Saludos y respuestas (Greetings and Responses)

Presentaciones (Introductions)

Despedidas (Farewells)

In Spanish, the singular subjects are:

yo	I
tú	you (informal)
usted	you (formal)
él	he
ella	she

Plural subjects are:

nosotros / nosotras *	we
vosotros  / vosotras **	you (informal in Spain)
ellos  / ellas	they
ustedes	you all

*Nosotros (we) has a feminine nosotras that is used when the entire group is composed of females. Likewise, vosotros and ellos have feminine forms vosotras and ellas.

** In Latin America, vosotros is almost unheard of, and ustedes is exclusively used instead for the plural ‘you’ in both formal and informal speaking.

Números 1-31

0 cero
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
16 dieciséis
17 diecisiete
18 dieciocho
19 diecinueve
20 veinte
21 veintiuno
22 veintidós
23 veintitrés
24 veinticuatro
25 veinticinco
26 veintiséis
27 veintisiete
28 veintiocho
29 veintinueve
30 treinta
31 treinta y uno

Note: The numbers 16-19 and 21-29 are most commonly spelled as shown above, however, they can also be written as three words. For example “diecisiete” can also be written “diez y siete” according to the Real Academia Española.

En la mochila del estudiante (in the student’s backpack)

1.la mochila (backpack)

2. el diccionario (dictionary)

3. la computadora (computer)

4. la calculadora (calculator)

5. el teléfono (telephone)

6. el libro (book)

7. el marcador (marker)

8. el cuaderno (notebook)

9. el bolígrafo (pen)

10. el lápiz (pencil)

11. la carpeta (folder)

12. el papel (paper), la hoja de papel (piece of paper)

el escritorio (desk)

En la clase (in the class)

1. la pared (wall)

2. el estudiante (student, m)

3. la estudiante (student, f)

4. el reloj (clock)

5. el proyector (projector)

6. la mesa (table)

7. el pupitre (desk)

8. la cortina (curtain)

9. la ventana (window)

10. el profesor, la profesora (professor, m, f)

En la salón de clase (in the classroom)

1. la luz (light)

2. el mapa (map)

3. la pizarra (chalkboard)

4. la tiza (chalk)

5. la puerta (door)

6. la silla (chair)

(not in picture)la basura (trash)

Una palabra utíl (a useful word):

El verbo hay

Hay comes from the verb haber  and it means “there is.” However, hay is the only form used in the present tense for both singular and plural descriptions, so it also means “there are.”

Definite articles: (the) are used with specific nouns. They also tell us whether a noun is masculine or feminine AND plural or singular. They can be expressed in four ways:

• ¿Quién es la profesora de español?
• Necesito el libro de español.

Indefinite articles: (a/an/some) are used with nouns that are not specific or have been previously mentioned. They also state whether a noun is masculine or feminine AND plural or singular. They can be expressed in four ways:

• Hay una pizarra en el salón de clase.
• Hay unos papeles en mi mochila.

La pregunta básica

A simple question is typically formatted in the verb / subject / clause format, or a simple inversion of the subject and verb in a standard sentence. Note that unlike English, Spanish does not use the auxiliary verb ‘do/does’ in questions.

en español	en inglés
¿Habla María español?	Does María speak Spanish?

Las respuestas

Responding to all of these types of questions is done in the same format. For “Yes” responses the subject / verb / clause format is retained following the word “yes”.

Sí, María habla español.

Yes, María speaks Spanish.

There are two ways of making a negative statement: One is to simply negate the statement as in the examples below by placing the no before the verb.

No, María no habla español.

No, María does not speak Spanish.

The other is a negation of the statement with an affirmation of a related fact afterwards as shown below.

No, María habla inglés.

No, María speaks English.