Spanish Essentials For Dummies E-Book

Gail Stein

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fremdsprachen
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 220

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

The perfect guide for new Spanish learners and anyone looking for an expert refresher

Interested in a fast and effective guide to learning Spanish that avoids fluff and focuses on key concepts that you need to know to improve your ability to speak, write, and understand the language? Spanish Essentials For Dummies, 2nd Edition walks you through Spanish fundamentals you can use for at-home, solo learning, to supplement your progress in a Spanish class, or as a companion to language instruction.

Inside:

• Get practical tips on Spanish grammar, pronunciation, and sentence structure
• See conversational Spanish examples to amplify your learning
• Understand all the core concepts taught and tested in a typical introductory Spanish course

Perfect for Spanish students looking for a quick reference to supplement classroom or app-assisted Spanish learning, Spanish Essentials For Dummies, 2nd Edition is a great resource for everyone looking to brush up on their conversational Spanish.

Leseprobe

Spanish Essentials For Dummies®

To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Spanish Essentials For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.

Table of Contents

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Chapter 1: Brushing Up on the Basics

Pronouncing Properly

Counting Down

Dealing with Dates

Telling Time

Identifying Parts of Speech

Chapter 2: Embracing the Gender Gap

Being Specific with Definite Articles

Being General with Indefinite Articles

Being Demonstrative with Adjectives

Explaining Gender

Forming Plural Nouns

Showing Possession

Substituting with Object Pronouns

Chapter 3: Living in the Present

Identifying Types of Verbs

Selecting Subject Pronouns

Communicating in the Present Tense

Making Progress with the Present Progressive

Chapter 4: Being Descriptive

Adding Color with Adjectives

Describing Actions with Adverbs

Making Comparisons

Linking with Prepositions

Chapter 5: Making Inquiries

Posing a Yes/No Question

Responding to a Yes/No Question

Getting the Facts

Providing Information

Chapter 6: Reliving the Past

Living in the Past

Reminiscing with the Imperfect

Choosing the Preterit or the Imperfect

Creating the Present Perfect

Chapter 7: Looking to the Future

Talking about the Future without Using the Future Tense

Mastering the Future Tense

Using the Future to Foretell, Predict, and Wonder

Chapter 8: Understanding Verb Moods and the Conditional

Giving Commands with the Imperative Mood

Forming the Present Subjunctive

Using the Present Subjunctive

Examining the Present Perfect Subjunctive

Making Actions Conditional

Chapter 9: Ten Key Verb Distinctions

Ser versus Estar

Saber versus Conocer

Tomar versus Llevar

Deber versus Tener Que

Preguntar versus Pedir

Jugar versus Tocar

Gastar versus Pasar

Dejar versus Salir

Volver versus Devolver

Poder versus Saber

Appendix: Verb Charts

Regular Verbs

Stem-Changing Verbs

Spelling-Change Verbs

Irregular Verbs

Index

About the Authors

Connect with Dummies

End User License Agreement

List of Tables

Chapter 2

TABLE 2-1 Demonstrative Adjectives

TABLE 2-2 Possessive Adjectives

TABLE 2-3 Spanish Direct Object Pronouns

TABLE 2-4 Spanish Indirect Object Pronouns

Chapter 3

TABLE 3-1 Spanish Subject Pronouns

TABLE 3-2 Regular Conjugation in the Present

TABLE 3-3 Spelling Changes in the Present Tense

TABLE 3-4 Verbs with Spelling and Stem Changes in the Present Tense

TABLE 3-5 Irregular Verbs in All Forms except Nosotros and Vosotros

TABLE 3-6 Verbs Irregular in All or Most of Their Forms

TABLE 3-7 Properly Using Reflexive Pronouns

Chapter 4

TABLE 4-1 Adjectives That End in -a or -e

TABLE 4-2 Adjectives That End in Consonants

TABLE 4-3 Forming Various Types of Adverbs

TABLE 4-4 Frequently Used Unique Adverbial Phrases

TABLE 4-5 Irregular Adjectives in the Comparative and Superlative

TABLE 4-6 Common Spanish Prepositions

TABLE 4-7 Spanish Verbs Requiring a

TABLE 4-8 Spanish Verbs Requiring de

TABLE 4-9 Spanish Verbs Requiring en

TABLE 4-10 Verbs Requiring No Preposition

TABLE 4-11 Prepositional Pronouns

Chapter 6

TABLE 6-1 Clues to the Preterit Tense

TABLE 6-2 Clues to the Imperfect Tense

TABLE 6-3 Past Participles of Regular Verbs

Chapter 8

TABLE 8-1 Irregular Tú Form Commands

TABLE 8-2

Let’s

Commands with Regular Verbs

TABLE 8-3

Let’s

Commands with Irregular Verbs

TABLE 8-4 The Present Subjunctive Endings of Regular Verbs

