Learn Spanish

Learn Basic Spanish

The Easy Way!
Brought to you by the team at The eBook Directory
http://www.rocketlanguages.com 1
Table of Contents:
Welcome .................................................................................................... 4
The History of the Spanish anguage ........................................................ 4
Why earn Spanish! ................................................................................... "
#b$ections ................................................................................................................... "
How to earn Spanish .............................................................................. 1%
What to &uy .............................................................................................................. 1%
'n the (eantime) .................................................................................... 1*
#nline +esources ...................................................................................................... ,1
'n Conclusion ............................................................................................ ,-
http://www.rocketlanguages.com ,
http://www.rocketlanguages.com -
Welcome
&ien.eni/os0 Welcome to the won/erful worl/ of speaking Spanish. This
beautiful1 romantic language was a part of ci.ili2ation long before Columbus e.er
/isco.ere/ the new worl/. The long an/ .arie/ history of the Spanish language makes
it a fascinating challenge to e.en the most intrepi/ of scholars. 3re you prepare/ to
step into history an/ take the plunge in the unfamiliar waters of atin society!
The History of the Spanish Language
The Spanish language is consi/ere/ by linguists to be one of the worl/4s
5romantic6 languages. The romantic languages were 7uropean languages /eri.e/
from what was known as .ulgar atin1 or the atin spoken by the sol/iers an/
shopkeepers of ancient +ome. #ne has to won/er how a language known as .ulgar
atin came to spawn the most romantic languages in the worl/ 8then again1 maybe
not9. This language was carrie/ by the e:pansion of the +oman empire in the three
centuries following the year ,%% &C1 e.ol.ing into the .arious languages we are
familiar with to/ay after the fall of the central go.ernment an/ the rise of in/epen/ent
nations. 3lso counte/ among the romantic languages are:
;rench
'talian
+omanian
<ortugese
Spanish is no longer restricte/ to the continent of 7urope. 3s a matter of fact1
/ue to the inherently curious nature of the Spanish e:plorers Spanish is the primary
language spoken by the people of .arious islan/s an/ countries aroun/ the worl/.
3nyone who took the time to master the language with the whim to tra.el an/ an
in=uisiti.e nature woul/ fin/ right at home in (e:ico1 Cuba1 the >ominican
+epublic1 <uerto +ico1 Spain1 &eli2e1 Costa +ica1 7l Sal.a/or1 ?uatemala1 Hon/uras1
@icaragua1 <anama1 3rgentina1 &oli.ia1 Chile1 Columbia1 7cua/or1 <araguay1 <eru1
Aruguay an/ Bene2uela1 to name but a few.
http://67.59.159.189/hepm/map_spa_speak.htm
http://www.rocketlanguages.com 4
Why Learn Spanish?
Objections
There is a great /eal of contro.ersy to/ay on the practice of learning to speak
Spanish1 particularly in light of the fact that the number of illegal immigrants
tra.elling from Central 3merica to @orth 3merica 8that we know of9 has increase/
/ramatically in recent years. (any claim that if 3mericans were to learn to speak
Spanish it woul/ simply further the problem of illegal immigration by making it
easier for them to function in society. The common belief is that if they were force/ to
learn to speak 7nglish to sur.i.e in society the immigration issue woul/ rapi/ly
e.aporate on its own.
The simple fact of the matter is that 3mericans are e:tremely arrogant when it
comes to their language. The fact that 7nglish is a fairly uni.ersal language has le/
them on a slow sli/e into complacency. 3lmost e.ery other country aroun/ the worl/
re=uires that its school chil/ren learn to speak 8at the .ery least9 7nglish an/ the
nati.e language of the countryC as a matter of fact1 if you were to .isit a school in
7urope you woul/ fin/ that their chil/ren /e.ote a great /eal of time to learning to
speak not only their own language1 but that of each of their neighboring countries as
well. That means that anyone stu/ying in ;rance woul/ learn to speak both ;rench
an/ 7nglish1 as well as at least the fun/amentals of 'talian1 ?erman an/ Spanish in
or/er to assure that when the time comes for them to take their place in the workforce
they will be able to interact with their neighbors1 both at home an/ abroa/.
3mericans ha.e ne.er been re=uire/ to /o so1 for the simple fact that 7nglish
is taught in most foreign countries. Apon tra.elling to a foreign country they are
almost guarantee/ to be able to fin/ at least one in/i.i/ual who speaks 7nglish in any
establishment that they go to. This means that the practice of learning the language of
your neighbors has been cast asi/e. &y rights 3mericans shoul/ learn to speak both
;rench an/ Spanish1 in or/er to gi.e them a leg up on /oing business with their
closest neighbors1 (e:ico an/ Cana/aC howe.er1 this has been spurne/ in the arrogant
belief that anyone wishing to ha.e any interaction1 whether it be for financial or
personal gain1 in the Anite/ States must learn to speak 7nglish in or/er to /o so1 as
7nglish is the language of 3merica.
@e.er min/1 of course1 that until recent years the Anite/ States /i/n4t e.en
H3B7 an 5official6 language in the eyes of its citi2ens. The Anite/ States is a melting
pot1 an/ its original settlers came to her gol/en shores speaking e.ery language un/er
the sun. 'n fact1 in some parts of the Anite/ States this is still apparent. ;rench is
spoken e:tensi.ely in ouisiana1 an/ throughout California1 @ew (e:ico1 Te:as1
3ri2ona an/ ;lori/a Spanish is consi/ere/ to be the 5official6 secon/ language of the
region. Throughout parts of the mi/Dwest te:tbooks were printe/ in ?erman until
Worl/ War ''1 when the national /istaste of all things ?erman following Hitler4s reign
of terror le/ to sai/ te:tbooks being reprinte/ in 7nglish an/ the ?erman language
slowly but surely being nu/ge/ into obscurity. 'n light of the e:tremely /i.erse
http://www.rocketlanguages.com "
linguistic history that the people of the Anite/ States en$oy1 it is /ifficult to
un/erstan/ precisely where their ob$ection to the presence of the Spanish language
5from sea to shining sea6 e.ol.es from.
The Real Reason That Many People Choose Not to Learn Spanish
#f course1 these are the reasons that many gi.e base/ on the political conflicts
in the Anite/ States. The =uestion is1 are these the real reasons! 3re we seeing the
whole story! #r is there another un/erlying cause to their complaints that has nothing
to /o with patriotism or the continuation of a way of life!
There are a number of reasons why a person may choose not to learn the
Spanish language1 almost all of them completely unrelate/ to the political climate of
the country they choose to inhabit. ;or most of those in/i.i/uals who firmly refuse to
learn to speak in a foreign tongue 8this applies to all languages1 not $ust Spanish9 the
fear of failure is their /ri.ing moti.ation. 't is far simpler for them to con.ince
themsel.es that they /o not want to learn than to face the possibility that they may at
some point in the future make a mistake when they are speaking an/ appear to be a
fool in front of their frien/s an/ colleagues. What /oes this mean! 't means that the
biggest challenge that you are going to face when it comes to learning to speak
Spanish is not from the outsi/e worl/1 but from within yourself0
Benefits
#nce you ha.e acknowle/ge/ an/ /iscar/e/ the obstacles which are going to
stan/ in your way on your =uest for knowle/ge you can now begin to think about the
benefits of learning to speak another language. 'f you ha.e chosen to rea/ this report
you probably alrea/y ha.e your own reasons for learning to speak Spanish1 whate.er
they may beC howe.er1 if you are still uncertain as to whether the time an/ effort that
this en/ea.or is going to re=uire is worth it1 keep rea/ing. et us illustrate to you the
many /oors that the Spanish language will open up in your future.
