Cecie Kraynak

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-25-2022

Spanish grammar covers a lot of territory. To start writing grammatically correct sentences in the present tense, you need to know about masculine and feminine nouns, adjectives, and regular verbs in Spanish.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-01-2022

Speaking Spanish requires you to keep tabs on all sorts of topics: essential words and phrases, basic Spanish questions, and the proper gender of articles. Plus, if you intend to travel, you want to be able to get help and give warnings in the case of an emergency. Refer to this Cheat Sheet for your Spanish essentials.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

As with any language, the number of Spanish words and phrases can be intimidating. If you're just beginning to explore Spanish, you can feign fluency with these essential words and phrases until your Spanish is up to snuff. ¡Hola! (¡oh-lah!) (Hello!) Por favor. (pohr fah-bvohr.) (Please.) Gracias. (grah-seeahs.) (Thank you.) ¿Dónde está el baño? (¿dohn-deh ehs-tah ehl bvah-nyoh?) (Where is the bathroom?) Lo siento. (loh seeehn-toh.) (I'm sorry.) ¿Habla usted inglés? (¿ah-bvlah oohs-tehd een-glehs?) (Do you speak English?) No hablo mucho español. (no ah-bvloh mooh-choh ehs-pah-nyohl.) (I don't speak much Spanish.) No sé. (noh seh.) (I don't know.) Claro. (clah-roh.) (I understand. [Literally: Clear.]) Adiós. (ah-dee-ohs.) (Good-bye.)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Like many things in the Spanish language, Spanish articles have either a masculine or a feminine gender that must match the masculine or feminine gender of the Spanish nouns you pair them with. (For example, you say la blusa (lah bvlooh-sah) (the blouse) but el vestido (ehl bvehs-tee-doh) (the dress). Articles in Spanish include the (a definite article) and a, an, and some (indefinite articles). English Spanish Masculine Feminine the (singular) el (ehl) la (lah) the (plural) los (lohs) las (lahs) a, an (singular) un (oohn) una (ooh-nah) some (plural) unos (ooh-nohs) unas (ooh-nahs)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Emergencies can happen whether you know Spanish or not, so if you're in a Spanish-speaking area, you need to be prepared to warn others and/or get help in Spanish should an emergency situation arise. Following are some basic Spanish distress-signaling words: ¡Socorro! (¡soh-koh-rroh!) (Help!) ¡Auxilio! (¡ahoohk-see-leeoh!) (Help!) ¡Ayúdeme! (¡ah-yooh-deh-meh?) (Help me!) ¡Rápido! (¡rrah-pee-doh!) (Quick!) ¡Apúrense! (¡ah-pooh-rehn-seh!) (Hurry!) If you face some sort of disaster, use one of the following words: ¡Incendio! (¡een-sehn-deeoh!) (Fire!) ¡Inundación! (¡ee-noohn-dah-seeohn!) (Flood!) ¡Temblor! (¡tehm-bvlohr!) (Earth tremor!) ¡Terremoto! (¡teh-rreh-moh-toh!) (Earthquake!) ¡Maremoto! (¡mah-reh-moh-toh!) (Tidal wave!) When giving a warning, you have a choice. In Mexico shout ¡Aguas! (¡ah-goohahs!) (Watch out!) ¡Ojo! (¡oh-Hoh!) (Look out! [Literally: eye]) Everywhere else, yell ¡Cuidado! (koohee-dah-doh) (Watch out!).

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Knowing how to ask basic questions in Spanish — or any other language — is essential in a global society. To ask for information in Spanish, use these basic Spanish question words and example questions. ¿Quién? (¿keeehn?) (Who?) ¿Qué? (¿keh?) (What?) ¿Dónde? (¿dohn-deh?) (Where?) ¿Cuándo? (¿koohahn-doh?) (When?) ¿Por qué? (¿pohr keh?) (Why?) ¿Cuál? (¿koohahl?) (Which?) ¿Cómo? (¿koh-moh?) (How?) ¿Cuánto? (¿koohahn-toh?) (How much?) The following are examples of these question words in action that you may find useful: ¿Quién es él? (¿keeehn ehs ehl?) (Who is he?) ¿Qué hace usted? (¿keh ah-seh oohs-tehd?) (What do you do?) ¿Dónde viven ustedes? (¿dohn-deh bvee-bvehn oohs-teh-dehs?) (Where do you live?) ¿Cuándo llegan ellos? (¿koohahn-doh yeh-gahn eh-yohs?) (When do they arrive?) ¿Por qué está usted aquí? (¿pohr keh ehs-tah oosh-tehd ah-kee?) (Why are you [formal] here?) ¿Cuál restaurante es mejor? (¿kooahl rehs-tahooh-rahn-teh ehs meh-Hohr?) (Which restaurant is better?) ¿Cómo es su casa? (¿koh-moh ehs sooh kah-sah?) (How is their house? or What's their house like?) ¿Cuánto cuesta el boleto? (¿koohahn-toh koohehs-tah ehl bvoh-leh-toh?) (How much is the ticket?)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

