Spanish Study Guide Notes

Alphabet (El abecedario)

  • The Spanish alphabet resembles the English alphabet but has different pronunciations.

Numbers (Los Números)

  • Memorize numbers 1-15:

    • 1: uno

    • 2: dos

    • 3: tres

    • 4: cuatro

    • 5: cinco

    • 6: seis

    • 7: siete

    • 8: ocho

    • 9: nueve

    • 10: diez

    • 11: once

    • 12: doce

    • 13: trece

    • 14: catorce

    • 15: quince

  • Multiples of ten:

    • 20: veinte

    • 30: treinta

    • 40: cuarenta

    • 50: cincuenta

    • 60: sesenta

    • 70: setenta

    • 80: ochenta

    • 90: noventa

Tips to remember:

  • Ends in -enta (except veinte)

  • Clear relationships: cuatro <-> cuarenta, ocho <-> ochenta

  • Numbers 16-19: “diez + y + (digit)”

    • Ex: diez y siete = diecisiete

  • For numbers above 20: combine tens and ones with "y"

    • Ex: 31 = treinta y uno

    • Ex: 98 = noventa y ocho

  • Zero = cero

  • 100 = cien (related to English words like "century")

Date (La fecha)

  • Days of the week:

    • Monday: lunes

    • Tuesday: martes

    • Wednesday: miércoles

    • Thursday: jueves

    • Friday: viernes

    • Saturday: sábado

    • Sunday: domingo

  • Months of the year:

    • January: enero

    • February: febrero

    • March: marzo

    • April: abril

    • May: mayo

    • June: junio

    • July: julio

    • August: agosto

    • September: septiembre

    • October: octubre

    • November: noviembre

    • December: diciembre

  • Date Format: [day of week], el [day] de [month] de [year]

    • Ex: domingo, el 7 de septiembre de 2014

Common Greetings (Los Saludos)

  1. Hola - hello

  2. Buenos días - good morning

  3. Buenas tardes - good afternoon

  4. Buenas noches - good evening

  5. ¿Cómo está usted? - How are you? (formal)

  6. ¿Cómo estás? - How are you? (informal)

  7. ¿Cómo están ustedes? - How are you all? (plural and formal)

  8. ¿Qué tal? - How’s it going?

  9. ¿Qué pasa? - What’s happening?

  10. ¿Qué hubo? - What happened?

  11. Bienvenidos - Welcome

  12. Mi casa es su casa - My house is your house

  13. ¿De dónde eres? - Where are you from?

  14. ¿Cómo te llamas? - What’s your name?

  15. ¿Aló? - Hello? (over the phone)

  16. ¿Adónde vas? - Where are you going?

  17. ¿Dónde estado? - Where have you been?

  18. ¡Hace tiempo que no te veo! - It’s been a while!

Time (La Hora)

Telling Time

  • It's ___ o'clock: Son/es + las/la + hour

  • It's (# of minutes) until: son/es + las/la + number from 2-12 + menos + number of minutes

    • Ex: 10:55 → Son las once menos cinco.

  • 1 o'clock: es + la + una (+ number of minutes)

    • Ex: Es la una veinte

  • For hours 2 to 12, use plural form:

    • Ex: Son las dos treinta.

  • Half past: y media

  • Quarter past: y cuarto

  • Quarter 'til: menos cuarto

Adjectives (Adjetivos)

Common Adjectives

  • alto - tall

  • bajo - short

  • simpático - nice

  • amable - kind

  • antipático - mean

  • cómico - funny

Adjective Rules

  1. Adjective comes after the noun (Ex: casa blanca)

  2. Match ending to the noun's gender (Ex: chica alta = tall girl, chico alto = tall boy)

  3. Neutral adjectives remain unchanged based on gender (Ex: chica feliz = happy girl, chico feliz = happy boy)

Subject Pronouns

  • Yo - I

  • Nosotros - we

  • Tú - you (informal)

  • Vosotros - you all (informal, primarily Spain)

  • Él - he

  • Ella - she

  • Usted - you (formal)

  • Ellos - they (m/f)

  • Ellas - they (f)

  • Ustedes - they (formal)

Definite and Indefinite Articles

Definite Articles

  • El (singular masculine)

  • La (singular feminine)

  • Los (plural masculine)

  • Las (plural feminine)

Indefinite Articles

  • Un (singular masculine)

  • Una (singular feminine)

  • Unos (plural masculine)

  • Unas (plural feminine)

Verb Conjugations

Ar-ending Verbs

  • Yo: -o

  • Él/Ella/Ud: -a

  • Tú: -as

  • Nosotros: -amos

  • Ellos: -an

Er-ending Verbs

  • Yo: -o

  • Él/Ella/Ud: -e

  • Tú: -es

  • Nosotros: -emos

  • Ellos: -en

Ir-ending Verbs

  • Yo: -o

  • Él/Ella/Ud: -e

  • Tú: -es

  • Nosotros: -imos

  • Ellos: -en

Pluralization (Los Plurales)

  • Ending in vowel: add s (el chico → los chicos)

  • Ending in consonant: add es (el país → los países)

  • Ending in z: change z to c, add es (el lápiz → los lápices)

Important Vocabulary

Weather

  • ¿Qué tiempo hace? - What is the weather?

  • Hace calor - It’s warm

  • Hace frío - It is cold

  • Hace sol - It is sunny

  • Está nublado - It is cloudy

  • La lluvia - The rain

  • La nieve - The snow

City Places

  • El teatro - Theater

  • El cine - Movie theater

  • El museo - Museum

  • El zoológico - Zoo

  • El parque - The park

  • La piscina - Swimming Pool

Common Verbs

  • Comer - to eat

  • Hablar - to talk

  • Ir - to go

  • Tener - to have

  • Hacer - to do/make


  • The Spanish alphabet, known as "el abecedario," consists of 27 letters, including the additional letter "ñ," which is unique to Spanish. This letter is pronounced as "enye" and is considered a distinct letter rather than a variation of "n."

  • The letters are: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z.

  • Spanish pronunciation differs significantly from English. For instance, the letter "c" can be pronounced as a soft "s" (before "e" or "i") or a hard "k" (before other vowels). Similarly, the letter "g" has a soft pronunciation (as in "gem") when followed by "e" or "i" and a hard sound (as in "go") with other vowels.

  • Furthermore, vowels in Spanish are generally shorter and clearer than in English, giving each vowel a consistent sound: "a" as in "father", "e" as in "met", "i" as in "machine", "o" as in "note", and "u" as in "blue."

  • Given these differences, mastering the Spanish alphabet and its pronunciation is essential for learners to enhance their reading and speaking skills.