TABLE 8-5 Subjunctive Stems Derived from the Present-Tense yo Form

TABLE 8-6 Present Subjunctive of Verbs with Spelling Changes

TABLE 8-7 Verbs with Stem Changes in the Present Subjunctive

TABLE 8-8 Certain -ir Verbs with Present Subjunctive Stem Changes

TABLE 8-9 Spelling and Stem Changes in the Present Subjunctive

TABLE 8-10 Irregular Verbs in the Present Subjunctive

List of Illustrations

Chapter 3

FIGURE 3-1: Remember stem-changing verb forms by visualizing a boot.

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Begin Reading

Appendix: Verb Charts

Index

About the Authors

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Spanish Essentials For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

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Introduction

As someone who’s studying Spanish, you want to write and speak correctly and to master the many different verb tenses and conjugations. This new edition of Spanish Essentials For Dummies can help you reach your goals painlessly and effortlessly as you enhance your Spanish language skills.

Spanish Essentials For Dummies presents you with all the grammar you need to know to communicate clearly. With the help of this book, you’ll be ready to have a conversation about topics besides your name and the weather! And that’s something to be proud of.

About This Book

Spanish Essentials For Dummies is a reference book for people who have some knowledge of the fundamentals of Spanish. If you want to get up to speed with language structures so that you can communicate comfortably and proficiently, this book is for you.

Each chapter presents a different topic that allows you to practice your communication skills. We include plenty of examples to guide you through the rules so you’re exposed to colloquial, everyday, correct Spanish that native speakers expect to hear from someone using Spanish. For example, the Spanish language has its individual idioms and idiomatic expressions that give it color and flair. Here’s a quick example: To say that it’s sunny outside in Spanish, you remark, Hace sol. The literal English translation of this expression is It is making sun. Even my dear old grandma wouldn’t have spoken English like that! Well, make sure you don’t speak Spanish that way, either.

In order to highlight the most important information and to help you navigate this book more easily, we’ve set up several conventions:

Spanish terms and sentences, as well as endings we want to highlight, are set in

boldface

to make them stand out.

English equivalents, set in

italics and in parentheses,

follow the Spanish example.

We use many abbreviations throughout the book. Don’t let them throw you. For instance, you may find the following:

fem.:

feminine

masc.:

masculine

sing.:

singular

pl.:

plural

Foolish Assumptions

When writing this book, we made the following assumptions:

You have some knowledge of the fundamentals of Spanish grammar. You’re looking for the opportunity to review what you’ve already mastered and are intent on moving forward to new areas of knowledge.

You want a book that’s complete but isn’t so advanced that you get lost in the rules. We try to explain the rules as clearly as possible without using too many grammatical terms.

You’re boning up on Spanish verbs for your own edification, or your son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, niece, nephew, or special someone is studying Spanish and you want to help even though you haven’t looked at a verb conjugation for years.

Icons Used in This Book

Icons are those cute little drawings on the left side of the page that call out for your attention. They signal a particularly valuable piece of information. Here’s a list of the icons in this book:

Remember icons call your attention to important information about the language — something you shouldn’t neglect or something that’s out of the ordinary. Don’t ignore these paragraphs.

Tip icons present time-saving information that makes communication quick and effective. If you want to know the proper way to do things, check out the Tip icons first.

The Warning icon points out certain differences between English and Spanish that you may find confusing. If you want to know how Spanish constructions differ from those in English, these are the paragraphs you need to consult.

Where to Go from Here

One great thing about For Dummies books is that you don’t have to read them chapter by chapter from the very beginning to the (not-so) bitter end. Each chapter stands on its own and doesn’t require that you complete any of the other chapters in the book. This setup saves you a lot of time if you’ve mastered certain topics but feel a bit insecure about others.