1) earning to speak Spanish is becoming an important factor when you step into
the workforce. >ue to the a/.ances in technology that our ci.ili2ation has
ma/e there is no part of our economy that is solely our own. We are .ery
much a global ci.ili2ation1 an/ our business /ealings are going to occur all
o.er the globe. Eou will become a priceless commo/ity to your company if
you ha.e the ability to con.erse fluently with any of the twentyDplus countries
that claim Spanish as its nati.e tongue 8although if you are smart you will take
the opportunity to ensure that that price is .ery high in/ee/9 as well as earning
a great /eal of respect from your international clients.
,9 Eou can remo.e the chances of someone playing you for a fool. ;ace it1 it is
.ery tempting to talk o.er someone4s hea/ when you know full well that they
cannot un/erstan/ you. We /o it to our chil/ren all the time. What is to stop
any of the millions of Spanish speaking citi2ens of the worl/ from /oing the
same to you1 knowing that you /o not un/erstan/ what is going on! 3re you
willing to place your fate entirely in the han/s of an interpreter1 who coul/
ha.e their own agen/a $ust as easily as the person with whom you are
http://www.rocketlanguages.com F
interacting1 or /o you want to take your fate into your own han/s! The choice
is yours.
3) Eou are going to ha.e a greater opportunity to tra.el. 7.en though 7nglish is a
fairly international language it is not by any means spoken e.erywhere. 7.en
in areas where it is taught as a matter of course it is truly mastere/ by .ery few
8how much /o you remember from your high school language classes!9
Anless you are willing to engage the ai/ of an interpreter 8an/ we4.e alrea/y
/iscusse/ the wis/om of that9 you are at some point or another going to fin/
yourself force/ into interacting with one of the nati.es of the country. Eou are
going to nee/ to un/erstan/ at least the fun/amentals of their language in
or/er for your stay in their country to be a pleasant one.
4) Eou are going to ha.e the opportunity to meet new people. 7.en though there
are millions of 7nglish speaking people in the worl/ there are e.en more that
/o not speak 7nglish well enough to carry on a con.ersation. Ha.e you e.er
taken the moment to consi/er that we are a huge country surroun/e/ by two
other .ery large countries an/ situate/ $ust north of another .ery large
continent1 yet we .ery rarely get to know our neighbors because we of the
Anite/ States /o not learn to speak Spanish or ;rench with any type of fluency
unless we ha.e in/epen/ently ma/e the effort to /o so an/ therefore are
eternally separate/ by a language barrier! Think of the hun/re/s of thousan/s
of people li.ing in those countries that coul/ share stories an/ e:periences
with you1 people that coul/ potentially become frien/s an//or business
associates1 that you will ne.er get to know because you /eclare/ them lacking
the importance to $ustify the efforts spent to learn their language. 't seems .ery
unfair to /eny them an/ yourself the opportunity.
5) Speaking of the hun/re/s of people that are out there in the worl/1 imagine
what being able to speak other languages will /o for your /ating life0 Ha.e
you e.er felt as though there is no one in the worl/ who was create/ $ust for
you! 8'f you are alrea/y marrie/ or in.ol.e/ in a serious relationship please
skip o.er this =uestionDthere is no way you are going to get away with the
e:cuse1 5the report on the internet tol/ me to.6 'f you are not1 keep rea/ing.9
Ha.e you e.er taken the time to consi/er the possibility that there is someone
on this planet for you1 they $ust /on4t happen to share the same nationality!
'magine how .ast your /ating pool is going to become when you learn to
http://www.rocketlanguages.com G
speak another language1 an/ will therefore be able to interact with a whole
other country 8or two1 or three1 or twenty)9
F9 Eou will ha.e the opportunity to learn all about a new culture. Ha.e you e.er
felt as though you are tire/ of being stuck in a rut! Ha.e you e.er yearne/ to
break free of your /aily routine an/ e:perience all that life has to offer you!
Ha.e you e.er consi/ere/ /oing so by learning to see life through another
person4s eyes! There is no way to learn a new language without learning the
ins an/ outs of its cultureC its religion1 its manner of /ress1 its holi/ays an/
metho/s of celebration1 its foo/s an/ its people. The opportunity to see a
whole other culture an/ incorporate the best of it into your own to broa/en
your hori2ons is one that you shoul/ ne.er pass up.
G9 Eou will be able to gain a greater appreciation for history an/ the way that our
go.ernment an/ manner of li.ing /e.elope/. There is no better way to learn
history than to see it through another4s eyes1 an/ when you are learning to
speak a new language you are /oing precisely that. Eou will learn how their
ancestors came to be1 an/ how their language /e.elope/ from its roots to the
full fle/ge/ manner of speaking that it is to/ay.
8) Eou will be able to rea/ many historical /ocuments an/ te:ts in their original
form. 'f you are a history buff you will truly appreciate the benefits of this.
>ue to the fact that Spanish is so wi/ely sprea/ across the globe many of the
greatest /ocuments in history were written in Spanish1 an/ regar/less of how
fluent an interpreter may be in the in/i.i/ual /ialect a /ocument always loses
some of its power an/ appeal in the translation. &y learning to rea/ the
language in its true form 8something that is going to come .ery easily to you
once you know how to speak it by the simple .irtue of the fact that the written
form of the Spanish language is as close as possible to the way that it is
spoken9 you will be able to rea/ many of these historical /ocuments an/ gain
an impression of the feelings1 emotions an/ hi//en agen/as that /ro.e their
creation1 a task that is all but impossible when a /ocument has ha/ to be
translate/ into 7nglish.
http://www.rocketlanguages.com *
H9 'f you are thinking of going into the military1 or performing any sort of
go.ernment ser.ice1 you are going to nee/ to learn Spanish1 along with many
other languages. (embers of the military are gi.en the opportunity 8not
always by choice9 to learn 3frikaans1 3rabic1 Chinese1 >ari1 ;rench1 ?erman1
?reek1 Hebrew1 Hin/i1 'talian1 Iapanese1 Jorean1 Jurman$i1 <ashto1 <ersian1
<ortugese1 +ussian1 Sorani1 Serbo1 Spanish1 Tagalog1 Thai1 Turkish1 Ar/u an/
A2bek.
3s you can see1 being a part of the military1 especially a member of a military
fiel/ unit1 is going to re=uire that you stretch your language abilities far
beyon/ their commonly percei.e/ barriers. 't is essential that1 shoul/ you fin/
yourself in a foreign country an/ separate/ from your unit an//or interpreter1
you be able to con/uct yourself appropriately1 blen/ in with the neighbors an/
ensure that the nati.es 8particularly those in.ol.e/ with the conflict that you
were sent there to resol.e9 /o not choose to take a/.antage of your ignorance.
1%9 'n a//ition to the /oors that learning to speak Spanish can open to you in
society1 /i/ you know that learning another language can actually make you
smarter! That4s right. The brain is a muscle1 an/ like any muscle when it
suffers from /isuse. When we are chil/ren our brains are force/ to take in a
tremen/ous amount of information. We must learn to walk1 talk1 /ress
oursel.es an/ i/entify basic ob$ects. 3 ma$ority of the knowle/ge that we are
must ha.e in or/er to function in society we learn before we e.er set foot in a
classroom. The .ast .ariety of information that our brains must take in forces
us to use our brains to the ma:imum or their ability1 an/ it is as we are
chil/ren that we are the 5smartest6.
When we become a/ults we cease to use our brains as strenuously. Apon
entering the workforce we fin/ oursel.es falling into a /aily routine1 an/ the
knowle/ge that we use on a /aily basis becomes commonplace. We no longer
force our brains to work to take in new information1 an/ because of this our
min/ begins to become sloppy.
