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 that’s good if not then I’ll personally prefer
BabelFish dictionary which is free so you don’t need to buy it. The
download link is provided below:

Download BabelFish Translator

1. Basic Phrases

¡Buenas noches!
¡Buenos días! ¡Buenas tardes!
bway-nahs noh-chays
bway-nohs dee-ahs bway-nahs tard-ays
Good evening! / Good
Hello! / Good morning! Good afternoon!
night!

¡Hola! / ¡Chao! Adiós. Por favor.

oh-lah / chow ah-dee-ohs por fah-bor
Hi! / Bye! Good bye. Please.

Hasta la vista / Hasta

luego. Hasta pronto. Hasta mañana.
ah-stah lah vees-tah / ah- ah-stah prohn-toh ah-stah mahn-yahn-ah
stah loo-ay-go See you soon. See you tomorrow.
See you / See you later.

(Muchas) Gracias. De nada. Bienvenidos

(moo-chahs) grah-see-ahs day nah-dah byen-veh-nee-dohs
Thank you (very much). You're welcome. Welcome

Con permiso / Perdón /

Lo siento Disculpe ¡Vamos!
loh see-ehn-toh kohn pehr-mee-soh / pehr- bah-mohs
I'm sorry dohn / dees-kool-peh Let's go!
Excuse me / Pardon me

¿Cómo está usted? ¿Cómo estás? ¿Qué tal?

koh-moh ay-stah oo-sted koh-moh ay-stahs kay tahl
How are you? (formal)
Bien / Muy bien
bee-ehn / moy bee-ehn
Good / Very good
¿Cómo se llama usted?
koh-moh say yah-mah oo-
sted
What is your name? (formal)
Mucho gusto. / Encantado.
moo-choh goo-stoh / en-
cahn-tah-doh
Nice to meet you.
¿De dónde es usted?
day dohn-day ehs oo-sted
Where are you from?
(formal)
¿Cuántos años tiene usted?
quahn-tohs ahn-yohs tee-ay-
nay oo-sted
How old are you? (formal)
¿Habla usted español?
ah-blah oo-sted eh-spahn-
yol
Do you speak Spanish?
(formal)
¿Entiende usted? /
¿Entiendes?
ehn-tyen-deh oo-sted / ehn-
tyen-dehs
Do you understand? (formal /
informal)
¿Puede ayudarme?
pweh-deh ah-yoo-dar-meh
Can you help me? (formal)
How are you? (informal) How's it going?
Mal / Muy mal / Más o
menos Sí / No
mahl / moy mahl / mahs oh see / noh
may-nohs Yes / No
Bad / Very bad / OK
Me llamo... / Mi nombre
¿Cómo te llamas?
es...
koh-moh tay yah-mahs
may yah-moh / mee nohm-
What is your name?
breh ess
(informal)
My name is...
Señor / Señora / Señorita
Igualmente.
sayn-yor / sayn-yor-ah /
ee-guahl-mehn-tay
sayn-yor-ee-tah
Same here. / Same to you.
Mister / Mrs. / Miss
¿De dónde eres?
Yo soy de...
day dohn-day eh-rehs
yoh soy day
Where are you from?
I'm from...
(informal)
¿Cuántos años tienes? Yo tengo _____ años.
quahn-tohs ahn-yohs tee- yoh tayn-goh _____ ahn-
ayn-ays yohs
How old are you? (informal) I am _____ years old.
¿Hablas inglés?
(No) Hablo...
ah-blahs een-glehs
noh ah-bloh
Do you speak English?
I (don't) speak...
(informal)
(No) Entiendo. Yo (no lo) se.
noh ehn-tyen-doh yoh noh loh seh
I (don't) understand. I (don't) know.
Claro / Claro que sí ¿Cómo?
klah-roh / klah-roh keh see koh-moh
Sure / Of course What? Pardon me?
¿Dónde está / Dónde
Hay / Había...
están... ? Aquí / Ahí
eye / ah-bee-ah
dohn-deh eh-stah / dohn-deh ah-kee / ah-ee
There is / are... / There was /
eh-stahn Here / There
were...
Where is ... / Where are ... ?

¿Cómo se dice ____ en

español? ¿Qué te pasa?
¿Qué es esto?
koh-moh seh dee-seh ___ en keh teh pah-sah
keh ehs ehs-toh
eh-spahn-yol What's the matter (with
What is that?
How do you say ____ in you)?
Spanish?

No importa. ¿Qué pasa? Sin novedad.

noh eem-por-tah keh pah-sah seen noh-veh-dahd
It doesn't matter. What's happening? Nothing much.

No tengo ninguna idea.

