Introduction to learning Spanish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzWZi03KM2U

There are 572 million Spanish speakers worldwide.This number is expected to grow to over
750 million by the year 2060.
There are 21 countries around the world where Spanish is the official language (or one of
them).
What I am trying to say here is… Spanish is pretty important.
If you have been on the fence about learning Spanish or are just starting out with it, you will
be tapping into a tremendously influential language. 
For a complete beginner, though, the idea of learning this rule-heavy language might be
daunting. You might not know where to start. Maybe you have already started but do not
seem to be getting anywhere.
What you need is a plan to get you from the very start of learning Spanish to the ultimate
goal of fluency.

Practice pronunciation: you don’t have to be perfect in it but it’s necessary to learn the
basics so you understand natives and they understand you. Just let go of your mother tongue’s
system as it won’t help you most of the time.  The most important difference though is the
intonation as it’s a lot more audible than in English. Special pronunciation facts include the
silent written ‘h’- it’s written down but it’s not pronounced at all, eg. el hada (fairy), el
humor (mood), el hombre (man), hacer (to do)- the written ‘j’ pronounced as a strong ‘h’-
it’s the “spitting sound”, your tongue is in the middle, press the air at the stem of your
tongue then you let the air flow rather than approaching your tongue to the palate or upper
teeth. eg. Juan (John), el/la jirafa (giraffe), el jueves (Thursday), una jarra de cerveza (a mug/
pitcher of beer, the ñ pronounced as the ‘n’ in ‘new, newt’ eg. el Año Nuevo (New Year), la
señora (Madam), español/española (Spanish)

Please watch these videos too and try to sound out the words you heard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh7MLrbxH2E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2R8luCdE0g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jODPZiAoXbI

A bit of challenge  try it yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q0kqvT4M_0
Verb conjugation
There are 6 conjugations of most of the verbs in each tense and mode. There are auxiliary
verbs as ‘haber’ (to have) ‘ser’ (to be, used as an auxiliary verb in passive voice) and others.
About the basics of conjugation you can find info here, I’m going to expand on it later:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfWcAgihqVw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVb_dFqVv88

You just have to imagine the stem and the end of the verb separately and then put them
together, it will help a lot with irregular verbs. ;)
For example: Ten-er: ten-go, tien-es, tien-e, ten-emos, ten-éis, tien-en
Sent-ir: sien-to, sien-tes, sien-te, sen-timos, sen-tís, sien-ten
The easiest ways to practice verb conjugation I have found so far are creating sentences and
micro-conversations and read these aloud plus write these verbs down on post-its or pieces
of paper, regularly running through them by reading them in my head and loud as well.

Gender
Spanish has masculine (el chico- the boy) and feminine (la chica- the girl)
genders. Most of the time it’s shown at the ending of nouns and adjectives, in
the rest of the time you can rely on the context. There is a clear system of rules
to decide most of the time whether if something is masculine or feminine.
Living beings, including plants, have a certain, logical gender.
I advise you to watch these videos and try to memorise the examples
whenever you can.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ds8irrvq04

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Gm3KCa6gbq4&list=PLMTPxQWoC0_O6GOKGNv3EQ8wIcajn7eAq&index=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVBQmo5813M

Basic sentences and introductions

Etiquette: Spanish people shake hands when they introduce themselves

formally. When you greet girls you give the three kisses on the cheek, not
more, not less.
1. Hola — Hello
This is the most basic of the greetings, and can be combined with any of the
other ones found below. Now you can say, “Hola, buenos días,” or “Hola,
buenas tardes.” The h is silent!
2. Buenos días — Good morning
Literally meaning “good day,” it can also mean “good morning.” “Buenos
días” is usually used until noon.
3. Buenas tardes — Good afternoon
If you want to say “good afternoon,” and it’s one o’clock or later in the day,
you can say “buenas tardes.”

In Spain it may be used until later in the evening, while in most Latin American
countries and the Caribbean, it may be used until the sun goes down.

4. Buenas noches — Good evening

This phrase also means “goodnight.” Always be mindful of the context since
you could be saying goodbye.

5. ¿Cómo está? — How are you? (Formal)

This is a formal way of asking how someone is feeling. It’s usually reserved for
older people of those of authority as a sign of respect. In some South American
countries, always use this one to be on the safe side.

Are you conducting business? It is important that you inquire about a person’s
well-being before beginning any type of business talk. It’s an indication that
you care about your client.

