Study Guide in Foreign Language FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.

0 03-June-2020

Foreign Language 3-Spanish/FL 3 Module 1 Brushing Up the Basics

Module No. 1

Brushing Up the Basics

LEARNING CONTENTS

1.1.1. Common Expressions and Greetings

To start with, there are many ways to say hello in Spanish. Some expressions are best used in
formal situations and others are more familiar in tone.

In this lesson, you will watch a video during the face-to-face session, which presents some
common expressions and greetings in Spanish”. This video contains “100 Spanish Expressions in
20 minutes-All Spanish Basics You Need”. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/gjLMENcfriE

 Hola- Hello,hi-This greeting is suitable in both formal and informal context.

 Buenos dias-Good day,morning- In some areas, a shortened form, buen dia, is used.
 Buenas tardes- Good afternoon, good evening- In most areas, buenas tardes should be
used in the early evening in preference to buenas noches.
 Buenas noches- Good night- unlike the English translation, buenas noches can be used as a
greeting (late evening) as well as farewell.

After an initial greeting, to ask about somebody’s wellbeing, you can ask the ff questions:
 ¿Como estas?/ ¿Como estas?- How are you?- The first form (which is informal) normally
would be use with someone you know on a first- name basis or when speaking with a child.
The second form generally would be used in other situations.
 ¿Como te va?/ ¿Como le va?- How’s it going?
 ¿Que tal?/ ¿Que hay?- What’s up?(colloquial)
 ¿Que pasa?- What’s happening? (colloquial)
 ¿Que cuentas?- What’s new? (colloquial)

Some typical responses to the above questions would be

 Estoy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?/ ¿Y usted?- I am fine, thank you. And how about you?
 Muy bien-Very fine
 Regular-so-so

There are several ways of saying “good bye” in Spanish, but the most common are the following
two:
 Adios-Goodbye- is used for more lasting farewells
 Hasta luego- See you later-Is a more colloquial send off

While the above two expressions cover almost every situation, here are some more commonly used
colloquial expressions:
 Nos vemos- See you around
 Chao-Bye
 Hasta mañana-See you tomorrow

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Foreign Language 3-Spanish/FL 3 Module 1 Brushing Up the Basics

 Hasta pronto-See you soon

 Buen fin de semana-Have a nice weekend
 Adios-Good bye
 Hasta la vista-See you
 Hasta mañana-See you tomorrow
 Hasta pronto/luego/el lunes-See you soon/later/on Monday

You must have noticed that while taking leave, you can use hasta meaning “until”, with a time-
expression to indicate when you will see that person next. You can use hasta with a weekday
(hasta + el lunes) to indicate which day of the week you are meeting the person.

Slightly more formal leave taking uses phrases such as the ff:
 Que le vaya bien- Have a nice day-Used when the person you say it to is doing the leaving.
If you are using the informal tone, it is Que te vaya bien.

1.1.2. How to Ask and Tell Time and Days of the Week
Knowing to tell time and day in a foreign language is an essential part of learning and it is also the
most common way to break the ice in any conversation. Below you will find the image of a watch
with all the possible ways of telling time and a table of the days of the week in Spanish

Please note that in Spanish, son (third person plural form of the verb ser) is used to tell the time.
The only exception being time related to 1 ‘o clock as one is singular so es (third person singular of
the verb ser) is used. For example: Es la una (It’s 1 o’clock)/ Es la una y media (It’s 1:30)/ Es la
una y cuarto (It’s 1:15), etc.

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Foreign Language 3-Spanish/FL 3 Module 1 Brushing Up the Basics

Days of the week

Lunes Monday
Martes Tuesday
Miercoles Wednesday
Jueves Thursday
Viernes Friday
Sabado Saturday
Domingo Sunday

1.1.3. Telling time and direction

La hora Time/hour
El minute Minute
El Segundo Second
El dia Day
La noche Night
La semana Week
El mes Month
El año Year
La semana/mes/año The coming
que viene week/month/year
Hoy Today
Ahora Yesterday
Mañaña Tomorrow
Pasado mañaña Day after tomorrow
Tarde Late
Temprano Early
Pronto Soon
Normalmente Normally
Occasionalmente Occasionally
Ahi There (object is a little
far from the speaker)
Aqui Here
Alli There (object is quite far
from the speaker)
A la izquierda To the left
A la derecha To the right

1.1.4. Weather expressions and seasons of the year

El Verano Summer
El otoño Autumn
El invierno Winter
La primavera Spring
¿Que tiempo hace? How is the weather?

In Spanish, in order talk about the weather the verb “hacer” is used.

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Foreign Language 3-Spanish/FL 3 Module 1 Brushing Up the Basics

2.1.1. THE SPANISH ALPHABET/EL ABECEDARIO ESPANOL

According to the Real Academia Española ( The Royal Academy of Spain, the Spanish alphabet,
like other romance languages, is based on the Latin alphabet and adapted throughout the centuries
to what is today. The Spanish alphabet is formed of twenty-seven letters.

