Introduction to the Spanish Language

PRONUNCIATION
The English equivalents given are a rough guide to pronunciation and they will enable you to understand spoken
Spanish and to be understood, but you should be aware that in some cases they are not exactly the same sounds as
used in English.

The Spanish Alphabet:

a [a] as in English ‘bag’.

b [b] as in ‘big’ at the beginning of a phrase or after n or m.
Otherwise [β]. The lips are shaped as for [b] but slightly apart.
c [k] as in ‘cat’ when before a, o, u or a consonant.
[θ] as in ‘think’ before e or i in standard peninsular Spanish, but [s] in Latin America and
southern Spain.
Ch [č] as in ‘church’.
d [d] as in ‘dog’ at the beginning of a phrase or after n or l. Otherwise as in ‘this’.
e [e] as in ‘bed’.
f [f] as in ‘feather’.
g [g] as in ‘game’ when before a, o or u. But before e or i, [x] as in Scottish ‘loch’.
h always silent.
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i
j
[i] as in ‘meet’.
[x] as in Scottish ‘loch’.
1

k [k] as in ‘car’.
l [l] as in ‘flat’.
ll [j] as in ‘yet’ (this is the most commonly heard pronunciation in standard Spanish, although
strictly speaking it should be pronounced as in ‘million’).
m [m] as in ‘mother’.
n [n] as in number’.
ñ sounds like ny as in canyon
o [o] as in ‘opera’.
p [p] as in ‘pear’.
q This is always followed by u and qu is pronounced [k] as in ‘corner’.
r [r] this is a rolled ‘r’ as in Scottish pronunciation of ‘car’, i.e. with a slight flick or vibration of the
tongue.
rr this requires a more pronounced rolling of the ‘r’, or vibration of the tongue
s [s] as in ‘single’.
t [t] as in ‘take’.
u [u] as in ‘soon’.
v This is pronounced the same as b.
w This only occurs in borrowed words in Spanish and its pronunciation varies. The most common
variations are [β], [b] and [w].
x [ks] as in ‘extra’, but more commonly in spoken peninsular Spanish it is simplified to [s].
y [j] as in ‘yellow’ when on its own, but when it is used in combination with a vowel it is weakened
to [i].
z [θ] as in ‘think’.
Let’s Practice
Spanish Vowels

o a: más, pasa, nada, mañana, encantada

o e: es, tres, mesa, deporte, interesante
o i: mí, niño, libro, tímido, inteligente
o o: o, hola, color, exótico, nosotros
o u: tú, azul, lunes, gusto, música

Spanish Consonants

o b /be/: Barbara, bebe, barco, bonita, buque

o c /ce/: Carlos, Cuba, carro, casa, carta
o d /de/: Dios, Pedro, paso, postal, perro
o f /efe/: Fernando, foca, familia, fiesta, formal
o g /ge/: gato, gusto, gitano, garra, general
o h /hache/: hola, hotel, hermano, hurto, hamaca
o j /jota/: jinete, jardín, jarra, Josué, justo
o k /ka/: kilometro, karate, Koala, kiosco, karaoke
o l /ele/ loco, laso, listo, lobo, ley
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o
o
m /eme/: marino, matrimonio, mejor, mirada, muerto
n /ene/: natural, nadar, nombre, nota, noche
2

o ñ /eñe/: niño, ñandú

o p /pe/: pesa, piso, puerta, parque, portal
o q /cu/: química, queso, quemar, que, quizá
o r /ere/: rata, radio, real, regalo, reloj
o s /ese/: sapo, siesta, sierra, ser, subir, seis
o t /te/: tener, tienda, terminar, tren, tomar
o v /ve/: uva, vamos, vacuna, virus, vapor
o w /ve doble/: whisky, Washington, kiwi
o x /equis/: excelente, sexy, saxo, taxi
o y /ye, i griega/: soy, maya, estoy, ya, yo
o z /zeta/: zorro, lápiz, zodiaco, zancudo, zurdo
STRESS
Apart from a very few cases where the diaresis (e.g. ü) is used, there is only one written accent in Spanish
(á) and this is used in the following circumstances:

• to show that a word does not follow the rules of natural stress;
• to differentiate between words which are spelt the same;
• in interrogatives and exclamations.

