Spanish Pronto!: Basic Study Reference The essentials of the Spanish language, to give you a quick start on learning Spanish. Please feel free to print this page for your own Spanish studies.

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"E," when it is at the end of a syllable, is pronounced like the ay in the English word day (as are all the e's in the Spanish words de, e-le-fan-te, and bue-no); otherwise, it is pronounced like the e in the English word den (as are the e's in the Spanish words sien-to, es-tá, and bien). If in doubt, look up the word in the Spanish side of your dictionary to see how it is divided into syllables. (The American Heritage Spanish Dictionary provides syllabication of every word, though most other dictionaries do not. On the question of words containing "tl," the AH gets it wrong, choosing "At-lán-ti-co" for example (the way it would be pronounced in most of Spain, except the Canary Islands) instead of "A-tlán-ti-co" as it would be pronounced in the Latin American Spanish the AH emphasizes.)

Emphasis is on the syllable with a written accent. If there is no written accent, then the emphasis is on the next-to-last syllable in words ending in s, n, or any vowel, and on the last syllable in words ending in any other consonant. To remember that "s" and "n" are the only final consonants that do not force the word (in the absence of any written accent) to be emphasized on the last syllable, it may help to realize that these are the final consonants most often used in conjugating verbs and that, for example, "HA-blo," "HA-blas," "HA-bla," and "HA-blan" are all accented on the next-to-the-last syllable. In contrast, here are some consonant-final words (but not -s or -n words, of course) that have spoken emphasis on the final syllable: sa-LUD (health), re-LOJ (clock), al-gua-CIL (sheriff), mu-JER (woman), ha-BLAR (to talk), and ju-DIT (Judith).

Diphthongs/Triphthongs When two or three vowels occur together, any unaccented i or y is pronounced like the y in "yes," and any unaccented u is pronounced like an English w.
(For example, Buenos días. = BWAY-nohs DEE-ahs. (Good morning.), and Adiós = ah-DYOHS (Goodbye.))

Regional differences (Spanish, like English, has many regional accents, each with slightly different pronunciations and a slightly different vocabulary, but someone from one region can still understand someone from another, at least most of the time!):

• The soft c (before e and i) and the z are prounounced as "s" in southern Spain and in Latin America, but as "th" in most of Spain.
  
• The double l is pronounced in most of Spain as the lli in million, and varies by location in Latin America from "y" to "j," "zh," or "sh."
  
• The y is pronounced "ee" when it is a vowel, but when followed by a vowel (that is, when the y is a consonant) it is pronounced in many countries like the English "y," and in some countries like "j," "zh," or "sh."

CONVERSATION
¡Hola!  Hi!
Me llamo _______.  My name is _______.
¿Cómo se llama usted?  What is your name?
Mucho gusto.  Pleased to meet you.
¿Cómo está usted?  How are you?
Bien, gracias.  ¿Y usted?  Fine, thanks.  And you?
¡Hasta luego!  See you later!
Adiós.  Good-bye.
Por favor.  Please.
(Muchas) gracias. (Muy amable.)   (Many) thanks. (Very kind.)
De nada.  You're welcome.
Lo siento.  I'm sorry.
¿Me permite?  May I?
Disculpe.  Excuse me. (To get someone's attention.)
Con permiso.  Excuse me. (For leaving or passing through.)
Perdón.  Excuse me. (For sneezing, arriving late, etc.)
¡Salud!  Gesundheit! (When someone sneezes.) Cheers! (For toasting with drinks.)
¿Me pasa _______ por favor?   Could you please pass me _______?
Sí.  Yes.
No.  No.
¿Dónde está el baño?  Where is the bathroom?

CORRESPONDENCE
Estimado, a  Dear (e.g., Estimado Juan:, Estimada Sra. García:, Estimados señores:, Estimada amiga:)
Atentamente  Sincerely, Yours truly, etc.
P.D.  P.S.