>ue to the /ifferences in grammatical structure between 7nglish an/
Spanish the brain is force/ to work in /ifferent ways1 stretching beyon/ what
it pre.iously .iewe/ as boun/aries. This allows the brain to connect /ifferent
electrical synapses1 an/ as the brain is e:ercise/ it grows stronger. Eour
intelligence will rise e:ponentially0 Iust as your brain will become accustome/
to stretching aroun/ the shape an/ si2e of its new language so too will it
become accustome/ to approaching other factors of life from a new .iewpoint1
http://www.rocketlanguages.com H
e:ploring all of the angles. This will allow you a greater un/erstan/ing into
the workings of the worl/ that were pre.iously close/ to you1 an/ it is
un/erstan/ing1 not the ability to recite fact .erbatim1 that e=uals true
intelligence.
11) Eou will gain a new respect for those that /o not speak your language. 't is
.ery easy to look at someone an/ won/er why they /on4t $ust learn to speak
7nglish. 't is often .ery humbling to /isco.er precisely how /ifficult it truly is
to gain any type of fluency in a language that is not your own1 particularly if
you /o not hear it on a regular basis. The /ifferences in grammar alone
between 7nglish an/ many of earth4s other languages will be enough to throw
you into a tailspin1 regar/less of your intelligence1 an/ you will begin to
un/erstan/ why it is unwise to $u/ge too harshly those that li.e in your
country but /o not speak the language. 3// on to this the fact that within any
language is a number of /ialects an/ phrases particular to a region an/ not
un/erstoo/ anywhere else an/ you will begin to un/erstan/ the true /ifficultly
an/ bra.ery that those people who ha.e taken that step to start a new life in a
new country with a new language ha.e truly shown.
1,9 earning to speak Spanish is fun0 3si/e from the practical matters a//resse/
earlier it can be a great a/.enture to learn a new language1 an/ Spanish is
close enough to 7nglish that you are going to fin/ yourself learning far more
=uickly than you might think. 'n a matter of months you are going to fin/
yourself able to carry on simple con.ersations1 an/ the .ery fact that you are
stepping beyon/ the boun/aries of what you originally belie.e/ to be possible
for yourself an/ instea/ are going on an a/.enture to learn e.en more is going
to be more thrilling that you may ha.e originally belie.e/ to be possible.
+emember to take the time to en$oy that1 an/ when you fin/ yourself moaning
an/ groaning un/erneath the weight of hun/re/s of .ocabulary lists take the
time to remember that you are /oing what many of your counterparts /o not
ha.e the courage to /o1 an/ en$oy the e:perience.
How to Learn Spanish
#kay1 now that you ha.e /eci/e/ that you are /efinitely rea/y to step out of
your safety 2one an/ begin to e:plore the won/ers of the Spanish language you are
probably won/ering where you shoul/ start.
What to Buy
There are a couple of things that you are going to want to purchase before you
launch any type of Spanish language program. The first thing that you are going to
nee/ is a Spanish/7nglish /ictionary. There are a number of them on the market1 an/
http://www.rocketlanguages.com 1%
none is really better than the otherC howe.er1 if you want to be able to get ma:imum
effect for your /ollar you are going to want to choose one that:
a9 has a pronunciation gui/e at the beginning to help you with letter an/
.owel soun/s
b9 has a section showing you the con$ugation of regular .erbs an/ the most
commonly use/ abnormal .erbs 8regular an/ irregular .erbs will be
/iscusse/ a little bit in the basic .ocabulary appen/i: section of this
manuscript9
c9 has a Spanish to 7nglish an/ an 7nglish to Spanish section to allow you to
look up wor/s in either language
/9 has a section showing the past1 present an/ future tenses of .erbs
e9 e:plains the concepts of masculine an/ feminine nouns. 7.en though your
/ictionary is going to be able to let you know if a noun is masculine or
feminine you are not always going to ha.e it at han/1 an/ if you know the
tricks for =uickly i/entifying whether a noun is masculine or feminine you
will ha.e an a/.antage right from the .ery beginning when it comes time
to put wor/s into action.
+an/om House release/ a goo/ Spanish/7nglish:7nglish/Spanish /ictionary
some years ago. 'f you are unsure as to what /ictionary you shoul/ purchase take a
trip to the bookstore of your local uni.ersity. The /ictionaries use/ by the classes
taught there are almost always of the highest =uality 8although if they /o not match
the criteria shown abo.e it may be best to lea.e them on the shelf an/ continue your
search9.
3nother item that you are going to fin/ e:tremely useful in your =uest is a
three ring bin/er1 accompanie/ by looseleaf paper an/ a fol/er to keep your notes
han/y. 7.en though you are not actually taking a Spanish class it is going to feel like
it at times1 an/ you are going to want to ha.e a place to write /own any notes an/
such regar/ing issues you ha.e with the material1 as well as a place to keep any
printouts1 pictures1 etc. you stumble across. Jeeping these items han/y is going to go
a long way towar/s helping you learn1 as you can rea/ o.er them when you ha.e free
time.
Tip #1: You are going to find yoursef !ui"ky forgetting #hat you ha$e earned unti
it %e"omes a part of your daiy ife& so make an attempt to sit do#n for a haf an hour
e$ery night and re$ie# your notes.
etting Starte!
(any people make the mistake of thinking that since they are attempting to
learn to speak a foreign language they must enroll in some form of formal learning
program. This is not necessarily true. 'f you are the type of person who learns best
through formal instruction than by all means take a/.antage of the myria/
http://www.rocketlanguages.com 11
opportunities a.ailable through your local colleges an/ uni.ersitiesC almost any
secon/ary learning establishment will ha.e a foreign language program in which you
can enroll.
There are1 howe.er1 many /rawbacks to attempting to learn to speak Spanish
through formal classroom metho/s. The simple fact of the matter is that college
Spanish classes /i.i/e their curriculum carefully so as not to o.erwhelm the a.erage
college stu/ent1 who is attempting to take Spanish on top of a host of other classes.
This means that your learning is going to be limite/ to what it is that they want to
teach you1 an/ you are probably going to be in the program for years before you can
/e.elop true fluency. This has two ma$or /rawbacks. ;irst an/ foremost1 there is time.
Eou probably want to learn to speak Spanish far sooner than four or fi.e years from
now. 7ntering into a progressi.e Spanish program is going to re=uire at least that
amount of time.
Secon/ly1 there is cost. College courses are not an ine:pensi.e proposition.
7.en in a community college it is going to cost you se.eral hun/re/ /ollars to enroll
in a single Spanish class. (ultiply that sum by se.eral years an/ you are probably
going to start to feel your enthusiasm for this en/ea.or begin to waneC after all1 who
wants to take on a challenge that is going to result in their han/ing o.er a large
portion of their financial resources to a /ispassionate aca/emic institution!
Thir/ly1 an/ perhaps most importantly1 is the fact that most aca/emic
establishments go about the process of teaching a stu/ent to speak a foreign language
in the most /ifficult manner possible. +emember when you were first learning to
speak 7nglish! How /i/ you learn! >i/ your mother sit you /own with a .ocabulary
list an/ insist that you learn to associate /ifferent wor/s with .arious ob$ects1 with a
=ui2 to be gi.en at the en/ of the week!
Certainly not0 Eou learne/ to speak 7nglish by hearing it an/ associating it
with .arious ob$ects in your en.ironment. 3s you grew1 your en.ironment an/
.ocabulary grew with you until you ha/ a firm grasp on the 7nglish language an/
coul/ communicate easily with those aroun/ you. #nly then /i/ you attempt to learn
to rea/ an/ write. An/erstan/ing the language ma/e learning to apply it to paper
much simpler. Classroom en.ironments insist on teaching a stu/ent to rea/ an/ write
the language /irectly alongsi/e learning to speak it1 lea.ing .ery little room for errors
in grammar or translation. Conse=uently1 most stu/ents /o not truly grasp the
language1 an/ within months of lea.ing the classroom will ha.e forgotten e.erything
that they ha.e learne/.