¡Buena idea! ¡Pase!
noh tehn-goh neen-goo-nah
bweh-nah ee-deh-ah pah-seh
ee-deh-ah
Good idea! Go ahead!
I have no idea.

Estoy cansado / enfermo.

Tengo hambre / sed. Tengo calor / frío.
eh-stoy kahn-sah-doh / ehn-
tehn-goh ahm-breh / sed tehn-goh kah-lohr / free-oh
fehr-moh
I'm hungry / thirsty. I'm hot / cold.
I'm tired / sick.

Estoy aburrido. No me importa. No se preocupe.

eh-stoy ah-boo-ree-doh noh meh eem-por-tah noh seh preh-oh-koo-peh
I'm bored. I don't care. Don't worry

Está bien. Me olvidé. Tengo que ir ahora.

ehs-tah bee-ehn meh ohl-vee-deh tehn-goh keh eer ah-oh-rah
That's alright. / It's ok. I forgot. I must go now.

¿Listo? Quizás / Depende. Todavía no.

lees-toh kee-sahs / deh-pehn-deh toh-dah-vee-ah noh
Ready? Maybe / It depends. Not yet.

¡Qué chistoso! ¡Que le vaya bien! ¡Nos vemos!

keh chees-toh-soh keh leh vah-yah bee-ehn nohs veh-mos
How funny! Have a nice day! We'll see you!

¡Salud! ¡Felicitaciones! ¡Buena suerte!

sah-lood feh-lee-see-tah-see-oh-nehs bweh-nah swehr-teh
Bless you! Congratulations! Good luck!
 Te amo.
Te toca a ti. ¡Callate!
tay ah-moh
teh toh-kah ah tee kah-yah-teh
I love you. (informal and
It's your turn. (informal) Shut up!
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 español.

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
ñ 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
pájaro (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 ah j hoh-tah r air-ay
b bay k kah rr airr-ay
c say l ay-lay s ay-say
ch chay ll ay-yay t tay
d day m ay-may u oo
e ay n ay-nay v bay chee-kah
f ay-fay ñ ayn-yay w vay doh-blay
g hey o oh x ah-kees
h ah-chay p pay y ee-gree-ay-gah
i ee q koo z say-tah

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 oo-
bay 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. Fem. Masc. Plural Fem. Plural

 Singular Singular
the el (ail) la (lah) the los (lohs) las (lahs)
una (oon- unos (oon- unas (oon-
a, an un (oon) some
ah) ohs) ahs)
this este esta these estos estas
that ese esa those esos esas
that aquel aquella those aquellos 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 -ción,
-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: éste, ésta, éstos, éstas, ése, ésa, ésos,
ésas, aquél, aquélla, aquéllos, aquéllas.

5. Subject Pronouns

noh-soh-
nosotros /
yo yoh I trohs / noh- we
nosotras
soh-trahs
boh-soh-
vosotros /
tú too you (informal) trohs / boh- you all
vosotras
soh-trahs
ail / ay- ay-yohs / ay-
él / ella / he / she / it / ellos / ellas / they / they /
yah / oo- yahs / oo-
usted you (formal) ustedes you (plural)
sted sted-ays

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
present past future
soy I am fuí I was seré I will be
eres you are fuiste you were serás you will be
es he/she/it is fué he/she/it was será he/she/it will be
somos we are fuimos we were seremos we will be
sois you are fuisteis you were seréis you will be
son they are fueron they were serán they will be
estar - to be
present past future
estoy I am estuve I was estaré I will be
estás you are estuviste you were estarás you will be
está he/she/it is estuvo he/she/it was estará he/she/it will be
estamos we are estuvimos we were estaremos we will be
estáis you are estuvisteis you were estaréis you will be
están they are estuvieron they were estarán they will be
tener - to have
present past future
tengo I have tuve I had tendré I will have
tienes you have tuviste you had tendrás you will have
tiene he/she/it has tuvo he/she/it had tendrá he/she/it will have
tenemos we have tuvimos we had tendremos we will have
tenéis you have tuvisteis you had tendréis you will have
tienen they have tuvieron they had tendrán 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 El edificio es un templo. The building is a temple.

Inherent characteristics La casa es grande. The house is large.
or qualities Carlos es pobre. Charles is poor.
Nationality/Occupation Es carpintero. He is a carpenter.
Telling time Son las tres. It's three o'clock.
Express ownership Los libros son de Juan. The books are John's.
Impersonal expressions Es necesario. It is necessary.
 El teléfono fue inventado por The telephone was invented by
Passive voice
Bell. Bell.

Uses of Estar

Location/position El libro está en la mesa. The book is on the table.

