suyas

singular my mi your tu your/his/her/its su

our your your/their

nuestro / nuestra vuestro / vuestra su

nuestros / nuestras vuestros / vuestras sus

nuestro / nuestra vuestro / vuestra suyo / suya

nuestros / nuestras vuestros / vuestras suyos / suyas

Remember that vuestro forms are only used in Spain (just as the vosotros subject pronoun & verb conjugations are only used in Spain). Because su and sus can have so many meanings, the definite article may be used instead of su with these expressions following the noun: de Ud., de l, de ella, de Uds., de ellos and de ellas. los libros de ellos their books The terminal forms are placed after the noun, and the noun must be preceded by the definite article, except in direct address. When used with the indefinite article, it corresponds to the English "of mine, of yours," etc. el libro mo my book Qu haces, hijo mo? What are you doing, my son? un amigo mo a friend of mine