;or the a.erage citi2en attempting to take a language class is not the best
choice 8although if you ha.e alrea/y gaine/ some mastery of the Spanish language
this will present you with an e:cellent opportunity to broa/en your hori2ons9. 't is
much simpler 8an/ therefore much more effecti.e9 to learn the Spanish language in
the same manner as you /i/ 7nglish. Eou will learn it from your en.ironment.
#f course1 chances are that you /on4t ha.e se.eral years to learn a language in
the same manner as you /i/ when you were a chil/1 an/ if you are li.ing in a
primarily 7nglish speaking country you are going to fin/ it .ery /ifficult to learn to
speak Spanish from your en.ironment. @e.ertheless1 it has been pro.en to be much
more successful to learn a language in this manner than through formal teaching1 an/
therefore the responsibility is going to fall solely on your shoul/ers. Eour success an/
the amount of fluency you will gain in the Spanish language is going to /epen/
entirely on the amount of time an/ effort that you are willing to put into it.
Se.eral years ago it was /isco.ere/ that people coul/ best learn a language
through the process of immersion 8yes1 it is rather frightening that it took them that
http://www.rocketlanguages.com 1,
long to reali2e that people li.ing an/ working in a foreign country picke/ up the
nati.e language much more =uickly than those who stu/ie/ it in a more formal
manner in their own resi/ence9. The process of immersion means that the in/i.i/ual
who is attempting to learn is surroun/e/ by the language1 so much so that it plays a
role in e.erything that they see or /o throughout the course of their /aily life. 'f you
will recall1 you hear/ the 7nglish language an/ saw writings in 7nglish e.erywhere
aroun/ you when you were a chil/. 'f you were to be picke/ up an/ place/ into a
Spanish speaking country you woul/ learn the language .ery =uickly as a matter of
necessity.
Since it is a fairly safe bet that if you are rea/ing this you /o not li.e in a
Spanish speaking en.ironment1 there are a couple of tricks to help you to implement
the immersion metho/ in your own home. Eou are going to ha.e to remember1
howe.er1 that there is no instant fi: or fi.e minute metho/ to learning to speak a
language. This is the trap that many in/i.i/uals fall into when they are spen/ing
hun/re/s of thousan/s of /ollars in language learning materials. 't is going to take
time1 patience an/ perse.erance if you are to succee/.
;irst1 remember that the goal of the immersion metho/ is to teach you to first
speak the language1 then to rea/ it. Since as we mentione/ before the Spanish
language is written in precisely the same manner in which it is spoken 8we4ll get into
that in greater /etail later9 making the transition from one to another is going to be
.ery simple once you ha.e mastere/ Spanish .ocabulary. To that en/1 you want to
surroun/ yourself with the Spanish language as much as possible.
19 Tele.ision. 't is through the tele.ision that we obtain the greatest amount
of information about our society an/ en.ironment1 an/ it is through this
same tele.ision that we broa/en our .ocabulary. (ost ma$or tele.ision
companies1 such as H&#1 offer tele.ision programs in Spanish to their
Hispanic .iewers. Subscribe to these channels1 an/ en$oy watching your
fa.orite mo.ies an/ TB shows in a /ifferent language. The fact that you
are alrea/y familiar with the action an/ the character /e.elopment means
that you will be able to pick up on what the characters are saying much
more =uickly.
Watch the nightly news in Spanish. The accompanying hea/lines an/
action in the backgroun/ will help you to begin to place wor/s to images1
associating the two in your hea/ until you are able to recogni2e them in
any en.ironment. >o not worry if at first you /o not un/erstan/ a single
wor/ coming from the broa/caster4s lipsC you will in time.
'n a//ition to the nightly news1 try an/ make it a practice to watch /aytime
tele.ision in Spanish as well. Sitcoms an/ soap operas are particularly
effecti.e at e:pressing precisely what it is that they are attempting to
con.ey with images rather than wor/s1 an/ conse=uently will also be a
great help in ai/ing you with the association of wor/s an/ images. These
types of shows also use the /ay to /ay speech that you will engage in once
http://www.rocketlanguages.com 1-
you are confi/ent enough to enter into con.ersations with Spanish
speaking nati.es1 an/ you will be surprise/ at how =uickly sentences an/
phrases begin to fall into place in your hea/.
,9 +a/io. Jeep your ra/io on to any Spanish broa/casting station you may
ha.e in your area. @ot only will you be able to hear the Spanish language
spoken1 you will be able to hear music in Spanish as well. Spanish music
comes in all shapes an/ forms1 an/ you shoul/ be able to fin/ a station that
pro.i/es you with the genre of music which you prefer. isten to the
songs1 an/ attempt to sing along as phrases become clear to you. >o not be
afrai/ to look up the lyrics to see what they meanC you are being gi.en an
e:cellent opportunity to increase your .ocabulary1 master the
pronunciation an/ accent of your wor/s an/ learn a bit about Hispanic
culture while en$oying yourself at the same time0
Tip #'()o out and %uy a "oupe of *+s %y an artist performing in ,panish in the
genre of musi" that you ike& and isten to them reguary. -s you study the ,panish
anguage you #i %egin to understand the #ords that they are saying& and #i %e
a%e to appre"iate an entirey uni!ue portion of ,panish "uture.
-9 Speak to people in Spanish as much as humanly possible. 'f you work in
an area where you ha.e a significantly Hispanic workforce attempt to talk
to them in their language. They are going to be thrille/ that you are
making an attempt to learn to speak their nati.e tongue1 an/ although they
may laugh at you when you make a mistake most of the time it will be in
the spirit of goo/ hearte/ fun1 in the same way you woul/ laugh at a frien/
who ma/e a mistake without inten/ing to be cruel. They are going to pro.e
to be your most .aluable allies in your =uest to master the Spanish
language1 an/ will be able to not only tell you the proper names of the
items aroun/ you but will be able to correct your mistakes as well.
Their assistance is especially .aluable because1 as we mentione/ before1
the easiest way to gain fluency =uickly in a language is to master the
.ocabulary pertaining to the en.ironment aroun/ you. 'f you are in an
en.ironment where you are constantly hearing Spanish1 speaking of the
ob$ects that surroun/ you on a /ay to /ay basis you are going to begin to
master not only basic nouns1 but basic phrases as well. ;or e:ample1 if you
happen to work in a restaurant where the ma$ority of the staff speaks
Spanish you are going to =uickly pick up on both foo/ nouns an/ basic
http://www.rocketlanguages.com 14
phrases1 such as 5'4m hungry61 5'4m thirsty61 an/ 5Can ' ha.e)!683long
with a host of less /esirable phrases1 but we won4t go into that right nowD
you4ll ha.e plenty of opportunity to /isco.er that on your own09
The point of this was to illustrate the fact that when you hear Spanish
e.ery /ay you will grow more accustome/ to it1 an/ before long will fin/
yourself answering your fellow employees in their nati.e tongue an/ e.en
tentati.ely beginning to ha.e basic con.ersations with them. 3gain1
un/erstan/ that the language barrier is not going to simply .anish
o.ernightDthere are going to be many occasions where you are1 =uite
simply1 not going to ha.e a clue what4s going on an/ you are going to feel
e.eryone talking aroun/ you. >o not allow this to frustrate you or make
you feel /iscourage/. +emember that although the people with whom you
are speaking may speak Spanish fluently there is a .ery goo/ chance that
they are now attempting to learn to speak your language1 an/ will therefore
un/erstan/ e:actly how you feel.
