Deck 1 Flashcards
Whole alphabet
A Ahh
B Bay. To clarify it from V, some people will say Bay Larga, Bay Grande, Bay de Burro (pronounced booro)
C Say (Ch - chay - no longer considered a letter)
D Day
E Ā
F Effay
G Hay (guttural)
H Achay
I Ē
J Hota (guttural)
K Kah
L Ellay (LL - āzhā or doblā ellay - no longer considered a letter)
M Emmay
N Ennay
Ñ Enyay
O Ō
P Pay
Q Koo
R Air-ray (slightly trilled like a D) (RR - doblā air-ray - more of a trill - never was a separate letter)
S Essay
T Tay
U Eww
V Ewwbay (official) or just Bay, or to clarify it from B, Bay Chica (small v), Bay Corta (short/cut v), Bay day Bakka (v as in vaca/cow)
W Doblā Eww (most common) or Doblā Ewwbay (official), or sometimes Doblā Bay or Ewwbay Doblā
X Ekk-keys
Y ē gree-Ā-gah (most common - means Greek I) or zhā (official - sounds like J but more like the s in pleasure)
Z Say-ta
Alphabet
2 ways to say it
El abecedario
El alfabeto
How to pronounce words with c and cc
In Latin America vs Spain
What are the two methods of pronunciation called - both in general and for c?
Latin America
C before e or i sounds like s
Otherwise c sounds like k
cc sounds like x, e.g. lección
Spain
Before e or i sounds more like th
So cinco would sound more like thinko
Spain pronunciation in general is called Castilian Spanish or Standard Spanish. Castile was a historical region of Spain.
C (and Z) pronounced like in Spain is called ceceo (thay-THAY-o) which literally means lisp. Pronounced like in Latin America is called seseo.
How to pronounce words with g, gu and gü
G before e or i sounds like h (e.g. gente) In Spain (i.e. Castilian Spanish or Traditional Spanish) before e or i has a more guttural sound.
Otherwise hard g like game
Gue (gay) or Gui (gee) used to make g hard before e and i. You don’t pronounce the u. Guiar/to guide, guerra/war.
In güe (whā) and güi (whee) g goes back to being like h and u makes a blend with e/i. Güero (where-ō = blond), güisqui (whee-ski = whisky).
How to pronounce words with ll and y
Most common way, proper way, third way
What is the most common way called
Most common way is like y. This is called yeísmo (this means pronouncing ll like Spanish y, not necessarily like English y. Spanish y can be pronounced like English y, like zh or like j. Yeísmo just means no longer pronouncing ll and y in a different way).
Proper way zh like the s in pleasure. This is in between y and j and will probably be most understandable to most people.
Another dialect is like j.
How to pronounce words with V and B.
There is no V sound in Spanish - V is pronounced like B. B is hard at the beginning of a breath group, or immediately following L, M, N (close your lips all the way). Otherwise it is softer, don’t close your lips all the way. For instance el vino is hard b, la boca is softer. A breath group is the words you say within a breath, so it could be one word, two words or a short sentence. It also depends on how quickly and clearly you are speaking. So it is not always the same.
How to pronounce words with j
Pronounce like h, with a slightly guttural sound
In Spain (i.e. Castilian Spanish or Traditional Spanish) j before e or i has a more guttural sound.
How to pronounce words with q
Q is only used with que… and qui… Qu is pronounced like k (don’t pronounce the u). So que is kay and qui is kee. e.g. queso is kay-so.
How to pronounce words with d
Hard d like in English at beginning of breath group or immediately following l or n. Otherwise soft d, more of a th sound. e.g. cuando is hard d, adiós is soft d.
Stress
The two general rules when there is no accent mark
When there is a diphthong at end of word
Two special uses of accent marks
Words that end in a vowel or n or s have stress on the next to last syllable. For words that end in diphthong, count the diphthong as one sound even though some people might pronounce both letters slightly - e.g. envidia (envy) pronounced ān-BĒD-ya (not ān-bēd-Ē-a)
Words that end in any consonant other than n or s have stress on the last syllable
If a word has an accent in a place that would not affect the pronunciation, it means there is another word with a different meaning. For instance a one syllable word with an accent, e.g. sí means yes, si means if. Or a multi syllable word with accent where stress would normally be anyway, e.g. este means east, éste means this (today only used if needed to avoid ambiguity).
Add accent to interrogative words when used in a question e.g. donde means where, use dónde in a question asking where something/someone is.
Hello
Hola
Good bye
Adiós
Tomorrow vs the morning vs tomorrow morning
Tomorrow = mañana
The morning = la mañana
Tomorrow morning = mañana en la mañana
Good morning/afternoon/evening
Buenos días
Buenas tardes
Buenas noches
What is your name?
