Pronunciation

Question 1

A

Answer 1

-the a in father
(La casa, la tapa, Panamá, Canadá)

Question 2

E

Answer 2

Two sounds:
1. The e in café when final
(Elefante, come, vive, verde, que)
2. The e in set elsewhere
(Pero, es, hotel)

Question 3

I

Answer 3

-The i in machine
(Sí, cine, comida)

Question 4

O

Answer 4

Two sounds:
1. The o in hope
(Oso, otro, hospital)
2. The o in for if followed by r
(Doctor, profesor)

Question 5

U

Answer 5

1. The u in rule
   (Uno, tú, puro)
2. Written as ü when pronounced in güe and güi
   (Agüero, güira)
3. Silent in gue and gui elsewhere
   (Guerra, guitarra)

Question 6

Y

Answer 6

-Spanish i
(Y, soy, hay)

Question 7

B

Answer 7

1. The b in boat when they occur at the beginning of a breath group, or following l, m, or n
   (Baño, burro, embargo, alba, el vino, el voto, invierno, vamos)
2. Softer elsewhere, produced through slightly opened lips
   (Cuba, la boca, Havana, la vaca)

Question 8

C

Answer 8

1. The c in cat before a, o, u, or before a consonant
   (Camisa, color, concreto)
2. The s in sail before e or i
   (Centavo, cita, cinco)

Question 9

Ch

Answer 9

-The ch in chum
(Chocolate, chorizo)

Question 10

D

Answer 10

-Two sounds:
1. The d in dog when it occurs at the beginning of a breath group, or following l or n
(Donde, falda, conde)
2. The th in other elsewhere
(Boda, poder, verdad, nada, cada, estudio

Question 11

F

Answer 11

-English f
(Futuro, fila, oficina)

Question 12

G

Answer 12

1. The g in game before a, o, u, or before a consonant
   (Gato, gusto, grande)
2. The h in hat before e or i
   (Genio, generoso, gitano)

Question 13

H

Answer 13

-Silent
(Hombre, hasta, hablar)

Question 14

J

Answer 14

-English h. It can also be given a slightly guttural sound.
(Juan, ojo, mujer)

Question 15

K

Answer 15

-English k
(Kayak, kilómetro, kiwi)

Question 16

L

Answer 16

-English l, but with the tip of the tongue touching the roof of the mouth
(El, hotel, mil, palo)

Question 17

LL

Answer 17

-The y in beyond, or in some countries the s in pleasure
(Caballo, bello, llave)

Question 18

M

Answer 18

-English m
(Menos, cama, marrón)

Question 19

N

Answer 19

-English n

Question 20

Ñ

Answer 20

-The ny in canyon or the ni in onion
(Mañana, España, señor)

Question 21

P

Answer 21

-English p, but not explosive (without the puff of air in the English sound)
(Papel, persona, pobre)

Question 22

Q

Answer 22

-The k in key (found only in the combinations que and qui)
(Quito, queso, equipo)

Question 23

R

Answer 23

1. The dd in ladder (a single tongue flap)
   (Caro, barato, para, hablar)
2. The r at the beginning of a word or after l, n, or s is trilled like rr
   (Rosa, el río, Enrique, las rosas)

Question 24

RR

Answer 24

-A trill or tongue roll. There is no English equivalent
(Perro, horrible, carro)

Question 25

S

Answer 25

-English s
(Sopa, sala, blusa)

Question 26

T

Answer 26

-English t, but not explosive, with the tip of the tongue against the back of the upper front teeth
(Torta, talento, tesoro)

Question 27

V

Answer 27

-Spanish b. There is no v sound in Spanish.

Question 28

W

Answer 28

-Only exists in foreign words and not considered part of the Spanish alphabet)

Question 29

X

Answer 29

-English x
(Experto, examen)

Question 30

Y

Answer 30

-Spanish ll. The y in beyond or, in some countries, the s in pleasure
(Papaya, papagayo, ayer)

Question 31

Z

Answer 31

-The s in sail
(Azul, brazo, luz)

Question 32

Which words have their natural stress on the next to last syllable?

Answer 32

Words that end in a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or the consonants n or s.

Question 33

Which words have their stress on the final syllable?

Answer 33

Words that end in any consonant other than n or s

Question 34

What happens when a word doesn’t follow one of the two accent rules?

Answer 34

It will have a written accent on the syllable that is stressed

Question 35

What does it mean if a one syllable word has a written accent?

Answer 35

That there is another word in the language that has the same spelling but another meaning.

El - the Él - he
Si - if Sí - yes
Tu - your Tú - you
Se - oneself Sé - I know

Question 36

What does it mean if a two syllable word has a written accent that does not affect the pronunciation?

Answer 36

That there is another word that has the same spelling but a different meaning.

Este - this Éste - this one
Ese - that Ése - that one

Question 37

Which words have an accent mark that does not affect pronunciation?

Answer 37

Interrogative words

¿Qué? - what?
¿Quién? - who?
¿Dónde? - where?
¿Cómo? - how?
¿Por qué? - why?
¿Cuál? - which?

Question 38

What happens to nouns and adjectives that end in z in the plural?

Answer 38

The z changes to a c.

El lápiz - los lápices
La nariz - las narices
Feliz - felices

Question 39

When do words that contain z change in the plural and how?

Answer 39

Z followed by a or o changes to c before e or i. The sound off and c are the same.

Question 40

Why do other spelling changes occur?

Answer 40

To maintain the required sound.

1. For example tocar has a hard c sound which must be preserved. So toque needs the qu to replace the c, maintaining the k sound.
2. llegar has a hard g sound, which must be preserved. So it becomes llegue, with gu replacing the g to maintain the hard g sound

Question 41

After what consonants is r trilled like rr?

Answer 41

After l, n, or s