Tip #.(/nti you ha$e a firm grasp of the anguage do not attempt to "arry on a
"asua "on$ersation in ,panish o$er the teephone. The a%sen"e of $isua aids is
going to resut in you and #hoe$er ese you are speaking #ith ha$ing to spend hours
s"ra%%ing through your di"tionaries to find the proper #ord or phrase& and #i ony
ser$e to frustrate you %oth more.
49 Try to teach someone else to speak Spanish. There is no faster way to learn
something than to try to teach it to someone else1 as you are going to ha.e
to make sure that you are familiar with all of the miscellaneous
grammatical rules an/ regulations1 as well as necessary .ocabulary. Eou
are going to fin/ yourself ha.ing to put in the e:tra effort1 as you cannot
teach someone else what you /o not know.
Eour chil/ren make e:cellent test sub$ects for this theory. &ecause they /o
not speak Spanish 8or at least we are assuming that they /o not9 they will
be beginners $ust as you are. That means that they will nee/ to learn all of
the .erbs an/ basic .ocabulary right along with you1 an/ are not going to
be offen/e/ when you ha.e to take the time to look something up.
Working with your chil/ren is also going to ha.e another a//e/ benefitD
they are boun/ to be more patient with the learning process than you are1
as they are accustome/ to ha.ing to work to learn things that they /o not
http://www.rocketlanguages.com 1"
know 8a/mit it1 you ha.e foun/ a comfortable point in your life an/ are
unaccustome/ to a challenge of this magnitu/e. 't happens to all of us09
"9 7:pose yourself to the language as much as possible. When you are going
out to eat try to go to authentic Spanish restaurants where the staff speaks
Spanish an/ listen to what they are saying 8try not to be too ob.ious
howe.erC it /oesn4t matter whether you un/erstan/ them or not1 the people
in =uestion are probably going to be =uite offen/e/ if they feel that you are
listening to their con.ersations09 Try to atten/ church ser.ices an/ other
community e.ents that ha.e a Spanish speaker or a translator1 an/
encourage your spouse an/ your chil/ren to atten/ .arious bilingual
storytimes an/ cultural classes along with you.
Tip #0(1a%e a of the o%2e"ts in your home #ith sma signs sho#ing their ,panish
names. 3or e4ampe& on your "ou"h you "oud pa"e a sma sign that says 5,ofa6.
This #i hep you to e4pand your %asi" househod $o"a%uary mu"h more !ui"ky.
F9 >ate someone who /oesn4t speak 7nglish. #kay1 this /oesn4t work so well
if you alrea/y ha.e a spouse or are in a relationshipC /on4t try it0 There is
always the possibility1 howe.er1 that you are attempting to learn to speak
Spanish because there is alrea/y someone special who has caught your eye
an/ you want to ha.e a chance to make something with them. Eou cannot
/o that1 howe.er1 if the two of you cannot un/erstan/ each other. 'f the
person in =uestion seems to be e=ually attracte/ to you1 ask them to help
you. 'n.ite them out to /inner or to the park1 where the two of you can
teach each other basic .ocabulary an/ communicate with gestures as much
as wor/s.
The all important factor in /ating someone who /oesn4t speak 7nglish is
that you are going to want to spen/ a great /eal of time together1 an/ for
this reason you are going to be force/ to e:pan/ your .ocabulary
e:ponentially. Eou are going to learn wor/s for foo/1 for .arious acti.ities
8how else are you going to learn the Spanish wor/ for ferris wheel1 after
all1 if you /on4t take the ob$ect of your affection to the fair!9 an/ basic
phrases. Eou are also going to ha.e the opportunity to learn Spanish much
as you learne/ 7nglish as a chil/Dby hearing it spoken an/ learning to
associate it with .arious ob$ects an/ phrases.
http://www.rocketlanguages.com 1F
The other benefit to /ating someone who /oesn4t speak 7nglish is that you
are going to ha.e the opportunity often to be thrust into situations where
you are surroun/e/ by Spanish speaking in/i.i/uals. (ost in/i.i/uals
from atin countries choose to li.e with their e:ten/e/ family1 an/ it is
entirely concei.able that there woul/ be four or more people li.ing in a
house. 83s a matter of fact1 many in/i.i/uals who choose to li.e with their
imme/iate family an/ /o not open their /oors to family locate/ a little
farther out on the family tree are percei.e/ as snobs9. These men an/
women are all going to speak Spanish1 .ery likely the same /ialect as your
belo.e/1 an/ therefore are going to go about their /aily business in this
language. Eou will ha.e the opportunity to hear it spoken all aroun/ you1
an/ will o.er time begin to un/erstan/ a little bit more of what4s going on.
3sk the person you are /ating to help you. ?o to the library an/ fin/
chil/ren4s picture books1 teaching each other nous1 an/ fin/ a Spanish
au/io or internet course 8we4ll go into those in greater /etail in $ust a little
bit9 an/ ask them to help you practice. They will be able to help you to
apply the en/less .ocabulary lists into /ay to /ay situations1 as many of
these courses are inten/e/ for tra.elers an/ it is more than likely that you
are your other half are not going to spen/ a great /eal of time asking each
other when the last train to (a/ri/ is going to be lea.ing the station 8we
recommen/ that the two of you wait to elope until communication comes a
little more easily an/ the two of you really ha.e a chance to get to know
each other09
G9 +ea/ a newspaper in Spanish. Ees1 it will come more easily to you if you
learn to speak the language first1 but if you are attempting to learn =uickly
it will help you to increase your .ocabulary if you learn to rea/ in Spanish
after you ha.e obtaine/ some mastery of the language. Spanish is written
precisely as it soun/s1 so once you ha.e learne/ the .arious soun/s that
each .owel an/ consonant make you will be able to rea/ the wor/s more
or less as they soun/. There are a number of newspapers across the globe
that are publishe/ on the internet1 an/ you can use these to work on your
rea/ing skills without fin/ing yourself spen/ing a small fortune in
subscription fees to ha.e the newspaper itself /eli.ere/ to your home. See
the appen/i: at the en/ of this publication for a listing of newspapers from
.arious atin countries that will help you.
When you are first beginning to rea/ a newspaper in Spanish try to make it
easy on yourself. @ewspapers are written for a/ults who are alrea/y fluent
in the language. This means that much of the .ocabulary is going to go
right o.er your hea/1 an/ the .arious tenses an/ con$ugations of the .erbs
are going to confuse you to no en/. Start by trying to rea/ the hea/lines.
http://www.rocketlanguages.com 1G
Jeep your /ictionary han/y. The a/.antage to attempting to learn Spanish
is that many wor/s are .ery similar when written in Spanish an/ 7nglishC
as a matter of fact1 you are going to be astonishe/ to /isco.er precisely
how many wor/s you are able to un/erstan/ when you first pick up a
Spanish newspaper. When you come across a wor/ that you /o not
un/erstan/1 parti"uary if you fin/ it in a hea/line1 look it up in your
/ictionary an/ write it in your notebook. 't is a cinch that you are going to
see it again1 an/ this way you will ha.e the translation han/y. 7.entually
mo.e on from hea/lines to short articles until you are able to rea/ the
ma$ority of the paper.
'f you li.e in an area with a significant Hispanic population your local
library an/ bookstore will probably carry a number of books for all ages in
Spanish as well. Eou may feel a little ri/iculous /oing so1 but when you
are first starting to learn to rea/ in Spanish it woul/ be pru/ent of you to
go ahea/ an/ start with the chil/ren4s books. 3fter all1 when you were first
starting to learn to rea/ in 7nglish it is a pretty safe bet that you /i/n4t
begin with >ostoye.sky0
@ickelo/eon has a number of books for chil/ren in Spanish 8after all1 they
are the creators of >ora the 7:plorer1 the show that ma/e Spanish a part of
e.ery chil/4s life9 an/ once you are /one with them they make won/erful
gifts for family an/ frien/s. 3s you gain proficiency there are a number of
no.els being publishe/ in the Anite/ States by Spanish authors1 an/
se.eral no.els by authors such as >an &rown ha.e been release/ in their
spanish translation an/ are rea/ily a.ailable.