6. ¿Cómo estás? — How are you? (Informal)

The s at the end indicates that you’re talking to someone your same age or
younger. If you hear  “tutéame,” you have permission to address the person in
the informal way, regardless of age!
7. ¿Cómo están?  — How are you? (Plural)
Greeting a group of people? The n at the end will indicate that you just said
hello to everyone. If you know the group, make sure that you kiss everyone.
But if you’re a guy, kiss the girls and shake the men’s hands.
Traveling to Spain? Say “¿Cómo estáis?“ (ko mo es tais).
8. ¿Qué tal? — How’s it going?

For some it may be informal, but in general this question can be used with
anyone in a non-business setting.

9. ¿Qué pasa? — What’s happening? / What’s up?

Talking to your friends or someone younger than you? Use the phrase “¿Qué
pasa?” You may also hear this one when someone wants to know if something
is wrong.
10. ¿Qué hubo? — What happened?
It’s considered informal in some countries. Use it with your friends and family.
Just remember the rule about the silent h.
11. Bienvenidos — Welcome
Want to welcome someone to your home? The Spanish phrase is
pronounced “Bi en ße ni dos.”
Keep the final s if you are welcoming more than one person. Drop the
final s and it becomes singular.
If you’re speaking to a female, you’ll say “bienvenida,” but for a gentleman,
say “bienvenido.” Welcoming a group of females? Use the
word “bienvenidas.” It may sound chauvinistic, but use the
form“bienvenidos” if it is a mixed group.

12. Mi casa es su casa — My house is your house

If you want to make someone comfortable in your home, you can say, “Mi
casa es su casa.” You’re not really giving your house away, but you are
indicating that they can feel at home.
If you invited someone your same age, change the “su” to “tu.”

13. ¿De dónde eres? — Where are you from?

Use this phrase when you want to ask someone your age or younger where
they’re from. The question will change to “¿De dónde es usted?” if you’re
speaking to an adult or someone of authority.

14. ¿Cómo te llamas? — What’s your name?

Literally meaning “What do you call yourself?” this is what you say when you
want to ask someone’s name. It does have a few variations depending on
formality. If you want to ask someone older in Spanish you say,  “¿Cómo se
llama?”
15. ¿Aló?  — Hello?
This is a common way of answering the phone in many Spanish-speaking
countries. Depending on where you travel, you may hear  “bueno,”
“sí,”and “diga” instead to answer a phone call.

Regardless of the greeting, respond by saying who you are and make sure to
inquire how they are. It’s impolite not to ask! Thank them very much. Then,
state the purpose of your call.

16. ¿Adónde vas? — Where are you going?

Saying hello to someone who’s in a rush? To ask someone where they’re going
in Spanish, say this phrase. Change it to “va” for formal conversations and if
you’re asking a group of people where they’re going in Spain, change it
to  “vais.”

17. ¿Dónde has estado? — Where have you been?

Has it been a long time since you’ve seen someone? Say  “hola” and find out
where they have been. Be prepared to get the whole story!

18. ¡Hace tiempo que no te veo! — It’s been a while since I’ve seen you!

You’re saying hello, but it’s been ages since you’ve seen them.

How to respond to ‘How are you?’ in Spanish?

First, you need to understand that if a Spanish asks about your
wellbeing they don’t mean it as a greeting as in English- they expect
you to answer that question and expect you to ask them as well. ;)
Listen to this video, the transcript is below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVs1_iToPps

Lesson Transcript
Hi, everyone! This is Rosa. Today, I’m going to teach you 10 responses to “How are
you?”.

1. ¿Cómo estás? “How are you?”

This is a more formal way of asking “How are you?” A more colloquial way would be
¿Qué tal?

2. Gracias por preguntar. “Thank you for asking.”

3. Estoy bien. “I'm fine.”

So this is the most common response you can get to “How are you?”. When you
don’t really want to explain anything else, you just say, Estoy bien. ¿Y tú? “And
you?” ¿Cómo estás?

4. ¿Cómo has estado recientemente? “How have you been recently?”

This you would ask to someone you haven’t seen in some time and you’re curious
about how they’ve been.

5. Tengo sueño. “I'm sleepy.”

6. No estoy mal. “I'm not bad.”

So when you’re not particularly fine, but also not bad, you can say this. It’s kind of in
a middle ground.

Here’s a video about small talk, you have already heard some of them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E0XIF2uJCQ