Rules of natural stress

If a word ends in an -n, -s or a vowel, the stress naturally falls on the penultimate (last but one) syllable:

palabra word
juguetes toys
compran they buy

If a word ends in any other sound, the stress naturally falls on the last syllable:

pared wall
feliz happy
Words that follow these rules of natural stress do not require a written accent (or stress mark), but if the word is
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pronounced in a way that does not follow these natural rules then a stress mark must be put on the vowel in the
stressed syllable:
3

lápiz pencil
inglés English

Some words require a stress mark in the singular but not in the plural, since by making the word plural it now
ends in an -s, resulting in the natural stress now falling on the appropriate syllable:

inglés – ingleses

The situation outlined above is fairly straightforward, but when two or more vowels occur together in a word you
will need to understand the rules about diphthongs in order to work out the stress.

Vowels are divided into strong and weak vowels – a, e and o are ‘strong’ vowels and u and i are ‘weak’ vowels.
When a weak vowel occurs together with another vowel, they form a diphthong, which counts as only one
syllable. If the weak vowel is next to a strong vowel, the stress falls on the strong vowel:

piedra (stone) – two syllables pie-dra

If both vowels are weak, the stress falls on the second vowel in the diph-thong:

viuda (widow)

If, however, two strong vowels occur together they form two separate syllables:
 ateo (atheist) – three syllables a-te-o

Differentiating between words

Sometimes stress marks are used to differentiate between two words that are spelt and pronounced in the same
way:

el (the) él (he)
si (if) sí (yes)
tu (your) tú (you)

Interrogatives and exclamations

When certain words are used as interrogatives (questions) or exclamations they require a stress mark, whereas
they do not require a stress mark in other circumstances:

¿Qué? What?
¿Dónde? Where?
¿Cuándo? When?
¿Cómo? How?
¿Quién? Who?
¡Qué hermoso! How lovely!

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GRAMATICA
A. Geography of the Spanish-Speaking World
Spanish is spoken in Europe, North America, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. The
countries where Spanish is spoken as an official language within each of these regions are as follows.
•• Europe: Spain.
•• North America: Mexico.
•• Central America: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama.
•• The Caribbean: Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico.
•• South America: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina.
•• Africa: Equatorial Guinea.

The United States has more Spanish speakers than Spain; in fact, the United States has more Spanish speakers
than any other country except Mexico. Spanish is also widely spoken in Canada, Belize, and the Philippines.

B. Nouns
All nouns in Spanish have a gender, meaning that they are either masculine or feminine, regardless of whether
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they are animate or inanimate objects. Most nouns that end in -o are masculine, while most that end in -a are 5
feminine. Several factors can determine the gender of a noun, such as its meaning, its origin or its ending.
Whenever you learn a noun in Spanish you will have to learn its gender as well. Beyond gender, nouns also have
a number, meaning that they are either singular or plural.

e.g. masculine nouns: el niño (the boy)

el libro (the book)
feminine nouns: la niña (the girl)
la playa (the beach)

Generally speaking, nouns that end in -o are masculine as well as those ending in -or - ema, -ista, while
those that end in -a, -ión, -ad, -ed, -ud are feminine. There are, however, some exceptions such as la mano
(hand) and you will just have to learn these as you come across them.

It is relatively simple to form the plural of most nouns: if the noun ends in a vowel, -s is added, if the
noun ends in a consonant, -es is added:

niño niños
playa playas
coche (car) coches
bar bares
ciudad (city) ciudades

There are a few irregular plurals and nouns that do not change in the plural. Most of these are not
common words and therefore will be indicated as they appear.
Note: Some nouns lose their written accents in the plural for reasons which follow the normal rules of
pronunciation – see sections on ‘Pronunciation’ and ‘Stress’:

e.g. acción/acciones
jardín/jardines (garden)

The noun carácter (character) changes its spoken stress in the plural and therefore loses its written accent:
caracteres.

C.Definite Articles
While “the” is the only definite article in English, in Spanish there are four forms of the definite article: el
(masculine
singular), la (feminine singular), los (masculine plural), and las (feminine plural). Examples of definite articles
used
with nouns include el libro [the book]; la mesa [the table]; los cuadernos [the notebooks, or the workbooks]; las
señoras [the women]. When the preposition de [of] is followed by the definite article el, de + el contracts to del.
So, El cuaderno del curso is “The workbook of the course,” or “The course’s workbook.”

Although nouns ending in -o are usually masculine and nouns ending in -a are usually feminine, there are
many nouns in Spanish that have an ending other than -o or -a. For that reason, you should always learn a new
noun with its accompanying definite article. As you learn, for example, that “the hotel” is el hotel, you are
reinforcing that hotel is a masculine noun. And you need to know the gender of a noun, for example, so that you
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can use the proper form of an adjective to describe the noun. 6

Definite articles have a variety of uses in Spanish. As is the case with English, they can refer to something
specific. For example, “The class is interesting” is La clase es interesante. Unlike English, definite articles are
also used when talking about a noun in a general sense. To say, for example, “Freedom is important,” you would
say La libertad es importante.