"n the Meantime#
#f course1 as a busy working a/ult you are not going to ha.e all of the time
that you coul/ really use in or/er to ensure that you are properly immerse/ in the
Spanish language. Eou ha.e a life1 an/ are going to nee/ to li.e a great /eal of that
life in 7nglish 8unless you shoul/ happen to /eci/e to /itch your current life an/
spen/ the ne:t three or four years soaking up the sun on the beaches of (e:ico9.
There are a number of tools that can help you in your =uest to learn Spanish a little bit
faster. +emember1 these are tools1 an/ like any tool they are only inten/e/ to assist
you. There is no substitute for the practical application of the language.
Alphabet
a a
b be
c ce
ch che
/ /e
e e
f efe
g ge
h hache
i i
$ $ota
Days of the Week
(on/ay lunes
Tues/ay martes
We/nes/ay miKrcoles
Thurs/ay $ue.es
;ri/ay .iernes
Satur/ay sLba/o
Sun/ay /omingo
Months
Ianuary enero
http://www.rocketlanguages.com 1*
k ka
l ele
ll elle
m eme
n ene
M eMe
o o
p pe
= cu
r ere
s ese
t te
u u
. .e
w /oble u//oble .e
: e=uis
y i griega
2 2eta
;ebruary febrero
(arch mar2o
3pril abril
(ay mayo
Iune $unio
Iuly $ulio
3ugust agosto
September septiembre
#ctober octubre
@o.ember no.iembre
>ecember /iciembre
Numbers
% 2ero cero
1 one
uno 8m91 una
8f9
, two /os
- three tres
4 four cuatro
" fi.e cinco
F si: seis
G se.en siete
* eight ocho
H nine nue.e
1% ten /ie2
11 ele.en once
1, twel.e /oce
1- thirteen trece
14 fourteen catorce
1" fifteen =uince
1F si:teen /iecisKis
1G se.enteen /iecisiete
1* eighteen /ieciocho
Basics
hello Hola
goo/Dbye 3/iNs
yes SO
no @o
frien/ 3migo 8m91 3miga 8f9
thank you ?racias
where is the bathroom! P>Nn/e estL el baMo!
Family
husban/ esposo1 mari/o
wife esposa
chil/ren niMos
son hi$o
/aughter hi$a
father pa/re1 papL 8informa9
mother ma/re1 mamL 8informa9
brother hermano
sister hermana
gran/father abuelo
gran/mother abuela
http://www.rocketlanguages.com 1H
1H nineteen /iecinue.e
,% twenty .einte
,1 twentyDone .eintiuno
,, twentyDtwo .einti/Ns
-% thirty treinta
-1 thirtyDone treinta y uno
4% forty cuarenta
"% fifty cincuenta
F% si:ty sesenta
G% se.enty setenta
*% eighty ochenta
H% ninety no.enta
1%% one hun/re/ cien
1%1
one hun/re/ an/
one
ciento uno
,%% two hun/re/ /oscientos
-%% three hun/re/ trescientos
4%% four hun/re/ cuatrocientos
"%% fi.e hun/re/ =uinientos
F%% si: hun/re/ seiscientos
G%% se.en hun/re/ setecientos
*%% eight hun/re/ ochocientos
H%% nine hun/re/ no.ecientos
11%%% one thousan/ mil
,1%%% two thousan/ /os mil
11%%%1%%% one million un millNn
,1%%%1%%% two million /os millones
uncle tOo
aunt tOa
nephew sobrino
niece sobrina
cousin primo 8m91 prima 8f9
brotherDinDlaw cuMa/o
sisterDinDlaw cuMa/a
fatherDinDlaw suegro
motherDinDlaw suegra
sonDinDlaw yerno
/aughterDinDlaw nuera
Colors
black negro
blue a2ul
brown marrNn1 cafK
green .er/e
grey gris
orange naran$a1 anaran$a/o
pink rosa/o
purple .ioleta1 mora/o
re/ ro$o
white blanco
yellow amarillo
Directions
left '2=uier/a
right >erecha
far e$os
near Cerca
street Calle
a.enue 3.eni/a
north @orte
south Sur
east 7ste
http://www.rocketlanguages.com ,%
west #este
Online Resources
Eou can /o anything with the help of the internet1 an/ learning to speak
Spanish is no e:ception. There are a number of programs currently in e:istence on the
internet that are inten/e/ to assist those in/i.i/uals whose li.es are simply too busy to
take a Spanish class in the mastery of this uni=ue language.
These online resources can work for you as well1 but there are a number of
things you shoul/ look for before settling on a Spanish program. ;irst an/ foremost1 it
must ha.e some type of au/io interface. Eou cannot learn to speak Spanish from a
book. The accents an/ flow of the language are so /ifferent that e.en if you were to
perfectly master the pronunciation of e.ery .owel1 syllable an/ letter combination in
the Spanish language you still woul/ not be able to speak with any type of fluency.
Take a moment to think back on the last time that you spoke with someone
with a lisp or a .ery hea.y accent. 7.en though they were speaking in 7nglish you
probably ha/ a .ery /ifficult time un/erstan/ing them. The reason for this is that your
ears are not use/ to relaying that type of information to the brain. Eour ears are
accustome/ to hearing the language spoken in a particular manner with a particular
accent1 an/ in the absence of that particular way of speaking your brain cannot make
any sense of what your ears are sen/ing it.
The same can be sai/ of learning to speak Spanish. The entire point of
learning to speak a new language is to communicate with those people for whom this
foreign language is a nati.e tongue. That means that you must be able to un/erstan/
them an/1 e=ually importantly1 they must be able to un/erstan/ you. 'f you /o not
speak with the proper accent an/ pronunciation you will not be un/erstoo/1 an/
therefore will ha.e waste/ the time you spent learning to speak the language.
The other item that is of particular importance when working with an online
Spanish program is the =uality of its .isual ai/s. Ees1 you are going to nee/ pictures
as well as wor/s an/ soun/s to learn. Why! Take a moment to consi/er how you
learne/ 7nglish as a chil/. Eou learne/ the language from listening to the people
aroun/ you1 then applying the wor/s to items aroun/ you. This means that you
learne/ by a process known as 5.isual association6. Eour min/ learne/ to associate
certain wor/s with ob$ects you saw aroun/ you. Without that association you are
going to fin/ yourself ha.ing to memori2e countless .ocabulary wor/s without any
foun/ation in which to base it.
'f that /oesn4t make sense1 take a moment to think back to when you were first
learning how to spell in gra/e school. Eou probably spent countless hours re.iewing
your wor/ lists to learn how to spell the wor/s the teacher re=uire/C howe.er1 you
probably /i/n4t gain true mastery of these wor/s until you became an a/ult an/ began
seeing them in your rea/ing material. The same is true of your .ocabulary. Antil you
begin applying it to ob$ects in your en.ironment1 wor/s are $ust wor/s an/ are not
going to stick in your min/.
