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The first phrases any Spanish learner should master are greetings and expressions of courtesy, since they open and close every social interaction. The universal greeting is Hola, which works in both formal and informal situations. When parting, Adiós is standard, but for a more casual "see you later," Spanish speakers...
Counting in Spanish begins with Cero (0), Uno (1), Dos (2), Tres (3), Cuatro (4), Cinco (5), Seis (6), Siete (7), Ocho (8), Nueve (9), and Diez (10). Uno is special because it shortens to un before masculine nouns, as in un libro ("a book"), and to una before feminine nouns, as in una mesa ("a table"). Larger round num...
Color words in Spanish must agree in gender with the nouns they describe, just like other adjectives. Most colors change their final vowel: rojo becomes roja for feminine nouns, amarillo becomes amarilla, blanco becomes blanca, negro becomes negra, and morado becomes morada. A few colors are invariable: Azul and Verde...
Spanish subject pronouns are fewer than their English counterparts and are often dropped entirely, because verb endings already indicate who is performing the action. Yo means "I," Tú is the informal singular "you" (used with friends, family, and peers), and Usted is the formal singular "you" (used with strangers, elde...
Beyond the regular patterns, several common verbs are irregular and need to be learned individually. Tener (to have) is conjugated yo tengo, tú tienes, él/ella/usted tiene, nosotros tenemos, ellos/ustedes tienen. It is also used in many idiomatic expressions where English uses "to be": tener hambre (to be hungry), tene...
Food vocabulary is essential for daily life in any Spanish-speaking context. Common staples include el agua (water, which uses the masculine article el despite being feminine because it begins with a stressed "a"), el pan (bread), la carne (meat, with la carne de res or la ternera referring specifically to beef), el pe...
A handful of phrases can resolve most situations a traveler encounters. To find a place, ask ¿Dónde está...? as in ¿Dónde está el hotel? or ¿Dónde está el baño? In some regions you may also hear el servicio or los aseos for restroom. To ask the price of something, use ¿Cuánto cuesta? for a single item and ¿Cuánto cuest...