(In conversation and in filling out a form)
(formal and informal)
What is his/her/their name?
My name is…
Their name is…
(In conversation and in filling out a form)
In conversation Informal = ¿Cómo te llamas? (Literally means “how are you called”) Formal = ¿Cómo se llama? (Literally means “how is one called”) - se is used both for formally asking someone what their name is, and asking someone what someone else’s name is.
Me llamo …
Se llama … (their name is …)
Filling out a form Informal = ¿Cuál es tu nombre? (Literally means “which is your name”) Formal = ¿Cuál es su nombre? (Literally means “which is one’s name”) - su is used both for formally asking someone what their name is, and asking someone what someone else’s name is.
Mi nombre es …
Su nombre es …
How are you?
(Formal/informal)
Fine thank you, and you?
(Formal/informal)
Informal = ¿Cómo estas? Formal = ¿Cómo está?
Informal = Bien gracias, ¿y tú? Formal = Bien gracias, ¿y Usted?
Pleased to meet you
Colloquial
Mucho gusto
See you later/tomorrow/soon
Colloquial
Hasta luego/mañana/pronto
Literally means “Until…”
How to pronounce words with r
Slightly trilled, sort of like d
rr is more trilled
How to pronounce words with z
In Latin America vs Spain
What are the two methods of pronunciation called - both in general and for z?
Latin America
Like s
Spain
More like th
So zapata would sound more like thapata
Spain pronunciation in general is called Castilian Spanish or Standard Spanish. Castile was a historical region of Spain.
Z (and C) pronounced like in Spain is called ceceo (thay-THAY-o) which literally means lisp. Pronounced like in Latin America is called seseo.
Lisp (noun)
El ceceo
Pronounced say-SAY-o in Latin America
thay-THAY-o in Spain or when referring to how they pronounce c and z in Spain
Person
Male and female
La persona
Male or female are both la persona.
And adjectives are always feminine even if describing a male.
e.g. Juan es una persona hermosa.
Orange
Color vs fruit
Naranja
Always used for fruit (la naranja)
Can also be used for the color (naranja even if masc noun because it comes from the name for the fruit which is fem)
Anaranjado/a
Can also be used for the color
Seems to mean “orangey” or “orangish”
Brown Most common way to say the color in general Another way Brown hair Brown eyes Brown skin
Marrón most common way to say brown in general
Café also common esp in Mexico, literally means coffee so usually lighter.
Castaño/a used for hair (literally means chestnut so could be used for the nut and also in general for a shade of brown)
Pardo/a seems to be used mainly for brown eyes but in some areas for brown in general too or grayish-brown
Moreno/a used for brown skin
Word endings that usually indicate the noun is feminine (there are exceptions)
6 endings
- a
- ción
- sión
- dad
- tad
- tud
Word endings that can make the noun fem or masc depending on usage
3 endings
-ista
-nte
Can be either masc or fem depending on who referring to. Article changes to indicate masc/fem
El dentista
La dentista
El estudiante
La estudiante
Words that end with a and begin with a stressed (not necessarily accented) a or ha are feminine, but take el and un in the singular only. e.g. el agua fría, un agua fría, las aguas frías, unas aguas frías.
Making a noun plural
3 rules
Add s if it ends in a vowel
Add es if it ends in a consonant
If ends in z, change z to c and add es
“a”
“one”
“some”
“a” masc = un
“a” fem = una
The number 1 by itself = uno
If it is followed by a noun use un or una
e.g. “un libro” means “one book” and “a book”. No distinction is made in Spanish.
“some” masc = unos
“some” fem = unas
How to make adjective masc or fem
If it ends in o it is masc - change o to a to make fem
How to make adjective plural
3 rules
If it ends in a vowel add s
If it ends in a consonant add es
If it ends in z, change z to c and add es (feliz = felices)
All of the pronouns I You (formal and informal) He She We You all (formal and informal) They masc and mixed group They fem
Yo Tú/Usted (abrev Ud) Él Ella Nosotros Ustedes (abrev Uds) (informal vosotros only used in Spain - in Latin America they use Ustedes in place of vosotros) Ellos Ellas
When to use estar for “to be”
In general, and 4 specific situations
In general, estar used for things that are changeable. For instance:
1) current changeable location (Yo estoy en la clase.)
2) current health status (Yo estoy bien.)
3) a mood or a changeable condition (Estoy feliz.)
4) personal opinion on how something tastes, how it looks, etc. (La comida está buena. Él está guapo.)