There are a number of programs that are a.ailable through the internet that
will help you to learn to speak Spanish1 an/ many of these are pro.i/e/ to you at
absolutely no cost. Take a few moments to check these sites out an/ see what they
ha.e to offer.
www.stu/yspanish.com
http://www.rocketlanguages.com ,1
http://www.learnDspanishDonline./e/
http://www.spanishprograms.com/
http://www.spaleon.com/in/e:.php 8this site will help you
tremen/ously when you are first learning how to con$ugate your .erbs9
$u!io Courses
There are a number of programs that offer Spanish programs on C> for people
to learn. This is a won/erful opportunity for you to learn to speak an/ un/erstan/
Spanish as it is spoken in its natural form. Eou will be able to hear how each
in/i.i/ual wor/ is spoken1 an/ the inflection of each phrase. 3s we spoke about
earlier1 the greatest /ifficulty facing in/i.i/uals who are learning to speak another
language is the ability to un/erstan/1 an/ a large part of the reason for that is that you
are not use/ to the wor/s being spoken in such a manner.
When you are choosing an au/io course to work with1 be sure that you choose
one that is going to teach both .ocabulary an/ one that is going to teach you to speak
in phrases. The catch with speaking any language is that there are .ery few moments
in which a series of wor/s can be place/ together an/ make sense1 an/ when you are
consi/ering the fact that you are working with another language you ha.e to
un/erstan/ that the Spanish grammatical structure is .ery /ifferent from that which in
employe/ in 7nglish. This means that you cannot simply learn all of the .ocabulary
wor/s an/ place them together in a sentence as you woul/ in 7nglish. 't will make
absolutely no sense to a nati.e speaker.
To take a .ery common e:ample1 let us look at the manner in which a nati.e
Spanish speaker will intro/uce themsel.es. Eou woul/ say1 5Hello1 my name is)6 'n
Spanish1 you woul/ say 5Hola1 me llamo)6 Quite literally1 this means1 5Hello1 ' call
myself)6 'f someone came up to you on the street an/ sai/1 5Hello1 ' call myself
&en$amin6 you woul/ probably un/erstan/ what he was trying to say1 but you woul/
more than likely look at him a little o//ly. This is precisely what will happen if you
fail to learn the proper phrasing in Spanish.
So1 to get back to the topic at han/1 when you are selecting an au/io course to
work with you shoul/ be sure to fin/ one that works with you in both full sentences
an/ phrases an/ in/i.i/ual wor/s. Eou also want to fin/ one that is going to co.er a
.ariety of situations. 3s we /iscusse/ earlier1 while you are going to nee/ to learn
about transportation an/ such when you are on .acation in a latin country this
knowle/ge is not going to /o you much goo/ when you are attempting to carry on a
normal con.ersation while at work. Eou are going to nee/ to know wor/s to apply to
any number of situations1 an/ a program that fails to acknowle/ge this is not going to
ser.e you .ery well.
Television Courses
There are a number of .i/eo courses in e:istence for teaching you how to
speak Spanish1 an/ these will probably ser.e you .ery well1 as you will be gi.en the
opportunity to see the Spanish language in play an/ watch people .ery much like you
/o so. The nice thing is that many of these programs ha.e an element of
http://www.rocketlanguages.com ,,
lighthearte/ness to them1 making them more personal an/ en$oyable than an or/inary
te:t programDan/ as you know1 what you en$oy you remember.
'f you ha.e .ery little e:perience with Spanish you may want to start with the
Stan/ar/ >e.iants. They happily break lessons /own into small portions an/ allow
people to learn to speak Spanish in bite si2e portions. They are also e:traor/inarily
humorous1 gi.ing you the opportunity to see Spanish use/ in a fabulous new way. The
Stan/ar/ >e.iants programs will teach e.erything from beginning to a/.ance/
Spanish1 gi.ing you the opportunity to stay with their teaching metho/s all the way
through if you happen to fin/ that you are learning from them.
"n Conclusion
Thanks for your attention. Eou now ha.e all of the fun/amentals that you are
going to nee/ to master the romance an/ mystery of the Spanish language. Take the
time now to look o.er your choices an/ begin to integrate the language into your
in/i.i/ual lifestyle1 choosing the in/i.i/ual metho/s an/ accessory tools that are best
suite/ to your nee/s. Eou4ll be speaking like a nati.e in no time0
&ueno suerte0
http://www.rocketlanguages.com ,-
Appendix A
Basic Vocabulary
We cannot teach you the entirety of the Spanish language in this report. 't4s
not that simple. 't takes time to get starte/ in the process1 an/ to allow the language to
become a part of your subconscious. Howe.er1 it is easier to work up the moti.ation
to gi.e learning to speak any new language a try if you ha.e alrea/y ha/ a taste of it.
An/erneath are a few phrases that will come in han/y when you are interacting with
nati.e Spanish speakers an/ will help to launch you on your path to success.
Greetins
HolaDHello
3/iosD?oo/bye
Hasta uegoDSee you later
&ien.eni/osDWelcome
&uenos >ia2D?oo/ morning/?oo/ /ay
&uenos Tar/esD?oo/ 3fternoon
&uenos @ochesD?oo/ night
&ueno SuerteD?oo/ luck
(ucho ?ustoD@ice to meet you
Quantos anos tiene!DHow ol/ are you/how ol/ is he/she! 8this is especially important
when a/miring other people4s chil/ren09
Eo tengo)anosD' am)years ol/
Manners
?raciasDThank you
>e @a/aDEou4re welcome
At the !able"
Tengo HambreD'4m hungry
Tengo Se/D'4m thirsty
Who#What#When#Where#Why#$o%
Cuan/oDWhen
CuLntoDHow much
QuiKnDWho
QuKDWhat
>Nn/eDWhere
>Nn/e 7stL)DWhere is)!
<or=uK DWhy/&ecause
http://www.rocketlanguages.com ,4
#ne ma$or /ifference between Spanish an/ 7nglish is the way that .erbs are
con$ugate/. 7nglish speakers con$ugate their .erbs1 although they are often unaware
of it at the time. ;or e:ample1 while we say1 5' run61 7nglish grammar woul/ /ictate
that we say1 5She runs6 an/ 5They run6. 'f you were to say that 5She run6 an/ 5They
runs6 you woul/ imme/iately fin/ the wrath of many who choose to take e:ception to
this butchering of the grammatical structure of their language coming /own upon your
hea/.
This same policy applies when you are talking about speaking in SpanishC
howe.er1 /ue to the fact that the Spanish language often allows for the informality of
the sub$ect to be /roppe/ when you are /iscussing a specific topic it is absolutely .ital
that you use the correct form of the .erb. 'f you were to say1 5We runs6 in 7nglish1
your listeners woul/ be able to hear the sub$ect we an/ un/erstan/ that you were
simply using the improper form of the .erb to run. Ha/ you simply sai/1 5+uns6 8for
e:ample1 5runs in the grass69 people woul/ ha.e assume/ that you were talking about
a he1 a she or an it. They woul/ ha.e ha/ no i/ea that you were in fact referring to
yourself an/ another party1 an/ the entire point that your sentence was attempting to
make woul/ be lost.
So it is with Spanish. Within the Spanish language are si: primary sub$ects
which /ictate the form of the .erb to be use/. These sub$ects are:
EoD'
TuDEou 8familiar1 informalDfor use with a frien/ or a chil/9
7l/7lla/Aste/DHe/She/Eou 8formal9
@osotrosDWe
BosotrosDEou1 plural 8formal1 use/ primarily in Spain9
7llos/7llas/Aste/esDThey. 7llos refers to a multiple number of males or a group of
mi:e/ company1 7llas to a multiple number of females. Aste/es is the plural form of
Eou use/ by the people of atin 3merica or as an informal a//ress when speaking in
Castilian Spanish.
3s you will ha.e notice/ from the sub$ects abo.e not all Spanish is the same.
The people of the country of Spain speak what is known as Castilian Spanish1 the
more formal form of the language. The people of atin 3merica ha.e their own
/istinct language1 an/ within this language are multiple /ialects. 't is important that
you be aware of this because as you are learning to speak Spanish you will often fin/
.ocabulary labele/ as specific to Spain1 to atin 3merica or pertaining specifically to
a country. This can become .ery confusing if you /o not know what it is that you are
looking at.