So, jump right in. Get your feet wet. If you’re not sure exactly where to begin, take a good look at the table of contents and select the topic that seems to best fit your abilities and needs. If you’re concerned that your background may not be strong enough, you can start at the very beginning and work your way through the book.

Keep in mind that studying Spanish isn’t a contest. Work at a pace that best suits your needs. Don’t hesitate to read a chapter a second, third, or even a fourth time several days later. You can easily adapt this book to your learning abilities. Remember, too, that you need to have a positive, confident attitude. Yes, you’ll make mistakes. Everyone does — as a matter of fact, many native Spanish speakers do all the time. Your main goal should be to write and speak as well as you can; if you trip up and conjugate a verb incorrectly or use the feminine form of an adjective rather than the masculine form, it isn’t the end of the world. If you can make yourself understood, you’ve won the greatest part of the battle.

While using this book, keep in mind that over the last 15 or so years, since the first edition, Spanish has continued to change insofar as vocabulary, pronunciation, and the use of language forms. Some of these changes include

English influence on Spanish (Spanglish — a mixture of English and Spanish vocabulary words and phrases) continues to evolve, especially among younger speakers. English words and phrases referring to modern technology have been incorporated into Spanish.

The sounds of some Spanish dialects have undergone changes.

The use of the formal

usted

(you)

is disappearing in favor of the informal

tú,

which is more popular with today’s youth. Note that currently this usage is considered incorrect by the Real Academia Española (RAE), the institute that oversees the use and integrity of the Spanish language.

The imperative (command) form of

vosotros

is being replaced by the infinitive, again, especially among the younger generation.

Now you’re all set and ready to begin honing and perfecting your Spanish language skills! Buena suerte!(Good luck!)

Chapter 1

Brushing Up on the Basics

IN THIS CHAPTER

Perfecting your pronunciation

Counting with cardinal and ordinal numbers

Expressing dates

Telling time

Reviewing parts of speech

Pronouncing the language correctly, knowing numbers, expressing dates, relating the time of day, and recognizing parts of speech are essential Spanish skills you need in everyday life. Surely, the ability to communicate numbers, times, and dates is completely indispensable to you on a daily basis. Determining the correct part of speech to use helps you perfect your oral and written Spanish.

Pronouncing Properly

Naturally, when you speak Spanish, you want to sound as authentic as possible. The good news is that Spanish is quite easy to pronounce because it’s a phonetic language. What does that mean? Simply say each word exactly as you see it and put on your best Spanish accent. Chances are you’ll sound more like a native speaker than you could imagine.

The Spanish alphabet contains all the letters of the English alphabet plus ñ, which follows the letter n.

Voicing vowels

Unlike in English, each Spanish vowel is pronounced consistently. This table breaks down the basics:

Vowel

English Sound

Spanish Example

a

ah as in spa

papa (pah-pah) (potato)

e

eh as in red

ella (eh-yah) (she)

i

ee as in key

idea (ee-deh-yah) (idea)

o

oh as in no

ojo (oh-hoh) (eye)

u

oo as in do

uno (oo-noh) (one)

Practicing diphthongs and vowel combinations

Confronting diphthongs, or a combination of two vowels, gets a little tricky. Use this table to put your concerns to rest:

Diphthongs/Vowels

English Sound

Spanish Example

ae, ai, ay

ahy as in eye

aeropuerto (ahy-roh-pwehr-toh) (airport)

aire (ahy-reh) (air)

ayudo (ahy-oo-doh) (help)

au

ow as in owl

autor (ow-tohr) (author)

ea

eh-ah

fea (feh-ah) (ugly)

ei, ey

a as in day

seis (say-s) (six)

rey (rray) (king)

eo

eh-oh

leo (leh-oh) (I read)

eu

eh-oo

Europa (eh-oo-roh-pah) (Europe)

ia

ee-ah

seria (seh-ree-ah) (serious)

ie

ee-eh

siete (see-eh-teh) (seven)

io

ee-oh

avión (ah-bee-ohn) (airplane)

iu

ee-oo

ciudad (see-oo-dahd) (city)

oa, ua

wah as in watch

toalla (toh-wah-yah) (towel)

agua (ah-gwah) (water)

oe, ue

weh as in wet

oeste (wehs-teh) (west)

cuento (kwehn-toh) (tale)

oi, oy

oy as in boy

oigo (oy-goh) (I hear)

soy (soy) (I am)

ui, uy

wee as in we

cuido (kwee-doh) (I take care of)

muy (mwee) (very)

uo

woh as in woe

cuota (kwoh-tah) (quota)

Verbalizing consonants

Consonants are a snap to master because most are pronounced exactly the same as they are in English. They are b, d, f, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, w, y. Note the exceptions in the following table.