Alphabet name Alphabe Pronunciation Examples

t
a A,a Like the “a” in Macho
“father”
Be B,be Like the “b” in Banco, Cuba
“bank”
Ce ,c C Like the “c” in “car” Carmen, Cola, Cuba,
when before “a”, “o” Crema
or “u” or a consonant

Like the “c” in “cell” Centro Barcelona, Cine

when it comes before
“e” or “i”

Che Ch, ch Like the “ch” in Chile,macho

“church”
De D,d Like “th” in “that” Dinero,Nada
E E,e Like the “e” in “bet” Enrique, Rafael
Efe F,f Like the the “f” in Fernando,fiesta
“for”
Ge G,g Like the “g” in “go” Gas, golfo, gusto,
when it comes before Iglesias, gracias
“a”, “o” or “u” or a
consonant
Hache H,h It is silent and not Hotel, Hola, Ahora
pronounced at all
I I,i Like the “ee” in Enrique Iglesias
“meet”, though
shorter
Jota J,j It is like a strongly Jardin, Ajo, Juan
aspirated “h”, and is
pronounced
something like “kh”
Ca K,k It is found only in Kilómetro
foreign words and
pronounced like “k”
in “kilo”
Ele L,l Like “l” in “lake” Latino, lorca
Elle Ll, Like “ll”In “million Calle,Llamar
Eme M,m Like “m” in “mother” Madre
Ene N,n Like “n” in “nose Nachos
Eñe Ñ,ñ Like “ny”in Sonya España, Niño

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Foreign Language 3-Spanish/FL 3 Module 1 Brushing Up the Basics

O O,o Like “o” in cone”, Comercio

though shorter
Pe P,p Like p in “speak” Plaza,
Cu Q,q Like”k”. It comes Marquez,Quito
with “u” which is not
pronounced
Ere R,r Like “r” in “rice” Fernando Torres
Ese S,s Like “s”in “sin Sopa, España
Te T,t The t”is pronounced Turismo,Patata
soft in Spanish
U U,u Like öo”in “root”” Union Europea
Uve V,v Pronounced exactly Vino, villa
like “b” and “v” are
pronounced like “b” n
“bank”
Uve doble W,w It is found only in “Whisky, Washington
foreign words and
pronounced as “w” in
“water
Equis X,x It varied in sound Examen
depending on the
origin of the word.
I griega Y,y Like “y” in “yes. But Yate, Soy
alone or at the end of
the word it is like the
vowel “i”
Zeta Z,z Like “s”in sin Zapato, Zorro

2.1.2. Counting Numbers

You use cardinal numbers (the more popular of the two) to count, to bargain with a merchant about
a price, to express the temperature, or to write a check. You use ordinal numbers to express the
number of a floor, the act of a play, or the order of a person in a race or competition.

Using Cardinal Numbers

You use cardinal numbers many times every day. As a matter of fact, you probably use them at
least once an hour in the course of normal conversation or in writing. The Spanish cardinal
numbers are as follows:

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Reference: Stein, G. & Kraynak, C. (2010). Spanish Essentials for Dummies. Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc. Retrieved
https://www.pdfdrive.com/spanish-essentials-for-dummies-e32023921.html

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Foreign Language 3-Spanish/FL 3 Module 1 Brushing Up the Basics

Using Ordinal Numbers

You use ordinal numbers — those used to express numbers in a series — far less frequently than
cardinal numbers, but they still have some very important applications in everyday life. The
following chart presents the Spanish ordinal numbers:

Reference: Stein, G. & Kraynak, C. (2010). Spanish Essentials for Dummies. Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc. Retrieved
https://www.pdfdrive.com/spanish-essentials-for-dummies-e32023921.html

3.1.1. Pronouns in Spanish

Unlike in English where it is necessary to use them, in Spanish subject pronouns are often left out.
In Spanish, the verb forms often make it clear who the subject is, and when that’s the case the
pronouns shouldn’t be used unless there’s a reason to.

3.1.2. Subject Pronouns (They replace the subject of a sentence)

I Yo
You Tu(familiar)
You Usted(Ud.) (formal)
He, she El,ella
We Nosotros(m), nosotras(f) (the first form
refers to a group of males or females,
while the second form refers to females
only)
You all Vosotros(m), vosotras(f) (familiar; the
first form refers to a group of males and
females, while the second form refers to
females only; this pronoun is seldom
used in most parts of Latin America
You all Ustedes(Uds.) (formal in Spain,
informal in Spanish America)
They Ellos(m), ellas (f)

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Here are examples of sentences where pronouns are unnecessary:

Trabajo en un hospital (I work in a hospital). Here, the verb form trabajo (first person of trabajar,ie,
to work) can refer only to the person speaking.

3.1.3. Demonstrative Pronouns (Replace a noun while also pointing at it. Used in
introductions)

This is Skyler. Este es Skyler.

This is Hannah. Esta es Hannah
These are Rayven and Estos son Rayven y Nikka.
Nikka.
These are Juna and Estas son Juna y Precious.
Precious.

3.1.4. Tu/Usted

Tu is used in less formal modes of address while usted is formal.

Tu is used when you’re talking to someone you are familiar with, someone of the same age
or the same rank who you are acquainted with. You can also use it when you want to express a
certain level of intimacy with someone though the person may be older. Most children in Spain use
tu with their parents.

Usted is used for more formal occasions such as with a new acquaintance, an older person,
or someone you consider to be of higher rank. It signifies a more respectful way of talking to
someone.

LEARNING POINTS

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