@ 2007-03-05 – 22:51:59
Likes and dislikes: me gusta, no me gusta
Me gusta means I like. The literal translation is It pleases me. You can use the phrase on its own:
Me gusta. I like it.
Or you can add mucho.
Me gusta mucho. I like it a lot.
Or specify what you like.
Me gusta España. I like Spain.
When you don't like something, start with no
No me gusta... I don't like...
and to turn down an offer or invitation...
No, gracias, no me gusta el pulpo. No, thanks, I don't like octopus.
@ 2007-03-05 – 22:51:56
Likes and dislikes: me gusta, no me gusta
Me gusta means I like. The literal translation is It pleases me. You can use the phrase on its own:
Me gusta. I like it.
Or you can add mucho.
Me gusta mucho. I like it a lot.
Or specify what you like.
Me gusta España. I like Spain.
When you don't like something, start with no
No me gusta... I don't like...
and to turn down an offer or invitation...
No, gracias, no me gusta el pulpo. No, thanks, I don't like octopus.
@ 2007-03-05 – 22:51:03
Two verbs 'to be': estar and ser
Spanish is unusual in that it has two verbs to be: ser and estar. So there are two ways of saying I am: estoy and soy.
To ask or talk about your marital status and how you feel, you use estar.
¿Estás casado? Are you married?
Estoy divorciado. I am divorced.
¿Cómo estás? How are you?
To talk about who you are or where you are from you use ser.
Ésta es mi hija. This is my daughter.
Soy inglés. I'm English.
@ 2007-03-05 – 22:50:22
Using quieres and puedo
¿Quieres...? Would you like to...? lit Do you want...?
To invite someone to do something you use quieres, from the verb querer, to want, followed by an infinitive, the dictionary form of the verb.
¿Quieres ir al cine? Would you like to go to the cinema?
Puedo I can
Puedo comes from the verb poder, to be able to, and it means I can. Thus, you can use no puedo to decline an invitation.
Lo siento, hoy no puedo. I'm sorry, I can't today
Puedo followed by an infinitive is also used to ask for permission to do something:
¿Puedo llamar por teléfono? Can I make a phone call?
¿Puedo? May I?
@ 2007-03-05 – 22:49:36
Indicating things: éste, ésta and esto
Éste is the Spanish word for this. You can use it when you are showing something to somebody.
Éste es mi dormitorio. This is my bedroom.
As usual in Spanish there are different words depending on the thing you're indicating. Éste goes with the masculine nouns and ésta with the feminine ones.
Ésta es la cocina. This is the kitchen.
For the plurals you use éstos and éstas.
Éstos son los dormitorios. These are the bedrooms.
Esto is used to talk about things you don't know the name of.
¿Qué es esto? What is this?
@ 2007-03-05 – 22:48:40
Adjectives: rojo, roja, rojos and rojas
You use adjectives to describe objects or people, la chaqueta grande the large jacket.
Spanish adjectives have different endings depending on what they're describing. With masculine nouns, adjectives end with -o, while for feminine nouns they end with -a.
El sombrero rojo The red hat
La camiseta roja The red top/tee-shirt
Others like grande big and azul blue stay the same:
El sombrero grande The big hat
La falda azul The blue skirt
When describing more than one thing, you add either an -s, when the adjective ends in a vowel, or -es, when it ends in a consonant.
Los zapatos rojos The red shoes
Las faldas rojas The red skirts
Los pantalones grandes The big trousers
Las chaquetas azules The blue jackets
@ 2007-03-05 – 22:47:58
Looking for things: hay and tiene
¿Hay...?
Hay can mean there is or there are
En esta calle hay una farmacia. In this street there is a chemist's.
En esta calle hay dos farmacias. In this street there are two chemist's
In a question hay means: Is there...? or are there...?
Perdón, ¿hay un supermercado por aquí? Excuse me, is there a supermarket nearby?
The answer No, no hay means No, there isn't.
¿Tiene...?
This word comes from the verb tener, to have, and provides the verb for the essential shopping question Have you got...?
¿Tiene agua mineral, por favor? Have you got any mineral water, please?
The replies could range from:
Sí, tengo. Yes, I have.
Sí, tenemos. Yes, we have.
to
Lo siento, no tenemos. Sorry, we haven't
@ 2007-03-05 – 22:46:47
Big numbers
The hundreds
When you've learnt cien, 100, the rest of the big numbers follow in a fairly regular pattern.
100 cien
200 doscientos
300 trescientos
400 cuatrocientos
500 quinientos - this is a bit of a tricky one
600 seiscientos
700 setecientos - a slight change: you drop the i from siete
800 ochocientos
900 novecientos - another slight change: nueve becomes nove
More than one hundred:
Numbers start with ciento:
101 ciento uno
102 ciento dos, etc.
So 123 is ciento veintitrés; and 190 is ciento noventa
Higher numbers:
201 doscientos uno
305 trescientos cinco
520 quinientos veinte, etc.
When the things you are counting are feminine, there is a feminine form:
Doscientas botellas Two hundred bottles
Thousands are even easier:
1.000 mil
2.000 dos mil
3.000 tres mil
100.000 cien mil
Millions are similar to English:
1.000.000 un millón
5.000.000 cinco millones
Note, however, that the dot, not the comma, is used to separate the thousands.
@ 2007-03-05 – 22:13:05
Word order
In Spanish, word order is quite similar to English. However, adjectives, words like grande large or caro expensive, usually come after the noun they describe.
El cuadro grande The big picture
La lámpara pequeña The small lamp
The same goes for phrases like de porcelana, de queso, etc.
Un plato de porcelana A porcelain plate
Un bocadillo de queso A cheese roll
@ 2007-03-05 – 22:12:03
Numbers from 10 to 100
There are patterns that will help you memorize numbers.
11 to 15 all end in -ce:
11 once
12 doce
13 trece
14 catorce
15 quince
16 to 19 start with diez, ten
16 dieciséis - literally diez y seis, ten and six
17 diecisiete
18 dieciocho
19 diecinueve
20 to 30: the final -e of veinte, twenty, changes to -i
20 veinte
21 veintiuno
22 veintidós
23 veintitrés
24 veinticuatro
25 veinticinco
26 veintiséis
27 veintisiete
28 veintiocho
29 veintinueve
30 to 90: they all end in -nta.
30 treinta
40 cuarenta
50 cincuenta
60 sesenta
70 setenta
80 ochenta
90 noventa
31, 42, 53...etc. For the intervening numbers, you need y, and:
31 treinta y uno
42 cuarenta y dos
53 cincuenta y tres
...and so on.
100 - this is cien
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