Definite articles are also needed when speaking or writing about people with titles, such as señor, señora,
señorita, profesor, profesora, doctor, and doctora. To say “Professor Ana Cano is popular,” for example, you
would say La profesora Ana Cano es popular. No definite article is needed when talking directly to a person
with
a title, so “Hello, Professor Cano” is Hola, Profesora Cano.

C. Making Nouns Plural

The three rules for making a noun plural in Spanish are as follows.

1. If a noun ends in a vowel, add -s: la silla [chair] à las sillas.

2. If a noun ends in a consonant other than z, add -es: el papel [paper] à los papeles
3. If a noun ends in a z, change the z to c and add -es: el lápiz [pencil] à los lápices
VOCABULARIO
 hola – hello
 ¿Cómo está usted? – How are you? [formal,
singular]
 ¿Qué tal? – How’s it going?
 ¿Cómo están ustedes? – How are you?
[formal, plural]
 ¿Cómo estás? – How are you? [informal,
singular]
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 buenos días – good morning
 buenas tardes – good afternoon
 buen día – good morning
 buenas noches – good evening, good night
 ¿Cómo te llamas? – What’s your name?
[informal, singular]
 ¿Cómo se llama usted? – What’s your name?
[formal, singular]
 Le presento a…. – Let me introduce you to….
[formal, singular]
 Te presento a…. – Let me introduce you to….
[informal, singular]
 Les presento a…. – Let me introduce you
to…. [plural]
 bienvenidos – welcome [plural]
 el – the [masculine, singlar]
 Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú? – Fine, thanks. And you?
[informal, singular]
 Bien, gracias. ¿Y ustedes? – Fine, thanks. And
you? [formal, plural]
 Bien, gracias. ¿Y usted? – Fine, thanks. And you?
[formal, singular]
 bien – well
 regular – so-so
 Estoy bien. – I’m well.
 más o menos – so-so
 mal – not well
 no muy bien – not very well
 Estoy mal. – I’m not well.
 muy bien, gracias – very well, thank you
 muy – very
 bastante bien – just fine 7
 adiós – good-bye
 hasta mañana – see you tomorrow
 chao – bye
 hasta pronto – see you soon
 hasta luego – see you later
 nos vemos – see you
 Me llamo…. – My name is….
 Soy…. – I am….
 Mi nombre es…. – My name is….
 mucho gusto – nice to meet you
 encantado – pleased to meet you [speaker
masculine]
 Es un placer. – It’s a pleasure.
 encantada – pleased to meet you [speaker feminine]
 igualmente – likewise
 gracias – thank you
 el curso – course
  los – the [masculine, plural]
 la – the [feminine, singular]
 las – the [feminine, plural]
 el libro – book
 la mano – hand
 la silla – chair
 el mapa – map
 la mesa – table
 el problema – problem
 la casa – house
 el sistema – system
 la clase – class
 el día – day
 el reloj – watch, clock
 el cuaderno – notebook, workbook
 el lápiz – pencil
 el agua – water [feminine]
 la pared – wall
 la letra – letter
 la música – music
 el hotel – hotel
 el televisor – television set
 el papel – paper
 
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
en – in
hay – there is, there are
 de – of, from
 llamar – to call
 solo – alone, only
 importante – important
 interesante – interesting
 inteligente – intelligent
 la lengua – language
 los Estados Unidos – United States
 el español – Spanish language
 el aspecto – aspect
 el castellano – Spanish language
 la cultura – culture
 la educación – education
 la libertad – liberty, freedom
 la nación – nation
 la posibilidad – possibility
 la lección – lesson
 la actitud – attitude
 la universidad – university
 la virtud – virtue
 el pianista – male pianist
 el señor – Mr., man
 la pianista – female pianist
 la señora – Mrs., woman
 el dentista – male dentist
 la señorita – Miss, young woman
 la dentista – female dentist
 el profesor – male professor
 el futbolista – male soccer player

la profesora – female professor
la futbolista – female soccer player
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 el doctor – male doctor
 el chico – boy
 la doctora – female doctor
 la chica – girl
 la familia – family
 ACTIVIDADES
Carlos González y Alejandra Fallas se acaban de mudar con su familia al vecindario Villa Celeste y están
saludando y conociendo a sus vecinos. / Carlos González and Alejandra Fallas have just moved with their family
to the neighborhood Villa Celeste and are greeting and getting to know their neighbors.