Castilian Spanish (spoken in Spain) pronounces the letters c before e or i and z as th. In Latin America, however, c before e and i and z are pronounced as s. The following table shows the differences.

Consonant

English Sound

Spanish Example

c

th in Spain

s in Latin America

k elsewhere

centro (thehn-troh) (sehn-troh) (center)

cinco (seen-koh) (five)

casa (kah-sah) (house)

ch

ch as in chair

chico (chee-koh) (boy)

g

h before e and i

hard g elsewhere

gente (hehn-teh) (people)

gira (hee-rah) (tour)

gordo (gohr-doh) (fat)

h

silent

hora (oh-rah) (hour)

j

h

junto (hoon-toh) (together)

ll

y

llama (yah-mah) (llama)

ñ

ni as in onion

niño (nee-nyoh) (child)

r

slightly rolled r

oro (oh-roh) (gold)

rr

rolled 2 or 3 times at the beginning of the word and after l, n, or s

carro (kah-rroh) (car)

rico (rree-koh) (rich)

alrededor (ahl-rreh-deh-dohr) (around)

Enrique (ehn-rree-keh) (Henry)

Israel (ees-rrah-ehl) (Israel)

v

similar to b

vaca (bah-kah) (cow)

x

s followed by a consonant

ks followed by a vowel

extra (ehs-trah) (extra)

exacto (ehks-ahk-toh) (exact)

z

th in Spain

s in Latin America

zoo (thoh)(zoo)

zoo (soh) (zoo)

Understanding stress and diacritical marks

In Spanish, words are pronounced just like they sound. Take note of the following rules for how words are stressed:

Words ending in a vowel, an

n,

or an

s

are stressed on the next to the last syllable:

libro

(

lee-

broh)

(book)

bajan

(

bah-

hahn)

(they go down)

cuadernos

(kwah

-dehr-

nohs)

(notebooks)

Words ending in a consonant (except

n

or

s

) are stressed on the last syllable:

felicidad

(feh-lee-see

-dahd) (happiness)

hablar

(ah

-blahr) (to speak)

When the preceding rules aren’t followed, use an accent:

canción

(kahn-see

-ohn) (song)

These diacritical marks help with stress and pronunciation:

An acute accent (

′

), the most common, indicates that you put more stress on the vowel of the syllable containing the accent:

interés

(een-teh

-rehs

)

(interest)

A tilde (

~

) is only placed above an n (which is considered a different letter):

mañana

(mah

-nyah-

nah)

(tomorrow)

A diaeresis (¨) is only placed above a u:

lingüista

(leen-

gwees

-tah)

(linguist)

A diaeresis is used in syllables with “gue” and “gui” to indicate that the u must be pronounced.

Counting Down

You need numbers in order to express dates and tell time. You use cardinal numbers (the more popular of the two) to count, to bargain with a merchant about a price, to express the temperature, or to write a check. You use ordinal numbers to express the number of a floor, the act of a play, or the order of a person in a race or competition.

Using cardinal numbers

You use cardinal numbers many times every day. You probably use them at least once an hour in normal conversation or in writing. The Spanish cardinal numbers are as follows:

Number

Spanish

Number

Spanish

0

cero

25

veinticinco (veinte y cinco)

1

uno

26

veintiséis (veinte y seis)

2

dos

27

veintisiete (veinte y siete)

3

tres

28

veintiocho (veinte y ocho)

4

cuatro

29

veintinueve (veinte y nueve)

5

cinco

30

treinta

6

seis

40

cuarenta

7

siete

50

cincuenta

8

ocho

60

sesenta

9

nueve

70

setenta

10

diez

80

ochenta

11

once

90

noventa

12

doce

100

cien (ciento)

13

trece

101

ciento uno

14

catorce

200

doscientos

15

quince

500

quinientos

16

dieciséis (diez y seis)

700

setecientos

17

diecisiete (diez y siete)

900

novecientos

18

dieciocho (diez y ocho)

1.000

mil

19

diecinueve (diez y nueve)

2.000

dos mil

20

veinte

100.000

cien mil

21

veintiuno (veinte y uno)

1.000.000

un millón

22

veintidós (veinte y dos)

2.000.000

dos millones

23

veintitrés (veinte y tres)

1.000.000.000

mil millones

24

veinticuatro (veinte y cuatro)

2.000.000.000

dos mil millones

Keep the following in mind when using cardinal numbers:

Uno

(one),

used only when counting, becomes

un

before a masculine noun and

una

before a feminine noun, whether the noun is singular or plural.

