Notes for Spanish Lessons 1 – 5 (from my YouTube Spanish course)

These are notes taken by Darrell Claeys from Lesson 1 – 5.

Thanks to him these notes are now available to everybody. If you want to download the file to print or to save to your computer, clic here.

Click here to find the video that includes Spanish lessons 1 – 5.

LECCIÓN 1 – ENG: LESSON 1
EL ALFABETO ESPAÑOL – ENG: Spanish Alphabet

A – Ah N – en-eh
B – Beh Ñ – en-yeh
C – Ce O – oh
Ch – Cheh* P – peh
D – Deh Q – cuh
E – e R – e-rre
F – ef-eh S – es-eh
G – heh T – teh
H – ach-eh U – uuh
I – ee V – veh
J – hota W – do-ble veh/do-ble ouh
K – kah X – eh-kis
L – el-eh Y – eh-gri-eh-ga
LL – el-ieh* Z – se-ta
M – em-eh
* letters taken out of the “official” Spanish language Alphabet.

NOTE:___________________________________________________________
Spanish Alphabet.
1. letter
2. how to say the letter in Spanish.
3. Word that starts with that letter
4. Male, female or V for verb.
5. What word means in English.

a (a) amigo (M) (friend )
b (be) bonita (F) (pretty )
c (ce) cereal (M) ( cereal )
ch (ce hache) chocolate (M) (Chocolate ) *
d (de) día (M) Day
e (e) español (M) Spanish
f (efe) feo (M) Ugly.
g (ge) gato (M) Cat.
h (hache) hormiga (F) Ant
i (i) iglesia (F) church
j (jota) José (M) name of person.
k (ka) kilo(gramo) (M) Kilo gram unit of weight. 2 pounds
l (ele) lobo (M) Wolf.
ll (elle) lluvia (F) Rain *
m (eme) mama (F) Mom
n (ene) no (X) no
ñ (eñe) español (M) spanish
o (o) ojo (M) Eye
p (pe) pelo (M) Hair
q (cu) queso (M) Cheese
r (erre) ratón (M) mouse
s (ese) sapo (M) toad
t (te) tango (M) Type of dance
u (u) uva (F) Grape
v (uve) venir (V) to come
w (doble U ) whisky (M) whisky
x (equis) xilofón (M) Xylophone
y (i griega) yate (M) Yacht
z (zeta) zorro (M) Fox

*They’re not part of the Spanish alphabet anymore because they’re compound letters.

___________________________________________________________________________
LECCIÓN 2 – ENG: LESSON 2
Pronombres Personales – ENG: Personal Pronouns
Singular

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

Plural

nosotros we (masculine or mixed gender)
nosotras we (feminine)
vosotros you-all (familiar, Spain, masculine or mixed )
vosotras you-all (familiar, Spain, feminine)
ellos they (masculine or mixed gender)
ellas they (feminine)
ustedes you-all (formal in Spain, formal and familiar in Latin America)

Verbos – ENG: Verbs

Ser ENG: to be
Estar ENG: to be
Haber ENG: to have
Tener ENG: to have

“H” starting a word is always silent. Its only prounuced in the sound “CH”.

Yo estoy feliz. ENG: I am happy.
Yo soy Rodrigo. ENG: I am Rodrigo
Yo tengo un bolígarfo. ENG: I have a pen.
Yo he hecho. ENG: I have made/done.

Sí ENG: Yes
No ENG: No

___________________________________________________________________________
LECCIÓN 3 – ENG: LESSON 3

Sounds

R Libro ENG: book
RR ( rolled R )
L
LL ( prounouced like “Y” )
G
Gu
Qu Qué ENG: What Quién ENG: Who
Y Spanish word and ENG: and
Un libro y un boligrafo.
W
CA
Co
Cu
Ci
Ce
Ch
H
X excelente ENG: excellent