@ow that you are familiar with the sub$ects use/ in the Spanish language you
can begin to un/erstan/ the con$ugation of Spanish .erbs. There are many1 so for
illustration4s sake we will use the most basic from the three main groups of regular
.erbs. +egular .erbs refer to .erbs which are con$ugate/ the same way regar/less of
which .erb they are1 an/ they are /i.i/e/ into Der1 Dir an/ Rar .erbs.
Since the paragraph you $ust rea/ probably ma/e absolutely no sense to you1
let use take a specific e:ample. The .erb ha%ar means 5to speak61 an/ it is
con$ugate/ thusly:
Eo hablo
Tu hablas
7l/7lla/A/. habla
@osotros hablamos
Bosotros hablais 8there is an accent o.er the secon/ 8a9 in hablais when .iewe/
properly9
http://www.rocketlanguages.com ,"
7llos/7llas/A/s. hablan
3s you can see1 the .erb use/ changes accor/ing to the sub$ect. Therefore1 if
you were trying to say 5' speak Spanish6 or 5' can speak Spanish6 8the two are sai/ in
the same fashion9 you woul/ say1 5Eo hablo espanol6. Howe.er1 since it is customary
when speaking Spanish to /rop the sub$ect you woul/ say1 5Hablo espanol6. Eour
listeners will know that you are talking about yourself because you woul/ use the .erb
form ha%o.
'f1 on the other han/1 you were to use the incorrect form of the .erb by mistake
an/ sai/1 5Hablas espanol6 your listener woul/ belie.e that you were talking about
them. Eou will ha.e sai/ 5Eou speak Spanish6 rather than 5' speak Spanish6.
3s you can see1 using the correct form of the .erb is much more important
when speaking Spanish than when speaking 7nglish. ;ortunately1 when /ealing with
regular .erbs all .erbs of the same form will be con$ugate/ in the same manner.
Therefore1 any other Rar .erb will be con$ugate/ in the same fashion as ha%ar. The
same is true using .erbs that en/ in Rer an/ .erbs that en/ in Rir. An/erneath are the
con$ugations for the .erbs "omer1 meaning 5to eat61 an/ $i$ir1 meaning 5to li.e6. Eou
will fin/ yourself using these .erbs often in con.ersation.
*omer
Eo como
Tu comes
7l/7lla/A/. come
@osotros comemos
Bosotros comeis
7llos/7llas/A/s. comen
7llos comen las bananas en la manana 8they eat bananas in the morning9.
7i$ir
Eo .i.o
Tu .i.es
7l/7lla/A/. .i.e
@osotros .i.imos
Bosotros .i.is
7llos/7llas/A/s. .i.en
Eo .i.o con mi hermana 8' li.e with my sister9.
3s you can see1 the con$ugations of the Rir an/ Rer .erbs are .ery similar. There
are a number of resources on the internet that will gi.e you a listing of other
commonly use/ Rar1 Dir an/ Rer .erbs. Take the time to look these o.er an/ memori2e
them to the best of your ability1 taking a/.antage of au/io resources to help you with
their pronunciation. Anfortunately1 until you are using your Spanish on a /aily basis
in con.ersation these con$ugations are not going to come easily for you. <ractice
makes perfect.
Anfortunately1 not all .erbs are regular. There are some that ha.e their .ery own
con$ugation that is in no way1 shape or form relate/ to their regular counterparts1 an/
these can be e:tremely confusing if you /o not take the time to memori2e them. There
is no other way to learn these than through rote memori2ation1 although many of these
you will use so often that their con$ugation will become secon/ nature to you.
An/erneath are a few of the most commonly use/ irregular .erbs an/ their proper
con$ugation.
Querer (to want)
Eo =uiero
Tu =uieres
http://www.rocketlanguages.com ,F
7l/7lla/A/. =uiere
@osotros =ueremos
Bosotros =ueries
7llos/7llas/A/s. =uieren
Tener (to have)
Eo tengo
Tu tienes
7l/7lla/A/. tiene
@osotros tenemos
Bosotros teneis
7llos/7llas/A/s. tienen
Estar (to be, temporarily, as in to be in a place)
Eo estoy
Tu estas
7l/7lla/A/. esta
@osotros estamos
Bosotros estais
7llos/7llas/A/s. estan
Ser (to be, permanently)
Eo soy
Tu eres
7l/7lla/A/. es
@ostros somos
Bosotros sois
7llos/7llas/A/s. son
Poder (to be able)
Eo pue/o
Tu pue/es
7l/7lla/A/. pue/e
@ostros po/emos
Bosotros po/eis
7llos/7llas/A/s. <ue/en

Bisit http&##%%%'rocketlanuaes'com for further assistance with Spanish
.ocabulary1 .erbs or irregular .erbs. This reference will also help you to learn the
/ifference between present1 past an/ future forms of the .erb1 a topic that is far too
/ifficult to go into in any great /etail here0
http://www.rocketlanguages.com ,G
Appendix B
(panish Ne%spapers )nline
http://###.1"ipart."om/%ro#se.php8p9iterature:7*ne#spapers
1. (e:ico:
7l Ani.ersal: www.elDuni.ersal.com.m:
a Iorna/a: www.$orna/a.unam.m:
,. Cuba:
?ranma: www.granma.cubaweb.cu
Iu.entu/ +ebel/e: www.$rebel/e.cubaweb.cu
-. >ominican +epublic:
istin >iario: www.listin.com./o
7l @acional: www.elnactional.co./o
4. <uerto +ico:
7l @ue.o >ia: www.en/i.com
<rimera Hora: www.primerahora.com
". Spain:
7l <ais: www.elpais.es
7l (un/o: www.elmun/o.es
http://www.rocketlanguages.com ,*
F. &eli2e:
&eli2e Times: http://www.beli2etimes.b2
G. Costa +ica:
a @acion: www.nacion.com
a +epublica: www.larepublica.net
*. 7l Sal.a/or:
7l >iario /e Hoy: www.elsal.a/or.com
a prensa ?rafica: www.parensa.com.s.
H. ?uatemala:
<rensa ibre: www.presalibre.com
1%. Hon/uras:
a Tribuna: www.latribunahon.com
7l Heral/o: www.elheral/o.hn
11. @icaragua:
a <rensa: www.laprensa.com.ni
7l @ue.o >iario: www.elnue.o/iario.com.ni
1,. <anama:
a <rensa: www.prensa.com
7l <anama 3merica: www.elpanamaamerica.com.pa
http://www.rocketlanguages.com ,H
1-. 3rgentina:
Clarin: www.clarin.com.ar
a @acion: www.lanacion.com.ar
14. &oli.ia:
7l >iario: www.el/iario.net
a +a2on: www.laDra2on.com
1". Chile:
7l (ercurio: www.emol.com
a Tercera: www.tercera.cl
1F. Columbia:
7l Tiempo: www.eltiempo.com
7l 7specta/or: www.elespecta/or.com
1G. 7cua/or:
a Hora: www.lahora.com.ec
7l Comercio: www.elcomercio.com
1*. <araguay:
@oticias: www./iarionoticias.com.py
Altima Hora: www.ultimahora.com
1H. <eru:
7l Comercio: www.elcomercioperu.com
7:preso: www.e:preso.com.pe
http://www.rocketlanguages.com -%
,%. Aruguay:
7l <ais: www.elpais.com.uy
7l #bser.a/or: www.obser.a/or.com.uy
,1. Bene2uela:
7l @acional: www.elDnacional.com
7l Ani.ersal: www.eluni.ersal.com
http://www.rocketlanguages.com -1