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Spanish (Spain)

### Thank goodness: Menos mal que

When you avoid a negative outcome, express your relief with the phrase **menos mal que** (thank goodness that / it's a good thing that).

Even though it expresses an emotional reaction, **menos mal que** is an exception to the usual Spanish rules: it is always followed by the **indicative** mood, never the subjunctive.

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### Fortunately: Afortunadamente

Another common way to express relief is with the adverb **afortunadamente** (fortunately). You can place it at the beginning or the end of a sentence.

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### Safe and sound

When talking about close calls like a slip (**un resbalón**) or a stumble (**un tropiezo**), you can reassure others that everyone is unharmed (**ileso**).

To say someone is "safe and sound," use the phrase **sano y salvo**. Since both words are adjectives, they must agree in gender and number with the people you are describing.

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Expressing relief (menos mal que)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
thank goodness that	menos mal que
the reflex	el reflejo
Thank goodness that you have good reflexes.	Menos mal que tienes buenos reflejos.
fortunately	afortunadamente
Fortunately, your reflexes are quick.	Afortunadamente, tus reflejos son rápidos.
the crash	el choque
minor	leve
The crash has been very minor, fortunately.	El choque ha sido muy leve, afortunadamente.
the scratch	el rasguño
Thank goodness that the passenger only has a minor scratch.	Menos mal que el pasajero solo tiene un rasguño leve.
unharmed	ileso
Thank goodness that everyone is unharmed after that crash.	Menos mal que todo el mundo está ileso después de ese choque.
the slip	el resbalón
The boy has a lot of pain from the slip, but no scratch.	El niño tiene mucho dolor por el resbalón, pero ningún rasguño.
safe and sound	sano y salvo
The girls are unharmed and have arrived safe and sound.	Las chicas están ilesas y han llegado sanas y salvas.
the stumble	el tropiezo
Thank goodness that she is safe and sound after the stumble.	Menos mal que ella está sana y salva después del tropiezo.
That stumble has been dangerous, but I am safe and sound.	Ese tropiezo ha sido peligroso, pero estoy sano y salvo.
Thank goodness that this slip has not been serious.	Menos mal que este resbalón no ha sido grave.
to run over, to knock down (with a vehicle)	atropellar
Thank goodness the car didn't run you over!	¡Menos mal que el coche no te ha atropellado!
A motorcycle knocked down my neighbor, but fortunately he's unharmed.	Una moto atropelló a mi vecino, pero afortunadamente está ileso.

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