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Language Learning Guide
Spanish
Romance language with over 500 million speakers worldwide
Language Status
🌍 Official language in 20 countries
🗣️ Second most spoken native language worldwide
📈 Growing importance in global business
1. Practice daily, even if just for 15 minutes
2. Immerse yourself with music and movies
3. Focus on high-frequency words first
4. Use language learning apps for daily practice
5. Find a language partner for conversation
Latin arrives in the Iberian Peninsula with Roman conquest
Arabic influence begins with Moorish conquest
Standardization of Castilian Spanish begins
First Spanish grammar published by Antonio de Nebrija
Royal Spanish Academy founded to standardize the language
Flamenco
Paella
San Fermín
Día de Muertos
Spanish Vowel Sounds
Spanish has 5 pure vowel sounds:
- a - like "father"
- e - like "bet"
- i - like "machine"
- o - like "or"
- u - like "rule"
Vowels are always pronounced clearly and consistently in Spanish.
Key Consonant Sounds
- ñ - "ny" sound as in "canyon"
- ll - usually like "y" in "yes"
- rr - rolled "r" sound
- j - like "h" in "hat"
- h - always silent
Common Diphthongs
Combinations of vowels that create single syllable sounds:
- ai/ay - like "eye" (aire, hay)
- ei/ey - like "say" (reina, rey)
- oi/oy - like "boy" (oigo, hoy)
- au - like "ow" in "how" (auto)
- eu - "eh-oo" (Europa)
Spanish syllables generally follow these patterns:
- V (a, e, o)
- CV (ma, pe, lo)
- VC (un, en, as)
- CVC (pan, sol, mar)
Words are divided into syllables between vowels unless they form a diphthong.
Spanish uses capitalization differently than English:
- Days of week and months are not capitalized
- Nationalities and languages are not capitalized
- Book titles capitalize only first word
- Personal pronouns (yo, tú) are not capitalized
Unique Spanish punctuation:
- Inverted question and exclamation marks at beginning (¿¡)
- Decimal points are commas (1,5)
- Thousands separated by points (1.000)
- Dialogue indicated with long dash (—)
Spanish nouns are either masculine or feminine:
- Masculine nouns typically end in -o (el libro)
- Feminine nouns typically end in -a (la mesa)
- Exceptions: el día (m), la mano (f)
Plurals are formed by adding -s or -es:
- Ends in vowel: add -s (libro → libros)
- Ends in consonant: add -es (papel → papeles)
- Ends in -z: change to -ces (luz → luces)
| Article | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| Definite (the) | el | la |
| Indefinite (a/an) | un | una |
Adjectives must agree with nouns in gender and number:
- alto (m) / alta (f)
- altos (m pl) / altas (f pl)
Most adjectives come after the noun:
la casa blanca (the white house)
Spanish verbs are conjugated according to:
- Subject (I, you, he/she, etc.)
- Tense (present, past, future)
- Mood (indicative, subjunctive, imperative)
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I | yo |
| you (informal) | tú |
| he/she/you (formal) | él/ella/usted |
| we | nosotros/nosotras |
| you all | vosotros/vosotras |
| they/you all (formal) | ellos/ellas/ustedes |
Spanish verbs are categorized by their infinitive endings:
- -ar verbs (hablar, cantar)
- -er verbs (comer, beber)
- -ir verbs (vivir, escribir)
Each category has its own conjugation patterns.
-
amar /aˈmar/ to love
-ar verb
Present: amo, amas, ama, amamos, amáis, aman
-
beber /beˈber/ to drink
-er verb
Present: bebo, bebes, bebe, bebemos, bebéis, beben
Common Wish Expressions
Quiero... (I want...)
Me gustaría... (I would like...)
Ojalá... (I hope...)
Espero que... (I hope that...)
Basic Sentence Structure
Subject + Verb + Object
Yo como una manzana. (I eat an apple.)
Adjectives typically come after nouns:
La casa blanca (The white house)