How-To Language // Learn Spanish

Tag Archive for ‘Learn Spanish’

Learn Spanish: Lesson 3

September 15, 2008Spanish LessonsNo Comments

In this lesson I will cover two areas: numbers and verb conjugation. Let’s learn Spanish!

Numbers

In Lesson 2 you learned how to count from eleven to twenty. Now that we’ve covered all of the basic numbers, we will learn to count from 21 to 100! Don’t worry, it is easy.

Follow along with the following audio files:
Learn Spanish - Lesson 3 - Numbers 21-30
Learn Spanish - Lesson 3 - Numbers 0-100

  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • veinte
  • veinte y uno
  • veinte y dos
  • veinte y tres
  • veinte y cuatro
  • veinte y cinco
  • veinte y seis
  • veinte y siete
  • veinte y ocho
  • veinte y nueve
  • treinta
  • 0
  • 10
  • 20
  • 30
  • 40
  • 50
  • 60
  • 70
  • 80
  • 90
  • 100
  • cero
  • diez
  • veinte
  • treinta
  • cuarenta
  • cincuenta
  • sesenta
  • setenta
  • ochenta
  • noventa
  • cien

Verb Conjugation

In Lesson 2 we covered the basics of Spanish verb conjugation; now we will dive in head first and conjugate each type of verb in the Presente Indicativo, called the Present Indicative tense in English. There are three types of regular verbs in Spanish: -ar verbs, -ir verbs, and -er verbs. Many verbs follow one of these regular formulas and so by knowing these you will be able to conjugate many verbs!

Regular -ar Verbs

We will start by conjugating ayudar; ayudar is a regular -ar verb meaning ‘to help’.

  • yo ayudo
  • tú ayudas
  • él ayuda
  • nosotros ayudamos
  • vosotros ayudáis
  • ellos/ustedes ayudan
  • I help, I do help, I am helping
  • You help, you do help, you are helping
  • He helps, he does help, he is helping
  • We help, we do help, we are helping
  • You-all help, you-all do help, you-all are helping
  • They help, they do help, they are helping

Because this verb is regular, we can conjugate every regular -ar verb in the same manner; while the beginning of the word changes, the endings will always be as shown above.

Regular -ir Verbs

Our first -ir verb will be insistir which means ‘to insist’.

  • yo insisto
  • tú insistes
  • él insiste
  • nosotros insistimos
  • vosotros insistís
  • ellos/ustedes insisten
  • I insist, I do insist, I am insisting
  • You insist, you do insist, you are insisting
  • He insists, he does insist, he is insisting
  • We insist, we do insist, we are insisting
  • You-all insist, you-all do insist, you-all are insisting
  • They insist, they do insist, they are insisting

Regular -er Verbs

For these verbs we will look at comer which means ‘to eat’.

  • yo como
  • tú comes
  • él come
  • nosotros comemos
  • vosotros coméis
  • ellos/ustedes comen
  • I eat, I do eat, I am eating
  • You eat, you do eat, you are eating
  • He eats, he does eat, he is eating
  • We eat, we do eat, we are eating
  • You-all eat, you-all do eat, you-all are eating
  • They eat, they do eat, they are eating

Now you can conjugate Spanish verbs in the Presente Indicativo. In the next lesson we will expound upon this; this will be the basis of every lesson from here on. Thank you for reading.

Tags:

Learn Spanish: Word Of The Day: la camisa

la camisa

la camisa

Today’s Learn Spanish: Word Of The Day is:

la camisa : shirt

Follow along with this audio file:
Learn Spanish - Word Of The Day - la camisa

Credits:

Tags:

Learn Spanish: Word Of The Day: la lámpara

la lámpara

la lámpara

Today’s Learn Spanish: Word Of The Day is:

la lámpara : lamp

Follow along with this audio file:
Learn Spanish - Word Of The Day - la lámpara

Credits:

Tags:

Learn Spanish: Lesson 2

In this lesson I will cover three areas: numbers, vocabulary, and basic verb conjugation. Let’s learn spanish!