LMHO - laugh my head off
When to drop pronouns
Drop pronoun (yo, tú, él, ella, nosotros) when it is not needed for clarity, which is most of the time. But if it is not clear from verb conjugation or context who the subject of the sentence is, include the pronoun.
Can include usted for politeness.
Can include pronoun for emphasis ex. Yo voy - “I’m” going (not you).
When to use ser for “to be”
General rule and 7 examples
Use for things that are NOT changeable
1) unchanging, objective Description - La casa es roja. Pablo es español.
2) a person’s Profession - Soy estudiante (omit “a”, i.e. NOT un/una estudiante)
3) Where someone/something is from - Soy de NJ
4) what something is made out of/Material - La mesa es de madera (the table is of wood - “de …” is how you say it, there is no word for wooden; metal and plastic are not used as adjectives)
5) possession/Ownership - Los amigos son de Maria (the friends are of Maria). Los gatos son del niño (the cats are of the child). This is how you structure sentences indicating possession. Apostrophes are never used in Spanish.
6) Where an event takes place - La fiesta es en la casa de José
7) telling Time - Es la una - It is one o’clock
Mnemonic = DWOPT WM (Elmer Fudd was dwopped off the wim of a canyon in many cartoons.). Some things never change.
Where to place prepositions in a sentence e.g. how to say “Where are you FROM?”
Never put prepositions at the end of a sentence.
¿De dónde eres?
Soy de Marlton.
All of the Spanish contractions
There are only two contractions. Their use is not optional like it is in English. No apostrophe used anywhere in Spanish for making contractions, possessives or any other use.
de + el = del (from the/of the)
a + el = al (to the)
These are only done with el, NOT la (i.e. de and la are kept as separate words and so are a and la).
To be
3 words and when each is used
Estar - used to describe things that are changeable
Ser - used to describe things that are NOT changeable
See separate flash cards for examples and conjugations
Hay (present tense of haber) - used to describe the mere existence of something, not to describe its properties. (Haber means “to be” among other meanings.)
Estar - present indicative conjugation and what situations it is used in
“To be” for things that are changeable - see separate flash card for examples.
Note that accent marks are needed for estás and están because words that end in n or s (or a vowel) normally have the stress on the next to last syllable.
Yo estoy - I am Tú estás - you are (informal) Usted está - you are (formal) él/ella está - he/she is Nosotros estamos - we are Vosostros estáis - you all are (informal) (pronounced est-ICE) (remember vosotros only used in Spain - in Latin America they use Ustedes in place of vosotros) Ustedes están - you all are (formal) ellos/ellas están - they are
Ser - present indicative conjugation and what situations it is used in
“To be” for things that are NOT changeable - see separate flash card for examples.
Yo soy - I am Tú eres - you are (informal) Usted es - you are (formal) él/ella es - he/she is Nosotros somos - we are Vosostros sois - you all are (informal) (pronounced soys with s sound at end, not z sound) (remember vosotros only used in Spain - in Latin America they use Ustedes in place of vosotros) Ustedes son - you all are (formal) ellos/ellas son - they are
Here
2 words and when each is used
acá - used with verbs of motion in Latin America (in Spain they only use aquí)
e.g. Ven acá - Come here (ven is imperative tense for “you come”, from venir)
aquí - used in other situations in Latin America, in all situations in Spain. e.g. El perro está aquí.
There
3 words and when each is used
ahí - used to refer to something near the person being spoken to.
allí - away from both the speaker and the person being spoken to, but not too far off.
allá - far from both the speaker and the person being spoken to. This is used more in Latin America. In Spain they would use allí if away from both the speaker and the person being spoken to, regardless of distance.
Beautiful - 5 words and when they are used
Usage depends on region. First 4 can refer to people or things, guapo/a only to people.
Bonito/a - safe to use for all situations, not commonly used for men (bonito). Pretty/beautiful.
Lindo/a - also safe for all situations. Pretty/cute/nice. But lindo referring to a man can be interpreted as being effeminate.
Bello/a - seems to be used in more formal/flowery speech. Beautiful.
Hermoso/a - beautiful/handsome. Can be in a sexual way, but also commonly used to describe beautiful things in nature and babies.
Guapo/a - beautiful/handsome. Used more to refer to young men, can be in a sexual way/hot.
There is, is there?, there is a, there is no, there is not
There are, are there?, there are no, there are not
An indeterminate multiple number and a specific number (eg there are books, there are 3 books)
Hay, ¿hay?, hay un/una …, no hay, no hay
Hay, ¿hay?, no hay, no hay
(Present tense conjugation of haber - used to indicate the mere existence of something, not to describe its properties)
“There are”, “are there” is also hay - there is no different plural word
Do not use unos or unas after hay to indicate plural - if there is a specific number then use the number, for an indeterminate number don’t put anything. e.g. Hay libros en el baño, Hay tres libros en el baño.