If you want to learn Spanish as it is spoken in Spain, however, you will need to learn the vosotros conjugation, too. Even this conjugation, though, is the same for -er verbs and -ir verbs, except for the present (present indicative) conjugation and the imperative conjugation.

Regular verb conjugations: Imperfect (when it was happening or used to happen)
PERSON		-AR	-ER	-IR
		hablar  to talk	comer  to eat	vivir  to live
yo  I	-	hablaba  I was talking; I used to talk	comía	vivía
tú  you (friend/child)	-s	hablabas	comías	vivías
él, ella, usted he, she, you	-	hablaba	comía	vivía
nosotros, nosotras we	-mos	hablábamos	comíamos	vivíamos
vosotros, vosotras you (friends/children)	-is	hablabais	comíais	vivíais
ellos, ellas, ustedes they, you all	-n	hablaban	comían	vivían

Regular verb conjugations: Preterit (when it happened)
PERSON		-AR	-ER	-IR
		hablar  to talk	comer  to eat	vivir  to live
yo  I	-	hablé  I talked	comí	viví
tú  you (friend/child)	-ste	hablaste	comiste	viviste
él, ella, usted he, she, you	-	habló	comió	vivió
nosotros, nosotras we	-mos	hablamos	comimos	vivimos
vosotros, vosotras you (friends/children)	-steis	hablasteis	comisteis	vivisteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes they, you all	-ron	hablaron	comieron	vivieron

Regular verb conjugations: Future (when it will happen)
PERSON		-AR	-ER	-IR
		hablar  to talk	comer  to eat	vivir  to live
yo  I	-é	hablaré  I will talk	comeré	viviré
tú  you (friend/child)	-ás	hablarás	comerás	vivirás
él, ella, usted he, she, you	-á	hablará	comerá	vivirá
nosotros, nosotras we	-emos	hablaremos	comeremos	viviremos
vosotros, vosotras you (friends/children)	-éis	hablaréis	comeréis	viviréis
ellos, ellas, ustedes they, you all	-án	hablarán	comerán	vivirán

Regular verb conjugations: Conditional (when it would happen)
PERSON		-AR	-ER	-IR
		hablar  to talk	comer  to eat	vivir  to live
yo  I	-ía	hablaría  I would talk	comería	viviría
tú  you (friend/child)	-ías	hablarías	comerías	vivirías
él, ella, usted he, she, you	-ía	hablaría	comería	viviría
nosotros, nosotras we	-íamos	hablaríamos	comeríamos	viviríamos
vosotros, vosotras you (friends/children)	-íais	hablaríais	comeríais	viviríais
ellos, ellas, ustedes they, you all	-ían	hablarían	comerían	vivirían

Regular verb conjugations: Imperative (Command form): ("Happen!")

For most commands, you can use the present subjunctive conjugation to give the command (for example, addressing ustedes, "¡Coman!" = "Eat!", "¡No coman eso!" = "Don't eat that!"). The only commands which cannot be made with the present subjunctive are the informal, affirmative commands (telling your friends, children, etc. what to do): For affirmative commands addressing "tú," drop the "-s" from the present-tense form (change "comes" to "come" to say "Eat!"). In countries where "vos" is used instead of "tú," drop the "-r" from the infinitive, keeping the accent in the same place (change "comer" to "comé"). For affirmative commands addressing "vosotros," change the "-r" of the infinitive to a "-d" (change "comer" to "comed"). Please note, though, that the informal, negative commands (telling your friends, children, etc. what not to do) still use the present subjunctive. (Tú and vos: "¡No comas!" Vosotros: "¡No comáis!") The "vos" and "vosotros" affirmative commands have no irregularities. There are eight verbs, however, with irregular forms of the "tú" affirmative command: decir (di), hacer (haz), ir (ve), poner (pon), salir (sal), ser (sé), tener (ten), and venir (ven).