R Río ENG: River Aro ENG: ring Ardilla ENG: Squirell
RR ( rolled R ) Arreglar (V) ENG: to Fix ( verb )
L Levantar (V) ENG: to lift ( verb )
LL LLuvia, ENG: rain Calle ENG: street
G Gas ENG: Gas Gorro ENG: cap Agujero ENG: hole
G Gente ENG: People Gitano ENG: Gypsy
Gu Guisado ENG: Stew
Gu Pingüino ENG: Penquin
Qu Qué ENG: What Quién ENG: Who
Y Spanish word “and” ENG: and
Un libro y un boligrafo. ENG: A book and a pen.
Y Hoy ENG: Today
Y Yo ENG: I Cayó ENG: Fell
W Whiskey
K Kilómetro ENG: Kilometer
K Kilogramo ENG: Kilogram
Ca Calle ENG: Street
Co Cosa ENG: thing
Cu Cubo ENG: cube
Ci Cielo ENG: Sky
Ce Cebolla ENG: Onion
Ch Chocolate ENG: Chocolate
H Hoy ENG: Today Alcohol ENG: Alcohol
X axioma ENG: Axiom
X Excelente ENG: Excellent
X Xilofón ENG: Xilophone

___________________________________________________________________________
LECCIÓN 4 – ENG: LESSON 4
VERBO SER ENG: Verb to be

Verbs in Spanish are very complex, because they have gender, and number,
and sometimes have other words/letters added to the end.
English is the same way, but to a lesser extent.
We say that the verb “SER” means “to be” but that seems to not make sense,
because I never say to be. Well it is Implied!!

I am tall. ENG: the “am” is the to be verb.
He is tall. ENG: The “is” is the to be verb.
They are tall. ENG: the “are” is the to be verb

yo soy = ENG: I am
tú eres = ENG: you are
él/ella/usted es = ENG: he/she/it is
nosotros/nosotras somos = ENG: we are
vosotros/vosotras sois = ENG: we are ( Spain only )
ellos/ellas/ustedes son = ENG: they are

Yo soy abogado ENG: I am a Lawyer.
Tú eres abogado. ENG: You are a lawyer ( informal )
Él es abogado. ENG: He is a lawyer.
Ella es abogada. ENG: She is a lawyer.
Nosotros somos abogados. ENG: We are lawyers.

“Ser” is also used to express the hour, day, and date.

¿Qué hora es? ENG: What time is it?
Son las dos. ENG: It’s two o’clock.
¿Qué día es hoy? ENG: What day is today?
Hoy es lunes. ENG: Today’s Monday.
¿Qué fecha es hoy? ENG: What’s the date today?
Es (el) cinco de mayo. ENG: It’s May fifth.

“Ser” is used to express place of origin.

¿De dónde eres tú? ENG: Where are you from? ( informal )
Soy de Colombia. ENG: I’m from Colombia.

Ser is used to express occupation.

¿Cuál es tu trabajo? ENG: What do you do?
Soy carpintero. (M) ENG: I’m a carpenter.

Ser is used to express nationality.

¿Es ella portorriqueña? / ¿Ella es portorriqueña? ENG: Is she Puerto Rican?
No, es guatemalteca. ENG: No, she’s Guatemalan.

Ser is used to express religious or political affiliation.

¿Son García bautistas? ENG: Are the Garcias Baptists?
No, son católicos. ENG: No, they’re Catholics.
¿El gobierno es socialista? ENG: Is the government socialist?
No, es comunista. ENG: No, it’s communist.
“Ser” is used to express the material something is made of.

¿De qué material es la mesa? ENG: What’s the table made of?
Es de madera. ENG: It’s made of wood.
Ser is used to express possession.

¿De quién es la pluma? ENG: Whose pen is it?
Es de Emilio. ENG: It’s Emilio’s.

“Ser” is used to express the relationship of one person to another.

¿Quién es Rogelio? ENG: Who is Roger?
Es el esposo de Marta. ENG: He’s Martha’s husband.

“Ser” is used with certain impersonal expressions.

Es importante practicar cada día. ENG: It’s important to practice every day.
Es necesario hablar mucho. ENG: It’s necessary to speak a lot.
“Ser” is used to tell where an event is taking place.

La película es en el cine. ENG: The movie is at the theatre.
La fiesta es en el club Fantástico. ENG: The party is in the Fantastic Club.

Ser is used with adjectives to express inherent, or essential qualities.

Miguel es un hombre sincero. ENG: Mike is a sincere man.
También es guapo. ENG: He’s also handsome.

NOTE: Spanish has 2 words that work like the English TO BE verb.
The next is ESTAR.
Verb Estar is a Ir-regular verb. Like its twin brother ser.
It also it for the English words “to be”.

