1.1 Lesson Flashcards
Learn the basic functioning of nouns, adjectives, articles, pronouns, gender, and the verb SER ("to be").
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a boy
un niño
boy - un niño (or muchacho, or chico). Note that masculine nouns usually end in -o, and use the indefinite article un.
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a girl
una niña
girl - una niña (or muchacha, or chica). Note that feminine nouns usually end in -a, and use the indefinite article una. In this case, the change from -o to -a results in a completely different word in English (from “boy” to “girl”).
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a man
un hombre
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a handsome man
un hombre guapo
handsome - guapo. Note that adjectives in Spanish usually come after the noun
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a good-looking girl
una niña guapa
good looking (female) - guapa. Note that the adjective’s gender is feminine (ending in -a) to match the gender of the noun
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a pretty girl
una niña bonita
cute/pretty - bonita
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the man
el hombre
the (masculine) - el. Note that the article must match the noun in gender. El is used for masculine nouns
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the girl
la niña
the (feminine) - la. Note that la is the article used for feminine nouns
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the woman
la mujer
woman- la mujer
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the men
los hombres
the (plural, masculine) - los. Note that the article matches the noun in gender and number. Also note that los is the plural form of the article el. Masculine plural nouns usually end in -es and -os, while female plurals end in-as
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the pretty girls
las niñas bonitas
the (plural, feminine ) - las. Note that the adjective (bonitas) matches the noun (niñas) in both number and gender
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to be
ser
to be - ser. Note that ser is an irregular verb in Spanish, and is one of the most commonly used verbs. The other way of saying “to be” is the verb estar, which we will learn more about later
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The man is handsome
El hombre es guapo
he/she/it is - es. Es is the third-person singular in the present tense of the verb ser - “to be.”
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She is an enthusiastic teacher
Ella es una maestra entusiasta
teacher - el maestro, la maestra
What is the difference between the words el and él?
- el is the definite masculine article “the”
- él is the third person singular masculine pronoun “he”
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The boy is a student
El niño es un estudiante
student - el/la estudiante. Note that estudiante is a fixed noun whose ending does not vary according to gender.
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I am a student
(Yo) soy una estudiante
I am - soy. Note that the subject pronoun yo (“I”) is optional in Spanish. It is usually preferable to say simply: “Soy una estudiante.” For masculine uses, say ‘un’ and for feminine uses, say ‘una’. But the more commonly used expression is ‘Soy estudiante’.
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I am tall
Yo soy alto
tall - alto/a
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Is he tall?
¿Es alto (él)?
Note that the pronoun (él) often comes after the adjective (alto) in a question, and is usually optional anyway
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Who am I?
¿Quién soy (yo)?
Remember that in Spanish, the pronoun (yo) can be omitted
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you (informal and formal)
tú (informal), usted (formal)
The word tú is usually used with friends and children, while usted (abbreviated Ud.) is used for more formal relationships or to show seniority
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You are (tú) handsome (masculine)
Tú eres guapo
you are - eres. If this sentence had been for “You (formal)”, then the Spanish translation would have been Usted es guapo.
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Is she short?
¿Es baja (ella)?
short - bajo. Note that the pronoun (“ella”) is optional in a question, as long as it is clear who is being spoken about
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We are boys
Somos niños
we are - somos
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Is (it) a boy?
¿Es un niño?
In Spanish, the word “it” really doesn’t exist, because even common nouns are given a gender. The word “it” is usually omitted where it would otherwise be in English
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We are fun
(Nosotros) somos divertidos
fun - divertido. Remember that in Spanish, the adjective must agree with the noun in gender and quantity. Since the noun nosotros is masculine and plural, the adjective divertidos must be plural
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We are women
Nosotras somos mujeres
we - nosotros, nosotras. Note that the form of the word “we” varies depending on the genders of the group members. A mixed group of males & females would use the masculine nosotros
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They are men
(Ellos) son hombres
they are - son
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The children are tall
Los niños son altos
Note that in Spanish, a plural noun ending in -os can mean either all masculine nouns, or a mix of masculine and feminine nouns. When specifying a feminine only group, one must add -as, as in niñas
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a book
un libro
book - el libro
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some books
unos libros
In Spanish, the singular article un becomes plural unos when the noun itself becomes plural. Unos translates loosely as “some”
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a big book
un libro grande
big - grande
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the big houses
las casas grandes
house - la casa. Note that casa is a feminine noun and carries the article la. All nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine, which is usually distinguishable by whether they end in -o or -a.
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the letter (mail)
la carta
letter - la carta
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a good book
un buen libro / un libro bueno
good - bueno. Note that in Spanish you have option of placing buen before the noun or bueno after the noun. (The feminine form, buena, is the same before or after the noun)
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a good high school
una buena secundaria / una secundaria buena
high school - la (escuela) secundaria, el colegio. In some countries, colegio is used for all schools
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Is it a good (elementary) school?
¿Es una buena escuela?
elementary school - la escuela. Escuela is usually the generic word for “school” if the type of school is unknown
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You (ud) are a good teacher
Usted es un buen maestro
you are (formal) - es. Note that verbs used with usted are conjugated like those used with él and ella
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you (plural), you all
ustedes (uds)
You all - ustedes. Ustedes is often abbreviated as simply uds. To indicate a group of all boys, use ellos. To indicate a group of all girls, use ellas.
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I am American
Soy americano
American - americano. Note that nationalities are not capitalized in Spanish. Also remember that pronouns (e.g., yo) are optional in Spanish. Soy is the shorter way of saying Yo soy
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You and I are American
Tú y yo somos americanos
Remember that in Spanish, the adjective and noun form of adjectives like americano must agree with the gender and number of the pronoun/subject
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You (uds) are girls
Ustedes son niñas
you (uds) are - son
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They (fem) are nice
Ellas son simpáticas
nice - simpático
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The tall boys are interesting
Los niños altos son interesantes
interesting - interesante. Note that interesante is invariable in gender, but must match nouns in number
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Are you (uds) classmates?
¿Son compañeros (ustedes)?
classmate - el compañero, la compañera. The word compañero is often used to just mean “buddy” or “companion” outside a school setting as well
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you (plural, Spain)
vosotros
you (plural, Spain) - vosotros. Note that vosotros is only used in informal contexts in Spain. In formal contexts in Spain, as well as in all circumstances in other countries, ustedes is used.
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You (vosotros) are teachers
Vosotros sois maestros
you are (vosotros) - sois**. Remember that vosotros verb forms are only used for informal situations in Spain. In any country, it is perfectly safe to use ustedes to mean “you all”
Name the Personal Pronouns in Spanish
- I
- you
- he/she
- we
- you all
- they
PRONOMBRES PERSONALES
- I - yo
- you - tú / Ud. (formal)
- he/she - él/ella
- we - nosotros/nosotras
- you all - vosotros/vosotras
- they / you all - ellos/ellas/uds.
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TO BE (ser)
- I am
- you are
- he/she is
- we are
- you all are
- they are
SER
- yo soy
- tú eres
- él/ella/ud es
- nosotros somos
- vosotros sois
- ellos/ellas/uds son
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- the (singular)
- the (plural)
- el/la
- los/las
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- a (singular)
- some (plural)
- un/una (singular)
- unos/unas (plural)
Pronounce the letters in the Spanish alphabet
a, b, c, ch, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, ll, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, rr, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z
Note that K and W are not really Spanish letters, but are in the alphabet to use in foreign words