I. Completa las siguientes frases con la expresión apropiada. / Complete the following
sentences with the appropriate expression.
1. Esteban: Hola, ¿___________________ están?
2. Carlos: ¡____________________, gracias!
3. Esteban: ¿Cómo ________________?
4. Carlos: __________________ Carlos. ¿Y usted?
5. Esteban: __________________ Esteban, y ella es mi esposa [and she is my wife], Luisa.
6. Carlos: ¡_________________ gusto! Ella es mi esposa, Alejandra.
7. Alejandra: ¡____________________!
8. Luisa: ¡____________________!

II. Escribe una expresión similar a la expresión original. / Write an expression similar to
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the original expression.
9

1. Encantado. _____________________________ 4. Más o menos. ________________________________

2. ¿Qué tal? ______________________________ 5. Mi nombre es.... ______________________________
3. Muy bien, gracias. _______________________ 6. Nos vemos. __________________________________

III. Escoge una respuesta apropiada en cada situación. / Choose an appropriate answer in
each situation.
1. Hola. ¿Cómo está?
a) Igualmente. b) Bien, gracias. ¿Y usted? c) Hasta luego.

2. Le presento a Luisa.
a) Más o menos. b) Bien, gracias. c) Mucho gusto.

3. Buenas tardes. ¿Qué tal?

a) Igualmente. b) Muy bien. ¿Y usted? c) Nos vemos.

4. Hasta mañana.
a) Regular. b) Encantado. c) Hasta pronto.

5. ¿Cómo te llamas?
a) Igualmente. b) Buenos días. c) Me llamo Carlos.

6. ¡Buenas noches! ¿Cómo estás?

 a) Encantada. b) ¿Y usted? c) Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?

IV. Agrega la expresión apropiada. / Add the appropriate expression.

1. ¡Buenas a. está usted?
2. ¿Cómo te b. tal?
3. ¿Qué c. gusto!
4. ¡Mucho d. Carlos
5. Les e. presento a mi amigo.
6. ¡Hasta f. llamas?
7. ¿Cómo g. pronto!
8. Mi nombre es h. tardes!

V. Agrega el artículo definido apropiado a cada sustantivo. / Add the appropriate definite
article to each noun.
1. ________ universidad 4. ________ lápices 7. ________ mapas
2. ________ libros 5. ________ sistema 8. ________ educación
3. ________ día 6. ________ cuadernos 9. ________ actitud

VI. La familia González Fallas desempaca las cajas que tienen las cosas que necesitan en su
nueva casa. / The González Fallas family is unpacking the boxes that have the things they
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need in their new home.
Ayuda a la familia González Fallas a desempacar sus cosas. Agrega el artículo definido
10

apropiado a cada sustantivo. / Help the González Fallas family unpack their things. Add the
appropriate definite article to each noun.
1. ________ televisor 6. ________ alfombra [rug]
2. ________ mesas 7. ________ cuadernos
3. ________ lámparas [lamps] 8. ________ mapas
4. ________ papeles 9. ________ libros
5. ________ computadora [computer] 10. _______ mesas

VII. La familia González Fallas no recuerda cuántas cosas tienen en las cajas. / The González
Fallas family doesn’t remember how many things they have in the boxes.
Ayúdalos haciendo el plural de las siguientes cosas que han desempacado. / Help them by
making the plural of the following things they have unpacked.
1. el cuaderno _____________________ 7. la cama [bed] ____________________________
2. la lámpara ______________________ 8. el reloj __________________________________
3. el televisor _____________________ 9. la bicicleta [bicycle] _______________________
4. el zapato [shoe] _________________ 10. el perfume [perfume] ______________________
5. el mapa _______________________ 11. el papel _________________________________
6. la alfombra ____________________ 12. el lápiz _________________________________
VIII. Escoge la respuesta correcta. / Choose the correct answer.
1. ¿Cuál [What] es el plural de reloj?
a) relojes b) relojs c) relojeces

2. ¿Cuál es el singular de televisores?

a) televiso b) televisor c) televisore

3. ¿Cuál es el plural de hotel?

a) hotel b) hoteles c) hotels

4. ¿Cuál es el singular de doctoras?

a) doctor b) doctoras c) doctora

5. ¿Cuál es el artículo definido de sistema?

a) la b) las c) el

6. ¿Cuál es el artículo definido de mano?

a) el b) la c) los

7. ¿Cuál es el artículo definido de problemas?

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c) el 11

8. ¿Cuál es el artículo definido de dentistas?

a) los b) las c) la

9. ¿Cuál es el artículo definido de futbolistas?

a) los b) las c) la

10. ¿Cuál es el artículo definido de papel?

a) la b) el c) las