In Spanish grammar, as in English, you conjugate verbs to reflect the tense (when the action occurred, is occurring, or will occur) and to agree with the subject in person and number. To conjugate regular Spanish verbs ending in -ar, -er, or -ir in the present tense, you drop the ending and add endings to specify the subject (in person and number) that’s performing the action. Here’s what those endings look like: Verb Infinitive Ending Present Tense Endings -ar -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an -er -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en -ir -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en Here’s a conjugation chart for a regular -ar verb conjugated in the present tense: cantar (to sing) yo canto nosotros/nosotras cantamos tú cantas vosotros/vosotras cantáis él/ella/usted canta ellos/ellas/ustedes cantan Here’s a conjugation chart for a regular -er verb conjugated in the present tense: beber (to drink) yo bebo nosotros/nosotras bebemos tú bebes vosotros/vosotras bebéis él/ella/usted bebe ellos/ellas/ustedes beben Here’s a conjugation chart for a regular -ir verb conjugated in the present tense: vivir (to live) yo vivo nosotros/nosotras vivimos tú vives vosotros/vosotras vivís él/ella/usted vive ellos/ellas/ustedes viven

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

In Spanish grammar, adjectives have to agree with the nouns they modify in both gender and number, no matter what: Gender: If a noun is feminine, like la muchacha (the girl), the adjective must be feminine, too. For example, to talk about a tall girl, you’d say la muchacha alta (the tall girl). If the girl has a brother who’s also tall, you’d say el muchacho alto (the tall boy). Number: If a noun is plural, the adjective must also be plural. For example, to describe a group of tall girls, you’d say las muchachas altas. To describe a group of tall boys, you’d say los muchachos altos. Similarly, if a noun is singular, the adjective must be singular, too (see the preceding bullet for examples). Following are some general rules about making adjectives agree with the nouns they modify: Like nouns, most adjectives follow the general rule that masculine adjectives end in -o and pluralize with -s and feminine adjectives end in -a and pluralize with -s. Adjectives that end in a consonant, -e, or -ista usually don’t have masculine and feminine forms, but they do have singular and plural forms. To make an adjective that ends in -e or -ista plural, simply add -s. To make an adjective that ends in a consonant plural, add -es. With some adjectives that end in -dor, -ón, or -án, you add -a to form the feminine, -es to form the masculine plural, and -as to form the feminine plural. Here are a few more examples of adjectives that agree with the nouns they modify in both gender and number: un examen difícil (a difficult exam) una chica inteligente (a smart girl) unos peces caros (some expensive fish) unas reglas importantes (some important rules)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

In Spanish grammar, you need to be able to distinguish a noun’s gender (either masculine or feminine) so that you can use the correct gender of any article or adjective that describes it. You can follow some simple guidelines to help you identify a Spanish noun’s gender. Masculine nouns include the following: Most nouns that end in -o, such as año (year) Nouns that identify males, such as tío (uncle) Nouns that end in -aje or -ambre, such as equipaje (luggage) and alambre (wire) Certain nouns that end in -or or -án, such as amor (love) and champán (champagne) Nouns that end in -ama, -ema, -oma, -ma, or -ía, such as programa (program) and dilema (dilemma) Days of the week and months of the year Colors used as nouns Names of languages, rivers, seas, and oceans Compound nouns that consist of noun-verb combinations and that usually end in -s, such as abrelatas (can opener) Feminine nouns include the following: Most nouns that end in -a, such as ensalada (salad) Nouns that identify females, such as hija (daughter) Nouns that end in -dad or -tad, such as ciudad (city) and libertad (liberty) Nouns that end in -ie, -eza, -sis, or -itis, such as especie (species), riqueza (richness), tesis (thesis), and sinusitis (sinusitis) Nouns that end in -ción, -sión, -tud, or -umbre, such as canción (song) and misión (mission)