The Spanish Language Speed
Learning Course
Speak Spanish Confidently … in 12 Days or Less!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
5
DAY 1:
8
Getting Started with Greetings and Basic Expressions in Spanish
DAY 2:
12
Recognizing Letters and Sounds in the Spanish Alphabet
DAY 3:
16
Forming Spanish Nominal Words and Phrases
Gender-Specific Characteristic
Number-Specific Characteristic
Definite and Indefinite Articles
Learn More Spanish Nouns
DAY 4:
25
Getting Familiar with Spanish Pronouns
Subject Pronouns
Object Pronouns
Possessive Pronouns
Demonstratives
DAY 5:
29
Learn to Describe with Spanish Adjectives
DAY 6:
34
Making Longer and Complete Phrases with Prepositions
DAY 7:
36
Introduction to Spanish Verbs
AR Verbs
ER Verbs
IR Verbs
DAY 8:
43
Conjugating Verbs to Present Tense
Regular Forms
Irregular Forms
Ser vs. Estar
Present Progressive Form
DAY 9:
51
Conjugating Verbs to Past Tense
Regular Forms
Irregular Forms
DAY 10:
56
Conjugating Verbs to Future Tense
Regular Forms
Irregular Forms
Be-Going-To Form
DAY 11:
59
Forming Basic Spanish Sentences
Declarative Sentences
Interrogative Sentences
Imperative Sentences
DAY 12:
66
Familiarizing Situational Phrases
Asking for Directions
Giving Directions
At the Airport
Checking in at Hotels
Riding a Bus
Riding the Train
Hiring a Taxi
Hiring a Boat
Driving Cars
Shopping for Clothes
Shopping for Food
Dining Out and Ordering Food
Visiting the Beach
Doing Sports
Problems and Complaints
Dealing with Emergencies
Conclusion
75
INTRODUCTION
¡Buenas dias!
Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world. It belongs to the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European language family, and is primarily spoken at the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America of about 250 million people. It is also called Castilian, which was
derived from the dialect it came from. This language was brought and introduced by the Spaniards in Canary Island, Antilles, the Philippines, the southern part of North America, South
America, and the coast of Africa.
The Standard Spanish language is being spoken at 43 countries, not including Spain.
Most of them consider it as their official language and use it for business, education, industry,
politics, and everyday conversation.
This shows how widely popular the Spanish language is and how it will continue to be
for many years to come. Foreign language courses are already being offered at different colleges
and universities. Spanish training is always included in them. Students taking up such courses are
continuously increasing in number. New books and training materials are being published and
sold.
Aside from the possibility of having to deal with so many Spanish speakers in business or
education, another reason to learn Spanish is that it is regarded as a romantic language, both in
literature and everyday conversations.
This is the reason why a lot of movies and television programs nowadays use the language – to captivate and touch the hearts of millions of audiences. Imagine how many friends
and loved ones you can impress with lines like Te amo (I love you) or Te quiero (I need you) and actually knowing how they came to be!
Whether you’re having a hard time coping up with Spanish in school, you’re dealing with
many Spanish speakers in the office or business, or you simply like adding another entry on the
“language spoken” part on your résumé, you have chosen the right report to help you learn the
language by yourself.
With this report, you’ll be learning basic Spanish not within a whole year, not during one
term in school, not even a month! You can learn how to speak Spanish confidently in just 12
days, or even less! Imagine that.
Common foreign language trainings usually bombard you with thousands of words and
phrases in their vocabulary. They let you memorize these words and phrases until you get used to
speaking them out – without really knowing how they became that way.
How this book differs from those word factories is that it applies the linguistic approach
in training you to learn the language effectively. This means, as a foreign language learner, you
start by studying the letters and sounds of the language. From these sounds, you create words and
phrases. As you gather up these words, you’ll be able to form sentences.
In the first few days of your training using this report, you’ll be concentrating on Spanish
sounds. This is important as you will be encountering sounds that are not present in the English
language, or sounds familiar to your native tongue but not used in the Spanish language.
Sounds are among the fundamentals of one language because all throughout your language training, you’ll be using these sounds as you speak out words and form sentences.
From the 3rd to the 10th day, you will be forming different kinds of Spanish words and
phrases. These words consist of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, prepositions, and verbs. Among
these basic parts of speech, more days will be given to the training of verbs as they are the most
important and complicated topic in learning the Spanish language. You will be taught to conjugate different types of verbs according to tenses such as past, present, and future.
Finally, as you approach the 11th day of our training, you’ll be able to compose sentences
in Spanish using the words and phrases you’ve learned. Recall that simple sentences are actually
composed of only a subject and a predicate, where a subject can be as simple as a pronoun, and a
predicate can be composed of only a verb. Hence, excellent knowledge of word formation will
help you a lot in forming sentences.
During your final day of training, you will be provided with some useful situational
phrases you can use when you actually deal with Spanish culture, like when you visit Spanish
countries or live with Spanish people.