How do you say … in Spanish?
You say …
Formal and informal
¿Cómo tú dices … en español? (informal)
¿Cómo se dice … (formal)
(Literally means how does one say)
Tú dices …
Se dice …
Remember to pronounce the c like s, not ch like you would in Italian.
One (as a pronoun)
Eg “How does one say …”
Or he/she/they as an impersonal pronoun not referring to a specific person
Se
¿Cómo se dice …? = How does one say?
Se vive a gusto en NYC = They live well in NYC
Why?
Because
Why
¿Por qué? 2 words, accent - literally means “for what” - interrogative
Porque - 1 word, no accent
Por que - 2 words, no accent - non interrogative Why
On/in
En
From/of
De
With
Con
“On” a day of the week
One time vs recurring
Use “el” for one time or “los” for recurring
Hay una clase el lunes - There is a class on Monday
Hay clase los lunes - There is class on Mondays
Numbers - when they are one word and when two words connected by “y”
16 - 19 and 21 - 29 are one word without “y”, e.g. veintidós.
31 - 99 are two words connected by “y”, e.g. treinta y cuatro.
Over 100, no “y” after the hundred place, e.g. doscientos veinte (220), dos mil seis (2006).
Matching numbers with gender - numbers that end in 1, 100, hundreds, thousand
21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71, 81, 91 followed by a masc noun use un, followed by fem noun use una, e.g. sesanta y un muchachos, sesanta y una muchachas. This doesn’t apply if counting or just stating a number, then it stays masc e.g. sesanta y uno.
100 remains cien whether noun is masc or fem and when just counting or saying number. 101-199 add -to, eg ciento cincuenta.
200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 similar when followed by a noun, e.g. doscientos muchachos, doscientas muchachas. When counting or just saying a number, use masc - doscientos, etc.
For 1000, just say mil (NOT un mil or una mil)
How to say numbers with thousands place and hundreds place, e.g. 1900, 2400, 4531, etc.
Don’t count by hundreds like you might in English, e.g. nineteen hundred, twenty four hundred, forty five hundred thirty one.
E.g. 1900 is mil novecientos.
Thousand (an exact number) vs thousands (inexact, just meaning “lots”)
Mil = 1000 Miles = thousands
Decimal point and thousands separator in numbers
Opposite of English i.e.
$1,234,567.89 = $1.234.567,89
Ordinals (first, second, third, etc.)
Don’t list them, just:
When to use separate word instead of number
Where to put them - 2 rules and 4 exceptions
Gender and special case
Separate words for ordinals are used up to tenth - after that just use the number
Separate words for ordinals come BEFORE the noun which is not the usual for adjectives, except comes after the noun for kings, queens, popes, centuries - e.g. el siglo segundo = the second century
After tenth, just put the number after the noun e.g. once niños = 11 kids, el niño once = the 11th kid
Separate words for ordinals agree in gender with the noun, except for primero and tercero you drop the o before masc nouns e.g. primer hombre = first man
How to say dates
Rule and one exception
Say the number + de + the month
e.g. May 5th = el cinco de mayo
Except for the first of the month say “el primero de …”
e.g. May 1st = el primero de mayo
(It is primero rather than primer since it precedes de and not a noun. But if you said “The first day of May” rather than “The first of May”, it would be “el primer día de Mayo” since día is a masc noun.)
Times in general - midday/noon, midnight, early, late
midday/noon = mediodía midnight = medianoche early = temprano late = tarde
Once/one time
Twice/two times
Three times
Etc.
Una vez
Dos veces
Tres veces
Double, triple
Doble, triple
Half (adjective, noun)
Adjective = medio/a
Noun = la mitad
What does it mean to be a “regular” verb vs “irregular”?
Regular means the stem doesn’t change as you conjugate it. Irregular the stem does change, like ser.
What does present indicative mean and what is its English equivalent?
“Indicative” means it is “indicating” something, i.e. stating a fact. Present indicative is a tense that does not exist in English.
This encompasses two tenses in English that don’t exist in Spanish - “simple present” e.g. I sing and “present progressive” e.g. I am singing.
“Yo canto” means either “I sing” or “I am singing” depending on the context.