Basic Numbers

In Lesson 1 you learned the basics of counting from one to ten; now we’ll cover eleven through twenty and finish up the basic numbers.
Follow along with this audio file: Learn Spanish - Lesson 2 - Basic Numbers

  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • once
  • doce
  • trece
  • catorce
  • quince
  • dieciséis
  • diecisiete
  • dieciocho
  • diecinueve
  • veinte

Basic Vocabulary

In this lesson we will learn some words for things around the house!

el libro

el libro

la silla

la silla

la sofá

la sofá

la chimenea

la chimenea

el refrigerador

el refrigerador

el fregadero

el fregadero

el teléfono

el teléfono

la televisión

la televisión

la tabla

la tabla

Basic Verbs

If you’re new to foreign language, you may want to have a look this post: What Is Conjugation?

If you understand conjugation and you’re ready to dive in, let’s do that! Consider the verb estudiar; estudiar is called a regular -ar verb and it means “to study”. The fact that it is regular means we can follow a simple pattern to conjugate it. In the following table estudiar is conjugated for each possible subject; ‘I’ is yo, ‘You’ is tú, He/She/It is él/ella/usted, ‘We’ is nosotros, ‘You’ (plural) is vosotros, ‘They’ is ellos/ustedes estudian. We will revisit these later, but for now, let’s look at estudiar:

  • yo estudio
  • tú esutdias
  • él/usted estudia
  • nosotros esutidiamos
  • vosotros estudiàis
  • ellos/ustedes estudian
  • I study, I do study, I am studying
  • you study, you do study, you are studying
  • he/she studies, he/she does study, he/she is studying
  • we study, we do study, we are studying
  • you-all study, you-all do study, you-all are studying
  • they study, they do study, they are studying

As you can see, most of the word is the same as the infinitive form of the verb: estudiar. Only the ending has changed when the verb was conjugated for each form. Let’s look at another regular -ar verb, cocinar; cocinar means “to cook”.

  • yo cocino
  • tú cocinas
  • él/usted cocina
  • nosotros cocinamos
  • vosotros cocinàis
  • ellos/ustedes cocinan
  • I cook, I do cook, I am cooking
  • you cook, you do cook, you are cooking
  • he/she cooks, he/she does cook, he/she is cooking
  • we cook, we do cook, we are cooking
  • you-all cook, you-all do cook, you-all are cooking
  • they cook, they do cook, they are cooking

Just as with estudiar, only the endings change as we conjugate the verb for each subject. In the next lesson, we will cover more regular verbs and revisit the meaning of each of the subjects.

Note: Feedback is welcome! I am always looking for new ways to write the lessons so that they are less tedious or boring. Please comment if you have particular difficulty understanding.

Credits:

Tags:

Learn Spanish: Word Of The Day: el boli

la pluma

el boli, el bolígrafo, la pluma

Today’s Learn Spanish: Word Of The Day is:

el boli, el bolígrafo, la pluma : pen

Follow along with this audio file:
Learn Spanish - Word Of The Day - el boli

As Zoey commented, more common words for pen are el bolígrafo and el boli. Thanks Zoey!

Credits:

Tags:

Learn Spanish: Word Of The Day: la ventana

la ventana

la ventana

Today’s Learn Spanish: Word Of The Day is

la ventana : window

Follow along with this audio file:
Learn Spanish - Word Of The Day - la ventana

Credits:

Tags:

Learn Spanish: Lesson 1

In this introductory lesson I will cover two areas: basic numbers and basic vocabulary. After this lesson you will be able to count to ten as well as name some colors. Let’s learn spanish!

Basic Numbers

Below are the numbers one through ten in Spanish.
Follow along with this audio file:
Learn Spanish - Lesson 1 - Numbers

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • uno
  • dos
  • tres
  • cuatro
  • cinco
  • seis
  • siete
  • ocho
  • nueve
  • diez

Here are some tips for remembering these numbers:

  • Memorize phone numbers in Spanish. Every time you have to write down a phone number, think about the numbers in Spanish. Memorize your own in Spanish too!
  • Count things that you see. Count as often as you can! By using these numbers frequently you will ensure that they do not leave your mind.

The most important this is just to use the numbers every day. As you get used to seeing them they will become easier to recall.

Basic Vocabulary: Colors

Colors are everywhere! Use these to name things by color and keep the words fresh in your mind.
Follow along with this audio file: Learn Spanish - Lesson 1 - Colors

Green

verde

Red

rojo

Blue

azul

Purple

violeta

Brown

marrón

Orange

anaranjado

Yellow

amarillo

Black

negro

White

blanco

As with numbers, vocabulary must be practiced or it will be forgotten! Make sure to practice every day, even if only for a couple minutes. Daily practice will make the difference.

Tags: