Spanish Articles

Article / Updated 09-07-2023

When you’re eating out at a Spanish-speaking restaurant, knowing some basic Spanish vocabulary can make the ordering process a little easier. Placing your order basically consists of two parts: ordering a beverage and ordering food. But first you need to get the attention of your server. Calling a waiter over to your table If your waiter is a man, the appropriate way to address him depends on where you are. A waiter in Argentina is a mozo (moh-soh) or “young man.” But, calling someone mozo in Chile is offensive. In Chile, you say, garzón (gahr-sohn), which is derived from the French word for “young man.” If you call the waiter by either of these terms in Mexico, he may not react. You can better get his attention by saying joven (Hoh-bvehn), meaning “young,” even if he isn’t so young. In Spain, a waiter is a camarero (kah-mah-reh-roh). When a woman is serving you, call her simply señorita (seh-nyoh-ree-tah), meaning “Miss,” no matter where you are. Ordering a beverage Credit: PhotoDisc, Inc. Many people like to order an aperitif, or cocktail, before dinner. One popular local liquor is aguardiente (ah-gooahr-deeehn-teh), which translates as “fire water,” and is made out of grapes, tequila (teh-kee-lah), and mezcal (mehs-kahl). In Chile and Peru, people like “pisco (pees-koh) sour,” a cocktail made with pisco (another liquor made from grapes), sugar, and lemon juice. Agua (ah-gooah) in Mexico can mean “water,” which is its exact translation, but it can also be a beverage made with water, fruit, and sugar. All fruits, and even some vegetables, make refreshing aguas. In Chile, aguita (ah-goo-ee-tah), meaning “little water,” can be an herb tea served after a meal. Following are a few more phrases you may hear or want to use when ordering beverages: Escoger un vino (ehs-koh-Hehr oon bvee-noh) (choose a wine) ¡Salud! (sah-lood) (Cheers!) Tomar un refresco (toh-mahr oon reh-frehs-koh) (drink a soda pop) Tomar un trago (toh-mahr oon trah-goh) (have a drink [alcoholic]) Un vaso de agua (oon bvah-soh deh ah-gooah) (a glass of water) Un vaso de leche (oon bvah-soh deh leh-cheh) (a glass of milk) Ordering a main course In order to make a selection, you may want to ask questions about various dishes on the menu. Here are a few helpful phrases: ¿Qué nos recomienda? (keh nohs reh-koh-meeehn-dah) (What do you suggest?) ¿Con qué está servido? (kohn keh ehs-tah sehr-bvee-doh) (What does it come with?) ¿Qué ingredientes tiene? (keh een-greh-dee ehn-tehs tee eh-neh) (What are the ingredients?) ¿Qué más trae el plato? (keh mahs trah-eh ehl plah-toh) (What else is in the dish?) Your server may have occasion to use the following phrases: ¿Están listos para ordenar? (ehs-tahn lees-tohs pah-rah ohr-deh-nahr) (Are you ready to order?) Está caliente. (ehs-tah kah-lee ehn-teh) (It’s hot [temperature].) Está picante. (ehs-tah pee-kahn-teh) (It’s hot [flavor/spicy].) Está frío. (ehs-tah freeoh) (It’s cold.) Lamento, no tenemos . . . (lah-mehn-toh noh teh-neh-mohs) (Sorry, we don’t have any . . .)

Video / Updated 07-14-2023

The Spanish and English alphabets are almost identical, with just a few exceptions. The Spanish alphabet includes all of the letters in the English alphabet but it adds ñ (eh-nyeh), and sometimes the double letters ch (cheh), ll (ye), and rr (a trilled r) are treated as one letter. When you’re speaking to a native Spanish speaker, correct pronunciation is key to avoiding misunderstandings. The names of the letters in Spanish are pronounced one way, while they have their own sounds within a word (the sounds within a word are generally the same sounds as in English). Here is the Spanish alphabet and how to say the individual letters: a (ah) b (bveh) c (seh) d (deh) e (eh) f (eh-feh) g (Heh) h (ah-cheh) i (ee) j (Hoh-tah) k (kah) l (eh-leh) m (eh-meh) n (eh-neh) ñ (eh-nyeh) o (oh) p (peh) q (koo) r (eh-reh) s (eh-seh) t (teh) u (oo) v (bveh) w (doh-bleh bveh) (bveh doh-bvleh [Spain]) x (eh-kees) y (ee-gree-eh-gah) z (seh-tah)

Video / Updated 07-14-2023

In general, consonants tend to sound the same in English and Spanish when they are spoken within a word. But you’ll find a few differences in how certain consonants are pronounced in Spanish. Sometimes two letters have the same sound; other times one letter can be pronounced two ways. And in one instance, a letter is always silent! The following sections cover letters that may trip you up. B and V: They share a sound The consonants b and v are pronounced the same, the sound being somewhere between the two letters. This in-between pronunciation is a fuzzy, bland sound — closer to v than to b. If you position your lips and teeth to make a v sound, and then try to make a b sound, you’ll have it. To remind you to make this sound, the letter combination of bv is used in the pronunciation brackets for the sounds for both b and v: bulevar (bvoo-leh-bvahr) (boulevard) verbo (bvehr-boh) (verb) C: The sound depends on the vowel You can pronounce the consonant c in two ways, just like you can in English. It all depends on what letter follows it. A c in front of the vowels a, o, or u or any consonant but h sounds like the English k. The letter k designates this sound the pronunciation brackets: colocar (koh-loh-kahr) (to put) ocaso (oh-kah-soh) (sunset) When the letter c is in front of the vowels e or i, it sounds like the English s. In the pronunciation brackets, this sound is signaled as s: acero (ah-seh-roh) (steel) dulce (dool-seh) (sweet) G: One letter, two sounds The letter g has multiple personalities. When you combine g with a consonant or when you see it in front of the vowels a, o, and u, it sounds like the g in goose: begonia (bveh-goh-neeah) (begonia) gato (gah-toh) (cat) The g changes personality in front of the vowels e and i. It sounds like the Spanish j (or the English h), which is signaled by the capital H in the pronunciation brackets: agenda (ah-Hehn-dah) (agenda) gerente (Heh-rehn-teh) (manager) To hear the sound g (as in goat) in front of the vowels e and i, you must insert a u, making gue- and gui-. To remind you to make the goat sound (not mmehehe, but g), you’ll see gh in the pronunciation brackets: guía (gheeah) (guide) guerra (gheh-rrah) (war) H: Seen, but not heard In Spanish, the letter h is always mute when it’s used in a word. That’s it! hijo (ee-Hoh) (son) huevo (ooeh-bvoh) (egg) J: A bit of a tongue twister The pronunciation of the consonant j sounds like a guttural h. To pronounce the letter j within a word, say your h, but gently raise the back of your tongue, as if you’re saying k. Push the air out real hard, and you’ll get the sound. It's almost like gargling! A capital letter H within the pronunciation brackets signals this sound: Jijón (Hee-Hohn) (the name of a city in Spain) tijera (tee-Heh-rah) (scissors) K: Rare, but mighty In Spanish, the letter k is used only in words that have their origin in foreign languages. More often than not, this letter is seen in kilo (kee-loh), meaning thousand. An example is kilómetro (kee-loh-meh-troh) (kilometer). Q: Quirky, but common The letter q is the substitute for k in Spanish. When the k sound is needed in front of the vowels e and i, it unfolds the letter combination qu (only a handful of Spanish words begin with qua- or quo-). The pronunciation of q is indicated by the letter k in pronunciation brackets: paquete (pah-keh-teh) (package) pequeño (peh-keh-nyoh) (small) S and Z: Two letters, one sound The consonants s and z both sound like the English letter s. The letter s is used in the pronunciation brackets to signal this sound: sorpresa (sohr-preh-sah) (surprise) zarzuela (sahr-sooeh-lah) (Spanish-style operetta)

Video / Updated 07-14-2023

The letters that are vowels in English are also vowels in Spanish, but they aren't always pronounced the same. Generally speaking, pronouncing vowels in Spanish is a lot less complicated than pronouncing them in English. You’re well aware that one vowel in English can have more than one sound. Look, for instance, at fat and fate. Both words have the vowel a, but they’re pronounced much differently from each other. The good news is that in Spanish, you always say the vowels one way, and one way only. If you want your Spanish to sound like a native’s, you have to concentrate on your vowels. They are a (ah): atacar (ah-tah-kahr) (attack) e (eh): entender (ehn-tehn-dehr) (to understand) i (ee): vivir (bvee-bveer) (to live) o (oh): rojo (roh-Hoh) (red) u (oo): cúrcuma (koor-koo-mah) (turmeric) Spanish sees each of these vowels by itself and makes other sounds by combining the vowels in twos, as in these examples: abuela (ah-bvooeh-lah) (grandmother) feo (feh-oh) (ugly) miércoles (meeehr-koh-lehs) (Wednesday) The letter y, which can be either a consonant or vowel in English, is only used as a consonant in Spanish.

Video / Updated 07-13-2023

Introducing yourself or someone else in Spanish requires more than "Hola. Me llamo . . ." Spanish has informal and formal greetings and introductions. This video tutorial lets you hear pronunciation and explains the rules for using formal and informal greetings and introductions.

Article / Updated 06-06-2023

Spanish uses the pluperfect subjunctive more than English does. If you’ve ever hoped or expected that something had happened, you probably hoped or expected in this verb tense and probably didn’t even realize it. In English, you don’t really use the pluperfect subjunctive, but you use something similar to it in sentences like this one: I wished that I had slept before the party. The main clause, I wished, is in the past tense, and what I wished for — that I had slept before the party — is in the pluperfect, which also is called the past perfect tense. And because what I wished for didn’t happen, it’s subjunctive. Like other compound tenses, you form the Spanish pluperfect subjunctive by conjugating the verb haber (to have) in the imperfect subjunctive tense. Then you add the past participle of the main verb. The chart that follows shows the verb haber conjugated in the imperfect tense. The Imperfect Tense of Haber Conjugation Translation yo hubiera I would have tú hubieras You (informal) would have él/ella/ello/uno hubiera He/she/one would have usted hubiera You (formal) would have nosotros hubiéramos We would have vosotros hubierais You all (informal) would have ellos/ellas hubieran They would have ustedes hubieran You all (formal) would have Notice that the first person singular (yo) and the third person singular (él, ella, Ud.) forms of this conjugation are the same. Take a look at the following examples to see how the pluperfect subjunctive is used. Fue una lástima que ellos no hubieran comprador una casa en nuestro vecindario. It was a pity that they hadn’t bought a house in our neighborhood. Ellos creían que nosotros hubieramos comido antes de llegar. They believed that we had eaten before arriving.

Article / Updated 05-09-2023

Dropping demonstrative adjectives into your Spanish vocabulary will help you express exactly what or whom you’re seeking. But first, you need to understand what demonstrative adjectives stand for and how they translate in Spanish. Then you’ll be ready to absorb the basics of their usage. Demonstrative adjectives indicate or point out the person, place, or thing to which a speaker is referring. For instance, “this shirt” or “that pair of pants.” They precede and agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. In Spanish, you select the demonstrative adjective according to the distance of the noun from the speaker. The following table presents demonstrative adjectives and addresses this distance issue. Spanish Demonstrative Adjectives Number Masculine Feminine Meaning Distance Singular/Plural este/estos esta/estas this/these Near to or directly concerned with speaker Singular/Plural ese/esos esa/esas that/those Not particularly near to or directly concerned with speaker Singular/Plural aquel/aquellos aquella/aquellas that/those Far from and not directly concerned with speaker The following list shows these demonstrative adjectives in action: Estos pantalones son cortos y esta camisa es larga. (These pants are short and this shirt is large.) Tengo que hablar con esa muchacha y esos muchachos ahí. (I have to speak to that girl and those boys there.) Aquellos países son grandes y aquellas ciudades son pequeñas. (Those countries are large and those cities are small.) Here’s what you need to know about demonstrative adjectives in Spanish: You use them before each noun: este abogado y ese cliente (this lawyer and that client) You can use adverbs to reinforce location: esta casa aquí (this house here) esas casas ahí (those houses there) aquella casa allá (that house over there)

Article / Updated 05-09-2023

Demonstrative pronouns can make your Spanish flow more naturally in both writing and conversation. So how exactly can you go about forming sentences with demonstrative pronouns? First, you need to understand what they stand for and how they translate in Spanish. Then you’ll be ready to absorb the basics of their usage. Demonstrative pronouns, which replace demonstrative adjectives and their nouns, express this (one), that (one), these (ones), or those (ones). The only difference between a demonstrative adjective and a demonstrative pronoun in terms of writing is the addition of an accent to the pronoun, as you can see in the following table. Spanish Demonstrative Pronouns Number Masculine Feminine Meaning Distance Singular/Plural éste/éstos ésta/éstas this (one)/these (ones) Near to or directly concerned with speaker Singular/Plural ése/ésos ésa/ésas that (one)/those (ones) Not particularly near to or directly concerned with speaker Singular/Plural aquél/aquéllos aquélla/aquéllas that (one)/those (ones) Far from and not directly concerned with speaker The following list shows some examples of these demonstrative pronouns in action: Mire éstos y ésta también. (Look at these and this one, too.) Quiero ése y ésas. (I want that and those.) Aquél es viejo y aquélla es moderno. (That one is old and that one is modern.) Here’s what you need to know about demonstrative pronouns in Spanish: They agree in number and gender with the nouns they replace: Me gusta este coche y ésos. (I like this car and those.) You use a form of aquél to express the former and a form of éste to express the latter: Patricia es la hermana de Francisco; éste es rubio y aquélla es morena. (Patricia is the sister of Francisco; Francisco [the latter] is blond and Patricia [the former] is brunette.)

Article / Updated 05-09-2023

When speaking Spanish, the pronoun you use depends upon the person you’re speaking to and the person you’re speaking about. And, just as in English, you change pronouns according to person — I, you, he or she and we, you, they. The following table shows all the Spanish subject pronouns: Person Singular Plural 1st Person yo (I) nosotros/as (we [male or mixed group/female]) 2nd Person tœ (you 
[informal]); Ud. (you [formal]) vosotros/as (you [informal; male or mixed group/female]); Uds. 
(you [formal]) 3rd Person Žl (he); ella (she) ellos/as (they [male or mixed group/female])

Article / Updated 03-16-2023

Certain Spanish words allow you to describe where people or things are in relation to other people and things. Expressing these spatial directions in Spanish — and thus creating more accurate and engaging sentences — is pretty easy if you can memorize these words: al lado (ahl lah-doh) (beside, next to, at the side of) al frente (ahl frehn-teh) (in front of) dentro (dehn-troh) (inside) adentro (ah-dehn-troh) (inside; because dentro also means “inside,” adentro may express movement, as when someone or something moves toward an interior) fuera (fooeh-rah) (outside) afuera (ah-fooeh-rah) (outside; like adentro, the Spanish word afuera can be used to express movement — in this case, the movement of someone or something toward an exterior) bajo (bvah-Hoh) (under; below) debajo (deh-bvah-Hoh) (underneath) arriba (ah-ree-bvah) (above) Practicing these directions comes in handy. The sentences that follow show you how you can use spatial-direction terms in your day-to-day conversation: La pastelería está al lado del banco. (lah pahs-teh-leh-reeah ehs-tah ahl lah-doh dehl bvahn-koh) (The pastry shop is next to the bank.) Al frente del banco hay una zapatería. (ahl frehn-teh dehl bvahn-koh ahy oo-nah sah-pah-teh-reeah) (In front of the bank there is a shoe store.) Las mesas del café están afuera. (lahs meh-sahs dehl kah-feh ehs-tahn ah-fooeh-rah) (The tables of the cafe are outside.) Cuando llueve ponen las mesas adentro. (kooahn-doh yooeh-bveh poh-nehn lahs meh-sahs ah-dehn-troh) (When it rains, they put the tables inside.) Arriba hay cielo despejado. (ah-ree-bvah ahy see-eh-loh dehs-peh-Hah-doh) (Above, the sky is clear.) Hay agua bajo los pies de Carlos. (ahy ah-gooah bvah-Hoh lohs peeehs de kahr-lohs) (There’s water under Carlos’s feet.) Debajo de la calle corre el tren subterráneo. (deh-bvah-Hoh deh lah kah-yeh koh-rreh ehl trehn soobv-teh-rrah-neh-oh) (The subway runs under the street.) Este ascensor va arriba. (ehs-teh ah-sehn-sohr bvah ah-rree-bvah) (This elevator goes up.) Hay un gato dentro de la caja. (ahy oon gah-toh dehn-troh deh lah kah-Hah) (There’s a cat inside the box.)