Are you still unconvinced that you can learn the language in just 12 days? It’s always
easier said than done. Nevertheless, if you really put your mind to it, and if you’re determined to achieve success, you can actually learn to speak Spanish in 1 day – if you choose to finish
reading and comprehending the book today!
With faith and patience, nothing is impossible. In Spanish, nada es imposible. So, are you ready to speak Spanish?
Click here if you want to improve your spoken Spanish, including your pronunciation, and
understand spoken Spanish, all in an efficient and effective way...
DAY 1:
Getting Started with Greetings and Basic Expressions in Spanish
The first step to learning a new language is being familiar with its greetings and most
basic phrases. Listed below are everyday expressions in Spanish words, with pronunciation guides, to help you enunciate them properly. Please be reminded that when written, the Spanish
language use both the inverted question mark (¿) and inverted exclamation mark (¡) at the beginning of every interrogative and exclamatory sentence, respectively.
¡Hola!
[oh-lah]
‘Hi, Hello’
¡Hola! is the most basic Spanish expression in greeting other people. It means ‘hi’ or
‘hello’. It can be used both for people you know, and for those you don’t know to get them to
notice you. This is also the phrase used when answering calls from the phone, followed by a
good morning or good evening in Spanish.
Note: Spanish people do not pronounce the letter /h/, making it a silent letter, except
when used in the /ch/ sound. Thus, the above expression should not be read [hoh-lah] but [oh-
lah].
To Remember Easily: Change the common hello to hallo. Interchange the position of the vowels /o/ and /a/ to make it holla, then eventually hola, without pronouncing the letter /h/.
¡Buenos dias!
¡Buenas tardes!
¡Buenas noches!
[bwe-nos di-yahs]
[bwe-nas tar-des]
[bwe-nas noh-ches]
‘Good morning/day’
‘Good afternoon’
‘Good evening/night’
These are the daily or timely greetings in Spanish. Similar to English, they are composed
of two words, namely bien which means ‘good’ and the Spanish words for morning, afternoon,
and night.
To Remember Easily: Dias is ‘day(s)’ in Spanish (Note the change of /y/ to /i/ and the rearrangement of letters). Since daytime is usually associated with mornings, you should not
forget that ¡Buenos Dias! is to be greeted to a person during the morning.
To associate the Spanish tardes with ‘afternoon,’ simply imagine the time of the day
when you feel the laziest or, say, tardiest – during the afternoon! Now you know why you
always feel like taking a short nap after lunch.
Using alliteration, a literary style where words beginning with the same consonant are
placed together in a phrase or sentence, we can easily relate noches with its English translation meaning ‘night’ since they both start with the letter /n/.
¿Cómo te llamas?
¿Cómo se llama?
[ko-mo te lya-mas]
[ko-mo se lya-mah]
‘What is your name?’
‘What is your name?’ (Formal)
Literally, these phrases mean ‘How do you call yourself?’ The former is being used
during informal or casual conversations, like when asking a lost kid what his name is, when
meeting new acquaintances in school or organizations, or when getting to know a person younger
or the same age as you are. The latter is being used during formal instances, like when talking to
an elder or anybody with high societal and political positions like professors, mayor, or your
friend’s mother. The literal translation of “What is your name in Spanish?” is…
¿Qué es tú nombre?
[ke es tu nom-bre]
‘What is your name?’
If someone asks for your name using any of the above questions, you may also respond
with various answers:
Yo soy [name].
Me llamo [name].
Mi nombre es [name].
[yo soy … ]
[me lya-mo … ]
[mi nom-bre es … ]
‘I am …’
‘I am called …’
‘My name is …’
Though there are variations when telling your name in Spanish, all are accepted and are
used to introduce yourself to other people. However, be reminded that the first introduction is
usually a response to the direct question ¿Quién eres tú? or ‘Who are you?’; the second introduction is the most common response among Spanish; and the third introduction is used
when giving emphasis to what your name is (i.e. My name is [name1], not [name2]).
¿Qué tal?
¿Como estas?
[ke tal]
[ko-mo es-tas]
‘What’s up?’
‘How are you?’
Both expressions above are used for asking how another person is today, what he has
been doing lately, how he is feeling, and the likes.
Note: When talking formally, use esta instead of estas in the latter expression. The topic on formality in the Spanish Language, especially on pronouns, will be discussed on Day 4.
(Muy) Bien
(Muy) Mal
[(muy) byen]
[(muy) mal]
‘(Very) Good’
‘(Very) Bad’
Questions on knowing ‘how you are doing’ can be answered depending on how you are
actually feeling during the moment you are asked. Hence, from the options above, you can reply
with a good, a very good, a bad, or a very bad.
To Remember Easily: Know that muy is ‘much’ in English, literally. Hence, if something is much, extreme words like ‘very’ should be used to emphasize it. In this case, ‘very’
is translated as muy.
As we have already mentioned earlier, bien is ‘good;’ while mal is ‘bad.’ If you can’t relate the English word to its Spanish counterpart using creative thoughts, try associating the
number of letters from one to another – both bien and ‘good’ has 4 letters, while both bad and
‘mal’ has 3 letters.