Temporary condition/state La ventana está abierta. The window is open.
State of health Juan está enfermo. John is sick.
Form progressive tense Miguel está 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 tener miedo to be in a hurry tener prisa, estar de prisa

to be against estar en contra to be jealous tener celos
to be at fault tener la culpa to be lucky tener suerte
to be careful tener cuidado to be patient tener paciencia
to be cold tener frío to be sleepy tener sueño
to be curious ser curioso/a to be successful tener éxito
to be happy estar contento/a to be thirsty tener sed
to be hot tener calor to be tired estar cansado/a
to be hungry tener hambre to be ___ years old tener ___ años

7. Question Words

what qué which cuál(es)

who quién(es) how much cuánto (-a)
how cómo how many cuántos (-as)
when cuándo whom a quién(es)
where dónde whose de quién(es)
why por qué
8. cardinal & ordinal Numbers

0 cero say-roh
1 uno oo-noh first primero
2 dos dohs second segundo
3 tres trays third tercero
4 cuatro kuah-troh fourth cuarto
5 cinco seen-koh fifth quinto
6 seis says sixth sexto
7 siete see-ay-tay seventh séptimo
8 ocho oh-choh eighth octavo
9 nueve new-ay-vay ninth noveno
10 diez dee-ays tenth décimo
11 once ohn-say eleventh undécimo
12 doce doh-say twelfth duodécimo
13 trece tray-say thirteenth décimo tercero
14 catorce kah-tor-say fourteenth décimo cuarto
15 quince keen-say fifteenth décimo quinto
16 diez y seis dee-ays ee says sixteenth décimo sexto
17 diez y siete dee-ays ee see-ay-tay seventeenth décimo séptimo
18 diez y ocho dee-ays ee oh-choh eighteenth décimo octavo
19 diez y nueve dee-ays ee new-ay-vay nineteenth décimo noveno
20 veinte bayn-tay twentieth vigésimo
21 veinte y uno bayn-tay ee oo-noh twenty-first vigésimo primero
22 veinte y dos bayn-tay ee dohs twenty-second vigésimo segundo
30 treinta trayn-tah thirtieth trigésimo
40 cuarenta kuar-ain-tah fortieth cuadragésimo
50 cincuenta seen-kuain-tah fiftieth quincuagésimo
60 sesenta say-sain-tah sixtieth sexagésimo
70 setenta say-tain-tah seventieth septuagésimo
80 ochenta oh-chain-tah eightieth octogésimo
90 noventa noh-bain-tah ninetieth nonagésimo
100 cien(to) see-ain-(toh) hundredth centésimo
1000 mil meel thousandth milésimo

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 dieciséis, 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, veintidós, veintitrés, 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 martes mar-tays
Wednesday miércoles mee-air-coh-lays
Thursday jueves hway-bays
Friday viernes bee-air-nays
Saturday sábado sah-bah-doh
Sunday domingo doh-ming-oh
day el día dee-ah
week la semana say-mahn-ah
weekend el fin de semana feen day say-mahn-ah
today hoy oy
tonight esta noche es-tah noh-chay
last night anoche ah-noh-chay
yesterday ayer eye-yair
tomorrow mañana mahn-yahn-ah
my birthday mi cumpleaños mee coom-play-ahn-yohs
next próximo / próxima prok-see-moh / mah
last pasado / pasada pah-sah-doh / dah
day before yesterday anteayer ahn-teh-eye-yair
day after tomorrow pasado mañana pah-sah-doh mahn-yahn-ah
the following day el día siguiente dee-ah see-gwee-ehn-teh
the day before la víspera vees-peh-rah

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 enero ay-nair-oh

February febrero fay-bray-roh
March marzo mar-soh
April abril ah-breel
May mayo mi-oh
June junio hoo-nee-oh
July julio hoo-lee-oh
August agosto ah-gohs-toh
September septiembre sayp-tee-aim-bray
October octubre ohk-too-bray
November noviembre noh-bee-aim-bray
December diciembre dee-see-aim-bray
month el mes mais
first of [a month] el primero de [month] pree-mair-oh day _____
year el año ahn-yoh
decade la década deh-kah-dah
century el siglo see-gloh
millennium el milenio mee-leh-nee-oh

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 la primavera in spring en primavera

summer el verano in summer en verano
winter el invierno in winter en invierno
autumn el otoño in autumn en otoño
12. Directions

to the right a la derecha

to the left a la izquierda
straight ahead todo derecho
north el norte northeast el noreste
south el sur northwest el noroeste
east el este southeast el sureste
west el oeste southwest el suroeste

13. Colors & shapes

red rojo / roja circle el círculo

pink rosado / rosada square el cuadrado
anaranjado /
orange rectangle el rectángulo
anaranjada
yellow amarillo / amarilla triangle el triángulo
green verde oval el óvalo
blue azul cube el cubo
light blue celeste sphere la esfera
purple morado / morada cylinder el cilindro
violet violeta cone el cono
brown marrón octagon el octágono
black negro / negra box la caja
gray gris pyramid la pirámide
white blanco / blanca
golden dorado / dorada dark oscuro / oscura
silver plateado / plateada light 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 (marrón) 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

¿Qué hora es? What time is it?