Un

isn’t used before

cien(to)

or

mil:

uno, dos, tres

(one, two, three)

un niño y una niña

(a boy and a girl)

sesenta y un dólares

(61 dollars)

veintiuna (veinte y una) personas

(21 people)

cien páginas

(100 pages)

ciento cuarenta niños

(140 children)

mil dólares

(1,000 dollars)

You use the conjunction

y

(and)

only for numbers between 31 and 99. You don’t use it after hundreds:

ochenta y ocho

(88)

doscientos treinta y siete

(237)

You generally write the numbers 16 through 19 and 21 through 29 as one word. The numbers 16, 22, 23, and 26 have accents on the last syllable:

16:

dieciséis

22:

veintidós

23:

veintitrés

26:

veintiséis

When used before a masculine noun,

veintiún

(21)

has an accent on the last syllable:

veintiún días

(21 days)

Ciento

(100)

becomes

cien

before nouns of either gender and before the numbers

mil

and

millones.

Before all other numbers, use

ciento.

Unlike with

cien(to)

and

mil

,

millión

is preceded by

un.

When a noun follows

millón,

put the preposition

de

between

millón

and the noun.

Millón

drops its accent in the plural

(millones):

cien sombreros

(100 hats)

cien blusas

(100 blouses)

cien mil millas

(100,000 miles)

cien millones de estrellas

(100 million stars)

ciento noventa acres

(190 acres)

mil posibilidades

(1,000 possibilities)

un millón de razones

(1 million reasons)

Compounds of

ciento (doscientos, trescientos)

must change to agree with a feminine noun:

cuatrocientos muchachos

(400 muchachos)

seiscientas muchachas

(600 muchachas)

With numerals and decimals, Spanish uses commas where English uses periods, and vice versa:

English

Spanish

6,000

6.000

0.75

0,75

$14.99

$14,99

Using ordinal numbers

You use ordinal numbers — those used to express numbers in a series — far less frequently than cardinal numbers, but they still have some very important applications in everyday life. The following table presents the Spanish ordinal numbers:

Ordinal

Spanish

1st

primero

2nd

segundo

3rd

tercero

4th

cuarto

5th

quinto

6th

sexto

7th

séptimo

8th

octavo

9th

noveno

10th

décimo

The following list outlines what you must remember when using ordinal numbers in Spanish:

Spanish speakers rarely use ordinal numbers after 10th. After that, they usually use cardinal numbers in both the spoken and written language:

El siglo quince

(the 15th century)

Ordinal numbers must agree in gender (masculine or feminine) with the nouns they modify. You can make ordinal numbers feminine by changing the final

-o

of the masculine form to

-a:

la cuarta vez

(the fourth time)

Primero

and

tercero

drop the final

-o

before a masculine singular noun:

el primer muchacho

(the first boy)

el tercer hombre

(the third man)

Dealing with Dates

Dates are important parts of everyday life. To write out dates in Spanish, you have to practice the days of the week, the months of the year, and numbers (see the preceding section).

Expressing the days of the week

If you hear ¿Qué día es hoy?(What day is it?), respond with Hoy es …(Today is …) and then provide the name of one of the days listed here:

Spanish

English

lunes

Monday

martes

Tuesday

miércoles

Wednesday

jueves

Thursday

viernes

Friday

sábado

Saturday

domingo

Sunday

Unlike the English calendar, the Spanish calendar starts with Monday.

Here are two more guidelines for talking about days of the week in Spanish:

Unless you use them at the beginning of a sentence, don’t capitalize the days of the week in Spanish:

Lunes y martes son días de la semana.

(Monday and Tuesday are days of the week.)

Mi día favorito de la semana es el viernes.

(My favorite day of the week is Friday.)

You use

el

to express

on

when referring to a particular day of the week and

los

to express

on

when the action occurs repeatedly:

No trabajo el sábado.

(I’m not working on Saturday.)

No trabajo los sábados.