ESTAR:

In general we can say that the verb “estar” expresses the state or
condition that is sometimes temporary.
This includes: people and things, and also the location of people,
things, and places. To better understand it better let’s study
these expressions, and then compare them to the other examples of ser.

yo estoy = ENG: I am
tu estás = ENG: you are
él/ella/usted está = ENG: he/she/it is
nosotros/nosotras estamos = ENG: we are
vosotros/vosotras estis = ENG: we are ( Spain only )
Ellos/ellas/ustedas son = ENG: they are

Yo estoy preocupado. ENG: I am worried.
Tú estás preocupado. ENG: You are worried. ( informal )
él está preocupado. ENG: He is worried.
Nosotros estamos preocupados. ENG: We are worried.
Ellos están preocupodos. ENG: They are worried.

1. State or condition: expresses the state or condition in which a person is according
to their mood or how they feel, as well as their physical and mental condition.
This rule also applies to the state or condition that objects are.

Por ejemplo: ( ENG: for example )
Yo estoy triste. ENG: I am sad
Él está cansado de trabajar mucho. ENG: He is tired from working hard.
Los estudiantes están preocupados por el examen. Students are worried about the test.
El café está frío. ENG: The coffee is cold.
Tú estás enferma. (F) ENG: You are sick
Los platos están rotos. ENG: The dishes are broken

2. Location: expresses the whereabouts of people, things and places.
(But not events – see Ser!) Whether on a temporary or permanent time
(Another tricky one!)
Por ejemplo: ( ENG: for example )
Ella está en la casa. ENG: She is in the house.
Ella está en casa ENG: She is at home.
El banco está cerca de la escuela. ENG: The bank is near the school.
Mis libros están en la mesa. ENG: My books are on the table.
La ciudad de Detroit está en Michigan. ENG: Detroit is in Michigan.

These are two verbs, that are used very much, ser and estar.

___________________________________________________________________________
LECCIÓN 5 – ENG: LESSON 5
Greetings and Farewells ( saludos y despedidas )

Many people put this at the beginning of their lessons.
But I find that you just memorize the words,
without understand whether they are adjectives or nouns,
or how you can use that word in a different place.

SALUDOS ( ENG: Greetings )

Buen día ( ENG: Good morning ) ( Día is Masculine )
Buenos días ( ENG: Good morning ) ( Día is Masculine )
Buenas noches ( ENG: Good night ) ( Noche is Feminine )
Buenas tardes ( ENG: Good afternoon ) ( Tarde is Feminine )
¿Cómo está usted? ( ENG: how are you? ) ( formal )
¿Cómo estás? ( ENG: how are you? ) ( informal )
Hola ( ENG: hello )
¿Qué pasa? ( ENG: whats happening ? ) ( informal )
¿Qué tal? ( ENG: Whats up ? ) ( Informal )
* The tilde above the I in día will be explained later.

RESPUESTAS ( ENG: Reponses )

De Nada (ENG: You’re Welcome
De Verdad? (ENG: Really?
Encantado/Encantada (ENG: Pleased / Pleased to meet you.
Gracias (ENG: Thank you.
Igualmente (ENG: Likewise
Lo siento (ENG: I’m sorry
Perdón ENG: Sorry
Más o menos (ENG: so so. ( more or less )
Mucho gusto (ENG: Nice to meet you.
(muy ) Bien (ENG: ( very ) well
( muy ) mal (ENG: ( very ) bad
Todo bien (ENG: All is well.

FAREWELLS ( DESPEDIDAS )

Adiós ENG: Goodbye
Chau ENG: Bye
hasta luego ENG: See you later.
Hasta mañana ENG: see you tomorrow
hasta pronto ENG: see you soon
Nos vemos ENG: see you

INTRODUCTIONS ( PRESENTACIONES )
¿Cómo se llama usted? ENG: What is your name ( formal )
¿Cómo te llamas? ENG: What is your name ( informal )
Me llamo Darrell ENG: My name is Darrell ( I call myself … )
Mi nombre es Darrell ENG: My name is Darrell
Soy ……. ENG: I am ……….

TITLES ( Titulos )
el señor ( Sr. ) ENG: Mister ( Mr. )
la señora (Sra.) ENG: Misses (Mrs. )
la señorita ( Srta.) (demodé) ENG: Miss