Es la una. It's one.
Son las dos/tres/cuatro... It's two/three/four...
Es mediodía. It's noon.
Es medianoche. It's midnight.
Son las cinco y cinco. It's 5:05
Son las ocho y cuarto. It's 8:15
Son las diez menos cuarto. It's 9:45
Son cuarto para las diez It's 9:45 (common in Mexico)
Son las nueve menos diez. It's 8:50
Son diez para las nueve It's 8:50 (common in Mexico)
Son las tres y media / treinta. It's 3:30
de la mañana in the morning / AM
de la tarde in the afternoon / PM
de la noche in the evening / PM
en punto exactly / sharp
¿A qué hora? At what time?

15. Weather

¿Qué tiempo hace? What's the weather like?

Hace buen tiempo. The weather's nice.
Hace mal tiempo. The weather's bad.
Hace frío. It's cold.
Hace calor. It's hot.
Hace sol. It's sunny.
Hace viento. It's windy.
Hace fresco. It's chilly.
Está nublado. It's cloudy.
Hay niebla. It's foggy.
Hay neblina. It's misty.
Hay humedad. It's humid.
 Hay granizo. It's hailing.
Llueve. It's raining.
Nieva. It's snowing.
Truena. It's thundering.
Llovizna. It's sprinkling.

16. Prepositions

a at, to al lado de beside, alongside of

con with alrededor de around
contra against cerca de near, close to
de of, from lejos de far from
en in, on delante de in front of
entre between, among debajo de below, under
hacia towards, about en frente de opposite
para for, in order, by detrás de behind
por for, through, along, via encima de above, on top of
sobre on, over hasta till, until
sin without desde from, since

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 la familia grandfather el abuelo baby el bebé

el
parents los padres grandmother la abuela teenager
adolescente
el marido / el
husband grandparents los abuelos boy el niño
esposo
la mujer / la
wife grandson el nieto girl la niña
esposa
boys &
father / dad el padre / papá granddaughter la nieta los niños
girls
mother / la madre /
grandchildren los nietos man el hombre
mom mamá
son el hijo uncle el tío woman la mujer
daughter la hija aunt la tía adult el adulto
children los hijos aunts & uncles los tios twins (m) los gemelos
brother el hermano nephew el sobrino twins (f) las gemelas
sister la hermana niece la sobrina dog el perro
brothers & nieces &
los hermanos los sobrinos cat el gato
sisters nephews
only child
el hijo único cousin (m) el primo bird el pájaro
(m)
only child
la hija única cousin (f) la prima fish el pez
(f)
la carpa
kid / boy el muchacho cousins los primos gold fish
dorada
kid / girl la muchacha relatives los parientes horse el caballo
el medio
half-brother stepfather el padastro goat la cabra
hermano
la media
half-sister stepmother la madrastra pig el cerdo
hermana
el
father-in-law el suegro stepbrother cow la vaca
hermanastro
mother-in- la
la suegra stepsister rabbit el conejo
law hermanastra
brother-in-
el cuñado stepson el hijastro turtle la tortuga
law
sister-in-law la cuñada stepdaughter la hijastra mouse el ratón
son-in-law el yerno godfather el padrino deer el ciervo
daughter-in-
la nuera godmother la madrina duck el pato
law

18. To Know People & Facts

conocer - to know people saber - to know facts

conozco conocemos sé sabemos
conoces conocéis sabes sabéis
conoce conocen sabe saben

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 lápiz
→ los lápices

20. Possessive Adjectives

Initial Forms Terminal Forms

singular plural singular plural
my mi mis mío / mía míos / mías
your tu tus tuyo / tuya tuyos / tuyas
your/his/her/its su sus suyo / suya suyos / suyas
nuestro / nuestros / nuestro / nuestros /
our
nuestra nuestras nuestra nuestras
vuestro / vuestros / vuestro / vuestros /
your
vuestra vuestras vuestra vuestras
your/their su sus suyo / suya 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 él, 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 mío my book

Qué haces, hijo mío? What are you doing, my son?
un amigo mío a friend of mine