Por favor
[por fa-vor]
‘Please’
Por favor is the Spanish way of showing respect when asking a favor. It can be used
either at the beginning of your sentence or at the end.
To Remember Easily: Don’t you usually say please when you ask por (for) a favor?
Gracias
De nada
[gra-thyas]
[de na-dha]
‘Thank you’
‘You’re welcome’ or
‘Don’t mention it’
To Remember Easily: Gracia, without /s/, is ‘grace’ or ‘blessing’ in English. Don’t you say thank you for all the gracia(s) you receive? De nada literally means ‘it’s nothing.’ When it’s nothing, you don’t have to mention it.
¡Adiós!
[a-dhyos]
‘Goodbye’
¡Adios! or ‘goodbye’ is used when you bid farewell to somebody you know – whether
personally or through the telephone. It’s like wishing that God be with the other person as he
continues his journey as a diós literally means ‘to God.’
Click here if you want to improve your spoken Spanish, including your pronunciation, and
understand spoken Spanish, all in an efficient and effective way...
DAY 2:
Recognizing Letters and Sounds in the Spanish Alphabet
As you are now familiar with the everyday greetings in Spanish, you can start learning
the Spanish alphabet. You must know how each letter is called, and the sound it produces.
The Spanish alphabet is composed of 30 letters. However, Spanish sounds are more than
the total number of letters, as there are instances that a letter is pronounced in various ways
according to its position in a word.
In addition, each letter has a name different from the ABC’s of English. The table below
will show you how each letter in Spanish is called, how each one of them is pronounced, and
some examples for practice.
Alphabet
Name
Pronounce It!
Examples
A
a
[ah]
/ah/ as in English other, shut, son
alto ‘tall’
[al-to]
B
b
[beh]
/b/ as in English boy, about, crib
bien ‘good’
[byen]
C
c
[theh]
/k/ as in English cup, rocky, milk
cuatro ‘four’
when followed by the vowels a, o, u
[kwat-ro]
/th/ as in English thin, Catherine, math
cinco ‘five’
when followed by the vowels e, I
[thing-ko]
Ch
ch
[cheh]
/ch/ as in English child, Richard, beach
chica ‘girl’
[chi-ka]
D
d
[deh]
/d/ as is English doll, idea, glad
donde ‘where’
when used in the start of a word or syllable [don-de]
/th/ as is then, mother, breathe
nada ‘nothing’
when placed in between vowels in a word
[na-dha]
E
e
[eh]
/eh/ as in English enter, let, said
estado ‘state’
[es-ta-dho]
F
f
[eh-feh]
/f/ as in English fan, raffle, wife
falso ‘false’
[fal-so]
G
g
[keh]
/g/ as in English gift, beagle, dog
gordo ‘fat’
when followed by the vowels a, o, u
[gor-do]
gargled /k/ as in German Bach when
gente ‘person’
followed by the vowels e, I
[khen-te]
H
h
[ah-cheh]
the letter h is not pronounced in Spanish
hasta ‘until’
words making it a silent letter
[as-ta]
I
I
[i]
/i/ as in English income, hit, pity
ídolo ‘idol’
[i-do-lo]
J
j
[hoh-tah]
gargled /k/ as in German Bach
jabón ‘soap’
[kha-bon]
K
k
[kah]
/k/ as in English kite, wacky, silk
kilo ‘kilo’
[ki-lo]
L
l
[eh-leh]
/l/ as in English light, blame, ball
lapiz ‘pencil’
[la-piz]
Ll
ll
[eh-lyeh]
/ly/ as in English galleon
llover ‘rain’
[lyo-ver]
M
m
[eh-meh]
/m/ as in English money, summit, tame
mal ‘bad’
[mal]
N
n
[eh-neh]
/n/ as in English net, tiny, green
norte ‘north’
[nor-te]
Ñ
ñ
[eh-nyeh]
/ny/ as in English canyon, onion
ñaque ‘junk’
[nya-ke]
O
o
[oh]
/o/ as in English Auckland, saw, decor
obra ‘work’
[ob-ra]
P
p
[peh]
/p/ as in English party, happy, leap
pato ‘duck’
[pa-to]
Q
q
[kuh]
/k/ as in English kite, wacky, silk
quema ‘fire’
[ke-ma]
R
r
[eh-reh]
/r/ as in English roll, mark, lyre
robo ‘robbery’
[ro-bo]
Rr
rr
[ehr-reh]
/r/ with a roll of the tongue; hard /r/
correr ‘to run’
[kor-rer]
S
s
[eh-seh]
/s/ as in English son, daisy, office
salsa ‘sauce’
[sal-sa]
T
t
[teh]
/t/ as in English time, later, belt
taza ‘cup’
[ta-za]
U
u
[uh]
/u/ as in English put, book, push
único ‘single’
[u-ni-ko]
V
v
[uh-veh]
/v/ as in English vase, lava, have
vaca ‘cow’
when used in the start of a word or syllable [va-ka]
soft /b/ when placed in between vowels
ave ‘bird’
[a-be]
W
w
[uh-veh
/w/ as in English whale, lower, show
wáter