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Spanish 1 Introduction PDF
Spanish 1 Introduction PDF
A Pan – bread
As a in father Hablar – to speak
Casa – house
Madre – mother
Papel - paper
Pronunciation
Vowels
E Padre – father
Necessario – necessary
As a in bake when at the De – of, from
end of a syllable
Usted – you
Sentir – to feel
As e in bet when in a Verdad – truth
closed syllable (syllable with Ser - true
ends in a consonant)
Decir – to say
Pronunciation
Vowels
I (Y)
As i in laughing, Ir – to go
machine Libre – free, at liberty
Ficción - fiction
Pronunciation
Vowels
O Ojo – eye
Malo – bad, evil
As o in obey when at the Mano – hand
end of a syllable Señora – woman, lady
Señor – man
As ou in wrought, Sombrero – hat
brought when in a closed Contra – against
syllable
Consejo - council
Pronunciation
Vowels
U
As oo in tool Mucho – much
Nunca – never
Buscar – to look for
Un(a) - one
Pronunciation
Consonants
B
Softly with lips touching Trabajar – to work
but a little air passing
between them
Not as forcefully as in
Beber – to drink
English except as b in Bastante – enough
bond when the initial También – also, too
letter in a word or after n
and m
Pronunciation
Consonants
C
Cómo – how
As c in comb before a, o, Café – coffee
u, or another consonant Cabrito –small goat
Lección – lesson
In Latin American
Spanish, as s in see Decir – to say
before e or i. As th in Cinco – five
thin (Castillian) before e
or i Hacer – to do, to make
Pronunciation
Consonants
CH
As ch in children Mucho – much
Muchacho – boy
Chorizo – spicy pork
sausage
Pronunciation
Consonants
D
As in the English d Donde – where
except when between Todo – all
vowels and at the end Vender – to sell
of a word, pronounce
like th in they
Pronunciation
Consonants
F
As in the English f Falta – fault, want, lack
Frío – cold
Difícil – difficult
Pronunciation
Consonants
G Pagar – to pay
Alguno – some person
As g in garden when Gracias – thank you
before a, o, u, or a
consonant Guacamole - guacamole
Gente – People
As a gutteral or General – general
throaty h before e Gema – gem
and i
Gentil - gentle
Pronunciation
Consonants
H
Is always silent Hoy – today
Hay- there is, there are
Hermano – brother
Ahora - now
Pronunciation
Consonants
J
As h in hall Jardin – garden
Ejemplo – example
Juan – John
Jalisco – Jalisco
Pronunciation
Consonants
K
As in the English k Kilómetro – kilometer
Kilogramo – kilogram
Not found in Kiosco - kiosk
Spanish-based words,
only those based on
another language
Pronunciation
Consonants
L
As in the English l Libro – book
Libre – free, at liberty
Cozumel – Cozumel
Fácil - easy
Pronunciation
Consonants
LL
In Latin American Calle – street
Spanish, as y in Llamar – to call
yellow Llegar – to arrive, to
come
In Castillian, it is Llevar – to carry
pronounced as lli in Caballo - horse
million and William
Pronunciation
Consonants
M
As in the English m Minuto – minute
Importar – to import
Tomar – to take, to
drink, to eat
Pronunciation
Consonants
N
As in the English n Mano – hand
Negro – black
Noche – night
General – general
Pronunciation
Consonants
Ñ
As in ny in canyon Pequeño – little
and lanyard Año – year
Niña - girl
Pronunciation
Consonants
P
As in the English p Posible – possible
Guapa – brave, stout of
heart
Rápido - quick
Pronunciation
Consonants
R
As in the English r Servir – serve
but correctly Secreto – secret
pronounced Rojo – red
Río - river
When at the
beginning of a word,
slightly trilled
Pronunciation
Consonants
RR
As in the English r, Arroz – rice
but is pronounced Irregular – irregular
with a stronger, more
elongated trill
Pronunciation
Consonants
S
As s in similar Siglo – century
Siempre – always
Many persons will Días – days
pronounce mismo Así – so, thus
(same) as a z,
especially when said
quickly
Pronunciation
Consonants
T
As in the English t Tener – to have
Tener Que – to have to
However, tongue Sentir – to feel
should touch back of Tinta – ink, tint
upper teeth rather Tierra – earth, land
than frontal roof of
the mouth
Pronunciation
Consonants
V
As in the English v, Vivir – to live
but not pronounced Verde – green
as assertively as in Uvas – grapes
English Juvenil – juvenile
Very similar to the
Spanish b
The lips almost touch
but air passes through
them
Pronunciation
Consonants
W
Does not exist in Spanish
Pronunciation
Consonants
X
Examen – to examine
When it occurs
between vowels, Éxito – result, outcome
pronounce like gs Existir – to exist
Explicar – to explain
When it occurs Exclamar – to cry out,
before a consonant, to exclaim
pronounce like s Extremo – last, extreme
Pronunciation
Consonants
Z
In Latin American Zapato – shoe
Spanish, pronounced Paz – peace
as the s Riqueza – riches
In Castillian,
pronounced like th in
earth
Diphthongs
A, e and o are known as strong vowels. Two
can never stand together to form a diphthong.