-ar regular verbs, present indicative conjugation
Eg cantar
Yo —o Tú —as Él/ella/Usted —a Nosotros —amos Vosotros —áis (only used in Spain - in Latin America they use Ustedes in place of vosotros) Ellos/ellas/Ustedes —an
-er regular verbs, present indicative conjugation
Eg comer
Yo —o Tú —es Él/ella/Usted —e Nosotros —emos Vosotros —éis (only used in Spain - in Latin America they use Ustedes in place of vosotros) Ellos/ellas/Ustedes —en
-ir regular verbs, present indicative conjugation
Eg vivir
Yo —o Tú —es Él/ella/Usted —e Nosotros —imos Vosotros —ís (only used in Spain - in Latin America they use Ustedes in place of vosotros) Ellos/ellas/Ustedes —en
To go, to be going
Infinitives and present indicative conjugation
Ir = to go, to be going depending on context
Yo voy Tú vas Él/ella/Usted va Nosotros vamos Vosotros vais (only used in Spain) Ellos/ellas/Ustedes van
How to create informal future tense aka periphrastic future tense
As a statement (ie to be GOING to do something), also 2 ways to make a question (ie is/are … going to do something?)
Statement - subject + present indicative conjugated form of “ir” + a + infinitive form of the verb
eg Ellos van a cantar esta noche.
(They are going to sing tonight.)
Question - same but move subject after ir (conjugated) or after the infinitive
eg ¿Van ellos a cantar esta noche?
or ¿Van a cantar ellos esta noche?
(Are they going to sing tonight?)
That, which
Who, whom (2 words, when each is used)
Singular and plural
Interrogative and not
Que (without an accent) is used for that and which in all cases, whether it immediately follows the object of the sentence or it doesn’t (ie a prepositional phrase). ie it is always used to refer to places and things. It is both singular and plural.
Eg “el programa que miro” - the program that I watch. Eg “el libro en que escribimos” - the book in which we write”.
Que is used for who and whom (ie to refer to people) only when it immediately follows the object of the sentence, without even a comma. Eg “el amigo que vive en el campo” - the friend who lives in the countryside.
¿Qué? With accent means What?
Quien (pl quienes) (without an accent) is used for who and whom (ie to refer to people) when it doesn’t immediately follow the object of the sentence (ie in a prepositional phrase). Eg “mi tía, quien es doctora,…” - my aunt, who is a doctor,… (tía is followed by a comma and quien is part of a prepositional phrase).
¿Quién? and ¿Quiénes? has the same meanings but used as interrogative.
In Spanish, you never omit the que/quien like you can in English eg in English you can say “the program I watch”, in Spanish you would only say “the program that I watch”.
A
A Ahh
B and how to clarify it from V when spelling something
B Like English word bay. To clarify it from V, some people will say Bay Larga, Bay Grande, Bay de Burro (pronounced booro)
C and Ch
C Say (Ch - chay - no longer considered a letter)
D
D Day
E
E Ā
F
F Effay
G
G Like English word hay (guttural)
H
H Achay
I
I Ē
J
J Hota (guttural)
K
K Kahh
L and LL
L Ellay (LL - āzhā or doblā ellay - no longer considered a letter)
M
M Emmay
N
N Ennay
Ñ
Ñ Enyay
O
O Ō
P
P Like English word pay
Q
Q Koo
R and RR
R Air-ray (slightly trilled like a D) (RR - doblā air-ray - more of a trill - never was a separate letter)
S
S Essay
T
T Tay
U
U Eww
V
Official way, more common way, how to clarify from B when spelling something
V Ewwbay (official) or just Bay, or to clarify it from B, Bay Chica (small v), Bay Corta (short/cut v), Bay day Bakka (v as in vaca/cow)
W
Official way, most common way, two other ways
W Doblā Eww (most common) or Doblā Ewwbay (official), or sometimes Doblā Bay or Ewwbay Doblā
X
X Ekk-keys
Y
Official way and more common way
Y ē gree-Ā-gah (most common - means Greek I) or zhā (official - sounds like J but more like the s in pleasure)
Z
Z Say-ta
Friend
Amigo/a
Bank
El banco
Bathroom
El baño
Car
El carro
Cat
Gato/a
Use masc if not sure or if it is a mixed group
Brother
El hermano
Book
El libro
Little boy/child
Boy (older)
El niño
El muchacho
Dog
Perro/a
Use masc if not sure or if a mixed group
Telephone
El teléfono
Wine
El vino
Animal
El animal
Coffee
El café
Male
As an adjective, for humans and animals
Humans=masculino/a (to match the noun it is modifying)
Animals=macho (since this is actually a noun being used as an adjective, it doesn’t change based on gender or singular/plural, although in everyday speech machos is often used for plural)