Regular verb conjugations: Present subjunctive (when it might happen)
PERSON		-AR	-ER	-IR
		hablar  to talk	comer  to eat	vivir  to live
yo  I	-	hable  (that) I (might) talk	coma	viva
tú  you (friend/child)	-s	hables	comas	vivas
él, ella, usted he, she, you	-	hable	coma	viva
nosotros, nosotras we	-mos	hablemos	comamos	vivamos
vosotros, vosotras you (friends/children)	-is	habléis	comáis	viváis
ellos, ellas, ustedes they, you all	-n	hablen	coman	vivan

Regular verb conjugations: Imperfect subjunctive (when it might have happened)
PERSON		-AR	-ER	-IR
		hablar  to talk	comer  to eat	vivir  to live
yo  I	-ra	hablara   (that) I (might have) talk(ed)	comiera	viviera
tú  you (friend/child)	-ras	hablaras	comieras	vivieras
él, ella, usted he, she, you	-ra	hablara	comiera	viviera
nosotros, nosotras we	-ramos	habláramos	comiéramos	viviéramos
vosotros, vosotras you (friends/children)	-rais	hablarais	comierais	vivierais
ellos, ellas, ustedes they, you all	-ran	hablaran	comieran	vivieran

Regular verb conjugations:
		-AR	-ER	-IR
		hablar  to talk	comer  to eat	vivir  to live
Present participle   happening	-ndo	hablando  talking	comiendo	viviendo
Past participle   happened	-do	hablado  talked	comido	vivido

For complete conjugations of these, or other, verbs--including perfect tense conjugations (he hablado, había hablado, haya hablado, etc.)--enter the infinitive (-ar, -er, or -ir) form of the verb you wish to conjugate at: Comp-jugador.

SER  To be. Being which is characteristic. (She is (a) scientist. He is (a) happy (person). Black coffee is bitter. The pickup is theirs.) yo soy  I am tú eres  you are él, ella, usted es  he is, she is, you are nosotros, nosotras somos  we are vosotros, vosotras sois  you are ellos, ellas, ustedes son  they are, you are

HABER  To have, but in the auxiliary sense. Also means "there be" when conjugated impersonally. (I have finished. He has decided not to go. There are very few people today.) yo he  I have tú has  you have él, ella, usted ha  he has, she has, you have nosotros, nosotras hemos  we have vosotros, vosotras habéis  you have ellos, ellas, ustedes han  they have, you have hay  there is, there are

Special power: Haber + past participle = perfect (has done, had done, would have done, might have done, etc.)  (Han vivido en México tres años. = (They) have lived in Mexico (for) three years.)

TENER  To have in the sense of possession. (We have two dogs. He has hunger. = He is hungry. My son has 20 years. = My son is 20.) yo tengo  I have tú tienes  you have él, ella, usted tiene  he has, she has, you have nosotros, nosotras tenemos  we have vosotros, vosotras tenéis  you have ellos, ellas, ustedes tienen  they have, you have

Special power: Tener + que + infinitive = have to, must  (Tenemos que hablar con ella. = We must talk with her.)

PODER  Can or may. (To be able to.) (She can play the guitar. You may do what you wish.) yo puedo  I can, I may tú puedes  you can, you may él, ella, usted puede  he can/may, she can/may, you can/may nosotros, nosotras podemos  we can, we may vosotros, vosotras podéis  you can, you may ellos, ellas, ustedes pueden  they can/may, you can/may

Special power: Poder + infinitive = can, may  (Puedo comer de todo. = I can eat anything. Un gato puede vivir 12 años o más. = A cat may live 12 years or more.)

IR  To go. yo voy  I go, I am going tú vas  you go, you are going él, ella, usted va  he goes, he is going, she goes, she is going, you go, you are going nosotros, nosotras vamos  we go, we are going vosotros, vosotras vais  you go, you are going ellos, ellas, ustedes van  they go, they are going, you go, you are going

Special power: Ir + a + infinitive = simple future  (Voy a hablar con ella. = I am going to talk with her. Van a comer en Nueva Orleáns. = They are going to eat in New Orleans.)

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