They are always separated in pronunciation.
De-se-o – I desire
De-se-ar – to desire
I-de-a – idea
Diphthongs
I (y) and u are weak vowels and when one
strong and one weak vowel or two weak
vowels come together, a diphthong is formed.
Rui-do – noise
Siem-pre – always
Diphthongs
If, however, a weak vowel is accented ('), it is
separated from the other vowel, weak or
strong, and the diphthong is broken.
Dí-a – day
Rí-o – river
Ma-rí-a – Mary
Diphthongs
Jai alai – jai alai (game)
AI (AY) Aire – air
As in English I Hay – there is, there are
Pausa – pause,
AU intermission
As in ou in out Pauperismo - poverty
Diphthongs
EU
As in English long a/u Europa – Europe
Rhymes with way to
Diphthongs
IA Pronunciar – to
As ya in yacht pronounce
Diablo – devil, cunning
person
Silencio – silence
IO Dios – God
As yo in yolk
Lecciones - lessons
Diphthongs
IE Bien – well
As ye in yellow if in a Hierba – herb
closed syllable
UE Puente – bridge
Pueblo – town, village
As we in went
Bueno – good
UO Cuota – quota
Antiguo – antique, old
As wo in wore
Diphthongs
IU Ciudad – city
As in English you, Viuda – widow
but pronounced with
brevity
Cuidado – care
¡Cuidado! – Be Careful!
UI (UY) Muy – very
As English we Ruido – noise
Latin American Pronunciation Rules
That Differ From Castillian
Madrid – Madrid
Sed – thirst, drought
Verdad – truth
Latin American Pronunciation Rules
That Differ From Castillian
Raza – race
Cadiz – Cadiz
Chorizo – a pork sausage
Latin American Pronunciation Rules
That Differ From Castillian
Cinco – five
Necio – stupid, foolish
Latin American Pronunciation Rules
That Differ From Castillian
Caballo – horse
Amarillo – yellow
Syllabication
Ciu-dad – city
Ha-ber – to have
Lla-mar – to call
Syllabication
Car-ta – letter
Es-tá – he (she, it) is
Syllabication
Hablar – to speak
Accentuation
Pluma – pen
Hablan – they speak
Cosas - things
Accentuation
México – Mexico
América – America
Día – day
Accentuation
Cuo-ta – quota
Bien – well
Guapo – bold, brave
Accentuation
Rui-do – noise
Viu-do – widower
Punctuation
El inglés – English
El español - Spanish
Capitalization
Zero - zero
Uno (a) - one Seis - six
Dos - two Siete - seven
Tres - three Ocho - eight
Cuatro - four Nueve - nine
Cinco - five Diez - ten
Numerals
Once – eleven
Doce – twelve
Trece – thirteen
Catorce – fourteen
Quince – fifteen
Numerals
Primero/a – first
Segundo/a – second
Tercero/a – third
Cuarto/a – fourth
Quinto/a – fifth
Ordinals
Sexto/a – sixth
Séptimo/a – seventh
Octavo/a – eighth
Noveno/a – ninth
Décimo/a - tenth
Number of Nouns